Rock Garden Tour

Soil And The Soul

Look! The home opener of Rock Garden Tour's third season on SDPB Radio, tape recorded live from Latitude 44 in downtown Sioux Falls, SD. This one features less talk and more witty banter on the topic of prepping the soul. The show features haiku poetry, a parody song about Woonsocket by John Boylan, some ping pong references, an original song about tavern sandwiches by the Rock Garden Tour Family Band, and a special performance by Dan Mahar.

Tavern Belt graphic by John Boylan  

Playlist:

Down On The Farm - Big Al Downing

Charles Bradley - You Put The Flame On

Luke Winslow King - Stayin In Town

Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye

Kids On A Crime Spree - Creep The Creeps

Kleenex Girl Wonder - Mr. Big Philosopher

Laura Stevenson - Runner

Please enjoy the show and keep it rural.

Download Vol 3 - 1 RGT 131 Soul And The Soil

We all live in a Trolley Fax Machine.

The October episode of the original rock and roll garden show, the Rock Garden Tour, broadcasts this Saturday night at 8PM Central on SDPB Radio in South Dakota. Tune in if you like Presho, SD, or fax machine sound effects, or special musical guest Thomas Hentges, or giant sweet potatoes grown by Lake County gardeners. Enjoy this audio visual sampling from the show, and as always, keep it rural.

Field Recordings

It wasn't easy to cram our entire crew into a combine. That's Oil Can, Tanya, Badger (our tech crew team leader), our staff of Ghost Writers, The Rock Garden Tour Family Band, our Spotlight Operator, various correspondents, papers, business papers, and an entire in-studio audience. Thanks to Lincoln County farmers Matt Adams, Jed Olbertson, and Coach Jim Heeren for putting up with us. And thanks to John Deere for putting out one massive piece of farm implementation. This month's show features field recordings of various farmers talking about stuff while driving a combine. The audio gets a little muddled at times, and there are beeps and things to deal with, but all in all this turned out to be one of our favorite episodes yet.

Download VOL 2 SDPB 95 FIELD RECORDINGS

And the playlist from this month's show:

Aaron Embry - Raven's Song

Mac Demarco - I'm A Man

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Family Band - We'll Get Through

TEEN - Come Back

Calexico - Fortune Teller

The Gourds - Country Love

Aaron Embry - When All Is Gone

The Avett Brothers - Geraldine

Band of Horses - Knock Knock

Steve Martin - Words Unspoken 

This show isn't as bad as 1988.

The August episode of the Rock Garden Tour, tape recorded live at Latitude 44 in downtown Sioux Falls, SD, features less talk and more witty banter about currant, statice, drought, Forestberg's bountiful melon crop, wrong, ripe, nature worship, Rick Astley and killer paddlefish (in that order). Here's a video: 

In addition this month's live tape recording featured old-timey musical guest Fiddler Nelson. Here's a list of the other artists featured on this show:

The Babies - Places

Shoes - Say It Like You Mean It

Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Family Band - Don't Grind It Down

Carolina Chocolate Drops - Jackson (Johnny Cash)

Mumford And Sons - I Will Wait

Studio Audience - Rick Astley Group Sing

Spider Bags - Shake My Head

If all of this seems like something you might be in to, please download the entire show right here:

Download VOL 2 RGT SDPB 94 CURRANT STATICE

Vote For Your Favorite Rock Garden Tour South Dakota Sing Along

First I want you to know that I've never considered myself (Flowerman) a proper songwriter. I make stuff up. I'm a song-maker-upper. There's a difference. Still, the suits over at the corporate office in Dolton, SD are encouraging the family band and I to enter a song or two into this songwriting contest out of Rapid City, SD. If you're a songwriter or song-maker-upper, why not enter a song of your own? In the mean time though, I need your help. Please listen to the following tracks and let me know which one you like best. We recorded all of them at our most recent live recording at the Avera Prairie Center in Sioux Falls, SD, and I'm going to enter the top two into the contest, probably. 

Download Give'm Hecla live from Prairie Center
Download Hip Hip Murdo live from Prairie Center
Download Sweet Home South Dakota live from Prairie Center
Download Yes You Corn live from Prairie Center

Thanks for listening, keep it rural. 

The Power of Herbal Elixirs and Homemade Pie

We produced this month's live tape recording of the Rock Garden Tour at the Avera Prairie Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Naturally, we discussed the healing power of herbal elixirs and homemade pie. Proceeds from the show benefited the Avera Arts and Healing Program. All in all it was a great night, featuring special musical guest the Union Grove Pickers, live performances from the Rock Garden Tour Family Band and a story from the Telestory Booth.

My only regret is that I only bought one slice of that lemon chiffon.

In addition to live performances by the Union Grove Pickers and the Rock Garden Tour Family Band, this month's radio show features the following list of free range classics:

Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan

Gasoline Heart - Peppermint

The Weather Station - All Of It Was Mine

Strand Of Oaks - Last Grain

Old Crow Medicine Show - Levi

Andrew Jackson Jihad - If You Have Love In Your Heart

Listen to this month's Rock Garden Tour, recorded live from the Avera Prairie Center in Sioux Falls, SD.

Learning to walk before you run all the way to Beresford, SD.

This month's live tape recording of the Rock Garden Tour radio show from Latitude 44 featured some real wisdom. There was less talk and more witty banter on everything from learning to walk before running to Beresford, and confectionery, and pear trees, and bananas, and metaphors.

And as if that wasn't enough, the show featured a Telestory Booth podcast from poet Lorna Crozier and a live performance by Josh Rieck and most of the Union Grove Pickers.

Catch this month's broadcast of the Rock Garden Tour on Saturday April 28 from 8 to 9 pm (Central) statewide on SDPB Radio. Thanks to Doctor Barkey and Kyle Jameson for helping us out with the above videos. And thanks to Abby Bischoff for capturing some photos of the event.

Rock Garden Tour Revival Hour

Tonight's Rock Garden Tour on SDPB Radio, tape recorded live at Latitude 44 in downtown Sioux Falls, SD, features new songs by the Rock Garden Tour Family Band and special musical guest Dan Mahar. The show also features News from Pierre, a Telestory by Steve Bormes, and free range rock and roll from Justin Townes Earle, Mirel Wagner and Daughn Gibson. Listen to SDPB Radio on Saturday night, March 31 from 8-9pm Central, or listen to the audio stream on the information county highway.  

Maybe the most important blog post you see today.

Some major things happening around the studio this week. Firstly, late Wednesday night while reworking a haiku about Woonsocket I learned (via late night television) that Ranae Holland, curious 'skeptic' from Animal Planet's hip new show Finding Bigfoot, grew up in Sioux Falls. The more we learn the less we know, right? And then, the following morning...

While reorganizing my cassettes I found a Milli Vanilli single that I'm almost positive I didn't buy in the first place. Not bad, but that's not all. Early this week the Rock Garden Tour Family band made their triumphant return to the studio.

A broadcast date for Rock Garden Tour's new season on SDPB Radio is set for Saturday March 31 at 7pm. The show will feature new tunes by the band, a song or two from lumberjack-guitar-man Dan Mahar, some poetry from Canada, a sonic art installation from the Telestory Booth, and of course,  less talk and more witty banter about gardening from Oil Can and Flowerman. We're recording the show live at Latitude 44 in Sioux Falls so stop back next week for some video from the event. Okay, that's all we had for you.   

GROWING TROPICAL PANTS IN NORTHERN CLIMATES

Intense show last night, we talked about Glen Campbell, Chip Davis, and whether or not Oil Can's shark skin polyester pants were more tropical than my denim Levis. Probably sounds boring now, but just wait until you hear it on the radio. Above: Our corporate approved pic of the week. It's a three parter featuring visual images that reference wind power, wood power, and ear power. Below: The playlist from last night's show featuring new tracks by Glen Campbell and old tracks by Brian Wilson. 

Roe Family Singers - Crow Black Chicken***

Future Islands - Give Us The Wind

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Stranded On The Wrong Beach

The xx - Islands

Willie Nile - Far Green Hills

Chuck Prophet - Hot Talk

Broken Bells - The Mall & Misery**

Bob Dylan - Christmas Island

Tune Yards - Gangsta

Mike Doughty with Roseanne Cash - Holiday

The Beach Boys - Brian Wilson Falls Into A Piano

The Beach Boys - Vegetables

Jami Lynn - Sod Busters

Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean

Glen Campbell - Any Trouble*****

The Mountain Goats - High Hawk Season

Tonic - Flowerman

**Tunes I played in response to a segment about mall walking.

***Tunes by bands that might be playing at this year's Sioux River Folk Fest at Newton Hills State Park

*****Glen Campbell