Turn Your Radio On (WNCW 88.7)

        Well guys, Dr. B is gonna be on the airwaves, so turn your radio on.

        I never hear this old Albert E. Brumley song that I don’t think of John Hartford. Years ago I went to two of his Christmas picking parties and they were a dandy; folks like Earl Scruggs, Benny Martin, Bill Monroe, and Marty Stuart were there. I recall Earl’s brother Horace turned to me and said, “Pick that mandolin like that Stuart boy.” (I tried but I’m still a doctor)

         Here was Dr. B jamming with all the legends. My old Harvey County picking buddies Indie, Rossie Douglas, and Moose Dooley went with me. Chattanooga real estate man Fletcher Bright and Indie did some twin fiddle numbers. Indie really dug Fletcher’s fiddling; they were two peas in a pod.

        So bring back some memories, and turn your radio on. To be specific, tomorrow 6/26/2010 at 12:00 noon good old Doc B is gonna be on the radio. When “The Mandolin Case” hit number one on Amazon’s country books category I got invited by Dennis Jones to be a guest on his show.

        Folks, that’s like a shot at batting practice with the Cubs. Just ask any touring musician, Dennis is one of the most knowledgable bluegrass DJs in the world, and a wizard sound engineer. Everyone wants to cut that gig.

        It’ll be a free wheeling thing and you can call in and ask them to play anything you want as long as it is related to “The Mandolin Case” or bluegrass in general. Dennis said he would give me some choice the music selection for the hour. I told him I’d kinda like to honor the bands with ties to the Carolinas since I’m a North Carolina boy, so y’all write in or call and ask for groups like Darin and Brooke Aldridge, III Tyme Out, the Grascals, Balsam Range, Alan Bibey (Cuz) or the Steep Canyon Rangers. WNCW is an old-fashioned station; they still pay attention to what their audience wants, so you can have a hand in the radio program by your input.

        Dennis will set the agenda. He’ll ask about Indie or Harvey County, and I might divulge a few clues in “The Mandolin Case.” Just remember though, this is physician bluegrass fiction. Sometimes I have so much fun I can get carried away, so don’t worry if some of it seems a bit far-fetched. After all, this show not about diagnosing cancer. I’m proud I do that in my day job, but art is so we can forget our troubles for a moment. When I think about the power of radio I always recall Orson Wells in “War of the Worlds.” So, don’t take me too seriously; my gig Saturday is all for fun. Remember; art isn’t a matter of life and death it’s much more important than that.

        Don’t worry of you don’t live in range of the airwaves. In Harvey County we tune in WNCW 88.7 via 24/7 Internet stream. So if you’re in New Zealand at whatever time 12:00 noon EST time comes to and bored out of your ever-loving mind, tune us in. We promise enough fun to forget your troubles for an hour or so. 

        Here’s the link. www.wncw.org. Try it out so you can tune in for the ‘Going Across The Mountain’ show Dennis hosts every Saturday. I’ll be on at noon tomorrow. 

        I’m even gonna have a prize. Whoever calls in from the longest distance will get a signed copy of “The Mandolin Case.” Who know, someday that and fifty cents might get you a cup of coffee, so call in and let ’em know you’re out there. 

Dr. B

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Gracie Muldoon and 24/7 Bluegrass

        I love the name Gracie, don’t you?  It makes me think of the great George Burns.  He loved his Gracie so.

        Someone asked George Burns what the secret was to his long life and he said, “Everyone has to have an act.  Mine is George Burns.”  Cool.  I adopted his notion- mine is Tommy Bibey.

        I never met a Gracie I didn’t like, and I recently met another one I want to tell you about.  Her name is Gracie Muldoon (what a cool bluegrass name) and she runs a 24/7 bluegrass radio station at WorldWideBluegrass.com.

        Several of my readers have asked me to stay on the lookout for good Internet bluegrass radio sites, so I checked it out.  These guys have it going on- it is well worth the listen and has Dr. Tommy Bibey’s highest recommendations.

        I promised Gracie I’d let her know when my book is released.  As far as I know it is the first medical novel in which the mystery is unraveled by a loyal band of bluegrass brethren.  I might even call in and announce it myself.  Dibs on the announcement go to Dennis Jones at WNCW 88.7 NPR radio- he asked first and I always honor my commitments and dance with who brung me, but Gracie is second in line.

        And Dennis, much as I love ya man, I gotta tell you if Gracie’ll let me dance with her too I guess I will if my wife says it’s O.K.   She’s a little better looking than you brother, but I’ll never abandon you- you’ll always be my favorite bluegrass DJ in the world.

Dr. B

Bibey on the Air/Bluegrass Music Update From WNCW 88.7

        Part of today’s post is an update on WNCW 88.7 Bluegrass radio.  Dennis Jones at the station sent me an e-mail, and it is printed below.  Before you get to that, though, I gotta tell you an old Neuse River/WNCW 88.7 bluegrass radio true story.

        One time we had a gig way in the western part of the state, Sparta, N.C. to be exact, and we was riding to the show date in the Neuse River converted school bus.  Like everyone in bluegrass music when you had a show on a Saturday night in that part of the state, you’d tune in a guy named Russ Jordan.  His radio show was the same “Going Across the Mountain” now hosted by Dennis Jones.  (It is a good’un)

        Just before we got into Sparta, Russ came on the air and said, “Folks y’all get out tonight and hear Neuse River- they’re gonna be in Sparta at the Volunteer Fire Hall.  Is Dr. Tommy out there?  We’ve got Miss Molly Tenbrooks down here at the station and she’s sickly.”  (This is bluegrass code talk for someone’s got a fever in their head.)

        Moose got on his car phone and told ’em we was so too far down the road to turn back now, but I talked to ’em and told ’em I knew for a fact that Rebbekker the bass player lady Doc was on call ’cause I’d talked to her when I came through that morning.  They got a hold of her and she took care of the problem.

        Well, that ain’t the end of the story.  Some hospital hired lawyer named Leggett called me in to his office on Monday morning and said he’d heard we was talking patient names over the radio and I’d done a HIPAA violation.  I told him right quick that Molly and Tenbrooks was a couple of dadburn racehorses from a Bill Monroe song for heaven’s sake, and there warn’t nary a thing in the HIPAA book that said folks can’t talk on the radio in bluegrass code about a horse race, so he’d just have to get over it.

        I went on to say just as soon as he found the Federal regulation for that circumstance to fax it over the office, and I’d be happy to look it over.  I never did hear from him.  Shoot, even the Government knows you can’t regulate bluegrass.

        I never did like that little guy ever since he got after Indie anyway.  (I’m gonna tell you more about that in my book.)

        Enough on old war stories, here’s the update on WNCW 88.7.  All the best Dennis, ’cause you guys are.

FROM DENNIS JONES:

Thought Dr.Tommy Bibey would be interested in this……

Starting August 4th, Bluegrass music begins Monday through Friday at 6:00am until 7:00am. The new addition to WNCW programming will be called “Mountain Morning” and is to be hosted by Jerry McNeely. The unbelievable support and astounding ratings show that Traditional and Contemporary Bluegrass is what listeners want. Thanks to all who have made this possible. With this new block, we now have 16 hours of the “real deal” Bluegrass available over an FM signal that covers 5 states….6 on good days. It’s really a thrill to know how important the music we all love so much, is gaining air time on a stations main channel;not regulated to the internet or a side channel that requires buying a new radio. Morning drive time for many is in this hour, or folks getting ready to head out for the day will be able to have another source for Bluegrass music in our listening area…as well as on-line world wide. This truly makes WNCW a Flagship Bluegrass station and we will continue to try our best to deliver the quality programming so many have come to expect.

Dennis Jones
WNCW-FM Technical Director