This week: our second summer rebroadcast, originally from October 1997 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bluegrass stalwarts The Del McCoury Band make their first appearance on our show and heat up the Fitz with "Baltimore Johnny" and "Love is a Long Road"; guitar hero Leo Kottke puts on a veritable six-string clinic, including his tune "Regards from Chuck Pink" and The Byrds "Eight Miles High"; and the Cowboys, Dusty and Lefty, find themselves imprisoned, accused of rustling forty-three hundred head of longhorns. Plus: music from The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, and a word from Swanson's Self Storage and our other sponsors. In Lake Wobegon, Earl Dickmeyer builds The World's Largest Pile of Burlap Bags, which attracts international acclaim. Read notes from Rich Dworsky and Sue Scott about this week's rebroadcast
Rich Dworsky: This week's repeat show features the original lineup of the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band - a unique band assembled by Garrison in 1993, featuring an assortment of players from different backgrounds. Greg Hippen, on bass, is a fine classical player who also delves into jazz and fusion. Drummer Arnie Kinsella specializes in jazz from the 1920s and '30s. Guitarist Pat Donohue is a master fingerpicker, playing blues and country blues in the styles of Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and Chet Atkins. Andy Stein, who plays the rare combination of violin and saxophone, is thoroughly immersed in the jazz of the '20s and '30s, and specializes in the style of the great violinist Joe Venuti. I rounded out the group, playing piano, Hammond organ, and synthesizer. I have a classical background, played in jazz and rock bands, composed and conducted for theater, and worked for decades in the studio, where one has to play every imaginable style. I would also write original works for the band, keeping in mind what each player would bring to the table. We rarely used the band's official name and usually shortened it to "The Shoe Band" or just "The Shoes." It even became a verb: If we wanted to take a piece of music and put a foot-stomping, two-beat, raucous, bluesy groove to it, we'd just say, "Let's Shoe it."
Sue Scott: It's so much fun to hear my buddy Tom Keith's voice in this show from October of 1997! Tom was a sound-effects wizard, absolutely, but an incredibly funny and talented actor, too! His character choices and sense of timing never ceased to make me laugh out loud. In the sketch "Underwear," Garrison's Carson has just learned that he has been relieved of his duties as a public radio underwear model. He has to give up his mansion on the hill along with his loyal butler, Nigel. Tom's Nigel is spot on! During the sketch, "Force Ten Wake-Up System," we hear some of Tom's classic sound effects. What a treat to revisit this master talent who left us way too soon.