Arts & Culture

Host Kevin Vance featured music and interviews with Bruce Springsteen about his new recording, "Wrecking Ball".  Also,  locally grown folk violin player Mariel Vandersteel talked about her new CD called "Hickory", featuring the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle.  A couple of old friends will visit the show: Tracy Grammer will be talking about found recordings of her and her late partner Dave Carter, released recently on "Little Blue Egg", and singer/guitarist/dulcimer-player Claudia Schmidt celebrating a reissue of some of her best songs from years ago called "Bend In The River".  Listen anytime this week via KALW's Local Music Player.

The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto is not a grotto, really. A grotto is a cave … or, something like a cave. This is just a floor in a nondescript office building: 31 offices surrounding a conference room, where a few dozen people can sit somewhat comfortably. From the hallways, each office door looks about the same. What makes this place special, though, is what’s behind each door.

Nonfiction writer Ethan Watters says, “This idea of working alone as a writer would never work for me, certainly.” So he, along with Po Bronson and Ethan Canin, started a collective. A place for six writers to work. Then nine. Then 21. Now, nearly 60 writers are members of the Grotto.

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Quinn Deveaux is one part city, one part country. When he plays with his band, the Blue Beat Review, he taps into Ray Charles and plays the savvy bandleader, burning his way through tune after tune and keeping his audience dancing late into the night.

When he plays solo, he’s more like Robert Johnson. Listening to his recordings, you can almost see him rocking on his porch, plucking away at his guitar and telling stories to the passing tumbleweeds.