Rock Garden Tour

Short notice is the best kind of notice.

Join us for this month's live tape recording of the show, if you're into that sort of thing. We're featuring special old timey musical guest Fiddler Nelson. The family band will also be debuting a mostly new song about Woonsocket, SD.  

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.

We made the cover of Mary Groth's studio door.

The Music of 2012: January - June | Part Four

As we work our way to the present, we slide into fresh tunes from April and May. Jack White finally performs under his own name (kind of) and J. Tillman abandons his birth name for Father John Misty.

More importantly: Rock Garden Tour is live this week (Thursday) from the Prairie Center. Flowerman and Oil Can will explore The Healing Power of Herbal Elixirs & Homemade Pie. Buy your tickets online or at the door. All proceeds will support Arts In Healing.

- The Music Director

The Music of 2012: January - June | Part Three

The Information County Highway never sleeps. March and April saw the return of few indie rock vets, Spiritualized and The Shins, and welcomed the new, soulful southern rock vibe of Alabama Shakes. Dig it below the jump.

- The Music Director

The Music of 2012: January - June | Part Two

The clock keeps moving on our journey through the first half of 2012 as we continue into February and touch on March. You'll hear everything from stringed ballads to Yim Yames crooning from the Woody Guthrie archives.

- The Music Director

The Music of 2012: January - June | Part One

Now that I've cleared my conscious of the lost and forgotten tunes of 2011, it's time to find out what music's been up to so far in 2012. Believe it or not, music persists. In spite of my absence from the information country highway. I know, I was surprised, too.

So, in the time-honored tradition of shared experience, I'll spend the next five posts bringing ya'll up to speed on what's been surging through my ear buds, spilling out of my speakers, and/or casually putzing around the corners of my mind like a Sunday drive in Grandpa's Buick LeSabre. As per usual, let us know what you've been diggin'-on lately. It may just make its way into the hearts of thousands over the airwaves.

- The Music Director

2011, I'm not done with you yet

Illustration by Marc Wagner

It's been a busy few months around here (with the refreshing of the show and whatnot), but like all things good, to those who wait ... well, good things have a way of coming about. The last time we connected, I was busy compiling all of my favorite tracks and albums of 2011. And while 2012 has been very fruitful so far, before I can get on picking and sharing said fruits, I thought I should do a little garden weeding.

See, it's hard to keep up with all of the new releases and sometimes good albums fall between the cracks or get brushed aside for a more shiny album cover. Below the jump you'll find 20 gems from 2011 that 1. I hadn't heard until 2012 or 2. I'd set on my wood pile to be chopped at a later date. I hope you find a couple you like. Heck, I hope you enjoy them all. And as always, let us know in the comments what tunes have your toe tapping. Or at least tell us what type of music is helping your plants grow faster.

- The Music Director

The Origins of Possum

If you've ever listened to our rock and roll gardening show you may or may not know that we reference George Jones at least once a night. Take the above clip (from our last show) as an example. It just so happens that No Show (also known as the Possum) lays claim to spots 1, 4 and 8 in Oil Can's list of Top 10 favorite artists. The George Jones reference made its Rock Garden Tour debut during historic KAUR holiday episode #6. For fun I thought I'd post the director's cut of that show, the entire thing, right here. Enjoy 2 hours of less talk and more witty banter, as heard on radios across the extreme southeast corner of Sioux Falls, SD circa the winter of 2008. 

Rock garden tour 6