Sidetrack with Jason Croft
First Saturday of the month at 6 pm
Fun stories, quirky interviews, thought-provoking commentaries, great tunes, and more!
Sidetrack is AM 580's monthly news/features magazine hosted by Jason Croft. Sidetrack's goal is to bring you the stories you might have otherwise missed--the stories that sometimes get overlooked during the busy day-to-day headlines. The stories are sometimes off-beat, sometimes unusual, but never dull. It's a fresh look at the what's going on in our backyard and around the world. Be sure to explore program contents for links to more info and a few surprises.
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July 2008
Program air date: Saturday, July 05, 2008
This month we find out how Hollywood icon Hedy Lamarr is responsible for modern technology…hear about one writer’s adventures after getting stuck in her bathroom…and we talk to the B-movie actress Tura Satana, star of Russ Meyer’s Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!
Menu:
- Instrument Builders
- "Damsel, Distressed"
- Hedy Lamarr
- "Naughty Picturers"
- Tura Satana Interview (web site)
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
June 2008
Program air date: Saturday, June 07, 2008
We go into the Sidetrack archives for some summertime fun. We have stories about rock and rolls greatest myths, the search for the legendary tropical drink The Zombie, and the Continuum Fingerboard—a strange electronic instrument that be heard in the latest Indiana Jones movie.
Menu:
- Continuum Fingerboard
- "Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John? Music’s Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed.”
- Water Parks Essay
- Pi Omega Omega--The Downtown Drinking Fraternity
- Interview with Jeff Berry author of "Sippin’ Safari: In Search of the Great 'Lost' Tropical Drink Recipes…and the People Behind Them."
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
May 2008
Program air date: Saturday, May 03, 2008
On this month’s program, we talk to the organizers of WILL’s Vintage Vinyl Sale. We’ve pulled some records from the sale for your listening enjoyment. Also the state of Polka music in Chicago. And memories of Japanese-Americans starting over, after being incarcerated by their government during World War Two…We’ll have those stories and more, this time on Sidetrack.
Menu:
- WWII Memories
- Chicago Polka
- Essay: “You Are What You Spill”
- WILL's Vintage Vinyl Sale
Audio:
Play now:
Download: mp3 file
April 2008
Program air date: Saturday, April 05, 2008
This month we talk to a husband and wife team from Portland, Oregon, who run a black velvet painting museum called the Velveteria…we find out the burlesque revival in Chicago…learn about some award-winning mustard from the Midwest…and hear one man’s story about growing up as a Catholic schoolchild were the fear of nuns with rulers permeated his life…
Menu:
- Chicago burlesque revival
- Award-winning mustard
- Chicago window washers
- Essay: "Another Wrong Career"
- The Velveteria--The Black Velvet Painting Museum
- Essay: "Under The Ruler"




