West Coast Live
Genre | Variety show |
---|---|
Running time | ca. 119 min. |
Country | USA |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | KALW |
Syndicates |
KALW WCL Radio Network iTunes and WCL.org for Podcasts |
Hosted by | Sedge Thomson |
Created by | Sedge Thomson |
Produced by | Case Conover |
Recording studio |
San Francisco Bay Area various venues |
Air dates | 1992 to present |
Audio format | Stereophonic |
Opening theme | Mike Greensill |
Website | www.wcl.org |
West Coast Live is a weekly two-hour radio variety show hosted by Sedge Thomson. The unscripted program features interviews with world-renowned authors and cultural figures along with performances by musicians, comedians and other entertainers. It is broadcast live-to-satellite each Saturday morning in front of a theater audience from one of several San Francisco Bay area venues. The show is carried on NPR stations from coast-to-coast, and in Paris, France. Occasionally, the show will travel to various theaters, music festivals and film festivals throughout the northwest.
Past guests
Writers include: Diane Ackerman, Maya Angelou, Julian Barnes, T.C. Boyle, Ray Bradbury, A.S. Byatt, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Chabon, Julia Child, Billy Collins, Junot Diaz, Jennifer Egan, Dave Eggers, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jonathan Safran Foer, William Gibson, Alan Ginsberg, Daniel Handler, Robert Hass, John Irving, Jamaica Kincaid, Anne Lamott, Gregory Maguire, Greil Marcus, Armistead Maupin, Michael McClure, Ian McEwan, Toni Morrison, Susan Orlean, P.J. O'Rourke, Raj Patel, Michael Pollan, Tom Robbins, Salman Rushdie, David Sedaris, Eric Schlosser, Zadie Smith, Gary Snyder, Calvin Trillin, Chris Van Allsburg, Tobias Wolff, Alice Walker, Alice Waters, Irvine Welsh, Edmund White, Jacqueline Winspear, Jeanette Winterson, Naomi Wolf, Tobias Wolff, Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
Musicians include: The Blind Boys of Alabama, Greensky Bluegrass, Tim Bluhm, Billy Bragg, The Neville Brothers, Greg Brown, Sam Bush, David Byrne, Bruce Cockburn, Judy Collins, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Tommy Emmanuel, Michael Franti, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, David Grisman, Arlo Guthrie, Ben Harper, Richie Havens, Sean Hayes, Dan Hicks, Jolie Holland, Zakir Hussain, The String Cheese Incident, Leo Kottke, Taj Mahal, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ray Manzarek, Country Joe McDonald, Tuck & Patti, U. Utah Phillips, Kronos Quartet, Jonathan Richman, Peter Rowan, Blame Sally, Pharoah Sanders, Merl Saunders, John Sebastian, Chris Smither, Charlie Hunter Trio, Trance Mission, Hot Tuna, McCoy Tyner, The Devil Makes Three, Vetiver, Loudon Wainwright III.
Actors include: Carrie Fisher, Peter Gallagher, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Larry Hankin, Bill Irwin, Eddie Izzard, Terry Jones, Rita Moreno, Adam Savage & Jamie Hyneman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Debra Winger, Geoff Bolt, Michael O'Brien Others include: Andre Agassi, Jerry Brown, Roger Ebert, Wavy Gravy, Spalding Gray, Guerrilla Girls, Garrison Keillor, Craig Newmark, Peter Sellars, Steve Wozniak.
Venues
- The Freight and Salvage
- Yoshi's (jazz club)
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- San Francisco Ferry Building
- 142 Throckmorton Theatre
- The Chapel
- The Empire Plush Room
- Cowell Theater at Fort Mason
- Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- High Sierra Music Festival
- Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival
References
- Rick DelVecchio (21 May 2004). "Berkeley: Radio show makes cultural waves". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-01-10.