Friday, November 30, 2012

Open Source RVA Has a Lot to Talk About!


Is Richmond punting on first down?? On today’s episode of Open Source RVA, we will talk with school board member Kim Gray and outgoing city council member Bruce Tyler about the big Bon Secours / Redskins deal.
We’ll also speak with Jacquie O’Connor and James Ricks from the Henley Street Theatre company about Richmond’s theater scene and the group’s forthcoming sixth season.
And, yes, we will also talk with Eva Roche of RAWFL — Richmond Arm Wrestling For Ladies — about how she and other exceptional women are twisting local arms. Harry Kollatz Jr. from Richmond Magazine joins us as well.
Join us today at 4PM for a most theatrical edition of Open Source RVA. Tune it to 97.3 FM or log on at http://wrir.org

Monday, November 26, 2012

Open Source RVA: Nov. 23, 2012 Podcast

On this jam-packed Black Friday edition of Open Source RVA, listeners get the skinny on  Richmond's first youth hostel from Christopher Maxwell. He tells us all about the exciting new abode being prepped for young visitors from across the globe.

Also: How a discarded USB Drive filled with delicate Richmond police documents ended up in the hands of the Wingnut Collective, and what the collective is doing about it. Got your attention there, didn't I? Wingnut members Mo Karnage and John Q Public join us.

And how about extra savings? We also present part two of the Open Source RVA interview with Gigi Amateau, the author of Come August, Come Freedom, about the legacy of the slave Gabriel. Too much show!

 Click here to get the Nov. 23, 2012 Podcast.

And we heard that you missed an episode of WRIR's weekly audio news digest, which airs Fridays at 4PM on WRIR 97.3 and http://wrir.org. What's up with that? Here are the previous shows:

Nov. 23 - Wingnuts vs. Police, new youth hostel, Gigi Amateau pt. 2
Nov. 16 - Interview with Parker Agelasto, Keepers of the Flame.
Nov. 9 - The election, Richmond's new school board, Rock 'n' Roll Hotel
Nov. 2 - The life of Gabriel, voting trends, Ukefest
Oct. 26 - Spiritualism, horror films, ghost hunting - the Halloweek installment
Oct. 19 - School expulsions, Yes! Dance Invitational and political fact-checking
Oct. 12 - Richmond Symphony contract dispute, mountaintop coal mining
Oct. 5 -   Regional cooperation, windowless apartments
Sept. 28 - Co-Housing, SOL scores, Richmond's musical history
Sept. 21 - Richmond Folk Festival, abortion clinics pt. 2
Sept. 14 - Abortion clinics pt. 1, open government, Mayoral candidate Michael Ryan

Friday, November 23, 2012

Enjoy Your Stay With Open Source RVA



Today, on Open Source RVA, we talk with Christopher Maxwell (you know him - he started WRIR) about his latest project: Richmond's first youth hostel, which will provide safe harbor for young visitors from around the globe.

We'll also talk with members of the Wingnut Collective about the activist group's ongoing legal battles with the Richmond police, including their recent acquisition of some very interesting and potentially explosive police documents. You won't want to miss this!

Stop your shopping at 4PM and tune into Open Source RVA on 97.3 FM and WRIR.org. It's a Richmond audio news digest so dang combustible that it might be illegal.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Open Source RVA: Nov. 16, 2012 Podcast

On this episode of Open Source RVA, WRIR's weekly audio digest  introduces you to Parker Agelasto, the new city council representative who beat Marty Jewell for the 5th District seat in the Nov. 6 election. Agelasto talks candidly about city issues, including Richmond's water rates, schools, crime, and the suggestion that he will serve as a "rubber stamp" for Mayor Dwight Jones.

An arts historian and museum curator, Agelasto also speaks on issues relating to Richmond's cultural community, including CenterStage, the new downtown arts district, the high meals tax and more.

Alice Lynch from the Virginia Capitol Foundation also joins us to talk about a new visitor's orientation film about the history of Virginia, Keepers of the Flame, that is a step above your ordinary tourist video.

Click here to download Open Source RVA's Nov. 16, 2012 podcast.

And here is a complete list of Open Source RVA podcasts. Enjoy some Thanksgiving turkey and download some of these:

Nov. 16 - Interview with Parker Agelasto, Keepers of the Flame.
Nov. 9 - The election, Richmond's new school board, Rock 'n' Roll Hotel
Nov. 2 - The life of Gabriel, voting trends, Ukefest
Oct. 26 - Spiritualism, horror films, ghost hunting - the Halloweek installment
Oct. 19 - School expulsions, Yes! Dance Invitational and political fact-checking
Oct. 12 - Richmond Symphony contract dispute, mountaintop coal mining
Oct. 5 -   Regional cooperation, windowless apartments
Sept. 28 - Co-Housing, SOL scores, Richmond's musical history
Sept. 21 - Richmond Folk Festival, abortion clinics pt. 2
Sept. 14 - Abortion clinics pt. 1, open government, Mayoral candidate Michael Ryan

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Radio Wowsville: Old Wave

To quote the chameleonic Neil Young: "Every wave is new until it breaks."

It was the end of the 1970s, times were changing and so was popular music. The influence of punk rock and new wave could no longer be ignored by the commercial music industry, and many entrenched rock 'n' roll and pop artists felt the need (perhaps even the necessity) to modernize themselves and get with the times.

It wasn't unlike what had happened when Elvis Presley came along in the 1950s and the Beatles one decade later -- it was a different world and the established order either had to try and adapt to the emerging trends or get knocked over and drowned out (Mr. Robert Palmer, pictured, certainly understood this).

Many of these dinosaurs and major label artists adapted quite well to what was happening -- Lindsey Buckingham, Hall & Oates, Paul McCartney, even Alice Cooper -- while many seemed to be half-hearted or even totally misguided in their efforts, exploiting and dabbling rather than innovating. What we are left with today, listening back, is some of the most interesting popular music of the period, and also some of the most hilarious and indefensible (we're looking at you, Shaun Cassidy). Some of these recordings are dated artifacts that the artists themselves have since disavowed, while others successfully rejuvenated and updated the sounds and visions of their makers. 

On tonight's "very special" edition of Radio Wowsville, we will explore the music of these adapting dinosaurs -- and give you not only the good and the bad but also the incredibly ugly. It's Wowsville. It's what we do.

Check us out at 11PM on WTJU 91.1 FM or log on at http://wtju.net. You can also hear a stream of the show after-the-fact at http://wtju.net/vault

Don't be afraid - enjoy the old wave.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Open Source RVA Takes the 5th

Meet the new representative-elect for Richmond's 5th District, and find out about a new piece of tourist cinema designed to highlight the history of the commonwealth.

On today's episode of Open Source RVA, we present an extensive interview with Parker Agelasto, who recently bested incumbent Marty Jewell for the 5th District city council seat. A museum curator and arts historian by trade, Agelasto is candid about the challenges he faces in his new job, and gives us his views on CenterStage, the new downtown arts district and other arts-related controversies currently swirling and festering. We'll also talk about "Keepers of the Flame," a new tourist video from the Virginia Capitol Foundation that documents 400 years of Virginia history.

All of that and so much more. Listen at 4PM on 97.3 FM or log on at WRIR.org.

Oh, and did you know about our spiffy new Open Source RVA website? Click right here and get virtually sourced!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Open Source RVA: Nov. 9, 2012 Podcast

Catch the rising fever! 

On this edition of Open Source RVA, your show of shows talks with outgoing councilman Marty Jewell and failed 2nd district office seeker Charlie Diradour about Tuesday's election results. We also speak with public school advocates Kirsten Gray, Carol Wolf and Sarah Gross about the city's new school board members, and talk with writer Dale Brumfield about how he found the only existing copy of the best worst movie ever made in Richmond, a piece of "cinema" called Rock 'n' Roll Hotel.

Click here to hear the Nov. 9, 2012 Podcast of Open Source RVA.

The hosts are Chris Dovi, Don Harrison and Amy Daniel. The producers are Jay Westermann and Gabi Schatzi. The board op is Rachel Soloman.

Open Source RVA can be heard every Friday at 4 p.m. Dial us up at 97.3 FM or go to the tubes at WRIR.org.

And here are links to previous Podcasts of OSRVA. You can't say you weren't fully informed:

Nov. 9 - The election, Richmond's new school board, Rock 'n' Roll Hotel
Nov. 2 - The life of Gabriel, voting trends, Ukefest
Oct. 26 - Spiritualism, horror films, ghost hunting - the Halloweek installment
Oct. 19 - School expulsions, Yes! Dance Invitational and political fact-checking
Oct. 12 - Richmond Symphony contract dispute, mountaintop coal mining
Oct. 5 -   Regional cooperation, windowless apartments
Sept. 28 - Co-Housing, SOL scores, Richmond's musical history
Sept. 21 - Richmond Folk Festival, abortion clinics pt. 2
Sept. 14 - Abortion clinics pt. 1, open government, Mayoral candidate Michael Ryan

Open Source RVA: Nov. 2, 2012 Podcast

The life of the slave Gabriel, the lowdown on Central Virginia voting trends and the sound of ukuleles.

The Nov. 2 edition of Open Source RVA features an expansive interview with author Gigi Amateau. Her recent book, Come August, Come Freedom is a work of historical fiction that shines a light on the life of the slave Gabriel. We also speak to Brian Moran of the Democratic Party of Virginia and talk ukuleles with Richard Koch (of the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen) and musician Samson Trinh, who were two of the planners behind Ukefest.

Click here to hear the Nov. 2, 2012 Podcast of Open Source RVA.

The hosts are Chris Dovi, Don Harrison and Amy Daniel. The producers are Jay Westermann and Gabi Schatzi. The board op is Rachel Soloman.

Open Source RVA can be heard every Friday at 4 p.m. Just tune it to 97.3 FM or log on at WRIR.org.

And here are links to previous Podcasts of OSRVA. Don't shortchange yourself - listen to them all:

Nov. 2 - The life of Gabriel, voting trends, Ukefest
Oct. 26 - Spiritualism, horror films, ghost hunting - the Halloweek installment
Oct. 19 - School expulsions, Yes! Dance Invitational and political fact-checking
Oct. 12 - Richmond Symphony contract dispute, mountaintop coal mining
Oct. 5 -   Regional cooperation, windowless apartments
Sept. 28 - Co-Housing, SOL scores, Richmond's musical history
Sept. 21 - Richmond Folk Festival, abortion clinics pt. 2
Sept. 14 - Abortion clinics pt. 1, open government, Mayoral candidate Michael Ryan

Friday, November 9, 2012

Open Source RVA Checks into the Rock 'n' Roll Hotel

Shifting political paradigms, fresh faces and the best worst movie ever made in Richmond.

Today's episode of Open Source RVA is a veritable cornucopia of radio goodness. We recap this past Tuesday's political winners and losers, talk with public school advocates about what Richmond's new elected school board members may or may not do, and we check in to the Rock 'n' Roll Hotel, in anticipation of this "lost" movie's screening tonight at 7PM at Gallery 5. For more on the making of this movie, click right here. To see a trailer, click right here

Open Source RVA is proud to be a co-sponsor of tonight's event, which is free but with suggested donations going to the making of the VCU student film, Drybeat.

So join us today at 4 p.m. on 97.3 FM and/or log on at WRIR.org. And then we'll see you at the movies.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Hampton Roads Magazine: Soldier of God

I'm happy to announce my return to the pages of Hampton Roads Magazine, starting with the November/December issue. On shelves now, as they say.

Working first with Bonn Garrett, and then with current editor-in-chief Melissa Stewart (who was Melissa Morgan when I first met her), I've contributed numerous pieces for the bi-monthly HR over the years, sadly not much available online -- on Norfolk's jazz history, coastal cleanup efforts, the fine hamlets of Pungo and Phoebus, as well as profiles of Swamp Dogg, Gary US Bonds, Bruce Hornsby, Frank Guida and other Tidewater-area musical figures.

My contribution to this month's issue is a bit less light-hearted than most of those articles. It's a feature profile of Donald Spitz, a controversial religious leader from Chesapeake who also serves as the mouthpiece of the right-wing anti-abortion group, Army of God.
It isn’t every day that an ordained minister refers to himself as a national terrorist threat. But Reverend Donald Spitz isn’t your ordinary man of the cloth.
“I used to get a lot of media attention when things were hot,” the 65-year-old Pentecostal preacher says. “But ever since the World Trade Center bombing ... I mean, we are small potatoes, chicken feed compared to something like that. So we got kind of pushed aside by the media. I know how media people are. It’s always got to be a new story.”

And there's more to come from me at HR. So stay attuned.  

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Radio Wowsville and the Dancing of Politics!

Tonight, Radio Wowsville takes a tuneful look at the 2012 political season, with odes to baby-kissing, chad-hanging, road-building, coattail-riding, rhetoric-spreading and that all important base-rousing.

It's the show that dares to ask: Wasn't "Binders Full of Women" the title of an old Judas Priest album?

It's the radio program not afraid to demand a recount of that 7-11 slurpee cup-off! 

It's the two hours of sound that will actually french kiss a baby to get your support!


(Speaking of which, this special "dancing of politics" edition of Wowsville will also see the return of Don Uncle Beatdown Harrison after a forced, months-long Siberian exile to "spend more time with his family." Don't worry - this radical moderate will be accompanied by his high-priced political handlers.)

America, don't miss out on this history-making (hysteria-making) installment of "the Sunday night thing that happens"? Radio Wowsville's pre-election victory party begins at 11PM on 91.1 FM and WTJU.net -- undecided voters can also hear it later at WTJU.net/vault.  

Friday, November 2, 2012

Numbers and Notes on Open Source RVA!

Politics, history and four-stringed instruments.

Join the Open Source RVA team today as we talk with author Gigi Amateau about her work of historical fiction, Come August Come Freedom, and the legacy of the slave Gabriel. We also dig into the numbers with Brian Moran of the Democratic Party of Virginia and find out how Central Virginia voters will turn out on election day. Finally, we'll speak to musician/educator Samson Trinh and the Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen's Charles Koch about the wonders to be heard at this weekend's Ukefest.

Won't you join us? Open Source RVA can be heard today at 4PM on 97.3 FM and WRIR.org.