Radio Base Camp

Steve di Costanzo, WPKN
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Radio Base Camp with Steve di Costanzo is focused on new releases and old gems across many genres but it is heavy on psych, garage, indie, funk and soul, Afro-beats, and world sounds from Jamaica to Morocco. I am particularly interested in playing under-the-radar artists and cult bands The show’s name has to do with my love of mountains, trekking, and climbing. I associate an expedition “base camp” with the similar joy that music brings into my life.

  1. 6d ago

    The return from the Lily & Charley Wedding-Ojai, CA.

    BACK IN ACTION ON WPKN RADIO (Bridgeport,CT)  89.5-FM and streaming/podcasts wpkn.org.-with a new episode tomorrow -that be Tuesday! 7am to 9am.  I've been on a bit of a USA road trip to see how expensive gas is.  Well not exactly that. The real focus was the California wedding of my lovely and smart and funny daughter Lily.  The wedding was in Ojai, CA on a ranch. It was So much fun and I could not be happier about her husband- Charley Damski.  We mixed in some bike riding, camping and hiking in National Parks and had fun with some of the Route 66- especially Gallup New Mexico.  I also had some opportunities to see Memphis and Nashville and STAX Records along with Sun Studios and Graceland. I missed you all so let's get going with some new music releases and old gems- thanks to those who filled in for me and I hope many of you enjoyed hearing Germaine Valentine last week interviewing Tony Fletcher and playing some great music as well.Here is the set list:  Mac DeMarco, Paul McCartney, The Teardrop Explodes (Julian Cope), IbibioSound Machine,Manu Dibango+Gaudi and Don Letts, Way Dynamic, Petit Biscuit, Samantha Crain + First Aid Kit, Neil Young, Small Faces, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Lime Garden, The Yummy Fur, This is Lorelei, Radiohead, Lady Shaka+Rubi Du, The New York Community Choir, Jutta Hipp + Zoot Sims, Ezra Collective+Pa Salieu, Boy Harsher,Keane, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Merle Haggard, DjRUM, Gram Parsons + Emmylou Harris, Orville Peck, Julia Jacklin, Kevin Coyne

    The return from the Lily & Charley Wedding-Ojai, CA.

  2. Oct 24

    SPECIAL Radio Base Camp: Germaine Valentine Interviews Tony Fletcher

    Germaine Valentine interviews Tony Fletcher Born in 1964, by age 13, he started his own music magazine titled Jamming! in which he landed an interview with Pete Townshend when he was just 14 years old. By 17, he scored an interview with Paul McCartney AND was running an independent record label with Paul Weller from The Jam, also called Jamming!Fletcher's an author of 12 books, the majority of which are biographies of musicians, in which his book “Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon” earned him the title of best selling author. His current literary offering is “Pow! When UK Punk Went Pop 1980-1984” Moon: The Life & Death Of A Rock Legend: (this is the title of the book in the USA) I went to see Tony while he was on his UK book tour. One of his stops was at The Engine Room in North Shields. Past listeners of my guest spots know that my husband, who passed away back in 2021, is Hilton Valentine, guitarist from The Animals, and North Shields is his home town and therefore, my 2nd home. Listening to his talk, I started hearing all the connections we had. He had interactions with Mickie Most’s son at RAK Studios which Mickie Most started and was the producer for The Animals. He was a presenter on The Tube, a music show on Tyne Tees Television. The music show there in the 60s was called The Rehearsal Room in which The Animals were featured. I was invited to the Blue Plaque unveiling for The Tube. We both saw Echo & The Bunnymen at the Royal Albert Hall in July 1983. At the end of his talk that evening, I told him about WPKN and asked if he’d like to come on and have a chat about his new book. More info on Tony Fletcher can be found at his Substack Page:  tonyfletcher.substack.com

    SPECIAL Radio Base Camp: Germaine Valentine Interviews Tony Fletcher

  3. Sep 15

    New Releases & Vintage Gems- Sept '26

    Radio Base Camp Tuesday morning show Sept '15 -  WPKN 89.5-FM (Bridgeport, CT)  I'm also turning this into an APPLE podcast so you can download it after it's done.  GREAT GREAT songs and artists + XTRA ENERGY:  Andy Bell, Look Blue Go Purple, Alabama Shakes, Gloria, Angine de Poitrine, Santigold, Echo & thre Bunnymen, Buzzcocks, Television, The STranglers, The Beta Band, Kraftwerk, Erykah Badu, Ibibio Sound Machine, Reigning Sound, Compulsive Gamblers,Ty Segall, The War on Drugs,Bruno Pernadas, Thelma Jones & the L.A. Soul Brothers, Scott Walker, Lyres, Cardinal, First Choice, Patrick Cowley, Escort, Wishy. You can always contact me at radiobasecamp@gmail.com.  (I will be out for a few weeks and will see you again in October)

    New Releases & Vintage Gems- Sept '26

  4. Sep 1

    DJ DICO's VINTAGE 30 VIBE SELECTIONS

    It's the first Tuesday of September. A show that harks back to simpler times.  When people ask me "what kind of songs and artists do you like" it's a bit hard to answer.  So I thought it might be interesting to take stock of some of my DJ DICO vintage vibe selections.  Songs perhaps under the radar and same with bands. In any event I hope you like the selections - they bring back a lot of nostalgia for me. I promise new releases on my next show.  Here you go DJ DICO's VINTAGE 30 Vibe Selections. The House of Love, The Blue Nile Air, Tame Impala, The Wild Swans, Bjork, Patti Smith, Wire, The Magnetic Fields, Delta 5, Talking Heads, Pretenders,The Gun Club, The Mekons, New Fast Automatic Daffodils, Dee-Lite, Killing Joke, Betty Davis, Juana Molina, Ned's Atomic Dustbin,Katell Keineg, The Shins, Gomez, Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, The Stone Roses, The La's, XTC, Beth Orton, Robyn Hitchcock, Julian Cope

    DJ DICO's VINTAGE 30 VIBE SELECTIONS

  5. Aug 25

    Oh Summer- Don't Ditch the Ice Cream Yet

    Say it ain't so. Summer always rushes it's way through the calendar and sure enough it's almost September. At least we know that September is pretty sweet. Don't ditch the Ice Cream. Our 2-hr Radio Base Camp Show from 7am to 9am this morning has many twists and turns. Old school and new I've listened to the playlist a few times on my bike rides and it's Radio Base Camp radio ready. Here are the artists I'll be playing: The Mar-Keys, Pigeon, Richard ' Groove' Holmes, The Citadel, Richie Havens, Charles Lloyd, Tom A. Smith, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Nosedive. edef and orlando, Hinotoriprojekt, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Kefaya + Elaha Soroor, Westside Cowboys, Lil Louis and The World, Joanna, The Feelies, Thee Oh Sees, Simple Minds, Billy Strings, Andy Bell & Masal, Big Star, Sharp Pins, Julez and the Rollerz, Dummy, David Bowie, Creep and Getdown Services if we have time?

    Oh Summer- Don't Ditch the Ice Cream Yet

  6. Aug 18

    Radio Base Camp welcomes DJ Germaine Valentine

    Tuesday’s Radio Base Camp show has a well-known DJ- Germaine Valentine- who has shared many shows over the past 15+ years that I’ve been on WPKN Radio. It was always an honor to have Germaine Valentine and Hilton Valentine in the studio telling stories and playing great music. Unfortunately, Hilton Valentine - the original guitarist of the British band The Animals- passed in Jan. 2021. It‘s wonderful to have Germaine on with us today- she has produced many 'Psychedelic' shows on RBC. Today she has a surprise set of music - much of it new from the UK and elsewhere.   Radio Base Camp is hosted by Steve di Costanzo every Tuesday morning on WPKN 89.5-FM in Bridgeport.  You can reach him at radiobasecamp@gmail.com

    Radio Base Camp welcomes DJ Germaine Valentine

  7. Aug 11

    Side A & Side B (see info below)

    Steve di Costanzo aka DJ DICO. Radio Base Camp Tuesday August 11 on WPKN-89.5 FM and streaming. 7am to 9am. Hi all...if you ever want to touch base with me my email is radiobasecamp@gmail.com. This Tuesday's show is an A-side and a B-side. The first hour or so digs into some singer-songwriters and into some vintage country rock. The B-side is more of a scorcher of electronica, dance music, rock , etc. Here are the artists I'll be playing:  Pierres Daven- Keller, The Durutti Column, Bobby Gentry & Glen Campbell, Hope Sandeval, Georgian, Alex Amen, Julia Jacklin, Luscious, Roky Erikson, Emitt Rhodes, Sandie Shaw, Steve Miller Band, The Byrds,The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Sir Douglas Band,  New Riders of the Purple Sage, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Carnivorous Plant Society, Man/Woman/Chainsaw,RIP Magic, Pigeon, Moktar, Carlita + Sofi Tucker, Indeep,The Liminanas, Tricky + Mitch Sanders, The Cramps, David Bowie, Tom A. Smith, Wire....and that's a wrap.  DON"T FORGET TO GET THE WPKN APP- Also Blackrock PorchFest  is Saturday, August 22!.

    Side A & Side B (see info below)

  8. Aug 6

    Get on Your MOD Vespas and Ride

    Get on Your MOD Vespa's and Ride- RADIO BASE CAMP dials in the mid 1960's for a look at MOD music and culture. Mod music inhabits many genres including R&B, Stax Soul. Ska, Rocksteady, Blue Beat, Freakbeat, some garage and proto punk.  Here are the ARTISTS:  Booker T & the M.G.'s, The in Crowd, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, The High Numbers, Pink Floyd, Dandy Livingstone,The Who, Frank Wilson, Fontella Bass,James Brown, Manfred Mann, Steampocket, David Bowie, The Just Brothers, Duffy Power, Prince Buster, Billie Davis, The Action, The Spencer Davis Group, The Pretty Things, The Animals, Small Faces, Fleur De Lys, Marvin Gaye, The Creation, The Mojos, The Silence, Otis Redding, The Blue Rondos, Ossie Layne Show, Desmond Dekker & the Aces, Same & Dave,Gloria Jones, Mike Stevens and the Shevelles, The Afex, Razor, The High Numbers, The Lee Kings, The Truth ....with some Hammond B-3 courtesy of Jimmy Smith.

    Get on Your MOD Vespas and Ride
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About

Radio Base Camp with Steve di Costanzo is focused on new releases and old gems across many genres but it is heavy on psych, garage, indie, funk and soul, Afro-beats, and world sounds from Jamaica to Morocco. I am particularly interested in playing under-the-radar artists and cult bands The show’s name has to do with my love of mountains, trekking, and climbing. I associate an expedition “base camp” with the similar joy that music brings into my life.

Information

  • Creator
    Steve di Costanzo, WPKN
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Steve di Costanzo, WPKN