Sync

Mondays are usually not this gratifying. But this one is. Perhaps it’s a new trend for Mondays, if Cheyenne Matthews has a say in the matter. And the 23-year-old does for two hours each Monday afternoon when she hosts Shoog Radio from the top floor of the brick Main Street building that houses public radio station KABF.

This particular Monday is absolutely gorgeous. A day one doesn’t mind it being Monday. Temperatures are pleasant, and the sky is a real blue.

But even Mother Nature can’t match the beauty inside KABF. Sure, the studio is well-worn, and that’s putting it nicely; Some rooms are deserted. Some rooms are cramped with equipment. In the KABF studio, the carpet is stained. The studio console shows signs of wear and tear. And various wires run in and out of the ceiling and walls. The wooden shutters are broken here and there.

The sign on the door states: “KABF Broadcast Studio.” And below it and to the right some unknown person has scrawled in crooked pencil “magic inside” with an arrow pointing inside.

And the arrow does not lie. Inside, local artist Jack Lloyd is leaned back in a chair, his foot resting on that old studio console. He is gently and gorgeously crooning Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” into a microphone while strumming a Fender acoustic guitar. Joining Lloyd on background vocals are the trio of Sydney Hunsicker, Mandy McBryde and John Willis.

The performance is live on KABF. It’s a promo for the upcoming Luke Hunsicker Scholarship Fund event at White Water Tavern on June 4, when a collection of artists and musicians will present A Time For Tenderness, a night of ’50s doo wop and R&B hits.

The performance is magical. One of those transcendent moments that arrives, is experienced and then becomes a beautiful memory. It’s altogether heavenly.

The quartet finishes, and Matthews sums up the group’s on-air rendition of Cooke’s gem.

“That was perfect,” she says.

This is Shoog Radio (Shoog short for the Southern salutation of “sugar”), a KABF program every Monday afternoon delivering two hours of music. There are only two rules for Shoog Radio: Each song has an Arkansas connection — either the artists are from here or born here or live here. And each show begins with “Explode” from the Alan Disaster-led Sweet Eagle. Beyond that, it’s really done on the fly. Not in an unprofessional way, but in an improvising, free-flowing way.

Shoog Radio is a show that somehow teeters closely to the abyss, but that’s the magic and beauty of it. It gets close but never goes over. It’s mapped out with the roughest of sketches. Matthews makes sure she has enough local music for the two hours, and time for announcing upcoming shows and talking with guests. But there are no pre-recorded bits (except for KABF’s contractual public service announcements) or sound effects. It’s live. Really, really live. And it’s natural and freewheeling and fun, and it shows. It might be the best two hours of local radio there is.

“I love this so much,” Matthews says. “I’ve never been happier in my life since I started Shoog Radio.”

Matthews’ enthusiasm is mirrored in the show. She’s bubbly — in the best sense of the word — but also a believer. A believer in KABF. A believer in community. And a believer in locally grown music.

The music is the best of Arkansas. Recent shows have featured music by Dangerous Idiots, American Princes, Booyah! Dad, Hector Faceplant, The Reparations, ... and well, you get the picture. It’s mostly rock, but Shoog Radio’s host is branching out, incorporating elements of Arkansas’ electronica music scene. Not a lot of country. Not a lot of hip-hop. But if it’s Arkansas, she’ll play it. Matthews plays the music given to her by friends, and local record labels such as Thick Syrup and Last Chance, and Arkansas Record and CD Exchange. It’s not the only outlet for local music on the radio, but it’s one of the few.

So what if Matthews is a little late this particular Monday. She rushes into the studio, promises “14 seconds till we rock ‘n’ roll,” plugs her iPod into the KABF console and begins the show with “Explode.”

Following the tune, Matthews clears her throat and takes to the air.

“This is Shoog Radio, and I am late like always,” she says. “I hate when I do that, and I do it every single week. I’ll just say that I’ll try to do better next week.”

Matthews is a May graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where she majored in “mass communications. More specifically public relations and writing.” This is her 14th Shoog Radio show.

“Basically, I wanted to be involved,” Matthews says. “Why can’t we just listen to our friends’ music on the radio? That’s cool.”

Matthews’ dream models KABF after legendary Seattle public radio station KEXP, a station known for its playing of experimental and eclectic music, including lots of indie and alternative rock, along with live, in-studio performances by local and visiting musicians.

“We got to have a live music room,” Matthews says. “It could save the whole station if we had a live music room. We need this place to be a point of community interest. It’s community radio. It’s for you guys.”

How did Matthews land this gig? Simple.

“I came in one day,” she says “and I walked up the stairs, and I said, ‘I’m Cheyenne, and I would like to have a local music show.’”

KABF directors asked for a proposal, and Matthews delivered one along with a way for raising money. Seven weeks into Shoog Radio, Shoogfest I was held at Rev Room where it raised around $600 after expenses.

“I promised I would do something, and I’ve done it,” Matthews says. “And I will continue to do it because I believe in this place. Little Rock needs it. We need it. It is a stage for artists and our friends.”

The stage this week includes the quartet of Hunsicker, McBryde, Lloyd and Willis; Matthews’ puppy Barbara; and Matthews’ friend and “apprentice” Clay Fitzpatrick, a Mississippi transplant who has fallen in love with the Little Rock music scene.

“Without a music scene there is not much going on,” he says. “It’s a sad fact. I’m from Jackson, Miss., and we don’t have a music scene and the few bands we had there no one would support them.

“The music scene here is like a hidden jewel of the South. It’s one of those hotbeds.”

Styrofoam cups are brought out, and the studio becomes a party while the tunes blare. A Soophie Nun Squad tune gets everyone pumping their fist, and tales are swapped about strange men who look like the “love child of Hunter S. Thompson and Rodney Dangerfield.” Lloyd and Matthews talk about editing songs over a Ho-Hum tune and then switch the discussion to The Sufferjets’ track Matthews is playing.

Matthews plays an Isaac Alexander track, and says to no one in particular: “Do you love this song so much? Let’s all just have a heart attack for a moment.” Then she describes The Smokes as “my favorite Little Rock band. Isn’t this so awesome?” Matthews’ between-track chatter is filled with comments such as “I’m gonna play the prettiest Whale Fire song I’ve ever heard in my entire life right now,” “This song is so good it’s ridiculous” and “Don’t move. Shoog Radio. We rule.”

Mike Poe stops by, promoting the upcoming Little Rock Film Festival, and Fitzpatrick asks Matthews if she can play “something cool.” No problem. She answers with a Bonnie Montgomery tune.

It gets a little weird but never totally derails. It’s two hours of playing and talking music.

The close of the show is a beautiful, a cappella version of The Spaniels’ “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” by Hunsicker, McBryde, Lloyd and Willis, and Willis performing his “King of the Cocktail Party.” It’s a gorgeous end to the party.

Later, in the parking lot of KABF, Matthews offers an unofficial mission statement for Shoog Radio.

“Little Rock rules and so does Shoog Radio,” Matthews says. “That’s about all I have to say about that. I know what we got, and it rules.

And with that it ends. Until next Monday at 1 p.m. when the fun starts all over again.

HEAR THE SHOW:

Shoog Radio runs 1-3 p.m. every Monday on KABF 88.3 FM. Want your music played on the show? Send an email to shoogradio88.3@gmail.com. Want to support Shoog Radio? Attend Shoogfest 2 at Maxine’s in Hot Springs on June 3. Artists scheduled for performances include Adam Faucett, Ace Spade & the Whores of Babylon, Bryan Frazier, Sweet Eagle and The White Glove Test. All proceeds go toward purchasing KABF new studio equipment.