The Wall of Power Radio Hour: Recent Episodes
AM950 Radio
Paul Metsa’s Wall of Power will bring together music, entertainment, and cool people from all walks of life.
We had a great chat with legendary folk singer Tom Paxton this week. Tom had a treasure trove of stories, and his story about hearing Bob Dylan’s Hard Rain is Gonna Fall the day after he wrote it, is priceless!
Paul Metsa was joined by well-known Minnesota guitar maker Kurt Nelson for the entire hour
Paul Metsa is an acclaimed musician and host of the Wall of Power Radio Hour on AM950 every Saturday night at 6 PM or podcast on am950radio.com.
Host Paul Metsa is joined by Charlie Pierce for another episode in our checkpoint Charlie series.
Paul Metsa was joined by well-known Minnesota guitar maker Kurt Nelson for the entire hour
The first of two episodes remembering Spider John Koerner, as Paul is joined by friends and musicians Charlie Parr, Charlie McGuire, and Mark Trehus.
We continued our series with regular guest Checkpoint Charlie Pierce with a great conversation.
We had a lovely conversation with Mary T. , the owner of Crooner’s Supper Club in Fridley. We talked about the past, present, and future of what Downbeat magazine called “one of the finest jazz clubs in the world.”
We had a great conversation with Minneapolis guitarist and songwriter Tab Laven. We talked about his early years in the Twin Cities, his work with Mary MacGregor and Michael Johnson, and his time in Nashville where he met Art Garfunkel who has toured the world with.
We had a great time, with three special guests, saluting the late great Mojo Nixon. First up is Steve McClellan, the man who put First Avenue and 7th Entry on the map as he booked both venues for over 30 years. He talks about working with Mojo and Skid Roper in the early days. Next is Joe Brauner, who booked Mojo in the mid-80’s when he worked for Venture Booking. We round out the interview with guitarist-producer Eric Ambel, who talks about recording Mojo Nixon’s “Otis”, a great record produced by legendary producer Jim Dickinson. A lotta Mojo Love in this show, with some cool asides.
Joe Brauner
Steve McClellan
Eric Ambel
We had a great chat about the upcoming 44th Annual Bluegrass Winter Gathering with the executive director of the event, and a great chat with Kim and Quillan Roe from the Roe Family Singers, and of course, played a few songs as well.
Paul is joined once again by Checkpoint Charlie Pierce as we ramp up the 2024 election season.
Paul Metsa had a blast interviewing his old buddy, and Midwest Classic Country Legend, about his 70 years of playing music. Sherwin has a great new 42 song double CD out called Sunday Drives with Mom and Dad, a collection of songs they would sing together while driving around in their hometown of Watertown, South Dakota. They also chatted about Sherwin’s early career, his time in Nashville, his friendship with Johnny Cash and more.
Paul had a great chat with food critic, author and columnist Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl about her new book The Essential Dear Dara- Writings on Local Characters and Memorable Places, including shared memories of both coming of age on Ridgewood Avenue in Minneapolis, and the wonders of that gateway to South Minneapolis, and Minneapolis at large.
Paul is joined by musician Larry Long as Larry discusses the re-release of his album Sweet Thunder and previews his upcoming Dakota set January 13.
Paul Metsa is an acclaimed Minnesota musician and Iron Ranger who hosts the Wall of Power Radio Hour every Saturday at 6 PM on AM950. He is an expert on Bob Dylan and recently co-wrote a book called Blood In The Tracks about the Minneapolis-based musicians who backed Dylan on his iconic Blood on the Tracks record.
Host Paul Metsa was joined by author Ray Padgett who talks about his new book, “Pledging My Time: Conversations with Bob Dylan Band Members.” Order at: https://www.nextchapterbooksellers.com/book/9798988178118
Paul is joined for another edition of his “Checkpoint Charlie” series with nationally-known pundit Charlie Pierce.
When Bob Dylan recorded Blood on the Tracks in New York in September 1974, it was a great album. But it was not the album now ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the ten best of all time. “When something’s not right, it’s wrong,” as Dylan puts it in “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”—and something about that original recording led him to a studio in his native Minnesota to re-record five songs, including “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up in Blue.” Six Minnesota musicians participated in that two-night recording session at Sound 80, bringing their unique sound to some of Dylan’s best-known songs—only to have their names left off the album and their contribution unacknowledged for more than forty years. This book tells the story of those two nights in Minneapolis, introduces the musicians who gave the album so much of its ultimate form and sound, and describes their decades-long fight for recognition.
Blood in the Tracks takes readers behind the scenes with these “mystery” Minnesota musicians: twenty-one-year-old mandolin virtuoso Peter Ostroushko; drummer Bill Berg and bass player Billy Peterson, the house rhythm section at Sound 80; progressive rock keyboardist Gregg Inhofer; guitarist Chris Weber, who owned The Podium guitar shop in Dinkytown; and Kevin Odegard, whose own career as a singer-songwriter had paralleled Dylan’s until he had to take a job as a railroad brakeman to make ends meet. Through in-depth interviews and assiduous research, Paul Metsa and Rick Shefchik trace the twists of fate that brought these musicians together and then set them on different paths in its wake: their musical experiences leading up to the December 1974 recording session, the divergent careers that followed, and the painstaking work required to finally obtain the official credit that they were due.
Rick Shefchik is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, and journalist. He is the author of the novels Amen Corner, published in 2007, Green Monster, published August 1, 2008 by Poisoned Pen Press, Frozen Tundra, published in 2010 by North Star Press and Rather See You Dead, e-published in 2011. 2012 saw the release of his first book of nonfiction, From Fields to Fairways: Classic Golf Clubs of Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press). In 2015, he released Everybody’s Heard About the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock ‘n’ Roll in Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press).[1] In October 2021, he announced on Facebook that he was collaborating with musician Paul Metsa on a work of historical nonfiction centered on the Minnesota musicians who played on Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks, for release in 2022 by the U of M Press.
Paul Metsa is a legendary musician and songwriter from Minnesota. Born on the Iron Range, he has been based in Minneapolis since 1978. He has received seven Minnesota Music Awards and has played more than five thousand gigs, including forays to Iceland and Siberia. He lives in Northeast Minneapolis with his faithful dog, Blackie; a dozen or so guitars; twenty-five orange crates of LPs; hundreds of books, compact discs, magazines, and vintage postcards; and several kitchen cupboards full of old cassettes. He is the longtime host of the Wall of Power Radio Hour, Saturday nights at 6 PM on AM950.
We had a great chat with Chris Cunningham from the dynamic duo Storyhill who are hosting Storyhill Fest at Clearwater Camp from August 25-27. Chris told us how they came together in high school, and the highlights of their 30 year career together. they are taking a break after the festival, so this is the…
Monte Bute made his first appearance on the show on June 6, 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murde, discussing his political awakening and stories from the years.
We had a great conversation with Dirk Schwenk, a great progressive voice on Twitter, founding treasurer of the MadDog Pac, and singer-songwriter. We talked politics, strategy, and featured there of Dirk’s original songs.
We had a great conversation with journalist, musician, author, and songwriter Jeff Slate. Jeff write for Esquire.com, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal (a great interview with Bob Dylan.) We talked about Jeff’s background, his own music, and his associations with some other great musicians.
Jeff Slate posing in NYC. March 29, 2023. © Bob Gruen/www.bobgruen.com
Please contact Bob Gruen’s studio to purchase a print or license this photo. email: info@bobgruen.com
Paul Metsa plays back an interview he did on WTIP in Grand Marais, MN last month about his new book, “Alphabet Jazz: Poetry, Prose, Stories and Songs.” Order now on Amazon or wherever you get your books!
Paul read several pieces from his latest book Alphabet Jazz- Poetry, Prose, Stories, and Songs and played a couple of his recordings as well. The book can be purchased at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Alphabet-Jazz-Poetry-Prose-Stories/dp/B0BF2LST6B) or in the Twin Cities at the Electric Fetus, Grumpy’s Bar NE, and HiFi Hair and Records in Loring Park.
Paul hosts the Wall of Power Radio Hour every Saturday night at 6 PM on AM950, and in this interview joins Matt to discuss stories and hs new book Alphabet Jazz.
Host Paul Metsa chatted with Winona LaDuke, founder of HonortheEarth.org about the genesis of the organization, their work, and the upcoming Water Is Life concert on Sept. 4, 2022 at Bayfront Park in Duluth, MN. Paul also chatted with Alan Sparhawk, founder and guitarist /songwriter for the Duluth band Low who is performing at the…
This week we salute the lifetime and music of a man the Star Tribune called patriarch of the Minnesota bluegrass scene, Alan Jesperson.
We had a fascinating conversation with investigative reporter John Ramos about the mysterious “Mr. O” who, among other things, has been advising the Mayor of Two Harbors, MN about building a 400 million dollar underwater hotel. “Mr. O” runs a podcast and claims to be a Billionaire with 48 businesses, and 150 square acres of…
It was an honor to salute the life and legacy of Native American Civil Rights activist and founder of the American Indian Movement, Clyde Bellecourt. We had great conversations with Lisa Bellinger, current head of AIM (whose mother Pat helped found it), longtime MN troubadour and activist Larry Long, and attorney Jacqueline Long who started…
We celebrated the life and legacy of MN comedian Louie Anderson with three close personal friends of his. We chatted with Lizz Winstead, founder of the Daily Show, who knew Louie from her start in the Minneapolis comedy scene, Journalist and author Marty Keller who got to be good friends with him, and Jeff Gerbino,…
Paul had a great chat with Marian Moore and Barb With, two woman involved with the Stop Line 3 protests, subsequent arrests, and the great new version of Down to the River to Pray by the newly reunited Woman Who Cook. At the end of the show, Paul was honored to play the worldwide debut…
Paul is joined for another fantastic and insightful visit from Prof. Anne Margaret Daniel, discussing all things Dylan.
Paul catches up with “Checkpoint” Charlie Pierce in our Checkpoint Charlie series, talking politics and music history.
We had a great conversation with many of the players that are involved with the Honeybee Festival taking place at the Oldenburg House in Carlton, MN on August 6-7, 2021. We started with Scott Lillo who is on the Board of Directors for the OACC.org (Oldenburg Arts Community and Conservation.) We also spoke with Jeff…
Paul Metsa is joined by Martin Keller, author of The Space Pen Club: Close Encounters of the 5th Kind, UFO Disclosure, Consciousness & Other Mind Zoomers!
Another great checkpoint Charlie episode about Republican insanity and Bob Dylan turning 80!
We had a most delightful chat with Rev. Guy Drake, one half of the legendary Twin Cities duo Johnson and Drake. They have recently rediscovered, and are releasing, several of the records they recorded 50 years ago! Besides recording, they performed in concert with some of the top names in the business including Jim Croce,…