The delightful and talented Eliza Gilkyson performs on Rag Radio and discusses her approach to songwriting and her new album, ‘Nocturne Diaries.’
Eliza Gilkyson with Rag Radio’s Thorne Dreyer in the KOOP studios in Austin, March 21, 2014. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.
Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson joined us in interview and live performance on Rag Radio, Friday, March 21, 2014. Listen to the podcast below.
Rag Radio is a weekly hour-long syndicated radio program produced and hosted by long-time alternative journalist and Rag Blog editor Thorne Dreyer. The show is recorded at the studios of KOOP 91.7-FM, a cooperatively-run all-volunteer community radio station in Austin, Texas. It is broadcast live on KOOP every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CST) and streamed live on the web.
Listen to or download the podcast of our March 21, 2014 Rag Radio show with Eliza Gilkyson, here:
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson joins Thorne Dreyer to talk about the autobiographical nature of her work as a songwriter, how her music reflects her social conscience, about the Austin music scene and the recent SXSW which was panned by many for its rampant commercialization… and much more. Eliza also discusses the stories behind some of the songs on her new album, Nocturne Diaries, and performs three songs from the album.
One of the most respected musicians in folk and Americana music circles, Eliza is a member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame and the Texas Music Hall of Fame. She is the daughter of legendary songwriter Terry Gilkyson. She has 20 recordings and her songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Bob Geldof, Tom Rush, Rosanne Cash, and many more.
Eliza is an active member of the Austin music and political communities. She works with the environmental group, Save Our Springs, and is a co-founder of the 5604 Manor Community Center, an Austin-based resource center that promotes political activism. Eliza says that, “For me, the challenge today is to remain human when everything around us compels us to shut down.”
The Nocturne Diaries, her first new album in three years — released by Red House Records — was produced and recorded in Austin with her son, Cisco Ryder. It is a contemplative work made up of “songs that come in the night,” and are “inspired by the converging forces of her highest hopes and darkest fears.” The songs range from roots rockers to a haunting version of the folk classic “Fast Freight” written by her father, Terry Gilkyson.
Rag Radio is hosted and produced by Rag Blog editor Thorne Dreyer who was a founding editor of the original Rag, published in Austin from 1966-1977. Tracey Schulz is the show’s engineer and co-producer.
Rag Radio has aired more than 200 shows since September 2009 on KOOP 91.7-FM, an all-volunteer cooperatively-run community radio station in Austin, Texas. Rag Radio is broadcast live every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CST) on KOOP — and streamed live on the web — and is rebroadcast and streamed on Sundays at 10 a.m. (EST) on WFTE, 90.3-FM in Mt. Cobb, PA, and 105.7-FM in Scranton, PA. Rag Radio is also aired and streamed on KPFT-HD3 90.1 — Pacifica radio in Houston — on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. (CST).
After broadcast, all Rag Radio shows are posted as podcasts at the Internet Archive.
Rag Radio is produced in association with The Rag Blog, a progressive Internet newsmagazine, and the New Journalism Project, a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Rag Radio can be contacted at ragradio@koop.org.
Coming up on Rag Radio:
THIS FRIDAY, April 11, 2014: Betsy Leondar-Wright, author of Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures.
Friday, April 25, 2014: Bruce Dancis, author of Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War..
