Ray White Profile
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 Sunday on Classical 102.1 KDFC
3pm-7pm
rwhite@kdfc.com
Home Town:
I've lived on a dairy farm in Massachusetts and out in the sticks of the West Virginia hills, but mostly I grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut. It's a small, 370-year-old town on the Connecticut River next to Hartford. Before coming to San Francisco I lived in and around New York City for 24 years. They don't call it Fun City for nothing!
Education:
History major at the University of Connecticut until I discovered the campus radio station. Radio has been my magic carpet ride as well as my passport. I've been lucky enough to broadcast from the World Trade Center in New York many times, at the Berlin Wall the year it came down, and do live broadcasts from places like Tokyo and Abbey Road Studios in London.
Quote:
Duke Ellington said it best: "There are two kinds of music, good and bad"
Family:
Me and my wonderful young son Harrison.
Hobby:
Music… then there is music. Reading about music. Going to concerts. Talking about CDs, performers, concerts, instruments and recordings. I believe there is a pattern going on here!
Favorite Books:
My shelves are filled with ones I’m still trying to get to for the first time. But two I never get tired of are "Truman" by David McCullogh, and a collection of poetry on my night stand called "Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart".
Favorite Movies:
Weird as it may sound "Cinema Paradiso" and Cameron Crowe's delightful autobiographical film "Almost Famous". Currently we've got "Ratatouille" in heavy rotation at our place.
Favorite Sport:
As kid I played the line in football and there are times when nothing beats a great football game. But if rolling off a dive boat on the backside of Molokini near Maui and drifting down 70 feet below the surface with the sound of humpbacks in my ear and white-tip reef sharks cruising the reef in front of me is a sport, that's pretty close to perfection!
Pet Peeve:
Looking at the glass half empty instead of half full. That little tiny shift makes all the difference with me, some stranger, a sales clerk, a coworker or the ones close to me.
12 CDs for a Desert Island
In no particular order: The Beatles "Revolver,” every song used a different studio gimmick or arrangement trick… Yo Yo Ma's Bach Cello Suites… John Williams' Baroque Album -- his guitar playing is just incredible. He nails every piece. Anything by Peter Gabriel, and Pat Methany… The Gentle Side of John Coltrane feature my absolute favorite jazz tune EVER, called ‘Dear Lord’… Rie Schmidt and Ben Verdery's "Reverie" -- flute and guitar duets from a wonderful husband and wife team that's perfect for an intimate or romantic dinner… Leo Brouwer's El Decameron Negro performed by William Kanengiser… legendary English folk singer Nick Drake's "Bryter Layter.. Lang Lang's recording of Rachmaninov's Variations on a Theme by Paganini -- I know every note and nuance of that piece yet this kid breathes new life into a dear old friend… German composer Paul Hindemith's ballet score "Four Temperaments” always seems to take me somewhere special, and isn't that ultimately what music is all about?.. And how about an album from Bob Dylan's late-early-middle period ("Highway 61" or "Blonde on Blonde")?
Best Thing about Living in the Bay Area
The Bay Area is quaint and truly international at the same time. It's got it all... natural beauty, incredible history, culture with lots of music. Then there is the openness and diversity which is so important to me. I think the fact we sit right next to the magnificent Pacific Ocean, with it's reinvigorating breeze that has come across thousands of miles, allows us to drop all our baggage and re-invent ourselves.
A Few Other Favorite Things
My son Harrison… espresso (pulled short)… Paris… old Martin guitars… west Marin back-roads… Cape Cod… New York City (except in August)… Swiss watches… conga drums and Afro-Cuban music, koa bowls and Hawaii (the big Island)… fountain pens… great stereo systems… atlases(new and old), history books and biographies… carefully re-mastered CDs (makes all the difference)… turtles, a wonderful meal with great friends… the Golden Gate Bridge… keeping a journal (since 1971) and container gardens. |
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