Radio leaves no footprints - it keeps beaming into deep space. One day West Coast Live will reach Andromeda, but until then, make your own path through our memories to see some of the wonderful people we have hosted.
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| San Francisco Afrobeat ensemble, Albino! |
Over the years, Sedge Thomson has distinguished West Coast Live from any other show on public radio by interviewing the most original, outrageous, and thought-provoking artists based on the West Coast, or those stopping here awhile.
Other talk radio shows emphasize legal and political experts, Sedge engages novelists, filmmakers, comedians, actors, and poets to talk about the cultural forces they are creating, and the source of their inspiration.
Guests have included San Francisco Bay Area talents such as Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon, legendary beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, our homegrown hyperactive comedian Robin Williams, and (now former) SFMOMA art director David Ross.
We're a special and sought-out stop for national and international figures including Gloria Steinem, journalist Studs Terkel, members of Monty Python, Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein, and magicians Penn & Teller. In short, West Coast Live is your venue to hear some very good conversations.
Fin de siécle Roadtrips
West Coast Live's most ambitious foray into the field took place during the summers of 1997, '98, and '99, when the show went on the road through Alaska for an average of 5 weeks each year. Shows from venues such as Skagway's Gold Pan Theater allowed listeners in the lower forty-eight to hear stories from the town's unpolished past, from Alaskan National Park Rangers, and tales of dark winter in the land of the midnight sun. Numerous 2001 broadcasts carried on the tradition of adventure.
On a different menu, we made a Saturday visit to Chez Panisse restaurant. Our listeners were treated to the sound of sous chefs prepping and pans clattering, as world-class chefs reviewed the day's menu with their staff. The show celebrated the restaurant's 30th birthday, and the international attention it has brought to the concept of fresh, local, and organic cuisine.
In the midst of summer, our show from the Main Stage of the Kate Wolf Music Festival mingled the rustling of oak leaves with music by Arlo Guthrie, Utah Phillips, and Rosalie Sorrells, salted with Wavy Gravy's one-liners. 2002 brought another year of exciting broadcast locations, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Napa Valley wine country, and a second visit to Vancouver, British Columbia.