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.
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
OK, so Ozzy died. Is this a shock? I can't imagine it is. He had Parkinson's for for the last decade or so, and this was brought on by all of his drug use. Hate to see him go though. What a powerhouse he was. I never got to see Black Sabbath or Ozzy live, unfortunately, but Black Sabbath was an early influence on me, starting around 17 when I got the Paranoid album. I wore that thing out.
I tell a story at the beginning of this show about driving around late a night listening to Black Sabbath and how it truly fucked with me.
In celebration of the man, I have what I feel is Black Sabbath and their prime, live from Asbury Park, New Jersey, August 05, 1975. Live, there was no band coming anywhere near them. They were scary and raw. This show is a testament to the power and the glory that is the original lineup before Ozzy left to lead his successful solo career.
Lineage: Soundboard **Remastered** by thir13en
The Black Sabbath show runs 1 hour 40 minutes, so to fill the remainder of the time I'll throw you what may have been Sabbath's biggest rock competitor of the day: Led Zeppelin. Instead of giving you something from their legendary 1975 tour, let's go back to a great BBC broadcast from 1971. Led Zeppelin III had recently been released and the band wads looking to get the word out. I may have to play this entire show on my Bootleg Bonanza in the near future.
Lineage: BBC Radio 1 Original AM Broadcast -> MP3
You can find my mostly-complete-ish list of live shows right here. Have a request? Leave a comment.
Support these bands. Buy their officially released music and merch, and never ever sell live bootlegs. These are for trade only.
Join me for my weekly music mix: Hell's Kitchen Radio, Mondays 8-10PM Pacific.
Well if you host a live bootleg show and don't play Led Zeppelin from time to time, what the hell are you doing this show for at all? I mean really now?
When it comes to collecting bootlegs for the past 35+ years there are four bands that have always been the staple: Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.
There are plenty of quality Zep soundboards making the rounds today, but back in the 80s when I started collecting, finding a really good soundboard was not easy. Most of the shows that were available (and most were on vinyl) were C-quality audience. I still own about 20 of these. Once the digital age began, and more peer-to-peer sharing and then with Bit Torrent we started to see many more quality soundboards.
And then there's the performance itself. Led Zeppelin was really hit and miss when it came to bringing it live. The early years are by far the most consistent, as they were building a name for themselves. By the time 1975 came around, many shows were lackluster (IMHO). Plant's voice couldn't stay strong through the entire show. If Page was feeling down, he would drown it in Jack Daniels and play sloppy. Jones and Bonham were always pounding away, but without all four bringing their all, it got down right embarrassing at times.
Not so with this show. 1969 was still early for this band who knew they had to prove themselves in front of the finicky San Francisco crowd. Hippies-be-damned, Led Zeppelin was going to show them all what a powerhouse band they were. And so they did.
This show comes just three months after the release of their seminal debut self-titled album. And what a
way to introduce them to the world! This was their second US tour of the year, and the first shows of this important tour. They knew they had to win over the states if they were going to mark their place as rock legends. April 27th is the final show of this four show run. They would complete four tours of the US in 1969, closing out their final tour of 1969 in of all places, San Francisco.
I can't say enough great things about this show brought to you by these fabulous four youths on the verge of rock stardom. Love them or hate them, can you even imagine the rock genre if there was no Led Zeppelin? I don't even want to think about that.
LINEAGE: KSJO FM BROADCAST ANALOG 1ST GENERATION TAPE TO DAT TO AUDIO CLEANING LAB FOR TRACK MARKS TO WAV 16/48 TO TLH FLAC LEVEL 8
You can find my mostly-complete list of live shows right here. Have a request? Leave a comment.
Support these bands. Buy their officially released music and merch, and never ever sell live bootlegs. These are for trade only.
Stick around Monday's 8-10PM Pacific for my weekly music mix, Hell's Kitchen Radio. Lots of new music to share with you every week.
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
Nothing brings me greater joy than to share my love of music and radio with my wonderful daughter, Lauson. She's my dream girl, literally. She came to me in a dream a few years before she was conceived and told me her name. She even spelled it for me. It was a seven year old version of her, all with the curly hair she was graced with. I woke up, looked at her mother and said "we're going to have a daughter named Lauson. L.A.U.S.O.N". We chose not to know the sex of the baby before she was born, but I already knew it was Lauson headed our way.
Lauson first joined me on Radio Valencia when she was 7 years old, over ten years ago! I think this was Lauson's 15th time on with me. Links to her previous episodes are below. I've marked all of her song choices. It's really interesting to see where my influence started and where hers took off. She's got an excellent ear for many genres. I couldn't be more proud. How is she a senior in high school already?
Do I dream of her walking into her college radio station and blowing them all away? Of course I do. I also refuse to live vicariously through my children. She does have a pretty good airname though. And really, can you imagine what her peers would think when they hear she's been involved in community radio since she was 7? HA! Ok ok ok, I'll stop now.
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
When's the last time you had a friend over to play guitar in your home? Hmmm? You can't recall because it's been two years of this COVID shit and no one is coming by your house, apartment, condo, storage locker, etc. even though you have been vaxxed since last spring. You really need to get the booster, you know?
Monday night I hosted my buddy Douglas Nelson, who brought his guitar and two jugs of Moss Beach Kobmucha, of which he's the founder and owner. I have never in my life enjoyed kombucha before I tried his stuff. Mind you, this is not a commercial and we didn't even talk much about the product during my show, but I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it. Good man, good kombucha.
Now that the holidays are upon us, I find that I really enjoy getting guests on the air talking about this past
year and what they have coming up. I have no guests in my upcoming show, but Steve Depace of Flipper will be on Monday, December 27th, and I have a bunch of really great interviews lined up for 2022.
What are your plans for New Years Eve? Whatever they are, I want you to get your booster shot. This Omicron variant is no joke. We need to get this thing gone, and the only way to do that is to get vaxxed, boosted and wear your damn mask! Once you get that done, join Radio Valencia at Bottom of the Hill, December 30th and 31st. I'll be your MC, and we'll have a table of freshly printed RV t-shirts for you to grab.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Can't Let Go: Robert Plant and Alison Krause Song of the Season: Neil Young and Crazy Horse
When I Paint My Masterpiece: The Band (Cahoots 2021 Remaster) Statesboro Blues: Rising Suns Man of Constant Sorrow: Bob Dylan
Woodstock: Joni Mitchell (Ladies of the Canyon demo) Laughing: David Crosby and P.E.R.R.O.
Silent Night: Douglas Nelson Go Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: Jerry Garcia and David Grisman (December 9, 1991)
Douglas Nelson live in the studio Tower of Song (Leonard Cohen cover)
The Wedding/You've Been Around: David Bowie Tiger Mountain Peasant Song: First Aid Kit
All Tomorrow's Parties: Lou Reed By The Time I Get To Phoenix: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Douglas Nelson live in the studio Reason to Believe (Bruce Springsteen cover) Rise Up With Fists: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins Lilac Wine: Nina Simone Crawlin' King Snake (LA Woman Sessions): The Doors
Your Time Is Gonna Come: Christone "Kingfish" Ingram In That Great Getting Up In The Morning: The New Gospel Keys
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
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
Stream the new year into your ear, HERE! Download positive intentions, HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down
Happy New Year to all from Sir Hell. You didn't know that I'm a "Sir" now, did you? Well there ya go. How you like them apples? Did you have a glorious end of year celebration, or do you consider it to be trite and amateur hour? Either way, I hope you have set some positive intentions for 2016, or at the very least you call a friend and go out to see some live music. I plan on doing all of the above, and often in 2016.
For Monday's show I felt I should pay tribute to the recently fallen rock-comrade Lemmy Kilmister of the seminal metal band Motörhead. I remember first hearing the "hit" Ace of Spades in the early 80s, and knowing pretty much immediately that this band was no joke. I enjoyed Motörhead through the hair-raising glam metal years of the 80s and 90s, and loved that they kept true to their nature: raw and in-your-face loud. Monday I played mostly early tracks and a rare live track from my bootleg library.
Did you know Lemmy was a Joni Mitchell fan? Me either.
Monday also saw the 30th anniversary of the passing of legendary frontman Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy. Damn, where does the time go? I did a little tribute to him as well, including a blistering live version of "The Rocker" live, with six guitarist rocking out on stage!!!
The remainder of the how was a genre grab-bag. Take a look at the playlist below.
I am also excited to introduce my 2016 "Run for the Lilies"! You come up with a list of 10 famous people you believe will be dead by 12-31-2016, and send that list to mrjohnhell@gmail.com by February 01, 2016. The only rule is that you may not participate in the demise of any of the persons on your list. The winner will get a prize to be determined.
This should be a great year for music. Go out and support your local music scene, wherever you live.
