Hell's Kitchen Radio #581: Last Goodbye

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I'm not really going anywhere. How could I? Monday nights just wouldn't be the same. Did you know I have been hosting a show on Monday nights since 2000, with only a brief break in there between radio stations? 

I was at San Francisco Liberation Radio from 2000-2003, then at Pirate Cat Radio and the FCCFree from 2006-2009, before starting Radio Valencia in 2010. And for each station I hosted the Monday 8pm show. It's like I'm some kind of institution. I don't care much for institutions, and I'm a teacher!

My years at KFJC (1989 - 1997) saw me hosting numerous slots during my tenure. When I was down at the "Wave of the West" one was required to host a graveyard shift (2am-6am) for a number of months and be signed off by the Program Director before you could take another shift. Graves are a good place to take risks. I took many, including once hosting my dear friend, Noa "The Watermonk of Dah", who, along with myself, played loud music and took calls of people making their "confessions" to myself, the Reverend Dah Wave, and Noa. That ridiculous show from 1990 almost got me kicked off the station, when my PD Les Scurry, confronted me in his very Napoleonic way, telling me what an embarrassing ass I was for that show, and since we didn't have a delay system, any one of the callers could have sworn live on the air and there would have been no way to cancel it out!

I have a cassette of the night and have only (partially) listened to it one time while I was driving over the San Mateo Bridge. This was probably in 1996 or so. I was driving alone and so embarrassed that I pulled the tape out and threw it in my backseat. I should have thrown it in the Bay. This means I still have it somewhere. 

oooh boy.

I have learned it's ok to embarrass yourself at least once a day. I tend to reach my quota by 9am. 

Tonight was all about me bringing a stack of music and figuring out just what to do with it. It came out pretty damn good!

I'm putting in some effort to list the album and year of song release. Let's see how long I keep this up. 

I won't be in this Monday night. I'm headed to The Chapel to see OSees! Never miss an OSees show! I return September 8th with local legend Scott Amendola, the drummer with the perpetual smile. We'll talk about his years playing for so many remarkable musicians, as well as promote his upcoming show at the Back Room on September 11th with SticklerPhonics.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Drug Train: The Cramps (Bad Music for Bad People
Riding By: Majestics

The Wriggle: Jack Hammer

My Heart is a Graveyard: The Darts (s/t 2017)

White Girl: X (Wild Gift 1980)

Catch These Fists: Wet Leg (Moisturizer 2025)

Beautiful World: DEVO (New Traditionalists 1981)

I Have A Radio: David Lynch (10" split with Dumb Numbers)

In Every Dream Home A Heartache: Roxy Music 

Sneaker: OSees (Abomination Revealed At Last 2025)

Riot Squad: The Hellflowers (7" split with Eastbay)

Icon: Black Angels (Wilderness of Mirrors 2022)

Titoli: Ennio Morricone (A Fistful of Film Music 1995)

I Had A Talk With My Woman: Tim Buckley (Lorca 1970)

Mighty Mighty (Spade and Whitey): Curtis Mayfield (Live 1971)

Get Out For #1: Janky Band

Death Train: Bobby Lees (Bellevue 2022)

Do You Take This Man? Diamanda Galas with John Paul Jones (The Sporting Life 1994)

Company Culture: Lambrini Girls (Who Let The Dogs Out 2025)

Caaqil: Sahra Halgan (Waa Dardaaran 2019)

It's A Shame: First Aid Kit (Ruins 2018)

Your Mother Should Know: The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour 1967)

Messy Hens: Public Enemy (Black Sky Over The Projects- Apartment 2025)

Centrate: Podium (Podium 2020)

Seaweed Head: WAND (Vertigo 2024)

Celluloid Heroes: The Kinks (The Kinks Greatest Celluloid Heroes 1976)

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza - Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific - Billy Strings and Robert Plant/Allison Krauss

 

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza

Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific

http://radiovalencia.fm

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW RIGHT HERE!!! 

Time for some good ol' Americana and neo-Bluegrass!

First up is the recent Billy Strings set at Golden Gate Park from
August 1, 2025 where Billy and his band opened for
Dead and Company. This crowd was truly appreciative for this young phenom. If you don't know his story you need to get educated. The fact that he's still alive is pretty remarkable, let alone how talented he is in his playing, singing and songwriting. 

Lineage: Official Nugs Broadcast -> mp3

Our headliners tonight are the duo of Robert Plant and Allison Krauss from June 24, 2022 from Worthy Farm, Pilton UK - Glastonbury Festival. I love when Plant commented recently, when asked about his Led Zeppelin history, that he was proud of his time in that band, but he's a working artist and has a lot to continue offering the world. I could not agree more. Their "Raise the Roof" album is incredible, proving that Plant has a lot more in him. 

Lineage: BBC website VOD > yt-dlp full HD capture 1080p to mp4 to mp3

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza - Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific - King Buffalo and The Black Angels

 

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza

Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific

http://radiovalencia.fm

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW RIGHT HERE!!! 

Powerful stuff in this weeks show. Two bands with driving rhythms and hypnotic beats. 

I'm going to start off with a power trio out of Rochester, New York: King Buffalo. They have a smattering of full length LPs and some EPs, each one building on the previous. They have toured with legendary bands such as Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, All Them Witches, The Sword, Clutch and Elder. If you know what those bands sound like, then you have a good idea of what you're in for here. Buckle up.

This show is from the Freak Valley Festival 2023 in Netphen, Germany, June 09, 2023

Lineage: LIVE Webcast -> Streamlink -> ffmpeg (edit) -> uncompressed .ts

Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920x1080 16:9 5162 Kbps 50.00 fps

Audio: AAC (LC) 128 Kbps 48000 KHz stereo

Our headliners tonight are a band that I saw back up Roky Erickson at The Chapel in 2008. I loved what they brought to his music and have been following them peripherally up until recently when I took a deeper dive. And I'm happy I did.

The Black Angels out of Austin, Texas truly are connoisseurs of the Texas Psych sound. I can't help but get lost in what I'm hearing. I'm particularly excited about their first release, "Passover". And their most recent "Wilderness of Mirrors" has made me stop what I'm doing to listen more closely. I'm excited to see them at The Chapel on September 6th.

For tonight's show I chose Art Rock Festival, Saint-Brieuc, France on June 4, 2017. This is during the Death Song tour. 

Lineage: Codec: AAC

Channels:    Stereo

Bitrate:     16000 Bps / 128 kbps

Frequency:    48000 Hz

I know you're going to dig this!

Next week tune in for Billy Strings "opening" for Robert Plant and Allison Krauss.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

Hell's Kitchen Radio #580: 15 Years for Radio Valencia

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How is it possible that Radio Valencia is no 15 years old? I swear it was just yesterday that I was asked to start this station as a point of interest in a performance warehouse in the Mission. By the time I put the station together, along with Alec Bennett, Trademark Gunderson and Naomi Most, I had already been involved in about a half dozen other Bay Area community stations. 

I was willing to start Radio Valencia as long as I wasn't the one in charge. My goal was to have it operate as a cooperative. My hope was staff would work together in committees to make our station sound incredible and be active in the community.

I wish it has worked out that way.

Someone along the way came up with the concept of the "do-ocracy": if there is something you want to do at the station, then do it! 

This looks good on paper, but it can also mean if you only want to do your show and nothing else, that's fine too. 

This has been our undoing. We have had a number of really incredible people on staff over the years who have taken on a lot of work: scheduling, programming, engineering, but most of the staff we have had are only interested in hosting their shows. 

I really hate the "do-ocracy"

I'm glad to report that the music programming is some of the best I have heard on radio.

Today we have a steering committee, of which I sit on. We direct the actions of the station. We keep the lights on and the turntables spinning. 

Soon we are launching a new website (thanks to those who contributed to our fundraiser last winter), and a possible move to save overhead. Our current rent in our storefront location is too damn high! We also want to add more shows. Before COVID we had over 50 shows. Today we have 23. More shows = more money = more opportunities for RV to engage in the community. Cut down the rent overhead and we can bring in more staff who will pay less in dues, which will lead to a more robust on-air schedule, etc, etc, etc.

You get the idea.

I love having the station to play music and interview great people. I have loved being in our storefront on 22nd street since 2020. And these past 15 years have been mostly a real joy. If you read this far, what the hell is wrong with you? 

As for the music, I was thinking about playing music from each year we've been on the air, but then I figured why would do that? So, instead, I just did what I do and play great music that I think you need to hear. New music from Wet Leg, Ty Segall, LA Witch, Mark Growden, King Gizzard, and OSees. The rest of the night is me painting the aural landscape with sounds that will please your ears.

Enjoy and please share. And support your local San Francisco community radio station that continues to defy the odds.

jh

Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

Follow me on Blue Sky
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
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IIBS: Charles Mingus (Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus 1964)

Dirt: Iggy and the Stooges (Fun House 1970)

Black Grease: The Black Angels (Passover 2006)
Slip Inside This House: 13th Floor Elevators (Easter Everywhere 1967)

Mangetout: Wet Leg (Moisturizer 2025) 
Fun Times in Babylon: Father John Misty (Fear Fun 2012)
Venus: The Shocking Blue (s/t 1970)

Dear Prudence: Siouxsie and the Banshees (Hyena 1983)

Another California Love Song: Ty Segall (Possession 2025)

Queen of the Underground: GOAT (Levitation Sessions 2023)

S.O.S.: LA Witch (Doggod 2025)

Legend of the Creation of Middle World: (Kyrgyzstan Session ft. Mark Growden 2025)

Volunteered Slavery: Roland Kirk (Volunteered Slavery 1969)

Ballad of the Soldiers Wife: Marianne Faithful and Chris Spedding (Lost in the Stars...Music of Kurt Weill 1985)

Sea of Doubt: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Phantom Island 2025)

Space Drugs: Spanish Moss (Kelp 2012)

Infected Chrome: OSees (Abomination Revealed At Last 2025)

Suzanne: Nina Simone (To Love Somebody 1969)

Puddin' A'Tain: The Alley Cats

From The First Hello To The Last Goodbye: Jane Morgan

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza - Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific - Celebrating Jerry Garcia

 

John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza

Tuesdays 8-10PM Pacific

http://radiovalencia.fm

DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW RIGHT HERE!!! 

Jerry Garcia passed away 30 years ago on August 9, 1995. I was in bed when my alarm went off, turning on the clock/radio. I quickly hit the snooze button, but within the scant seconds between it turning on and my hand slapping the button, I heard my friend Nina "Ann Arbor" Price make a comment on her morning show on KFJC, that made me quickly turn the radio back on. Sure enough she had announced that Jerry had died. 

My heart sank in a way I did not anticipate. I knew that I would outlive my favorite band. I also knew the last Dead show I attended, in September 1994 was so disappointing that I couldn't see myself going to another, but I had not expected his passing.

I have written a lot of My Life with the Grateful Dead on this blog, so I won't regurgitate any of that here. 

Instead, I have for you two hours of live Grateful Dead, consisting of two songs. HA! I joke, I joke. There's ten songs on here to enjoy, spanning from late 1960s until 1980, all shining a light on the stellar guitar playing of one Jerome Jerry Garcia.

A lot of you know that I teach high school. Did you know I teach at Jerry's old school in San Francisco? What a treat! And the city just renamed the block of Harrington Street, blocks from where I teach, to Jerry Garcia Street. I get giddy just thinking of all the Heads who will make the pilgrimage here. I'm sure the neighbors won't be as excited, but here we are.

In the meantime, take a look at the playlist below, click on the link above and groove out to some good ol' Grateful Dead, in memory of the late, great Jerry Garcia.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

01 Dark Star > (Dick's Picks 36)

02 Morning Dew (Dick's Picks 36)

03 Scarlet Begonias > (Dick's Picks 18)

04 Fire on the Mountain (Dick's Picks 18)

05 Brown Eyed Women (Europe 72, 2001 remaster)

06 Cream Puff War - demo (Rare Cuts and Oddities)

07 Wharf Rat (Crimson, White and Indigo)

08 Friend of the Devil (Dead Set)

09 Bird Song (Reckoning)

10 Ripple (Reckoning)

Hell's Kitchen Radio #579: Days Between

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It's not as much fun hosting my show remotely from home. I like my home. It's cozy. You should come over. But hosting in the studio is so much more fun. The energy is different when I'm standing at the console, looking out onto 22nd street to the people passing by, or stopping to look through the window. At home I'm sitting on the floor in my living room with my computer in front of me talking to the cat. 

That all being said, I have did manage to put together a pretty good show without any vinyl, including a tribute to Jerry Garcia who passed away 30 years ago on August 9th! That sure went fast. The days from the 1st through the 9th are considered the "Days Between", where there are a lot of tributes to Jerry. The last 30 minutes of this show I pay homage. 

And on my Tuesday night show: John Hell's Live Bootleg Bonanza, I play two hours of some stellar live Grateful Dead that focuses on Jerry. Tune in starting at 8pm Pacific.

No, I did not attend the Dead and Company shows in Golden Gate Park this past weekend. I have an issue with charging people money to see live music in a public park. And Dead and Co are really my jam. They're an OK cover band, but if I want to hear a quality Grateful Dead show I can always stream any of their 2000+ shows that are on my hard drive, or available on Archive. Or I can go see Stu Allen and Mars Hotel. 

I did however download all three live video broadcasts of the shows. They've sped up the songs, which is nice, since the two times I saw them a few years back the songs were sooooo slow. Got to hand it to Bobby Weir, his voice isn't nearly what it used to be, but he still gives it all he has. 

My money is on Mickey Hart being the last one standing. 

With all that being said, there's a lot of newish music tonight, including Wet Leg, LA Witch, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Public Enemy, Population II, and OSees. 

I'll be back in the studio next Monday night to celebrate Radio Valencia's 15th anniversary! Can you believe we made it that long? There have been times, especially during COVID, I thought we would be closing the doors forever. Tune in and celebrate with me. 

Enjoy and please share.

jh

Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

Follow me on Blue Sky
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
Follow Radio Valencia on Instagram

Lucifer Sam/Interstellar Overdrive: Marble Orchard (1991 Savage Sleep)
Gbe Mi Lo: Ofege (1973 Try and Love)

Catch These Fists: Wet Leg
SOS: LA Witch

Fucksake: Frankie and the Witch Fingers (Trash Classic)
Sexegenarian: Public Enemy (Black Sky Over the Projects - Apartment 2025)
Back Door Man (live): The Doors (Waiting for the Sun 50th)
Le The Est Pret (The Tea is Ready): Population II (Maintenant Jamais)
Sharaf: Sahra Halgan (Hiddo Dhawr)

Ouroboros: GOAT (GOAT)
Gild the Lily: Billy Strings (Highway Prayers)

Abominiation: OSees
Fire on the Mountain: Widespread Panic
Kill Jerry Garcia: Colorfinger

Let It Ride: The Soundcarriers (Harmonium 2009)
Daylight: The Kinks (Preservation Act 1 1973)
Pork Roll Egg and Cheese: Ween (the Pod 1991)

Summertime: Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins (Sonny Meets Hawk 1963)
Spidergawd/Eep Hour/The Wheel: Jerry Garcia (Garcia)

Days Between: Otiel Burbridge (Lovely View of Heaven 2023)