{"id":119,"date":"2007-09-12T10:38:25","date_gmt":"2007-09-12T15:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acousticmusicscene.com\/index.php\/acoustic-radio-waves\/wanda-fischers-hudson-river-sampler-marks-its-25th-anniversary-on-wamcnortheast-public-radio\/"},"modified":"2007-09-12T10:38:25","modified_gmt":"2007-09-12T15:38:25","slug":"wanda-fischers-hudson-river-sampler-marks-its-25th-anniversary-on-wamcnortheast-public-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/2007\/09\/12\/wanda-fischers-hudson-river-sampler-marks-its-25th-anniversary-on-wamcnortheast-public-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanda Fischer’s ‘Hudson River Sampler’ Marks its 25th Anniversary on WAMC\/Northeast Public Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WandaWanda Fischer’s passion for folk music extends a lifetime.  <\/span>“I kind of go way back with folk music,” says the veteran folk radio DJ, whose weekly Saturday evening program, The Hudson River Sampler<\/em>, marks its 25th anniversary on WAMC\/Northeast Public Radio this month.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Fischer’s father hailed from Appalachia<\/st1:place>, where music was a big part of his life.  <\/span>“My father was friends with the Carter Family, so I was introduced to it [folk music] when I was very young,” said Fischer during a wide-ranging phone interview from her New York Capital District-area home. “Joe Carter used to come to our family reunions in southwest Virginia<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>.  <\/span>This is the kind of music I was raised on.”<\/p>\n

It was also through her love of folk music that she met her husband at a Boston<\/st1:placename> College<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> coffeehouse while she was a student during the mid 1960s.  <\/span>The story of how they met is the focus of “Kansas City Prime,” the one original song on her own CD, Singing Along with the Radio<\/em>.  <\/span>Released in 2003, the album, recorded with a few artists with whom Fischer had always wanted to sing, features a dozen of her favorite contemporary and traditional folk songs. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Fischer, who is also a public relations professional, attributes her career in broadcasting, at least indirectly, to her husband.  <\/span>Noting that he was a medical student at the University<\/st1:placetype> of Massachusetts<\/st1:placename> in Worcester<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> when they got married in 1973, Fischer said she decided to volunteer at a local community radio station, WCUW-FM, that had a folk program.  <\/span>Initially, she signed on to help out with a program guide.  <\/span> <\/span>However, she wound up hosting a show called “Folk Spot” for nearly four years before she and Bill moved to the Albany, New York area in 1979 so that he could do a residency in family medicine. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

“We were ready to move back to Massachusetts<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> in the early 80s when I was asked to do a folk radio show here,” Fischer recalls. “A physician can get a job anywhere, but it’s a little harder for a folk DJ to get a job, so we stayed.”<\/p>\n

Her show, Hudson River Sampler<\/em>, debuted on Sept. 18, 1982 on WAMC (90.3 FM and 1400 AM), immediately following Garrison Keillor’s popular syndicated public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion<\/em>.  <\/span>Apart from a few occasions when she has reluctantly had to tape it, the show has been broadcast live from 8-10:30 p.m. on Saturday evenings.  <\/span>The show also airs on other outlets in Northeast Public Radio’s network of regional public radio stations serving parts of seven states.  <\/span>Hudson River Sampler<\/em> also streams live on the Internet, where it can be accessed at http:\/\/publicbroadcasting.net\/wamc\/ppr\/index.shtml.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Although many of her listeners are from New York<\/st1:state>’s Capital District, Fischer says she gets occasional calls from listeners in Florida<\/st1:state>, western Massachusetts<\/st1:state> and the Midwest<\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

Fischer Seeks to Cover the ‘Whole Gamut of Folk Music’<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/o:p>Hudson River Sampler<\/em> features an array of contemporary and traditional folk, blues, bluegrass and Celtic music, sprinkled with notices of upcoming area concerts and occasional interviews with artists.  <\/span>“I try to play just about everything, the whole gamut of folk music, and try to introduce newer singer-songwriters,” says Fischer, while acknowledging that she doesn’t like a lot of drums.  <\/span>“I’d much rather hear an old Ian and Sylvia tune, than something with 14 drum kits.  <\/span>It’s all personal taste.”<\/p>\n

Fischer says that her shows are not planned and that she is really listener-focused.  <\/span>“If someone calls in with a request, I will try to build my show around that.  <\/span>I like that interactive thing with my listeners.  <\/span>I will play themed sets or things that go together musically,” she continues.  <\/span>“I really don’t like taping my show.  <\/span>I’d much rather have people calling me.”  <\/span>Noting that the station’s library contains about 10,000 CDs, with more coming in all the time, Fischer says she’s able to play between 30-35 songs a week.<\/p>\n

“When I started this show, there were no CDs,” Fischer recalls.  <\/span>“”I still do throw in vinyl every now and then,” she acknowledges.  <\/span>However, apart from a couple hundred pieces of vinyl — including “some of the old Schooner Fare albums that people love and really old Fast Folk releases” – the station has moved LPs out of its library, Fischer notes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Special 25th Anniversary Concert Set for September 28<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To mark the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of Hudson River Sampler<\/em>, a number of artists will perform in a special concert at The Linda Norris Auditorium, WAMC’s performing arts studio in Albany<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>, on Friday, September 28, at 8 p.m.  <\/span>Tickets are priced at $25.  <\/span>For additional information or to order tickets, call (518) 465-5233, ext. 4. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

“In putting together the lineup, I tried to get a sampling of the different kinds of music that we play,” says Fischer.  <\/span>Slated to perform are Jonathan “Sunshine” Edwards, Debra Cowan, Little Toby Walker, Pat Wictor and Bernice Lewis.  <\/span>Says Fisher, “At NERFA [Northeast Regional Folk Alliance], I always look for a kind of ‘wow’ moment.  <\/span>I heard this guy playing the blues, Toby Walker, who just stopped me dead in my tracks.  <\/span>Pat Wictor did that the year before.  <\/span>Jonathan Edwards is just wonderful.  <\/span>Debra Cowan provides a touch of traditional music, and Bernice Lewis participated in my CD.”  <\/span>Fischer may well treat concertgoers to a couple of songs as well. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

With seating for 250, the 25th<\/sup> anniversary show at The Linda will be more intimate than the previous one.  <\/span> <\/span>Held 10 years ago at a  <\/span>larger auditorium in Lenox, Massachusetts, that concert drew 500 people and featured witty singer-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler, Happy and Artie Traum, Priscilla Herdman, Samite of Uganda and Les Sampou. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Asked to reflect on highlights of her years in folk radio, Fischer says “I never thought that I’d get to meet people like Pete Seeger and Tom Paxton…  <\/span>When I was sitting on the grounds of the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, I never thought that I’d get the chance to meet and interview him.” She also cites “a special bond” that her family had with Tommy Makem, the bard of Armagh<\/st1:place>, who regaled audiences with traditional Irish songs and stories for more than half a century until his death last month.  <\/span>Fischer recalls being “speechless” when Makem called her late sister when she was ill with leukemia and noted how he repeatedly inquired about her. <\/span> <\/o:p><\/p>\n

“This show for me is fun,” says Fischer of Hudson River Sampler<\/em>.  <\/span>“It’s really a blast.”  <\/span>She insists that “It’s kind of a tribute to my family, too [particularly her husband] — for having stuck by me for 25 years and not complained about not going out on Saturday nights.”  <\/span>She starts to chuckle as she recalls the first time that  <\/span>she heard Toronto-based singer-songwriter and clawhammer-style banjo player Danny Bakan sing “I Did My Laundry on Saturday Night.”  <\/span>“When he was singing that song at NERFA, I was just cracking up,” she says, noting that her husband stays home and does the laundry on Saturday nights, while she’s in the studio doing her show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wanda Fischer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s passion for folk music extends a lifetime. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I kind of go way back with folk music,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says the veteran folk radio DJ, whose weekly Saturday evening program, The Hudson River Sampler, marks its 25th anniversary on WAMC\/Northeast Public Radio this month.<\/p>\n

[To read the entire interview-profile, click on the headline].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-acoustic-radio-waves","category-featured-articles","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}