SUNDAYS
- 10pm-Midnight
So your city has yet to go underground, eh? Not to worry,
baby, we give you Little Steven's psychedelic sounds LIVE
every Sunday night from 10 PM to midnight. You won't want
to miss this groovy gig!
12.28.03Episode 91: New
Years!
Its
that time again so get out the champagne glasses and the funny
hats, and turn the radio up to 10 for the Underground Garage Year
End Dance Party.
The Renegade Nation staff voted on their Coolest Song In The World
This Year and well be revealing the winner of that very
high honor along with the usual assortment of Byrds, Turtles,
Beatles, Buzzcocks, Animals, and Woggles.
Start the New Year off right with the coolest rock and roll records
ever made here in Underground Garageville!!
Dont forget to vote
for your Coolest Song In The World This Year the polls
close January 7
12.21.03Episode 90: Happy
Holidays from Little Stevens Underground Garage!
This
weekend you'll hear two hours of holiday music Underground Garage
style. We've got some great tales about the origins of the candy
cane and other holiday traditions.
Along
with some Garage Rock Christmas Classics, we've also got festive
contemporary tunes from Dr. Detroit and the Wayouts, the Swingin'
Neckbreakers, the Kaisers, the Butties, the Raveonettes, the Darkness,
the Paperbacks, the White Stripes, and Jet.
So
gather 'round the hearth, crank up the radio, and settle in with
your mug of hot chocolate or spiked eggnog. Itza Rock and Roll
Christmas Dance Party!
12.14.03 Episode 89: All Shook Up This
week on The Underground Garage Rock and Roll Dance Party we're
paying tribute to Alan Freed and Keith Richards in honor of their
December birthdays.
There was a time about fifty years ago when Rock and Roll was
just short of illegal. Alan Freed was instrumental in putting
the genre on the map, getting it on the radio, and redefining
and popularizing the term Rock and Roll.
As for Keef . . . what can you say? The Godfather of Garage Rock,
The Skull-Ring Studded Pirate. He doesn't get older, he gets scarier.
Let's revisit how he joined the Stones and in fact how he almost
didn't join the Stones. The Stones without Keith Richards doesn't
bear thinking about.
We got some cool sounds this week from The Dirtbombs, The Strokes,
The Cocktail Slippers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Preachers
Kids, The Singles, The Reigning Sound, The Shazam, The Woggles,
The Chesterfield Kings, and The Dictators. And our Coolest Song
In The World This Week is from some southern folks we've all been
familiar with quite a while now.
Well
bless my soul, what's wrong with me?
I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree
My friends say I'm actin' wild as a bug
I'm in love, I'm all shook up
- Elvis Presley and Otis Blackwell -
12.07.03Episode 88: Dance Party
This week we celebrate the birthdays of Frank Sinatra and John
Cassavetes with our Underground Garage Rock Dance Party.
We're
also planning a little interlude to celebrate the 50th anniversary
of Playboy magazine this week.
The
pop culture bebop bus also makes a stop at the first motel in
the world and what a cool story that is.
Get
down on it with new music from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie and others along with cool contemporary
garage sounds from Jet, the Fondas, the Preachers Kids, the Reigning
Sound, the Boss Martians, the Rubber City Rebels, the Swingin'
Neckbreakers, the Dirtbombs, the Model Rockets, the Star Spangles,
and the Hentchmen.
Grab
the hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps (if you're over 18 that
is) and get your groove on with Frank and John.
Itza don't miss . . . . . . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11.30.03Episode 87: Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving season we're gonna count some of the reasons
we have to be thankful. Contemporary garage and new music from
the Chesterfield Kings, the Boss Martians, the Dirtbombs, the
Flaming Sideburns, Ko and the Knockouts, the Strokes, David Bowie,
the Fondas, Cotton Mather, Iggy Pop, the Romantics, and the Preacher's
Kids. And the great music that came before them all.
We're also gonna explore the backstory behind Thanksgiving . .
. Why does the children's rhyme "mary had a little lamb"
have anything to do with it? And some pop culture historical musical
and culinary notes as well.
Make a date with your radio this weekend or pull up a chair to
your computer and celebrate Thanksgiving with little Steven's
Underground Garage !!!
11.23.03Episode
86: Cleveland (and Ohio)
As
we all know, Cleveland rocks, and this week we're gonna prove
it to you by doing a show about Cleveland and the great state
of Ohio to welcome WNCX 98.5 in Cleveland to our growing family
of station affiliates.
We're going to get into the rich musical history of the state,
from garage rock classicists the McCoys, the Choir, the Outsiders,
and the Raspberries, to godfathers of punk rock like Devo and
the Dead Boys to contemporary garage music from Guided by Voices,
the Soledad Brothers, Cobra Verde, the New Bomb Turks, the Greenhornes,
and the Rubber City Rebels.
We're also getting into the rich radio tradition of Cleveland
starting with of course Alan Freed, the greatest dj of all time,
to "Mad Daddy" Meyers, on through to Kid Leo who used
to rule the airwaves in the 70's.
But wait, there's so much more . . . Swingo's Hotel, no longer
downtown but still in operation and thriving . . . The Cleveland
Agora . . . The Belkin Brothers . . . The Beachland Ballroom .
. . America's polka king, Frankie Yankovic . . . Jane Scott's
Rock and Roll column in the plain dealer . . . Coconut Cream Pie
at sokolowski's . . . The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum
. . . And, naturally, Cleveland international records.
Hang on Sloopy . . . Sloopy hang on!
11.16.03Episode
85: SCORSESE III Welcome
to the Underground Garage re-celebration of Martin Scorsese on
the occasion of his birthday November 17.
We're featuring songs from his 43 years of filmmaking. We think
he is the most musical director ever as well as the first director
to use Rock and Roll music in film. Two to three songs in each
set this week are dedicated to his movies.
The underground garage spotlights new music from the Fondas, Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Star Spangles, Iggy Pop with Sum 41,
the Boss Martians, and the Dirtbombs this week.
Come on down and join the party!
11.09.03Episode 84: Louie, Louie
"It is the best of songs, it is the worst of songs. A rock'n'roll
song, a calypso song, a sea chanty, a filthy, dirty, obscene song,
the story of rock'n'roll in a nutshell, the most ridiculous piece
of junk in the history of damnation. A stupid song, a brilliant
song, an R&B oldie, a punk rock classic, a wine cooler commercial,
an urban legend, a sacred text, a song with roots, a glimpose
of the future, the song that defines our purpose, the very voice
of barbarism. A song that casts a spell, a song that ought to
have been forgotten and many times has been - and for all that,
a song that roots into the brain until there's no erasing it.
Barely a song at all - three chords and a cloud of dust; the song
that really does remain the same - no matter the misinterpretations
it suffers. An old story, an untold story."
- Dave Marsh, Louie Louie, hyperion books
(soon to be university of Michigan books)
40 years ago this week "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen
first entered the national charts. That record not only gave birth
to garage rock but popularized its kissing cousin frat rock as
well. We're featuring a few of the hundreds of cover versions
of the song in this week's show and telling some of what has to
be one of the most incredible stories in the history of rock and
roll.
You'll be hearing some contemporary frat garage from the Woggles,
the Fleshtones, the Donnas, the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the
Boss Martians, the Fondas, and the Killer Barbies . . . Alongside
some frat classics.
So get ready for a tribute to the song that encouraged a thousand
toga parties, and gave birth to a million garage bands, most of
whom are in this show!
11.02.03Episode 83: Halloween II
It’s Halloween and we’re celebrating this week with a Very Special
Guest reading from a tantalizing tome that you’ll be able to purchase
at every book store starting October 31st.
The Celts believed that life and death came together at this time
and that all laws of time and space were suspended, allowing the
spirit world to interact with the living.
No tricks, but plenty of treats this week with some ghoulish Classic
Garage along with a spate of Contemporary Garage from the Fuzztones,
the Strokes, Andy G. and the Roller Kings, the Redeemers, the
Boss Martians, and (of course) Creatures of the Golden Dawn.
And to quote Steven, we will continue bringing Rock and Roll back
from the dead so it can put on a hockey mask or a sweater and
hunt down and dismember all the pretty pop people in their cars
on lovers lane.
10.26.03
Episode
82: San Francisco
This weekend the Underground Garage makes its debut in San Francisco
on KSAN the bone 107.7.
To
honor our foray into the city by the bay, we offer a salute to
the city's rich musical heritage by spinning some very cool tunes
by the likes of Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, Blue Cheer, the
Grateful Dead, the Charlatans, Big Brother & the Holding Company,
the Rubinoos, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Flamin' Groovies,
Green Day, and the Chocolate Watch Band.
Naturally
we are also playing music from contemporary garagers the Chesterfield
Kings, the Fondas, and the bay area's own Black Rebel Motorcycle
Club and Big Midnight.
We
have a frisco-themed freak of the week, coolest song in the world,
and brief history of SF by a very special guest.
Tune
in, turn on, and drop by!
10.19.03Episode 81: Heeere's Johnny (and Stiv)
We're
celebrating the birthdays this week of two guys who couldn't be more
different - Johnny Carson and Stiv Bators. But both made their name
as great entertainers. And both of them are greatly admired by those
of us here at little Steven's Underground Garage.
In addition to telling their stories, we've got some sonic wonderment
on the agenda as usual. Talk about eclectic! We've got Johnny Cash
and the Beach Boys, Chan Romero and the Byrds, reaching down to the
roots of rock and roll and forward into the future. New music from
the star spangles, the Raveonettes, the Strokes, Jet, the High Dials,
the Caesars, the Fondas, and the Singles.
Not
to mention - new Iggy! New Bowie! It's like Berlin in the fertile
late 70's!
Take
it away . .
10.12.03Episode 80: A Tale of Two Lennys
This
week we celebrate the release in 1972 of the most influential compilation
record of all time in our not very humble opinion - Nuggets:
original artyfacts from the first psychedelic era 1965-1968.
Compiled
by a team of truly deranged diehards ably led by Lenny Kaye and Gary
Stewart, nothing has influenced this radio show as much as the Nuggets
album. Nuggets chronicles the moment in the 60's, says Steven, when
pop became rock.
Naturally
we're playing lots of Nuggets tracks in this show (more than usual!)
And we are also featuring seven new bands with new music. Check 'em
out and dig their sounds: the High Dials, Jet, the Gore Gore Girls,
the Killer Barbies, the Singles, the Fondas, and the Star Spangles!!
And new releases from Iggy Pop and the Fuzztones!!
And
listen to the show to find out who the other Lenny is!
10.5.03Episode 79: New Netherland mornings
This
week's show revisits the great teeming metropolis of New York city
with some New Jersey thrown in . . . Hence the title 'New Netherland
mornings' which refers to both areas and is the original name the
Dutch settlers gave when they wrested the land from the Indians who
lived there.
Jazz in midtown and Harlem, Bohemia and Dadaism in Greenwich village,
punk rock on the lower east side, the Brill building, Ed Sullivan,
and more . . . Manhattan both filthy and gorgeous is feted by the
Underground Garage.
Tune
in to hear new Netherlands's finest both old and new - from the New
York Dolls to the Chiffons, from Dion to the Velvet Underground, from
Blondie to the Four Seasons, and more.
Hear
new music from cool contemporary garage bands like the Strokes, Mooney
Suzuki, the Star Spangles, and the Fuzztones among others.
Join
us this weekend for a big juicy bite of the big apple!
9.28.03Episode 78: School of Rock
School of rock star Jack Black co-hosts 'Little Steven's Underground
Garage' - Black is first-ever 'Underground Garage' co-host.
Before
school of rock star Jack Black appears in theaters as an out-of-work
rocker masquerading as an elementary school teacher, he'll be a DJ
on this episode of the underground garage.
Actor,
comedian, and lead vocalist of rock duo Tenacious D, Black will spin
classics from the Ramones and the Who, as well as a couple of his
original songs, all of which are featured in school of rock.
Little
Steven commented on his unprecedented microphone-sharing experience:
"It's an honor because Tenacious D was a big influence on me
growing up."
Don't
miss this one.
Don't
forget to enter the contest
for a new Dipinto guitar provided by Los
Straitjackets and their new album on yep roc, super sonic guitars
in 3d.
9.21.03Episode
77: 77 sunset strip Welcome
to the underground garage homage to TV show detectives, a genre which
started way back in 1949.
Quoth Steven: more than any other genre, the detective TV show has
endured, providing us with the fictional reassurance that no crime
goes undetected, no criminal unpunished, no lollipop unsucked.
There are eight million stories in the naked city. We're going to
attempt to cover some of them in this week's episode.
We're investigating the Yardbirds, Elvis Costello, the High Numbers,
and Dusty Springfield (among others) . . .
Along with instant contemporary classics from the Raveonettes, the
Chesterfield Kings, the Singles, the Strokes, Cocktail Slippers, the
Woggles, Freddy and the Fourgone Conclusions, Jet, the Fuzztones,
and the Vines.
The stories you will hear on this show are all true. The names have
been changed to help promote showbiz careers.
Just one more thing . . .
- Columbo -
And you can take that to the bank.
- Baretta -
Ciao baby
- Kojak -
Don't
forget to enter the contest
for a new Dipinto guitar provided by Los
Straitjackets and their new album on yep roc, super sonic guitars
in 3d.
9.14.03
Episode
76: shindig!
It's
time to swing with Shindig! If you're 6 or 96, you'll get big kicks
on shindig!
The
underground garage tributes the landmark rock and roll TV show created
by producer jack good, shindig. Hard to believe but it only was on
the air 16 months back in the mid 60's but that was long enough to
influence scores of rock and roll TV shows of the day and even, much
later, MTV.
Our
freak of the week is a true scenester who was involved in so many
scenes and genres that it makes your head spin - and we mean that
in a good way. That's all the hint we're gonna give you. Listen and
learn.
We
also have some new Fuzztones, romantics, and chesterfield kings. There
are so many great new records out now it's hard to keep up! But we're
making a valiant attempt believe you me.
So
in addition to classic garage, 50's and girl group and punk roots
of garage, some British invasion, and a slightly psychedelic set .
. . We bring you contemporary garage instant classics from the High
Dials, Outrageous Cherry, the Contrast, the Caesars, the Killer Barbies,
and the Cocktail Slippers.
Keep
Shindiggin'!!
9.07.03
EPISODE 75: High School
Confidential
School is a powerful experience that lasts throughout one's life.
Not so much what one learns in school as much as the repetitive day
after dayness of it and the interactivity with friends and foe that
sets us up for relationships for the rest of our lives; the very powerlessness
of the whole experience.
It's the law. You can't get out of it.
And maybe this is why at the beginning of September every year - whether
you are 6 or 60 - you can still hear that bell ring telling you that
you're late for class and you're unprepared for that test in third
period.
In this episode The Underground Garage examines back to school week
and the cult of the teenager which came to fruition in the 50's.
Pulp Fiction and B-Movies capitalized on the rebels and juvenile delinquents.
In the 60's after the advent of Beatlemania, Madison Avenue began
to realize the buying potential of the teenager and learned to exploit
it. A policy which now drives global advertising as this market has
turned out to be the most lucrative and desirable.
A lot of former teenage truants make up this show as we honor the
misfits, outcasts, and freaks that stood out in high school. Every
member of the Underground Garage team can relate and so can many of
our listeners. But we don't mind if you were or are a football player
or cheerleader. Come one, come all!!
Join the Bobby Fuller Four, the Ramones, the MC5, the Rocky Fellers,
the Beach Boys, the Stooges, Jerry Lee Lewis and more as we toast
days gone by in the sickly green halls of ed-you-kay-shun
. . . and join more recent juvies like the Donnas, the Crybabies,
the Paybacks, the Caesars, Jet, the Raveonettes, the Singles, and
the Killer Barbies at the High School Hop.
Open up honey its
your lover boy me that's a knockin' You better listen to me
sugar all the cats are at the High School rockin' Honey get
your boppin' shoes Before the juke box blows a fuse Got everbody
hoppin' everybody boppin' Boppin' at the High School Hop Shakin'
at the High School Hop I've rollin' at the High School Hop I've
been movin' at the High School Hop I've been groovin' at the
High School Hop -Jerry Lee Lewis-
8.31.03Episode
74: Labor Daze
Welcome to the Underground Garage labor day Swingin' Soiree. We're
going to celebrate the working man and woman in this week's show.
One last long summer weekend before autumn digs in. We'll always find
an excuse for a party so get ready for the last beach blanket bingo
of the year, those of you who don't live in Florida or California
that is.
The movie "yellow submarine" was pretty amazing back in
its day and even more so now. The story behind it is even more outrageously
colorful than the film itself. Check out this week's show for more
details.
As usual we got the coolest music mix going . . . A little British
invasion (animals, Beatles, Yarbirds, Hollies, Dave Clark Five) .
. . A little 70's punk (Lou Reed, Sex Pistols, Joan Jett) . . . A
little blues roots of garage (muddy waters) . . . Some classic garage
(Knickerbockers, Richard and the Young Lions) . . . And of course
the wildest contemporary garage going today from the Chesterfield
Kings, the Romantics, the Reigning Sound, the Caesars, the Shazam,
White Stripes, the Singles, and Ko and the Knockouts.
The revolution will be moving from the beach to the tanning beds so
enjoy it while it lasts!!!
Who is the hippie
that´s happenin´ all over our town?
Tearin´ up chicks with the message that he lays down
who is the coolest guy, what is, what am?
That´s fast-talkin’-slow walkin’-good-lookin´
Mohair Sam.
(Charlie Rich)
8.24.03 EPISODE:
73- Mohair
Sam
This week
the underground garage celebrates one of the most important moments
in rock and roll history. August 27, 1965, Elvis Presley meets the
Beatles en masse for the first and only time. Exactly what transpired?
Tune in this weekend to find out.
Our freak of the
week in this episode is someone you all know and love. He’s
lean, he’s mean, and he wears black jeans. His life would make
an incredible best-selling novel. You’ll have to listen to
the show to find out who it is.
Speaking of best-selling
novels, “the godfather” hit number one on the charts
this week in 1969. The story of how Mario Puzo came to write it is
amazing and you’ll hear it on the show.
In addition, way
cool contemporary garage sounds from the likes of the Flaming Sideburns,
the Chesterfield Kings, the Killer Barbies, the Caesars, the Raveonettes,
the Grip Weeds, and more!
Not to mention
of course the usual sizzling mix of British invasion, punk, power
pop, and American rock and roll.
And lastly, we’re
celebrating the release of a brand new CD from our favorite Mexican
wrestlers, Los Straitjackets, on yep roc records, supersonic guitars
in 3-d. Enter the
contest to win a Dipinto guitar!!!!
8.17.03Episode 72: Summer
Welcome to the
underground garage alright already it's summer show. Belly up to the
bar with one of those funny looking drinks you only have in the summertime,
the kind that's a weird color and has a toy umbrella floating in it,
and enjoy the beach sights and sounds. If you're not on the beach
we guarantee this show will simulate it for you.
Amongst other
summer lore, we're going to reveal the story behind the invention
of the bikini and how it got it's name. It's crazy, it's wacky, it's
wild.
Also in this week's
show, we reveal everything you never knew about the swinging blue
jeans and their place in british invasion history.
Add to that a
sizzling summer mix of garage roots, classic garage, and contemporary
garage from the romantics, the swingin' neckbreakers, the chesterfield
kings, the high dials, cotton mather, and the killer barbies.
Surf city, here
we come . . .
8.10.03
EPISODE 71 -
OZ
This week's show includes a salute to the great Davie Allan, who has
a brand new album coming out in the very near future. One of the elements
which gives underground garage its texture is the highly varied selection
of instrumental music used for musical beds. Of course Davie Allan's
blues theme is our signature outro every week. But we've also featured
other great instrumentals by bands such as the Waistcoats, the Krontjong
Devils, Link Wray, the Ventures, Duane Eddy, the Atlantics, Ben Vaughn,
and Laika and the Cosmonauts. The musical bed information is included
in each week's playlist posted on the website every Sunday night at
10pm est.
We're
also saluting the wizard of oz, released 64 years ago this week. Talk
about being before your time. That movie was a trip in every sense
of the word. Little Steven reveals some of the oodles of strange trivia
about the film. We can't get to all of the oddities in oz - there
are books written on this subject - but it might very well inspire
you to march off to the video store and check out that amazing film
one more time. And that is not a bad thing.
And
if that's not enough, we're also celebrating the incredible career
of producer Shel Talmy. His birthday is this week. Shel worked with
the Easybeats, David Bowie, the Kinks, Creation, Pentangle, the Fuzztones,
and the Who, among others.
Add
to that our freak of the week and a buncha cool stuff from new and
old garagers and you've got another splendid installment of little
Steven's underground garage.
To
quote Steven . . . Uncle Sam wants you baby. Only you can save rock
and roll.
8.03.03
EPISODE 70 - Film Noir
This week we celebrate the film genre known as film noir, that is
to say Dames and Guns and Booze and Venetian Blinds. We're also celebrating
the storied life and brilliant career of John Huston. Houston's first
directing job was on a movie you might recall, The Maltese Falcon,
also believed to be the film that kicked off the genre of noir.
According
to Steven, "Defining Film Noir is like defining Garage Rock.
It's impossible but you know it when you see it or hear it."
We're
featuring a virtual plethora of Contemporary Garage this week from
the Crybabies, the High Dials, the Woggles, the Raveonettes, the White
Stripes, the Monochords, and the Cynics.
And
always remember . Crime Does Not Pay!
7.27.03
EPISODE 69 - Kookie/Scandinavia
This week's show is a Very Special Birthday Tribute to Edd "Kookie"
Byrnes, who played Gerald Kookson III, AKA Kookie, the suave 'n' swingin'
parking lot attendant at Dino's Restaurant on 77 Sunset Strip. 77
Sunset Strip is
the cool rockin' grandaddy of all the private detective TV shows.
All of which is to say that this week's show is even ginchier and
more hep than usual, which is saying something!
We're also focusing on the Outstanding Garage Rock that has come out
of the Scandinavian countries recently, on this the last stop of our
European Tour that began with Show #61. We're showcasing a grand total
of 8 bands from
Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark in this week's show.
And speaking of Scandinavia, we're going to give you some background
on a communal nation founded by hippies tucked away in one of the
Scandinavian countries. It's a fascinating story - don't miss it.
We
also have not one but TWO world premieres in the show, one of which
is the Coolest Song in the World so you'll have to listen to find
out what it is. The other one is from a seminal 80's garage band that
hasn't had a
studio recording in many years. Both worth waiting for!
So
get the party hats out and raise a glass to Kookie!
7.20.03
EPISODE 68 - GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!
Get
yourself a tall cold one and stretch out on your lawn chair. We're
deep in the overheated, sweaty heart of July and this week's show
is a special Updated Repeat of our Girls of Summer Special from last
year. Oh, the crazed excitement that goes with 80 degree temperatures
and convertibles cruising the strip with their tops down and hot dogs
and french fries and under the boardwalk and up on the roof.
Every song in the show this week (except for the Coolest Song In The
World) is about a girl, some girls, all girls. There's Donna, and
there's Maria, and Irene, and there's Janie, and there's Valleri,
and Rosalyn, and Prudence, and there's Angelina, and there's Cynthia,
and on and on and on.
Pass the suntan oil, baby. . . We're on fire here. It's just too easy
to get burned so get that SPF up to 30.
So
take your swizzle stick and mix Blondie and Aerosmith and Tommy Roe
and the MC5 among others up with Contemporary Garage from the Lyres,
Fuzztones, Chevelles, Insomniacs, and Woggles. And the Underground
Garage toasts the Girls of Summer now and forevermore.
7.13.03
EPISODE 67 - PSYCHEDELPHIA
/ 1967
This week's episode takes as its theme the tumultuous and wondrous
year of 1967, wherein lay the Summer of Love. This was the year that
pushed those of us lucky enough to be there over the edge into full-fledged
psychedelia. We came in colors everywhere. So to speak.
To quote Steven, "Never in history, before or since, has such
a substantial portion of the public, worldwide, been so emotionally
synchronized with an art form. Rock Music became the all encompassing,
inspiring, motivating,
educating medium of a generation."
Among the many reasons this year was remarkable was the release of
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1. This was the start
of the album as an entity, not as a collection of single releases.
Eventually this would
change radio forever. Our Freak of the Week would also change radioforever
- tune in for more info on that.
We're also going to delve into some '67 lore like the Monterey Pop
Festival, the Human Be-In, and the famous Rolling Stones bust at Redlands.
Who Breaks A Butterfly On A Wheel, indeed.
We're playing All Psychedelic Stuff this week and, along with the
classics, feature Contemporary Psychedelic Garage from the Warlocks
out of San Francisco, the Contrast from England, New Jersey's Anderson
Council, Detroit 's Outrageous Cherry, the High Dials from Montreal,
Mr. Brown from Australia, and Nashville's The Shazam. So turn off
your mind, relax, and float downstream . . . .
7.06.03
EPISODE 66 - Hamburg/1966
This week we continue our roadtrip throughout the globe and touch
down in Hamburg, Germany which can arguably be called the real birthplace
of the British Invasion. This is where the Beatles really honed those
stage chops
which eventually helped them to conquer the world. Which reminds us,
this week is Ringo's birthday so we're celebrating that too. You know
us, any excuse for a party!
Since this is Show 66 we are also doing a little historical perspective
on that penultimate year for Garage Rock classics, the final year,
as Steven says, before Rock and Pop went their separate ways. "There
was a feeling
that anything could happen and usually did."
Our Freak of the Week is a 12th century German Benedictine nun! When
you hear about her, you will know why.
This week we're featuring new music from Contemporary Garage Bands
like the Hives, Cotton Mather, Jet, the Donnas, the Monochords, the
Chains, and the Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Who will be crowned The Most
Cool? Listen and find out!!
So who in the world is Bruno Koshmider and what does he have to do
with the Future of Rock and Roll? How did the Troggs get discovered?
The answer to this and other questions shall be revealed during our
two hour Bavarian Beer Fest. Auf Wiedersehen!
6.29.03Episode
65: Florence/1965
From Florence, Italy, the birthplace of Western Art, we continue our
roadtrip through Europe this week. Noted Italian rock journalist Paolo
Zaccagnini is our very special guest helping set the theme for us.
We're going to touch on the year 1965 historically as it is our 65th
show as well as immerse ourselves in Italian culture this week. Pass
the olive oil, baby.
Our Freak of the Week is Pier Paolo Pasolini, noted film director,
poet, essayist, screenwriter, novelist, painter, and critic. His personal
story rivals that of his films for drama, intrigue, sex, and violence.
In keeping with our Italian theme, we're also going to talk about
Giuseppe Garibaldi, a close runner up for the Freak of the Week. He
was an Italian patriot and soldier back in the early 1800's and his
story is quite amazing.
We're instituting a new feature, Coolest Request of the Week, in honor
of our production interns who literally discovered a band who ended
up playing this week's Coolest Song in the World! (Listen to find
out what it is) So write to us at undergroundgarage@littlesteven.com
with your requests and we'll track them down. Please remember that
we can't play demos or unreleased material and that Garage Rock is
our beat, baby.
Also we bring you Contemporary Garage from Creatures of the Golden
Dawn, The Shazam, The Greenhornes, the Apers, Apples In Stereo, Reigning
Sound, Freddy & The Four Gone Conclusions, the Buzzcocks, and
the Fleshtones!
We're in Italy so mangia, mangia, mangia.
6.22.03Episode
64: London/1964
In this show we fete the British Invasion of 1964 which changed all
life as we know it forevermore. You'll hear a plethora of seminal
British Invasion bands including the Searchers, Beatles, Dave Clark
Five, Kinks, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Manfred Mann, Hollies, and
The Who.
The Underground Garage also features the work of Mickie Most, one
of the dozen or so vitally important record producers of the 60's,
who we tragically lost very recently. He had hits with the Animals,
Hermans Hermits, Donovan, the Yardbirds, the Jeff Beck Group, and
many more.
We also bestow our highest honor on Ronan O'Rahilly, the Father of
Radio Caroline, Freak of the Week. You won't believe his story. And
he's still out there, going strong. We haven't heard the last of him.
In our 64th Episode of this Rock and Roll Dance Party, you will also
find Contemporary Garage gems from Scotland's Kaisers, England's Libertines
and The Contrast, the Gore Gore Girls from Pittsburgh, Finland's Flaming
Sideburns, and Australia's Jet. Plus brand new music from England's
Buzzcocks!
It's a global revolution.
6.15.03EPISODE 63:
Paris/1963
This
week we will be celebrating the great American folk-rock band, the
Byrds. The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man" was one of the
seven records that changed the world.
Can
you name the others? Well, if you cant we are gonna tell you
in this show.
This
week we are also in the very cool city of Paris, land of Revolution,
Bohemians, and striking workers. Here we will introduce our new feature,
our "Freak of the Week." And let me tell you, you have to
be real cool, and a real freak, to be the Freak of the Week.So
in addition to some Byrds, we also will be playing the Yardbirds,
Foo Fighters, New York Dolls, Model Rockets, Kinks, Outrageous Cherry,
the Contrast, and a host of other rockin stuff.
So tune in and "abientot," that's French for
see you soon in the Underground Garage.
6.08.03EPISODE 62: Barcelona/1962
We
are in Barcelona this week as we travel the world seeking answers
to the cosmic questions such as Do You Swing? And I Think, Yes, But
Therefore Do I Rock & Roll?
This weeks show examines the breathtaking city of Barcelona
sparkling on the Mediterranean. We delve into the outrageous, twisted,
profane, divine, incredible world of architect Antoni Gaudi
most of his works can be found in Barcelona.
We also talk a little bit about the year 1962 since it is our 62nd
show. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis.. and the Ealing Jazz Club
and Marshall McLuhans Gutenberg Galaxy and Palisades
Park by Chuck Barris it was a heavy year, mi amigo.
In this weeks show youll hear the usual trippy mix of
old and new. First Generation Garage, Classic Garage, and Roots of
Garage from The Saints, The Stems, Spencer Davis Group, the Crystals,
the Ramones, Pretty Things, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, Them, The
Who, The Clash and more!
Contemporary Garage featured from the Crybabies from Worcester, Mass.,
Brooklyns Fleshtones, Australias Jet, Finlands Flaming
Sideburns, Detroits White Stripes and Freddy and the Four Gone
Conclusions, and Denmarks Raveonettes.
Welcome to the Casa De Locos that is the Underground Garage!
6.01.03EPISODE
61: Amsterdam/1961 This
week the Underground Garage broadcasts from the beautiful city of
Amsterdam.
Also
since it is our 61st episode we riff a little bit about the year of
1961, the political and cultural atmosphere of the way things were
back then, which in fact is as remote from today's as 1861 would be.
What
do Bob Dylan and Roger Maris have in common?
Why
do Dutch people prefer their country to be called the Netherlands
rather than Holland?
What
did Golden Earring do before they were Golden Earring?
Who
really got Brian Epstein down to the Cavern to see the Beatles for
the first time?
What
does Allen Ginsberg have to do with all this?
Yes,
these answers and more, as well as a groove-laden mix from the Nazz,
Howlin' Wolf, the Kinks, David Johansen, the Sonics, the Yardbirds,
the Searchers, Irma Thomas, the Ramones, Q 65, the Pretty Things,
and more!
Featuring
music from Contemporary Garage bands the Paybacks, the Hives, the
Libertines, Creatures of the Golden Dawn, the Apers, the Reigning
Sound, and the Boss Martians.
5.25.03
EPISODE: 1960
Its
Party Time! Memorial Day Weekend! The unofficial start of summer!!!
And Little Stevens Underground Garage is gonna plug you in to
the coolest rock and roll songs ever recorded from Howlin
Wolf to Howlin Pelle Almquist. Sit back, relax, and get into
that summer starting groove.
This is also our 60th show and so we will take a look at the year
1960. The first televised presidential debates! The last Howdy Doody
Show! The Twist dance craze and the beginning of the sexual revolution!
And of course the usual heady mix of classic Garage-y delights from
the Creation, the Knickerbockers, the Marmalade, the Dave Clark Five,
the Hollies, the Bobby Fuller Four, Moby Grape, among others
and new material from Australias Jet, the Donnas, Outrageous
Cherry, Ko and the Knockouts, the Fleshtones, Freddy and the Four
Gone Conclusions. Add
to that Elvis Costello, the Clash, the Ronettes, Big Star, the Sex
Pistols, and youhave another fine edition of the Underground Garage.
5.18.03
EPISODE 59: DYLAN This
week the Underground Garage celebrates Bob Dylan on the occasion of
his birthday May 24th. . . a gentleman, scholar, and groundbreaking
rock poet who once played a high school sock hop in Minnesota with
his band and had the plug pulled by the principal because the music
was too loud.
We
celebrate his work and his life with at least two Dylan songs in every
set of the show this week. Quoth Steven, You combine that dedication
to authenticity, a complete immersion in folk tradition, an ear for
language, beat poetry imagery, a political antenna, and build all
that around a rock and roll heart and youve got a dangerous
guy.
Amen
to that. Check out our birthday tribute to Bob with the likes of The
Ramones, The Byrds, The Animals, The Small Faces, The Turtles, Jason
and the Scorchers, Manfred Mann . . . and Contemporary Garage Gems
from the Chains, The Libertines, The White Stripes, Ko and the Knockouts,
Sahara Hotnights, the Cynics, and the Fuzztones!!
Tune
in to find out how journalist Al Aronowitz changed the world and why
Muddy Waters was the meeting place of two very powerful and really
opposite musical forces. Not to mention who gets the title
of Coolest Song in the World This Week???!!!
5.11.03EPISODE:
1958 Little
Steven's Underground Garage examines the musical and cultural influences
that marked the year of 1958. Quoting Steven, "1958 was the beginning
of the end. And within a year it would be all over . . . <this
music> represented freedom in a way the American constitution only
implied, in a way the declaration of independence could only suggest,
in a way the bill of rights could only promise. For 200 years politicians
stood around talking about it. . . Rock and Roll delivered the goods."
In this show Steven reveals the crux of the Underground Garage's whole
ethos . . . You will have to listen to find out what it is. Hint:
Queens, New York figures in the equation.
From Elvis Costello to Transvision Vamp, from the Count Five to the
Dave Clark Five, from Johnny Thunders to the Move, from the Yardbirds
to the Who, from the Birds to Dusty Springfield, from the Rich Kids
to the Ramones, from the Strawberry Alarm Clock to the Rolling Stones,
this is one dance party you will not want to miss.
Also new music from Detroit's outrageous Cherry, Gore Gore Girls,
and White Stripes, Memphis' Reigning Sound, New York's Fleshtones,
Atlanta's Woggles and Forty-Fives, England's the Contrast, Worcester's
Crybabies, and the redoubtable Ringo Starr from his new album.
To quote the Ramones LET'S DANCE.
5.04.03EPISODE:
SURF'S
UP!
This
week the Underground Garage pays tribute to the great continent of
Australia and its island neighbor New Zealand. Almost all of the music
in this show is from one of these two very cool garage meccas.
Starting
with 1960s Classic Garage from Australias Easybeats right
up until Contemporary grooves from New Zealands D4 and beyond,
these two countries are hotbeds of seething musical excitement.
Peter
Garrett puts it this way in his Australia Day speech earlier this
year: We are a literate, creative nation, remarkably free of
enemies. Importantly, to my mind. Australia is not bound up by ancient
tribal or religious enmities that have scarred the Old World, nor
do we necessarily have to be beholden in the future to any one power
or ideology.
Giving
them more time for rock and roll.
So
check out old and new sounds from the Easybeats, the Chevelles, the
Hekawis, the Simple Image, the Purple Hearts, the Stems, the Vines,
the La De Das, the Saints, the Bee Gees, the Scientists, the
Easybeats, Midnight Oil, the Lime Spiders, Mr. Brown, Radio Birdman,
the D4, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts, and Miss Toni McCann.
Surfs
Up!
4.27.03EPISODE
56: TROGG!
Little Stevens Underground Garage adds 26 stations this week
courtesy of the ABC Radio Network, putting us at well over a hundred
affiliates throughout the United States and Canada. Tomorrow the world,
baby! As usual, this week the Underground Garage takes its magical
swizzle stick and mixes the best in Classic and First Generation Garage
with Contemporary Garage Rock. Youll hear the likes of The Clash,
The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The Who, and Donovan cosily cuddling
with The White Stripes, The Fuzztones, The Shazam, Freddy and the
Four Gone Conclusions, Outrageous Cherry, The Woggles, and The Anderson
Council. .
4.20.03
EPISODE
55: NEW
NETHERLAND NIGHTS
This
week's show takes as its theme the great teeming metropolis of new
york city . . . With some new jersey thrown in . . . Hence the title
'New Netherland Nights' which refers to both areas and is the original
name the dutch settlers gave when they wrested the land from the indians
who lived there. Jazz in midtown and harlem, bohemia and dadaism in
greenwich village, punk rock on the lower east side, the brill building,
ed sullivan, and more . . . Manhattan both filthy and gorgeous is
feted by the underground garage. We have a first on this week's show
- not one but two coolest songs in the world !!! Both by new york
bands. Tune in for details. And tune in to hear new netherland's finest
both old and new - from the new york dolls to the chiffons, from dion
to the velvet underground, from patti smith to the four seasons, and
more. Hear new music from cool contemporary garage bands like the
mockers, mooney suzuki, the swingin' neckbreakers, and the grip weeds
among others.
4.13.03
EPISODE 54: Not Fade Away In the immortal words of Andrew Loog Oldham,
The
Rolling Stones are more than just a group they are a way of
life. This week the Underground Garage salutes the April 1964
release of
the very first Rolling Stones album. Along with several selections
from the aforementioned album, youll hear our usual eclectic
Garagey mix of delectables from The Standells, The Pretty Things,
Transvision Vamp, Humble Pie, The Ramones, The Hollies, The Clash
and more.
Also Contemporary Garage from The Cynics, The Datson Four,
Soundtrack of Our Lives, and Creatures of the Golden Dawn in
addition to this weeks Coolest Song In The World!
4.06.03 EPISODE 53: LIKE DEJA VU
Year 2 of little steven's underground garage begins this week. Like
déjà vu (all over again)! We transcend chronological
time. It means nothing to us. Eternity baby, that's what time it is
around here. This week's show was recorded in australia where we recently
went to do some research for our upcoming australian special. More
on this in a few weeks! As usual we span the entire globe canvassing
the best in contemporary garage, going from new jersey with the swingin'
neckbreakers to outrageous cherry and the paybacks from detroit, to
boston for the lyres, and to sweden for sahara hotnights. We will
continue to mix it up with the absolute best of historical garage
rock and the roots of garage. This week you'll hear from lords of
the new church, the new york dolls, the animals, and the dave clark
five, among others. So tune in for the launch of the 2nd year of the
coolest songs in the world!
—Little Steven
3.30.03EPISODE
52: HELLO, I MUST BE GOING
" “Louie Louie,” baby. The Rosetta Stone of Rock and Roll. You know
most songwriters at some point start writing songs that are more complex,
you know, interesting tricky chord changes, and innovative time signatures,
deeply intellectual lyric ideas. The truth is, the more complicated
a song is the easier it is to write. Really intelligent songwriting
eventually gets drawn to technology because it allows for more complexity.
It feels more challenging, more stimulating, more creative, but the
truth is, it’s all an illusion, eventually a delusion. You want a
challenge, a real challenge? Try writing “Louie Louie.” "—Little Steven
3.23.03EPISODE
51: LET'S GO TRIPPIN' (Updated Repeat)
"Welcome seekers. We are that desperately needed truck stop on the
long dark road called Life. We'll give you the fuel to make it through
another week. Don't worry about a thing. Sit back and allow us to
be the Soundtrack of Your Life." —Little Steven
3.16.03 EPISODE 50: TIMOTHY WHITE
"Timothy White died June 27, 2002 and we are in big trouble. Why
would the death of a writer mean big trouble for us you ask, especially
since no one in America reads anymore. Well once upon a time in
America there were a few people who thought Rock and Roll actually
mattered. Timothy White was one of them and there’s not many left."—Little
Steven
3.9.03 EPISODE 49: DETROIT (UPDATED REPEAT)
"You are deep in the Underground Garage. Where we are engaged in
a thanksgiving, a confession, an open acknowledgement that gives
thanks to a town that is spiritually and philosophically very much
our parent. Although being the irreverent, arrogant, iconoclasts
Detroiters tend to be they would probably disown us anyway as their
bastard children. But the DNA sample would test positive baby. The
Detroit aesthetic is very much the Underground Garage aesthetic."—Little
Steven
3.2.03EPISODE 48: MARTIN SCORSESE (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Welcome to the Underground Garage celebration of Martin Scorsese….
Rock and Roll used in soundtracks was not that common when Marty
started doing it regularly…. The sensibility of Mean Streets>
is forever…. But more than any lifestyle, of course, it was the
style of the film that endures. A style that started off uniquely
Scorsese, and has now very much become the mainstream."—Little Steven
2.23.03EPISODE 47: ANOTHER HARD DAY’S NIGHT (UPDATED
REPEAT)
"Hard Day’s Night turned out to be a brilliant piece of filmmaking
actually, somehow; if you've seen the other exploitation-type rock
movies you know how lucky they got. What was intended to be a quick
taking advantage of what everyone assumed would be a very temporary
popularity became accidentally part of a genius marketing strategy
that would allow their fans to get much closer, much more intimate
than any entertainment fan had ever gotten to a star. True or not,
exaggerated or not, the film had an autobiographical resonance as
far as revealing the band's relationship with each other. And having
virtually invented the concept of the Rock and Roll Band, as we've
said many times, there really wasn't any before them, Hard Day's
Night was a demonstration film of how a band lives and thinks
and feels and what they go through. And of course, it was exaggerated,
but there was some truth going on in there."—Little Steven
2.16.03 EPISODE 46: FORE FOR TEXAS (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Welcome to the Underground Garage Salute to Texas. Do not forget
for one minute that you are listening to the coolest radio station
in town, baby. That's right, email them and tell them how cool they
are for having this show on. Let them know they are appreciated
and not taken for granted."—Little Steven
2.9.03 EPISODE 45: FRANKIE BARSALONA (UPDATED REPEAT)
"This is the Underground Garage Salute to Frank Barsalona, the Godfather
of Rock and Roll. A name most people will not know but a man totally
in control of, recognized for, and the creator of the live performance
part of the renaissance that was the 60's. He started the first
exclusively Rock and Roll Agency at a time when the Rock and Roll
thing was supposed to be a fad that would fade away like this year's
hula hoop or pet rock. We'll be featuring a few of his artists during
the show. We'd need about 12 hours to do 'em all."—Little Steven
2.2.03 EPISODE 44: THE BIG IDEA
"We kind of make the rules up as we go but there are certain universal
truths. Most of the mothers of your friends in the neighborhood
are supposed to hate you because when they see you coming they know
you're gonna talk their son or daughter into going to band practice
instead of doing their homework…Now if you got kids that's different.
You gotta spend time with your kids because it's never too early
to start teaching them how to be rock stars. It's not until your
kid gets sent home from school for looking like Gene Vincent that
you really know you're a good father."—Little Steven
1.26.03 EPISODE 43: MANHATTAN MANHATTAN (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Chapter One - He was as tough and mysterious as his favorite medium,
radio, and he had the perfect face for it. Behind that bandana and
big nose was the liberating rebelliousness of Little Richard, the
ruthless, merciless power and passion of Little Walter, and the
heartbreaking sweet pathos of Little Anthony.....Rock and Roll Radio
was his medium. And it always would be."—Little Steven
1.19.03 EPISODE 42: GROUCHO ENCORE (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Death has a funny way of adding an exclamation point to the sentence
that was your life. It makes life an easy to understand three-act
sitcom rather than an ongoing mini-series. You don't know whether
the characters are important, who's gonna come and go, what plot
lines are gonna stick. Life is unfocused, it's unclear, it's confusing.
And we're too busy and self-absorbed to think about our own lives
never mind somebody else's. In the final analysis in regards to
the quality of one's work and one's general social standing, let's
face it, life is . . . overrated."—Little Steven
1.12.03 EPISODE 41: PIRATE RADIO SAILS AGAIN (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Pirate Radio, and Radio Caroline specifically, was the missing
link between the past and the future…And ultimately that encouragement
possibly helped create, and probably accelerated, and absolutely
provided the lifeline to America for an artistic renaissance we'll
probably never see again in our lifetime, but will inspire and motivate
many lifetimes to come."—Little Steven
1.5.03 EPISODE 40: JOHNNY B. COOL (UPDATED REPEAT)
"Friendship, Brotherhood, Family, Strength in Numbers, Protecting
Each Other, Fighting The Good Fight Together, against racism against
fascism, fighting for liberation – no more than that – embodying
liberation itself. Joe Strummer is gone. Long Live The Clash."—Little
Steven