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about

My name is Tim and I've been a fan of music in town for a long time. A few years ago WBKM.org wanted a local music show on their internet only radio station and asked if I would do it. I've been doing a show every Thursday since then and had always dreamed of getting live music on the show. The old studio wasn't set up for excellent sound recordings but I did have a one microphone setup and brought in acoustic acts like Jeremy Gilchrist, Joe Adler and Eric Segalstad from The Rangers Of Danger, Aaron Flinn, Jason Cooley, and Sean and Shawn from Invisible Homes. Those were fun, well performed, and sounded good but not amazing,

Late in 2016 I started thinking about ways to get live music on the air, but with a new smaller studio it was a challenge. Around that time I met Ryan Cohen on Facebook then out and about at shows. I remember one post that he put up saying that even if your band did not have a lot of money, please contact him, because he wanted to get bands recorded. At the same time Toby Sullivan from 1881 asked me about seeing if they could play live on my radio show and I wanted to find a way to say yes. I approached Ryan with the idea of bringing bands into Robot Dog Studio and doing the interview and live performance there. We agreed to try it out so I reached out to Toby. Apparently, his singer had headed out to California and he wasn't sure when he would be back.

I had met Peter Burton at work a while back and had been in contact off an on. He e-mailed about playing live on the show sometime and now that I had a vehicle, I said yes. I had not heard his music but had a good feeling. He had worked with Ryan before on some recordings so we set a date and recorded the first show. I was nervous about being a host but his music was wonderful and it went really well. I got the recordings from Ryan the next day and played them on the air the next night. Ryan did a great job on the sound and was so easy to work with that it felt like something was really happening. Ryan also went the extra mile and filmed the performance and put a song on YouTube.

I wanted to capitalize on the initial success and brought in a sure thing, Jeremy Gilchrist. I had seen him perform many times and loved his songs. The session went well and established the pattern of recording on Wednesdays and talking before, after, and in between the three songs. He's such a pro that it sounded wonderful.

Now that I knew we could do this and make it sound great I asked The Nancy Druids if they wanted to do a show. They had been playing around for a couple of years and had none of their songs recorded. They said one of their songs was really short and asked if they could do four songs and the new pattern was established. They let their rock and roll fury out and when I listened to the recordings the next day I was elated. I've played those songs on my radio show ever since.

Now that we had it running smoothly I checked in with Toby about 1881 but he said they were in need of a drummer and not playing shows. He asked if he could bring in his other band, Clever Girls and I jumped at the chance. They were wild and rambunctious and played searing versions of their songs. I had heard their songs before but it was my first time seeing them and they were everything I could hope for. I've seen them live many times since.

I had met Naomi Galimidi from Gneiss once and made it out to see the band and was intrigued. I asked if they wanted to come in for a session and they knocked it out of the park. She played a couple of songs on keys and a couple on Ryan's piano. The band had a nice groove and lyrics that make you think.

I had seen and loved Dino Bravo for a long time and only had 2 mediocre recordings of fun songs. I asked them if they wanted to come in so I would have versions of their songs that I could play that would better represent them and there was one song I was dying to get recorded. Song About the Ocean is one of the most epic songs every played in Burlington. They unleashed a fantastic version of it, and the other three songs were super-rocking.

Andriana Chobot has been playing around for a while and the first time I saw her I was captivated by her music. I was very excited when she said she would come in for a session. She played the title song from her album Cascade and three other non-album songs. I have gotten to know them very well since. She is so enchanting.

One night I was out seeing music and arrived a little early caught a couple of songs by David Rosane and the Zookeepers. I bought their album, saw them a couple of more times and loved their music. Fearing that David might head back to Paris soon, I asked if they wanted to come in. They played great version of newer songs that will be on their album Book Of Zoo.

Jeremy Gartner plays in a few bands and contacted me and asked if one his bands could do a session. We'd had some really rocking sessions but nothing super heavy so I invited Savage Hen. They brought the doom and gloom and were just amazing. Matt Hagen's bass was so melodic and Jack Kubera screamed a nice Robot Dog Studio reference into Local Lore.

Fearing that they might head to Texas for the winter soon, I asked Cave Bees if they wanted to do a session. They came in and buzzed our four songs not on their album. It was a super-fun session and some of Creston Lea's comments about the history of the Burlington music scene were fascinating.

I had seen the Dead Shakers once and they blew me away. I asked them if they wanted to come in and they were delighted. Until then most of the setups were reasonably standard but with a cello, two horns, two guitars, bass, drums and vocals this was a bit of a challenge for Ryan to get everyone recorded and mixed. He was up to the task and made them sound great. Before the show I explained the format to Kevin and he looked at me and shook his head no and said they were doing all four songs as one jam. I said sure and it was great.

I knew several of Matt Hagen's bands but had not caught up with Matt The Gnat And The Gators so I asked them to come in and do a show. The Gators are the songs but he did bring along Miss Saxy (Caroline O'Connor) and she added a lot to the dark and gloomy mood. The story behind A Cut In The Night Sky really brought the song to life and I got chills when I heard it.

Ruckzuck are from Pennsylvania but came to Vermont early in 2017. I caught them at Nectar's one night and liked them so much I went to Radio Bean after the show and saw them again. I saw them the next night at The Monkey House and was in love with their songs. They were coming back to town on a Sunday for a show at the Monkey House and another later one at Radio Bean. We chatted about doing a Robot Dog session but Ryan was booked. A cancellation happened and an invitation was offered and they came in and knocked it out of the park. I got to see them twice later that night too.

I was out at Light Club Lamp Shop seeing Eastern Mountain Time for their album release when Danny LeFrancois came over and asked about doing a Robot Dog Session. A couple minutes later Jason Pappas came over and asked the same thing. For some reason, perhaps the holidays, I had not found a band for November so I made the offer. Sean Hood thought it was a good idea too. They sounded amazing and Brennan Manga's pedal steel and keyboards put it over the top.

When I first dreamed of the series I thought of Black Rabbit I've seen them many times and love their music and energy. We set a date and when I let Ryan know, I believe his response was "bout damn time". They played a blistering show, just like I knew that they would.

The year was almost over but Zeus Springsteen were about to release their album and wanted to know if they could do a session. They always blow me away and I was thrilled to have them come in. Ryan was a little worried about having a drummer that sings and being able to isolate the lead vocal enough. He made them sound great, they rocked hard, and we closed the year with a bang.

I'm so happy this project has come to life and am happy to share some of this music with you. If you like the songs please go to each band's website or social media site and like them and follow them and buy their music from them. These recordings are from 2017 and the series will continue on in 2018. See you on the Radio every Thursday on WBKM.org.

credits

released January 26, 2018

Hosted by: Tim Lewis
Originally aired on WBKM.org
Engineered by: Ryan Cohen at Robot Dog Studio robotdogstudio.com

If you like this music, please follow, go see, and purchase recordings from these artists to be sure they keep performing!

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WBKM Live from Robot Dog with Tim Lewis Burlington, Vermont

The eclectic music of Burlington, Vermont, USA. Hosted by Tim Lewis. Recorded at Robot Dog Studio by Sam Mark and Ryan Cohen. Tim's local music radio show airs Thursdays at 9pm on WBKM.org

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