Thursday, March 19, 2015

On the Radio: Open Source RVA and Radio Wowsville

I don't often plug them on this blog but my two radio shows, Open Source RVA and Radio Wowsville, are still going strong. And there have been some exciting changes of late.

Radio Wowsville, the music show that I program with Colin "Brother Breakdown" Powell, can be heard every Sunday night at 11PM on WTJU 91.1 FM in Charlottesville. The freeform, "anything goes" music program will celebrate its 20th anniversary this summer (what a long, strange trip it's been). And now you can hear the Wow (along with other great WTJU music shows, as well as content from Virginia Commonwealth University's radio station) in the Ashland / Richmond area on WHAN 102.9 FM. Of course, you can tune in on the net from anywhere by clicking right here, and you can listen to past broadcasts of Radio Wowsville by going right here and clicking on the Sunday menu. You really should.

Open Source RVA, the weekly news-talk program that I co-host with journalist Chris Dovi, can now be heard at a new time on WRIR 97.3 FM in Richmond: Friday afternoons at 2PM. You early risers can also catch a rebroadcast of the program on Sunday mornings at 7AM, and it is available online by going to this spot. You can hear previously-aired Open Source RVA programs by clicking here. Open Source RVA is WRIR's omnibus news hour, where we talk to area newsmakers, politicians, non-profit leaders, community activists, artists, advocates and other members of the community.

Yes, I have been told that I have a very good face for radio. 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Richmond Magazine: Interview with Carol Piersol

Here's another one that has been in the printed world for a spell and is now available online: my Richmond Magazine interview with award-winning theater director Carol Piersol.

Piersol, who had a controversial exit from Richmond's trailblazing Firehouse Theatre, which she co-founded and ran for years, is now the artistic director and founder of the 5th Wall Theatre Company. She takes the helm for a 5th Wall production of Jennifer Blackmer's "The Human Terrain" starting March 19 at HattTheatre.

To read the interview, make an entrance here.

And for more on Piersol's 5th Wall Theatre company, and to get tickets for "The Human Terrain," hit your mark here.

Photo by the mighty Jay Paul!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Coastal Virginia Magazine: The First Beacon

It's been in print for awhile, but Coastal Virginia Magazine has finally posted my feature article on Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach. 

Constructed in 1792, Cape Henry Light was the very first Federal works project (overseen by none other than George Washington and Alexander Hamilton) and will finally be getting needed repairs and fortification later this year after two decades of planning and fund-gathering. 

The story begins:
By all accounts, John McComb made stuff to last. Born in 1753, the master bricklayer built New York’s City Hall and was also responsible for Gracie Mansion, the New York City Mayoral residence. During his career, he also constructed three lighthouses, all still standing.      
The most famous of these beacons, the old Cape Henry Lighthouse, stands on the edge of First Landing State Park and the Fort Story military base in Virginia Beach, not far from where the original Jamestown settlers made a historic pit stop in 1607.       

Read all about America's "first beacon" by clicking right here.

And for more on Cape Henry Lighthouse, which is owned and maintained by Preservation Virginia, you can go to this spot.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Virginia Living: Interview with Jesse McReynolds

Pick up the March/April issue of Virginia Living Magazine and check out my cover story on the legendary Jesse McReynolds

The veteran bluegrass mandolinist, formerly of Jim & Jesse, is now the longest-running member of the Grand Ole Opry and has found a new audience among Grateful Dead fans. 

The article, titled "A New Song," is online, expanded from the print edition, with some special video clips. Did you know that Jesse almost became the Stanley Brothers' fiddle player? What did the bluegrass community think of him playing on an album by the Doors? How did he come up with his unique "crosspicking" style of playing? What was his late brother Jim McReynolds really like?

All is revealed, and more, in this in-depth interview with one of bluegrass music's true pioneers (and nice guys). 

Read "A New Song" by clicking right here.  

(Photo by the mighty Michael Gomez!)