Ah, Nellie McKay. How can you not love an over-the-top
quirky jazz-pop-cabaret pianist who sings songs about having her
very own clone?
McKay releases her latest album, Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute
To Doris Day, this week. And sadly, as expected, she's not touring
anywhere near Tampa Bay in support of it.
But she WILL be checking in with a Tampa Bay institution this week.
On Wednesday morning, McKay will return as a guest on Talking Animals,
the pet show on WMNF-88.5. Apparently she's a friend of the show
-- and she's not the only prominent musician who is.
Longtime host Duncan Strauss has interviewed a number of cool musicians
on the program to talk about their animal causes -- Chrissie Hynde,
Moby, Kinky Friedman, Emmylou Harris, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull
and John Doe of X, to name a few.
Talking Animals: Connecting Tampa Bay music fans with their heroes
since 2005. Who knew?
Click here for details. And click here to listen to the show from
11:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.
TNT's Ringling Reality Series:
Sickest Show On Earth?
I read with great interest -- and
greater horror -- that one component of TNT's new plan to expand
the network's slate of original programming is an unscripted series
set aboard the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train
that transports the performers and animals from show to show.
That
sound you're hearing may be the bottom of the barrel scraping
-- or it could be the moaning of an elephant being abused. MORE->
You can read Duncan's commentary in Huffington
Post
(posted on April 11, 2008) on TNT's plans for a reality series
on Ringling Bros and the circus train here!
January 2008
PalmBeachPost.com
Special
to the Palm Beach
Post
Here's Duncan's Op-Ed
piece on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that The
Palm Beach Post published on December 23, 2007 on the front page
of their Opinion section -- For
the love of animals, avoid the circus - Read
editorial here
Some rock stars are
animals. Some are animal lovers. Let's assume John Doe of
Los Angeles punk greats X falls into the latter category.
He'll talk with host Duncan Strauss on today's edition of
"Talking Animals" at 11:30 a.m. on WMNF, 88.5
FM.
"Talking Animals," which focuses on animals and
animal issues, originated at KUCI, 88.9 FM, at the University
of California at Irvine. Strauss and his show have since
relocated to the Bay area. Previous guests on "Talking
Animals" have included Janeane Garafolo, Jethro Tull's
Ian Anderson and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.
If you love animals
and punk rock, be sure to check out WMNF's next "Talking
Animals" show. Hosted by Duncan Straus, the monthly
radio program dives into a jungle of animal news, songs,
comedy and an interview with some notable animal lover or
another. For the next edition, Straus interviews John Doe,
the founder-bassist of legendary punk band X, a member of
the country-folk X-offshoot The Knitters, an acclaimed solo
singer-songwriter and an actor who's appeared in more than
40 films. Doe also has an equal love for animals, from the
multitudes that live with him to his work providing the
narration for a documentary on animal rights. Doe might
also divulge some details about his upcoming tour that makes
an Aug. 25 stop at Jannus Landing. Wed., Aug. 9, 11:30 a.m.-noon,
WMNF-88.5 FM, www.talkinganimals.net.
Even sporadic “Talking
Animals” listeners will recognize that the L.A. Times
story got a key bit of philosophy completely reversed: the
show DOES include activism--& many other elements
that are far broader than pet/vet shows, which typically
do not include activism, never mind being too heavy on it.
But otherwise, we thought the reporter did a really nice
job on this piece, and we're much obliged.
“Talking Animals”
was featured in April 2004 on the BBC Radio 4 program “A
World In Your Ear,” which their web site describes
as “A showcase for the best English language radio
on the planet including features, plays, phone-ins, music
and comedy shows.” www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/aworldinyourear.shtml
OC WEEKLY (Apr. 2-8, 2004 Issue)
THIS WEEK IN PISSING OFF THE FCC TALKING ANIMALS
Critics of gay marriage--most
notably U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and everyone’s
favorite Senator rick Santorum (R- Pennsylvania)--have warned
that allowing same-sex to marry would open the door for
bigamy and marriage between humans and animals. In that
line of thinking, Duncan Strauss’ weekly radio show
Talking Animals on KUCI-FM 88.9 should cause them
some alarm, since it brings together animals, comedy, activists,
actors, scientists and music all in the sameprogram.
(Yikes! Sounds like polygamy and bestiality. Someone call
the FCC, quick!)
Strauss, a writer and
comedy club owner, started the distinctive show in June
2003 to “celebrate animals” and inform people
about animal rights issues in a “more palatable way.”
So, you know, instead of verbally throwing red paint on
your new fur, he’ll let you know why it’s a bad
idea, and then throw in some music and comedy skits by such
comic legends as Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Steve Martin,
and Jerry Seinfeld.
Still, the best part
of Talking Animals is the guests. Strauss has interviewed
PETA’s Dan Mathews, Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull,
Greg Ginn, former guitarist for Black Flag, Kevin Nealon
from Saturday NightLive, and actress and
comedian Janeane Garofalo. On the scientific side, guests
have included Dr. Sophia Yin, a dog bark researcher, and
Dr. Dee Boersma, a penguin expert. On April 5, his guest
will be Nellie McKay, a feral young singer-songwriter (think
Tori Amos meets They Might Be Giants and the Tiger Lilies)
often played on KCRW-FM 89.9’s Morning Becomes
Eclectic.
Though the--ahem--marriage
of all these elements might seem a little odd, that’s
precisely what gives the show it’s charm. At least
people in the UK think so. Strauss was recently contacted
by a producer from BBC Radio 5, who asked about featuring
Talking Animals on A World In Your Ear, a
“showcase for the best English language radio on the
planet.”
Talking Animals
KUCI-FM 88.9; live webcast available at www.kuci.org. Every
Mon., 9-10 a.m. Don’t miss this week’s guest,
Nellie McKay www.nelliemckay.net. For more information,
log on to www.talkinganimals.net.
He’s
Got A Way With Animals Gary Lycan, Register Columnist
When Duncan Strauss
started his new radio show six months ago, he almost kept
it a secret. “I was traveling the learning curve and
needed to get much better,” he admitted.
That was then, and this
is now. Strauss’ show--”Talking Animals,”
9-10 a.m.
Mondays on KUCI/99.9 FM--doesn’t much beyond UC Irvine,
but is is live on www.kuci.org, and he’s been
able to corral some major guests, ranging from actor-comedian
Kevin Nealon to Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson.
Monday’s guest
is Merrill Markoe, creator of David Letterman’s “Stupid
Pet Tricks” and author of “The Day My Dogs Became
Guys.”
“The show is singular
in format,” he said. “Interview, news, phone calls,
animal-oriented songs and comedy bits. The objective is
to be informative and
educational, yet entertaining and fun. We want to celebrate
animals,” he said.
The interviews aren’t all fluff, either. He’s
talked to Dan Mathews, who has
worked on PETA campaigns, and Dr. Sophia Yin, a pioneer
in research on dog
barks.
Locally, he’s had
on Dianna Pfaff-Martin, founder of Newport Beach-based Animal
Network. If you love animals and can pick up 88.9 on the
radio or the Internet,
check it out.
