Lung Transplant Miracles

This is Jason Cage.  He was one of my golf partners in the Lung Transplant Association Golf Tournament at Prestonwood in Cary yesterday.  I had not previously met Jason, nor heard his story, so I'd like to share it with you.

Jason's been battling Cystic Fibrosis for over 30 years.  In 2008, he had a lung removed and in 2011 he had the other lung transplanted at the Duke Medical Center Lung Transplant Clinic.  So here we were, on a beautiful afternoon, playing 18 holes of golf - which in and of itself seems like a victory for someone who's had to deal with CF and has one lung.

But Jason was up and walking within 9 hours of his lung transplant.  Jason is a Firefighter and Paramedic, regularly working 24 hour shifts saving lives.  His breathing is generally normal now, doctors visits have been reduced, and (obviously) he leads a very active life (one that makes a two lung guy like me look like quite the slouch).

They've been pioneering lung transplants for two decades at Duke, and there are patients still surviving and living healthy lives from those early procedures.  On the other hand, lung transplants have the highest rejection rate of all internal organ transplants - only 50 percent of transplant recipients make it past five years.

The fact that lung transplants can magically take someone from breathless and at death's door to battling blazes is simply remarkable to me.  The money the Lung Transplant Foundation raises will go towards finding ways to fix the rejection rate so that every recipient can gets the chance to make the most of life for a long, long time.

My new friend Jason is quite the example of making the most of life.  Please tell a friend today about the Lung Transplant Foundation.

Foster

Radio 96.1

Guest Blog: Guasaca Review

Our colleague, Abby Jordan, guest blogged for us this week on her experience at Guasaca, a new Venezuelan restaurant off Lake Boone Trail.

My sister-in-law, Jessica, introduced me to my favorite new Triangle restaurant earlier this summer – Guasaca Arepa & Salsa Grill on Lake Boone Trail.  OH. MY. YUM.  I’d never had Venezuelan food before, so when she suggested it for lunch one day, I was stoked to try something new… and, boy, am I so glad she looped me in on this tasty place!

Based on Venezuelan cuisine with a few American twists, “Guasaca was born out of the belief that it is possible to offer food that is delicious, affordable, fresh, and healthy, all at the same time.”  They make everything in-house every day – no flat, stale bread or mystery meat to be found – just amazing fresh arepas: “Venezuela’s daily bread which can be filled with almost any combination of food.”  And when they say “any” combination, they mean it – there are hundreds of combinations to made between 6 meats, 6 sauces, and 7 sides.  (If bread isn’t your thing, you can also order a bowl or salad.)  I highly recommend ordering one of their 7 signature arepas, though, because they know what they’re doing and the flavor combinations will make your taste buds very happy.  And, for me, no order is complete without chips and extra Guasaca sauce – think guacamole with an extra zing!

These are Arepas.  They are yummy.

I love how easy it is to get to Guasaca, I love the patio seating, and I love the fact that it’s right next door to Bottle Revolution.  Ready for the perfect summer night with your friends and family?  An ice cold Izze for the kids (one of the non-alcoholic beverage options at Guasaca), your favorite beer from Bottle Revolution for you, an arepa for every hand, chips + guasaca sauce, gathered on the roomy patio as the sun’s going down and the heat becomes bearable.  Seriously.  Try it – you’ll thank me later.

It has now become something of a family addiction – at least once a week, one of my sisters or I will pipe up with “Mmmm… I’m craving Guasaca!” and next thing you know, we’re making a lunch date for the best Venezuelan food you’ll have in the Triangle!

http://guasaca.com/

https://twitter.com/GuasacaArepa

https://www.facebook.com/guasaca.of.raleigh

Abby

Living Colour Concert Review

When I was 16 years old, I saw Living Colour open for the Rolling Stones at the Oakland Coliseum shortly after the 1989 Bay Area earthquake.  Turns out Living Colour was in San Francisco for the quake too, as drummer Will Calhoun explained to me after the show.  I had this conversation with Will because the members of Living Colour hung out after the concert to meet fans and take pictures one at a time, as Vernon Reid (arguably the most underrated guitarist of all time) did with me below.

The show itself at the Lincoln Theatre last night was top shelf on every level.  Performing "Vivid" in its entirety on the 25th anniversary of the album, the band launched into its biggest hit, "Cult of Personality" as the opener because, after all, it is the first song on the record.  It was apparent from the get-go that Corey Glover's voice was in stunningly good form.  Throughout the night, he was able to switch between gospel, funk, and heavy metal screeching with apparent effortlessness, hitting notes a 48 year old man usually doesn't hit.  Glover played a perfect frontman, smiling with glee as the crowd sang or shouted back at the appropriate moments, as in "Glamour Boys".  Glover: "I ain't no glamour boy!" Crowd: "I'm fierce!" Glover: "I ain't no glamour boy!" Crowd: "Woooo!"

Glover was emotional at times, genuinely moved by the music and the appreciative audience and funny, as he plays up the long relationship with Reid with lines like, "I don't have this grey hair because of age.  It's because of this guy."

The encore included a song Glover maintains is the band's most requested, "Love Rears Its Ugly Head", from "Vivid's" follow-up, "Time's Up".  They closed with the title track from "Time's Up", mashing it up with the Godfather of Soul's "Sex Machine" as the crowd screamed, "Get on up!!" back at the band as Glover delightfully strutted across the stage on a night that belonged to him.

Foster
Radio 96.1

Jason Adamo is Leaving Raleigh

Alli with Doug Casteen, Marshall Eure and Jason Adamo

When I moved to Raleigh in 2008, I didn't realize how vibrant the local music scene here really is.  I've been lucky to see lots and lots of local acts, both good and bad.  But for some reason I've always felt a connection to the Jason Adamo Band. 

Jason and I first met when he played the grand opening of a hair cutting place with us.  He's a great singer songwriter,and I was impressed with his vocals and song writing abilities--plus, let's be honest:  I'm jealous of anyone who can impressively play the guitar since I have ZERO skills in that department.  He's got a song that got some airplay around here called, "Raleigh Nights" and I think it's one of my favorite songs--I didn't grow up here, and neither did Jason, yet that song captures the bittersweet ending to an awesome night in Raleigh, which I have had the actual experience of many times.  I love it. In fact, I love it so much I'm going to have it played at my wedding, one way or another.  (Yes, I'm trying to goad Jason into coming back and playing, but the man's got to make a living, you know?)

Since I first saw him perform, I've taken my fiance and our friends to see Jason play out at different Raleigh locations.  Everyone I've taken to see him play has been summarily impressed. His originals are amazing and he's great at throwing a cover in there, too, if that's what you're in the mood for.  But a good thing can't always last, right? 

Jason is doing what he should do as a singer-songwriter:  he's moving to Nashville.  To ask why would be dumb:  that's like asking why water is wet.  You have one HUGE chance to go see him this weekend at his farewell bash at Piper's Tavern on Falls of Neuse in North Raleigh.  It's free, starts at 6, will have a beer garden and bbq and other food for sale, and there were be lots of people playing--all friends of Jason's and all amazing Raleigh musicians in their own right. 

Jason stopped by today to chat and played me a few songs, including my favorite, "Raleigh Nights."  Hear the interview at the link, where you can hear him play and talk about an awesome project and coffee table book he was involved in:

Jason Adamo's Final Interview with Alli Morgan

JAB in the Noise Under The Apple

And, see video from his little private session for me here:

Jason Plays Raleigh Nights


It's safe to say I'll miss him.  But I also have a feeling we'll hear from him again soon--Nashville's got a brand new star on its hands.


Alli


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Behind the Scenes of The Works!

Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh, July 4 2013

Lots of you saw fireworks last night.  Lots and lots of you crowded Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, awaiting the 9:15 show, and then some of you hung around to catch the 10:10 show over Red Hat Amphitheater.  I did not see any fireworks though--because I was in the studio waiting to play our soundtrack for the fireworks at 10:10.

Radio 96.1 partnered with ABC-11 to simulcast the Red Hat Amphitheater show.  It's pretty tricky to do that--everyone needs to be in sync. My fingers hovered nervously over these two buttons.  One is to open the show, the other is to close it:

We were in sync! ABC-11's producer called me one minute before the show. We were ready!  They went live to Steve Daniels and Tisha Powell, and then to Anna Laurel at the Amphitheater where she had the city's mayor waiting. We got the cue, we were all ready!   The Mayor of Raleigh counted back from ten, I played our big, fancy intro to the fireworks, and voila!  Nothing.  Blackness.  Dark sky.  Tisha and Steve did a great job of filling and waiting to find out why.  Five minutes later, they're cued that the fireworks are ready to go!  So, Mayor McFarlane counted down again, this time from 5.  "Five...four...three...two...one!"  Aaaaaaand nothing.  Seems that while ABC-11 and we were in sync, neither of us were set with the fireworks peeps.

Look, stuff happens.  It's live TV and live radio!  People weren't dispersing fast enough off of Fayetteville Street from the first fireworks session, and there were too many people in the "safe zone" by the time Red Hat Amphitheater's show was supposed to go off.  But it takes time to find that stuff out.  People were scrambling, and there were lots of crazy things happening behind the scenes.  Text messages, phone calls, TV reporters hustling to find out what was going on.  The fireworks were delayed.  In the end, though, the fireworks went off.  Literally, they just randomly started.  Good thing I was watching TV--I started the music and finally everything synced.  It even ended the way it should have.  Lots of people worked really, really hard on last night's "The Works" celebration in Raleigh; from the folks at the City, to those at ABC-11 to little ol' me, in a studio at 10 at night on July 4th waiting to push a button.  We're really proud to have been a part of Raleigh's big celebration--no matter how crazy it felt to us at the time.  Here's to next year!


Alli



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