Today we introduce Dead Ghosts from Vancouver and Hierophants from Australia. Also from Australia, their rock’n’roll stars You Am I are back with the new record called Porridge and Hotsauce. Fred and Toody Cole from Dead Moon visited Cleveland, and we check it out. Calibro 35 from Italy, are here today with the new record as well. Ned O’Millick of Tito’s Boys from Pula, Croatia has a new solo project featuring Mike Watt on bass. Sadly, we send farewell to one the most amazing figures in New Orleans music, Allen Toussaint. He passed away on November 9th suffering from a heart-attack after his gig in Madrid.
Wizard – You Got The Jump On My;
You Am I – Mr. Milk;
You Am I – Bon Vivants;
Sir Doug And The Texas Tornados – Give Back The Keys To My Heart;
Chuck Berry – Sweet Little Sixteen;
Hierophants – Stress;
Fred and Toody Cole – We Won’t Break (Live in CLE);
Allen Toussaint – Southern Nights;
Allen Toussaint – What Do You Want The Girl To Do;
Irma Thomas – it’s raining;
The Uniques – All These Things;
Calibro 35 – The Haploids;
Dead Ghosts – All in a Row;
Joe Jack Talcum – Dean’s Dream;
Sherwin – Bored;
Gories – Stormy;
Swa – Wasting My Time;
Ned O’Millick – Osvijesti se.
Today we begin with some vinyl reissues from Superior Viaduct – 100 Flowers and Flesh Eaters. Then we hear a Sweet Apple B side, which is a cover of Scientists’ Frantic Romantic. Then we go to Italy, where our friends Cheap Wine have a new record, tenth in seventeen years! Jesse Winchester who passed away earlier this year, recorded an LP worth of stuff which has just come out and we check it out. Singer songwriter Kim Simpson returns with music set to the DuÅ¡ko Trifunović lyrics. And Maggie Björklund who we know well from her collaborations with Howe Gelb and John Doe has a record on her own. Also, Mike Watt and his Italian sailors visited my town, and we have it on a tape. Il Sogno Del Marinaio! The most famous musician out of Boise ID, Paul Revere passed away and we pay a small tribute to his legacy.
Mike Watt is a rock’n’roll sailor and now his in the boat with two Italian fratello’s Andrea Belfi and Stefano Pilia. Their band Il Sogno Del Marinaio has a new record out called Canto Secondo and they are about to embark on a big American tour. Before you catch them in your town, here they are at the Little Lighthouse. Talking about Italians, there’s a new band out from over there called Sultan’s Bathery. They were also on the tour in the ol’ US of A just recently. John Mayall has a new record and since we’re at the letter M in our Blues Alphabet, it’s the right time to spend some airtime on this great British bluesman. John Doe has a new best off record and it also contains two brand new songs. We feature one of them today. Also, somehow the news of Peter Banks passing away escaped me last year, so we pay a little tribute to the legendary guitarist of Syn, Yes and Flash.
Today we are saying the last goodbye to one of the true rock’n’roll legends. Reg Presley of the Troggs left this ugly world on Fabruary 4th this month. We listen to his music at the end of the show. We also have some new stuff. Mike Watt put out a record with his Italian friends Stefano Pilia and Andrea Belfi. The three of them make together a trio called Il Sogno Del Marinaro. Richard Thompson is also back with a new record called Electric, and it is one of the better ones he made in recent years. We also have two new bands today, Punks On Mars from Brooklyn, NY and the Schills from Portland, OR. Glttery Schills are ran by the Paisley Pop Records boss Jim Huie and this label also released a tribute to Bobby Sutliff recently. Today we continue listening to this record with a selection from a very interesting collaboration between Velvet Crush and Matthew Sweet.
Grunge is dead. We have Cute Lepers opening today’s show with the new album Adventure Time and if you just hear their sound you’d think they’re from Memphis or Atlanta, but actually they come from the grunge capital of the world, Seattle WA. 1991 was veeery long time ago! We also catch up with Dave Schramm, who played in many band throughout the years. One of them was The Okra All Stars who’s cover of Purple Rain was a popular song 10 years ago when we were on KLSU. Dave is now a part of a great podcast called 
First half of the show today is dedicated to legendary punks and last Monday in Cleveland. On that day, we had two events that threaten to be the events of the year. First, at the Rock’n’roll Hall of Fame we had a chance to see four legendary Cleveland punks who returned to the city to promote their new books. David Thomas, Cheetah Chrome, Mike Hudson and Bob Pfeifer had a great chance to reconnect with their native audience and reaffirm their well known love-hate relationship with the sweet home of Cleveland. Then, at the Grog show we had a chance to see Mike Watt live with his Missingmen. They played their new opera in its entirety and it worked really great as a single piece without interruptions. The next set was a short but furious and unforgettable Minutemen set. It was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. The second half of todays show is dedicated to some new records that came out. Lords of Altamont have a new record and they covered The Litter’s Action Woman. Another great cover today is that of Kill Devil Hills song Drinkin’ Too Much, this time on the new record for James Leg, the front man of Black Diamond Heavies. Meat Puppets are also out with the new record called Lollipop.
Legendary bass player of Minutemen and fIREHOSE is a busy man. He tours with several bands right now, his Stooges gig being obviously the most demanding thing. So, his solo records come out in large intervals of time. His last three solo records were all rock operas. Hyphenated-Man is a collection of over 30 short songs, which are really choppy parts of a larger single piece, which is the whole record itself. It’s a dense work that requires repeated listening. Also, Watt does not stick to a firm libretto this time, but the idea is to capture busy life of an over-the-hill punk rocker who still lives the old postulates of true a punk.
This is one of the heaviest shows with new materials if you consider what rockers we have with new records this time: Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Mike Watt, Steve Wynn and Greg Cartwright. What a line up, huh? So, let’s see – the Boss dug out old sessions for the Darkness at The Edge of The Town album and has them out now as a double disc called The Promise. Costello recorded an album called National Ransom with T. Bone Burnett in LA and Nashville. Mike Watt has a new conceptual record called Hyphenated-Man and it’s about his life as a middle aged punk. Steve Wynn gathered his Miracle Three over in Richmond to record a new album which they call Northern Aggression. That one’s somewhat of a loose concept too – Yanks belting out in the Southern man’s land. Greg is here with a new band called The Parting Gifts, apparently an one time gig for him and Coco Hames of The Ettes.
This show goes to all the gig-goers in Cleveland. I made it inspired by a busy week in which I saw live shows by The Meat Puppets, Ian McLagan, Dinosaur JR and Jack Oblivian. I had to miss Reigning Sound, but from what I hear, it was a great gig. We also have some new stuff. We represent two bands from a new generation of Zagreb rockers. My Buddy Moose, who we know from their self-titled album a few years ago and The Revolts. My Buddy Moose has a new album coming up next year and we hear exclusive tracks from it while they are searching for a publisher. Mike Watt has a new project called Il Sogno Del Marinaio with Italian musicians Stefano Pilia and Andrea Belfi. We also introduce The Revelators for the first time at the Little Lighthouse, although they’ve been around for some time.
Here we are at the new episode of The Little Lighthouse. Next three Thursdays will be a short break for The Little Lighthouse as I’m leaving for a small trip. We will pick up where we left in June. But, let’s see what we have today. Toady we introduce The Blackwater Fever, a new drum and guitar duet from Australia. We have a new Thee Oh Sees 45 and The Rats reissue. The Rats is an early eighties band for Fred and Toody Cole of Dead Moon. Also, check out an excellent 60s Yugo-beat from Bis-Bez! We have a new band Evil Cowards for Tyler Spencer of Electric Six and Dirty Shame. I saw Electric Six again, and they are still 100% fun. I also saw Mike Watt and his Missingmen playing live at The Grog Shop. It was a very playful show that saw Watt in an excellent mood. They played a lot of classic punk songs, several of which we revisit in this show in honor of old Watt. He has just recorded the new opera with Tony Maimone in New York City and it will hopefully come out very soon.