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.
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
I left Twitter a few years ago. It always upset me to scroll through it. I held onto the account so I could share my radio blog on there, tagging the artists I play. I never missed it, and I never thought I would. When Musk took it over I deleted my account. I don't need to share my data with that guy. It appears Twitter drives people to this page. I've gone from ~150 per post to ~10. ugh. I do not want to back to Twitter.
Well I guess you lucky few get to enjoy all this music just for yourselves. Who am I to keep you from sharing it on your own social media platforms?
Just look at what you get: a tribute to Tom Verlaine, some 70s Punk, 60s Blues and Jazz, new John Cale, Molly Tuttle, Ty Segall, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. I also have some demos and outtakes from The Who and Funkadelic. I'm all over the damn place.
Let Twitter keep the creep. You have me and I have you, and that's all that counts.
Enjoy and please share.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Roadrunner: The Modern Lovers Anarchy in the UK: Sex Pistols
Friction: Television Down At The Rock and Roll Club: Richard Hell and the Voidoids Love Comes In Spurts: Thee Headcoats
Sorcery: Big Band Katowice Back Home: Yusef Lateef Nisaba in the Grass: Luna
Night Crawling: John Cale Earthquake: Kim Gordon
Fearless: Mary Lou Lord The Waitress Song: First Aid Kit Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out: Janis Joplin and Jorma Kaukonen Sloppy Drunk Blues: Big Joe Williams
San Francisco Bay Blues: Molly Tuttle Bumble Bee: Big Mama Thornton
Goin' Mobile (Pete's Demos): The Who Red Hot Mama (alternative take): Funkadelic I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide (2022 remake): ZZ Top Midnight Special: Harry Belefonte
Saturday Pt. 2: Ty Segall Moth Tongue: Crystal Fairy
Pick A Bale of Cotton: Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
No guests, new music, you, me, these turntables, this microphone. Tonight I was feeling a bit peckish and chose a variety that has moved me lately. New releases from Kikagaku Moyo, Mavis Staples and Levon Helm, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
I just want to let the music do the talking here. It was also the 50th anniversary of what I consider to be one of the top five all-time great Grateful Dead shows: August 27, 1972. There is a lot I can say about this amazing show, but I think you should just go listen the very well produced Deadcast and let Jesse Jarnow tell you all about it. I shared the 18 minute "Playin' in the Band".
I was going to follow up the epic Dead jam with a new 18 minute King Gizzard track, but I was running out of time. Dang. I would have done it too. And the story of the new KGLW track "The Dripping Tap" is really one to read about. I look forward to sharing the track with you soon.
Check out the playlist below and click the link above to check out the show.
Don't forget to tune in starting Mondays at 6PM for my weekly Live Bootleg Bonanza, where I share full live shows from my vast live bootleg library. I have thousands of shows from hundreds of artists, across dozens of genres. So much good stuff to check out on Radio Valencia Monday nights.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Listen into all my shows here! Subscribe to my show, via
How many ways am I supposed to say it, you do not get nearly enough good music in your diet. I want you to promise that if I drop off the face of this Earth, that you are going to commit to listening to quality music on the daily. And you need to mix it up. You can't just stay with the same genre, you know? My suggestion, when you go record shopping and you purchase three or more records make at least one from a genre you aren't used to. Trust me, it's a great way to build your collection while broadening your horizons.
I know that my international collection was built in this way. And I never would have discovered the richness of African Funk if I didn't stick to this method. And one artist leads to another, and one unheard of genre leads to another. My dad always said there's no reward in life without risk. I have always taken that to heart, in ways I'm not ready to discuss on this blog. I can attest to the fact that taking a risk on music is always a good thing. Except that hair metal band, Cinderella. There was no redeeming qualities in that band, none. Winger either. Nope. Sorry. None.
As for this show right here, I think the sets speak for themselves. I was in a real dance mood in the first few sets; really funky. If you haven't heard Mdou Moctar, then you haven't heard one of the all-time greatest guitarist there is, alive or dead. Seriously, he's up there with Hendrix and Van Halen. There's new music from Japan's Kikagaku Moyo, who are on their final tour right now. A show I cannot attend because I'm going to be in Yosemite. Lucky me. I gave tickets away in the second hour to Diane Coffee. You really need to check them out. The entire lineup is in the last half hour.
Lots of new music for you that isn't much of a risk. Perhaps I need to get a bit more edgy next week? Tune in.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
I went to many Grateful Dead shows between 12-30-85 when I was 15, and my last show, which I walked out of, during a short and depressing show, somewhere during Drums on 09-17-94. I went to a lot of shows with friends, and many on my own. I saw the Dead in a few different states (geographically and of mind). I enjoyed the parking lot experience, but I would never show up without a ticket. The band begged people never to do that. I can only imagine what the scene would have been like had the "fans" actually listened to the band.
I partially blame MTV for this. In 1987 MTV ran a weekend-long cutaway news series called "Day of The Dead". Soon after this aired so many people, who's only interest in the band had to do with the party in the parking lot, started to show up, often without tickets, to take advantage of the 24 hour drug binge that was going on before and long after the show. I was a senior in high school in 87/88 and I recall so many people who never would have considered the Grateful Dead before that broadcast, now just had to be at the next show. Madonna fans were changing their style from lace to tie-dye. I was thrilled for the band to have new fans, after all I wasn't around in the 60s to see them perform. And my first show wasn't until 1985! Who was I to talk? My problem had to do with those who only wanted in on the party and didn't care for the music.
That aside, my memories of the parking lot, the venues, before, during, and after the shows, and traveling far and wide to see the band, are pretty much all on the positive side. Some of my greatest times were the anticipation of the show, straight through to the encore.
I'll be posting one show memory at a time, and I promise not to make them too long. Most links are to a soundboard version of the show on the Archive.org site. Other links will take you to official band sites, and sites to purchase music, or readings I think are relevant.
I was 16 years old, living with my dad in San Mateo, about 15 minutes south of San Francisco, This is where I went to high school, and really grew to love the Dead, among other amazing bands and genres. I had already seen the Dead about 15 times since my first show in December 1985, and I really wanted to make it down the coast to Monterey to see at least one of the shows with Ry Cooder and Bruce Hornsby opening. I drove my 1981 Toyota Corolla Tercel (yes, that was an actual Toyota model) down to Monterey all on my own to see the Sunday show. I have a very trusting father.
1987 was a stellar year for the Dead. They really hit an artistic stride that year, months after Garcia returned from his diabetic coma. They were seriously firing on all cylinders. The Sunday show was tons of fun. I went on my own, but I met so many freaky and friendly Heads, that it just didn't matter.
I was standing about 15 yards from the stage, on stage right, in the "Phil Zone" before the encore of the Sunday, May 10th show, when I started to shout the "Not Fade Away" chant the crowd sings at the end of the song: "you know our love will not fade away (clap, clap, clap, clap clap)". Some guy in front of me shot me an annoying look, and told me to quiet down. I refused. I think this may have prompted others around me to join in the chant. Next thing you know hundreds of people around the front of the stage are chanting it, loudly. The band came back out and made Not Fade Away their first encore. How you like that, fella? He did give me a high-five following that, btw.
That reminds me, in November 1987 I saw Chuck Berry at the now defunct Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. He was taking requests, which is very common for CB. I was 17, sitting in the third row, and I shouted out "Promised Land" because the Dead play it, and I love that song. Some guy, probably in his 40s or 50s turns around and grunts "he already played that song, kid". The stage rotates in the center of the room, and at that exact moment the guy was yelling at me for being so naive regarding the repertoire of the master on the stage, Chuck was right there. He heard the guy yelling at me, and responded by saying "No I didn't. Here it goes!". HA! In your face, asshat! Fabulous. Thanks Chuck.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your stories as well. Please feel free to leave a road story of your own in the comments.
Click here to read my previous story about my tape-trading history with the Grateful Dead.
Here's an interesting studio/live mashup of Not Fade Away from what is actually 1985 (it says 1987 in the credits, but it's not). Great jam here, indeed. Enjoy.
Listen in right HERE
