Rock & Roll Archaeologist

Megan Sukys/Dave Beck
01/17/2006

From an adolescence spent hoarding 45s, Peter Blecha turned an obsession with music memorabilia into an amazing career, amassing an astonishing collection of rock-and-roll artifacts while hobnobbing with music industry bigwigs and helping to establish a world-famous museum. Here Blecha recounts his favorite adventures in the field, from porch-side interviews with Jimi Hendrix's father to haggling with Courtney Love for Kurt Cobain mementos to a tense auction battle for Eric Clapton’s Layla guitar. Today, Peter Blecha takes Megan Sukys through the eras of punk, new wave, grunge, indie rock, and beyond with his newest book, Rock & Roll Archaeologist. Also this hour, members of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra perform chamber music live in KUOW's performance studio and we'll get pop music reviews from Cheryl Waters.



Today's Featured Music Selection: Beethoven String Quartets/Miro Quartet
As Beethoven's deafness set in and his skills as a virtuoso pianist began to wane, the composer turned his talents to a new musical form: the string quartet. The Miro String Quartet is widely regarded by classical music fans as one of America's brigtest and most exciting young chamber ensembles. As our featured music we'll hear the quartet from their new set of recordings of Beethoven String Quartets, Opus 18.

Related Links:

The Miro String Quartet

At 2:05pm - 'Rock & Roll Archaeologist'
From an adolescence spent hoarding 45s, Peter Blecha turned an obsession with music memorabilia into an amazing career, amassing an astonishing collection of rock-and-roll artifacts while hobnobbing with music industry bigwigs and helping to establish a world-famous museum. Here Blecha recounts his favorite adventures in the field, from porch-side interviews with Jimi Hendrix's father to haggling with Courtney Love for Kurt Cobain mementos to a tense auction battle for Eric Clapton’s Layla guitar. Today, Peter Blecha takes Megan Sukys through the eras of punk, new wave, grunge, indie rock, and beyond with his newest book, Rock & Roll Archaeologist.

Related Links:

Rock & Roll Archaeologist: Digging Old Music Artifacts

At 2:33pm - The Passion for Chamber Music
Though music for symphony orchestra is richly rewarding, playing chamber music is often the classically trained player's greatest passion. The professional musicians who make up the Auburn Symphony Orchestra are launching a new chamber music series. We'll hear from cellist and series organizer Brian Wharton and pianist Matt Goodrich. They'll play a movement from the Claude Debussy Cello Sonata live in our performance studio.

Related Links:

Auburn Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series

At 2:50pm - Cheryl Waters Pop Music Review
Our regular visit with pop music critic and KEXP Radio Host Cheryl Waters.