Radio Show Friday, March 7 8-10AM

Radar Brothers - Happy Spirits
Shout Out Louds - Impossible
Sarah Vaughan - East of the Sun (West of the Moon)
Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions - Suzanne
Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again
Ronnie Lane - Kuschty Rye
Super Furry Animals - Carbon Dating
Steve Miller Band - True Fine Love
Butterglory - Waiting on the Guns
Sandro Perri - Everybody's Talkin'
Golden Smog and Roseanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Stratosphere Boogie

Do you love Dolly Parton like I love her? I recently watched 9 to 5 which ignited my desire to hear late 70s - early 80s era Dolly. I love her yodel "Muleskinner Blues." But even more than her yodel, I love "Here You Come Again." I have probably played that song 50 times in the car over the past couple weeks. And I cannot wait to get back to the station to play some off the 9 to 5 soundtrack which WXYC just acquired.


2008 has not been kind to me so far. One of the saddest things to happen is that the High Dollar Hot Dogs broke up. Well, I guess we have broken up. I never got officially dumped. But they've stopped returning my calls and emails. I was told that breaking up is what bands do. It hurts a little, but I knew that it wasn't going to work out. In memory of our little band, I played my favorite song that we covered, "Seven Year Ache."

But there is still hope for me and the uke. I told a few folks about my dream to start up the Steve Miller Band Ukulele Cover Band. Several people are interested! But I need to find a good lead uke player, because that surely isn't me. Last weekend I stayed up until 4am playing uke with Mark. We learned the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved." I also want to play Steve Miller's "True Fine Love" with the new band. Do you? Come join! Bring songs! Unfortunately, this band is still very much a dream, but maybe once things slow down a bit, I can bring this band to life.


Last week, I played Sandro Perri's cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin.'" Because of this song, I rented the film Midnight Cowboy. I knew nothing about the film when I put it at the top of my Netflix list. I didn't know that John Voight (who is hot) and Dustin Hoffman were in it. I didn't know that it was the only movie rated X that ever won an Academy Award. I didn't know that it was about a hustler in NYC. I finally got around to watching it last night and it blew me away. I loved it! The little experimental film bits were incredible. I also have a new appreciation for Dustin Hoffman. I highly recommend it.


I am still very much obsessed with Ronnie Lane. Last week it was "Kuschty Rye." This week, it's "The Poacher." I would be playing "The Poacher" tomorrow on the radio, but since it's spring break, I am taking a week off. But tune in from 9am to noon to hear Tim's show which is really wonderful.

The rest of my playlist from last week's show can be found here.

High Dollar Hot Dogs With Chow Chow

Last night, the High Dollar Hot Dogs performed our second house concert at Glencoe. It was a housewarming party for Noah and Elizabeth as well as a birthday party for Noah. This time, not only was the crowd bigger, but the band was bigger, too. We had the usual four soprano ukes, but we added maracas, the marimba, the wood block and drums. And I played the shaker and claves on a couple songs, too. We decided to name the accompaniment appropriately, chow chow (our favorite hot dog topping).


Our set was all 70s pop and soft rock:
The Steve Miller Band's "The Joker," "Rockin' Me" & "Dance Dance Dance"
Firefall's "You Are the Woman"
America's "Sister Golden Hair" & "Tin Man"
Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right"
The Little River Band's "Reminiscing"
Kenny Loggins' "Danny's Song"

We had amps and mics, too. It was weird to be electrified. But the crowd loved us. There were even kids dancing which is always a good sign. Ted looked like a real rock star with his electric uke. Someone said that he looked like Huey Lewis.

After the show cleared out, we went back to Noah & Elizabeth's house and sat by the fire and listened to music... probably one of my all-time favorite things to do. What a great night!!

Radio Show Friday, November 30, 2007

Damon and Naomi - Lilac Land
Massive Attack - Better Things
Tippy Canoe - Neighbor of the Telltale Heart
Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark - Enola Gay
Joe Henry - Civilians
Roy Orbison - In Dreams
Emmylou Harris - Sweet Old World
Ella Fitzgerald - I Can't Get Started
Holiday - Everything You Say
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
Rick Nelson - I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow
Everything But the Girl - Another Bridge
Richard Hawley - Valentine

What a week. I should've posted about my radio show much earlier in the week, but I was busy in NYC seeing Richard Hawley.

I love Richard Hawley's music partially because I love Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson. I forgot about my love for Ricky Nelson until this week. I used to play him almost every day when I worked at Cameron's. When I was the cute little sales girl and arrived at work early enough, I got to pick the music that we would listen to for the entire day. It usually consisted of at least one of the following: Fred Astaire, Tex Williams, Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Van Morrison's Enlightenment record, and Aretha Franklin's Sweet Bitter Love. Getting to program the music for the day was the only incentive for me to get to work on time. There were a couple of folks that we all dreaded to program the CD changer. One guy was addicted to the Rent soundtrack and played it so frequently that I was on the verge of going postal. [By the way, support your local businesses like Cameron's during the holidays. Buy local.]

Here is Nelson singing "Lonesome Town" which Hawley covers. Ricky Nelson makes me melt. [Christa, this is for you.]



During my radio show, I played two songs in honor of my band, the High Dollar Hot Dogs. We haven't played in so long that I feel like we've broken up. But we're supposed to be doing some uke gigs after Christmas. In honor of us, I played "I Can't Get Started" as performed by Ella. And I played Ricky Nelson's take on Hank William's "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow." Both of these songs are in the HDHD's repertoire. Well, Noah and Ted have worked out the arrangement for "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow," but I haven't heard it yet.

My entire playlist can be found here.

Now that the semester is over for the kids, I've lost my 8-10am Friday morning slot. But for you west coast folks, I'll be on at a time that you can hear me... the next two Wednesday nights from 9-midnight EST.

Radio Show, Tuesday August 21 6-9PM

Papercuts - Just Another Things To Dust
Flatlanders - Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown
Petula Clark - Downtown
Golden Smog & Roseanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
Orange Peels - Back In San Francisco
Richard Hawley - I'm Looking for Someone To Find Me
Nick Gilder - Hot Child In the City
Rosalie Allen - Wide Rolling Plains
Mickey & Sylvia- Love Will Make You Fail In School
Tex Williams & Texas Caravan - Won't You Ride In My Little Red Wagon
Congress-Woman Malinda Jackson Parker - Cousin Mosquito #1
Kate Bush - This Woman's Work
Magnetic Fields - All My Little Words
Albert Hammond - It Never Rains in Southern California
Josh Ritter - Right Moves
The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You
Yma Sumac - Wimoweh

Last Tuesday after this radio show, I went to see Un Duex Trois, the Papercuts and Ladybug Transistor at Local 506. I absolutely loved the Papercuts. I like their record alot. I played songs by them and by Ladybug Transistor trying to plug the show, but there were still only around 40 people at that show.

Over the past month or so, I have searched the library for the Flatlanders CD, with no luck. But last Tuesday, I found it and played "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown." Naturally, I had to follow it with Petula Clark's "Downtown," which I think only Craven heard all the way out in Oakland, California.

I think that the High Dollar Hot Dogs have officially adopted "Seven Year Ache" into our repertoire. I hope so. I am so addicted to that song. I need to learn more about Roseanne Cash. That song is so great (especially the Golden Smog/Roseanne Cash version) and Elizabeth sings it so heavenly.

The HDHDs finally have a CD of some of our songs. I think it is difficult to listen to, but Ted thinks it is great. I love being in a ukulele band. I think that everyone should be in a ukulele band.

So, only my closest friends know of my obsession with 1980s teenage angst movies... especially ones with John Cusack. Better Off Dead is my favorite movie ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. I want my two dollars. Say Anything is a close second. I think that if John Cusack were to woo me with a boom box over his head, he needn't play any Peter Gabriel. I think that my boom box woo song would be "I Only Have Eyes For You" by the Flamingos. Dreamy.

My entire playlist can be found here.

Radio Show, Tuesday August 7 6-9PM

The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe
Jacobites - Before I Die
XTC - Mayor of Simpleton
Patti Page - (How Much Is) That Doggie In the Window
Dooley Wilson - As Time Goes By
Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime
Spoon - Don't You Evah
The Cyrkle - We Had A Good Thing Goin'
Dimitri From Paris - A Very Stylish Girl
Nada Surf - Concrete Bed
Misha - Scars
Lush - 500
The Softies - Favorite Shade of Blue
Chris Bell - You and Your Sister

Someone requested "Concrete Bed" by Nada Surf on Tuesday. I had never listened to that band before, but I liked the requested track. I wonder what the rest of their stuff sounds like.

At the station, some of our djs will come in several days before their actual radio shift and pull CDs and records that they want to play on their show. They'll fill mail bins with music and leave them all over the station. One time I counted eight bins full of music. It seems ridiculous to me that someone can't show up for their shift early enough to pull music to play. But what do I know. When I was up there on Tuesday, there was a bin with probably 25 CDs and only one LP, which was XTC's Oranges and Lemons. That record was just begging me to play it. I love the song "Mayor of Simpleton" off that record. It was great.

The High Dollar Hot Dogs haven't gotten together in a couple weeks for any practice. I'm jonesin'. One of the songs that has been suggested that we play is Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime." I have a hard time hearing the ukulelability in that song, but if the other guys do, I am sure that they'll teach me.

I didn't list above the four Richard Hawley tracks that I played. I still haven't stopped listening to him. I am so addicted. I've tried to stop by listening to the Shout Out Louds' new album as well as the new Sea and Cake album, but I keep going back to my Richard Hawley albums, especially Lowedges. That album is amazing.

Entire list (including the Richard Hawley tracks) can be found here.

Radio Show, Tuesday July 31 6-9PM

Pure Prairie League - Amie
Dave Van Ronk - Mack the Knife
Coco - Move On
Squeeze - Black Coffee In Bed
Rabbit Muse - Darkness on the Delta
America - Riverside
Pilot - Magic
Public Image Limited - Happy
The Arizona Wranglers - Wreck of the Old 97
Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea
Frankel - Thermostat
Everything But the Girl - Frost and Fire

Last week, I was completely obsessed with Dave Van Ronk's version of "Mack the Knife." Noah had put it on a mix tape for the rest of the High Dollar Hot Dogs to hear. I cannot wait to play this with the band. It has a very high ukulelability to it. It is just beautiful. One day, I want to figure out how to play the jug while playing the uke.

I once told my friend Lightnin', that it was my dream to be wooed by someone playing "Beyond the Sea" on ukulele. He sent me the chords for the song and wrote that I can learn to play it myself and not have to wait for the wooing. I'm learning it. I can chug through the first verse or two. One day, I'll woo myself with it. In honor of my struggle, I played Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" which is just absolutely dreamy. And I am sure that Christa would agree. Bobby Darin makes the two of us melt.

It's been absolutely wonderful being on the air during the evenings this summer as Craven can listen to me on the west coast. I played Public Image Limited's "Happy," remembering how I played that song over and over the summer of 1989 after I graduated from high school. That summer, I djed at WSOE (Elon College) and PIL's Nine album was in heavy rotation. I played "Happy" on Tuesday hoping that Craven would hear, which he did and remarked that it brought back memories of that summer for him, too. I LOVED djing at Elon that summer. Friends would gather at the Elon College radio station and hang out until I got off the air at 9pm. Afterwards, we'd ride around in my 1979 Honda Civic blaring WSOE and either go to the pool, the truckstop, some random Elon party or a kegger in a cornfield. Ah, those summer nights. I don't think I've been to a kegger in a cornfield since that summer. Do those happen anymore?

Entire playlist can be found here.

Half Dollar Hot Dogs on Air

Ted and I (half of the HDHDs) are going to play a song or two live on WXDU tomorrow night around 8pm during Chris's show. [Ted's the one with the demonic eyes in the photo above.] I'm scared...not of Ted, but of singing and playing into a microphone. I was trying to practice last night and I wasn't doing so well. But Ted is really really good, so maybe I can just hide my playing behind his. My strumming is still not up to par and my vocals leave alot to be desired. Where's a magic ukulele fairy when you need one?

Last night, my strumming was aided by the use of a pick. I do love to play with a pick. Is that so wrong?

Seasonal Happiness

In the past, I have noticed that I suffer (as we probably all do) from a little bit of seasonal depression. It seems like around December, my jobs get crazy busy, it's cold outside, there's not alot of daylight, there's alot of holiday obligations, etc. It can be a drag.


But in July, it's different. It's warm outside, there's lots of daylight, you can sit outside on the porch and have beers with friends, you can go swimming in the ocean, etc. And of course it's National Hot Dog Month. I was thinking about hot dogs last night. (Shocking, I know.) The hot dog is simply a happy food. I cannot imagine someone bawling their eyes out while eating a hot dog. I could see someone crying over a bowl of soup or a piece of toast or oatmeal, but not the weinie. Hot dogs are often eaten with other people who are also happy. You just can't be sad and lonely while eating a hot dog. And I have noticed that it's hard not to smile while eating one. Have you noticed that, too? Maybe, I am nuts.

Also adding to my seasonal bliss this July has been the ukulele. Like eating a hot dog, I cannot imagine anyone being unhappy playing or listening to ukulele music. Well, except maybe some of Stephin Merritt's ukulele songs. But with the inherent brightness and beautiful tone of the instrument, even Merritt's sad uke tunes make me happy. At High Dollar Hot Dog practice, we are continually coming up with quirky, playful songs that we want to play on the ukulele... such as Roger Miller tunes, 70s pop songs, and some vintage pop songs from the 30s. I doubt you'll ever hear an Elliott Smith or Morrissey song covered by the HDHDs.


National Hot Dog Month ends today. I am a little sad that the holiday is over, but not too much. I'll just have to make more of an effort to eat hot dogs and play ukulele music throughout the year. Maybe my parents will serve bacon-wrapped hot dogs for Christmas dinner. Or the HDHDs could find a New Year's Eve gig. That would be the best.

One day, I promise to stop writing about hot dogs and ukuleles. But it might be awhile.

High Dollar Hot Dog's Second Show

If you didn't know already, I belong to an all-soprano ukulele band called the High Dollar Hot Dogs just formed last month. The HDHDs had our second public appearance (and our fifth time playing together) last Saturday night at a party on my deck. It wasn't our best performance, but it was our biggest audience. But we didn't suck. I personally had a great time.

Once we sat down on the deck, got our instruments ready and our music set up, I looked up and thought, "Whoa. What in the hell are we doing?!? And who the hell are all these people!?!?" I have no idea how many party-goers were at my house on Saturday night.... somewhere around 70. And I didn't really know alot of them. That made me feel nervous about playing and singing.


But then we kicked into gear with the High Dollar Hot Dog theme song, "Ragged But Right." I felt a little better then.

At our practice last week before our gig, I was told that the band voted [without me] to drop "All of Me." I was sad, so I said, "What if I sang it Ethel Merman style?" We tried it with my accentuated vocals and Ted was stunned. It was a hit Saturday night, but I think that Ethel and "All of Me" now need to be laid to rest. I sang it again at practice last night (with just my regular voice) and it just didn't feel right. "All of Me" now needs to be retired to the HDHD archive.

Here is a super short video of us playing "Ragged But Right." Noah's voice is so great.

Ukulele Aftermath

For some reason, we always use alot of post-its during practice. Probably because Noah is an office supply nerd.

I'm A Rock Star

As I've written about before, I've been trying to learn to play the ukulele over the past few months making slow, but gradual progress. My development picked up speed once I started playing with Noah, Elizabeth, and Ted. We've been practicing together now for about a month which has been absolutely thrilling for all of us. After our very first practice and after consuming a few beers, we decided to become a band. An all-soprano ukulele band, called the High Dollar Hot Dogs. (We're still working on our MySpace page.)

On Wednesday night, during a light rain (before the BIG thunderstorm), the High Dollar Hot Dogs made our debut on the front porch of a little house in the Glencoe Mill Village. We covered songs such as "Walking After Midnight," "All of Me," "Ragged But Right," and "Tonight You Belong To Me." The dozen or so folks there seemed to like it. They applauded for us, which felt so great! And I think that everyone in the band was shocked with how good we sounded. I, especially was surprised considering that I can now play several chords and sing at the same time! I usually stuff a couple socks into the back of my banjo uke to soften it, but Wednesday night, I played with only one sock!

We have another show at a party on July 14th, which is so exciting!! I still need to work on feeling confident about projecting my voice and playing loud enough for people to hear the beauty and the uniqueness of the banjo uke's sound. With enough practice, I hope that I can play without any socks at all!!!

Someone once told me that guys learned to play instruments to pick up girls. And guys typically think that girls who play in bands are hot. Will a banjo ukulele have the same effect?