Confessions of a hippie redneck, Loudon and KDUR
by Chris Aaland
For those of you who live in a media vacuum, hatred is alive and well in this country. It’s apparent that our nation’s map is painted blue in the Northeast and West Coast, red in the middle states, with a few strokes of purple scattered in between. Racism and anti-LGBT backlash abound.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a law into effect last week that allows people to exercise their religious freedoms. For the weak-minded and bigoted, this is a free pass to discriminate. Overly simplified, it can be interpreted as “We reserve the right to refuse service to gays.”
 Singer/songwriter and poet extraordinaire Loudon Wainwright III plays the Concert Hall tonight at 7:30. |
My liberalism is well-known. My middle-of-the-road tendencies, less so. Yes, the longhaired, bearded flower child in me composts, recycles, shops with reusable bags, goes to the Farmers Market, drinks from the six local craft brewers, eats kale, chard and couscous and prefers releasing his trout landed on a tiny dry fly of his own creation. But the Bubba in me likes trucks, guns, Cheetos, the SI swimsuit issue and cracking open an ice cold can or six of PBR to drink around the campfire while frying up a meal of trout … sometimes caught on – gasp! – a worm. I’m conflicted. As Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon sings, “I’m a redneck hippie.”
So I’ll re-examine the Hoosier State’s new law with an open mind, allow the Yin and Yang of my soul to seek answers. Assume, for a moment, that Indiana’s law allows for a devout Baptist from Fort Wayne to openly discriminate against people of alternative sexuality. If that’s kosher, shouldn’t it be acceptable for an LDS fundamentalist living in South Bend to marry and impregnate 12-year-old girls … or a jihadist from Muncie to behead a nonbeliever? After all, they’re just practicing their religious beliefs.
Obviously, the answer is no. These are extreme and shocking examples of how religious freedom could be interpreted. In no way do I believe the bill’s authors intended to condone such acts. I’m much more cynical than that. These politicians simply pander to their party’s extremists rather than listen to the voice of reason. State law cannot trump simple human rights … just like you can’t legally kill someone or molest a kid and claim your religious beliefs allow it. Similarly, you can’t deny a group of people their basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness just because their bedfellows are different than yours.
My colors run blue and red … and purple, orange, yellow and green, too. After many storms appears a rainbow. Science argues it’s an optical and meteorological phenomenon that has something to do with reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. I remember something in my brief Lutheran Sunday school career about God’s promise to never destroy all life on earth with a global flood again. If you subscribe to the latter point of view, then by all means consider that rainbow a sign from God to accept those whose beliefs are different from yours.
Don’t think Indiana stands alone. Twenty states have similar religious freedom laws on the books and legislation has been introduced to do the same in 12 more, including Colorado.
Thanks for reading. Here are some of this week’s entertainment highlights:
A singer-songwriter who injects his music with wry humor and piercing insight, Loudon Wainwright III, returns to the Community Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thurs., April 2) with special guests Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer in tow. Critics hail Wainwright as the most candid diarist since Bob Dylan to bring confessional poetry into song. His “High Wide & Handsome” record earned the Best Traditional Folk Album in 2010, and he recently released his 26th album, “Haven’t Got the Blues (Yet).” Wainwright burst onto the national scene with his 1972 hit, “Dead Skunk (In the Middle of the Road)” and immediately began a secondary career as an actor, most famously as Captain Calvin Spalding, the singing surgeon on television’s “M*A*S*H.”
Elephant Revival plays the Animas City Theatre for the second night in a row tonight. Expect this creative, acoustic quintet to delve into their four-album catalog as well as play a few new originals. If you can’t catch their ACT show, tune in to KSUT at 1 p.m. for an in-studio performance and interview.
Crash Music and the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown take the Meltdown on the road tonight at the historic Aztec Theatre. Six Dollar String Band and Running Out of Road – two of Durango’s top bluegrass bands – pack their banjos and mandolins and head south. Doors open at 6:30.
Good concerts deserve an encore or two … why not good beers? It’s the last call of the year for the popular Irish Car Bomb firkin at Steamworks, which gets tapped at 3 p.m. Friday. The Irish Car Bomb has its base in Backside Stout, which features complex malt and oat flavor. Its second fermentation is with Irish cream and Jameson whiskey flavors. It goes down smooth, but will wreck you if you have too many. When this firkin is gone, you’ll have to wait until 2016 to sample it again.
KDUR’s spring membership drive kicks off Friday and runs through the following Friday. Visit kdur.org or call 970-247-7262 to pledge your support and “Spring into Summer Fun.” I spent parts of four decades spinning tunes at KDUR, one of hundreds of volunteers who were given a creative outlet via the airwaves through the decades. If you listen, there’s a price for this valuable entertainment and educational medium.
Moe’s madness this week includes the drag show Daisies & Sweet Peas from 8 ’til close tonight. Saturday marks First Saturday presented by Animas Herbal Wellness, with dancing to DJs Noonz and Squooze, plus lots of giveaways.
Elsewhere, SkyPilot brings its jazzy jam to the Balcony Backstage on Friday while the Black Velvet duo plays the Diamond Belle Saloon at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
This week’s Top Shelf list includes some of my favorite KDUR programming:
1. The Velvet Rut, Kynan & Rags. 9-noon Saturdays.
2. Audience of One, Lynch, 1-3 p.m. Mondays.
3. Lovely Day Radio, Steph, 6-8 a.m. Tuesdays.
4. Down Home Girl, JJ, 6-8 a.m. Wednesdays.
5. Upbeat, Jeff, 8-10 p.m. Mondays.
6. Cranky Old Guy Rock Show, 9-midnight, Tuesdays.
Pictures came and broke your heart? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.