John Kessler scores with ‘Record Bin Roulette’

We define our mission broadly here in WestVirginiaVille, seeking out new worlds, and boldy going wherever there is even the vaguest West Virginia-esque connection — if it leads someplace interesting. John Kessler, who now calls Seattle home, has far more than a vague Mountain State connection. For years, Kessler played in a series of significant, popular bands in the state, including Rhino Moon and Stark Raven and served ably for many years as bass commander in the “Mountain Stage” house band. We recently ran into Kessler at the legendary annual Red Party held earlier this month in the back hills of West Virginia, where the reunited Rhino Moonies rocked the casbah and Kessler ripped it up on a resounding version of “Hot Rod Lincoln.”

John Kessler

In conversation afterward, Kessler turned us on to one of the widely syndicated National Public Radio shows he co-hosts and co-produces in Seattle, “Record Bin Roulette.” We listened in on a couple of episodes and report back to you that it is one of the funnest, drollest and entertaining short radio shows (and podcasts) you’re likely to uncover in a week’s worth of Googling. From its web site, here is a description of the program which Kessler co-hosts with John Maynard:

Every week, Record Bin Roulette’s producer/hosts John Kessler and John Maynard put a unique “spin” on a century’s worth of discarded vinyl. Kessler and Maynard are heroes of cultural preservation, having devoted their young lives to exploring and honoring the creative output of the once proud megabillion-dollar recording industry, and then sharing what they find.

How do they do it? Kessler and Maynard comb the flea markets, troll the thrift shops, camp out at the choice three-car garage sales, wheedle their way into friends’ musty basements, and just generally make a nuisance of themselves wherever old LPs, 45s and 78s are found.

Then, they grab a random pile of discs and try to come up with a pithy, enlightening, illuminating or entertaining (to them, anyway) theme around which to build the weekly episode of Record Bin Roulette. The results are heard each week on flagship station KPLU-FM in the Seattle area, on the web, and via growing network of Record Bin Roulette Affiliated Stations in the US and abroad …

And per their recent show on “psychologically disturbing song lyrics,” yes, indeed, the Beatles “Run For Your Life” from “Rubber Soul” definitely belongs in this category.