Mountain Man, "folk" style
By MiChelle Philp

Media Credit: MiChelle Philp
Steve Sedberry works at the WUWG Peach State Radio office on campus as a host for the show, “Appalachian Trail Vaguely Folk Music Show.”
The campus radio station, WUWG, offers a wide variety of programming, from classical music, to the comic and informative Car Talk. It is an affiliate station of Georgia Public Radio (GPR) that broadcasts out of Atlanta and sets the guidelines for what shows to play and when to play them. But WUWG still offers local appeal with its many locally broadcast programs. While on-campus shows still have the same governing rules of any GPR program, there is room for fun and a wide variety of genres.

One show broadcasting from State University of Georgia (UWG) campus, Appalachian Trail Vaguely Folk Music Show, is aptly titled with its varied styles and musical appeal.

In the words of its host, Steve Sedberry, "It includes forms of music that do have an element of folk music but are off in their own unique direction. I include acoustic, blues, children's music, singer/songwriters, popular, unpopular, may-someday-be-popular, ethnic, mainstream, suburban, traditional, historic, fantasy, philosophical, good ol'boy/girl, romantic songs, humorously-scientific music (Tom Lehrer for example), humor in general, and some spoken word (mostly folk tales and humorous stories.)"

Sedberry loves his job and it is a natural environment for him. "For most of my 53 years, I have been obsessed with folk music. I am also constantly meeting new performers, singers, writers and promoters via e-mail and in other ways. I know a lot of the people whose music I play, and I enjoy the bubbling creativity of most of them. So I pick out the best of the material they send and play it on my show. Some are starting to get a response from listeners and when people call to request specific artists or songs, I put it on ASAP," said Sedberry.

Sedberry's personal favorite music style is Christian folk music, but he said, "Sadly, there is a lack of material. This has inspired me to write songs, like I did when I was a secular singer/songwriter."

Living 25 miles away from work and riding a bicycle can be a very dangerous business for Sedberry. Every Tuesday he makes this commute, no matter what the weather conditions are. "With winter approaching, it might start to get rough. I am interested in finding a co-host or possibly several back-up hosts within walking distance of the station; in case there is a situation where I cannot come in."

Appalachian Trail broadcasts live every Tuesday night from 8 to 10 p.m. To reach Sedberry, call 678-839-6631 on Tuesday nights during his show time, or e-mail him at sedberrysteve (care of) yahoo.com. To see the show's play lists and find out more about Appalachian Trail or Steve Sedberry, visit his Web site at http://us.oocities.com/sedberrysteve

State University of West Georgia
The Student's Voice of State University of West Georgia
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
www.thewestgeorgian.com