25.09.12 California Diner - 'Busting into Fall!'

The California Diner brings you some of the finest American indie music available. Chef Mike Lidskin serves up these musical treats from his home base of Sacramento, California.

Mad Tea Party - Blues Slip In
Rich McCulley - Far From My Angel
Katelyn Berreth - The First Time
Nelson Bragg - I'm In No Mood
Allen Clapp & his Orchestra - Treeline
Laurie Biagini - The California Quake
The Handcuffs - This is a Test
Skip Heller - The Man I Used To Be
Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude
Emily Zuzik Band - You Want to Go Out Tonight?
Kat Jones - Those Expensive Eyes
The Corner Laughers - Bells Of El Camino
Felsen - Waterfall
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Who's Got a Light
Terese Taylor - I'm Here
Rob Swanson - Oh No!
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets - Three Times

11.09.12 California Diner - 'Who Wants Seconds?'

Chef Mike is back with the all new California Diner! Its an hour of hot freshly made tunes all the way from California.

Allyson Seconds - Dig My Pig
The Taters - Such A Good Day
Vegas With Randolph - Summertime
Nelson Bragg - She Used To Love Me
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Sun Up (unplugged version)
Emily Zuzik Band - Motels
Lannie Flowers - Give Me Another Chance
The Corner Laughers - The Perfect Weather
Debora Iyall - A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)
Jet Electro - For Sale By Owner
Bill Mumy - I Owe A Little Money
Anny Celsi - Tangle-Free World
Duncan Faure - Man Of A Thousand Dreams
Ruby Free - Slow Parade
Lindy LaFontaine - Harmonics
Felsen - Felsen's Gonna Save You

04.09.12 California Diner - 'Grand Re-Opening'

Chef Mike is back with the all new California Diner! Its an hour of hot freshly made tunes all the way from California.

Nelson Bragg - Welcome To Nowhereville
David Houston and String Theory - Everybody Knows But You
Throwback Suburbia - Give And Take
The Corner Laughers - (Now That I Have You I'm) Bored
Skip Heller - Fools Like Me
Ruby Free - Bongos And Beards
A Band Called Mithras - I Know What I Know
Maxi Dunn - Make It Better
Blake Jones and Tom Magill - Life Turns On A Dime
Felsen - Mary You Could Be Happy
The Handcuffs - Miss You on Tuesday
Lannie Flowers - Another Weekend
Volary - That Girl Tumbleweed
Wanderers - Take It Back
Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude

17.04.12 California Diner- 'Not-So-Grand Finale!'

Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you with a title like that--”Not-so-grand finale”. What a horrendous name--I mean that word--”finale”--it sounds so...final. So here’s the scoop. Nearly three years ago, I sent a fan letter to a presenter whose radio show I heard, and really liked. I thought this guy did a bang up job with his show. It was one of the most exciting hours of radio I’d heard in a great while. I just wanted to tell him “thanks, great job”. That presenter turned out to be none other than Jordan Thomas, and he thanked me, and graciously invited me to send him a demo. As in “hey, you wanna be one of us?” Blew me away. I mean, wow--Jordan was giving this American dude from Sacramento, California an opportunity to foul up the British airwaves. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance? Thus began the Tuesday Night Diner, which morphed into the California Diner. I became “Chef Mike”, cooking up musical treats for two hours each Tuesday evening. I tell you all that to tell you this: This week marks the last two hour, Tuesday edition of the California Diner. My choice. I wasn’t asked to leave. And no, I’m not leaving in disgrace, like so many American politicians do, and then cover up with some bogus “I’m stepping back to spend more time with my family lalalalalala...”. I mean hell, I’m not even leaving. But I am taking what the showbiz folks call a “hiatus”, or the educational folks call a “sabbatical”. So what’s that supposed to mean? Well, I’ll be going off the air here at Recharged for several weeks (unless you hear some random replays of my shows). I’ll be back around late May or so, just around the time everybody else goes on their summer vacation. Go figure, I’m always the one to do things backwards. A couple of things came up in life that require my attention--namely, moving house. Yes, you know the drill. Sell some stuff, pack, move, and unpack the rest. Tell folks your new address on a need-to-know basis. It’s a lot. Plus work. Plus my other radio show at Twirl Radio. So what happens after that? Well, I will be back. I’m not sure what form my new show might take. It might even be called something like “The California Diner”. It might have shorter business hours. But I will remain a proud member of Recharged Radio in good standing. I’ll be stepping up and writing articles for our fine publication Sound of the Suburbs. And presenting to you the greatest indie music available today, from California and beyond. So I want to especially single out a few people who have really been of great assistance in getting me going and helping me fit in here at Recharged. Jordan Thomas, our boss of everything. One of the nicest, wittiest guys around, even if he tries to convince you otherwise. Minki Malkin, our 50ft webmistress, staff grammarian, voiceover artist, and presenter. Alex Watson, our musical guru, who hauls in great treasure troves of music and knows more about music than most people will ever learn. “Silent” Dave Chapman, our tech guy who holds it all together, and comes through with the digital rescues from time to time. And all the rest: Caz, Jim, Jamie, Rob, Pete1, Pete2, Rodrigo, Andy1, Andy2, Justin, Jarrod, and geez, who else am I missing? It’s not intentional if I’ve missed someone. And more importantly, thanks to the loyal listeners, without whom, my show would fall on deaf ears. And most importantly of all, a HUGE thanks to all the great musicians (and their PR-type people) who have let me play their music on my shows. Without you guys, my show would essentially be a pretty boring talk show. Dammit, I’m not going away. Why does it sound like I am? So this week, we’ll play a lot of music that has meant the world to me. And when I come back in a month or so, I’ll continue to do so. In the meantime, keep listening to Recharged Radio. Go to the Great Escape if you’re in Brighton, UK on May 10th. And if you’re not--refer to the previous point--because we’ll be broadcasting it live (and podcasting it later), as goes our annual tradition. MN2BDNC. Music needs to be driven, not controlled. Live it. And see you when I get back. 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 The Taters - Such A Good Day Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude Mad Tea Party - Every Way The Vertigos - Rubix Poplord - World Bends Down The Handcuffs - Miss You on Tuesday Maple Mars - Transcendental Guidance Throwback Suburbia - Sinking Feeling Bud Rogers - Santa Monica Sunshine The Fuegos - Against the World Laurie Biagini - The Heart Of The Song The Whiskey Saints - Every Little Thing Baby Scream - Powerpop Crush Sweet Sweet Concorde - Armadillo Man Peter Daltrey and Damien Youth - Blue Girl Eyes Maxi Dunn - The Neglected Gambit Sound Sessions - Be My Shaper The Scratch - Homely Crackle Skip Heller - Fools Like Me Vegas With Randolph - The Better Part The Corner Laughers - The Perfect Weather Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Who's Got a Light Man or Mouse - Jackson Duncan Faure - Man Of A Thousand Dreams Lindy LaFontaine - Free To Breathe Joe Swidenbank - Coming Up For Air The Big I Am - Right About Now Nushu - Here's To Feeling Free Sal Valentino - Lovin' Fallin' Tom Alford - Wasp Lands On Sunflower

03.04.12 California Diner- 'Spring Break Has Broken!'

Well, your old Chef Mike doesn’t have a lot of new news this week. As we say here in the States, “I got nothin’!”. Well, not really “nothin’”, poor grammar notwithstanding. I’ve simply got two hours of the finest indie music available for your ears. This week is spring break, the time that people take off before Easter. And since it is, I’m going to give you a bit of a break from my usual carrying-on. I just want to let you know that there is a whole bunch of great new music this week, including tracks from A Band Called Mithras, Starr Saunders, and The Vickers. www.abandcalledmithras.com www.reverbnation.com/starrsaunders www.thevickers.eu So Happy Easter, Passover, and any other holidays I may have missed. Most of all, enjoy the time with your family, and save some time for new music! 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 Go National - Begin, Begin, Begin A Band Called Mithras - I Know What I Know Starr Saunders - We Were One Dollface - You To Lose Jet Electro - Walter Cronkite Emily Zuzik - This Time Around Ben Swidenbank - Girl (Leave That Animal Tonight) Imani Hekima - Nothing's What It Seems Debora Iyall - A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing) The Vickers - Baby G Dave Stephens - Mr. Wonderful Allen - Hold Me Tight Nushu - Another Rainy Weekend Popdudes - Desperation Time Maxi Dunn - You Took The Sunshine From My Heart Lannie Flowers - Circles The Corner Laughers - 8:18 Sound Sessions - Be My Shaper Apple Rabbits - Wrong Again Dylan Walshe - Your Belly Not Mine Hail The Size - Hot Mom The Little Philistines - Hot Phone Laurie Biagini - The Invisible Guy Bud Rogers - Slave To Passion Duncan Faure - In The Right Place Kama Linden - Better Late Than Never Rob One - Flames The Corner Laughers - I'd Rather Count Cormorants With You Heiskell - The Chubby Guy Song Beth Thornley - Still Can't Hide Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Everybody's Got an Andy Story Rich McCulley

27.03.12 California Diner- 'Laurie Biagini Interview/Session!'

Maxi Dunn - How Was I To Know? Last Breath - It's My Time The Vinyl Junkies - Gangs Maple Mars - Beautiful Mess The Corner Laughers - Bells Of El Camino The Mike Brown Band - Pay Patrick Campbell-Lyons - All I Do Is For You Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets - Three Times Laurie Biagini Interview/Session Laurie Biagini - The Heart of the Song Laurie Biagini - The California Quake (live) Laurie Biagini - A Go-Go Girl in a Modern World Colin Heppell - Poltergeist In High Heels The Big I Am - Tongue Tied Rob Bonfiglio - React Andy quirk - Hackney You're Not So Crap The Corner Laughers - (Now That I Have You I'm) Bored Poplord - Death Skip Heller - Fools Like Me Lindy LaFontaine - Alizee Throwback Suburbia - Get Her Off My Mind Kat Jones - Those Expensive Eyes Rob Swanson - Oh No! Joe Swidenbank - Coming Up For Air Rose Reiter - No Thank You Mark Bacino - Happy The Corner Laughers - Chicken Bingo Little Guilt Shrine - Crazy Girl Mad Tea Party - I Never Was A Cool One Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude

20.03.12 California Diner - 'Born Too Late To Be Old!'

A brief history of the world. Way back in the day, commercial radio sounded good. Then people got greedy, and then commercial radio didn’t sound good anymore. The end. Okay, that’s not exactly the kind of bedtime story you want to tell your little ones, unless you want them to stay up half the night, scared and worried about the future. There is actually a happy ending and a bright future to this. Radio was invented about a hundred years ago or so, by a dude named Marconi. So influential, that they even named a street after him here in Sacramento: Marconi Avenue--I kid you not! Once he invented this thing, people saw the potential, but realized that there were about 168 hours every week that needed to be filled with programming. Somewhere around the 1950’s, rock and roll was invented for just that purpose--to make radio sound better! By the mid to late 1960’s, the goal was achieved. And radio programmers got better and more creative, and aspiring musicians knew that getting their songs on the radio was the path to getting their songs heard by a wider audience. My particular favorite era in commercial radio was the “alternative era”, from roughly 1986-1996. That’s about the time that New Wave music and its synthesizers gave way to zoomy, atmospheric guitars, and the vocals became a little less affected and more natural. As you probably know, this all came crashing to a halt, at least here in the U.S., when our airwaves were legally deregulated. This meant that there were no limits to how many radio stations could be owned by the same company. All of a sudden, there were mergers and consolidations like crazy, and some companies suddenly owned hundreds and thousands of stations. This led to mergers and consolidations of playlists, and of course, the music that was played sounded bland and, well, not to my liking. But that doesn’t mean that all music wasn’t good. By the mid-2000’s, musicians, radio people, and music fans now had better tools to do what they do best. And they connected with each other, through internet radio (ta-da!) and social networking sites. And that little thing called YouTube. So these days, I can proudly say that my favorite era in music is: right now! There is so much creativity out there, and there are even some young bands who are making music that reminds my of my favorite era, the mid-1990’s. On this week’s California Diner, we’ll hear a couple of tracks from bands who are too young to have made music back in the ‘90’s, but have that wonderful alternative sound that my brain and ears cherish. Dollface. I have Alex Watson, our intrepid music expert, to thank for this one. This Brighton, UK-based power trio have got it going on. Having all been born in the mid-1980’s, they are truly too young to have made 1990’s music in the 1990’s, unless you count Greg’s stint air-drumming with chopsticks in a Chinese restaurant at an early age. Probably embarrassed his parents, but he eventually wound up as the guitarist for Dollface. Daniel received a drum kit for his Bar Mitzvah (which would be at the tender age of 13), and probably started embarrassing his parents shortly thereafter. And James refers to himself as a failed guitar player (probably embarrassing his parents along the way), who logically turned to the bass. I’m not making any of this up--check their website bios. Leaving a trail of embarrassed parents behind them (just kidding, guys), these guys formed Dollface, and make some really amazing music. Aside from their self-deprecating sense of humor, these are three guys with one big sound they can be proud of. It reminds me of that alternative sound--the soaring guitars, dramatic chord changes, and choruses that I’ll remember long after the song is over. I’ll be playing one of their new songs on this week’s show. www.dollfacetheband.net If you’re a regular listener, then you’re no stranger to The Corner Laughers. Here’s my brief history with them: I started doing this show in mid-November, 2009, and within weeks, they started rocking my world. They forwarded me a copy of their Ultraviolet Garden release, and it wound up as my #1 album for 2010. How did they do that so quickly? Simply by being themselves. Brainy, ukulele- and guitar-driven pop which covers all bases. Alternative, old-timey, power pop, and as they sometimes call it, “chamber pop”. Karla Kane’s vocals and clever wordplay remind me of the other side of 1990’s alternative--think Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies, solo), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses, Belly), Mary Lou Lord, Andrea Lewis (Darling Buds), and others of that amazing ilk. Females with heavenly vocals, yet you need to listen more closely for the deeper meaning behind the lyrics. The music can sometimes get intense: the perfect point-counterpoint. Khoi Huynh, the “secret weapon”--one of the best bassists you’ll find, with fluid instrumental runs that you can specifically hear flowing throughout the mix. Powerhouse drummer Charlie Crabtree urges the songs forward with his muscular sound. As founding guitarist (and provider of aforementioned atmospheric guitars) Angela Silletto left California for the greener pastures of Michigan, KC Bowman, with his considerable musical genius, joined forces. The perfect California storm. I bring this up, because they’re about to release their third album, Poppy Seeds, through the magic of Allen Clapp’s Mystery Lawn Studios and Wesley Stace (John Wesley Harding)’s Popover Corps label. I just want to make sure that you are as ready for it as I am. But to keep the tease going a little longer, we’ll hear a track this week from their debut effort, Tomb of Leopards. www.cornerlaughers.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), 1:00-3:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC Michael Miller - I Made You Up Dollface - You To Lose Sal Valentino - Lovin' Fallin' Nushu - Synthia Ben Swidenbank - Girl (Leave That Animal Tonight) The Pilgrims - Whole Level Down Terese Taylor - I'm Here Maxi Dunn - You Took The Sunshine From My Heart Skip Heller - Fools Like Me Corner Laughers - The Red Queen Rich McCulley - Tell Me, I'm Listening Jesus H Christ & The Four Hornsmen of The Apocalypse - Liz the Hot Receptionist Braam - Burlington Northern The B Goodes - Feel Alright Allyson Seconds - Dig My Pig The Ks - 13 Steps Jet Electro - Waiting For An Autograph M.A.D.I.S.O.N - To Know You Lindy LaFontaine - I Might Not Love You The Taters - Right B4 My Eyes Jeff Merchant - Love Yourself Away Note To Self: Don't Die! - Hell Anton Barbeau - MTV Song The Dashing Suns - Sally Moore Bud Rogers - Caught In A Wheel Laurie Biagini - My Little SUV The Scratch - Alcohol's A Depressant The Handcuffs - Miss You on Tuesday Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - I Roped The Moon Out Of The Sky Lannie Flowers - Circles Emily Zuzik