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In just a few days on June 20 it will mark my 69th year on the planet. Suffice to say, this is a number I never expected to tally, especially considering the last seven, but am very grateful to remain above ground. This entire week was always kind of a magical part of the calendar as it also marked the start of Summer on the 21st and my Pop’s Birthday on the 22nd, a date that also served as my Grandparents' anniversary. Through the years dates filled in like my cousin Linda’s birthday on the 19th (shared with Paul McCartney), my Amazing Bolts brother Tommy on the 22nd and not only former Baltimore Orioles catcher Andy Etchebarren but brother from another mother Tom Yaccarino who shared my day. Speaking of which, there will be a gaping hole around the table this year now that Brian Wilson has passed. Although it makes no sense, being born on the same day as Brian made me proud. The first time I met him as I reached to shake his hand I said, “Brian, we have the same Birthday!” He looked me in the eye and asked, “June 20th?” I smiled as wide as possible and replied, “Good answer.” He cackled loudly and signed my original 8 track tape of “Wild Honey” exclaiming “Hey, I remember these.” I will always love Brian Wilson and cherish the remarkable and eternal music he shared with us.
This show will need to be broken into parts, as the DMCA will not bend to my will and in order to get as many different tunes as needed will fracture the needless constraints it commands. What a bullshit law. With that in mind, here’s part one a few days early. Thanks for listening and your contributions (click) are appreciated far more than you could realize. P.S. Mixcloud is being wonky (again) but the hearthis.at player is beautiful. If all else fails there is a good chance this will get you a 24Bit flac
If you need a PLAYLIST click this thing.
The original plan for ps008 was to catch up on some new things that have been piling up during my recuperation. However, once underway the news of Sly’s passing caused a bit of a rethink, as there are few artists during my lifetime that shook the musical landscape with the magnitude of Sylvester Stewart. By the time Sly & The Family Stone began their remarkable string of hit singles, popular music was undertaking a cultural renaissance unlikely to be repeated. Black, white, male, female all together creating pure joy for everyone. It was irresistible. It was intoxicating. It was the best of us. Aural proof that we were meant to work, play, dance, live, love, celebrate and create together. Cue up “Everyday People” and if you can find someone who has never heard it and play it for them. See if they can guess what year it was recorded. The music of Sly Stone remains universal and timeless.
Due to the restrictions of the DMCA it was impossible to include more than a few Sly tunes but that opened up the show to allow my original intention of exploring the pile of new releases. Listen for new arrivals from The Lumineers, Matt Berninger, Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, Thelonious Monk, Grace Potter, Anderson East, Patty Griffin, Josh Ritter, Robin Trower, Bono, David Byrne, Portugal. The Man, Elbow and Sparks. Thanks again for the support, the link to donate can be found HERE and if you are looking for vinyl, CD, DVD or even cassettes the link to my personal collection up for sale is found HERE. 24Bflac DL
For more info and the playlist... click here.
This was a tough one. For the first time in my life, humor and optimism as my primary manner of dealing with the twists and turns we all face appeared to be a weak strategy. Finally, just a few days back the stinging, sharp pain began to dull along with the pounding and confusion in my head. This episode began on Memorial Day but it took until today to add the finishing touches. My energy is improving but under no circumstance can I push myself, so a regular schedule is out of the question for now.
Unlike the stage 4 Lymphoma of 2018 this was not a blood cancer, but a tumor in my lung. They apparently got all of it and it didn’t spread. After waking in recovery and well enough to check messages, a chill went through me at the news of Mike Peters passing on April 29, basically while I was on the table. Perhaps it was the meds but I was convinced he had a hand in my survival, simply because that is just the type of human he was. His years-long battle with blood cancer caused us to bond even before I got sick during a long conversation around the release of his “Man In The Camo Jacket.” His amazing wife Jules, Mike and I spent at least an hour discussing his ordeal, as well as my daughters lifelong immune disorder. When I got sick in 2018 he was one of the first to call. This episode is for Mike Peters, Jill Sobule, Rick Derringer, James Lowe of The Electric Prunes and the still very much alive Garland Jeffreys and his wife Claire. I love you all. Sure wish I could have been here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/funeral-80s-music-icon-draws-190342810.html P.S. Once again medical bills are flooding in. We have cut every corner possible and the hits just keep on coming. There are 2 ways to help:
My first transistor radio.
Playlist is HERE
With the big date set for surgery on April 29, I am attempting to clear the deck of unfinished projects. Not confident that all will be completed but this one is unquestionably a must. A mere three days prior on April 26, against considerable odds, will mark the 45th wedding anniversary of Cathy and I. Including over a dozen location moves and trauma both expected and unexpected, through ups, downs and occasionally even sideways situations we have somehow endured. Although unalike in just about every category, at times diametrically opposed, we are easily a pair of the most stubborn humans in history.
From my perspective, I still see that 18 year old vision of Natalie Wood meets Annette Funicello in a tube-top and full-on Angela Davis Afro that I refused to sell a Lynyrd Skynyrd record to in 1975 at Harmony Hut in East Brunswick, NJ. Instead, I gave her a copy of Dave Mason’s “It’s Like You Never Left” with a promise that if she didn’t like it, all she had to do was return it for the Skynyrd album of her choice. Of course we met at a Record Store. I have not really spent much time in the studio. Lately sleeping seems to occupy the bulk. A few nights back, in between dreams and thinking about the last 45 years I headed to the studio and fired it up old school. I had an opening song (a new one from The Swell Season) and a closing, a song we always dance to. Actually, the only song we ever dance to. This is what came out. Love You, Cath.
The PLAYLIST is HERE
Next up is a full series of blood tests, as I get ready to see exactly how the doctors plan to attack the unwanted growth. I must admit that the more news I read, the less I’m sure I want to continue as this is simply no longer the country I’ve spent just about 69 years in. What a clusterfuck. If anyone is upset at that comment, do yourself a favor and search Berlin 1933 in whatever you use for that kind of stuff. Read about it and then get back to me.
Cathy has been my taxi to and from every doctor visit and our new car game is to do the nazi salute to every Tesla we encounter. Yes it’s childish but it does make me laugh, and that’s all I’m interested in right now… a brief giggle. Cathy, Anastasia and I want to send our love and support to Cathy’s cousins, Elizabeth, Leslie and Chris who are being put through the emotional ringer with lie after lie published in the press. It’s tough enough to lose their beloved Father, but the coverage has been beyond the pale. Don’t believe everything you read. Thanks to all who have sent support, financial or emotional. Both are greatly appreciated. Please enjoy the show! click for 24Bit .flac DL 
The first voice you will hear on this episode belongs to the late Pete Fornatale, who passed away in 2012 at the tender age of 66 the date was April 26. That would have been my 32nd Wedding Anniversary. I know that because it was my Mother’s Birthday, a date I would never forget, marking the perfect date to get married. Insurance against becoming “that guy” a popular sitcom storyline back in the day. The dufus husband that never remembers. I guess music isn’t the only way I’ve tried to plant seeds during my lifetime. I was glad to get to know Pete, who was truly a lovely man, his voice very much a part of my formative years as the long time (mostly) Mid-Day Host at WNEW-FM in New York. I was proud to pick up his long-running syndicated program “Mixed Bag” (named after a Richie Havens album) and a very early zealot of this new channel, along with his manager Chris Hall. I suspected that Pete and I had a similar philosophy regarding music presentation, and was able to confirm it after our first few conversations and visits. The commercial radio era Pete spent the bulk of his career was really the golden period in my opinion. Due to the new rule disallowing the simulcast of an AM and FM signal… see here There were openings popping up for musically astute listeners, especially obsessed musicologists (cough)with a desire to attempt communicating their vision. I was hooked on that approach from the first 15 minutes of listening to NY’s WOR-FM from my Central Jersey location. It made perfect sense since I loved a variety of music since childhood. I was becoming annoyed at hearing the same song, like it or not, upwards of a dozen times a day on 77 WABC, WMCA or when further South WFIL and WIBG out of Philadelphia. A good history lesson can be found Here
There you have the spark that ignited a tuned-in generation to communicate on a grand scale about culture… art, film, justice, politics and especially music. Minus the agenda. Without “Freeform Radio” it’s possible in my mind that proof provided by festivals like Woodstock, the touring and music industry appearing to be printing money, the enormous profit potential of the economic might of Baby Boomers coming of age was staggering. If you sold anything at all, this is where the target lived. I believe the same target is still out there and has been every generation since. The problem, as usual, is money and greed. Freeform Radio will never, and has never been a ratings magnet. It was never designed to be. When presented with this opportunity by Dave Logan and Lee Abrams at my interview I even asked Lee how I could trust the guy cited as largely responsible for the demise of my beloved Freeform, namely him! Dave I kind of knew, this was my first meeting with Lee. His response after a good laugh was, “Hey, it’s not my fault they are still doing the same shit I came up with in the 70’s? We are blowing it up, and re-invent. This will be a boutique station, 2 to 3% will find it and never leave. But many will pre-set it.” No dumbing it down, no censorship, no commercials and no sales manager with offers of appearance fees or quid pro quo? Really? Where do I sign? I am about to enter a zone where I have to see a lot of medical people, so that is the impetus for posting a batch of things in a relatively short period. I loved looking back at the stuff in this episode but it really is just the start of the story. There were two distinct periods of the channel and the next one would find me actually working with some people that directly inspired me. I’ll log that for Summer listening. I have a few things almost ready to tide you over that I will post before treatment begins and make sure to stay until the absolute end, as I tacked on a recording made by an audio animator we’ll call “Ben.” This is how you get through the unending stress and workload when trying to launch something brand new. One of the most talented I have ever seen at that job, but like 97% of the initial crew, he came with special extra features. When nerves are frayed and little things (like burning popcorn in the microwave) can be just about to go nuclear., he had the superpower and mad skills to slip into a studio and emerge with a piece like the one you will hear at the end, piped through the entire programing department’s desk phones.He saved lives that man. I thank every one of you for the support, encouragement and love over the past 7 years! With Zukerfuck and Captain Chainsaw no longer worthy of my time and attention, I will do the best I can to keep you updated. You are always welcome to reach out directly, I’m easy to find. It’s been seven friggin’ years, people. I love every one of you.
Playlist can be found if you click here and scroll down.
From November 2022. https://www.mixcloud.com/marrone/from-the-basement-195-positive-vibes-for-roberta-flack/  Found It..... Clickety Clack |
Mike MarroneDad, Husband, DJ 
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