The Pearlfishers - Across the Milky Way

Note: The video graphic is actually the album cover for The Pearlfisher's album "Up With the Larks," and it's a fantastic recording. But it's not "Across the Milky Way."
Photo below: David Scott, singer/songwriter and frontman for The Pearlfishers, age 12.

Respect The Elders.
Embrace The New.
Encourage The Impractical and Improbable,
Without Bias.
- David Fricke

Those beautiful and simple words, voiced over the song "Acknowledgement" from John Coltrane's transcendentally epic album "A Love Supreme," comprises the opening of pretty much every episode of Vin Scelsea's wonderful radio show "Idiot's Delight."

Vin is a rare bird, one of the last of his kind, and something that should be treasured...a freeform FM radio DJ. Freeform radio has been with us since the late 1960s, and Vin Scelsea is one of the pioneers of the genre, cited as "the founder of freeform on WFMU," a great public station that still broadcasts today, and it's as gloriously eclectic as ever.

Here's an excerpt from Kathleen O'Malley's Definition of Freeform, published in the "Historical Dictionary of American Radio" that explains things a bit more:

Freeform Radio: An approach to radio programming in which a station's management gives the DJ complete control over program content. Freeform shows are as different as the personalities of DJ's, but they share a feeling of spontaneity, a tendency to play music that is not usually heard. Their ideology tends to be liberal or radical, though their program content is not usually overtly political. Many DJ's mix diverse musical styles, engage in monologues between music sets and/or accept callers on the air. The only rules that free-form DJ's are bound by are FCC regulations such as station identification and restrictions on foul language.

Vin's "Idiot's Delight" shows are always an adventure. He has introduced me to some remarkable music over the years, and his interviews are thoughtful and insightful and always engaging. I first discovered him around 2000 when he was hosting a daily noontime show called "Live at Lunch," which sometimes broadcast from his home studio, and sometimes from a custom-built studio at J&R Music World (now closed) in New York City. The show streamed live online, and I listened to it as much as I could at work, headphones in place as I toiled away. It was exactly what I needed.

And those shows...sometimes, Vin would happen upon a theme and play a string of songs that fit into that theme. Perhaps the color blue caught his attention for some reason. Out would come songs from the album "Blue" by Joni Mitchell, or perhaps "Blue Valentine" by Tom Waits, or maybe "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis. He might decide to play Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube Waltz," or "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt or even "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond. That's the beauty of freeform radio. Anything goes. On one afternoon while broadcasting from his home studio, he noticed it was raining, and for the last few minutes of the show he simply placed a microphone near an open window and just let the sound of rainfall serve as the coda.

When "Live at Lunch" ended in 2001, I followed him to his regular spot at WFUV hosting "Idiot'sDelight," and there I have stayed almost every Saturday night from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST.

That's where I discovered The Pearlfishers and their fantastic album "Across the Milky Way."

The band is from Glasgow, Scotland, and it's fronted by singer/songwriter David Scott. Here's a bit of background from a piece in The Los Angeles Beat:

No Room for Rock Stars: an Interview With David Scott
Posted on June 13, 2012 by Shirley Pena

David Scott has come a long way since he was a teenager in Glasgow, writing songs and dreaming of a successful career in music. Born in Falkirk, Scotland in 1964, he is without a doubt  that city’s greatest export since its demise as Scotland’s center of the iron and steel industry in the 18th-19th centuries.

Says David: “Falkirk is slap between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Many will have passed through on their way from one city to the other.”

Since forming the Pearlfishers in 1989, he has refined and broadened the band’s sound, while gaining a cult following in his native Scotland for his work in both the Pearlfishers and later in BMX Bandits.

Renown for their luscious mix of acoustic-driven soft pop and subtle orchestral flourishes, the Pearlfishers have remained hugely successful in their native country, influencing a number of bands there.  As the band’s only constant member, David Scott has served as its guiding light since 1989, constantly refreshing and revitalizing the band’s sound to the appreciation of their devoted fans.

Besides his role as the band’s principal songwriter, producer and vocalist, David Scott has produced a number of recordings with other artists (most notably Amy Allison) and has played with an impressive array of high profile artists, among them Alex Chilton, Yeon Gene Wang, Ricky Ross, Maher Shalal, Hash Baz and Bill Wells.

Since 1999, Scott has also worked as a broadcaster on BBC Radio (fronting music documentaries) as well as contributed music to many theatre productions in Scotland.  Furthermore, Scott has won praise as the co-organizer of several all star tribute shows to artists such as Brian Wilson and Ennio Morricone.

David is now a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland,where he teaches an advanced course in commercial music.

"Across the Milky Way" is a great recording, and I have nothing but thanks and appreciation for the man who has introduced me to so much music.

Thank you, Vin Scelsea.

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