Instrumental Invasion, 7/21/21 July 22, 2021
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The July 21 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on June 10 and 11.
The playlist was created and annotated on June 9, and the script was drafted on the 10th, a few hours before recording.
I changed things up by shuffling the segment format order. Rather than have two 2017 to present segments in hour 2, I moved the second one to the top of hour 1. This meant that a song from prior to 2017 got to end a regular show (not special ones like March 24 and 31) for the first time in months.
Another change was to stop saying “WCWP Brookville” at the top of each hour. Jeff Kroll told me to say that in the early days of the show in case automation didn’t run the legal ID, but it has run every time since the second week. I kept saying “WCWP Brookville” out of habit, but finally broke the habit here.
25 years after first hearing “The Groove” by Rodney Franklin on CD 101.9 (currently a web and HD station), I finally got a chance to play it after acquiring a double album CD. The CD contained his 1980 releases: You’ll Never Know – featuring “The Groove” – and the eponymous Rodney Franklin – home to the addictive “Windy City,” which you can expect in a future show.
I discovered Eric Gunnison back in 2015 after hearing his intense piano solo in a live version of “The Red Pill” by Nelson Rangell (starting at 4:18):
The led me to buy Trios, off which I played “Care to Join Us” tonight, and eventually, Voyageur.
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Instrumental Invasion, 7/14/21 July 15, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Film, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Sci-Fi, TV.add a comment
The July 14 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on June 3. It was the first show recorded in one day since January 6, which was recorded four weeks earlier on December 9.
The playlist was created and annotated, and the script was drafted, on June 2, one day before recording.
In all, I worked on three shows in 12 days, between May 23 and June 3, recording them in a 10-day span, between May 25 and June 3.
Pickups were recorded from June 9 to 11, and on the 26th.
A few segments in this show ran long, but I didn’t have to cut much out to compensate.
I made a timing error for the second straight show, this time in the second segment of hour 2. That meant I had to replace “Altair and Vega” by Bob James and Keiko Matsui with “Au Naturale” by Chieli Minucci and Special EFX. The script for the talk break coming out of that song had to be revised, along with the tease at the end of the previous segment.
I called “Vulcan Worlds” by Return to Forever a “fascinating” song because Spock (Star Trek) was half-Vulcan and fond of the phrase “fascinating.”
I came up with “Wummers of Summer” two summers ago when I heard Steve Oliver‘s “Wings of Spring” on SiriusXM’s Watercolors. I’m glad to finally say that publicly.
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Instrumental Invasion, 7/7/21 July 8, 2021
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The July 7 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded two segments per day between May 29 and 31 with pickups on the 31st and June 17.
The playlist was created on May 28 with annotations carrying into the 29th, followed by the script draft.
Half the segments ran long, half ran short. One of those segments ran short due to a miscalculation that gave me an extra minute. Another short segment gave me the opportunity to learn a “fun fact” (a term I lovingly borrow from Technology Connections) about Joe McBride. In all the years I’ve heard his music, I never knew he was Bake McBride‘s nephew.
I played “Red Suede Shoes” by Chuck Loeb after hearing the disappointing radio edit on SiriusXM’s Watercolors that cut the song in half, eliminating Till Brönner and Eric Marienthal‘s solos. They got their due in this show.
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Instrumental Invasion, 6/30/21 July 1, 2021
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The June 30 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first hour was recorded on May 25, the second hour’s first segment was recorded on the 26th, and the last two segments were done on the 27th.
The playlist was created and annotated on May 23 and the script was drafted on the 24th.
Every segment ran short, which once again required padding with extra liners, ditched talk-ups, and additional dialogue.
“Just Groovin'” by Norman Brown was the latest song recycled from a previous show. It was #1 on the smooth jazz radio charts at the time of recording.
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Instrumental Invasion, 6/23/21 June 24, 2021
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The June 23 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded between May 18 and 21. One segment was recorded per day on the 18th, 19th, and 21st (during construction next door), with three segments on the 20th. Pickups were recorded on May 23 and 24.
The playlist was created on May 17, with annotations and the script draft on the 18th.
Four of the six segments ran short, which required me to pad them out with additional liners and dialogue, shorten the talk-up – “Just So” by Boney James – or eliminate it – “Keepin’ the Faith” by Steve Laury and “Chi-Town” by Nick Colionne.
“Chi-Town” and Weather Report‘s “Birdland” were recycled from previous shows. I first played “Birdland” last July 8 and “Chi-Town” exactly 52 weeks ago.
I tried my best with instrument and musician pronunciations on Bob James and the Angels of Shanghai‘s cover of “Onara,” the theme from Dae Jang Geum. I’m proud of my talk-up for the preceding song, “Rainbow Gold” by Jessy J.
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11:43 AM UPDATE: In reference to guitarist Wayne Bruce, I said his alter ego was not Manbat, since Bruce Wayne is Batman. It slipped my mind that there is a Man-Bat supervillain whose real name is Dr. Kirk Langstrom. I had seen Man-Bat in Batman: The Animated Series when I watched the series over a few weeks in the fall of 2019. I regret the error, but I still get a chuckle out of my quip.
Instrumental Invasion, 6/16/21 June 17, 2021
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The June 16 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days: two segments on May 11, one on the 12th, two on the 13th, and one on the 14th. A few pickups were recorded to account for omissions.
The playlist was created on May 9 with annotations and the script draft on the 10th.
A few months ago, I posted a blooper where I almost said Jeff Goldblum‘s name when I meant to say Jeff Golub. This show marked the debut of Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Their cover of “Don’t Mess with Mister T.” appeared on The Capitol Studios Sessions, which I bought about a week before recording, along with their other album, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This. The latter album is more vocal than instrumental, so expect more from the former in the weeks ahead.
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Instrumental Invasion, 6/9/21 June 10, 2021
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The June 9 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded two segments per day from May 4 to 6. Pickups for the first two segments of the second hour were recorded on the 20th.
The playlist was created on May 2 with annotations and the script draft following on the 3rd. In spite of additional time allowed for talk breaks, I still wrote too much for myself to say, but I also didn’t write enough for two breaks. The latter issue allowed me to share a Jaco Pastorius tidbit I couldn’t share earlier due to the former issue. The drive through Oakland Park occurred on March 3, 2019, the day after my cousin David’s wedding to Talia. Here’s a photo:
The song I played before sharing the tidbit was “Jaco Smiled” by Ken Navarro, whose birthday coincided with last night’s show. As the show was winding down, he posted this video on Facebook, thanking everyone for the birthday wishes:
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For the second week in a row, one of my spots ran during a break. This time, it was for the community calendar. You can hear it at the 3:58 mark.
Instrumental Invasion, 6/2/21 June 3, 2021
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The June 2 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over the last four days of April: two segments on April 27, one on the 28th, two on the 29th, and one on the 30th. One pickup was recorded on May 3 and another on the 15th.
The playlist was created on April 25 with annotations and the script draft on the 26th. I wrote too much to say in the time allotted on the playlist, which led some things unsaid. You can find the personnel I didn’t have time to credit at the following links:
I didn’t have to cut much from the rest of the script, but still had to fade songs down early in several cases. In the case of “Better Days Ahead” by Gerald Albright, I let the talk break overshoot what I had in mind as the post. (That refers to “hitting the post,” ending just as the main melody or vocals begin.)
One script cut was so good, I’d like to share it below. It’s in reference to “Market Street” by Yellowjackets from the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home soundtrack:
That fourth film is set in San Francisco. I have yet to see it or any of the Star Trek films, outside of clips, and the clip I’ve seen of the fourth is Spock using his Vulcan pinch on a rowdy punk blasting music on a bus.
Here is that scene (the video):
Incidentally, Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek IV.
Midway through annotating the playlist, I received a call from Pete Bellotti informing me I would be inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame as part of their 2021 class. Pete is chairman of the WCWP Hall of Fame Committee and a 2019 inductee. I couldn’t say anything publicly until the announcement on May 11. I had been dreaming of this honor for a few years and was thrilled the dream came true. I just hope the ceremony happens as scheduled.
Click here to download the June 2 aircheck MP3 or listen below:
The last spot break began with my latest promo, which I recorded on May 1:
Instrumental Invasion, 5/26/21 May 27, 2021
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The May 26 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days. The first hour was completed on April 20 with a pickup on the 21st, while the second hour and additional pickups were done on the 22nd.
The playlist was created on April 18 with annotations and the script draft on the 19th.
It was a Brown namesake extravaganza with songs by Norman (guitar/vocals), Alison (banjo), Paul (guitar/vocals), and Dean (guitar), plus songs by Lisa Addeo – making her Instrumental Invasion debut – and Julian Vaughn that featured Mel Brown on bass. I’d love to see the five of them perform together someday.
For the first time in six shows, I had to replace a song because time was running short in a segment; in this case, the first segment of hour 2. “Through the Years” by Brian Culbertson was replaced with “Northern Lights.”
As I type this sentence, I have not played any version of Space Harrier, but through watching videos on YouTube, I’ve developed an appreciation for it. Thus, “Get Ready” by Jazmin Ghent (making her debut on the show) makes me think of the opening line in the game: “Welcome to the fantasy zone. Get ready!”
This video dares to compare every version of Space Harrier:
I also made reference to The Golden Girls. “Picture it!,” I exclaimed as Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty) while acknowledging Nick Petrillo on keyboards.
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Instrumental Invasion, 5/19/21 May 20, 2021
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel.add a comment
The May 19 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded entirely on my laptop through an Apogee MiC 96k. The first hour was recorded on April 12, with the second hour recorded on the 13th (one segment) and 14th (two segments). I thought I’d be doing one hour each on the 12th and 14th, but symptoms from the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were low enough that I spread out the second hour’s recording.
The playlist was created and mostly annotated on April 10 with further annotations on the 11th and 12th once I acquired the albums three hour two songs appeared on. Expect to hear more from those albums, and two others that I purchased, in the coming weeks. The script was drafted on the 11th.
“Grey Area” by Cindy Bradley had been played before, but I didn’t acknowledge Mike Broening‘s piano solo. I made up for that this time. As you saw in the link, he goes by Michael professionally, and I will address him as such in the future. I’ve called him Mike because I once heard Cindy call him that in an interview.
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