Author, musician, and record producer Pat Thomas talks with host Derk Richardson about Did It!, his new biography of the iconic “yippie to yuppie” activist Jerry Rubin. With Rubin as the touchstone, Pat will discuss the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, Vietnam Day Committee, the Yippies, Chicago 1968, and more, and he’ll play snippets of vintage speeches … Continued
Johnny Harper, stalwart Bay Area guitarist, singer, and songwriter, has a brand new CD, Light of a New Day, with his band, Carnival. The CD release concert is November 11 at Bjornson Hall in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. In advance of the concert, Harper will perform in the KPFA studio with pianist John R. Burr and … Continued
It’s an in-studio live-concert double-header as Jenna Mammina and her pop band, The Charmers, perform in the KPFA studio at 10 p.m., and dynamic veteran singer-songwriter Dirk Hamilton commands the mic at 11 p.m., with Tony Ferro engineering. Both acts will preview their upcoming shows in Berkeley: Jenna & the Charmers at the Freight & … Continued
Former Bay Area resident and indie rock musician and producer Ian Brennan, now living in Italy, returns to KPFA with more original field recordings, this time from Malawi and Rwanda–albums by the Tanzania Albinism Collective and Abatwa (the Pygmy). Ian will talk with host Derk Richardson about his efforts to bring attention to endangered music … Continued
On October 7, a new documentary, Fingerprints, premieres at the Mill Valley Film Festival. It chronicles the long-distance collaboration of two music programs for kids, one in Haiti and one in the Bay Area; they recorded two songs “together”—Jack White’s “We’re Going to Be Friends” and a Haitian folk song “Panama Me Tombe.” Tonight on The Hear … Continued
After Bonnie Simmons and Derk Richardson wrap up 2 1/2 hours of fundraising on the Bonnie Simmons Show and the first half hour of The Hear and Now, the superb Bay Area country pop band Crying Time performs live in the KPFA studio, with Tony Ferro engineering. It’s a sneak preview of “The Music of George Jones: A Birthday Celebration,” … Continued
Michael Goldberg, former Rolling Stone editor and senior writer, and founder of the pioneering online music site Addicted to Noise, has just published his third novel, Untitled, the final installment of his Freak Scene Dream Trilogy, which includes True Love Scars and The Flowers Lied. They are tales of “Love, Truth, Innocence & Loyalty. Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll … Continued
Let’s all wave our freak flags high and join the ever-ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, when Bonnie and Derk merge The Bonnie Simmons Show and The Hear and Now on the last night of the KPFA Get Up Stand Up Summer 2017 Fund Drive. As we explore some of our favorite sounds … Continued
Who are your favorite characters in popular song? Pancho and Lefty? Ziggy Stardust? Mr. Bojangles? Eleanor Rigby? Happy Jack? (Ode to) Bille Joe? Tune in to find out what Bonnie Simmons and Derk Richardson have selected from their all-time favorites. It’s a fund drive special, from 8 p.m. until midnight. You can make a pledge … Continued
In the second hour of The Hear and Now (around 11 p.m.), reeds player Phillip Greenlief and writer Claudia La Rocco talk with host Derk Richardson about their duo Animals & Giraffes, which is releasing its debut CD, July, and performing Wednesday, July 26, as part of the Outsound New Music Summit at the Community Music … Continued
