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Hell’s Kitchen Radio #281: Two For The Road

November 16, 1pm

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Stream the Tribute, HERE!
Download the Memories, HERE!
Listen into all my shows here

Will this madness of 2016 never end.

Guitarist and singer/songwriter Eric McFadden and his Queen delphine joined me in the studio Monday night to pay tribute to two greats of the music world who recently passed on to the great beyond.

While I was never a big fan of the way Leonard Cohen phrased his own tunes, I was a huge fan of the many covers of his classics. I believe I first was turned onto the brilliant songwriting of Mr. Cohen through the Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen version of “Bird on a Wire”. I was hooked from that moment on the storytelling and eagerly sought out other covers. Easily my favorite cover of his was “Hallelujah” by the late, great Jeff Buckley. “I’m Your Fan” is a great tribute record to Cohen, which was released in 1991, featuring REM, Nick Cave, The Pixies, and John Cale. Check it out!

Leonard Cohen died November 7th of cancer at the age of 82. I appreciate that he was buried in a simple Jewish ceremony next to his parents in Montreal.

The piano player on the Mad Dogs record was none other than my other featured player for the night: Leon Russell. Russell’s stride piano playing and exaggerated vocal style helped him stand out from others during his high profile era of the 1970s. Starting with the Mad Dogs record I spent many hours enjoying his early 70s solo efforts. Though he wasn’t as often covered as much as Cohen, Russell made a profound impact on many songwriters that followed him. His birthplace, Tulsa, Oklahoma, named a street after him in 2010. He died this past Sunday after a few years of failing health. He was 74.

Listening to music is supposed to be a joy. Even when the artist we love and respect has passed to the great beyond we have their songs to carry us through to our own old age. I’ve told my friends and family if I ever get to a point where they have to prop me up in a corner just place some headphones on me and place my iPod on shuffle. Losing Cohen and Russell is indeed sad, but it also will lead to a renaissance of their music. Perhaps your favorite band will cover their songs. Maybe, like after Jerry Garcia died, there will be a huge outpouring of new versions of some of their deeper album cuts that you never knew they wrote. From loss comes inspiration. Through grief comes resilience and vision.

At this writing Mose Allison has passed away at the age of 89. I can’t host enough shows to pay tribute to all the musical greats who we have lost this somber year.

Take heart my friends, and hold each other closer. We’re going to need all the good love and strength we can muster.

Eric and delphine are performing the next two Fridays and Saturdays for Dark Kabaret at the Great Star Theater in China Town. Tickets and information here.

jh

Girl From North Country: Leon Russell (02-05-1971 – Baarn, NL)
The Partisan: Leonard Cohen
Bird on a Wire: Joe Cocker

This Masquerade: Leon Russell
Hummingbird: B.B. King
Dream a Little Dream of Me: Cass Elliott

Chelsea Hotel No 2: Lana Del Rey
A Song for You: Donny Hathaway
Everybody Knows: Leonard Cohen
Who By Fire: Coil

Avalanche: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Alcatraz: Nazareth
Back to the Island: Toots and the Maytals
First We Take Manhattan: REM

Roll Away the Stone: Leon Russell (11-20-70 Fillmore East, NYC)
I Can’t Forget: Pixies
The Partisan: Eric McFadden

Delta Lady: Joe Cocker
Hallelujah: Jeff Buckley

Rock Fight 7 Playlist and Links

December 13, 12pm

It’s on! John Hell and Rotten Ronnie Donovan go toe to toe, head to head, mano a mano for the 7th installment of the bootleg matchup to end all bootleg matchups: ROCK FIGHT 7!!!

What a great show tonight. And once again, I kicked Ron’s ass. Seriously Ron, you really can’t play crappy audience recordings and actually think you’re going to win?

We were blessed with some special guests in the studio tonight. In the 7 o’clock hour Ralph Spight of Victim’s Family and Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine came by to talk about this Sunday’s San Francisco Rock Project benefit at Rickshaw Shop. Zeda, a ten year old bassist, and Cody a fifteen year old guitarist joined him to talk about the show. Check out their website for more info. This is a really excellent cause.

Around 9:30 the greatest guitarist you’ve never heard of, Eric McFadden came in to talk about his new sauce he’s been cooking up. Actually, he was talking about a lot of things, including waffles and an apple pie that one first place at a Thanksgiving dinner. It’s always such a pleasure to see Eric and Super D. They’re on the road so often that one wonders how they feel when they actually have time to relax.

As for the show, you can download it and listen to it at your leisure here for part one, and here for part two.

Rock Fight: Cheech and Chong

Let There Be Rock: AC/DC 12-09-79 JH
Lick it Up: Mindzone 12-17-93 RD
King of the Nighttime World: Kiss 09-03-76 JH
Life in the Fastlane: The Eagles 03-04-80 RD

Ron Donovan Rock Block 1
Voodoo Chile: Stevie Ray Vaughn 12-03-89
Cocaine: Eric Clapton 12-09-77
Reefer Headed Woman: Aerosmith 01-04-83
Get Off My Cloud: Rolling Stones 07-28-66
Everyday I Have the Blues: BB King 12-23-72

John Hell Rock Block 1
Rock the Nation: Montrose 04-21-73
Jailbreak: Thin Lizzy 09-25-80

Interview with Ralph Spight

Rosalita: Bruce Springsteen 08-09-78 JH

Occupy Set
Holiday in Cambodia: Dead Kennedy’s 10-15-80 JH
Know Your Enemy: Rage Against the Machine 06-15-95 RD
Guns of Brixton: The Clash 08-17-82 JH
School’s Out: Alice Cooper 10-31-11 RD
Free Ride: Edgar Winter 12-17-74 RD

Click here to listen to part two of the show.
John Hell’s Rock Block 2
Cocaine Blues: George Thorogood 1989
The Man in Black: Johnny Cash 12-08-94
Come Together: Butthole Surfers 10-24-85
Search and Destroy: Dictators 08-17-91

Ramblin’ Rose: Gang War 05-31-80
Led Zeppelin Medley: Beat Farmers 12-07-85
Hey Hey What Can I Do: Black Crowes with Jimmy Page 10-19-99
Muswell Hillbilly: The Kinks 11-11-72

Ron Donovan’s Rock Block 2
Riding the Storm Out: REO Speedwagon 05-11-78
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast: Airbourne 07-10-11
You’re All I Got Tonight: The Cars 11-22-78
Death By Misadventure: Ted Nugent 06-04-77
Running with the Devil: Van Halen 09-13-79
Purple Haze: Bootsie Collins 07-09-11

I Wanna Be Your Dog: Iggy and the Stooges 09-03-10 JH

Hour four: Big Four
Antisocial: Anthrax 07-03-11 JH
Indian: Anthrax 07-03-11 RD

Interview with Eric McFadden

Hanging Moon: Eric McFadden 06-26-11

Hanger18: Megadeth 07-03-11 JH
Harvester of Sorrow: Metallica 12-05-11 JH

Tonight on A Season in Hell With John Hell, Monday 8-10PM

December 5, 3pm

Tonight on A Season in Hell with John Hell: Xandra Corpora from Con Brio will come by and visit to talk up this weeks Eric McFaddenshow, which we’ll have tickets to give away!!! Tune in.

*Eric McFadden will have super special guests at his birthday Extravaganza (Sat Dec 10th at Cafe du Nord), such as Jane Wiedlin (go-gos), Jay Lane (primus), Gabby Lala (les claypool), BB Kink (Shaunna Hall from PFunk & 4-non blondes) and many more…….such as another phYne (pronounced “fine”) artist, Pamela Parker.

*Con Brio & Blind Willies will open the show

*Doors at 8, show at 9

*BISS Presents Eric’s birthday Extravaganza with phYne Entertainment:

8-10pm tonight on Radio Valencia. http://www.radiovalencia.fm