A row and a half of greenhouse grown tomato plants, some struggling broccoli, onions and some freshly sown eggplant, squash and green peppers 

Well, I finally found the right time to do it.  I finally transplanted my 10-inch tall tomato plants from the greenhouse to the outdoor planter. 

Not being a "green-thumb" at all, I had to do a little bit of research into what to do.  I don't want to screw this up.  

As I've shared, the house we bought in December has an absolutely amazing backyard with beautiful flowers all laid out in sequence to bloom different patches each season change.  

I even discovered I have two rose bushes.  Not only do I have two, but one has pink roses and the other red! 

Anyways, we're figuring everything out just fine, with the exception of questioning whether something is a weed or not.  

Several weeks ago, I blogged (here and here) about using the greenhouse to sow some tomato, onion and broccoli seeds.  The tomatoes are doing awesome, the onions I think are doing alright, the broccoli, not so hot. 

Anyways, with this awesome weather and the last freeze way behind us now, I had to move the tomatoes from the green house to the 1 of 8 planters left behind by previous owners.  How do you transplant?  Great question!  Startpage.com had the answers.

Essentially, it took no time whatsoever.  I'm pretty sure we have really nice soil in the beds and after tilling some weeds out I simply took my gardening shovel, scooped from the 2-by-3 greenhouse planter the growing plants and set them in a little divot in the outdoor planter. covered it with soil and watered.  

A tulip tree bud that fell to the ground

Now, here's the trick.  I didn't immediately move them to the ground from the greenhouse.  

I read online that you must set the plants outside to get indirect sunlight before putting them in the ground.  Thankfully part of my yard has a significant portion that is well shaded from a variety of trees, including a tulip tree.  Be sure to also swing by and see some of the pics that we've gathered in Bishop's Secret Garden.

However, I'm anxious to see what happens in the next few days.  The same article reference above also said that the plants will seem droopy for a few days but should sprout up real nice.  I hope!  Can't wait for some fruits!  

In the wake of Adam Yauch's passing, fans are digging out their old Beastie's albums to reminisce the good times.  But as most simply think of Yauch, also known as MCA, and how important he was to the group ... they may overlook a 2007 interview with The Beastie Boys on The Charlie Rose Show where the group actually lays out that it was Yauch that brought the three guys together.  So, again, without Yauch, there would be no Beasties.  Rest in peace, MCA!

 

Chris Isaak, probably one of the best male vocalists out there, will have a feature on PBS next month called "Chris Isaak Beyond The Sun Live!" which of course will feature Isaak singing his tunes and covering some Elvis, Cash and even Roy Orbison.  Catch that on PBS June 2nd.  Check your local listings.

 

You've been hearing that new Imagine Dragons tune.  It's a hit tune and singer Dan Reynolds says he came up with the song simply playing the kitchen table like a drum set.  After that he put it in the dustbins of history but then pulled it out again to play live and, wala!, he knew it would be a hit.  Hear the tune "It's Time" on Alice! 

 

Speaking of coming up with tunes in the Kitchen, that's what Norah Jones does.  She actually has, what she calls, a "funky old piano" that she pounds on while in the kitchen.  And here I thought all great songs were thought of in the shower.

 

Jack White revealing how he came up with his solo album ... and it didn't start in the shower or the kitchen.  It started in the studio.  White says he had some studio time set up to produce an album for hip-hop artists RZA, but he was a no show.  White produces for all kinds of people, including Steven Colbert and even the Insane Clown Posse.  But when RZA didn't show up, White didn't want to tell the studio engineers to go, which would have been a waste of their day, so he told them to get to work and they started recording white performing some of his own stuff.  White's solo album Blunderbuss is at No. 1 on the billboard charts.

Adam Yauch (MCA) in early 2011. Image from Rolling Stone

Deepest reverence for MCA

The news today of Adam Yauch passing is still very fresh and surely all the details will come out about his battle with cancer--which will be difficult for many to hear.

His absence at the Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremony was sad and unwanted foreshadowing of what everyone knew was going to happened but avoided accepting it as a defense against the reality. 

There is no replacement MCA, and really, Ad-Rock and Mike D can only live to remember MCA's importance to the group.  In other words, there will never be another Beastie Boys. 

It really is the end of an era! 

The Beastie Boys were one of those bands where nobody had anything bad to say about.  They fit many interests, crossed cultural boundaries like no other group and allowed for complete opposites in taste, sensibilities and influence to come together in common understanding. 

As an art, which good art reflects passion, it's safe to say that The Beastie Boys were extremely passionate about their art.  They've helped me enjoy life more and will forever live as the zeitgeist of an era. 

To get a good look at who The Beastie Boys are, watch this 2007 interview with MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D on the Charlie Rose Show.  Oh, and be sure to spin those Beastie Records for LIFE!

7horse performing in Studio A. Hear the podcast featuring the entire interview and songs here

Let The 7horse Run!

What a day, Thursday was! 

The band 7horse made it to Springfield and they came into the studio to perform for Studio A.  If you haven't yet, check out the podcast and the video! 

The band has quite a bit of history together, as a two piece, and their sound is stunning! 

They're able to fill a studio with an amazing amount of vibrant and moody tunes.  Personally I can't stop listening to their album Let The 7horse Run.

I liken it to outlaw country.  It's some great sarsaparilla-sippin' tunes that anyone can get into!

7horse performing at the Brewhaus Thursday night

Thanks to everyone for making it out to the Brewhaus last night for their performance.  I'm sure it made their first trip to Springfield worth while.  Let's give them an even bigger reception the next time they're in town! 

Getting the snub

There's a ton of other music stuff to talk about including the recent snub of U2's Bono and The Edge at the Tony nominations.  Their music and lyrics for the trouble-ridden Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark didn't even get a mention.  The musical was nominated for best scenic design and costumes. 

The Eurythmics' Dave Stewart also got snubbed for their music written for Ghost.  Can't anyone get a break?

Representing

The upcoming Olympics in London may draw more than just sports fans.  Duran Duran and Snow Patrol are set to play the concert that kicks off the summer Olympics.  Also, Paolo Nutini will be playing.  The goal is to have various artists represent their heritage.  Duran Duran will represent the UK, Snow Patrol will represent Northern Ireland, and Paolo Nutini-Scotland.  That show is set for July 27th in London's Hyde Park.

 

7horse in Springfield

I'm pretty excited about 7horse coming to town!  The band will be live in studio here on Alice May 3rd at 3:30.  Check out details about the bands in-studio performance here.  Then, later that evening, they'll be at the Brewhaus in downtown Springfield.  I'll definitely be there!  Won't you?  I haven't been able to stop listening to their album Let The 7horse Run.  It's fantastic!  It's gonna be a long night May 3rd, but totally worth it!

Back together, new album

Eve 6 is gonna get back at it.  The band broke up for a spell, tried other projects and then got back together realizing what they had was what they wanted.  After all, Eve 6 already had a fan-base.  Why throw that out to start up different bands?  So after all the back and forth the band put out "Speak In Code."  There's an exclusive through Spotify where the band talks about each song.  Check it out!

Street festivals

We've got a pretty epic music festival coming up with SOHO.  It's gonna be another great weekend full of music.  You know that's the truth.  Stay tuned to Alice for more information on that summer-time, downtown Springfield, music festival!  In other street festival news, Atlanta has a massive one planned for September 21st.  With names like Florence and the Machine, Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, you know it's gonna be off the hook!  If you want to make the jaunt down there, check out the website: MusicMidtown.com

White scores

It seems to be a trend with rock stars—moonlighting as an artists for motion picture scores. It’s being reported that Grammy winning rocker Jack White will write the score for the upcoming Disney movie The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp. White joins an exclusive club of other rock stars like Trent Reznor who have decided to take up writing music scores for movies on the side. Reznor wrote and performed the scores for two David Fincher movies—most recently The Girls with a Dragon Tattoo. Reznor won an Oscar for his score of The Social Network. The Lone Ranger is White’s first musical score, which will surely get attention. Maybe he can add an Oscar to his awards shelf. The Lone Ranger is due out next year.

Dylan's medal

Legendary folk singer Bob Dylan is gonna be honored this year with the Medal of Freedom.  I recently saw a documentary by Martin Scorsese about Bob Dylan that highlighted some awkward moments in Dylan's past where he was given some honors by civil rights groups and anti-war protesters.  Dylan never considered himself a maker of protest music.  So, I'm curious to see how this plays out later this Spring when President Obama hands the medal to Dylan.  I wonder if Dylan will pull an Axl and just not show up.

Last but not least

And a sad not, if you didn't hear, the Killers' sax player Christian Marth died.  According to reports the took his own life.  He was way too young.  Gunshot wound to the head at 33-years-old.  A selfish act and a tragic story. 

On that sad note, thanks for checking out the blog today and hopefully you're a bit more "tuned in" to the music scene. 

Still haven't transplanted the tomatoes, maybe do that after tonight.  It's supposed to get down to 35 for the low, then it starts warming up for the rest of the month.

The yard

It's been a beautiful day!  Thankfully the 40% chance of rain only sprinkled for one minute and then bugged off.  Amazingly, my girlfriend and I were able to put a fresh coat of paint on a garage in just a matter of hours.  Also, we got more time outside in our absolutely kick-ass back yard.

Before I get on the air, I wanted to share with you some other discoveries from my garden.  By the way, with the new website, I'm beginning to upload new pics of all the plants in my backyard to the "Bishop's Secret Garden" gallery.  So, feel free to share those!  

Well, since I last posted pics, some things have wilted (the tulips) and a whole host of others have begun their assent towards the sun's rays.  You can see all of those in the photo gallery.  We're told there will be new flowers with each season change, which will be wonderful surprises because we don't know where they're gonna come up.  Some former botanists, or something, owned this house not long ago, and they had some fun!

The best thing, I think anyway, is the green house.  It's still getting pretty chilly out there and there was a couple of frosts last week, but my tomato plants have just kept-a-growin' in the green house.  Now I've got to figure out how to transplant them.  Any good resources you may know, be sure to send them my way.  Contact me: Bishop@Alice.FM

Social

Gotta send a special thanks to Twitter fans Lisa and Virginia, you guys make this job the best!  Knowing that hearing the tunes Alice spins makes you happy and that you enjoy the personalities on the station, makes it all worth while!  Thanks for listening and feel free to share this blog on Twitter!  Oh, and don't forget to follow me @BishopONAIR and also follow Alice on Twitter: @Aliceat977

Listening

You've been hearing a band called 7horse on the air with their tune "Low Fuel Drug Run" off the album Let The 7horse Run.  I've been able to listen to the album several times and I've gotta say, if you like some laid back and easy going, sarsaparilla-sippin' tunes with wild themes, a slide-guitar, harmonica, multiple layers of vocals, and an overall vintage sound, you've gotta check it out.  It's worth a few dozen listens, at least!

Alice has ya covered!

The Springfield Police Department hangs out downtown for Walk A Mile in Her Shoes

So, how do you like this new-fangled website?  I think it's great!  Expect great things from Alice in the near future and if you miss the fun and meaningful events--don't worry, check out the Extras online at Alice.fm!

Today was Walk A Mile in Her Shoes.  I was not able to be there, but wow, there were some great pics gathered of men who want to stand up for women's rights to be safe from sexual assault.  You can see those Walk A Mile pics here!

Something else I missed out on was the Ralphie May show.  I'm sad I didn't get to see Ralphie May's show Friday at the Sangamon Auditorium.  How was it?  Did you get to see it?  Email me your review.

Though I couldn't be there to see his stand up live, I was able to be in the studio to film Molson and Josie as they hung out with Ralphie Friday morning.  You can watch Molson and Josie talk with Ralphie May here.

He's seriously a genuine dude who just kicked back and enjoyed talking.  He had a bit of a shtick, but don't we all? 

 

Ralphie May talks with Molson and Josie

I always enjoy when a big star (no pun intended) comes to the studio to hang out with our morning shows to talk some "inside baseball," so to speak.  May started off praising Johnny, though it was a bit of a backhanded complement, for not being the cliche radio jock.  He also railed against the tech-driven ratings agencies that in his opinion is killing terrestrial radio.  I couldn't agree more.

May's time with Molson and Josie was great.  Be it when Josie gets chastised for being a vegetarian or when May goes off on those who are insensitive about what happens in a war zone.   He even goes off on Illinois for having high taxes.

Something I was able to make was the Secretaries Party, and man was that a blast!  We should have one of those every week!  A ton of people showed up to the Secretaries Party.  That was a blast and the set up was perfect.  The photo-booth, the karaoke, the mechanical bull, the party--it was all captured by our cameras.  If you missed it, check out some great shots of the Secretaries Party here!

At any rate, you know that Alice will keep brining you fun and excitement--especially with the summer months just around the corner.  If you can't make it out, don't worry, we've got you covered right here online at Alice.fm!

Something growing in the front yard. Not sure if it's a weed or what, but it's growing up pretty cool, so I think I'll let it continue.

And they're gonna be beautiful!

Seriously, I am just in awe of nature today!  After spending all day (and actually, most of this absolutely beautiful weekend) in the garden outside, I've gotta share with you some of the stuff I've stumbled upon. 

First of all, my dear mother came to visit the house for the first time this Spring and was in just as much bewilderment as my girlfriend and I were.  The previous owners of this house put quite a bit of time and effort into all of the plants in the backyard. 

My mom was like a little school kid running around at recess.  She was all over the place picking weeds and talking about coming back up to garden (uh ... I thought I moved out to get away from being around my mom :D ... JK). 

Tomatoes sprouts in a miniature planter inside the greenhouse.  I also have broccoli and several types of onions starting in the greenhouse to keep them safe from the potential frost.

I'm actually looking forward to her next visit so she can help me determine what is and is not a weed, because there is so much stuff growing I just don't want to yank something out that could be a beautiful flowering plant. 

I don't just have an awesome flower garden essentially all over the yard, I also have eight raised beds for growing all the vegetables I can possibly manage (the raised beds were one of the selling points of the house ... well that and the greenhouse!).  So, while I endure this awesome journey of developing my green thumb, I'll share with you my successes and discoveries. 

One thing I'm discovering is that the green house is a great way to jumpstart those tomatoes, broccoli and onions before the last frost comes our way sometime in mid-April.

The really difficult part, I think, and one I'm sure to share with you, is transplanting the stuff I have started in the greenhouse to the actual raised beds.  This is something I do not want to screw up.  I'm gonna have to do a bunch of research on this step to ensure I have some delicious and healthy vegetable come mid-summer!

There are some other pictures from my Secret Garden you can see here.

A cluster of tulips.  Is that what you call a group of tulips?  A cluster?  

Finally, I've got a backyard!

We came into possession of a house the week before the new year, so it was cold and as you know--there wasn't much of winter 2012 in central Illinois.  When we got the house we knew that there was amazing potential in the backyard.  Potential is putting it lightly.    

The owners before the owner lived and loved the house for thirty years With the weather just absolutely stellar, the flowers are growing strong and not letting us down.  Here are some shots my girlfriend and I took this past week.  Some of these flowers I have no Idea what they're called.  

There is so much more this yard will show us, including a lilac tree and several bushes that I've never even heard of.  

The tulip, up close  

The colors inside really surprised me, there are also yellow and pink tulips. A young girl walked by the other day and told her friend "there are like a million of those."

I Said Blue Bells

This picture was taken my Meghan.  She caught these bluebells with the morning dew.  One thing to keep in mind, especially when it comes to the vegetable garden, a possible frost mid April.  Climatetologists and Farmers Almanac enthusiasts say there could be a final frost next month.

Obviously named

These bleeding hearts are amazing, especially with whatever macro-thingy my cell phone camera has.  I was really surprised by these having never had a garden, but wow, are these fun!  

Funny thing is?  I don't have a green thumb at all, but I'm learning! The backyard also has a modest vegetable garden so I'll be busy in the dirt this summer, which is exactly what getting the house was all about, right?

Amazingly the previous owners kept a very well documented garden guide.  I'll take one of these lazy summer days to toil over all the pronunciations and proper care.  Until then, I'm just going to sit back, take some pictures and smell the roses--because this secret garden also has a rose bush!

Surely this is just the beginning.  From what we've been able to gather from the previous owners and the neighbors, this backyard will not only delight us, it will also keep us busy.

Apparently the perennial plants have been arrayed in a way that keeps opening up different areas of the yard with different plants with the progression of the year.

I'll keep posting pics of the garden's secrets.  We're in for a trip into Bishop's secret garden.  Does it make me less of a man  that I'm posting about flowers?