5/4/2011 Maceo, Soulive, Blues Explosion!
Big shows coming to Austin, and to celebrate we dig on Maceo
Parker, Soulive, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Playlist
4/27/2011 Texas Funk & Soul
Didn't know Texas was funky back in the day? Tune in and witness
some of the best funk and soul from the Lone Star state. Guests
musicologists
Noel Waggener and
Alex LaRotta guide
us on our journey through Texas. We also spend some time at home
in '70s Austin. We also witness some incredible recently discovered
material from an upcoming
Heavy Light Records release:
Kool and Together.
Playlist
4/20/2011 Roxy Musi
We'll be covering the early days of Roxy Music, back when they
were defining the genres of glam, punk and romance. We'll be paying
attention to
Bryan Ferry's vastly underrated sense of humor
and
Brian Eno's crazy Moog effects.
Playlist
3/9/2011 Chef's Surprise
We're all over the funk map with sides from Jimmy McCracklin,
Earl King, Debbie Dovale, Swamp Dogg, Joe Quarterman and
more. A-Side/B-Side is a funky blues thang from Howlin' Wolf.
Playlist
2/9/2011 Sexy Time
As we get closer to Valentine's Day, we all need a reminder
of why it's deemed so important: S-E-X. And nothing spells sex
like some dirty and occasionally filthy music filled with double
entendres and blatantly obvious requests for getting down that
would make your momma blush. Featuring songs with titles like
Poontang, Let Me Come Within, Let's Do It Again, If You Don't
Give Me What I Want (I Gotta Get it Someplace Else), You Sure
Love To Ball, and more sexy time names. A-Side/B-Side is
Funkadelic's "Standing on the Verge of Getting it
On." Playlist
2/2/2011 Scenes from the Top 100
In which we go back 40 years to check out what the Top 100 most
popular songs in the nation were. The Billboard list makes strange
bedfellows, and February 1971 is no exception. The strange brew
includes songs about cannibalism, singing midgets, bad apples,
and one less egg to fry. Also Candi Staton, Rufus Thomas,
King Floyd, Chairmen of the Board, The Bee Gees, Dave Emunds,
and Little Sister shared the Hot 100. A-Side/B-Side
features a genuine rare flipside from Rare Earth. Playlist
1/26/2011 Guest DJ: T Bird
The illustrious T Bird from T Bird & The Breaks
is our guest DJ, spinning his favorites and discussing them
in an unwholesome fashion. Loads of good records, including
Eddie Harris, Eddie Bo, Johnny Guitar Watson, Candi Staton,
James Booker, and Little Duck and the Quackers. Playlist
1/19/2011 A Splendid Potpourri
A good mix of funk and soul, featuring The Invincibles, Beau
Dollar, Joe Tex, Kool & The Gang, The Brothers Johnson,
and more. A spotlight on Stevie Wonder's criminally
underrated Music of My Mind album, and the A-Side/B-Side
is a 78 from 1955 starring Champion Jack Dupree & Mr.
Bear. Playlist
1/12/2011 Chef's Surprise
Some fine music today: Willie Hobbs, The Mighty Hannibal,
Money Mark, Ebo Taylor, JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Aloe
Blacc (the latter two with fantastic mod soul covers of
Wilco and Velvet Underground, respectively), an amazing Lou
Donaldson cover of Curtis Mayfield and more. A-Side/B-Side
is Dr. John backed by The Meters and produced
by Allen Toussaint! Playlist
1/05/2011 Featured Artist: Quincy
Jones
Giving some love to Quincy Delight Jones, Jr., aka, 'Q'. Also
some goodies like an Ike & Tina remix, Connie Price, Dirty
Dozen Brass Band, and the new Amy Winehouse track produce by
Mr. Quincy Jones. Playlist
12/29/2010 Get Ready for the Good
Foot
A little taste of what to expect for the New Year's Eve show
at the Scoot Inn. Featuring Skull Snaps, James Brown, Bobby
Byrd, Curtis Mayfield, Betty Harris, Darondo, The Isley Brothers
and more. Playlist
12/22/2010 Best of 2010
Best of the funkier side of things that were released this year.
Featuring Sonnyboy, Shunda K & Damp Heat, Dessa, Grupo
Fantasma, Prince, Kanye, Cee-Lo and more. A-Side/B-Side
is a nifty little ghetto Christmas classic by Sharon Jones
& The Dap-Kings. Playlist
12/15/2010 Chef's Surprise
Some great stuff: Funky Bo Diddley, Lenis Guess, Wilson Pickett,
Willie Hutch, Prince, Chubukos, Sly & The Family Stone,
plus much more. We visit with Harold McMillan of
Diverse Arts, along with James Robinson. A-Side/B-Side
is a great single from 1962 by The Falcons featuring
The Ohio Untouchables, who would eventually become The
Ohio Players. Playlist
12/08/2010 John Lennon Remains Dead
The thirtieth anniversary of the death of Dr. Winston O'Boogie,
and it becomes painfully obvious halfway through the show that
I'm still not over it. Beatle and Lennon rarities
and a heavy dose of some of his better solo material. A-Side/B-side
features his original demo for "God Save Oz." Playlist
12/01/2010 Chef's Surprise
Featuring some new Cee-Lo, Everyday People, OFS Limited,
Reggie Miller, Johnnie Matthews, Kickapoo Kidd & The
Deputies (I didn't make that up) and some major Latin boogaloo.
A-Side/B-Side is Booker T. & The MG's without Booker
T.! Playlist
11/24/2010 Annual Thanksgiving Jazz
Just so you don't have to be any more stressed than you normally
are before hanging out with your family. Featuring Mary Lou
Williams, Trio Subtonic, Cannonball, McGriff and Holmes, a
far-out tune with Monk, Rollins, and a French horn player.
A-Side/B-Side belongs to Miles Davis, from Bitches
Brew. Playlist
11/10/2010 Chef's Surprise
A treasure trove of groovy stuff: The Counts, Lee Fields
& The Explorers, The Commodores (a dirty ditty), Irene
Reid, Dr. Dog(!), The Black Keys, Isaac Hayes, and a soul
lesson 101 with The Capitols. A-Side/B-Side features
a non-album B-Side from Prince. "Scarlet Pussy" anyone?
Playlist
11/03/2010 Warm Chili Stew
A warm chili stew of mixed genres: we got the funk, but we also
offer up some grooves from Ghana, World Party (with an
amazing version of "The Long and Winding Road"), Jawen,
a dozen others and new Beatle remixes from the Rock
Band video game. Plus: A-Side/B-Side is an impossibly rare Sly
& The Family Stone record that came out under the name
"The French Fries." Playlist
10/27/2010 Heavy on The Heavy
Britain's best export in many, many years. Also music from Candi
Staton, The Mighty Hannibal, Raynel Wynglas, Innersouls, and
more. Betty Davis is the star of A-side/B-side. Playlist
10/20/2010 Chef's Surprise
A Smörgåsbord of funk and soul starring Joe Tex,
The New Mastersounds, The Dutch Rhythm Steel & Show Band,
a listen to some tracks from the Chi-Lites' Give
More Power to the People, and Stoney & Meatloaf
are the A-side/B-side selection for the day. Playlist
10/13/2010 Solomon Burke RIP
We mourn the late, great Solomon Burke. Alex LaRotta
stops by to play some boogaloo, plus some great stuff from All
The People, Sugarpie DeSanto, Eldridge Holmes and more.
Playlist
8/25/2010 Chef Carla
Excavation Nation's apprentice, Miss Carla, cooks up a fine
brew of funk and soul from her own collection. Playlist
8/29/2010 Chef Carla
Excavation Nation's apprentice, Miss Carla, cooks up a fine
brew of funk and soul from her own collection.
8/11/2010 1970: Funk & Soul pt.
2
Yet more great stuff from forty years ago. Spotlight on Stevie
becoming a man.
8/04/2010 Bob Dylan Revisited
Dylan returns to Austin. We're here to welcome him.
7/28/2010 1970: Funk & Soul pt.
1
The way-back machine is set for forty years ago. We dig up gems,
large and small, from the funkier side of soul in 1970. Spotlight
on The Meters and the sound of Chicago.
7/21/2010 1970: Pop Time!
Glorious pop music from the magic year of 1970.
5/5/2010 Cinco De Mayo with Grupo
Fantasma
A couple of the boys from Fantasma bring in some latin funk
to celebrate the holiday. Also songs from their glorious new
album, El Existential.
5/12/2010 King Curtis
Born Curtis Ousley in Fort Worth, Texas would sound like enough
of a handicap. Yet once he was crowned, King Curtis evolved
into one of the most sought-after studio musicians and arrangers.
He also assembled one of the best soul bands of the era.
5/26/2010 Exile on Main St. Revisited
The greatest rock and roll album of all time gets the revisionist
treatment. The new remaster with studio outtakes will take front
and center along with the usual back story and excavation of
the Stones' ramshackle masterpiece.
4/28/2010 Chef's Surprise
I don't often say this, but this was a great show. If you've
never heard the program, this will give you a good idea as to
what we're about. Everyone from Sam Cooke, Otis, Lyn Collins,
King Curtis, Allen Toussaint, Popcorn Wylie, The New Mastersounds,
Dessa, Johnny K, T Bird and the Breaks and more.
4/21/2010 P-Funk
It's becoming an annual show celebrating George Clinton &
Company's visit to Austin. Great stuff, a comparison between
Parliament and Funkadelic in 1975, and guest appearances
from Sly Stone and Prince.
4/7/2010 Soul Jazz Funk
When soul jazz artists play funk you'll find some rare grooves.
Featuring Brother Jack McDuff, Grant Green, Charles Earland,
Shirley Scott, Sex Mob, Osaka Monorail and more.
3/31/2010 JB 1970
We visit Soul Brother #1 as he transitions into the '70s with
a brand-new band of kids from Cincinnati (you may have heard
of the Collins Brothers, Bootsy & Catfish). JB was
able to capitalize and began a new era of heavy, heavy funk.
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.
