Thursday, February 27, 2014

Eva, Alabama



Show aired February 27, 2014 2-4 PM
*=new music **=local music
From high atop the  town of  Eva, Alabama, we bring you the Stranger Show. Today we continue the new series featuring the less well-known towns of the United States. Is ita beautiful name or is it ave spelled backwards? Only here at  99.5 WUSR Scranton do we know the answer.
Nightwish, Eva, Dark Passion Play
Eva Cassidy was born 2 February 1963. Growing up in a musical family on the outskirts of Washington, DC, she sang as a small child and later learned to play the guitar. Even then as a child she had an amazing gift for perfect harmony, and on family outings, she would sing, harmonising perfectly with the music from the car radio. Her father, a teacher of children with learning disabilities and a part-time musician, formed a family band with Eva, her brother Danny, on violin, and himself on bass. She endured school, preferring her own company and, whenever possible, being involved with music and painting.
Eva Cassidy/Method Actor The Rose

In 1986 she did the art work for a projected album by a band, Method Actor, led by a friend, Dave Lourim. She was asked to sing on the album and was heard by producer Chris Biondo who, impressed by her raw talent, encouraged her and introduced her to other musicians. Cassidy appeared on several albums as a backing singer, including E-40's I Wanna Thank You. Meantime, Biondo was stockpiling tapes by Cassidy and in 1991, while recording Chuck Brown And The Soul Searchers, played examples for the group's leader. Brown was immediately taken with her sound, as indeed would be other artists including Roberta Flack and Shirley Horn, and in 1992 Eva and Chuck recorded The Other Side (Liaison).
Eva Cassidy Fields of Gold 
E-40's I Wanna Thank You Tha Hall of Game"(1996)
"You've Changed" Eva Cassidy & Chuck Brown from "The Other Side"
Early the following year Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy began performing live, including an appearance at Washington's Blues Alley. The collaboration with Chuck Brown was one which Eva would value very highly. They performed well together. seem to blend instinctively, and they respected and admired each other as artists.

"Drown In My Own Tears"  Eva Cassidy & Chuck Brown from "The Other Side"
Later in the year, following a medical check-up, Eva Cassidy had outpatient surgery for a malignant skin lesion on her back. Early in 1994 she recorded for Blue Note Records and toured with the group Pieces Of A Dream, but, unlike the sessions with Brown, she found this musically unsatisfying. In January 1996 she appeared at Blues Alley again, a session that was recorded, but when summer came she was unwell. Eva had been experiencing pain in her hip for some time. At the time she was working for a friend in Annapolis on murals in schools cafeterias, and she put the soreness down to too much ladder work. Eventually Eva had a number of tests. Although cancer was suspected, only after several more tests, was the diagnosis confirmed: advanced melanoma. She was told that she had three to five months to live.  
Eva Cassidy Say Goodbye
Eva was admitted to Johns Hopkins hospital. A constant stream of friends kept coming, bringing her fruit and flowers. She felt badly that these were going to waste, so she asked someone to bring in paper and crayons. Often she could not see her visitors because of the regimen she had, so this way she helped her visitors to express themselves to her. When one stepped off the elevator and saw the hallways lined with people sitting on the floor coloring, talking and getting to know each other; it was a wonderful scene to behold. Eva had every picture hung on the big wall at the end of her bed so she could see them.  Eva Cassidy died on 2nd November 1996. She was only 33 years old.
Eva Cassidy - Who Knows Where The Time Goes - by Sandy Denny
Eva Cassidy - You Take My Breath Away by Claire Hamill 
Eva Cassidy - Imagine - by John Lennon 
Eva Cassidy - Bridge Over Troubled Water - by Paul Simon 
Eva Cassidy - Somewhere Over the Rainbow





Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Valentine, Nebraska

Show aired February 13, 2014 2-4 PM
*=new music **=local music
From high atop the  town of  Valentine, Nebraska, we bring you the Stranger Show. Today we continue the new series featuring the less well-known towns of the United States. Is the quest for love dead or has it simply moved to Nebraska? Only here at  99.5 WUSR Scranton do we know the answer.
Sia – Death By Chocolate – Some People Have Real Problems
Ella Fitzgerald – My Funny Valentine Various Artists – Summertime
Kina Grannis – Valentine, same
Bullet For My Valentine – Tears Don't Fall – The Poison (Deluxe Version)
Fiona Apple – Valentine  – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
We The Kings – Secret Valentine, eponymous
Jessie Ware & Sampha – Valentine, same
Tyler Barham – It's Valentine's Day  – The Collection: Tyler Barham
Boyz II Men – I'll Make Love To You Various Artists – Valentine's #1s & Other Favorite Love Songs
Taylor Swift – Jump Then Fall Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Maroon 5 – The Way You Look Tonight Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Anju Ramapriyam – Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
the bird and the bee – I'm Into Something Good Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Leighton Meester – Somebody To Love Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Steel Magnolia – Keep On Lovin' You Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Black Gold – Shine Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Joss Stone – 4 and 20Various Artists – Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Tegan And Sara – And Darling [This Thing That Breaks My Heart]   – If It Was You
Tegan And Sara – Love They Say  – Heartthrob
Smoosh – She's Right Smoosh – Free To Stay
Frankie Warren -Valentine's Day
Bob Marley -One Love Cordovan Remix
 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Ballarat, California

Sitting at the base of the Panamint Mountain Range, Ballarat began in 1897 as a supply point for the mines in the canyons of the Panamint Mountain Range. The main mine supporting the town was the Radcliffe in Pleasant Canyon just east of town. Between the years of 1898 and 1903, the Radcliff would produce 15,000 tons of gold ore. Ballarat was named after an Australian gold camp by one of its first residents, an Australian immigrant named George Riggins. It was in the original Australian town of Ballarat that the first gold was discovered in that country in 1851.  It was also there that the largest gold nugget in the world was found, weighing in at almost 143 pounds. Perhaps the first settlers of the "new” Ballarat thought the name would bring them luck. Just a year after the town was established, it boasted some 500 residents, even though they were forced to face extreme weather and the barren land offered little more than sage brush. Summer highs often reached 120 degrees and during the winter, it was bitter cold. Though virtually everything needed for survival, including water, timber and food, had to be brought in, sometimes from great distances, these hardy pioneers persevered. The settlement, built of adobe bricks, soon sported seven saloons, three hotels, a Wells Fargo Station, post office, school, a jail and a morgue, but not a single church. This wasn’t that kind of town. Wild and wooly, the settlement was where the miners went to blow off some steam and relax after a hard day in the mines. With a large population of men, the settlement catered to them, providing a number of "painted ladies” for their enjoyment. The town was also home to several legendary desert figures including Frank ”Shorty” Harris, "Seldom Seen Slim,” and Wyoming gambler and gunman Michael J. "Jim” Sherlock. The town began its demise when the Radcliff Mine suspended operations in 1903. Soon afterwards, other mines began to fold as the gold played out. In 1917, the post office closed and the only remaining residents were a few die hard prospectors, including Shorty Harris, who lived there off and on, until his death in 1934. In the 1960’s, a man named Neil Cummins bought the private land east of Ballarat, hoping to create another Palm Springs. He built a cinder-block store and set up a trailer park with electrical hookups. However; his attempt to turn Ballarat into a tourist spot failed and he finally gave up in 1988."Seldom Seen Slim" was the last old time prospector to live in Ballarat. Seldom called by his real name of Charles Ferge, he was often asked if the was lonely in the remote ghost town, to which he would reply: "Me lonely? Hell no! I'm half coyote and half wild burro." Slim died in 1968, and those words he spoke so often were inscribed on his tombstone, which stands in Ballarat’s cemetery. Today, this lonely ghost town still sports a couple of full-time residents and the little store is open most afternoons and weekends. Today, Ballarat has one full-time resident. As of June 2013 Rocky Novak and his dogs, Potlicker and Brownie, live in the town. Rocky runs the general store on afternoons and weekends to supply tourists, and is working on repairing the water pipes that supply the town, for which he is paid by the government. Every summer, a woman named June and her son move into the former jailhouse/morgue.Though the land is privately owned, visitors are welcome. Four-wheeling is the most popular activity, but for those who like to sightsee, the scenery is stunning and virtually unmarred by human signs. Most of the Ballarat’s adobe buildings have returned to the earth, but some crumbling walls and several foundations can still be seen, as well as a number of old miners’ cabins and other tumbling shacks.
Jim's Big Ego – The Ballad Of Barry Allen  – They're Everywhere!
Modest Mouse – King Rat Modest Mouse – No One's First, And You're Next EP
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball, same
Bruce Springsteen – Shackled And Drawn – Wrecking Ball
Shannon and The Clams – Rat House
Dean Martin – I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - 2002 - Remastered The Rat Pack – Christmas With The Rat Pack
The Walkmen – The Rat  – Bows + Arrows
Burl Ives – The Ugly Bug Ball Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman – The Sherman Brothers Songbook
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Rat Race  – Songs Of Freedom
Janis Joplin – Ball And Chain - Live  – Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits
Patty Griffin – I Smell A Rat  – Downtown Church
P!nk – Crystal Ball  – Funhouse
Queen – Great King Rat  – Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set
They Might Be Giants – Lucky Ball And Chain  – Flood
Naked Raygun – Rat Patrol  – Throb Throb
Rolling Stones- Claudine
Claudine Longet - Snow
Commander Cody - Hot Rod Lincoln
They Might Be Giants - You'll Miss Me -Lincoln
Statesboro Revue - Half Mile to Lincoln - Ramble on Privilege Creek
Roky Erikson - Song to Abe Lincoln - Gremlins Have Pictures
Asleep at the Wheel - Big Balls in Cow Town - Hot Rod Lincoln
Uncle Earl - Booth Shot Lincoln - She Waits for Night
Bob Newhart - Lincoln