KVC-Arts

David Fleming welcomes back Chris Thayer. Generally when Chris is on the program it's to talk about music, with many projects (always) going on. On this visit we'll hear about a couple of Novels out - "Summers, Weekends, Nights & Holidays," and "The Perfect Man." We'll also hear about a fascinating novel ABOUT to be out, some graphic novels and more.

From David Fleming: The celebration of KVC-Arts #500 continues!You've easily read something similar on a previous post or three. Every time I speak with Al Pitrelli (Music Director for, and one of the lead guitarist with, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), we're speaking about TSO's upcoming tour. Also every time, if I have 3, 5, 12 minutes left, I'll ask for a quick mention of one part or another of Al's extensive and varied career. Last time we spoke I just finally asked if we could do a NON-Trans-Siberian Orchestra at some point, to which he agreed. We not only arranged for such an interview, but it was also set to go for an extended length of time to be used for KVC-Arts #500. I was hoping for an hour... I closed at an hour and a half.Last KVC-Arts we heard primarily about Pitrelli's work with Randy Coven. Tonight we have a special one-hour edition of the program talking about music from, or his work with - get ready - Alice Cooper (where I ask if one of his most searing and soulful solos was, well, a segue), Dee Snider & Widowmaker, Asia, Morning Wood, lightly on Savatage, a bit of session work, a REALLY cool grouping with O'2L, touching only SLIGHTLY on TSO, and one more from his work with Randy Coven...I skipped over Megadeth, and other Savatage and TSO material...I'm sure there's some material in there I've forgotten to mention, but I can say confidently that the first half hour has (for the most part) more of the hard rock kinda stuff, and the second half more acoustic…

David Fleming speaks with Anoushka Shankar. The initial conversation was when she was in the area to perform, with orchestra, one of the concertos for sitar and orchestra written by her father, the late Ravi Shankar. Beyond the concerto works, we spoke about some of her other releases, as she'll be in the area quite soon in quintet form. A rather atypical grouping, though SO nice! We'll hear about this, a couple of her releases, "Rise" and "Breathing Underwater." We'll also hear about her work with Herbie Hancock, Sting, and more, as well as a VERY moving piece called "In Her Name," combining music, dance, and spoken word. Originally called "In Jyoti's Name," the piece is "in loving memory of Jyoti Singh Pandey, who was beaten and gang-raped on a bus in Delhi," leading to her death two days later. VERY powerful! Also touching lightly on Anoushka scoring one of India's first three movies ever made!

David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, music director for, and one of the guitarists, with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, touring live again this year, with two performances in Ontario December 2nd. We'll hear about how, when and why TSO split into two touring groups, the story of Ghosts of Christmas Eve, Leonard Bernstein, Steve Vai - which ties in with David Lee Roth AND Alice Cooper - the latter of which ties BACK to both Bernstein and TSO...And more.

David Fleming continues his conversation with Judy Tschann, and her recent book, "Romaine Wasn't Built In a Day - The Delightful History of Food Language." This is a tossed salad of etymology, mixed with puns, history, and storytelling. This is the second part of a wonderful conversation - fascinating at SO many levels. Check out the first part at kvcrnews.org/arts, also, more at judithtschann.com

David Fleming welcomes Guitarist Ray Russell. They chat about his career and work in Jazz fusion, movie music and much more.

David Fleming continues his conversation with Doug Levitt, and an exploration of his new disc (out 5/12/23) called "Edge of Everywhere." The disc is a collection of songs which come from more than 10 years and more than 10,000 miles travelled, and the stories of (or from) the people he met along the way. More at douglevitt.com

David Fleming speaks with jazz singer and pianist Cheryl Hodge about her release, Indigo. Inspired in part by Miles Davis, and an exploration of different types of grooves.

One night at The Apollo in 1958, George Treadwell fired the entire lineup of The Drifters. He then hired all of the members of The Five Crowns to become The Drifters. Charlie Thomas (along with Benjamin Earl Nelson - better known as Ben E. King) was a member of The Five Crowns, and while the original "classic" Drifters produced some hits, some of the biggest came from the era when Thomas was in the group. This was also the time when Lieber and Stoller were writing for the group. On January 31st, 2023, Charlie Thomas passed away at the age of 85. David Fleming interviewed Thomas in late 2015 when he was about to perform in the region, and has re-edited the conversation for this edition of KVC-Arts.

Ben Stewart AKA Benjiphonik speaks with David Fleming to talk about, and do a countdown to the next video release. The video is for "Lazy Dayz," from the "I Got Old" EP. This was written to be a cool Summer jam, with lyrics reflecting Riverside, California... and the video... shot in Hawaii.No. Really. It works. AND adds some deeper levels if you think about it.benjiphonik.com