#mystery roach

On Saturday, Nov. 17, Mystery Roach will be celebrating its 5th anniversary. The show began on Nov. 17, 2007 as a study of 1960s and 1970s Progressive, Garage, Fusion, Psychedelic, and noise on Saturday mornings.  As the things evolved, guests became a part of the show.  I've welcomed an eclectic mix of  interesting people from around NCSU's campus and the Triangle over the past 5 years. We've had conversations about beer, insects, bee keeping, educational films, movie soundtracks, ultra-cold neutrons, the suburbs, the roots of punk music, the Mellotron, roller derby, fungus, hot peppers, comic books, oysters, citizen science, censorship, and more. Frank Stasio has even stopped by as part of his parole agreement. I will be celebrating the 5th anniversary quietly.  No guests in the studio.  I'll play some of my favorite songs from over the years and read some emails.  Be a part of the show by calling the Mystery Roach Hotline (919-322-8863), posting on the Facebook Fan Page, or sending an email. What do you like about the show? What do you hate about it? What do you do whilst listening to the show? Is it part of your Saturday ritual? Do you have ideas for themes or guests?  Have you noticed any trends over the years? Thanks for listening. I'm still amazed when I meet excited fans around town.

Song Artist The Dolphins Beth Orton The Dolphins Fred Neil Here She Comes Now Nirvana Here She Comes Now Velvet Underground China Girl David Bowie China Girl Iggy Pop People Are Strange Twiztid People Are Strange The Doors Sympathy For The Devil Brian Ferry Sympathy For The Devil Rolling Stones Happy Together Frank Zappa Happy Together The Turtles War Pigs Alice Donut War Pigs Black Sabbath Have A Cigar Primus Have A Cigar Pink Floyd Steppin Stone Minor Threat Steppin Stone The Monkees Pictures Of Matchstick Men Camper Van Beethoven Pictures Of Matchstick Men Status Quo Happiness Is A Warm Gun The Breeders Happiness Is A Warm Gun The Beatles I Fought The Law The Clash I Fiought the Law The Bobby Fuller Four Ring Of Fire Social Distortion Ring Of Fire Johnny Cash I Put A Spell On You CCR I Put a Spell on You Screamin Jay Hawkins Higer Ground Red Hot Chili Peppers Higher Ground Stevie Wonder

Tune in to Mystery Roach this coming Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8-10 a.m. for a discussion about oysters.  The conversation will cover their biological history and underwater soundscapes with MEAS graduate student Ashlee Lillis, and their cultural/economic history with historian Matthew Booker (Both from NC State). I will add cooking tips throughout the show and playing songs loosely based on an ocean theme. (Still up in the air about Octopus's Garden. Sorry, Ringo.) Get in on the conversation (musically and otherwise) by calling the Mystery Roach Hotline (919-322-8863), posting on the Facebook Fan Page, or sending an email. Talk to you then. -La Barba Rossa

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Mystery Roach will be celebrating its 4th anniversary.  Since the first broadcast on Nov. 17, 2007, the show has explored 1960s and 1970s Progressive, Garage, Fusion, Psychedelic, and noise every Saturday morning from 8-10 a.m.  Additionally, La Barba Rossa, the show's host, has welcomed an eclectic mix of guests from around NCSU's campus and around the Triangle.  There have been conversations about beer, ants, film, the suburbs, the Mellotron, roller derby, fungus, hot peppers, comic books, censorship, and more. Frank Stasio has even stopped by for beard care advice. Be part of the show by calling the Mystery Roach Hotline (919-322-8863), posting on the Facebook Fan Page, or sending an email. What do you like about the show? What do you hate about it? Have you noticed any trends over the years? What do you do whilst listening to the show? Is it part of your Saturday ritual? Do you have any requests? Thanks for listening over the years!

The winners of the Mystery Roach t-shirt contest have been chosen. Congratulations to Cliff S. and Mark S.! Many entered, but only two were deemed edible by a couple of chickens. If you did not win, but you would like a shirt, send an email to La Barba Rossa for more information. Click here to watch the Mystery Roach T-Shirt Contest selection process.

This Saturday, 11/20/2010, A/V Geeks founder Skip Elsheimer dredges deep into the mucky recesses of our collective pop culture subconscious to find some of his favorite novelty songs. (His words.) In addition to the joke songs we all know and love(They're Coming To TakeMe Away, Junk Food Junkie) and parody songs (Another One Rides the Bus, 99 Dead Baboons), we'll be listening to songs that reflect the fads of the day (The Streak, Convoy, Pac Man Fever), odd 70s patriotic rap songs, answer songs and more! Tune in Saturday morning, 8-10am. Talk to you then. -La Barba Rossa

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is an annual American Library Association event observed during the last week of September.  Banned Books Week celebrates free and open access to information and intellectual freedom.  NCSU Libraries celebrates this annual event with Banned Books Soundwave,  a website offering sound clips of excerpts from banned books read by members of the NC State community including faculty, administrators, and students. Marian Fragola, Director of Program Planning and Outreach for NSCU Libraries, will discuss Banned Books Week and the Banned Books Soundwave project on Mystery Roach.  We'll also listen to some banned songs and hear a few recordings from the Banned Books Soundwave project.  Should be a fun morning. Tune in, Saturday 9/25/2010, 8-10am. Talk to you then. -La Barba Rossa

WKNC honored three staff members with employee of the year awards as part of the annual Student Media End of Year BBQ April 29. Damian Maddalena, a doctoral student in forestry and host of the Saturday morning program “Mystery Roach,” was honored in part for his work on WKNC’s adaptation of War of the Worlds, which aired live on Halloween 2009. Maddalena’s contributions to that project included working to rewrite the original script, recruiting actors and leading regular rehearsals, securing appropriate copyrights, and executing the live broadcast. According to Mike Alston, a senior in civil engineering and WKNC’s 2009-2010 general manager, Maddalena was chosen for his “groundbreaking innovation and execution with the War of the Worlds adaptation. Damian continues to have one of the most popular shows on WKNC with ‘Mystery Roach’ and has been great representative and promoter of the station in Raleigh community.” Maddalena has hosted “Mystery Roach,” a collection of progressive, fusion, psychedelic, garage and noise from the 1960s and 1970s, Saturdays from 8-10 a.m. since he joined the staff in fall 2007. Alston also selected Eric Scholz, a junior in mechanical engineering and coordinator of WKNC’s Sessions@KNC recording project, as one of WKNC’s employees of the year. “Eric has done some outstanding work with Sessions@KNC, helping local bands with free recording sessions,” Alston said. He also labeled Scholz the “all around go-to-guy with the new concert series Fridays on the Lawn.” Scholz came to WKNC during the spring 2009 semester and his first recording session of Chapel Hill’s Simple was released by the band as a five song EP, “WKNC Sessions Live.” Scholz has also recorded local bands including Aminal, North Elementary and Death to the Details. Tommy Anderson, a senior in political science who took over as WKNC general manager on April 1, then honored Alston as the third WKNC employee of the year. “I am fairly certain that everyone knows what a great job Mike did in his year as our general manager,” Anderson said. “We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude.” Under Alston’s leadership, WKNC launched the on-campus concert series Fridays on the Lawn, partnered with local record label Terpsikhore and recording studio Flying Tiger Sound to produce the “Hear Here” local music compilation, hosted four sold-out concerts, expanded the station’s promotions department and revised its new DJ hiring process.