This is less a coincidence than a revelation: the same week that Hawaii is celebrating the arrival of some epic surf, I received an e-mail from Cerphe. Anyone who grew up in or around D.C. will instantly recognize this one word name without any need of elaboration.
For those not in the know, Cerphe is Don “Cerphe” Colwell, a stellar disc jockey, classic rock aficionado and beloved local legend. Back in April I took the opportunity to mourn Cerphe’s exodus (I never used the word retirement) from FM radio, while celebrating the considerable service he has provided for music fans going on four full decades. In that post I concluded with the following thought:
Cerphe has been so reliable a presence, it’s difficult to imagine the radio without him. Indeed, many of us have yet another reason to never turn the radio on again (other people reading this will ask, “do people still listen to the radio?”). Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve been a loyal radio listener, despite my commute. But I’ve always been a Cerphe fan. I have a feeling we’ve not heard the last from Cerphe. I hope we have him around, in whatever capacity possible, for many more years.
Well the news is in, and it’s good. I was thrilled to see our favorite DJ post a comment on the blog (the question of how he happened upon the post notwithstanding), and I’ll include it below: fans will be interested to know they can still get their Cerphe fix, albeit in a very contemporary (that is to say, non-traditional) fashion. Check it out:
Wow–thank you for all the heartfelt messages. I am only seeing this today. I did launch a podcast at www.ecoplanetradio.com Cerphe’s Progressive Show and through the power of syndication–the show will hopefully be coming to a radio near you soon! In the meantime, please listen online at www.ecoplanetradio.com. From theme sets, deep tracks and lost classics to the well known and unknown–no music is off limits. My one-man-crusade to keep the segue alive.
Be well,
Cerphe
So there it is! Get thee to the Internets and check out what our man has been –and is– up to. In the meantime I’ll celebrate this gnarly news with some all-time tubular surf tunes.
The Ventures, “Out of Limits”:
The Chantay’s, “Pipeline” (The Lawrence Welk show? Holy shit YouTube RULES!):
The Pyramids, “Penetration”:
Jack Nitzsche, “The Lonely Surfer”:
