WDAV

Yesterday, I was 26 years old again, just for about 20 miles on U.S. 190 back to I-40. You can flat haul ass on that road, and I did, just for a little, in my 1967 Mercury Comet Caliente ragtop. I won't tell you just how fast because my mom is reading, so I'll say on the other end of the spectrum that I am typically staying under 70 this trip. What made me 26 again is a compilation cassette tape that I made for my 1989 voyage to L.A., up the coast to Seattle, then back across the top of the country.

Photo in my driveway courtesy of Jennifer Foster, WDAV announcer producer and dear, funny, special, outlier friend, the day of my departure, 13 days and 2,200 miles ago.

On my "Caliente/F.M." cassette, you can still hear the pops and cracks of diamond stylus on vinyl LP, transferred to the hiss of the tape. You can also hear the buzz of the alternator due to a faulty wiring job. The in-dash cassette deck is by no means original, an addition by Ray Fichthorn of Ray-Lin Restorations, from whom I bought the car in 1988; see about page 5 for some of the original work on the old Comet. Later, I replaced Ray's deck with another, and at night you had a choice between dash lights and music, based on the interior light switch. Then, I had a Pioneer installed under dash with an iPod jack in the glove box, and new speakers. Now you get no dash lights at all, but I've got an LED headlamp just in case. And, I'm not sure which tuner the aerial is hooked up to at this point, but I will check that and run the old cassette into the Pioneer AUX jack. Right. That'll happen.

Fact is, at highway speed, the alternator buzz rises to a crickety whine that disappears nearly entirely if you turn the stick where the knob used to be toward the bass side and crank the volume stick where the knob used to be up to max. With the top back, the wind takes care of the rest, thus the aforementioned time-warp experience.

Hey, it all works together, for a musical experience muy caliente!

So, here's the playlist of my old cassette, Side A, the muy caliente road music side:

Steve Miller Band, "Mercury Blues" (self-explanatory)
Billy Ocean, "Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car" (no lot lizards)
Natalie Cole covering Springsteen's, "Pink Cadillac" (screeching tire intro)
Donna Summer, "The Wanderer" (self-explanatory)
Dion's "The Wanderer" (self-explanatory, with slight shift of lyrics)
Chuck Berry, "Maybelline" (see "haul ass," above)
Bobby Brown, "My Prerogative" (screeching tire intro)
Otis Redding "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" (loner/destination tune)
Loggins and Messina, "Your Mama Don't Dance" ("There's a light in your eye/and then a guy says, 'Outta the car longhair!'")
Delbert McClinton, "Goin' Back to Louisiana" (wide-open, roadhouse rockin' blues)
James Taylor, cover of Chuck Berry's "Promised Land" ("Tell the folks back home this is the Promised Land callin' and the po' boy is on the line.")
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (Live Bullet), "Turn the Page" ("Is that a woman or a man?")
The Eagles, "James Dean" ("James Dean, James Dean, you said it all so clean/I know my life would look all right if I could see it on the silver screen.... Sock hop, soda pop, basketball and auto shop/the only thing that got you off was breakin' all the rules..."

See you on the flip side, kids.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have needed utter silence to pack my bags, boxes, books, and radiator hoses for six weeks on the road. But when the key turns in the ignition of my old '67 Comet ragtop, my playlist is ready to crank up to the skies.

I have learned that road-trip music provides an ear to the future, as well as to the past and present. To put it another way, sound is second only to smell in my Proustian lobes, and this June and July, starting today, are my next batch of good old days. So, I aim to remember the summer of '09 even more clearly and fondly than I remember the summer of '89, when I crossed the same continent in the same car. (I dug the cassette soundtrack for that trip out of a closet for this trip, but we'll get to that.)

Topping my Summer of 2009 playlist is the Eagles' "Already Gone." Not a very original choice, perhaps, but just so: I defy anyone to lay down better screaming guitar and lyrics to accompany laying down a patch of rubber on asphalt than "I'm aaaalready gone, and I'm feeeeeeelin' strong/ I will sing this vict'ry song, woo-hoo-hoo, my, my, woo-hoo-hoo...." It is what it is.

Next up is Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally," Vince Gill with "Oklahoma Borderline," The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," Lyle Lovett's roadhouse pickup special, "Cowboy Man," Bob Seger's Live Bullet version of "Get Out of Denver," Hal Ketchum's "Mama Knows the Highway," and---of course---Tina Turner taking us home to "Nutbush City Limits." There are 74 songs on this list, a gut-punch compilation of the best tunes in my music library, all with the following singular qualification: They are meant to be played very loudly.

As the summer goes on, I will doubtless acquire new music and create new playlists. But this one, this sequence of selections, some of them already imbued with deeper layers of memory, is sacrosanct. Pass the madeleines.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you've had a chance to listen the past couple of mornings, you've noticed that I'm back on the air here at WDAV. It has been an interesting couple of weeks as I've been recovering from the cancer surgery, but the healing has been much smoother and quicker than I thought it would be.

It's terrific to be back and to once again share the wonderful classical music with you...we're all very fortunate to be able to enjoy that together, aren't we?

As a final note, I'll never be able to do a complete job of thanking all the wonderful, supportive people who posted messages here on the blog. Reading the kind, gracious words of so many WDAV listeners was a real inspiration, and I'll always be grateful for your thoughtfulness.

So back to the studio, and back to the wonderful chance to work here and be a small part of the great things that happen here - I'm far more blessed than I deserve!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thank you to the hundreds of listeners who answered WDAV's call to end our fiscal year "out of the red, into the black, and onward to the future." You responded by contributing $50,880 to WDAV's cause in three whirlwind days!

At many stations, an end-of-year fund drive can sound like pure drudgery. But you heard - and responded - to something different on WDAV. Our staff, our wonderful volunteers and our listeners share a passion for the music. And you heard that passion, that commitment to what we do, come through loud and clear. It's in the voices of our hosts, the eyes of our volunteers, in the dollars - and in the remarkable, touching, meaningful comments from our listeners. Lots of first-time members commented with glee about helping us meet those hourly pledge goals. And many of you gave a second (or even third!) gift for this fiscal year, because you know how important it is for WDAV to finish the year on solid financial footing.

Thank you for making the community of WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio bigger and stronger than it has ever been. We are humbled by your generosity and inspired by your commitment to this great classical music of the Carolinas.

And remember: On-air campaigns account for just half of WDAV's critical operating funds. So if you didn't get a chance to contribute yet, you can still make your gift online or call 877-333-8990 during business hours anytime before June 30th!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Support WDAV in its final push to the finish line. The station has now raised 90% of its $50,000 goal to meet the end of its fiscal year. Tune in to 89.9 or listen live to Joe Brant, Lauren Rico, Rachel Stewart and Jennifer Foster bring us to the finish line with special membership offers!

Haven't made your pledge to 'DAV yet? Click here!

Posted by Ben Roe at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New members to WDAV have pushed us over the half-way mark! On Day 2 of this abbreviated end-of-year fund-raising campaign, WDAV has already raised $25,000 -- thank you!

And don't forget: until 7 p.m. tonight, new members who give more than $35 receive a special gift CD from WDAV supporters and classical musicians Bob Teixeira and Tanja Bechtler.

If you haven't already given a financial gift this year, make today the day. Regardless of the amount you give, please give to WDAV. Call us at 1-877-333-8990 or give online anytime. Do your part to support classical music in the Carolinas. Thank you!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have yet to make your first gift to WDAV, this is a bonus day for you!

Between noon and 7 p.m. this afternoon, new members who give more than $35 receive a special gift CD from WDAV supporters and classical musicians Bob Teixeira and Tanja Bechtler.

Bob and Tanja urge you to give today by calling WDAV at 1-877-333-8990 or giving online at WDAV's secure website.

Take this first, important step and do your part to assure that classical public radio stays strong in our community. Become a first-time donor to WDAV today!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Day 1 of our short end-of-year on-air campaign, WDAV's supporters have given more than $14,000 -- thank you!

If you haven't already given a financial gift this year, now is the time. Regardless of the amount you give, please give today to WDAV. Until 7 PM, you can call us at 1-877-333-8990 or give online anytime. Do your part to support classical music in the Carolinas. Thank you!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just before noon on the first day of our short three-day fund drive, WDAV's supporters have given more than $7,000 -- Thank you! If you haven't already given a financial gift this year, now is the time. Join your fellow classical music fans, and help us meet our $50,000 end-of-year fundraising goal. Please join or renew your WDAV membership today by calling us at 1-877-333-8990 or giving online at our website.

Posted by Lisa Gray at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WDAV closes out its financial year on June 30th, and this morning we begin an end-of-year on-air membership campaign. It doesn't last long - only a few days -- but in that short time we hope to raise $50,000 so WDAV can end the year in good financial standing.

If you haven't already given a financial gift this year, now is the time! Please join or renew by calling us at 1-877-333-8990 or giving online at our website.

It's been an amazing 30th anniversary year for WDAV. We've offered you live broadcasts of the Charlotte Symphony, Opera Carolina, Charlotte Chamber Music, VOX, Spoleto Festival USA. We've brought you interviews and performances from pianist Pamela Howland, the Cavatina Duo, Ursula Oppens and many others.

You depend on WDAV to bring you the best classical music made in the Carolinas. Our efforts depend, in turn, on your support. Won't you join or renew at our website or call 1-877-333-8990 now? Regardless of the amount you give, please give today to WDAV. Thank you!
Sincerely,

Benjamin K. Roe
WDAV General Manager

Posted by Lisa Gray at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings, and from your temporarily-sidelined morning man, many thanks for the gracious, generous messages you've sent regarding my recent surgery and ongoing recovery. Your prayers and best wishes are wonderful to read, and I'm very grateful for your kindness.

My return to mornings, Carolina Live and Artist Spotlight has been delayed a few days -- seems I was a bit too optimistic in forecasting a date by which to return. We're now shooting for Monday, June 22. I'm confident the healing and rejuvenation will do nothing but accelerate in the days until that date.

By the way, the surgeon and pathologists who followed up are pretty darn confident they got all the cancer when they operated. It looks encouraging at this point that I won't have to undergo any other form of cancer treatment. Yet another blessing...

So be well in the meantime, keep enjoying the wonderful music and great people on WDAV and wdav.org. I'll be back as soon as I can get there.

Mike

Posted by Lisa Gray at 7:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

POSTED ON BEHALF OF MARC OVERTON, CO-HOST OF SPOLETO TODAY

Making eleven radio programs in 17 days with a group of strangers is like getting married without ever having met your spouse-to-be -- except that there are four or five of them, and you have to figure things out pretty fast!

For 14 years, I created, produced and performed Spoleto Today by myself (for the most part). The show started in my kitchen in May 1995. I used the inexpensive (cheap) wireless telephone I had purchased from the big box discount store. I sounded like I was at the bottom of a deep and very damp well, but folks didn't seem to care. They were just happy to have help making sense of the huge number of things to see and do in Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto. I was in Charleston, and the folks I knew were in Columbia; but, it was fun, and it answered a need.

In 1996, we moved to a small broadcast studio run by a terrific engineer named Bruce Roberts who lived west of the Ashley with his talented wife Lorna. She took the morning off from songwriting to act as greeter/director/floor manager/stage manager. We stayed there for 13 years, and Spoleto's greatest artists and Piccolo's most popular attractions came to us. We made great live radio for a half-hour every morning during the festivals.

I've been blessed all these years with the most gracious support of the dedicated professionals at South Carolina ETV & Radio. And this year, we've moved to another level. ETV introduced a new partner to the proceedings - the good people of WDAV 89.9 (a classical music/public radio station in Charlotte NC, based at Davidson College) who bring just as much support and passion as my old ETV friends. This new partnership has made it possible to expand Spoleto Today to an hour, and our new broadcast location at the College of Charleston gives artists easy access to our studio.

For me, however, it has been like starting over in grammar school. I was no longer the sole creator/producer: in fact, I have had the great luxury of being the old quarterback providing "color commentary." And I had to get married, so to speak, to not one but two co-producers. I am glad to give up part of that burden, to shape my on-air personality around a glamorous co-host whose beautiful voice and polished personality made me feel a little like a country bumpkin at times.

But you know what? It has all worked out. We all got married a little, we all trimmed the edges off our ids and egos to work together, and we managed to catch Spoleto by the tail as it whizzed by. We have made some nice radio and accomplished my goals: giving the Spoleto experience in a new way to folks who are attending, and bringing that experience vicariously to folks who can't get here.

The great drama scholar Eric Bentley has said that lessons in how not to do it are lessons still, and we've learned a lot of them as we've worked on our radio marriage. So, like all old married people, we have less to say to each other now than we did when we met, but we've also fallen in love with each other in the way that married people do only when they've already tied the knot. We like that, and we hope we can stay married for a good while to come.

Posted by Lisa Gray at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Spoleto Today! Spoleto Chamber Music from WDAVfm on Vimeo.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spoleto Today! Jake Shimabukuro the Ukulele Hero! from WDAVfm on Vimeo.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spoleto Today! SIMKHE at the Synagogue from WDAVfm on Vimeo.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spoleto Today! Punch Brothers from WDAVfm on Vimeo.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spoleto Today! Basil Twist's Dogugaeshi from WDAVfm on Vimeo.

Posted by Rachel Stewart at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spoleto Today was invited to attend a 9 a.m. rehearsal today of the Chamber Music players. Many thanks to Geoff Nuttall, Chris Costanza, Todd Palmer, Lesley Robertson and Scott St. John for having us! All photos copyright 2009 WDAV.

Posted by Lisa Gray at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Visitors to the Spoleto Today studio this week include violinist Sarah Chang, violinist Scott St. John, choral director Rob Taylor and violinist Chee-Yun. All photos copyright 2009 Wiley Stewart for WDAV.

Posted by Lisa Gray at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I hope you know from being a regular WDAV listener, I'm privileged to be with you Monday through Saturday mornings on the station. I also get to host and assemble the weekend programs Carolina Live and Artist Spotlight. No doubt about it -- if you don't like listening to me on WDAV, there's not a day in the week when you can get away from me! I hope that's not what you want to do, though...

You won't be hearing me for a while, beginning soon. I have prostate cancer, and the nature and size of the cancer dictate my having surgery rather than using another form of treatment. With the surgery and subsequent recovery period, I think I'll be away from WDAV about two weeks. I'm going to keep the absence as short as possible, but if you tune in and don't hear me for a while, don't worry -- I'll be back as soon as I can.

If by chance you're a person who prays, please keep me in your prayers the next few weeks...that's the best, most thoughtful thing you can do. All the best to you during this period, and keep listening to the matchless music on WDAV!

Posted by Lisa Gray at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (57)

Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page called it "an evening that is certain to change some lives" in his glowing review of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra's performance of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume at this year's Spoleto Festival USA. Thanks to an unprecedented media partnership between South Carolina ETV Radio and WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio, listeners throughout the Carolinas and around the world can hear this shimmering performance. It will be broadcast Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 8 p.m. in the Charlotte NC region on WDAV-FM 89.9 Classical Public Radio and on South Carolina ETV Radio's Classical NPR stations: WSCI-FM Charleston 89.3, WEPR-FM Greenville 90.1 and WLTR-FM Columbia 91.3. Online listeners can hear it at www.spoletochambermusic.org. WDAV's Frank Dominguez will host the broadcast.

"Gustav Mahler's 'song-symphony' is one of his towering achievements, but it's rarely performed due to the incredible technical demands on the two soloists, the orchestra, and its hour-long length," explains WDAV General Manager Benjamin K. Roe. "Emmanuel Villaume and the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra were equal to the challenge, and their outstanding performance has made it one of the signature events of this Spoleto season. Fans of classical music will want to hear it, and WDAV and ETV Radio are proud to offer it." Spoleto's performance of Mahler's grand work for two soloists, chorus and orchestra, "The Song of the Earth," features tenor Russell Thomas and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke. They are accompanied by The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Newly formed each year through nationwide auditions, the Orchestra is made up of young professionals and advanced students from a host of nations across the globe.

About Das Lied von der Erde (excerpted from the Spoleto Program Guide)
Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") is a traversal of the life cycle, from drunken youth through weary resignation to final passing, written when the composer believed he was dying. Many regard this fusion of symphony and song as Mahler's masterpiece. The text - a set of 8th-century Chinese poems by Li-Tai-Po, Chang-Tsi, Mong-Kao-Jen and Wang-Sci, all translated by Hans Bethge in 1907 - is a meditation on life's transience. So personal is this farewell to the world that Mahler thought it too intimate to present in public and filed the score away following its completion in 1908. Six months after Mahler's death in 1911, Bruno Walter, his most trusted interpreter, finally premiered it, though with misgivings, calling it not only Mahler's most intimate piece, but "perhaps the most personal work in music."

Posted by Lisa Gray at 6:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Listeners throughout the Carolinas and around the world can hear the full line-up of Spoleto Festival USA 2009 Chamber Music Concerts just days (and in some cases hours) after they are performed for live audiences in Charleston, SC. Thanks to the groundbreaking media partnership between South Carolina ETV and WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio, classical music fans can hear these concerts while the Festival is still in full swing - and for the week immediately following its close. The 2009 Spoleto Chamber Music series - as well as two bonus concerts -- will be broadcast in the Charlotte NC region on WDAV-FM 89.9 Classical Public Radio and on South Carolina ETV Radio's Classical NPR stations: WSCI-FM Charleston 89.3, WEPR-FM Greenville 90.1 and WLTR-FM Columbia 91.3. Online listeners can hear it at www.spoletochambermusic.org. WDAV's Jennifer Foster hosts the broadcasts (unless otherwise noted). The broadcast schedule and featured works for the rest of the week are:

Tuesday, June 2 at 1 p.m.
Bottesini: Grand Duo; Mozart: Flute Quartet in G, K. 285a; Ravel: String Quartet.

Wednesday, June 3 at 1 p.m.
Lanner: Die Werber; Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano; Mozart: Viola Quintet in G minor, K. 516.

Thursday, June 4 at 1 p.m. BONUS BROADCAST
Wadsworth & Friends: A Musical Celebration - On Sunday, May 31st, Spoleto friends from far and near gathered at Memminger Auditorium for a tribute concert to Charles Wadsworth, Spoleto Festival USA's longtime Artistic Director for the Spoleto Chamber Music Series. This is Wadsworth's final season at the helm of the chamber music series, and his friends feted him in royal style for his many years of musical invention and very bad jokes. Musical selections include Bach's Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins and Ravel's Pavane, as well as original compositions by Charles Wadsworth himself.

Thursday, June 4 at 8 p.m. BONUS BROADCAST
Spoleto Festival USA Special: The Song of the Earth, The Glory of Bach - The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra performs Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde [the Song of the Earth] with Emmanuel Villaume conducting the Orchestra and soloists Russell Thomas, tenor, and Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano. In addition, hear the Westminster Choir, conducted by Andrew Megill, perform great sacred works by J.S. Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude. WDAV's Frank Dominguez hosts.

Friday, June 5 at 1 p.m.
Villa-Lobos: Jet Whistle; Beethoven: String Trio, Op. 9 No. 3; Richard Strauss: Sonata for Violin & Piano, Op. 18.

Monday, June 8 at 1 p.m.
Haydn: London Trio in D Major; Debussy: Premiere Rhapsodie; Granados: The Maiden & the Nightingale; Shostakovich: Quintet for Piano and Strings in G minor, Op. 57.

About The Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series
Charles Wadsworth has chosen the programs for the chamber music series and hosted the concerts since they began in 1977. It was the express directive of Spoleto Festival USA founder Gian Carlo Menotti that neither the musical selections nor the players for these concerts be announced in advance: this information would be given on a chalkboard in the lobby of the concert hall. This tradition has been upheld, and it explains why ETV Radio and WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio are not yet at liberty to divulge the programs of the final concerts to be broadcast! This information will be available on www.spoletochambermusic.org as each concert is performed.

Posted by Lisa Gray at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)