Radio Or Not #11 - Farewell to 2005, and to John Lennon too....

As we close the curtains on 2005, I want to thank all of you who found and embraced Radio Or Not. It's been my lifeline to the worlds of music and radio during my self-imposed exile!


As much as I enjoy running my own business, I admit that I prefer finding great music and playing it on the radio. As I always said, "it sure beats working!".

Once again, I'll ask you to visit our sponsors-- www.legacygroupunlimited.com . We can help you preserve, organize, share and enjoy your old photos, videos and home movies! And www.virtualradioservices.com for all your audio and podcasting production needs!


We're halfway through the decade that still has no name. Think about it... it's not like the 60's, 70's 80's or 90's.... Do we call it the OH's? Or the Ot's (I think not!). Perhaps we'll have to wait until the teens to figure it out....


At the end of this year, which had admittedly been a difficult one for me, I wish you and your family health, happiness, prosperity, and peace on earth. In this time of war, it makes it all the sadder that this year marked the 25th anniversary of the brutal murder of one of my heroes.

So on this, my final podcast of 2005, I'll leave you with my remembrance of John Lennon.


Nicole Sandler

Radio Or Not #10-- Jackson Browne (He always wanted to be an Eagle!)

If I had to put together a list of my 10 favorite all-time artists, Jackson Browne would definitely hold one of the spots. He's been on that list since music started playing a major role in my life. And now, if you ask my daughter her favorite, Jackson Browne would be one of the first names she'd mention as well.


I met Jackson a few times before I ever had the chance to interview him. The first was after a benefit concert at Santa Barbara's Arlington Theater, when my date said to him, "You made her cry!". And to his quizzical look I explained that "Late for the Sky" always makes me cry... and then sheepishly walked away.

I've always said that a truly great song can elicit a physical response, whether it be goose bumps or tears. Jackson Browne's music does that for me.

I've seen him in concert countless times; more than any other artist. I've seen him with a full band, and I've seen him solo acoustic. The latter is how he came and joined me on the air at the KSCA Music Hall on September 13, 1996. If you enjoy what you hear on this episode of Radio Or Not, you'll probably want to pick up Jackson's latest album, "Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic Vol. 1".

As always, if you like what you hear or have any suggestions for future episodes of Radio or Not, feel free to leave a comment here or email me at RadioOrNot@gmail.com. Also, please visit our sponsor, Legacy Group Unlimited (that's me too...).

Just in time for the holidays, we offer lots of wonderful gifts made from your priceless photos, as well as family keepsake video production.

Subscribe to the podcast, or listen here.


Thanks for listening!

Nicole Sandler

Radio Or Not #9 -- Like a Hurricane

No, not the Neil Young song, but Wilma. She tore through South Florida with a fury none of us seasoned hurricane veterans expected, at least here on Florida's east coast.

But today, almost 2 weeks later, we find many of our friends and neighbors still powerless-- literally and figuratively. Most of the world doesn't know how the streets of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale resemble a war zone. Trees and traffic lights are down everywhere, the roads are almost impossible to navigate and kids have been out of school for 2 weeks. It looks like a war zone. People are downhearted and shell-shocked. Businesses are hurting, mine included.

When I put up the last podcast, it was just after Hurricane Katrina, and I did a short musical tribute to the Gulf States, and disseminated information on ways we could all help those affected. All that information is still here on the Radio Or Not blog (just look at the previous post). If you'd like to help the victims of Wilma as you helped those who were subject to Katrina's wrath, there are many down here who would be extremely grateful.

Today, I'll use this space and the very special podcast I put together to promote my own businesses! It takes time to build a business, and I've only been at it a little over a year. Wilma stopped it all cold. So, ss we approach the holiday season, and we're all starting to think about what to give our family and friends, I invite you to check out the offerings at Legacy Group Unlimited!

We offer wonderful gifts made from your precious, priceless photographs. From custom DVDs made from your family photos, home movies, slides & memorabilia to beautiful photo handbags
to sharing all the old family photos with your entire family, making leather-bound photo books, calendars, jewelry, jigsaw puzzles, and just about anything else you can think of from those photos
we can help you with most of your holiday gift-giving!

Thanks for supporting your sponsors!

Enjoy the music in today's podcast... It's an assortment of songs recorded live in the KSCA Music Hall. Featuring The Jayhawks, Matthew Sweet, Lyle Lovett, Ben Harper, Kevin Gilbert, dada, Graham Parker & David Byrne doing unreleased live renditions of some songs you know, and some you've likely never heard before. If you like what you hear, tell your friends about the World Class Podcast at RadioOrNot.com.

A quick postscript... The email address I gave during the podcast is wrong. (That's what I get for posting so infrequently!). Please send your comments to RadioOrNot@gmail.com. Thanks!

Radio or Not #8 -- Musical Relief (file fixed)

(So sorry for the technical glitch! There was a problem with the audio file when I first posted it. It is now fixed, and the entire episode is ready for listening.
Thanks for your patience...)

I worked in radio for 26 years. The most rewarding part of the job was feeling like I was doing something when disaster struck. I was on the air in Los Angeles immediately after the Northridge earthquake. And I was visiting my father in Miami when Andrew struck, and was able to report back to the LA listeners what it was like.

I've been out of radio for about a year now, and have felt like there was something I could do. So, I decided to use this podcast to play the music I felt needed to be played, and to give out some information.

Thanks for listening! If you enjoy what you hear, perhaps you'll go to one of the links below and contribute a little something. And maybe you'll send your friends here.... Hopefully they'll enjoy Radio Or Not too!


WAYS TO HELP:
The Red Cross 1-800-HELP-NOW
The Salvation Army
Kids Help Out A wonderful site for children, teaching them about helping at an early age!
Nourish The Children
The humanitarian division of NSE, dedicated to feeding hungry children worldwide

Help the 4-legged victims:
BestFriends.org
ASPCA

RESOURCES:
CraigsList More ways to help than you can imagine! Offer housing, clothes, food, money, and lots more!
KatrinaList.net A site where friends and families can register to find one another!
Yahoo
Katrina Help
CNN

Hurricane Katrina... Help feed the kids!

I'll have another Radio Or Not interview soon. Down here in Miami, we had the first hit from Katrina which left us without power for 13 hours (nothing considering what's going on now), but also turned my little cold into bronchitis. So, once my voice returns, I'll get going on RadioOrNot episode #8.

In the meantime, if you're anything like me, you're wondering what you can do to help all the victims of Katrina in the Gulf states, especially New Orleans. Well, the company I'm working with has an initiative called Nourish The Children. They have specially packaged food that they regularly send to all parts of the world where children need nourishment. Right now that's in our own backyard!

So, please go to www.legacygroup.my-ntc.com, click on United States, and donate whatever you can.

Thanks for helping!

Nicole

Radio Or Not #7 -- Steely Dan (Part 2)

Thanks for bearing with me for the Jerry Garcia detour... the 10th anniversary of his passing deserved to be dealt with. Very strange for me to go back 10 years and listen to a small bit of what was the best (career-wise) time of my life. Unfortunately, that morning was not my strongest. I think I was a bit shell-shocked, and didn't come out of that mode for about an hour. Then the outpouring from his fans was just overwhelming. I was honored to be a part of it.

Looking back at my radio career, I'm amazed at how lucky I was to have not only met, but had the opportunity for meaningful discourse with some of my favorite all-time artists. This interview with Steely Dan was just such an experience.

I'm happy to share with you Part 2 of the interview we recorded for the "World Premiere Broadcast of Two Against Nature. Once again, instead of just posting the show as it aired, I've taken the raw interview and edited in the music we talked about, whether it was used on the final broadcast show or not. You also get to hear all the behind the scenes and background chatter, as well as segments that didn't make it into the show.

I hope you enjoy it, share it with your friends, and send in your feedback!

And visit our sponsors: LegacyGroup.myphotomaxusa.com and Legacy Video Productions.

Radio Or Not #6- KSCA 8-9-95 The Day Jerry Garcia Died

On August 9, 1995 I hosted mornings at Los Angeles' KSCA fm 101.9 along with newsman Chuck Moshontz. It was just like any other morning, until about 8:30... when we got the news that Jerry Garcia had died.

As I did most mornings, I had an aircheck tape running. Today is the 10th anniversary of Jerry's death, so I pulled out the tape, and have immortalized it here.

As it's just a radio aircheck tape recorded on a skimmer, you won't hear the full songs. But you will hear what went on at the only Los Angeles radio station who seemed to care....

My Odeo Channel (odeo/67d4f2b22fed1b32)

Radio Or Not #5 -- Steely Dan (Part 1)

In February of 2000, Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years, "Two Against Nature". I had the honor of hosting an extensive interview with Donald Fagen & Walter Becker for the World Premiere Radio Broadcast debuting the album.

This episode of Radio or Not contains the entire interview... in its unedited, raw form. So, you'll hear the joking around with the guy in the booth recording it all, the in-between segement banter, etc...

I think you'll find, as I did, that Walter & Donald are charming, very smart, and incredibly funny!

The entire show runs about an hour and a half, so I split it in half. Here's Part 1... Part 2 will follow in a week or so.

PLEASE feel free to comment here or via email...

Enjoy!

Episode #5 coming soon... I promise!

It's been a busy July. Raising a daughter on my own, and trying to build a business is quite time consuming. And the next interview I've decided to share on Radio Or Not is a long one. Though I don't do much editing on these interviews, it still takes a good amount of time to put together.

But within the week, I will post an interview I did with Walter Becker & Donald Fagen... better known as Steely Dan. I spent about an hour with them at the studio in NY where they recorded "Two Against Nature". Our interview was recorded for a nationally syndicated radio special, the world premiere broadcast of the new album (which went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year for 2000!).

This interview was absolutely one of the high points of my career. Having grown up with Steely Dan's music, then getting to interview them in this setting was unbelievable. And having it go as well as it did.... well, you'll hear it for yourself. In a few days.... I Promise. It's one to look forward to!

Radio Or Not #4- Ray Davies revisited!

The response to the Ray Davies interview was so overwhelming, so I went back into my big box of tapes and pulled out a never-before-heard interview we did about a week after the first. I was asked to do this interview with him for a company who produced nationally syndicated radio shows. They were trying to set it up with his people, and finally nailed down a time-- at the airport, right before Ray was to leave to go back to the UK.

He wasn't feeling great-- he had picked up a cold and cough during his week in Los Angeles. The only editing I did on this interview was cutting out some sniffles and coughs...

He is truly one of Rock and Roll's greatest. Enjoy Ray Davies, the sequel... Radio or Not!

Radio Or Not #3 -- Patti Rothberg

I've been busy since posting the Ray Davies interview... Sorting through tapes, listening, and contacting artists to get their permission to use these sessions.

An old listener, Larry Singer, has been in touch with Patti Rothberg, and asked and received her permission on my behalf. So, we'll feature her on Show #3.

One of the things I loved most about KSCA was the ability to find and champion new artists. I don't remember exactly how "Between the 1 and the 9" came to my attention, but do remember that it became one of my favorite albums that year. The year was 1996....

Patti Rothberg had been busking in New York City subway stations, and was "discovered" by a woman who became her manager. Though Patti got a major label deal (her album was released by EMI), I can't help but think, in retrospect, she would have been better off with a manager who knew the business a bit better.

But, then again, all things happen for a reason, right?

OK, enough of this... Let's go back to June 4, 1996, and listen to Patti Rothberg's first LA radio appearance (on her first visit to Southern California!)... on Radio Or Not!

Radio Or Not Show #2-- Ray Davies (yes, The Kinks' Ray Davies!)

It was a banner week at KSCA. The day before Ray Davies came in, Elvis Costello graced the Music Hall! And then he played a KSCA show at the Troubadour with Steve Nieve, which we broadcast live. Burt Bacharach was there, and after I gushed and told him that I grew up with his music, he told me that he enjoyed listening to me on the air!

So, I was riding pretty high already... and then Ray Davies came in! It was May 15, 1996.

His book, "X-Ray" had just come out in paperback, and I was 40 or so pages away from finishing it! (A great read, by the way!) And he was touring with his one-man show, "20th Century Man", which gave VH-1 the idea for "Storytellers".

Alhtough he didn't perform as most visitors to the station did, he gave me probably my favorite interview of my career. He was charming, and incredibly flirtatious. There is a postcript to the interview... actually two. I'll share them with you another time.

But for now, enjoy Ray Davies... from 1996... on Radio Or Not....
Nicole

Nicole & Ray Davies

Learning as I go along

Wow, there sure is a lot to learn about the world of podcasting.

I currently have the file of my first show, the Dave Matthews interview, hosted on my business website (legacyvideoproductions.com), but I'm going to quickly run out of bandwidth. So, before I post my next show (which will likely be a Ray Davies interview), I need to find a new solution.

Because there's so much gray area when it comes to music licensing issues, I want to make sure that wherever I choose to host the files won't boot me off!

I want to be legit, so spent a good amount of time yesterday on the phone with reps from ASCAP and BMI, filled out and signed their agreements, wrote a couple of checks and put them in the mail.

If you're a seasoned podcaster, and have any suggestions or recommendations for me, I'd love the feedback! Though I know radio, this is a brave new world.... Feel free to post here, or send me a private email. All suggestions, comments, feedback are welcomed!

As for why I entitled the Podcast "Radio Or Not" there are a number of reasons. Obviously it's clever (don't you think?). After 26 years in "professional radio", I'm happy to think that my love affair with great music can continue, and I can continue sharing it with people who I don't necessarily know, radio or not!

Unearthing the archives

Since I decided to hit the ground running with these old broadcasts, I've been digging through boxes, and have found a wealth of audio! Today I listened to a couple of interviews I did with Ray Davies, and will likely put those up sometime in the next few days!

I also found a DAT with a bunch of songs recorded in the Music Hall (minus the interviews), and will do a few regular old radio-type shows utilizing this amazing music.

Please let other music lovers and fans of the old KSCA know we're here!

Nicole

Radio Or Not.... Here We Come! Dave Matthews too...

My name is Nicole Sandler. I spent many years on the radio in Los Angeles, playing music that no longer has a home on the airwaves there. During those years, I had the honor of hosting interviews and performances by some of best musicians of our time.

Some were brand new emerging artists who have since hit it big. Others were new artists who haven't been heard from since. Still others were legends...and still are!

I've assembled a bunch of those old interviews and performances, and plan on sharing them here! We'll start with the very first interview of the Dave Matthews Band on Los Angeles radio. It was December 6, 1994, and I had the honor of hosting it. I have the permission and blessings of Dave's people to use this, so listen away!

If you were a listener of KSCA fm 101.9 and might have good quality recordings of any of those "Music Hall" sessions, please let me know...

Thanks... and Enjoy,

Nicole Sandler