Scott Tady: Thoughts on the new Beaver 95.7; and a chat with Juliana Hatfield who's Pittsburgh bound

What do we think about The Beaver 95.7 FM?

I'm digging it, having heard Beaver County's new radio station playing everything from The Pretty Reckless to Barbara Mandrell; Miranda Lambert to Metallica; or like their commercials say, running the gamut from Carrie Underwood to AC/DC.

"Who needs Bob when there's The Beaver," touts another commercial, taking a jab at Bob-FM's (96.9) comparatively puny playlist.

Beaver County radio personalities began doing on-air sequences a week ago. Curtis Walsh casually mentioned Tuesday was almost over after he played "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd around 10:45 p.m., and Eddy Crow sang the praises of Billy Thorpe's bombastic "Children of The Sun," a fixture for decades on WDVE-FM's "Electric Lunch."

If you haven't yet, give The Beaver 95.7 FM a listen, and tell me what you think.

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Juliana ready for Pittsburgh

Funny thing about Juliana Hatfield's version of “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head": You can't get it out of your head.

Ditto her covers of "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Telephone Line" ? all songs off her "Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO" album arriving Nov. 17.

Hatfield, a bellwether for indie-rock since the early 1990s, decided to make an Electric Light Orchestra tribute album because "ELO songs were always coming on the radio when I was growing up. They were a reliable source of pleasure and fascination,” she said. “With this album of covers I wanted to get my hands deep into some of the massive ‘70s hits but I am also shining a light on some of the later work … My task was to try and break all the things down and reconstruct them subtly until they felt like mine. But it turned out to be very challenging because their songs are deceptively difficult."

In our phone chat last Friday, Hatfield said she was still deciding which ELO songs she will perform, along with the rest of her setlist, for her Oct. 4 solo headlining show at City Winery in Pittsburgh. Tickets are at pittsburghcitywinery.com.

"It'll just be me and an electric guitar, so I'm still working out what will work best in that context, but probably 'Can't Get It Out of My Head,' for sure. It's going to be pretty much just playing songs, and not a lot of sonic trickery," Hatfield said.

She's a veteran of the City Winery in New York and reports the national chain, "treats the artists well, and it's usually good sound and it's good for a solo thing like mine because sometimes really nasty loud rock music is not as good in the City Winery venues. Not the loudest, gnarliest stuff."

She understood a point the City Winery founder made to me in our June interview about how spectators at those venues often sit for most of a show, but then get up and boisterously dance near the end.

"They're real serious music fans who go there who want to pay attention," Hatfield said. "But then they can't help themselves, and they really want to rock in the end."

Hatfield's' got a platinum record (stored in her closet) for her "Spin The Bottle" appearing on the soundtrack to Winona Ryder-Ethan Hawke's "Reality Bites" (great soundtrack, meh movie). And Hatfield's "Make It Home" was featured on TV's groundbreaking, set-in-Pittsburgh teen drama "My So-Called Life." Her best-known song is "My Sister."

I asked her if she ever reflects on the influence she had on alternative rock.

"People tell me I influenced younger women musicians, but I don't know if I believe it," Hatfield said. "I don't really hear my influence in anyone current. I do feel like I was really under the radar and not as well-known as some people think I am. More people know my name than my music. If I pay for something with a credit card, they're like, 'Oh, are you that singer?' And I'll be like, 'yes, I'm that singer.' But they don't know my music."

Trust us loyal fans, she's made very good music, spanning the divides between alt-rock, punk, pop and folk.

Quite a bang in New Castle

Ingrid Ullrich spent 15 years as a professional entertainer, touring in production shows and working with companies like Cirque du Soleil, right up until COVID.

The New Castle native gets back on stage Oct. 13-14 in her hometown, leading "Bang, Bang" a Vegas-style song, dance and comedy revue at the New Castle Playhouse.

"This is truly a special event that I am thrilled to share with my hometown and surrounding areas, including Beaver County," Ullrich said.

The cast includes local 'America's Got Talent' semi-finalist and "American Idol" contestant Aubrey Burchell, jazz artist Michelle Johnston and master of ceremonies Vaughn Hudspath, a familiar presence in the Ellwood City-New Castle area theater scene as former president of the New Castle Playhouse and creator of talent initiatives like the Stars of Tomorrow, The Rising Star Theater workshops and the NCP Mini Stars.

Ullrich promises her never-before-seen production "will leave you yelling, screaming, and begging for more. Unapologetic, hilarious, and 'bad to the bone' are just a few words to describe this one-stop joyride. From powerhouse vocals, dynamic dancing, laugh-out-loud comedy acts, and audience participation ? this production will uplift, entertain, and set your soul on fire while truly living up to its name, 'Bang Bang.'"

Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m., with advance tickets at ci.ovationtix.com.

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Ashnikko entertains

Battling a fever, Ashnikko still romped, writhed and pranced cheerfully around the stage Sept. 19 at her sold-out Stage AE concert.

The rising rapper/alt-pop artist even managed a few of her acrobatic backbends in a performative show acting out themes from her current "Weedkiller" concept album for which she created a dystopian fantasy about a woodland faerie rebelling against the machines that ruthlessly rule the forest, devouring all organic matter.

It's an allegory for climate change and our over-reliance on technology, which the 27-year-old North Carolina native leavened in concert with a bunch of songs about sex, simulated in provocative dance moves often abetted by her two female dancers.

Ashnikko brought a charming and engaging stage presence, though I was disappointed there were no instrument-wielding musicians visible on stage, not even a turntablist. Surely, a live drummer or keyboardist would have provided more punch and authenticity.

But an audience loaded with Gen Z-ers and a surprising number of parents with pre-teens loved the sound, songs and spectacle, singing along loudly when prompted and focused intently on the stage in a manner I wish many older audiences would emulate.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Beaver 95.7; indie-rocker Juliana Hatfield and Ashnikko make news