WAMU 88.5FM American University Radio

Ruthie and the Wranglers

We look back over the past year and remember some of our favorite musical guests and live performances. For this first segment we actually go back to early 2005.

The personnel has changed a bit since the first CD release but Ruthie and the Wranglers have been one of the best loved bands in the DC area for over ten years now, winning fans, rave reviews and numerous Washington Area Music Association awards. They have a big week ahead - they're playing a free show Friday the 18th at Mason Dixon Park in Annandale, Virginia...they play the Arlington County fair on Saturday...and they hit North Bethesda on Wednesday, where they're playing at a Neil Young tribute concert as part of the Strathmore outdoor concert series.

We flash back to February of 2005 for this interview with Ruthie and the Wranglers...Ruthie Logsdon on acoustic guitar and vocals, Phil Mathieu on electric guitar, on vocals and bass guitar is Greg Hardin and way over in the corner on drums is Robbie Magruder.

"Global Jazz" with Benito Gonzalez

He's only been living in DC for five years, but Venezuelan-born pianist Benito Gonzalez has already made a mark on the jazz scene. His first album, "Starting Point," won critical acclaim in 2004. Last year he took top honors at the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. And he recently joined saxophonist Kenny Garrett's band. A big-time player, Garrett was a member of one of Miles Davis' last groups.

We caught up with Gonzalez on stage in an empty theatre at the Clarice Smith Center in College Park. We pulled up a seat next to his piano, and were treated to an intimate solo performance.

Gonzalez will be playing at Blues Alley here in DC on September 15th and 17th.

Peter Case

Songwriter Peter Case was raised in upstate New York, he was discovered singing on the streets of San Francisco, moved to L.A., and hit the big time in the 80s when his band "The Plimsouls" featured on the soundtrack to the movie Valley Girl. He's not exactly a local artist, but this year a local record label released a three-CD tribute album in his honor, with no fewer than 47 different artists performing his songs. It's a fundraiser for the DC non-profit "Hungry For Music," and our studios were invaded by three of the culprits responsible, back in February.

The new collection is called "A Case For Case - A Tribute to the Songs of Peter Case." We're joined by the guy who put the project together, Jeff Campbell, founder of Hungry For Music. Also with us is Timothy Bracken a local songwriter who is featured on the new set, and the man himself, Peter Case, who has his acoustic guitar with him.

Might Could

If you ever wondered what the music from old Nintendo games would sound like performed on acoustic guitars by a group of physics PhD candidates from the University of Maryland...wonder no more.

The band "Might Could" formed on the campus of the University of Maryland back in 2000, a quartet made up of three physicists and one chemist, who are also three guitarists and one bassist. Aside from the Nintendo fixation, they write and perform their own instrumental compositions, with influences ranging from progressive rock and classical music to heavy metal. But back in April the band was gearing up for its last gig. Not EXACTLY breaking up, but members were moving on from grad school and going their separate ways. Before the band splintered, we convinced them to visit the station. Here's how it sounded back in April.

The band isn't playing regularly in the region any more, but Might Could fans, fear not. There is NEW activity on the horizon. The band is recording an album due for release in summer 2007, and will be performing at the "Prog In The Park" festival way up in Rochester, New York in October. So if you're looking for a road trip, there you go.

The Brindley Brothers

When the Brindley Brothers released their 2004 debut "Playing With The Light," it was greeted with near-unanimous critical praise and heralded the arrive of a major new talent. In June, the Virginia duo returned with a follow-up, "Filled With Fire," and the band also made a return visit to our studios. From that session here are the Brindley Brothers and an acoustic version of "Everybody Wants."