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Destin
Musicians Contribute Time, Talent and Tunes for a Worthy Cause
What began as a simple radio show--airing Sunday nights around 9-ish—has evolved into a full-blown CD compilation, Homegrown 2005: Hot Local Classic Hits by Area Musicians! With the proceeds going to the Emerald Coast Foundation, the participating artists were generally cooperative. Once the songs were selected and the legalities worked out—contracts and rights issues—the CD was mastered by local producer Joshua Smith. A limited edition of 1000 copies—“this makes it special,” Collins says—went on sale last weekend during a CD release party at AJ’s. The restaurant was also instrumental in bankrolling the disc’s production cost. Homegrown 2005 features selections from the Chris McCarty Band, the Ocean as Mistress, Marc Harris, Free Monica, Reed Waddle, Josh Blackburn, and other notables. The Emerald Coast Foundation invests in kids and youth programs, but Collins’ intent is to concentrate on the music education aspect. “After school music programs, new instruments, that sort of thing,” he says. “Making sure music education never goes away. In my opinion, it’s just as important as English and mathematics.” Collins hopes to put together future projects to benefit music and arts programs both in and outside the WAVE 102 listening area. “I’ve been musical since I was six or seven years old. I had music instruction throughout elementary school up until high school,” Collins says. “Every music teacher I had instilled that passion and love of music that I try to share with other people. Having music as an outlet really shapes you as a kid, whether you’re just listening to Led Zeppelin or playing along with Black Dog.” Collins’ radio show debuted four months ago with just a handful of selections—now he gets a dozen or so CDs sent to his office every two weeks. “I hope to get more interactive and put more songs in rotation, not just Sunday nights. I also want to bring the artists in and have the studio set up so they can come in and play live on the air.” A recent program featured David Pretlow, whose catchy Only for Awhile opens the disc. Meanwhile, Black Eyed Blonde is still tearing up the Fudpucker’s stage every weekend. The band recently added a new drummer after Brian Peet hung up his sticks to focus on solo material and production. Both Peet and his former band are featured on the Homegrown CD. While the Homegrown program is geared towards not-too-heavy rock, Collins encourages all interested musicians to submit their material for consideration. He asks that the music be “somewhat well-recorded and produced, not necessarily pop-oriented. Nothing too twangy or jazzy or far out.” Homegrown 2005 is available for purchase at the WAVE 102 studio in Destin as well as AJ’s gift shop. The CD can also be obtained through the radio station’s web site, wave1021.com.. “Not everyone can come to the clubs,” Collins says. “They might be fans but don’t realize the scene is more than someone singing Brown-Eyed Girl or Margaritaville. Hopefully, this CD will expose that.” SIDEBAR: VARIOUS ARTISTS I swear the singer for Contagious Blues Band--the only act I’m not familiar with and whose A Place Unknown is the hardest track here—sounds like original AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott. The pick hits here are from endlessly talented Jeff Caldwell and Donnie Sundal—both copyright 2005 and highly listenable. Most of the 15 selections lean toward acoustic singer-songwriter fare, although the occasional oddities—jazzy Cheryl Jones and Company and Brian Peet’s genuinely weird-and-all-the-better-for-it New Voyeurs—stand out in a good way. In the spirit of variety, the disc closes with a bluegrass instrumental from Dread Clampitt’s recent live recording—an interesting choice and perhaps a sign that Balder and Kyle realize they’d be lost without Justin. Most of these artists have been profiled in The Beachcomber, so you already know how good they are live. Homegrown demonstrates they aren’t slackers in the studio, either. Nearly all of these guys and gals have released their own CDs, and I’ve heard quite a few of them—Chris Hayes’ Eyelids is especially worthy of your ear time. This is a smartly sequenced overview of what Destin’s finest have to offer. I could rattle on about the many artists not represented here, but Homegrown clocks in at a generous—and enjoyable—62 minutes. —CM |
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You
might think the program director for the local “classic
rock” radio station would be the last person to go out of
his way to promote new music, much less stuff by local artists.
But WAVE 102’s Dan Collins is more than a friend to area
musicians. As a member of the band Black Eyed Blonde, he’s
one of them.Copyright © The Beachcomber, Inc. 2003 - 2008. All rights reserved.