What’s you favourite story?
Most of the ones I really care about I love to hear again. Maybe it’s getting older and becoming more like my father but I do enjoy it when some of my best friends (and I include my wife here) tell me a story again. Often they forget and I act as if I’ve never heard it before because, in actual fact, it’s often more enjoyable the 3rd or 4th time.
It happens to me all the time too. I look at my producer Richard Murdoch and say – “Have I told you or the listener this one before?” He’s usually kind enough to say, “No.” I say all this because I started the week and am ending it in the company of some of the best story tellers I know. On Sunday we (Richard and me) went through to Edinburgh to see Nanci Griffith and it was a real pleasure to spend time in the presence of a great song writer and singer who always knows how to get you hooked on the end of a great yarn. We’ll broadcast my chat with Nanci over the next few weeks. Tomorrow night in Glasgow Willy Vlautin comes to town. He’s playing at the Captain’s Rest on his own and, I imagine, reading from his new novel Lean On Pete. Willy came to see us before with his band Richmond Fontaine and we enjoyed it so much we invited him back again. He’s popping over to BBC Scotland before the show to talk about some of his favourite songs and, hopefully, tell us a few more tales. Willy is the master of this and I have spent a few days now listening to Richmond Fontaine and reading his latest novel in preparation for tomorrow night – which I still hope to attend after we come off air.
We’ll also be broadcasting that chat with Willy soon and look out for the Richmond Fontaine tour which comes to Scotland soon. Tomorrow night we pause to enjoy conversation and a session from Diana Jones. Diana tells her own story brilliantly and her own experience of adoption and rediscovery is well worth hearing and is beautifully illustrated in her last two albums. Elsewhere we re visit Langhorne Slim, Audra Mae and Tift Merrit and will give spins to Israel Nash Gripka and The Middle East – all very new. We’ll not forget the anniversaries or our occasional Beginners Guide to Americana. Tomorrow night we suggest that Stephen Stills‘ 1972 Manassas album might be another record well worth owning. All from 8 – 10 on BBC Radio Scotland.
Richmond Fontaine…despite meeting a creepy guy in seer sucker, Willy’s coming back!
Thanks for spinning the record, Ricky. Very warm thanks from the states…
Israel
Ricky
Sounds like a brilliant show and you managed to squeeze all that planning in on Valentines week!
Hugely looking forward to hearing Tift on the show again and the Stephen Stills stuff, I should be more ware of him but only have the demo tapes he recorded after the Judy Collins sessions – they are great so have high hopes this album will be good.
Wish I could have seen Nanci last weekend, the new album is of course a great return to form, but funds were horribly depleted after Celtic Connections!
Cheers
I think sometimes those old, well-practised stories can be the best, when knowing what’s coming next and exactly how it’s going to be articulated are all part of the joy. Or maybe co-narrating a story of a shared memory with a loved one, cherishing the detail anew. Life for me at the moment is a heady mix of such old tales and fresh adventures that will undoubtedly become the stories that mature in the re-telling for years to come. And I like that.
Sounds like a jam-packed show with some great highlights to come tonight — looking forward to it, as ever…
Ricky, I’ve long been a DB fan but have only started listening to the records again via the greatest hits CDs. I have now just realised that I don’t really know what my favourite DB song is about – Chocolate Girl. Could you do me a huge favour and oblige with an explanation?
SC
In addition to my regular duties as editor and columnist, I have been “team teaching” a music class at the local community college. No. Wait. I do the color or “play by play” and a real teacher teaches the class.
Not journalism…..MUSIC….Early Rock and Roll and Americana.
Major assignment is to listen to BBC Radio Scotland, Iain Anderson and Ricky Ross.
I’ve told you once or twice that we do not get to hear the music that you play on the radio over there. The students, 66 of them, are hands down bonkers over your program and Iain’s and really agitated that those corporate owned stations will not play all of the music.
As I phase out one career next fall…..I think I might phase in another. Love working with music and young people of all ages.
Got ya back in the classroom.
Peace