KPTZ 91.9 FM Radio Port Townsend

PTHS Class of 2020 Graduation Shout Out Route on KPTZ

KPTZ and Port Townsend High School present the Class of 2020 Shout Out Route on Friday, June 12 from 3 to 5pm. The 2020 graduates of Port Townsend High School will be honored with a live broadcast as they ride in a procession of cars throughout town, ending up at the Wheel-In Theatre for their commencement ceremony.

KPTZ Subversive Rhythm DJ David Bonobo & KPTZ Beach Rumble DJ Ruby Fitch were on the 91.9FM airwaves as the graduates assemble in their cars, and throughout the route. They played music, shout-outs, and aired live on-location updates from longtime PTHS celeb Jan Boutilier. If you didn’t tune in at the time to cheer this year’s graduates on their route through Port Townsend’s streets, you can listen below:

Graduation Drive, Hour 1

Graduation Drive, Hour 2

Fresh Programming on KPTZ

Friday June 5 brought to the 91.9FM airwaves KPTZ’s debut of Filter, hosted by Paul Rice weekly from 1-3pm. Filter is a live mashup of music and people. It’s an exploration of the place we live in and beyond. You can expect conversation, analysis, music, and a dash of the absurd.

Featured June 5 guests included:

– Brian Kuh, EDC Team Jefferson, on the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy:

– Sean Vinson, Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County, offers local focus on this worldwide movement:

Featured June 12 guests included:

– Nathaniel Luke Pinzone, one of the original protestors at CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone).

– Jim Cotton of the Tunnel Tavern, talks about opening up in COVID days.

– Scott Ross of Finistere on how the pandemic is affecting the local service industry.

Also on Friday, June 12, from 3-5pm, KPTZ features a special broadcast for the Port Townsend High School graduation event. The following Friday, we return to airing Summer of Live, a 2-hour block of live music past and present, airing from 3-5pm. Specifically, KPTZ Presents Live From Rainshadow is on from 3-4pm and Crackin’ the Vault: Centrum’s Musical Archives airs from 4-5pm. Following are details:

KPTZ Presents Live From Rainshadow is a collaborative effort with Rainshadow Recording. KPTZ will broadcast a live concert every Friday, direct from Fort Worden, from 3-4pm. This Friday, June 5 concert features regional favorite Jack Dwyer. Jack is a multi-instrumentalist whose songs move seamlessly through the American canon, including classic country, jazz, honkytonk blues, and bluegrass.

Following the concert, KPTZ is happy to present, Crackin’ the Vault: Centrum’s Musical Archives from 4-5pm, hosted by Peter McCracken, longtime Program Manager for several of Centrum’s residential music workshops and festivals. Peter is digging into Centrum’s history and extensive library to share music and observations from decades of concerts. This week’s Cracking the Vault features performances and insights about the life and music of Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee.

But wait, there’s more! It’s Saturday! debuts on Saturday June 6. Charlie Bermant is retooling his Saturday 9-11am morning slot. The former Live! and Kicking will become It’s Saturday! Charlie will be mining his own collection of music to present a variety of sounds predominantly in the rock space, but not always. This includes oddball cover songs and imaginative flashes that went unnoticed, overshadowed by the trend of the day. There will also be some news and commentary, in true Charlie Bermant style.

Artwork by Erica Pemberton.

Compass for 6/13/20

Like every other performing arts organization, Port Townsend’s New Old-Time Chautauqua was thrown for a huge loop by the emergence in February of the COVID-19 pandemic. But unlike many of the others, the Chautauqua – perhaps because its leaders are jugglers and thus have highly-tuned reflexes – has not been forced to entirely cancel activity for 2020, but has instead been able to pivot in the air, and to move online. Having heard that the Chautauqua was planning to go forward with a full-featured online performance this very weekend, I quickly got on the phone with Director Paul Magid, to find that he was in a quite unexpected place, after having had quite a wild pandemic ride.

Interview with Nathaniel Luke Pinzone

(Airdate: June 12, 2020) Nathaniel Luke Pinzone, one of the original protestors at CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone).

Interview with Jim Cotton

(Airdate: June 12, 2020) Jim Cotton of the Tunnel Tavern, talks about opening up in COVID days.

Interview with Scott Ross

(Air date: June 12, 2020) Scott Ross of Finistere on how the pandemic is affecting the local service industry.

Through Science to Health ~ 6/12/20

Lynn Sorensen, RN, retired is a long-time community member of Port Townsend and an advocate for public health awareness and promotion. She is also a member of KPTZ’s Virus Watch and Emergency Response Team and offers information and commentary on the current COVID-19 pandemic response during interviews every other Friday this summer. Lynn and Chris Bricker, DJ host of Morning on the Salish continue KPTZ’s Through Science to Health series in a new time slot and day.

Their major topic of discussion this day was about Dr Tom Locke’s county-wide directive for people to wear a cloth mask if inside a business or outside when a 6-foot separation is not possible. Dr Locke issued a press release FAQ on June 9 about the mask directive that is now available on the Jefferson County website. The Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle and within Jefferson County are also addressed in the FAQ document. The reopening of Jefferson County to Phase 3 next week along with Clallam and Kitsap Counties will allow for larger group gatherings, thereby increasing the importance of wearing a mask. Cloth masks provide the most effective “source control” measure we have against the spread of the coronavirus.

Local News for 6/11

June 11, 2020: Local News – Demonstration safety; mask directive. (TRANSCRIPT)

Nature Now #466
Biology of Sea Otters, part 1

(Airdate: June 10, 2020) Curious about those cute marine mammals that float on their backs, wrapped up in kelp, often with a stone on their chests to crack a tasty sea urchin or crab? Join Nan Evans as she talks with marine mammal scientist, Jim Bodkin, about the biology of sea otters. (This is an encore interview of a program that first aired in May 2016.)