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The Secrets of the Greaser Hotel, The Dignity of Work, and Girl Problem Records

Author Jonathon Scott Fuqua takes us inside his book, The Secrets of the Greaser Hotel; a look at the photo book, Bodine’s Industry: The Dignity of Work; and we talk Girl Problem Records founder Madi Shapiro and fellow musicians Jane Vincent and Sienna Cureton-Mahoney about carving out a space for female-powered punk rock.

What if, instead of glass slippers, Cinderella discovered that she possessed a mutant superpower, a la The X-Men?  And what if, instead of a house, she toiled away in a creepy boarding house with all the charm of The Stanley Hotel from Steven King’s The Shining?  And what if, instead of a fairy godmother, she had a talking, shape-shifting pet cat?  Allie Argos is the hero of the new novel,The Secrets of the Greaser Hotel, and yes, she’s got all that going on – and more.  The author of the book, Jonathon Scott Fuqua, talks with The Signal’s Aaron Henkin.  

A. Aubrey Bodine was a world-renowned photographer who spent almost fifty years chronicling life in Maryland for the pages of the Sunday Sun Magazine. Bodine’s Industry: The Dignity of Work, is a collection of portraits of men and women on the job, published by the artist’s daughter Jennifer Bodine, who has devoted much of her life to maintaining her father’s legacy.

bodine.mp3
Jennifer Bodine discusses "The Dignity of Work"

Madi Shapiro (foreground with guitar) fronts the band, Wet Brain, and is the founder of Girl Problem Records

There’s a new record label in town, and it’s just released its first recording, a 7-inch vinyl compilation that features four DIY Baltimore punk bands.  These bands have a couple of things in common:  They’re all loud.  And they’re all fronted by women.  The label is aptly named, Girl Problem Records, and label founder Madi Shapiro drops in, along with fellow musicians Jane Vincent and Sienna Cureton-Mahoney, for a visit with Aaron Henkin.

girl_problem_records.mp3
music and conversation with the women of Girl Problem Records

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.