autumn's blog

Thank you to the many businesses and individuals who made Sept. 17's "On the Backlot" celebration at Davis Media Access successful. We had a wonderful time unveiling our newly revamped community TV studio, celebrating KDRT's seventh birthday and highlighting local musicians. We also dedicated our recently built ramp to the memory of longtime volunteer George Moore.

Nat Lefkoff, Tha Dirt Feelin', Belle Francisco, Hardwater and special surprise guest Dave Nachmanoff all graced the stage. We thank them for their generous donation of time and talent. Thank you also to the Fire Performers of Davis for their impromptu performance.

Thanks to our generous business sponsors: Foley Jones & Associates; Strelitzia Flower Company; Chamberlain Farms; Linda Liu at Noodle City; and Soroptimist International of Davis. We'd like to give a nod to Carlos Barajas at Hibbert Lumber for his problem-solving skills and willingness to help. Thanks also to Watermelon Music, Redwood Barn Nursery, Kimo at A Grand Affair, Cleaning Pros, the Department of Motor Vehicles in Davis, and Hsui Young for generously helping us out.

I'm subbing for Doug Deep tonight on Electric Compost Heap. This week's heap has yielded up some earworms and yep, you get to listen to the tunes that have been stuck in my head this week. Happens a lot, that.

I'll be playing Kaiser Chiefs, The Clash, Arcade Fire, David Bowie, Indigo Girls, XTC, The Knitters, Girlyman, The English Beat, X, Casey Neill, k.d. lang, Rita Hosking, and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

I'm not the Eclectic Dinosaur's daughter for naught. ;)

8-9 p.m. Enjoy!

And finally, our closing band On the Backlot is Hardwater. Hardwater's practically family, at this point. They played at benefits during our Save KDRT campaign, and closed out the show at DMA's 20th anniversary party in 2008. They've been incredible boosters of KDRT and DMA, and we're grateful they're coming back to play for the Backlot crowd. Hardwater's a fixture around town, playing at many community events. We thank them for their generous spirits.

Hardwater mixes original music with covers from Grateful Dead to Dave Matthews Band, playing a melange of folk rock, blues, jazz, reggae and Cajun, with some North English, Irish and Canadian folk tunes blended in. Bob Lindley plays violin/baritone violin/electric mandolin; John Swann provides vocals and plays acoustic guitar. Eve West Bessier handles vocals/Word/percussion, with Rob Gonzales on bass and Johnny Flores on drums and hand percussion. They'll play during the 9-10:00 hour, wrapping up what is sure to be a stellar evening...On the Backlot.

You can find more info here, and here's a clip to get you started

I will not embarass Mr. Marque Cass by relating the story of how we became friends over his concussion. Instead, I'll say that Marque--youth media advocate, UC Davis student, poet, Davis Media Access volunteer and so on--is better known these days as front man and lyricist for Tha Dirt Feelin, and that Tha DF is heating up things all over town.

Marque is joined by Colin Borges on guitars and flute; Colin also produces the band’s work. Evan Daly plays guitar and composes;  Ali Sakkal plays saxophone and percussion; and Kevin Martinez plays drums, percussion. To a man, they're all students, grad students and educators, and in fact met through school here in Davis about two years ago. The music started as random jam sessions and turned into shows at bars, restaurants, farmers' markets and large festivals.

Tha Dirt Feelin’s music is a positive and upbeat blend of soulful singing, thoughtful raps and musical accompaniment that always has a solid dance beat, but ranges from acoustic to jazz to funk and rock in style. Music clips and more information available at http://thadf.com, and here's one to get you started. They'll be playing in the 8:00 hour ... On the Backlot ... and I want to thank them for joining us.  Enjoy!

With a backing band, Belle Francisco plays what she describes as acoustic/progressive folk rock. She says, “My songs are an exploration of justice, human bonding, truth seeking, love and loss all in support of soul transformation.”

Belle has been playing the area a lot this past year, including shows in Folsom and most recently, the Davis Vibrations Music Festival. You can find Belle on Facebook or ReverbNation, and here’s a clip of some music:

We thank Belle & friends for contributing their time and talent to the Backlot! Their play time falls in the 7-8 hour ... On the Backlot.

Nancy Bodily - Chair of the DMA Board of Directors

Click here for information on how to donate.

Also Board Member Rita Montes-Martin speaks ... (click read more below)

Say “media,” and what comes to mind? The word encompasses so much, and all of it at risk. News outlets are struggling, public broadcasting is under attack, a free and open Internet is imperiled, and community media centers much like Davis Media Access (DMA) are closing their doors across the country.

DMA’s doors are, thankfully, open and accessible to all, but—we need you to help us keep them open with your support of DMA’s annual fund raising campaign. Between now and June 30, our fund-raising goal is $25k in support of DMA's many programs and services. Much of our fund-raising helps create the infrastructure that makes KDRT possible.

Whether you participate, watch, listen or just value the fact that non-commercial community media exists in Davis, please contribute today.

Here's some food for thought: what sets DMA apart and makes it such a valuable community resource, one worthy of your support?

George Moore, friend and mentor to so many of us here at KDRT/Davis Media Access, passed away this morning. We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Diane, his children and his extended family. Our community here is sad and rocked by thinking about a KDRT without George.

I could tell you about George, who played show tunes, or jazz, or segments of historical Jewish radio. Or George, who helmed the KDRT Steering Committee and served on the Davis Media Access board of directors for several years. George, who opened his home for countless meetings, plodded through a rewrite of the DMA Bylaws with me, who helped me navigate ADA compliance for our new ramp at this building, who wrote policy, raised money, and vetted programming proposals. He did all of this, for years on end. He was a tireless advocate for KDRT, a fierce fighter when the chips were down, and a fun companion when it was time to celebrate.

Tomorrow we’re getting up close and local about a big development in national media policy. I recently blogged about the passage of the Local Radio Act in December; the bill was just signed into law by President Obama. I'll host DMA’s Jeff Shaw, who will also speak to his role with an organization called Common Frequency. We will talk about what the bill means, the back story to getting it passed, and what happens next. 10 a.m. Wed., Jan. 12 on KDRT or here on the website.