2/24/2010 Music From I'm Shakin'
Alex LaRotta of the music blog I'm Shakin' provides some incredible funk and soul vinyl. Some of the gems he's unearthed in his crate-digging glory include El Comite, Curly Moore & The Kool Ones, Black Blood & The Chocolate Pickles, Sonny Rae & Fancy, The Greer Brothers, Watts Little Angel Band and so many others. A real treat for fans of rare vinyl.

2/17/2010 Bobby Freeman/Byrd/Womack
We narrow our focus to three hip Bobby's: Byrd, Womack and Freeman. Don't be surprised at the latter — he has some amazingly funky stuff from his days at the Double Shot label in 1970.

2/10/2010 Bobby!
We continue the name game with all of the Bobby's of funk and soul. Expect songs from these Roberts: Blue Bland, Womack, Adams, Bennett, Byrd, Patterson, Marchan, Freeman, McNutt, Wells, Rush, and a host of other Bobby's.

1/27/2010 Betty!
There were a plethora of women named Betty involved in soul music in the '60s and early '70s. We're gonna lay them all on you with nothing but Betty during the show. Featuring the surnames Swann, Everett, LaVette, Harris, Davis, Barney, Bibbs, and O'Brien. If you know anyone named Betty, tell them to tune in.

1/20/2010 Chef's Surprise
A mish mash of funk and soul with songs from Clarence Reid, Don Covay, Quincy Jones, The Mighty Diamonds and others. Also a few songs from the recently released (and lost album) U.S. Soul with Funkadelic.

1/13/2010 Chef's Surprise
The usual mayhem...tempered with a visit from Margaret Moser of the Austin Chronicle, who'll join me at the studio to chat about the Annual Music Poll.

1/6/2010 Willie Mitchell, RIP
One of the quiet giants of soul music has gone onto the great gig in the sky. We'll be featuring Willie, his band, and his productions at Royal Recording in Memphis, including Al Green, Ann Peebles, Don Bryant, & Syl Johnson.

12/30/2009 Best of 2009
The cream of the crop of '09, all funk, soul and hip-hop.

12/23/2009 James Brown Christmas
Nothing says Christmas like James Brown, and let's be honest, he sang about Christmas a lot. His holiday music was a cottage industry unto itself. We'll be hearing the best of it along with some other surprising funky Soul Santa music.

12/16/2009 Stones '69
Wherein the Rolling Stones become the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band, we look back with the 40th Anniversary of Let it Bleed, the Muscle Shoals sessions, the amazing tour, and the greatest live album of all-time. Unearthed alternate versions of "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar," "Lovin' Cup," "You Got the Silver," and extremely interesting peek under the hood of "Gimme Shelter" (at 1:11). As an added bonus, I've replaced the censored version of "Cocksucker Blues" with the nasty version for the podcast.

12/9/2009 Funk and Soul Covers
This is a fun one -- funk and soul artists covering pop songs. Guaranteed you'll hear something either shocking, totally unexpected, or completely new to you. Featuring songs by The Jackson 5, Big Al Downing, Phil Flowers, Bing Ji Ling, Aretha, Lyn Collins, Labelle plus a lot more.

12/2/2009 Eddie Floyd
A show devoted mainly to old soul and R&B. Eddie Floyd gets the royal treatment during the last third of the program.

11/25/2009 Thanksgiving Jazz
It's our annual moment of reflection, best done with a little hard bop and soul jazz.

11/18/2009 Butt Rock
Hairy chests, bushy mustaches, and you, baby, in the back of my car where the 8-track never stops. Find out how Willie Dixon is the Godfather of Butt Rock; I also reveal who the Patron Saint of the genre is.

11/11/2009 Chef's Surprise
A hunk of funk and tasty soul. Featuring Hebrew Rogers, Laura Lee, Baby Huey, Billy Garner, Clarence Reid, and more.

11/4/2009 Galactic
Some good records and a spotlight on Galactic, the funky fellas from N'awlins.

10/28/2009 Detroit Emeralds
Mixed goodies and thirty minutes of the unsung Emeralds. They're really good at what they do and it's a shame that they're not better known.

10/21/2009 Steve Cropper's Birthday
Some great funk and soul and then thirty-odd minutes devoted to the man who invented the rhythm guitar--Mr. Steve Cropper celebrates his birthday.

10/14/2009 Chef's Surprise
A sterling mix of funk and soul with Brides of Funkenstein, Willie West, Buddy Miles, Jimmy Castor Bunch, Joe Tex, plus some new stuff from The Heavy and Breakestra. And much more!

10/7/2009 '80s Funk
Oh my! The eighties weren't a total disaster musically; there was some good funk with plenty of bass-slappin' and synth that wasn't totally offensive. You'll hear the funkiest 80s tune (Cameo), an insane party song in a sinister minor key (Gap Band), and an acapella Rick James. Also some Dazz Band, Zapp, Laid Back, and The Purple One.

9/30/2009 Mixed Bag / ACL Tip Sheet
Half the show is devoted to the weekend's ACL Festival where we cover the hipper and groovier artists appearing in our fair city. Also lots of other good stuff like The Dixie Nightingales, Swamp Dogg, Lee Dorsey, and Lee Fields among others.

9/23/2009 The Impressions
Curtis Mayfield started a little doo-wap group that helped define the genre for black soul music for well over a decade. We'll cover their sixties and seventies output. It's a hell of a good show.

9/16/2009 The Beatles in Mono
The new remasters are out -- and they sound incredible. They've also released every mono mix of the Fabs stuff up to and including the White Album. Sadly, it's only available as a box set. We're here to provide you with some tastes of the Mono Madness.

8/26/2009 Sly & the Family Stone Live at Woodstock
Listen to the best set at Woodstock 40 years and a week after all the fun. Incendiary performances.

8/12/2009 Chef's Surprise
Some good hard funk, old and new. Featuring Solillaquists of Sound, Prince, Rose Stone, Glass House, The Wild Magnolias, K'Naan and more.

8/5/2009 Deep South Louisiana
Tom Mahnke from KOOP's Fais Do Do drops by the house with a stack of albums from his deep Louisiana collection. Lots of wonderful R&B/Soul gems with good background info.

7/22/2009 Funky New Releases
Funky hip-hop and other good stuff. Checking in to see where we are so far into 2009. Some excellent records.

7/15/2009 The Isley Brothers pt. 2
Even more funk and soul goodness from the Brothers Isley. Absolutely worth it!

7/8/2009 The Isley Brothers pt. 1
One of the most underrated bands in all of funk and soul. We're digging up the pride of Cincinatti and Teaneck, NJ. This show features a rare stomp with the talents of a 22-year old Jimi Hendrix.

6/24 and 7/2/2009 The Year that was 1979
A year so voluminous in strange music, we're dedicating two editions of Excavation Nation to cover it. Disco was about to breathe its last breath, New Wave was getting a leg up on the pop charts, and funk was disappearing into a haze of coke and "good" times.

6/17/2009 Curtis Mayfield
My man Curtis has so much great material that hasn't made the compilations or box sets. You're gonna hear it all on this show.

6/10/2009 Muscle Shoals
Devoting an entire show to the magic sounds of Muscle Shoals and its two legendary recording studios. I went there last week to see the place for myself; I wasn't disappointed. You won't be either.

6/3/2009 Chef's Surprise
Featuring Aceyalone, Bobby Womack, The Bongolian, Black Joe Lewis, Warren Lee, and new Darondo, plus much more.

5/31/2009 Sunday Morning Coming Down
I sit in for the illustrious Betsy Shepherd to play some funky gospel soul.

5/20/2009 Pop '69
We're digging the charts and the best stuff from 1969. Since we already covered soul last week, we'll excavate the more pop and rock-oriented songs that made an impact. Context is everything. Includes a remix of "Gimme Shelter!"

5/13/2009 Soul '69!
Maintaining the thematic 40-year anniversary that's prevalent on XNat this year, we play nuthin' but soul that was cut and released in 1969. Sticking mainly to singles, it's an amazing crop of loud and glorious soul. Featuring two of the most influential soul/funk grooves of the year, and they didn't belong to Soul Brother Number One. Hats off to the class of '69!

5/6/2009 Funky to the Bone
A funk and soul blast! Rare grooves abound, featuring the likes of The Five Du-Tones, Bobby Byrd, Kent & the Candidates, Freddi & Henchi, Johnny Adams, and new stuff from Darondo and Austin's own Black Joe Lewis.

4/29/2009 P-Funk
George Clinton & Co. are returned to Austin on this very day. That's cause for a celebration... all sorts of P-Funk goodies for your edification. Both versions of "Testify" and "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure."

4/22/2009 Soul Power!
Another day at Soul Headquarters. Featuring off-the-wall stuff from Chris Kenner, Eldridge Holmes, and Ann Peebles. Also some newer stuff from Aceyalone, Dumpstaphunk, Lady Sovereign, NASA, and Damp Heat, among others.

4/15/2009 James Brown '69!
There's a reason they called him the hardest working man in show bidness. Releasing singles as frequently as each month, albums quarterly, and live performances nightly. In addition to his own gems, and some of it long out of print, we'll get with some of his productions from 1969 with the marvelous Marva Whitney, Hank Ballard, and Bill Doggett. We also provide a lesson in the origins of "The Popcorn" and how JB recycled it half a dozen times into a dance sensation.

4/08/2009 Soul Covers
Unexpected soul-flavored covers of a wide-variety of material. For instance, Lou Rawls does Donovan, The Staple Singers do Buffalo Springfield, The Jackson 5 cover Jackson Browne. Loads of great stuff, especially Ellen McIlwaine's version of "Higher Ground."

4/01/2009 Extra Daddy
Possibly the most insane performance I've ever given. Daddy takes a little leeway via the "holiday" and channels the alter ego he often dreams of. Good funk and soul, too, featuring songs by Curtis, Harvey Scales, Parliament, Lee Dorsey, Jackie Lee Uni, Eddie Lang and lots more. Not for the faint of heart! Now if I could do every show like this...

3/25/2009 Aretha's Birthday Special
Aretha turned 67 and we're helping her eat some cake. Some delicious slices from her illustrious career. We cover some of her Columbia material and even her recording debut at 14 years-old! We avoid the big hits, too!

2/25/2009 The Bar-Kays
Continuing our love affair with Stax, we dig up some vintage Bar-Kays, the second most famous house band at the Memphis label. Trivia: the Bar-Kays are the longest surviving artist from Stax.

2/18/2009 Stax '69
Since the Motown '69 show was so much fun, why don't we take an in-depth look at their country cousins, Stax Records, circa 1969. Lots of solid senders from Rufus Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Johnny Taylor, Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers and more soul luminaries.

2/11/2009 Funk & Soul
Can't stop the good stuff. Featuring Wee Willie & the Winners, AC Jones & the Soulettes, James Carpenter, Freddie Robinson, and an amazing performance from Linda Tillery of The Loading Zone. Oh, and much more.

2/4/2009 Funk & Soul
Mostly obscure records. Featuring Homer Banks, Big Al Downing, Little Hooks, PPP, Jay Dee Bryant and a host of others.

1/21/2009 Motown '69
Taking a look back at Motown 40 years ago, when they began funking it up and addressing relevant social issues. Listen to them trade in their bubblegum for soul. Featuring the usual Motown suspects, but with a newfound respect for the gritty soul of Gladys Knight & The Pips.

1/14/2009 Mmm, Funk
Good stuff, all around. Featuring Lou Courtney, Nino Moschella, King Errisson, Charles Wright, Amnesty, Ike & Tina, and a thirty-year farewell to Donny Hathaway.

1/7/2009 Get Your Soul Right for the New Year!
Lots of obscure soul gems for this one, inspired by Peter Lucas' recent Soul Nite video compendium at the Alamo Drafthouse. Featuring Isaiah Smith, Moses & Joshua Dillard, Swamp Dogg, Barbara Lynn, Marilyn Haywood, Pearl Woods, Watson & The Sherlocks, Elijah & The Ebonites, Lewis Clark, an acappella Smokey Robinson, and lots more.

Shows from 2008 are available here.