This week we are going to go back just over five years, to our big ninth anniversary show for Radio Free Charleston.

This special anniversary featured music videos by The Company Stores, Close The Hatch and Volt 9000. We also had live performances by Tape Age and Speedsuit and animation from Third Mind Incarnation. We kicked it all off with a trailer for Ann Magnuson’s Dream Puppet Theater.

This was the last anniversary episode of our video show that we’ve produced to date. The following spring I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, and production of the video program dropped to about one show per year, while I decided to focus my energies on our radio incarnation, which you can hear on The AIR every Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM. At some point I’d like to do more with our video version of the show, but my health, combined with the pandemic, has proven to be an obstacle. I actually have footage for two episodes in the can, but still need to produce some finishing elements that haven’t come together yet due to the pandemic.

However, this was a particularly strong episode of the show, and it seems like it was a lifetime ago, instead of just five years. The Company Stores have a new lineup and vocalist. I have not kept up with Close The Hatch and Volt 9000. Tape Age broke up and its lead singer-songwriter, Sam Scholten formed Bon Air. I think Speedsuit is still a going concern, but it’s hard to keep track with the pandemic putting most live performances on hiatus. Life goes on.