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, December 27, 2023

The 120 Best Recordings of 2023
(Part 4 of 4)

Wednesday MidDay Medley presents part-four, of our four-week special: The 120 Best Recordings of 2023. Based on playlists of this little ole radio show, we’ve compiled representative tracks from our favorite full-length albums and EP recordings of 2023. We realize these “Best of” lists can seem subjective, so we ask that you please accept our list as a celebration of the year in music.

In 2023 we’ve broadcast nearly 900 different tracks on WMM over our 100,000 watts of 90.1 FM Community Radio Airwaves. Over 500 of these tracks were from New & MidCoastal Releases. We played tracks from National Releases, and MidCoastal Releases. 70 of the representative tracks in our “Best of” list are from MidCoastal Releases. We conducted over 150 interviews with 145 special guests. 50 of the bands and artists in our “Best of” list have joined us as guests on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

This Wednesday, we’ll count down from #30 through #1 of our list, with music from: Heidi Lynne Gluck, Red Kate, Iris Dement, Silicone Prairie, Janelle Monae, Dan Jones & The Squids, Bad Alaskan, Saving Miles Lemon, Various Blonde, Ivory Blue, Calvin Arsenia, Bob Walkenhorst, Supermassive Black Holes, Monta, Dragon Inn 3, Mike Dillon and Punkadelic, Andrew Connor, Sweeping Promises, Yves Tumor, Joanna Sternberg, Meshell Ndegeocello, Photo Ops, Wednesday, Noname, Sufjan Stevens, Mitski, Allison Russell, Ratboys, Anohni and The Johnsons, and Abraham Alexander.

The 120 Best Recordings of 2023 is our celebration of the year in music.

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / Universal / Dec. 20, 1979 [WMM’s theme]

2. (#30.) The Ratboys – “Morning Zoo”
   from: The Window / Topshelf Records / August 25, 2023
   [Chicago’s beloved Ratboys release their fourth studio album, The Window, via Topshelf Records featuring the single “It’s Alive!” and launched their US tour. After more than ten years and four studio albums, The Window finally captures Ratboys as they were always meant to be heard—expansive while still intimate, audacious while still tender—the sound of four friends operating as a single, cohesive unit. The album is sonically diverse, shifting wildly from track to track and flexing everything from fuzzy power pop choruses to warm country twang to mournful folk.// Lyrically, The Window sees Julia Steiner at her most personal, reflecting on love and grief with occasional humor and levity. She frequently leans on windows as a theme—the idea of an interrupted connection, the feeling of being near someone without being fully present—like on the pounding lead single, “It’s Alive!” Opening with Steiner’s honeyed vocals, “Outside my window the birds dance alone // I sit back and take it in // Like some sort of medicine,” it’s a bright and vivacious track that, in Steiner’s words, captures “the overarching feeling of the world spinning on beneath you while you’re stuck in one place.” In the video, directed by John TerEick, Ratboys play in an empty house, as its owners slowly start to move in. // The Window marks a number of firsts for the band. Throughout the last few years, Sean Neumann (bass) and Marcus Nuccio (drums) became full-time members alongside Julia Steiner (vocals, guitar) and Dave Sagan (guitars), making The Window the first album Ratboys have written collaboratively from start to finish. It was also the first time they’d ever traveled outside their home base of Chicago to record an album, journeying to Seattle to work with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, Foxing) for three weeks. The group worked on the arrangements together over the course of a year and half, so by the time the band showed up to the Hall of Justice Recording Studio in February 2022, The Window’s songs were well rehearsed and airtight. “We spent 2020 demoing the songs, and spent 2021 practicing them,” says Steiner. “We practiced twice a week for six months, exploring the songs and developing them. We’d send early versions to Chris and he’d give us notes. It went like that for weeks. It was such a dedicated and intentional process.”]

3. (#29.) Photo Ops – “When You See Something Beautiful”
   from: Burns Bright / Paul Is Dead Records / April 28, 2023
   [Photo Ops is the musical project of Terry Price. This is Photo Ops’ 4th album. Burns Bright explores hope, loss, and nostalgia through the lens of hushed yet sweeping melodies, anchored with fingerpicked guitar, lush piano, and synth flourishes. Burns Bright is out April 28, 2023 on Paul Is Dead Records. // The autumn blaze maple tree, famous as music in Nashville, is a fast grower. Imagine its teeming majesty of red leaves from above one house in the city’s Inglewood neighborhood. You see it ensconced like a controlled flame by rolling hills and winding roads. A familiar pattern lulls you from days into nights in this dreamy park town. You never realized from the ground, under the shade of that tree, how all these beautiful designs in any city keep you sane. // The sweeping vantage points of Photo Ops’ Burns Bright belong first to the quiet of Nashville’s first modern suburb after World War II. Terry Price lived there while perfecting the melodic soft-rock modes that pleased audiences on tour with Camera Obscura and Fences. Price took this way of seeing to a new home in Los Angeles. Long drives through dimensional vistas ended in his room in Los Feliz where he recorded Burns Bright. When Etta James, Molly Drake, and The Byrds are all touchpoints of sound and silence, what emerges is a gentle homage to the commonalities of lasting influence in pop music, a kind of time-bending presentiment — the moment of tracking in a studio when everyone senses it’s a moment that will be remembered. Reaching through the layer of industry noise in both hallmark cities as we know them from a distance — is this a hit? — Price treasures the visceral experience of making and recognizing music. // The most devout of craftspeople, Price is on a quest toward the merciful essence of recognition when he writes songs; each line discovers a pure element of comfort, calling back to the land and to his musician mother’s love of transcendent melodies. Burns Bright reminds us how those forces are one and the same. // Price’s heroes in music are more than inspirations. To him, they offer examples of how to keep breathing in a culture that discourages total presence. It’s true that moving an open heart through the world comes with constant risk. Looking out at the expanse we all share — really seeing that world — is the practice of Burns Bright, and the special ability that makes Price a songwriter to cherish.]

4. (#28.) Joanna Sternberg – “I’ve Got Me”
   from: I’ve Got Me / Fat Possum Records / June 30, 2023
   [Joanna Sternberg was born August 18, 1991. Joanna is a singer, songwriter, visual artist and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. Sternberg released their debut full-length album, Then I Try Some More, on Team Love Records, later picked up on Fat Possum Records. Sternberg went on their first tour opening for Conor Oberst in North America in July 2018. Sternberg’s second album, I’ve Got Me, was released in 2023, on Fat Possum Records; it was produced by Matt Sweeney. Sternberg identifies as gender neutral and uses singular they/them pronouns. They are based in Manhattan. Sternberg is Jewish. At Joanna’s Bandca,p page she writes: “i, my name is Joanna. I am a person who sings songs, writes songs, draws, plays different musical instruments, and watches what the majority of the world would consider “WAY TOO MUCH” TV. You do not have to buy my album but if you do, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And also thank you so much if you are reading this! I love you!” More info at” http://www.joannasternberg.com]

5. (#27.) Wednesday – “Quarry”
   from: Rat Saw God / Dead Oceans / April 7, 2023
   [Rat Saw God is the fifth studio album by American rock band Wednesday. On September 8, 2022, the band left Orindal Records and signed to Dead Oceans, releasing the single “Bull Believer”. On January 18, 2023, the band released the single “Chosen to Deserve” and announced their fifth album, Rat Saw God, which was released on April 7, 2023. // Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming concluded, “Some albums sound like the artists were trying with all their might to make an epic statement in words and music; Rat Saw God sounds like Wednesday had no such lofty aims, but their commitment to the people they write about and their instincts about crafting music to match make this a stunningly powerful work that may well turn out to be a masterpiece.” In Beats Per Minute, Tim Sentz claimed that the album is an example of, “a band operating at their highest most infectious potency, and the end result is riveting.” Craig Howwieson at Clash described it as, “Finding magic in the mire – ‘Rat Saw God’ is an emphatic, uplifting reminder of the privilege of being alive.” // Wednesday is an American band from Asheville, North Carolina, currently signed to Dead Oceans. The band consists of vocalist Karly Hartzman, guitarist Jake Lenderman, lap steel player Xandy Chelmis, and drummer Alan Miller. Wednesday was formed in 2017 as Karly Hartzman’s personal songwriting project. // Hartzman was inspired to start playing guitar after watching Mitski’s NPR Tiny Desk concert. Hartzman attended college in Asheville, where she met Daniel Gorham. The two recorded an album together under the moniker Wednesday titled yep definitely. The band’s name was inspired by the British band The Sundays. // After releasing this record, Hartzman formed another band called Diva Sweetly, alongside members of the band Pictures of Vernon. Hartzman was interested in making shoegaze music, which was not the music Diva Sweetly was making. Thus, Hartzman gathered new members to join the Wednesday band and released the second album with the group, titled I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone in 2020. The group released their third record, Twin Plagues, on August 13, 2021.// On March 11, 2022, the band released a covers album titled Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ’em Up, featuring covers versions of songs by Gary Stewart, Chris Bell, Roger Miller, Drive-By Truckers, Hotline TNT, Greg Sage, Vic Chesnutt, Medicine and The Smashing Pumpkins. On September 8, 2022, the band left Orindal Records and signed to Dead Oceans, releasing the single “Bull Believer”. On January 18, 2023, the band released the single “Chosen to Deserve” and announced a fifth album, Rat Saw God, which was released on April 7, 2023.] [Wednesday played the recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, on Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00 PM ]

6. (#26.) Bob Walkenhorst – “My Version Of The Story”
   from: My Version Of The Story/ BAT Records / November 1, 2023
   [For this record Bob played all instruments and sang all vocal parts and recorded this himself in his home studio. This new release follows Bob Walkenhorst’s last album A Thousand Words a 12 song album released June 1, 2021 on Bob’s 68th Birthday. Bob’s solo releases are beautiful and demonstrate the range of Bob Walkenhorst’s gifts as a master songwriter and poet. The album is also evidence of the wide open vocal range of a rock and roller who can call upon his expressive voice, giving listeners lyrics with a growl and also rising to sing the high parts of the harmony, not in a falsetto, but actually singing like a angel in a duet with Una Walkenhorst his equally talented singer songwriter daughter. With Una, Bob recorded the critically acclaimed FOR TOMORROW with that was released October 12, 2018, where they split the difference, taking turns as songwriters for the album’s songs, written individually, and recorded together, in clear beautiful harmonies, with that extra special shared musical DNA, that can be heard in the harmonies of The Carter Family, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, or Shy Boys. FOR TOMORROW was #2 on WMM’s 118 Best recordings of 2018. Una Walkenhorst is the youngest daughter of Bob Walkenhorst, a founding member of The Rainmakers, which had national and international hits in the 1980s and 90s, and continue to this day touring and recording new music. With The Rainmakers Bob has released over 12 albums. Bob’s solo record continues the spirit of FOR TOMORROW. // From http://www.bobwalkenhorst.com : Bob Walkenhorst has spent most of his life as a musician, as lead singer and songwriter for the critically acclaimed rock band, The Rainmakers. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Bob and the band have released 9 albums over their 30+ year career, and continue to tour and record. // Bob’s songs gained attention for their lyrical content – thoughtful, humorous, witty, with insightful social commentary. This interest in the power of words eventually led to the publication of a book of Bob’s song lyrics – Scribbling On the Walls of the Mansion – published in 2019. And now Whirlybird Day – published in 2020. // Bob grew up in the small town of Norborne, Missouri, and also spent years in Maryville and Branson. These years of small town life served as the inspiration for the stories in Whirlybird Day. // Bob lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife, Michele Sewell, two daughters and two granddaughters nearby. // Bob Walkenhorst is a Kansas City-based singer, songwriter, musician, and painter. After growing up in his hometown of Norborne, Missouri, he became a founding member of the popular Midwestern U.S. roots rock band The Rainmakers. In the Kansas City area, he currently gives weekly performances and participates in art gallery shows. For some shows, he is joined by his daughter Una. // As the singer/songwriter of his band, The Rainmakers, from 1986 to 1996, Walkenhorst’s discography included five full-length studio albums, one live concert recording, and one “best-of” album. After the dissolution of the band, he released his first solo album, The Beginner, in 2003. In 2009, Walkenhorst and fellow Kansas City musician Jeff Porter released an album entitled No Abandon, under the moniker Walkenhorst and Porter. The Rainmakers reformed in 2011 and have since released three more albums. // Throughout his career as a musician, Walkenhorst has maintained a reputation for producing clever and provocative lyrics, which have garnered him wide critical acclaim. In discussing the self-titled debut of The Rainmakers, Billboard called them “a band with a rarity: a genuinely witty songwriter.” A 1987 review in the Washington Post cited the cleverness while also noting irreverent humor. On a very different note, a review from later that year in the Chicago Tribune observed, “Walkenhorst’s lyrics are preoccupied with morality, although he avoids a moralizing tone.” Over three decades later, in 2018, the Richmond (Missouri) News said, “His unique vocals and viewpoints have garnered him a dedicated following, through more than 30 years in the music scene.” // Perhaps the best-known fan of The Rainmakers and Walkenhorst was Stephen King, who included lyrics from the songs “Downstream” and “Drinkin’ on the Job” in The Tommyknockers. In Gerald’s Game, King excerpted “One More Summer”—citing Walkenhorst by name—and adopted Walkenhorst’s character “The Lakeview Man” in service of the story. // More info at: http://www.bobwalkenhorst.com] [Bob Walkenhorst joined us in WMM on June 2, 2021]

7. (#25.) Various Blonde – “Love Is How We Will Survive”
   from: Love Is How We Will Survive / Various Blonde / September 1, 2023
   [10 track album hat contains 4 singles released over the last two years. Various Blonde is a Kansas City based experimental, rock, pop, and funk band originally formed in 2008 and currently served by founder Joshua Allen on guitar, synthesizers, and vocals; and Mark Lomas on drums. The band has been described by Mills Record Company as, “Having all the sex appeal of The Weeknd and all the grit of Rage Against the Machine–the combination makes for a performance that is explosive.” On September 24, 2022 Various Blonde released the single, “Love is How We Survive.” On August 19, 2022 Various Blonde released the single, “Obtuse”. On June 9, 2022 Various Blonde released the single, “Too Many Secrets.” On March 13, 2020 Various Blonde released a three song EP called 3s 2 through The Record Machine. On January 2020 Various Blonde released a three song EP called 3s 1 through The Record Machine. On September 16, 2016 Various Blonde released the 10-track album ALL BASES COVERED through The Record Machine. On January 13, 2015 Various Blonde release the 10-track album, SUMMER HIGH. “More info at: http://www.variousblonde.com]

8. (#24.) Yves Tumor – “Echolalia”
   from: Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) / Warp Records / March 17, 2023
   [Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is produced by Noah Goldstein (Frank Ocean, Rosalía, Drake, Rihanna, Bon Iver), and mixed by Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails), lending the album with a sonic signature that acts as a distillation and amplification of Yves’ previous work. The album’s boundlessly visceral aesthetic is bolstered by invaluable contributions from long-time collaborators Chris Greatti (Yungblud, WILLOW), Yves Rothman (Girlpool, Amaarae) and Rhys Hastings, melding restraint and chaos in a soulful clarity. // Yves Tumor released their 4th album HEAVEN TO A TORTURED MIND on April 2, 2020. Yves Tumor aka Sean Bowie is best known by the recording alias Yves Tumor, is an American producer of experimental electronic music, born in Miami, Florida and currently based in Turin, Italy. Raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tumor started making music at age 17 as an outlet away from “dull, conservative surroundings.” They taught themself to play drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards. Describing their experience growing up in Tennessee as unpleasant, they moved at age 20 to San Diego, and after college to Los Angeles, where they met Mykki Blanco in 2012, with whom they later toured for two and a half years throughout Europe and Asia.In the early 2010s, Tumor recorded as Teams, and made music which AllMusic described as “post-chillwave”. They debuted their Yves Tumor project in 2015 with an EP for Berlin’s experimental club label Janus, and another one for Blanco’s label, Dogfood MG. That same year, they self-released their first album, When Man Fails You (which would later be re-released by Apothecary Compositions on April 29, 2016). In September 2016, Tumor signed with PAN Records and released its label debut, Serpent Music. They had worked on the album for three years after moving to Leipzig, Germany. The album was recorded between Miami, Leipzig, Los Angeles and Berlin. In Pitchfork’s review of the album, critic Andy Beta compared Tumor’s musical style to James Ferraro and Dean Blunt, and noted their use of “unsettling percussive loops and field recordings to create a mood as if lost in a strange urban landscape”. In September 2017, Tumor released a compilation album titled Experiencing the Deposit of Faith for free. Later that week, it was revealed through a tour announcement that Tumor had signed to Warp Records. Following the announcement, they embarked on a tour with a new audiovisual show. In September 2018, Tumor released their Warp debut, Safe in the Hands of Love, with no prior announcement. It was preceded by the singles “Noid” on July 24, “Licking an Orchid” featuring James K on August 29, and “Lifetime” on September 3. The album received universal acclaim from music critics. Pitchfork’s Jayson Greene stated in their review that the album “dwarfs everything the artist has released by several orders of magnitude. The leap is so audacious it’s disorienting.” Tumor’s fourth album, Heaven to a Tortured Mind, was released on April 3, 2020, preceded on March 3 by the single “Kerosene” featuring Diana Gordon. Alexis Petridis, reviewing the album for The Guardian, awarded it Album of the Week, describing it as “extraordinary: experimental, capable of any genre, with an internal logic powering its shifts in mood. Tumor has cited Throbbing Gristle as a major influence, saying: “There’s something about their music, like the hypnotic trance vibes, that really influenced me.]

10:29 – Underwriting

9. (#23.) Noname – “beauty supply”
   from: Sundial / AWAL Recordings / august 11, 2023
   [From the Pitchfork, August 11, 2023, 8.8 review of SUNDIAL >>> “Sometimes the only way to work through the bullshit is to point at your close friends and ask, “Do you all see this, too, or am I bugging?” Their confirmations stop you from feeling like you’re on a different planet from everyone else. That’s the driving force behind Noname’s first project in five years, the eye-opening and disruptive Sundial. On the first track, with her typical buttery, head-in-the-clouds delivery, she raps, “We smokin’ positivity like dust, trust.” It’s a cutting quip: She’s fed up with anti-critical positivity, the kind that leads corporations to dress up and commodify Black art, turning an artist’s politics into a commercialized performance. She has no time for the idea that It’s all good as long as they’re Black, no matter what they’re selling. Sundial pushes back against that complacency in a real regular-person kind of way. It’s not preachy or too heavy. Noname is not trying to sell herself as a revolutionary. She’s also unafraid of biting self-reflection that leaves her own contradictions out in the open. In rap, where it’s so often about seeming indestructible, hanging yourself out to dry is a gutsy move.” // From wikipedia: Fatimah Nyeema Warner was born September 18, 1991. She is known professionally as Noname (pronounced “no name”), and is an American rapper, poet, and record producer. Since 2019, she has run the Noname Book Club, which focuses on radical texts by authors of color. She is also one-third of the musical supergroup Ghetto Sage with fellow rappers Smino and Saba. // Noname began rapping and performing slam poetry in 2010, and gained wider recognition in 2013 for her appearance on the track “Lost” from Chance the Rapper’s mixtape Acid Rap. Noname released her debut mixtape, Telefone, on July 31, 2016, to critical acclaim. Her debut album, Room 25, was released on September 14, 2018, and received further critical acclaim. // Noname grew up in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. She was raised by her grandparents until she was in middle school. Her grandparents were entrepreneurs, as was her mother, who owned Afrocentric Bookstore. When she returned to live with her mother, she had a new sibling and she and her mother did not get along. // As a teenager, she listened to blues musicians Buddy Guy and Howlin’ Wolf, and spent time in her mother’s bookstore. She started writing poetry after taking a creative writing class in high school. As a teen, she spent time in the YOUMedia project, a space for young artists to create and network then based at the Harold Washington Library. There, she befriended many local talents, including Chance the Rapper. // Noname’s interest in poetry led her to compete in local open mics and slam poetry competitions; she took third place in Chicago’s annual Louder Than a Bomb competition. Noname then started to freestyle rap with friends, collaborating with local Chicago artists including Chance the Rapper, Saba, and Mick Jenkins. // In 2013, she appeared on Chance the Rapper’s second mixtape, Acid Rap, contributing a verse to the track “Lost” and singing the chorus. She later contributed a verse to the song “Finish Line/Drown” from Chance the Rapper’s 2016 mixtape Coloring Book. In December 2016, she appeared with Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live. She announced her first tour on November 13, 2016. // In 2014, she was featured on Mick Jenkins’s mixtape The Waters, contributing to the track “Comfortable”. In 2015, she was featured on multiple tracks from Kirk Knight’s album Late Knight Special. That year, she also featured on fellow Chicago rapper Ramaj Eroc’s single “I Love You More”. // Noname first used the stage name “Noname Gypsy”, which she chose as a teenager when she was transitioning from poetry to music, believing “gypsies were very nomadic, just not about staying in one space for a long time”. In March 2016, she removed “Gypsy” from her stage name after learning of its racial connotation, saying she had been unaware of its negative connotations and did not want to offend Romani people. In a 2016 interview with The Fader, she explained her current stage name, following the change: “I try to exist without binding myself to labels. I’m not really into labels at all, even the way I dress; I usually don’t wear anything with a name brand. For me, not having a name expands my creativity. I’m able to do anything. Noname could potentially be a nurse. Noname could be a screenwriter. I’m not limited to any one category of art or other existence, on a more existential level.” // Noname released her first mixtape, Telefone, on July 31, 2016, after three years of production. Telefone publicized her new stage name through songs presented as open-ended telephone conversations. The album centers on important telephone conversations Noname has had. Her rap speaks of black women’s pain and highlights the struggles of growing up in Chicago. The album was originally released as a free download on Bandcamp, and then on vinyl in September 2017. Rolling Stone called it one of 2016’s “most thought-provoking hip-hop.” Stereogum wrote that Noname possessed “a potency and urgency in her complicated, spoken word-esque cadences and subdued delivery that escapes many of her more animated peers.” Consequence of Sound wrote that “the louder her music is played, the brighter her cadence glows, giving her lyrics a type of 3D craft that makes Telefone a diary of lessons too relevant to keep to yourself.” // In October 2016, Noname and fellow Chicago resident Saba collaborated to produce “Church/Liquor Store”, a song that explores the Westside of Chicago, where liquor stores sit directly next to places of worship. Noname critiques the gentrification of the neighborhood and the erasure of crime believed to accompany it. // Noname performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert in April 2017.]

10. (#22.) MeShell Ndegeocello – “Call The Tune”
    from: The Omnichord Real Book / Blue Note – Verve / June 16, 2023
    [13th album from acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello who makes her Blue Note Records debut with The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary, expansive, and deeply jazz-influenced album that marks the start of a new chapter in her career. Following her 2018 album Ventriloquism, Meshell returns with an album of new original material that taps into a broad spectrum of her musical roots. The Omnichord Real Book was produced by Josh Johnson and features a wide range of guest artists including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez, Mark Guiliana, Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman, Thandiswa, and others. // Meshell Ndegeocello was born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968 in West Berlin, Germany, to US Army Sergeant Major and saxophonist father Jacques Johnson and health care worker mother Helen. She was raised in Washington, D.C. where she attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Oxon Hill High School. She is a singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her later work. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and rock. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career, being nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, and winning one. She also has been credited for helping to “spark the neo-soul movement”. // Ndegeocello adopted her surname, which she says means “free like a bird” in Swahili. Early pressings of Plantation Lullabies were affixed with stickers to help pronounce her name. The spelling has changed in the hands of record labels a few times during her career; the correct spelling of her stage name as of 2001 is Meshell Ndegeocello.]

11. (#21.) Supermassive Black Holes – “Weatherby Lake”
    from: Stop Safely Now / Supermassive Black Holes / October 27, 2023
    [The album was recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights and Measures Soundlab. Supermassive Black Holes are: Alexis Barclay on bass guitar & vocals; John Johnson on electric & acoustic guitar, synthesizer, kazoo & vocals; Matt Davis on drums, piano & vocals; and Chad Brothers on electric & acoustic guitar & vocals. Song written by Chad Brothers] [Supermassive Black Holes played an Album Release Party “Acoustic” Show at Mike Kelly’s Westsider, 1515 Westport Rd. KCMO on Thursday, October 26, 2023.] [Supermassive Black Holes played an Album Release Party Electric Show at Lucia, 1016 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS. on Friday, November 10, 2023.] {Chad Brothers joined us on WMM on Oct. 25, 2023]

[Supermassive Black Holes play a New Year’s Eve Eve Show at OurHouseKC, 1815 West 39th St., KCMO, on Saturday, December 30, 2023.]

12. (#20.) Mitski – “Bug Like An Angel”
    from: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We / Dead Oceans / September 15, 2023
    [7th studio album from Mitski Miyawaki, born Mitsuki Laycock on September 27, 1990, known mononymously as Mitski. She is an American singer and songwriter. She self-released her first two albums, Lush (2012), and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013), while studying studio composition at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music. The albums were originally made as her senior project. Her third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, was released in 2014 on the label Double Double Whammy. // Mitski signed with Dead Oceans in 2015 and released Puberty 2 (2016), Be the Cowboy (2018), and Laurel Hell (2022), the last of which made the top ten in several countries. In 2022, The Guardian dubbed her the “best young songwriter” in the United States. That same year, she co-wrote “This Is a Life” for the film Everything Everywhere All at Once, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Her seventh studio album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, was released in 2023. // Mitski was born in Mie Prefecture, Japan to an American father and a Japanese mother. Her first language was Japanese. She moved frequently while growing up due to her father’s job at the United States Department of State, living in Turkey, China, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo before settling in the United States. She sang in a choir in high school and was 18 when she wrote her first song on the piano.]

13. (#19.) Dan Jones and The Squids – “Shook Loose”
    from: Rock And Roll Daydreams / Dan Jones / Aug. 5, 2023
    [ROCK AND ROLL DAYDREAMS that was released on vinyl on September 1, 2023. Dan Jones and The Squids are: Dan Jones on vocals & guitar; Matt Ronan on drums & vocals, and Steve Tulipana on bass. On the record Rich Wheeler joined them on tenor saxophone for the songs, “Rock & Roll Daydreams” and “Rhythm and The Rhyme.” Their album was engineered by Brendan “JB” Moreland at Temple Sounds in KCMO and mixed by Brendan at Massive Sound Studios in Shawnee, KS. // Dan Jones and The Squids released SERVE WITHOUT DELAY on February 5, 2021. It was recorded Friday, February 13, 2020 at recordBar, with Paul Malinowski: live sound & recording engineer. Mixed and edited by Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound, Shawnee Kansas. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. Dan Jones on guitar & vocals, Matt Ronan on drums & vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass & vocals. All songs by Daniel Sherman Jones (BMI), except “I Wanna Be You” by Ed Cole. In 2020 the band didn’t get to play out much, so they hunkered down and worked up a double album’s worth of new tunes. It was a weekly woodshed-workshop that culminated with a live-streamed live-album show on November 13, 2020 at recordBar. Paul Malinowski engineered and mixed. // Dan Jones and The Squids released WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD on December 6, 2019. It was Recorded at Temple Sounds in KCMO, 2018-2019. Engineered. by JB Moreland. Produced by Dan Jones and The Squids and JB Moreland. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. With Dan Jones on acoustic & electric guitars, keyboard, lead vocals + drums/bass on “Love/Life”; Matt Ronan on drums, percussion, vocals; Alex Alexander on electric guitar, vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass, vocals; Joey Slab on poem and spiel on “Beach, Please”; Scot Sperry on electric slide guitar on “Love/Life”; Donna Jones on lyrics to “The Violet Man.” / Dan Jones is among the hardworking lifers with taste and talent, keeping the dream alive that music matters. This is the Kansas City singer/songwriter’s seventh LP over two decades, starting in Eugene, OR before returning to his native, non-coastal home. His bio speaks of support gigs with Mike Watt (who plays these Squids on his radio show), Dinosaur Jr., Steve Wynn, John Doe, Tav Falco, Pedaljets, Peter Case, and Minus 5, all hinted at in his fine music. But what he/they most remind of is Watt’s influence The Urinals/100 Flowers, in the way he breaks out homey tunes in the rush of spikier energy—like “My Favorite Lounge,” which spits guitar glory with gusto following tight circular riffs, while hailing soulful, sweaty dives with honest bands. It’s where you’d want to catch Jones and his cephalopods, happily blasting away. . // More info at: More info at: http://www.danjonesmusic.com][Dan Jones and The Squids played a Record Release Show at Woodyard BBQ, 3001 Merriam, in KCK, on Saturday, September 9, at 7:00 PM. with Tick Check. Dan Jones & Steve Tulipana joined us on WMM on Sept. 6, 2023.]

Dan Jones Discography

dan jones: for your radio (2000)

dan jones: one man submarine (2003)

dan jones: get sounds now (2005)

dan jones and the squids: totally human (2007)

dan jones and peter wilde: my name is john smith (2010)

the golden motors (2011)

the golden motors II (2018)

dan jones and the squids: we live in a world that is out of this world (2019)

dan jones and the squids: serve without delay (2021)

14. (#18.) Janelle Monáe – “Lipstick Lover
    from: The Age of Pleasure / Wondaland Productions – Badboy Records /June 8, 2023
    [The Age of Pleasure is the fourth studio album by Janelle Monáe. Two singles have been released so far to promote the album: “Float” and “Lipstick Lover”. Monáe announced the album alongside the release of “Lipstick Lover”, which they first previewed at their Met Gala after-party in early May. It is her first studio album in over five years since her previous album Dirty Computer (2018). // Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985 in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in a working-class community of Kansas City, Kansas in the neighborhood of Quindaro. Her mother, Janet, worked as a janitor and a hotel maid. Her father, Michael Robinson Summers, was a truck driver. Monáe’s parents separated when Monáe was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker. Monáe has a younger sister, Kimmy, from their mother’s remarriage. // Monáe was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church. Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church, the Baptist church, and the Church of God in Christ. Monáe dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age, and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Monáe bought two copies of with her first check, was another source of inspiration. She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows, winning three years in a row. // As a teenager, Monáe was enrolled in the Coterie Theater’s Young Playwrights’ Round Table, which began writing musicals. One musical, completed when she was around the age of 12, was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”. // Monáe attended F. L. Schlagle High School, and after high school, moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she was the only black woman in her class. Monáe enjoyed the experience, but feared that she might lose her edge and “sound, or look or feel like anybody else”. In a 2010 interview Monáe explained, “I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn’t want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person.” // After a year and a half, Monáe dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta, enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University. She began writing her own music and performing around the campus. In 2003, Monáe self-released a demo album titled The Audition, which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant. During this period, Monáe became acquainted with songwriters and producers Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder. The three would eventually form the Wondaland Arts Collective. She worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan’s e-mail using a company computer, an incident that inspired the song “Lettin’ Go”, which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi. // Janelle Monáe Robinson (/moʊˈneɪ/;[9] born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. Monáe is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Monáe won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010. Monáe was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018. In 2012, Monáe became a CoverGirl spokesperson. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 “Janelle Monáe Day” in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership. // Monáe’s musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition. In 2007, Monáe publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in 2010, through Bad Boy Records, Monáe released a first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album and sequel to her first EP. In 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.’s single “We Are Young”, which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monáe a wider audience. Her second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven-part Metropolis concept series. // In 2016, Monáe made her theatrical film debut in two high-profile productions; Monáe starred in Hidden Figures as NASA mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson, and also starred in Moonlight. Hidden Figures was a box office success, while Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 89th annual ceremony. Monáe’s third studio album, Dirty Computer, also described as a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications and earned Monáe two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monáe’s Dirty Computer Tour, which lasted from June to August 2018.]

15. (#17.) Abraham Alexander – “Déjà Vu (feat. Mavis Staples)”
    from: SEA/SONS / Dualtone Music Group / April 14, 2023
    [Abraham Alexander’s debut album SEA/SONS. Born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, Alexander moved to Texas with his family at age 11 to escape the racial tensions they faced in his birthplace. Shortly after moving to the states, his birth mother was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver, leading Alexander to be adopted later in his teens. He found solace in sports as a soccer prodigy and later, following a torn ACL that ended his playing career, in music once a friend handed Alexander a guitar and he unexpectedly found songs pouring out of him. // The 11 tracks on SEA/SONS touch on themes of loss, redemption, longing, anguish and joy. And while his lyrics speak to pain, trauma and life-changing loss, he instills his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirit, ultimately giving way to songs that radiate undeniable hope.][Abraham Alexander played The Madrid Theater, 3810 Main Street, KCMO on Monday, May 1, at 7:30 PM opening for Wilder Woods / The Fever / Sky Tour. More info at http://www.madredtheatre.org]

16. (#16.) Sufjan Stevens – “Will Anybody Ever Love Me”
    from: Javelin / Asthmatic Kitty / October 6, 2023
    [adrienne maree brown sings on “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?“ “Everything That Rises“ “Genuflecting Ghost,“ “My Red Little Fox,“ “So You Are Tired,“ and “Javelin (To Have And To Hold).“ Nedelle Torrisi sings on “A Running Start.“ Pauline Delassus sings on “Shit Talk.“ Bryce Dessner plays acoustic and electric guitars on “Shit Talk“. Megan Lui and Hannah Cohen sing on “Goodbye Evergreen,“ “A Running Start,” “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?“ “Everything That Rises,“ “My Red Little Fox,“ “So You Are Tired“ “Javelin (To Have And To Hold),“ “Shit Talk,“ and “There’s A World.“ Sufjan Stevens performs everything else. This album was recorded, engineered, arranged, produced and mixed by Sufjan Stevens. Mastered by Heba Kadry, NYC. Vinyl mastering by Josh Bonati. // All original artwork, collage, painting, photography, typography, layout and design by Sufjan Stevens. // Over the course of his career, Sufjan Stevens has blurred distinctions between the major and the minor, between the details that color our existence and the big events that frame our lives. He has turned historical footnotes of States into kaleidoscopic pop, and rendered the immeasurable grief of loss with intimacy and grace. // His new album ‘Javelin’—Sufjan’s first solo album of songs since 2020’s The Ascension and his first in full solo singer-songwriter mode since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell—bridges all these approaches. Sufjan uses the quietness of a solitary confession to ask universal questions in songs we can share communally. // Where The Ascension, lauded by The New York Times as “a cry of despair and prayer for redemption,” used ornate but urgent electronics to square up to its moment, ‘Javelin’ begins more like a self-portrait, detailed yet plain. Yet whether listened to individually or as an album, these 10 songs become something much bigger, the entire experience of Sufjan’s 25-year career expressed in four-minute bursts. Choral, orchestral, and electric wonder: it all shows in ‘Javelin’, all of it animating these songs as full spectacles. In each song we hear the vulnerability and candor of quiet starts, then Sufjan raising the stakes. // At times, ‘Javelin’ has the feel of a big team album production—but it is decidedly not: almost every sound here is the result of Sufjan at home, building by himself what sometimes feels like a testament to classic ’70s Los Angeles studio recording sessions. There are indispensable contributions from a close circle of friends; the harmonies of five singers who afford ‘Javelin’ so much frisson: adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui, and Nedelle Torrisi. Bryce Dessner plays acoustic and electric guitar on “Shit Talk.” And, of course, Neil Young wrote the tender and mystic closer, “There’s a World.” // And speaking of the world: there is a permeable sense of world-building imbued in every corner of ‘Javelin’, especially in the 48-page book of art and essays that accompanies the album. With a series of meticulous collages, cut-up catalog fantasies, puff-paint word clouds, and iterative color fields, Sufjan builds order from seeming chaos and vice versa. And toward the middle of it all are 10 short essays by Sufjan, another window into the process that informed ‘Javelin’. // On ‘Javelin’, Sufjan returns as we may know him best, offering vulnerable reflections on love and relationships, so that in listening we may see ourselves more fully.

11:00 – Station ID

17. (#15.) Sweeping Promises – “Eraser”
    from: Good Living is Coming For You / Feel it Records – Sub Pop / June 30, 2023
    [“For more than a half century, underground music revolutionaries have taken a whack at the mundane mainstream like a piñata. England punks spat “NO FUTURE” at germ-free adolescents. Ohio new wavers devolutionized mankind with whips. Athens art school students chomped at hero worship. MetroCard-carrying riot grrrls rebirthed the bomp with a gasoline gut. In 2020, Sweeping Promises read our pandemic minds with Hunger for a Way Out. In 2023, they return with a new message: Good Living Is Coming For You. At first glance, this nouveau wave slogan offers hope wrapped around relief. At first listen, we realize this may actually be a warning. Darker still, a threat. // A band famous for their unfussy, monolithic anthems, Sweeping Promises elegantly ravage us again with another future classic. They return as a fist of velvet rose petals roaring inside a compact wrecking ball. Gone is the Boston brutalist ambience of their subterranean concrete laboratory and the revelatory single mic recording technique. In its place, a retired and resplendent nude painting studio in Lawrence, Kansas, bathed in light with high ceilings and hardwood floors. Guided once again by their surrounding architecture, a reverb-rich space remains the defining element at the heart of their highly stylized sound. A watery ghost from the golden age of art-punk now wields sharper knives and more microphones. // If the mood of HFAWO was hungry, GLICFY is RAVENOUS. In 2023, appetite is addressed in new ways: Power struggles are aired in “Eraser,” restraints are broken in “You Shatter,” anguished exclamations sting in “Good Living Is Coming for You.” The taboo subject of aging is (s)heroically dragged out into the open. Every line is delivered with such joyous, soaring layers that each punch lands like a chef’s kiss. // Sweeping Promises are Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug. A chance meeting in Arkansas led to a decade of playing in an eclectic assortment of projects together. Their relentless practice made perfect. Bass playing Lira is an emotive bolt of thunderous energy with the iconic blast of a girl group rolled into one robust throat. Caufield is an intentional guitar player and drummer. No note or hit is extraneous. Together they are meticulous sound engineers, using space as a key ingredient to their distinct sound. Controlling every aspect of their craft, from the first note they write together, all the way through to the final mastering process, each record is an unspoiled fingerprint unique to their dynamic chemistry. // Written before the pandemic, Hunger for a Way Out was released on Feel It Records in the summer of 2020. These songs drip with the anxious urgency of a commanding live performance yet their gauzy production transports us like the fading memory of a favorite song. This distorted sense of time resonated with thousands of quarantined listeners who turned the album into a life-saving floatation device and most beloved album of the year. This is when Feel It Records (North America) and Sub Pop (everywhere else) joined forces to divide/unite and conquer; beginning with the 2021 single “Pain Without a Touch” and now carrying through to Good Living Is Coming For You. // The pandemic went on to trigger an absurd chain of events for Sweeping Promises. Under financial strain, Mondal and Schnug uprooted their lives. They surrendered their studio in Cambridge to take refuge with family in Texas. They completed over 50 demos between their Austin bathroom and a Marfa abode, but feeling unsatisfied, they sought another fresh start. When a disused church in Ohio proved too difficult to rehab, they ultimately found lasting inspiration in Kansas. With their home and studio all under one roof, life is music and music is life. //Good Living Is Coming For You ultimately reflects being thrust into a severely unpredictable world. A capsized boat isn’t entirely bad. In fact, it can be the necessary push toward finding solid ground.” -Tracy Wilson (Courtesy Desk). Sweeping Promises played Outer Reaches Fest, on Sat, October 14 at recordBar, On the Les BonsBons Electrique stage w/, Keo & Them, Static Phantoms]

[Sweeping Promises play Replay Lounge 946 Massachusetts St., Lawrence On New Year’s Eve Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 9:00pm with Daysleeper, Virga, and Blanky]

18. (#14.) Andrew Connor – “Real Boy Now”
    from: In Colorado / Pretend Outlaw Music / April 21, 2021
    [Darien Williams on drums, Justin Fernando on bass guitar, Joseph Murphy on synth, Ryan Connor on guitar & lap steel, Andrew Connor on guitar, keys, & bass guitar. // Engineered by Doug Malone at Jamdek, Chicago // additional tracking by Andrew Connor. // Mixed by Mike Nolte and Andrew Connor in Portland, OR // Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering // Songs by Andrew Connor, Pretend Outlaw Music ASCAP. Except “Misery” by Ryan Connor and Andrew Connor.] [Andrew Connor played The Ship, 1221 Union Ave. KCMO WEST BOTTOMS, on Friday, June 2 at 8:00 PM with Daniel Gum, and 95 Sweetbird.] [Andrew Connor plays the Eight Street Tap Room, 801 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence Kansas on Saturday, June 3, with Miss Boating, and Empty Moon. More info at: http://www.ghostysounds.com Andrew Connor & Ryan Connor & Billy Belzer joined us on WMM on May 31, 2023.]

Ghosty Discography

Ghosty released the 3-song EP, PRODIGAL SUN on February 28, 2020 with Bill Belzer on drums, percussion / Ross Brown on guitar, keys / Andrew Connor on guitar, keyboards, vocals / Mike Nolte on bass

Ghosty released the self titled album GHOSTY on April 17, 2014. It was there 3rd full length release with Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte and Bill Belzer who recorded their new album themselves over the last couple of years with help from David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Connor, Kirsten Paludan, and Dan Talmadge. The new release was pressed on vinyl and available on LP and digital download.]

Ghosty released the single “Love U 2” on July 15, 2013, recorded June 2013 at Westend, Kansas City, KS.
Documentary about the recording of this song by surrounding media vimeo.com/70317712 // with: Mike Nolte on bass, engineering, mastering // Andrew Connor on guitar, keys, vocals / Bill Belzer – drums, & percussion

Ghosty released the 5-track EP, TEAM UP AGAIN on April 13, 2010 with Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte, David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Suzannah Johannes, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Johnson // Team Up Again,” “Ocean of Heat (Setting FIres),” and “Quell The Hunger” by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2010. “Virginia Song” by Rev. Howard Finster, arranged by Ghosty. “On A Saturday” by Jake Blanton, arranged by Ghosty. // “Team Up Again,” “Setting Fires,” “Virginia Song,” and “On A Saturday” recorded and mixed at Run Riot / More Famouser Studios, Shawnee, KS, September 2009 through March 2010. Engineered and mixed by Mike Nolte and Ghosty. // “Quell The Hunger” recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009 additional tracking and mixing and Run Riot / More Famouser studios, Shawnee, KS, and February 2010. Engineered and mixed by Mike Nolte and Ghosty.

Ghosty released the 3-track EP, FOOLISH PRIDE on November 17, 2009 with All songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2009 // “Foolish Pride” and “Rose-Colored Glasses” basic tracks recorded at Jack’s House, Merriam, Kansas, Fall 2007. Engineered by Mike Nolte and Ghosty. Additional tracking and mixing at More Famouser Studios, Kansas City, MO, and Run Riot Studios, Shawnee, KS, Fall 2009. // “Hey Bill” basic tracks recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009. Engineered by Mike Nolte and David Wetzel. Additional tracking and mixing at More Famouser Studios, Kansas City, MO by Mike Nolte and Ghosty, Spring 2009.

Ghosty released the 3-track EP, A MYSTIC’S ROBE on September 15, 2009 with Andrew Connor, David Wetzel, Mike Nolte, Jake Blanton, Josh Adams, Carmen Winters // All Songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2009 // “My Girl Is Strong” and “Sunday Morning” basic tracks recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009. Engineered by Mike Nolte and David Wetzel. Additional tracking & mixing at More Famouser Studios, KCMO by Mike Nolte & Ghosty Spring 2009. // “Secret Language” basic tracks recorded at Jack’s House, Merriam, KS, Fall 2007 Engineered by Mike Nolte & Ghosty. Additional tracking & mixing at More Famouser Studios, by Mike Nolte & Ghosty Spring 2009.

Ghosty released the 11-song album ANSWERS on January 15, 2008 with tracks recorded by Paul Malinowski at Westend and Run Riot Studios, Kansas City, KS, 2006-07. racks 4, 6, 7, and 9 were recorded and mixed by Trent Bell at Bell Labs, Norman, OK, 2006. // Track 8 was recorded by Tim Brandsted at UMKC and Paul Malinowski at Westend. Mixed by Paul Malinowski at Westend, 2007. // Tracks 2 and 10 were recorded by Chris Behmer at the Ferrell home, Overland Park, KS, 2005, and with Trent Bell at Bell Labs. Mixed by Trent Bell at Bell Labs, 2006. // Mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Masterin // All songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty // Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP. // Released on Oxblood Records.

Ghosty released the 5-track EP, ME, ME, ME on January 15, 2006 w/ Andrew Connor on guitar & vocals / Jeff Ferrell on guitar & vocals // David Wetzel on keyboards &* vocals // Mike Nolte – bass & vocals // Josh Adams on drums & vocals // Recorded & mixed Fall 2005 by Jeff Ferrell and Ghosty at New York St. house, Lawrence, KS. Artwork by Paul Browning. Songs by Andrew Connor, Pretend Outlaw Music

Ghosty released the 19-track album GROW UP OR SLEEP IN (Deluxe Edition) on August 30, 2005 with Josh Adams, Andrew Connor, Jeff Ferrell, Mike Nolte, David Wetzel// and Alums: Jacob Baum, Richard Gintowt, Mark Hurst, Andrew Sallee, James Duft // Big Surrender, Henry Greene, and Hey! Somebody were recorded by Mike Mogis at Presto! in Lincoln, NE in the summer of 2002 // Jacqueline, Rooms in the Dark, (In a Big World)Little Dreams Count, High on Life, Clouds Solve It, Go to Add/Drop City, and World Travelers were recorded by Trent Bell and Andy Nunez at Bell Labs in Norman, OK in the fall 2003 // Mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Studio B // Design by Patrick Giroux at Blue Collar Press // All songs by Andrew Connor, Copyright 2005 // Pretend Outlaw Music(ASCAP) // Wayne Coyne appears courtesy of Warner Brothers Records // BONUS TRACKS: Primadonna, John Hunter, and Sad Sack recorded Summer 2006? at the Ferrell Home in Overland Park, KS by Chris Behmer and Ghosty // Dust Box Nites and Rok Town Air recorded and mixed with Tom Wagner at Underground Sound in Lawrence Kansas, Winter 2005? James Duft plays bass // Going Home Recorded in the Spring of 2002 at 1225 and 1137 Tennessee in Lawrence, KS by Ghosty, Mixed with Jeff Ferrell.

Ghosty released the 6-track EP THE FIVE SHORT MINUTES on February 2, 2002 with Andrew Connor: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards / Jacob Baum: Bass, Organ, Percussion, Guitar / Richard Gintowt: Drums, Percussion / Jeff Jackson: Pedal Steel Guitar on Track 5 // Recorded Fall 2001 at the haunted house by Jacob Baum / Produced by Ghosty / Mastered by Boyd Bristow

19. (#13.) Monta – “Perimeter Dancer”
    from: Crystal Momentum EP / The Record Machine / March 24, 2023
    [The band released the single “Looking Back” on February 27, 2023, and “Everybody’s Baby” on January 27, 2023. Monta’s latest, the Crystal Momentum EP, hones the Kansas City band’s mastery of electrified dreamworld post-punk, presenting four spacious songs to accompany out-of-body explorations. Monta’s core players — Mikal Shapiro on vocals, Krysztof Nemeth and Lucas Behrens on guitars, Dedric Moore on electronics, Matthew Heinrich on drums, and Teri Quinn with additional vocals — accompany their visions with a groovy flow that rings with subtle tensions, introspective instrumentation, and chorus-fed uplifts. // Found within are “Everybody’s Baby,” an otherworldly adoration of unnamed strangers set to transfixing melodies and a snake-like groove; the buoyant “Looking Back,” which shines a danceable, sonic brightness through a haze of ecstatic reminiscence; the inspired “Perimeter Dancer,” an ode to those who fight for the cause, accompanied by a punky disco beat and a chorus that launches the song upward to a mirror-ball-lit sky. And then there’s “Luna Lost In Your Gaze,” a righteous desert sleepwalk of a tune that recalls the spaghetti western tones of Monta’s past while remaining on the current trajectory. // With the Crystal Momentum EP, Monta grabs the moment, further defining the distinctive mix of synth-pop and dark psychedelia that’s become the band’s trademark. Take a leap and fall into their world. // Monta means “to climb higher.” Through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing, this band continues that climb. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. More Information at: kosmiccity.com / therecordmachine.co] [Monta played 20 Years of The Record Machine featuring The Noice FM, Black Light Animals Soultru and Pala Zolo, on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM at recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd] [Dedric Moore joined us on WMM on October 4, 2023]

20. (#12.) ANOHNI and The Johnsons – “It Must Change”
    from: My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross / Secretly Canadian / July 7, 2023
    [All tracks written by Anohni Hegarty. All tracks produced & mixed by Jimmy Hogarth. Executive Producers, Geoff Travis & Jeannette Lee. Mastered by Greg Calbi. Published by Downtown Music Publishing // from Bandcamp notes: “I’ve been thinking a lot about Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. That was a really important touchstone in my mind,” says ANOHNI of her sixth studio album, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross. “A couple of these songs are almost a response to the call of What’s Going On, from 2023. They are a kind of an echo from the future to that album from 50 years ago.” // As the British-born, New York-based artist’s first full album since 2016’s HOPELESSNESS, ANOHNI explains that the creative process was painstaking, yet also inspired, joyful, and intimate, a renewal and a renaming of her response to the world as she sees it. // A record its creator acknowledges is inextricably both personal and political, and one that is full of heartfelt music that also questions its own right to be heard, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross demonstrates music’s unique capacity to bring harmony to competing, sometimes contradictory, elements. // “For me, there’s no heavenly respite; creation is a spectral and feminine continuum, and our souls are an inalienable part of nature.” // In 2022, having sought producer recommendations from Rough Trade Records’ Jeannette Lee and Geoff Travis, ANOHNI began working with Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Tina Turner) noting his sensitivity towards soul music. Having always helmed and written her previous records – bar HOPELESS-NESS, for some of which, producers were invited to submit instrumentals – this kind of collaboration was a first for ANOHNI. “There was a great ease to this songwriting process,” she says of her writing and recording sessions with Hogarth. “I loved making this record in a way that I’ve never done before.” // Bringing in with her several years of texts, ANOHNI and Hogarth shared musical ideas and sketched out a series of demos with Hogarth playing guitar. Hogarth then assembled a studio band – including guitarist Leo Abrahams and string arranger/instrumentalist Rob Moose – to record the full album. // “Many of the recordings on this record – like“It Must Change”and “Can’t” – capture the first and only time I have sung those songs through. There’s a magic when you suddenly place words you have been thinking about for a long time into melody. A neural system awakens. It isn’t personal and yet is so personal. Things connect and come alive.” // Hogarth’s intuitive guitar leads the listener across ten songs, touching on elements of American soul, British folk and experiment-al music. ANOHNI places her heart on the line and in a groove in the opening track “It Must Change,” describing systems in collapse with a note of compassion for humanity: “The truth is I always thought you were beautiful in your own way / That’s why this is so sad.”“Scapegoat” waivers between tenderness and instrumental brutality, “Take all of my hate into your body / It doesn’t matter what you’ve got to give / or why you want to live / You’re my scapegoat / It’s not personal.” The primordial, Kali-esque curse “Rest” positions the record at moments in conversation with experimental rock of the 1970s: “Rest like the enemy of all that sees / Rest like the enemy of all that breathes / In the poison ocean blue / She’ll come home to you.” “Go Ahead” presses melody through dissonance. “You are determined to take me down / Go ahead kill your friends / I can’t stop you.” My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross shape shifts through its subject matter: the loss of loved ones, inequality, alienation, privilege, denial, ecocide and the tidal power of Earth, isolation, Future Feminism, and the intention that we might yet transform our ways of thinking, our religious ideas, our societal structures, and our relationships with the rest of nature. // “You know how they always said that light was the opposite of darkness? / It’s just fire in darkness, creating life / So those opposites, they don’t exist / It’s just an idea that someone told you” (“It Must Change”) // ANOHNI’s voice is sensual and smoothed, selectively reaching to the edges of what it can contain. “I don’t want you to be dead, I can’t accept it,” she cries out at the climax of “Can’t.” “We’re not getting out of here / No one’s getting out of here / This is our world,” she murmurs on “It Must Change.” “How sweet the vista, the portal view / On my way to black and blue,” she grieves on “Sliver of Ice,” a remembering of some of the last words Lou Reed shared with her. // A portrait of gay rights activist Marsha P. Johnson taken by Alvin Baltrop features on the cover of My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross, reflecting a 25-year relationship with the memory of Johnson that ANOHNI has held space for in the presentation of her own work. Paintings by Sylvester Hustito, a Zuni Two Spirit artist from New Mexico, depict another crucial vision of America, from a queer, indigenous historical point of view. On “You Be Free,” ANOHNI sings from with heartbreak about the passing of trans intergen-erational knowledge: “Done my work / My back was broke / My back was a bridge for you to cross / Then I wished in the aftermath / That the Earth would take my life / Like she took the lives of my Mother and my Sister.” // “I’m careful with the emotional pathways I am drawing. The stories we tell ourselves are the basis of our cultural mythologies, and often a foreshadowing of our destinies. We live in a world where story-telling has become another abuse of power, a threat, fake news, anti-female, anti-nature,” ANOHNI says of her intentions as lyricist. The album artwork states ”IT’S TIME TO FEEL WHAT’S REALLY HAPPENING”. In some ways it feels as if she is reaching across her life’s expression, and has found a moment of unique composure, wearing her long exploration of disarming intensity, but with the maturity of a painter choosing colors. // On listening to My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, one is reminded of music’s power and ability to articulate the political and the personal concurrently. “As much as I was British or American, I was identified as a non-viable part of family, community, church, society. At moments I was deemed not worth protecting, as being expendable, on account of my femininity. Ultimately that was a gift for me because it brought me unique insight into the societies I found myself having to navigate. It forced me to be more willing to look at who and where I really was.” // With “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” Marvin Gaye made a visionary plea for the environment in 1971, a gesture that ANOHNI has echoed across her own output, from “Rapture” in 1992 and “Another World” in 2009, to “4 Degrees” and “Why Did You Separate Me From The Earth?” from her last record HOPELESSNESS in 2016. // ANOHNI’s approach since her last record has shifted from someone tasked with challenging global denial, to an artist seeking to support others on the front lines. “I want the record to be useful. I learned with HOPELESSNESS that I can provide a soundtrack that might fortify people in their work, in their activism, in their dreaming and decision-making. I can sing of an awareness that makes others feel less alone, people for whom the frank articulation of these frightening times is not a source of discomfort but a cause for identification and relief.” // “I see myself as a part of a process. I know that I’m not there, but I feel that someone in the future might know how to get there. An innovation in our way of dreaming or thinking might help us get back home. I hope that this record is another step in that direction. As problematic and broken as it might be, maybe there’s an element in this music that’s going to be useful to a future iteration of us. They’re going to be able to distill what’s right about it and make something better out of it. So I do my work hoping that someone’s going to be able to pick it up and take it further, that it can be a source of something positive at some later point in our evolution – if we’re lucky to continue to have an evolution.” // “We are each moving through massive impersonal systems that we feel powerless to change. And yet we’re being asked in this moment to pull back the curtain and recognize these systems for what they are – not the preordained will of a god, but something we created over centuries. If we can’t do this collective-ly, we will forfeit our remaining ability to influence our trajectory. We have to dismantle systems that are destructive, and yet upon which many of us are dependent. Whether it’s because of malevolence, or fear, or addiction… ultimately it’s been one big survival strategy. We’ve never been faced with a challenge this conse-quential before as a species. Because of their structural hatred of Femaleness, Abrahamic religions and capital-ism can only realize an apocalyptic future, rather than facilitate the emergence of a life-sustaining sensibility that might allow us to continue to exist as a part of Nature. So that’s a challenge that we’re facing now.”]

21. (#11.) Allison Russell – “Rag Child”
    from: The Returner / Birds of Chicago LLC – Fantasy Records / September 8, 2023
    [4x GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, poet, activist, and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell has announced her new album, The Returner. The album was written and co-produced by Allison along with dim star (her partner JT Nero and Drew Lindsay) and was recorded over Solstice week in December 2022 at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA. It features Russell’s “Rainbow Coalition” band of all female musicians along with special guest appearances from the legendary Wendy & Lisa, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, and Hozier. Allison Russell on The Returner: “My goal with The Returner – sonically, poetically, and spiritually – is a radical reclamation of the present tense, a real time union of body, mind, and soul. This album is a much deeper articulation of rhythm, groove, and syncopation. Groove as it heralds the self back into the body, groove as it celebrates sensual and sexual agency and flowering, groove as an urgent call to action and political activism. // In just a word, it’s funkier. But as is the history of anything funky, it’s never just a party. It is a multiverse of energies that merges the celebration and the battle cry. For while an embrace of the present tense is a celebration, it is equally an unquestioning leap into battle – cultural, political, environmental.” // Since the release of her debut solo LP two years ago Outside Child, Russell’s often devastating, deeply moving, cathartic celebration of survivor’s joy has become one of the most acclaimed albums of the past 10 years. Now comes the second chapter in her story, The Returner, a body-shaking, mind-expanding, soulful expression of liberation, love, and self-respect that serves as a fierce declaration of joy for all survivors that have made it to the other side. Allison, JT, and Drew built The Returner from the bottom up with a rhythm-first, genre-fluid approach. The improvisational energy of great female artists sparked the album’s fierce joy, and provided a wider canvas for Allison’s immense, unlimited talent. In all, the new album doesn’t just deliver on the promise of the last two years, it exceeds all reasonable (and unreasonable) expectations and affirms Allison Russell’s place among music’s most vital artists and The Returner, as one of 2023’s most essential recordings. // Allison Russell has spent her career in multiple bands, including Po’ Girl, Our Native Daughters, and Birds of Chicago. After a career spent as a gifted multi-instrumentalist, backing numerous other artists, she finally dared to release her solo project in 2021. “It’s an album of strength and affirmation, not victimization,” said The New York Times in their profile on Russell and Outside Child. Following the album’s release, Russell performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen, Late Night With Stephen Colbert, CBS Saturday Morning, Austin City Limits, The Kelly Clarkson Show made her Opry debut and appeared at the Country Music Hall of Fame and performed at the 2022 GRAMMY’s Premiere Ceremony. // The accolades for Russell have been immense. In addition to her four GRAMMY nominations, she has earned three 2022 Americana Award nominations and a win for Album of the Year, two International Folk Music Award wins, a 2022 Juno nomination for ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and her first-ever Juno Award win for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. Russell received two 2021 Americana Awards nominations, won three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two UK Americana Music Awards, and more. She was recently nominated for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year for the 2023 Americana Awards. In addition, Russell has consistently used her newfound platform to elevate, educate and inspire; curating the history making Once And Future Sounds: Roots and Revolution set for the Newport Folk Festival in 2021 and mobilizing this year’s triumphant Love Rising All-Star benefit concert in support of LGBTQIA+ causes in Nashville – raising over $550,000 and calling national attention to Tennessee’s dangerous anti/trans and anti/drag laws. Russell has also announced a book deal with Flatiron/MacMillan for her debut novel, a memoir based on her life and the material that inspired Outside Child and The Returner. // All songs written by Allison Russell, JT Nero, and Drew Lindsay // Co-Producers: Dim Star and Allison Russell // Recorded by Brandon Bell at Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA) Assistant Engineer: Kelsey Porter. Mixed by Brandon Bell at The Cabin Studio (Nashville, TN). Mastered by Kim Rosen at Knack Mastering (Ringwood, NJ) // Allison Russell (vocals, banjo, clarinet), Elenna Canlas (keyboards/synth, backing vocals), Elizabeth Pupo-Walker (percussion), Chauntee Ross (violin, backing vocals) & Monique Ross (cello, backing vocals) aka SistaStrings, Ganessa James (bass, backing vocals), Joy Clark (guitar), Kerenza Peacock (violin), Larissa Maestro (cello, backing vocals), Lisa Coleman (piano), Mandy Fer (guitar, backing vocals), Meg Coleman (drums), Meg McCormick (guitar), Wendy Melvoin (guitar, bass), and Wiktoria Bialic (drums). Special guests Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, and Hozier provide backing vocals on “Requiem”. //We first saw Allison Russell as part of the band/duo with her partner JT Nero as, The Birds of Chicago at the 2014 International Folk Alliance Conference, where they were an Official Showcase Artist . More info at http://www.folk.org. Russell was born in Montreal to a Grenadian student and a Scottish-Canadian teenage single mother. Her mother struggled with postpartum depression and schizophrenia, and Russell was initially placed in foster care. Her mother regained custody of her after marrying a white-supremacist American expatriate. From the ages of 5 to 15, she was physically and sexually abused by her adoptive father. At the age of 15, Russell ran away from home, eventually moving to Vancouver in 1998. She attended Dawson College. // Russell was initially a member of the Vancouver-based Celtic folk band Fear of Drinking. // In 2003, Russell formed the band Po’ Girl with The Be Good Tanyas member Trish Klein. She recorded seven albums with the band: Po’ Girl (2003), Vagabond Lullabies (2004), B-side Recordings (2006), Home to You (2007), Deer in the Night (2008), Live (2009), and Follow Your Bliss (2010). Russell formed the music group Birds of Chicago with JT Nero in 2012. As part of Birds of Chicago, Russell released three studio albums, Birds of Chicago (2012), Real Midnight (2016) and Love in Wartime (2018). With the group, she also released a live album, Live from Space, and an EP titled American Flowers in 2018. In 2018, Russell joined the musical collective Our Native Daughters alongside fellow musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah In 2019, the group released the album Songs of Our Native Daughters under the Smithsonian Folkways label. Russell was also featured alongside the rest of the group in a Smithsonian Channel documentary titled Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters. Info: http://www.allisonrussellmusic.com]

22. (#10.) Saving Miles Lemon – “Til the Suns Comes”
    from: LOVELY/ Saving Miles Lemon / October 6, 2023
    [“’Til the Suns Comes” was released as a single on July 13, 2023. The new 13-track full-length album from Saving Miles Lemon is the psychedelic-pop project of Miguel Silva-Leon. Formed in 2019 with the goal of releasing an album by the end of the year, the project has transformed into a full-blown musical odyssey for Miguel (who likes to go by Mig) to explore new sounds. It’s hard to define what genre Saving Miles Lemon fits into as they like to let the music go where it wants to go. From smooth dance pop, to blown-out stoner rock, Mig likes to keep things interesting and never stay with one sound for too long.​ // Having grown up learning to play the piano at the age of 7, Miguel found themselves picking up new instruments frequently from the clarinet, saxophone, and oboe to guitar/bass and drums. Just as with their instruments, Mig began practicing their production skills in high school with small bedroom projects and hardcore bands. In a way, nothing has changed, as all of Saving Miles Lemon’s music is recorded and produced entirely by Mig in their bedroom studio to this day. // Their live members include Jacob Frisbee (bass), James Wiltfang (keys), and Zeke Bockleman (drums). // As a live act, the band began performing in 2021 and quickly took over the DIY scene in Kansas City before moving on to the bar/venue scene with sold-out shows at The Rino (KCMO) and The Bottleneck (LFK). They’ve opened for national and international touring bands such as Cub Sport at The Encore at Uptown Theatre (KCMO). // Saving Miles Lemon has released two full-length LPs and a handful of singles. A third album is set to release in 2023.] [Saving Miles Lemon played Outer Reaches Fest, Fri, Oct. 13 at recordBar, 1w/ Bombino, The Philistines, & Teri Quinn.]

23. (#9.) Mike Dillon & Punkadelic – “Pandas”
    from: Inflorescence / Royal Potato Family / January 27, 2023
    [Punkadelick: Mike Dillon – Vibraphone, Marimba, Prophet 6, Congas, Bongo; Brain Haas – Fender Rhodes, Piano, Bass Moog, Melodica; Nikki Glaspie – Drums, Cymbals, Vocals. Mixed and Recorded by Chad Meise. Mastered by Collin Jordan / Boiler Room Mastering. Cover Art: Peregrine Honig. // From Bandcamp notes: Mike Dillon & Punkadelick makes its recorded debut with Inflorescence, an album of heady, instrumental rock highlighting a band deep in the throes of creative freedom, road tested and wild. Consisting of 10 tracks in 42-minutes, it’s an expansive, focused and fearless collection, representing a world where Duke Ellington and Augustus Pablo rub shoulders with crate-digger exotica, the freak-funk of Parliament and the ‘anything fits’ outsider ethos of acid-fried punks like The Meat Puppets. // A trio featuring Mike Dillon (Ricki Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco, Les Claypool) on vibraphone, marimba, Prophet 6, congas, and bongos, Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) on Fender Rhodes, piano, bass Moog and melodica and Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce) on drums, cymbals and vocals, Punkadelick is the unified vision of six hands creating a world that often sounds like the work of an ensemble three times the size. // During 2020 and 2021, while many music venues were still shuttered, the group began touring, sweating their way through cuts Dillon and Haas had composed during quarantine writing sessions. Locking in on stage, it quickly became clear the band was functioning at a level that made the hair on their arms stand at attention—even for three live music veterans accustomed to life on the road. // “It became obvious to let this become a collaboration,” Dillon says. “This is really something all three of us are doing because we have so much love for one another and a love for the music that we started creating.” // “There’s only three of us, but we move together like a big, nasty school of fish,” Haas adds, laughing. // During the tail end of a 2021 tour, the band booked time to record with engineer—and functioning fourth band member—Chad Meise, and Inflorescence sprouted. Opener “Desert Monsoon,” sets the stage with a spiritual-jazz intro of organ, vibraphone, percussion and wordless vocal coos before crackling to life as a swaggering funk strut. The title track, and “Pandas,” dig into thick dub textures built around Glaspie’s drumming and Haas’s subwoofer-straining bass synths. // “Apocalypse Daydream,” which appeared as an exotic head-nodder on 2020’s Shoot the Moon (titled “Apocalyptic Daydreams”) is reborn as a meatier jazz-rock slab where Dillon and Haas circle each other like Television performing as a lounge act on a cruise ship sailing seas of psilocybin. // Bending ears and surprising audiences has long been part of Dillon’s MO and Glaspie and Haas act as perfect foils for forays into the weird. While Dillon bristles at the “punk jazz” tag, punk rock and jazz remain core influences to the band, in sound and spirit. // “We’re students of the titans of music. We grew up listening to punk and rock ’n’ roll but we also love instrumental music—particularly the forefathers of Black American Music. In our minds, Led Zeppelin and Milt Jackson, Parliament-Funkadelic and The Minutemen, The Bad Brains and Frank Zappa are interconnected influences,” explains Dillon. “All that comes together in how we approach instrumental creative music. Both punk rock and jazz are not prefab things, they’re about the freedom. We have no genre restriction in this band, and people who get it really respect that.” // Maybe the greatest example of the band’s punk-steeped sonic free-for-all is “Slowly But Surely,” a track Dillon told Haas to compose as if he were “writing for Queens of the Stone Age.” The song plays like QOTSA translated to piano runs, vibes and deeply swinging drums—big-riff stoner rock upended and played with huge smiles by America’s premier proponents of the unclassifiable. // “We try to challenge our listeners. We’re touching a nerve with people who maybe don’t want to see the same songs done in the same variations all night long,” continues Dillon. “Part of my mission is taking these instruments that are primarily designed for the orchestral or jazz world and taking them to the rock world, the club world, running them through pedals and effects. We’re not afraid to be soft, or to surprise. That’s what we all do in this band — get beyond our own conceptions of what music is supposed to be.” // “We are so blessed and lucky to do what we do for a living — it’s apparent in the music,” Glaspie chimes in. “It doesn’t matter how the day is going, but we get to the club, set up and crush the gig, all the other stuff doesn’t matter. We’re likeminded individuals who love life, love people and want to spread happiness.” ] [Mike Dillon was our guest on WMM on May 24, 2023]

24. (#8.) Dragon Inn 3 – “I Can’t Stop”
    from: Trade Secrets / American Laundromat Records / April 18, 2023
    [The long-anticipated sophomore release from Dragon Inn 3. Features 10 brand new songs plus a fantastic cover of Yazoo’s “Only You.” // Dragon Inn 3 is: Grace Bentley on vocals; Philip Dickey on synths, drums, guitar, bass & vocals; Sharon Hamm on synths & vocals; David Hill on vocals & synths. Recorded from 2018 to 2022 at Davey’s house and Sharon’s house. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Philip Dickey. Additional recording and mixing help from Ross Brown, David Hill, and Chase Horseman. Mastered by Sean Glonek at SRG studios. Additional musicians: Bill Belzer percussion “I Can’t Stop”, John Cardwell guitar “Finally Going Down”, Ben Collins guitar “I Can’t Stop”, Tim Gillespie saxophone “I Can’t Stop” “Out Of Control” “Trade Secrets Theme”, Anita Kitungano vocals “See It Your Way”, John O’Hallaron guitar “Teleport”, Bora Wilondja vocals “See It Your Way” “Trade Secrets Theme”, Mauwa Wilondja vocals “Trade Secrets Theme”, Pelo Wilondja percussion “I Could Never”. Additional writers: Emma Bentley Ruzicka “Not Enough”, Bora Wilondja “See It Your Way”, JR Top “See It Your Way”, and Vincent Clark “Only You”. Cover photo: Dominik Podlipniak. Design: Dustin Williams. // Kansas City based band formed in 2012 with Grace Bentley, Sharon Bowie, Philip K. Dickey, E.P. Marcus. Dragon Inn 3’s debut LP DOUBLE LINE on August 17, 2018 through American Laundromat records. DOUBLE LINE was part of WMM’s 118 Best Recordings of 2018. The band spent six years whittling away on the songs. Combining sugary pop hooks, hypnotic beats, and huge MOOG synths, Dragon Inn 3’s playful take on 80s pop could double as the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie (if John Hughes directed Blade Runner). The cinematic origins of Dragon Inn 3 can be traced back to 2012, when Philip Dickey (leader of the indie-pop group, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin) wrote a theme song for the award-winning short film Ghoul School. “If you watch the trailer you can tell it’s the same premise and look as Stranger Things–we just accidentally made it three years before them,” Dickey says. “I had so much fun making the soundtrack with the director (E.P. Marcus) that we decided to start a band.” Dickey recruited his sister, Sharon Bowie, an occupational therapist, and his wife, children’s librarian Grace Bentley, to help with songwriting and vocal duties. The group self-released the Ghoul School Soundtrack EP in late 2012, receiving high praise from Consequence of Sound, Philadelphia’s WXPN, and The Riverfront Times, before climbing to #1 on Bandcamp’s cassette charts. Then it was back to the studio (i.e. the bedrooms, kitchens, garages, and hotel rooms that doubled as makeshift recording studios). In between full-time jobs, parenthood, graduate school classes, and cross country moves, the members of Dragon Inn 3 put Double Line to tape. “I’m a stay-at-home dad now, so I would work on song arrangements and rough mixes when our toddler was taking his naps,” explains Dickey. “Grace would come home from work and record all her parts after his bedtime. We recorded all the breathy vocals in the living room and all the yelly parts in the garage so we wouldn’t wake him up.” The result is a highly addictive album that creates “a soundtrack for the more introspective moments on and off the dance floor,” according to critic David Greenwald. With members spread out over the country (KC, LA, and Springfield, MO), the group signed to American Laundromat Records in early 2018. A demo of “Bad Boy” (co-written with Free Energy’s Paul Sprangers) landed in a commercial for Ryan Adams’ Beats 1 Radio show before the song was even completed. More Info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com] [Philip Dicky joined us LIVE on WMM on May 3, 2023.]

11:30 – Underwriting

25. (#7.) Calvin Arsenia – “Help! The Flying Monkees are Coming”
    from: Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023
    [Paradise is Calvin Arsenia’s new 14 track album. It is only available through http://www.calvinarsenia.com // A new turning point as a songwriter. His most biographical album yet, with songs about Black Lives Matter, Racism, The Police, being on probation, gay love. The album contains collaborations with Cheery, Kadesh Flow and Jametatone. Calvin Arsenia one of our most frequent guests, who first appeared on WMM on July 25, 2012. KC Magazine has hailed Calvin as ‘equal parts opera, symphony, musical theatre, rock show, all built around its creator: a charismatic 6-foot-7-inch harpist with a 3 and ½ octave range, natural stage command and knack for gilding gold and painting lilies.’ Born in Orlando, Florida, Calvin’s creative journey began when he moved to Olathe, Kansas, teaching himself the guitar, piano, banjo. He learned his signature instrument, the harp, at the age of 20. His passion for stretching the boundaries of musical expression saw him transform a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Festival early in his career into a life-changing music mission, with an Edinburgh church offering him a role as musical liaison between the church and the city that would change his life. Two years and 300 shows later, Calvin returned to KC reborn as a humanistic songwriter / performer where at 24 he released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. On February 14, 2017 Calvin released his critically acclaimed full length debut, Catastrophe, with a live show at recordBar in November 2016 that involved a company of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers. After signing to Center Cut Records, Calvin released the albums: Cantaloupe in 2018, with a sold out gigantic spectacle at The Gem Theatre on Saturday, September 15, 2018. He then released, L.A. Sessions in 2019, and the EP HONEY DEW, and the EP Goddess with Quixotic, the Holiday album, ALL IS CALM. In 2020 Calvin collaborated with Mike Dillon on the Soundtrack to “Summer in Hindsight,” a feature-length film created by The West 18th Street Fashion Show that also starred Calvin as an actor. Calvin is also the co-creator of the podcast “We Were Christian Kids” created with childhood friend Justin Randall who is a stand up comedian working in New York City and Los Angeles. Calvin Arsenia is the author of EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE, a collection of Poetry & Prose published on October 5, 2021, by Andrews McMeel Universal. Calvin was voted KC’s Best Musician in The Pitch 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. He has been featured in Billboard, NPR.org. Calvin Arsenia Scott is the recipient of the 2022 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Artist Award. More info at http://www.calvinarsenia.com][Calvin Arsenia was our guest on WMM on Jan. 18, 2023, June 21, 2023, and our 1000th Show on June 28, 2923.]

Calvin Arsenia Discography

Calvin Arsenia – Moments [EP] / Independent / April 9, 2014
Calvin Arsenia was 24 when he released this EP after returning home to Kansas City after living and performing in Edinburgh, Scotland. Calvin works as a songwriter, composer, lyricist, producer, and engineer.

Calvin Arsenia – Prose [EP] / Independent / February 3, 2015
Recorded over the course of three live sessions at Edinburgh’s Napier University. Produced by Graham Coe. Engineered by David O’Leary. Music and Lyrics: Calvin Arsenia, with Fiona Reid & Liselot Van Oosterom on Vocals, Graham Coe on Cello, Mark Smith on Percussion, Lyle Watt on Guitar Calvin Arsenia on Vocals & Guitar & Piano.

Calvin Arsenia – Caviar [EP] / Calvin Arsenia / December 5, 2017
Produced for attendees at Calvin’s “Secret Show,” Tuesday, December 5, at Wickstock West, 1324 West 12th Street, in The West Bottoms, and for supporters of his Outlyre Tour. Words and Music by Calvin Arsenia. Produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley and Calvin Arsenia. Recorded at The Infoaming Vertex.

Calvin Arsenia – Catastrophe {EP] / Calvin Arsenia / February 17, 2016
Limited edition EP, produced for Folk Alliance International, contains demo recordings of original gems that are the blueprints for Calvin’s soon to be released full length debut, coming in 2017. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. He has played all over town, including showcases at Folk Alliance International, Kansas City Fringe Fest, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, and collaborations with bands like My Brothers and Sisters. Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, bango, guitar and harp. Calvin teaches music to elementary students. Calvin is also a graduate of Artist INC professional development program for artists in the Kansas City metro area and across the Mid-America Arts Alliance five state region.

Calvin Arsenia – Catastrophe [Album] / Calvin Arsenia / February 14, 2017
Calvin Arsenia premiered these songs in a live show at recordBar in November 2016 in a stage show that involved a cpmpany of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers, special lighting, back up singers, guest artists. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. Standing at 6 foot 6 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, banjo, guitar and harp Calvin teaches music to elementary students. Calvin is also a graduate of Artist INC. Since 2014 we have been celebrating the music of Calvin Arsenia. He has played Folk Alliance International, Kansas City Fringe Fest, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, The Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts, The Middle of the Map Fest., The Folly Theatre. Calvin recently returned home from a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerlnd, Lyon and Paris. in over 40 shows, with musician and friend Simon Huntley who plays with Quixotic. Calvin Arsenia played Big Bang Buffet’s “Black Sheep Rising,” Tuesday, April 11, at 8:00 at The Buffalo Room. A benefit for 90.1 FM KKFI featuring Ron Megee, Lisa Cordes, Jon “Piggy” Cupit, The Sleazebeats, Kristie Stremel, Jen Harris, Maria Vasquez Boyd, Jen Appell, Bill Belzer, Charlie Colborne, Mark Manning, Susan Cedarquis-Brewington, BJ McBride, Michael McQuary, Janet Henry, Ryan Wilks, and Nico Gray.

Calvin Arsenia – Live at Greenwood Social Hall / Unreleased / June 11, 2017
Solo live performance at Greenwood Social Hall, 1760 Bellevue, KCMO.

Calvin Arsenia – Caviar [EP] / Calvin Arsenia / December 5, 2017
Produced for attendees at Calvin’s “Secret Show,” Tuesday, December 5, at Wickstock West, 1324 West 12th Street, in The West Bottoms, and for supporters of his Outlyre Tour. Words and Music by Calvin Arsenia. Produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley and Calvin Arsenia. Recorded at The Infoaming Vertex. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. In the late Summer and Fall Calvin went on a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerlnd, Lyon and Paris. in over 40 shows, with musician and friend Simon Huntley who plays with Quixotic.

Calvin Arsenia – Cantaloupe / Center Cut Records / September 15, 2018
Calvin’s 2018 national debut, Cantaloupe (Center Cut Records), has been acclaimed for melding diverse textures into an alluring signature sound for the adventurous artist.

Calvin Arsenia – L.A. Sessions / Center Cut Records / September 20, 2019
Calvin performed live at L.A.’s The Mint, showcasing songs on LA Sessions with musicians who collaborated on the album. Says Calvin: “It’s such a special experience to play with them. To be able to perform these songs in front of an audience and do this for a living – to have made a career out of something I love is so amazing – it is an honor that I never take for granted.”

Calvin Arsenia – Honeydew / Center Cut Records / June 28, 2019
On September 15, 2018 Calvin released Cantaloupe on Center Cut Records. This new EP is a remix of three of the songs from Cantaloupe, plus a Talking Heads cover that was performed live in this style at a New Year’s Eve show at The Truman opening for Making Movies who performed the entire Talking Heads album, Remain in Light. The last three songs on Honeydew were from performed in this style at The Nelson Atkins 2019 event “Party Arty.” Honeydew was produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley, Calvin Arsenia.

Quixotic & Calvin Arsenia – “Goddess – EP / Quixotic / May 17, 2019
An innovative performance art collective that fuses imagination with technology, dance, projection, mapping & live music to create fully-immersive, multi-sensory experiences. Quixotic harnesses light, rhythm and expressive emotion. Quixotic was given Silicon Valley’s unofficial stamp of genius when they were invited to perform at the global TED Conference in 2012. A unique blend of performance art, technology & emotion. Quixotic fuses all these elements in to what the New York Times branded an “innovative circus performance”.

Calvin Arsenia – all is calm / Calvin Arsenia. / December 13, 2019
Arsenia’s dreamlike whimsy shimmering through your favorite Christmas Classics. All proceeds for this album go towards the purchase of Calvin’s first harp. Featuring: Ben Muñoz on Cello, Shane Borth on Violin & Voila, & Luke “Skippy” Harbur on Beatbox. Mastered by Jametatone at the Infoaming Vertex and special thanks to Simon Huntley. Calvin wrote: “I recorded the majority of this album in my bedroom in between flights to and from KC and SF. I had my nephews and friend’s kids in mind and wanted an album of Christmas lullabys. I think it became just a little more sassy than anticipated, but I think you’ll enjoy it regardless.

Calvin Arsenia – Summer in Hindsight / Calvin Arsenia & Mike Dillon / Oct. 16, 2020
Unreleased Soundtrack by Calvin Arsenia and Mike Dillon for The West 18th Street Fashion Show’s 20th year as a feature-length film. COVID-19 changed everything in 2020. “We are moving it from the street to the screen,” says Peregrine Honig to inkansascitymagazine. “Mike Dillon and Calvin Arsenia will be scoring and performing in the film.” The film premiered October 16, 2020 at The Boulevard Drive-In. Honig wrote,. “We did this during a pandemic and a cultural revolution. I am not sure where else or how else this could happen at this moment in history.” Calvin Arsenia had recently been emotionally and greatly moved by the area and national Black Lives Matter Movement. His own research into his own family revealed that Calvin’s great, great, great grandmother Alice Gilliam Scott, was a former slave who lived to observe her 100th birthday as noted by a regional newspaper Calvin had written. In the summer of 2020 Calvin wrote “Revelation” an unreleased track inspired by Black Lives Matter. Calvin premiered the song on WMM on August 12, 2020. He later shared his other new songs, “Scars and Stripes” and “The Flying Monkees are Coming!” on our October 14, 2020 edition of WMM. Both of those songs ended up on Summer in Hindsight.

Rewound & Calvin Arsenia – Lovestory EP / House of Outlyre Productions / May 9, 2023
Rewound & Calvin Arsenia released Lovestory (4-song) EP that included several other singles they released this year, including “All Too Well” on April 25, 2023, All 4 tracks are instrumental covers the songs of Taylor Swift. // Rewound is a trio with Carmen Dieker on violin, Alyssa Bell on viola, and Ezgi Karakus on cello that perform classical and contemporary music re-imagined. For these recordings they collaborated with Calvin Arsenia on harp.

Calvin Arsenia – Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023
The 14 track album is (only) available through http://www.calvinarsenia.com A new turning point as a songwriter. His most biographical album yet, with songs about Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights, Racism, gay love. The album contains collaborations with Cheery, Kadesh Flow and Jametatone. Calvin Arsenia plays a PARADISE Album Release Party, Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at 7:00 PM at The Emerald, 1715 West 9th Street, KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS. More info at http://www.calvinarsenia.com

26. (#6) Silicone Prairie – “Elysian Fields”
    from: Vol. II / Feel It Records / July 28, 2023
    [Ever since releasing ‘My Life on the Silicone Prairie Vol. I’ in 2021, Ian Teeple has been riding a creative high. Whether you’ve noticed his incredible visual art, witnessed the cathartic Silicone Prairie live band, or know Ian as the newest member of Sn​õ​õ​per – his driving, free-spirited energy abounds. Silicone Prairie have transcended landlocked guitar punk/jangle into new realms on Vol. II. The album manages to color outside the lines of genre, blurring worlds of sound together beautifully. Cloudy bedroom pop tangles with fields of flute, warbled tape editing, thick fuzzed guitars, and a sage sense of introversion. ‘My Life on the Silicone Prairie Vol. II’ is a deeply personal, ethereal ride through the mind of Ian Teeple, joined by friends from Kansas City and abroad. // “You can’t really listen to Silicone Prairie on record without noticing the laborious production and limber musicianship. Take for one, the way organized horns and muffled jungle beast roars harmoniously make themselves adjacent. Or the polarity of the bass and guitar, the grace of every instrument when it peeps. It has a raw edge though, the idiom and architecture does not impede the visceral, emotional content. It’s about form AND heart AND realness, the more rigorous AND open AND boiled down, the more wrenching. It communicates in introspections and outbursts. The vocal can lilt with melancholy only to turn with smug angst within a phrase. For all its forethought, the end result pends until the application of the last stroke. There is nuance and humanity in this, there is aim and aimlessness, side by side and both fully present. Like Ayers or Newell or Stamey. Like Carole King or Abba or Don Mclean in the power pop Olympics, and then closed off and difficult and foaming at the mouth. See: bittersweet folk unknowns, reprobate bedroom glammists, serpentine flight simulators, or synchronized swimmers.” -Joe Chamandy (Celluloid Lunch) // Recorded in 2021 & 2022 at Troost House by Shoutsie on the Tascam 388, then something snapped I couldn’t fix. Serpent, Willkommen + Cows recorded in the Winkler-verse. // Kyle Rausch plays drums on Elysian Fields; Leslie Butsch plays sax on Mirror on the Wall, Neon Moon, and Elysian Fields (on which she also sings.) Lina Dannov plays the flute on Mirror on the Wall. Duet on The Minotaur and Deutschspraching is Johann Schreier. Intro Segura Como La Leche by Esli Meuly. Buz Clatworthy plays the 12 string guitar on Elysian Fields. Without them I wouldn’t have made this record.]

27. (#5.) Bad Alaskan – “Reservations”
    from: Red & Black / Bad Alaskan / June 19, 2023
    [Bad Alaskan is Lawrence, Kansas based musician, scientist, researcher, speaker, activist, teacher, Alex Kimball Williams who identifies and celebrates her Native Alaskan / Black / Portuguese origins, with the motto: “Music is medicine.” Alex Kimball Williams also played in the band UltraVivid. Band Alaskan released the single “Red & Black” on December 10, 2021 The album also contains a cover of “Strange Fruit” that Bad Alaskan released as a single on August 17, 2019. Bad Alaskan writes: “This cover of ‘Strange Fruit’ is the perfect blend of old school & new school; direct reference & innovation; the blues & electronic. I’ve always loved the song & wanted to put my own indigenous spin on it. My classical & jazz training leaks through with solos & alterations to the lead melody. The 1939 recording featuring Billie Holiday’s vocals is my favorite cut of this classic. My variation alters the melody to fit a minor blues scale. The key is raised just slightly to stimulate discomfort, the tempo is more upbeat. Originally when she sang the song, it was always the end of her set, staff in the venue was instructed not to make any transactions. She would sing the song with eyes closed. Due to that devotional, prayer-like feel, I begin my sets with this song if I’m going to include it. I read somewhere that this song reminded her of her father. It lines up with my thoughts on my own ancestors, from what would have been his time. Instruments used are Korg Minilogue, Microkorg (vocoding) & Novation circuit. I always record all my parts at once (no over-dubbing), so please enjoy the “fruits” of my labor! Audio engineer: Ross Williams.]

28. (#4.) Ivory Blue – “Starlit Love Child”
    from: Starlit Love Child / IVORY BLUE / November 17, 2023
    [On October 27, 2023 IVORY BLUE released the sIngle “Ghost of Life.” This single followed IVORY’s previous releases,”In A World Like This” from September 22, 2023, ”The Best of Life” from August 4, 2023 and “Control” from May 26, 2023. IVORY released the single “All Outta Love” on February 24, 2023. IVORY BLUE released their full length debut album COMPOUND LOVE on February 25, 2022. COMPOUND LOVE was in the Top Ten of WMM’s 120 Best recordings of 2022. For COMPOUND LOVE, IVORY BLUE served as songwriter, producer, vocalist and played all instruments with the exception of: Lester Estelle on drums, Klaartje Van Lue on piano, Craig Kew on bass, Lennon Bone on drums, and Marco Pascolini on pedal steel guitar. Nick Poortman served in mixing, with Kurt Festge who also served in mixing & Mastering. IVORY BLUE’s debut EP, Ready Get Set was released in June 2015. While the EP helped spread the word and give IVORY BLUE attention from regional radio and TV stations, a big break would come in 2017. In 2017 Ivory was among 1800 artists/bands that competed in neXt2Rock. Ivory won local & regional challenges and advanced to nationals in Los Angeles to win the top prize. // IVORY BLUE has played Crossroads Music Festival, The Middle of the Map Festival, The Westport Roots Festival, the KCPT Screening of “Real Boy” at The Kansas City Public Library, and Kauffman Stadium. // Ivory Blue was born in 1986 in Peoria Illinois, as Devin James Miclettet. Ivory’s birth mother put them up for adoption at the age of four. Ivory speaks about how it was difficult to find trust in people offering their home to someone denied it for so long, Ivory lived with eight different families, before running away at 15. // Ivory has talked with us about how in their life they have turned to music to express pain. Ivory spent most of their childhood looking for a family. In 2010 Klaartje Van Lue saw Ivory performing in a YouTube video and contacted them, flying Ivory to Kansas City, and adopting Ivory into the Van Lue family. During the past 10 years Ivory came out as “Non-Binary Transgender”. // As a multi-instrumentalist, Ivory began refining their performance style, using digital looping pedals to stack harmonies and guitar parts live on stage, giving their solo shows the feel of a full band. In 2011, Ivory settled in Kansas City, MO and quickly began attracting an intense regional following for their strong vocals and incisive, deeply personal lyrics. // By 2013, IVORY BLUE was playing regularly in and around Kansas City and the first EP ‘Ready Get Set’ was released. in 2015. IVORY BLUE released the video of “Family Table” directed by Mikal Shapiro, on August 21, 2021 and the audio track was released on September 7, 2021. IVORY BLUE released the single “Good Changes” on Oct 26, 2021. Ivory Blue released the singles: “Heavy,” “Bad Weather,” “It Must Have Been Me,” “Compound Love,” and “The Start” on December 14, 2021. IVORY BLUE released their debut album COMPOUND LOVE on February 25, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Red Light” on July 29, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Starlit Love Child” on October 28, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “All Outta Love” on February 24, 2023. More info at: https://linktr.ee/ivorybluemusic%5D [Ivory Blue was our guest on WMM on: March 8, 2023, June 7, 2023, our 1000th show on June 28, 2023, and September 27, 2023.]

29. (#3.) Red Kate -“Shut It Down”
    from: Exit Strategy / Black Site / November 10. 2023
    [First single form new album. Single was released April 27, 2023. The Kansas City based, class-conscious punk rock and rollers, Red Kate, are proud to announce their first new music in five years. “Shut It Down”, the debut single from the band’s upcoming third album, EXIT STRATEGY, is a blistering, no-holds-barred call to action for the oppressed, marginalized and working class. Written by the band’s former guitar player, Desmond Poirier, after attending a Stand Up KC march, “Shut It Down” reminds us that when push comes to shove, the one power the powerless still have when they come together in solidarity is to SHUT! IT! DOWN! The song begins streaming on all platforms Thursday, April 27, 2023. // In late 2021, singer/bassist, L. Ron Drunkard, drummer Andrew Whelan, rhythm guitarist Shawn Hamontree, and newly added lead guitarist Chris Kinsley returned to the band’s mainstay studio, Duane Trower’s Weights and Measures Soundlab, to finish what, at this point, had become a multi-year project. The group laid down four new tracks written during lockdown and then began the long process of turning twelve songs recorded over several sessions in two different studio locations with four different guitarists into the best sounding, and best collection of, songs the band has ever recorded. // Exit Strategy is set for release in the Fall of 2023 on Kansas City record label cooperative Black Site. // BLACK SITE is a record label cooperative created by Kansas City musicians interested in supporting regional punk and rock bands release their recordings on a physical medium. With the world around us becoming a deluge of digital l’s and 0’s, transient as a trust fund crust punk on a cross country excursion, tangible art is critical to maintaining connections to our past, our sense of place, and who we are as a people. Only WE can create the world we want to live in. Reciprocity and solidarity are the cornerstones of building long lasting, self-sustaining community power that pushes back against the commodification of culture. Music is not a business; Punk is not a brand, and DIY is not a lifestyle to be consumed. This is a way of life, and if we don’t hang together, we’ll surely hang alone. Info at: http://www.black-site.org ][L. Ron Drunkard of Red Kate was our guest on WMM on November 15, 2023.]

30. (#2.) Iris DeMent – “Workin’ On A World”
    from: Workin’ On A World / FlariElla / February 24, 2023
    [Iris DeMent’s 7th full length album, WORKING ON A WORLD was stalled partway through by the pandemic, the record took six years to make with the help of three friends and co-producers: Richard Bennett, Pieta Brown, and Jim Rooney. It was Pieta Brown who gave the record its final push. “Pieta asked me what had come of the recordings I’d done with Jim and Richard in 2019 and 2020. I told her I’d pretty much given up on trying to make a record. She asked would I mind if she had a listen. So, I had everything we’d done sent over to her, and not long after that I got a text, bouncing with exclamation marks: ‘You have a record and it’s called Workin’ On A World!’” With Bennett back in the studio with them, Brown and DeMent recorded several more songs and put the final touches on the record in Nashville in April of 2022. // DeMent sets the stage for the album with the title track in which she moves from a sense of despair towards a place of promise. “Now I’m workin’ on a world I may never see ‘ Joinin’ forces with the warriors of love / Who came before and will follow you and me.” “Goin’ Down To Sing in Texas” is an ode not only to gun control, but also to the brave folks who speak out against tyranny and endure the consequences in an unjust world. // On October 6, 2020 iris DeMent released her single “Going Down To Sing In Texas.” Stereogum on October 13, 2020 wrote: Other than a handful of guest appearances, Americana legend Iris DeMent hasn’t released new music since her 2015 album The Trackless Woods, a collection of Anna Akhmatova poems set to original music. But DeMent is back today in a big way with “Going Down To Sing In Texas,” a lengthy rambler that’s a lot more serious than its casual, jazzy piano groove lets on. Over the course of nine minutes, DeMent addresses police brutality, George W. Bush (“What’s the deal with all these war criminals who get to walk around free?”), Islamophobia, progressive protesters (“I’m so proud of all of these young people for taking it to the streets”), gun control, Jeff Bezos (“Ain’t we all just a little bit tired of greedy people getting a free pass?”), the Chicks, the Squad, and Jesus Christ (“He spoke truth to power, he stood up for the poor/ The church today wouldn’t even let him through the door”) among other things.It’s a hell of a song, clear and direct yet artful in its conversational ease. Never forget that DeMent can go toe to toe with songwriting legends like her old duet partner John Prine. In his review for WHYY’s Fresh Air, Entertainment Weekly Music Editor – Ken Tucker wrote: “Iris DeMent possesses one of the great voices in contemporary popular music: powerfully, ringingly clear, capable of both heartbreaking fragility and blow-your-ears-back power. Had she been making country albums in the ’70s and ’80s and had more commercial ambition, she’d probably now be considered right up there with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Instead, she’s lived a contemporary life, a somewhat private life. As she recently told an interviewer, “There’s a lot that goes into life besides songwriting.” And she’s taken her time in composing songs that fit into no genre easily.”] [Iris DeMent played Knuckleheads 2715 Rochester Street, KCMO on Thursday, March 23, 2023 in a SOLD OUT SHOW with guest Ana Egge opening the show.] [Iris Dement was our guest LIVE on WMM on March 22, 2023]

31. (#1.) Heidi Lynne Gluck – “Severance”
    from: Migrate Or Die / Heidi Lynne Gluck / July 7, 2023
    [Heidi Lynne Gluck released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023 Lawrence, Kansas based Heidi Lynne Gluck is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist originally from the middle of Canada. After transplant-ing herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi quickly became an in-demand player, performing on stage and in the studio both as a solo artist and with renowned musicians including Juliana Hatfield & Some Girls, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, The Pieces, The Only Children, and others. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and Aug. 24, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on Aug. 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the 8th edition of the Too Much Rock, limited edition, 7” vinyl Single Series on Aug. 3, 2018, featuring her original song, “Party Line.” and the B-side, “Good Guys and Bad Guys” a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song. Heidi Lynne Gluck also plays with the band the Roseline and was a featured vocalist on “Beauty in the Distance” with Asterales. Heidi recently released two new singles with Tom Brosseau, “Sunflower” on Dec. 15, 2022, and “Under African Skies” on Feb. 17, 2023.] [Heidi Lynne Gluck was our guest on WMM on July 12, 2023]

32. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
    from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

NEXT WEEK, on January 3, 2024, we ring in the new year with our annual Birthday Tribute shows to Rock Icon David Bowie and singer songwriter Iris DeMent.

On Friday January 5, at 12:00 NOON Calvin Arsenia plays live on MidCoast LIVE!

THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers.

This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.

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

Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:
http://www.kkfi.org,
http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org,
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM

Show #1026