WGXC-90.7 FM

The Schoemer Show

Hosted by Karen Schoemer

The Schoemer Show aired on WGXC from March 2011 to August 2014.

Doing a radio show is like cooking. You start with really good ingredients and try to throw them together in an interesting way. Say you have a little John Coltrane, some Pussy Galore, and a Nick Drake song. Will they work together? Are they too weird? Maybe Patti Smith could act as a binder between the Coltrane and Pussy Galore. Then an Arkansas field recording would cleanse the palate. A Cuban cancion sweetens the mood. All of a sudden you're ready for the folk elegance of Nick Drake. In the kitchen, I rely on recipes. I like to be told what to do because I lack skill and expertise. But I’ve been listening to, thinking about, and obsessing over popular music for forty years. I know what tastes good.

My show ventures between blues, rockabilly, soul, Tin Pan Alley pop, postpunk, lounge, alt-country, no wave, swing, bebop, calypso, old-school hiphop, gospel, surf, and doo-wop. It includes folk music from Britain, Mali, and southern California. It features old music that sounds like nothing you’ve encountered and new music that you’ll swear you’ve heard before. And it offers the best in local music, because Hudson is home to innovative and inspiring performers like Liv Carrow, Alexander Turnquist, and Jeremy Kelly. Consider yourself invited. Bring a little wine, champagne, soda—whatever you prefer. The table is set, and I’m ready to serve.

Karen Schoemer is a writer and author living in Columbia county. Her book Great Pretenders: My Strange Love Affair With '50s Pop Music was published by Free Press in 2006. She has written about pop music and pop culture for The New York Times, Newsweek, New York Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine and many other publications.