Welcome
to Radio Syntax
We will be releasing one episode a week, this month.
Episode 5
Virtue of Sport
If there is any one thing that encompasses all of the art forms, it is sport. The human figure, its movement and the struggle and triumph - the emotional life - inside of that figure has helped create meaning in art for ages.
In this episode we aim to articulate this notion through the experience of a little leaguer now grown-up and the greatest moment of his childhood.
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Episode 4
Mental Disease: An Artist and His Family's Walk Through Schizophrenia
Mental illness has been seen through the ages in so many lights. It has been seen to be a creative, driving force. But it also has been seen to be horrifically destructive. Terrifying. For individuals, for families and for whole societies.
In this episode we take a look at one family's descent in to the vortex of mental illness and their subsequent resurfacing. The story is graphic, but the articulations and lessons are desperately needed. For we live in a culture where mental illness, nay mental disease, is an easy target for ridicule and non-realistic assessments and prejudices. This family's tale illustrates how mental illness can really knock you down, but how it can also lift you back up, to stand in a different light - a higher ground. Music provided by Achille Lauro.
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Episode 3
Treasure Tales
Colorado is rich with stories of lost treasures and hidden caches of gold. Every miner, prospector and mountain man had their campfire tales of such mystery and intrigue. People often spend their entire lives searching for a lost cache. Some have maps and even find the cave only to return the next season, unable to locate the markings on the trees, the pile of rocks, the cave or the valley. The mountains are a tricky labyrinth and often: the men that go looking for their treasure never come back at all.
In this episode we take a look at one of my favorite Colorado treasure tales - probably the most elaborate and far-reaching of them all. This is the story of Treasure Mountain. Music is provided by Kyle James Hauser.
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Episode 2
Death and Dying
In this episode we take a look at death and dying, in two parts, in two very different ways.
First, we explore the bizarre story of the Denver Spiderman murder of 1941. For the second act we will explore my experience with the two funerals that I attended this year. Music is presented by Colorado acts Bad Luck City and Josh Trinidad.
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Episode 1
Tommy Bolin
They said he was the next Hendrix, the Clapton in Creem. They said a lot about Tommy - then, heartbreakingly: after opening a show for Jeff Beck he died and the dream ended.
The tragic and triumphant tale of Tommy Bolin is one that paints a picture of the Denver music scene in the late sixties, but it is also a tale of one kind, sweet and monstrously talented guitar player that lived in Denver for awhile. Sometimes he is forgotten in the history of Denver music. Much of the time he isn't. Tommy Bolin's shadow still lingers over the city.
For more on Tommy's life, please visit The Tommy Bolin Archives at: www.tbolin.com
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