— by Lin McNulty —
Bruce Harvie, host of RadioFree Olga weekly podcast of local music.
Do you wish you had been there that night in 1996 when Donovan played Orcas Center? That was the night he introduced his new album, Sutras, to a happy, sell-out, sing-along crowd. Oh, you were on island, but couldn’t get tickets? Oh, man. Too bad.
How about Taj Mahal or Wynton Marsalis or Mandy Troxel or John Miller, or …? Have you missed these, as well?
Bruce Harvie, host of RadioFree Olga, an online radio podcast, has a surprise for you. That Donovan concert at Orcas Center is only one of the riches in his collection. That podcast, along with hundreds of others, is available on the website, or from Apple iTunes.
The name RadioFree Olga may have been inspired by RadioFree Europe, but the extensive, impressive collection amassed by Harvie contains more than 330 hour-long broadcasts of local musicians from all our islands, as well as some more-widely-known talent that has visited our corner of the planet. His personal music collection tops out at over 7,000 songs, mostly by local songsmiths.
He normally picks a theme or an island for his weekly broadcasts and is always on the hunt for new materials, anything from punk to choral society and the tuneful treasures that reside in between.
Among his most-prized treasures are tapes he digitized from a Museum collection by local, unknown, prolific musician S. Harlow Woodard. Woodard was known for sending out cassette tapes of his music to Lawrence Welk and other celebrities. With 30-40 original songs in the collection, Harvie specifically left the tape recorder “click” at the end of the songs. Another historical classic is “Elwha on the Rocks” by The Island City Jazz Band of Friday Harbor.
In his studio, Harvie has recorded 40-50 CD albums for locals such as Mandy Troxel, Hawk Arps Jazz Band, Caryn Simmons, JP & The OK Rhythm Boys, Caleb Klauder, Pickett Springs Quartet, and many more. He also does session work for other projects as well, playing mandolin, lap steel guitar, bass, drums, and guitorgan.
He came to Orcas in 1979 from Berkeley because “it was a happy compromise between Alaska and civilization.” He has been cutting tonewoods for violins for 35 years, an occupation that has taken him to England, Eastern Canada, and Alaska to find that perfect tree.
What would Harvie like to happen with RadioFree Olga? “I’d like to see a strong musical community in the San Juans–people supporting one another in their musical projects, and sharing those recordings with one another. For instance, I would love to have local music playing in local stores and restaurants instead of the Spotify “muzak” or whatever. Keep it local, ya know?”
Free RadioFree Olga bumper stickers are readily available by emailing Bruce Harvie at tonewoods@rockisland.com.
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I remember Wynton Marsalis! He and his guys were great! Spirit Eagle