WTTS Blog

Last week, we told you about the upcoming guitar documentary It Might Get Loud, featuring Jack White. There’s also word he may be working on a documentary of the White Stripes’ tour of small venues in Canada. Jack is no stranger to the big screen. He was in Cold Mountain in 2003 and now a film he shot in ’98 is ready for its official premiere.

The sci-fi spoof Mutant Swingers from Mars will have its premiere at the San Diego ComicCon. White’s role as the wisecracking Mikey features dialogue as minimal as Meg’s drumming.

It’s Brad Holtz, and we’re back from Bonnaroo. The 8th annual festival was my 6th overall, and they seem to get better and better each and every year. Personal highlights for me were performances from David Byrne, Phish, Springsteen, Passion Pit, Nine Inch Nails, and a (legitimate) late night burlesque show we randomly stumbled upon Saturday night. The sights and sounds of Bonnaroo are one-of-a-kind, and we hope we were able to share the excitement with you over the past few days. We have a dozen cool backstage interviews in the posts below - check them out and enjoy. And here are a few more photos from Bonnaroo, courtesy of Josh Rinehart at Music Allies.

Warren Haynes backstage

Wilco performing backstage

Live music from Phoenix

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Ben Harper & Relentless 7 backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Brett Dennen backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with moe. backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Band Of Horses backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Neko Case backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Andrew Bird backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Todd Snider backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Alejandro Escovedo backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Wilco backstage at Bonnaroo.

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with Warren Haynes backstage at Bonnaroo.

“People of the mud, please move out of the pathway because your body matches the earth and I might crush you.”

“Does this black diamond pass get me on stage…like, let’s say, right next to the drummer?”

“I just want to take one picture, then I will move back out of the pit in front of the stage… yes, of course I am a photographer”

“Does anyone have any neck cream?  My neck skin looks dried out.”

“Hold Still, I can see my hair in your glasses and it looks a mess.”

“Please pass the stoner mix” (a concoction of sweet and salty snacks)

“There goes the girl with the painted bathing suit, Nick…Nick…NICK are you listening to me?”

“I am in desparate need of a bonabath.”

“I am with him, I’m his bitch” (trying to get side stage for a show that was forbidden…staying close to my friend who had an all access pass to the show.

The preceeding were all things I said today while out and about exploring the Bonnaroo festivites. So far today I have see Elvis Perkins, Heartless Bastards, Bon Iver, Robyn Hitchcock and one quick comedy show. My goal is to see some of the artists I have never seen perform live. Tonight, it will be a little Wilco, Bruce, The Mars Volta, Decemberists and Elvis Costello. Bonnaroo Music Festival is best experienced in person, but since you cannot be here, let me be your eyes and ears. We will continue to document our experience through the blogaroo and on WTTS throughout the weekend and when we return Monday. More to come from Bonnaroooooooooooo.

Laura

Some of the sights from the Bonnaroo Music Festival.  Photos by Josh Rinehart/Music Allies.

Grizzly Bear

TV On The Radio

Wilco backstage

David Byrne

Animal Collective

Ani DiFranco backstage

The Rev. Al Green

Radio Bonnaroo’s Mark chats with the guys from Decemberists backstage at Bonnaroo.

MGMT plays Bonnaroo late Saturday night.  The band stopped by for a backstage interview.  Check it out, and make sure you tune in to a special Groove Show live from Bonnaroo, tonight from 10pm - Midnight.  We’ll have exclusive backstage songs from some of the artists playing Bonnaroo.

Brad and I arrived at Bonnaroo on Thursday night, just in time to catch White Rabitts (incredible) and Passion Pit.  While the music was fantastic, the drama surrounding the night was even more intense.  You see, Brad and I had a little mishap with our luggage, leaving us separated from our Bonnaroo life supplies.  He wanted his “stuff” and I wanted my makeup.  After every attempt at seeing music, we decided it was time to get our bags.  So we went on a hunt…looking for the bus carrying our only connection to civilization (besides the blackberrys and laptops and satellite TV on the tour bus which is our home for 3 days).  Long story longer, we found our bags and got them to the bus just in time to hear that the tornado watch that had been in effect for the area, had quickly turned into a tornado warning.  As I was ushered back to the media camp to escape the nastiness of mother nature, I could hear people saying “…in case a tornado hits, we need to get inside a building, like the Other tent”.  Um,  if I’m not mistaken, a tent is not even close to being a structurally sound entity.  But, I guess when one camps in a field with a tarp tied to a tree for shelter, a big tent with electrical wires strewn all over the place would present itself as a virtual bomb shelter.   In the end, all was good and the little people of Bonnaroo land were safe.  As we lay our heads down to rest with the thumping of the drums keeping beat to the rolling thunder clasps, we knew that once again, we were home…at Bonnarooooooooooooooo.

Laura

WTTS favorites Gomez hit the Bonnaroo stages this afternoon at 12:30.  Before their set, they stopped backstage for a quick chat with Mark, Radio Bonnaroo interviewer extraordinaire.

It’s Brad Holtz, from the rural fields of the 8th Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN.  We arrived late last night, just in time to catch a rousing, energetic set from Cambridge, MA newcomers Passion Pit .  Other sets of interest included Bonnaroo first-timers Erin McCarley and White  Rabbits. 

Check out the White Rabits “The Plot” music video 

Here’s Passion Pit doing “Sleepy Head”

The sky’s over Manchester opened earlier in the afternoon and the mud was in full force when we arrived.  Severe storms moved through the area around 10pm and evening rain made for an even muddier Bonnaroo experience this morning. Friday’s forecast calls for a 40% chance of storms, some potentially severe. 

But we’re not letting anything get in our way!  The music lineup is spectacular - Friday highlights include Al Green, Beastie Boys, Phish, David Byrne, TV On The Radio, Public Enemy, Animal Collective, Bela Fleck and more.  We’ll post backstage interviews, photos, video and more here on the Blogaroo.  And be sure to tune to 92-3 WTTS this afternoon for 3-7pm, as Laura and I broadcast live.  Bonnaroooo!

Brad Holtz here, and it’s hard to believe it’s already June, but it’s that magical time of the year where tens of thousands of music lovers gather in rural Tennessee for the unique social experiment known as Bonnaroo.  The 8th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicks off Thursday afternoon in Manchester, TN.   Check out the official Bonnaroo preview video.

The lineup (again) is nothing short of stellar.  And the diversity is once again second-to-none.  Where else can you see Phish and Snoop Dog in the same weekend?  Or Public Enemy and Merle Haggard? 

Laura Duncan and I are heading south this week for what will be our 6th live broadcast from Bonnaroo.  We’ll broadcast Friday afternoon, and throughout Saturday (all afternoon and from 9pm-Midnight for a special Groove Show live from Bonnaroo).  Tune in for backstage reports, artist interviews and exclusive performances from some of the artists playing Bonnaroo.

We welcome your comments and feedback here on the WTTS Blogaroo.  And a very special thanks for some “behind-the-scenes” folks who are making the Blogaroo and live broadcasts happen:  Kelly Walker, Erin Masterson, Craig Shank and George Drake.  (We’ll have a few BonnaBeers for each of you).

New to Bonnaroo?  Check out these great “How To Bonnaroo” video tips with Rufus Leaking.

It took us over two weeks, but we’ve made it through the vast WTTS music library.  World Class Rock A To Z wrapped up this afternoon on 92-3 WTTS.  Back on February 9, we kicked things off with “A” by Barenaked Ladies.  This afternoon, U2’s “Zooropa” wrapped up well over 2,000 songs played in alphabetical order.  Along the way, we heard a lot of Beatles, Mellencamp and Stones music (the three artists with the most songs in A To Z), spent over two days playing “S” songs, and had only one major alphabetical error (Paul Mendenhall on February 13, leading to the only “wearing of the dunce cap”).

Thanks for all of your great feedback along the way.  We always have a great time doing what we’re fortunate enough to do, but this is a really fun time for us.  What makes it best (and most worthwhile) is the feedback we get from you.  Thanks for listening to WTTS.

-Brad Holtz

World Class Rock A to Z, Day 15:

What? Playing thousands of songs from the WTTS library alphabetically by song title.

When? We started on February 9th and will end??????

Where? 92.3 on your radio or  www.wttsfm.com on your computer.

Who? Paul Mendenhall, Todd Berryman, Brad Holtz, Laura Duncan, Bill Flint, Rob Humphrey and YOU.

Why? Because we’re independent radio and we can do whatever we want!

Thanks for listening, have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for February 23, 2009: The songs that begin with the letter “S” take the most time to present.  The songs that begin with the letter “W” come in second.

World Class Rock A to Z, Day 12 2009:

Today’s blog will be very short.  I am perplexed and I need your help.  Last night while traveling through the WTTS library, I came across the song “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.  In contemplating spelling out Sgt., I realized that the song would fall right before “Second Hand News” from Fleetwood Mac.  I have always spelled the word S-E-A-R-G-A-N-T.    Apparently, that is not the correct spelling.  In fact , it is listed in the dictionary as being spelled S-E-R-G-E-A-N-T.  I even looked through google and found dozens of military officials who spelled it as I have my entire life.   Why then, when asked (unprompted) did Todd Berryman and Brad Holtz spell it as I did?  This is something we cannot figure out.  I don’t think it is a coincidence that the three of us all misspelled the word the same way.  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for listening and have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Friday, February 20, 2009: My brain is alphabet soup mush!

Just thinking that if I were some alternate universe version of Blackbeard, what kind of pirate names I’d like to see in our ranks:

The guy who gets the costume wrong and comes decked out as a cowboy - Red Rider.

Our first mate, who has periodic emotional swings if a treasure map is a dud - Moody Blue.

The Elvis impersonator with the eye patch - Black Velvet.

One unlucky swabby whose guilty - and oft-unfulfilled pleasure - is cruising the drive-through in an old school Cadillac - Fleetwood Mac.

The one who accidentally ate the out-of-date can of mushrooms and then stared at the wall, wondering if trees dream - Pink Floyd.

No, in fact, I’m not very proud of myself right now.  However, that’s me, in my head, seeing the multitudes of artists and songs in World Class Rock A to Z.  Welcome to a disturbing slice of my world.

Brad Holtz here, having lots of “A To Z” fun this afternoon.  We spent over an hour playing  ”Rock” songs - from “Rock And A Hard Place” by the Stones to Rock This Town” by Stray Cats (along with six songs featuring “Rock And Roll” in the title).  Along the way, we got several nice bluesy cuts - the first being “Room To Move” from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.  It was that tune that inspired Bob, a dedicated 92-3 VIP, to write in:

“Thanks for playing “Room to Move” by John Mayall!  That was the song that convinced me to become the fanatical blues harpist that I am today! Got to see that one live at Boston Garden in 1970. No drummer in the band. The line-up: Steve Miller Band (who closed with “Livin’ in the USA”), John Mayall and the Moody Blues. I heard one of the elderly ushers tell a colleague that he was experiencing a contact high!”

Thanks for the e-mail Bob!  This afternoon, Laura Duncan gets into the letter “S.”  The first “S” song is actually an acronym.  And an acronym involving blues.  There ya go - two clues.  We’ll catch the letter “S” in just a bit.  Have a great afternoon and thanks for listening.

(Music cue:  “Dueling Banjos”)

In the space of a few minutes today, I have two songs by Lucinda Williams in a row - “Right in Time” and “Righteously” - followed, after a song apiece by Steely Dan and the Grateful Dead, with a pair by Bruce Springsteen, the title tracks from The Rising and The River.  Surprisingly, this means that the Boss pulls off a feat that even the Beatles can’t claim:  he had another pair of songs side-by-side that were also title tracks earlier in A to Z, specifically Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run.  (To make Bruce’s feat more interesting, in both cases a title track from a chronologically later album comes before an earlier one, the way the alphabet shakes out.)

Shame that the Lucinda or Bruce pairings didn’t fall earlier, during the Mindbender…I could have a lot of fun with those.  In fact, you blog readers should pay close attention to this entry, as I suspect sometime in the near future I may give in to the urge and ask a question at 7:35am that makes use of this info.  Hell, I might - might - even throw in a bonus CD or something if you can tell me that you read it in my entry on the A to Z blog.*  Why?  ‘Cause that’s how I roll, baby. 

*gotta check with the Powers That Be before I can commit to that part, though, so don’t hold me to it, I gotta make sure it’s cool, do not pass go, do not collect $200, your mileage may vary, seek medical attention immediately if you suffer shortness of pencils or spontaneous ability to operate a forklift, only to be used externally, meant to be ingested only if you are a giraffe and it’s been drizzled into your feed, potentially flammable if manhandled in a vacuum, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, What Would Jeffrey Do…etc.

Making my way through the “On” songs now, including a stop by the title track to On Every Street by Dire Straits.  That album’s been a tricky one for me, a bit more uneven than its multiplatinum predecessor, Brothers in Arms.  Rather than strike while the iron was hot, they put out a best-of a few years later, resulting in a six-year gap between original studio albums.  It didn’t help that Mark Knopfler had done an album much truer to the beginnings of Dire Straits under another name, the Notting Hillbillies’ Missing…Presumed Having a Good Time, which caught the flavor of the first two Dire Straits albums with a mix of the Tulsa sound, a dash of country-rock, some blues and much more.

So to me, the first time around for On Every Street was probably the same as a lot of other people’s:  anticlimactic, a continuation of certain excesses in Brothers without quite hitting the mark (um, so to speak).  It struggled to sell platinum - but then, this is the curse of any album following a huge seller.  Observe Michael Jackson’s Bad being considered a commercial failure after the mega-numbers of Thriller…even though Bad did quite well out of the box.  The problem was that it didn’t sell 20 million copies in a couple of years, basically.

What I’d forgotten was the wonderful title track to On Every Street, a classic example of “don’t judge it on its first few seconds.”  The closing section finds the band rotating through a chord sequence that I didn’t quite expect, reminding me that the trail to Mark Knopfler’s solo work really starts in this particularly unappreciated album.

World Class Rock A to Z, Day 9, 2009:

I have been known to speak with my hands.  That is why I don’t wear charm bracelets while I am on the air.  My hands get going and the jingle of my bracelet can be picked up by the microphone.  Today, I learned that walking with my hands can be dangerous.  Not walking ON my hands, walking WITH my hands.

I was walking down the hallway, Bill Flint was behind me.  We were on our way to Brad’s office to talk about, what else, apostrophe’s as they apply to alphabetization.  On my way down the hall, I was walking and swinging my arms as I always do.  I turned to talk with Bill when around the corner came our Office Manager and two unknown visitors.  At that exact moment, my fist (attached to my swinging arm) socked one of the ladies right in the gut!  All I heard was “Ooooof” as the assaulted visitor doubled over,  holding her stomach.  Yes, I had inadvertently punched this poor woman in the gut with my swinging fist.  I just froze for a moment, and then apologized profusely.  Joking in embarrassment, I told her to send me the doctor’s bill.  Bill Flint, being so embarrassed by the hall assault himself, had to duck into the office of our Traffic Director to hide and to laugh.  I knew it was not funny, but I started to laugh.  Thankfully, the two visitors had moved on down the hall and I was out of site.  I continued to laugh as I walked into Bill Flint’s office.  At this point, he was telling the story all over again.  I literally was gasping for air as I laughed hysterically.  At that moment, I looked behind me.  There stood the lady I had punched…staring at  me while I  laughed at her unexpected visit with  my fist earlier.

All day today, while I have been making the journey through the “M”s and talking to you, I have been on the verge of laughter, EVERY time I turned on the microphone.  I plan on feeling like an idiot and laughing the entire drive home.  I am just not right in the head.  I blame it on this game of alphabetizing.

Thanks for listening, have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Tuesday, February 17, 2009: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…Oh, forget it.

Actually, no, it’s not that bad now.

The thing about A to Z is that quite often, we’re just as surprised as you are.  It’s sorta like running into the old girlfriend again - not the one you had the acrimonious relationship with, the one that ran over your foot in her new Fiero on her way to meet her new paramour, the evil b-

Wait, I’m digressing again.  It was a Grand Am.  I get those mixed up all the time.

Anyway, you know the one I mean.  The girl you took to the formal, and the only reason you didn’t see her again is because one or the other of you moved away to take a new job, or you went to college and both of you decided to date other people, and you never really ran into each other after that.  Then you run into her while you’re in the grocery to get jalapenos, and it all comes back:  why didn’t I hang out with her more when I had the chance?

Today’s unexpected Mexican-food-aisle-run-in:  “Melody” by the Rolling Stones, from Black and Blue.  Someone requested it a few years back when we were assembling a Select-a-Set weekend, and the sheer good groove of Billy Preston and the Stones setting each other off in 1976 inspired us all.  It was like the first time hearing “Green Onions”…or quite nearly.

For me, hearing something I really, really like has the same result…it’s the feeling like you’re driving in southern Indiana on a late spring day, sun breaking through the leaves, windows down, cresting the hills and getting that rollercoaster drop in your stomach.  Your face flushes, your hair stands on end, you smile in spite of yourself.  It feels, for me, a lot like being in love.

I want to stress this here…there are songs you may enjoy hearing, or songs you find pleasant, or songs where you have to turn up the radio.  What I mean are songs where you find yourself STOPPING EVERYTHING to get into the sole act of listening.  It’s the cusp where music cannot function as background noise any longer, but instead assumes the center of your being for a few blissful minutes.  Like the saying goes, you never see the one that knocks you out - and in my experience, A to Z has more than its fair share of those moments.

Geeze I played so many songs on this topic this morning it set my mind wondering. What is a man according to a man? Or what is a man according to a woman? Joe Jackson once asked in his song “Real Men”  is he “rough or is he rugged is he cultural and clean?”. I always liked that song but am not sure I want to follow Joe Jackson’s advice on the subject. The cultural and clean thing translates to”metrosexual” (Frasier Crane). Some women will tell a man that’s the way a man ought to be. I don’t think I’m buying it.  I think you as a man will have that certain better ” luck”  if you talk about a rick of firewood you split than where you got your manicure.

To add to the confusion there’s that Bonnie Raitt song “Love Me Like A Man” Does she want to be loved like she’s a man?

Is this what they want me to blog about?

-PM

Day 8 of World Class Rock A to Z, 2009

After the first week of World Class Rock A to Z was under my belt, I decided to go out  and enjoy some great conversation with my friends who had more to talk about than just the order of songs. It was Saturday night, I could stay out as late as I wanted, no deadlines the next day, no clocks to watch and NO SONGS TO KEEP IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE presenting World Class Rock A to Z, but it does mess with my mind after a while.

I entered the house filled with fun people who invited me and my husband into the conversations already in progress with a smile.  I sat down in the kitchen, poured myself a drink and began to listen and interject my banter when possible.  I was about 5 minutes into convresation with the ladies in the room when it hit me…A to Z post alphabetization stress disorder.  You see, in the background, the music was playing.  It was a random mix of rock music selected by the host and hostess of the evening.  Every time a new song would begin, I would blurt out things like, “That is ‘Light My Fire’…’L', definitely ‘L’.”  or “‘Little Wing’ by Derek and the Dominos is placed behind Jimi Hendrix’ version because Jimi’s version was released first.”  I was conversing like Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man, and I couldn’t stop!  Have you ever been around a new parent who can’t stop talking about their newborn to the point where you just want something or somone to intercede because it is just ENOUGH ALREADY?!!  I realized, that was me.

People in the room were being kind, but I know they wanted to leave my space slowly and quietly  so as not to upset the “crazy lady”.  I joined my husband in the other room to watch a basketball game with the guys.  The sound of the television was turned down but that specially selected music was playing in the background.   Since I noticed what I was doing earlier, I stopped making alphabetization comments out loud, but the thoughts did not stop.  Not only was I alphabetizing ALL of the songs, but I was quoting the song lengths in my head as well (a sickness that has plagued all Music Directors at one time or another).  Finally, I convinced my husband it was time to go and we drove home in silence.  When I awoke the next morning, all thoughts of alphabetization had subsided and all was well.    I’m so happy it cleared up on it’s own.  I was afraid I would have to seek the help of a librarian.  Their  hourly fee after hours is astronomical and is NOT covered by insurance!

Thanks for listening, have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Monday, February 16, 2009:  I loved you 29 times today in the “L”s.

Not terribly important (but relevant to this story) factoid about me in the winter:  I hate boots.  HATE them.  If I didn’t have to wear them, I wouldn’t.  I wore them to work today anticipating the slight possibility of a little snow.  When I get to work, I indulge my inner Firesign Theatre I-Think-We’re-All-Bozos-on-This-Bus muse and take ‘em off.  I like to think I’m liberated from the 9-to-5 vibe, harking back to our radio ancestors in the free-form cusp in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Plus I’m not slowly cooking.

So, shortly before zip at 7:35 this morning (like 20 seconds before Paul turns on the mics), still barefoot, I’m walking around the other side of the control board in the main studio, specifically to get an ink pen and jot down the name/address info from our upcoming Morning Music Mindbender winner.  We’re preparing to ask a question regarding Eric Clapton and Marcy Levy; savvy readers of this blog will probably know which song I’m going to ask about, since I mentioned it in my blog entry on “The Core” earlier in A to Z.  On the floor near the control desk is one of those - how do I put it? - carpet equivalents of those plastic things you use to cover furniture.  You know, those things that are smooth on one side, with spikes on the other so they don’t skate out from under you at an inopportune moment…like say during shameless webcam flirtation.

I walk onto this thing, making my way to the handy dandy official WTTS Pen Cup, which has been such an institution that it has old design logoing and info on it (like, maybe one degree away from saying SPIRIT OF ‘76! on the handle).  And then I promptly levitate, grabbing my foot and making Paul glad he didn’t ghost the mics in early, as I utter words in combinations that my mom wouldn’t have heard if I’d been a sailor trapped on an deserted island where all the English words the natives know consist of things they picked up from a George Carlin cassette that washed ashore.  Some genius has put this floor protector spiky side up.  Of course, I put my full weight down on my right foot when I stepped onto the thing.

Now, picture yourself in this position:  you’ve just impaled your foot in - rough guess - 56 different places at once, like you just walked into a bin full of accupuncture needles.  It’s not becoming, as a radio pro, to get on-air wailing and gnashing your teeth and sobbing.  You’ve got MAYBE 15 seconds to suck it up, while limping back to your microphone, preparing to say words like “slowhand” without gasping in pain.  Roiling under this is the thought process of “who the @#$% thought it was a good idea to DO this with the floor protector?  Are we planning to kill our next in-studio guest, and not with kindness?  GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

(Slight aside:  bear in mind that some of our more free-spirited singer/songwriter guests have also been known to have a similar aversion to wearing shoes when performing.  Which is also kind of hot, in a few cases.  But I digress.)

All I know is it that it took about six minutes just to get to where I could bear standing on my right foot again…and also, that the guy who coined the phrase “if you ain’t bleedin’ you ain’t hurtin’” needs to be introduced to this particular bit of torture, ’cause I beg to differ.

All this, plus trying to ask a question about “Lay Down Sally” to our teeming millions.  O, How I Suffer for My Art.

Now you are.

Brad Holtz here on a Saturday afternoon.  A few observations:

1.  It sure is quiet around the radio station on a Saturday afternoon.  Kinda nice.

2.  There really are a lot of songs that begin with the word “I.”  From “I Alone to “I Won’t Back Down,” there are nearly five hours of songs starting with the word “I.”

3.  We are six days in with only one alphabetical error.  And it wasn’t me.  It was Paul, and yes, he wore the Dunce Cap.  Look below for photographic evidence.

4.  It’s Valentine’s Day, and with money as tight as it is right now, it should be noted that A To Z is recession-proof fun for lovers of all ages.  Instead of dropping several hundred on your sweetie, why not stay in and follow along with A To Z?  Call it your “musical economic stimulus.”

5.  The Groove Show is indeed on tonight - tune in from 10pm-Midnight for jam bands, funk and reggae (a perfect Saturday-night soundtrack).  Thanks to Rob who will be filling in for me tonight.  (He’ll be giving away tickets to the Dark Star Orchestra concert at the Egyptian Room next Saturday).

Have a great weekend - and thanks for listening.

-Brad

Day 5 World Class Rock A to Z, 2009

“One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong”

“Help!”- The Beatles

“Help Me”- Joni Mitchell

“Help Me Up”- Eric Clapton

“Helpless” - CSNY

“Helplessly Hoping”- CSN

“Helter Skelter” - The Beatles

“Hemorrhage”- Fuel

“Here Come Those Tears Again”- Jackson Browne

Thanks for listening.  Have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Friday, February 13, 2009: The Beatles were 4 musicians from Liverpool, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.  They had many hits and broke up in 1970.

In the swing of “God” songs, including dueling versions of “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys, and by Aqualung, the latter when the Hales brothers stopped by the WTTS studios in October 2005.  I remember that session very well:  Paul was on the other side of the board to interview them, very generously handing the live mixing over to me.   Talk about being in the hot seat.  (For the record, there has never been any post-session doctoring of performances done in any WTTS studio - what you hear in the sessions produced by Chris Wodock and myself on our Collector’s Edition CDs is exactly what went down at the time, no post-performance fixing or overdubbing, nothing faked, which is more than you can say for a startling number of live albums.)

The band did “Brighter Than Sunshine” first, as it was their single at the time.  After they finished, Paul talked with them for a couple of minutes, at some point asking a question about favorite albums.  Both Matt and Ben cited the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds as a significant influence, and then scrapped the next song they were going to play in favor of doing “God Only Knows” off-the-cuff.

I still remember being stunned at hearing them do the song, the Hales brothers closing their eyes while harmonizing, Paul’s mouth dropping open in astonishment as they hit the instrumental section, and the overall vibe of the thing.  We must have caught the boys at an impressionable moment - Laura just reminded me that they hadn’t slept before the WTTS Morning Show appearance, having come more-or-less directly from their show in Louisville the prior evening.

It’s those times that take your measure as a producer/engineer.  Beyond remembering those images of what it was like to be there, I can’t tell you precise details about mixing that session.  It was like an out-of-body experience…I had to have been working on autopilot, checking levels, adjusting slides as a force of habit and not as an active concern.

There was a comparable moment when Bruce Cockburn came by in 2003, performing three songs during an in-depth interview with me.  When he went to do his song “Wondering Where the Lions Are” (originally on the 1979 album ancing in the Dragon’s Jaws), we were in a smaller production room with one microphone.  To figure out where to aim the microphone (fortunately we were in a room with an omni-directional mic), I asked him whether he sang louder than played guitar, or the reverse…he said “aim it at the guitar; I’ll compensate.”  And boy, did he ever.  The space we were working in was so small that his guitar was literally a foot away from my head, and he projected his voice and NAILED it, not wearing headphones (I had the only available pair) and yet effectively mixing himself by instinct.

There’s the still-unknown Sara Bareilles doing “Love Song” for us, Nickel Creek stopping by to crowd around two mics in fine bluegrass style, Matt Nathanson cracking me up on-air between songs, Amos Lee cohosting OverEasy one November a few years back, Jennie DeVoe and Carrie Newcomer working out a version of “Down to the River to Pray” before a live performance in one of our production rooms, and so many more - I don’t think I’ll ever shake off my amazement from all those times.

Five days and seven letters in, the infamous “A To Z Dunce Cap” has made its dubious return, but it’s on top of a head we might not expect.  Brad Holtz was the odds-on favorite “DJ to screw up the alphabet first” and “screw up most” in 2009.  But it was WTTS Morning Show host Paul Mendenhall who made the first alphabetical gaffe, playing “Give Me Love“ before “Give It To Me.”  As we searched for the Dunce Cap, it was revealed that it’s been stored in (of all places) Laura Duncan’s trunk.  Why?  No clue.  Regardless,  Brad quickly (though shabbily) assembled a makeshift Dunce Cap and proudly presented it to Paul.

Day 4, World Class Rock A to Z, 2009

A combination of songs in the “F”s spoke to me today.  Did they hit your brain?  Lyrics from some of those songs IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Long distance runner, what you standin’ there for?

Magically bored on a quiet street corner

Lights will guide you home.  And ignite your bones

And we’ll all float on anyway, well

Put your arms around me baby

It’s no secret ambition bites the nails of success

No static at all

I’ll follow you down but not that far

And the warmth of your smile starts a-burnin’

The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud

How many times must I tell you I love you, before you finally understand

And if I built this fortress around your heart

I guess we’ll have to wait until the trade winds blow and we’ll be freeeeeeeee

She’s a good girl, loves her mama

Freeker right by the speaker never seem to get enough…

Thanks for listening.  If you can name all the song titles that go along with these lyrics, you are my hero.  Have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

WTTS World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Thursday, February 12, 2009: On the song “Flashlight” which was played today at about 3:45pm, legendary bass player Bootsie Collins actually played drums.

Day 3, World Class Rock A to Z, 2009:

I came in to start the day excited about 3pm when I could continue the WTTS exploration of the alphabet.  Upon realizing that my computer caught a cold, I directed the sickness to the attention of Mr. I.T.  He told me that it would take hours to restore Big Brother to the machine it was just yesterday.  Today, there would be no “tweeting”, no status updates and no blogging.  My thoughts then turned to being able to enjoy the music.  I would sit back with my headphones on and DIG the songs in “D”.   About 20 minutes into my venture, the wind gusts increased to 60mph.  I feared that the drive home for most would be a harrowing journey.  I removed my headphones and began to seek out weather information.  Feeling that I had all necessary and updated information, I prepared to prep listeners for the drive home.  It was a simple weather explanation into Steve’s traffic report.  Steve reported numerous stoplights out as many places in Indiana were without power due to strong winds.

I then returned my focus to the music at hand, playing the songs in alphabetical order, while recalling interesting tidbits of information to pass along.   I tried to reach Steve at traffic to no avail.  2 minutes til the next report…no Steve.  It seems that he had also experienced a power outage that left him crippled.  Not 10 seconds later, Brad Holtz walked into the studio with bad news.  Apparently, the Pretenders show at the Murat, presented by WTTS, had been postponed…no further information.  Whew, so now it was MY job to inform all concert goers, that the show would NOT go on.  I hated this as I knew many would be dissappointed,  but I also was aware that many were already on their way.

Plagued with situation after situation, I decided to become a  news reporter with a passion for music  for the rest of the afternoon…what else could I do.  With all that was going on (and there have been days when I have experienced these types of things times 5), I still enjoyed myself.  I come to work and play excellent music and talk to YOU every day.  How did I get so lucky?

Thanks for listening.  Have the best day of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

WTTS World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Wednesday, February 11, 2009: An old woman with a funny hat, riding a bicycle, ringing a bell, flew past the studio window at approximately 4:52pm.

…which is to say that in almost any letter (barring, say, the letters like Q, X and Z), there will be a lot of songs that have a common word.  D, for example, has a lot of songs with “Drive” in the title.

E is starting to feel like it might be a little harder in that regard.  I have an “Eight” and an “Einstein” and an “Elderly” and an “Electric”…two examples of “Eleanor” (one by Low Millions, the other by the Beatles), but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of commonality yet.

EDITED TO ADD:  Whoops, spoke too soon.  There is a pair of “Empty” songs, followed immediately by a trio of songs with “End” in the title, then a good half-dozen “Every” songs later on.  Thank God the dunce fedora only comes out if you flip songs around in the alphabet, rather than make stupid guesses about patterns in A to Z just to have an excuse to blog.

The dunce fedora, incidentally, is how we make ourselves feel better for screwing up the alphabet.  We may be idiots, but at least there’s a slight chance we’ll be mistaken for dimwitted versions of Sinatra.  Which means that at least I have a chance, however slight, of dating Hawt Girls That Wear Glasses.

Ok…someone wanted to bust me for not playing Fine Young Cannibals in the “drive” songs but they forgot it’s “SHE Drives Me Crazy”. What I maybe should’ve been busted for was a deliberate move of Drive by REM ahead of “Drive” by Incubus. Todd, who always helps with my rationalizations says that since REM had the title first I was ok doing that. Works for me. Besides Todd had this amazing fact about John Paul Jones doing some arrangements for REM so we wanted to play the REM song to time out with the mindbender. And they say this isn’t rocket science!

-Paul

Listening to Clapton as he plays “The Core” - it’s a standout track from Slowhand, a favorite album from a favorite era.  Floating around in my stack of cassettes somewhere is a dub of Slowhand coupled with Backless on an old Maxell UDXLII, two albums that fit together perfectly in his catalog.  You can’t really say that about any of his others; it sounds forced if you try it with any other two, but these two are separate halves of the same idea.  (And additional props for his live album Just One Night, where he takes the Tulsa sound that much further along.)

So, the thing that finally sunk in, listening to the eight minutes-plus of this song, cowritten by Clapton and vocalist Marcy Levy (who does the same on “Lay Down Sally”), was how cool the drum track is.  Jamie Oldaker oughta get a medal for the groove he pushes forward in this song.  Which is where the “coulda been” factor comes in…”The Core” is just that close to being a jam-band masterpiece, and heaven knows it’s the right length.  What a shame, considering all the other things Clapton’s done, good and bad and indifferent, that he didn’t chase this particular dragon a little further.

Imagine some alternate universe where Eric Clapton hung his hat in the Grateful Dead camp for a while, constructing epic-but-tight songs akin to the Allman Brothers in their Fillmore East zone.  Who knows…if Duane Allman had lived, you could have seen him and Clapton create another Kind of Blue, only for rock.

It is to weep.

- Todd “Freak Freely, DOOD!” Berryman

Just got a call from one of my OverEasy regulars.  Yesterday I was coming out of back-to-back versions of the same song, “Blinded by the Light” by Springsteen and Manfred Mann, and I said something to the effect of “92.3 WTTS, World Class Rock A to Z…guys, it’s DEUCE.  As in TWO.  Knock it off.”

This listener was watching Jeopardy last night, and one of the categories was - you guessed it - misheard song lyrics, including my little example.  (Other examples included the CCR one, “there’s a bathroom on the right,” and Jimi Hendrix’s ever-popular “’scuse me while I kiss this guy!”)

Sometimes it’s really creepy to be ahead of the curve like that.

I’ve worked at radio stations where if you just said something in enough of an authoritative voice,  it would probably fly as gospel.  Well, that ain’t gonna cut it here!  WTTS listeners know a lot about music so accuracy when I’m relaying information about artists is imperrative.  It’s even a little intimidating at times, I mean they teach a whole class at IU about The Beatles so there’s no call Let It Be the last album The Beatles recorded without lighting up the phone  and jamming the inbox.

So far, I haven’t said anything stupid as far as I know…I mean in regards to the music.

-Paul Mendenhall

Day 2 of World Class Rock A to Z, 2009:

3pm, My Day Begins, Hour 1

Played the Brown songs from Van Morrison and Rolling Stones…thinking what it must have been like to hear them just released screaming from my speaker in mono on my AM radio.

“Bubble Toes” and “Buffalo Soldier” back to back.  U2 LIVE “The God I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister!”.  It’s like Bono lives in my headphones.    Fantastic, Bob Schneider is on the way.  I remember sitting in my office with him one day just going off on all the lame music in the world (none of which you will hear on WTTS)

4pm, Hour 2

“Burn Down the Mission”, first song in the hour.  Elton and Bernie, one of the most successful marriages in rock history.  Burned not one but TWO with Ben Harper.  Can’t wait to see him with the Relentless 7 at Bonnaroo this year.  Robert Plant’s “Burning Down One Side”.  It’s like the whole world has thrown this gem away.  I never hear it anymore.  It is from a defining album in his career,…the debut  Pictures at Eleven.  Phil Collins respectable on the drums.  Congrats on your 5  grammys Robert!

Ryan Adams “Burning Photographs”, the anger that comes through on this one…WOW.  If you have the album, hold it up in the mirror for a pronounceable title.

Began the “C”s with “Cab” and wrapped up the hour with BB King’s version of  “Caldonia”…Now THAT is what A to Z is all about.

5pm, Hour 3

Iggy Pop in the “C”s.  While I enjoy the song (”Candy”), my mind  drifted to The Stooges and the recent loss of Ron Asheton.  They had just reconciled for a Stooges reunion.  It has to be like losing a family member…very sad.   Later in the hour I was thrilled to play the early alternative hit from The Breeders “Cannonball”…WOW, I forgot all about that song.  The band was founded by Kim Deal from the Pixies, better known as Mrs. John Murphy. 

Wrapped up the hour with a nice piece of classic pie from Blind Faith  (I wish they would have given us more than one album, but Eric was waiting to give birth to Derek & The Dominos and Steve Winwood had to find his way back into Traffic for John Barleycorn Must Die), followed by a gritty presentation of attitude from Lucinda Williams, “Can’t Let Go”.

6pm, Hour 4

Does it get any better than Wilco at the top of the hour?  For years my favorite Rolling Stones song was “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’”.  It reminded me of working on the air at my first radio station.  Although the song was already 18 years old at that point, it was a song I turned to for a break (bathroom, smoke or other) as it clocked in at 7:12.   Choosing the live version of “Mountain Jam” was a little excessive and only worked once every 6 months (33 minutes long).  That was back when radio was not dictated by corporate playlists and the DJs actually chose their own music.  Thank God I found WTTS where I get that feeling of the great days of magical radio.

Natalie Merchant “Carnival” in the “C”s.  Her first album without those Maniacs, all 10,000 of them.  Must have been a little concerned about the step away from the band, but it worked out very well in 1995.

Genesis…the band was transformed soon after the departure of Peter Gabriel, but the progressive years of the 70’s were purely experimental and fearless…certainly not filled with worry about creating the next hit.  “The Carpet Crawlers” … I listened intently, amazed that a forgotten piece of the band’s history filled so many with  feelings of WOW tonight.  Do you think Peter Gabriel wore the fox head on stage as he sang this one?  That was the last we heard from Peter Gabriel as a part of Genesis, the band name would take on a new meaning in the years to follow.

Hope you had fun today!  Thanks for listening and have the best night of your life.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Tuesday, February 10, 2009:  I only took my headphones off three times in that 4 hour period.  Twice for bathroom breaks and once so I could dance all around the studio.

Hey, it’s Brad.  I had to share this cool e-mail from a listener named Chris, who had a fun story to relay upon hearing “Bohemian Like You” by Dandy Warhols in the “B’s.” 

He writes:  “Hey Brad.  Love “Bohemian Like You.”  While commuting to grad school in Richmond, I knew a guy who had lived in Portland, Oregon.
We were at a Red’s baseball game and one of the players had “Bohemian Like You” as the music playing when he came up to bat.  I shocked the heck out of my friend by singing along.
HIM: How do you know the Dandies?!!!!
ME: I hear ‘em on the radio.
HIM: I didn’t think any of the stations around here play them
ME: I don’t live around here…I live closer to Indy and we have a
good radio station…WTTS

Thanks to you guys for making me look cool.

Thanks for letting us know!  Hope you’re enjoying the “B’s” in A To Z.

Todd says:
An interesting question yesterday…how many artists have side-by-side songs in A to Z? 

Well, you can pretty much count on the heavy hitters, between the Beatles and the Stones and any other prolific artist.  What surprised me is realizing that Brad gets it from Springsteen today.  On top of that, they’re both title tracks to Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run. 
 
Also contemplating the idea of artists borrowing from other artists…today it clicked in how much the Marshall Crenshaw song “Yvonne” borrows from the original version of “Black Magic Woman” from the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac.  Same rhythm feel on the bass and drums, sped up and in a different key, but the influence is definitely there.
 
I think something like A to Z reveals surprises like that fairly constantly.  To find myself caught up short by songs that I thought I knew backwards and forwards is a nice place to be.

Laura Duncan

Today was the first day of World Class Rock A to Z, 2009.  The anticipation of the beginning, each year, is like Christmas for me.  The very idea that WTTS presents literally thousands of songs within one thematic program is amazing in itself.  The fact that Paul, Todd, Brad, Bill and I are expected to maintain the proper order of the songs is daunting.  There are abbreviations, parenthetical titles, numbers embedded in song titles and unusual spellings of common words (”Thank You Fallentinmebemicelfagin”), all designed to trip us up.

I am convinced that these artists titled their songs with the very idea that someday, in a radio station in Indiana, there would be 5 brilliant minds trying to alphabetize by song title.  The feeling one gets when realizing that the song being played has been, inadvertently, placed “out of order” is unlike any other.  The sweat begins to bead on the brow as the phones light up relentlessly.  The feeling of blood running cold is prevalent from head to toe.   Thoughts of how to explain the mistake to thousands at once begin to swirl. ..all in the 4 plus minutes that the song is allowed to play, out of order.  After realizing there is no way out,   the mistake must be acknowledged.  All one can hope is that the majority of A to Z fans will take pity and call the studio to ease the alphabetically challenged while repeating “shhhhh, it’s ok…it will all be OK”.

So, please, remember as you call gleefully the next time you hear a song out of order, that your triumphant gloating is like a knife in our collective side.  We don’t want to feel that we’ve let you down, EVER, but more importantly, the A to Z Dunce Cap looks bad on my head and messes my hair.

Have the best day of your life and thanks for listening.

Love,

Laura Duncan

World Class Rock A to Z fun fact for Monday, December 9 3pm-7pm: I played the last 2 of the “Angel”songs as well as ALL of the “Bad” songs.  A combination and balance that perfectly describes me.

Brad Holtz

Here on Monday afternoon, right in the middle of the “A’s.”  Just received a nice e-mail from 92-3 VIP Brad Caffery.

He writes: “Thanks to A-Z, I learned something today. For some reason, I always thought this song was spelled ‘Aimee’, and was just about to call you on it but I looked it up and it was indeed “Amie.”  Thanks for doing A-Z again this year, keep up the great work!

Thanks for the e-mail, Brad.  A To Z reminds us how to spell, and certainly teaches us the names of some songs we never knew.  We’re over six hours in, and no alphabetical errors yet (knocking on wood as I write).  Laura’s up next; have a fun afternoon.   -Brad

Todd Berryman

It always amazes me to see the weird coincidences that come up on World Class Rock A to Z…the guy who played keyboards on this song showing up as a guitarist in the next one, the background vocalist here becoming a lead vocalist there, the cover that outperformed the original on the charts.  My favorite anticipated song so far:   “All Come True” by World Party.  I look forward to this song the same way a man in The Desert on a Horse with No Name would like a drink of water.

Also, the “WANNA!” set…songs about wanting, from Alanis Morrisette, Sheryl Crow, Toad the Wet Sprocket and U2.  Thinking of George Carlin’s comments on Class Clown, “ya hadda WANNNNNNNNNNNNNNA!”  It was a perfect cosmic fit, especially when considering his fifth Grammy win yesterday.

World Class Rock A To Z officially kicked off this morning at 8 a.m.,  but not before Paul Mendenhall received the offical blessing from a real librarian!  (Listen to the interview above).

Barenaked Ladies started us off with “A” and we got to our first new song for 2009 in short order with Vampire Weekend’s “A-Punk.” With thousands of songs to go, there will plenty of new songs, surprises, and old favorites, so stay tuned over the air and online with our live stream, Facebook page, Twitter, and this blog.

Oh, and let us know what you think. Comments are open!