More WhizBang Shufflers

Rick from the WhizBang Shufflers says thanks for the plays in UWA 34 and points to a video the group made. "We made this video during our mandolin player's bachelor party. We conceived the idea, shot all the footage, and edited it within 24 hours," Rick says. Well, it kind of shows, but that's part of the charm. "The Stag" is an homage to bad slasher movies, and it also has some fun picking. Enjoy, but fair warning - remember the part where I mentioned slasher movies? No musicians were harmed in the filming of this video, but, well, I warned ya.

UWA 34: Give me liberty or give me 'Wildflower Man'

For this Independence Day edition of Uncle Warren's Attic, and to make up for the long silence, this show features two dramatic readings - one many of you have heard before is my short story "Wildflower Man," and the other is a reading of a speech you may have heard some of, but may not have ever heard in its entirety - Patrick Henry's address to the Virginia House of Burgesses on March 23, 1775. It's still pretty electric.

Musical friends include the WhizBang Shufflers, who present the opening and closing tracks of their absolutely free album "Baffle the Bird of Death" - the irrepressible "It's All New" and the bonus track "bonus track."

We also hear from Five Star Fall and The Kokoon, whose work you can find at Magnatune, where the slogan is "We Are Not Evil." And we also have a reprise of Giles' rousing version of "Freedom." Oh, and thanks to Kirsten of Enjoy Every Sandwich for her kind words and actions.

I tried to make it worth the wait - let me know how I did!

Direct download here.

While you're waiting ...

While you're waiting for a new edition of Uncle Warren's Attic (hey, it's summer, have you been outside lately?!?), here's a fantastic video of a fantastic Jonathan Coulton tune ...

UW Attic 33: The Sealed Weasels etc.

What has happened here is something which, up until a few days ago, was entirely beyond the scope of man's imagination ...

You have heavy doses of a sixties-style band called The Sealed Weasels (Remember "Zen Hot Dog" in UWA 20?), along with seasonings from movies and TV, a little Andy Partridge, Anna Burck, Eisenhowers, Carl T. Sprague and John Charles Thomas ... but not a great deal of Uncle Warren ... at least not Uncle Warren's voice, just Uncle Warren the sound editor.

What does this episode mean? Philosophers will be debating that question for centuries. I wonder why the wonder falls ...

PROMISED UPDATE: So what all was in there? Well, the Sealed Weasels sang "Cold Turkey Sandwiches," "The Illuminati and Me" and "Bionic"; That was the first verse of Carl T. Sprague's "Oh Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie"; Andy Partridge sang the theme from my second-favorite TV show of all time, "Wonderfalls"; Sonny Rhodes sang the theme from my all-time favorite, "Firefly"; and the Eisenhowers sang "Everything is Not Enough"; John Charles Thomas wanted to be "Home On The Range"; and a Marvel-style no-prize goes to anyone who can tell me where the "Alice, will you marry me?" clip comes from. There's other stuff in this show, but I hate to give away all my secrets ...

Oh! One last acknowledgement: Anna Burck's Music iQuiz is one of the funnest podcasts out there!!

To download, click on the Pod icon or here.

Uncle Warren's Attic #32: Claim the Moon

Goodies I unearthed this week in Uncle Warren's Attic:

"The Mining Ship the Red Dwarf," by Marc Gunn & The Dubliners
"Excelsior," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dramatic reading by moi
"Get Happy," Raymond Scott and his Orchestra
"Let's Claim the Moon for the U.S. - Now!" by Pierre J. Huss, Mechanix Illustrated, February 1957. Sharp-eared listeners will note that your humble host, who performs the dramatic reading, managed to throw in a sci-fi element by reading the headline as "Let's Claim the U.S. for the Moon." Not sure why moon beings would want to annex a piece of earthly real estate, but there you have it.
"We'll Be Dancing On The Moon," Trade Martin
"Ingrian Polka - Kuppari Eeva," Off to California. Yes, the reason the title isn't mentioned on the show is I wasn't sure how to pronounce it!
"Jasper Tabby Kitty Cat-y," Marc Gunn & The Dubliners

Uncle Warren's Attic #31: Name that voice

Can you identify the voice in the Peter Pan commercials? No big prize awarded, just the satisfaction of knowing his name before I tell you at the end.

Speaking of peanut butter, much tasty stuff in this edition, along with a semi-promise to drop by more often again!

The musical numbers: "Glow Worm" by Homer and Jethro ... "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by the Sons of the Pioneers and by Scat Man Crothers ... "Listening House" by Lazarus and the announcement of Ikthuscast ... "It's a Bloody War" by Homer & Jethro and "28th of January" by the Piney Creek Weasels ... "Pull the String" by Jonathan Coulton ... and "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Gene Austin.

Click on the POD icon or here to download, or hit the "Play" button to stream.

Coming soon!

It's been a busy couple of months, but I expect to be back more frequently again soon. I apologize to the ever-shrinking but supportive bunch of you who keep checking back and stay subscribed. Coming soon, the long-awaited Aileen Stanley story, a look at the work of Scotty MacGregor, and a dramatic reading of an important 1957 essay about why the United States should claim the moon as its sovereign territory. What fun!

I also plan to debut a new project very soon, which I'll tell you about in Uncle Warren's Attic #31. Watch for UWA 31 sometime next week.

Have fun in the meantime!

UW's Attic #30: Digging through the 78s

A half-dozen gems uncovered during a trip to the antique store last week.

"Behind the Clouds (There's Crowds and Crowds of Sunbeams), Gene Austin
"Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay," Pete Daily's Chicagoans
"Limehouse Blues," Curly Hicks and his Taproom Boys*
"O Sole Mio," Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra
"Little Rock Getaway," Les Paul
"Over the Rainbow," Del Courtney and his Orchestra

Make sure you check the links this week ... lots of fun info!

*Couldn't find a link for these guys - best I found was a phorum entry where someone asked (at the bottom, "Anyone know anything about this group? They recorded a dozen or so discs
for Bluebird around 1940. Can't decide whether they're a country band, a jazz band, or a polka band. Features accordion and vibraphone leads with guitar, bass, washboard and drum rhythm. Kind of addictive."

UW Attic #29: About that day job

Your Uncle Warren and Dave Slusher have thoughts (separately) about the value to the creative process of having a day job. Dave, of course, is the guy behind the Evil Genius Chronicles and other important endeavors, and in this particular episode he refers to Hugh MacLeod's "Sex and Cash Theory."

Along the way we bring you music from the Podsafe Music Network and myself: "Write About Me" by Jeff Coffey ... "The Future," an aural collage by w.p. bluhm ... "Slugbug" by The Egerton Boyz ... "The Maid on the Shore" by Ceili Moss ... "She's Wild" by People Coyote ... and finishing with "Sweet Sarah Wilde" by w.p. bluhm.

UWA 28.5: Special Edition - Farewell Sanjaya

If you haven't been watching "American Idol," this little seven-minute tribute will make no sense to you. If you have, it speaks for itself.

Back soon with a "real" episode.

Shoppers beware!

I just noticed that Amazon is selling Linda Perhacs' Parallelograms for more than $37 a pop, so as much as I'd love for you to visit my UWA A-store, if you liked the taste in UWA #28, I strongly encourage you to order the disk off Linda's own site for $14.99 plus shipping. In fact, I'm going to go in and delete her from my store as a preventive measure. It's a wonderful album, but I have an inkling Linda will get the same amount of revenue anyway if you buy at the lower price.

UW's Attic #28: Parallelograms

Linda Perhacs made one of the great "lost" albums that has recently been found and re-released to great acclaim. This week's UWA gives you a mini-tour of Parallelograms. Then it's off to the late 1930s and Pretty Kitty Kelly. A little Ames Brothers ... a little Zax ... another taste of "The Dog Song" ... a Piney Creek Weasels encore ... and before you can say "Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters," we're outta there again. Have fun!

Click the podcast icon or download here.