Episode 51 of Radio Free Charleston, “West Virginia State College Shirt,” is online now! This edition of the show features music by Brain Trauma and The Underdog Blues Revue, plus a Kitty Killton movie trailer and the debut of the Astonishing Finger Man!

Host segments were shot Friday at the Mound in South Charleston. We recorded these bits after the No Pants Players show, which was held down the street at the La Belle Theater, and we even enlisted a couple of passers-by to do our animation intro.

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If today’s (one-day late) art looks familiar, that’s because I used it before.  Weekend computer woes forced me to repeat this image from a couple of years ago. It won’t be going up in the Monday Morning Art Store.  This is called “Shadowplay” and it’s a digitally-assaulted photograph taken about a block away from my house back in the early months of 2006.

Those same computer woes that I mentioned above delayed the new Radio Free Charleston, which I finished Sunday, but couldn’t encode until today.  So look for Radio Free Charleston 51, featuring music from Brain Trama and The Underdog Blues Revue, a trailer for the Kitty Killton movie, and the debut of the astonishing Finger Man, later this evening.

Here’s a helpful translation of Joe Cocker singing a Beatles classic:

RFC 51, with Brain Trauma and The Underdog Blues Revue, plus more Kitty Kilton and The Amazing Finger Man is coming soon. Maybe as soon as tomorrow! Follow the jump for biting political satire. Read the rest of this entry »

The No Pants Players will be performing at the Labelle Theater on Fri and Sat, Sept 5th and 6th.  Shows start nightly at 8pm, with live music beginning at 730pm.  Admission is six dollars.  Concessions and NPP merchandise will also be available.  Mel and I will be there this evening to enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere and so we can shout out inappropriate suggestions. This is an audience-participation show, you know.

Our art for this holiday-shortened week is a video of Sunday night’s Labor Day fireworks as seen from the fire escape at LiveMix Studio. These have been condensed, color-corrected, and have had music by yours truly dropped in for your listening displeasure.  They looked pretty darned cool, I have to say.

With the World’s Strongest Man competition coming to Charleston next weekend, I thought it’d be cool to bring you video of the world’s strongest man.

There you go. Take a bow, Artie. Check out the schedule of the actual event here. And while you’re checking the schedule, ask yourself this, “Do we have to shut down the Boulevard EVERY TIME somebody brings an event to town?”

Seriously, couldn’t they do this stuff at the airport or at Laidley Field? And wouldn’t it be more impressive to watch these guys pull a tractor-trailer up Bridge Road? Artie could do it. You can see more of him after the jump.

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On this date three years ago, PopCult began with a rather silly post which you can read here.  Yesterday I was alerted to the fact that today marks three years that I’ve been bringing you notes and news from the fringes of Pop Culture.  I think that might make PopCult the longest-running single-author Gazzblog.  After last week’s 50th episode of Radio Free Charleston, I’m afraid I’m all milestoned out.  I even reused the cake photo from my first anniversary post even though there’s a much cooler-looking cake here.

So I’ll just thank you for reading and remind you to check back for our regular features–Sunday Evening Videos, Monday Morning Art, and production notes for Radio Free Charleston, along with news on Comic books, animation, toys, wrestling and whatever else strikes my fancy.

Later today I’ll be back with a detailed stats about the first 50 episodes of the PopCult webcast version of Radio Free Charleston.

Today’s Monday Morning Art is a T-shirt design that you should be seeing on musicians and filmmakers around town in the coming weeks.  Click the image to enlarge it. This one won’t be available from the Cafepress store, but anyone who appeared on the first fifty episodes of Radio Free Charleston will be eligible to receive one.  It’s sort of a “Thank You” for being part of the show. 

Later this week we’re still going to bask in the glow of our fiftieth episode with factoids from the production of the show, and a list of everyone who’s been on RFC.  Check back, it’ll be completely self-indulgent.  Oh, don’t forget to watch episode 50.  You don’t want to feel left out.

One of my favorite new wave bands of the early 80s, Split Enz eventually evolved into Crowded House and started having hit songs.  Before that, lead by brothers Tim and Neil Finn, Split Enz scored a few minor hits in America, but they were one of the coolest “weird” bands of the era.  Here’s one of their coolest weird songs, “Dirty Creatures.” 

You’ll find more tunes by Split Enz On the other side of the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Word comes from Rich Ireland’s “Beers To You” Gazzblog that Charleston’s O’Kays, located near the Clay Center, is in dire straits due to a number of circumstances beyond their control.  O’Kay’s is one of Charleston’s unique bar experiences, and it’d be a shame to lose it.  If we can rally the troops so that they have a good weekend, we might get to see them stick around and serve as Charleston’s special pub for years to come. 

Rich tells us that Buckstone will be there tonight, so Mel and I will be heading there for pizza after checking out Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen at Taylor Books earlier in the evening. Radio Free Charleston fans should come out in full force (both of you) so that we can carry through with our plans to record Anthony Hoey for RFC at O’Kay’s next month. Steve Himes will perform at O’Kay’s Saturday night.

Okay’s Pub is Located at 222 Leon Sullivan Way in downtown Charleston.