Past Programs 2011

Enjoy this special broadcast; a collection of highlights from 2011... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MYTHBUSTERS

ADAM SAVAGE & JAMIE HYNEMAN

from MythBusters, the beloved science entertainment TV program that tests the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos and news stories. From October 8 at the WIX lounge in SF.

Author

SARA WHEELER

author of The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle. From March 19 at Revival in Berkeley.

Author

JONATHAN EVISON

author of critically acclaimed novel West of Here, set in the fictional town of Port Bonita, on Washington’s rugged Pacific coast. From July 30 on Lopez Island, WA

Musicians

MARK PHILLIPS & IIIrd GENERATION BLUEGRASS BAND

award-winning, hard-driving traditional bluegrass and bluegrass-gospel music out of Norman, Oklahoma. From July 23 in Etna, CA.

Musicians

RUBBER SOULDIERS

David Gans and the Rowan Brothers bring us their improvisational approach to the music of the Beatles. From June 25 at the SF Ferry Building.

Author

ANTHONY HOROWITZ

screenwriter of acclaimed British World War II detective television series Foyle's War, and author of the bestselling Alex Rider children's series, with the final installment, Scorpia Rising. From March 26 at Revival in Berkeley.

Join us for a very jolly Holiday show from the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse at 2020 Addison St in Downtown Berkeley!

Comedian

WILL DURST

"comedy for people who read or know someone who does"

World Travelers

CARL & KARL

bring us their hilarious holiday tips on travel.

Naturalist

CLAIRE PEASLEE

our house naturalist, just back from adventures in the Mojave, with a very funny field report..

Musicians

TIN CUP SERENADE

set the holiday mood, like the soundtrack to a Mad Men Christmas special.

The Jolly

MIKE GREENSILL

brings us sounds for the season.

And just added...

ELAYNE BOOSLER

the comedienne and activist, in town to headline the 19th annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy show; Jewish Comedy on Christmas at a Chinese Restaurant!

From the Goldman Theater at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley

SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

BARRY EISLER

international thriller writer and creator of the John Rain Series, here with his latest action-packed adventure, The Detachment.

Author

BRANDI LYNN RYDER

brings us her haunting and sophisticated debut novel, In Malice, Quite Close, in which priceless art and unspeakable desires converge.

Earth Island's

KEVIN CONNELLY

Associate Director of Earth Island Institute and Producer of Earth Island Presents Speaker Series.

Musicians

ARANN HARRIS & THE FARM BAND

Sonoma County's pesticide-free string band, stopping by before their Holiday Hoehown, Sunday at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma.

Musicians

THE DUFAY COLLECTIVE

San early-music ensemble from the United Kingdom, specializing in Medieval and Renaissance music.

Musicians

UNCLE BONSAI

stop by on their Just One Angel tour; their first Bay Area appearance in over 20 years.

From the Goldman Theater at the David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

THOMAS STEINBECK

the author of Down to a Soundless Sea and In the Shadow of the Cypress presents an enthralling new piece of historical fiction: The Silver Lotus.

Author

SUSAN SNYDER

editor of Beyond Words: 200 years of Illustrated Diaries, which was just chosen as Oprah's Book of the Week.

Photographer

DAVID LIITTSCHWAGER

contributing photographer to National Geographic magazine, whose current show One Cubic Foot is now up at the David Brower Center Gallery. author of ten books of poetry, including The Strange Hours Travelers

Poet

AUGUST KLEINZAHLER

author of ten books of poetry, including The Strange Hours Travelers Keep, who is writing for Liittschwager's next book of photos, due out in the new year.

Musicians

TIM & NICKI BLUHM

he is the front man in The Mother Hips and she is taking the music world by storm with her vintage-tinged rocking country soul. Here with a few songs from their new album Duets.

Choir

PACIFIC BOYCHOIR

Oakland's world renowned, Grammy award winning choir will add some holiday cheer to the program.

From the the Goldman Theater at the Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley

SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

IAN W. TOLL

acclaimed author of Six Frigates and now Pacific Crucible; War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942.

Filmmakers

JASON COHN & BILL JERSEY

with the documentary Eames; The Architect and the Painter, opening December 2nd at the Balboa in San Francisco.

Filmmakers

AMY GLAZER, HEATHER GORDON & BRUCE FOWLER

director, star (Miss Marin County) and composer (trombone player for Frank Zappa & arranger of Hanz Zimmer's scores) of Seducing Charlie Barker, opening December 2nd.

Director

AMY TOBIN

executive director of the Brower Center, will welcome us to this fine new venue.

Musicians

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

whose soulful sounds will surely have you dancing. They're Oakland's own and they're getting BIG! They won five East Bay Express awards this year, including Best Band, Best Album and Best Guitarist!

The Benevolent

MIKE GREENSILL

on piano.

Enjoy this classic broadcast from February 21, 2009:

Writer

T.C. BOYLE

whose new novel, The Women, is inspired by the life and loves of architect Frank Lloyd Wright

.

Writer

JAY RAYNER

British novelist, world-wide writer about food and universal humorist.

Writer

VAL MCDERMID

British mystery writer, whose detectives take on the underbelly of Jolly Ol'.

Musician

BEN TAYLOR

handcrafted songs, the proponent of Kung-Folk, his new CD: The Legend of Kung Folk part 1 (The Killing Bite).

Musician

ROB REICH

accordion virtuoso and composer, whose expresiveness shows in his new CD, The Balancing Act.

The Legend

MIKE GREENSILL

whose musical marvels astonish even himself.

Enjoy this Classic from November 7, 2009:

Writer

JOHN IRVING

Author of The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Cider House Rules and many other novels of critical and popular acclaim.

Writer

JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Author of the popular novels Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, here with his latest book, a work of nonfiction called Eating Animals.

Writer

CHARLIE HAAS

Screenwriter of such films as Over The Edge and Gremlins 2, on tour with his new novel, The Enthusiast.

Musician

BILL KIRCHEN

Legendary rockabilly guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Musicians

GLOBAN ACCORDIAN EVANGELISTS

Led by Bay Area favorite, Big Lou.

The Helpful

J RAOUL BRODY

on piano, in for Mike Greensill.

From the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse at 2020 Addison Street in downtown Berkeley, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

DAVA SOBEL

author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, and The Planets, now with A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos.

Author

PETER ORNER

with his masterful, multifaceted new novel Love and Shame and Love.

Performance Troupe

WE PLAYERS

who transform public spaces into realms of participatory theater, now performing Homer's Odyssey on the historic schooner Alma.

Musician

JOHN WESLEY HARDING

with a backing band featuring members of the Decemberists, touring with the new CD The Sound of His Own Voice.

Musicians

THREE METRE DAY

acoustic modern roots trio from Canada, complete with violin, slide-guitar and pump organ.

The Modern

MIKE GREENSILL

on piano.

From the "new" Freight & Salvage Coffee House at 2020 Addison Street in downtown Berkeley, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

GREGORY MAGUIRE

The world of Oz comes full circle in Gregory Maguire's fourth and final novel in the New York Times bestselling series The Wicked Years.

Author

CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG  AKA HARRIS BURDICK

author and illustrator of the best-selling children's classics Polar Express, Jumanji, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and many more.

Artist

JUSTIN BUA

whose well known "Distorted Urban Realism" style combines elements of graffiti with classical art training, here with his new book The Legends of Hip Hop.

Musicians

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS

the fine five piece string band from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who Rolling Stone assures is "representing the genre for a whole new generation."

The Superb

MIKE GREENSILL

on piano.

From the second floor of the Port Commission Room at 1 Ferry Plaza, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Author

SUSAN ORLEAN

author of the bestselling Orchid Thief and now RIN TIN TIN: The Life and Legend.

Author

DAVID GUTERSON

author of Snow Falling on Cedars and the new Ed King.

Author

JIM NEWTON

author of Eisenhower: The White House Years.

Musician

SEAN HAYES

San Francisco's beloved singer-songwriter stops by on his West Coast Tour.

The Dueling

MIKE GREENSILL

on ebony and ivory.

From the Venetian Room in the Fairmont Hotel at 950 Mason Street atop Nob Hill, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Actor

PETER GALLAGHER

who achieved fame in Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and later starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C.

Author

MARK BOWDEN

critically acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down, with his latest novel Worm: The First Digital World War.

Author

ISMET PRCIC

with his debut novel Shards, about a young Bosnian who has fled his war-torn homeland and is now struggling to reconcile his past with his present life in California.

Musicians

ENSEMBLE CAPRICE

the lively Canadian Baroque group.

Musicians

WALT KEALE &     LT SMOOTH

with Chris Lau and Bill Griffin, in town for the Hawaiian Music and Cultural Summit, Oct 23 at Folsom Lake College.

The Prolific

MIKE GREENSILL

Bay Area's favorite piano man.

From the terrace at 2601 Mission Street, Suite 300, in San Francisco. The Wix Lounge is at 22nd and Mission, two blocks from 24th Street BART. SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Musicians

RAY MANZAREK AND ROY ROGERS

The legendary co-founder of The Doors and the critically acclaimed slide/blues guitarist have put their artistic minds together, creating a truly captivating new sound!

Author

ELISSA SCHAPPELL

author of Blueprints for Building Better Girls and Use Me.

Author

BONNIE NADZAM

takes time out of her life in the Rocky Mountains to discuss her acclaimed new novel Lamb.

Musicians

MUSICAL ART QUINTET

performing original chamber music, Combining Tango, jazz, Afro-Cuban and African rhythms with improvisation.

The Sporting

MIKE GREENSILL

on piano.

Carl & Karl put on their travelin' shoes

come join our live audience...or tune in!

From the terrace at 2601 Mission Street, Suite 300, in San Francisco, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

MYTHBUSTERS

ADAM SAVAGE & JAMIE HYNEMAN

from MythBusters, the beloved science entertainment TV program that tests the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos and news stories.

Writer

MARY ROACH

author of Packing for Mars, San Francisco's One City One Book selection for 2011, and editor of The Best American Science and Nature Writing.

Humanitarian

JOHN DAU

human rights activist for the people of South Sudan.

Musician

STEPHANIE SCHNEIDERMAN

Dirty Martini singer with a solo CD.

Musician

MITCHELL HOLMAN

former bassist for the popular '60s rock band It's A Beautiful Day and West Coast Live's own sound engineer, taking the stage to share his latest sounds.

The Spacey

MIKE GREENSILL

Master Pianist and Entertaining Sidekick.

 

From the Port Commission Room on the second floor at 1 Ferry Plaza, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Musician

JUDY COLLINS

The folk legend, performing at the Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko, through October 1, joins us with song and wisdom.

Author

JUSTIN TORRES

who holds a prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, brings us his critically acclaimed debut novel We the Animals.

Author

TONY D'SOUZA

with his captivating new novel Mule, about a young couple who turn to drug trafficking to make it through the recession.

Musician

NATHAN MOORE

brings us his Americana-tinged indie-folk sound and lyrical profundity. "Leathery-voiced contemporary folk music at its finest"

Naturalist

CLAIRE PEASLEE

who will be co-leading The Changing Season, two days of nature immersion and music experience at Point Reyes, Oct 22 & 23.

The one and only

MIKE GREENSILL

on piano, with occasional banter.

A favorite from the West Coast Live archives, from March 29, 2008

Author

RICHARD PRICE

whose novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner, talks about Lush Life.

Author

TOBIAS WOLFF

known for his memoirs, including This Boys Life, shares insights about his latest book, Our Story Begins.

Author

EDWARD DOCX

the British writer stops by to talk with us about his award winning novel Pravda.

Musicians

EDMUND WELLES

the world's only bass clarinet quartet, inventing and performing heavy chamber music.

Musicians

THE VERY HOT CLUB

this San Francisco-based Quintette will bring you right back to Paris in the '30s.

The Omnivorous

MIKE GREENSILL

on Piano.

A favorite from the West Coast Live archives: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24th, 2005, from the Port Townsend, WA Film Festival

Actress

DEBRA WINGER

and Director ARLISS HOWARD whose film Big Bad Love screened at Port Townsend, site of Ms. Winger's role in An Officer and a Gentleman. Her film work includes Shadowlands and The Sheltering Sky; his includes Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Full Metal Jacket.

Author

JIM LYNCH

Olympia-based journalist and author of The Highest Tide, a novel about the wonder of a boy for the sea during the summer that will change his life.

Mountaineer

JIM WHITTAKER

the first American to climb Chomolungma, aka, Mt. Everest.

Filmmakers

DAN GELLER & DAYNA GOLDFINE

with 92 year-old Ballet Russe dancer MARC PLATT, at the festival with their documentary about the Ballet Russe.

Musicians

PEARL DJANGO

the stellar Pacific Northwest Gypsy Swing band whose latest CD title, Chasing Shadows, sounds like a description of the movies, while their music takes us to that little cafe and those beautiful eyes we remember so well.....

Improv Troupe

THE EDGE

recognized as one of the best Northwest Improv Troupes.   

And More! including artist and illustrator LINDA OKAZAKI and piano man ANDREW SHIELDS!

From the Port Commission Room on the second floor at 1 Ferry Plaza, 10 AM - noon, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

The Talented

RITA MORENO

one of the very few (and very first) performers to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy, with a new show, Life Without Makeup, at the Berkeley Rep..

Author

COURTNEY E. SMITH

former MTV programmer, author of Record Collecting for Girls, and creator of "How's That Working Out?"--a blog on entertainment with an eye towards the female point of view. "Because there are more than enough men blogging."

Farmer

ROBERT LOWER

owner, farmer, and manager of Flying Disk Ranch, the "eco-dynamic" farm renowned for their dates and citrus.

Musician

SLAID CLEAVES

Grew up in Maine. Lives in Texas. Writes songs. Makes Records. Travels around. Tries to be good.

Musician

ROY ZIMMERMAN

musical satirist bringing you songs about ignorance, war, and greed.

The Generous

MIKE GREENSILL

on Piano.

From the Port Commission Room on the second floor at 1 Ferry Plaza, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes an array of fascinating guests, including:

Teatro ZinZanni's

MELANIE STACE and SERGIY KRUTIKOV

Popular British singer, dancer and actress and legendary Ukrainian juggler are here to bring us a bit of the new Teatro ZinZanni production Maestro's Enchantment.

Sports Writer

CHRIS HAFT

MLB.com beat writer for the San Francisco Giants and co-author of This Is Our Time.

Author

SUE SOMMER

our special back-to-school guest, author of The Bugaboo Review: Lighthearted Guide to Exterminating Confusion about Words, Spelling, and Grammar.

Chef

NATE KELLER

Executive Chef of Gastronaut and chef chair for the Ferry Building's upcoming Sunday Supper event.

Musicians

DEVINE'S JUG BAND

San Francisco's beloved old-time ensemble, capturing the sound and spirit of the great jug bands from the 20&30's.

Musician

MITCHELL HOLMAN

former bassist for the popular '60s rock band It's A Beautiful Day and West Coast Live's own sound engineer, taking the stage to share his latest sounds.

On August 27th, we join ALICE WATERS and Chez Panisse to mark that restaurant's 40th birthday with a show celebrating the vision of the Edible Schoolyard project.

SEDGE'S guests include:

Chef, Author

ALICE WATERS

the proprietor of Chez Panisse; an American pioneer of a culinary philosophy that cooking should be based on the finest and freshest seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally.

Producer

TOM LUDDY

former director of the Pacific Film Archives, co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival, and producer of such fine films as The Secret Garden and Barfly.

The Wonderful

NICOLAS PAGNOL

grandson of the great filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, who's films inspired much of the Chez Panisse aesthetic (think Fanny and Cezar), here to help celebrate.

Urban Farmer

NOVELLA CARPENTER

Journalist and urban farmer, who's recent memoir Farm City tells the story of Ghost Town Farm, which she has been cultivating near downtown Oakland for the past decade.

Musicians

WAKE THE DEAD

the World’s First Celtic All-Star Grateful Dead Jam Band.

The Creative

JEROME WAAG & SAM WHITE

part of the Chez Panisse staff and founders of OPENrestaurant, a collective of restaurant professionals who create events where cooks, farmers, artists, educators and activists come together to explore issues around food and society, such as this celebration at BAM.

Your West Coast Live ticket includes general entry to the museum. Tickets purchased by August 17 include entry into the Stein exhibition.

At 151 Third Street, SEDGE THOMSON welcomes:

Curator

JANET BISHOP

curator of painting and sculpture at SFMOMA, co-curator of The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-garde.

Artist

TOM KILLION

Mill Valley artist and collaborator (with Gary Snyder) on the books The High Sierra of California and Tamalpais Walking.

Poet

JEWELLE GOMEZ

award-winning poet and author, with her new play Waiting for Giovanni at the New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Actress

LAURA SHEPPARD

as Harriet Lane Levy in Paris Portraits: Stories of Picasso, Matisse, Gertrude Stein, and their Circle.

Category

GAUCHO

San Francisco's Gypsy Jazz sextet.

The Eventful

MIKE GREENSILL

holds it all together, on piano.

A favorite from the West Coast Live archives, recorded November 4, 2006 at The Booksmith on Haight Street, helping celebrate their 30 years as San Francisco's leading independent bookstore. Hear us on KALW, Jefferson Public Radio, and other affiliates nationwide.

Innovator

CRAIG NEWMARK

founder of Craigslist.org... Need we say more?

The Prolific

TOMIE DE PAOLA

award-winning author and illustrator of hundreds of children's books, including Strega Nona, The Art Lesson, and Christmas Remembered.

Author

CHRIS BATY

author of No Plot, No Problem and the man who turned November into National Novel Writing Month, will inspire you to get out your pen and paper.

Musician

JIM BRUNBERG

with legendary banjo slide player TONY FURTADO and local singer-songwriter MEGAN SLANKARD.

Musicians

THE WHYS

Surf Band from Fukuoka, Japan stop through on their West Coast Tour.

The Extraordinary

MIKE GREENSILL

on Piano, with occasional banter.

A favorite from the West Coast Live archives, from November 13, 1999.

Hear us on KALW, Jefferson Public Radio, and other affiliates nationwide.

Actor

GENE HACKMAN

and underwater archaeologist DANIEL LENIHAN, authors of Wake Of The Perdido Star.

Author

ISABEL ALLENDE

who has been called the world's most widely read Spanish-language author, with her novel Daughter Of Fortune.

The Late Great

DON WALSER 

"The Pavarotti of the Plains" with good ol' down-home Texas music.

Singer-songwriter

LUCY KAPLANSKY

with tunes from her recording is "Ten Year Night".

The Late Mathematician

IRVING KAPLANSKY

as the house pianist.

Hear the show we taped at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts, on Lopez Island.

SEDGE THOMSON welcomed:

Author

JONATHAN EVISON

author of critically acclaimed novel West of Here, set in the fictional town of Port Bonita, on Washington’s rugged Pacific coast.

Author

LORRIE HARRISON

author of Kindred Spirits: Stories, Passions & Portraits from the Heart of Community.

Author

IRIS GRAVILLE

publisher and author of the award-winning Hands at Work.

Tool Maker

GREGG BLOMBERG

of Kestrel Tools makes tools used by the sculptors working in the Native American traditions of the North West Coast and Alaska.

Musician

BONFIRE MADIGAN

nationally touring visionary cellist.

Musician

STANLEY GREENTHAL

known as one of the Northwest's finest musicians and songwriters..

Listen this Saturday to the wonderful show taped July 16 at the Avery Theatre in Etna, CA (and in synchronicity with the 7th annual Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival)

SEDGE THOMSON welcomed:

Historical Novelist

GAIL JENNER

author of Black Bart: The Poet Bandit and Across The Sweet Grass Hills.

Author

MURRY TAYLOR

Veteran forest-fire fighter and author of Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper's Memoir of Fighting Wildfires and The Rhythm of The Leaves.

Farmer

WILLIS THOMPSON

of Cal Stevia, bee keeper and stevia farmer.

Musicians

MARK PHILLIPS & IIIrd GENERATION BLUEGRASS BAND

award-winning, hard-driving traditional bluegrass and bluegrass-gospel music out of Norman, Oklahoma.

Musicians

TAPWATER

a live "World Twang" experience out of Portland, OR bringing musical inspiration from around the world right back home to your front porch.

The Wonderful

MADELEINE AYRES

of the Avery Theatre.

From the Port Commission Room on the second floor of 1 Ferry Plaza, 10 AM until noon (doors at 9:30), Sedge welcomes:

Author

William Bennett Turner

author of Figures of Speech: First Amendment Heroes and Villains, exploring the colorful cast of characters who have played roles in important First Amendment controversies.

Author

Charles Yu

author of the award-winning novel How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe, about the adventures of a time-machine mechanic.

Musicians

Tango #9

"La Dolce Vida, Indeed!" with a new CD, Live at the Columbarium.

Musicians

The Greencards

multi-dimensional Americana, now touring the US with their new CD, The Brick Album.

Musican

FIVER BROWN

will bring us the sounds of Sausalito, and Steefenie Wicks will tell us about their upcoming Galilee Harbor Maritime Day, on August 6th.

The Credentialed

MIKE GREENSILL

has a new project -- a book! Art of the Accompanist.

From the Port Commission room on the second floor at 1 Ferry Plaza, from 10 AM until noon (doors at 9:30), Sedge welcomes:

Author

ANNE LAMOTT

recently inducted into the California Hall of Fame and author of many books, including Imperfect Birds.

Editor

SUSAN GRIFFIN

co-editor of Transforming Terror: Remembering the Soul of the World.

Editor

KEVIN KELLY

former executive editor of Wired Magazine, and a man who knows What Technology Wants.

Musicians

RUBBER SOULDIERS

David Gans and the Rowan Brothers bring us their improvisational approach to the music of the Beatles.

The Residential

MIKE GREENSILL

From the Port Commission room on the second floor at 1 Ferry Plaza, 10 AM until noon (doors at 9:30), Sedge welcomes:

Journalist

SUSAN CASEY

author of The Wave, an astonishing book about colossal, ship-swallowing rogue waves and the surfers who seek them out.

Author

PHILIPPA KELLY

resident Dramaturg for Cal Shakes, and author of The King and I: Shakespeare Now.

Naturalist

CLAIRE PEASLEE

leader of "Nature-Laughter Walks" at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Musicians

MELODY WALKER

and Jacob Groopman, whose voices harmonize beautifully over intricate textures of banjo, guitar and mandolin.

The Annual

READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

by our very own audience members... come be a part of the show!

Farmer

JOHN CARLON

of Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm, one of the oldest blueberry farms in California, and one of the first to be certified organic.

Join us at the Oshman Family JCC's Schultz Cultural Arts Hall at 3921 Fabian Way in Palo Alto, to make beautiful radio together, from 10 AM until noon (doors at 9:30). SEDGE welcomes:

Author

PAUL EHRLICH

Stanford's Bing Professor of Population Studies; President, Center for Conservation Biology, and author of Humanity on a Tightrope: Thoughts on Empathy, Family, and Big Changes for a Viable Future.

Author

OSCAR HIJUELOS

the first Hispanic to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Beautiful Maria of My Soul, and a new memoir, Thoughts Without Cigarettes.

Author

DANIEL OROZCO

he's published work in Best American Essays, Best American Short Stories, Best American Mystery Stories and Pushcart Prize anthologies, and in Harper’s Magazine, Zoetrope, McSweeney’s, StoryQuarterly, and others. His new book is Orientation: and Other Stories.

Musician

MARSHALL CHAPMAN

Nashville-based musician, songwriter, and author of Goodbye Little Rock & Roller and They Came to Nashville, with her new award-winning CD, Big Lonesome.

The Returning

MIKE GREENSILL

Join us at the Oshman Family JCC's Schultz Cultural Arts Hall at 3921 Fabian Way in Palo Alto, to make beautiful radio together. See this recent Article on West Coast Live from the Palo Alto Weekly!

Sedge welcomes:

Naturalist

AMY STEWART

award-winning author of Wicked Plants: the Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities, now with Wicked Bugs: the Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects, describing diabolical misdeeds and havoc wrought by your favorite insects.

Author

DAVID SHIELDS

Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Inevitable: Contemporary Writers Confront Death; Reality Hunger: A Manifesto; The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead and other thought-provoking books.

Biologist

THOR HANSON

author of Feathers: the Evolution of a Natural Miracle. Feathers are aerodynamic, insulating, beguiling. From dinosaurs to Vegas showgirls, they date back to the dawn of time. And yet, until now their story has never been fully told.

Musicians

GO VAN GOGH

with "country music from many countries" (music so fresh it has yet to be caught!).

 

Bay Area's

RAGAZZI BOYS CHORUS

performs both traditional and contemporary works, sung in their original languages.

The Comical

JOSHUA RAOUL BRODY

will be filling in for Mike Greensill.

A Favorite from the West Coast Live Archives; first aired June 23, 2007

Sedge welcomes:

Author

DANIEL HANDLER

aka Lemony Snicket, author of the bestselling A Series of Unfortunate events.

Author

MIN JIN LEE

with her award-winning debut novel Free Food For Millionaires.

Author

CRYSTAL ZEVON

brings us her account of her husband's life, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.

Musical Group

THE WAILIN' JENNYS

swing down from Canada to share a bit of their acoustic folk-roots vocal beauty.

The Magical

MIKE GREENSILL

The one-and-only, on piano, with occasional banter.

Join us at THE ODC THEATER, 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell) in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Dancer

Jacques d'Amboise

brings us his fascinating memoir I Was A Dancer, recounting his days as a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet. He also sheds light on his decision to leave the Ballet to found the nonprofit National Dance Institute.

Novelist

Thaisa Frank

author of Heidegger's Glasses.

Novelist

Meg Wolitzer

New York Times-bestselling author of The Ten Year Nap brings us her latest novel, The Uncoupling.

Artistic Director

Emily Johnson

Artistic Director of Catalyst Dance, will discuss her performances of The Thank You Bar, at The ODC Theater April 7-10.

Singer-Songwriter

Danny Schmidt

A force of nature: a blue moon, a hundred-year flood, an avalanche of a singer-songwriter, with a new CD Man of Many Moons.

The Earnest

Mike Greensill

Resident piano player and accompanist for Sedge Thomson's West Coast Live.

Join us at THE ODC THEATER, 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell) in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together.

Sedge welcomes:

JOYCE CAROL OATES, acclaimed American poet and novelist, with her recently published memoir, A Widow's Story.

KATE ATKINSON, international best selling author brings us her latest, Started Early, Took My Dog

FRAZER BRADSHAW and BETH LISICK, on their contemplative drama Everything Strange and New

BRENDA WAY, Artistic Director and Founder of the ODC Theater, will discuss Women Who Frame the World: A Symposium on Creativity at ODC April 12-13

BLAME SALLY, San Francisco's beloved group of female singer-songwriters, returns to promote their forthcoming album Speeding Ticket and  Valentine.

THE EXPERT MIKE GREENSILL

Join us at THE ODC THEATER, 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell) in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Novelist

Ciji Ware

Author of A Race to Splendor.

Writer

Peter Mountford

Seattle-based author of A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism.

Writer

Ann Packer

author of Swim Back to Me.

Singer-Songwriter

Rory Block

Brings us what Rolling Stone calls "Some of the most singular and affecting Country Blues anyone, man or woman, black or white, old or young, has cut in recent years".

Elizabeth Soberanes

Will discuss Rhythm & Motion's Carnival Workshop, preparing students of all levels to participate in the 33rd Annual Carnaval SF Parade on May 29th.

The Wandering

Mike Greensill

Resident piano player and accompanist for Sedge Thomson's West Coast Live.

Join us at THE ODC THEATER, 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell) in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Graphic Novelist

Daniel Clowes

Celebrated graphic novelist of Wilson, David Boring and Ghost World, academy-award nominated screenwriter, and frequent cover artist for the New Yorker.

Novelist

Donovan Hohn

Former senior editor of Harper's Magazine and now features editor of GQ. His is the  author of Moby Duck: the True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea ...

Journalist

Susan Freinkel

Author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, Freinkel takes us through history, science and the global economy to assess the real impact of plastic in our lives.

Choreographer

Kate Weare

Award winning choreographer and Artistic Director of the Kate Weare Company, will discuss her newest work, Bright Land, coming to ODC Theater's main space April 28 thru May 1st.

Band

The Crooked Jades

Old-time bluegrass band from San Francisco known for their rare and obscure repertoire, beautiful original compositions, inspired arrangements and eclectic, often vintage instrumentation.

Singer-Songwriter

Susan Werner

With a new CD, Kicking the Beehive.

Join us at THE ODC THEATER, 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell) in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Writer

Mary Gordon

Writer and McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College and author of The Love of my Youth.

Journalist

Adam Hochschild

Author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.

Writer

Eric Greitens

Eric shares lessons of leadership, ethics and inspiration from his service as a humanitarian and a warrior. He is the author of The Heart And The Fist .

Theater Director

Rob Bailis

ODC Theater Director, will discuss his tenure at ODC, and the institution's role in the artist community at local, state and national levels.

Musician

Davell Crawford

The piano prince of New Orleans.

The Grand

Mike Greensill

Resident piano player and accompanist for Sedge Thomson's West Coast Live.

Join us in the Port Commission Room on the second floor of 1 Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Author

Geoff Dyer

Author of Otherwise Known as the Human Condition

Author

Louis B. Jones

Fiction director for the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and author of the brand-new novel Radiance.

Film Maker

Richard Schickel

Life and Time magazine's film critic and movie historian for over 40 years with his latest book, Conversations with Scorsese.

Farmer

Lee James

will briefly step out of the farmers market to talk to us about Tierra Vegetables, her family farm in the heart of Sonoma County.

Acoustic Trio

The Devil Makes Three

bring us their punky perspective on vintage American blues.

The Enchanting

Mike Greensill

Resident piano player and accompanist for Sedge Thomson's West Coast Live.

Join us in the Port Commission Room on the second floor of 1 Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, to make beautiful radio together. Sedge welcomes:

Author

BHARATI MUKHERJEE

with a new novel, Miss New India.

Author

ARMISTEAD MAUPIN

with his new Tales of the City musical at A.C.T.

Music Critic

GREIL MARCUS

author of The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes.

Farmer

DAVID WINSBERG

of Happy Quail Farms.

Musician

WESLA WHITFIELD

inhabiting that indeterminate zone where jazz meets cabaret.

Singers

MEREDITH MONK AND KITKA

in the first collaboration between a local favorite and a MacArthur Genius.

We gather at REVIVAL, 2102 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, to make beautiful radio together!

Sedge welcomes:

MICHAEL McCLURE, award-winning poet, playwright, songwriter and novelist, with his newly-published book, Of Indigo and Saffron: New and Selected Poems.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ, screenwriter of acclaimed British World War II detective television series Foyle's War, and author of the bestselling Alex Rider children's series, with the final installment, Scorpia Rising.

LISA TAYLOR, author of Your Farm in the City: An Urban Dweller's Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals

BRIAN CHRISTIAN, author of The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What it Means to Be Alive.

QUINN DEVEAUX AND THE BLUE BEAT REVUE with their New Orleans soul and early blues sound that is sure to get you up out of our seat.

The Rambunctious MIKE GREENSILL

Join us at the Ferry Building in San Francisco to make beautiful radio together!

Sedge welcomes:

WESLEY STACE (AKA singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding) with his new novel, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer

MAXINE HONG KINGSTON: In her singular voice—humble, elegiac, practical—Maxine Hong Kingston sets out to reflect on aging as she turns sixty-five, in her new book I Love a Broad Margin to My Life

Naturalist CLAIRE PEASLEE on Central Valley waterbirds

DAN HICKS and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge
 

THE EVENTFUL MIKE GREENSILL

and so much more!

Join us at REVIVAL, 2102 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, to make beautiful radio together!

All tickets for this show are $28.* and include prix fixe breakfast and coffee service.

Sedge welcomes:

ALAN PAUL, author of Big in China: My Unlikely Adventure Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Reinventing Myself in Beijing

ADAM HASLETT, author of Union Atlantic

  GABRIELLE HAMILTON  , founder of New York's acclaimed Prune Restaurant, with her new memoir Blood, Bones & Butter.

MARK MOFFETT, AKA "Dr. Bugs," author of Adventures Among Ants

KARL AND CARL'S Tips on Travel

EOS ENSEMBLE, an exciting chamber music group comprised mainly of members of the San Francisco Opera orchestra

EVIE LADIN, in a solo performance 

THE EFFERVESCENT MIKE GREENSILL

*No discounted tickets or gift certificates accepted for this show

Join us at REVIVAL, 2102 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, to make beautiful radio together!

All tickets for this show are $28.* and include prix fixe breakfast and coffee service.

Sedge welcomes:

T.C. BOYLE, celebrating the publication of his thirteenth novel, When the Killing's Done

CAROL EDGARIAN, cofounder and editor of Narrative Magazine and author of the novel Three Stages of Amazement

TOM SHADYAC, director of Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor, Patch Adams and many more, on tour with his latest project, something completely different. In his new documentary I AM, Shadyac asks some of today's most profound thinkers two questions -- What's wrong with our world, and What can we do about it?

LORETTA LYNCH, with music that's a little bit front porch, a little bit backwoods, the art motel on a long stretch of highway

STEVEN WILLIS, with a new CD Taproot

THE SPONTANEOUS MIKE GREENSILL

*no discounted prices or gift certificates accepted for this show

Join us at REVIVAL, 2102 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, to make beautiful radio together!

All tickets for this show are $28.* and include prix fixe breakfast and coffee service.

Sedge welcomes:

CATHLEEN SCHINE, whose new novel The Three Weissmanns of Westport is a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

SARA WHEELER, author of The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle

KEITH THOMSON, author of Twice A Spy (sequel to Once A Spy)

LINDA TILLERY and BARBARA HIGBIE, in honor of In honor of National Women's History Month

TYLER NELSON and NANCY GUSTAFSON, of Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival Opera, performing next week at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, the first time the company has performed outside of their home theater in Virginia.

THE SMARTEST MIKE GREENSILL

*No discount tickets or gift certificates accepted for this show

Join us at the Ferry Building in San Francisco to make beautiful radio together!

Sedge welcomes:

CHRIS SMITHER with a new CD, Time Stands Still

SUSAN HALL, artist and author of River Flowing Home

JANE MCGONIGAL, game designer and author of Reality is Broken

SHARON SALZBERG, author of REAL HAPPINESS: The Power of Meditation

SUMMER BRENNER, author of My Life in Clothes

KEN OLSEN, Olsen Organic Farm

ZAHRA NOORBAKHSH, whose comedy show All Atheists Are Muslim is now at San Francisco's Stage Werx Theatre

THE GENEROUS MIKE GREENSILL

More wonderful guests, TBA

In the Port Commission Room on the second floor of the San Francisco Ferry Building

RESERVATIONS: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.

Join us at the Ferry Building in San Francisco to make beautiful radio together!

Sedge welcomes...

LISA NAPOLI, public radio show producer and host, and author of Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth.

MARK STEVENSON, futurist, stand-up, musician, and author of An Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next?"

MICHAEL DAVID LUKAS, author of The Oracle of Stamboul, in which a preternaturally intelligent little girl becomes an advisor to the Ottoman sultan.

TOMMY EMMANUEL, Australian guitar wizard with a new album, Little by Little

The SAN FRANCISCO BOYS CHORUS, led by Artistic Director Ian Robertson, will share their Grammy Award winning sound with us before their upcoming performance in Robert Moses' world premier of Fable & Faith at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

THE DIMPLEY MIKE GREENSILL

In the Port Commission Room on the second floor of the San Francisco Ferry Building

RESERVATIONS: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.

Join us at the Ferry Building in San Francisco to make beautiful radio together!

Sedge welcomes...

SNL's LARAINE NEWMAN, performing Feb. 4 and 5 at The Marsh in San Francisco

RODNEY CROWELL, Grammy-winning performer, and author of a new memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks

PEGGY ORENSTEIN, award-winning writer, editor and speaker talks about her newest book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter

HELENE MARSHALL of Marshall's Honey Farm

THE MOORE BROTHERS, the innovative acoustic duo from Grass Valley  

THE SPECIFIC MIKE GREENSILL 

In the Port Commission Room on the second floor of the San Francisco Ferry Building

RESERVATIONS: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.

Join us a the Ferry Building in San Francisco to make beautiful radio together!

GREIL MARCUS revisits more than forty years of listening to Bob Dylan, weaving individual moods and moments into a brilliant history of changing times

MIKE DAISEY, on his double-header--The Last Cargo Cult and The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs--at the Berkeley Rep

BRUCE JENKINS, author of Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins, about his father, Gordon "Gor" Jenkins, top-notch composer, arranger, conductor and performer

THE BOBS, beloved (and award-winning) a cappella practitioners return to the WCL stage

"HE SAID/SHE SAID" - duets performed by Dan (from the Bobs) and Angie Doctor (from the group Clockwork)

The Magic MIKE GREENSILL

In the Port Commission Room on the second floor of the San Francisco Ferry Building

RESERVATIONS: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.

Our first LIVE Broadcast of 2011

JOAN GUSSOW, author of Growing, Older: a Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables, in which the author writes about everything from garden pests and national food policy, to zucchini and butterflies

LINDA SCHLOSSBERG, award-winning writer with her debut novel Life in Miniature, a wholly original coming-of-age story.

TOM RACHMAN, author of The Imperfectionists, his highly acclaimed debut novel about a struggling international newspaper in Rome

DAVID VANN, former National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, Wallace Stegner Fellow, John L'Hereux Fellow, with his new novel Caribou Island

WILL BROKAW of Brokaw Nursery, on California-grown subtropical fruits

Music by OR, THE WHALE, a band that will rock you, make you dance, and maybe even inspire you to contribute to their amazing vocal pyrotechnics—voices everywhere, indeed.

THE REAL MIKE GREENSILL

In the Port Commission Room on the second floor of the San Francisco Ferry Building

RESERVATIONS: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.

Whoa, you can be there again!  January 26, 2006. 

presented LIVE at the now defunct Empire Plush Room in still extant York Hotel.  ( Back LIVE 2011 at the Ferry Building January 22nd)

MONEY is the theme today, and 

DAVE BARRY, humorist and columnist, has something to say about the subject in his new book Money Secrets...

LIZ PERLE, author of Money: A Memoir, also Editor-in-Chief of Common Sense Media

MATTHEW and TERCES ENGELHART, authors, The Abounding River, owners of Cafe Gratitude

THE COTTARS, amazing young CELTIC musicians from Cape Breton

CHARLIE OWEN, San Francisco's best-kept-secret soul singer

and the ever-splendid MIKE GREENSILL, investing in the house piano.

Our Anniversary Show - Today - a live-ish special mixed with some highlights from those formative years.  We pulled together just a few hilarious and moving moments with a few of the 10,000 guests since Sedge Thomson's West Coast Live first broadcast January 8, 1994 at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco. West Coast Live succeeded his successful West Coast Weekend, which began in October 1984, following a year of Breakfast Jam he began in September 1983, both produced live. Yikes, 27 years of live radio!

The theme today turns out to be Voices -- voices still here, some gone, voices produced through other forms -- of instruments, history, emotions.  We start with the first :30 prior to the first broadcast from the Cowell Theater, before we went live to air, and the opening moments from January 8, 1994, with DIANE HIDY at the piano.  You are there!  

In the First Hour we begin with a conversation with the inimitable JULIA CHILD about food and eating and love, from 11/16/1996 when she was 84, doing her best Meryl Streep impersonation. We reveal her favorite hors d'oeuvre. 

From 10/221994, TERRY JONES of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS expounds of falsettos, and how comedy is made in Life of Brian. What fun we can have in a live, spontaneous show with a lively audience!

Later, on 11/25/2006 at the Plush Room, LAURIE ANDERSON and the Tuvan Throat Singers CHIRGILCHAN came in and we persuaded the TUVANs to teach the renowned a capella group THE BOBS how to throat-sing.  First you imitate a Harley-Davidson....

MIKE GREENSILL plays the brief interval break, 

then the 2nd Act begins with THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT from 8/31/1996 as they were on their way to acclaim 

From November 11, 1995, as we celebrated the reopening of the Legion of Honor Museum, STUART CANIN demos with a Bach fugue the Guarneri Del Gesu violin Jashcha Heifitz played and donated to the museum.  And he recreates the beginning of the FRED ALLEN - JACK BENNY feud of 1936 with the :45 Bee.

STUDS TERKEL, the late, great Chicagoan waxes on the horrors of solo violin music, except for STUART CANIN, JASCHA HEIFETZ, and FRITZ KREISLER and how his mother always wanted him to play like MARVIN, his upstairs neighbor.  Then we here about the importance of stories that make political movements human and personal.

MIKE GREENSILL and WESLA WHITFIELD updated the 1952 LOUIS JORDAN jazz classic as Greensill for President for Nov. 1, 2008, a story of political adventures that are the same, but different, and still the source for great lyrics.

And we close with a high-energy song from the 6/8/1996 show with TAJ MAHAL joining with JIM CAMPILONGO and the 10 GALLON CATS for a festive fishing and libation number.  We had to retrieve TAJ from the end of the Cowell Theater pier, where he'd gone to hang out that beautiful morning with the Russian fisherman using cuttlefish and cut fish as bait and spark plugs for weights.

The closing credits from that day features DIANE HIDY rocking out with her classical verve 

RESERVATIONS for the Live Broadcast at the Ferry Building in San Francisco: for your 2 hours of slow-food organic radio with only the freshest conversation, music and play: 415-664-9500, or TICKETWEB.  Also facebook.

Gentle Frolic and New Year highlights for this special that made it way through ice and snow and sunshine and time and space to be with you as we commence 2011.

Originally broadcast January 3, 1998 from The Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco.

OMAR SOSA and JOHN SANTOS, featuring music from their latest recordings Nfume - For the Unseen and Omar Omar.

Monologist SPALDING GRAY. Seven years ago, Spalding went elsewhere.  What stories he told. Here he talks about The Slippery Slope. Poignant then, and especially now. He says stories are a form of reincarnation.

Slack guitar music from GEORGE KUO, MARTIN PAHINUI, DENNIS KAMAKHI, and DAVID KAMAKAHI.

KEVIN KELLY, editor of "Wired" (in 1998). Here talking about technology as we knew it in 1998 and in Out of Control.  His new book, 2011, is What Technology Wants. What a time-trip.

Travel tips from CARL AND KARL, timeless, chanelling on Samuel Beckett, Walter Benjamin, Jonathan Winters, and George Carlin.

Music from piano player MIKE GREENSILL who's partied all night to be with you today.