Nick Spitzer is Good Folk

POSTED: Monday, May 18, 2009, 8:00 PM

Filed Under: Music | Radio

Gimme the Routes, Gimme the roots

Optimistically underestimating Friday morning traffic put me at WHYY's presentation of Nick Spitzer and his Blues Breakfast fashionably late. Spitzer was fashionably quick in his delivery and wrapped it up quite a few minutes ahead of schedule. Despite the abbreviated dose, it was worth the agita of getting there. Spitzer hosts American Routes, heard locally WHYY (among 250 stations), spreading the news that if you listen carefully you can find we have more in common than you might have guessed. Spitzer specializes in segues that knit seemingly unrelated musics together ' he even mentioned of keeping a CD of his favorite segues. As a folklorist he speaks with depth as well as breadth about the common people's music.

People with long Philly radio memories will recall Spitzer during his tenure at 'MMR, where he played much the same stuff as he does today on American Routes, much to management's displeasure. Then he was known as Spencer and was the man I have to thank for introducing me to Bob Wills and western swing -what a long and rewarding romance that has been.

At WHYY it was pure pleasure to watch Spitzer unselfconsciously nodding, swaying and grinning to the pieces he played that worked in with the theme of breakfast. As usual he wove disparate musics into the stated theme, showing George Jones' country version of "then grits ain't groceries" to be a close cousin to the blues.

The Penn Alumni Weekend and an upcoming speaking gig at Kelly Writer's House on Saturday had him reflecting on his undergrad days there. "I started out at Wharton. This was 1968. I looked around me and said, 'Hey, this is not my vision of me, this is my parents vision of me.'" He moved over to anthro where he recalls the standard 3 x 5 cards with notes on cultures. Pretty dry stuff to hear him tell it. Then he started hosting shows on XPN.

"I looked over here," gesturing to the right, "and there were Folkways recordings. Over here," indicating the left, "the Nonesuch Explorer series. I decided this was the real anthropology [department] !" Spitzer went on to share a number of heartfelt beliefs about the people of this country, especially as demonstrated through regional music. Here's hoping that he'll gather them up for a special edition of the Philly version of "This I Believe" being produced at WHYY.

John

Posted 2009-05-19 10:07:51

Was at this event... WOW. Nick Spitzer is, like, the sweetest most sincere guy on the planet. Have always loved his show, now I might be obsessed with it. Good work WHYY!

Al Filreis

Posted 2009-05-20 06:20:52

Nick Spitzer's session at the Kelly Writers House is available in video streaming and downloadable audio: http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0509.php#16

Posted by mary armstrong @ 8:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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