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Off-Ramp
Hosted by John Rabe

Exploring Southern California with John Rabe

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Episodes
  • The Romans, 1982 or 1983. At Kelbos on Fairfax, as a "surf punk" ensemble. L-R: the late Keith Mitchell, Michael Uhlenkott, the late Mikey Borens, Juan Gomez, and Pat Delaney
    Remembering the 'Buddy Rich' of punk, and Tiny Tim's Tin Pan Alley soundtrack
    A new album from the late oddball singer Tiny Tim, who was, among many other things, an astounding musicologist, with a focus on obscure Tin Pan Alley songs. ... A new investigation by NBC4 raises serious questions about possible collusion between the owners of a kids camp and a state agency that oversees toxic sites. ... RIP Keith Mitchell, famous drummer for Mazzy Star, but also the "Buddy Rich of punk rock." (That's him far left in Lynda Burdik photo of The Romans)
  • Off-Ramp host John Rabe with 90-year old sax legend Big Jay McNeely outside McNeely's home in South LA.
    Big Jay McNeely still has sax appeal at 90, and Maestro Kahane says, 'I'm not retiring!'
    In the 1950s, saxophonist Big Jay McNeely (left) - now 90 - got teens so excited city officials banned him from LA for a while. ... We go in-depth with Jeffrey Kahane, about to play his final concerts as musical director of the LA Chamber Orchestra. ... 'Anatomy of Innocence,' new collection of memoirs by people who have been exonerated after being jailed for major crimes. ... In “They Shoot Mexicans, Don’t They?,” cultures and personalities clash as a silent film director tries to make a movie at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.
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  • Off-Ramp Music Show - 1-1-2011
    Donovan, Fitz and the Tantrums, John Cale, Joel Grey, Brian May, Lou Adler, and more as Off-Ramp rings in the new year with our best music interviews.
  • A Christmas Carol Redux - Off-Ramp 12-25-10
    Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" -- the Lionel Barrymore version, plus new takes on the classic.
  • Los Angeles, August 20, 2008.
    Off-Ramp's Celebrity "Night Before Christmas" - 12-18-2010
    Your favorite celebrities read "The Night Before Christmas" for Off-Ramp ... "Andy Rooney" doesn't like Christmas ... Marc Haefele pays tribute to author James Salter ... EatLA and Craft Beer ... Judy Chicago treats Frida Kahlo like an artist in her new book ... Life isn't easy as Isaac Haille Selassie ... Black Facts and Wax museum ...
  • Kristen Wheatley (left), Jeff Reichmann and Gale Borden sample a giant snow cone on March 3, 1964 at their school.
    Lamont Dozier's "Infidelity Song" on Dec 11 Off-Ramp
    Lamont Dozier on writing "How Sweet It Is," "Stop in the Name of Love," and "Sugarpie, Honeybunch" ... Dinner Party Download ... Downtown Women's Center's New Home ... Van Dyke Parks, American composer ... B'way Deli closes ...
  • Even though it makes him squint, "This Old House" host Kevin O'Connor loves the California sun. He's taking a lunch break in between scenes at a home renovation in Silverlake, and we talk with him this week on Off-Ramp.
    This Old House in Silverlake on Off-Ramp, 12/4/2010
    John visits This Old House's set - a home renovation in Silverlake - and talks with the show's founder, who also produced The French Chef and Victory Garden ... another OCMA Biennial artist ... Frank Romero is painting offramps and selling his Frogtown studio ... Mark Peel lamb bastes chicken breast ... Seth Menachem's mysinglepeeps.com -- like dating sites, but without the lies ...
  • Ernest Shackleton's ice-locked ship, the Endurance. John Rabe's documentary "Walking Out of History" tells the exciting story of the ship's doom, and her crew's salvation, in the early part of the 20th Century.
    Greatest Adventure Story: Shackleton on Off-Ramp 11-27-2010
    "Walking Out of History," John Rabe's NPR documentary about Sir Ernest Shackleton's 2-year odyssey on the Antarctic ice.
  • Luke Butler - Landing Party II. Now on Display at OCMA's California Biennial!
    Hard Times & Gwendoline Yeo - Off-Ramp 11-20-10
    Actress Gwendoline Yeo on her new one-woman show ... Off-Ramp's new series Hard Times meets Laurel Holliday, mother of three, living in a foreclosed house ... Marc Haefele: Not much new in Twain autobio, but a "magnificent browse" ... Luke Butler, OCMA Biennial artist and Trekkie ... Aztlan Underground ... Browsing 7th Street in Downtown LA ... Dinner Party Download meets actor Sally Hawkins
  • Gwendoline Yeo (L) and KPCC's John Rabe.
    Gwendoline Yeo Tells All on Off-Ramp (11-18-10)
    An intimate and bawdy conversation: Gwendoline Yeo and Off-Ramp host John Rabe on Yeo's new show, "Laughing With My Mouth Wide Open"
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