31.01.12 California Diner - 'Hey--I Know You!'

Way back in the old days, when I was a fledgling Recharged Radio presenter, I was a bit unsure how to proceed. I mean, yeah, I’d been doing radio for over 10 years, on and off. (And really, my whole life, if you count those geeky moments in front of a mirror with a cassette player or turntable, and a fake microphone. Okay, don’t count those years--we all have our youthful indiscretions, don’t we?) When I jumped on board the fast-moving train called Recharged Radio, there were only a few shows on at the time, and I needed some examples of what to do to make my show fit in, while trying to remain distinctive. Sure, I had the American accent, which is pretty novel on our station. But I was born with that, and it really didn’t take a lot of effort to perfect it. Not that’s it’s perfect, but it’s mine. But I was looking for guidance. So I turned to our flagship show, the Forum, on Friday nights. Among its features I found that each show had a named theme. I thought: “Astounding! These guys come up with something new each week!” So I figured I’d give it a try, but I knew the fresh and original themes would simply have to dry up after a few weeks, right? Much to my surprise, I’ve been able to come up with a new theme every week for the last 109 shows. And I realized that I don’t write the themes. The themes write me. Seriously, I don’t produce a show knowing exactly what’s going to happen. I just know that I’ll be playing about 30 or so great indie songs, and some kind of theme emerges--often, after the playlist is put together. And yep, this one wrote itself. Looking at the playlist of 32 songs this week, I realized that I’ve interviewed nearly half of the artists on my shows at some point. There are several more on the list who I know personally, and will get on the show as soon as possible. And that’s the beauty of indie rockers--they want to be here every bit as much as I do. While I don’t have an interview this week, it’s gratifying to know that I know so many of these wonderful musicians personally. I think that’s the strong suit of the DIY indie ethic--these folks are real people--and at the same time--great artists--oftentimes more enjoyable to listen to than the well-known musicians. Among those great indie musicians who we’ve met before, and made the playlist this week are legendary London-based psychedelic musician Peter Daltrey, Washington, D.C. power pop giants Vegas With Randolph, North Carolina ukebilly pioneers Mad Tea, Sacramento-based popster Adrian Bourgeois, and (San Francisco) Bay Area Americana chanteuse Kate Burkart. And so many more--check ‘em all out! www.gragroup.com/daltrey.html www.reverbnation.com/vegaswithrandolph themadtea.wordpress.com www.adrianbourgeois.com www.kateburkart.com Hey! Recharged Radio now has a magazine! It’s a free monthly music e-zine called Sound of the Suburbs (not to be confused with our radio show of the same name--oh heck, go ahead and confuse it--we don’t mind!) It’s our joint effort with our friends at Perfect Pop Co-Op. You can get it on the left hand side of the home page of Recharged Radio. Just scroll down a bit, and get reading! If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC Heiskell - Your Touch Wonderboy - Tracy Young Vegas With Randolph - Supergirl Model Society - Horizon The Scratch - Alcohol's A Depressant Sexfresh - Dilemma Bud Rogers - Santa Monica Sunshine Nushu - Another Rainy Weekend Adrian Bourgeois - Mr. Imaginary Friend Anita Maj - Playtime Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Sun Up Maxi Dunn - Make It Better Three Minute Tease - Love Is Onion Joe Swidenbank - Coming Up For Air Maple Mars - Borrowed Sunshine Chancellorpink - Chancellor Pink Roman Foot Soldiers - Waterfront Snow Byrds - Master Of Ceremonies Laurie Biagini - Head In The Sand Duncan Faure - Where Is The Music Throwback Suburbia - Caroline Braam - Burlington Northern Jointpop - Monday Morning Love Situation Peter Daltrey and Damien Youth - Blue Girl Eyes Lindy LaFontaine (with KYRO) - Alizee Baby Scream - Secret Place Kate Burkart - Cross The Street Cult Of Wedge - Malevolent Black Snow Onward Chariots - Seven Miles Away The Vertigos - Rubix Terese Taylor - Hermit Mad Tea Party - Found A Reason