Show Spotlight: Two Ducks and a Pollywog

Bonefish Sam, host of Two Ducks and a Pollywog (Photo by Dr. Fresh)

Bonefish Sam curates one heckuva madcap program every Friday night on Radio Boise for the long running Two Ducks and a Pollywog. Funk is typically the flavor but his stacks of vinyl always come with some peculiar spices to liven up this record pool.

Experience Two Ducks live on Fridays from 8-10 PM or anytime on Radio Free America’s archive.

How long have you been doing Two Ducks and a Pollywog? What drew you to take on this show?

It’s been 10 years, maybe, counting the time that we were just on the internet and nobody was listening. Two Ducks is just a way to justify my record collecting problem: I’m doing this for you, not for myself! It makes record buying decisions slightly easier.

Do you have a ritual surrounding your show? You know, a ritual meal or a certain artist you have to play?

I stop and feed the ducks on the way to the studio.

What can you not stop listening to these days?

I make music and sound art, so that really cuts into my listening time. The radio show means that I don’t do much recreational listening anymore. I might still enjoy music, but I’m always auditioning it for the show. I’ll listen to new music about two hours before the show, and that’s usually it for the week. If I pick up some new records I might have a chance to listen once before the show, or I’ll just try them out on the air.

For those who may not be familiar with your show, how would you describe the Two Ducks and a Pollywog show sound?

It sounds like a bad song on the radio, so you change the channel. And you keep changing the channel, but you’re also changing the year and geographic location of your radio.

How did you discover Radio Boise?

I read an article about a guy trying to start a station here, so I got hold of him. I couldn’t be of any use yet because I think he was just applying for grants at that point. Years later I found out he was still working on it, and I ended up as one of the people doing a show on the web steam.

What other Radio Boise shows do you listen to?

I barely even listen to my own show.
[Editor’s note: But we sure listen to it. Hence why it’s in the spotlight!]

What sounds do you find yourself inexplicably drawn to?

Frequency domain processing, wavefolders, windchimes, bird songs, dissonance, wow and/or flutter, Hammond, Rhodes, Farfisa, vibraphone, daxophone

What other kinds of things keep you busy outside of radio?

Stuff that gets less interesting the more you talk about it.

Why do you believe volunteering for community radio is important?

If you don’t volunteer time or money to nonprofits, they go away. This station is like no other in this area. Without a profit motive, we can focus on quality, while commercial radio focuses on consolidating and getting rich. They can play boring music for the masses, while we play interesting music for the small number of people with taste. For me, volunteering as a DJ is a way to help fill a gap in the music spectrum in this area. Every show on this station is filling those gaps.

Bonefish Sam hosts Two Ducks and a Pollywog live every Friday evening from 8-10 PM.