Radio Memphis On Demand

Local singer Jerry Jones drops in on Ric & ElJay for a Nooner conversation about a special show happening Labor Day weekend. Plus, a few tracks to get you going.

Jason Freeman from the Bluff City Backsliders dropped in on Ric & ElJay during Radio Memphis in The Morning for an appearance during The Nooner. Jason talked about a service he is involved with regarding a necessary thing many people don't talk about. Also, Jason gives an update on what he is up to musically. Plus you'll hear a couple of tunes played live.      

Dr. Alphonso Sanders is a music educator. But, he's more than that. He's also a working musician who works most weekends. Here, you'll hear about his gigs as well as his stance on the state of arts in education these days. Also, you'll hear some of his studio work and a moment where he played live in the studio. All taken from his appearance on The Nooner during Radio Memphis in The Morning.

When you talk about Memphis music, you have to include a conversation about R&B and Soul. Part of that conversation will always be about STAX. But, there is more. Within the hallowed stories of STAX lies the story of Samuel & Davis. They paid a visit to Radio Memphis in The Morning with Ric & ElJay to talk about their time at STAX and the new tunes they have coming your way. You'll hear two of them right here.

Bailey has new album and she brought it to Radio Memphis along with a couple of guitars. Taken from a Nooner moment during Radio Memphis in The Morning, Bailey tells us of the new album and you'll hear a few cuts and along the way, she plays live.  

Celebrated musician and songwriter, Doug Macleod brings new music to Radio Memphis in the form of his new album, A Soul to Claim. He performs live and you'll some stories and selected cuts.

In tribute to the famed highway and music that is found along it, the band 78 found their way into the Radio Memphis studios for a special night of live music.  

Memphis music newcomers, The Flamingo King perform live during a special night of music and fun on Radio Memphis.  

Original member of Mudboy and The Neutrons, Jimmy Crosthwaite comes to Radio Memphis with more music and stories. 

Cam Kimbrough and Damon Pierson are Memphissippi Sounds. They brought their latest collection of tunes and live performance into the Radio Memphis studios.

Famed Memphis guitarist Steve Selvidge brings new music to Radio Memphis. 

Mike Younger Trio is Burning The Bigtop Down with an appearance in the Radio Memphis studios.

An evening with the real deal, Mr. Vasti Jackson. Stories and music. You'll learn a thing or two here.

STAX legend Mickey Gregory dropped by the Radio Memphis studios to tell some stories. Legendary stories.

Recently, Ric & ElJay had a discussion about a South Korean politician who has been trying to distance himself from a man who has a rather unsavory job. By western standards, that is. In this clip taken from Radio Memphis in The Morning, the two have a rather in depth talk about the benefits (such as they may be) of having one's anus acupunctured. 

Boston blues artist Ryan Lee Crosby stops by the studio to have a chat and play some tunes with Ric & ElJay during The Nooner on Radio Memphis in The Morning.

Artist Chilly Bill and Orange Mound activist Angela Barksdale took part in an episode of the Nooner with Ric & ElJay durn Radio Memphis in the Morning. There is talk regarding the celebration of one of Memphis' oldest communities along with plans for building and improving the area. Also, Chilly Bill talks about some of his music of which you'll hear on this clip.

Dianna Fryer makes an appearance for her latest update on her fight with stage 4 colon cancer. This fight has turned into a brawl with a casualty no one wanted to see, her hair. But with that loss comes some good news as her new chemo regimen seems to be kicking some serious cancer ass. Along the way, D shares her holiday family experience and the battle royale over a bowl of cabbage noodles. No one picks that fight. No matter how sick you are, you will always find yourself in the bowl of cabbage noodles. The latest update is here as is the beginnings of the "tumble weaves for D" campaign.  

Ric calls in D for an update on her situation. It was the 13 September, 2020 when the studio got cleaned for D to come in and spend some long awaited quality time on the air to catch up with all that has been happening with her and to get her caught up with all the doings at Radio Memphis. A couple of phone calls happened as well. One of them being Mattox from The Heavyweight Chumps Radio Show and the other from The Batman (Batty) from the U.K. If you missed the broadcast, here it is commercial free.

29 February, 2020 Dianna and Ric took to the air in the middle of the day to get the listeners caught up on what is happening around the studio. Also, D explains why she has not been around for the past 4 months. Sometimes, the greatest hurdles we face as a business and a family happen in the most remote and least thought of areas. This is one of those areas. Rest assured, there will be updates as we go along. Also, as things become more clear, we'll be passing that information as well. Please share this to your social media friends and stay tuned. 

Memphis music royalty came to the Radio Memphis studios on a recent Saturday night for a wonderful little moment with Keith Sykes and some of his stories. Along the way, he played a few songs from his extensive catalog. Over the years, Keith has found himself in some interesting places, writing music with some interesting people and playing those songs on some interesting stages. When you talk Memphis music, you can't leave out the name Keith Sykes. In this special On Demand piece, Keith sat down with Ric Chetter to play a few of the songs and tell the stories that went into the writing of his material and some of the surprising places where his music has shown up over the years.

On October 6, 2019, there was a celebration of the famed Antenna Club. It was quite the Midtown Memphis venue in it's day. Some of the best music in the world was played at that storied spot. The celebration involved the placing of a marker for those to remember what it was like in those days. That weekend, Memphis saw musicians who gathered to celebrate The Antenna Club with special tribute shows at several Midtown venues. One of those was Lorette Velvette who came into the Radio Memphis studios to visit with Ric Chetter about her time on The Antenna Club stage as well as her new LP. New in that this record had not been released but was a compilation of her work with many other Memphis musicians through the years. On this special presentation, you'll hear some cuts off the new LP and some of the stories that bubbled up from that famed stage at The Antenna Club.

This edition of The Radio Memphis Live Music Hour is jammed packed! We kick off the show with LMH friend, Fenton Wright the Vice-President and Executive Director of The Consortium MMT. He'll be here to discuss the latest MMT news. Next up, we got Justin Coleman promoting his awesome event, Art Unplugged:The Birthday Edition, this Sunday, September 22nd! The list of performers on the line-up makes this something you do NOT want to miss. Our Featured Artist will be R&B Singer/Songwriter, K Rogers! You're going to love his voice AND his latest single, "All I Need"!

Swing Shift is Donna Bowers and Wayde Peck. This duo (one of many Donna is in) stays pretty busy. They stopped into the Radio Memphis studios during the Booze & Blues and brought a party. They also brought a rather large choir of voice who helped sing back up on one song you will hear in this episode. Also, you'll hear the stories behind Donna's childhood and her exposure to music at such a young age and you'll hear just how many songs she has written. Wayde brings his guitar stylings to bear on some great performances you will hear in this On Demand feature.

This edition of The Radio Memphis Live Music Hour is supporting a very worthy cause...“Don’t Let Your Song Fade Away “ - A Suicide Awareness Benefit, in honor of Zena Starr, happening This Saturday at Rockhouse Live Memphis (5709 Raleigh Lagrange). Members of Caging Elliott, Semantic Shift, The Zach Bair Band and Seeking Seven will each perform live in our studio. Also, there will be members from 5 Stories, Harsh, Affliction of the Absent, The Red Mountain, AM Whiskey and One Day West. Christina Stephens and Paige Johnson, the organizers, will be here to discuss the importance of the event and Mike LeBonte from the Memphis Crisis Center will also be here to discuss Suicide Prevention Month. Also in this episode, a proposal as it happened live on the air.

Long time bluesmen Brandon Santini and Jeff Jensen have teamed up for a brand new project. Tennessee Redemption. To celebrate their first CD, they brought the band down to the Radio Memphis studios to play live and to sample some cuts from their brand new disc. Plus, you'll hear tales from the road and what they went through to make this album. Along the way, you'll hear how to get your copy and where you can go to see them live as they launch out on an early fall tour.

Can a punk band play the blues? That is a valid question. How much emotion can you put into a record? These are valid question asked throughout this entire On Demand when Mama Honey came into the studio. Ric Chetter sat with Mam Honey to work out where their source comes from. It's a valid question among many others in this great look at their brand new CD Punk Blues. It comes from pain, understanding and joy and you will hear it all here now. An exclusive at Radio Memphis.

A brand new show is coming to Radio Memphis in the form of The Heavyweight Chumps. Mattox and Thundercookies are about to invade the airwaves at Radio Memphis with their own form style of pop culture, wrestling and other entertainment news fitting your bill. Taking the place of the self cancelled Gossiping Heifers, these guys are about to bring their take on all things Hollywood, comic books, wrestling and so much more. You know them from their podcast at Mad Fat Loud and now you are going to get them at their radio version happening exclusively at Radio Memphis. It all starts October 1st.

Paul Crum is a Memphis singer and songwriter. He also is involved with a really cool event coming up very soon. The Campaign for a Non-violent Memphis is happening. In this On Demand special, Paul stopped into the Radio Memphis broadcast studio to talk about the week long schedule of events and the big kick off featuring 12 Memphis artists performing at The Halloran Center on September 15. To learn more about this event and all the events following the show, you can learn more at their website. Also, you'll learn who the Master of Ceremonies for the show is going to be.      

Right between Meridian, Mississippi and Jackson, Mississippi is a little town called Forest, Mississippi. That is where Robert James Starr lives and plays the blues. He goes by Robert, RJ or even Bob. He recorded his new CD, Light A Fire With Me in the Pirate Radio Recording Studios. In this On Demand episode, you'll hear some cuts off that new disc plus you'll here RJ Starr play in studio live on the air as it happened. To get the new disc, just head on over to his website and get the thing. You'll be glad you did.

At the end of August, the Grammy nominated R.L. Boyce brought his guitar and a couple of players into the broadcast studio for a bit of fun. Of course, the music was as special as it always is, but this time, his daughter Sherena Boyce came down as well with the details on the annual R.L. Boyce Picnic. Big fun for sure with a little conversation and several tunes from the band as well.

Memphis violinist (fiddle player) Alice Hasen is about to release her first CD. Called Violintro, this is quite a collection of songs. Alice and her band came into the Radio Memphis studios for a very special appearance and listening party. In this On Demand special, you'll hear some selected cuts from the new CD and some live performances in the studio as they happened. Along the way, you'll hear some stories about how the album was made and the enormous amount of work that went into this project. Alice is a talent who thumbed her nose to Nashville just to stay in Memphis and make her music exactly how she wanted to make it. You can go to HERE to get the CD and it is highly recommended you do.   

Don't let the name fool you. Old People In Chairs is three legendary Memphis artists. Danny Green, Reba & Wayne Russell working together to make some great Memphis music. In this episode, you'll hear how they came together plus how they have played with so many different artists throughout the years. At one point, they were in the business of making commercial jingles. Some of which we are sure you have heard. These three came down to the Radio Memphis studios for an appearance on the Booze & Blues show to tell stories and sing some songs. It's all right here. Listen now.  

Jimmy Crosthwait from Mud Boy & The Neutrons spent some time on the air at Radio Memphis recently. Jimmy came in with some rare recordings he was a part of and he spoke quite a bit about the days with Mud Boy & The Neutrons even explaining just where the name of the band came from. Along the way, he talks about his youth as a child actor. Later, he was a puppeteer and a sculpter. He stills plays, these days with Sons of Mud Boy at various places around Memphis. There are a lot of great stories here and some fantastic music that hasn't seen the light of day in a very long time and it is all right here in this special edition of the Booze & Blues. 

A little departure from the usual blues fare happens here. Morris Lawrence from The Total Package band paid us a visit to talk about the Memphis funk scene. You are in for quite a ride. Lawrence has played with quite the list of players, including Bootsy Collins. There is so much to that story and Morris will explain in this episode. Also in the studio, the new vocalist for The Total Package, Sunshine came along to talk about her start in show business. Along the way, you'll hear some cuts from their current CD, Unpacked. Listen now.    

Tony Manard & The Big Ole Band have a brand new CD out called Thanks, Y'all! To celebrate this new disc, Tony brought it down to Radio Memphis for a special listening party on the air. In this On Demand feature, you'll hear some selected cuts from the new disc and some great stories as told by Tony and Brian Mulhearn (Big Ole Band guitarist). Plus, you'll hear some of the plans Tony has for the band and other news from his world. Listen now.  To get the disc and to see videos and more, head HERE.

Mattox & Thundercookies dropped into the Radio Memphis studios for a quick chat before another show. While they were there, Ric sat down with them for a brief interview about their podcast and something they were working on before their arrival. It's a few minutes with The Heavyweight Chumps. Listen now.  

Memphis representatives of the solo/duo entrants of the recent International Blues Challenge, Tlaxica & Pope dropped into the Radio Memphis studios on their way to an appearance in Austin, Texas. They have a brand new EP out now and during their appearance on the Booze & Blues they presented a few of the cuts from the new disc as well as a great live performance the way it happened live on the air. Listen now.  

Long time Memphis blues act, The Memphis Snake Doctors dropped back into the broadcast studio for an appearance on the Booze & Blues. It was one of those nights where Studio B went from a radio broadcast spot to an all out juke joint. These guys always put on a good show and here it is for your listening pleasure. Listen now.

The long musical traditions of the Kimbrough family continue with the younger Cam. Like a lot of younger musicians discovering the blues, Cam came about it through more modern music. That road, as it often does, lead Cam Kimbrough right back into the family tradition. On a recent appearance on the Booze & Blues, Cam and his friend Damion Yella P Pearson put on a clinic regarding North Mississippi Hill Country and Cotton Patch blues styles. Hear it all right here. 

Dianna calls Rob [Youells] to check in to talk about progressing plans with his new band, Evolution Empire, and finds out things have considerably progressed into securing members from Hell Yeah, Danzig, Fear Factory, to finishing up making a music video, to locking down a spot on the later part of a tour with Life Of Agony in Europe and possibly picking up some dates in Australia.   In the process, they reminiscence for a few moments about how their friendship started from their initial interview together.  As their conversation progresses, Dianna calls Rob a "task manager", which leads them both into talking about making lifestyle changes, what it takes to move forward, and how to taking care of yourself is the most important thing to be successful. They even end up defining the Law of Attraction.   Dianna admits to Rob that she was inspired by a secret that he had shared with her off-air to take inventory of herself and realizes how her choices in past experiences might have affected her own life's path. What was the secret? Rob's 4th grade heartbreak.   When they were first introduced, she thought he was just a drummer and he probably thought she was just an on-air jock. Since then, they have gotten to know each other a little better. Now they find themselves randomly checking in with the other to see what’s going on.  As time progresses on, not only do they share fantastic tips and advice about the entertainment business, Rob and D share more and more of how the industry and their environments impact their personal lives and they wind up talking about Life On Air.   Did you miss this? Listen now to Episode 3.

Midsouth musician Tullie Brae spent an evening in the Booze & Blues studio with her brand new album Revelation. She made this disc with some help from another Radio Memphis friend, Mick Kolassa. While she was on the air, she tells the story about how the record was made with stories from the studio. Also, she talks a bit about her songwriting process. By the way, this preacher's daughter knows her way around a keyboard as you will hear in this episode. She gave a heartfelt performance on the air and you will hear it all in this Radio Memphis On Demand exclusive.

Longtime Memphis blues act and friends of Radio Memphis, The Delta Project came to the studio for an evening of general debauchery and blues. But, this time was different. They came with their brand new album, Hill Stompin'. In this episode, they told some stories about how the album came together. Plus, you'll hear some cuts from it and some laughs they shared with the engineer of the album, Radio Memphis' own Ric Chetter. You'll also hear a blistering live performance. 

North Mississippi storied bluesman Kenny Brown spent some quality time in the studio for the Booze & Blues where he and his band laid down the groove and talked about his annual North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic. The annual event draws blues fans from all around the world. It also brings in some of the more legendary artists to hit a stage. In this episode, Kenny talks about how he grew up playing the blues and how he learned the craft. Along the way, he broke a string. But, he picked up the Radio Memphis guitar from Killer B Guitars and kept right on going.      

Midsouth author Tom Graves spent Father's Day with the Booze & Blues show to talk about his new book, White Boy. It is autobiographical in that he talks about growing up in a racist environment and how he overcame those ways and how he found a way to forgive people he was close to while forgiving himself. He talks about learning how to live a life of acceptance in a world and a time where racism divided more than just communities. Surrounding himself with the music of the day and makers of those songs, he found himself.     

Butch Mudbone was a guest on The Booze & Blues. We brought in the Radio Memphis House Band for this special night of fun. The House Band was Willie Hall (drums), Leo Goff (bass) and Stephen Seligman (guitar). Butch wanted to get into some older tunes, standards and few of his own songs. Along the way, he told some stories and one we never heard before about the time he went to Sharon Tate's place in Los Angeles before the murders and how he got a pretty heavy vibe before getting out. Plus, Butch goes unplugged for the last part of the show and performs a little of his slide work. 

Memphis Southern Heavyweight Champions of Rock and Roll, The Fast Mothers brought Radio Memphis their brand new disc Honey, Mercy, Please. This is a stripped down version of The Fast Mothers. It is a solid rock and roll CD and for their premiere, they chose to bring it to Radio Memphis for a world debut. If you missed the June 8 live broadcast, here it is with all the tunes from the disc. Plus, a whole lot of stories from the band on the making of the album and what they have coming up very soon.  For those in the Memphis area, they will be performing live at Murphy's with Every Mother's Nightmare, Saturday June 15 at 9:00PM. In the broadcast there was mention of the band BSOL also on the bill, however, due to unforeseen circumstances they had to back out of the show.  Honey, Mercy, Please is available wherever you get your music.  

Bluff City Backsliders are celebrating their 20th Anniversary. They are doing it with a new CD and show at The Levitt Shell June 16. Part of that celebration took place on the air with Ric, Natalie and Mark at Radio Memphis. They performed live and you'll hear a few cuts off the forthcoming CD. Also, Mark gives us the latest news from The Memphis Blues Society. Listen now.  

The Bartlett Farmer's Market is in full swing in Freeman Park. Joining BJ Banks and Ric for The Nooner during Radio Memphis in The Morning, Christi Eason Meeks from the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce to talk about the market and all the cool things coming up this summer. Plus you will hear about some proposed updates to the park and the possibility of a having an evening Farmer's Market. Also, BJ sings a song (Going Green) and talks about all the talent that will be playing the Bartlett Farmer's Market. Listen now.

Did you miss the latest edition of "You Got Mail" featuring Simone Lipkin during Radio Memphis Around the World? Catch the message Dianna got from Simone straight out of New York City right here.   Are you an artist/band that wants to share your story with Radio Memphis Around the World? Drop D a line to her email at dianna@pirateradiostudios.com. You can even mail her an actual letter (and music) to Pirate Radio Studios, Inc. 4745 Poplar Ave., Suite B100, Memphis Tennessee. 38117 c/o Dianna. She’s checking her mail live on the air and you never know, you could be next. Listen now.

Dianna​ caught up with Karen Novak​ of the Karen Single Band​ to talk about the amazing experiences with musical theatre company (Ptarmigan Ptheatrics​) and pulling in one of the lead roles in Yellowknife's (Canada) version of broadway musical, Mama Mia, which proved a musical hit having sold out before opening night. Being inspired by working with her theater group, Karen took another leap of faith and submitted an application to put her first album Wide Open, along two more of a trilogy to be written, then recorded and put on stage as a theatrical rock production. Her proposal even requested that she tour Europe with this concept idea and production. Karen has been accepted into the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre (NACC​) mentorship program and is now getting the help needed to make a forever dream of hers a reality.   Did you miss Dianna and Karen's conversation during Radio Memphis Around the World? Listen now.