"In theatre we have a tradition; whenever the theatre is empty we are always sure to leave one light on. Typically on a stand in the center of the stage, this light is known as the ghost light. There are many stories about its origin, but it’s meaning is unmistakable. Though the theatre is empty, WE WILL RETURN. Until then- here’s a ghost light- to let the world know we will be back." Dalen O'Connell, March 16 2020. Hosted by Pacific Theatre's founding artistic director Ron Reed, Soul Food is a all about theatre and its artists, and beyond: movies, stories, history, art, poetry, podcasts, Premier League Football, and whatever else is on the minds of our community of artists and art-lovers. Courage!
EMERGENCY BULLETIN. Good ship Ghostlight taking on water, may be lost at sea. Mayday! Mayday! All ships at sea - ASSISTANCE REQUESTED!
Today on Ghost Light Radio we'll spring into April with a tasting menu of seasonal Soul Food tunes you've never heard before. Best consumed fresh (like, before Wednesday?), we've got ultra-rare music from the likes of Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, Amy Winehouse, The Beatles (AKA The Quarrymen), and even an off-the-beaten-track track or two from Old Blue Eyes himself. PLUS a heapin' helpin' of obligatory, delectable Canadian Content.
Here we are, aboard the Good Ship Ghost Light, lost at sea, our mind tossing like the ocean, setting sail for someplace a little less storm-toss'd. Even though it's Saturday, I'm makin' tonight Sunday, searchin' for a relax, pullin' from the jazz stacks...
We're clearing out the Soul Food closet, hauling out all the neglected-but-not-forgotten treasures that didn't quite fit in episodes past. Discoveries old and new: music very old and brand spankin' new, poems about love from many sides - up and down, win and lose, break-ups past and pending - and stories about songs I've been waiting too long to tell. There might even be stuff I found in a book or two that I need to get back to the library...
A January 6th special broadcast, thinking about kings and princes and rock and roll and even one last helping of festive leftovers - it's the twelfth day of Christmas, after all! Featuring the maiden voyage, the very first spin, of my brand new 1955 disc from Sun Records...
This week on Ghost Light Radio, bits and pieces from forty years worth of Christmas shows at Pacific Theatre. First Christmas: An Entertainment, Cotton Patch Gospel, Dreams Of Kings And Carpenters, and of course Christmas Presence itself. From Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Bone Man Slim, seasonal selections with a theatrical flavour.
Sixty years of Canadian music - and radio! - in an hour and a quarter. We'll take a road trip with the son of a Saskatchewan premier, travel from the Cowichan Valley to Vancouver to Winnipeg to Toronto in search of CanCon, check up on some illustrious expats, and tune in the voices and sounds of a couple generations of north-of-the-49th radio. And you out east, don't worry, we'll pick up the cross-country journey after Christmas. Maybe call it "Strong and Free."
We're playing exactly what we feel tonight on Ghost Light pirate radio, from Robert Zimmerman to Doris Mary Anne Keppelhoff, Domenico Modugno to Gary Keillor. The mailbag is full to bursting - Iwan from Cardiff, Tim from Saskatoon, Jack from Des Moines and Norm from Etobicoke - as we ruminate on happenings great and terrible, from Bakersfield to the moon.
We're back! Had ourselves some shore leave - almost three years worth, that oughta do - and it seems like high time to unfurl the sails, unpack the microphone, and start spinning some tunes once again. New releases and really old favourites, requests and discoveries, flotsam and jetsam, just right for this present moment. Or any moment, come to think of it...
Just before disappearing into the rehearsal hall to work on Pacific Theatre's "How The World Began," Ron looks back on some more of his favourite shows, and their music: Mercy Wild, Jesus My Boy, You Still Can't, Godspell, The Disappearing, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Doubt, The Rainmaker. Just keeping that Ghost Light burning...
January 27, 2021 was host Ron Reed's last day on the job as Head Chef at the Pacific Theatre Diner, and tonight he and Jack Nicholson mark the one year anniversary of that occasion by looking back at some of Ron's favourite shows, and the music that enhanced their distinctive Soul Food flavour. The Casino, The Foreigner, Tent Meeting, A Bright Particular Star, and more - tasty tunes from skits that schmeck.
The first annual presentation of our Ronnie Awards, in the spirit of the erstwhile, affable co-host of Radiolab, Robert Krulwich. Oysters and pearls, Christmas oranges, the ultimate Specialty record, free men and gentle men and jazz royalty in Moscow and Paris and much closer to home - dilettantes, aficionados, raconteurs and flaneurs all. And there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last...
Stormy seas, bright fields. Ports of call: Liverpool, Wales, Boston, Nanaimo, Detroit, and more. Music and words to knit up the raveled sleave of care...
The pirate radio crew is back from shore leave, and tonight we're playing favourites! Sent in by our loyal listeners, our faithful followers, and our sleepy supporters. Gilette, David, Rachel, Norm, Donnie, Nelson, Marianne, Spencer and the two Karens. Including an interview with our audio technician, Mr. Hugo Taney, who's got some high tech advice for Kenton "Sleepy" Klassen...
Broadcast like no one's listening! A tribute to radio DJs everywhere, from the Good Ship Ghost Light - Lester the Nightfly, The Count, Deke Duncan, Gary Keillor, Symphony Sid, and that Top Ten Thousand guy, whatever his name was.
Thanksgiving weekend! At least here in Canada. So of course we'll visit an elevator in Utah, a place that sells used office furniture in Los Angeles, out on San Fernando Road, an unemployment office in France, the Hitsville recording studio in Detroit, a sheep farm in Kentucky, even (if only for a moment) a children's home in Liverpool... Folks are thankful all over the place! Pull up a chair and join us for a fine turkey dinner, with all the trimmings. Updated October 20, to make room at the table for the Mad Farmer himself, Mr. Loren Wilkinson.
Tonight we bid adieu to September, and welcome October - with a return to the theatre! And all kinds of other great things. Will Eno's WAKEY WAKEY at Pacific Theatre, baseball in New York and Toronto and on the schoolyards of Vancouver, surprise election results in Richmond (don't worry, we won't talk politics), a rain dog afternoon at my local strip mall, and of course, great music of all kinds. Not forgetting Canada's first, and long overdue, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We might run overtime, just a little...
Summer's over, and Soul Food heads back to school with one last look over its late-night shoulder - at summer movies and end-of-summer songs, at childhood and childhood's end, with even a couple poets (Diane Tucker and Brad Aaron Modlin) along for the ride. "They say that all good things must come to an end..."
It's late at night in the late summer, and we're keeping it alive here for you on the friendly Ghost Light airwaves - summer jobs, summer loves, and a visit to the state fair. We've got another selection from my dad's record collection, poetry by Barbara Crooker, a middle-of-the-night encounter with a much more mysterious DJ, August faves from the May family, and our tribute to a famed jazz drummer who said goodbye this week.
Late night memories of summer jobs in the Okanagan and fated encounters on "the ragged green edge of the world" - Susan Alexander thinks back to Osoyoos and I return to Tofino. We also remember summer music festivals with Sweet Honey In The Rock and The Original Sloth band, explore Nelson Boschman's Top Tunes 'o Summer, and soak in the sounds of Corinne Bailey Rae, Kacey Musgraves, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Boz Scaggs, The Langley Schools Music Project, a Daniel Amos side project, and a couple George Harrison tunes, one from his solo years, the other with his first band, the quaintly named "Beatles." Summer ain't over yet!
It's a hot night, and we take refuge from the heat in memories of summer music festivals, talking about The Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 ("Black Woodstock"), Canada's Festival Express in 1970, the first ever Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1978, and the return of Miles Davis in 1981. Featuring the hot sounds of The Lovin' Spoonful, Charlie Peacock, Nina Simone, B.B. King, The Band, Bruce Cockburn, Peter Tosh, Miles Davis, Sidney Bechet, and more. Cool.
Tonight we take our show on the road, with traveling companions Ira Glass, Carolyn Arends, Zaac Pick, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Charlie Peacock, Bobbies Dylan and Troup, Spencer Capier, Michael Hart, the Nordic Chamber Choir, and the Road Scholars. Buckle up, Radioland.
More summer music, and now poetry even! Ain't we classy. More Temptations, Los Zafiros, Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban, The Avett Brothers, Diane Tucker's Nostalgia For Moving Parts, Poolside, Jackie Mittoo, Marcia Griffiths, Aaron Chapman & The Milkshake Murder, two Quartets - Chico Hamilton and Charlie Haden - and the one and only Jo Stafford.
We're back! Mostly music this summer, with odd bits of other stuff. Ibrahim Ferrer, Percy Faith, The Flamingos, The Ink Spots, Rita Payés, Vic Damone, The Temptations, The Miracles, Bob Dylan, Toots & The Maytals, Etta James, Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Also the Top Ten Thousand anniversary, Danny Finkleman, Ross Porter, road trips, Dad and daughters and granddaughters and music, summer weddings, Barcelona jazz, Joe Versus the Volcano, Omega Man, The Princess and the Warrior.
Chapter 14, Parts 2, 3, and 4, the final installment of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 14, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 13, Parts 2, 3, and 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 13, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 12, Parts 2, 3, and 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 12, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 11, Parts 3 & 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 11, Part 2 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 10, Part 4 and Chapter 11, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 10, Parts 2 & 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Ordinary Time, Mailbag, Annual Top 100 Countdowns, annuses horribili, Elvis, Back To The Movies! (Even The Ones You Don't Like), Vertigo, Andreis Rublev and Tarkovsky, Joe Morgenstern, Peter Norman and 2001: A Space Odyssey and the worst night of Alex North's life. Featuring music by Nelson Boschman, Bruce Cockburn, Lance Odegard, Jonathan Anderson, Nina Simone, Johann & Richard Strauss, Alex North, and Brooks Williams.
Chapter 9, Parts 3 and 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 9, Part 2 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 8, Parts 2 and 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 8, Parts 2 and 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 7, Part 4 and Chapter 8, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 7, Parts 2 & 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 7, Part 1 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
The Twilight Zone, Garrison Keillor, Billy Collins, Luci Shaw, Scout the Dog, and - around the 18 minute mark - next season and beyond at Pacific Theatre. Featuring music by Michael Hart, Carolyn Credico, and Patrick Holland (AKA "Project Pablo").
Chapter 6, Part 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
W.H. Auden, W.P. Kinsella ("The Thrill Of The Grass"), and a letter from my Bundesliga-loving pal Marty in Germany. Featuring music by Ken Whitely & The Original Sloth Band, Bruce Cockburn, Jacqueline Schwab, and Taj Mahal.
Chapter 6, Part 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 6, parts 1 and 2, of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Chapter 5, Parts 3 and 4 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
The Trip To Bountiful (with Kira Fondse, Paige Louter, and Erla Faye Forsyth), "The Star" by Diane Tucker, Prepping for the Apocalypse, the Cheerful International Film Festival, Bundesliga Alert, and Jalen Saip Phones It In. Featuring music by Spencer Capier & Carolyn Arends, Garth Bowen, Michael Hart, Laura Koch, Petula Clark, and Big Joe Turner.
Chapter 5, Part 3 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
Beginning Chapter 5 of a brand new novel-in-progress by acclaimed playwright and actress Lucia Frangione. Lucia's plays have been produced around the world: Espresso, Leave of Absence, Cariboo Magi, The Thin Man, Holy Mo, Chickens, Christmas on the Air, In A Blue Moon, Off-Leash. She is a Jessie Richardson Award-winning actor. Check out her Daily Story at luciafrangione.com
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