Holcombe Waller Video

Here's a Holcombe Waller video. You probably heard them singing this song when you listened to our show last night.



Well, if you didn't hear the show you can always get the Live Wire podcasts on iTunes.

A Message from Peter Yarrow

A message from Peter Yarrow.



This show aired Saturday, December 29th at 7 p.m. (without this little tidbit), but if you missed it, you can podcast it from our website.

Some Storm for your Stocking

Merry Christmas!

Here's a few Storm videos from our last show!
Stuff that in your stocking!

Bold As Love


Here We Are


Mmm... Beer.


Enjoy!

Happy Holidays from Live Wire

When Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla lost his voice, we got reahe-he-heally lucky and talked Storm Large into coming on the show and singing a couple songs. Here's a holiday tune we all know, sung by a master. Here's wishing you the happiest of holidays from all of us at Live Wire.


Special thanks to Taryn for shooting the video, Jim for the audio, and my new toys for helping me slap the two together.

The audio and video that is, not Taryn and Jim.

Cringe Off *NOW WITH AUDIO!*

Now you can hear what they're saying! Enjoy!

In case you missed Bruce...

Our fabulous intern, Matt Deegan shot some video of the Bruce Campbell show and here 'tis for your viewing pleasure.




And in case you were wondering, Bruce was a peach...a PEACH, I tell ya! Nicest. Guy. EVER.
Signed a million items and made time to chat with everyone after the show.

We heart him, and we're not afraid to say it.

Sean at Rehearsal

This is Sean at rehearsal reading an ad from craigslist as Christopher Walken.

You can hear the whole sketch when our Wordstock Extravaganza Show airs, on Saturday, November 24 at 7pm on OPB Radio 91.5FM.

Small Glimpse of Live Wire Wordstock Extravaganza

Lauren Weedman and Steve Almond.



John Wesley Harding.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody. May you get more treats than tricks.

My Shameful Mistake

In a recent episode of Live Wire I made the assertion that Huckleberry Hound wore a vest. It was part of a bit in which I was promoting “The Oregon Vest Fest,” an event celebrating everybody’s favorite torso adornment. I claimed that Huckleberry Hound chose one article of clothing to wear and it was a vest, believing that celebrity endorsement really said something about vests. Gales of knee-slapping laughter followed the bit, in my memory, and subsequent jokes carried us all down a delightful comedic path and away from the whole notion of Huckleberry Hound in a vest.

That should have been the end of the story…a story I would never have even told because had it really ended there, those to whom the story would have been told might well have asked “That’s it? What the eff kind of story was that?”

Well here’s the tragic twist. A nagging sense of doubt led me to do a little research. It turns out Huckleberry Hound never wore a vest. He wore a bow tie and a straw hat.

Sure, he occasionally wore a costume. One Google image result had him posing as a sheriff, replete with a vest and tin star. But he also wore a Santa outfit, a lion tamer getup and a dress. I don’t know where I got the idea he wore a vest. I couldn’t easily find another vest-wearing cartoon character to blame for the confusion. Yogi Bear? Nope, necktie and a shabby fedora. Quick Draw McGraw? McNaw! Bandana and a 10 gallon hat. His alter ego El Kabong? El no. Zorro hat and cape. Top Cat? Well yeah, but who the hell remembers Top Cat? Nobody. The joke would have tanked.

While I feel terrible, I don’t feel 100% responsible for this situation. The audience validated the whole thing by laughing. As soon as that happened they were all accessories to the crime. None of the other writers caught the mistake in any of our meetings…and they’re usually pretty good about that kind of thing. I once wrote a sketch about a device that would convert stomach gurgles into infotainment voice overs by Pat O’Brien. Courtenay pointed out a very similar device depicted in an old SNL sketch…ouch! Since then I’ve seen similar device ideas on the Simpsons and elsewhere. I actually hope to see more, so I can point to more examples for my “collective unconscious” excus--er, argument. Speaking of Simpsons, the TV must have been on during one of my 11th hour sketch edits because a Nelson Muntz line (temporarily) found its way into the script, word for frickin word. (Hey, Nelson wears a vest! Damn!) Sean caught that one, and I think he looked at my sketches sideways for a while. I don’t blame him.

On each of these occasions I was ashamed and embarrassed. This time is no different. I want to apologize to our fans that still follow this blog…both of you…and I vow to be better in the future.
And I sincerely apologize to Huckleberry Hound’s family who may have been deeply hurt by all of this. He died in Vietnam of course but if I'm not mistaken his wife is still living and I think I heard his kids followed him into show business. H.H. Jr. played Eddie on Frasier and his daughter played the love interest in one of the Air Bud movies. I’m pretty sure.

On the Road with Oregon Bounty and Bad Drivers

Back in August, Kate Sokoloff (Live Wire producer), fellow Faces For Radio Theater member Sean McGrath and I went on a big fat adventure through all seven regions of Oregon.

The trip was a collaboration between Live Wire and our totally-kickass-in-every-way sponsor, Travel Oregon. At each stop, we created a video blog (or vlog) introducing you to brewers, chefs, farmers, ranchers, and even the owner of an old-fashioned flour mill - all people who help create the amazing food, wine and beer that makes living in Oregon so damn tasty.

Greg Robeson, our experienced leader, showed us the way and Sean acted as his co-correspondent, utilizing his extensive journalism experience.* Videos will be up on the Oregon Bounty Website for a week starting September 27th- until then, check out this preview video to see the glory that is Sean McGrath. Oh, and I've posted a few photos as well.

Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way:

1. If someone screams in their sleep, don't go in their room and check on them. Really, what are the odds that they're being murdered? Minuscule.
2. The curry cheese torta from Rising Sun Farms is like crack cocaine for cheese lovers. Holy freakin' heck is that thing GOOD.
3. Sean drives like a person who's not afraid to die.
4. Kate drives like a person who's not afraid to kill everyone else in the car.
5. 100-degree heat turns me into a giant pile of whine with a side of wussy pie.

You can read Greg's Blog here.

Sean ready for a fishing trip in Depoe Bay.


Flowers at Rising Sun Farms.


The Bend sky at dusk.


The well-worn bar at the Rainbow Cafe in Pendleton, est. 1893.

*3 months at the Columbia School of Journalism in Bogata. Unfortunately, Sean doesn't speak Spanish.

This is just...wow.

Holy crap, it's the Maria Bamford Show! To watch all eight hilariously wrong episodes, go here.

The Worst Jobs Ever

1. Richard Simmons' shorts seamstress. (No one sells those anymore. They have to be custom-made. By someone.)

2. Post-St. Patrick's Day Cleanup Crew: Vomit Division.

3. Whoever's in charge of telling George Lucas that his latest script is awesome.

4. President of the United States.*

5. Those guys who die for crab legs.

*This is only a bad job if you didn't pay a lot of attention in school and therefore have difficulty grasping complex ideas and sometimes can't remember the names of all the continents.

This One's For Father Rick

Due to a comment from our one fan, El Padre Rico, lamenting our lack of updates to this blog, Faces for Radio Theater presents:

The Dog Ate My...Something That Would Keep Me From
Being Able to Write a Blog Entry
(a.k.a. The 1st Annual Festival of Excuses)

1.) We've been really busy. Sweeps were just last month, and the damn TV's not gonna watch itself, Rick.

2.) We've lost the capacity to experience joy.

3.) Most of us are Amish now.

4.) The way Bush and Cheney are pissing people off all willy-nilly-like, we're all gonna blow up soon anyway. So what's the point of some pithy blog?

5.) Aunt Flo came to visit.

6.) Also, we got our period.

7.) We were passed out from a tequila binge and our ferret mistook us for dead and chewed off our fingers. Again.

8.) We're out there living life, not sitting in front of a glowing computer screen! Just yesterday we all went to Costco. We got som mayonnaise. (See picture at left)

9.) Do you know there are over 50 million blogs out there? Dag. That's a lot of competition. So, we're thinking of getting into the roofing business or studying the dental arts.

10.) We got stuck on the word blog. Blog. Blog. It doesn't even sound real. Sounds like a sound a muppet might make. Blog blog blog blog blog blog! Then we started doing a muppet sketch and we got distracted. But now we're back. Sorry.

Love,
Faces For Radio Theater

A Rose City Roller by Any Other Name...

In a recent episode of Live Wire we did a little game show type thingy. Our guests were Barfly, Viva Vendetta, Slaybia and several other Roller Girls from the Rose City Rollers. In our game show we asked audience members to compete by telling the real Roller Girl names from a bunch of fake ones. It was a bit of a challenge. The real names, like Intensive Scare, The Harmacist and Scratcher in the Eye, disappeared amongst the fakes like a polar bear in a snowstorm.

Here’s a big old list of our fake Roller Girl handles, for your possible enjoyment.

Rep. Karen Meanness
Gov. Barbara RobHURTS
PortlanD.O.A.
Upper Cut-prial and John
Janet Reno Means No
Ugly Betty Ford
Rachel "Death" Ray
Audrey Hipburn
Gouged Inez
Eva Battle
Junior Misdemeanor
Violent No-Regard
The Vulvarizer
Saucy Rejoinder
Ladybird Flu
Ginger Lee Hurling
Statutory Spelling
Felony Griffith
Poison Grace
Maternity Liv
Paloma Finger
Crazy Astronaut in a Diaper
Jackie the Ripper
Cruella DeWheelz
Gone-o-Rita
Princess Die
Killer Bea Arthur
Stabby Von Killingham
Knee to the Groin
My Little Dead Pony
Hello Hittie!
Mrs. Eloise P. Satan
Shmoopy
Hug It Out, Bitch
Menses Approaches
Paula Bearer
Val Catraz
Perish Hilton
Nicole Bitchie
Va Va Va Gina
EriKaboom!
Assaultin’ Pepper
Aunt Flow
Curbstomp Bettie
Slasher Spice
Holly Hunt 'N Destroy
Moo Goo Guys Suck
Thumbelina in your Eyeball
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
G. Gordon Lydia

As you can see, there are some gems in there and the best thing to do with a gem is to give it to a special lady. There are a lot of rising stars in Roller Derby, just fixing to take off, and they’re all going to need names. So if any of those special ladies want to grab a handle off our list, that would just be our pleasure. We fear and respect the ladies of the RCR League and hope their continued happiness and future success means the asses they kick will be asses other than our own.

Coming to Gropes with the Past

Live Wire is a not-too-distant descendant of vaudeville and is closely tied to several historic theaters. The beautiful old Hollywood Theater on Sandy was an early venue for the radio variety show and it’s easy to imagine the Hollywood's vaudeville days when you gaze up at that intricate old façade out front. The Aladdin Theater off Powell in SE is the current haunt of Live Wire and while its more notorious past is well known (Deep Throat is mentioned often) the Aladdin was also one of the Rose City’s vaudeville houses.

A less direct tie Live Wire has to another theater steeped in late vaudeville history is with the Rialto Theater in Deer Lodge, MT. That’s because in the early 80’s in the dark, sticky seats down front I copped my first feel. I’m sure more significant and historic events happened there since it opened in 1921, but the clumsy fumbling I achieved that night was sure a milestone for me.

My earliest movie-going experiences were at the Rialto and the same can be said for thousands of Deer Lodge natives. I remember cartoons before the movie and my folks recall the newsreels. When I was a kid you could still see live acts there too, and I remember magicians, hypnotists, concerts and the odd beauty pageant…and if you know the ladies of Deer Lodge you know what I mean by odd.

The Rialto was the cultural center of our little town and in recent years citizens rallied around it, raising money, maintaining, restoring, and improving the theater for generations to come. But tragically late last year it burned down. Compounding that tragic event was the subsequent (unrelated) death of one Jim Gilbert, this old-timer I knew in town who was instrumental in caring for the theater and bringing back a certain measure of its former glory. I can’t think of any other unfortunate event that has united the small town in shock and grief since…well…wars and such.

Maybe it’s because I make my living in theaters, but many of them, especially the old historic ones, seem like hallowed ground to me. There are in fact many churches in theaters and vice versa. I suppose there’s kind of a fine line between the two sometimes. Sure, that doesn’t stop pervy punks like I was from copping feels or sucking face down front, it just makes the worshipful element of the experience a bit more pagan. Understandably I’ve been able to appreciate these old theaters a little better lately. When we perform in the beautiful Aladdin I think of how lucky we are it still stands. Same goes for the Hollywood, Bagdad, Elsinore and other (relatively) ancient old temples of stagecraft and cinema…there’s nothing like them, and when they go, they’re gone. All we have left are memories. I was going to say history, but really, describing these places and our good old fashioned going-to-the-theater experiences is nothing compared to going to the theaters themselves. To flirt with the maudlin: now that it’s burned the people who really know the Rialto are numbered. We’re as finite as the decades of feel-copping, popcorn throwing, seat kicking, noise shushing, slack jawed wonder at the magic of movies and theater.

Now when I perform in the Aladdin or the Hollywood or attend any of the others, I look up a lot; at the chandeliers and ornate decor. I check out the dark and mysterious places backstage. I imagine all the famous and not so famous people who’ve graced the stage, had sex in the dressing rooms or shot up in the john. I try to soak it all up, to memorize it (except for those last things) because someday (maudlin again) it’ll all be gone, and memories like mine will go too, in time.

I’m thankful to be a part of Live Wire, a radio show that somehow brings people to the theater, in an age of cheesily apportioned multiplexes, cable movies on demand and Netflix.

(Incidentally, on the topic of theaters passing on, before the Rialto there was the Orpheum at 517 Main St. I don’t know how it met its demise, but the building still stands and is now the home of DL Auto Supply, my parents’ business. You can still see hints of ornate décor and even the old proscenium back by the storeroom where my dad keeps all the life-size cardboard stand-ups of chicks in bikinis wielding drills and hawking snap-on tools.)

And I’d like to thank that girl upon whom my feel was copped…a red head named Julie I think.

You can see pictures and stories about the Rialto and the fire at http://www.deerlodgerialto.com/index.htm.

True Stories II: Now with even more humiliation.

It's back.

A night of almost completely true tales from five writers (Marc Acito, Chelsea Cain, Stacy Bolt, Courtenay Hameister and Scott Poole) and two musicians (Jim Brunberg and Willy Vlautin of Richmond Fontaine).

Last time these truth-tellers imparted stories of lost love, lost lives and lost lunches. I think the only way to go from there is up.

New additions to the group? Well, there's Mr. Scott Poole (author of Hiding from Salesmen), our favorite poet...pretty much ever. If you've never seen Scott before and you're not a fan of poetry, come to True Stories. See him read. You'll become a fan. He's David Sedaris meets e.e. cummings, but with proper capitalizations and punctuation. Not that you'd be able to hear those last two things.

And we're really excited about the addition this time of Willy Vlautin. Willy's always been known for great storytelling in his songs, but he's just published his first novel, The Motel Life, which will release in the U.S. in April. Just like Jim, Willy be both singing and telling stories.

Last time we played to a sold-out Mississippi Studios and it was a remarkable night, thanks largely to a highly receptive audience. But we can't have that if you don't get your tickets and go. See? It all depends on you. And I don't want to make you feel guilty, but I was hoping it would go really well, so...yeah. No pressure.

Info: True Stories II, Wednesday, January 31 at 7 p.m. at Mississippi Studios. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. You can get them here. Hope to see you there!

Space Talk From Dimension Eugene

Not much to say about this, except WOW. If you're not a Eugene Mirman fan, you'll hate this. If you are, it's a delicious nugget of Wrong.

WARNING: NSFW - LOTS 'O' F BOMBS BEING DROPPED.