What a show for the day after Thanksgiving! This week we roll out a two-hour celebration of bakery-inspired tunes—an irresistible mix of cakes, pies, donuts, cookies, and every sugary delight ever to find its way into a lyric. We’ll be mixing up a blend from a century’s worth of music, from early jazz confections and country-fried treats to soulful blues pastries, golden-era pop indulgences, and rock-and-roll slices served hot from the oven. It’s all about how bakery imagery has sweetened American music’s storytelling. Jazz bands swing like a spoon in batter; country artists offer homestyle wisdom baked into every verse; blues singers lean into the bittersweet with slow-cooked grooves; and rock outfits bring the heat with songs that crust, crackle, and pop. Whether it’s a dusty 78 from the 1920s or a modern track with sprinkles of retro charm, the playlist draws straight from the musical pantry of the past hundred years. This week’s highlights include performances from Dan Hicks, NRBQ, Curtis Salgado, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller and a whole lot more. Tune into community radio for West Sonoma County. KOWS-LP 92.5 FM Occidental, streaming to planet Earth at kowsfm.com/listen.
Category Archives: Country
Harmonica Legends
Got a harmonica romp through the past one hundred years of America’s Music this coming Friday morning. We’ll be following the harmonica’s journey along and across the American crossroads…one that began in the 19th century, when inexpensive German-made “mouth harps” made their way into the hands of soldiers, travelers, and rural families. Its portability and expressive bends made it a natural fit for early blues and country porch settings. From that country blues porch setting to the juke joints where electric blues, rock, soul, blues, and Americana meet and mingle. We’ll be opening the vaults for some classic tracks from the likes of Little Walter, DeFord Bailey, Mickey Raphael, Sonny Boy Williamson, Charlie Musselwhite, and a couple dozen others as we celebrate the “mouth harp” for its blistering, distorted lead influencing generations of performers of all stripes. Drop in…we’d be glad to have you visit this Friday morning.
Rock Roll and Soul
This week’s Deeper Roots takes a wide turn down the backroads of American music, delivering a two-hour free form ride through the crossroads where rock, soul, blues, and Americana meet and mingle. We’ll be opening the vaults for an eclectic blend honoring the roots while keeping one foot in the groove — where a deep cut from Garland Jeffreys might slide right up against raw King Curtis Memphis soul, a bouncy David Lindley number, or the tight shuffle of a Chess Records blues side. We’ll be connecting the dots between decades and genres with warmth and curiosity. Whether it’s Louvin-soaked harmonies, road-weary country soul, or the smoky after-hours mood of the juke joint, this week’s celebration once more explores the shared DNA of American sound. Tune in for stories between the songs, unexpected transitions, and a handpicked setlist that speaks to both memory and motion — a sonic journey that proves the roots run deep, wide, and ever surprising.
Rhythm & Bayou Romp
The sounds of New Orleans carry a mood that’s both jubilant and deeply human; it dances and mourns in the same breath. It’s the sound of the street parade meeting the juke joint: syncopated, earthy, and alive with horns, piano rolls, and that unmistakable backbeat shuffle. Unlike the more urban polish of Chicago blues or the rural cry of the Delta, New Orleans R&B has always felt like a conversation between the sacred and the profane, where gospel chords meet barroom swagger. Just beyond the Crescent City’s lights, where the waters of the bayou take form, we’ve got the accordians and fiddles of the swamp, where there’s humor, head and heartbreak woven into the DNA of the deep South. It is joyous and haunted, elegant and raw, as well as endlessly resilient. The music of New Orleans inspired an ethos — that music could be communal, unrestrained, and celebratory no matter the hardship. It taught America how to dance through its troubles, to find rhythm in resilience, and to turn sorrow into sound that still shakes the rafters and demands a communal dance to this day. This week’s show raises the flag of the Crescent City and her environs with a rhythm and bayou romp!
Listen To The Music
Friday mornings feature a two-hour journey through sound, soul, and even a dash of storytelling from the past century of America’s music. Tune in as Dave Stroud weaves an eclectic blend of genres that don’t always share a shelf, but definitely share a spirit. From the aching twang of country ballads to the velvet grooves of soul, as well as the thumping rhythms of rock…we’ve got it all. We’ll also be adding a touch of gospel to uplift and some shimmering pop in the show today. Legends and unsung heroes side by side—think John Fogerty easing into a track from BR5-49, or some classic Charlie Musselwhite introducing the soulful sounds of Solomon Burke. This isn’t a greatest hits show—it’s a feeling. It’s about the moments when music surprises you, connects you, and makes you feel more you. So whether you’re tuning in from the road, the living room, or somewhere in between, turn it up and let the music take you somewhere new..
High On The Hog!
We’ll be rolling back our Hillbilly Wayback Machine to the year 1950 for romance in high pants at the barn dance. Country music really hadn’t yet caught on as a genre so a lot of the music we’ll share today had the misfortune of being coined “hillbilly music”; a blend of silver screen cowboy nostalgia for the lone prairie alongside swinging arrangements and occasional ballads of the heart. You even had yourself some down-home novelty and syncopated vocals that looked out at that land beyond the sun where the tumbleweeds bounced across the horizon. Without further waxing of the poetic, we’ll let you know that you’ll be treated to some very best from under the blanket of the prairie sky including the likes of Smiley Burnette, Jimmy Wakely, Tin Ear Tanner, Zeb Turner and Leon Chappel. These weren’t necessarily the big hits but they were honky tonk and jukebox favorites. Drop in and find out.
John Prine 79
We lost John Prine to COVID in 2020. We’re going to celebrate his 79th birthday along with the rest of his fans this morning as two new movies are on the horizon at just the right time. The two movies differ in their angles: one being a new tribute produced by his wife Fiona Whelan Prine called “You Got Gold” and the other is one produced by the Hello In There Foundation called “How Lucky Can One Man Get” which has its first screening this month in Denver. With today being his birth date, we’ll be doing a few different takes on John’s career in music including a couple reminiscences from Todd Snider and Steve Poltz who delivers a delightful memory of a trip to the Disney Store with John. There’s a reason that John is considered an American music treasure: as a songwriter he has few peers with his straight-ahead and simple sensibility. He delivered the goods as well as any of the legendary humorists , and that includes Mark Twain. Drop on in for something special this Friday morning.
Mean Old Frisco
It’s a City (with a capital ‘C’ to locals) whose cultural history practically hums with musical possibilities. This is due in large part to how the city has always been a meeting point for restless ideas and diverse communities. From the Gold Rush boomtown that lured fortune-seekers from every continent, to the Beat poets of North Beach and the psychedelic counterculture that turned Haight-Ashbury into a world stage, it’s been an easy mark for songwriters. This week’s show will visit that blend of beauty, grit and idealism with performances for and about San Francisco. Join us for a whole batch of vintage sounds covering any old genre we care to share with the likes of Harry “The Hipster” Gibson, Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite, Linda Martell, and, of course, Tony Bennett. We’ll celebrate from a short distance away with memories of Broadway, the fog rolling through the Golden Gate, and that endless palette of imagery and mood that is a living chorus always ready to be set to music.
Fortunate Son
The days are getting darker both by season and on the sidewalks of your town. Jackboot thugs with masks, clubs, and weapons are descending for you. Make no mistake. If you believe in your right to free speech and all that our Constitution affords you, think again. Know that you and your neighbor are in the crosshairs of this regime. This week’s show won’t break the spell but it will share with its language of comfort, joy and hope that music delivers as it stimulates the release of dopamine triggering pleasure and relaxation. Our prescription this morning is a compound of a free form eclectic blend that delivers a response from all corners. America’s music has always been built on a foundation of free expression so why not make the best…and that’s what we’ll be doing this morning with tracks from Glenn Miller, Charlie Christian, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Randy Newman and Dean Martin, just to name a few. Dream when you’re feeling blue. Rise up when you’re being pushed down. This week’s show takes us where we want to go.
How Deep Is The Ocean
A whole new season of Deeper Roots lands on your doorstep…just like the Sunday paper: full of human interest stories (as told in song) and local gab (also told in song). It’s a free form collection of songs from the past century with performances from the usual (and sometimes unusual) suspects. Only minor themes and genre recaps today in a carefully crafted eclectic blend that runs the gamut from Jimmie Dale Gilmore to Mary Wells, The Velvetones, Billy Walker and Hot Lips Page. We’ll hear some Texas tradition from Deep Elem and Milwaukee’s finest from Jerry Lee. But we’re also rolling out some really fine, under the radar, female soul and R&B numbers that come from off the beaten track including Doris Allen, Faye Adams and Mary Wells. And we wonder out loud ‘how deep is the ocean’ with Big Maybelle. Drop on by!
