101 Series Lesson 42: Pacific Northwest Music

Hello, Students. Our musical road trip to the first day of Spring continues as we take the classroom to a music hotbed. This week Lesson 42 of The 101 Series listens to the Pacific Northwest. Before Cobain and Hendrix there were The Kingsman and The Sonics. It’s a musical heritage that goes beyond grunge and […]

Embryonic Ep 4

The lights are off, the groupies are all asleep . . . it’s time to pull out the pen and the acoustic guitar. All the songs you like don’t come out fully formed and finished, first you have to do a little thing call a demo. (How the hell else are you going to teach […]

101 Series Lesson 41: Bay Area Music

Get on the BART, we’re going into the city (because why drive some place that has nine parking spaces in fifty square miles) . . . Here we are for Lesson 41 of the 101 Series: our trip to see the beautiful people making noise in the Bay Area. Join us for two hours of […]

Dusty Gems Ep 4

If you dig into the crate, you’re going to come up with some tunes you’ve never heard before that can (and will) knock your fucking sox off. So, we your friends at the Balcony got out those extra long tongs and started collecting all these tunes in a big burlap sack marked “Dusty Gems” and […]

101 Series Lesson 40: Will Oldham

We love Will Oldham even though he looks like the captain of a clipper ship. (Seriously, someone should check his beard for barnacles.) In Lesson 40 of the 101 Series we focus on the man of many guises: Will Oldham. Join us as we play two hours of jams by Bonnie Prince Billy, Palace Brothers, […]

Deez Rhymes Ep 4

It’s that time again . . . you know what it is . . . mic check . . . 1, 2, 1, 2 . . . Balcony Radio gets all up in your face every once in a while. Most times its with guitars and drums, but sometimes it’s with dope ass crate-dug beats. […]

101 Series Lesson 39: Frank Zappa (Part 2 ~ Live)

It has been the distinct pleasure of your instructors to have seen ‘in person’ the subject of this lesson in the 101 Series. And now for Part 2 of Lesson 39 we have some ‘live’ tracks from Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention. You will hear some truly amazing musicians playing some very difficult […]

101 Series Lesson 39: Frank Zappa (Part 1 ~ In Studio)

Often times in the world of ART the words “Genius” and “Original” are tossed around like a kickball on a playground. Well, those two words apply most aptly to the subject of our next two lessons on the 101 Series as we take a healthy dive into the music of Frank Zappa and The Mothers […]

101 Series Lesson 38: Marvin Gaye

Motown gave the world many gifts and here is the first that should come to mind: Marvin Gaye, the (most times) bearded genius. Let’s be honest . . . James Brown may claim the title, but Marvin Gaye is really Soul Brother #1. In this lesson of the 101 Series we sit back and let Marvin […]

Blue Highway Ep 4

Guitar, drums, bass, fiddle, pedal steel, big ugly hat . . . it’s country music time, people. Saddle up with us for episode 4 of our Americana music series the Blue Highway. In this episode we sit down for two hours of songs about the Lord, trains, drinking, mom and dad, shooting people, the good […]