KPTZ 91.9 FM Radio Port Townsend

#196 Artis the Spoonman, Musician

(Airdate: March 8, 2020) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Artis the Spoonman, a talented and eccentric musician. After dropping out of school in the 10th grade, Artis spent a few years in the Navy. He says his two goals from childhood were being a musician and seeing the world. He figures he’s accomplished that. Artis has played with the likes of Frank Zappa and showcased his spoon-playing skills on the David Letterman show (among many TV appearances). Over the years he’s played gigs all over the world. He’s as comfortable busking on the street as he is playing with the Seattle philharmonic in a white silk tuxedo. Artis is proud of his “heritage in the hippie world” thanks to his free-spirited Mother. A Northwest native, Artis was a fixture at the Pike Place Market in Seattle for many years. But he ended up here in Port Townsend a few years ago. He loves it here but he’s worried about gentrification. After all, he’s not all that gentrified.

Filter Terminus – continued

The inaugural show was set to be June 5. A week before that, George Floyd was murdered and our country said enough to police brutality. We pivoted the first show and talked to Sean Vinson, founder of Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County about how we can create change at a local level, and acknowledge the pains and cruelties of racism that continues to permeate our society.

The word of 2020 was “pivot” and, oh boy, did I pivot. I pivoted all over 2020, as did Filter.

The show was great. I hardly missed an episode until my mom died in a tragic accident on March 6, 2021.

I took a week off but then decided to process some grief through an episode of the show. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life, that March 19, 2021 episode. I played her favorite songs and the songs that remind me most of her.

Around the time of my mom’s death, I was granted split custody of my kiddos and this was some serious light in the darkness.

But as school time rolled around and Jo, my eldest, started in Kindergarten, I was suddenly unable to make certain Fridays work for the Filter time slot from 1-3pm. Our schedule quickly devolved into every other week. The quality of the show didn’t suffer in my opinion, but we all knew that the loss of consistency was not a benefit to KPTZ or the show itself.

So now in the beginning of 2022, I decided to put it to rest. It didn’t have anywhere near the 99 year lifespan I imagined it would. When it began, I thought I’d live in Port Townsend for the rest of my natural life! I have since moved to Kingston and Edmonds. I split time between the houses with kids and stepkids and lovely fiance Louisa Cranston (a frequent guest on the show). We are proudly bicoastal.

I hope I can do some more work in radio someday. I will still be subbing for KPTZ hosts from time to time, and maybe I’ll even do a special episode of Filter once in a while.

Being asked to create Filter was one of the greatest honors of my life. I don’t think I used even close to half of the ideas I had for it. There were some periods in its lifespan where it was one of the only things keeping my head afloat. And all of you there listening with me, you were a part of that.

Thank you for listening and stay tuned! -Paul

Local News for 3/08/22

March 8, 2022: Jim Burke – COVID-19 numbers continue to fall; Rhody Run Redux registration is open. (TEXT)

PT Heritage Association

(Airdate: March 8, 2022) The Port Townsend Heritage Association is coming out of COVID-19 and putting on the Port Townsend Victorian Heritage Festival for 2022, on April 29, 30 and May 1. KPTZ’s Missy Nielsen talks with board president Tracy Wirta and board member Kathy Knoblock about what’s going on. Learn more about how to get involved!

County Public Health Report ~ 3/07/22

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry today said Jefferson County’s COVID-19 case numbers continue to drop. She announced that our documented case rate is 385/100,000 with a 10% positivity rate. “This week, we are transitioning from the pandemic phase of our response to the endemic,” Dr. Berry said. “In the endemic phase, we are transitioning to a period where where don’t think COVID-19 is going to overwhelm critical parts of our infrastructure.” She said our society will be able to function with this level of disease right now. She noted Jefferson is moving toward “not mandating” masks in indoor spaces, but rather “recommending them.” The reason: our case rates are still relatively high. “So right now, in Jefferson County, if you walk into a room with 25 people and you’re all unmasked, there is a 17% probability that one of those people has COVID-19,” she explained. “And so that’s why we still recommend you wear a mask because that’s a pretty high probability that someone has COVID-19. When we see those case rates continue to go down, when they get to less than 100 cases per 100,000, that probability goes down to 5%. And so that’s why we think it’s reasonable to start unmasking when we get to that rate.”

Director of Emergency Management Willie Bence said DEM efforts are focused on an after-action review of Jefferson’s COVID-19 response. His team is restocking KN95 masks in some stores and will continue as long as the state program is making them available. If you are looking for a booster dose, are homebound, or have limited mobility, call 360-344-9791 and leave a message. Bence said his team is “happy to come and pay you a visit.” Vaccinations are increasing at about 1% a week. There is a rise in vaccinations for kids in our community. Currently 53% of middle- and high school-aged kids are fully vaccinated.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and Willie Bence by emailing [email protected]. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.

Lively Libraries

(Airdate: March 7, 2022) The directors of the two libraries in our county tell what’s coming to their libraries in the coming months. Tamara Meredith, Director of the Jefferson County Library, talks of leading her library out of the COVID-19 pandemic after implementing innovations to keep it open. Melody Sky Weaver, Director of the Port Townsend Library, introduces this year’s Community Read and upcoming library activities.

10,000 Heroes: Fighting Woman ~ 3/07, 8-9pm

KPTZ is pleased to present a long excerpt from the Sequim-based podcast 10,000 Heroes. The bi-weekly podcast features one hour interviews with “heroes” in all different walks of life and is hosted and produced by executive coach Ankur Shah Delight. KPTZ will broadcast the Fighting Woman episode in celebration of Women’s History month on Monday. March 7 from 8-9pm. Classic Jazz will return the following Monday, at its usual time.

Fighting Woman is also known as Pamela Bond, who is a Councilwoman on the Snohomish Tribal Council and the Fish, Wildlife, and Environment Director for the Tribe. She is also the Founder and Co-Director of the community organization Salish Sea Environmental Education and Action. Fighting Woman is a Cultural Educator and Traditional Teacher for the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, and a Traditional Plant Medicine and Food Specialist. She is also an incredible weaver of cedar bark, makes documentary films, and happens to be legally blind.

From 10,000 Heroes host & creator, Ankur Shah Delight: “Before sitting down with her, I really wanted Fighting Woman to soothe us with some epic stories. She went much further and challenged me on many levels, including the role of storytelling and the responsibilities of those who hear, those who tell, and those who travel.”

The Future of Radio on KPTZ

Song Club Radio Hour debuted on KPTZ on Friday March 4. If you missed the first episode or want to listen again, the program is available for streaming for two weeks at the SCRH Program Archive link. Song Club Radio Hour is a show where participants are given a randomly selected song title along with a combination of three prompts and parameters. Using these guidelines, they have one week to write and record a song. Host Joel Myers compiles all of the submissions and the resulting show is a magical potluck of songs and sounds no one has ever heard before! Welcome to Song Club Radio Hour. Most of the club is localized to the Pacific Northwest, with some clubbers on the east coast and California. A few of the members are located right here in Port Townsend! Tune in for the future of radio, weekly on Fridays at 10pm on KPTZ. You can find more information on individual clubbers on Song Club Radio Hour’s bandcamp page.

Community Tides ~ 03/04/22

On alternate Fridays during the noon hour, hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation meet to discuss new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal in Jefferson County as we roll towards springtime and all that it offers. Any museum experience is shaped by the people who care passionately about this work. There are countless stories beneath the surface of our communities, just waiting to be brought to light.

Having earned a Masters degree in Museology from the University of Washington, Shelly Leaven’s connection with Port Townsend began when she was an intern at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Her interest in the the Arts, the natural world, and related non-profit organizations eventually led her here to raise a family and take the position as the Historical Society’s Executive Director in 2018. She brings a quality perspective on what history means for us today, and the chance to offer a revitalized vision for the 139-year-old organization. If objects, walls, pictures and art could talk, what would they say? And how would they say it?