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.
Download Good Foot HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down Subscribe to my show, via
After so many shows where it feels like I'm paying tribute to some lost musical genius, I needed to cleanse my Hellish soul. This show is sure to get your toes tappin'. On the menu are some classics and some tracks that are soon to be classic in your collection.
I also take a few minutes in the middle of the program to discuss my current thoughts on the state of commercial radio (one of my favorite topics), and the possible (and hopefully impending) bankruptcy of iHeart Radio (formerly Clear Channel). I'd love your thoughts on this. Feel free to leave a comment.
Just take a look at this playlist. Curtis, JB, Fela, Beasties, Brother Ray, Last Poets, The Meters, Aretha, Toots, Parliament, NWA!!!!!!!
DAMN, GET ON THE GOOD FOOT!
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Download Your Destiny HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down Subscribe to my show, via
Sometimes a show just hits right away. Tonight was one of those nights. I have never made it a habit of preparing much for my show. I usually have an idea for a theme, but there are many shows, including this one, where I had a few songs I knew I wanted to share, but other than that I go by feel.
I believe this was a standout show, and I hope you agree. Take a look at the playlist below, and stream or download to your heart's content.
Join me on Thursday, February 1st at the SF Eagle for a memorial for our late friend, and horniest horn man, Ralph Carney. Ralph-A-Palooza promises to be a great show, with some brilliant and talented performers.
Enjoy.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Download Celebrations HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down Subscribe to my show, via
First live show for the new year and of course it's a tribute. Duh! Michael "The Professor" Shannon, co-host of Sex Cels (10-midnight Monday's on RV) passed away last month after a long bout with melanoma. I cannot say enough great things about The Professor. My regular interactions with him came during our weekly show transitions. Michael would start Sex Cels each week with a three-song opening theme. He would have me guess the theme and try to stump me. More often than not I would guess correctly. I am a walking musical encyclopedia after all. ;)~ He was a devout atheist and would proudly wear that on his sleeve. He was also a serious Star Wars fanatic. I still liked him though. I can't imagine being in the studio without his smiling face to greet me before taking over the board. Night night, Michael.
Another punch in the gut came a few weeks back when I heard about the passing of another friend, musical stalwart and jack of all musical trades, Ralph Carney. Ralph passed away following a fall down his stairs in his home in Portland, Oregon. He lived in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco for many years, where he was known lovingly as the Mayor of Bernal. Ralph was often found sitting in with local bands throughout the week at clubs like Amnesia or Club Deluxe. He had recorded sessions possibly numbering in the thousands with bands such as the B52s, Elvis Costello, Les Claypool, Stan Ridgeway, and of course Tom Waits, who he spent about 15 years with. Ralph was such a cornball. His personality really shone through his music. Listening to him it made sense that his music was just an extension of his personality. He was like a walking cartoon character; very rubbery. The final twenty minutes of my show is a tribute to Ralph. Another great has left the building. Ralph-a-Palooza will be held on Thursday February 1st, 8PM-2AM, at SF Eagle. Performers include Robin Coomer, Gaucho, The Extra Action Marching Band, The Cottontails, Allison Lovejoy, Griddle, and many more special surprises (no Tom Waits will probably not be one of those surprises).
I interviewed Ralph on my show August of 2009. Here's a link to the blog post.
The first hour features new music from King Gizzard as well as OCS (formerly Thee Oh Sees). Hour two has a lot of tasty live treats from my vault. The playlist follows.
Join my this Sunday afternoon starting at 4PM at Thee Parkside in SF for a live memorial to International Rock Poster artist Ron Donovan. There will be rock posters made in his honor by acclaimed artists including Chris Shaw (poster below on the left), and Ron's former partner Chuck Sperry. We're going to send Ron out the only way he would allow: drunk and very very late to the party.
Enjoy. jh Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Why (Is the King of Love Dead?): Nina Simone
A Night out With Jay: Epsilons
Hey Mr. DJ: Bobby Moore
Satan's Stomp: The Flesh Eaters
The Passenger: Iggy Pop
The Book: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Fist City: Loretta Lynn
Marijuana: Reverend Horton Heat
Convenient: Sun Kil Moon
Master Pretender: First Aid Kit
Snortin' Whiskey: Honky
Red Hot: Jurassic 5
Memory of a Cut off Head: OCS
Crossroads: Cream (1968-10-20 San Diego)
Pinhead: Ramones (1977-11-14 Utica, NY)
Don't Let It Bring You Down: Neil Young 1971-02-23 BBC)
Police and Thieves: The Clash (1978-12-28 Lyceum Theater, London, UK)
Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad: Grateful Dead (1972-08-22 Berkeley Community Theater)
Overture/It's A Boy: The Who
It's Only A Bargain If You Want It: Des Ark
Pink Panther Theme: Oranj Symphonette
Blow Big Ralph: Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project
Bojack Horseman Theme: Ralph and Pat Carney
Digital Witness: St. Vincent
Way Down In The Hole: Tom Waits
Love How In Love With Love You Are: Adam Mankintosh ft. Storm Large
My buddy and balloonatic, Addi Somekh shot this video with Ralph a few years back. Addi is playing a balloon bass and Ralph is playing a slide clarinet. This is too much fun not to share.
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Sometimes it hits a little too close to home.
Rock poster artist and friend Ron Donovan passed away last week after losing his liver to too many years of alcohol abuse. I loved Ron like anyone did, which meant it was a love-hate relationship. He was funny, talented, smart, and charismatic. He was also selfish, often tardy, never with the tools he needed to do the job, full of excuses and a real pain in the ass. He burned more bridges than most. That being said, he was ubiquitous. There was no one like the Hobbit, "Rotten" Ronnie Donovan.
For over six years he was my foil when we co-hosted the 6 hour bootleg battle "Rock Fight" (links to most are below). Ron and I had perhaps the largest combined bootleg collection anywhere. It was easy to pull out brilliant live versions of tunes to one-up each other. He was always late to these shows, rarely had the material he needed, and would often pass out on the couch before we were through. I ended up having a strict "no hard alcohol" rule for these shows, which paid off as they were the finest we did together. We also hosted a few live bands and interviews during these marathon shows.
In 2011 Ron volunteered his services to make us a poster for Radio Valencia, which he was going to present at a big fundraiser of ours. He was four hours late and the poster had the incorrect URL and frequency on it! Oh, and he misspelled "commercials. HA! In typical Donovan fashion he just shrugged it off with a smile. I still have about a dozen of those posters somewhere.
Ron was mostly known through his great rock poster art. I met him when he and Chuck Sperry ran Firehouse Kustom Rock Posters. I would hang out at their warehouse and watch the magic happen. Ron was always the life of the party and often would bring the party with him. I'll miss seeing him in his ink-covered shorts-over-thermals, and socks/sandals ensemble, riding along on his Powell/Peralta board looking for a free drink at any one of many bars or "offices" he had around town.
Tonight's show is a tribute of sorts to Ron. I'm not sure he would have approved of every track, but he would have liked that they were all songs that one would want played as they passed on.
Never Talking to You Again: Husker Dü Dirt: The Stooges I Wanna Rock: Twisted Sister Purple Rain: Prince
Heaven: Talking Heads
Teenage Kicks: The Undertones
People Who Died: Jim Carroll
In My Time of Dying: Led Zeppelin (03/19/75 Vancouver, Canada)
Rock and Roll Suicide: David Bowie
Carrickfergus: Van Morrison and The Chieftains
The Bones in the Ground: Robyn Hitchcock
I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You: Louis Armstrong
One More Cup of Coffee: Bob Dylan
Jig of Life: Kate Bush
Mea Culpa: Brian Eno and David Byrne
Highly Illogical: Leonard Nimoy
Hooray For Me: Bad Religion
Highway To Hell: AC/DC (12/17/81 Rochester, NY)
Watermelon in the Easter Hay: Frank Zappa
Black Peter: Grateful Dead (12/14/71 Ann Arbor, MI)
Happy Boy: Beat Farmers
Rock on, Rotten Ronnie. I hope you make it to your destination...eventually.
I found Judge Roy Moore's iPod and you would not believe what he has on this thing! He has a playlist called "Statutory Rock". It's all songs about sex with underage girls, mostly. Dude! I just had to play it on my show. Who knew there were so many songs about having illegal sex with people underage? If you lived in the 70s then you pretty much figured that was happening all the time. And if you live in Alabama today then you probably have kids with someone who is currently underage, and it's possible your sister or brother or some kinda relative anyway. Yes, I went there.
