Bob Liddycoat has landed himself a new gig.
The Thorold native who helps promote the Canal Bank Blues Shuffle, organizes the Rock ‘N Blues on the Battlefield event each summer, and runs his own promotions company can now add radio personality to his portfolio.
Liddycoat, who now lives in Wainfleet, was approached by Niagara radio veteran Pat Porter, of classic rock station Giant-FM, about working together on a show for his online radio station 4680Q.com. Porter had purchased the Niagara Falls-based station from the family of the late Rick Rose, who was a well-known musician (Lennex, The Rick Rose Band) and fervent supporter of the local music scene.
The two men are no strangers to each other, Liddycoat said.
“We’ve worked together mostly on emcee gigs and shows I run where he's come in,” Liddycoat said.
The show – the Rock N' Blues Revue – premieres Friday, Feb. 14 and will be made available as a podcast at patportershow.com the following day.
“We’re calling it rock and blues so we can blur those lines a little bit,” Liddycoat said. “I’m also writing for an American online magazine called Blues Rock Review so we kind of wanted to tie them together a little bit. Not to confuse anyone, but just to stay in that rock-blues genre.”
Liddycoat said there is an audience out there for such a show, as the region is a hotbed for the blues.
“You’ve got three or four blues shows happening every weekend in Niagara, so there will never be a lack of material,” he said.
Porter, meanwhile, said the addition of the show with Liddycoat is part of the changes he has been implementing at the station since he took over last November.
“I've been trying to expand it and kick it into a little higher gear, make it more of a community oriented radio station that gets some local voices on the air,” Porter said, adding that the station now is home to 13 shows, up from just five at the time of purchase.
The Rock N' Blues Revue will feature interviews with musicians and conversations about the local scene, Porter said.
“We'll talk about the blues events that are happening in Niagara, that are happening in Thorold.”
Porter and Liddycoat first met when the latter approached Porter, who was then at Giant-FM to help promote Rock ‘N' Blues on the Battlefield with an interview to talk about the event as well as local artists like Spencer MacKenzie and Brant Parker.
And now, it was Porter’s turn to ask for some help.
“Bob had been feeding me people to interview from time to time and I said, ‘Bob, you know, why don't we make this a regular thing? You can do a show and I'll co-host it with you.’”
For the inaugural show on Valentine’s Day, Liddycoat, who is currently at his winter home in Florida, has lined up an interview with musician Tom Hambridge.
“He's got an unbelievable resume. It's unbelievable that not everyone knows who he is,” Liddycoat said. “I reached out to him because he had produced an album I I reviewed, and I actually know him."
A Buffalo native, Hambridge is a four-time Grammy Award winner and was part of a star-studded band that performed at the White House as a part of the Red, White and Blues Black History Month celebration concert. He has worked with the likes of Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and Kenny Neal among an extensive list of credits.
There will be other familiar names from inside and outside Niagara coming to the show, Liddycoat said.
“I'm going to talk to the ones who are here, who have also been to Niagara, and just get their perspective on that scene compared to the rest of the world.”
The Rock N' Blues Revue will air every second Friday at 4:30 p.m. at 4680Q.com.