Soundcheck

Passion of a Tragic Prodigy

Thursday, April 24, 2008

When the columnist Steve Lopez spotted a homeless man playing a battered violin, he knew he’d found a story. He didn’t realize the story would change his life. Today on Soundcheck, Lopez talks about a promising musician's journey from Juilliard into mental illness. Later: the members of Hymns left North Carolina and Texas to create Southern-fried folk-rock in Brooklyn. They join us for a live performance.

Listen to the whole show

Illness and Music, Up Close

"The Soloist" is a new book by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez that tells the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy who developed schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard. Ayers becomes homeless on the streets of downtown L.A., playing the violin and the cello. Lopez joins us to talk about his book, which has been adapted into an upcoming Hollywood movie starring Jamie Foxx.

"The Soloist" on Amazon.com
Steve Lopez's columns at latimes.com

Dirty Secrets Redux

Our recent segment on "Musical Dirty Secrets" struck a nerve with Soundcheck listeners. Many of you were more than willing to share embarrassing songs, albums or concerts from your past. We called up several listeners and asked them to elaborate on comments left on the Soundcheck page.

'Musical Dirty Secrets' (Soundcheck, March 28, 2008)

Hymns

The Brooklyn based folk-rock group Hymns packs together Pavement, Neil Young and Wilco in a country-fried Flying Burrito. They join us for a live performance of songs from their new album, "Travel in Herds."

Hymns web site