Ric on the Radio

You’ll hear some hits by Alicia Bridges, A Taste of Honey, The Bee Gees, Chic, and Sister Sledge.

You’ll hear some funk and R&B crossover with the likes of The Jacksons, Kool & the Gang, Earth Wind and Fire, and Sugar Bear Johnson.

You’ll also deep dive for some seldom-heard dancefloor gems by Sympho State, Unlimited Touch, Aurra, and Deodato.

Get ready to dance!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: A Taste of Honey – Courtesy of Universal Music Group)

This week, Ric presents The Greno Special! Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record label proprietor, and all around swell guy, Glen "Greno" Murrell, joins Ric in a telephone interview as we listen to and discuss his new album, "Sunshine In the Land of Milk and Honey." We'll also listen to selections from his extensive back-catalog of solo records and several of the many bands he has been in, including his current band, Menagerie. We'll talk about his label, Anonymous Collective, and listen to a few of the artists he has released: Vinnie Giracello, Anthony Davis and Collin Estes. It's two hours of the best of Greno!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey, cover art – Fair use)

Happy December! This month Ric presents: the Best of Ric on the Radio, the yearly round-up of top tracks played over the previous 11 months! Hear tunes from The Police, Firehose, The Limelighters, The Lemonheads, Royal Trux, Iron Butterfly, Jim Carroll Band, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Amos Lee, REM, Bo Diddley, Bow Wow Wow, Supergrass, The Wedding Present, Gordon Lightfoot, Lou Reed, Sloan, The Pretty Things, Jeff Beck, Galaxie 500, Barrie, Benny Sings, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Poco, Bob James, Scruffy the Cat, Elliott Smith, Melvins, Agitation Free, The Marshal Tucker Band, Neil Diamond, Commander Cody, Transit, Gruff Rhys, Iron & Wine, Snow Patrol, David Crosby, Jimmy Castor, Catfish & the Bottlemen, Blake Babies, The Mountain Goats, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Vampire Weekend, Corridor, Desmond Decker, The HU, Joe Walsh, Vetiver, Chris Richards & the Subtractions, Garbage, Heart. Just to name a few…

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta –Courtesy of the artist/Fair use)

I have challenged my good friend and music lover, Phil Hulme, to create a playlist based on his favorite songs and artists and the important moments in his life. Phil has excellent taste in music and he has put together a fine playlist that includes Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Crosby Stills & Nash, Tim Flannery, Spirit, Jethro Tull, Van Morrison and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: Gordon Lightfoot performing at Interlochen, Michigan – Arnielee/Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0])

**PROGRAMMING NOTE**

Because of the current surge in coronavirus cases and extension of the regional stay-at-home order, KRCB-FM NorCal Public Media is observing a safety quarantine. During this time, only essential staff are allowed into the building. As a result, you will be hearing archived or pre-recorded episodes of many volunteer-hosted evening and weekend shows. We will continue to broadcast 24 hours a day, but the continued safety of our community, volunteers, and staff remains our top concern. We hope to resume our live, volunteer-driven programming as soon as is safely possible. In the meantime, stay safe out there. Wear the mask. Wash the hands. Keep the distance. Thank you for supporting KRCB-FM, your local public radio station.

Before Nirvana and grunge took over the airwaves in the early 1990s, there were tons of lesser-known and some fairly known bands working in styles ranging from power-pop and folk-rock to psychedelic and gothic. These bands had commercial ambitions of varying degrees. On the one hand, you had purely underground bands like Bongwater, Royal Trux, and The Jesus Lizard. On the other hand, there were bands who placed in the pop charts: The Sundays, King Missile, Cocteau Twins. It was a truly rich era in rock music when the sounds of the underground were ripe with excitement, and what was to become popular was anybody’s guess.

In addition to the above-mentioned artists, you’ll hear Catherine Wheel, Fastbacks, Ride, Jellyfish, The Posies, Pale Saints, Mazzy Star, Yo La Tengo, Spacemen 3, Shudder to Think, The Feelies, Galaxie 500, and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Breaking No New Ground, by Bongwater – Cover art/Wikimedia commons)

You’ll take an expansive listen to one of the key genres of early rock n roll and its influence over every generation of rockers since its inception in the early 1950s. We’ll hear The Dells, The Orioles, The Cadillacs, The Jacks, The Jesters, The Collegians, Dion & the Belmonts, The Chantels, The Five Discs, the Spaniels, The Kodaks, The Del-Vikings and many more of the original doo wop groups. We’ll also hear from artists who took doo wop to new and varied places: The Everly Brothers, Frank Zappa, The Beach Boys, Todd Rundgren, and a few others. I hope you tune in this Thursday for what is sure to be a fun and uplifting episode.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: The Dells - Cadet Records / Public domain)

That’s right, the free music gallery, inspired by the freeform and album-oriented-rock of FM’s early years!

“One of the changes I have been making to the show this year is doing fewer thematic and historical programs and instead playing around with a more freeform presentation. Galeria Musica Gratis is an attempt to present a program, in serial form, where the main focus is on how the songs flow from one to another, without regard to genre or era.”

Expect to hear Aretha Franklin, Flaco Jimenez, Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, Santana, Post Animal, Los York’s, Mental as Anything, Buzzcocks, Albert King, Let’s Go Bowling, Mink Deville, plus a 3-song spotlight on Shonen Knife, and more.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Aretha Franklin - Atlantic Records, via Wikimedia Commons)

That’s right, 20 years of music has passed. Can someone check my math? Really? An entire generation has matured since 2000, a pre-9/11 world when we thought all the computers would crash at the stroke of midnight. Some of my favorites you’ll hear this Thursday: Polvo, Echobelly, Snow Patrol, Kendrick Lamar, The Mountain Goats, Wolf Parade, Battles, Hippo Campus, The Shins, Lady Gaga, Barrie, Scritti Politti, Arctic Monkeys, Catfish & the Bottlemen, Calexico, Steve Gunn, Built To Spill, Vampire Weekend, Corridor.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Polvo - Michael Cory / CC BY 2.0)

This week, two hours of just what the doctor ordered: soothing, calming soft rock hits and album cuts. Ambrosia, Bread, Boz Scaggs, Dr. Hook, Firefall, Toto, Christopher Cross, Al Stewart, Steely Dan, Roberta Flack, Hall & Oates and much more.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Ambrosia, Biggest Part of Me cover art – Fair Use)

This week, a mixed bag of fun and frivolity, this week we'll hear songs that start the album in a powerful way. Expect to hear Aerosmith, Van Halen, New York Dolls, Motorhead, The Police, Echo & the Bunnymen, Alice Cooper, Fugazi, Braid, Camper Van Beethoven, Little Feat, and other various and assorted sundries.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: New York Dolls, 1973 - AVRO [CC BY-SA 3.0])

This week, from early hits and experiments to their landmark works, Ric takes you on a psychedelic carousel with the godfathers of head-trip music. Hey You, Matilda Mother, Remember a Day, Fearless, St. Tropez, See Emily Play, One of My Turns, Run Like Hell, Bike, Astronomy Domine, Let There Be More Light, Breathe, and much more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: Pink Floyd’s 1967 album Piper at the Gate of Dawn)

That's the name of this week's episode of Ric on the Radio.

And who is The Dude's favorite band? Creedence Clearwater Revival, of course!

We'll listen to songs from every CCR album and talk about their history. As an added bonus, you'll be treated to my own playacting of key scenes from the movie, "The Big Lebowski."

"Why?" you ask. No particular reason. It just seemed like a good idea. Take 'er easy, dude...

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

This week, Ric presents “Released in 2020, part 2.” Check out some of the great new music that has come out this year. As challenging as this year has been, music continues to be made, songs continue to be sung and heartstrings continue to be pulled.

(And, unlike Damone in “Fast Times,” I DO have Blue Oyster Cult).

You’ll hear music from Anna Burch, This Is the Kit, Surfer Blood, Pantayo, Hedvig Mollestad, Protoje, Snowgoose, Jealous of the Birds, Blue Oyster Cult, Dope Body, Joe Satriani, Toots & the Maytals, and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: The Symbol Remains, by Blue Oyster Cult - Album cover art)

This week, Ric presents his last broadcast of 2019. We'll be wrapping up the year with a look back at favorite songs and highlights from the previous 11 months. Amos Lee, REM, Scruffy the Cat, The Pretty Things, Bow Wow Wow, Bo Diddly, Barrie, Supergrass, Elliot Smith, Sloan, Transit, Melvins, Galaxie 500, Agitation Free, The Who, and much more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: Amos Lee - James Huckaby [CC BY-SA 2.0])

This is the fifth annual radio music festival and it should be a good one. Summer Rock Festival was started in 2016 as a way of trying to recreate some of the flavor of an actual outdoor, arena-type event. It began as a way of showcasing current touring acts, along with two big-name headliners, and of course to have fun. This year, due to the fact that there is no live music anywhere, Summer Rock Festival has become the default music festival!

Here is this year’s line-up:

Anna Burch: singer/songwriter from Detroit, just released her second album, If You’re Dreaming, in April 2020, which showcases her sparse, direct vocals and minimal instrumentation. She has a finely-tuned ear for sophisticated melodies and low-key yet strong emotional resonance.

Gum Country: consists of guitarist/singer Courtney Garvin and drummer Conner Mayer. Working out of Los Angeles, they just released their debut album, Somewhere, this year. Twee indie rock with a touch of psychedelic and a generally bouncy, humorous outlook.

Snowgoose: Folk-rock from Glasgow, Scotland. Snowgoose consists of songwriter, Jim McCulloch (formerly of The Soup Dragons), singer, Anna Sheard, along with band members who have played in Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian. Their second album, The Making of You, was released this year. I feel it’s one of the best albums of the year.

Corridor: Great, young emo/indie band from Montreal. I had a chance to see these guys in San Francisco in December 2019. Upbeat energy, all smiles, totally infectious (pre-COVID).

Hedvig Mollestad: is a Norwegian jazz/metal fusion guitarist. Her most recent album, Ekhidna, released this year, combines advanced guitar technique with jazz and heavy metal riffage. Check her out!

Wolf Parade: also from Montreal, is the first band to make a 2nd appearance at Summer Rock Festival, this time as one of the headliners. They will be playing selections from their newest release, Thin Mind.

Def Leppard: The other co-headliner, just released a box-set this year called The Early Years ’79-’81, featuring remastered editions of their first two albums, their first ep, and tons of bonus material. Def Leppard will take you On Through the Night!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Def Leppard, The Early Years 79–81 – Album cover)

It’s Summer Rock Festival 2019. Now in its 4th year, SRF has become a Ric on the Radio fixture! This year features a stellar line-up of currently touring bands. Headliners, Vampire Weekend, will be joined by Garbage, The Chats, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Ocean Alley, and Barrie.

Bring your coolers and lawn chairs!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

Sometimes you just gotta turn down that amp and let your sensitive side show. Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Elliott Smith, Beck, America, King Missile, Led Zeppelin, Yo La Tengo, Dirty Projectors, The Mountain Goats, Van Halen, The Lemonheads, Galaxie 500 and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: Sufjan Stevens – Courtesy of the artist, via NPR)

In the late 70s and early 80s, the use of synthesizers became widely used in rock music. From the avant-garde to pop, electronic music touched every part of the spectrum from punk and post-punk, to industrial, dance and bubblegum pop. Tuxedomoon, The Human League, Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Distributors, Gary Numan, Cabaret Voltaire, Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, Algebra Suicide, Monitor, Severed Heads, Polyphonic Size, Blancmange, Yello, Howard Jones, Depeche Mode, Japan, and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: Throbbing Gristle album art – fair use)

Founded by Greg Ginn in 1978, SST Records would become home to some of the most unique and influential bands of the 1980s. During its golden era, SST set the standard for do-it-yourself artists who cultivated an audience outside the mainstream. Minutemen, Black Flag, Husker Du, Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom, Bad Brains, Leaving Trains, Saccharine Trust, Slovenly, Opal, Dicks, Negativeland, Trotsky Icepick, Zoogz Rift, Universal Congress Of, Soundgarden, Firehose, and Screaming Trees.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Fair use)

Soft Rock Extravaganza. That was my original title. I’ve decided to modify the content a bit. After further assessment, I decided that, yes, some nice mellow music may be soothing to the soul, but we still need to celebrate joy. So, I’ll be including tracks that, for me, inject me with happiness, fleeting as it may be. The kinds of songs that give me goosebumps. I hope they do the same for you.

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

 Find our complete programming schedule here.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons – Fair use)

Poco 1970 (Wikipedia, fair use)Country music is one of the original roots of rock n roll, but it wasn't until the late 60s when rock artists began incorporating country-specific sounds into their vocabulary with the use of fiddles, pedal-steel, country-styled lyrics and country rhythms. Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Credence Clearwater Revival, Poco, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Ozark Mtn. Daredevils, Townes Van Zandt, Commander Cody, Meat Puppets, Rank and File, Lucinda Williams, Supersuckers, Uncle Tupelo, Palace, The Jayhawks and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

Metal has turned out to be one of rock's most diverse and long-lasting sub-genres. For this special 5th Thursday outing, we will follow the development of heavy metal from its roots in the mid 60s (Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Iron Butterfly) to its first golden era of the mid 70s to early 80s (Judas Priest, Motorhead, Angel Witch) to its commercial peak in the mid-late 80s (Def Leppard, Ratt, Metallica). The survey concludes with a selection of songs from heavy metal of the 2000s (Amon Amarth, Nightwish, Soilwork, Ghost).  

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!

(Photo: RATT’s 1984 album, Out of the Cellar – Fair use)

This week's episode will be a mixed bag of styles and eras.

Because a CD can hold about twice as much recording as a 33rpm record, artists began including bonus tracks at the end of an album's running time, anything from studio outtakes to live recordings, failed experiments, alternate versions, non-album singles and rarities. In general, a whole lot of fun. Bob Marley, Gene Vincent, Santana, The Cars, Echo & the Bunnymen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, The Soft Boys, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, The Stooges, Pretenders and more!

Ric on the Radio can be heard every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 9:00 pm on KRCB-FM Radio 91 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org / Download the FREE KRCB App @ iTunes & Google Play!