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5. Atsuko Okatsuka
“Atsuko is one of the funniest comedians we’ve had on Live Wire. She sent me into a fit of hysterics. We still refer to it in show meetings to this day as ‘that time Luke lost his shit onstage.’”
4. Jeff Tweedy
“Wilco has been my favorite band for probably 32 of my 47 years. We had Jeff on the show live from his studio in Chicago, and he was as warm, funny, gracious and profound as I could have hoped. One of those few times you meet your hero and they exceed your expectations.”
3. Charley Crockett and Roger Reeves
“We rented the largest hotel room at The Westin in Austin and did the show from a public radio conference. Charley Crockett, who rolled in on fumes in a broken tour bus that had been in, like, Idaho the night before, stood in as our house band, and Roger Reeves shared his incredible poetry. The room was overflowing, and we had to move all the furniture and even a chandelier. We have yet to get our damage deposit back.”
2. Lavender Country
“The band Lavender Country was formed in Seattle in 1972 and became, as far as most folks can tell, the first openly gay country music band in the world. Watching Patrick Haggerty and his band kick up their heels with a joy that belied the journey and challenges they’d all been on as queer pioneers was truly something to behold.”
1. Moshow The Cat Rapper
“When a producer says, ‘Hey, should we get this guy on who raps about his cats?’ you scream ‘Yes!’ into the phone and worry about the details later. That’s exactly how Moshow The Cat Rapper ended up onstage with us performing tracks off his album Only Cat People Understand. I found myself in an odd state of reverence and appreciation that this is my actual life, and my actual job: to gather together in a room (and via the radio) with a group of people who are united by an interest in the odd, unexpected and sublime elements of life that can only be revealed through poetry, comedy and memoir. Or, sometimes, a song called ‘Understand the Catman.’”