World cafe at the Warhol

Carnegie, Jul/Aug 2002 by Romero, Margie

Chris Griffin, WYEP music director, packed a week's worth of work into two days when the popular radio program World Cafe came to The Andy Warhol Museum on June 28 and 29. The event marked the fifth year that "A Week At the Warhol," which included live performances as well as dialogue between host David Dye and the musicians, was taped at the museum. Featuring five recording artists programmed by Griffin, the sessions will be aired on five consecutive days in July on WYEP, 91.3-FM, and almost 150 other World Cafe affiliates across the country. (Tune in to WYEP for exact dates.)

The programs included two tapings on Friday evening and three on Saturday afternoon. During these recording sessions each artist performed in front of a live audience in The Warhol's 100-seat theater. Later on Saturday, all five acts took the outdoor stage for the Fifth Annual WYEP Summer Music Festival. The free concert was held a block from the museum on the green space along the riverbank known as Allegheny Landing.

Griffin was pleased with the musicianship in this year's show. "This was a really incredible line-up for us," he says. For the broadcast, Raul Malo, formerly with the West Texas rock band The Mavericks, was in the spotlight with his Latin-tinged vocals. Patty Griffin, well loved in Pittsburgh, played guitar and sang cuts from her recent album, "1000 Kisses." Jeb Loy Nichols brought his blue-eyed soul with a touch of the islands. Blues-branded guitarist Corey Harris offered tracks from his new disc "Downhome Sophisticate," and the pop-rock singer/songwriter Maia Sharp performed songs from her just-released album.

For many in attendance the biggest thrill of the event was the chance to see World Cafe originator, David Dye, in person. "He's a Philadelphia radio legend," says Griffin of the WXPN DJ, who works out of a studio on the University of Pennsylvania campus. "David Dye does a fantastic job of interacting with his subjects. He's a phenomenal interviewer with a quick-witted music mind."

Dye has been broadcasting since he was a freshman at Swarthmore University in the 1970s and still lives in Philadelphia with his wife, a columnist, and their two children. Along with WXPN program director Bruce Warren, Dye launched World Cafe 10 years ago when he sat down with Bruce Coburn in a small West Philadelphia studio for a few songs and some low-key conversation. Now, a decade later, the program has more than 2,000 interviews in its archives, including World Cafe alumni Sarah McLachlan, David Gray, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, Jewel, and David Bowie.

"One of the best things David does is listen. I think that's the secret of all good interviews. Listening allows the conversation to develop naturally," Griffin says. Griffin believes The Andy Warhol Museum Theatre is an excellent place to listen. "As a venue it's really good," he says. "The acoustics are right and it's intimate. The immediacy of whatever forum of music you're dealing with from the artist really becomes apparent because you are right there.

Thomas Sokolowski, director for The Warhol, is pleased at the partnerships established through this project. "We enjoyed working with our local partner, WYEP, and sharing insights related to Warhol across the nation through the World Cafe."

World Cafe airs its two-hour program on WYEP Mondays through Fridays. The first hour is broadcast from 5 to 6 a.m.; the second hour from 6 to 7 p.m. On Fridays, the entire program airs from 6 to 8 p.m. World Cafe is distributed by Public Radio International.