Wendy Edwards

Concerned friends and listeners have been asking what is going on with my hours here at the radio station.  Hopefully, this central spot of the Wendy Time blog will help clear things up (that way, I don’t have to run around updating twitter, facebook, myspace and various emails - I know, lazy, right?)

For now, my on-air schedule will be Sundays from 2pm to 8pm.  I expect this will change in the future, when the timing is right, and I’ll be on air more often - and I can’t wait for that to happen.  In the meantime, I’m able to focus on helping my mom.  Mom lives in the Boston area.  She’s a fantastic lady, a total go-getter.  Mom is the president/co-owner of a national electrical engineering company that sees to the maintenance of emergency backup power of hospitals, schools, banks, casinos and more.  She is a music junkie, and has been known to chase after tour buses, if any of her favorite stars is on board. Her tenacity and audaciousness has helped to put a Representative in the State House.

She always does her best to convince me that I can sing, that I’m awesome, and that I’m beautiful.  Once, she dragged me backstage to meet country singer Trisha Yearwood just to tell her she should hear me sing.  …I was kind of embarrassed.  Trisha was kind of amused.

The point is, she very much believes in me.  She’s my number one radio fan.  She insists on getting .pdf files of anything I write for any magazine or newspaper. She constantly tells me I can do whatever is in my heart to do, no matter what.  She is the sneakiest grandmother that my daughter has.

Now that you know a little bit about her, I know you’ll understand my willingness to spend some time with helping her through recovery from a rather serious operation.  We’ve got great support from my friends and family both here and in the Massachusetts area. We have no doubt that my mom is going to be just fine, but since a lot of friends and listeners have been wondering what I’m doing, I thought I’d let you know that this will be keeping me busy here and there!  But, keep listening, I’ll be here on Sundays, and will also do my best to keep you updated through this blog.

As ever, thanks for reading and for listening to 97-5, 3WV. You are “Everything that Rocks!”

This Weekend at 330 Valley Street!

I love live music. My stepfather had a rock band when I was growing up.  Some of my earliest memories involve him and his band mates practicing in my parents’s bedrooom, across the hall from mine.  They would be groovin’ into the middle of the night, singing and playing covers of America, Bread, Guess Who, Loggins and Messina, Turtles, Chicago… it was difficult to fall asleep!  My brother and I were always sent to bed a couple of hours earlier than our older sisters.  Neither one of us could control the urge to dance or jump on our beds to the rhythm of what my stepdad’s band was grinding out (it may have helped if they unplugged, but they didn’t!) - but, then my mom would holler “GET TO BED!” and we’d fall to our mattresses and listen to our hearts hammer, not daring to make a sound or to get out of bed again until a song like Brick House by the Commodores started another round of the jam session.  Come on, who can stay still during Brick House?!

But, how lucky I felt to be a kid whose stepdad was in a band.  When the guys weren’t over, playing, we were allowed to use the equipment.  We played “karaoke junior” and I use the term loosely, because it was the 1970’s and I don’t think what we were doing had a global name yet.  But, we’d compile our records and play them on the stereo in my parents’s room and we’d plug in the microphoness, crank up the amps and belt our harmonies to the tunes of Sesame Street, Donnie and Marie Osmond, Disney, and the big winner in our house: Olivia Newton John.

This weekend,  Krista and Zackary’s dad is going to be playing at 330 Valley Street in Scottsville.  I don’t know what their home life is like, but I hope their dad’s rockstar living is as fascinating to them as my stepdad’s passion was for me.

MEET THE SEEDZ:

Lead Singer/Bassist “Dirty” Chad Willis grew up in Shenandoah Valley.  He is the youngest of 9 children.  Willis joined the army at age 18 and spent 4 years in the 82nd Airborne division in Fort Bragg, NC. After spending what he calls the longest 4 years of his life, Willis returned to central Virginia and started selling timeshares – eventually earning enough money to buy his first guitar.  He has been writing songs ever since! Willis credits his dedicated wife, Amber, for helping The Seedz continue to grow, “Amber does a lot of work for the band. She’s the henchman.  She manages schedules, gets t-shirts made and helps with promotion.  She’s awesome and let’s me devote time to this.” 

Lead Guitarist Josh Misner is a professional, experienced guitarist. He has toured with Fat Ammons Band and also Overdrive/Overkill out of North Carolina, is used to playing at least a hundred shows a year. Misner is now living and working in Freeman, Virginia.  He is dedicated to his family. “I have a wonderful wife, Melissa, and two beautiful kids, Krista (4) and Zackary (2),” Misner said.  He loves being part of The Seedz. He contributes his songwriting skills to the band and keeps a solo career, playing acoustically, as well.

Drummer Kris Woolford is from Scottsville. He is very close with his family.  He had an early start working as a brick mason to contribute to his household.   At the age of ten, Woolford whittled a set of homemade drumsticks and proceeded to beat on everything in sight.  Woolford has been a part of several speed-metal projects that earned followings in the greater Charlottesville area. 

Lead Guitarist* Joey Vagus was a bass player in his high school orchestra.  Music is the true calling for this boy that grew up living on a chicken farm in rural Georgia. Vagus is returned to the town of Scottsville with his family.  He holds a degree in Recordng Arts from Full Sail University in Florida and can be found teaching music lessons at his Scottsville studio and emceeing trivia nights at The Wild Wing Café in Charlottesville.

CATCH THE SEEDZ THIS WEEKEND, 9PM at 330 Valley Street, Scottsville!

Woolford, Vagus, Misner & Willis photograph (c) The Seedz, 2009. Used with permission.

*yes, they have two lead guitarists!

I heard that one in passing.

I’m kind of bent on what events are taking place since the news of the octuplets mom came into focus for the media.  Her name is Nadya Suleman, she lives in Southern California.

Suleman already had six children that she was receiving food stamps to feed when she became pregnant with eight more through in vitro fertilization .

People everywhere are upset because she can’t afford to take care of her kids, financially, without seeking aide from the government. 

I think I have the solution. You’ve seen the Duggar family, right? They are a cute, little DIY family with over a dozen kids. You’re familiar with John and Kate, Plus 8, right?

It seems to me that “reality show” is one way for Suleman to get off of the taxpayer’s buck and instead reap rewards for  having a rare parenting lifestyle.

So what could Suleman call her reality show? If you had 14 kids and no income, what would you call your reality show?  Post your idea.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of Jim Henson’s Sesame Street production.  I believe that television show is the reason I developed an interest for the people in our neighborhood. I’ve lived in the Charlottesvile area for almost twelve years now, and I never tire of meeting people.  I have so much fun realizing other people’s unique achievements. Our region is full of clever,  interesting people - from scholars to artisans to single dads and moms.  It is no wonder that world travelers are drawn here.

Did you know that Bill Crutchfield is included in the “Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame”?  It’s true! He joins the ranks of such luminaries as forefathers Thomas Edison, German physicist Heinrich Hertz, and inventor George Westinghouse.  Our University of Virginia alumnus is recognized by the CE Hall of Fame as being a visionary in the world for supplying great customer service and a much-needed informational electronics catalog for Do-It-Yourself’ers and car audio specialists.

All this causes me to question, “What if Bill Crutchfield never followed his passion for car restoration?” The world of consumer electronics might have continued to evolve, but it wouldn’t be the same without Bill.  Charlottesville wouldn’t be the same without the Crutchfield Corporation.

Here’s another interesting fact:  According to the CE Hall of Fame website, Crutchfield Corp. became the first consumer electronics retailer to launch an e-commerce site.

Anyway,  I wanted to mention Bill Crutchfield and his car-loving mindset because I think he is a good example of respecting what we feel passionate about. In his case, he was able to find a niche and fill a need for an entire industry. Crutchfield’s success shows me that figuring out the right ways to nurture our ideas can positively affect our entire community.

“The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame inductees have made a significant contribution to the world, and without these inductees, our lives would not be the same. We owe these leaders our gratitude for laying the foundation for the marvels yet to come in this century full of opportunity and providing us with inspiration.”  -The CE Hall of Fame website.