We’re just 13 days into the new year and so much has happened already but it still threw me for a loop when the news about Ronnie Spector hit as I was about 2/3 of the way into this episode. The instinct to react runs deep in these old bones, so you will hear a spontaneous tribute culled from a variety of sources as it was up to what dear old friend Vin would call “The Radio Muse” to take control. Luckily the “muse” did just that, even with the DMCA restrictions hanging over the proceedings, making even less sense in our now digital world, especially at a time like this. By the time it plays we will have already covered a death OF A FOUNDING member of OF Funk Royalty Parliament, new stuff from Cat Power, Placebo, Alt-J, Fontaines D.C., Eels, Hand Habits, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Bill Callahan with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Theo Croker, Jeff Tweedy, Andrew Gabbard and David Byrne with Yo La Tengo interpreting Yoko Ono. We revisit time well spent with Mavis Staples, continue to remember Billy Conway and manage to make all the pieces fit from The Last Poets, Beastie Boys and Allen Toussaint to Mega City 4, Big Star, The Gun Club, Jon Brion, Tommy Keene, Rufus and so much more. Thanks to all for your amazing generosity, there will be another link for donations soon.
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Welcome to Episode #153 of From The Basement, a cautious attempt to sort of slip into a new year without making much of a fuss and stick to the pandemic mindset that has by now become routine. Life had already changed drastically by the time Covid collided with a country divided over truth, corruption and escalating insanity, so wearing a mask and social distancing is not a problem in my world. Doing this show was key to getting my brain functioning again. I thank all who spend some time here and hope to one day celebrate FTB#500, who knows? Within there is a little tribute to Betty White, a few new things (Sea Wolf, Bob Perry, Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Matthew E. White, Neville Staple, James Deely and F16s) and reissue/special editions from Steppenwolf, King Crimson and Steven Wilson, an 80th birthday shout-out to Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and contributions from Nada Surf, Donnie, B.B. King, Billy Conway, Savoy Brown, Prefab Sprout, The Waterboys, Wonder Stuff, Caravan, Be Bop Deluxe, The Temptations, Rev. Shawn Amos, Spirit, Don Dixon and a metric ton more. The site for donations will be closed after 1/12, thanks for all your support. https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8FuvQUPNeP
Well gang, we made it. Surviving 2021 was quite a bit more difficult than in the past, yet here we are. Many things have changed over the past few years in my world and as this final episode of the year is released, word reached The Basement that Betty White fell just short of 100 years on the planet. We were rooting for the lovely Ms. White to reach triple digits, but this fucked up year finds her joining John Madden and Harry Reid as perhaps the final U.S. trio of note to head for The Afterparty. Here on what is rapidly becoming “Earth 2,” new variants cause the pandemic to rage, Russia threatens to start WWIII and evidence keeps growing that an ex-President may have done enough damage to our Constitution to have us headed inevitably toward either a second Civil War or successful Insurrection, or both. On a personal level, it’s shocking that as I reach 65 years old so much of the country is still arguing about topics like race, abortion and even voting and women’s rights. Here in The Basement the only thing to do is say “Fuck it” and turn up the music. Have a happy and safe New Year. Thank you for allowing this old radio dude to still have a purpose, and if you want to thank Art Damage for all his efforts, go here (https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8FuvQUPNeP) you have until 1/12 to let him know. Love to all.
Art Damage had this to say, “As we inch closer to Christmas I have completely come to grips with the fact that it will take at least a few more festive seasons to make any sort of real dent in the Holiday Tunes Bunker. My mind gets blown apart several times a day with the discovery of things I've either never seen, never knew about, or never heard and there are definitely a few ahead for you in this episode. Part 6 will be the final pre-Christmas episode. But there will be a grand finale, consisting of a show specifically designed for New Years Eve. The plan is to end this year, which by all rights should be another do over, with a frenzy of high energy, non-stop, rhythm and blues and rock and soul, causing a collective and complete psychic expulsion of another year collecting frustration, plague, corruption, lies and stupidity. Anyway, that is the plan, my Darlings.” I believe Art is really having a good time, don’t you? Unfortunately we must begin this episode with the sad news of the passing of Billy Conway. Truly a human of the absolute highest order, brilliant and inspirational musician, the keeper and inhabitor of time. Had to play the rare Christmas B side from Morphine, Sexy Baby Christmas Mine. Rest in time, Billy Conway. You made a difference and left a positive imprint. You will never be forgotten. Thanks to all for the recent donations, the new link is good through 1/12/22. https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8FuvQUPNeP
We have arrived at the final FTB episode of 2021 that will not involve Holiday music, so yes Art Damage will continue offering episodes of The Art Damage Holiday Experience with Part 6 due soon. Art stops by to update Mike, who as expected has a very full plate of solid new material that he is eager to share. He also performed some deep archive excavation and has a batch of rarely (if ever) heard items from not only The Stones and others, but the Motown Records vault as well. New music includes efforts from Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Superchunk, Wet Leg, Bill Callahan, Bonnie Prince Billy and others. It winds up being a full 6 hour show to end the year, hand crafted and sent with love to all of you with grateful and sincere thanks for all the support and love you have bestowed throughout the year. Please stay safe and let’s all make the best of the current Covid situation to celebrate as best we can.
Art is actually more intense as we move forward in the series and showing no sign at all of running out steam. We know it’s impossible for him to run out of music. You have to be interested when somehow a Christmas Tree made of fried chicken winds up as a cover star, perhaps alerting everyone of the crunchy sonic goodness found within. A rare New Order flexi disc almost gave him a heart attack but he pulled it together and exposes Holiday cheer from the likes of Jason & The Straptones, Arthur Kill & The Pollutants, Mel Blanc, Daniel Lanois, Roy Orbison, The Muffs, Chet Baker, R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, The Smothers Brothers, Syd Straw, Iggy Pop joining up with William Shatner and too many more to list. Enjoy the ride and Happy Holidays. There will definitely be a part 6.
Art Damage continues his mission to uncover the coolest, most unique Holiday music he can get his hands on, even convincing Mike to unpack his insane collection for inspection and plunder. He is still at it after 6 days. His fourth episode has arrived with nuggets from Genesis, The Monkees, Frightened Rabbit, Del Fuegos, Lou Reed, rare Elvis and Beatles, Larry Coryell, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Smith, Lorne Green, Marvin Gaye, Dr. John, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Heartless Bastards, Eartha Kitt, Dave Brubeck, Chuck Leavell and a boatload more. Each part of this series has been coming in around the 2 hour mark and I don’t know who is having more fun, Art Damage or us. Hope you are enjoying the ride as we don;t see it ending for a bit. Thanks for listening and Happy Christmas.
Art Damage continues to dig for Holiday Music Gold and shows no sign of letting up. All kinds of rare and wacky stuff are perfectly mixed and blended to perfection on this third part of a series and we have no idea when it will finish. Happy Holidays and thanks for listening and your continued support.
Art Damage is on a mission. Save for food, eggnog and candy bars he continues to setup camp in my newly remodeled Holiday Music Bunker and claims he isn’t coming out until New Year’s Eve. He sent this musical missive a short time ago and aims to let loose several more over the weekend. We shall see but I have little doubt he will make at least a valiant attempt. Part 2 of The Art Damage Experience, A Holiday Special is another Highlight reel chock full of goodies. Miles Davis, The Beatles, Pearl Bailey, Mable Scott, Don Byron, The Smithereens, Minus 5, John and Yoko, Ringo, Roy Wood, Joseph Spence, Bowie & Bing, Kate Bush, Adrian Belew, Peter Himmelman and David Broza, Queen, Albert King… and on and on, etc. Yowza!
PLAYLIST HERE
He did it. Art Damage has managed to pull me out of my Holiday malaise and shamed me into opening up my lifelong collection of all things musically related to the Holidays. He has locked himself into the freshly unpacked and immaculately arranged Holiday Music Bunker and has threatened to compile a multitude of fresh, different and well… Art Damaged shows. The first one has arrived and as you will hear, it’s a beauty. Let’s see how long he can keep this up.
A whirlwind of discrete energy weaving new with old, loud and soft, bitter with sweet and not a single, antiquated rule of music programming engaged. Welcome to FTB#151, where you will find new music including an outstanding effort from former Winter Hours member Bob Perry, Suzanna Hoffs, Sea Wolf, Heartless Bastards, Slothrust, Manic Street Preachers, Stupidity (featuring Keith Streng), Pete Yorn, Billy Strings, The Crushing Violets, Strand Of Oaks, Theo Croker, Backyard Tire Fire, Mount Westmore, Senior Elvis Costello and the return of old friends The Whirling Dervishes. Combined with a hand crafted melange of diverse, challenging and beautiful library picks covering everyone from Dr. Lonnie Smith and Bobby Byrd to Johnny ``Guitar” Watson, Rory Gallagher, Lou Reed, Tones On Tail, Ben Lee and Bunny Wailer, to name just a few. It’s another 6 hour extravaganza! One more week of donations can be made here https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8EAHQADmvJ, and we continue to be thankful for all your wonderful support.
Just made it before Thanksgiving ended. Best laid plans, right? Studio meltdown at just the right time but all is again operational. Wishing that all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Consider this episode a bonus for letting us into your head in the first place. More from the Plant/Krauss album, something brand new from old pal James Deely and the legendary Dion, who has never made a record I didn’t eventually like, the blistering new album from Gov’t Mule gets us to classic Savoy Brown. Jah Wobble, Erin McKeown, The Professionals, Strand Of Oaks, and Kurt Elling are in the New Release Bin and Miles Davis completes the “Lost Trilogy” with perhaps his only live recording of a Herbie Hancock treasure with Herbie on stage with 30 days left before his Transition. We say a prayer for brilliant drummer Billy Conway of Morphine and discover another lost treasure as Meters’ guitarist Leo Nocentelli unearthed the genre shift Another Side, which was believed to have been destroyed by Katrina. With 4 years past we also remember Tommy Keene and so much more, including an 80th Birthday mini-tribute for Jesse Colin Young. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for listening.
As we approach the milestone of 150 Episodes I must confess this has been much more than a simple show for yours truly. Actually, it has been a vehicle to help reset the brain and stimulate memory after the wallop suffered by R-EPOCH Chemo. I thank every one of you for taking the ride and am happy to report that I feel better than I have in a very long time. New releases are everywhere and you will hear previously unreleased vault material from Elvis and Joni Mitchell (with and without James Taylor) immediately. In the brand new dept. NRBQ returns, Nick Piunti, The Weeklings, Inhaler, The Fixx, Nada Surf, Explorers Club, The The, Susanna Hoffs, The War On Drugs and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss join the fun with a stunning new record. Also a heartfelt tribute to Neal Casal and we hear the final musical gift from the brilliant Lyle Mays. Our romp through the massive library yields the expected wide assortment of sounds tying everything together. Thanks for listening, your support and encouragement. I wish I could give all of you a hug. If you can (https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8EAHQADmvJ).
Episode 148 comes after a very hectic week of studio remodeling, which is why it missed the planned release of Friday. There will be a deluge of new stuff in the next installment while we use this one as something akin to a giant musical exhale. Bowie, A Girl Called Eddy, David Sylvian and Prefab Sprout set the tone, but we also highlight the amazing playing of Danny Gatton, Miles Davis, Charles McPherson, Radiohead and more. There’s a new things from Neil Young (with Crazy Horse) and Elvis Costello, Ray Charles rocking some Stevie Wonder, old pal Syd Straw, Steve Gibbons, Dinosaur Jr., The Undisputed Truth, Peter Gabriel, Grand Funk Railroad, Swan Dive, Humble Pie and a ton more. Art Damage says goodbye to Graeme Edge and we have a new spot for donations (for a month) at https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8EAHQADmvJ. Thanks for all your support and most of all for listening.
Now this episode is the first that I truly consider a full and complete show. Clocking in at six hours, it is the first time in over 3 years that I have been able to do a regular six hour show. After doing two of these a day for 17 years, it was something I needed to do, proving to myself I still can. Honestly, there is no way I could do even one every day but that is fine. Small victories must be celebrated, so we hitch our wagon to the Induction of Todd Rundgren to the RRHOF and Suzy Creamcheese files a report from Cleveland. We also bid a fond farewell to one of the true masters of Jazz, guitarist Pat Martino, a player that other players were in awe of, as much for his humanity as his chops. There’s plenty of new things, including The War On Drugs, Mount Westmore, Voka Gentle, Spoon, The The, Jackson Browne, Liily, Aaron and the Lord, Joe Bonamassa, Tori Amos, Dave Hause and more. Last chance to donate at the original location which gets shut down on 11/8 (https://paypal.me/pools/c/8beKwFWlHR). Thanks so much for your generosity, support and most of all, your ears.
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Mike MarroneDad, Husband, Radio Programmer/DJ, Music Enthusiast, Drummer, Baseball Fan and Retired American. 
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