soulive in chicago

When I switched on the car radio this morning I heard the dj talking about Karl Denson and offering tickets to a show coming up Friday at The Independent in San Francisco. I pulled over and dialed in, but then thought better of it; I’m trying to focus my energy on smaller numbers of projections and distractions.

But then the phone rang me back (!) and it was Ann Arbor of KFJC, who apparently hates it (rightfully) if the tickets the clubs make available for promotional purposes don’t “sell through” so to speak.

So I agreed readily to be KFJC’s guest at the show, which is actually a Soulive show featuring Denson as a special guest.

I took the opportunity to gently (?) chastise Ann for speaking of the show as a Karl Denson show per se rather than a Soulive show — she had just played a track from Denson’s 2001 Blue Note release Dance Lessons #2 and was more familiar with his act than that of Eric Krasno.

I took the further liberty of telling her that I had promoted a Greyboy All-stars show in Palo Alto, in 1997 I think it was, referring to Karl’s vehicle he co-led with Robert Walters. I recall making a cool poster featuring (for no real reason) a picture of the dancer from Bring in Da Funk, Savion Glover.

I also reminded her (we’ve never really met, and have seldom spoke) that I produced about 150 shows at Cubberley in that era, some of which her station co-presented or gave away tickets, i.e., helped to promote.

I also added the insiders’ local interest tidbits that Denson’s longtime manager Eric Newson is the son of local realtor Bonnie Newson; that Soulive’s manager Jeff Krasno is the founder of the new yoga rock festival in Lake Tahoe, Wanderlust; that I once brought Steve Lacy to KFJC for a live interview with Robert Emmett; and that Glenn Hartman of the New Orleans Klezmer All-stars, displaced by Katrina, is now the GM of The Independent, as his day job.

Ann Arbor has been with the station since 1992, and said I could blog about her here. She is reputed to be a pretty good acupuncturist if you ever find yourself in need of such service (under another name): maybe you will find yourself getting poked but be somehow comforted by her familiar voice.

Here is a link to her KFJC page; you can click through to her “Dancing in the Fast Lane” playlists: mostly world and funk.
http://www.kfjc.org/programming/program_info.php?houroftheweek=54&info_id=10

I still think college radio is under-appreciated and is NOT made obsolete by internet radio. There is something classic even perfect or appropriate about the technology of terrestrial radio.