A lovely profile with photos of West Coast Live by Rick DelVecchio in the new East Bay Life section of the San Francisco Chronicle.

An article about West Coast Live appears in the current issue of SF Arts Monthly which is included in the New York Times. Jean Schiffman wrote about the show as we start our 12th year.

Some recollections of Julia Child

Fascinating Interviews

An instance: During the June 9, 2001 West Coast Live broadcast, host Sedge Thomson interviewed: Irvine Welsh, author of "Trainspotting," (and as far as we know, the only novelist selling racks of books at Virgin Megastore); John Nichols, "Milagro Beanfield War" novelist and staunch Southwestern environmentalist; author and California historian James Houston; a wry Irish Author promoting his first novel; and a philosophical naturalist from the state's north Coast.

The variety and scope of the interviews was astounding, and yet, to regular listeners, unsurprising. As the talk ranged from Scottish rave culture, to fishing New Mexico's red-rock canyons, to pioneer-era blizzarded crossings of the Sierras, the conversation was unfailingly novel and interesting. Just the recipe for a delightful Saturday morning with West Coast Live, in the theater or on the radio.

Over the years, Sedge has distinguished West Coast Live from any other show on public radio by interviewing the most original, outrageous, and thought-provoking artists based on the West Coast, or stopping here awhile. Other talk radio shows emphasize legal and political experts, Sedge engages novelists, filmmakers, comedians, actors, and poets to talk about the cultural forces they are creating, and the source of their inspiration. Guests have included San Francisco Bay Area talents such as Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon, legendary beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, our homegrown hyperactive comedian Robin Williams, and SFMOMA art director David Ross. We're a special and sought-out stop for national and international figures including Gloria Steinem, journalist Studs Terkel, members of Monty Python, Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein, and magicians Penn & Teller. In short, West Coast Live is your venue to hear some very good conversations.

Ear-opening Music

If your idea of musical variety is Bach and Beethoven, please prepare yourself for an aural paradigm morph. West Coast Live's musical focus is on American and Western roots music; music derived from styles invented or developed here, and kept alive by local traditions rather than music videos. We have featured bluegrass, swing, jazz, the blues, a capella, cabaret, classical and Southern California surf rock. Some of the better-known acts to appear on our stage are Ben Harper, Lyle Lovett, Taj Mahal, and The Neville Brothers.

At the same time, there is such a wealth of styles in California alone, most genres of music have found a few groups here. So, in order to reflect the musical diversity surrounding us, we have welcomed artists influenced by styles from around the globe: flamenco guitarists, Tuvan throat singers, tango dancers, taiko drummers, and Irish balladeers. The resulting combination is as fun as it is educational, and is all woven together by the steady hands of our house pianists, Mike Greensill and Gini Wilson.

Equally as rewarding as the variety and quality of West Coast Live's musical offerings is Sedge Thomson's desire to engage them in conversations about their craft. Though told in halting English, North-African band Lo'Jo's story of their mid-Sahara caravan concert was enthralling. Arlo Guthrie remembered learning guitar from a young Bob Dylan in his father's back yard. "Writing songs with Bob Dylan is like casting down-stream from a great fisherman-- he catches all the good ones," said Arlo.

Unique Broadcast Locations

Would you broadcast on a train, from a plane, on a boat? Yes, we'd do it, Sam I Am. Truth be told, West Coast Live has not yet broadcast our show from an airplane, but we are still awaiting the opportunity.

In any case, we have sent our signal out from national parks, internationally regarded museums, restaurants, skyscrapers, private homes, and of course theaters of all sizes from Alaska to Yosemite to British Columbia. In short, we are interested in broadcasting from locations that convey the culture and sounds of the West to our radio listeners, while allowing our theater audience to discover new venues.

West Coast Live's most ambitious foray into the field took place during the summers of 1997, '98, and '99, when the show went on the road through Alaska for an average of 5 weeks each year. Shows from venues such as Skagway's Gold Pan Theater allowed listeners in the lower forty-eight to hear stories from the town's unpolished past, from Alaskan National Park Rangers, and tales of dark winter in the land of the midnight sun. Numerous 2001 broadcasts carried on the tradition of adventure.

On a different menu, we made a Saturday visit to Chez Panisse restaurant. Our listeners were treated to the soundsous chefs prepping and pans clattering, as world-class chefs reviewed the day's menu with their staff. The show celebrated the restaurant's 30th birthday, and the international attention it has brought to the concept of fresh, local, and organic cuisine. In the midst of summer, our show from the Main Stage of the Kate Wolf Music Festival mingled the rustling of oak leaves with music by Arlo Guthrie, Utah Phillips, and Rosalie Sorrells, salted with Wavy Gravy's one-liners. 2002 brought another year of exciting broadcast locations, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Napa Valley wine country, and a second visit to Vancouver, British Columbia.

West Coast Live former producer Brian Vanneman is at the Sierra Club editing their on-line paper. Here's his Top Ten list of the currently selected president's actions damaging to the environment. The list may raise the question in your mind, as it did in ours, of whether the president needs to be fired by the American people to protect our water, air, soil, forests, food supply, climate and health. Please let us know what you think. Thanks.

Some recollections about Julia

I showed my nine year-old son Julia's kitchen this summer -- in the Smithsonian, now -- and said, "see that table... I sat there early one evening at her house in Cambridge. She poured a lovely German wine and asked if I wanted something to eat."

"What'd she fix you?"

"Well, she went over to a bin that opened from the cabinet in the pantry - inside I could see it was lined with a plastic sack. She pulled out a big handful of those little goldfish crackers."

"We supped on fish and a fine white wine at Julia's that night."

Prior to interviewing her one night in San Francisco, we had dinner - as I recall six of us gathered round - and she led us in a toast she called "Le Carillon de l'Amitie." As the glasses chimed together, in her voice, she announced the "Bells of Friendship." Julia ate the French fries and found the trendy hamburger too flavorless: "not enough fat."

Later, on stage, I asked her about reports of having been on a diet.

"I've never been on a diet. I just didn't eat as much as I wanted to."

Or why she chose canned tuna rather than fresh for her Salade nicoise.

"Because I like the taste of canned tuna."

All in that inimitable yet often imitated voice that conveyed to so many of us the laughter and fullness of life that comes from cooking and eating well with friends.