Help us as we join together both the Roth and Hagar eras to praise him: EVH. Many people have picked up the guitar, but few pushed at its boundaries like one Mr. Edward Van Halen. It’s Lesson 145 of the 101 Series, and this time out we’re playing the tastiest licks tapped out over multiple generations of rock kick-assery. From the humble streets of Pasadena, to arenas everywhere, spark one up for Eddie. Turn this up to 11, let the neighbors know about it.
101 Series
101 Series Lesson 145 – Woodstock 1994
It’s been 26 years since Woodstock ’94 and the mud has finally been completely washed off . . . time to celebrate a time when people could stand near each other. Jump the chain link with us for Lesson 145 (though your hosts misspeak and name it Lesson 144) of the 101 Series, covering one of the better sequels (don’t bother with part three) in music history. Join Balcony Radio and 1/2 million of your closest friends in the mud to hear two dozen of the best tracks over one long weekend upstate. Leave your car on the turnpike, it’ll still be there Monday.
101 Series Lesson 48: The Doors
Hello, we love you, listen to our show. We’re still on hiatus, but the music never stops. Break on through to the past with a classic Balcony Radio broadcast. This week, we open up the best of The Doors. We’ve got the best live, in studio, and postmortem recordings of L.A.’s house band. Grab a jug of wine and a fist full of peyote, you need to catch up.
101 Series Lesson 50: Surf’s Up!
Hello, students. Time to gas up the Woody, break out the Sex Wax and pack up the cooler with beverages. The weather is getting warmer and the waves are getting higher so it’s time for some sun and sand in your sandwiches. Lesson 50 of the 101 Series says it’s “Surf’s Up!” – we get out of the classroom and on the road to beaches around the world – or maybe right down the 101 Freeway – and listen to lots of twangy guitar. Get your sunscreen and zinc oxide and hop in the back. Time to use some vacation time!
101 Series Lesson 80 – Baseball Melodies
It’s a couple months later than usual, but who cares . . . Baseball is back this weekend to provide a little bit of sunshine during this pandemic-era terribleness. To celebrate the (truncated) season, we’ve got a couple dozen of the best country, rock, pop, and r&b songs about baseball for you to do the wave to at home. This episode was recorded a few years ago, but the songs are as timeless as the game itself. Let’s play two. Choke up. Get ready for one high and inside.
101 Series Lesson 144 – The Music from Laurel Canyon
Certain places where time, energy and good drugs meet are magical. One of those spots was a certain zip code in the hills above Hollywood from 1965-1975. In Lesson ??? of the infinite 101 Series, we take a geography lesson with the best music of Laurel Canyon. Harmonize with the wind and the trees and the bees landing on the flowers. (And don’t pay attention to the scruffy hippies coming up the driveway . . .)
101 Series Lesson 59: Songs About The Presidents
It’s time to celebrate a certain someone’s 244th birthday. Despite everything going on in the 50 states, July 4th is still happening . . . Join your fellow Americans at BalconyRadio.com for a show about the person steering the freedom ship: el presidente. In honor of the holiday, tune in to a classic Balcony Radio is episode we call “Songs About the President.” We pay tribute to Resident #1 and a few of the people who’ve tried to kill him….skip the primaries, drop out of the electoral college, light up a sparkler and enjoy the show.
101 Series Lesson 143 – Psychedelic Country
Howdy, partner, it’s time to travel the dustiest, longest trail of all: the one connecting the chakras to the universe. Infinity is a bull you can’t ride for 8 seconds, friends. Collect your stardust filled bones and pull up to the campfire for a new episode of Blue Highway, venturing further through that great weird American music. This week, we put on the denim and frills and thumb a ride to the corner of country and psychedelia, blasting off with the cosmic cowboys of the late 60s and early 70s. Hold on to your hat, we’re not stopping for it on the way to Venus.
101 Series Lesson 142 – Buddy Holly
It’s time to let the music live . . . in Lesson ??? of the 101 Series, we highlight the music of one of the original bards of rock and roll: Buddy Holly. The man who invented the singer-songwriter also managed to look cool in soda pop glass-thick frames, a skinny tie, and black and white. In just a few years, he wrote (literally) a thousand great songs. Enjoy a couple dozen with your boys on the Balcony.
101 Series Lesson 141 – The Byrds
Hey. You. Do you like REM? The Replacements? Tom Petty? The Jayhawks? Wilco? The Eagles? Then, guess what, buddy, you like The Byrds. All those bands owe a great debt to Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Gene Clark and the rest of the flock for all that jingle-janglin’. In Lesson ??? of the 101 Series, we take flight with The Byrds. Stay in formation, we’ll be traveling eight miles high.
