What happens when a band splits up then comes back together? It’s a question I’ve asked myself often and on Friday you’ll get a chance to hear the experience of two men have who have done just that. Mark Olson left The Jayhawks and recently has rejoined them and written a new album of songs with his old buddy Gary Louris.
On a very warm afternoon in Glasgow’s ABC I met up both of them in the dressing room and we talked about the past and I heard how much they are enjoying the present. They also talked about the people they love and the music that has influenced them. Interestingly enough, and not wholly surprising the group that loomed large over them was The Band. By a nice coincidence our Bob Backwards series reaches 1974’s Planet Waves which features the great playing of The Band. We’ll play Bob and we’ll play The Band too.
We’re also going to celebrate country-rock with a reminder of some of the great land-mark records from the past. If you don’t have any of the albums we mention you might want to correct that over the weekend.
All very well Rick, I hear you say…but we like new music too. You do – and for that reason we will play new things from Richmond Fontaine, Ry Cooder and Matraca Berg. It’s going to be a grand old ride across that landscape and it will all start at five past eight on Friday evening on BBC Radio Scotland.
Sunday Morning With Ricky Ross…..
….will be a delight too. Due to a technical foul up way beyond my paygrade the interview I promised with Dave Batstone didn’t happen a couple of weeks ago.
So I’m recapping here…….
I first met Dave way back in 1986.He was then an activist and PhD student.Now he is a professor at San Francisisco University,an author and more active than ever. He is also one of my oldest and best friends. However Dave is visiting us to talk about the organisation he heads up: Not For Sale.
Dave was asked to write a book of the same name a few years back to coincide with the anniversary of the abolition of slavery and the imminent release of Hollywood’s film of the struggle. When he started to research the subject he was amazed to find that far from slavery having been abolished, it was still hugely rife in many parts of the world. He has since set up his own Anti-Slavery movement (Not For Sale) and he will join us to talk about how that organisation is affecting the business ethics word-wide. To bear witness to that we’ll will also be joined by Stephen Craig who is joint CEO of All Saints clothing company to tell us how he is responding to the challenges Dave’s organisation is posing.
We’ll also chat to Elspeth Atkinson about MacMillan Nursing’s Centenary and how she combines all of that with being the wife of a Bishop.
Later I’m going to chat to Mark Lynas who has written my book of the week:
The God Species is the book for you if you are feeling overwhelmed by climate change, water conservation or how we should generate our electric power. Mark thinks that the Environmental movement has got a lot of these things wrong. He’s not afraid to admit his own mistakes along the way too…which means he’s definitely a thinker and not a politician. I think you’ll find him very interesting.
Anna Magnusson also brings us news of an Icon inspired exhibition from Beauly in Invernessshire. We’ve got music from Ella Fitzgerald, Glen Campbell, Rascall Flatts, Jimmy Cliff and Billie Holiday...so I’m pretty sure we’ll keep some of you and hopefully most of you very happy. All from seven on Sunday morning on BBC Radio Scotland.
