Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Jennifer Owen of Owen Cox Dance Group & Xavier Martin of The Black Creatures + Judith Levy & “At the Heart of the Matter”

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
   [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]

2. The Black Angels – “Empires Falling” (CD #2) (3:32)
   from: Wilderness of Mirrors / Partisan Records / September 16, 2022
   [The Black Angels are an American psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in May 2004, they took their name from the Velvet Underground’s “The Black Angel’s Death Song.” They have released six studio albums and one compilation album. // In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol. 1 from Northern Star Records. This, along with the growing popularity of their MySpace page, gave the band a jump in popularity in the underground scene. // The group’s debut LP, Passover, released in 2006, was generally well received in the underground independent rock community and was noted for its dark tones and lyrical content. A review of Passover described them as “Walking in the shadows cast by Spiritualized mastermind Jason Pierce,” invoking “dirges” reminiscent of the 13th Floor Elevators. Passover included a quote in the liner notes from Edvard Munch: “Illness, insanity, and death are the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.” The band was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 Kevin Bacon movie, Death Sentence, on the second episode of FOX’s Fringe, and in the ninth episode of Californication. // They released their second album Directions to See a Ghost in 2008. Songs from Directions to See a Ghost were also featured in The History Channel’s 2009 documentary, Manson. Their song “Young Men Dead” was featured on the March 17, 2010 episode of UFC Primetime, “St. Pierre vs. Hardy,” on Spike. “Young Men Dead” was also included on the soundtrack for the 2011 snowboard movie The Art of Flight. // Festival appearances by the band during this time included Lollapalooza 2007, SXSW 2006 & 2008, and All Tomorrow’s Parties 2008, among others. Touring partners included the blues rock band The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Warlocks, Roky Erickson, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raveonettes, Wolfmother, and The Horrors. // Between October 28 and November 2, 2008, the band performed as Roky Erickson’s backing band on the West Coast. The band featured on Unkle’s May 2010 release, Where Did the Night Fall, collaborating on a song called “Natural Selection.” // On April 23–25, 2010, The Reverberation Appreciation Society and the Black Angels presented their third annual music-and-arts festival, Austin Psych Fest. Bands topping the 43-band bill included The Raveonettes, Pink Mountaintops, The Warlocks, The Gaslamp Killer, Warpaint, Night Beats, and Silver Apples. // The band’s third album, Phosphene Dream, was released on September 14, 2010. The group played the ATP New York 2010 Music Festival in Monticello, New York, in September 2010. On Record Store Day 2011 a 12″ LP titled Another Nice Pair was released, a limited edition red LP containing the band’s first two EPs. Of the total records pressed, 100 were randomly inserted with a print signed by Alex Maas, Stephanie Bailey, Christian Bland, Kyle Hunt, and Nate Ryan. // The 4th annual Austin Psych Fest ran from April 29 – May 1, 2011, and was held at the Seaholm Powerplant (the last event to be held inside the building) and featured Roky Erickson, Spectrum, Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group, Atlas Sound, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Prefuse 73 and A Place To Bury Strangers topping a lineup of 55 bands. // The band’s fourth album, Indigo Meadow, was released on April 2, 2013, and they embarked on a tour across the United States in May 2013 in support of the album. // In February 2014, the Black Angels covered a version of “Soul Kitchen” for A Psych Tribute to the Doors, released by Cleopatra Records. // The 7th annual Austin Psych Fest was held during May 2–4, 2014 at Carson Creek Ranch next to the Colorado River and featured a rare Friday night performance from the legendary 1960s baroque pop band The Zombies, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre performing together on the same stage, the psychedelic folk band Quilt, the electronica duo Peaking Lights, Temples, Sleepy Sun, The War on Drugs, Loop, and an incendiary performance from Japanese drone rock band Acid Mothers Temple in which several instruments were lit on fire. // On July 22, 2014, the Black Angels released their EP, Clear Lake Forest. // In December 2014, the Black Angels released a split single, along with Sonic Jesus, called “Molly Moves My Generation.” // The 8th annual Austin Psych Fest, now renamed Levitation, was held from May 8–10, 2015 at Carson Creek Ranch and featured an impressive lineup, including a rare 50th anniversary reunion of pioneering Texas psychedelic rock band The 13th Floor Elevators, The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 30th anniversary performance of Psychocandy in its entirety, Spiritualized, Primal Scream, and Earth. Melody’s Echo Chamber and Rose Windows were scheduled to perform, but Rose Windows announced their breakup prior to the event and Melody’s Echo Chamber had travel issues and had to cancel. // The band released their fifth album, Death Song, in April, 2017. // The band released their sixth album, “Wilderness of Mirrors,” on September 16th, 2022.]

[The Black Angels play The Bottleneck 737 New Hampshire St., Lawrence KS., Saturday, October 1, at 7:00 PM with The Vacant Lots.]

3. BLACKSTARKIDS – “CYBERKISS 2 U” (CD #3) (3:09)
   from: CYBERKISS / Dirty Hit / September 23, 2022
   [From the band’s new fifth album, and their third with Dirty Hit Records, all in the last 4 years. Blackstarkids are phenomenon who came out of Kansas City in 2020 became the soundtrack for the summer. Blackstarkids are a pop/R&B/hip-hop trio based in Kansas City, Missouri. Members include: TheBabeGabe, Deiondre, and TyFaizon (of the Drop Dead XX collective). The members have known each other since high school in Raytown, Missouri. Members met at Raytown South High School and formed the band in 2019. The group released its first album, Let’s Play Sports, on August 1, 2019. Blackstarkids then released their second album SURF through their own label Bedroom Records on February 28, 2020. Blackstarkids caught the attention of The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy and were then signed to The 1975’s management company and UK-based label Dirty Hit Records. They were featured in Clash Magazine. Blackstarkids then released, Surf Basement Demos on Dirty Hit Records on March 5, 2020. On October 29, 2020, Blackstarkids released Whatever, Man on Dirty Hit Records, their third album release of 2020. Gabe, of Blackstarkids recently described the KC Music community to an interviewer, “The music scene here is really nice. There are a lot of bands who are super talented and do all types of genres. The jazz music here is really great as well. Kansas City is honestly a hidden gem when it comes to music. I feel like you can meet an artist anywhere and anyplace in this city.” Deiondre added, “The music scene here is getting cool now, there’s a lot of jazz musicians that go to school for music here too but you can find people from different scenes all over if around the city.” Ty wrote, “The Kansas City scene is great, the community here is so supportive and genuine. This is a really prideful city here and I think they’re finally getting the musicians they deserve.”]

[Blackstarkids are scheduled to play Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Nov. 29, 2022.]

10:13

Music from SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul on Friday, September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Regina Del Carmen, Just Angel and The Wades, Ebony Tusks, Collidescope, Arquesta Del SolSoul and DJ SKEM]

4. Arquesta Del SolSoul – “Six Second Sunz (Radio edit)”
   from: Arquesta Del SolSoul / Arquesta Del SolSoul / August 16, 2022
   [ 7-track, debut album. They call themselves, “African Futurist Genre Killerz from the Middle of the Map bringing an innovative multidimensional sound inspired by our founding musical ancestors to decolonize and time bend indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa.” Members include Les Izmore, Jessica Ayala, Brad Williams, Chalis O’Neal, Jade Green, & Hadiza. Aa KC-based Cosmic music collective teleporting through Indigeneity, Decolonization and Freedom. Their sound brings a multidimensional portal of Rhythm and Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Afro-Latin percussion, and Spoken Word inspired by our founding musical ancestors to decolonize and spacetime bend indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa. More information at: http://www.arquestadelsolsoul.bandcamp.com http://www.instagram.com/arquestadelsolsoul%5D

[Arquesta Del SolSoul play SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul Friday September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Ebony Tusks, Jass, Regina Del Carmen, JUST ANGEL & The Wades, Collidescope, and DJ SKEME.]

5. Regina Del Carmen – “Don’t Mess Up My High”
   from: 29 / Regina Del Carmen / September 28, 2020
   [Second album from 20 year old singer songwriter who released The High Priestess Mixtape on September 16, 2019. More info at: https://soundcloud.com/reginadelcarmen%5D

[Regina Del Carmen plays SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul Friday September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Ebony Tusks, Jass, JUST ANGEL & The Wades, Collidescope, Arquesta Del SolSoul and DJ SKEME.]

6. Ebony Tusks – “HDF”
   from: HDF – Single / High Dive Records / January 17, 2020
   [Ebony Tusks reeased their debut full length album, Heal Thyself on High Dive Records on November 6, 2020. Ebony Tusks is Daniel Smith on DJ & Production, Geese Giesecke on vocals & Production, and Marty Hillard on vocals & Production. A rattling subwoofer is a sonic aberration, a byproduct of high volume that often results in a speaker system’s long-term damage. It takes the listening experience from exclusively aural to physical, evoking a range of reactions from listeners. This experience is bonded inextricably with rap music for both its fans and dissenters, a familiar beacon for some and an unwelcome nuisance for others. Marty was a cashier at Burger King while in high school, spending every Saturday morning working the drive-thru window. One of his best friends pulled up to the menu and filled the speaker with sounds from his 1972 Volkswagen Beetle’s cassette adapter. Marty’s headset was filled with hot, white noise. He knew it was a rap song but it was mutated to scorched earth. It also happened to come through the main speaker right inside the drive-thru window. His manager was not at all pleased, rushing quickly to turn it off. Marty and his friend laughed it off at the time. EBONY TUSKS is a compilation of moments like these. Daniel, Geese, & Marty are 3 people from the Midwest who take pleasure in the mutations of sound available in the least expected places.]

[Ebony Tusks play SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul Friday September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Regina Del Carmen, Jass, JUST ANGEL & The Wades, Collidescope, Arquesta Del SolSoul and DJ SKEME.]

7. Just Angel – “Selfish”
   from: Just Angel: Pt. 2 {EP] / Just Angel / December 25, 2021
   [Just Angel is a Kansas City based, Singer, musician, songwriter, dancer, and creative artist, Just Angel. Her powerful voice has been called, “Passionate … Soulful… and Inspiring.” Her music finds its home in Rock, Jazz, and Alternative, and she has found a way to incorporate those genres within her love with Soul and R&B. Just Angel has performed with My Brothers & Sisters. Just Angel and her band, The Wades can be found rocking stages with her original songs from her recordings and eclectic takes on popular music. She released her debut EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 1 on December 24, 2020. She released her follow up EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 2 on December 25, 2021. She also contributed vocals to the recent Sisterbot record. More info at: https://linktr.ee/JustAngel_TigerLilyStar%5D

[Just Angel and The Wades play SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul Friday September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Regina Del Carmen, Jass, Ebony Tusks, Collidescope, Arquesta Del SolSoul and DJ SKEM]

8. Jass – “Higher Ground”
   from: “Higher Ground” – Single / JASS / August 16, 2022,
   [Jass is Jasmine “Jass” Couch. This new single follows her release, “Him” on February 23, 2022. Jass released At the Close of a Decade on November 26, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 121 Best Recordings of 2021. She wrote, “After years of writing and recording in voice memos .. I decided to grab my iPad and began recording something that I am very proud of. I named it, At the Close of A Decade, and released it in November 2019. With my iPhone/iPad, some apple headphones, I created this project. The amazing people around me told me it was worth it, even when I didn’t believe it myself. I convinced myself I would be the only one that liked my songs. If you decide to listen you’ll hear sound clips of shows and movies that made a difference in the way I saw the world, the way I saw myself, and the way I overcame my experiences. I remember asking my grandma and my son if I should release what I’ve been writing and they both said very simply to do it, so I’ve done it. I want to thank all of my wonderful friends who have been my soundboards during this process, all of the people that have asked me when it’s coming, the people that have kept me accountable, and believed that this time it was for real. My story is so very triumphant and beautiful because I have overcome experiences and shunned the fear I had to do what I love. It’s crazy how you can talk your way out of some amazing things and also how you can talk yourself into making some amazing things happen. If you partake, I hope you enjoy.” // Last month un August – Jass played a SOLD OUT Thundercat show at GRINDERS, released a brand new single called HIGHER GROUND and in the first month there are 500 streams and it was added to Sofar Sounds CHILL VIBES Spotify playlist, and Jass played a SOLD OUT @sofarsoundskc show, and headlined a show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence with my boys! (Colby Bales and Brande Moser), and she opened up for The New Respects at The Uptown, and sang the Negro National Anthem at BLAQUE to School Night at the KC Monarchs game.More info at: http://www.jassrcouch.com]

[Jazz play SOLSOUL FEST 2022 presented by Arquesta Del SolSoul Friday September 30, doors open at 7:00 PM, at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St., KCMO, West Bottoms, featuring: The Phantastics, Regina Del Carmen, Just Angel and The Wades, Ebony Tusks, Collidescope, Arquesta Del SolSoul and DJ SKEM]

10:29 – Underwriting

9. The Black Creatures – “A Perch of My Own Choosing”
   from: By Thy Hand / Center Cut Records / August 12, 2022
   [This new album follows their last singles: “Criminal” on June 24, 2022, “Loud For Nothin” on May 27, 2022, and “True Friends” on September 17, 2021. After being signed to Center Cut Records the label remastered and reissued their album Wild Echoes and began releasing singles. “Wild Echoes” was #2 in WMM’s 119 Favorite Releases of 2019 (Albums & EPs). Since the release of ”Wild Echoes” the band has released seven entirely new songs, nearly one per month, all posted to their bandcamp page. The Black Creatures fuse dark-pop hip-hop, soul, jazz, and electronic music with elements from science fiction to tell inter-dimensional stories of love, community, life, culture, history. Xavier & Jade have made an impression in the KC music community with their live shows in clubs, galleries, record stores, and area music festivals. The Black Creatures released their debut single “Mouth 2 Mouth” June 5, 2016. // Jade Green & Xavier Martin of The Black Creatures began working together in 2013. The Black Creatures blur the boundaries of hip-hop, dance, R&B, soul, and EDM, telling stories of real life, and the struggle for equality. Jade’s incredible vocals reveal her background in opera, and her honest lyrics are both personal and political. Jade can interpret soul, jazz, hiphop, and pop. Xavier Martin started music as a violinist, and has transitioned into a co-songwriter, producer, beat-maker, keyboardist, vocalist, engineer, and style maker. Their breakthrough album, WILD ECHOES, that was re-released and re-mastered by Center Cut in 2020 and named Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine. // From Center Cut Records Promo Materials: The Black Creatures make a point to blur the lines of genre while maintaining a recognizable cohesion; oftentimes blending contemporary styles of pop, hip-hop, dance, R&B, EDM and soul with cinematic and storytelling sci-fi/fantasy elements and themes. With the complex and creative approach The Black Creatures take to their art, a diverse audience regularly flocks to their gripping and intensely enchanting performances. // Representing the strange land of Kansas City, Missouri, Jade Green and Xavier began working together around the end of 2013 after meeting on-line talking about cosmetics. After Jade stumbled upon Xavier’s SoundCloud, they asked if they could put their vocals on it, and this led to future collaborations with no more than the intention to dabble. They couldn’t stop and eventually dubbed the project The Black Creatures. // Both Jade & Xavier write and perform vocals, with Xavier at the helm of production and composition. Jade Green has a vocal background in opera and a penchant for theatrics, and both are the foundation of their ever-evolving approach to writing and performing in The Black Creatures. While the instrumentals may set the tone for the show, Jade’s voice captivates the audience from beginning to end. Originally a violinist, Xavier unfurled into a producer and vocalist, maintaining the same air of intrigue and mystery throughout his compositions and performances in The Black Creatures. // After releasing Wild Echoes in the fall of 2020, the record received Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine, along with high praise from around the world for the four released singles and accompanying videos. “Wretched (It Goes)” was featured in the NPR Live Sessions “Songs For Change” when The Black Creatures were selected as one of 12 national artists, and included in 90.9 The Bridge’s Top 100 singles along with their song “D’ummm” which was in heavy rotation in the winter. Nuance Magazine wrote, “The Black Creatures take their musical talents and use them in such a way that forces listeners to not only tap their foot to a catchy tune, but pay attention and feel something about what is going on in the world around them. Tackling fascism, police brutality, and the deep-rooted effects of slavery in a rhythmic fashion is one thing. Simultaneously making it a good listen is another. However, The Black Creatures make it happen.” // Mark’s brief review: “Being named “Album of The Year” from The Pitch Kansas City was the recognition this young band deserved, because there is really no other band in Kansas City creating incredibly beautiful and painful protest songs in multi genre styles of beats, vocal styles, textures. The immediate personal and poetic lyrics of Jade Green and tribal, dance floor and soulful beats and melodies of Xavier bring the listener into a multicultural, mixed, gender fluid, soul celebration of life and an honest indictment of the racist, homophobic, and sexist world they are navigating through to survive. Listen carefully to these young music makers, they are wise beyond their years. They sound beautiful and speak the truth to power. They are beautiful. They are The Black Creatures.”]

[Charlotte Street Foundation announced that the recipients of the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards are The Black Creatures and Calvin Arsenia Scott.]

10:35 – Interview with Jennifer Owen & Xavier Martin

Jennifer Owen is Artistic Director of Owen/Cox Dance Group, an ensemble she co-founded with composer Brad Cox in 2007. She has choreographed over fifty new works for Owen/Cox Dance Group. Jennifer Owen, joins us to talk about “What Came With Spring” a world premiere choreographed by Christian Warner in collaboration with The Black Creatures.

Xavier Martin is one half of the band The Black Creatures with Jade Green. The two began working together in 2013. The Black Creatures blur the boundaries of hip-hop, dance, R&B, soul, and EDM, telling stories of real life, and the struggle for equality. Jade’s incredible vocals reveal her background in opera, and her honest lyrics are both personal and political. Jade can interpret soul, jazz, hiphop, and pop. Xavier Martin started music as a violinist, and has transitioned into a co-songwriter, producer, beat-maker, keyboardist, vocalist, engineer, and style maker. Their breakthrough album, WILD ECHOES, that was re-released and re-mastered by Center Cut in 2020 and named Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine. The Black Creatures recently were the recipients of the Charlotte Street Foundation 2022 Generative Performing Artist Fellowship Grant and Award. The released their new album By Thy Hand on Center Cut Records on August 12, 2022

“What Came With Spring” has performances: Friday, and Saturday, October 7 and 8, at 8:00 PM and Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 PM, at City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd, KCMO. Owen/Cox Dance Group is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation. http://www.owencoxdance.org

Jennifer Owen, Xavier Martin, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Jennifer Owen has choreographed over fifty new works for Owen/Cox Dance Group, including two commissions by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and works commissioned by Island Moving Co. of Newport, RI, Kansas City Dance Festival, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She has also created nine new works for Kansas City Ballet’s In the Wings choreographic workshop, and a winning entry for the 2006 Columbus Choreography Project. Owen is the recipient of a 2000 Princess Grace Honorarium. Prior to founding Owen/Cox Dance Group, Owen enjoyed a 13-year international ballet career. After training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she went on to dance with the Russian State Ballet, Moscow Renaissance Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, BalletMet, and was a guest artist with the National Ballet of Turkmenistan. She has performed principal roles in Giselle, Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Donizetti Variations, and the central pas de deux in Todd Bolender’s Arena.

Jen Owen’s husband and partner is Brad Cox, who is also the founder of The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City–a musicians’ collective dedicated to the creation and performance of new large ensemble jazz. AND, Brad Cox Octet–an eight-piece ensemble made up of 2 saxophonists, 2 bass players, 2 drummers, and 2 keyboardists.

Owen/Cox Dance Group is a 501 (c) 3 not for profit corporation with a mission is to create new music and dance collaborations, to present high-quality contemporary dance performances with live music, and to engage as wide an audience as possible through affordable live performance, education and outreach programs

Over the last few years Owen/Cox Dance Group’s was working on a U.S. State Diplomacy Tour in Ukraine. COVID-19 local & international protocol, postponing this trip until later. Jen Owen how do you explain how your donace company has been involved in international history and now with the Russian invasion into the Ukrain things have dramatically changed.

We last talked with Jennifer Owen on April 20, when Owen/Cox Dance Group is looking forward to their world premiere performance of “Skin” a world premiere music and dance collaboration with New Orleans-based cellist Helen Gillet. Friday, and Saturday April 1 and 2 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, April 3 at 2:00 PM, at City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd, KCMO.

The Black Creatures are a multifaceted music duo from Kansas City. Gleefully playing with elements of soul, hip-hop, and EDM, they’re here to tell interdimensional stories – through all-original, lyric-heavy songs and live performances. They share real stories from a less-explored perspective, while others are spun from fantastical vantage points. Influenced by neo-soul sirens like Erykah Badu and Alicia Keys, wordsmiths like Da Brat and Tech N9ne, and composers a la Daft Punk and Robert Glasper, they make music that defies genre and tradition in an effort to break generational curses. The idea is that society’s hexes, long bound up by the threads of anti-black repression, insincerity, and envy, can be uncrossed by doing what has not been done before. They aim to honor the past, celebrate the present, and transcend the expectations of the future by creating consistently unique songs, videos, images, and interactive live performances.

Xavier Martin is DJ/Writer/Producer/Rapper/Singer at The Black Creatures. Jade Green performs with: Arquesta Del SolSoul. a Kansas City-based music collective featuring 3 musicians who worked together in Hearts of Darkness. They call themselves: African Futurist Genre Killerz from the Middle of the Map bringing an innovative multidimensional sound inspired by our founding musical ancestors to decolonize and time bend indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa.” Members include Les Izmore, Jessica Ayala, Brad Williams, Jade Green, Chalis O’Neal, Irving Graham, Ernest Melton, Andres Ramirez, Fabian Prado.

The Black Creatures Discography

The Black Creatures “Mouth 2 Mouth” – Single, June 5, 2016.
The Black Creatures released their debut album, See No Evil, Dec. 6, 2017.
The Black Creatures “Elements” – Single, February 14, 2018
The Black Creatures “Silver Tears” – Single, June 19, 2018 with additional voices provided by AniMal (Ana Marcela Maldonado Morales) , Barbara Solomon , Kassidee, Quaranta , Adres Va Cortas
The Black Creatures “Dare” (Gorillaz Cover)” – Single, August 8, 2019
The Black Creature – Wild Echoes – September 30, 2019
The Black Creatures – “Turn” – Single, October 30, 2019
The Black Creatures – “Quartz (Twilight)” – Single, November 13, 2019
The Black Creatures – “SHINE” – Single, December 11, 2019
The Black Creatures- “Ghost Bustin’ Dead Prezidentz” – Single, January 8, 2020
The Black Creatures – “To Whom It May Concern” – Single, January 22, 2020
The Black Creatures – “Arcade Love” – Single, February 5, 2020
The Black Creatures – “Run Up” – Single, February 19, 2020.
The Black Creature – Wild Echoes – September 30, 2019
The Black Creatures – “wretched (it goes)”- Single [Center Cut], July 17, 2020 [remastered]
The Black Creature – Wild Echoes – Album (Remastered] August 28, 2020 [Center Cut]
The Black Creatures – “Negative Zero” – Single/Video [Center Cut]
The Black Creatures – “FRIENDS” – Single/Video [Center Cut]
The Black Creatures – BY THY HAND – album August 12, 2022

BY THY HAND was produced by Xavier, and written by Jade and Xavier, and mastered by Collin Jordan (Xiu Xiu, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco) The Black Creatures will be releasing more singles and video.

SOCIALS:
https://www.theblackcreatures.com/
https://smarturl.it/wildechoes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_KKKYdsM2Jq4iKm_UkStQ
https://www.facebook.com/theblackcreatures
https://www.instagram.com/theblackcreatures/

Jennifer Owen and Xavier Martin, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Owen/Cox Dance Group is looking forward to their world premiere performance “What Came With Spring” has performances: Friday, and Saturday, October 7 and 8, at 8:00 PM and Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 PM, at City Stage Theatre, Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd, KCMO. Owen/Cox Dance Group is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation. http://www.owencoxdance.org

10:59

10. Loud 4 Nothin – “Garden of Nightmare”
    from: By Thy Hand / Center Cut Records / August 12, 2022
    [This new album follows their last singles: “Criminal” on June 24, 2022, “Loud 4 Nothin” on May 27, 2022, and “True Friends” on September 17, 2021. After being signed to Center Cut Records the label remastered and reissued their album Wild Echoes and began releasing singles. “Wild Echoes” was #2 in WMM’s 119 Favorite Releases of 2019 (Albums & EPs). Since the release of ”Wild Echoes” the band has released seven entirely new songs, nearly one per month, all posted to their bandcamp page. The Black Creatures fuse dark-pop hip-hop, soul, jazz, and electronic music with elements from science fiction to tell inter-dimensional stories of love, community, life, culture, history. Xavier & Jade have made an impression in the KC music community with their live shows in clubs, galleries, record stores, and area music festivals. The Black Creatures released their debut single “Mouth 2 Mouth” June 5, 2016. // Jade Green & Xavier Martin of The Black Creatures began working together in 2013. The Black Creatures blur the boundaries of hip-hop, dance, R&B, soul, and EDM, telling stories of real life, and the struggle for equality. Jade’s incredible vocals reveal her background in opera, and her honest lyrics are both personal and political. Jade can interpret soul, jazz, hiphop, and pop. Xavier Martin started music as a violinist, and has transitioned into a co-songwriter, producer, beat-maker, keyboardist, vocalist, engineer, and style maker. Their breakthrough album, WILD ECHOES, that was re-released and re-mastered by Center Cut in 2020 and named Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine. // From Center Cut Records Promo Materials: The Black Creatures make a point to blur the lines of genre while maintaining a recognizable cohesion; oftentimes blending contemporary styles of pop, hip-hop, dance, R&B, EDM and soul with cinematic and storytelling sci-fi/fantasy elements and themes. With the complex and creative approach The Black Creatures take to their art, a diverse audience regularly flocks to their gripping and intensely enchanting performances. // Representing the strange land of Kansas City, Missouri, Jade Green and Xavier began working together around the end of 2013 after meeting on-line talking about cosmetics. After Jade stumbled upon Xavier’s SoundCloud, they asked if they could put their vocals on it, and this led to future collaborations with no more than the intention to dabble. They couldn’t stop and eventually dubbed the project The Black Creatures. // Both Jade & Xavier write and perform vocals, with Xavier at the helm of production and composition. Jade Green has a vocal background in opera and a penchant for theatrics, and both are the foundation of their ever-evolving approach to writing and performing in The Black Creatures. While the instrumentals may set the tone for the show, Jade’s voice captivates the audience from beginning to end. Originally a violinist, Xavier unfurled into a producer and vocalist, maintaining the same air of intrigue and mystery throughout his compositions and performances in The Black Creatures. // After releasing Wild Echoes in the fall of 2020, the record received Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine, along with high praise from around the world for the four released singles and accompanying videos. “Wretched (It Goes)” was featured in the NPR Live Sessions “Songs For Change” when The Black Creatures were selected as one of 12 national artists, and included in 90.9 The Bridge’s Top 100 singles along with their song “D’ummm” which was in heavy rotation in the winter. Nuance Magazine wrote, “The Black Creatures take their musical talents and use them in such a way that forces listeners to not only tap their foot to a catchy tune, but pay attention and feel something about what is going on in the world around them. Tackling fascism, police brutality, and the deep-rooted effects of slavery in a rhythmic fashion is one thing. Simultaneously making it a good listen is another. However, The Black Creatures make it happen.” // Mark’s brief review: “Being named “Album of The Year” from The Pitch Kansas City was the recognition this young band deserved, because there is really no other band in Kansas City creating incredibly beautiful and painful protest songs in multi genre styles of beats, vocal styles, textures. The immediate personal and poetic lyrics of Jade Green and tribal, dance floor and soulful beats and melodies of Xavier bring the listener into a multicultural, mixed, gender fluid, soul celebration of life and an honest indictment of the racist, homophobic, and sexist world they are navigating through to survive. Listen carefully to these young music makers, they are wise beyond their years. They sound beautiful and speak the truth to power. They are beautiful. They are The Black Creatures.”]

[Charlotte Street Foundation announced that the recipients of the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards are The Black Creatures and Calvin Arsenia Scott.]

11:04 – Station ID – 11:01

11. Miloe – “Miloe – where u are (radio edit)”
    from: gaps EP / Loma Vista Recordings – Concord / September 16, 2022
    [Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bob Kabeya moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 8 to reunite with his father, a journalist who was granted asylum three years prior. Greenhouse is an exhilaratingly energetic and youthful homage to Summer and the weather patterns of his childhood, paired with lyrics of teenage melodrama and idealism. “The Minnesotan climate can feel so limiting compared to where I grew up, almost like we’re waiting half the year to actually live our lives,” he explains. Living in a region that faces harsh winter for much of the year, and in 2020 served as ground zero for uprisings against police violence, Kabeya created Greenhouse as an offering of sunshine to his community as winter returned. // “The darkness of Minnesota winters contrasts with his youth, and his new EP Greenhouse aims to bring some sunshine to his current home.” – NPR Music, All Songs Considered // “blissed out” “shoegaze-pop rumination.” – The FADER // “bright, shoegaze delight.” – NYLON // “Miloe’s reach exceeds the suburban backyard, elsewhere capturing the travelogue of his youth in finger plucks and gently swaying piano.” – MTV // “With only five tracks, [Greenhouse] showcases Miloe’s seemingly almost effortless knack for melodies and simple, yet captivating instrumentals that make the project as a whole undeniable. Not much is known about what’s on Miloe’s docket for 2021, but consider us excited for whatever that may be” – UPROXX // “lovely…smooth pop number” – DORK.]

12. Be/Non – “AMOY”
    from: A Valley of No: The Alternative A Mountain of Yeses / Haymaker Records / Apr. 8, 2020
    [Originally released May 12, 2009, A Mountain of Yeses was made by: Brodie Rush on vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards; Ben Ruth on bass guitar; Ryan Shank on drums & percussion, and Jeremiah James on guitar, Moog & Vocals. Brodie writes: “This album is a journey into the sculpting process of creating “A Mountain of Yeses”. In contrast to the original release, this compilation contains alternate mixes, isolated tracks and demo versions. Be/Non presents a bizarro-like version of the AMOY album, showing an alternate universe what could have been if the creation of the album went on a divergent path. Behold the paradoxical serendipity of Be/Non’s unique take on constructing a space-themed story/album. A visual accompaniment to the album has been in production since 2008 and now has a 2021 release date.” Brodie Rush is a musician, songwriter, band leader, graphic artist, actor, father and survivor. He is the Director of Animation & Motion Graphics at Crush Media. He is also the creative genius behind Be/Non, a Kansas City band that has been making music for over 20 years and released their critically acclaimed 6th album, Mystic Sunrise / Sunset Magic, on Haymaker Records on February 29, 2016, followed by Freedom Palace in 2018 that had been stuck in the studio for 12 years due to disputes with the original record label and personnel changes in the band until Brodie rescued the tapes and remastered the album for Haymaker Records. Brodie Rush has been working to get his life back after surviving an Aortic Dissection in October 2019, and after being in a coma, and after months of therapy, recovery, and healing through two dangerous years of Covid-19. Brodie was working on a new song before this life-threatening event and it’s taken over two years to get it together. In 2022 Be/Non, are playing their first shows in over six years.]

[Be/Non play recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7:00 PM with Dan Jones & The Squids ]

13. Kat King – “New Sun”
    from: “New Sun” – Single / Manor Records / July 29, 2021
    [Kansas City based 5-piece shimmer-pop band Kat King will release their single “New Sun” that breathes life back into life itself. Led by Kat, herself, a seasoned musician who charms with an infectious dance-inducing energy, the upcoming single is an electric blend of catchy bright melodies that find itself right in the heart & heat of summer. Derek Melies on guitar, John Kaul McCain on bass, Daniel Cole on drums, & Kara LePage on keys bring a refreshing dynamism both on and off the stage. Centering on themes of self-care, steadfast friendship, and revitalizing optimism, “New Sun” compels listeners to look towards new, more positive, more productive perspectives. Follow up to the June 9, 2021 SAY WHAT YOU MEAN 5-track EP recorded with her band. Kat King on guitar, keyboards, & vocals; Derek Melies on guitar & back ground vocals; John McCain on bass; Daniel Cole on drums. Co-produced & mixed/mastered by Joel Martin. Lawrence Kansas based singer songwriter Kat King released her last single Song of Spain in 2019 and her single “2017” in, 2018. She released her 5-song EP “Falling Up” on December 1, 2017. Kat King has been creating music since the 2nd grade. She’s produced one 13-song album and three EP’s, the first one released at the age of 14. More info at: http://www.katbking.com ]

[Kat King plays Manor Records 5 year Anniversary Fall Fundraiser Auction, on Saturday, October 1, 7:00 to 11:00 PM, 6 PM – 10 PM at Manor Records in Strawberry Hill Neighborhood of KCK.]

14. Olivia Fox – “Let Me Down Slow”
    from: “Let Me Down Slow” – Single / Olivia Fox Music / September 23, 2022
    [Let Me Down Slow is produced by Tyler Banks, their longtime producer, drummer and now add co-writer to the list. “Tyler has always been a crucial part to our overall sound and production. We’ve worked together a certain way for so long, that it is so nice to create these new batches of songs from the ground up with him. That’s really made the songwriting process so enjoyable to have everyone now involved. And you can feel that in the music,” says lead singer Flynn.The Kansas City based band, OLIVIA FOX is Lauren Flynn, Aubrey Callahan and Tiffany Smith. The trio released their full length album “Carbon” on August 23, 2019. The band has previously released multiple singles and two EPs. OLIVIA FOX create music that is a unique marriage between classic folk instrumentation, vocals, and harmonies to modern programmed beats and synth pads. OLIVIA FOX were all brought together through their manager David “DJ” Lee. In 2019 year Lauren had a baby boy, Aubrey got married, and Tiffany adopted a new doggie. // Their album CARBON was Produced by Tyler Banks. Co-Produced by David “DJ” Lee. All Songs written by Lauren Flynn, BMI, Except “Blame” written by Lauren Flynn and David “DJ” Lee. All Vocals by OVFX. Additional vocals on “Not Going Down” by: Kianna Alarid, Jessica Paige, Jo Mackenzie, Kat King, Nicki White, Natalie Norman, and Crystal Rose. All drums, synths and programming by Tyler Banks. All Violin by Tiffany Smith. Acoustic guitars by Lauren Flynn. Acoustic guitars on “Across the Water” and “Carbon” by Katy Guillen. Acoustic guitars on “Easy” and “Utah” by Josh Johnson. Piano on “Little Bird” and “Elevator Doors” by Jess Hughes. Album artwork: Chet Flynn. OLIVIA FOX were last on WMM on April 4, 2018 and Nov. 13, 2019. Info at http://www.weareoliviafox.com]

[Olivia Fox played the 18th Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Saturday, August 27, at 10:30 PM on Community Lending of America Stage at Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming, one of 6 STAGES in the Historic West Bottoms with over 25 Bands. More info at http://www.cmfkc.com]

15. Miya Folick – “Bad Thing”
    from: “Bad Thing” – Single / Stop Talking – Nettwerk / August 26, 2022
    [Much-lauded vocalist, songwriter and producer Miya Folick shares a new track today, “Bad Thing,” co-written by Folick, Mitski and Andrew Wells and co-produced by Gabe Wax and Wells. The new song is taken from her forthcoming EP, 2007, slated for release September 9 via Nettwerk. // “The day I wrote this song, I woke up with a first-class, absolutely soul crushing hangover, after having slept for a couple fretful hours,” Folick says. “I wasn’t the kind of person who could hide a hangover, so I told Mitski and Andrew what was going on. We wrote this song. It’s about being stuck in a cycle of behavior that you can’t get out of, but it’s not bleak. There’s hope in the song. I always knew that I would get out of that cycle eventually.

12. The Uncouth – “Ring The Bell”
    from: “Ring The Bell” – B Side Single / The Uncouth / 2022
    [Our friend Steve Gardels of the Kansas City based band The Uncouth writes to us that, “The Uncouth and I are in the studio finishing the tracking for our (untitled for now) full length record and we’ve been meaning to get you a little sample of what’s to come. Earlier this summer, we released a digital single called Know Your Roots with a B side called “Ring The Bell.” We’re an Oi! band so we write songs about work, that’s a given. With all of this talk about “quiet quitting” added to the ongoing discussion of workers’ rights and the fight for livable wages for all, we figured now is a great time to send Ring The Bell to a wider radio audience.’ // “We’ve all seen how corporations, politicians and bosses benefit from the hard work of the people “beneath” them. Profits are skyrocketing while the rest of us have watched our wages stay the same. Ring The Bell throws this into focus and asks “Will you let the bastards stand on your neck?”. For us, the answer is clear. No more breaking our backs just to pay our rent. Ring the Bell comes complete with our tried and true brand of street punk: pounding drums, ripping guitars, driving bass and group vocals to sing along with for the folks who’ve had enough. Fast and to the point with no swears (for once).”]

11:27 – Underwriting

17. Amado Espinoza – “The Blue Journey”
    from: Q’ansas / Amado Espinoza / July 6, 2022
    [Amado Espinoza Quartet brings Andean soul to the heartland. Amado plays traditional Andean instruments – the charango and sikus, as well as the mandolin and didgeridoo. He teams up with Andres Ramirez on percussion, Tina Bilberry on violin, & Johnny Hamil on bass, to bring a contemporary electric feel to Amado’s dynamic compositions. Expanding ideas of sound, texture and space, they invoke the musical ancestors of us all and activate the music that is alive in all our DNA. The journey is both ritual & joyous celebration.]

11:33 – Interview with Judith G. Levy

Artist Judith G. Levy joins us to share details about her solo exhibition of new work, “At the Heart of the Matter” showing through October 22, at Studios Inc, 1708 Campbell St, KCMO. Joey Orr, Curator for Research at the Spencer Museum of Art, wrote, “Throughout the exhibit, she wrestles with the heaviness of contemporary life, saturated by gender-based violence, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, ecological disaster, and the global pandemic.” Judith G. Levy is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores complexity, commonality and contradiction in personal stories, historical narratives and socio-cultural issues. She uses her queer gaze to examine memory, authenticity, and desire, while she reconfigures and recreates in order to describe departures from traditional understandings and to create new meanings. Levy has been the recipient of the Inspiration Grant from ArtsKC, a Charlotte Street Fellowship for an Art Omi Artist Residency, and a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship. Levy’s artwork has been exhibited both regionally and nationally. More info at http://www.studiosinc.org and http://www.judithglevy.com

Judith G. Levy thanks for being with us on WMM.

Judith G. Levy is the recipient of the Studios Inc. Residency Program

Studios Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides studio space, professional development, networking, and exhibitions for mid-career artists in the KCMO region. http://www.studiosinc.org

Launched in 2003 to serve mid-career artists, Studios Inc is Kansas City’s nonprofit arts organization that offers pivotal three-year residencies to mid-career artists who are poised to significantly expand their careers in accordance with the career goals articulated in their residency application. Its competitive application process, sharp focus on career advancement, and commitment to serve the under-served population of mid-career artists set Studios Inc apart from other artist-support organizations. Studios Inc offers a unique immersion experience for resident artists, who use their studio and exhibition space to produce and exhibit work, network and learn from one another, and attract and cultivate relationships with art patrons, collectors, and arts professionals.

Operating within Studios Inc are five unique but inseparable programs. These are the Residency Program discussed above, the Exhibition Series Program which exhibits resident artist works throughout the year free to the public, the Internship Program which offers students a custom designed internship experience that is immersive, fun and resume-building, the Patron Program which matches patrons to artists providing the opportunity for greater connection between patron and artist, and studios.gallery which leverages Studios Inc’s permanent collection to increase exposure for past and current resident artists and offers program support via sales.

“At the Heart of the Matter” showing through October 22, at Studios Inc, 1708 Campbell St, KCMO.

“At the Heart of the Matter” includes several parts:

POSTCARDS FROM THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE,
88 postcards, 2022-ongoing

Judith G. Levy began her ongoing project, POSTCARDS FROM THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE in 2021. She was searching for a way to explore her increasing concerns about the climate crisis, infrastructure fragility, and the erosion of the American democracy. Levy alters found postcards by repainting parts of them with gouache. She reframes the meanings of statues and monuments, and adjusts images of historic buildings, bridges, dams, highways, and scenic places to shift the focus away from sentimental pictures to confrontations about an endangered world.

TEARING #2

The Human Rights Campaign last year identified 57 transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming individuals that were killed in the United States in 2021, making this the deadliest year on record to date. Many of those killed by this increased violence are Black transgender women, and often their lives are also endangered by racism, poverty and transphobia. Frequently their deaths are reported using dead names and are misgendered. In the Jewish tradition of mourning, one tears one’s garment to represent the reality of death and to express grief. While she is not related familiarly to the 57 people who have been killed, Levy tore 57 shirts and wore one for each person. Her queered concept of family is an expanded one, and she mourns these deaths. The three empty places in the grid represent the many deaths that were unreported.

IM/MIGRATION: Portraits of Immigrant People and Migrant Plants, 29 photographs, 2021-ongoing

In her ongoing photographic project, Judith G. Levy creates portraits of refugee and immigrant individuals and pairs each person with a migrant (non-native) edible fruit or vegetable. Levy is interested in highlighting and celebrating the range, and diversity of people and plants who have come to the United States. Her project explores the definition of what is considered “American,”, as she honors refugees and immigrants who make their home here. Levy acknowledges the migrant plants that have become essential components in our daily diet. Many of the people Levy photographs live in Kansas and Missouri, two states that are considered part of the Heartland of America , a large region with traditional roots that has become more diverse.

IS COVID AT MY DOOR?

Judith G. Levy is immuno-compromised, and she has been very careful to protect herself from getting infected with the Covid-19 virus. Starting in October 2021, she began taking photographs daily through the peephole in the front door of her house, peeking out from what felt like a place of safety. Over times, what began as an anxious effort grew into a ritualistic practice that offered her meditative moments, as she connected with the world outside her door. The landscape beyond, albeit it consisted of a suburban, front lawn, became a healing agent, as well as reminder of nature’s beauty and enduring capacity for change. As she collected these images, they became a diary-like documentation of the passing of time during heightened concerns. She continued to photograph daily throughout March of 2022, when she received her second booster vaccination.

IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE, installation, 2022

In 1935 writer Sinclair Lewis published a novel, It Can’t Happen Here, which is about the fragility of the American democracy and a depiction of the rise of a United States dictator who curtails individual freedom. In October of 2021, a Texas state lawmaker created a list of 850 books he believes should be banned in schools throughout Texas. He has stated that the books on his list “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex”. Some of the books he wants to ban focus on transgender identity and critical race theory. Levy filmed librarians from her local library reading all 850 titles and included this in her installation on a monitor which also shows clips of a 2021 book burning event in Tennessee. In addition, she includes books that have a long-standing history of being banned or challenged, particularly in public and school libraries across the United States. Levy conceives this installation as both an alter and a pyre to capture the duality she sees about reading and books.

Ava Golem: The Story of a Protector, 2021, video, 9 min

In Jewish mystical beliefs, a Golem is an anthropomorphic being created from pure soil by Jews to protect them against adversaries who threaten their communities and lives. Narrative about Golems underscore the true fragility of Jewish life during centuries of persecution and annihilation in Europe. Judith G. Levy responded to the significant increase of anti-Semitism globally during the past several years and created a contemporary, queer Golem who is concerned not only about protecting Jews, but who also focuses on the present-day environmental crisis.

AMONG THE TREES

Among the Trees is an video installation created from found 35 mm slides converted into photographs and from edited found drone video. This project explores the range of the relationships we have with trees. The images move from ones on the left that depict people in the presence of trees to portraits of trees taken by unknown photographers to video footage of large-scale fire disasters. In the ones on the left trees are part of family portraits and provide for things such as shade for picnics and offer beauty to landscapes for homes and parks. In the second set, the trees are observed by many amateur photographers and are seen as objects of beauty or interest. The third part is comprised of edited drone video of the California fires of 2018. While this imagery is devastating, it is also more abstract, suggesting that our relationship with the trees is a more distant one, when it comes to environmental policy and practice.

200 found 35mm slides from the 1940’s to the ‘70’s, found drone video, total project is 14:51 minutes, looped video, 2020

http://www.judithglevy.com

Joey Orr, Curator for Research at the Spencer Museum of Art, wrote the following introductory text for the exhibition and discusses some of the work in this show.

“At the Heart of the Matter is a solo exhibition of new work by artist Judith G. Levy. Throughout the exhibit, she wrestles with the heaviness of contemporary life, saturated by gender-based violence, racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, ecological disaster, and the global pandemic. In the midst of seemingly ceaseless emergency, this exhibition stakes it claims on empathy, care, and a shared humanity. Like all forms of representation in her practice, the individual works are both real and metaphorical, playful and sincere. Using still and moving images and found objects, she moves across mediums, gently nudging visual and material cultures toward more compassionate horizons.”

Is Covid at My Door?, detail from 180 photographs in 3 sections, archival digital prints, total 72″h x 40″w, 2021/2022

“Levy depicts everyday objects as agents that reveal a shared human vulnerability. The front door acts as a threshold into the sanctity of home, while doubling as protection from the potential perils of the world beyond. The exhibit also reflects on the fluidity of global and local identities in a series of portraits photographed in simple, natural light. All of the participants are connected to the artist through trusted, word-of-mouth networks. Often dressed to reference their countries of origin, they cradle vegetables and fruits that are common, though not native to the United States. The series is a complex expression of immigration provoking viewers to consider their assumptions behind feelings of familiarity and difference. Old travel postcards are overpainted to reconstruct their locations, transformed by drought and flooding in present times and our not too distant futures. Through worn away landscapes and monuments, this work turns ironically on the souvenir’s inherent nostalgia for a lost world that was always predicated on the devaluation of lives and ecologies.”

I’M/MIGRATION: Portraits of Immigrant People and Migrant Plants, 17″h x 25w”, 2022

“In the video work, Golem, she doubles herself, appearing as the golem she has made for her own protection. It is a magical story addressing a violent and persistent history. It also acknowledges something about her making. Ava Golem explains that the artist has made her because “she’s frightened and worried; she’s scared.” Instead of turning away from the exploitation and structural inequalities of the world, Levy intervenes, however briefly, into how their meanings are conveyed. At the Heart of the Matter emerges from a fraught contemporary moment, and since the exhibition cannot remake the world on its own, it imagines its repair.”

Judith G. Levy thanks for being on WMM.

Judith Levy’s solo exhibition of new work, “At the Heart of the Matter” runs through October 22, at Studios Inc, 1708 Campbell St, KCMO.

18. Amado Espinoza – “Above The City Blocks”
    from: Q’ansas / Amado Espinoza / July 6, 2022
    [Amado Espinoza Quartet brings Andean soul to the American heartland. Amado plays traditional Andean instruments – the charango and sikus, as well as the mandolin and didgeridoo. He teams up with Andres Ramirez on percussion, Tina Bilberry on violin, and Johnny Hamil on bass, to bring a contemporary electric feel to Amado’s dynamic compositions. Expanding ideas of sound, texture and space, they invoke the musical ancestors of us all and activate the music that is alive in all our DNA. The journey is both ritual and joyous celebration.]
19. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Next week on Wednesday, October 5 we welcome members of the legendary band Fanny who are in Kansas City for the showing of their new documentary film and for a live concert at recordBar. The Film Society KC in partnership with Midwest Music Foundation and the Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City present a one-night-only screening of the new documentary, Fanny: The Right to Rock at Screenland Armour. on Oct 4, at 7:00 PM, with Fanny band members, June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, and Patti Quattro in attendance! Held in tandem with a one-night-only reunion concert from Fanny+ (June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, Patti Quatro, and Mia Huggins) with Katy Guillen and the Drive opening the show, at Record Bar, 1520 Grand Ave, KCMO, on Wednesday, October 5, Doors at 6:00 PM. FANNY was the first all-female rock act to record an entire album for a major record label, and in fact recorded and released five albums for major labels.

FANNY was the first all-female rock act to rise to real prominence in the US and Europe. Acknowledged by both the press and their many fans as an awesome live act – in the words of Steve Peacock, a top UK music journalist of the era, “if you close your eyes, it’s like listening to the Stones” – FANNY toured tirelessly for up to nine months of every year. In a career that stretched from 1970 to 1975, they had a string of hit singles and also played on the studio recordings of some legendary artists. In addition to their many live gigs, they performed on top music and variety television shows of the time, including The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Sonny and Cher Show, American Bandstand and The Beat Club, Germany’s most famous band program. “One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace. And that is Fanny… Revivify Fanny and I will feel that my work is done.” — David Bowie More info at: https://fannyrocks.com

Also next week we talk with Mike McCoy, Heather Grehan, and Lisa McKenzie about their special Cher UK reunion Shows with Danger Bob, and The Bubble Boys on Friday, October 7 at Liberty Hall In Lawrence and Saturday, October 9 at The Ship, 1221 Union in The West Bottoms.

Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org

Find our playlists for the past 10 years at: http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org

Wednesday MidDay Medley is all over social media and on the web at:
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
http://www.instagram.wednesday_midday_medley
http://www.soundcloud.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.bandcamp.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.twitter.com/MarkTManning
or http://www.kkfi.org

Show #961