DJ Mike Show #168 – 11/28/2020: Interviews with Hannah Judson, and Sal Baglio of The Amplifier Heads!

DJ Mike Lidskin spent ten years at a National Public Radio station in Chicago, returned to California in 1997 and created Twirl Radio, and now hosts 30 hours of programming a month at Woody Radio. His two shows, “The Show With No Name” and “The Saturday Thing”, feature the finest independent music and artists from the rock era. Mike’s on a mission to not “just spin rock music, but to educate listeners about this vital art form.” Indeed, he doesn’t just announce the songs, but gives histories about some of the artists, the albums, and the songs themselves.

You can catch the DJ Mike Shows live on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. PST and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. PST at Woody Radio, http://www.woodyradio.com.

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS:
On this episode, we travel all over the world–to Paris, France, and Boston, Massachusetts, to hang out with Hannah Judson, and then with Sal Baglio of The Amplifier Heads.

Hannah Judson, an American expatriate who’s lived in Paris for the past decade and a half, has visited my old Twirl Radio show a couple of times over the years, amazingly enough, during visits to Sacramento. She’s a wonderful singer-songwriter, who blends the lyricism of folk music with the magic and power of alternative rock. She recorded most of her latest release, Stingray, last year here in Sacramento with Pepe Espada of Banjo Bones. The songs are now about two years old, and are upbeat and resolute. Although this album predates the global pandemic, the message resonates now. It’s a really good listen. Hannah is keeping busy with other projects, including the (online for 2020) MUSEfest December 5-6, and a new podcast series, featuring one-on-one conversations with other women artists. It was great catching up with her! http://www.hannahjudson.com/

A little later on, the meeting that was destined to happen–Sal Baglio of The Amplifier Heads (and of the legendary Boston band The Stompers) joined me, all the way from, well, Boston! His second Amplifier Heads album, Music For Abandoned Amusement Parks, expands the Heads’ repertoire significantly past their garagey debut. It’s a sophisticated concept album which came together during this troubled year of 2020, and really reflects the times we are currently trying to get through. It’s melodic, rockin’, and really thoughtful. Sal told me that the concept started to emerge on its own–he really didn’t set out with any particular agenda, and after a couple of new songs were written, it turned out that a couple of older, unfinished songs fit the theme of this album perfectly. The best intro to the album is to listen to it in order, from start to finish, to really experience the emotional range that Sal paints for you. And as a bonus, I found out that Sal has played with The Beach Boys, and with one of my favorites, Chandler Travis. I’m looking forward to the next time I get to chat with him. https://theamplifierheads.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-abandoned-amusement-parks

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