LOCAL ROCK 'N' ROLL INTERNET SHOW HITS # 500
Syracuse's long-running Internet radio show This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl will celebrate its 500th episode on Sunday night September 27th with a three-hour blowout of favorite tunes from its first 499 shows. Billed without humility (and only a little exaggeration) as The Best Three Hours Of Radio On the Whole Friggin' Planet, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio streams live every Sunday night from 9 to Midnight. exclusively at www.westcottradio.org.
From its debut on December 27, 1998 to today, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio has been an unlikely success story. Co-hosted by local artist, photographer, and musician DANA BONN and freelance rock 'n' roll journalist CARL CAFARELLI, this should-be-obscure show has somehow found an audience across the country and even around the world: an audience of avid fans of rockin' pop music, eager to find some form of rock 'n' roll radio to believe in. TIRnRR's nominal format is "power pop," the catchy, melodic form of high-energy rock 'n' roll influenced by THE BEATLES, THE KINKS, and THE WHO, and exemplified by BADFINGER, THE RASPBERRIES, and THE RAMONES, among many others. But power pop is just the jumping-off point, and Dana & Carl are just as likely to mix in the the music of soul giant SOLOMON BURKE, underground icons THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, country legends GEORGE JONES and CONWAY TWITTY, rap stars OUTKAST, essential rock 'n' roll from CHUCK BERRY, the left-of-the-dial appeal of THE PIXIES, the sensational sound of THE SEX PISTOLS, and whatever cool tune--new or old, obscure or familiar--might catch their fancy. It's ALL pop music, intended to be part of "a rockin' pop/punk/soul/bubblegum Shangri-La, where TOOTS & THE MAYTALS play poker with THE RAMONES, LITTLE RICHARD arm-wrestles LIZ PHAIR, BIG STAR is a household name, and a record by some group you'v never even heard of can change your life, or at least send you on an interstate dancing spree."
Along the way, This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio has inspired two well-received compilation CDs, both released commercially by the JAM Recordings label in Michigan, with tracks contributed by artists such as '60s hitmakers THE COWSILLS, power pop icons JOHN WICKS & THE RECORDS, and local artists SCREEN TEST, THE KENNEDYS, TIM ANTHONY, THE FLASHCUBES, and BEAUTY SCENE OUTLAWS, the latter two of whom even wrote and recorded new tracks specifically about TIRnRR itself ("Carl [You Da Man]" and "Carl Cafarelli," respectively). Dana & Carl have hosted in-studio appearances by JOHN WICKS & PAUL COLLINS, JON NOTARTHOMAS & AIMEE BOBRUK, ADAM MARSLAND, FRISBIE, RAY PAUL, ADAM & CRAIG MARSHALL, and author COLETTE SHAW, and promoted local live shows by THE BEVIS FROND, CHICKLET, COCKEYED GHOST, MANNIX, ROBBIE RIST & KENNY HOWES, DIGBY, BEAUTY SCENE OUTLAWS, THE FALLEN ARCHIES, TIM ANTHONY, and KYLE VINCENT.
But the most startling illustration of TIRnRR's unexpected impact came at the end of 2006, when the show's then-host Syracuse Community Radio announced that it would cease its webcast. Responding to Dana & Carl's plea for support, TIRnRR fans stepped up with over $2000 in contributions--at the height of the Christmas season, no less--to effectively save the show and continue webcasting as the newly-created Westcott Radio, where it has continued since then. This outpouring of support for TIRnRR--which one fan compared to the climax of the film It's A Wonderful Life, where a community pools its resources on Christmas Eve to help beloved community figure George Bailey--stunned even the usually-jaded Dana & Carl, who continue to marvel that what they self-mockingly dubbed The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet has, incongruously, found so many folks who agree with that billing.
Carl calls it "a mutant hybrid of the adventurous spirit of underground radio and the giddy rush of AM Top 40." Dana calls it "The Joy Of Radio." As This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio approaches its 500th show, Dana & Carl vow to face the future with whiter teeth, fresher breath, and a pleasantly stubborn faith that this really IS The Best Three Hours Of Radio On The Whole Friggin' Planet. An interstate dancing spree sounds like a mighty fine idea indeed.
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Well, I'm convinced!
Since the landmark TIRnRR # 500, we've continued to stumble along the same path as before, blindly secure in the certainty that we're doing perfect pop radio the way it was meant to be done. We've released one more TIRnRR compilation CD (in 2013, on Kool Kat Musik), and we're getting ready to return to terrestrial radio on the all-new SPARK SYRACUSE. Why change now? Maturity wouldn't suit us anyway.
For kicks, here's a look back at what we played on TIRnRR # 500, September 27th, 2009:
| RAMONES | Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? | Rhino, End Of The Century |
| SCREEN TEST | Sound Of The Radio | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 2 |
| FLASHING ASTONISHERS | Period Exclamatory | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 1 |
| ANDERSONS! | From The Get-Go | Lime Vinyl, Separated At Birth |
| 3D | Temptation | Big Radio, Universal Conquest |
| DANA AND CARL | You Be Me For A While And I'll Be You | unreleased |
| KISS | Calling Dr. Love | Mercury, Rock And Roll Over |
| CONCRETES | You Can't Hurry Love | Astralwerks, The Concretes |
| RAMONES | Blitzkrieg Bop | Rhino, Ramones |
| BEATLES | Hey Bulldog | Apple, Yellow Submarine Songtrack |
| GO HOME PRODUCTIONS | Daytrip To Heaven | www.gohomeproductions.co.uk |
| MANNIX | Highway Lines | www.mannixrock.com, Come To California |
| DANA AND CARL | Elvis Season! | unreleased |
| MARY LOU LORD | Aim Low | Kill Rock Stars, Mary Lou Lord/Sean Na Na |
| GROOVIE GHOULIES | Carly Simon | Lookout!, VA: Lookout! Freakout! |
| BAY CITY ROLLERS | Wouldn't You LIke It | Bell, Wouldn't You Like It |
| ASTROPUPPEES | Over Her Head | Hightone, You Win The Bride |
| STYX | Kiss Your Ass Goodbye | Sanctuary, Cyclorama |
| MERRYMAKERS | I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better | Not Lame, VA: Full Circle |
| DANA AND CARL | East Side Story | unreleased |
| FINKERS | Last Thing On My Mind | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 1 |
| DROWNERS | While My Guitar Gently Weeps | Jealousy, VA: He Was Fab |
| JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS | I Love You | Jungle, L.A.M.F. |
| TODD RUNDGREN | Couldn't I Just Tell You | Rhino, Something/Anything? |
| P76 | Let's Get Back To Where We Started | Zip, Into The Sun |
| TROGGS | Our Love Will Still Be There | Fontana, Archeology |
| POWERPUFF GIRLS | Love Makes The World Go Round | Warner Brothers, Powerpuff Bluff DVD |
| MAGNETIC FIELDS | I Don't Want To Get Over You | Merge, 69 Love Songs |
| CHUCK BERRY | Promised Land | MCA, The Anthology |
| CRICKLE | Place In My Heart | ROIR, VA: Garage Sale |
| PIPER DOWNS | 10 Speed | Doorslammer, Varying Degrees Of Failure And Tunelessness |
| COCKEYED GHOST | I Hate Rock 'n' Roll | Big Deal, The Scapegoat Factory |
| DANA AND CARL | A Dream Of Partridges | unreleased |
| PURRBOX | Punk Rock | LoveFest, PurrBox |
| ORGONE BOX | World Revolves | Minus Zero, The Orgone Box |
| SEX CLARK 5 | Fool I Was | Skyclad, Antedium |
| FOOLED BY APRIL | Oh Dana | LunaSea, VA: A Tribute To Big Star |
| FLASHCUBES | Carl (You Da Man) | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 1 |
| MOPTOPS | Christine | Not Lame, VA: Full Circle |
| CATHOLIC GIRLS | Should Have Been Mine | Cinema, Meet The Catholic Girls |
| LOLAS | Sticker | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 1 |
| COWSILLS | She Said To Me | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 2 |
| KENNY HOWES AND THE YEAH! | Sheila, She | TallBoy, Until Dawn |
| MARLOWES | Pilgrim Soul | Shiny Fly, Nuclear Suitcase |
| HOLE | Heaven Tonight | DGC, Celebrity Skin |
| FRISBIE | Comes N Goes | Hear Diagonally, Period. |
| COTTON MATHER | My Before And After | Copper, Kontiki |
| ANNY CELSI | Empty Hangers | Ragazza, Little Black Dress & Other Stories |
| SPONGETONES | (My Girl) Maryanne | Loaded Goat, Always Carry On |
| EYTAN MIRSKY | Don't Bother Me | Jealousy, VA: He Was Fab |
| KINKS | Everybody's Gonna Be Happy | Rhino, Greatest Hits |
| MR. ENCRYPTO | The Last Time [a cappella] | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 2 |
| LA'S | There She Goes | Rhino, VA: Children Of Nuggets |
| OHIO EXPRESS | Had To Be Me | Cameo, Beg, Borrow And Steal |
| GANTS | I Wonder | Psychic Circle, VA: The Electric Coffee House |
| HELLO HELEN | Fall's Far Away | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 1 |
| SINGLES | He Can Go, You Can't Stay | Rainbow Quartz, Better Than Before |
| BEAUTY SCENE OUTLAWS | Carl Cafarelli | JAM, VA: This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio Volume 2 |
| ONLY ONES | Another Girl, Another Planet | Rhino, VA: DIY: Teenage Kicks |
| STALLIONS | Why | Junk, Hey Baby, It's The Stallions |
| SHADOWS | Wonderful Land | Scamp, Shadows Are Go! |
Nope. We ain't changed at all.
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