This land is your land… Caleb Stine shows off Western Maryland’s skyline

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & 7 P.M. ON 88.1 WYPR***

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Aaron Henkin teams up with musician Caleb Stine, and they head west on Maryland’s blue highways for an exploration of modern Americana… Along the way, they meet people from all walks of life and talk with them about the country’s past and its future. Aaron and Caleb visit a roadside produce stand, a snowball shop, a toy train store, a carpentry business, a diner, a custom airbrush clothing boutique, and a little league baseball game… They kick back for some music and conversation at a KOA camp site. They survive a rainy morning and make it out to Cumberland, Maryland. They meet an inspired guy there named Rich. And he helps them wind their way to an impromptu bluegrass music hoe-down in a local basement… all in a span of 48 hours and 150 miles.

Caleb and Aaron visit with Kim at Harbin Farms in Ellicott City

Caleb and Aaron meet John and Madeline at their family-owned snowball stand

Wiley shows off his train shop in Sykesville, Maryland

Making new friends at the Midtown Diner

CAPTION

Caleb provides some campfire music at the KOA

Some fellow travelers on the open road…

Shawn and Cory, traditional bluegrass musicians in Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland’s newest bluegrass trio: Shawn, Caleb, and Cory

‘Til the next time… Shawn and his son bid us farewell

Peter Blasser’s 2nd floor electronics studio where he builds the circuitry for his instruments… Instruments shown here (from left to right) are: ‘radio box’; ’sidrassi organ’; ‘trimin’; and ‘radio zither’.

***THE SIGNAL AIRS FRIDAYS AT NOON & 7 P.M. ON 88.1 WYPR***

(Click here for mp3’s of recent episodes of the show. And PODCASTERS, click here for a link to subscribe to The Signal’s weekly podcast.)

• We pay a visit to the sonic workshop of audiophile and instrument maker Peter Blasser, whose cybernetic musical hybrids blend the likes of trombones, Theremins, zithers, and circuit boards.
• We meet globe-trotting Baltimore DJ Balagan, who joins us with the music he collected on a recent trip into the infamous favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
• And Benn Ray of Atomic Books shares his latest list of ‘required reading’ for mutated minds.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Check out Peter Blasser’s musical creations at: www.ciat-lonbarde.net

Find out more aobut DJ Balagan at: www.myspace.com/djbalagan

Atomic Books

Friday (06.26) marks the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Torture Victims, and the Baltimore organization Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma observes the date with special commemoration at The Library Project Art Gallery. Events will include vigils, lectures, film series, and art exhibits focusing on torture survivors. One of the featured artists is Julie Lin. She spent six months working with refugees to help them create artwork and stories about their memories of home – specifically, food, family, and friends – and the result is an exhibition called Kitchen Stories. Friday evening’s special reception runs from 6 to 8 o’clock, and The Library Project Art Gallery is at 1401 Light Street. More information is at www.astt.org.

Baltimore’s Strand Theater has been welcoming new patrons into their performance space during an ongoing series called the Friends and Neighbors Festival, and the latest theatrical feature in that series is called “Graveyard Bride.” It’s a performance piece by actress Alex Hewitt, based on photos taken of her in a graveyard while celebrating a recent divorce. This story of ‘lost loves and loves never had’ takes to the stage Friday night (06.26) and Saturday night (06.27) at 8 o’clock, with a Sunday afternoon matinee at 3. The Strand Theater is at 1823 N. Charles Street, and more details are online at www.strandtheatercompany.org.

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture is in the midst of celebrating its 4th anniversary with a five-day-long series of special events. The celebration continues Saturday (06.27) with a performance by The Raw Sound Tap Company and a fashion show put on by the Carmello Anthony Youth Development Center. And the festivities wrap up Sunday (06.28) with The Waxter Center High Steppers and spoken-word poetry from Ty Gray-El. The Lewis Museum is at 830 E. Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore, and more info is online at www.africanamericanculture.org.