[Jim Price]

Hello Everyone,

Here is the recap of the April 25 edition of Rocky 99 and Rocky 104.9's weekly local music program, "The Homegrown Rocker," which airs every Sunday night from 8 to 10 PM on WRKW-FM (www.rocky99.com) and WRKY-FM (www.rocky1049.com).

This week, we respected our music scene “elders” with the first-ever “Elder Statesmen of Local Music Special!” We set a rather loose parameter for inclusion into this fraternity, though – any band or musician who has been doing their thing on the local or regional music scene for at least a decade. As it played out, over half of the performers we aired on the program have been around for at least two decades, and two – Norman Nardini and Hybrid Ice, top three decades of tenure! We gave most of the usual program features the week off, but did update Local Music News.

Here is this week's playlist:

HOUR ONE:

THE CLARKS – “Trampoline”
THE BADLEES – “Anodyne”
TED McCLOSKEY – “Beautifully Dead”
SPIDER KELLY – “One Good Reason”
PORNO TEK (ADAM D) – “Head”
THE FRONT – “Still the Rain”
FLIGHT 19 – “Crank It Up”
INSIDE OUT – “Taking My Life”
JUSTIN HALE – “Hey”
NORMAN NARDINI – “Gorilla”

HOUR TWO:

HYBRID ICE – “Faith Without Works”
HALESTORM – “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back”
DARCIE MINER – “Fly”
STERLING KOCH – “Bluesman for Life”
FELIX & THE HURRICANES – “Grow”
EMILY’S TOYBOX – “I’m the Bomb”
GREEN EGGS – “My Band”
WHITE WITCH – “Prince of Darkness”
THE EMBALMED – “Year of the Jackal”
ROADKILL – “The Remaining Days of Zeddska the Elder Canine”

On our next program, we’ll meet and get acquainted with Johnstown psychedelic rockers The Sunflower Spectacle! We’ll meet the band members and learn their story, plus hear songs from their self-titled CD. We’ll also hear from other area bands, update “Local Music News,” dig into the archive for another “Local Music Flashback,” and review a new local CD in “The Professor’s CD Corner!” The Sunflower Spectacle visits the “Homegrown Rocker,” this Sunday night at 8 PM!

Forthcoming guests and specials include:

MAY 9 – NITEKAST
MAY 23 – MYCENEA WORLEY
MAY 30 – MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL
JUNE 6 – THE HOPE FALLACY
JUNE 13 – “DAY OF ROCK” BENEFIT PREVIEW
JUNE 20 – FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL
NOV. 7 - SYNESTHESIA

For regular updates on what is happening on the area music scene, pay a visit to Rockpage (www.rockpage.net). Rockpage features band links, a message board, "Homegrown Rocker" updates, the online 'zine publication "The Final Cut," and other local music scene information.

Bands and artists interested in having music aired on "The Homegrown Rocker" are invited to send their broadcast-quality recordings to: WRKY Radio, One Forever Drive, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648; ATTN: Jim Price. Or drop the recordings off at the station during regular business hours, Monday-Friday 9 AM - 5 PM. You can also email me with inquiries about the show at profjp@rocky1049.com.

Jim Price

In Local Music News…

The 20th annual Crazy Fest Amateur Youth Talent Show happened this past Sunday afternoon at the Greenwood Firehall, with a number of area youngsters performing and competing for various trophies, plaques and awards in a number of age and performance divisions. Some 25 different contestants, duos and performing groups participated in this year’s event, and at the end of the afternoon, show organizer and host Dennie Huber announced the winners and presented the awards, as judged by a panel of six former Crazy Fest contestants. In the age 7 to 9 division, Cianna Stone of Hollidaysburg captured top honors with her dance routine, which included an elaborate stage prop setup. In the age 10 division, Melena Ratchford of Hollidaysburg won with her dance performance to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” The age 11 to 13 bracket finished in a tie, with the judging panel giving both singer Shannon Barnes of Hollidaysburg and dancer Syndi Piner of Altoona top honors. The age 14 and 15 division also resulted in a tie, with violinist Tasha Stevens of Altoona and singer D-Jay Dunio of Altoona both winning top honors. And the age 17 to 19 division also came up a tie, with pianist Annette Nagle of Altoona and juggler Andrew Brown of Hollidaysburg both winning first place. In the duo category, it was the pair of singer Shannon Barnes and guitarist Stevie Moses of Hollidaysburg winning top honors. In the performing group category, young dance foursome Jump won first place. And sole amateur band entrants Unknown won top honors in the band division. In other Crazy Fest awards, 10-year-old Dalton Farabaugh of Portage – who performed a carnival act routine of throwing playing cards through stalks of celery – earned the most audience votes to win the Fan Favorite award in the boys’ division, while singer Hunter White of Altoona won the girls’ division Fan Favorite award. The Future Star top honors went to Annette Nagle in the age 14 and older division, and to Shannon Barnes in the age 13 and under class. The Crazy Fest Outstanding awards went to Stevie Moses for Outstanding Musician – Male, and to Annette Nagle for Outstanding Musician – Female. Cianna Stone won the Outstanding Dancer, junior class, while Syndi Piner won Outstanding Dancer, senior class. Andrew Brown won the Outstanding Variety Act award, and the Outstanding Vocalist honors went to D-Jay Dunio in the male division and Shannon Barnes in the female division. Lastly, Dalton Farabaugh’s “card sharpshooting” performance won the Most Original Performance honors. Dennie Huber also handed out awards to former contestants; singers Nikki Wilt and Kayla Hilton both received Outstanding Achievement Award, and Anthony “Shawn” Harrison was inducted into the Crazy Fest Hall of Fame. Dennie would again like to thank all the contestants and their families, Jack Servello for providing sound, the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company for the venue, all the sponsors, and the people who came out to support Crazy Fest.

The area music scene mourns the deaths of two performers. Jill Churner, who sang for area bands Gypsy, Sapphire and others during the ‘90s, passed away on April 15 at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville at age 36. And Mike Burda, the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Portage-based rock group WithOut Warning, died unexpectedly this past Thursday from an apparent heart attack at age 30. We at the “Homegrown Rocker” extend our sincerest condolences to the families, friends and musical associates of both performers.
_________________

http://pamusician.net