Tune into Hell's Kitchen Radio, with John Hell, every Monday night 8-10PM (Pacific), on Radio Valencia (https://radiovalencia.fm) in San Francisco. You can find my playlists and links to the podcasts right here.
Showing posts with label haight street voice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label haight street voice. Show all posts
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You know, I really enjoy hosting friends on my show. Being in radio for the past 33 years has brought me some really talented friends. Tonight I'm so excited to have back in the studio, editor-in-chief for the Haight Street Voice, Linda Kelly. Linda and I met when we were both acting in a stage production of The Twilight Zone episode "Will the Real Alien Please Stand Up", put on at the former Mission District playhouse Spanganga. This was the first in what turned out to be many great seasons of Twilight Zone over at the legendary Dark Room theater, run by my buddy and Flat Earthers bandmate, Jim Fourniadis.
But I digress.
Cover art: @Aimee Duddridge-Picard
Linda has been living in the Haight close to 30 years, and in and around San Francisco for longer than that. She's seen it all, partied with the best of them, and lived to tell the tale. She birthed this new local paper back in 2017, and isn't shy about getting people to talk to her. Hmmmm, sounds familiar.
She talks about the importance of the paper for bringing the good vibes back to a neighborhood that has suffered during COVID.
The music is the way it should be: eclectic and fresh, jumping around to different genres and eras.
Take a listen and go grab a copy of the Haight Street Voice at almost every store in the Haight.
Enjoy.
jh
The holidays are upon us and your friendly local radio station could sure use some love. Radio Valencia is a self-funded endeavor. If you are enjoying our shows, I'd like to ask you to donate a few dollars our way. This link will take you to our PayPal, which is hosted by SFIndyMedia, our non-profit benefactor. All donations go to Radio Valencia. Thank you in advance.
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
I grew up wishing I had graduated from a San Francisco high school in 1964 so that by the Summer of Love in 1967 I would 21 years old and able to fully immerse myself in everything that era had to offer. It's the music of that time that influenced me the most during my adolescent years, when I was moving past what played on the home hi-fi and more into discovering my own likes. It was that swirling psychedelic music and it was that message of change and opportunity that grabbed me most.
My family moved to the Bay Area in late 1982 when I was 12 years and I knew right away what a special place San Francisco was. In our first excursion into the city my parents wanted to tour Fisherman's Wharf, I wanted to go to the Haight. Of course by 1982 the Haight was long past its hippy prime and deep in its lost years of heroin and speed and closed storefronts. That didn't stop me from searching this great city and colorful neighborhoods for any crumb that remained from the vibe that the Summer of Love hoped to propagate following 1967. Today the area is inundated by boutiques and way too many Tibetan importers and head shops; not to mention countless tourists, who, like me, are looking for a shred of evidence that there was once an energy of love that attempted to take our nation to a higher level, overcoming war and grief and capitalism. And let's not forget the number of homeless teens and 20-somethings who have been termed out of foster care, who call the doorways of Haight Street their home.
It was the swirling music, colorful fashion, and risk-taking youth that took precedence at that time. It was the music industry that bastardized it and made way for the punk movement of the 70s/80s. But before that all came to pass we have to appreciate what the bands of the time were doing. San Fransisco was one hell of a great scene. Great clubs, like the Avalon Ballroom, Carousel, Fillmore, Family Dog at the Great Highway had the best bands playing their stages night after night. And promoters like Chet Helms and Bill Graham were pairing local rock bands with legendary blues and jazz artists, opening the ears of the audience to sights and sounds they may never have taken the time to check out on their own.
We are all better for 1967 and San Francisco.
Two books I'd like to recommend that will shed much better light on that era include Joel Selvin's
"Summer of Love", and David Talbot's "Season of the Witch". The latter starts in 67 and works its way up through the first 49er Super Bowl win in early 1982. Both are definitely worth your time, especially if you hold a place in your heart for San Francisco.
As for the music I chose for this show, it's all from 1967, and most are west coast American bands. in retrospect I could have chosen more obscure acts from that year, or other, more current bands, covering these songs, below. Instead I played music that really moved me as I was growing up. And isn't that the job of the DJ, to move you the way they have been?
My friend Linda Kelly, managing editor of the local rag Haight Street Voice was hanging out in the studio with me too. She was interviewing me for the August issue. It's a free paper, so pick it up when you see it, or go online to check it out. I hope she doesn't make me sound too bitter. It's been a challenging year when it comes to my love for SF. But isn't that like all relationships? We'll see it through to the end.
Wednesday I had the chance to take in the Summer of Love exhibition at the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. It was more than I could have hoped for. If you live in the Bay Area make sure you get to this show before it closes, August 20th.
Next Monday night is lots of new music and the return of Little Lauson Hell!!!
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
I've been hosting a radio show on and off since about 1990 when I was at KFJC. I never counted the number of shows I hosted there, but between 1990-1997, probably over 1000 weekly shows. Those were great times, and by far the best education I could have dreamed of. When I started Radio Valencia back in 2010 I had no idea how it might grow and how long we would be around. Monday night I hosted my 300th show, not counting the many specials I've done. What a fun milestone this is.
I started off the night with 15 minutes of Facebook Live, which I'm still not totally comfortable doing, but at least it's a way for my family to see me in action. HA! My guest, managing editor of local magazine "Haight Street Voice", Linda Kelly spent the rest of the evening with me talking about the importance of having a regular publication in the city that supports local voice, whether they be citizens, homeless, merchants, artists, musicians, or whomever. Linda knows her history of the area like the back of her hand, and wants to use HSV as a medium to bring people together of various backgrounds, all of whom share their love of the city, and the Haight specifically. I concur. It was a fabulous interview. She turned the mic on me in the second hour, asking about my thoughts on show 300 and where I'd like to see Radio Valencia go in the future.
I don't really feel that this blog is for me to ramble on and on. I think the radio show itself should be the focus. So, click on the links above to stream or download this show, and then you too can take the two hour journey that I've prepared for you, 300 shows in the making...give or take.
This May 25th I'll be interviewing music critic and author Joel Selvin about his new book "Altamont
Download The Luv and Haight HERE! 
