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

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

90 Minute Cassette + Just Angel + Duff Thompson & Josh Mobley

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

2. Art d’Ecco – “I Feel Alive”
   from: “I Feel Alive” – Single / Paper Bag Records Records / July 10, 2024
   [Art d’Ecco is based in British Columbia, “There’s more than a little David Bowie in both the sonic and fashion leanings of Art d’Ecco, a performer who fluidly crosses musical and gender lines, creating highly memorable tracks — and sporting an unforgettable look. Often labelled “neo glam,” the music boasts hints of everything from ’50s pop to psychedelics, from Velvet Underground-era art rock to Grimes-inspired electronics.” – CBC Music. Art d’Ecco released the album, In Standard Definition on Paper Bag Records on April 23, 2021. Art d’Ecco released the album Trespasser on Paper Bag Records on October 12, 2018. // When d’Ecco moved into his grandmother’s cottage on one of the islands, he hadn’t planned on creating a new project. But, as it often does, circumstance charted his course. His grandmother, living with Alzheimer’s, suffered a related phenomenon called ‘sundowning,’ which triggers increased agitation and anxiety around sunset. “The only way to calm this lady down was to sit down at the piano,” says d’Ecco. He would play “Bohemian Rhapsody,” passing it off as Beethoven. After she was relocated, d’Ecco remained in the empty house where he had played as a child. Draped in memory, he gravitated toward the piano, spending the long, lonesome, quiet nights on the bench before the instrument. This is where Art d’Ecco was created. He relocated to a new cottage, built a studio and barricaded himself with copies of Deerhunter’s Cryptograms, Bowie’s Low, and choice krautrock records. In this solitude, d’Ecco would chase tones for hours. The result is a richly-realized confluence of the ferocious spark of those trailblazers and a distinct sadness, with d’Ecco as mad scientist, stitching together these delicious fragments and animating them. Art d’Ecco was our guest on September 29, 2021.]

3. Madisen Ward – “Hangin’ On”
   from: “Hangin’ On” – Single / Madisen Ward / Video released August 23, 2024
   [Not released as a single. Madisen shared this for me to play on the radio show. “Hangin’ On” is part of a video released August 23, 2024 and created by Madisen Ward & Bryce Veazey, The video features Will Forte, Mark Normand, Kaylin Hurley, Adam Ward, Brayden Ingram, Kri Chay, Amanda Parra, Baby, Regan Hurley, Keyo Chay, and Madisen Ward as himself. The Video Post-Production was by Major Oak Creative. Music produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Jeremy Wurst and Gene Abramov at B-24 Studios. Sun logo by Barry Blankenship. Filmed in Independence, MO. / Madisen Ward was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 2007. Madisen’s journey to become a musician, was “melodically passed down” through the songs of his mother, where Madisen grew up watching his mom perform at local coffee shops. Eventually he began to learn to play the guitar, and poured his talent for writing into the music to create original songs. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear have garnered international acclaim, and new fans from all over the world. They opened for BB King at The Midland. They signed with Glassnote Records in 2014 and recorded their debut full length album in Nashville with acclaimed producer Jim Abiss. They performed their debut single “Silent Movies” on The Late Show with David Letterman, they’ve toured across the United States, and Europe, more than once. They were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s The Today Show, and “Later With Jools Holland and played Bonnaroo, Pilgramage, and the Newport Folk Festival, and the Ryman Theatre, in Nashville. Madisen Ward is now performing as his first ever solo project, still crafting his own personal brand of Americana music. The same sound which launched the careers of the Family Folk Duo Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear. / We first played your music on this radio show in early May of 2013 after our mutual friend Joel Nanos of Element Recording sent me a copy of your independent EP, “We Burned The Cane Field.”where your first recorded Madisen’s original songs.

[Madisen Ward plays Percheron Rooftop Series, at The Crossroads Hotel, 2101 Central Stree, KCMO, TONIGHT, Wednesday, September 4, 2024, Doors at 7:00 Show at 8:00 PM.]

4. Alejandro Escovedo – “Bury Me”
   from: Echo Dancing / Yep Roc Records / March 29, 2024
   [Alejandro Escovedo was born January 10, 1951, in San Antonio, Texas. He is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk rock, roots rock and alternative country, and is most closely associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas. He comes from a well-known family of musicians. // The son of Mexican immigrants to Texas, Escovedo is from a family that includes several professional musicians, including his brothers (and percussionists) Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, and Sheila E. (Pete’s daughter and Alejandro’s niece). Alejandro’s brother Mario fronted the hard rock band the Dragons, and another brother, Javier, was in the punk rock band the Zeros. // Escovedo began performing in the first-wave punk rock group the Nuns, with Jennifer Miro and Jeff Olener, in San Francisco, California. After Escovedo’s departure, the Nuns recorded an album for Posh Boy Records but had little commercial success. // In the 1980s Escovedo moved to Austin, Texas, where he adopted a roots rock/alternative country style in the bands Rank and File (with Chip and Tony Kinman) and the True Believers (with his brother Javier, Jon Dee Graham and the bass player Denny DeGorio). His first solo albums, Gravity and Thirteen Years, were released in 1992 and 1994, respectively. // In 1997, Escovedo collaborated with Ryan Adams and the band Whiskeytown in recording sessions for their album Strangers Almanac. He sings on “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight”, “Dancing with the Women at the Bar”, and “Not Home Anymore”. As a salute to Escovedo, a cover of a True Believers song written by him is covered by Whiskeytown on the re-released Strangers Almanac (deluxe edition). // In 1998 No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade. Escovedo was also involved in a side project that represents his hard-rocking tastes. Buick MacKane released the album The Pawn Shop Years in 1997, hearkening back to his musical roots in the 1970s. // In 1999, Escovedo contributed to a tribute album to Skip Spence, a co-founder of Moby Grape, who was critically ill with cancer. The album, entitled More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album, was intended to raise funds to address Spence’s medical bills. The title refers to Spence’s only solo album, Oar (Columbia, 1969). On More Oar, Escovedo contributes his version of Spence’s “Diana”. The critic Rob Brunner commented, “The best contributions come from artists who realize that Spence’s work is as much about atmosphere as words and chords. …Alejandro Escovedo offers an appropriately bleary ‘Diana’, Spence’s darkest song.” (Birdman Records, 1999), was produced by Bill Bentley, a Warner Bros. Records executive and Austin-referenced music producer. // In 2003, after having lived with hepatitis C for many years, Escovedo collapsed onstage in Arizona as a result of the disease. In his long road to recovery, he faced substantial medical bills, which, lacking medical insurance, he could not pay. Friends and admirers around the country organized benefit shows to help him. This effort grew into the album Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, a two-disc set whose proceeds benefit the Alejandro Escovedo Medical and Living Expense Fund. Contributing musicians included Steve Earle, Jon Dee Graham, Lucinda Williams, John Cale, Jennifer Warnes, Ian Hunter, the Jayhawks, Bob Neuwirth, Son Volt, and Escovedo’s brothers Pete (with Pete’s daughter, Sheila E.), Javier, and Mario (as a member of the Dragons). // In 2005, it became known that Escovedo’s song “Castanets” was included on the iPod playlist of President George W. Bush. Upon learning this, Escovedo announced that he would not play the song again as long it was on Bush’s iPod or until he was out of office. After two “Castanets”-free years, as Bush was nearing the end of his term, Escovedo lifted the moratorium and began performing the song again. // Boxing Mirror came out on May 2, 2006 and included many of the songs he had promoted with the Alejandro Escovedo String Quintet, including Jon Dee Graham. Escovedo went on a short tour with the Quintet, which included a date at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in early December 2006. // In April 2008, Escovedo changed managers, hiring managers Jon Landau and Barbara Carr. // Escovedo released Real Animal, produced by Tony Visconti, on June 24, 2008. All of the songs were co-written with Chuck Prophet. // In 2009, Escovedo was invited to contribute to a tribute album to the late Doug Sahm. He contributed his version of “Too Little Too Late” to Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard Records). // In June 2010, Escovedo released Street Songs of Love, also produced by Visconti but released on a new label, featuring songs that were originally presented during “Sessions on South Congress” at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas with his band, The Sensitive Boys. After starting out writing about nothing in particular, the record “ended up being an album about love, the pursuit of a feeling that is forever elusive, mysterious, and addictive,” said Escovedo. A New York Times “critic’s choice” review of Street Songs of Love claimed that, “In another, less fragmented pop era, this would be the album of thoughtful but radio-ready love songs to finally get Mr. Escovedo the big national audience he deserves.”Pareles, Jon (July 4, 2010). New York Times. Nationally syndicated radio shows such as Little Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage gave prominent attention to Escovedo and his album, continuing to play the song “Silver Cloud” in particular well into the following year. // In 2014, Escovedo appeared in the movie and contributed to the soundtrack of the movie Veronica Mars, singing an acoustic version of “We Used to Be Friends”. Also that year, he co-produced and co-hosted the SXSW Tribute to Lou Reed with Richard Barone. In 2016 Escovedo mentored the singer-songwriter Jeremy Nail and produced Nail’s new record, “My Mountain”. // In October 2016, Escovedo released the album Burn Something Beautiful, which had been recorded in April of that year with the Minus Five, in Portland, Oregon. In January 2017, Escovedo did a short tour supporting the album, backed by Minus Five members Scott McCaughey, Kurt Bloch, Peter Buck, John Moen, and sometimes Kelly Hogan, all of whom had performed on the album. All songs on Burn Something Beautiful were written by Escovedo, McCaughey, and Buck. // Alejandro Escovedo released The Crossing on Yep Roc Records on Sept. 14, 2019.]

5. Katy Guillen and The Girls – “Waiting Till the Day”
   from: Remember What You Knew Before / KG & The Girls / November 11, 2017
   [For this album the band worked with producer Lennon Bone. The band reworked songs from the 2012 album Katy & Go-Go, the 2014 Katy & The Girls eponymous debut album, and from 2016’s “Heavy Days” with one new song. Katy Guillen and The Girls, were formed in September of 2012 in Kansas City. The blues influenced roots rock trio is made up of Katy Guillen on guitar & vocals, Claire Adams on bass & vocals, & Stephanie Williams on drums. // On August 19, 2022 Katy Guillen & The Drive released ANOTHER ONE GAINED, Produced by Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Heartless Bastards, Ray LaMontagne) at Invisible Creature Studio in Los Angeles. This is brimming with vibrant textures, fuzzy electric guitars, and warm vocals. “Set In Stone” marked the beginning of a major life transition for Katy Guillen (pronounced Ghee-En). Written shortly after her longtime band announced their final show, she was struggling to find the next step in her career and personal life, while longing for a past sense of stability. “The song’s vigorous structure and deliberate rhythms convey that feeling of defeat and darkness, but with a sense of resolution and surrender through the guitar solo – a favorite moment on the record for me,” explains Katy. “While it started on shaky ground, coming out on the other side meant starting over and building something new.” ANOTHER ONE GAINED is a memoir of growth and reawakening by way of heart-wrenching transition and change – loss of her long-time band, end of a romantic relationship and finding herself amidst it all. “Set In Stone” premiered earlier on Guitar Girl Magazine. Katy Guillen & The Drive – Katy Gillen (drums) and Stephanie William (drums) – dropped their first EP, Dream Girl, right before the 2020 lockdown, leaving them without opportunities to perform live. In their basement rehearsal space, they spent the year learning home recording and pre-production techniques, gradually crafting a collection of songs from the ground up. The following April, they took the demos to producer/engineer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Heartless Bastards, Ray LaMontagne) at Invisible Creature Studio in Los Angeles. From their work with Ratterman emerged a batch of 15 songs. At the end of 2021, the band released the four-track Battles EP, offering listeners a darker, more simmering edge to their impelling indie-rock sound. Ten more would comprise Another One Gained, the full-length debut due August 19, 2022. Previously Katy Guillen & The Drive released BATTLES EP on December 17, 2021, Recorded at Invisible Creature Studio in Los Angeles, CA. Engineered and mixed by Kevin Ratterman. Produced by Kevin Ratterman, Katy Guillen, and Stephanie Williams. Mastered by Shelley Anderson at Black Lab Mastering in Louisville, KY. All songs written by Katy Guillen and Stephanie Williams. Katy Guillen on vocals, guitar, bass, & keyboarda. Stephanie Williams on drums & percussion. Additional keys and programming by Kevin Ratterman. Album design and photography by Morgan Jones. This is a follow up to Katy Guillen & The Drive’s 7-song EP, DREAM GIRL, released March 20, 2020. Katy Guillen & The Drive, is a project dedicated to Guillen’s songwriting that is founded on the creative spark and chemistry between Katy Guillen & Stephanie Williams. With Guillen on guitar & vocals and Williams on drums, the two sculpt a sound that recalls bands like Led Zeppelin, The Bangles, and Band of Skulls. In 2012, Guillen & Williams formed Katy Guillen and The Girls, and began to build a foundation of touring and recording that carried them through six years and produced three full-length albums: Katy Guillen & the Girls, Heavy Days, and Remember What You Knew Before. Between 2012 and 2018, they traveled the United States extensively, performed at the International Montreal Jazz Festival, toured Sweden, and supported major acts like The Doobie Brothers, Robin Trower, and Heartless Bastards. In these 6 years playing together, Guillen & Williams created a dynamic, sound informed by Guillen’s mesmerizing, emotive guitar style and poignant arrangements, and an equally captivating live show that showcased Williams’ technical, melodic style, resulting in a powerful on-stage chemistry. In addition to the compelling synergy formed by years of playing together, the two developed a method of working together on Guillen’s songs that only deepened their artistic connection, propelling them to forge a path to a new plateau in their music. KG & The Drive push ahead with a melodic, heavy, and soulful sound while maintaining the edge of the artist’s rock ‘n’ roll and blues roots. Katy Guillen joined us on WMM on March 18, 2020. Katy Guillen & The Drive opened for FANNY for their one-night-only reunion concert from Fanny+ (June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, Patti Quatro, and Mia Huggins) at recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave, KCMO, on October 5, 2022. http://www.katyguillenmusic.com]

[Katy Guillen and The Girls play a 10 Year Anniversary Reunion Show on Friday, September 6, at 8:00pm at Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester Street, KCMO.]

6. Melissa Carper – “Borned In Ya”
   from: Behold The Soil! / Mae Music – Thirty Tigers / July 19, 2024
   [Recorded at Bomb Shelter in Nashville, TN. Engineer, Mix, Producer: Andrija Tokic. Producer: Dennis Crouch. // Melissa Carper is an American singer, songwriter and double bassist raised in North Platte, Nebraska, United States. She came from a musical family and started playing bass when she was a child, performing in a family band at churches and rest homes around North Platte. Since then, she has traveled the country playing original songs in the oldtime, western swing and country styles. Her song Making Memories was featured in the closing credits of an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. // “I DON’T THINK YOU CAN GET THIS SOUND UNLESS IT’S BORNED IN YA.” said bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, when asked about what he called “old-time mountain music.” When Melissa Carper heard those words, something jumped inside her. While staying in the country with a friend, she found an old DVD of Down From the Mountain, the documentary and concert film of the “O, Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack that featured this particular Stanley interview. She immediately jotted down “borned in ya” on a piece of paper. “I knew I had to write that song,” she recalls. // In the Spring of 2023, Carper went back to East Nashville’s Bomb Shelter – the same “analog wonderland” where she’d recorded Ramblin’ Soul and its predecessor, Daddy’s Country Gold, and enlisted the help of her trusted co-producers – Dennis Crouch and Andrija Tokic. “Borned In Ya” would become the title track of the new album, out July 19th via Mae Music/Thirty Tigers. // Like much of her writing, the song applies a homespun sensibility – and a bit of humor – to questions about life’s journeys. “I was turning over in my mind what it means to have something ‘borned in ya’,” she said. “The song evolved as I was writing it to be more about having your soul ‘borned it ya,’ and the more life experience you have, you hopefully grow to embody the highest version of yourself that you can be.” “Borned In Ya” could certainly stand as a reflection on Carper’s life in music. “Authentic” might be an over- used word to describe an artist’s appeal, but there’s something so natural and true about Carper’s musicality that she must have been born with it: An easy sway to her singing, a precise, but laid back sense of timing. A feel. And, lyrically, she has an instinctive sense for storytelling, both observant and intuitive. // THERE’S SOMETHING SO NATURAL AND TRUE ABOUT CARPER’S MUSICALITY THAT SHE MUST HAVE BEEN BORN WITH IT // As with the message of “Borned In Ya,” these traits have been sharpened by life experiences – including early music influences and the many turns of her career as a performer. Carper, born into a music-loving family, was raised on roots music, immersing herself in a family record collection that featured Hank Williams Sr., Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and more. The public school music curriculum in her home state of Nebraska gave Carper an opportunity to learn upright bass. “I remember wanting to play bass, to play the biggest string instrument, “ she recalls. Carper performed in her school orchestra – and also in her family’s country band. Led by her mother, the group played a mix of classics and the new country of the 80’s, but it was the old stuff that stuck with the young bassist. Along the way, Carper’s father gave her a collection of Jimmie Rodgers recordings, which made a defining impact. “He combined country and blues and jazz,” she recalls. “All of those elements, and the rawness of those recordings…I can’t quite put a finger on it, but I was obsessed.” Carper earned a music scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. College didn’t quite take, but while there, she spent hours in the music library, drawn to jazz vocalists like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, and she discovered seminal blues artist Lead Belly. // You’ll hear all of these influences in the music Carper has made over the years as a member of numerous touring acts and as a solo performer. Classic country and Western Swing sounds come to the fore on Daddy’s Country Gold, Carper’s 2021 album. Country roots and old-time jazz are at the heart of ‘Ramblin’ Soul’ too, but the album also ventures confidently into R & B and Soul territory. Those albums helped Carper establish a growing fan base and earn accolades from music reviewers. One writer lauded her “cool jazz-infused hillbilly serenades that linger in the air like fresh-cut hay.” Rolling Stone Country praised both her writing and musical stylings: “Singer-bassist Melissa Carper sounds like a voice from a bygone era . . . evoking the cool, smoky croon of a lounge singer, Carper gives some winking commentary about having a good time.” // Perhaps the most meaningful praise for Carper’s music has come from the world-class musicians she’s worked with onstage and in the studio. One is multi-instrumentalist Chris Scruggs. He’s a veteran of Nashville’s studio world, has played with influential roots-country-rockers BR-549, and currently tours as a member of Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives. Scruggs has been proud to contribute to Carper’s albums, including her recent ‘Borned In Ya’ sessions. “She’s as good as it gets,” he said, “She has a quality that really transcends time and fashion.” It was Scruggs who dubbed Carper “Hilbillie Holiday” – an admiring nod to her marriage of country and jazz vocal styles. “ I stand by that,” he said. “She can sing Hank Williams and then handle these old pop tunes, and the great thing is how natural she is – she doesn’t even really change her delivery.” // “SHE’S AS GOOD AS IT GETS. SHE HAS A QUALITY THAT REALLY TRANSCENDS TIME AND FASHION.” – CHRIS SCRUGGS // Borned In Ya showcases Carper’s long-standing influences as well as her artistic growth and sense of adventure. The old-time jazz sounds we came to know on Daddy’s Country Gold are back in full force along with the R&B and Soul of Ramblin’ Soul. In addition to her familiar blend of country with jazz, blues, soul, and R&B, the new album sees Carper exploring a more subtle and expert crossing of these genres and with a matured lyrical depth. The title track kicks things off with a gospel-style vocal chorus before settling into an impeccably funky groove. “Evil Eva” recalls the classic R&B of the 50s and 60s, and “Let’s Stay Single Together” puts Carper’s crooning vocal to a delightful jazz-tinged country soul feel. “There’ll Be Another One” sounds like classic Roy Orbison with Carper floating atop the bed of ever growing emotion, fueled by the stunning string arrangement from fiddler, Rebecca Patek. “Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee” is straight out of the honky tonk and “Lucky Five” is reminiscent of an old Frank Sinatra swinger. Carper rounds out this album with covers of two classics, “That’s My Desire,” crossover jazz/country tune from the 30s, and a beautiful rendition of Cole Porter’s “Everytime We Say Goodbye. // In addition to Scruggs, Borned In Ya features a cast of top-flight musicians like bassist Dennis Crouch (Johnny Cash, Gregg Allman, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant), pianist Jeff Taylor (The Time Jumpers, Riders in the Sky), fiddle master Billy Contreras (Ricky Scaggs, Buddy Spicher, George Jones), and multi-instrumentalist Rory Hoffman (Ricky Skaggs, Kathy Mattea, John Cowan). This is Carper’s first album featuring horns; Doug Corcoran, from JD McPherson’s band, plays trumpet and saxophone. And there are soulful backup vocals by Kyshona Armstrong, Nickie Conley and Maureen Murphy, as well as beautiful harmonies by Carper’s longtime music pal and bandmate, Jenn Miori Hodges (Carper Family). Carper penned the majority of the album’s 12 songs herself, though she co-wrote three tunes with friend and bandmate, Brennen Leigh (Wonder Women of Country). “Brennen is just brilliant with lyric ideas and we always have a good time writing together, “ Carper said. // Carper is eager for the release of Borned In Ya, and hopes it will resonate with fans of her earlier work while establishing an artistic step forward. “The new material I’ve been writing is evolving and going into new places thematically and stylistically,” says Carper. “It feels very fresh to me. I love how the musicians and producers have helped my vision come to life. Once again, I feel we have created something really special, and I can’t wait for folks to hear it.”]

7. Jessica Pratt – “Life is”
   from: Here In The Pitch / Mexican Summer / May 3, 2024
   [On her fourth album, west coast artist Jessica Pratt expands the scope of her artistry, placing her sharpest songs to date within an ever-broadening pool of influences including spectral ’60s pop, Hollywood psychedelia and bossa nova. Whereas Pratt’s 2019 record, Quiet Signs, floated elegantly in the ether, Here in the Pitch is entrenched in more earthen characteristics, as the title suggests, and her craft is emboldened with a newfound gravitas. // Jessica Pratt (born April 24, 1987) is an American musician and singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2012 via Birth Records, a record label founded by White Fence songwriter Tim Presley to release Pratt’s music. She is often associated with the freak folk movement. Her second and third albums are On Your Own Love Again (2015) (Drag City) and Quiet Signs (2019) (Mexican Summer/City Slang). She released her fourth album, Here in the Pitch, in 2024. // Pratt was raised by her mother, who exposed her to a broad range of artists, including Tim Buckley, X, and the Gun Club. She learned to play the guitar around the age of 15, after her older brother gave up playing his Stratocaster. She took his guitar and started practicing with the 1971 T. Rex album Electric Warrior. She was soon able to play the guitar parts of the whole record. She eventually began recording songs at the age of 16, using her mother’s Fender guitar amp and microphone. // “Pratt grew up in Redding, a small Northern California city with a complicated relationship to Christianity and conservative politics,” noted Quinn Moreland in a 2024 New York Times profile on Pratt. “Her family was comparatively freewheeling: Her mother, who raised her, was an astrologer and music obsessive. Pratt began writing songs as soon as she learned a few rudimentary chords, penning impressionistic songs inspired by the Incredible String Band and Leonard Cohen on a thrift store nylon string guitar.” // After she moved to San Francisco, she was introduced to Tim Presley’s solo project, White Fence, through Presley’s brother, who was her roommate for three years.In the following years, Presley heard Pratt’s demo songs through her then-boyfriend, who had posted her songs on Facebook. He eventually contacted her to release her music. // Pratt’s self-titled debut album was released in 2012 through Presley’s label, Birth Records. The album featured the songs that were originally recorded in 2007 over analogue tape. The initial 500 pressings of the album sold out in less than two weeks. It received attention from many music websites and magazines, including Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound and PopMatters. // In January 2014, she revealed the studio version of a new track, “Game That I Play.” // In October 2014, Pratt announced her second album, On Your Own Love Again. Pratt toured extensively around this record, both as a headliner and in support of Beach House, Panda Bear and José Gonzáles. On Your Own Love Again would eventually be ranked at #85 of Pitchfork’s Best Albums of the 2010s. “Back, Baby” appeared in the first episode of season three of the show Atlanta, and was sampled by Troye Sivan on his 2023 album, Something to Give Each Other. // In October 2018, she announced her third album, Quiet Signs, and released a video for a new track entitled “This Time Around”. Pitchfork reviewed the song, giving it the Best New Music designation and noting a stylistic shift, comparing it to “a Tropicalia version of a Christmas song, or a ’60s jukebox standard playing in a beach town diner during the off-season.” The album was released in February 2019 on the independent labels Mexican Summer and City Slang. It was the first one recorded in a proper studio which provided a crystalline sound. Pitchfork states the album “warps the typically direct, observational role of a singer-songwriter into something altogether more mystifying”. // After writing throughout the pandemic, Pratt returned to Gary’s Electric with Quiet Signs co-producer Al Carlson, Matt McDermott and session musicians including Spencer Zahn and Mauro Refosco, this time influenced by Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the music of the ’60s group the Walker Brothers. “I’ve always been very interested in that micro era of ’60s pop music where the production is atmospheric like a snow globe,” she told the New York Times on her intentions throughout the writing and recording process, which spanned from 2020 to 2023. // In February 2024, she released a video for a new track titled “Life Is” which served as the lead single for her first new album in five years. Here in the Pitch, was released on May 3, 2024, via Mexican Summer and City Slang, to universal acclaim. “Her chords are crisper, her singing more concrete and commanding, occasionally imagining echoes of lost Bowie or Beatles ballads aside her twilight bossa nova grooves,” wrote Jen Pelly for NPR. Pitchfork awarded the album a Best New Music designation and an 8.8 score, stating Pratt’s “fourth album of hypnagogic folk music hones her mysterious song to its finest point.” The lead single from the record, “Life Is,” concluded Chanel’s Fall-Winter 2024/25 Haute Couture Show. She performed the song with her band on The Late Show in July 2024. // On August 2, 2024, she featured on the single “Highjack” from ASAP Rocky’s upcoming fourth studio album Don’t Be Dumb. // According to Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound, Pratt’s music “displays a lyrical and musical range without straying from a palette of picked acoustic guitar and raw, bending vocals” and nods to “60s folk, California classic rock, and the early 2000s freak folk.” She is compared to various folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sibylle Baier, David Crosby and Karen Dalton. She also expressed admiration for Ariel Pink. // Pratt dislikes the Joan Baez comparisons, and is hesitant about being classified strictly as “folk” or “freak-folk.” In an interview with Impose magazine, she stated on the freak folk comparisons: I think anybody has an opposition to being pigeonholed into semi-trendy music genres. I definitely love a lot of those artists. There have been comparisons to people like Joan Baez [who] plays very straight-forward folk music, almost academic folk music. I’ve written so much new material that I’m almost ready for a next record. I guess it’s just my fear of sounding one-dimensional, or being classified as strictly a folk artist.

Jessica Pratt – Discography
Jessica Pratt (2012)
On Your Own Love Again (2015)
Quiet Signs (2019)
Here in the Pitch (2024)

8. Orville Peck – “Death Valley High (feat. Beck)”
   from: Stampede / Orville Peck / August 2, 2024
   [Going into this, I wanted to make sure that every single song on the album felt like a true 50/50 collaboration of me and the other artists’ style and sound and genre. I didn’t want to just feel like a bunch of Orville Peck songs that feature verses from other artists. I wanted each one to be an actual collaboration. Every single song on the album is entirely its own thing, dependent on who the artist is. It’s a really fun journey. It’s definitely the most adventurous I’ve ever been in terms of genre. It’s some of the most country songs I’ve ever done on this album and some of the least country songs I’ve ever done on this album. —Peck on recording Stampede: Vol. 1 // Stampede is the third studio album by South African singer-songwriter Orville Peck. It was released on August 2, 2024, through Warner. The album follows 2022’s Bronco and a self-imposed hiatus in 2023, and was accompanied by a promotional tour as well as the lead single, a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other”, recorded as a duet with Willie Nelson. The album title continues the theme of Peck’s releases having names related to horses,[6] and was preceded by an EP with several songs that span multiple music genres. // Stampede contains 15 tracks, all of which are recorded as vocal duets between Peck and other artists of various genres. Peck recorded a duet version of “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other” with Willie Nelson, who first covered the song solo in 2006. Peck also covered “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” for the album, with the latter being a duet with its original artist, Elton John. “Midnight Ride”, a collaboration with Kylie Minogue and Diplo, was released as the album’s second single in June 2024.[// Daniel Pitout, known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States and Canada. He is well-known for wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly. // He released his debut album Pony in 2019, followed by the EP Show Pony the next year. His second studio album Bronco was released in 2022. Following a self-imposed hiatus in 2023, Peck released his third studio album Stampede in 2024. // Peck was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and lived there until he was 15. As a child, he taught himself music by playing an acoustic guitar and an old Casio keyboard. He is the son of a sound engineer, and he did voice-over work for cartoons and other media as a child. Growing up, he took ballet classes for 12 years, and performed in musical theatre productions. By the time he was in his early 20s, he had been on national tours of musicals. // Peck moved to London for a foundation degree in acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2014. He then played Jonathan Harris/Peter Pan in the Mischief Theatre production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Apollo Theatre in 2016. // Peck self-produced his debut album, Pony, and released it in 2019 through a collaboration with Sub Pop. He has noted that he “wrote, produced and played every instrument he could” on the album while working in a coffee shop and living with his parents. In June of that year, he performed his songs “Dead of Night” and “Take You Back” live on CBC Radio One’s Q. Pony was named to the initial longlist for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize in June 2019. The album also received a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020. // Peck performed “Dead of Night” on Jimmy Kimmel Live on January 29, 2020. He also announced a tour of selected cities in the United States, including performances at the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals. // In May 2020, Peck announced the follow-up to his debut album, an EP titled Show Pony, with a release date of June 12, 2020. In June 2020, Peck announced the delayed release of Show Pony until August 14, 2020, in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests. // Peck recorded a cover of “Smalltown Boy” for the 2020 Pride edition of the Spotify Singles series. The song was released exclusively on Spotify on June 29, 2020, and everywhere else on July 31, 2020. // In April 2021, Peck was featured on American drag queen and singer Trixie Mattel’s EP, Full Coverage, Vol. 1. He appeared on a duet cover of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s “Jackson”. Although not credited in the liner notes for the EP, Trixie Mattel has confirmed that the whistle part in “Video Games” is Peck’s whistle. In June, he was revealed to be the sixth artist on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary, with Peck reimagining the song “Born This Way” in a country style. // On March 16, 2023, Peck made an appearance as a guest on the judge’s panel on MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, alongside RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, and Ross Mathews. In 2023, Peck was a coach and judge on My Kind of Country. // On April 5, 2024, Peck released a cover of Ned Sublette’s “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other” with country musician Willie Nelson as the lead single from Stampede: Vol. 1, Peck’s upcoming duets album. The single marked his first release on Warner Records. Peck also announced a headlining North American tour, The Stampede Tour, set to begin on May 28, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. In May 2024, Peck released the duet “How Far Will We Take It?” with Noah Cyrus. On 7 June 2024, Peck released the single “Midnight Ride” alongside Kylie Minogue and Diplo. // It has been confirmed that Orville Peck is a persona of Daniel Pitout, drummer of the Canadian punk band Nü Sensae. It was previously speculated that Pitout was Peck based on the similarity of their tattoos, and Peck’s mentioning that he was in a punk band. Pitout was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, as was Peck. Pitout is also listed by ASCAP as the songwriter for Peck’s song “Old River” and other songs that match the titles of the songs released by Peck, such as “Roses Are Falling”. // Peck strongly identifies with 1970s era country music and lists classic stars Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Bobbie Gentry, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton as influences. Outside of country music, Peck has mentioned Roy Orbison, Oasis, Whitney Houston and Lana Del Rey and film directors David Lynch and John Waters as influences. /// Peck is gay. Regarding his reasons for wearing a mask to perform, he has stated: “The only reason I don’t talk about it in depth is not because I want to dodge any questions, but because I want people to have their own take on it. I don’t want to lay it out and pin it down. I just don’t think that’s important.” // In 2022, Peck’s home was featured and toured by Architectural Digest. The video was released on November 6, 2023, with the article released on November 7, 2023. As of July 2024, Peck resides in Los Angeles.]

10:29 – Underwriting

9. 90 Minute Cassette – “Hold Back The Water”
   from: “Hold Back The Water” – Single / Scatterplot Sounds / August 2, 2024
   [Crafting jams that you can dub on a mixtape right alongside your favorite classic synth pop hits, 90 Minute Cassette is a fresh and nostalgic surprise. The duo from Kansas City, Missouri, made up of Chuck Whittington (namelessnumberheadman, Madisen Ward, Summer Breeze) on guitar/vocals and Hillary Watts (The Hillary Watts Riot) on synths/vocals, creates a vibe that fuses analog sunsets and digital sunrises. // 90 Minute Cassette weaves together dancy rhythms, shimmering synths, and infectious melodies to create a sound that transports listeners to a neon-lit retro-future. Drawing from influences like Tears for Fears, INXS, and Duran Duran, their music evokes the spirit of underground clubs and vibrant city streets of the past. From club shows to packed dance floors, their music resonates with fans of all ages, on a journey through time and sound. // 90 Minute Cassette is booking live shows to promote their two new singles, bringing their energetic and retro-futuristic music to audiences in the region. // Genre: synth pop/new wave/dream pop // RIYL: Beach House, Duran Duran, Nation of Language, Human League. // “Tunes sure to delight anyone who still cherishes their Pretty in Pink soundtrack.” -Too Much Rock // “Hold Back the Water is a perfect
   synth-pop jam.” – Nick Spacek, The Pitch]

[90 Minute Cassette play miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:00 pm with Palm Ghosts, and House of Transgressor.]

10:34 – Interview with Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington

Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington join us to talk about their new band, 90 Minute Cassette. Crafting jams that you can dub on a mixtape right alongside your favorite classic synth pop hits, 90 Minute Cassette is a fresh and nostalgic surprise. The duo from KCMO, is made up of Chuck Whittington (namelessnumberheadman, Madisen Ward, Summer Breeze) on guitar/vocals and Hillary Watts (The Hillary Watts Riot) on synths/vocals, creates a vibe that fuses analog sunsets and digital sunrises. 90 Minute Cassette play miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:00 pm with Palm Ghosts, and House of Transgressor.

Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington thanks for being with us on WMM

Chuck Whittington of the bands: namelessnumberheadman, Madisen Ward, Summer Breeze on guitar and vocals

Hillary Watts of the band The Hillary Watts Riot) on synths/vocals,

Chuck Whittington & Andrew Sallee joined us live on WMM on September 15, 2021 to share new music from namelessnumberheadman – and their sing;e “Mt Analogue St” released August 13, 2021, the first single, from their album, PLOT THE POINTS. Info Mt Analogue St – Rene Daumal wrote a moving, amusing, and confusing book, Mount Analogue, in which there is an expedition to find a mountain that is so tall that the top can’t be seen. Why might someone want to take the journey up the mountain? Step after step plodding up the mountain, trusting that even though no one has seen the peak, that it’s actually there. Namelessnumberheadman is: Chuck Whittington, Jason Lewis, and Andrew Sallee. In 2019 Namelessnumberheadman released three instrumental records (The Ground, Current, and Meditations) which we were very proud of. But during the shutdown in 2020 we decided to dive back into our classic way of working: melding catchy rock/folk songs with sonic panoramas. “Namelessnumberheadman is a band that holds polar opposites together: Acoustic guitar with synthesizer. Human voices with sound glitches. The organic with the synthetic. The ground with the stars.” The guitar and vocal work is always perfection. The music crosses through genre like an an olympic ice skater, I’m hearing the production quality of an Air album, from a band presenting themselves not unlike late 1980s DEVO, with folk, country, progressive guitar, and harmonic, clear vocals that remind me of my humanity, while tumble traveling through space and time in a cluttered world this music takes me into a different space. Originally from small-town Oklahoma, but now Kansas City-based with one member in Boston, the band crafts recordings and live performances that are part lab-experiment and part indie rock band.

90 Minute Cassette draw from influences like Tears for Fears, INXS, and Duran Duran to make mixtape-ready, synth-laden, melodically rich music that could fit seamlessly between Splitz Enz’s “I Got You” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle.”

Chuck Whittington told Nick Spacek for The Pitch in an article from August 2, 2024: “I’m in Summer Breeze (yacht rock tribute), namelessnumberheadman (experimental electro/rock/folk) and I play with Madisen Ward (folk songwriter phenom), too. I absolutely love playing in all of these, and so grateful to be a part of them. But I was also finding that I really missed writing and playing my own music out live. Hillary and I had been dating for a few months and having both played music for many years (she’s in Love Snack, a B-52s tribute and obviously, The Hillary Watts Riot), we couldn’t help talking about making a band together.

Chuck Whittington told Nick Spacek for The Pitch in an article from August 2, 2024: “One of our dreams is to make an actual 90 Minute Cassette, even if that’s a 45 min album on both sides. We have three more songs that we’re actively recording now. We intend to release those as singles too. That’s working for us now, but someday we’ll get that 90 Minute Cassette filled up.”

It​’​s Something Else by 90 Minute Cassette
lyrics

Bright City lights. Cruel shadows
I believe you that nothing ever stops
I can’t relax. But looking back,
When that skyline Goes on and on and on

It’s something else. A view so brilliant
The peering eyes. The bleary lights.
It’s something else.
A cloudy promise
it’s all I see
It’s really something.

You told me once, you could love me.
I had decided I never would agree
This neighborhood will forget me
What you keep chasing
It goes on and on and on and on

It’s something else. A view so brilliant
The peering eyes. The bleary lights.
It’s something else.
A cloudy promise
it’s all I see
It’s really something.

Are you okay? You’re a mystery.
The red lights are all that I can see
A broken phrase. On the last day
And the road home goes on and on and on

It’s something else. A view so brilliant
The peering eyes. The bleary lights.
It’s something else.
A cloudy promise
it’s all I see
It’s really something.

released May 24, 2024

Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington thanks for being with us on WMM

90 Minute Cassette play miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:00 pm with Palm Ghosts, and House of Transgressor.

10:49

10. 90 Minute Cassette – “It’s Something Else”
    from: “It’s Something Else” – Single / Scatterplot Sounds / May 24, 2024
    [Crafting jams that you can dub on a mixtape right alongside your favorite classic synth pop hits, 90 Minute Cassette is a fresh and nostalgic surprise. The duo from Kansas City, Missouri, made up of Chuck Whittington
    (namelessnumberheadman, Madisen Ward, Summer Breeze) on guitar/vocals and Hillary Watts (The Hillary Watts Riot) on synths/vocals, creates a vibe that fuses analog sunsets and digital sunrises. // 90 Minute Cassette weaves together dancy rhythms, shimmering synths, and infectious melodies to create a sound that transports listeners to a neon-lit retro-future. Drawing from influences like Tears for Fears, INXS, and Duran Duran, their music evokes the spirit of underground clubs and vibrant city streets of the past. From club shows to packed dance floors, their music resonates with fans of all ages, on a journey through time and sound.
    // 90 Minute Cassette is booking live shows to promote their two new singles, bringing their energetic and retro-futuristic music to audiences in the region. // Genre: synth pop/new wave/dream pop // RIYL: Beach House, Duran Duran, Nation of Language, Human League. // “Tunes sure to delight anyone who still
    cherishes their Pretty in Pink soundtrack.” -Too Much Rock // “Hold Back the Water is a perfect
    synth-pop jam.” -Nick Spacek, The Pitch]

[90 Minute Cassette play miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:00 pm with Palm Ghosts, and House of Transgressor.]

11. Religion of Heartbreak – “Dark Hour of Meditation”
    from: “Religion of Heartbreak” – Single / Religion of Heartbreak / August 9, 2024
    [Dedric Moore on vocals, synths, bass, guitar, programming; Mikal Shapiro on vocals; Krysztof Nemeth on baritone guitar; Delaney Moore on synth riff; Regan Moore on electronic percussion loop. // Religion of Heartbreak, features members of Monta at Odds, and delves into the sounds of Darkwave, EBM, and darker Synth Pop. Trading in their black jeans for a darker shade of black. The songs are clever and filled with lost love as we follow our dark hearts. // “Dark Hour of Meditation creeps along with a deliberate trance-like rhythm as Dedric Moore and Mikal Shapiro’s voices drift softly above a sea of echoed guitars and spacious synths. Krystztof’s baritone guitar adds a deep undercurrent, while Dedric’s mechanized beats and brooding bass provide a steady, relentless pulse. The result is a sound both sprawling and intimate, a dark dance between the vast unknown and the familiar shadows we carry within. It’s the kind of track that lingers like a whispered confession in the dead of night, heavy with the weight of what was – and what could have been.” via Post-Punk.com]

[Religion of Heartbreak play minibar, at 3810 Broadway Blvd KCMO, on October 23, 2024, with Belgium-based Ultra Sunn and Juliette Frost.]

11:00 – Station ID

12. Duff Thompson – “Stranger”
    from: Shadow People II / Scott Easterday / June 28, 2024
    [Duff Thompson on vocals, rhythm & lead guitars, bass, drums, percussion, piano, pump organ, synthesizers, and glockenspiel; Steph Green on pump organ, additional percussion, backing vocals; Kyle Taylor on drums, additional percussion, piano, backing vocals. // Written, Produced, Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Duff Thompson . Assistant Engineering by Steph Green and Kyle Taylor. Additional Production by Steph Green. Recorded at Sud-Ouest Recording Service in Montreal, Quebec. Album Photos and Design by Minnie Heart and Bill Howard. // “Shadow People II” is the louder, heavier, second half of a duology of albums by Duff Thompson (the first being, “Shadow People” — released October 27, 2023). Created over two weeks of intensive recording in Montreal, the “Shadow People” series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Showcasing the warmth and timelessness of acoustic instruments like piano and pump organ with the grimier side of mid-fi garage rock production — loud drums, distorted guitars, blown-out vocals, and plenty of reverb — the recordings were engineered and produced by Thompson himself, joined by long-time collaborator Steph Green, and Kyle Taylor, as his backing band and assistant engineers. “Shadow People II” sees Thompson’s emotionally complex and affecting songwriting explore themes of alienation, isolation, and stagnation. Interestingly and despite this, these are not depressing songs. A theme that also emerges recurrently is the way in which love can be a life raft in what could otherwise be a hopeless sea of meaninglessness. As much as one might feel like an outsider, you can be at peace if you’ve got the right person right there being outside of it all with you. // Duff Thompson is a songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. As a songwriter, he has a rare ability to distill emotional complexity into simple, sincere songs that instantly hit the listener on a visceral level. As a producer, he draws from influences that span across decades and genres, merging them into a cohesive and organic sound recognizable as his own. // Thompson’s latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Shadow People also features contributions from Mat Davidson (Twain) on strings, pedal steel, and bass clarinet. Whereas Thompson’s 2020 debut album, Haywire showcased his versatility and folk influences, Shadow People and Shadow People II are a more cohesive collection of songs that push his music further into the world of garage and indie rock. Shadow People was released October 27, 2023, to be followed by Shadow People II on June 28, 2024, out on Mashed Potato Records. // Thompson started out playing music at a young age, forming and playing in bands until 2016, when he shifted focus to being a solo artist. In addition to his own project, he has spent many years recording, and performing as a backing musician for numerous other artists, as well as co-running the DIY label Mashed Potato Records. Along with the October 2023 release of Shadow People, the past year saw Thompson performing across the US, Canada, and in Europe, ending with a six-week co-headlining tour alongside Steph Green, with sold-out dates in numerous major cities in North America.

[Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Steph Green and Warren Burns.]

11:03 – Interview with Duff Thompson & Josh Mobley

Duff Thompson, is a songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. Thompson’s latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Steph Green and Warren Burns.

Duff Thompson thanks for being with us on WMM

Also joining us at 11:00 is Josh Mobley who was born and raised in Kansas City. Josh formed his first band, the Gosh Monsters, at Shawnee Mission East. Attending the Coctails record release party at Anne Winter’s Recycled Sounds led him to their show the next night at the Human Observation Lab, a venue where he first saw Mongol Beach Party, Sin City Disciples, Blue Museum, the Catherines, and Roach Factory. Wandering around deserted downtown outside the Lab was where Josh first encountered The Ship. Josh left KC in 1992 to attend Boston University where I formed a band with friends called the Umpteens. Returning to KC in 1997, Josh got a job working at YJ’s Snack Bar for artist David Ford. Josh played in the band After Party, and help form the Dirty Force Brass Band to play for Mardi Gras celebrations. This band morphed into Hearts of Darkness. Around 2002 Josh came across the architectural remains of the Ship which had been torn down in 1997. In 2004 Josh and friends began to put the Ship back together as a clubhouse for friends. The first party there in 2008, was the debut of Hearts of Darkness. The Ship opened to the public in 2014. Josh is currently working to convert the Grand Avenue Temple into a music venue.

Josh Mobley, thanks for being with us WMM

Duff Thompson is a songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. As a songwriter, he has a rare ability to distill emotional complexity into simple, sincere songs that instantly hit the listener on a visceral level. As a producer, he draws from influences that span across decades and genres, merging them into a cohesive and organic sound recognizable as his own.

Thompson’s latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Shadow People also features contributions from Mat Davidson (Twain) on strings, pedal steel, and bass clarinet. Whereas Thompson’s 2020 debut album, Haywire showcased his versatility and folk influences, Shadow People and Shadow People II are a more cohesive collection of songs that push his music further into the world of garage and indie rock. Shadow People was released October 27, 2023, to be followed by Shadow People II on June 28, 2024, out on Mashed Potato Records.

Thompson started out playing music at a young age, forming and playing in bands until 2016, when he shifted focus to being a solo artist. In addition to his own project, he has spent many years recording, and performing as a backing musician for numerous other artists, as well as co-running the DIY label Mashed Potato Records. Along with the October 2023 release of Shadow People, the past year saw Thompson performing across the US, Canada, and in Europe, ending with a six-week co-headlining tour alongside Steph Green, with sold-out dates in numerous major cities in North America.

“Shadow People II” (released: June 28, 2024) is the louder, heavier, second half of a duology of albums by Duff Thompson (the first being, “Shadow People” — released October 27, 2023). Created over two weeks of intensive recording in Montreal, the “Shadow People” series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Showcasing the warmth and timelessness of acoustic instruments like piano and pump organ with the grimier side of mid-fi garage rock production — loud drums, distorted guitars, blown-out vocals, and plenty of reverb — the recordings were engineered and produced by Thompson himself, joined by long-time collaborator Steph Green, and Kyle Taylor, as his backing band and assistant engineers. “Shadow People II” sees Thompson’s emotionally complex and affecting songwriting explore themes of alienation, isolation, and stagnation. Interestingly and despite this, these are not depressing songs. A theme that also emerges recurrently is the way in which love can be a life raft in what could otherwise be a hopeless sea of meaninglessness. As much as one might feel like an outsider, you can be at peace if you’ve got the right person right there being outside of it all with you.

TRACK LIST

1. It’s Good
2. Stranger
3. Swoop My Way
4. Girls
5. Fog II
6. Echo
7. You Don’t Know
8. More Than You’ll Ever Know
9. On Your Own
   CREDITS: Duff Thompson – Vocals, Rhythm and Lead Guitars, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Piano, Pump Organ, Synth, Glockenspiel
   Steph Green – Pump Organ, Additional percussion, Backing Vocals
   Kyle Taylor – Drums, Additional percussion, Piano, Backing Vocals

“Lore of the Shadow People II Tour 2024”

A tour sequel in which I’ll be playing shows across the US and Canada with Steph Green, supporting her new album “Lore” and my new duology of albums, “Shadow People” and “Shadow People II”. Happy to say select west coast dates we’ll be joined by Will Sprott.

06/28 – WAKEFIELD, QC – Kaffé 1870
06/29 – BURLINGTON, VT – Light Club Lamp Shop
06/30 – MONTREAL, QC – l’Esco
07/05 – DETROIT, MI – Outer Limits Lounge w/ Libby DeCamp
07/06 – COLUMBUS, OH – Ace of Cups w/Little Miami
07/08 – DURHAM, NC – The Pinhook
07/09 – RICHMOND, VA – The Camel
07/10 – WASHINGTON, DC – Pie Shop DC
07/11 – BROOKLYN, NY – Baby’s All Right
07/12 – SOMERVILLE, MA – The Rockwell
07/16 – CHICAGO, IL – Lincoln Hall + Schubas
07/19 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Cloudland Theater w/ Lake Davi
07/24 – CALGARY, AB – The Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club w/ Brett Cassidy & the Courderoy Boys
07/26 – NELSON, BC – The Royal – Nelson
08/08 – OLYMPIA, WA – The Crypt
08/09 – SEATTLE, WA – Tractor Tavern w/ Kinsey Lee
08/10 – VANCOUVER, BC – The Pearl on Granville w/ Dawson Gool
08/15 – BELLINGHAM, WA – The Shakedown w/ Mr Sam & the People People
08/16 – PORTLAND, OR – Polaris Hall *
08/17 – EUGENE, OR – Hybrid Gallery *
08/21- SACRAMENTO, CA – Folsom Hotel *
08/22 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Bottom of the Hill *
08/23 – SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Blue Lagoon *
08/24 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Zebulon La
08/30 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Quarter Arcade Bar w/ Marshall Van Leuven
09/01 – DENVER, CO – Lost Lake
09/14 – TORONTO, ON – Monarch Tavern

Josh Mobley was born and raised in Kansas City. He formed his first band, the Gosh Monsters, with some classmates at Shawnee Mission East. Josh attended the Coctails record release party at Anne Winter’s Recycled Sounds and that led him to their show the next night at the Human Observation Lab. This was first of many nights Josh spent there seeing great local bands ( Mongol Beach Party, Sin City Disciples, Blue Museum, the Catherines, Roach Factory, Mudhead, and many more). Wandering around deserted downtown outside the Lab was where Josh first encountered the Ship.

In 1992 Josh left KC to attend Boston University where he formed a band with some friends called the Umpteens. Returning to KC in 1997, Josh eventually got a job working at YJ’s Snack Bar for artist David Ford. It was there that Josh met many of the great local musicians and artists that were part of that downtown scene. During this time Josh was playing mainly with a band called The Afterparty. It was an honor to play the last live show at Recycled Sounds. Josh help form the Dirty Force Brass Band around this time to play for Mardi Gras celebrations which were centered around YJ’s. This band eventually morphed into the Hearts of Darkness.

Around 2002 while touring a friend’s new loft in the West Bottoms, Josh came across the architectural remains of the Ship which had been torn down in 1997. In 2004 with friends Josh began to put the Ship back together as a clubhouse. They had their first party there in 2008, which was the debut of HOD. After 6 years of smokey parties, The Ship finally opened it up to the public in 2014. Two years later, Ernie Locke convinced us to open a kitchen with a diner in the back of the Ship. Somehow, it turned into a job. I am currently working to convert the Grand Avenue Temple into a music venue.

The Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street KCMO.

11:13

13. Steph Green – “Teardrop Skies”
    from: Lore / Mashed Potato Records / October 20, 2023
    [Steph Green on Vocals, Guitars, Lap Steel, Organ, Piano, Glockenspiel, Additional Percussion; Duff Thompson on Drums, Bass, Electric Guitar on “Teardrop Skies”, Acoustic Guitar on “Mine”, Backing Vocals on “Take a Walk” . Written, Produced, Arranged, Engineered, Mixed + Photos by Steph Green. Layout by Steph Green and Minnie Heart. Additional Engineering by Duff Thompson. Mastering by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering. Lyrics to the first verse of “Last Seance” by Paul Dresser. Special thanks: Bill Howard and Duff Thompson. // Steph Green’s sophomore album, “Lore”, is a series of vignettes that immerse the listener in dreams and nightmares of the West. It’s a world of towering storm clouds, flooding rivers, and diamond skies. The natural and supernatural collide, wailing spirits wander lost highways, and shapeshifting starling murmurations soar overhead of restless loners. // Green produced and recorded “Lore” at home on a borrowed Tascam MS-16, making use of tape distortion, reverb, and warbling tremolo to color her vivid and visceral storytelling. The collection of tales are enveloped by a distinctive, otherworldly sound, with weeping steel guitar, washy organ, and ghostly vocal layering reverberating from a distant dimension. Embarking on an almost entirely solo recording process that allowed room for experimentation, Green also enlisted long-time collaborator Duff Thompson as the rhythm section on bass and drums. Out now on Mashed Potato Records, “Lore” is a rugged, eerie, and wild homage to both a real and imagined place. // Steph Green’s music is for those who fancy the art of songwriting, depicting a lonely world illuminated by strangeness and beauty. Her sophomore album, Lore, is a series of vignettes that immerse the listener in dreams and nightmares of the West. It’s a world where the natural and supernatural collide, wailing spirits wander lost highways, and shapeshifting starling murmurations soar overhead of restless loners. Green produced and recorded Lore at home on a borrowed Tascam MS-16, and the collection of tales are enveloped by a distinctive, otherworldly sound, with weeping steel guitar, washy organ, and ghostly vocal layering reverberating from a distant dimension. Out now on Mashed Potato Records, Lore is a rugged, eerie, and wild homage to both a real and imagined place. // Green started out as a traveling street musician before the chance acquisition of a cassette 4-track led her to start writing and recording her own songs. Her sound is a distinctive blend of indie pop, folk, and garage rock, and her lyrics reveal an affecting and arresting storyteller. A spirit of independence and experimentation characterize Green’s approach to music, with all of her releases variously featuring her in the roles of producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with the October 2023 release of Lore, the past year saw her captivating live audiences in the US, Canada, and Europe, ending with a six-week co-headlining tour alongside Duff Thompson, with sold-out dates in numerous major cities across North America. In addition to her own project, Green co-runs the DIY label Mashed Potato Records, and has performed as a backing musician for numerous other songwriters over years, appearing most recently on recordings for Duff Thompson and Dean Johnson.]

[Steph Green plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Duff Thompson and Warren Burns.]

11:16 – More Interview with Duff Thompson & Josh Mobley

Duff Thompson, is a songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. Thompson’s latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Steph Green and Warren Burns.

Duff Thompson thanks for being with us on WMM

Also joining us at 11:00 is Josh Mobley who was born and raised in Kansas City. Josh formed his first band, the Gosh Monsters, at Shawnee Mission East. Attending the Coctails record release party at Anne Winter’s Recycled Sounds led him to their show the next night at the Human Observation Lab, a venue where he first saw Mongol Beach Party, Sin City Disciples, Blue Museum, the Catherines, and Roach Factory. Wandering around deserted downtown outside the Lab was where Josh first encountered The Ship. Josh left KC in 1992 to attend Boston University where I formed a band with friends called the Umpteens. Returning to KC in 1997, Josh got a job working at YJ’s Snack Bar for artist David Ford. Josh played in the band After Party, and help form the Dirty Force Brass Band to play for Mardi Gras celebrations. This band morphed into Hearts of Darkness. Around 2002 Josh came across the architectural remains of the Ship which had been torn down in 1997. In 2004 Josh and friends began to put the Ship back together as a clubhouse for friends. The first party there in 2008, was the debut of Hearts of Darkness. The Ship opened to the public in 2014. Josh is currently working to convert the Grand Avenue Temple into a music venue.

Josh Mobley, thanks for being with us WMM

Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Steph Green and Warren Burns.

The Pitch voted The Ship “The Best Place To Shake Your Booty.”

The Ship is open Tuesday–Saturday from 11:00 a.m., and closed Sunday & Monday. Lunch, dinner, cocktails, & refreshments are always available. Live music is back aboard on 2 stages almost every night. The Ship is available for private events up to 450 people.

Duff Thompson and Josh Mobley, Thanks for being with us on WMM

Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 at 7:00pm with Steph Green and Warren Burns.

11:25

14. Warren Burns – “Dearly Departed”
    from: “Dearly Departed” – Single / Warren Burns/ August 30, 2024
    [Warren Burns released an 8-track album on July 3, 2022. Master by Carl Saff, Warren Burns is the country / Folk project of Kansas City musician Danny Fischer of the bands The Asfterparty and Nature Boys]

[Warren Burns plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Duff Thompson and Steph Green.]

Danny Fischer Discography

The Afterparty – Forever After – 2005
Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Vocals – Josh Mobley
Bass – Chris DeVictor
Drums – Paul Andrews
Vocals – Sarah Carpenter
Vocals, Guitar – Danny Fischer, Dave Regnier*
Recorded By, Engineer – Chad Meise, Clarke Wyatt
All Songs Written – The Afterparty
Arranged – The Afterparty

The Afterparty – Under The Rainbow – 2006
Vocals, Guitar, Organ – Danny Fischer
Piano [Rhodes] – Josh Mobley
Bass – Chris Devictor
Drums – Paul Andrews
Guitar – David Regnier
Vocals [The Brunettes] – Amie Nelson, Sarah Carpenter, Sonya Andrews
Guitar [Guest Musician] – Marco Pascolini
Saxophone [Guest Musician] – Mark Southerland, Mark Weinberg, Sam Hughes
Soprano Saxophone [Guest Musician] – Jolin Smith
Sousaphone [Guest Musician] – Bill McKemy
Trombone [Guest Musician] – Jeremiah Kidwell, Seth Lee
Trumpet [Guest Musician] – Bobby DuSoul
Fiddle [Guest Musician] – Betse Ellis
Recorded – Chad Meise
Mastered – E. Clarke Wyatt*
Arranged – The Afterparty
Artwork [Art/Packaging] – Pascolini Design Lab

Nature Boys – Nature Boys – 2010
San Huevos Records
Guitar, Vocals – Danny Fischer
Bass, Vocals – Suzanne Hogan
Drums – Aaron Rommel
Recorded – Ashley Miller
Recorded [Assisted By] – Zachary VanBenthusen
Written – Nature Boys
Artwork, Photography, Design Concept – Nature Boys

Nature Boys – Nature Boys – 2013
San Huevos Records
Danny Fischer – Guitar, Vocals
Suzanne Hogan – Bass, Vocals
Aaron Rommel – Drums
Danny Fischer – Lyrics
Recorded by – Jon Kraft
Mixed – Mike Tuley, Jon Kraft, Nature Boys
Photography – Michael Boles
Will Burnip – Artwork [Insert Art]

Nature Boys – 2017
San Huevos Records
Suzanne Hogan
Suzanne Hogan – Bass, Vocals
Evan Malone – Drums
Danny Fischer – Guitar, Vocals
Recorded by – Danny Fischer
Mastered By – Carl Saff
Written By – Nature Boys

Nature Boys – IV – 2021
Dead Broke Rekerds
Suzanne Hogan – Bass, Vocals
Evan Malone – Drums
Danny Fischer – Guitar, Vocals
Recorded By – Danny Fischer, James Rumsey
Carl Saff – Lacquer Cut
Pam Fischer – Cover, Artwork
Grace Ambrose – Layout

Warren Burns – Warren Burns – 2023
Danny Fischer – Guitar, Vocals
Recorded By – Danny Fischer
Mastered By – Carl Saff

11:29 – Underwriting

17. Just Angel – “Dumb”
    from: “Dumb” – Single / T.A.P. OUT MUSIC/ August 9, 2024
    [Just Angel is a Kansas City based, singer, musician, songwriter, dancer. and creative artist. She recently contributed vocals to the recent Sisterbot record. More info at: /distrokid.com/hyperfollow/justangel/just-angel–pt-1: Just Angel: Pt. 2 is a followup to Just Angle Pt.1 – EP released on December 24, 2020 More info at: https://linktr.ee/JustAngel_TigerLilyStar%5D

[Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances).]

11:34 – Interview with Just Angel & T.A. Rell

Just Angel is a musician, songwriter, dancer, and creative artist. Just Angel, has been seen on stages of The Music Theater Heritage: Ruby Room performance of “Piece of My Heart” in 2023, The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City “After Midnight” in 2022, and playing Osceola Mays in “Texas in Paris” in 2021. Her band, The Wades, can be found playing eclectic takes on pop music, and Just Angel‘s originals, from Part 1 & 2. Her new single “Dumb”, was released August 9, 2024.

Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances).

Just Angel, Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Also with us is Arick “T.A. RELL” Ridgell who is a songwriter/producer/artist based out of Kansas City, MO. The 33 year old musician has been writing and producing music since the age of 18. While he picked up the itch to make music later than most, his heavy arsenal of musical influences are what have elevated his quality of work. T.A.’s influences range from the late great Ray Charles, gospel Icon John P. Kee, Brandy, to the current groundbreakers like PJ Morton and Jon Bellion. T.A. tries not to trap himself in the box on genres but tries to use his love for all music to unlock the hearts and souls of listeners around the world. Join him on the journey of putting real music and lyrics in the atmosphere.

T.A. Rell, Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Congratulations on the new single “Dumb” released August 9, 2024

Just Angel produced the 4 song EP, JUST ANGEL PT.1 in 3 days in 2020,

She then produced a second 4-song EP, JUST ANGEL PT. 2 in 24 hours in 2021.

Just Angel has a birthday on December 24

Producer & Musician T.A. Rell helped birth into fruition the Just Angel EP releases with the 5 month hiatus between recordings

Just Angel has recently performed at: Just Angel and The Wades play Greenwood Social Hall, 1750 Belleview Ave., KCMO, on Friday, August 9 at 7:00pm. More information at: http://www.greenwoodsocialhall.com

Just Angel is a member of the band: My Brothers & Sisters with Jamie Searle

More info at: https://linktr.ee/JustAngel_TigerLilyStar

Just Angel collaborated with Sisterbot aka Adee Dancey on the track “Approval.”
With Adee Dancy Just Angel has a band called Neo Emo Soul.

11:45

16. Just Angel – “Senseless” (LIVE)
    originally from:: Just Angel: Pt. 2 {EP] / Just Angel / December
    [Just Angel is a Kansas City based, singer, musician, songwriter, dancer. and creative artist. She recently contributed vocals to the recent Sisterbot record. More info at: /distrokid.com/hyperfollow/justangel/just-angel–pt-1: Just Angel: Pt. 2 is a followup to Just Angle Pt.1 – EP released on December 24, 2020 More info at: https://linktr.ee/JustAngel_TigerLilyStar%5D

[Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances).]

11:49 – More Interview with Just Angel and T.A. Rell

You just heard the voice of Singer, musician, songwriter, dancer, and creative artist, Just Angel. Her powerful voice has been called, “Passionate … Soulful… and Inspiring.” Her music finds its home in Rock, Jazz, and Alternative, and she has found a way to incorporate those genres within her love with Soul and R&B. Just Angel has performed with My Brothers & Sisters. Just Angel and her band, The Wades can be found rocking stages with her original songs from her recordings and eclectic takes on popular music. She released her debut EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 1 on December 24, 2020. She released her follow up EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 2 on December 25, 2021. She also contributed vocals to the amazing Sisterbot record.

Just Angel and T.A. Rell Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Joining us is Just Angel’s collaborator and friend T.A. Rell.

We are talking with Just Angel who with her band, The Wades can be found rocking stages with her original songs from her recordings and eclectic takes on popular music. She released her debut EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 1 on December 24, 2020. She released her follow up EP, JUST ANGEL, PART 2 on December 25, 2021.

Joining us is Just Angel’s collaborator and friend T.A. Rell.

Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances).

Just Angel and T.A. Rell Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

For all of our guests on today’s show, Thank you all for listening

11:54

16. Just Angel – “Selfish”
    from: Just Angel: Pt. 2 {EP] / Just Angel / December
    [Just Angel is a Kansas City based, singer, musician, songwriter, dancer. and creative artist. She recently contributed vocals to the recent Sisterbot record. More info at: /distrokid.com/hyperfollow/justangel/just-angel–pt-1: Just Angel: Pt. 2 is a followup to Just Angle Pt.1 – EP released on December 24, 2020 More info at: https://linktr.ee/JustAngel_TigerLilyStar%5D

[Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances).]

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

Next week on Wednesday, September 11 – KC Musician and songwriter and producer David George joins us to share details about St. George & The Dragons’ long-awaited debut and their Album Release show September 19 at Knuckleheads with special guests Comet Tide. In our second hour Tucker Slough joins us as Guest DJ.

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

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
https://www.soundcloud.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.bandcamp.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.instagram.markthomasmanning

Show #1059

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

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

90 Minute Cassette + Just Angel + Duff Thompson & Josh Mobley

Mark spins New & MidCoastal Releases from: Madisen Ward, Melissa Carper, Just Angel, Warren Burns, 90 Minute Cassette, Religion of Heartbreak, Katy Guillen & The Girls, Duff Thompson, Steph Green, Art d’Ecco, Alejandro Escovedo, Orville Peck with Beck, and Jessica Pratt.

At 10:30 Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington join us to talk about their new band, 90 Minute Cassette. Crafting jams that you can dub on a mixtape right alongside your favorite classic synth pop hits, 90 Minute Cassette is a fresh and nostalgic surprise. The duo from KCMO, is made up of Chuck Whittington (namelessnumberheadman, Madisen Ward, Summer Breeze) on guitar/vocals and Hillary Watts (The Hillary Watts Riot) on synths/vocals, creates a vibe that fuses analog sunsets and digital sunrises. 90 Minute Cassette play miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:00 pm with Palm Ghosts, and House of Transgressor. Info at: https://linkin.bio/90minutecassette

At 11:00 Mark talks with Duff Thompson, songwriter, musician, and producer whose music is a swampy blend of folk, pop, and garage rock. Thompson’s latest work is a dark, alienated, and swaggering duology of albums titled Shadow People and Shadow People II. Created over two weeks of intensive recording during a Montreal heatwave in 2021, the Shadow People series comprise 19 total tracks split across two albums. Thompson rented out the studio space at Sud-Ouest Recording Service and produced and engineered the recordings himself, bringing along with him a 16-track reel-to-reel and songwriter/musicians Steph Green (drums, lap steel, pump organ, vocals) and Kyle Taylor (drums, piano, vocals) as his backing band and assistant engineers. Duff Thompson plays Grand Avenue Temple 205 East 9th Street, KCMO on Friday, September 6 with Steph Green and Warren Burns.

Also joining us at 11:00 is Josh Mobley who was born and raised in Kansas City. Josh formed his first band, the Gosh Monsters, at Shawnee Mission East. Attending the Coctails record release party at Anne Winter’s Recycled Sounds led him to their show the next night at the Human Observation Lab, a venue where he first saw Mongol Beach Party, Sin City Disciples, Blue Museum, the Catherines, and Roach Factory. Wandering around deserted downtown outside the Lab was where Josh first encountered The Ship. Josh left KC in 1992 to attend Boston University where I formed a band with friends called the Umpteens. Returning to KC in 1997, Josh got a job working at YJ’s Snack Bar for artist David Ford. Josh played in the band After Party, and help form the Dirty Force Brass Band to play for Mardi Gras celebrations. This band morphed into Hearts of Darkness. Around 2002 Josh came across the architectural remains of the Ship which had been torn down in 1997. In 2004 Josh and friends began to put the Ship back together as a clubhouse for friends. The first party there in 2008, was the debut of Hearts of Darkness. The Ship opened to the public in 2014. Josh is currently working to convert the Grand Avenue Temple into a music venue.

At 11:30 Just Angel will perform LIVE in our 90.1 FM Studios with T.A. Rell on keyboards. Just Angel is a musician, songwriter, dancer, and creative artist. Just Angel, has been seen on stages of The Music Theater Heritage: Ruby Room performance of “Piece of My Heart” in 2023, The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City “After Midnight” in 2022, and playing Osceola Mays in “Texas in Paris” in 2021. Her band, The Wades, can be found playing eclectic takes on pop music, and Just Angel‘s originals, from Part 1 & 2. Her new single “Dumb”, was released August 9, 2024. Just Angel is currently performing in BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical, at The Barn Players Community Theatre, at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., OPKS., Sept. 6-15, (8 Performances). Info at: https://thebarnplayers.ludus.com

On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or
STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org

Show #1059

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, August 28, 2024

Lava Dreams + Lonnie Fisher + Nick Carswell & Fally Afani & the 11th Annual Mix Master Music Conference

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

2. Ivory Blue – “Breathing Underwater”
   from: “Breathing Underwater” – Single / IVORY BLUE / August 9, 2024
   [IVORY BLUE released the single “Bad Dreams”on June 7, 2024 IVORY BLUE released the single “Batter Up” on April 22, 2024. IVORY BLUE released the single “Flashback” on March 15, 2023 // IVORY BLUE released the single “Howl” on Feb. 16, 2024. // IVORY BLUE released their second full length album, STARLIT LOVE CHILD, on Nov. 17, 2023. The 10-track album was in the top five of Wednesday MidDay Medley’s 120 Best Recordings of 2023, and in the “Best of” lists at 90.9 The Bridge and other radio stations around the world. For STARLIT LOVE CHILD, IVORY BLUE served as songwriter, producer, & vocalist. // 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 Feb. 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 KC 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 KC and the first EP ‘Ready Get Set’ was released in 2015. IVORY BLUE released the video of “Family Table” directed by Mikal Shapiro, on Aug. 21, 2021 and the audio track was released on Sept. 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 Feb. 25, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Red Light” on July 29, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Starlit Love Child” on Oct. 28, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “All Outta Love” on Feb. 24, 2023. http://www.ivorybluemusic.com]

3. The Rainmakers (Bob Walkenhorst, Jeff Porter, Rich Ruth, Pat Tomek), The Nace Brothers, Kelley Hunt, Danny Cox & Family, Sunny Snoderly, Joseph Snoderly-Cox, Sunae Fisher, Kadesh Flow, Betse & Clarke – “Waiting on a Wave”
   from: “Waiting on a Wave” – Single / Robert Walkenhorst / August 15, 2023
   [Motivated by the importance of the upcoming election veteran KC rockers The Rainmakers’ principal Bob Walkenhorst wrote a song titled \“Waiting On A Wave” and enlisted the help of other KC artists on the studio sessions and video.  Among those he reached out to was The Rainmakers (Bob Walkenhorst, Pat Tomek, Rich Ruth, Jeff Porter), The Nace Brothers (David and Jimmy Nace), Kelley Hunt, Danny Cox and family, Sunny Snoderly, Joseph Snoderly-Cox, Sunae Fisher, Kadesh Flow and Betse & Clarke/ Last year Bob Walkenhorst released My Version Of The Story on BAT Records on 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]

4. Dragon Inn 3 – “Clock Machine”
   from: “Clock Machine” – Single / American Laundromat Records / August 23, 2024
   [Clock Machine: Performed by Dragon Inn 3: Drums by Nick Wilkerson. Mixed by Scoops Dardaris. Produced by Philip Dickey. Side B: “All I Know.” Performed by Dragon Inn 3. Produced and mixed by Philip Dickey. Mastered by Sean Glonek at SRG studios. Design and Layout by Emily Only Design Co. // Last year Dragon Inn 3 released Trade Secrets on American Laundromat Records on April 18, 2023, their 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.]

5. MeShell Ndegeocello – “Trouble (Radio Edit)”
   from: No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin / Blue Note – Verve / August 2, 2024
   [14th album from acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello. A tribute album to African-American thinkers and writers, including namesake James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. The album was released on Baldwin’s Centennial: August 2, 2024. (from http://www.bluenote.com): The visionary work is at once a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action. With No More Water, Ndegeocello embarks on a prophetic musical odyssey that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes explored in Baldwin’s canon. Following 2023’s The Omnichord Real Book, her acclaimed Blue Note debut which won the inaugural GRAMMY Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer renders an immersive and palpable document that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin was in life. // Co-produced by Ndegeocello and guitarist Chris Bruce, No More Water features some of the bassist’s frequent collaborators including Bruce, vocalist Justin Hicks, saxophonist (and Omnichord producer) Josh Johnson, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, and drummer Abe Rounds. Also appearing on various songs are vocalist Kenita-Miller Hicks, keyboardists Jake Sherman and Julius Rodriguez, and Executive Director of the NYCPS Arts Office and trumpeter Paul Thompson. The album also showcases powerful spoken word by venerated poet Staceyann Chin and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and critic Hilton Als. // Nearly a decade in the making, the album’s origins began in 2016 during a performance at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse as part of their annual showcase honoring Baldwin. Ndegeocello had delved into Baldwin’s work the year before, including the seminal nonfiction work The Fire Next Time, which she considers “life-changing” and carries with her as a “spiritual text.” Ndegeocello says, “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways.” // “Inspired by Baldwin’s most well-known essay, Ndegeocello’s piece—often staged as a church service—employs music, sermon, text, images, and movement, all of which enter into conversation with Baldwin’s monumental and delicate essay about how black bodies were perceived not only by white Americans but by blacks themselves,” writes Als in the album’s liner notes. “The music you hear in No More Water, is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.” // Thematically, the album moves like a procession in a Black church—baptism, testimony, worship/praise, and ultimately, resurrection. For the album’s opening track and lead single, “Travel,” we are brought inside the mind of a man with suicidal thoughts, a recurring motif in much of Baldwin’s oeuvre. Setting a dystopian mood, Rodriguez’s organ and Chin’s echoing incantations help usher in Justin Hicks’ ominous vocals: “I’ll stay away with all the work to be done/I’ll be bleeding while you bake in the sun.” // “Raise The Roof” features Chin sans accompaniment as the intensity of her words captures the stark and harrowing reality of the pervasive racism we cannot seem to escape: “It must be in the fucking water being force-fed to the police, the prosecutor and the politicians who care nothing for Black bodies falling like leaves in late August…in Ferguson…in Cleveland…in Staten Island, only minutes away from where my own child sits, watching The Muppets take over Manhattan.” // No More Water marks a significant moment of self-discovery for Ndegeocello. She adds that Baldwin entered her life at precisely the right time. “It came when I was ready to look in the mirror. I’ve had to play Plantation Lullabies at a few shows. Looking back, I had an interesting perspective, but the dialogue was limited. It was more like a cathartic experience for a young person of color, whereas now I’m going, ‘How can I get us all to love each other? How can I get us all to see this for what it is?’”// Last year Meshell Ndegeocello released her Blue Note Records debut with The Omnichord Real Book, on June 16, 2023. // At The 2024 Grammy Awards, Meshell Ndegeocello won the first-ever GRAMMY for Best Alternative Jazz Album for The Omnichord Real Book. In her acceptance speech, the two-time GRAMMY winner and 12-time nominee thanked Don Was, the president of Blue Note Records, as well as other colleagues and loved ones — including her two sons. “I hope I haven’t forgotten anybody,” Ndegeocello graciously said at the end, and invoked an elder of the music: “Oliver Lake, this is for you.” // It was 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.]

[BLK + BRWN Bookstore at 104 1/2 West 39th St., KCMO, present A Century of Baldwin Party – celebrating James Baldwin’s 100th birthday with a party to reflect on his timeless wisdom, on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 7:00 PM. More info at: http://www.blkbrwn.com]

6. Moses Sumney – “Vintage”
   from: Sophcore – EP / TUMTUM Records / August 2, 2024
   [A collaboration with Portland producer Graham Jonson, who goes by quickly, quickly, yields Sophcore’s prettiest and liveliest moments. “Gold Coast” begins as a sensual, puttering thing indebted to Bjork’s Vespertine. Sumney’s chalky falsetto complements and works against the plucked guitars, distorted multi-tracked vocals, and synths; his impressionistic lyrics (“Talk in tongues, testify/Sunrise skin, color of clay”) say no thanks to coherence, bless them. A symphony of gurgles and music-box melodies cushions “I’m Better (I’m Bad),” in which Sumney recreates with louche delight a dialogue between himself and a feminized object of desire. Over Sophcore’s recombinant grooves, Sumney radiates a sense of fun. Confidence in his vocal talents doesn’t congeal into self-regard. Turns out he’s right: Trills and melisma suit arrangements that swell and contract like protoplasmic organisms. // Moses Sumney released grae on May 15, 2020 on Jagjaguar Records. Sumney made his US television debut with a performance of “Cut Me” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 11, 2020. Græ (stylized in all lowercase) is a double album composed of Part 1 and Part 2. The first part was released digitally on February 21, 2020. The second part and the full album was released on May 15, 2020. Græ features a diverse arrangement of musical and technical contributions from Daniel Lopatin, Thundercat, James Blake, Taiye Selasi, John Congleton, Rob Moose, Ezra Miller, Michael Chabon, Adult Jazz, Matthew Otto, Ian Chang, FKJ, Nubya Garcia, Shahzad Ismaily, Jill Scott, Tom Gallo, Shabaka Hutchings, Tunde Jegede, Brandee Younger, Jamie Stewart, and Mac DeMarco. The album was preceded by the singles “Virile”, “Polly”, “Me in 20 Years”, “Cut Me”, and “Bless Me”.Second album and follow up to his debut studio full length album Aromanticism released September 22, 2017 from American singer-songwriter Moses Frimpong Sumney, born May 19, 1990 in San Bernardino, California to Ghanaian parents. He moved with his family back to Ghana at the age of 10. Sumney described his childhood as “Americanized” by this age and had difficulty adjusting to the culture of Ghana. He did not learn to play any instruments until he was older, writing a cappella music for years instead. Sumney did not perform his musical compositions publicly until he was 20. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He is based in Los Angeles, California. His self recorded debut EP, Mid-City Island, was released in 2014 and self recorded onto a 4-track recorder given to him by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. The EP was described by Pitchfork as “primarily composed of first-takes and improvisation; the music is stirring but purposefully incomplete”. Sumney has performed as an opening act for Solange, Sufjan Stevens, and Erykah Badu. Sumney released another 5-song EP in 2016, titled Lamentations which featured a guest appearance from Thundercat.]

7. Amble Haunt – “Rot To Use”
   from: Feather Led / Amble Haunt / August 9, 2024
   [Feather Led is the first full length studio album from midwest rock band Amble Haunt. // Produced under the guidance of producer/songwriter Nathan Hussey (All Get Out / ATX Heat) – Feather Led is a distinct milestone that embodies Amble Haunt’s unwavering love for the craft of writing and recording music. // The album represents a multi-year collaborative effort between vocalist Bryce Veazey and drummer Brandon Woodall. As the core members of Amble Haunt, Veazey and Woodall have been creating music together for over 20 years through various projects and bands. // Feather Led‘s lyrical content is diverse as it explores the corners of life and self-fulfillment. This album contains much more than love songs or aimless emotions, it is a journal of perseverance. A support to those who know there is more to life than death and taxes. // Amble Haunt released the 5-track debut EP EMPTY LOT on April 1, 2021. it was part of WMM’s Best Recordings of 2022. This Kansas City, Missouri based 4-piece band formed by Bryce Veazey, Brandon Woodall, Ara Woodall, and Jake Briscoe. The band writes: “Music has a way of haunting…Amble Haunt is the way those haunts are sung out into life.” A song about knowing your predispositions in life, and deciding to move forward regardless of the weight you carry. The band surfeited that “Jump Cross the Pool” is a song about knowing your predispositions in life, and deciding to move forward regardless of the weight you carry. More info at: http://www.amblehaunt.bandcamp.com.]

8. Quiet Takes – “Meri Said (The Spruce Street Version)”
   from: Regrets Only / Sarah Magill / August 23, 2024
   [ Songwriter Sarah Magill makes music for feelers as Quiet Takes. Ashe has been “nomading” and deciding to stay in Eau Claire, WI! She recently sent us a stripped down take on “Meri Said,” which she is calling the Spruce Street Version, to capture that end-of-summer wistfulness. Inspired by the version she played during a Radio Milwaukee Studio Session, she sat down in the living room of Regrets Only producer Zach Hanson (Bon Iver, S. Carey, Gordi), to capture a similarly live, raw version. The accompanying video (premiering on Week in Pop August 22, 2024) transports that living room setting to a serene forest trail, thanks to the help of video creators Erik and Sarah Elstran. (A special treat for me because I’m a huge fan of Sarah’s project The Nunnery; if you haven’t heard her yet, look her up. A true Wisconsin gem.) // Quiet Takes originally released “Meri Said” on February 15, 2024. A writer and wanderer, Magill is currently establishing a nomadic creative practice and will be releasing her first full-length solo album (recorded in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) in early 2024. Written by Sarah Michelle Magill. Produced, engineered & mixed by Zach Hanson. Mastered by Huntley Miller. Recorded at The Hive in Eau Claire, WI. Environmental sound recorded by Sarah Michelle Magill in various locations, except 2, recorded by Redditor @roffels. // On November 5, 2021 Quiet Takes released the EP, Weekly, Weakly with music written by Sarah Magill, produced by David Bennett, with vocals & keyboards by Sarah Magill. Guitars, bass and percussion by David Bennett. Drums by Jared Bond. Engineered and mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Zach. Weekly, Weakly the third collaboration between Magill and producer/multi-instrumentalist David Bennett. “Ghosty…” was inspired by pandemic-era panic attacks and social unease. This song was one way I tried to process the new, very anxious voice inhabiting my brain, which I nicknamed Ghosty. Sarah writes, “I made the WEEKLY, WEAKLY EP exactly as titled: During weekly Friday sessions at Aorist Studios with my producer, David Bennett, while feeling extremely weak. I was living alone during the pandemic and (like many of us) coping with isolation, depression and anxiety. Making this EP was my lifeboat. Both the process of making music — refining lyrics, experimenting with new textures, collaborating on harmonies — and the commitment to the weekly process kept me relatively grounded and connected. This project tethered me to human-ness when I was afraid I was going to float off into some kind of feral, disconnected netherworld of pandemic loneliness. I’ll forever be grateful to David and his wife, Kayla, for creating a safe space to continue working at Aorist during such a dangerous time.” WEEKLY, WEAKLY followed the release of Sarah Magill’s EP, SAN FIDEL under her moniker, Quiet Takes. Released March 5, 2021. Written by Sarah Magill. Produced by David Bennett and Sarah Magill. Vocals and keys by Sarah Magill on vocals & keyboards, David Bennett on guitars and bass, Ian Thompson on additional keyboards & synthesizers, Kyle Rausch on drums, and Bryan Koehler on percussion. Engineered and mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Zach Hanson. Cover image by Shawn Brackbill. Sarah Magill released her single “Wanted (The Dirty Windshield Version)” on May 1, 2020. . Sarah Magill released AHEM, a 4-song EP, on December 11, 2020. The songs were originally released under her old project name MYRY, in November 2018. Quiet Takes (formerly MYRY) is an on-going collaborative music project by Sarah Magill a writer & musician based in KC. She performs with a rotating cast of friends—although these stay-at-home days, she is playing solo. In KC, she is known for hosting house shows and co-founding Rubix, a performance art collective. MYRY’s first EP, AHEM, was released in 2018. Sarah released four of MYRY’s songs from that 2018 EP release as Quiet Takes singles in 2020. Sarah Magill was a guest on WMM on May 13, 2020. We interviewed Sarah Magill on WMM on March 10, 2021 and Nov. 2, 2021. Info at: https://quiettakes.com%5D

10:29 – Underwriting

9. Lonnie Fisher – “Woke Up This Morning”
   from: FLOATING PALACE / Lonnie Fisher / August 9. 2024
   [Recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992. By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef. After the loss of his girlfriend to cancer in 2005 Lonnie began to struggle with alcoholism. In 2008 Lonnie suffered a major stroke followed by a second stroke two years later. His life as a chef and musician stopped as Lonnie struggled to relearn everything and rehabilitate. Against all odds, Lonnie returned to the studio and stage in 2018. He couldn’t return to the kitchen due to the inability to move fast enough, but started his own business as a personal chef. Lonnie Fisher released the EP SEEDS on July 27, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released the 8 track album BEAUTIFUL STAR on February 9, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released his 8-song, solo album FAMOUS GIRL on January 19, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. FAMOUS GIRL was engineered by Ed Rose and Duane Trower with contributions from: Chris Nunez. Tim Jenkins, Tim Manning, and Julia Reynolds. On October 22, 2021 with his band Lonnie Fisher And The Funeral released HAUNTED with Lonnie Fisher on lead vocals, 5 String Guitar & Keyboards; Tim Jenkins on guitars; Chris Nunez on drums, Tim Manning on bass, & Julia Reynolds on vocals & keyboards.More information at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.]

10:36 – Interview with Lonnie Fisher

Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992. By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef. After the loss of his girlfriend to cancer in 2005 Lonnie began to struggle with alcoholism. In 2008 Lonnie suffered a major stroke followed by a second stroke two years later. His life as a chef and musician stopped as Lonnie struggled to relearn everything and rehabilitate. Against all odds, Lonnie returned to the studio and stage in 2018. He couldn’t return to the kitchen due to the inability to move fast enough, but started his own business as a personal chef. Lonnie Fisher and The Funeral released the album, HAUNTED on Oct. 22, 2021; his solo album FAMOUS GIRL on Jan. 19, 2022; his solo album, BEAUTIFUL STAR on February 9, 2023; and his EP, SEEDS on July 28, 2023. Lonnie joins us today to share music from his new record, FLOATING PALACE, recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Info at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.

Lonnie Fisher Thank you for being with us on WMM.

Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992.

By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef.

Lonnie: “Going on tour with my group Sturgeon Mill from Lawrence, Kansas, in 1999 was one of the greatest times of my life, and we were supporting an international hit song called Kill Yourself or I Will.”

“Then the band broke up, and I started my solo career working with famous engineer Ed Rose and produced the Famous Girl album, which is a fan favorite and continuously in my live sets. During this time, I also was developing my culinary skills, which would lead to being able to make enough money to support my music.”

“Tough times hit in 2005 when I lost my girlfriend to brain cancer, and I started to struggle ith alcoholism.”

“I continued till 2008 and then suffered a major stroke followed by another one two years later. Both of my careers stopped while I tried to rehabilitate and relearn everything.”

“It looked like my life was destroyed, but I worked very hard and, against all odds, returned to the studio and stage in 2018. I couldn’t return to the kitchen due to cognitive decline and inability to move fast enough, but I have been able to start my own business as a chef.”

“Now 7 years sober from alcohol, I had my best year in 2023, abd now into 2024, receiving numerous airplay in KC on 90.9 The Bridge and KKFI 90.1, playing multiple tracks from my albums Beautiful Star and Seeds.”

“It’s been a miraculous comeback, and I played almost 50 shows in 2023 in KC, Lawrence, and several other Midwest towns. “

Lonnie: “I’m so grateful to be back, and I have so many people to thank for their kindness and support. Most importantly, my wife Tara, who was with me through all the dark moments, deserves real credit for my being alive.”

Sheri at The Brick in KCMO, Steve Tulipana at Record Bar KCMO, Duane Trower Weights and Measures Soundlab KCMO, Lawrence venues The Replay Lounge, Bottleneck, Gaslight Gardens, Northside Social, all of these people and places gave me a second chance to resurrect my career. I love them very much.

“2024 looks to be my biggest year yet, and I have Julia Reynolds helping me in the studio and live performances on keys and vocals and Autumn Hayes on bass and vocals after looking back at it all. Life is truly a gift. Work hard. Play harder. Take care of your body and mental health. When everything is working together in harmony, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

“After college at Kansas State University as a music major, I started as a singer in a rock band and worked restaurant jobs. Little did I know at the time that one day I would become a professional recording artist, singer/songwriter, and a personal chef today. It’s been a journey of many extreme highs and lows.”

Lonnie Fisher’s new recording “Floating Palace” was recorded with Duane Trower at Weights and Measures.

Songs written and produced by Lonnie Fisher; Guitars, Keys, Vocals: Lonnie Fisher; Bass, Vocals: Autumn Hayes; Keys, Vocals: Julia Wildstar; Recorded, mixed and mastered at Weights and Measures soundlab by Duane Trower. Media and Management: Tara Fisher
Artwork and Design: Lyd Low

Lonnie Fisher works as a Personal Chef creates weekly meals for busy professionals and seniors who need help. I record artists and write songs about life’s struggles and our world.

Website: https://lonniefisher.bandcamp.com/album/seeds
Instagram: Lonnie Fisher official
Facebook: Lonnie Fisher singer/songwriter
Youtube: Lonnie Fisher

Lonnie Fisher Thank you for being with us on WMM.

10:53

10. Lonnie Fisher – “Floating Palace”
    from: FLOATING PALACE / Lonnie Fisher / August 9. 2024
    [Recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992. By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef. After the loss of his girlfriend to cancer in 2005 Lonnie began to struggle with alcoholism. In 2008 Lonnie suffered a major stroke followed by a second stroke two years later. His life as a chef and musician stopped as Lonnie struggled to relearn everything and rehabilitate. Against all odds, Lonnie returned to the studio and stage in 2018. He couldn’t return to the kitchen due to the inability to move fast enough, but started his own business as a personal chef. Lonnie Fisher released the EP SEEDS on July 27, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released the 8 track album BEAUTIFUL STAR on February 9, 2023. Lonnie Fisher released his 8-song, solo album FAMOUS GIRL on January 19, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. FAMOUS GIRL was engineered by Ed Rose and Duane Trower with contributions from: Chris Nunez. Tim Jenkins, Tim Manning, and Julia Reynolds. On October 22, 2021 with his band Lonnie Fisher And The Funeral released HAUNTED with Lonnie Fisher on lead vocals, 5 String Guitar & Keyboards; Tim Jenkins on guitars; Chris Nunez on drums, Tim Manning on bass, & Julia Reynolds on vocals & keyboards.More information at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.]

11. VCMN – “Lips of an Angel”
    from: “Lips of the Angel” – Single / Vicman / April 12, 2024
    [VCMN released the single “Fab” on July 26, 2024. VCMN release the singvle, “Boounce (Remix) [feat. Amira Wang & The Epitome] on August 11, 2023. VCMN released their debut album entitled “The VCMN Project” on Friday, May 13, 2022. VCMN is an American singer-songwriter duo who’s artistry is shaped by way of edgy, alternative R&B, Pop, and Rock. Victoria and Emmanuel “Manny” Cable—aka the “Vic” and “Man” of VCMN. Victoria grew up in the Bethel International Center of Worship church in Kansas City, Kansas, where her father, Cleveland Drone, was a pastor. From the ages of 10-19, she toured across the country singing gospel music. Manny came to performance via a different path: ballet and modern dance. They’ve been working it out with the rhythms and the rhymes for years now. VCMN Project was first birthed into existence when they were still dating; the album was finished after they were married. It all began on their living room sofa. The VCMN Project is just as much a party as it is a beautifully written love story. The 10-track “The VCMN Project” encompasses a song from every top 40 music genre. R&B, Rap, Pop, Alternative Rock, Ballad, Country, Hip Hop, and Dance Pop. VCMN played Lawrence Gay Pride, presented by I Heart Local Music. Fri. June 24, 2022 at Lucia, 1016 Mass with Cuee & Friends. INFOt: http://www.vcmnofficial.com]

[VCMN play Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St.,, Lawrence, KS on Friday, Sept. 6, at 10:00pm with YAER (Wichita), and Jesus Christ Taxi Driver, as part of MixMaster 2024]

11:00 – Station ID

12. Dalima Kapten – “All I See Is Green (A Poem)”
from: All I See Is Green (A Poem) / Dalima Kapten / November 17, 2023
[Dalima Kapten (she/her) is currently working on her debut album. She is a second-generation Kenyan-American pursuing a Master of Arts in Music Technology at the University of Central Missouri. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies, Theater Minor, and a specialization in Architectural Acoustics from the University of Kansas. // As a theater performer and artist, Dalima is deeply moved by a passion for storytelling and worked at Music Theater Heritage as the Manager of Artistic Operations. Additionally, she presented her self-published chapbook “Native Anomaly” for Columbia University’s HOME: Symposium.]

[Dalima Kapten plays the 8th Street Taproom, 801 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, KS on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 8:00pm with 2W33DY, NMH, as part of MixMaster 2024]

11:34 – Interview with Nick Carswell & Fally Afani

Originally from Limerick, Ireland. Nick Carswell has been performing professionally for 25 years, in his native Ireland and across the US Midwest, where he has lived since 2011. His main creative output is as songwriter and frontman for the alt-rock 5 piece, Carswell & Hope. Nick has wide experience with arts & cultural non-profits, community organizing, public art and professional development. Nick is a Creative Industries Specialist for the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, a Senior Artist Leadership Fellow for the Mid-America Arts Alliance’s Artist INC program, and a board member for the Heartland Song Network, Director of the Lawrence Music Alliance, and program manager for the Audio-Reader Network.

Nick Carswell thanks for being with us on WMM.

Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning nearly three decades in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and more. // Fally’s work has been featured in magazines, newspapers, and television stations across Kansas. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for her online work in journalism. Fally is also the recipient of the Rocket Grant Award, which helped develop live music events for her community. In 2015, a video she made detailing one second of her life every day gained national attention after it was featured on BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post. // Currently, she resides in Lawrence, Kansas, where she focuses on live events and photographs for various media entities.

Fally Afani thanks for being with us on WMM.

Nick and Fally join us joins us to share details about the 11th Annual Mixmaster 2024 Conference, Saturday, September 7, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at The Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS. MXM2024 offering panels, workshops and networking opportunities connecting music professionals with bookers, promoters, and venue. Panelists will share valuable insights and experiences through a series of discussions and workshops on topics ranging from music production and artist development to marketing strategies. MXM2024 sees expanded offerings with a series of live showcases around Lawrence venues on Friday September 6 at: Replay and Bottleneck; and Saturday, September 7 at: Lucia, 8th Street Tap Room, and Replay. More info at: http://www.lawrencemusicalliance.com

The Lawrence Music Alliance presents the 11th annual MixMaster Music Conference, a music community event that brings local artists and music industry professionals from across the region together to share information, learn from each other, and support our music ecosystem.

Empowering musicians through collaborative programs and conversations, MXM2024 offers panels, workshops and networking opportunities accessible to all through this independently-organized conference event.

MXM2024 sees expanded offerings with a series of live showcases around Lawrence venues on Friday Sept 6th + Sat Sept 7th. In partnership with Midwest Music Foundation, the event also offers a health clinic for musicians with free health consultations, custom earplug fitting and health insurance information

Media Contact:
Nick Carswell: (785) 424-5236
Fally Afani: (785) 979-5021
Lawrence Music Alliance
http://www.lawrencemusicalliance.com
lawrencemusicalliance@gmail.com

MixMaster Music Conference unveils speakers and schedule

6:00pm – 1:00am – Friday Music Showcases
Live music showcases at Replay Patio (6pm), The Bottleneck (8pm) and Replay Inside (10pm). Featuring Bad Alaskan, Beth Watts Nelson, Sky Smeed, Draper Family Band, Swallowtails & Christena Graves Band

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Music Conference
Panels, workshops, networking events at Lawrence Public Library Auditorium, Meeting Rooms and Sound + Vision Studio

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM – Health Clinic
Free Musicians’ Health Care Clinic presented by Midwest Music Foundation. MMF is providing free custom earplugs to the first 15 qualified musicians/music industry personnel to apply.

6:00pm – 1:00am – Saturday Music Showcases
Live music showcases at Lucia (6pm), Tap Room (8pm) and Replay (10pm). Featuring Kelley Hunt, Von Hansen, Christopher Burnett Duo, Brasileiro, NMH, 2W33DY, Dalima Kapten

Lawrence, Kansas – Mixmaster Music Conference is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated lineup. This all-encompassing FREE music conference will take place on Saturday, September 7, at the Lawrence Public Library from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., bringing together music enthusiasts and industry professionals for a day of knowledge sharing and networking.

This is the only music conference of its kind in the region. MixMaster is presented by the Lawrence Music Alliance and supported by a Community Arts Grant from the City of Lawrence, Kansas, and the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

Attendees can anticipate a rich and diverse selection of speakers, including locally renowned artists, producers, and industry experts. Panelists will share their valuable insights and experiences through a series of discussions and workshops on topics ranging from music production and artist development to marketing strategies.

The conference schedule is now available at http://www.mixmaster2024.com/program, and promises a blend of keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Julia Othmer – Songstress / Song Interpreter / Artist Activist
juliaothmer.com

Eddie Moore – Pianist / Composer / Educator / Curator
WeThePeople, Eddie Moore & the Outer Circle

Fally Afani – Editor, I Heart Local Music

Randy Chertkow – Author, Making Money with Music / Center for Creative Entrepreneurship

11:44

13. Little Miss Dynamite– “Ordinary Blue”
from: Grow Up / Rural Grit Records / May 3, 2024
[Little Miss Dynamite is a four piece string band with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. Engineered and Mixed by Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio.More info at: http://www.bethwattsnelson.com]

[Beth Watts Nelson plays the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS on Friday, Sept. 6, at 8:00pm with Draper Family Band, Christena Graves as part of MixMaster 2024]

11:47 – More Interview with Nick Carswell & Fally Afani

We are talking with Nick Carswell and Fally Afani about the 11th Annual Mixmaster 2024 Conference, Saturday, September 7, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at The Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS, MXM2024 offering panels, workshops and networking opportunities connecting music professionals with bookers, promoters, and venue. Panelists will share valuable insights and experiences through a series of discussions and workshops on topics ranging from music production and artist development to marketing strategies. MXM2024 sees expanded offerings with a series of live showcases around Lawrence venues on Friday September 6 at: Replay and Bottleneck; and Saturday, September 7 at: Lucia, 8th Street Tap Room, and Replay. More info at: http://www.lawrencemusicalliance.com

The conference is open to all individuals passionate about the music industry, regardless of their level of experience or expertise. Attendance is FREE; however, interested individuals are encouraged to register in advance at MixMaster2023.com to secure their spot.

MUSIC WORKSHOPS
CONFERENCE: SATURDAY SEPT 7TH
LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY

10:00am Main Auditorium – Careers in Music
Opening Session:What Works: Careers & Defining Success in Music
Focusing on tried and tested strategies for independent artists, MXM2024’s opening session outlines What Works principles with M-AAA Artist Inc Facilitators Nick Carswell, Eddie Moore and Julia Othmer.

11:20am – 12:00pm Main Auditorium – Touring 101

12:00pm – 1:00pm Main Auditorium – Lunch & Networking

1:00pm – 1:50pm Main Auditorium – What Does “Ready” Look Like

2:00pm – 2:50pm Main Auditorium – Radio & Music Journalism

2:00pm Meeting Room C – Revenue Streams
45 Revenue Streams in 45 Minutes
Randy Chertkow, author of The DIY Music Manual and Making Money With Music, offers a quickfire breakdown of the ways to make money as an independent musician and how to maximize your income as an artist.

3:00pm Main Auditorium -Music Discovery – Demo Dip
One of our most fun and popular sessions, Demo Dip offers a chance to showcase your music, get real-time feedback from our panel of experts, and hear some great new music. Submissions are open now!

4:00pm – 5:00pm Main Auditorium – Networking

About MixMaster:
The MixMaster Music Conference is an annual event dedicated to empowering individuals in the music industry. By bringing together musicians, industry professionals, and aspiring entrepreneurs, MixMaster provides a platform for networking, knowledge sharing, and career development. The conference is a program of the Lawrence Music Alliance and supported by the City of Lawrence, Kansas, Mid-America Arts Alliance, and the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission. For more information, please visit MixMaster2023.com.

About the Lawrence Music Alliance:
Our vision at the Lawrence Music Alliance is the vibrant and thriving music scene in Lawrence, Kansas, where musicians of all genres can flourish and engage with the community. Through our collaborative efforts with the city, we aim to promote and support the live music industry and ensure that Lawrence is recognized as a premier destination for music lovers everywhere.

Nick Carswell and Fally Afani thanks for being with us on WMM.

The Mixmaster 2023 Conference, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at The Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS, connecting music professionals with bookers, promoters, venues. This is the first in-person edition of the program since the pandemic, and the only music conference of its kind in the region. Conference schedule is available at http://www.mixmaster2024.com/program.

11:26

14. Alien Hellbop – “After The Quake”
    from: After The Quake / Alien Hellbop / October 25, 2021
    [Two piece rock with a twist. Performed by Spencer Goertz-Giffen and Braden Young of Hello Biplane.Recorded in 2019 at PULP Arts Recording Studios in Gainesville, FL. Spencer Goertz-Giffen on guitar & vocals; Braden Young on drums, vocals & bass; Winston Goertz-Giffen on synthesizers, and Nate Mahan on synth thing. Recorded and mixed by Winston Goertz-Giffen. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. All songs written by Spencer and Braden. // Alien Hellbop is a maximalist rock duo from Lawrence, KS combining guitar, drums, sample pad bass and vocal harmonies to create a sonic duo larger than the sum of its parts. Attendees of shows past have been hypnotized and dumbfounded by how the sound is pulled off. Originally formed in Chico, CA members Spencer Goertz-Giffen and Braden Young set out to create a full band sound with only two members. After a flurry of positive feedback from shows played in northern California, Alien Hellbop managed to drive cross country with their two small children to Gainesville, FL and record a five song EP at PULP studios with the help of engineer and producer Winston Goertz-Giffen. Alien Hellbop is now based out of Lawrence, KS. Spencer and Braden have been involved in many other bands over the years including: Hospital Ships, The Kinetiks, The Willnots, Accursed Wound, The Magentlemen, Saything, and Old and Gray. The duo also fronts another group called Hello Biplane, a six-piece dream-folk-pop band with focus on songwriting and male/female harmonies.More info at: http://www.alienhellbop.bandcamp.com]

[Alien Hellbop play Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, KS. on Saturday, September 7, at 10:00 PM with The Instant, and Kadesh Flow, as part of MixMaster 2024.]

11:30 – Underwriting

15. Lava Dreams – “Driver”
    from: “Driver” – Single / Lava Dreams / May 24th, 2024
    [Lava Dreams releases their first new music of the year – a single titled “DRIVER.” The alternative pop anthem – produced by Spencer Hoad and written by Lava Dreams – brandishes hard-hitting drums, funky bass lines, and powerful vocals.. On May 24th, Lava Dreams is gave a show at miniBar to celebrate the release – complete with performances from them and their band, as well as: Moon 17, Malek Azrael & the Vibes, and Danny Santell. Well-loved Kansas City emcee Flare tha Rebel hosted the event,. More Info at: LavaDreamsMusic.com]

11:35 – Interview with Lava Dreams

You just heard the voice of Lava Dreams (she/they) a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember.​ Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene. Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 90.9 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year and was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2020. Since then, Lava has written and released a series of evolving singles – the latest of which is an alternative pop-rock anthem called “YOUR WARRIOR.” She directed and starred in the music video that accompanied its release.​ Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music. More info at: http://www.lavadreamsmusic.com

Lava Dreams thanks for being with us on WMM

Lava Dreams (she/they) is a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember.​
​
Lava Dreams was on WMM on April 22, 2020

Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene.

Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 909 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year. Since then, Lava has written and released a series of evolving singles – the latest of which is an alternative pop-rock anthem called YOUR WARRIOR. She directed and starred in the music video that accompanied its release.​

Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music.

Solo artist Lava Dreams is the electronic music project of Julia Hamilton who writes songs influenced by pop, soul, RnB, jazz, trap, house, funk, reggae, rock, and world music. Hailing from Kansas City, MO, her guitar-based music is both dreamy & electric.

Lava Dreams began writing lyrics and melodies as a young child. Growing up, she learned to play her first guitar chords from her father – who played around the house and in local bars. After playing guitar and singing in several Kansas City bands as a teenager, she set out to become a solo artist in 2018.

Lava Dreams is also a film maker who received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Film from Avila University.

11:43

16. Lava Dreams – “Your Warrior”
    from: “Your Warrior” – Single / Lava Dreams / August 9, 2024
    [Lava Dreams (she/they) is a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember. / Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene. / Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 909 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year. Since then, Lava has written and released a series of evolving singles – the latest of which is an alternative pop-rock anthem called YOUR WARRIOR. She directed and starred in the music video that accompanied its release. / Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music.. More Info at: LavaDreamsMusic.com]

11:45 – More Interview with Lava Dreams

You just heard the voice of Lava Dreams (she/they) a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember.

Lava Dreams released her single “Good Energy” produced by Duncan Burnett on April 22, 2020. Deezer, Google Play, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or at LavaDreamsMusic.com

Hailing from Kansas City, MO, her guitar-based music is both dreamy & electric. Lava Dreams began writing lyrics and melodies as a young child.

Growing up, she learned to play her first guitar chords from her father – who played around the house and in local bars.

After playing guitar and singing in several Kansas City bands as a teenager, she set out to become a solo artist in 2018.

“Good Energy + Focus” (April 22, 2020) was produced by Duncan Burnett.

She writes songs influenced by pop, soul, RnB, jazz, trap, house, funk, reggae, rock, and world music.

Last year in 2019 Lava Dreams released the 12 song full length album, Meditation.

Prior to “Meditation” Lava Dreams released the sing “Sweet Sweet”

Lava Dreams (Julia Hamilton) is also a filmmaker who received her Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Film from Avila University.

Lava Dreams Influences are: Sade, Billie Holiday, Solange, Frank Ocean, Daniel Ceasar, The Internet, Washed Out, The Cranberries, Tame Impala, Heart, Prince, Steve Lacy, Janelle Monae, Tracy Chapman, Fleetwood Mac, Mereba, and Nao.

Lava Dreams conveys optimism and vulnerability with lyrics that drive home personal truths. Lava’s second album will be released Summer 2020.

Lava Dreams, thanks for being with us on WMM.

For more info on Lava Dreams you can visit: http://www.LavaDreamsMusic.com

11:55

17. Lava Dreams – “Thrill Ride”
    from: “Thrill Ride” – Single / Lava Dreams / July 1, 2022
    [Lava Dreams (she/they) is a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember. / Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene. / Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 909 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year. Since then, Lava has written and released a series of evolving singles – the latest of which is an alternative pop-rock anthem called YOUR WARRIOR. She directed and starred in the music video that accompanied its release. / Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music. More Info at: LavaDreamsMusic.com]

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

Next week on Wednesday, September 4 we’ll talk with Hillary Watts & Chuck Whittington about their band 90 Minute Cassette, AND we talk with Josh Mobley and Duff Thompson about their show in Josh’s new space: The Grand Avenue Temple, AND Just Angel returns to sing LIVE in ur 90.1 Studios.

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

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
https://www.soundcloud.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.bandcamp.com/wednesdaymiddaymedley
http://www.instagram.markthomasmanning

Show #1058

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, August 28, 2024

Lava Dreams + Lonnie Fisher + Nick Carswell & 11th Annual Mix Master Music Conference

Mark spins New & MidCoastal Releases from: The Rainmakers with: The Nace Brothers, Betse & Clarke, Kelley Hunt, Kadesh Flow & Danny Cox & Family. We’ll also play: Dalima Kapten, Lava Dreams, IVORY BLUE, Dragon Inn 3, Amble Haunt, VCMN, Quiet Takes, Lonnie Fisher, Little Miss Dynamite, Alien Hellbop, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Moses Sumney.

At 10:30 Lonnie Fisher joins us to share music from his new release FLOATING PALACE, released August 9, 2024 and recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Lonnie Fisher studied music at Kansas State University, graduating in 1992. By 1999 he was touring with his band, Sturgeon Mill. After the band broke up Lonnie embarked on a solo career while also pursuing a career as a chef. After the loss of his girlfriend to cancer in 2005 Lonnie began to struggle with alcoholism. In 2008 Lonnie suffered a major stroke followed by a second stroke two years later. His life as a chef and musician stopped as Lonnie struggled to relearn everything and rehabilitate. Against all odds, Lonnie returned to the studio and stage in 2018. He couldn’t return to the kitchen due to the inability to move fast enough, but started his own business as a personal chef. Lonnie Fisher and The Funeral released the album, HAUNTED on October 22, 2021; his solo album FAMOUS GIRL on January 19, 2022; his solo album, BEAUTIFUL STAR on February 9, 2023; and his EP, SEEDS on July 28, 2023. Info at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.

At 11:00 Mark talks with Nick Carswell about the 11th Annual Mixmaster 2024 Conference, Saturday, September 7, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at The Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS. MXM2024 offering panels, workshops and networking opportunities connecting music professionals with bookers, promoters, and venue. Panelists will share valuable insights and experiences through a series of discussions and workshops on topics ranging from music production and artist development to marketing strategies. MXM2024 sees expanded offerings with a series of live showcases around Lawrence venues on Friday September 6 at: Replay and Bottleneck; and Saturday, September 7 at: Lucia, 8th Street Tap Room, and Replay. More info at: http://www.lawrencemusicalliance.com

At 11:00 Mark welcomes Lava Dreams (she/they) a queer, multidisciplinary artist, performer, and songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri – who’s been writing music for as long as they can remember.​ Flourishing dreamy vocals, vulnerable lyrics, and visceral rhythms- hooking listeners through catchy melodies and electric performances – Lava Dreams is quickly becoming a striking figure in the Alternative Pop scene. Her 2020 project “GOOD ENERGY + FOCUS,” was praised by 90.9 The Bridge as one of the best EPs of that year and was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2020. Since then, Lava has written and released a series of evolving singles – the latest of which is an alternative pop-rock anthem called “YOUR WARRIOR.” She directed and starred in the music video that accompanied its release.​ Lava Dreams is dedicated to writing songs that lift the spirit and connect to the soul. You can listen to Lava Dreams everywhere you stream music. More info at: http://www.lavadreamsmusic.com

On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or
STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org

Show #1058