Author: davestankowicz

Dave Stankowicz is a retired educator who lives on an island off the coast of Portland, Maine with his wife Debbie Jordan and their dog Cody. Liberated from the responsibilities of teaching he has found the space and time to pursue so much that interests him. Dave is the former host of the WMPG radio show Palm Wine Radio, and currently hosts Next To Silence - an hour long show that explores different themes, genres, artists and record labels. Next to Silence can be streamed live on Peaks Island Radio at https://peaksislandradio.com on Mondays and Fridays @ 7:00 PM EDT, and Tuesdays @noon. You can also stream archived shows at his site (category: next to silence) He continues his lifelong efforts to master space and time.

August 11, 2025 – Bob Dylan Covers Part 1

This week’s NEXT TO SILENCE is all about transformation—when a Bob Dylan song takes on new life in someone else’s voice. From rock to folk, soul to Cajun, gospel to garage—these covers prove Dylan’s songwriting has no borders. Whether it’s Hendrix electrifying the apocalypse or Judy Collins spinning poetry into silk, we’re traveling across genres, generations, and states of mind. Let’s hear how other legends interpret the man who’s been called a poet, a prophet, and a mystery.

Playlist for the week of August 11, 2025:

00:00:00 Bruce Springsteen – “The Times They Are A-Changin’” 

00:06:56 The Byrds – “Mr. Tambourine Man” 

00:09:12 Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”

00:13:11 George Harrison – “If Not For You” (Remastered)

00:16:4 Leon Russell – “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”

00:21:47 Manfred Mann – “The Mighty Quinn”

00:24:38 Richie Havens – “Just Like a Woman”

00:29:23 Wanda Jackson – “Thunder on the Mountain” 

00:34:37 Jimmy Buffett & Emmylou Harris – “Mozambique”

00:40:41 Judy Collins – “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”

00:45:46 The Band – “This Wheel’s On Fire” (Remastered) 

00:48:53 Elvis Presley – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”

00:51:36 The Rolling Stones – “Like A Rolling Stone”

00:57:15 Etta James – “Gotta Serve Somebody”

01:03:51 Kuku – “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (A Sight to Rejoice)”

01:07:59 Johnny Winter – “Highway 61 Revisited”

01:13:04 The Turtles – “It Ain’t Me Babe”

01:15:15 Odetta – “Masters of War”

01:21:29 Doug Kershaw – “Subterranean Homesick Blues”

01:26:35 Cat Power – “Ballad of a Thin Man” (Live at Royal Albert Hall)

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

Thanks for listening,

Dave

Safe

I like to think of them

finishing up their shift,

punching out of whatever clock

the sun keeps in the sky,

maybe gossiping a little

about the new patch of clover

down by the fence post.

Then, without ceremony,

they curl themselves into the purple

like a guest slipping under

a heavy quilt in an unfamiliar house,

the air full of quiet

and whatever dream bees dream.

Meanwhile, I’m here at the window,

pretending to work,

watching the day close shop—

and the bees are safe sleeping in the thistle.

Peaks Island, Maine

August 4, 2025 – Contemporary Indian Virtuoso Violinists

This week’s show features Contemporary Indian Virtuoso Violinists. We’ll trace the resonant strings of the Indian violin through East-West fusions, rhythmic dialogues, and meditative fire. These are virtuosos who don’t just play — they translate tradition into new language.

 Playlist for the week of August 4, 2025:

00:00:00 L. Shankar – “Song For Everyone”

00:09:05 L. Subramaniam – “Blue Lotus”

00:20:24 Shakti – “Joy”

00:41:36 Ganesh & Kumaresh – “Gambhira”

00:45:15 L. Shankar; Jan Garbarek; Palle Mikkelborg – “All For You”

00:51:48 Bickram Ghosh – “Gangotri”

01:02:07 Ganesh & Kumaresh – “Greeshma”

01:08:22 L. Subramaniam – “Dance of Siva”

The Sign at the End of the Street

It was a peaceful neighborhood

until the signs started speaking—

first they warned us,

then they laughed.

Now a child runs forever—

a small joke from the underworld.

But even the joke feels holy

when the light hits right—

when the mind forgets itself

and floats like clouds

through the blue dome

of a sticker someone placed

with quiet mischief.

The sign says SLOW.

The sign says CHILDREN.

But it’s the skull that knows.

Knows the world slows down

only after.

Knows how warning

is a privilege

disguised as concern.

Is it still running—

that figure on the sign,

some version of us,

once wind-stung,

barefoot, unafraid?

We wave,

as if it matters.

I saw him once—

third-grade me, maybe,

invisible cape, skinned knees,

halfway to Mars

and all the way lost in joy.

He’s still out there,

dodging traffic

and dreaming about outer space,

or cotton candy,

or something better.

The sign still holds

the shape of a child

leaning into the forever

no one meant to promise.

We keep walking.

We obey.

We forget.

But the child,

skull full of clouds,

keeps running
into the deep,

unspoken now.

Peaks Island, Maine

July 14, 2025 – Bang on a Can

This week’s show is a celebration of sonic invention, genre-defiance, and creative collaboration. We’re diving deep into the world of Bang on a Can, a musical collective that’s been reshaping the sound of contemporary classical and experimental music since the late 1980s.
Bang on a Can was founded in 1987 by composers Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Frustrated by the boundaries of academic classical music and inspired by punk, minimalism, noise, world music, and jazz, they envisioned a space where new music could thrive—wild, visceral, and unbound by category.
What started as a marathon concert in a SoHo art gallery became a movement: a group, a label, a festival, a touring ensemble—the Bang on a Can All-Stars—and an ecosystem supporting boundary-pushing music around the world. Today’s playlist features founding composers, All-Star performers, guest artists, and offshoot collaborations.

Playlist for the week of July 14, 2025:

00:00:00 Michael Gordon; Bang On A Can All-Stars – “Gene Takes a Drink”

00:09:55 Conlon Nancarrow (arr. Ziporyn) – “Studies for Player Piano No. 3c: Boogie-Woogie Suite”
00:13:16 Julia Wolfe; Choir of Trinity Wall Street – Anthracite Fields: IV. Flowers
00:19:53 van Ziporyn – Music from Shadowbang: No. 1 Angkat

00:22:53 Jeffrey Brooks – After the Treewatcher

00:30:43 Meredith Monk – The Games: Spaceship

00:35:02 Julia Wolfe – “Reeling”

00:43:02 Don Byron – “Fyodorovich”

00:45:25 Michael Gordon; Icebreaker – “Yo Shakespeare”

00:56:09 Terry Riley – “See Them Out There”

00:59:00  David Lang – “Cheating, Lying, Stealing”

01:09:30 Lao Luo & 龔琳娜 – “Tan Te”

01:12:54 Brian Eno; Robert Wyatt; Rhett Davies – “1/2”

01:21:46 Kyaw Kyaw Naing – “Seik Kyu Ahla (Version 2)”

01:26:15 Julia Wolfe – “Big Beautiful Dark and Scary”

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

Thanks for listening.

Dave

This Forest Is Not Yours

Show me your original face before you were born.

                     			—Zen Koan

I walked in

because I thought I could leave

myself behind.

The trees didn’t care.

The leaves kept falling—

with or without me.

I stood by the water

and saw a face.

Not mine.

Just shape and light—

no owner.

We want to believe

in something that stays.

But even stillness

moves

if you sit long enough.

Belief, doubt—

they’re just names.

What’s real doesn’t speak.

It doesn’t need to.

I turned back

and left nothing behind.

Nothing was ever mine

to begin with.

Peaks Island, Maine

July 7, 2025 – 1970’s Highlife from Ghana

This week Next to Silence presents some the best recordings of 1970’s Ghanaian guitar Highlife.

 The early 1970s marked a golden chapter in Ghanaian highlife music—a moment when village wisdom, city innovation, and post-independence energy converged in song. This was music built for both the dance floor and the spirit, composed of storytelling lyrics, percussive drive, and glowing melodic lines that seemed to float above it all. What you’ll hear in this playlist is a living memory of Ghana’s musical heartbeat—highlife in its guitar-band prime.

These are songs to move to, but also to sit with. They come from the people, and they bring the people together. These songs are meditations in groove, built to move both body and spirit. Let’s step into the pulse of early 70s Ghanaian highlife.

This show is dedicated to my brothers and sisters of Peace Corps Ghana 1970, along with the former students and teachers at Kadjebi Secondary School.

Playlist week of July 7, 2025:

00:00:00 African Brothers International Band – Ɛna Ɛye A Mane Me 

00:08:01  Francis Kenya; The Riches Big Band – Ensuah Nzema Kotoko – The Nezema Kotoko Family

00:14:16 Oyihwam Internationals – Anoma Franoas

00:22:08 Ashanti Afrika-Jah Int Band of Ghana – Ede Mabo

00:29:41 African Brothers International Band – Abusua Nnyɛ Asafo

00:32:59 Mangwana Stars – Atiadele

00:40:07 Kweku Dei; Guyoyo Guitar Band – Osikuni Atamfo (Gossiper Enemies)

00:45:26 City Boys Band – Nye Asem Hwe

00:52:04 F. Kenya – Engame Ma Menko

00:57:43 African Brothers International Band – Ebi Te Yie

01:01:08 St. Peter and The Holy Men – Bofoo Beye Abowa Den

01:04:20 F. Kenya – Nyameco

01:12:12 Nana Kwame Ampadu – Mede Aseda

01:19:50 Francis Kenya; The Riches Big Band – Madame Zehae Ala – Just As I Am

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

Thanks for listening, Dave

Unorthodox Congeniality

In a shed
behind a boat

a giraffe hugs

a mannequin

in lingerie.

She’s taped up

like hope

with no follow-through.

Left breast: duct tape.

Right breast: same.

They appear

to be having

a moment.

One arm raised,

one finger pointing—

at what?

Nobody knows.

Maybe God.

Maybe the fuse box.

You cannot

roller skate

in a buffalo herd.

But you can

make eye contact

with a fiberglass giraffe

and feel

understood.

Do giraffes

recognize mirth?

If so,

they hide their tell.

Too much thinking

chokes the magic.

Too much seriousness

snaps the string.

Let it be—

and the surreal settles

like a memory

of an almost familiar song.

Just look.

Don’t ask.

Sit still.

Don’t name it.

Don’t fix it.

Just—

watch.

People want meaning.

They want cause

and effect,

a punchline

with timing.

But not everything

needs to resolve.

A mannequin.

A giraffe.

Some duct tape.

And the question:

Do giraffes recognize mirth?

Or are they simply better

at not needing to?

Sense arrives late

and ruins the view.

You cannot

roller skate

in a buffalo herd.

But here,

you can listen

to plastic silence,

witness

unorthodox congeniality,

and know,

without knowing,

that stillness lives

in the unsolved.


Porter Lake, Maine

June 30, 2025 – Tribute to Brian Wilson

This week NEXT TO SILENCE presents a heartfelt tribute to one of the towering figures in American music—Brian Wilson, who passed away last week at the age of 82.

Brian wasn’t just the creative force behind The Beach Boys—he was a visionary who changed the shape of modern music. He taught us that pop could hold deep sorrow, spiritual yearning, and sheer beauty—all in the same breath.

With his passing, we’ve lost a singular voice, but the harmonies he created still echo in our lives. Tonight, we honor his journey: from the early days of surf and sunshine, through the introspection of Pet Sounds, into the kaleidoscopic ambition of Smile, and finally his brave return in later years.

Playlist for the week of June 30, 2025:

00:04:01 Surfin’ U.S.A. – The Beach Boys

04:06:27 The Warmth of the Sun – The Beach Boys

00:09:19 Help Me, Rhonda – The Beach Boys

00:12:24 California Girls – The Beach Boys

00:15:09 Please Let Me Wonder – The Beach Boys

00:17:58 In My Room – The Beach Boys

00:20:10 When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) – The Beach Boys

00:22:12 Don’t Worry Baby – The Beach Boys

00:25:00 And Your Dream Comes True – The Beach Boys

00:30:19 Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys

00:32:40 You Still Believe in Me – The Beach Boys

00:35:10 That’s Not Me – The Beach Boys

00:37:35 Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) – The Beach Boys

00:40:30 God Only Knows – The Beach Boys

00:43:19 I Know There’s an Answer – The Beach Boys

00:46:35 Here Today – The Beach Boys

00:49:37 Caroline, No – The Beach Boys

00:56:09 Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys

00:59:45 Heroes and Villains – The Beach Boys

01:03:25 Vegetables – The Beach Boys

01:05:31 Darlin’ – The Beach Boys

01:07:42 ’Til I Die – The Beach Boys

01:10:10 Child Is Father of the Man – Brian Wilson

01:12:28 In Blue Hawaii – Brian Wilson

01:15:27 Surf’s Up – Brian Wilson

01:19:31 Love and Mercy – Brian Wilson

01:22:25 Summer’s Gone – The Beach Boys

01:28:40 I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times – The Beach Boys 

A Reminder:

Next To Silence streams live at:

1700AM and on the web at PeaksIslandRadio.com

On:

Mondays Fridays @7:00PM

Tuesdays @Noon

You can find the archives of past shows at PeaksIslandRadio.com. Click on SCHEDULE – scroll down to NEXT TO SILENCE

Thanks for listening.

Dave