Backbone of the Nation
hosted by Garrison Keillor
Show #1450June 14, 2014
From The Fabulous Fox Theatre | St. Louis, MO
0:00 | 01:58:59
pokey-lafarge
Joe Newberry
Steve Wariner
07
This week, it's a live broadcast from the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri with special guests, innovator and preservationist Pokey LaFarge, banjo player, guitarist, and songwriter Joe Newberry, and guitar heavyweight Steve Wariner. Plus: the Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, and the latest News from Lake Wobegon.
Pokey LaFarge
As a kid, Pokey LaFarge was drawn to the music of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, later tempered with a big helping of Bill Monroe and Bob Wills. Over the last decade, the St. Louis-based performer has won fans worldwide with his own creative spin on a mix of early jazz, string ragtime, country blues, and Western swing. His most recent album isPokey LaFarge (Third Man Records). The band: Adam Hoskins(guitar), Ryan Koenig (harmonica, percussion), Joey Glynn (bass),Chloe Feoranzo (clarinet, saxophone), TJ Muller (trumpet).Joe Newberry
Missouri native and North Carolina transplant Joe Newberry has made music most of his life. He grew up in a family full of singers and dancers, took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager, and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. He plays with Bruce Molsky and Rafe Stefanini as the Jumpsteady Boys, in a duo with mandolinist Mike Compton, and in a quartet with old-time music legends Bill Hicks, Mike Craver, and Jim Watson. Joe's solo recording, Two Hands, is on the 5-String Productions label.Steve Wariner
Four-time Grammy winner Steve Wariner is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist who has dozens of albums to his credit. His early career was propelled by his musical hero, Chet Atkins, about whom he says: "Try to do what he does technically. Then try to do it with his touch, tone, and feeling, and you're reminded that you can't out-Chet Chet. He was something else." The latest CD from this Music City Walk of Famer is 2013's It Ain't All Bad, (SelecTone Records).The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band - June 14, 2014
Richard Dworsky Keyboardist, composer, and arranger Richard Dworsky is music director for A Prairie Home Companion. He has also accompanied Garrison Keillor on U.S. and European concert tours and has collaborated with numerous other performers, including Al Jarreau and singer/actress Kristin Chenoweth. Among his many CDs is So Near and Dear to Me (Prairie Home Productions). Pat Donohue Chet Atkins called Pat Donohue (guitar) one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today. And he writes songs too - recorded by Suzy Bogguss, Kenny Rogers, and others. Nobody's Fault and Vicksburg Blues (a collaboration with Butch Thompson) are the most recent of Pat's albums. Peter Johnson Peter Johnson (percussion) has played klezmer music with Doc Severinsen and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was a drummer for The Manhattan Transfer and for Gene Pitney. He has toured the world, but he always comes back to home base: Saint Paul. Gary Raynor Gary Raynor (bass) has performed with the Count Basie band and Sammy Davis Jr., with whom he toured for several years. He was first call for dozens of touring Broadway shows, including the first presentation of The Lion King. Gary teaches at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. Richard Kriehn When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he'd won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony.