88.5 Now – WMNF’s Newsletter May 2019

In Tampa Bay, the sun shines bright and hot on the blues. The old south still glimmers through the onset of modernization. It’s the place where Tampa Red learned to sing sad, and the tradition still thrives today. Larry Lisk is a major reason for that. He founded the Suncoast Blues Society, has put countless hours into organizing blues events, and brings the sound of the blues to WMNF listeners every Monday night on Mo’ Blues Monday.

In 1980 Larry moved to Tampa from Fort Lauderdale. He turned his radio dial far to the left and found something special.

“I was tuning my dial down in that area and I heard some reggae. It was Ann The Reggae Lady. ‘MNF was still funky then, I mean if you went under an overpass you lost the station, right here in town.”

Larry loved what he heard and started donating. In 1991 he decided he wanted to get more hands on with his support.

“It was during fund drive time I just got in my car, knocked on the door and said, ‘Can I help?’ I started taking pledges and it was a blast, the people were just so accommodating, welcoming and kind. I thought, these are the kind of folks I’d like to hang around with.”

He loved volunteering at events, and did so every chance he got. That is, until he took on a new responsibility in the name of the blues.

“My time started getting taken up when I co-founded the Suncoast Blues Society. We put a lot of time into learning about other Blues Societies and why they failed, doing the legwork. Finally in 1997 we had a meeting about forming the society at Skippers and about 50 people showed up and donated and we said, ‘We’re a blues society’.”

It wasn’t long after that Larry started hosting a show. In 1998 a spot opened up.

“I had done a number of guest hosts, I’d sit in with a lot of different people, and eventually was on the sub list. When the spot opened I did a show and Randy liked it. For 12 years I did the Rhythm and Blues Cruise.”

For the past nine years, Larry has been in his Mo’ Blues Monday Spot. In June, it’ll be 21 years that he’s been sharing his love of the blues on WMNF’s airwaves.

“It’s been absolutely great fun, where else than WMNF could something like this happen? The thing that blows me away is that I didn’t come looking to go on the air, I just believed in the station and wanted to be part of it, it just happened by accident.”

From his coincidental move into radio in 1998, to being recognized by the Blues Foundation with the “Keeping The Blues Alive” award in 2014, Larry feels proud of the work he’s put in.

“That would be my one of my greatest highlights from what I’ve done here. That, and the station gave me a Lifetime Achievement award in 2011. It’s funny I thought, ‘I plan on being around a little longer, maybe this is a bit premature.’ But, that was very gratifying as well.”

Over the years, Larry has exposed many people to the beauty of the blues. And through his work, he’s found a family in WMNF.

“It’s been wonderful, I’m very thankful. I couldn’t imagine my life without the changes I’ve seen and the things that have happened to me because of this radio station. It’s just been remarkable and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Find out more about Mo’ Blues Monday and stream here: https://www.wmnf.org/events/mo-blues-monday/

Production Profile: Sid Flannery

Bluegrass songs are sometimes named after natural features such as creeks, ridges, or mountains. The music creates a time and place where the environment and mankind meet in harmony to make ecstatic sounds. If you ask Sid Flannery, it’s music with a “joie de vivre”, and a very eclectic genre that combines elements of Celtic, rock’n’roll, blues and jazz.  He’s a music lover and a retired environmental scientist who’s been involved with WMNF for over three decades.

Sid grew up in St. Petersburg and lived in North Florida for many years. When he moved back to the Tampa Bay area in 1985, he heard about WMNF.

“Friends told me about it at that time. After a year or two I started volunteering. Then I did a guest host on Tom Henderson’s bluegrass show, about 1988 or so.”

He began subbing on other programs, and in 1989 the Traffic Jam began with Sid as one of the original programmers.

“When I was doing the Traffic Jam, our Saturday bluegrass programmer Netagene moved to Alabama.  In 1996 I started sharing the Saturday morning bluegrass show, first with Sherry Taylor King, then Christine Miller and Cricket.”

Like many WMNF listeners, Sid has a broad taste in music that ranges from rock, jazz and classical to world beat.  In addition to Bluegrass, Sid has hosted other shows at the same time, including the Thursday Traffic Jam and the Monday Morning Show. His experience has given him insight into creating effective music sets.

“I believe WMNF can be both accessible and eclectic.  By playing great music with good song sequencing and efficient informative breaks that create flow, I think we can attract new listeners while keeping our very creative core listeners happy.”

Sid’s learns from his listeners as he hosts his shows.

“They’re very knowledgeable and you get great requests and tips from them. You feel close to the listeners, like you’ve been sitting on the couch listening to music together for the last 20 years.”

His love for bluegrass music is as powerful today as it ever was, and he appreciates the variety and dynamics in the genre that are often overlooked.

“Even though it was largely started by rural people, it can be every bit as hard driving as rock’n’roll, with soulful singing, great harmonies, and tremendous instrumental leads that are quite jazzy at times.  And now there’s both traditional and contemporary bluegrass.   It is fun to hear from people listening to bluegrass for the first time and are very enthused.”

It’s a type of music that doesn’t get played on commercial radio, and for Sid, the relationship between stations like WMNF and bluegrass artists is synergistic.

“There was a singer-songwriter that came through a while back, who said that in Fort Lauderdale the night before they played to 50 people. And when they came to Tampa there were 500.  That’s because people here have heard of them, largely because of WMNF.”

Sid’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. In 1994, he was awarded WMNF’s Programmer of The Year award for his Traffic Jam show.  In 2015 he was awarded Volunteer of The Year and in 2016 the Lifetime Achievement award. The awards are nice, but for Sid it’s about being entwined with the community.

“It’s the quality of music and information that we can convey, and how we can make a real human connection with people. We can do things that are much more profound and moving than commercial stations.”

Find out more about Saturday Bluegrass Show and stream here:
https://www.wmnf.org/events/saturday-bluegrass-show/

WMNF EVENTS:

Have Gun Will Travel’s End Of The World Music Event – May 6th 4 pm – 11:55 pm-@ Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, FL 33613

WMNF’s Pub Crawl! – May 25th, 3 pm – 11:55 pm @ If I Brewed The World, Pinellas Ale Works, Cage Brewing

The WMNF Summer Kickoff Show – June 27th, 8 pm – 11 pm @ Crowbar, 1812 N. 17th St. Tampa, 33605

Smells Like Teen Spirit! A WMNF Tribute To The 90s – July 6th, 8 pm – 11:59 pm @ Crowbar, 1812 N. 17th St. Tampa, 33605

WMNF 2019 Americana Fest – August 10th, 6pm – @ Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, FL 33613

WMNF’s 40th Birthday Party w Saint Paul and The Broken Bones – September 14th, 8pm – @ St. Petersburg Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33701

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