Bringing you the story of a humble wombat turned folk music legend, a celebrity appearance at a local elementary and one sensitive youth’s public radio documentary about life in the Midwest. Plus, the Tallest Building in Topeka Awards and our foray into opening monologues!
Go to a place located “behind” where “the music” is (no copyright violation there!) and hear the true story of Mitchel, a wombat who rose of the obscurity of the Wichita Zoo to the star-studded life of a professional harmonica player. (Justin Wilson)
3. Woody Allen Reading Series
Writer and filmmaker Woody Allen stops by St George’s Elementary to do a live reading of “Stone Soup” for the student body. (Scott Ross)
4. “River of Love”
Join Jack, a teenage intellectual and artistic spirit, as he chronicles his relocation from the East Coast to Cape Girardeau, MO and his attempt to find a place for a dreamer by the mighty Mississippi. Try hard not to think about Rushmore while listening. (Phil Garland)
“When I was a young’un chasing across the North Dakota cotton fields, I never once I imagined I’d grow up to fly interstellar spaceships for AstroBase. Let alone that they’d make it the subject of a radio-talk dramatization program! Let alone that they’d ask me to write an introduction for the radio drama show they made about me flying interstellar spaceships for AstroBase! All things considered I’d say it’s just swell. And even if they did change anything, they made me seem even handsomer than real life!”
– James Perry, pilot and First Officer of the USS Carpathia
THE ADVENTURES OF THE USS CARPATHIA IN OUTER SPACE!!
Episode 2: Bazaar Love Triangle, or, So Close and Yet so Balkovaar
In the thrilling second installment of our science fiction adventure, a breakdown strands the Carpathia conveniently near a planet with a healthy aerospace industry. Derby and Faye attempt to blend in with local culture to find the parts they need while Lt. Perry and visiting Xenoanthropologist Hans set about repairing the engine – but end up repairing themselves. Kind of.
Scott Ross – Captain Jack Derby/Balkovaar King
Phil Garland – Lt. James Perry/Guard
Justin Wilson – Ollie/Hans/Scooter/Shopkeeper
Sara Leavens – Engineer Faye Chinsky/Balkovaarians
This round of sketches brings you our take on fantasy football, Dorian Gray as a modern scenester because everyone loves Victorian lit references, and a surprising number of broadcast genre spoofs.
Fine Arts in Radio Theater (F.A.R.T.) presents the opening sequence of the timeless tale, in which famed iPhone portraitist Basil Hallward complete his masterwork: a picture of his muse, Dorian Gray, who pronounces a fateful wish. – Scott Ross
2. Time to Wake Up Topeka
Is there any situation more fraught with barely-contained desperation, emotional flashpoints scattered like landmines, waiting to explode with a lifetime of suppressed rage and resentment than the network morning show? The answer is yes: a network morning show in Topeka, Kansas. – Sara Leavens
3. Live Segment: Listener Emails
Justin, Scott, and Sara field some listener emails about radio work, the NFL, and the afterparty following the first Tallest Building in Topeka Awards.
4.Chopper Claude
High above the city, where individual souls are as indistinguishable and transitory as passing ants, hangs Chopper Claude, bringing you the reports on traffic and man’s futile but ceaseless drive to move ever forward and elsewhere. – Phil Garland
5. Conan the Egalitarian
Heady from the latest victory, Conan shares what he thinks life is all about… – Justin Wilson
6. Live Segment: Fantasy Fantasy Football Draft
Sara, Scott, and Justin jump on-board the latest craze by drafting their fantasy teams live an on-air. If their rosters are any indication, this season will be an epic battle!
7.Sports Yak
We check in with Jay and Bruce to get the latest updates from the sporting world. What do they think about Cleveland’s latest RTR% matched up against Thomas’ CRI/PT ratio? Hit play to find out! – Phil Garland
8. The Instagram of Dorian Gray, Chapter 2
Ten years have passed since Basil Hallward took his instagram of Dorian Gray. Crossing paths at a coffee shop, Basil is shocked to discover that Dorian hasn’t aged a day, and indeed still wears the youthful styles and works the same job he did as an undergrad. – Scott Ross
9. Live Segment: The Tallest Building in Topeka Awards
“When I was first asked to introduce the opening episode of the Dancing Bear Variety Hour, my reaction was immediate and emphatic. ‘What in the hell is that, and why in God’s name should I give half a damn?’ I inquired. On being informed that it is apparently a platform for so-called comedy of the simplest and most puerile variety – in which my own person is repeatedly slandered and my reputation shamelessly degraded – I repressed my urge to vomit and composed this statement:
People don’t want comedy on the radio. Radio programs are for international news, financial reports, and avoiding pointless small talk while overnight guests gather their belongings in the morning. Stop wasting your time.”
– Jack Derby, AstroBase Officer and Captain of the USS Carpathia
Here we bring you our first ever episode of The Adventures of the USS Carpathia in Outer Space. Originally broadcast on KJHK in September 2013, it introduces the intrepid crew of the Carpathia as they seek to unravel the mystery of heroic Chaz Remmington’s disappearance while testing Dr. Tobayashi’s vaunted Ambition Drive.
As these posts are being backdated after doing the show for seven months, it bears noting that this first episode was originally written for a science fiction literature class – part of our focus was playing up the tropes and cliches of the genre. So beyond the usual episode one clunkiness, there’s some questionable racial/gender humor intended to satirize the stereotypes we found in a lot of older SF. It doesn’t really play if you aren’t “in on it” and we’ve happily developed beyond that as we’ve continued.
Also, Faye says “Star Fleet” which is really embarrassing.
Written by Scott Ross, Justin Wilson, and Phil Garland
It’s our first episode ever! This compendium of sketches features our first foray into radio comedy, and introduces some soon-to-be-familiar material including Peter Carson, verbally abusive gameshow host, and the Tallest Building in Topeka Awards! This episode originally aired on KJHK 90.7fm in September 2013.
1. A Muppet Catcher in the Rye
2. Bob Dylan Reading Series
3. Win, Lose or Draw – Radio Edition
4. Radio Adventures with Burt Kazerac!
5. Big Bang Theory Firing Squad
6. Tallest Building in Topeka Awards
All content written, recorded, and produced by Scott Ross, Justin Wilson, and Phil Garland. Additional voices by Sara Leavens.
Way back in March, I took this trip to Kenya and Tanzania with my father and sister. Now that Pop is retired, he’s got tons of time to do the traveling he never got around to before. And now that I’m a grad student with no direction in life, I have tons of time and poverty to donate to these travels! I recorded this story about it for KJHK, which is probably the best story I’ve done so far (…so far). Give it a listen, download it, put it on yer iDevice, etc. It’s for you!
Also, I have about 100 photos from the trip that have yet to be posted, but they’re coming. Remember how I was taking a photo every day this year? Still happening!
What do you call somebody who does stories for radio? Or better yet, what do you call the act? Writing? Reporting? Producing? Whatever the answer, I sometimes do all three (or rather I always do all three, sometimes) for Ad Astra News on KJHK. For our most recent show, “Revival”, I did a piece on the revival of vinyl records. I talked to Franklin Fantini from Love Garden Sounds here in Lawrence, as well as Kyle Cook of Hitt Records and Justin Nardy of the band New Tongues (and previously Bald Eagle).
In addition to standard answers (it’s fun to collect, it sounds better) I got some perspectives on the love of records that hadn’t occurred to me before. But here’s something we can all agree on: Disc 1, Side 1 of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is AMAZINGGGG. Click below to listen. Or click here. I really don’t care.
Also, I want to be clear that I originally titled the piece “Revinyl-vival” but it got changed to simply “Revinyl” because apparently when you’re awesome people think you’re either childish or not serious about the decisions you choose to make.
