The Signal

There’s practice, and then there’s practice…  For much of her childhood, South Indian Carnatic singer K S Resmi woke up every day before dawn to begin singing – and she’d keep singing, until after dark.  Resmi joins us to share her incredible story, and her equally incredible voice.

We hear a Stoop story from Scott Dance, who tells the tale of a house that was his family home for generations, until it was time to close the door for the last time.

Plus:  A profile of singer / songwriter Bob Keal, whose Baltimore indie band, Small Sur, captures big emotions in spa

Ginny Gong was six years old when she came to the US from China with her family in 1954.  She always struggled for balance between her dual roles as an American kid and a Chinese daughter growing up under the roof of her parents’ hand laundry business.  Ginny joins us to share her unique experience as a “one-point-five generation” immigrant.

We visit a sustainable farm in Reisterstown, a place called Kayam Farm, where Jewish agriculturalists are connecting with their ancient roots.

We meet Z. Smith and Anna Fitzgerald, who’ve been sharpening their clowning skills at San Francisco’s renowned Clown Conservatory.  They’ll be performing in “Pepito’s Clowndemonium Revue” at the Creative Alliance.

Comedian Jim Meyer brings us a tale of endurance in the face of absurdity – he recently helped put Maryland in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “longest continuous stand-up comedy show.”

We pay a visit to the Baltimore Print Studios, a new art space that offers public access to high-end presses and other professional print-making equipment in the Station North Arts District.
World-class violinist Hilary Hahn lets us in on what it’s like to be the inspiration for – and star of – a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical composition.
Sunni Khalid brings us a radio postcard from his recent travels in Liberia, where he hiked through a remote sugarcane field and happened upon a homegrown moonshine operation.

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps, we meet three local returned Peace Corps Volunteers who are now putting their skills to work here at home. We’ll also hear about how they plan to celebrate 50 years of spreading “peace and friendship” around the world.
Signal contributor Baynard Woods takes us to an ‘artfully revealing’ fashion photo-shoot designed to highlight the glamour and mystique of three African American female models. The models, by the way, happened to be born male.

It was a wintry Saturday afternoon in rural Cecil County, Maryland, at a one-room post office turned furniture shop near the town of Elkton. Outside the old building, a January wind whistled over snow banks, through the bare branches of trees. But inside this place, a warm camaraderie was emanating through the room. Three musicians sat together, acoustic guitars on their knees, trading stories and songs, and bridging an age-span of three generations between them.

For many Charm City locals, there’s a seedy stretch of Baltimore Street that might as well not exist, but this week guest producer Baynard Woods gives us a look at what life really is like for the people who make their living in the city’s red-light district, The Block.
We pay a visit to the Baltimore Free Farm, where community activists are working to promote sustainable living and urban agriculture in a once-vacant lot in Hampden.

We meet Paul Wiedorfer, who just celebrated his 90th birthday – he earned the Medal of Honor for heroism on the battlefield in 1944.  We talk with Shawna Potter, who’s about to celebrate the launch of Hollaback Baltimore, a new interactive website that uses mobile technology to help fight back against street harassment.  Classical realist painter Matt Zoll talks about his labor of love: creating artwork in the style of the Dutch Masters.  Also: A Stoop story from Julie Hackett about how she inherited her lifelong wanderlust.  Plus: Writer Eric D Goodman shares from his n