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Off-Ramp
Hosted by John Rabe

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • Larry Davis: tears in his beer led to singing career - at 74!
    "My whole approach is to have a conversation with the listeners. The words have to mean something to me." 

    I first heard Larry sing c2010 at The Other Side, the long-closed piano bar in Silverlake. His voice is a little rough-edged, which grabs your attention, and he almost speaks many of the lyrics of his songs - whether it's "It Isn't Easy Being Green," "Lush Life," or one of the highly suggestive songs the crowd always loved to hear.

    Larry's past includes stints in the Air Force and at ABC-TV as a graphic designer, and his story proves F. Scott Fitzgerald was probably drunk when he said, "There are no second acts in American lives." Larry is on his third act ... at least.

    This piece originally aired in 2012; sit back and enjoy. And then go buy "Close Your Eyes," "Larry Davis Too," or any of his other albums on iTunes.

    Happy New Year!

    Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • A Christmas Carol ... the old time radio version, and some new takes on the Dickens classic
    Off-Ramp's Chistmas present to you is our annual holiday special, A Christmas Carol Redux, which combines the old time radio version - starring Lionel Barrymore - with new versions of the perennial holiday production. Enjoy!

    Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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  • The LA-based United Productions of America animation house changed the face of animation and heavily influenced design. So how come, animation expert Charles Solomon asks on this week's Off-Ramp, isn't UPA featured in Pacific Standard Time?
    Up! with UPA on Off-Ramp - 10-22-11
    Solomon boosts UPA ... Pacific Standard Time and the Long Beach Museum of Art's pioneering video art ... a great sound piece from Steven Cuevas ... IUD's make a comeback ... Vets speak out at KPCC's Crawford Family Forum ...
  • From the LA Public Library online photo collection, a lovely shot that makes Rabe want to relax in the corner with a very cold gin martini (2 olives) and watch the patrons come in. This was Romanoff's in Beverly Hills, which closed in 1962, run by the famous Michael Romanoff, who pretended to be Russian royaly, but was actually a Brooklyn pants presser. Let's here it for the pressers among us!
    Off-Ramp's audio cocktail - 10-15-2011
    Spend a day with Huell Howser ... Pacific Standard Time: LA's art history with Judy Chicago and De Wain Valentine's monolith ... young birder uses public transit ... Thos Guides remembered, and they're not even dead ...
  • A scene from the Great Depression. During KPCC's fall fund drive, we're helping people hit by the Great Recession, by partnering with the LA Regional Food Bank.
    Feeding the Hungry on Off-Ramp - 10-8-2011
    KPCC listeners near 1,000,000 meals for hungry ... new book reviews ethnic spas ... fighting bullying with jiu-jitsu ... CyberFrequencies marks the Afghanistan War's 10th anniversary ... Hard Times and child care ... Brian Watt and Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporters, get real ...
  • Pacific Standard Time, Off-Ramp (10-1-11) Style
    Pacific Standard Time - almost 70 art exhibits over six months - proves LA's place in history of Modern Art ... Jim Meskimen and his 75 celebrity impressions ... the Wende Museum in Culver City preserves Cold War history ... Are you prepared for The Big One? Probably not ... "Andy Rooney" reminisces ...
  • Hard Times Get Harder - Off-Ramp 9-24-11
    LA Regional Food Bank, barometer of poverty ... UCLA Anderson: years of hard times ahead ... Great Wall mural restoration in Valley ... Rabe blows shofar for Rosh Hashanah ... MoLAA's Pacific Standard Time exhibit shows Mexican influences ...
  • Denise Hamilton's new novel, Damage Control.
    Special: Denise Hamilton on "Damage Control" - Off-Ramp 9-20-11
    For our online listeners and podcast subscribers (you subscribe, don't you?), KPCC's John Rabe goes in-depth with "Damage Control" author Denise Hamilton in a special Off-Ramp podcast.
  • An undated "How Not To" photo from the LA Public Library.
    Coyotes Fight Glendale Blight - Off-Ramp 9-17-11
    Glendale's Coyote squatters get reprieve ... Pictures of a Revolucion ... Calista Flockhart's new radio role ... James Sallis, "Drive" novelist ... Denise Hamilton's new LA thriller ... New library in Compton stirs old memories for Kitty Felde ...
  • Rescuers at the base of the World Trade Center 14 September 2001, in New York.
    Ground Zero Volunteer - Off-Ramp 9/10/11
    A Ground Zero volunteer tells his story ... kids tell us how they learned about 9-11 ... a shark tank diver at the County Fair ... Van Dyke Parks on helping the Beach Boys make "Smile" ... nude debate in San Francisco ...
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