For 19 years Mark Manning has served as Coordinator of the KCK Organic Teaching Gardens, an Initiative of The University of Kansas School of Medicine, Office of Cultural Enhancement and Diversity, Health Careers Pathways Program, K-12. Each year Mark works with 1000 to 2000 students, between K through 8th grades, with organic, "raised bed" gardens built directly on the school grounds of three Middle Schools and four Elementary Schools in the inner city of the Kansas City, Kansas school district. Mark conducts over 440 workshops annually in classrooms at these schools. He started the project under the guidance of Marcia Pomeroy, in 1999, after working in a literacy program. The KCK Organic Teaching Gardens has been financially supported through grants from The Kauffman Foundation, and The University of Kansas Medical Center. The project has been recognized locally and nationally by The National Gardening Association, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Community Gardens, The Green Bliss Festival, The Urban Farm & Garden Tour, and on the PBS television program America's Harvest. Mark learned about gardening from his grandmother Edna Jacobsen on the family's McCool Junction, Nebraska farm. His grandmother raised a huge garden, chickens, sheep and cattle. She preserved apples, wild berry jams, and beets and virtually everything she grew was canned for consumption in winter months. Edna raised seven children with no running water and as a child lived in a sod house. His passion for the school gardening program has been fueled by the fact that he doesn't see the lessons he learned from his grandmother passed down to kids today. Kids need to know where their food comes from, especially with the rise of diabetes, and over weight Americans. We can all learn from our gardens how to treat ourselves and the world better.
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 2, 2023
Tillie Hall and Innovation Festival 2023 + Joy Zimmerman + Paris Williams + More New & MidCoastal Releases
Mark spins more New & MidCoastal Releases of 2023 from: Silicone Prairie, Paris Williams, Calvin Arsenia, Maria The Mexican, Jo MacKenzie, Joy Zimmerman, Emmaline Twist, MellowPhobia, Cory Phillips & the Band of Light, Spine, Shamir, Robert Finley, and PJ Harvey.
At 10:30 KC based musician Tillie Hall of the band MellowPhobia joins us to talk about Innovation Festival 2023, August 3 thru August 5, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM at Crown Center – The Saturday, August 5, Beats Day Lineup includes: Colony House, Dante Elephante, Mike Mains & the Branches, Harbour, Young Mister, Social Cinema, Mellowphobia, Cory Phillips & the Band of Light, and Emmaline Twist. More info at: http://www.theinnovationfestival.com
At 11:00 Mark talks with Joy Zimmerman about her new album, WHERE THE LIGHT IS, recorded and mixed by Maggie Heeren at La Luna Recording & Sound in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Joy Zimmerman and Maggie Heeren co-produced this album with mastering by Anna Frick of Ally Sound. Kansas City musicians were recorded at Weights and Measures Soundlab by Duane Trower. WHERE THE LIGHT IS will be officially released on August 4, 2023. Joy Zimmerman will be playing an Album Release Concert on Saturday, August 5, at 7:00 PM, at Green Guitar Folk House, 9400 Pflumm Rd Lenexa, KS.
At 11:30 hip hop musician, songwriter & producer Paris Williams shares details about his new single, “Pack Light.” The release is a follow up to his EP, REBEL HEART released on January 31, 2023 on Bitter Sweet Sounds. Paris Williams is a Rapper/Producer originally from Muskegon, MI. Previously Paris Williams released the single, Hopscotch” on June 21, 2022. He released,“Chunky” on April 20, 2022. He released the single, “Sunsets & Solariums (feat. Bloom Allen)” on October 21, 2021 through Bittersweet Sounds. Paris Williams plays miniBar, at 3810 Broadway KCMO, on on Friday, August 11, with the Bittersweet Bunch, Saving Miles Lemon, and MC RUE & Mikey. More info at: allmylinks.com/popstarparis
Emmaline Twist photo by Shaun Hamontree
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
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, July 26, 2023
Stacy Busch & The Queer Narratives Festival! + ZAVA + Part 2 of WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR!
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Semper Viridis – “Snakes and Ladders” from: “SNAKES AND LADDERS EP / Mixtape Meditation Records / July 14, 2023 [Born in the spinnel the life changing power of creativity. We are celestial twins who are driven to share our love of music with the world.’ Kirsten Paludan (Olympic Size, KP & the Key Party) and Nate Holt aka Asterales (DJNOTADJ) met in the mid 90’s on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, but didn’t start collaborating until nearly 20 years later. After being reintroduced to each other by playing together in the local scene, they discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and quickly formed a bond. During the second year of the pandemic, KP recorded guest vocals for several Asterales tracks, and their creative connection was cemented. Not long after, they actively began making original music together as Semper Viridis. // Out everywhere on July 14th, Semper Viridis’ first EP Snakes and Ladders is released with the support of Mixtape Meditation Records (Dallas, TX). Mastered by Brutus DeClaibornio (BAC Studios, Lincoln, NE), Snakes and Ladders features six tracks of eclectic electro, including the title song and first single, an uptempo electro pop anthem that clocks in at just over three minutes. Two music videos are being released in conjunction with the EP, (Projecting Shadows and Snakes and Ladders), both created by David Jerret Fulton. // On January 6, 2023 Semper Viridis released the singke, “Dreams in Color” written and recorded by Kirsten Paluden & Asterales (Nate Holt). Mixed by Asterales. Mastered by Brent Clabaugh. Semper Viridis is the Kirsten Paluden and Nate Holt recently collaborated for Nate’s musical project Astereles and the album, FUTURESPECTIVE on Datura Records released on March 25, 2022 that was Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. They performed for the track “Let Go.” KC based leftfield, experimental, electronica music maker, also known as Nate Holt. Asterales eleased the 5-track EP, WORK HOURS on Sept. 6, 2016 in collaboration with Aikido Bray, Leo Minor, Katlyn Conroy, and Tanner Walle, with synthesizers, production, recording, engineering & mastering by Etan Tioh for Datura Records. This was followed by the 3-track EP, FRAGMENTS, released Feb. 3, 2017. Asterales released the single A.M. on Feb. 4, 2017. Asterales released the 10-track album, OUTSIDE THE BOX on Oct. 31, 2017. Asterales released the singles: “Brkfst 4 Btlvrs” on Oct. 31, 2017; and “Soft Spheres” on April 21, 2018. Asterales released the 10-track album ORBITAL DEBRIS: VOL. 1 on Aug. 14, 2020 on Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the single “ASTR_40” on Aug. 26, 2020. Asterales released the 4-song EP EXTRA JUNK on Dec. 4, 2020 through Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the singles: “Solstice Song” on Dec. 21, 2020, and “Desire (Tanner Walle) – Asterales Remix” on Jan. 29, 2021. Asterales released the single “Offline” on Feb. 26, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Beauty In The Distance feat. Heidi Gluck)” on March 31, 2021. Produced & mixed by Asterales, vocals by Heidi Gluck. lyrics by Approach, mastered by Royce Diamond. Asterales released the single, “So Easy (feat. Royce Diamond)” on April 30, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Let Go” on May 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales, lyrics by Royce Diamond, vocals by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Paraglider” on June 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Kinugemi” on July 31, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Variable Stars Pt. 1″ on August 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the remix single, “She Left (Asterales Remix)” on Sept. 2, 2021, produced by Asterales. Remix artwork by Gordon Leadfoot & Asterales. Asterales released the single, “P@!omAr-1” on September 28, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. More info at: http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com Asterales released the remix single, “Cory Phillips & the Band of Light – Give & the Take (Asterales Remix)” on October 1, 2021. “Give & the Take” was written by Cory Phillips coryphillipsmusic.com “Give & the Take – Asterales Remix” Produced by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Calling Me (feat. Ghostmind)” on October 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Vocals and guitar performed and recorded by Ghostmind. Lyrics by Ghostmind. Artwork by Asterales. Asterales released the single “Your World or Mine (Feat. Approach)” on November 30, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Lyrics and vocals by Approach. Asterales released “Right Here, This Moment (feat. Royce Diamond & Maria Cuevas)” on December 31, 2021, produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Lyrics & vocals by Royce Diamond. Background vocals by Maria Cuevas (of Maria The Mexican). One of 14 singles Asterales released in 2021. More information at http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com] [Semper Viridis plays a Snakes and Ladders EP Release show at The Ship, 1217 Union Ave. KCMO, West Bottoms, Friday., July 14, at 10:00 PM w/ Monta & w/ DJ Ray Velasques.]
Zion Isaiah – “Medicine” from: “Medicine” – Single / Zion Isaiah / January 17, 2023 [21 year old Zion Isaiah released the single “Bad Habits” and May 5, 2023“. Zion released “21” on October 28, 2022. Calla released the single “you and i (feat. Zion Isaiah & Hannah You) on June 15, 2022, on Memesquirt Records. Zion Isaiah released the single “So Harsh” on May 6, 2022. Zion Isaiah released the single “Oasis” on January 22, 2022. Zion Isaiah released the single “Tired of Missing You” on November 12, 2021. Zion Isaiah released the single, “Drive (feat. Painter Boy)” on August 13, 2021. Kansas City, Missouri based Zion Isaiah works at JHS Pedals, studies at Johnson County Community College, and Went to Kansas City Christian School. More info at: http://www.facebook.com/zeeon.boklender.%5D [Zion Isaiah plays Boulevardia on Saturday, June 17, at 3:15 PM on the Quirk Terrace Stage]
True Lions – “Fake Tears” from: True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette / Manor Records / April 26, 2023 [“Fake Tears” contains lyrics from the poem “The Fake Tears of Shirley Temple” by Patricia Lockwood, from Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, published by Penguin Books, New York (2014) “Fake Tears” was the first single from the True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette. True Lions released their debut full length album, “The Fempire Strikes Back,” on Manor Records on April 9, 2021 with Alisön Hawkins on keytar & vocals; Adee Rocket Dancy on cello & vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, Elizabeth Kosko on drums & percussion; Iona DeWalt on synthesizers; Miki P on guitar & vocals, and Teri Quinn on bass & vocals. Recorded at Deep Space Co-op. Tracking & engineering by Ross Brown at Escape Pod Audio. Mixing and mastering by Joel Nanos at Element Recording. In 2019 True Lions released their EP debut, “Cute at Best,” on February 5, 2019. They followed up with a second EP called. You’re Not Invited, released on November 9, 2019. For these recordings True Lions was: Alison Hawkins on guitar, synth, and vocals; Elizabeth Kosko on percussion, vocals; Mikala Petillo on bass, vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, vocals; Leslie Butsch on saxophone, Ezgi Karakus on cello; and Teri Quinn on vocals. All songs written by True Lions and produced by Claire Adams and Alison Hawkins. Tracking & Engineering by Claire Adams. Mixing and Mastering by Ian Dobyns and Chase Horseman. More info at: http://www.manorrecords.com .] [True Lions played The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show is Wednesday, April 26, at 7:00 PM with Jass & The Boys at The Ship 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO WEST BOTTOMS. More info at http://www.manorrecords.com]
Jass – “Lifetime” from: “Lifetime” – Single / JASS / January 6, 2023 [Jass is Jasmine “Jass” Couch. Jass and The Boys released the single “Love U Like I Love U” on December 2, 2022. Jass released the EP, OFF KEY: TOO HIGH on September 23, 2022. Jass released the single “Higher Ground” on August 16, 2022. It was #1 on WMM’s 50 Favorite Singles of 2022. Jass released her single, “Him” on February 23, 2022. Jass released At the Close of a Decade on November 26, 2022. It was part of WMM’s 121 Best Recordings of 2021. She wrote, “After years of writing and recording in voice memos .. I decided to grab my iPad and began recording something that I am very proud of. I named it, At the Close of A Decade, and released it in November 2019. With my iPhone/iPad, some apple headphones, I created this project. The amazing people around me told me it was worth it, even when I didn’t believe it myself. I convinced myself I would be the only one that liked my songs. If you decide to listen you’ll hear sound clips of shows and movies that made a difference in the way I saw the world, the way I saw myself, and the way I overcame my experiences. I remember asking my grandma and my son if I should release what I’ve been writing and they both said very simply to do it, so I’ve done it. I want to thank all of my wonderful friends who have been my soundboards during this process, all of the people that have asked me when it’s coming, the people that have kept me accountable, and believed that this time it was for real. My story is so very triumphant and beautiful because I have overcome experiences and shunned the fear I had to do what I love. It’s crazy how you can talk your way out of some amazing things and also how you can talk yourself into making some amazing things happen. If you partake, I hope you enjoy.” // Jass has opened for Thundercat sat GRINDERS, headlined a show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence with my boys! (Colby Bales and Brande Moser), and she opened up for The New Respects at The Uptown, and sang the Negro National Anthem at BLAQUE to School Night at the KC Monarchs game.More info at: http://www.jassrcouch.com] [Jass played Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Thur, May 25, at 7:00 PM at Big Mood, 2020 Baltimore, KCMO – East Crossroads with Dalima Kapten, and The Swallowtails.] [Jass played live on WMM on June 21 for Make Music Day!]
[Jass & The Contraband play The Ship, 1217 Union Ave, KCMO West Bottoms, Thurs, July 27, 8:00 (Doors) 9:00 PM (Show) Jass & The Contraband blend Jazz & R&B for a special night of music.]
Akkilles – “Happily” from: “Happily” – Single / David Bennett / April 21, 2023 [Akkilles recently released the new single “Way I Feel” on May 5, 2023. Akkilles is the music project of David Bennett who makes music under the moniker Akkilles. He also helps other people make music. Engineered & Produced by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in KCMO. Main vocals, keys, acoustic & electric guitar by David Bennett. And additional electric guitar by Baird Williams. Recorded at: Aorist Studios in KC. Akkilles released three singles in 2019. “By Myself” – Single was released November 1, 2019. “Meet in the Middle” was released October 25, 2019. “Feelin’ My Self” was released February 1, 2019. Akkilles released the critically acclaimed debut record “Something You’d Say” on July 2, 2013.]
Malek Azrael & The Vibez – “Anxiety” from: “Anxiety” – Single / Malek Azrael / April 30, 2023 [On October 15, 2021 Makek Azrael released his 10-track album debut. Male Azrael lives in KCMO. He has worked for Boys Grow, and is currently working with touring. Malek Azrael has been involved with Making Movies non-profit organization Art As Mentorship. He sometimes plays with Making Movies and played the Ameri-Kana Fest. Malek Azrael played KKFI’s 18th Annual Crossroads Music Fest, on Aug. 27, at The Black Box, in West Bottoms.] [Malek & The Vibez played Boulevardia Festival at Crown Center, June 16.]
. The Blast Monkees – “The Doctor Said I’m Not Crazy Anymore” from: “The Doctor Said I’m Not Crazy Anymore” – Single / The Blast Monkees / June 23, 2023 [The Blast Monkeys released the single “Mr. Nice Guy” on May 22, 2023. Recording Engineer: Justin Mantooth of Westend Recording Studio. The Blast Monkeys are two dudes making music out of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Formed in 2017 by high school best friends, Scott Vick & Kyle Chambers, they plan to make music their career by any means. Their songs fuse high-energy drums and catchy guitar riffs with goofy jokes and a “passionate” stage presence that is sure to win over any crowd. For more info: http://www.theblastmokeys.com. and http://www.theblactmonkees.bandcamp.com
The Blast Monkeys Discography “My Nice Guy” (Single) / May 22, 2023 Summer Camp (9-track Album) / July 18. 2022 “Capo 2.0” (Single) / February 16, 2022 Big Things, Small Places (4-track EP) / August 21, 2021 Washed Out (3-track EP) / December 16, 2019 Moon Juice (5-track EP) / March 25, 2019.]
10:29 – Underwriting
Modern Day Fitzgerald – “City Burning” from: “City Burning” – Single / Modern Day Fitzgerald / May 26, 2023 [Modern Day Fitzgerald is releasing a new album at the beginning of September called ‘Meet Me on Armour Road’. I will link it to you here: “Meet Me On Armour Road” The bad will release the second single from the album, ‘Sad Boi’ in mid August. The new album is a concept/rock opera that takes place on Armour Road in North Kansas City, Missouri. This is a love and hate letter to the music scene. This album captures the Kansas City music scene’s bohemian atmosphere. From playing a late night show in a small run down club to waking up early to go to back to work. The album deals with the excitement of being in the music scene, falling in and out of love, dealing with pretentious folks who pretend to have it all, the stress of wanting to be recognized and heard, and the burnout from wanting to do something since they were young. Here are their stories. The majority of the album was recorded in a studio inside a music venue on Armour Road. Modern Day Fitzgerald includes members: Mica-Elgin Vi a first generation Filipino American. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and head songwriter for Modern Day Fitzgerald. He grabs influences from musicians like The White Stripes, Weezer, Beastie Boys and Childish Gambino. In the band Modern Day Fitzgerald, they released two E.Ps, and one live album since 2016. Performed in the same festival with acts like Clairo and Beabadoobee, performed in showcases during South by Southwest, and opened up for The Romantics. // Noah Bartelt the bass player, vocalist and songwriter for Modern Day Fitzgerald. They are also the lead singer for the band The UK’s and Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves. // Sean East is the drummer and songwriter for Modern Day Fitzgerald. He also works behind the scenes in film industry as a gaffer, key grip and lighting technician. He is currently in the works release some new music in the upcoming year. // Alex Garnett is the producer and sound engineer for Modern Day Fitzgeralds new album “Meet me on Armour Road”. He is the owner of the studio “The Triceratops Room”. Alex has been working with the band since 2020 for their live album “Live at the Rino”. More information at: http://www.Moderndayfitzgerald.net]
Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark – “Julie Boy” from: Cindergarden (B Sides) / Lost River Sound / May 22, 2022 [Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark released Cindergarden (A Sides) through Lost River Sound on May 22, 2022. Kirstie Lynn is a classically trained soprano with a passion for songwriting, always looking to marry poetry and melody. Though Kirstie’s voice has been compared to that of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, her sound is uniquely her own. Kirstie Lynn is a folk singer-songwriter originally from the fingerlakes region of upstate, NY. She began her professional music studies at the age of 15, and has since received both a Bachelor’s degree from Shenandoah University and a Master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in voice and opera performance. Her vocal training lends her the freedom to paint her nature inspired lyrics with a wide range and a beautiful and effortless sound. Kirstie Lynn is one half of the duo Kirstie Lynn and Galen Clark. // Galen Clark introduces an alternative perspective and approach to music that contains multitudes. Migratory melodies, multi-instrumental fluency, and mysterious texture all outline the stylings of the newly transplanted Cuyahoga Valley songwriter, producer, and musician. // Born into an Air Force family, Clark grew up in many places with family anchors in Vermont and Colorado. At the age of 9 following many failed piano lessons, Clark’s grandparents gifted him a Harmony parlor guitar from a Shelburne flea market, starting a journey that would span almost 2 decades of stylistic development, a plethora of ephemeral bands, a degree in music production and recording technology, and a refined take on songwriting. .. Sharing songs spanning the stoic mountains of Idaho’s lost river range to the ancient hum of the Shenandoah Valley, Galen draws upon energy strewn between varied time and place, a broader quest for belonging, and rejuvenation beyond the front door. Clark’s previous records, Providence (2018) and The Well (2020) offer a contemplative portrait of moods in natural ambiguity, collective consciousness, and introspection. His most recent collaboration with KC – based artist, Kirstie Lynn is a reckoning that is to be heard live and will transport you elsewhere if not in mind than in spirit.][Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark play a CINDERGARDEN B-Sides, Special Release Show at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th Street, KCK, TONIGHT on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 with Kelly Hunt opening the show.]
Fritz Hutchison – “Little Referee” from: True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette / Manor Records / April 26, 2023 [Fritz Hutchison released his second solo full length album, MOVIE NIGHT On April 15, 2022. Fritz was signed by Manor Records that same year. Multi-instrumentalist Fritz Hutchison was born May 27, 1991. A life-long resident of KC. Since 2008 he’s been part of multiple bands playing drums with: She’s a Keeper, Freight Train Rabbit Killer, and Grand Marquis. As a guitarist he has played along side True Lions, J Ashley Miller, Lauren Krum, Miki P, Calvin Arsenia. A decade of lending an ear and a hand to other musicians Fritz Hutchison released his debut solo album Wide Wild Acres on Center Cut Records on March 27, 2020. Written & performed by Fritz Hutchison. Produced by Fritz Hutchison & Joel Nanos. Recorded & mixed in KC by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studio. Mastered by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room in Chicago.] [Fritz Hutchison plays The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show is Wednesday, April 26, at 7:00 PM with Jass & The Boys at The Ship 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO WEST BOTTOMS]
Teri Quinn – “When I’m Gone” from: “When I’m Gone” – Single / Teri Quinn / June 14, 2023 [Teri Quinn released her new 4-track EP DEAFENING SILENCE, on June 30, 2023 Tracked live at Element Recording and Mastering Studios with Teri Quinn on banjo & vocals, Landon Hambright on guitar & vocals, John O’keefe on bass, and Ryan Smith on drums. // This single follows Teri’s earlier single release”Running Away” released June 2, 2023 with John O’keefe on bass, Ryan Smith on Drums, Landon Hambright on guitar. Produced and Engineered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording & Mastering Studios. And the single “Sweet Savannah” released February 26, 2020 Produced and engineered by Chase Horseman at Element Recording Studios. Mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios. For this recording: Landon Hambright on guitar, Matt Richey on drums, Joel Stratton on Wurlitzer, Molly Mclaughlin on alto flute, Chase Horseman on synth bass, and Teri Quinn on banjo and vocals. Teri released her debut EP, Moons and Meltdowns in 2017, setting the gritty tone for her indie folk sensibilities. She was nominated for Best Musician for the 2018 Pitch Awards. // Teri Quinn is a Kansas City based, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose primary songwriting instrument is the banjo. She uses the banjo as a way to create soundscapes drawing you in to her tales of wandering and self-discovery., originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Teri moved to Kansas City in 2009 to study clarinet performance and Music Composition at the UMKC’s Conservatory of Music where she graduated in 2013. Along with being a touring solo artists Teri has also played with Claire and the Crowded Stage, Abandoned Bells, True Lions, and Monta.]
Caley Rose – “Here We Go” from: “Here We Go” – Single / Caley Rose / June 23, 2023 [Performed by: Caley Rose who co-wrote the song with Henry Ingraham, Cassandra Jane Boettcher. Produced by: Henry Ingraham. Mixed by: Tyler Spratt. Trumpet by: Scott Bel // Caley Rose is a Billboard Charting Pop Singer & Songwriter whose music has been featured on Top 40 radio. She empowers women & youth by partnering with organizations that uplift females and by speaking about confidence in schools across the country. She has received awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Mid Atlantic Song Contest.]
Kye Colors – “IN THE DARKNESS (clean)” from: Colorman: Red [EP] / Wasteland Records / March 16, 2023 [Kye Colors released his single “Phil Collins” on March 25, 2022. // Kye Colors, born J’Kye Slatton, is a 21 year-old rapper and producer from the South side of Kansas City, Missouri. Kye began writing music as early as age 5, usually done in crayons. “I’d describe my music as very colorful and vibrant from the beats to the lyrics” Colors says. “I’d describe my music as very colorful and vibrant from the beats to the lyrics” // The name Kye Colors derives from multiple meanings. The first coming from the idea that hues enact certain moods, “you can feel orange, you can feel yellow, you can feel brown; it’s like an emotion” says Kye. The second is best described through his lyrics on the track Broken Place, “I’m KC for real, check the initials.” // His gift of rap was nurtured and harbored from Elementary School to High School. As a teenager, Kye’s talent was quickly taken notice by his peers. While in school, his seniors made sure that he would get his high school diploma before he could fully pursue his music career. After sporadic trials with rap he went by the name Kye Colors by age 14. The same year he began producing. // In 2015 he released his first mixtape entitled “00“. The project garnered attention from hip hop fans all over the Kansas City Metropolitan. In 2017, he joined the rap collective “CaviArt” alongside artists Gee Watts, A’Sean, Ray Muney, and others. // Soon after and at only 17 years old, he would release his 1st full length project “Milk Is Nasty”. It was nationally acclaimed by Lyrical Lemonade, publicized in local Newspapers such as The Kansas City Star and The Pitch KC, and also gained notable local airplay. The project also led to him performing alongside Denzel Curry, Famous Dex, Wiz Khalifa, Lil TJay and many more. // “Milk Is Nasty”. It was nationally acclaimed by Lyrical Lemonade, publicized in local Newspapers such as The Kansas City Star and The Pitch KC, and also gained notable local airplay. // In 2019, Kye released some of his most popular single releases to date including “Sweet Thang,” “Doggy,” “Talk About It” and more. These independent releases would land him on platforms such as Baller Alert, a modeling gig with Lee Jeans, and national airplay on Shade45. // In 2020, at the age of 20 he founded his label “Wasteland Records” partnering with manager Jesse Brown and Jaron Baston. He went on his first independent tour and released his 2nd LP With Love By Faith. It peaked at 166 on the Top 200 Rap/Hip Hop albums on iTunes. // Come 2021, Kye delivered three glossy singles “Nike Boy Freetstyle”, “Grateful”, “1-800” and an impressive five-track EP “WOW” in which helped him rank in the top 10K “R&B, Funk & Soul” artists in the world. // Kye kicked off 2022 with a flamboyant and captivating new single “TAKE UR PLACE”. A track thats surely setting the mood for whats to come. // From having a vibrant young passion for his penmanship to flourishing on the energy of his supporters, Kye looks to establish his mark in the industry as a rapper, and creative with a purpose. The artist intends to create moving and powerful connections through his newly-constructed label, releasing quality music, and collectively refining the abilities of his sound. More info at: http://www.kyecolors.com]
Christena Graves – “Swingin” On The Stars” from: “Swingin On The Stars” – Single / Christena Graves / June 28, 2023 [Christena Graves writes that, “This is a song that has been on the back burner for a while. We’ve been waiting for the right time to release it and this summer is it! The lyrics for ‘Swingin’ on the Stars’ came out of a conversation I had years ago with another songwriter about the sky being full of songs. He said, “it’s all one big song and all we do as is reach up and pull a piece of it down.” That has stuck with me. I love the connectedness of it. All of us songwriters are pulling from the same pool and the air is full of music! We are all breathing it in.” // Christena Graves released her album, FINDING MY FOOTING on February 11, 2021. It was one of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2021. Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing. // After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way. // 2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. The album is titled, Finding My Footing. A nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward. // The release of Finding My Footing marks her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: http://www.christenagravesmusic.com] [Christena Graves was guest on WMM on February 10, and on July 7, 2021.]
Corey Dies in the End – “Boy With No Job” from: “Boy With No Job” – Single / Lime Squeeze Records / February 17, 2023 [Corey Dies in the End just recently release the new single, “Buyers Remorse” on June 9, 2023. Corey Dies in the End is the solo musical project of Corey Vitt who has been playing in Kansas City and Lawrence bands since 2006 playing with Videodisk, Parents, Hidden Pictures, Rooms Without Windows, and Beautiful Bodies. With Corey Dies in the End on vocals, programming, & guitars and Matty Harris on mixing & mastering. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Stranger’s Faces” on September 2, 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Goth Girl Summer” on May 20. 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Air” on January 26, 2022. / Corey Dies in the End released the single, “Island” on October 6, 2021. More info at: http://www.coreydiesintheend.bandcamp.com]
11:00 – Station ID
Zava – “H.O.E” from: “H.O.E.” – Single / Taylor Avazpour / June 1, 2022 [Zava is the musical project, of Taylor Avazpour. Zava ‘s last single “Wrong” was released August 13, 2021 and was added to the “New Queer Friday Playlist” on Spotify. “Wrong” is the 5th single Zava has released in 2021, including: “Electric” on June 4, “I Could Get used To This” on May 14, “Attitude” on April 23, and “Lightyears” on February 12. Since 2017 Taylor has been releasing music videos, has worked at Starlight Theatre, lived in New York City and Boston. Zava was a featured performer at the 2021 Show-Me Kansas City Pride Festival (Aug. 21-22) in Theis Park, KCMO, as presented by KC Pride Community Alliance. Taylor Avazpour is Senior Operations Analyst at Netsmart and Assistant Director at Music Theatre Kansas City. More information at: http://solo.to/thisiszava%5D
[ZAVA will be making his debut at Gaels Public House and Sports, 5424 Troost Ave, KCMO, on Friday, August 4, at 6:00-9:00 PM. ]
11:03 – Interview with ZAVA (Taylor Avazpour)
Joining us in our 90.1 FM Studios is Taylor Avazpour, who performs as ZAVA. He is a singer, songwriter, actor and dancer from Kansas City who has worked in professional theatre and is also a recording artist. ZAVA is a play on Taylor’s name where “AVAZ” translates as “voice” or “song” in Persian. ZAVA shares his soul through his love of music in intimate settings that explore the feelings and experiences of this human adventure and what lies beyond. ZAVA recently made his debut at The Folly Theater earlier this year with his show, FOREVERMORE. This show weaves a lifetime of stories together through classic jazz standards, futuristic R&B ballads, covers of songs by the Bee Gees and Spice Girls, all the way to Persian-infused dance pop.
ZAVA will be making his debut at Gaels Public House and Sports, 5424 Troost Ave, KCMO, on Friday, August 4, at 6:00-9:00 PM.
ZAVA (Taylor Avazpour), Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Last year on June 1 we premiered the ZAVA single “H.O.E.” that was released June 1, 2022. We talked about the upcoming ZAVA appearance at the 2022 Kansas City PrideFest in Theis Park, 522 Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, KCMO.
Zava writes: “In a world shrouded in darkness, ZAVA pierces through like lightning. Between soaring vocals, infectious grooves, and celestial production, ZAVA blends all of the music that inspired him to create, what he likes to call, ‘Empowerment Pop’ music. Through this energy, ZAVA hopes to inspire people to discover and cultivate their own light and power from within themselves. Our world depends on it.”
Zava writes: “At the dawn of the 21st century, the world is shrouded in darkness. Humans, the only conscious beings on Earth, have become prisoners in their own minds. Hate has become the weapon of the ego. Love has become a feeling of the past. Souls yearn for connection and imagination only to be forgotten through the conditioning of society.”
“In a moment when all hope seems lost, the soul remembers. Even buried beneath the layers of conditioning, the soul remembers. The love, the connection, the imagination. The reason we are here. As the great awakening emerges, souls from around the world will remember who they are. Not the roles they play, not the identities to which they attach themselves, not even the body in which their souls rest. This is a remembering that peace, joy, and love is who we are. The only way to unlock this treasure is to surrender the ego and dive into the universe that lies within.”
“Like all things in the universe, there is balance. When darkness reigns, light rises to meet it. Now is the time to awaken, to fight for the light, and to remember who we are.”
“In making the “H.O.E.” video ZAVA wrote: “That’s a wrap on my first video shoot. I had a moment today where I looked around and genuinely felt a sense of pride in how far I’ve come. Not just as an artist, not just as a human, but as a gay man. All of the struggle, confusion, internalized homophobia I had to survive to get here is making this moment so precious to me. To be able to share all sides of myself – the masculine, the feminine, and everything in between – is what I’m most excited about. It’s time for our society, and especially gay men, to embrace all parts of our humanity. Wear makeup if you want, dance however it feels best for your body, sing as high as the heavens if your soul tells you to. We are not hiding anymore.”
“We are not judging anymore. We are not competing anymore. We are loving ourselves and sharing that love with other members of our community. We are uplifting. We are inspiring. We are supporting. That, more than anything, is what this song and music video represent to me. I am the pop star I always wanted when I was younger. A gay man singing about other men, feeling sexy asf, moving how I wanna to move, singing how I wanna sing, wearing a dress, dancing shirtless, expressing my true self.”
Since 2017 Taylor has been releasing music videos, has worked at Starlight Theatre, lived in New York City and Boston. Taylor Avazpour is Senior Operations Analyst at Netsmart and has worked as Assistant Director at Music Theatre Kansas City. Info at: http://solo.to/thisiszava/
ZAVA played Kansas City PrideFest, in Theis Park, 522 Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, KCMO in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023
Zava’s single “Wrong” was released Aug. 13, 2021, and was added to the “New Queer Friday Playlist” on Spotify. In 2021 Zava also released the singles: “Electric” on June 4, “I Could Get Used To This” on May 14, “Attitude” on April 23, and “Lightyears” on February 12.
in 2022 ZAVA Collaborated with Stephonne on the track “Boyz”
Stephonne – “Boyz (feat. Dustin Rapier & Zava) [Radio Edit]” from: SIS: Side B [EP] / Stephonne / June 24, 2022 [Co-produced by, Justin Mantooth, and recorded at Westend Recording Studios. Johnny Hamil on bass, and Adam McKee on drums.]
ZAVA recently made his debut at The Folly earlier this year with his show, “FOREVERMORE.”
“ZAVA Presents: FOREVERMORE” weaves a lifetime of stories together through classic jazz standards, futuristic R&B ballads, covers of songs by the Bee Gees and Spice Girls, all the way to Persian-infused dance pop. With “AVAZ” meaning “voice” or “song” in Persian, ZAVA shares his soul through his love of music in this intimate setting that explores the feelings and experiences of this human adventure and what lies beyond…
Social media: @thisiszava
1:16 – ZAVA LIVE in the 90.1 FM Studios!
Zava – “How Deep Is Your Love” (LIVE) “How Deep Is Your Love” written mainly by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb [“How Deep Is Your Love” is a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September of that year. It was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number-three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1977 and stayed in the Top 10 for 17 weeks. It spent six weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart. It is listed at No. 27 on Billboard’s All Time Top 100. Following mixing for Here at Last… Bee Gees… Live, the Bee Gees began recording songs for what was to be the follow-up studio album to 1976’s Children of the World. Then the call came from Robert Stigwood requesting songs for a movie he was producing. The Bee Gees obliged and gave him five songs, one of which was “How Deep Is Your Love”. This track was written mainly by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. Barry worked out the melody with keyboard player Blue Weaver, though he is not credited officially as a songwriter here. Co-producer Albhy Galuten later admits the contribution of Weaver on this track, “One song where Blue [Weaver] had a tremendous amount of input. There was a lot of things from his personality. That’s one where his contribution was quite significant, not in a songwriting sense, though when you play piano, it’s almost like writing the song. Blue had a lot of influence in the piano structure of that song” ]
[ZAVA plays Gaels Public House & Sports, 5424 Troost, KCMO, on Friday, August 4, at 6:00-9:00 PM.]
11:20 – Interview with ZAVA (Taylor Avazpour)
Joining us in out 90.1 FM Studios is Taylor Avazpour, who performs as ZAVA. He is a singer, songwriter, actor and dancer from Kansas City who has worked in professional theatre and is also a recording artist.
ZAVA (Taylor Avazpour), Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
ZAVA will be making his debut at Gaels Public House and Sports, 5424 Troost Ave, KCMO, on Friday, August 4, at 6:00-9:00 PM.
ZAVA is a play on Taylor’s name where “AVAZ” translates as “voice” or “song” in Persian.
ZAVA shares his soul through his love of music in intimate settings that explore the feelings and experiences of this human adventure and what lies beyond.
ZAVA recently made his debut at The Folly Theater earlier this year with his show,
FOREVERMORE. This show weaves a lifetime of stories together through classic jazz standards, futuristic R&B ballads, covers of songs by the Bee Gees and Spice Girls, all the way to Persian-infused dance pop.
ZAVA (Taylor Avazpour), Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
ZAVA plays Gaels Public House & Sports, 5424 Troost, KCMO, Fri, Aug 4, at 6-9:00 PM.
11:28 – Underwriting
Nicholas May & Ellen R. Sommer – “Tone Studies” from: Tone Studies: The Saxophone Music of David Maslanka / Albany Records / Mar. 1, 2019 [he much beloved and acclaimed composer David Maslanka (1943-2017) featured the saxophone in many of his compositions, including concertos, solo, and chamber works. Nicholas May has chosen two for his debut recording — the Sonata for Alto Saxophone (1989) and Piano and Tone Studies (2009). Maslanka’s music requires not only tremendous technique but also a performer who is master of sound and color. The saxophone is an instrument of tremendous beauty and flexibility and Maslanka’s works require a saxophonist capable of broad swaths of color, rich depths of contrast, and generous apportionment of the musical canvas. Nicholas May is such a saxophonist and this recording defines the works. May has been a finalist in numerous state, national, and international competitions. He received degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is now on the faculty at Mid Plains Community College and a member of the Heartland Duo and the Sanders-May Duo. His collaborator, pianist Ellen Sommer is on the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Music. // David Maslanka, composer // Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano // Nicholas May (saxophone); Ellen Sommer (piano) // David Maslanka, composer // Tone Studies // Nicholas May (saxophone); Ellen Sommer (piano) // Heralded as “highly virtuosic” whose “artistry further imbues his performance with an unmatched sense of lyricism and expression. (Christina Ensign, Composer), saxophonist Nick May is sought after as a highly expressive, intuitive performer that “brings his personality to every performance – full of genuine joie de vivre!” (Javier Oviedo, Classical Saxophone Project) and quickly garnering attention for his compelling programs that have been described as “Incredible; bringing to life some of the best music that has ever been written.” (Maestro Hughes, Arapahoe Philharmonic). // Since his solo debut at the age of eighteen with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, May’s career has taken him throughout the United States, Singapore, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, appearing recurrently as a guest artist and recitalist. Additionally May has garnered prizes at many prestigious national and international competitions with recent Carnegie Hall performances with pianist and M2 Duo partner, Maya Tuylieva, described as “two incredible musicians, who perform as one voice.” (Dave Kenney, Composer) // He has performed as a soloist and been featured with the Mid America Freedom Band, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Saxophone Choir, Classical Saxophone Project, Baker University Jazz Combo and Big Band, Arapahoe Philharmonic Orchestra, Kansas Wesleyan University Wind Ensemble, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Orchestra, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Wind Ensemble, and the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. // May has premiered works and collaborated with today’s most eminent and emerging composers including Kevin Day, Jennifer Higdon, Peter Dayton, Ingrid Stölzel, Dave Kenney, Spencer Arias, Nathan Froebe, Evan Boegehold, John Kosch, Christina Ensign, David von Kampen, Suhan Tuyliyev, among others. He released his debut album in 2019 under Albany Records – Tone Studies: the Saxophone Music of David Maslanka; is also featured on The Chamber Music of David von Kampen and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln Jazz Orchestra’s album, The Good Life. Additionally, he is the founder of the I Exist Project, which aims to inspire the creation and promotion of innovative queer repertoire that celebrates the unique experiences and voices within our community, fostering greater understanding, connection, and visibility for all.]
[Nick May plays the The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival at The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on August 4 at 7:00-11:00 PM Big Bang Buffet, Epiphany, Nicole Springer, J Petty, Korea Cavalli, and SISTERBOT.]
Sisterbot – “Feel The Color” from: Truth House / Sisterbot / July 10, 2021 [Sisterbot is a performing artist dedicated to breaking genre boundaries, creating cosmic musical and theatrical experiences. The 9-piece Sisterbot Band is a “punk pop chamber orchestra” complete with electric guitar, drums, piano, strings and horn. “Truth House (2021) is a concept album written over the span of three years, encapsulating a chapter of my life that I spent in a house alone, dealing with the aftermath of trauma and rebirth.”- Sisterbot (Adee Dancy). Written by Sisterbot. Produced by Jametatone and Sisterbot. Engineered, Mixed, Mastered by Jametatone, except “Approval” which was Produced, Engineered, & Mixed by Andrew Bonci Jr. at Magnolia Tree Studios, with AJ Bonci on guitar, Just Angel and Sisterbot on vocals. Cover Art by Mazzy Mann. Adee Rocket Dancy released the single “Hello Moon (feat. The Swallowtails)” on April 26, 2021. (This is on the Sisterbot album.) Produced by Jametatone & Adee Rocket Dancy. Adee Rocket Dancy on piano & vocals & cello; Rachel Lovelace on bassoon; Mikala Petillo on guitar & background vocals, Mixing & Mastering by Jametatone. Adee Rocket Dancy writes, “This is a song about my life-long love for the moon. Adee chose April 26, 2021 to honor “The Pink Moon.” Info: Sisterbot.bandcamp.com]
[SISTERBOT plays the The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival at The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on August 4 at 7:00-11:00 PM Big Bang Buffet, Nick May, Epiphany, Nicole Springer, J Petty, and Korea Cavalli.]
11:37 – Interview with Stacy Busch
Stacy Busch, composer and performer who utilizes her voice with electronics to build unique sound worlds. Her work is a meeting point between art pop, avant-classical and singer-songwriter. Stacy is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of No Divide KC, an arts and advocacy non-profit that creates artistic events for social causes.
No Divide KC & InterUrban ArtHouse presents The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival at The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on August 4-5, 2023 at 7:00-11:00 PM. Known for its celebratory and inclusive energy, the Queer Narratives Festival features artists at all stages in their arts practice, and represents all artistic mediums and queer identities.
Friday, August 4 features: Big Bang Buffet, Nick May, Epiphany, Nicole Springer, J Petty, Korea Cavalli, and SISTERBOT.
Saturday, August 5 features: Sass-a-Brass, Melissa Ferrer, Kyle Jones, Glitch Gal, U-Hollers, Victor Shawn, and COLLIDESCOPE. 7:00-11:00 PM / Doors Open at 6:30 PM / Show Starts at 7:00 PM http://www.nodividekc.org
Stacy Busch, Thank You for being with us on WMM
Stacy Busch is a queer composer and performer who utilizes her voice with electronics to build unique sound worlds. Her work is a meeting point between art pop, avant-classical and singer-songwriter.
Stacy’s work has been performed nationally and internationally. She has received grants from ArtsKC, ArtSounds, Charlotte Street Foundation and the UMKC Women’s Council. Stacy is a 2020 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Artist Fellow.
Stacy is the cofounder and Executive Director of No Divide KC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that uses the arts as a vehicle for stimulating social awareness, participation and community building. No Divide KC partners with Kansas City-based organizations and artists to create artistic events that are focused on the stories of underserved and misrepresented communities in Kansas City
Known for its celebratory & inclusive energy, the Queer Narratives Festival features artists at all stages in their arts practice & represents all artistic mediums and queer identities.
Friday, August 4 includes: Big Bang Buffet 7:00-7:30 PM // Nick May 7:35-7:55 PM // Epiphany 8:00-8:30 PM // Nicole Springer 8:35-9:05 PM // J Petty 9:10-9:30 PM // Korea Cavalli 9:35-10:00 PM // SISTERBOT 10:15-11:00 PM
Saturday, August 5 includes: Sass-a-Brass 7:00-7:25 PM // Melissa Ferrer 7:30-7:55 PM // Kyle Jones 8:00-8:25 PM // Glitch Gal 8:30-8:55 PM // U-Hollers 9:00-9:25 PM // Victor Shawn 9:35-10:05 PM // COLLIDESCOPE 10:15-11:00 PM
Food Trucks – Vendors, artisans and activities – Performances from 7-11PM Indoor/Outdoor
General Admission Tickets – $15 Low Income/Artist – $20 General Admission – $35 Super Supporter – $30 Both Day Deal ($10 discount)
Parking in The Black Box parking lot and street
Other events from Queer Narratives Festival
LGBTQIA+ ART BUSINESS with Executive Director & Composer Stacy Busch June 20 – August 3, 2023, Tuesdays at 12-1:00 PM Virtual / Thursdays at 6:00-7:00 PM Plexpod, 300 East 39th Street, KCMO
Gentle Yoga July 5, 7:30-8:30 PM At The Nelson Atkin Museum Lawn
PRIDE & PLEASURE with Kristen Thomas July 15, 5:00 PM InterUrban ArtHouse, 8001 Newton Street, Overland Park, KS.
Queer Joy and Creativity (Music Workshop) July 17, 7:00-8:30 PM – Plexpod, 300 East 39th Street, KCMO
LGBTQ+ HEALTH FAIR Saturday, July 22, 11:00-5:00 PM – InterUrban ArtHouse, 8001 Newton Street, OPKS.
Scene InterUrban ArtHouse, 8001 Newton Street, Overland Park, KS. Saturday, July 29, 2023 7:00-9:00 PM – Open Mic Night dedicated to monologues & duets
No Divide KC – Mission Statement: No Divide KC uses the arts as a vehicle for stimulating social awareness, participation and community building. No Divide KC partners with Kansas City-based artists and organizations to create artistic events that are focused on the stories of underserved and misrepresented communities in Kansas City.
Some of the local organizations we have partnered with include: InterUrban Arthouse, Care Beyond the Boulevard, Free Hot Soup, Open the Doors Coaching, Charlotte Street Foundation, The Whole Person, El Centro, Don Bosco Centers, La Luz Immigration Clinic, Kansas City Center for Inclusion, Kansas City Anti-Violence Project, Reconciliation Services, Kansas City Heroes, the Kansas City Ballet School and the Johnson County Library. We also feature community members in our documentary series and programs because there is power in community participation and sharing our stories.
Stacy Busch is a composer/performer who utilizes her voice with electronics to build unique sound worlds. Her work is a meeting point between art pop, avant-classical and singer-songwriter. Stacy is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of No Divide KC, an arts and advocacy non-profit that creates artistic events for social causes. Stacy’s work has been performed nationally and internationally. Recently, Stacy composed the new music concert, When/Time performed in Kansas City and was commissioned by The Mid America Freedom Band to compose a double concerto for two drag queens titled “It’s For Us.” Stacy has performed at Omaha Under the Radar, Electronic Sound Studios Chicago, InterUrban ArtHouse and Splice Electroacoustic Music Festival. She scored the documentary “The Ordinance Project” which premiered at the Kansas City LGBTQ Film Festival, she partnered with Gilda’s Club KC and Owen/Cox Dance Group to compose and perform the music for “Collective: Our Stories of Cancer”. In addition to Kansas City, Stacy’s work has been featured at the University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University. It has also been performed by ensembles including: loadbang, Bent Frequency, Beo String Quartet and newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Lastly, performances at international residencies include Listhus Artist Residency in Iceland and ArtHouse Holland in The Netherlands.
Stacy is a 2022 OneBeat Virtual Fellow for Global Music Leaders and she received the 2020 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Artist Award. Stacy has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mid America Arts Alliance ArtsKC, ArtSounds, Charlotte Street Foundation and the UMKC Women’s Council. Stacy received her MM in composition from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her BM in composition from Western Michigan University. Her teachers include Paul Rudy, James Mobberley, Chen Yi. Christopher Biggs and Lisa Coons.
Stacy Busch thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
No Divide KC & InterUrban ArtHouse presents The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival. The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on August 4-5, 2023 at 7:00-11:00 PM / Doors Open at 6:30 PM / Show Starts at 7:00 PMhttp://www.nodividekc.org
11:54
Collidescope – “The Beast” from: FunHouse / Collidescope / October 13, 2022 [ “The Blackness” is from the upcoming album “Clown Town” that Collidescope hopes to release in early 2023. Collidescope is essentially a duo that includes: Hadiza. on vocals, beats, & synthesizers; and Madison Monroe on guitar, bass, beats, synthesizers, mixing & vocals. On December 31, 2020 Collidescope released their 7-track album DEEP TAPE. DEEP TAPE includes Victoria Falls Stillwater on addition sound production and vocals, and was mixed and mastered by J.Ashley Miller. DEEP TAPE is a follow up the band’s debut EP SYSTEMIC released December 16, 2017. Hadiza also released her solo album SHADOW WEIGHT on Nov. 22, 2019. More info at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com or http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com ]
[COLLIDESCOPE plays the The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival at The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on Saturday, August 5 with: Sass-a-Brass, Melissa Ferrer, Kyle Jones, Glitch Gal, U-Hollers, and Victor Shawn 9:35-10:05 PM.]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on August 2, 2023, KC based musician Tillie Hall of the band Mellophobia joins us to talk about Innovation Festival 2023, August 3 thru August 5, 11:00 Am to 10:00 PM at Crown Center – The Saturday, August 5, Beats Day Lineup includes: Colony House, Dante Elephante, Mike Mains & the Branches, Harbour, Young Mister, Social Cinema, Mellowphobia, Cory Phillips & the Band of Light, and Emmaline Twist.
We also talk with Joy Zimmerman about her new album WHERE THE LIGHT IS, recorded and mixed by Maggie Heeren at La Luna Recording & Sound in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Joy Zimmerman and Maggie Heeren co-produced this album with mastering by Anna Frick of Ally Sound. Kansas City musicians were recorded at Weights and Measures Soundlab by Duane Trower.
AND we’ll welcome hip hop musician, songwriter & producer Paris Williams and play new music from Paris, along with other new tracks from: Making Movies, Calvin Arsenia, The Black Mariah Theatre, Maria The Mexican and more.
THANK YOU to all of our listeners & friends who generously donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio!!! During our Wednesday MidDay Medley Spring Fund Drive shows on June 7 and June 14, and through social media, we raised $4742.00 from 59 individual Donors! Thank you to our diverse and beautiful listeners who generously donated to allow us to continue our great mission here at 90.1 FM KKFI.
THANK YOU to my incredible Fund co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, and our wonderful KKFI Staff: Director of Development and Communications, J Kelly Dougherty, Vounteer Coordinator Darryl Oliver, and Chief Operator Chad Brothers. And to all of our fantastic phone volunteers.
This radio station is not about the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of wonderful 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 Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Stacy Busch & The Queer Narratives Festival! + ZAVA + Part 2 of WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR!
Mark continues with Part 2 of WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…So Far! We’ll spin tracks from: Kye Colors, The Blast Monkeys, Jass, Cory Dies in The End, Semper Viridis, Zion Isaiah, Collidescope, Modern Day Fitzgerald, Akkilles, Christena Graves, True Lions, Teri Quinn, Fritz Hutchison, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, Malek Azrael, and Caley Rose. We will also play SISTERBOT, Nicholas May & Ellen R. Sommer, and ZAVA!
At 11:00 we’ll talk with Taylor Avazpour, who performs as ZAVA. He is a singer, songwriter, and dancer from Kansas City who has worked in professional theatre and is also a recording artist. ZAVA is a play on Taylor’s name where “AVAZ” translates as “voice” or “song” in Persian. ZAVA shares his soul through his love of music in intimate settings that explore the feelings and experiences of this human adventure and what lies beyond. ZAVA recently made his debut at The Folly Theater earlier this year with his show, FOREVERMORE. This show weaves a lifetime of stories together through classic jazz standards, futuristic R&B ballads, covers of songs by the Bee Gees and Spice Girls, all the way to Persian-infused dance pop. ZAVA will be making his debut at Gaels Public House and Sports, 5424 Troost Ave, KCMO, on Friday, August 4, at 6:00-9:00 PM. Social media: @thisiszava
At 11:30 we’ll talk with Stacy Busch, composer and performer who utilizes her voice with electronics to build unique sound worlds. Her work is a meeting point between art pop, avant-classical and singer-songwriter. Stacy is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of No Divide KC, an arts and advocacy non-profit that creates artistic events for social causes. No Divide KC & InterUrban ArtHouse presents The 4th Annual Queer Narratives Festival at The Black Box, 1060 Union Avenue, WEST BOTTOMS, KCMO, on August 4-5, 2023 at 7:00-11:00 PM. Known for its celebratory and inclusive energy, the Queer Narratives Festival features artists at all stages in their arts practice, and represents all artistic mediums and queer identities. Friday, August 4 features: Big Bang Buffet, Nick May, Epiphany, Nicole Springer, J Petty, Korea Cavalli, and SISTERBOT. Saturday, August 5 features: Sass-a-Brass, Melissa Ferrer, Kyle Jones, Glitch Gal, U-Hollers, Victor Shawn, and COLLIDESCOPE. More info at: http://www.nodividekc.org
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
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, July 19, 2023
WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR! (Part one of a two-week special)
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Dragon Inn 3 – “I Can’t Stop” from: Trade Secrets / American Laundromat Records / April 18, 2023 [The long-anticipated sophomore release from Dragon Inn 3. Features 10 brand new songs plus a fantastic cover of Yazoo’s “Only You.” // Dragon Inn 3 is: Grace Bentley on vocals; Philip Dickey on synths, drums, guitar, bass & vocals; Sharon Hamm on synths & vocals; David Hill on vocals & synths. Recorded from 2018 to 2022 at Davey’s house and Sharon’s house. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Philip Dickey. Additional recording and mixing help from Ross Brown, David Hill, and Chase Horseman. Mastered by Sean Glonek at SRG studios. Additional musicians: Bill Belzer percussion “I Can’t Stop”, John Cardwell guitar “Finally Going Down”, Ben Collins guitar “I Can’t Stop”, Tim Gillespie saxophone “I Can’t Stop” “Out Of Control” “Trade Secrets Theme”, Anita Kitungano vocals “See It Your Way”, John O’Hallaron guitar “Teleport”, Bora Wilondja vocals “See It Your Way” “Trade Secrets Theme”, Mauwa Wilondja vocals “Trade Secrets Theme”, Pelo Wilondja percussion “I Could Never”. Additional writers: Emma Bentley Ruzicka “Not Enough”, Bora Wilondja “See It Your Way”, JR Top “See It Your Way”, and Vincent Clark “Only You”. Cover photo: Dominik Podlipniak. Design: Dustin Williams. // Kansas City based band formed in 2012 with Grace Bentley, Sharon Bowie, Philip K. Dickey, E.P. Marcus. Dragon Inn 3’s debut LP DOUBLE LINE on August 17, 2018 through American Laundromat records. DOUBLE LINE was part of WMM’s 118 Best Recordings of 2018. The band spent six years whittling away on the songs. Combining sugary pop hooks, hypnotic beats, and huge MOOG synths, Dragon Inn 3’s playful take on 80s pop could double as the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie (if John Hughes directed Blade Runner). The cinematic origins of Dragon Inn 3 can be traced back to 2012, when Philip Dickey (leader of the indie-pop group, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin) wrote a theme song for the award-winning short film Ghoul School. “If you watch the trailer you can tell it’s the same premise and look as Stranger Things–we just accidentally made it three years before them,” Dickey says. “I had so much fun making the soundtrack with the director (E.P. Marcus) that we decided to start a band.” Dickey recruited his sister, Sharon Bowie, an occupational therapist, and his wife, children’s librarian Grace Bentley, to help with songwriting and vocal duties. The group self-released the Ghoul School Soundtrack EP in late 2012, receiving high praise from Consequence of Sound, Philadelphia’s WXPN, and The Riverfront Times, before climbing to #1 on Bandcamp’s cassette charts. Then it was back to the studio (i.e. the bedrooms, kitchens, garages, and hotel rooms that doubled as makeshift recording studios). In between full-time jobs, parenthood, graduate school classes, and cross country moves, the members of Dragon Inn 3 put Double Line to tape. “I’m a stay-at-home dad now, so I would work on song arrangements and rough mixes when our toddler was taking his naps,” explains Dickey. “Grace would come home from work and record all her parts after his bedtime. We recorded all the breathy vocals in the living room and all the yelly parts in the garage so we wouldn’t wake him up.” The result is a highly addictive album that creates “a soundtrack for the more introspective moments on and off the dance floor,” according to critic David Greenwald. With members spread out over the country (KC, LA, and Springfield, MO), the group signed to American Laundromat Records in early 2018. A demo of “Bad Boy” (co-written with Free Energy’s Paul Sprangers) landed in a commercial for Ryan Adams’ Beats 1 Radio show before the song was even completed. More Info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com]
[Philip Dickey of Dragon Inn 3 joined us LIVE on WMM on May 3, 2023]
Kemet Coleman – “Maraca (Radio Edit)” from: Duality / Kemet Creative / April 21, 2023 [Kemet Coleman recently opened KC’s first Black-owned brewery Vine Street Brewing Co. in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. With his latest album “Duality,” Kemet invites you on a journey through the depths of the human psyche and nature, blending hip-hop, jazz, funk, and house progressions into a sonically vast soundscape. This album showcases Kemet’s skills as a music producer and features some of the most up-and-coming Kansas City-based artists. At the release party, you’ll be able to experience these sounds in person, surrounded by a community of music lovers who share your passion for dynamic, soulful beats. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to witness the future of music and immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of Kemet Coleman. // Hip hop MC extraordinaire, Kemet Coleman is a KC based musician, producer and is a member of the Funk/Rap/Soul band The Phantastics. Kemet is also a core element of The Marcus Lewis Big Band for Brass & Boujee. Kemet is Founder and Director at Troostival Kemet is a two time Pitch Music Award nominee for “Best Hip-Hop Act.” Kemet is known for his unprecedented collaborations with Crane Brewing Company, UMKC, KC Streetcar, and KC Royals. He is also highly regarded for his impresario role within the Sly James for Mayor Campaign in the 2010-2011 where he created the first ever KC mayoral candidate rap song. A UMKC alumnus, Kemet, created “Gold and Blue” for UMKC’s sports teams, which has garnered thousands of plays on YouTube and has been featured on prime-time television commercials for the University. In 2020. Coleman contributed his song, “The Virus” to the compilation, KC Syzygy, music created by over 25 KC-based musicians in the middle of the map of a pandemic. “The Virus” is his comment on the impact of the coronavirus, as well as the virus that is racial injustice in America that has received global attention during the past months. Proceeds donated to KC Tenants, a local nonprofit that ensures that everyone has a safe, accessible, affordable home. On Nov. 3, 2020 Kemet Coleman released EPISODE TWO: THE RISE OF KEMET EP. On August 1, 2020 Kemet Coleman released BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. On Aug. 16, 2019 Kemet Coleman released ELECTRIC PARK. On May 5, 2017 Kemet Coleman released PARIS OF THE PLAINS EP. On March 9, 2017 Kemet Coleman released THE INVISIBLE MAN.]
Bad Alaskan – “Groove” from: Red & Black / Bad Alaskan / June 19, 2023 [Bad Alaskan is Lawrence, Kansas based musician, scientist, researcher, speaker, activist, teacher, Alex Kimball Williams who identifies and celebrates her Native Alaskan / Black / Portuguese origins, with the motto: “Music is medicine.” Alex Kimball Williams also played in the band UltraVivid. Band Alaskan released the single “Red & Black” on December 10, 2021 The album also contains a cover of “Strange Fruit” that Bad Alaskan released as a single on August 17, 2019. Bad Alaskan writes: “This cover of ‘Strange Fruit’ is the perfect blend of old school & new school; direct reference & innovation; the blues & electronic. I’ve always loved the song & wanted to put my own indigenous spin on it. My classical & jazz training leaks through with solos & alterations to the lead melody. The 1939 recording featuring Billie Holiday’s vocals is my favorite cut of this classic. My variation alters the melody to fit a minor blues scale. The key is raised just slightly to stimulate discomfort, the tempo is more upbeat. Originally when she sang the song, it was always the end of her set, staff in the venue was instructed not to make any transactions. She would sing the song with eyes closed. Due to that devotional, prayer-like feel, I begin my sets with this song if I’m going to include it. I read somewhere that this song reminded her of her father. It lines up with my thoughts on my own ancestors, from what would have been his time. Instruments used are Korg Minilogue, Microkorg (vocoding) & Novation circuit. I always record all my parts at once (no over-dubbing), so please enjoy the “fruits” of my labor! Audio engineer: Ross Williams.]
Dan Jones and The Squids – “The Hazards of Club Life” from: Rock and Roll Daydreams / Dan Jones / To be released: September 1, 2023 [This track was originally included in the LIVE recording SERVE WITHOUT DELAY, released February 5, 2021 and recorded Friday, February 13, 2020 at recordBAR, with Paul Malinowski: live sound & recording engineer. Mixed and edited by Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound, Shawnee Kansas. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. Dan Jones on guitar & vocals, Matt Ronan on drums & vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass & vocals. All songs by Daniel Sherman Jones (BMI), except “I Wanna Be You” by Ed Cole SERVE WITHOUT DELAY, is the new Dan Jones and The Squids live album of NEW songs, 14 live tracks and 7 home recordings. Their 2019/2020 release, We Live In A World That Is Out Of This World, is included. // In 2020 the band didn’t get to play out much, so they hunkered down and worked up a double album’s worth of new tunes. It was a weekly woodshed-workshop that culminated with a live-streamed live-album show on November 13, 2020 at recordBAR. Paul Malinowski engineered and mixed. //Jones is among the hardworking lifers with taste and talent, keeping the dream alive that music matters. This is the Kansas City singer/songwriter’s seventh LP over two decades, starting in Eugene, OR before returning to his native, non-coastal home. His bio speaks of support gigs with Mike Watt (who plays these Squids on his radio show), Dinosaur Jr., Steve Wynn, John Doe, Tav Falco, Pedaljets, Peter Case, and Minus 5, all hinted at in his fine music. But what he/they most remind of is Watt’s influence The Urinals/100 Flowers, in the way he breaks out homey tunes in the rush of spikier energy—like “My Favorite Lounge,” which spits guitar glory with gusto following tight circular riffs, while hailing soulful, sweaty dives with honest bands. It’s where you’d want to catch Jones and his cephalopods, happily blasting away. . // Dan Jones and The Squids released We Live In A World That Is Out Of This World, on December 6, 2019. It was Recorded at Temple Sounds in KCMO, 2018-2019. Engineered. by JB Moreland. Produced by Dan Jones and The Squids and JB Moreland. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. With Dan Jones on acoustic & electric guitars, keyboard, lead vocals + drums/bass on “Love/Life”; Matt Ronan on drums, percussion, vocals; Alex Alexander on electric guitar, vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass, vocals; Joey Slab on poem and spiel on “Beach, Please”; Scot Sperry on electric slide guitar on “Love/Life”; Donna Jones on lyrics to “The Violet Man.” More info at: http://www.danjones1.bandcamp.com)]
Major Matt Mason USA – “Victims of The Storms” from: “Victims of The Storms” – Single / Olive Juice Music / February 23, 2023 [Matt Roth on guitar & vocals, Brian Hurtgen on drums, and Dane Bridges on bass. Recorded and mixed by Paul Malinowski at Massive Audio (Shawnee, KS) Produced by Matt Roth and Paul Malinowski copyright 2023. (Claws Beat Skin BMI). // Major Matt Mason USA previously released, “Stupid Feelings: on May 6, 2022. Major Matt Mason released “Endless Summer” on November 18, 2020. Major Matt Mason USA is the performing name for musician, poet, and producer Matt Roth. Originally from Shawnee, Kansas, Matt cut his teeth playing guitar for local Lawrence, KS freak out and math rock bands Magic Nose and Dracomagnet in the early 1990s. // In 1994 Matt moved to New York City where he became active in the anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York’s East Village. Centering around the infamous Monday night, open mic, Antihoots at the Sidewalk Cafe, the scene was an early stomping ground for an array of artists including Beck, Regina Spektor, The Moldy Peaches, Langhorne Slim, John S. Hall (King Missile), Jeffrey Lewis, Shilpa Ray, Kimya Dawson, Diane Cluck, and many more. // In 1998 MMM released his debut solo album Me Me Me in the US. The album was licensed for the UK and Europe on Teenage Fanclub drummer Francis MacDonald’s label, Shoeshine Records. He would continue to release two more albums with Shoeshine: 2002’s Honey Are you Ready for the Ballet and 2004’s Bad People Rule The World. In 2005 Matt released a one-off project under the moniker of Kansas State Flower and in 2007 he returned as Major Matt Mason USA with the album Senile Pie Strive Pip Melancholy. // In 2001 he formed the band Schwervon! with Nan Turner. Schwervon! would go on to release five albums and a handful of singles, including a 7” on, Pavement member, Bob Nastanovich’s label Broker’s Tip Records. // During his time in NYC, he established Olive Juice Music, a recording studio, independent record label, and online record distro headquartered in his apartment in the Lower East Side. Olive Juice Music would go on to host the OJ All Day Music Fest, for three years, as well as the OJ Distro, a hub for over three hundred independent releases in the early days of online mailorder. OJ Studios has produced recordings for many notable artists including: Kimya Dawson, Daniel Johnston, Jeffrey Louis, Adam Green (Moldy Peaches), Toby Goodshank, The Lovely Eggs, L.D. Beghtol (Magnetic Fields), Dan Fishback, Paleface, Phoebe Kreutz, Elastic No No Band and more. // In 2012 Matt moved back to Shawnee, Kansas and re-inserted himself into the KC Music/ Poetry Scene. In 2015 he started a poetry blog entitled Beef Jerky Clouds and in 2017 formed a side project, Broken Heart Syndrome, featuring Pat Tomek of The Rainmakers on drums. // Major Matt Mason USA continues to perform as a solo act and as a band. Through his combined projects he has shared the stage, opening, for luminaries such as Belle and Sebastian, Guided By Voices, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), The Vaselines, The Wedding Present, Daniel Johnston, Lucy Dacus and many more. // As of the fall of 2019 Major Matt Mason USA has been performing with Brian Hurtgen on drums and more recently Dane Bridges on Bass. More info at: http://www.majormattmasonusa.com]
[Major Matt Mason USA plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, TONIGHT, July 19, 7:00 Pm with Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, and Turner Cody.]
Andrew Foshee – “Through an Alien’s Eye” from: A PARROT SO TRUE – [EP] / Talent Agency / January 13, 2023 [Recorded February 2020 with Jon Estes in Nashville, TN. Additional recording by Andrew Foshee in Kansas City, MO. With Andrew Foshee on guitar, vocals & production; Jon Estes on bass, guitar, keys, synth & production; Liz Estes on strings; Jon Radford on drums & percussion. Mixed by Jon Estes. Mastered by John McLaggan. All songs written by Andrew Foshee, with string arrangements by Jon Estes. Photo by Chadwick Christopher and Design by Jeremy Fetzer. // Andrew Foshee released the single “Here In My Home” on December 12, 2022. Andrew Foshee released the songle “Through an Alien’s Eye” on November 18, 2022. Andrew Foshee released his critically acclaimed 11 track album STRANGE RELATIONS on November 15, 2017. It was in out top Ten of WMM’s 117 Best Recordings of 2017. That recording contained Andrew Foshee on acoustic guitar, vocals, sampling, keys; Jon Estes on classical guitar, electric guitar, standup bass, piano, keys, percussion, string arrangements; Jeremy Fetzer on electric guitar, acoustic guitar; Jack Lawrence on bass guitar; Dave Racine on drums, percussion; Alexis Saski on backing vocals; Jem Cohen on backing vocals; Molly Parden on backing vocals; Liz Estes on viola, violin; Amy Helman on viola, violin; Eduardo DuQuesne on words of encouragement. Produced, engineered and mixed by Andrija Tokic at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, TN. Mastered by John Baldwin At John Baldwin Mastering in Nashville, TN. Additional production and sequencing done by Andrew At Ye Ol’ Basement Studio in Kansas City, MO. Cover art by Mariano Peccinetti. Andrew Foshee is a songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. His knack for cinematic home recordings has lead to several song placements in tv and new media. Earlier this year he teamed up with producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Benjamin Booker) and a high clergy of guest musicians at Tokic’s Nashville studio, The Bomb Shelter, to fully realize his latest project. More info at: http://www.andrewfoshee.com] [Andrew Foshee joined us on WMM on November 1, 2017. More info at: http://www.andrewfoshee.com]
Blanky – “The Real Thing” from: Blood Harmony / Manor Records / December 15, 2022 [Anthony Cunard of Blanky joined us on the show on Nov. 4, 2020, to talk about Blanky his band that moved from North Carolina, to KCK, and then to Lawrence, KS. // Blanky’s new record ‘Blood Harmony’ was recorded on a half inch reel-to-reel tape machine in various locations around Lawrence, Kansas during multiple sessions from December of 2021 to April of 2022. The intent was to embrace a lo-fi recording production and to emulate some of the style and intimacy captured on select enduring analog classics such as Charlie Megira’s ‘The Abtomatic Meisterzinger Mambo Chic’, The Breeders’ ‘Pod’, and Roland S. Howard’s ‘Teenage Snuff Film’. The process of recording live to tape allows for the inimitable chemistry of players, the uncontrollable variables of a busy household, and the sound of rooms, squeaking chairs and peripheral noise to be captured in a way that the contemporary digital norm just doesn’t. We’ve always loved those small details encapsulated forever in our favorite albums and we think some of that charm has been captured on ‘Blood Harmony’. The record is a snapshot in time of a band that regularly shifts its form and embraces the coming and going of members and collaborators. On ‘Blood Harmony’ the core of the band consists of songwriter and guitarist Anthony Cunard, drummer Max Smith, bass player Maxfiled Yoder and multi-instrumentalist Edward Madill. They’re joined by a handful of friends and contributors including Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek, Sam Evian, Dig Nitty) on pedal steel, Santo Rizzolo (Jackson Pines) on auxiliary drums and percussion and Luke Annis on various brass instruments. The record was mixed by Julian Fader in NYC and mastered by Amar Lal. // Max Smith on Drums & Vocals, Maxfield Yoder on Bass, Edward Madill: on Guitar & Synth, Santo Rizzolo on Drums, Adam Brisbin on Pedal Steel, Luke Annis on Trombone & Trumpet. // Mixed by: Julian Fader // Audio Mastering: Amar Lal // Cover Painting: Ian Felice // Album Design: Claire Monroe // Blanky embodies the languor left of a perfect day gone past. The always evolving musical project has thus far successfully mirrored the tumultuous transition of an agnostic adolescence to a freeing acceptance of life’s unapologetic inhumanity. The result is a dark happiness; simultaneously baffling and enticing. Incubated in a Black Mountain basement and left in the fields ’til full maturity. Blanky has settled in Lawrence, KS by way of Asheville, North Carolina. Southern origins and midwestern sentimentality are bound together in the timeless mindscape provoked by the broad assortment of compositions and styles performed and produced by the band. The ongoing experimentations of Blanky are a testament to their commitment to combining the culture of sharing and adaptation of 60’s folk and the do-it-yourself ethos of contemporary underground music. Blanky’s poignantly devitalized interpretations of rock’n’roll sound both new and familiar. The sense of desolation induced by their work is all so appropriate for an era marked by post-fact disenfranchisement. Blanky released NO SUMMERTIME on Manor records on October 9, 2020. Recorded in 2019 at El Rancho Morbido in Black Mountain, NC, and Lakehouse Sudios in Asbury Park, NJ. Engineered by Nick Semanchik & Anthony Cunard. Mixed by Anthony Cunard and Kevin Drew. Anthony Cunard on guitar & vocals, Santo Rizzolo on drums, Joseph Makoviecki on bass, Edward Madill on pedal steel.]
10:28 – Underwriting
Monta – “Transcendent” from: “Transcendent” – Single / The Record Machine / July 14, 2023 [Swirly post-punk combo Monta escape space and time with their latest single, “Transcendent.” Inspired by a Celtic mystical idea of heaven existing three feet from the earth, the song puts forth the notion of searching for a way to cross over into that realm. Dedric Moore and Mikal Shapiro’s beguiling vocals implore the listener to find that space within, as the Monta crew accent the message with a delirious mélange of synthesizer syncopation, disembodied disco drums, and crackling guitar riffs. Blast off and find yourself inside the thin spaces. // On March 24, 2023 Monta released the 4-track EP CRYSTAL MOMENTUM.On April 28, 2023 Monta released the single, “Apples of the Sun.” // About Monta: It’s a strange time to be making music at all. In the midst of this bizarre attention economy, it’s hard to retrain our minds to sit still for an entire song. We are in constant states of flux. Kansas City’s resident post-punkers Monta find themselves in that same state of change now. The band is finding freedom in the moment, wherever it takes them. // Monta means “to climb higher.” Through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing, this band continues that climb. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. Krysztof Nemeth and Lucas Behrens play guitars. Dedric Moore experiments with synthesizers and electronics. On drums, Matthew Heinrich is the heartbeat of the band; keeping everyone in time and allowing for spontaneous musical moments. After exploring the far reaches of sound through psych-rock freakouts, the band is now turning their attention towards melody. Joined by songwriter and vocalist Mikal Shapiro, Monta is now able to take their noisy, pulsing soundscapes and pair those with pop hooks. With friends and other collaborators making appearances, Monta expand and contract to fit the need of the song. // This shift towards melody is audible in their newer material. “Everybody’s Baby” is a dark-wave rager, perfect for the back room of a dimly-lit club. “Looking Back” is an uplifting synth pop groove mixed with contemplative thoughts about the past. // Peak of Eternal Light, released in 2021, alternates between dreamy post-punk and dark synth pop with no missteps in between. Dedric remarks that the band is in the process of “simplifying the song down to what it needs.”The band has honed-in on this approach, and are making some of their most interesting material to date.Their songs beg us to dance away the darker moments of our lives. By dredging up these murky memories and setting them against a backdrop of groovy, angular post-punk, Monta helps us to make sense of this cold, bleak world. In a cultural ocean with ever-changing waves, it’s nice to know that some things are still built to last. Monta is here to stay, even though they won’t ever remain the same. // On March 24, 2023 Monta released their 4-track EP, Crystal Momentum. The EP hones the Kansas City band’s mastery of electrified dreamworld post-punk, presenting four spacious songs to accompany out-of-body explorations. Monta’s core players — Mikal Shapiro on vocals, Krysztof Nemeth and Lucas Behrens on guitars, Dedric Moore on electronics, Matthew Heinrich on drums, and Teri Quinn with additional vocals — accompany their visions with a groovy flow that rings with subtle tensions, introspective instrumentation, and chorus-fed uplifts. // Found within are “Everybody’s Baby,” an otherworldly adoration of unnamed strangers set to transfixing melodies and a snake-like groove; the buoyant “Looking Back,” which shines a danceable, sonic brightness through a haze of ecstatic reminiscence; the inspired “Perimeter Dancer,” an ode to those who fight for the cause, accompanied by a punky disco beat and a chorus that launches the song upward to a mirror-ball-lit sky. And then there’s “Luna Lost In Your Gaze,” a righteous desert sleepwalk of a tune that recalls the spaghetti western tones of Monta’s past while remaining on the current trajectory. // With the Crystal Momentum EP, Monta grabs the moment, further defining the distinctive mix of synth-pop and dark psychedelia that’s become the band’s trademark. Take a leap and fall into their world. // Monta means “to climb higher.” Through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing, this band continues that climb. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. Info at: kosmiccity.com / therecordmachine.co]
Julia Haile – “Up Late” from: “Up Late” – Single / Julia Haile / June 16, 2023 [One of 4 new singles released by Julia Haile in the last 9 months. Julia released “Ave 4” on June 16, 2023. Julia released “Heavy Rotation” & “Set Out” on Sept. 30, 2022. Julia Haile is a singer & songwriter based in KCMO. Her natural talent & musical education fueled a career of exciting performances and beautiful music. From leading Neo-Soul band Hi-Lux and international collaborations to solo works, Julia’s goal is create meaningful musical experiences for all. Julia’s work with Hi-Lux included Tim Braun on guitar, Nick Howell on keys, Dan Loftus on bass, (and prior to that Pete Leibert on bass) and Kian Bryne on drums. Hi-Lux was a Modern-Soul band that blends and bends the boundaries between soul, rock n roll, reggae, and funk. This group created music that pays tribute to their myriad of influences (Amy Winehouse, The Meters, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings). Hi-Lux released the singles, “Revolution” and “Get What You Give” on February 28, 2020, through The Record Machine. Hi-Lux released the single. “Don’t Blame Lee” (featuring Lee Scratch Perry) on April 20, 2018. Hi-Lux released the 7” vinyl single, “”Dance With My Baby” b/w “Don’t Blame Me” on January 5, 2018 through Sunflower Soul Records. Hi-Lux released their 6-track, self-titled EP, Hi-Lux on January 2, 2018. All 6 songs had previously been released as singles. More info at: http://www.juliaHaile.com]
Eddie Moore – “Tsunami” from: Tsunami – Single / Eddie Moore Music / April 20, 2023 [Recorded & produced at Moore’s Tribe Studios, this song features Jaylen Ward on drums. Mixed & mastered by veteran KC savant Crayge Lindesay. // “Tsunami” is a kick back song. Grab a drink, maybe roll up something, and take a mental health day. Because right now, life for everyone is kind of stressful. Moore provides the vibes with smooth piano melodies, swirling synth textures, and when the bass hits it washes over you like a tidal wave. // When you speak to Eddie Moore you find an ocean of calm, and when you listen to Eddie Moore you find the depth of that ocean. Moore reaches from the soul with every note, in a deep way, with a tension just below the surface. His yearning for exploration and curiosity in music contribute to an ebb and flow freedom of expression. // Eddie Moore released hia critically acclaimed album INTUITION on October 28, 2022. Written & Produced by Eddie Moore. Recorded at Tribe Studios. Featuring Tim Ogutu on guitar. Mix & Mastered by Rick Carson at Make Believe Studios. Album Art by Brandon Wilson. // Eddie Moore released the single, “Love Song” (with Joel Castillo and Bree Cummings) on October 22, 2021. // Eddie Moore released “We Chillin’” on April 9, 2021. // Eddie Moore’s band We The People released their album MISUNDERSTOOD on September 25, 2020. // Eddie Moore is the recipient of the 2016 Charlotte Street Generative Performance Award for his genre bending collaborations. Raised in Houston Texas, he began his musical journey at Texas Southern University where he later earned a Bachelors in Arts and immersed himself in the Houston music scene. Eddie relocated to Kansas City to study under Bobby Watson at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he received a M.A in Jazz Studies. 2017’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art “Artist in Residence” in collaboration with Rashid Johnson. In 2018 his work with The Outer Circle was nominated for an Indie Music Award for “007”. His music has been featured commercially for Sprint, Netflix’s “Queer Eye”, and Morgan Cooper’s short film “Room Tone”. Moore’ has shared the stage and recordings with Bobby Watson, Logan Richardson, Maurice Brown, Boys II Men, Brian Blade and the Fellowship, John Baptiste, Erykah Badu, Mosdef, Bilal, Ledisi, Chantae Cann, Krystal Warren, Matt Otto, Brandon Draper, Andre Hayward, Tivon Pennicott, Various Blonde, Dominique Sanders, 77 Jefferson, and the Marcus Lewis Big Band. We The People released the single, “Single Double” on June 10, 2021. Written & Produced By Eddie Moore with Moore on keyboards, key bass, & programming; Zach Morrow on drums; and Jason Emmond on bass. Recorded at Tribe Studios. Mixed by Rick Carson at Make Believe Studios. Eddie Moore joined WMM on Sept. 23, 2020 and Nov. 23, 2022. More info at http://www.eddiemooremusic.com]
Heidi Lynne Gluck – “All I See Is Magic” from: Migrate Or Die / Heidi Lynne Gluck / July 7, 2023 [Cowritten with Kenny Childers. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023 Lawrence, Kansas based Heidi Lynne Gluck is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist originally from the middle of Canada. After transplant-ing herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi quickly became an in-demand player, performing on stage and in the studio both as a solo artist and with renowned musicians including Juliana Hatfield & Some Girls, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, The Pieces, The Only Children, and others. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and Aug. 24, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on Aug. 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the 8th edition of the Too Much Rock, limited edition, 7” vinyl Single Series on Aug. 3, 2018, featuring her original song, “Party Line.” and the B-side, “Good Guys and Bad Guys” a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song. Heidi Lynne Gluck also plays with the band the Roseline and was a featured vocalist on “Beauty in the Distance” with Asterales. Heidi recently released two new singles with Tom Brosseau, “Sunflower” on Dec. 15, 2022, and “Under African Skies” on Feb. 17, 2023.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum.]
Andrew Connor – “Real Boy Now” from: In Colorado / Pretend Outlaw Music / April 21, 2021 [Darien Williams on drums, Justin Fernando on bass guitar, Joseph Murphy on synth, Ryan Connor on guitar & lap steel, Andrew Connor on guitar, keys, & bass guitar. // Engineered by Doug Malone at Jamdek, Chicago // additional tracking by Andrew Connor. // Mixed by Mike Nolte and Andrew Connor in Portland, OR // Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering // Songs by Andrew Connor, Pretend Outlaw Music ASCAP. Except “Misery” by Ryan Connor and Andrew Connor. // VINYL PRE ORDERS AVAILABLE SUMMER 2023 // “Daytime” (Official Video): youtu.be/PNQNowsCpPQ // “Moment Passed” (Official Visualizer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR28LYcRFlo // Andrew Connor is a veteran of the Lawrence KC Music Community. Ghosty has released some of our most favorite music of the past 19 years of this radio show.
Ghosty Discography
Ghosty released the 3-song EP, PRODIGAL SUN on February 28, 2020 with Bill Belzer on drums, percussion / Ross Brown on guitar, keys / Andrew Connor on guitar, keyboards, vocals / Mike Nolte on bass
Ghosty released the self titled album GHOSTY on April 17, 2014. It was there 3rd full length release with Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte and Bill Belzer who recorded their new album themselves over the last couple of years with help from David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Connor, Kirsten Paludan, and Dan Talmadge. The new release was pressed on vinyl and available on LP and digital download.]
Ghosty released the single “Love U 2” on July 15, 2013, recorded June 2013 at Westend, Kansas City, KS. A documentary about the recording of this song by surrounding media vimeo.com/70317712 // with: Mike Nolte on bass, engineering, mastering // Andrew Connor on guitar, keys, vocals / Bill Belzer – drums, & percussion
Ghosty released the 5-track EP, TEAM UP AGAIN on April 13, 2010 with Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte, David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Suzannah Johannes, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Johnson // Team Up Again,” “Ocean of Heat (Setting FIres),” and “Quell The Hunger” by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2010. “Virginia Song” by Rev. Howard Finster, arranged by Ghosty. “On A Saturday” by Jake Blanton, arranged by Ghosty. // “Team Up Again,” “Setting Fires,” “Virginia Song,” and “On A Saturday” recorded and mixed at Run Riot / More Famouser Studios, Shawnee, KS, September 2009 through March 2010. Engineered and mixed by Mike Nolte and Ghosty. // “Quell The Hunger” recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009 additional tracking and mixing and Run Riot / More Famouser studios, Shawnee, KS, and February 2010. Engineered and mixed by Mike Nolte and Ghosty.
Ghosty released the 3-track EP, FOOLISH PRIDE on November 17, 2009 with All songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2009 // “Foolish Pride” and “Rose-Colored Glasses” basic tracks recorded at Jack’s House, Merriam, Kansas, Fall 2007. Engineered by Mike Nolte and Ghosty. Additional tracking and mixing at More Famouser Studios, Kansas City, MO, and Run Riot Studios, Shawnee, KS, Fall 2009. // “Hey Bill” basic tracks recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009. Engineered by Mike Nolte and David Wetzel. Additional tracking and mixing at More Famouser Studios, Kansas City, MO by Mike Nolte and Ghosty, Spring 2009.
Ghosty released the 3-track EP, A MYSTIC’S ROBE on September 15, 2009 with Andrew Connor, David Wetzel, Mike Nolte, Jake Blanton, Josh Adams, Carmen Winters // All Songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty, Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP, 2009 // “My Girl Is Strong” and “Sunday Morning” basic tracks recorded at Mixtape Soundlab, Lawrence, KS, January 2009. Engineered by Mike Nolte and David Wetzel. Additional tracking & mixing at More Famouser Studios, KCMO by Mike Nolte & Ghosty Spring 2009. // “Secret Language” basic tracks recorded at Jack’s House, Merriam, KS, Fall 2007 Engineered by Mike Nolte & Ghosty. Additional tracking & mixing at More Famouser Studios, by Mike Nolte & Ghosty Spring 2009.
Ghosty released the 11-song album ANSWERS on January 15, 2008 with tracks recorded by Paul Malinowski at Westend and Run Riot Studios, Kansas City, KS, 2006-07. racks 4, 6, 7, and 9 were recorded and mixed by Trent Bell at Bell Labs, Norman, OK, 2006. // Track 8 was recorded by Tim Brandsted at UMKC and Paul Malinowski at Westend. Mixed by Paul Malinowski at Westend, 2007. // Tracks 2 and 10 were recorded by Chris Behmer at the Ferrell home, Overland Park, KS, 2005, and with Trent Bell at Bell Labs. Mixed by Trent Bell at Bell Labs, 2006. // Mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Masterin // All songs by Andrew Connor, arranged by Ghosty // Pretend Outlaw Music, ASCAP. // Released on Oxblood Records.
Ghosty released the 5-track EP, ME, ME, ME on January 15, 2006 w/ Andrew Connor on guitar & vocals / Jeff Ferrell on guitar & vocals // David Wetzel on keyboards &* vocals // Mike Nolte – bass & vocals // Josh Adams on drums & vocals // Recorded & mixed Fall 2005 by Jeff Ferrell and Ghosty at New York St. house, Lawrence, KS. Artwork by Paul Browning. Songs by Andrew Connor, Pretend Outlaw Music
Ghosty released the 19-track album GROW UP OR SLEEP IN (Deluxe Edition) on August 30, 2005 with Josh Adams, Andrew Connor, Jeff Ferrell, Mike Nolte, David Wetzel// and Alums: Jacob Baum, Richard Gintowt, Mark Hurst, Andrew Sallee, James Duft // Big Surrender, Henry Greene, and Hey! Somebody were recorded by Mike Mogis at Presto! in Lincoln, NE in the summer of 2002 // Jacqueline, Rooms in the Dark, (In a Big World)Little Dreams Count, High on Life, Clouds Solve It, Go to Add/Drop City, and World Travelers were recorded by Trent Bell and Andy Nunez at Bell Labs in Norman, OK in the fall 2003 // Mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Studio B // Design by Patrick Giroux at Blue Collar Press // All songs by Andrew Connor, Copyright 2005 // Pretend Outlaw Music(ASCAP) // Wayne Coyne appears courtesy of Warner Brothers Records // BONUS TRACKS: Primadonna, John Hunter, and Sad Sack recorded Summer 2006? at the Ferrell Home in Overland Park, KS by Chris Behmer and Ghosty // Dust Box Nites and Rok Town Air recorded and mixed with Tom Wagner at Underground Sound in Lawrence Kansas, Winter 2005? James Duft plays bass // Going Home Recorded in the Spring of 2002 at 1225 and 1137 Tennessee in Lawrence, KS by Ghosty, Mixed with Jeff Ferrell.
Ghosty released the 6-track EP THE FIVE SHORT MINUTES on February 2, 2002 with Andrew Connor: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards / Jacob Baum: Bass, Organ, Percussion, Guitar / Richard Gintowt: Drums, Percussion / Jeff Jackson: Pedal Steel Guitar on Track 5 // Recorded Fall 2001 at the haunted house by Jacob Baum / Produced by Ghosty / Mastered by Boyd Bristow
Calvin Arsenia – “Rose Petals” from: Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023 [Calvin Arsenia one of our most frequent guests, who first appeared on WMM on July 25, 2012. Today marks his 21st appearance! KC Magazine has hailed Calvin as ‘equal parts opera, symphony, musical theatre, rock show, all built around its creator: a charismatic 6-foot-7-inch harpist with a 3 and ½ octave range, natural stage command and knack for gilding gold and painting lilies.’ Born in Orlando, Florida, Calvin’s creative journey began when he moved to Olathe, Kansas, teaching himself the guitar, piano, banjo. He learned his signature instrument, the harp, at the age of 20. His passion for stretching the boundaries of musical expression saw him transform a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Festival early in his career into a life-changing music mission, with an Edinburgh church offering him a role as musical liaison between the church and the city that would change his life. Two years and 300 shows later, Calvin returned to KC reborn as a humanistic songwriter / performer where at 24 he released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. On February 14, 2017 Calvin released his critically acclaimed full length debut, Catastrophe, with a live show at recordBar in November 2016 that involved a company of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers. After signing to Center Cut Records, Calvin released the albums: Cantaloupe in 2018, with a sold out gigantic spectical at The Gem Theatre on Saturday, September 15, 2018. He then released, L.A. Sessions in 2019, and the EP HONEY DEW, and the EP Goddess with Quixotic, the Holiday album, ALL IS CALM. In 2020 Calvin collaborated with Mike Dillon on the Soundtrack to “Summer in Hindsight,” a feature-length film created by The West 18th Street Fashion Show that starred Calvin as an actor. Calvin is also the co-creator of the podcast “We Were Christian Kids” created with childhood friend Justin Randall who is a stand up comedian working in New York City and now Los Angeles. Calvin is also the published author of VERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE, a collection of Poetry & Prose published on October 5, 2021, by Andrews McMeel Universal. Calvin was voted KC’s Best Musician in The Pitch 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. He has been featured in Billboard, NPR.org. Charlotte Street Foundation announced that the recipients of the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards are The Black Creatures and Calvin Arsenia Scott.] [Calvin Arsenia played a PARADISE Album Release Party, Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at 7:00 PM at The Emerald, 1715 West 9th Street, KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS. More info at http://www.calvinarsenia.com]
Calvin Arsenia Discography
Calvin Arsenia – Moments [EP] / Independent / April 9, 2014 Calvin Arsenia was 24 when he released this EP after returning home to Kansas City after living and performing in Edinburgh, Scotland. Calvin works as a songwriter, composer, lyricist, producer, and engineer. Calvin Arsenia played live on Wednesday MidDay Medley on October 22. 2014.
Calvin Arsenia – Prose [EP] / Independent / February 3, 2015 Recorded over the course of three live sessions at Edinburgh’s Napier University. Produced by Graham Coe. Engineered by David O’Leary. Music and Lyrics: Calvin Arsenia, with Fiona Reid & Liselot Van Oosterom on Vocals, Graham Coe on Cello, Mark Smith on Percussion, Lyle Watt on Guitar Calvin Arsenia on Vocals & Guitar & Piano. Calvin Arsenia joined us on WMM on March 18, August 5, and October 28. Calvin Arsenia – Caviar [EP] / Calvin Arsenia / December 5, 2017 Produced for attendees at Calvin’s “Secret Show,” Tuesday, December 5, at Wickstock West, 1324 West 12th Street, in The West Bottoms, and for supporters of his Outlyre Tour. Words and Music by Calvin Arsenia. Produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley and Calvin Arsenia. Recorded at The Infoaming Vertex.
Calvin Arsenia – Catastrophe {EP] / Calvin Arsenia / February 17, 2016 Limited edition EP, produced for Folk Alliance International, contains demo recordings of original gems that are the blueprints for Calvin’s soon to be released full length debut, coming in 2017. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. He has played all over town, including showcases at Folk Alliance International, Kansas City Fringe Fest, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, and collaborations with bands like My Brothers and Sisters. Standing at 6 foot 5 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, bango, guitar and harp. Calvin Arsenia is getting ready to release a new album in the fall. Calvin teaches music to elementary students. Calvin is also a graduate of Artist INC professional development program for artists in the Kansas City metro area and across the Mid-America Arts Alliance five state region. Calvin Arsenia joined us live on WMM on February 24, July 13, and November 2.
Calvin Arsenia – Catastrophe [Album] / Calvin Arsenia / February 14, 2017 Calvin Arsenia premiered these songs in a live show at recordBar in November 2016 in a stage show that involved a cpmpany of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers, special lighting, back up singers, guest artists. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. Standing at 6 foot 6 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, banjo, guitar and harp Calvin teaches music to elementary students. Calvin is also a graduate of Artist INC. Since 2014 we have been celebrating the music of Calvin Arsenia. He has played Folk Alliance International, Kansas City Fringe Fest, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, The Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts, The Middle of the Map Fest., The Folly Theatre. Calvin recently returned home from a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerlnd, Lyon and Paris. in over 40 shows, with musician and friend Simon Huntley who plays with Quixotic. Calvin is working to release new music from Calvin’s June 11th, Live Recording at Kansas City’s newly restored Greenwood Social Hall, at 1750 Bellevue Ave. in KC. ] [Calvin Arsenia played Big Bang Buffet’s “Black Sheep Rising,” Tuesday, April 11, at 8:00 at The Buffalo Room. A benefit for 90.1 FM KKFI featuring Ron Megee, Lisa Cordes, Jon “Piggy” Cupit, The Sleazebeats, Kristie Stremel, Jen Harris, Maria Vasquez Boyd, Jen Appell, Bill Belzer, Charlie Colborne, Mark Manning, Susan Cedarquis-Brewington, BJ McBride, Michael McQuary, Janet Henry, Ryan Wilks, and Nico Gray.] [Calvin Arsenia was on WMM on Feb. 15, April 12, Sept. 20, and Oct. 25 , 2017.
Calvin Arsenia – Live at Greenwood Social Hall / Unreleased / June 11, 2017 Solo live performance at Greenwood Social Hall, 1760 Bellevue, KCMO.
Calvin Arsenia – Caviar [EP] / Calvin Arsenia / December 5, 2017 Produced for attendees at Calvin’s “Secret Show,” Tuesday, December 5, at Wickstock West, 1324 West 12th Street, in The West Bottoms, and for supporters of his Outlyre Tour. Words and Music by Calvin Arsenia. Produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley and Calvin Arsenia. Recorded at The Infoaming Vertex. Since Calvin Arsenia came home to KC after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has released his EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. n the late Summer and Fall Calvin went on a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerlnd, Lyon and Paris. in over 40 shows, with musician and friend Simon Huntley who plays with Quixotic. Since 2014 we have been celebrating the music of Calvin Arsenia. He has played Folk Alliance International, Kansas City Fringe Fest, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, The Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts, The Middle of the Map Fest., The Folly Theatre. Standing at 6 foot 6 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, banjo, guitar and harp. Calvin teaches music. Calvin is a graduate of Artist INC.
Calvin Arsenia – Cantaloupe / Center Cut Records / September 15, 2018. Calvin’s 2018 national debut, Cantaloupe (Center Cut Records), has been acclaimed for melding diverse textures into an alluring signature sound for the adventurous artist.
Calvin Arsenia – L.A. Sessions / Center Cut Records / September 20, 2019 Calvin performed live at L.A.’s The Mint, showcasing songs on LA Sessions with musicians who collaborated on the album. Says Calvin: “It’s such a special experience to play with them. To be able to perform these songs in front of an audience and do this for a living – to have made a career out of something I love is so amazing – it is an honor that I never take for granted.”
Calvin Arsenia – Honeydew / Center Cut Records / June 28, 2019 [On September 15, 2018 Calvin released Cantaloupe on Center Cut Records. This new EP is a remix of three of the songs from Cantaloupe, plus a Talking Heads cover that was performed live in this style at a New Year’s Eve show at The Truman opening for Making Movies who performed the entire Talking Heads album, Remain in Light. The last three songs on Honeydew were from performed in this style at The Nelson Atkins 2019 event “Party Arty.” Honeydew was produced by Jametatone, Simon Huntley, Calvin Arsenia.
Quixotic & Calvin Arsenia – “Goddess – EP / Quixotic / May 17, 2019 [An innovative performance art collective that fuses imagination with technology, dance, projection, mapping & live music to create fully-immersive, multi-sensory experiences. Quixotic harnesses light, rhythm and expressive emotion. Quixotic was given Silicon Valley’s unofficial stamp of genius when they were invited to perform at the global TED Conference in 2012. A unique blend of performance art, technology & emotion. Quixotic fuses all these elements in to what the New York Times branded an “innovative circus performance”.]
Calvin Arsenia – all is calm / Calvin Arsenia. / December 13, 2019 [Arsenia’s dreamlike whimsy shimmering through your favorite Christmas Classics. All proceeds for this album go towards the purchase of Calvin’s first harp. Featuring: Ben Muñoz on Cello, Shane Borth on Violin & Voila, & Luke “Skippy” Harbur on Beatbox. Mastered by Jametatone at the Infoaming Vertex and special thanks to Simon Huntley. Calvin wrote: “I recorded the majority of this album in my bedroom in between flights to and from KC and SF. I had my nephews and friend’s kids in mind and wanted an album of Christmas lullabys. I think it became just a little more sassy than anticipated, but I think you’ll enjoy it regardless.
Calvin Arsenia – Summer in Hindsight / Calvin Arsenia & Mike Dillon / Oct. 16, 2020 Soundtrack by Calvin Arsenia and Mike Dillon for The West 18th Street Fashion Show’s 20th year as a feature-length film. COVID-19 changed everything in 2020. “We are moving it from the street to the screen,” says Peregrine Honig to inkansascitymagazine. “Mike Dillon and Calvin Arsenia will be scoring and performing in the film.” The film premiered October 16, 2020 at The Boulevard Drive-In. Honig wrote,. “We did this during a pandemic and a cultural revolution. I am not sure where else or how else this could happen at this moment in history.” Calvin Arsenia had recently been emotionally and greatly moved by the area and national Black Lives Matter Movement. His own research into his own family revealed that Calvin’s great, great, great grandmother Alice Gilliam Scott, was a former slave who lived to observe her 100th birthday as noted by a regional newspaper Calvin had written. In the summer of 2020 Calvin wrote “Revelation” an unreleased track inspired by Black Lives Matter. Calvin premiered the song on WMM on August 12, 2020. He later shared his other new songs, “Scars and Stripes” and “The Flying Monkees are Coming!” on our October 14, 2020 edition of WMM. Both of those songs ended up on Summer in Hindsight.Calvin Arsenia – Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023 [Calvin Arsenia plays a PARADISE Album Release Party, Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at 7:00 PM at The Emerald, 1715 West 9th Street, KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS. More info at http://www.calvinarsenia.com]
Calvin’s Book EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE / Andrews McMeel Universal / Oct. 5, 2021 // a collection of Poetry & Prose More info at http://www.calvinarsenia.com
Iris DeMent – “Workin’ On A World” from: Workin’ On A World / FlariElla / February 24, 2023 [Iris DeMent’s 7th full length album, WORKING ON A WORLD was stalled partway through by the pandemic, the record took six years to make with the help of three friends and co-producers: Richard Bennett, Pieta Brown, and Jim Rooney. It was Pieta Brown who gave the record its final push. “Pieta asked me what had come of the recordings I’d done with Jim and Richard in 2019 and 2020. I told her I’d pretty much given up on trying to make a record. She asked would I mind if she had a listen. So, I had everything we’d done sent over to her, and not long after that I got a text, bouncing with exclamation marks: ‘You have a record and it’s called Workin’ On A World!’” With Bennett back in the studio with them, Brown and DeMent recorded several more songs and put the final touches on the record in Nashville in April of 2022. // DeMent sets the stage for the album with the title track in which she moves from a sense of despair towards a place of promise. “Now I’m workin’ on a world I may never see ‘ Joinin’ forces with the warriors of love / Who came before and will follow you and me.” “Goin’ Down To Sing in Texas” is an ode not only to gun control, but also to the brave folks who speak out against tyranny and endure the consequences in an unjust world. // On October 6, 2020 iris DeMent released her single “Going Down To Sing In Texas.” Stereogum on October 13, 2020 wrote: Other than a handful of guest appearances, Americana legend Iris DeMent hasn’t released new music since her 2015 album The Trackless Woods, a collection of Anna Akhmatova poems set to original music. But DeMent is back today in a big way with “Going Down To Sing In Texas,” a lengthy rambler that’s a lot more serious than its casual, jazzy piano groove lets on. Over the course of nine minutes, DeMent addresses police brutality, George W. Bush (“What’s the deal with all these war criminals who get to walk around free?”), Islamophobia, progressive protesters (“I’m so proud of all of these young people for taking it to the streets”), gun control, Jeff Bezos (“Ain’t we all just a little bit tired of greedy people getting a free pass?”), the Chicks, the Squad, and Jesus Christ (“He spoke truth to power, he stood up for the poor/ The church today wouldn’t even let him through the door”) among other things.It’s a hell of a song, clear and direct yet artful in its conversational ease. Never forget that DeMent can go toe to toe with songwriting legends like her old duet partner John Prine. In his review for WHYY’s Fresh Air, Entertainment Weekly Music Editor – Ken Tucker wrote: “Iris DeMent possesses one of the great voices in contemporary popular music: powerfully, ringingly clear, capable of both heartbreaking fragility and blow-your-ears-back power. Had she been making country albums in the ’70s and ’80s and had more commercial ambition, she’d probably now be considered right up there with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Instead, she’s lived a contemporary life, a somewhat private life. As she recently told an interviewer, “There’s a lot that goes into life besides songwriting.” And she’s taken her time in composing songs that fit into no genre easily.”] [Iris DeMent played Knuckleheads 2715 Rochester Street, KCMO on Thursday, March 23, 2023 in a SOLD OUT SHOW with guest Ana Egge opening the show.]
11:00 – Station ID
Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream – “Cuts Like A Knife” from: Shangri La / myowndamnrecords / July 8, 2023 [Debut album from Nathan Corsi’s new rock band featuring Kansas City veterans Chris Meck, Tom Hudson, and Benjamin Hart. Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream released their second single, “Hits You Twice” on September 28, 2022. Nathan Corsi has one of the best voices in Kansas City music. With Steve Tulipana he fronts The Band That Fell To Earth paying tribute to David Bowie in this annual project created by Michelle Bacon. Nathan toured for nearly a decade with his band Not A Planet who released critically acclaimed EP, NAP on December 1, 2011; the album, THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE STRANGE on May 10, 2013; SMOKE BOMBS & CIGARETTES: THE HISTORY OF NOW (EP) on September 9, 2016.] [Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream play recordBar, at 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, on Saturday, July 8, at 7:00 PM for their Record Release Party, w/ The Philistines and Friendly Thieves.]
Anna St. Louis – “Phone” from: In The Air / Woodsist – Mare Record / June 9, 2023 [Follow up to her October 12, 2018, debut album IF ONLY THERE WAS A RIVER. Born of a thousand nights lost in a surrender to stillness and contemplation, In The Air is Anna St. Louis’ second full length album and her most considered work yet. // St. Louis’ debut If Only There Was a River seemed to emerge fully formed out of the recesses of her mind; a gritty, mesmerizing affair, filled with jagged edges and ghostly apparitions. The type of record that announces a new voice; one haunted by what has come before. // But this time, St. Louis is no longer concerned with what could have been and sets her sights to exploring what could be. // It’s an outlook on the world that was formed when her immediate one was small. The intervening years since her last album found St. Louis in a small one-bedroom cabin in the middle of the woods of upstate New York with a new love and time to think of what she wanted to express with her music. For weeks on end, the only trips she took were to and from her job as the front desk clerk at a nearby hotel. The previous years she had spent on tour and performing constantly in the venues of Los Angeles felt like they had occurred in another lifetime. // “It really compelled me to surrender to the unknown,” she says. // And in this surrender, she found liberation. St. Louis is more self-assured, open-hearted and ready to say what she wants. // St. Louis describes the writing period as one of a slow harvest; a fertile time but one that required a newfound patience. Instead of documenting her first thoughts, she spent more time with each song, going deeper with the themes and ideas she wanted to express. // This slower approach also guided the sonic textures of the album. Working with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains, Woods) in two extended recording sessions in Los Angeles in 2021, St. Louis used the studio in a previously unexplored way, opening up her songs to more experiment-ation featuring brighter tones and a more orchestral sound to accompany her new perspective. To that end, she was aided by a cast of friends and collaborators including Jess Williamson, Kacey Johansing, Oliver Hill (Kevin Morby, Vagabon) on strings, Alex Fischel (Spoon) on piano, Josh Adams on drums (Bedouine, Tim Heidecker) and Keven Lareau (Cut Worms, Hand Habits). // In the Air has the sound of a joyous consideration of the present moment; a quiet morning revealing a new snowfall outside, steam coming from the kettle, just before it whistles, St. Louis with her guitar, staring out the window, with a few free hours before work. She’s reflecting on the scene in front of her, imagining the times yet to come. You can hear it; she’s a long way from the noisy bars of Los Angeles, the rigors of the road. As she intones in “Rest”: “You spend your whole life believing in the chase. And then you realize that being somewhere doesn’t matter like it used to.” She doesn’t need a river to carry her anymore. // She’s in the air. – Justin Sullivan ]
Faith Maddox – “frances” from: “frances” – Single / French Exit Records / March 11 2023 [Performed and mixed by Faith Maddox. Mastered by Deegan Poores. Faith Maddox released the single “Bloody Maple” on February 18, 2022 on French Exit Records. Faith Maddox released the 9-song album SUBTLE HAUNTINGS on February 25, 2022, Faith Maddox on vocals/guitar/bass and Jared Crowley on drums. The album was recorded by Faith Maddox, it was mixed & mastered by Joel Martin. Faith Maddox is a 21-year-old artist currently living in Lawrence, Kansas. A self-taught guitarist and writer, Maddox’s work explores themes of gender, mortality, and nature, often weaving literary references between fingerpicked melodies. Her music is not easily boxed in, taking influence from math rock, jazz, folk, and slowcore. She is an avid fan of Fleabag, Joan Didion, and anything green. Faith Maddox released the 9-song album SUBTLE HAUNTINGS on February 25, 2022, Faith Maddox on vocals/guitar/bass and Jared Crowley on drums. The album was recorded by Faith Maddox, it was mixed & mastered by Joel Martin. Info: http://www.faithmaddox.bandcamp.com]
Kat King – “Baby Talk” from: “Baby Talk” – Single / Manor Records / June 16, 2023 [On Jan. 13, 2023 Kat King released “Gone South” Produced by Joel Martin. Led by Kat, on vocals, with Derek Melies on guitar, John Kaul McCain on bass, Daniel Cole on drums, & Kara LePage on keyse. Centering on themes of self-care, steadfast friendship, and revitalizing optimism. On September 20, 2022 Kat King released the single “With Nothing In My Way.” This followed their single “New Sun” released July 29, 2022. “New Sun” was a follow up to the June 9, 2021, SAY WHAT YOU MEAN 5-track EP, recorded with her band. Co-produced & mixed / mastered by Joel Martin. Lawrence KS based singer songwriter Kat King released her last single “Song of Spain” in 2019 and her single “2017” in, 2018. She released her 5-song EP “Falling Up” on Dec. 1, 2017. Kat King has been creating music since the 2nd grade. She’s produced a 13-song album and 3 EP’s, the 1st one released at 14.] [Kat King played Boulevardia, on Friday, June 16, at 5:05 PM on the Visit Missouri Grand Stage]
[Kat King opens for WILDERMISS on August 9, at 8:00 PM at Encore at Uptown Theatre.]
Paris Williams – “LONDON, TOKYO (feat. Sam Wells)” (radio edit) from: REBEL HEART / Bitter Sweet Sound / January 31, 2023 [Paris Williams is a 24-year old artist from Muskegon, Michigan in the midst of redefining the bedroom pop label. Employing his own sound that he’s dubbed, “bittersweet,” Williams never shuts away from his DIY aesthetic – producing his own work to maintain full creative flexibility. Premiering in December of 2019 with his debut album, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, Paris is a believer in hitting the ground running and then just never letting off the gas. This mentality was shaped by the inspiration he’s pulled from other famously out-of-the-box artists: such as Kanye West, Pharrell, and Toro y Moi. // Fueled by the multi-faceted artists, Williams believes heavily in pulling from all creative mediums as a way to add layers and texture to his music. This approach has led to Williams seeing support from larger than life musical pillars, like Iggy Pop himself – who showed love to Williams’ song of the same name by spinning it on his BBC radio show in 2018. Williams reshapes the musical landscape around him as his burgeoning career continues to solidify its own form more and more each day by bringing in a breath of fresh air with him everywhere since he wrote his first bars in elementary school. Paris Williams previously released the single, “Hopscotch” on June 21, 2022. He released,“Chunky”on April 20, 2022. He released the single, “Sunsets & Solariums (feat. Bloom Allen)” on October 21, 2021 through Bittersweet Sounds. More info at: allmylinks.com/popstarparis]
[Paris Williams will join us LIVE on WMM on August 2, 2023]
Mike Dillon & Punkadelic – “Pandas” rom: Inflorescence / Royal Potato Family / January 27, 2023 [Punkadelick: Mike Dillon – Vibraphone, Marimba, Prophet 6, Congas, Bongo; Brain Haas – Fender Rhodes, Piano, Bass Moog, Melodica; Nikki Glaspie – Drums, Cymbals, Vocals. Mixed and Recorded by Chad Meise. Mastered by Collin Jordan / Boiler Room Mastering. Cover Art: Peregrine Honig. // From Bandcamp notes: Mike Dillon & Punkadelick makes its recorded debut with Inflorescence, an album of heady, instrumental rock highlighting a band deep in the throes of creative freedom, road tested and wild. Consisting of 10 tracks in 42-minutes, it’s an expansive, focused and fearless collection, representing a world where Duke Ellington and Augustus Pablo rub shoulders with crate-digger exotica, the freak-funk of Parliament and the ‘anything fits’ outsider ethos of acid-fried punks like The Meat Puppets. // A trio featuring Mike Dillon (Ricki Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco, Les Claypool) on vibraphone, marimba, Prophet 6, congas, and bongos, Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) on Fender Rhodes, piano, bass Moog and melodica and Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce) on drums, cymbals and vocals, Punkadelick is the unified vision of six hands creating a world that often sounds like the work of an ensemble three times the size. // During 2020 and 2021, while many music venues were still shuttered, the group began touring, sweating their way through cuts Dillon and Haas had composed during quarantine writing sessions. Locking in on stage, it quickly became clear the band was functioning at a level that made the hair on their arms stand at attention—even for three live music veterans accustomed to life on the road. // “It became obvious to let this become a collaboration,” Dillon says. “This is really something all three of us are doing because we have so much love for one another and a love for the music that we started creating.” // “There’s only three of us, but we move together like a big, nasty school of fish,” Haas adds, laughing. // During the tail end of a 2021 tour, the band booked time to record with engineer—and functioning fourth band member—Chad Meise, and Inflorescence sprouted. Opener “Desert Monsoon,” sets the stage with a spiritual-jazz intro of organ, vibraphone, percussion and wordless vocal coos before crackling to life as a swaggering funk strut. The title track, and “Pandas,” dig into thick dub textures built around Glaspie’s drumming and Haas’s subwoofer-straining bass synths. // “Apocalypse Daydream,” which appeared as an exotic head-nodder on 2020’s Shoot the Moon (titled “Apocalyptic Daydreams”) is reborn as a meatier jazz-rock slab where Dillon and Haas circle each other like Television performing as a lounge act on a cruise ship sailing seas of psilocybin. // Bending ears and surprising audiences has long been part of Dillon’s MO and Glaspie and Haas act as perfect foils for forays into the weird. While Dillon bristles at the “punk jazz” tag, punk rock and jazz remain core influences to the band, in sound and spirit. // “We’re students of the titans of music. We grew up listening to punk and rock ’n’ roll but we also love instrumental music—particularly the forefathers of Black American Music. In our minds, Led Zeppelin and Milt Jackson, Parliament-Funkadelic and The Minutemen, The Bad Brains and Frank Zappa are interconnected influences,” explains Dillon. “All that comes together in how we approach instrumental creative music. Both punk rock and jazz are not prefab things, they’re about the freedom. We have no genre restriction in this band, and people who get it really respect that.” // Maybe the greatest example of the band’s punk-steeped sonic free-for-all is “Slowly But Surely,” a track Dillon told Haas to compose as if he were “writing for Queens of the Stone Age.” The song plays like QOTSA translated to piano runs, vibes and deeply swinging drums—big-riff stoner rock upended and played with huge smiles by America’s premier proponents of the unclassifiable. // “We try to challenge our listeners. We’re touching a nerve with people who maybe don’t want to see the same songs done in the same variations all night long,” continues Dillon. “Part of my mission is taking these instruments that are primarily designed for the orchestral or jazz world and taking them to the rock world, the club world, running them through pedals and effects. We’re not afraid to be soft, or to surprise. That’s what we all do in this band — get beyond our own conceptions of what music is supposed to be.” // “We are so blessed and lucky to do what we do for a living — it’s apparent in the music,” Glaspie chimes in. “It doesn’t matter how the day is going, but we get to the club, set up and crush the gig, all the other stuff doesn’t matter. We’re likeminded individuals who love life, love people and want to spread happiness.”
Ivory Blue – “Control” from: “Control” – Single / IVORY BLUE / May 26, 2023 [Follow up to the single “All Outta Love” from February 24, 2023. IVORY BLUE released their full length debut album COMPOUND LOVE on February 25, 2022. COMPOUND LOVE was in the Top Ten of WMM’s 120 Best recordings of 2022. For COMPOUND LOVE, IVORY BLUE served as songwriter, producer, vocalist and played all instruments with the exception of: Lester Estelle on drums, Klaartje Van Lue on piano, Craig Kew on bass, Lennon Bone on drums, and Marco Pascolini on pedal steel guitar. Nick Poortman served in mixing, with Kurt Festge who also served in mixing & Mastering. IVORY BLUE’s debut EP, Ready Get Set was released in June 2015. While the EP helped spread the word and give IVORY BLUE attention from regional radio and TV stations, a big break would come in 2017. In 2017 Ivory was among 1800 artists/bands that competed in neXt2Rock. Ivory won local & regional challenges and advanced to nationals in Los Angeles to win the top prize. // IVORY BLUE has played Crossroads Music Festival, The Middle of the Map Festival, The Westport Roots Festival, the KCPT Screening of “Real Boy” at The Kansas City Public Library, and Kauffman Stadium. // Ivory Blue was born in 1986 in Peoria Illinois, as Devin James Miclettet. Ivory’s birth mother put them up for adoption at the age of four. Ivory speaks about how it was difficult to find trust in people offering their home to someone denied it for so long, Ivory lived with eight different families, before running away at 15. // Ivory has talked with us about how in their life they have turned to music to express pain. Ivory spent most of their childhood looking for a family. In 2010 Klaartje Van Lue saw Ivory performing in a YouTube video and contacted them, flying Ivory to Kansas City, and adopting Ivory into the Van Lue family. During the past 10 years Ivory came out as “Non-Binary Transgender”. // As a multi-instrumentalist, Ivory began refining their performance style, using digital looping pedals to stack harmonies and guitar parts live on stage, giving their solo shows the feel of a full band. In 2011, Ivory settled in Kansas City, MO and quickly began attracting an intense regional following for their strong vocals and incisive, deeply personal lyrics. // By 2013, IVORY BLUE was playing regularly in and around Kansas City and the first EP ‘Ready Get Set’ was released. in 2015. IVORY BLUE released the video of “Family Table” directed by Mikal Shapiro, on August 21, 2021 and the audio track was released on September 7, 2021. IVORY BLUE released the single “Good Changes” on Oct 26, 2021. Ivory Blue released the singles: “Heavy,” “Bad Weather,” “It Must Have Been Me,” “Compound Love,” and “The Start” on December 14, 2021. IVORY BLUE released their debut album COMPOUND LOVE on February 25, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Red Light” on July 29, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “Starlit Love Child” on October 28, 2022. IVORY BLUE released the single “All Outta Love” on February 24, 2023. More info at: https://linktr.ee/ivorybluemusic%5D
[IVORY BLUE plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, Fri, July 21, 8:PM w/Aiming Arrows & ASPN]
11:29 – Underwriting
Red Kate -“Shut It Down” from: ”Shut It Down” – Single / Black Site / April 27. 2023 [The Kansas City based, class-conscious punk rock and rollers, Red Kate, are proud to announce their first new music in five years. “Shut It Down”, the debut single from the band’s upcoming third album, EXIT STRATEGY, is a blistering, no-holds-barred call to action for the oppressed, marginalized and working class. Written by the band’s former guitar player, Desmond Poirier, after attending a Stand Up KC march, “Shut It Down” reminds us that when push comes to shove, the one power the powerless still have when they come together in solidarity is to SHUT! IT! DOWN! The song begins streaming on all platforms Thursday, April 27, 2023. // In late 2021, singer/bassist, L. Ron Drunkard, drummer Andrew Whelan, rhythm guitarist Shawn Hamontree, and newly added lead guitarist Chris Kinsley returned to the band’s mainstay studio, Duane Trower’s Weights and Measures Soundlab, to finish what, at this point, had become a multi-year project. The group laid down four new tracks written during lockdown and then began the long process of turning twelve songs recorded over several sessions in two different studio locations with four different guitarists into the best sounding, and best collection of, songs the band has ever recorded. // Exit Strategy is set for release in the Fall of 2023 on Kansas City record label cooperative Black Site. // BLACK SITE is a record label cooperative created by Kansas City musicians interested in supporting regional punk and rock bands release their recordings on a physical medium. With the world around us becoming a deluge of digital l’s and 0’s, transient as a trust fund crust punk on a cross country excursion, tangible art is critical to maintaining connections to our past, our sense of place, and who we are as a people. Only WE can create the world we want to live in. Reciprocity and solidarity are the cornerstones of building long lasting, self-sustaining community power that pushes back against the commodification of culture. Music is not a business; Punk is not a brand, and DIY is not a lifestyle to be consumed. This is a way of life, and if we don’t hang together, we’ll surely hang alone. Info at: http://www.black-site.org
Eggs On Mars – “No Problem” from: Warm Breakfast / Eggs On Mars / March 21, 2023 [Eggs on Mars, a four-piece soft psych pop band from KCMO. Brad Smith on guitar/lead vocals/keys; Mason Potter on drums/percussion/backing vocals; Doug Bybee on bass/keys/backing vocals; and Joel Stratton on keys/backing vocals; with Austin Smith on additional guitars; Sam Smith on backing vocals; and Rodd Fenton on backing vocals/hand claps. Recorded/Engineered/Mixed by Rodd Fenton. Mastered by Josh Johnson. Recorded 2023 at Solstice Audio. Cover painting by Shannon Brouk. Photography and album layout by Doug Bybee. More info at: http://www.eggsonmars.bandcamp.com] [Eggs On Mars played Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Friday, May 19, at 10;00 PM at Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS with Parry, Saving Miles Lemon, and Scabb.]
Eggs On Mars Discography
Welcome to our Family – August 25, 2014 10-track album Recorded Summer 2014 at Potter Underground Studios Guitars/Lead Vocals-Brad Smith Bass/Other Vocals-Justin Longmeyer Drums-Mason Potter
Spacey Stacy – September 4, 2015 8-track album Recording/Mixing/Mastering/Pancakes-Doug Bybee Recorded August 2015 at Sound + Vision Studios of the Lawrence Public Library Cover photo taken by Mason Potter Guitars/Vocals – Brad Smith Bass – Justin Longmeyer Drums – Mason Potter
On Hold, Hold On – October 7, 2016 5-track EP Album art by Anna Smith Recorded/Mixed/Mastered by Justin Longmeyer Guitars/Vocals/Keys – Brad Smith Bass – Justin Longmeyer Drums – Mason Potter
In A Desert Place – March 15, 2018 10-track album Recorded/Mixed/Mastered by Justin Longmeyer Recorded at 2319 Guitars/Vocals – Brad Smith Bass/Vocals/Guitar solo – Justin Longmeyer Drums – Mason Potter
Mama Pancake – November 9, 2018 10-track album Recorded/mixed/mastered by Rodd Fenton Recorded May through September of 2018 at 2319 Artwork by Julie Smith Brad Smith – guitars/vocals/keys Justin Longmeyer – bass Mason Potter – drums/percussion
It Will Be Like It Was – October 4, 2019 10-track album Recorded/Mixed/Mastered by Rodd Fenton Recorded summer of 2019 at Bread Basket Music Studios Guitars/Vocals/Keys – Brad Smith Bass – Justin Longmeyer Drums – Mason Potter
Brighter Now – June 25, 2021 7-track EP Recorded / mixed / mastered by Rodd Fenton Recorded in the fall of 2020 at Solstice Audio Cover painting by Jesse Bartmess Brad Smith – Vocals, guitar Mason Potter – Drums, backing vocals, self-sacrificial tambourine Bennie Neselroad – Keys, backing vocals, Doug Bybee – Bass, backing vocals
Warm Breakfast – March 21, 2023 10-track album Recorded/Engineered/Mixed by Rodd Fenton Mastered by Josh Johnson. Recorded 2023 at Solstice Audio. Cover painting by Shannon Brouk Brad Smith – guitar/lead vocals/keys Mason Potter – drums/percussion/backing vocals Doug Bybee – bass/keys/backing vocals; Joel Stratton – keys/backing vocals; with Austin Smith – additional guitars Sam Smith – backing vocals Rodd Fenton – backing vocals/hand claps.
The Salvation Choir – “This Is A Photograph” from: “This is a Photograph (The Salvation Choir Version)” / Dead Oceans / September 20, 2020 [The Salvation Choir is a Congolese rumba band based in Kansas City, Missouri. / Led by choir masters Jeune Wilondja and his father, Pastor John Wilondja, the choir writes, records, and performs original gospel songs in Swahili. / The Salvation Choir has traveled to perform in cities all around the Midwest, including a performance at the 2021 Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City. / Their music was also featured in a national advertising campaign on BBC’s Channel 4 and by the international record company Dust-to-Digital. Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first radio show to ever play their music in North and South America. / Kevin Morby and The Salvation Choir are proud to present “This Is A Photograph (The Salvation Choir Version),” a new reimagining of the title track from Morby’s acclaimed 2022 album. The Salvation Choir is a Congolese rumba choir from Congo and Tanzania based in Kevin’s hometown of Kansas City. “This Is A Photograph (The Salvation Choir Version)” is a stirring iteration of Morby’s original, and is presented alongside a new website on which others can access stems, instrumentals, tutorials and templates so they can make their own family history epics. Kevin Morby elaborates: “At some point last year, a few of you reached out with the request of getting the music to my song ‘This Is A Photograph’ so you could make your own version and tell your own family’s history. I found this incredibly interesting and had never gotten such requests about any of my other songs before. I have decided to heed the call of those few who reached out and I have made a website./ In celebration of this website, and to lead with an example, I reached out to one of my favorite bands, Kansas City’s own The Salvation Choir, to see if they would want to make their own version of ‘This Is A Photograph’ and was over the moon when they agreed. They created their own version in which they reinterpreted the music in their Congolese Rumba style and reworked the lyrics to their own story and sang in both English and Swahili to provide the listener with a window into their past.” // Pelo King Wilondja, The Salvation Choir’s 15-year-old drummer, states: “We met Kevin at one of our practices. I didn’t know who he was at first but then our friend played us his music and I started really liking his songs. Now he’s in my top ten. He invited us to his concert and I was actually sweating because it was so good. Kevin asked us if we wanted to remake his song to be about our family’s history and play it in our style. It was my first time recording drums in a real studio. We loved his idea because photographs are really important to our family and we’re always playing music together. There are over 20 members in the choir and everyone has their own story. The song starts out in Africa and it ends in Kansas City where we all live now. It’s about our family’s history and how we got here.”] [The Salvation Choir played Boulevardia, on Saturday, June 17, 2023]
The Swallowtails – “Who’s Gonna Be There” from: THE WORLD STILL SPINS / Miki P / May 22, 2023 [The Swallowtails new 7-track EP with Rachel Lovelace on bassoon, Adee Dancy on cello & vocals, and Miki P on guitar & lead vocals. Each member is an integral part of the Kansas City music scene, writing, arranging, performing, and collaborating original music for their own groups and several other projects in the metro. “Introspective pop music with lyric-driven folk influences, mixed with collaborative energy & an odd pairing of instruments.” Miki P is a self-taught musician/multi-instrumentalist & songwriter driving the Swallowtails into a creative collaboration like any other. Miki P was born in Kansas City, KS. Miki P started playing guitar in middle school. She taught herself to play the drums, while listening to Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. Miki P performed “She Loves You” at her 7th grade talent show. In 9th grade she joined a teen-band called American Slim as drummer & vocalist, and she wrote songs for their full-length album Irreplaceable released in 2017, followed by a single “Queen of Hearts” released April 11, 2018. played Middle of the Map Fest, Crossroads Music Fest, Kauffman Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, and The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art before officially ending in 2018. As a teen she played drums for various groups including American Slim. At 21, Miki P began work on her debut solo-record, DOME OD SWALLOWS, that was released August 2, 2018. She then formed Miki P and the Swallowtails who released their first EP, Swallowtail in 2019, In 2021 Miki P released the 6-song EP, DON”T LOSE HOPE, created in covid isolation, in Miki P’s home space. Sitting & working from Miki’s computer, she composed and recorded 80% of the EP, working through the music like a journal entry, creating each song from her internal hurricane of emotions. All songs written, recorded, played, & mixed by Miki P. Recorded & Mixed with Emma Klien & Jake Hilger. Mastered by Joel Nanos. Miki P released her single “Your Love” on June 24, 2022. Miki P’s released the single “Peter Parker!” on March 18, 2022. // Miki P & The Swallowtails released the single, “Who’s Gonna Be There” on March 30, 2022. More info at: http://www.mikipmusic.com]
Uncle Hassell – “It’s A Beautiful World, Sometimes” from: Selected Ambient Tag: Requiem for a Town Car / Clarke Wyatt / December 24, 2022 [KC based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, performer, Clarke Wyatt wrote: (in December 2022), “some street racers destroyed Cody Wyoming & Kimmie Queen’s beloved Lincoln Continental right after they had spent a bunch of money to get it back on the road. It will never roll again.” Clarke says “I recently started a game of ambient music tag, so I thought to myself, hey self, what if people contributed tracks & we compiled a record that Cody can sell to raise funds for a car? Well, that’s what we did. A bunch of incredible and fascinating KC musicians have sent me their audio experiments for the cause. It’s that simple: buy the record, support a great couple that had some really bad luck right at the worst time, and enjoy some really great space music. More tracks coming soon…” Contributing artists include: Betse Ellis, Mike Stover, Adam Stafford, Nate Hofer, Clarke Wyatt, Shawn Edward Hansen, Krysztov Nemeth, Jason Beers, Scott Hobart, Tilden Snow, Wade Allen Williamson, Gentleman Echo and Rod Peal. More info at: codywyoming.bandcamp.com]
Krystle Warren & The Faculty – “Macca” from: “Macca”- Single / Parlour Door Music / TBA [Following their double album LOVE SONGS (2012) and their single “Rising” written especially for Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed television mini series WHEN THEY SEE US, “Macca” is the newest release from Krystle Warren & The Faculty, that was recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY.”Macca” arrived unexpectedly. // “A Pal contacted me to help work on the music for an advertisement he was piecing together. My job was to find a melody and put words to it, so I set up my mic and started trying out ideas. And then POW! ‘ ‘Hang then upon the moon…’ – it sounded so distinctly Paul. Immediately I worried that the client would accept my buddy’s sunm,ission; thankfully, they didn’t.” // The “Paul” Krystle is referring to is of course, Paul McCartney, whose famous nickname entitles the song. // “He is such a huge inspiration for me. As a songwriter – my love of melody, the little quirks that come out lyrically – that’s all thanks to him. Nd singing that chorus — it evoked for me those gorgeous ballads he composed in the 80s – ‘Wanderlist,” ‘Tug Od War’…There’s a bit of Wings there as well, I think, with a nod to ‘I’m Carrying.’ // “What’s wild to me is that, though I decided. ‘This is for Paul,’ it became equalk parts: a love letter to him, and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderul thing when you think about it: Paul’s music so often encourages us to keep going, keep trying, and in using hs language (so to speak), unwittingly, he was giving me strength.”] [Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey headlined the KC Folk Fest 2023 on Saturday, May 20, in Washington Square Park, Kansas City, MO with Solomon Dorsey. Info: http://www.krystlewarren.com or http://www.kansascityfolkfestival.org]
Krystle Warren & The Faculty Discography
Krystle Warren & The Faculty has released the EP “Diary” on May 1, 2007;
Krystle Warren released “The Up Series – EP” on November 10, 2008;
Krystle Warren releases the 13-song Album CIRCLES on March 13, 2009;
Krystle Warren & The Faculty released “A Time To Keep – Love Songs EP”, Aug. 12, 2011
Krystle Warren & The Faculty released the double album 24-song “Love Songs” released on vinyl in Europe on April 9, 2012 as “Love Songs: A Time to Embrace,” and “Love Songs: A Time to Refrain from Embracing. ” And re;eased on separate digital and CD albums in the U.S. as: “Love Songs: A Time to Embrace,” on March 13, 2012 and “Love Songs: A Time to Refrain from Embracing” on February 27, 2015.
Krystle Warren released the album THREE THE HARDWAY on August 18, 2017.
Krystle Warren & The Faculty released the single “Rising” – Single on May 31, 2019
Krystle Warren & The Crew released the 4-song EP, THE CREW on September 15, 2020
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on July 26, 2023, to continue with WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR! When we’ll spin music from: Kye Colors, The Blast Monkeys, Jass, Cory Dies in The End, Semper Viridis, Zion Isaiah, Collidescope, Modern Day Fitzgerald, Akkilles, Christena Graves, True Lions, Teri Quinn, Malek Azrael, Fritz Hutchison, Kirstie Lynn and Galen Clark, and Caley Rose. // Plus we talk with Stacy Bush of No Divide KC about the Third Annual Queer Narratives Festival // And we talk with singer songwriter, actor, dancer – Zava
THANK YOU to all of our listeners & friends who generously donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio!!! During our Wednesday MidDay Medley Spring Fund Drive shows on June 7 and June 14, and through social media, we raised $4742.00 from 59 individual Donors! Thank you to our diverse and beautiful listeners who generously donated to allow us to continue our great mission here at 90.1 FM KKFI.
THANK YOU to my incredible Fund co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, and our wonderful KKFI Staff: Director of Development and Communications, J Kelly Dougherty, Vounteer Coordinator Darryl Oliver, and Chief Operator Chad Brothers. And to all of our fantastic phone volunteers.
This radio station is not about the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of wonderful 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 Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR! (Part one of a two-week special)
Mark plays from some of our Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…So Far! We’ll spin tracks from: Dragon Inn 3, Kemet Coleman, Bad Alaskan, Dan Jones and The Squids, Julia Haile, Heidi Lynne Gluck, Major Matt Mason, Andrew Foshee, Monta, Blanky, Eddie Moore, Andrew Connor, Calvin Arsenia, Iris DeMent, Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Day Dream, Anna St. Louis, Paris Williams, Faith Maddox, Kat King, Mike Dillon and Punkadelic, IVORY BLUE, Red Kate, Eggs On Mars, The Salvation Choir, The Swallowtails, Uncle Hassell, and Krystle Warren & The Faculty.
This is Part One of our Two-Week Special. Tune in next week on July 26, 2023, to continue with WMM’s Favorite MidCoastal Releases of 2023…SO FAR! When we’ll spin music from: Kye Colors, The Blast Monkeys, Jass, Cory Dies in The End, Semper Viridis, Zion Isaiah, Collidescope, Modern Day Fitzgerald, Akkilles, Christena Graves, True Lions, Teri Quinn, Malek Azrael, Fritz Hutchison, Kirstie Lynn and Galen Clark, and Caley Rose.
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
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, July 12, 2023
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer + Heidi Lynne Gluck + Nate Holt & Kirsten Paludan + Jade Osborne & Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison of True Lions
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!
Tickets for the 19th Annual Crossroads Music Festival just went on sale at http://www.cmfkc.com!!! This year’s Festival will be back in the West Bottoms with: Mireya Ramos, KC Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jass & The Boys, Black Light Animals, Julia Othmer, Heidi Lynne Gluck, Trevor Turla, Memphissippi, Men of Men, Carswell & Hope, Rural Grit All Stars, Zee Underscore & Noye, David Luther, Impossible Objects, Elizabeth Moen, Jamogi, WAP Gang, Whitney Payne Quartet, Jey Welsch, The Chunk, Rebel Song Academy Band & Art As Mentorship Students. For tickets go to http://www.cmfkc.com
Also! Making Movies are playing Knuckleheads, 2715 Rochester St., KCMO this Saturday, July 15, at 7:30 PM featuring DJ Ness & Stranded in The City.
Bad Alaskan – “Come Back, Come Here” from: Red & Black / Bad Alaskan / June 19, 1979 [Bad Alaskan is Lawrence, Kansas based musician, scientist, researcher, speaker, activist, teacher, Alex Kimball Williams who identifies and celebrates her Native Alaskan / Black / Portuguese origins, with the motto: “Music is medicine.” Alex Kimball Williams also played in the band UltraVivid. Band Alaskan released the single “Red & Black” on December 10, 2021 The album also contains a cover of “Strange Fruit” that Bad Alaskan released as a single on August 17, 2019. Bad Alaskan writes: “This cover of ‘Strange Fruit’ is the perfect blend of old school & new school; direct reference & innovation; the blues & electronic. I’ve always loved the song & wanted to put my own indigenous spin on it. My classical & jazz training leaks through with solos & alterations to the lead melody. The 1939 recording featuring Billie Holiday’s vocals is my favorite cut of this classic. My variation alters the melody to fit a minor blues scale. The key is raised just slightly to stimulate discomfort, the tempo is more upbeat. Originally when she sang the song, it was always the end of her set, staff in the venue was instructed not to make any transactions. She would sing the song with eyes closed. Due to that devotional, prayer-like feel, I begin my sets with this song if I’m going to include it. I read somewhere that this song reminded her of her father. It lines up with my thoughts on my own ancestors, from what would have been his time. Instruments used are Korg Minilogue, Microkorg (vocoding) & Novation circuit. I always record all my parts at once (no over-dubbing), so please enjoy the “fruits” of my labor! Audio engineer: Ross Williams.]
Semper Viridis – “Snakes and Ladders” from: “SNAKES AND LADDERS EP / Mixtape Meditation Records / July 14, 2023 [Born in the spinnel the life changing power of creativity. We are celestial twins who are driven to share our love of music with the world.’ Kirsten Paludan (Olympic Size, KP & the Key Party) and Nate Holt aka Asterales (DJNOTADJ) met in the mid 90’s on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, but didn’t start collaborating until nearly 20 years later. After being reintroduced to each other by playing together in the local scene, they discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and quickly formed a bond. During the second year of the pandemic, KP recorded guest vocals for several Asterales tracks, and their creative connection was cemented. Not long after, they actively began making original music together as Semper Viridis. // Out everywhere on July 14th, Semper Viridis’ first EP Snakes and Ladders is released with the support of Mixtape Meditation Records (Dallas, TX). Mastered by Brutus DeClaibornio (BAC Studios, Lincoln, NE), Snakes and Ladders features six tracks of eclectic electro, including the title song and first single, an uptempo electro pop anthem that clocks in at just over three minutes. Two music videos are being released in conjunction with the EP, (Projecting Shadows and Snakes and Ladders), both created by David Jerret Fulton. // On January 6, 2023 Semper Viridis released the singke, “Dreams in Color” written and recorded by Kirsten Paluden & Asterales (Nate Holt). Mixed by Asterales. Mastered by Brent Clabaugh. Semper Viridis is the Kirsten Paluden and Nate Holt recently collaborated for Nate’s musical project Astereles and the album, FUTURESPECTIVE on Datura Records released on March 25, 2022 that was Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. They performed for the track “Let Go.” KC based leftfield, experimental, electronica music maker, also known as Nate Holt. Asterales eleased the 5-track EP, WORK HOURS on Sept. 6, 2016 in collaboration with Aikido Bray, Leo Minor, Katlyn Conroy, and Tanner Walle, with synthesizers, production, recording, engineering & mastering by Etan Tioh for Datura Records. This was followed by the 3-track EP, FRAGMENTS, released Feb. 3, 2017. Asterales released the single A.M. on Feb. 4, 2017. Asterales released the 10-track album, OUTSIDE THE BOX on Oct. 31, 2017. Asterales released the singles: “Brkfst 4 Btlvrs” on Oct. 31, 2017; and “Soft Spheres” on April 21, 2018. Asterales released the 10-track album ORBITAL DEBRIS: VOL. 1 on Aug. 14, 2020 on Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the single “ASTR_40” on Aug. 26, 2020. Asterales released the 4-song EP EXTRA JUNK on Dec. 4, 2020 through Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the singles: “Solstice Song” on Dec. 21, 2020, and “Desire (Tanner Walle) – Asterales Remix” on Jan. 29, 2021. Asterales released the single “Offline” on Feb. 26, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Beauty In The Distance feat. Heidi Gluck)” on March 31, 2021. Produced & mixed by Asterales, vocals by Heidi Gluck. lyrics by Approach, mastered by Royce Diamond. Asterales released the single, “So Easy (feat. Royce Diamond)” on April 30, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Let Go” on May 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales, lyrics by Royce Diamond, vocals by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Paraglider” on June 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Kinugemi” on July 31, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Variable Stars Pt. 1″ on August 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the remix single, “She Left (Asterales Remix)” on Sept. 2, 2021, produced by Asterales. Remix artwork by Gordon Leadfoot & Asterales. Asterales released the single, “P@!omAr-1” on September 28, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. More info at: http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com Asterales released the remix single, “Cory Phillips & the Band of Light – Give & the Take (Asterales Remix)” on October 1, 2021. “Give & the Take” was written by Cory Phillips coryphillipsmusic.com “Give & the Take – Asterales Remix” Produced by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Calling Me (feat. Ghostmind)” on October 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Vocals and guitar performed and recorded by Ghostmind. Lyrics by Ghostmind. Artwork by Asterales. Asterales released the single “Your World or Mine (Feat. Approach)” on November 30, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Lyrics and vocals by Approach. Asterales released “Right Here, This Moment (feat. Royce Diamond & Maria Cuevas)” on December 31, 2021, produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Lyrics & vocals by Royce Diamond. Background vocals by Maria Cuevas (of Maria The Mexican). One of 14 singles Asterales released in 2021. More information at http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com]
[Semper Viridis plays a Snakes and Ladders EP Release show at The Ship, 1217 Union Ave. KCMO, West Bottoms, Friday., July 14, at 10:00 PM with Monta AND w/ DJ Ray Velasques.]
10:12 – Interview with Nate Holt & Kirsten Paludan
Nate Holt & Kirsten Paludan of Semper Viridis on the Wednesday, July 12, 2023, edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
Nate Holt and Kirsten Paludan join us to share details about their musical project Semper Viridis and their first EP, SNAKES AND LADDERS to be released on July 14, 2023, through Mixtape Meditation Records. Kirsten Paludan has been at the center of the bands: Olympic Size, Kirsten Paludan & the Key Party, and Starhaven Rounders. Nate Holt’s musical projects include: Asterales, DJNOTADJ, Maria The Mexican, and others. Kirsten & Nate met in the mid 1990’s at the University of Kansas, but didn’t start collaborating until 20 years later. In the second year of the pandemic, Kirsten recorded guest vocals for several of Nate’s tracks created for Asterales. The duo discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and began making original music. Semper Viridis will play a Special EP Release Show on Friday, July 14th, at 9:30 PM, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO with Monta, & DJ Ray Velasquez. Info: https://linktr.ee/semperviridisks
Nate Holt and Kirsten Paludan thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Kirsten & Nate met in the mid 1990’s at the University of Kansas, but didn’t start collaborating until 20 years later. In the second year of the pandemic, Kirsten recorded guest vocals for several of Nate’s tracks created for Asterales. The duo discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and began making original music.
Both Kirsten and Nate Holt are big time collaborators with other music makers.
Nate also plays keyboards in the bands: Cory Phillips & the Light, Maria The Mexican, and Hello Biplane. Nate is also a longtime collaborator with Approach, and he works with Datura Records based in Lawrence, Kansas. Nate was also the co-host and co-creator of The Long Play Listening Party, a podcast about music presented with Royce Diamond and Howie Howard. More info at: https://linktr.ee/asteralesmusic
Kirsten Paludan’s has been a part of the Kansas City and Lawrence Music Scene for nearly two decades as a solo artist and with the bands: Olympic Size, The Key Party, The Starhaven Rounders, Asterales, Lesser Pleasures, and now Semper Viridis. She has been nominated for Best female vocalist by The Pitch Music Awards on numerous occasions. The Pitch Weekly said the she is “…one of the purest, most unaffected voices around.” PresentMagazine.com wrote “Paludan’s enigmatic voice wafts like a siren…a compelling vocal style – brooding and darkly elegant, powered by low gear intensity, ethereal yet concrete…”
Kirsten Paludan & Kevin Willmott on the Wednesday, July 12, 2023, edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
As an actress she has appeared on FOX Television’s “Melrose Place.” In the Ang Lee film “Ride With The Devil” with Tobey Maguire, and the Spike Lee produced, Confederate States of America, directed by Kevin Wilmoth.
As a solo artist, she has shared the stage with Juliana Hatfield and Missy Higgins. Her debut CD “Princess in the Tower” was released in 2006, The critically acclaimed Olympic Size recording “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone’ was released in 2008. The Olympic Size song, “Friends” was featured nationally on MTV’s “Real World: Sydney.” The band was also featured in the full length documentary “72 Musicians.”
Kirsten Paludan Solo Discograhy
Kirsten Paludan released her debut solo album “Princess In The Tower” on May 11, 2006 co-produced with longtime family friend, Greg Mackender.
Kirsten released her Solo EP “All In” in late 2010. Kirsten Paludan-Guitar, Piano, Vocals / Wade Williamson-Guitar, Keys / John Bersuch-Drums
Kirsten Paludan & The Key Party released “Up All Night” on December 21, 2013 Recorded at Element Studios, KCMO, February – November 2012. Produced by Kirsten Paludan and David Gaume. Engineered and mixed by David Gaume. Additional tracking on ‘Siberia’ by Joel Nanos. Cover artwork: ‘Moon’ by Jeremy Rockwell. Design: Studio Ike. Photo: Jeffrey McKee.
Kirsten started writing songs at an early age, but most of her early professional work was as an actress. At the age of eight, singer/songwriter Kirsten Paludan began composing her first songs. Over the next 25 years, she continued to dabble in songwriting while focusing on her acting and musical theater skills, writing poetry and singing all different styles of music including jazz, choral music, and opera.
In 1998, after 6 months touring with a children’s theater company, and that same year, acting in Melrose Place (FOX), Ang Lee’s period drama, Ride with the Devil (with Tobey Maguire), and the Spike Lee produced, Confederate States of America, she returned to her hometown of Lawrence to focus on her songwriting and singing career full-time. While there, she taught herself piano on her concert pianist grandmother’s baby grand, and after several years, added the more portable acoustic guitar to her list of instruments.
She moved to KCMO, in 1999, and began singing lead vocals in a popular variety dance band. Two years later she started her own cover band.
Kirsten Paludan’s Musical Projects:
Olympic Size: William Smith, Wade Williamson, Kirsten Paludan, Christopher Tolle, Mike Walker
Lesser Pleasures – released LPEP)! a 4-trrack EP in 2020.
Featured on the Republic Tigers debut full length, Keep Color (released on Chop Shop Records) on the last track of the album, “Cast On, Cast Off”
Guest vocalist on Ghosty recordings.
Guest vocalist with Nathan Granner and Spoonbender’s “Wee Small Hours”,
Performing with the Wires, a cello and violin duo.
Fleetwood Mac tribute band, playing Christine McVie.
Hosting a weekly songwriter’s showcase, “Troubadour’s Music Club”, at the Bulldog.
Asterales Discography
WORK HOURS, 5-track EP, released on Sept. 6, 2016 in collaboration with Aikido Bray, Leo Minor, Katlyn Conroy, and Tanner Walle, with synthesizers, production, recording, engineering & mastering by Etan Tioh for Datura Records.
FRAGMENTS, 3-track EP, released Feb. 3, 2017.
A.M., Single released Feb. 4, 2017.
OUTSIDE THE BOX 10-track album, released on Oct. 31, 2017.
“Brkfst 4 Btlvrs” Single, Oct. 31, 2017;
“Soft Spheres” – Single released April 21, 2018.
ORBITAL DEBRIS: VOL. 1, 10-Track album, released Aug. 14, 2020 Mr. Furious Records.
Asterales released the single “ASTR_40” Single on Aug. 26, 2020.
EXTRA JUNK EP released on Dec. 4, 2020 through Mr. Furious Records.
“Solstice Song” Single released on Dec. 21, 2020,
“Desire (Tanner Walle) – Asterales Remix” released on Jan. 29, 2021.
“Offline” Single released on Feb. 26, 2021.
“Beauty In The Distance feat. Heidi Gluck” Single released Mar. 31, 2021. Produced & mixed by Asterales, vox by Heidi Gluck, lyrics by Approach, mastered by Royce Diamond
“So Easy (feat. Royce Diamond)” released on April 30, 2021.
“Let Go” a Single released on May 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales, lyrics by Royce Diamond, vocals by Asterales.
“Paraglider” released on June 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales.
“Kinugemi” released on July 31, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales.
“Variable Stars Pt. 1” released Aug. 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales.
“She Left (Asterales Remix)” remix Single on Sept. 2, 2021, produced by Asterales. Remix artwork by Gordon Leadfoot & Asterales.
“P@!omAr-1” Single on September 28, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales.
“Give & the Take” (Asterales Remix)” Oct. 1, 2021.”Cory Phillips & the Band of Light
“Calling Me (feat. Ghostmind)” Single released on October 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Vocals and guitar performed and recorded by Ghostmind. Lyrics by Ghostmind. Artwork by Asterales.
“Your World or Mine (Feat. Approach)” Single released on November 30, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Lyrics and vocals by Approach.
“Right Here, This Moment (feat. Royce Diamond & Maria Cuevas)” Single released on December 31, 2021, produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Lyrics & vocals by Royce Diamond. Background vocals by Maria Cuevas (of Maria The Mexican).
FUTURESPECTIVE Album released on Friday, March 25, 2022 with 12 singles together, plus 4 remix tracks through Datura Records LLC.
Nate Holt & Kirsten Paludan were born in the spirit of collaboration from the source of all things. Two souls with a collective vision and mindset, we channel the life changing power of creativity. We are celestial twins who are driven to share our love of music with the world.’ Kirsten Paludan and Nate Holt met in the mid 90’s on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, but didn’t start collaborating until nearly 20 years later. After being reintroduced to each other by playing together in the local scene, they discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and quickly formed a bond. During the second year of the pandemic, KP recorded guest vocals for several Asterales tracks, and their creative connection was cemented. Not long after, they actively began making original music together as Semper Viridis.
Out everywhere on July 14th, Semper Viridis’ first EP Snakes and Ladders is released with the support of Mixtape Meditation Records (Dallas, TX). Mastered by Brutus DeClaibornio (BAC Studios, Lincoln, NE), Snakes and Ladders features six tracks of eclectic electro, including the title song and first single, an uptempo electro pop anthem that clocks in at just over three minutes. Two music videos are being released in conjunction with the EP, (Projecting Shadows and Snakes and Ladders), both created by David Jerret Fulton.
On Friday, July 14th, at 9:30pm Semper Viridis will perform with Monta at Odds and DJ Ray Velasquez to support the release of their EP at The Ship in the West Bottoms, KCMO.
What is the meaning behind ‘Snakes and Ladders’ (the song)?
Kirsten Paludan: I see this song as a rallying cry to all people who are oppressed and othered. The words to me represent a ‘fuck you’ to the patriarchy and to the systems that try to crush joy, individuality and destroy our home, the earth. There are many references to the story of ‘original sin’. The garden, knowledge, the tree, being fallen… etc. Other lyrics represent goddess energy – the adder and the asp, smoke and ash, etc… as the antithesis to that narrative. The song challenges the outdated concepts and antiquatedideas (‘Expectation. Exploitation. Condemnation.’) that are wielded in an attempt to gaslight and control.
What is unique about the production of the song?
Nate Holt: Even though it’s more and more standard practice, Kirsten and I didn’t create any of the songs on the EP together, in fact practicing for our first show was the first time we performed any of the songs together. For ‘Snakes and Ladders’ specifically, when I sent the track to Kirsten it was only drums and the arpeggiated synths, if there was any bass it wasn’t what ended up on the final version. After Kirsten sent it back, the melodies she sang inspired the rest of the arrangement, and speaking only to my experience, it’s rare that even with such a sparse arrangement her vocals were able to influence the harmonic structure of the song.
Kirsten Palundan: This was the last song we recorded for the EP. Upon first listen, the syncopation and subdivision of the drums and synths gave me a very clear sense of the direction the lyrics should take. When I write, I try to approach each idea organically and let the song unfold on its own. Sometimes, it feels like an out of body experience! Tho I wasn’t sold on the spoken word sections initially, the feedback I got from Nate, DJ (David Jerret Fulton/Mixtape Meditation), and our mastering engineer was extremely positive. Snakes and Ladders has become one of my favorites now. Especially in conjunction with the amazing video DJ created from stock footage from the 60’s I found. I think it really captures the vibe and energy of the song and our music.
Nate Holt and Kirsten Paludan thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Semper Viridis will play a Special EP Release Show on Friday, July 14th, at 9:30 PM, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO with Monta, and DJ Ray Velasquez.
10:26
10:26
4.Semper Viridis – “Dreams in Color” from: “SNAKES AND LADDERS EP / Mixtape Meditation Records / July 14, 2023 [Born in the spinnel the life changing power of creativity. We are celestial twins who are driven to share our love of music with the world.’ Kirsten Paludan (Olympic Size, KP & the Key Party) and Nate Holt aka Asterales (DJNOTADJ) met in the mid 90’s on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, but didn’t start collaborating until nearly 20 years later. After being reintroduced to each other by playing together in the local scene, they discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and quickly formed a bond. During the second year of the pandemic, KP recorded guest vocals for several Asterales tracks, and their creative connection was cemented. Not long after, they actively began making original music together as Semper Viridis. // Out everywhere on July 14th, Semper Viridis’ first EP Snakes and Ladders is released with the support of Mixtape Meditation Records (Dallas, TX). Mastered by Brutus DeClaibornio (BAC Studios, Lincoln, NE), Snakes and Ladders features six tracks of eclectic electro, including the title song and first single, an uptempo electro pop anthem that clocks in at just over three minutes. Two music videos are being released in conjunction with the EP, (Projecting Shadows and Snakes and Ladders), both created by David Jerret Fulton.]
[Semper Viridis plays a Snakes and Ladders EP Release show at The Ship, 1217 Union Ave. KCMO, West Bottoms, Friday., July 14, at 10:00 PM with Monta AND w/ DJ Ray Velasques.]
10:29 – Underwriting
The Black Creatures – “A Perch of My Own Choosing” from: By Thy Hand / Center Cut Records / August 12, 2022 [This new album follows their last singles: “Criminal” on June 24, 2022, “Loud For Nothin” on May 27, 2022, and “True Friends” on September 17, 2021. After being signed to Center Cut Records the label remastered and reissued their album Wild Echoes and began releasing singles. “Wild Echoes” was #2 in WMM’s 119 Favorite Releases of 2019 (Albums & EPs). The Black Creatures fuse dark-pop hip-hop, soul, jazz, and electronic music with elements from science fiction to tell inter-dimensional stories of love, community, life, culture, history. Xavier & Jade have made an impression in the KC music community with their live shows in clubs, galleries, record stores, and area music festivals. The Black Creatures released their debut single “Mouth 2 Mouth” June 5, 2016. // Jade Green & Xavier Martin of The Black Creatures began working together in 2013. The Black Creatures blur the boundaries of hip-hop, dance, R&B, soul, and EDM, telling stories of real life, and the struggle for equality. Jade’s incredible vocals reveal their background in opera, and their honest lyrics are both personal and political. Jade can interpret soul, jazz, hiphop, and pop. Xavier Martin started music as a violinist, and has transitioned into a co-songwriter, producer, beat-maker, keyboardist, vocalist, engineer, and style maker. Their breakthrough album, WILD ECHOES, that was re-released and re-mastered by Center Cut in 2020 and named Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine. // From Center Cut Records Promo Materials: The Black Creatures make a point to blur the lines of genre while maintaining a recognizable cohesion; oftentimes blending contemporary styles of pop, hip-hop, dance, R&B, EDM and soul with cinematic and storytelling sci-fi/fantasy elements and themes. With the complex and creative approach The Black Creatures take to their art, a diverse audience regularly flocks to their gripping and intensely enchanting performances. // Representing the strange land of Kansas City, Missouri, Jade Green and Xavier began working together around the end of 2013 after meeting on-line talking about cosmetics. After Jade stumbled upon Xavier’s SoundCloud, they asked if they could put their vocals on it, and this led to future collaborations with no more than the intention to dabble. They couldn’t stop and eventually dubbed the project The Black Creatures. // Both Jade & Xavier write and perform vocals, with Xavier at the helm of production and composition. Jade Green has a vocal background in opera and a penchant for theatrics, and both are the foundation of their ever-evolving approach to writing and performing in The Black Creatures. While the instrumentals may set the tone for the show, Jade’s voice captivates the audience from beginning to end. Originally a violinist, Xavier unfurled into a producer and vocalist, maintaining the same air of intrigue and mystery throughout his compositions and performances in The Black Creatures. // After releasing Wild Echoes in the fall of 2020, the record received Album Of The Year from The Pitch Magazine, along with high praise from around the world for the four released singles and accompanying videos. “Wretched (It Goes)” was featured in the NPR Live Sessions “Songs For Change” when The Black Creatures were selected as one of 12 national artists, and included in 90.9 The Bridge’s Top 100 singles along with their song “D’ummm” which was in heavy rotation in the winter. Nuance Magazine wrote, “The Black Creatures take their musical talents and use them in such a way that forces listeners to not only tap their foot to a catchy tune, but pay attention and feel something about what is going on in the world around them. Tackling fascism, police brutality, and the deep-rooted effects of slavery in a rhythmic fashion is one thing. Simultaneously making it a good listen is another. However, The Black Creatures make it happen.” // Mark’s brief review: “Being named “Album of The Year” from The Pitch Kansas City was the recognition this young band deserved, because there is really no other band in Kansas City creating incredibly beautiful and painful protest songs in multi genre styles of beats, vocal styles, textures. The immediate personal and poetic lyrics of Jade Green and tribal, dance floor and soulful beats and melodies of Xavier bring the listener into a multicultural, mixed, gender fluid, soul celebration of life and an honest indictment of the racist, homophobic, and sexist world they are navigating through to survive. Listen carefully to these young music makers, they are wise beyond their years. They sound beautiful and speak the truth to power. They are beautiful. They are The Black Creatures.” Charlotte Street Foundation announced that the recipients of the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards are The Black Creatures and Calvin Arsenia Scott.]
[This song was used in the soundtrack for: No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas]
10:35 – Interview with Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer
Kevin Willmott (director/co-writer) won an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for Spike Lee‘s 2019 film BlacKkKlansman. He also co-wrote Lee’s films Chi-Raq and most recently, Da 5 Bloods. // A prolific independent filmmaker, Willmott has directed 14 feature films, including two that premiered at The Sundance Film Festival: C.S.A: Confed-erate States Of America, and The Only Good Indian, starring Wes Studi. Willmott’s other films include The 24th starring Trai Byers of Empire; Destination: Planet Negro!; Jay-hawkers, about how the recruiting of Wilt Chamberlain by legendary basketball coach Phog Allen modernized basketball and changed a community; The Battle for Bunker Hill, starring James McDaniel and Saeed Jaffrey; Ninth Street, starring Martin Sheen and Isaac Hayes; and the documentary, William Allen White: What’s The Matter With Kansas. // Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas and attended Marymount College receiving his BA in Drama. He attended graduate studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, receiving several writing awards and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing. Willmott is a Professor in the Film and Media Studies Department at The University of Kansas.
Kevin Willmott, thanks for being with us on WMM
Mark von Schlemmer (Editor/Co-writer) is a television producer, filmmaker & professor at the University of Central Missouri. He was an editor on such feature films as Destination: Planet Negro!, The Only Good Indian, CSA: The Confederate States of America, and AIR: A Musical. His documentary film work includes serving as editor & co-writer on Kansas vs. Darwin, William Allen White: What’s the Matter with Kansas, and Gordon Parks Elementary.
Mark von Schlemmer, thanks for being with us on WMM
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer join us to talk about their new documentary, No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas, a 60-minute documentary film produced by Do Good Productions, that takes the audience on a tour of a deep red state, to meet people who have found themselves in a battle for LGBTQ rights in the most unlikely places. In Trego County, Manhattan, Dodge City, Wichita, Topeka and several rural communities. The film continues the profiles of people C.J. Janovy (Associate Producer) wrote about in her book, No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas. More info at http://www.noplacelikehomedoc.com
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer thanks for being with us on WMM
No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas is a 60-minute documentary film produced by Do Good Productions, directed by Kevin Willmott and released in 2023. The legacy of free state battles in Kansas continues with modern-day friends of Dorothy who find that home is a hostile place. This film explores the challenges for acceptance and compassion that LGBTQ people face through stories of gains and losses, love and hatred, and the willful ignorance that continue to make this effort so arduous yet vital for the very soul of our humanity.
Directed by Oscar winner Kevin Willmott and narrated by Melissa Etheridge, No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas takes you on a tour of a deep red state, to meet people who have found themselves in a battle for LGBTQ rights in the most unlikely places. In Trego County, Manhattan, Dodge City, Wichita, Topeka and several rural communities, you’ll meet some of the people C.J. Janovy profiles in her book No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas as well as emerging activists—ordinary people doing extraordinary things, all because they’re committed to securing justice for everyone in their home state.
AUTHOR CJ JANOVY is a longtime journalist with deep roots in Kansas City. She’s currently director of content at KCUR, the city’s NPR affiliate, where she’s also overseen digital news and reported on arts and culture. She was the founding opinion editor at Kansas Reflector, and for many years served as editor of Kansas City’s alt-weekly The Pitch.
Her book No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas (University Press of Kansas, January 2018) is the epic story of how a few disorganized and politically naive Kansans, realizing they were unfairly under attack, rolled up their sleeves, went looking for fights, and ended up making friends in one of the country’s most hostile states. Or, as she likes to say, a love story. It won the 2019 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ nonfiction and was honored as a Kansas Notable Book for 2019.
AUTHOR’S STATEMENT: C.J. says, “No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas chronicles a decade of struggle and success for equality in Kansas. After it was published in 2018, LGBTQ Kansans celebrated victories: the passage of local ordinances protecting them from discrimination in key population centers, the election of a Native American lesbian to Congress and two openly gay representatives to the Kansas House. But the backlash had already begun, with conservative politicians punishing LGBTQ people for this progress—and transgender people, particularly children, made for easy targets. I wish the book didn’t need a sequel, but there’s no better person to pick up this part of the story than Kevin Willmott.
“What’s happening in Kansas is playing out all over the country. I’m so grateful to the brave Kansans who speak up in No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas—everyday people who show so much more courage than the politicians who are willing to risk young people’s lives in their craven culture wars. The film is a powerful reminder of all the ways in which love wins.”
THE FILMMAKERS
DIRECTOR: KEVIN WILLMOTT – is an Academy Award-winning, two-time Sundance Film Festival director, and co-writer, with Spike Lee, of BlacKkKlansman and Chi-Raq. His last project for Do Good Productions was the award-winning documentary Gordon Parks Elementary.
NARRATOR: MELISSA ETHERIDGE – is a two-time Grammy Award-winning, five-time GLAAD Media Award-winning rock musician whose breakthrough album Yes I Am earned an RIAA certification of 6x platinum. She also won an Academy Award for her song “I Need to Wake Up” from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas.
EDITOR: MARK VON SCHLEMMER – is a television producer, filmmaker and professor. He was an editor on such feature films as Destination: Planet Negro!, The Only Good Indian, CSA: The Confederate States of America and AIR: A Musical. His documentary film work includes serving as editor and co-writer on Kansas vs. Darwin, William Allen White: What’s the Matter with Kansas, and Gordon Parks Elementary.
PRODUCER: SCOTT RICHARDSON – has produced several independent feature films and documentaries. His professional experience includes executive positions at ABC News and A&E Television Networks, and his writing has been published in The New York Times Magazine. Scott was a producer on Gordon Parks Elementary.
PRODUCER: SAM ZEFF – is the Morning Edition news anchor for KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR affiliate. He produces the history podcast Archiver, and has produced documentaries for PBS stations in Pennsylvania and on A&E Network. He was also a producer on Gordon Parks Elementary. Sam has held leadership positions in TV newsrooms in Minneapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: C.J. JANOVY – is a veteran journalist and the author of No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas, winner of the 2019 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize, finalist for a 2019 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ Nonfiction and 2019 Kansas Notable Book.
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer thanks for being with us on WMM
Nate Holt, Mark von Schlemmer, Kirsten Paludan & Kevin Willmott on the Wednesday, July 12, 2023, edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer‘s new documentary, No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas, a 60-minute documentary film produced by Do Good Productions, that takes the audience on a tour of a deep red state, to meet people who have found themselves in a battle for LGBTQ rights in the most unlikely places. In Trego County, Manhattan, Dodge City, Wichita, Topeka and several rural communities. The film continues the profiles of people C.J. Janovy (Associate Producer) wrote about in her book, No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas. More info at http://www.noplacelikehomedoc.com
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Effie – “Ain’t Gotta Lie” from: Curve My Enthusiasm / DISTRKCT / August 13, 2021 [Effie is Effie Altoro. Effie is a songwriter, singer, rapper, producer, one part of Kansas City’s own Jet Pack Productions originally from the Bronx, New York. Effie says that music saved her life and means everything to her. She puts herself in the category of a R&B/Hip Hop Artist. She claims Nina Simone as her biggest influence. Effie writes, “I have been writing for so many years but never shared any of my personal work until last year. So I’m working on pacing myself with releases, instead of just putting so many albums out back to back. My album, Curve My Enthusiasm, is so special to me that I’m going to release a deluxe version in January with 4 additional tracks and videos, including some exciting collaborations. I have also been writing for other artists, so you’ll be able to hear some of those releases soon, as well!” Effie is one third of Jet Pack Productions a Kansas City based music entertainment company created by Musicians Jo Blaq, Effie Altoro, and Tim Ogutu. Effie Joined us live on WMM on October 20, 2021. More info at: https://smarturl.it/37jrdz%5D
[Effie plays Second Presbyterian Live on the Front Porch, 318 E 55th St, KCMO, TONIGHT Wed, July 12 at 7:07 PM. 2nd Presbyterian’s Front Porch Concerts are presented by Center Cut Records.]
11:00 – Station ID
Heidi Lynne Gluck – “All I See Is Magic” from: Migrate Or Die / Heidi Lynne Gluck / July 7, 2023 [Cowritten with Kenny Childers. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023 Lawrence, Kansas based Heidi Lynne Gluck is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist originally from the middle of Canada. After transplanting herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi quickly became an in-demand player, performing on stage and in the studio both as a solo artist and with renowned musicians including Juliana Hatfield & Some Girls, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, The Pieces, The Only Children, and others. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and August 24, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on August 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the 8th edition of the Too Much Rock, limited edition, 7” vinyl Single Series on August 3, 2018, featuring her original song, “Party Line.” and the B-side, “Good Guys and Bad Guys” a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song. Heidi Lynne Gluck also plays with the band the Roseline and was a featured vocalist on “Beauty in the Distance” with Asterales. Heidi recently released two new singles with Tom Brosseau, “Sunflower” on Dec. 15, 2022, and “Under African Skies” on Feb. 17, 2023.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum.]
11:03 – Interview with Heidi Lynne Gluck
Heidi Lynne Gluck is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician. Heidi Lynne Gluck is a originally from the plains of Manitoba. Heidi Lynne Gluck is now based in Lawrence, Kansas. Along with her acclaimed solo work, Heidi has collaborated with the bands: The Roseline, 95 Sweetbird, Frogpond, Approach, Asterales, Tom Brosseau & John C Reilly, Juliana Hatfield. Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, Mo Magic, and more. Heidi released the critically acclaimed EP, The Only Girl In The Room, April 28, 2015s. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her full length album called, Pony Show, through Lotuspool Records, on August 26, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck joins us to share details about her new album MIGRATE OR DIE, that was just released on July 7, 2023.
Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips. Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum. More information at: http://www.heidigluck.com
Heidi Lynne Gluck, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
We just heard, “All I see is Magic” co-written with Kenny Childers who you wrote “Mercury Rising” from PONY SHOW.
Heidi Gluck told Fally Afani of I Heart Local Music: “All of my records have been recorded at home, starting with my first EP in 2015. I do it because I want to explore without time or money limitations. One of my favorite parts of recording is solving the puzzle of a song and its parts by rearranging, and that’s something that a lot of engineers just don’t have patience for.” // “I usually record around 80% at home, but send away for fantastic drumming, or rent a room + eng to use a great piano or a sick vintage vocal chain. For example, on this new record I started a few of the tracks at the original Coop studio with Mitchell Hewlett and Joel Martin. That was a blast, but The Coop closed down before I finished, so I built onto them from home and in other locations.” //“Recording alone at home has also had a lot to do with being a mother and stealing moments to work while the kid is occupied. I don’t think I’ll always be like this, because a) my kid’s almost grown; b) it takes me longer than it should; c) I’m sacrificing sonic quality/gear options; and d) it’s a headache to juggle the creative brain and the engineering brain while I work. It’ll be nice in the future to just be the musician and let someone else press buttons and plug in cables. “
In 2019 Heidi Gluck started recording with Mitchell Hewlett and Joel Martin of The Coop boys but the pandemic shout it all down. As the pandemic lifted The Roseline asked Heidi to join them for their Sweden tour. Heidi has been a constant collaborator with Colin Halliburton and The Roseline band. The tour gave Heidi that extra energy to get back to work on her album.\
Along with The Roaseline Heidi has also jumped in to play in the bands Frogpond, and 95 Sweetbird. Heidi has collaborated with: The Roseline, 95 Sweetbird, Frogpond, Approach, Asterales,
Heidi’s new band incluudes: Braden Young (guitar), Bradley McKellip (lap steel), Jeff Stolz (drums), Michelle Bacon (bass), and Hannah Novaria (vox).”
11:13
Heidi Lynne Gluck – “Severance” from: Migrate Or Die / Heidi Lynne Gluck / July 7, 2023 Heidi Lynne Gluck released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023 Lawrence, Kansas based Heidi Lynne Gluck is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist originally from the middle of Canada. After transplanting herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi quickly became an in-demand player, performing on stage and in the studio both as a solo artist and with renowned musicians including Juliana Hatfield & Some Girls, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, The Pieces, The Only Children, and others. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and August 24, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on August 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the 8th edition of the Too Much Rock, limited edition, 7” vinyl Single Series on August 3, 2018, featuring her original song, “Party Line.” and the B-side, “Good Guys and Bad Guys” a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum.]
11:17 – More Interview with Heidi Lynn Gluck
Heidi Lynne Gluck is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician. She join us to share the details about her fabulous new album, “MIGRATE OR DIE.”
Heidi Lynne Gluck thanks for being with us on WMM
Heidi Lynne Gluck is also a single Mom. Her son Oliver just graduated early form High school at the age of 17. Coming from a musical family it is only natural that Oliver also plays music and he appears on the new album. Heidi told Fally Afani of I Heart Local Music: “Ollie helped me with a synthesizer tone because I had something in my head but am useless at building sounds on synths. So I talked him through it and he turned the knobs. I’d love to do more together if he’s into it.” // “Never planned on it happening, though! I’ve always taken a nonchalant approach to him playing formally and would not presume to plan his life choices. It’s always been important to me that he has access to instruments, to records, and to learning music however he wants to, IF he wants to, but I’ve never forced it. I’m super proud that he played a song with me at a Replay show in 2022 and I’ll take what I can get.”
Heidi Lynne Gluck Discography
THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM / EP / Lotuspool Records / April 28, 2015
PONY SHOW / Album / Lotuspool Records / August 26, 2016
“Party Line” / “Good Guys & Bad Guys” / Too Much Rock (7” Single Series / 8-3-2018 Featuring Heidi’s original song, and a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song. T.M.R. 8th Edition
“Beauty In The Distance” / Single / Asterales (Feat. Heidi Lynne Gluck) / Datura / Mar. 31, 2021
“Sunflower” / Single / Tom Brosseau & Heidi Lynne Gluck / December 15, 2022
“Under African Skies” / Single / Tom Brosseau & Heidi Lynne Gluck / February 17, 2023
“All I See Is Magic” / Single / Heidi Lynne Gluck / May 25, 2023
“I’m Not Free” / Single / Heidi Lynne Gluck / June 2, 2023
“Skyscraper” / Single / Heidi Lynne Gluck / June 7, 2023
MIGRATE OR DIE / Album / Heidi Lynne Gluck / July 7, 2023
Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and August 24, 2016.
Heidi recently participated in a tribute to Judee Sill at Liberty Hall for a screening of LOST ANGEL The Genius of Judee Sill a screening and Tribute Concert on July 2, 2023
Heidi Lynne Gluck thanks for being with us on WMM
Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO, Thurs, July 20, at 7:30 PM w/ Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips.
Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum.
11:25
Heidi Lynne Gluck – “Ocean” from: Migrate Or Die / Lotuspool Records / July 7, 2023 Heidi Lynne Gluck released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023, Lawrence, Kansas based Heidi Lynne Gluck is a songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist originally from the middle of Canada. After transplanting herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi began performing on stage and studio both as a solo artist and with renowned musicians including Juliana Hatfield & Some Girls, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, The Pieces, The Only Children, and others. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and August 24, 2016. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on August 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips.]
[Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum.]
11:29 – Underwriting
True Lions – “That’s My Rabbit” from: THE GREATEST PLANET IN THE WORLD / True Lions / February 21, 2023 [Recorded at BRC Audio Productions on December 14, 2022 in Kansas City, KS, and engineered by Libby O’Donnell and Will Crain. // Thank you Betse Ellis for teaching us these tunes! We love you. // True Lions logo by Nika Winn // Fiddle ~ Alison Hawkins on fiddle, Frits Hutchison on guitar, Carly Atwood on bass. // True Lions and Fritz Hutchison released a TRUE LIONS FRITZ HUTCHISON SPLIT CASSETTE though Manor Records on April 26, 2023. True Lions released their debut full length album, THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK on Manor Records on April 9, 2021 with Alisön Hawkins on keytar & vocals; Adee Rocket Dancy on cello & vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, Elizabeth Kosko on drums & percussion; Iona DeWalt on synthesizers; Miki P on guitar & vocals, and Teri Quinn on bass & vocals. Recorded at Deep Space Co-op. Tracking & engineering by Ross Brown at Escape Pod Audio. Mixing and mastering by Joel Nanos at Element Recording. In 2019 True Lions released their EP debut, CUTE AT BEST on February 5, 2019. They followed up with a second EP called. YOU’RE NOT INVITED, released on November 9, 2019. For these recordings True Lions was: Alison Hawkins on guitar, synth, and vocals; Elizabeth Kosko on percussion, vocals; Mikala Petillo on bass, vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, vocals; Leslie Butsch on saxophone, Ezgi Karakus on cello; and Teri Quinn on vocals. All songs written by True Lions and produced by Claire Adams and Alison Hawkins. Tracking & Engineering by Claire Adams. Mixing and Mastering by Ian Dobyns and Chase Horseman. More info at: http://www.manorrecords.com .]
[True Lions playArt in the Loop on Wed, July 12, at 5:30 PM in Oppenstein Park, 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City with Mimi Nichole, and KC Dance Collective. info at: http://www.artintheloop.com]
11:32 – Interview with Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison
Jade Osborne is a dancer, a writer, a poet, an aerialist, an actress, an artist, an activist, an activator, an alchemist, and an art administrator. She has worked for KC Friends of Alvin Ailey, Aquarius, Youthfriends, The Boys and Girls Club, KCK Public Schools, Storytellers Inc. Charlotte Street, She is a founder of Voler Thieves of Flight, a graduate of Artist Inc., a performer/producer with multiple KC Fringe shows, as well as collaborative work with Quixotic Fusion, Dance in The Park, JAZZOO, ArtsKC, Latenight Callers, Monta, Lawrence Busker Festival, ACLU, KC Renassance Festival, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Big Bang Buffet just to name a few. Jade currently works who works for Mid America Arts Alliance and is a Director for Art In The Loop.
Alison Hawkins is a queer artist, writer, multi-instrumentalist, and music teacher in KCK. They dropped out of music school (after studying classical piano) and dedicated their life to intersectional activism through community organizing and self-expression. In 2018 they founded the alt-pop band True Lions, releasing two EPs in 2019, and a keytar-inspired full-length album THE FEMPIRE STRIKRS BACK in 2021, released by Manor Records. In 2022 they became enchanted by the fiddle and obsessed with Ozark old time music while hiking through North American national parks. In 2023, Al teamed up with their partner Fritz Hutchison to create THE GREATEST PLANET IN THE WORLD released February 21, 2023 playing song taught to them by Betse Ellis, and also released TRUE LIONS FRITZ HUTCHISON SPLIT CASSETTE though Manor Records on April 26, 2023.
Fritz Hutchison is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter based in Kansas City. Fritz is a multi-instrumentalist who was born May 27, 1991. Fritz landed in the KC Music Community in 2008 playing drums with: She’s a Keeper. He played for several years with Grand Marquis, was part of the band Freight Train Rabbit Killer. As a guitarist he has played with True Lions, J Ashley Miller, Lauren Krum, Miki P, Calvin Arsenia, and many others. His second solo album, MOVIE NIGHT was released on April, 15, 2022 through Manor Records. He released his debut album Wide Wild Acres in March 2020 on Center Cut Records, receiving positive reviews in the US, Australia, the UK and the Netherlands. . Fritze has also released the sweet and sad country single “All the Way From Here (Happy Holidays)” in January 2021 and the unhinged rock rave-up “Zack Attack!” in March 2022.
Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison join us to talk about Art in the Loop performances on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City. This event is free, family-friendly, accessible, and open to the public. Performers include: Mimi Nichole a solo vocalist. KC Dance Collective, a dance company whose choreography celebrates KC’s Jazz History, and True Lions More info at: http://www.artintheloop.com
Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
We just heard one of the tracks from the EP THE GREATEST PLANET IN THE WORLD released February 21, 2023
Art in The Loop is a nonprofit organization engaging artists with the ongoing revitalization of Downtown Kansas City.
2023 Art In the Loop Performance, July 12, 5:30 p.m. in Oppenstein Park
(Kansas City, Missouri) – The Art in the Loop Foundation is pleased to host an evening of multidisciplinary performances by local artists on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in Oppenstein Park, located at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City. This event is free, family-friendly, accessible, and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring folding chairs, blankets, refreshments, and friends!
This year marks the tenth year for the Art in the Loop project, and along with the beautiful visual art along the KC Streetcar stops and wraps one KC Streetcar, there is a robust performance series with delightful public performances. This event will include music and dance performances featuring local Kansas City artists. In the event of rain or inclement weather, the performances will be moved to 1111 Main Street on the KC Streetcar route.
The following artists will be performing at the July 12th Oppenstein Park event. More information about each of these artists can be found at http://www.artintheloop.com.
Mimi Nichole: Mimi Nichole performs as a solo vocalist. Her ultimate career goal is to capture the attention of the world one song at a time. With her passion for music and humanity, Mimi plans to bring back music with substance, and real truths. She aims to create timeless sounds that forever bask in the vibrations of the universe.
Kansas City Dance Collective: A local dance company whose choreography celebrates Kansas City’s Jazz History with big band 1920’s themed music and character work adding that classic 1920s prohibition-era Jazz style that the city loves to embrace.
True Lions: Al Hawkins and Fritz Hutchison make the band True Lions. They are experimental, queer artists and multi-instrumentalists in KCK. They’re a punk folk duo specializing in regionally-specific Ozark old-time interpreted as noise art.
Artists responded to the 2023 theme of “Celebrate” and addressed questions about how one defines celebration, what are the intersections between art, performance, and celebration and ways one can celebrate Downtown Kansas City.
11:40
True Lions – “Goner” (LIVE) (3:00) with Alisön Hawkins on fiddle and Fritz Hutchison on fiddle sticks
11:43
We’re talking with Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison about Art in the Loop performances on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City. This event is free, family-friendly, accessible, and open to the public. Performers include: Mimi Nichole a solo vocalist. KC Dance Collective, a dance company whose choreography celebrates KC’s Jazz History, and True Lions More info at: http://www.artintheloop.com
Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
The 2023 Art in the Loop Project is made possible through the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority, Henderson Engineers, JE Dunn, Stinson LLP, and other corporate partners. This project is funded in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, as well as by awards from the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank Trustee.
Project partners include the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar Authority, and the Kansas City Art Institute.
Contacts: Art in the Loop- Ann Holliday, Program Director, ann@downtownkc.org, (c) 816-718-1355 Marissa Starke, Visual Arts Director, marissastarke@gmail.com, (c) 816-519-4236 Jade Osborne, Performing Arts Director, jademuse@gmail.com KC Streetcar – Donna Mandelbaum, Communications & Marketing Director, dmandelbaum@kcstreetcar.org, (c) 816-877-321
11:48
True Lions – “Walkin In The Parlor” (LIVE) with Alisön Hawkins on fiddle and Fritz Hutchison on guitar
True Lions Discography
YOU’RE NOT INVITED / EP / November 9, 2019.
CUTE AT BEST / EP / February 5, 2019.
THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK / Album / Manor Records / April 9, 2021
THE GREATEST PLANET IN THE WORLD / EP / February 21, 2023
TRUE LIONS FRITZ HUTCHISON SPLIT CASSETTE / Manor Records / April 26, 2023
Jade Osborne, Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
The Art in the Loop Foundation host performances on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City. This event is free, family-friendly, accessible, and open to the public. Performers include: Mimi Nichole a solo vocalist. KC Dance Collective, a dance company whose choreography celebrates KC’s Jazz History, and True Lions with Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison who are a queer, punk, folk, multi-instrumentalist duo, based in KCK. Info: http://www.artintheloop.com
11:55
True Lions – “Seneca Square Dance” from: THE GREATEST PLANET IN THE WORLD / Manor Records / February 21, 2023 [Recorded at BRC Audio Productions on December 14, 2022 in Kansas City, KS, and engineered by Libby O’Donnell and Will Crain. // Thank you Betse Ellis for teaching us these tunes! We love you. // True Lions logo by Nika Winn // Fiddle ~ Alison Hawkins on fiddle, Frits Hutchison on guitar, Carly Atwood on bass. // True Lions and Fritz Hutchison released a TRUE LIONS FRITZ HUTCHISON SPLIT CASSETTE though Manor Records on April 26, 2023. True Lions released their debut full length album, THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK on Manor Records on April 9, 2021 with Alisön Hawkins on keytar & vocals; Adee Rocket Dancy on cello & vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, Elizabeth Kosko on drums & percussion; Iona DeWalt on synthesizers; Miki P on guitar & vocals, and Teri Quinn on bass & vocals. Recorded at Deep Space Co-op. Tracking & engineering by Ross Brown at Escape Pod Audio. Mixing and mastering by Joel Nanos at Element Recording. In 2019 True Lions released their EP debut, CUTE AT BEST on February 5, 2019. They followed up with a second EP called. YOU’RE NOT INVITED, released on November 9, 2019. For these recordings True Lions was: Alison Hawkins on guitar, synth, and vocals; Elizabeth Kosko on percussion, vocals; Mikala Petillo on bass, vocals; Claire Adams on guitar, vocals; Leslie Butsch on saxophone, Ezgi Karakus on cello; and Teri Quinn on vocals. All songs written by True Lions and produced by Claire Adams and Alison Hawkins. Tracking & Engineering by Claire Adams. Mixing and Mastering by Ian Dobyns and Chase Horseman. More info at: http://www.manorrecords.com .]
[True Lions play Art in the Loop on Wednesday, July 12, at 5:30 PM in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City with Mimi Nichole, and KC Dance Collective. More info at: http://www.artintheloop.com]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on June 19, we’ll play WMM’s Favorite Releases of 2023 So Far.
THANK YOU to all of our listeners & friends who generously donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio!!! During our Wednesday MidDay Medley Spring Fund Drive shows on June 7 and June 14, and through social media, we raised $4742.00 from 59 individual Donors! Thank you to our diverse and beautiful listeners who generously donated to allow us to continue our great mission here at 90.1 FM KKFI.
THANK YOU to my incredible Fund co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, and our wonderful KKFI Staff: Director of Development and Communications, J Kelly Dougherty, Vounteer Coordinator Darryl Oliver, and Chief Operator Chad Brothers. And to all of our fantastic phone volunteers.
This radio station is not about the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of wonderful 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 Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Kevin Willmott & Mark von Schlemmer + Heidi Lynne Gluck + Nate Holt & Kirsten Paludan + Jade Osborne & True Lions
Bad Alaskan
Mark plays more New & MidCoastal releases from: Bad Alaskan, Semper Viridis, Heidi Lynne Gluck, The Black Creatures, True Lions, and Effie.
Semper Viridis
At 10:10, Nate Holt and Kirsten Paludan join us to share details about their musical project Semper Viridis and their first EP, SNAKES AND LADDERS to be released on July 14, 2023, through Mixtape Meditation Records. Kirsten Paludan has been at the center of the bands: Olympic Size, Kirsten Paludan & the Key Party, and Starhaven Rounders. Nate Holt’s musical projects include: Asterales, DJNOTADJ, Maria The Mexican, and others. Kirsten & Nate met in the mid 1990’s at the University of Kansas, but didn’t start collaborating until 20 years later. In the second year of the pandemic, Kirsten recorded guest vocals for several of Nate’s tracks created for Asterales. The duo discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and began making original music. Semper Viridis will play a Special EP Release Show on Friday, July 14th, at 9:30 PM, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO with Monta, and DJ Ray Velasquez. More info at: https://linktr.ee/semperviridisks
At 10:30, Mark talks with Kevin Willmott, Academy Award winning filmmaker, writer, and Professor in the Film & Media Studies Department at The University of Kansas, and Mark von Schlemmer, Professor of Communication & Film at The University of Central Missouri. Kevin & Mark will share details on their documentary film: NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST HATE IN KANSAS. Kevin Willmott (director/co-writer) won an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for Spike Lee‘s 2019 film, BlacKkKlansman, and co-wrote Lee’s films Chi-Raq, and Da 5 Bloods. Mark von Schlemmer (Editor/Co-writer) is a television producer, filmmaker & professor. He was an editor on such feature films as Destination: Planet Negro!, The Only Good Indian, CSA: The Confederate States of America, and AIR: A Musical. No Place Like Home: The Struggle Against Hate in Kansas takes the audience on a tour to meet people who have found themselves in a battle for LGBTQ rights in Trego County, Manhattan, Dodge City, Wichita, Topeka and several rural communities. The film continues the profiles of people C.J. Janovy (Associate Producer) wrote about in her book, No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas. More info at http://www.noplacelikehomedoc.com
At 11:00 we talk with singer, songwriter, musician, Heidi Lynne Gluck about her fabulous new album, “MIGRATE OR DIE.” Heidi Lynne Gluck is a musical artist based in Lawrence, Kansas. Along with her acclaimed solo work, Heidi Lynne Gluck also collaborated with the bands: The Roseline, 95 Sweetbird, Frogpond, Tom Brosseau & John C Reilly, Juliana Hatfield, Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos, Lily & Madeleine, Mo Magic, and more. Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., West Bottoms, KCMO on Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM with Chase Horseman, and Heidi Phillips. Heidi Lynne Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, in Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum. More information at: http://www.heidigluck.com
At 11:30 we talk with artist, poet, activist, art administrator, Jade Osborne who works for Mid America Arts Alliance and is a Director for Art In The Loop. Joining Jade is Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison of the band True Lions, who’ll play live in our 90.1 FM Studios. Art in The Loop is a nonprofit organization engaging artists with the ongoing revitalization of Downtown Kansas City. The Art in the Loop Foundation host performances on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City. This event is free, family-friendly, accessible, and open to the public. Performers include: Mimi Nichole a solo vocalist. KC Dance Collective, a dance company whose choreography celebrates KC’s Jazz History, and True Lions with Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison who are a queer, punk, folk, multi-instrumentalist duo, based in KCK. More info at: http://www.artintheloop.com
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Monta – “Transcendent” from: “Transcendent” – Single / The Record Machine / July 14, 2023 [Swirly post-punk combo Monta escape space and time with their latest single, “Transcendent.” Inspired by a Celtic mystical idea of heaven existing three feet from the earth, the song puts forth the notion of searching for a way to cross over into that realm. Dedric Moore and Mikal Shapiro’s beguiling vocals implore the listener to find that space within, as the Monta crew accent the message with a delirious mélange of synthesizer syncopation, disembodied disco drums, and crackling guitar riffs. Blast off and find yourself inside the thin spaces. // On March 24, 2023 Monta released the 4-track EP CRYSTAL MOMENTUM.On April 28, 2023 Monta released the single, “Apples of the Sun.” // About Monta: It’s a strange time to be making music at all. In the midst of this bizarre attention economy, it’s hard to retrain our minds to sit still for an entire song. We are in constant states of flux. Kansas City’s resident post-punkers Monta find themselves in that same state of change now. The band is finding freedom in the moment, wherever it takes them. // Monta means “to climb higher.” Through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing, this band continues that climb. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. Krysztof Nemeth and Lucas Behrens play guitars. Dedric Moore experiments with synthesizers and electronics. On drums, Matthew Heinrich is the heartbeat of the band; keeping everyone in time and allowing for spontaneous musical moments. After exploring the far reaches of sound through psych-rock freakouts, the band is now turning their attention towards melody. Joined by songwriter and vocalist Mikal Shapiro, Monta is now able to take their noisy, pulsing soundscapes and pair those with pop hooks. With friends and other collaborators making appearances, Monta expand and contract to fit the need of the song. // This shift towards melody is audible in their newer material. “Everybody’s Baby” is a dark-wave rager, perfect for the back room of a dimly-lit club. “Looking Back” is an uplifting synth pop groove mixed with contemplative thoughts about the past. // Peak of Eternal Light, released in 2021, alternates between dreamy post-punk and dark synth pop with no missteps in between. Dedric remarks that the band is in the process of “simplifying the song down to what it needs.”The band has honed-in on this approach, and are making some of their most interesting material to date.Their songs beg us to dance away the darker moments of our lives. By dredging up these murky memories and setting them against a backdrop of groovy, angular post-punk, Monta helps us to make sense of this cold, bleak world. In a cultural ocean with ever-changing waves, it’s nice to know that some things are still built to last. Monta is here to stay, even though they won’t ever remain the same. // On March 24, 2023 Monta released their 4-track EP, Crystal Momentum. The EP hones the Kansas City band’s mastery of electrified dreamworld post-punk, presenting four spacious songs to accompany out-of-body explorations. Monta’s core players — Mikal Shapiro on vocals, Krysztof Nemeth and Lucas Behrens on guitars, Dedric Moore on electronics, Matthew Heinrich on drums, and Teri Quinn with additional vocals — accompany their visions with a groovy flow that rings with subtle tensions, introspective instrumentation, and chorus-fed uplifts. // Found within are “Everybody’s Baby,” an otherworldly adoration of unnamed strangers set to transfixing melodies and a snake-like groove; the buoyant “Looking Back,” which shines a danceable, sonic brightness through a haze of ecstatic reminiscence; the inspired “Perimeter Dancer,” an ode to those who fight for the cause, accompanied by a punky disco beat and a chorus that launches the song upward to a mirror-ball-lit sky. And then there’s “Luna Lost In Your Gaze,” a righteous desert sleepwalk of a tune that recalls the spaghetti western tones of Monta’s past while remaining on the current trajectory. // With the Crystal Momentum EP, Monta grabs the moment, further defining the distinctive mix of synth-pop and dark psychedelia that’s become the band’s trademark. Take a leap and fall into their world. // Monta means “to climb higher.” Through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing, this band continues that climb. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. Info at: kosmiccity.com / therecordmachine.co]
[Monta plays The Ship, 1217 Union Ave. KCMO, West Bottoms, Fri., July 14, at 10:00 PM for Dreams Never End Volume 2. W/ Semper Viridis – Snakes and Ladders EP Release AND w/ DJ Ray Velasquez.]
Yaeji — “For Granted” From: With A Hammer / XL Recordings / April 7, 2023 [Kathy Yaeji Lee is known professionally as Yaeji, is an American singer, DJ, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Her style blends elements of house music and hip hop with mellow, quiet vocals sung in both English and Korean. // She was born August 6, 1993, in Flushing, Queens, as a single child in a Korean family. She moved from New York to Atlanta when she was 5, and then to South Korea in the third grade. While living in South Korea, Yaeji switched between different international schools on a yearly basis, leading her to find friends on the Internet, where she would first discover music. She also briefly attended school in Japan before moving back to Korea. // Yaeji eventually moved back to the United States to study conceptual art, East Asian studies, and graphic design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She embraced DJing as a hobby while attending Carnegie Mellon, crediting the afterhours electronic music dance party Hot Mass with her “indoctrination into nightlife.” Yaeji learned how to use Traktor and began DJing at house parties. She DJed for two years before learning Ableton, making her own music and debuting on Carnegie Mellon’s college radio station WRCT. Yaeji graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2015. // After graduation, Yaeji moved back to New York City to get involved in the music scene and to DJ. Her first single, “New York ’93”, referring to her year of birth, was issued on the New York City label Godmode on February 29, 2016, followed by a cover of “Guap” by Australian DJ Mall Grab that May. She had previously uploaded songs to SoundCloud, although they were removed; this included “Areyouami”, which was released when she was at college. // Her debut eponymous EP, including both prior singles, was released by Godmode on March 31, 2017. // She began to gain attention following her first Boiler Room session in May 2017, which involved a remix of Drake’s single “Passionfruit”. The song was later released officially on Godmode’s SoundCloud page. The first of several stand-alone singles, “Therapy” was issued in July 2017, followed by a two-track digital single, Remixes, Vol. 1, on August 1 and the “Last Breath” single on August 28. The music video for the single “Drink I’m Sippin On” was released on 88rising’s YouTube channel in October 2017, quickly gaining over one million views in two weeks. On November 3, 2017, Yaeji released her second EP, EP2, to positive reviews and moderate commercial success. The video for “Raingurl” was released on November 16. // Yaeji was named to the BBC’s Sound of 2018 longlist in November 2017. She also performed at the 2018 Coachella Festival. // In 2021, “Raingurl” made it into New York Times’s T magazine Spotify playlist, “Right Here: Asian Women Artists in the West.” She also performed at BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! music festival, where she was rushed by fans. // A year after her release of “What We Drew”, and a year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, Yaeji released her first collaborative work with Korean Indie band front man Oh Hyuk of Hyukoh. The release consisted two tracks: “Year to Year” and “29”. Despite being artists of different genres, both artists were able to rediscover the joy that they feel when creating music because of the collaboration. Her debut album, With a Hammer, was released in April 2023. The lead single, “For Granted”, was released in January 2023. “Done (Let’s Get It)” followed in February 2023. Yaeji performed at Coachella 2023.]
Sparks – “The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte” from: The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte / Island Records / May 26, 2023 [The Girl is Crying in Her Latte is the 25th studio album by American rock group Sparks, released through Island Records on May 26, 2023, their first release through the label since 1976. It was preceded by the release of two singles, and received acclaim from critics. The duo will tour the world until July 2023 in support of the album, the biggest headlining tour of their career. // On January 24, 2023, Sparks announced that they had again signed with Island Records, the label which released their albums Kimono My House (1974), Propaganda (1974), Indiscreet (1975) and Big Beat (1976). On March 3, 2023, the lead single, “The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte” was released, with a music video starring Australian actress Cate Blanchett. The second single, “Veronica Lake”, was released on April 21, 2023. The third single, “Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is”, was released on May 12, 2023, and is “sung from the perspective of a 22-hour old baby who is disgusted with the world, and wants to return to the womb” // Sparks is an American pop and rock duo formed by brothers Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) in Los Angeles. The duo is noted for their quirky approach to songwriting; their music is often accompanied by sophisticated and acerbic lyrics—often about women, and sometimes containing literary or cinematic references —and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified by the contrast between Russell’s animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron’s deadpan scowling. Russell Mael has a distinctive wide-ranging voice, while Ron Mael plays keyboards in an intricate and rhythmic style. Their frequently changing styles and visual presentations have kept the band at the forefront of modern, artful pop music. // Career highlights include “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us”, which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974; the disco hit “The Number One Song in Heaven” in 1979, resulting from a collaboration with Giorgio Moroder and marking a stylistic shift towards new wave/synth-pop; “When I’m with You”, which made the Australian and French Singles Charts in 1980; the single “I Predict”, which provided Sparks’ first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 60 in May 1982; the 1983 single “Cool Places” with the Go-Go’s rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jane Wiedlin, and “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way'”, which was the top airplay record in Germany for 1994. // The 2002 release of Lil’ Beethoven, the duo’s self-proclaimed “genre-defining opus”, fused repetitive song structures with orchestral arrangements, and brought them renewed critical success. In 2015, the band released an album with Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS, titled FFS. In 2017, returning to a rock-group format, Sparks released Hippopotamus, which entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 7, as did their next album, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, released in 2020, bringing their tally of UK Top 10 albums to four. In 2021, Sparks were involved in two films: the Leos Carax musical film Annette for which they wrote all songs (winning the César Award for Best Original Music), and the Edgar Wright documentary The Sparks Brothers recounting the history of the band.]
[Sparks play The Midland Theatre, 1228 Main Street, KCMO, on Saturday, July 8, at 8:00 PM]
Teri Quinn – “When I’m Gone” from: “When I’m Gone” – Single / Teri Quinn / June 14, 2023 [Teri Quinn released her new 4-track EP DEAFENING SILENCE, on June 30, 2023. Tracked live at Element Recording and Mastering Studios with Teri Quinn on banjo & vocals, Landon Hambright on guitar & vocals, John O’keefe on bass, and Ryan Smith on drums. // This single follows Teri’s earlier single release ”Running Away” released June 2, 2023 with John O’keefe on bass, Ryan Smith on Drums, Landon Hambright on guitar. Produced and Engineered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording & Mastering Studios. And the single “Sweet Savannah” released February 26, 2020 Produced and engineered by Chase Horseman at Element Recording Studios. Mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios. For this recording: Landon Hambright on guitar, Matt Richey on drums, Joel Stratton on Wurlitzer, Molly Mclaughlin on alto flute, Chase Horseman on synth bass, and Teri Quinn on banjo and vocals. Teri released her debut EP, Moons and Meltdowns in 2017, setting the gritty tone for her indie folk sensibilities. She was nominated for Best Musician for the 2018 Pitch Awards. // Teri Quinn is a Kansas City based, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose primary songwriting instrument is the banjo. She uses the banjo as a way to create soundscapes drawing you in to her tales of wandering and self-discovery., originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Teri moved to Kansas City in 2009 to study clarinet performance and Music Composition at the UMKC’s Conservatory of Music where she graduated in 2013. Along with being a touring solo artists Teri has also played with Claire and the Crowded Stage, Abandoned Bells, True Lions, and Monta. This song was released in a different format as a single by Monta featuring Teri Quinn on March 5, 2021, produced by Dedric Moore. The same single was then remixed by Kenn Jankowski as a Republic Tigers remix. The Monta single was part of the Mnta album PEAK OF ETERNAL LIGHT released July 23, 2021. The remix was included in the Monta album release, PEAKED OF ETERNAL LIGHT a collection of remixes of PEAK OF ETERNAL LIGHT and covers released June 24, 2022. More info at http://www.cosmiccity.com or therecordmachine.co]
Claire Adams – “It’s All In Fun” from: “It’s All in Fun” – Single / Claire Adams / June 30, 2023 [Claire Adams told Michelle Bacon at The Bridge, “”I wrote the string arrangement in the summer of 2021 and we went in to record it this past spring,” Adams said. “I’ve had the happiness of working with Alyssa Bell (viola) and Carmen Dieker (violin) for several years now, mostly playing my songs as arranged by others and I wanted to give a try to arranging a song myself.” “I feel like having an understanding of everyone else’s styles and strengths gives me a sense of direction and focus on what can otherwise be a really abstract craft,” she said. On bass, she, Guillen and Williams comprised the acclaimed trio Katy Guillen & The Girls for seven years, while she has consistently been working with Murray in the years to follow. The four of them got to work with Duane Trower, who has recorded and engineered the majority of Adams‘ solo songs. “Going into [Duane’s studio] Weights & Measures with Katy, Steph and Alyssa was a total comfort zone, and this song just came together out of that,” she said. Claire Adams released “If It Isn’t Right (Alyssa Murray Remix)” on April 15, 2022. This featured Rewound and Alyssa Murray. Our friend Claire Adams recently wrote “Alyssa Murray made a super cool remix of one of the songs off the last album and I wanted to share it with you. The song is ‘If It Isn’t Right’ and also features the Rewound string trio and an arrangement by Peter Lawless. Alyssa really made it her own and gave it a whole new spin, she’s amazing!” Here are the full credits: Vocals: Claire Adams, Alyssa Murray, Fritz Hutchison. Synths and Beats: Alyssa Murray. Cello: Ezgi Karakus. Viola: Alyssa Bell. Violin: Carmen Dieker. String Arrangement: Peter Lawless. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at Weights + Measures Soundlab. Cover Art by Cassie Allen. ‘If It Isn’t Right’ written by Claire Adams. This song was originally on Claire’s acclaimed album YOU KNOW I KNOW YOU originally released April 24, 2020. The album was lost in the COVID 19 of 2020. The album was properly given a “release show” and put out on CD in 2021. 10 songs all written by Claire Adams. Recorded at The Blue House in Kansas City, MO. Additional tracking at MARZ Studios in Nederland, TX. Mixed & mastered at Weights + Measures Soundlab in KCMO. Written by Claire Adams, with Claire Adams on guitars, bass, and vocals; Alyssa Murray on keyboards & vocals; and Fritz Hutchison on drums & vocals. // Claire also released: Words of Love on Feb. 5, 2021 – Recorded and Produced by Claire Adams at Casa 34 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Mixed and Mastered by Duane Trower at Weights + Measures in Kansas City, MO. Cover Photo by Hugo Parasol. ‘So This Is Love’ written by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. ‘Pocketful Of Rainbows’ written by Ben Weisman, ‘Till There Was You’ written by Meredith Wilson. “Words of Love” written by Claire Adams. ‘Calico Skies’ written by Paul McCartney. Claire also released the EP Moras under the moniker, Mismo Sismo (same earthquake) on July 21, 2021. Claire Adams wrote and recorded this EP at home during the first months of the COVID-19 quarantine. The three songs are meant to be played all together but also stand alone. Mismo Sismo is a collabor-ation with photographer Hugo Parasol. Claire played guitar on True Lions album THE FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK. In 2020 Clairplayed with the band Ondist for their three full length albums, No Coincidence on June 12, and Electricity on Aug. 14, and Mise en Place on Nov. 13, 2020 with songs recorded at Weights & Measures with Duane Trower with Sam Platt on drums, Eddie Moore on keyboards, DeAndre Manning on bass, Jamie Anderson on guitar, Claire Adams on vocals, and Jillian Riscoe on vocals. Claire also participated in Katy Guillen and The Girls Reunion shows in summer of 2021. Claire Adams on WMM on April 7, 2021. Info at: https://claireadams.bandcamp.com%5D
[Claire Adams plays Knuckleheads Gospel Lounge, 2715 Rochester Street, KCMO on Saturday, July 8, at 8:30 PM in a song exchange with Katy Guillen and Stephanie Williams. The three will trade off on each other’s songs, play a few from Katy Guillen & The Girls, and perhaps a few new ones as well.]
Feeble Little Horse – “Steamroller (Radio Edit)” from: Girl With Fish / Saddle Creek / June 9, 2023 [Songs written, recorded, and mixed by feeble little horse. Recorded and Produced by Sebastian Kinsler and Ryan Walchonski in Pittsburgh, PA + Washington, DC + Rochester, NY. Mixed by Sebastian Kinsler. Mastered by Heba Kadry, NYC. Songs by Ryan Walchonski, Sebastian Kinsler, Lydia Slocum, and Jacob Kelley. Vocals: Lydia Slocum (+ Sebastian Kinsler on Sweet, + Ryan Walchonski on Slide, + Jacob Kelley on Tin Man). Guitar: Sebastian Kinsler (all tracks), Ryan Walchonski (tracks 3-8, 10, 11). Bass: Sebastian Kinsler (+ Connor Peters on “Paces”). Drums: Jacob Kelley. Keyboard / synth: Sebastian Kinsler (tracks 2-11), Ryan Walchonski (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8), Lydia Slocum (track 9) // feeble little horse makes thrilling and wildly unpredictable songs that are a reflection of the joys that come with making music with your best friends. The Pittsburgh quartet’s sophomore album, Girl with Fish, was made focusing on intuition over intention: letting the magic of collaboration come first. “Anything that makes us laugh or puts a smile on our faces, we usually end up keeping in the songs,” explains drummer Jake Kelley. Across 11 self-recorded and self-produced tracks, the band careens from blissed-out pop to harsh noise, glitchy programmed drum beats, and off-kilter indie rock—sometimes all in one song. As a follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2021 debut Hayday, this LP, with its overwhelmingly inviting and emotionally resonant tracklist, is a document of four people trusting their instincts and most importantly each other. // Like the album name, which came from an inside joke the band shared about imagined painting titles at a museum, there’s a sense of humor that’s welcoming and light. The bruising opener “Freak,” for all its pummeling drums and guitar blasts, is a breezy track about an unrequited crush on a college star athlete (Slocum sings, “how can you be satisfied / she’s 5’1 and you’re 6’5”). “I think we just felt more confident on this album,” says Slocum. “We could have felt more pressure and more unsure of ourselves. But we just wanted to try new things, and learn from what people liked about Hayday but not make the same song again.” Girl with Fish is a testament to the power of self-recording, doing it yourself, and taking a leap with the people you are closest with. “Besides our friendship getting stronger and our songs becoming more interesting to us, nothing’s really changed,” says Kinsler. “It’s still us just hanging out: This is what we do instead of playing video games.” ]
10:29 – Underwriting
10:31 – Interview with Audrey Crabtree
Audrey Crabtree is the Executive Director of the KC Fringe Festival. She grew up in Kansas City and went to Raytown South Senior High and Truman State University. She is an award-winning producer, actor and director. She is the Artistic Director and cofounder with Lynn Berg of Ten Directions, a theatre and film creative team. Audrey founded and ran the international NY Clown Theatre Festival for 10 years. She worked as a performance coach for Circus Harmony in St. Louis. She worked for 5 years as a clown at Clowns Without Borders in Blue Lake California. Audrey is Co-Founder & Director of NY Clown Theatre Festival. She also worked for the Big Apple Circus. Audrey Crabtree is a longtime Fringe participant herself, as performer, producer and patron in New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco and St. Louis. Her work has also been featured in the Dublin and Perth Fringe Festivals. Audrey Crabtree told Libby Hanson of KC Studio Magazine, “I’m inspired every time I see a show. I love to watch artists in their career and their growth,” said Crabtree “I love to go to museums, listen to music. I’m inspired every single day by nature. I’m really excited to meet everyone and dig in and get to meet all the artists who are coming to our festival.”
Audrey Crabtree joins us to share details about the 19th annual KC Fringe Festival, July 14-30, 2023, that will showcase 54 productions, 6 films, and 2 galleries featuring 35 visual artists featuring performers and creators from Kansas City, and across the country, and around the world.
KC Fringe Festival will present a special preview offering a free sneak peek of family-friendly performances showcasing dance, live music, musicals, comedy, dance, and fun surprises! This one-night only event happens On Thursday, July 6 at 6:00 PM at the The Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch – Truman Forum Auditorium. 4801 Main St, KCMO. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
Audrey Crabtree thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
This is Audrey’s second year with KC Fringe.
KC Fringe features 54 productions, 6 films, and 2 galleries featuring 35 visual artists, performers based in Kansas City as well as artists and performers from around the world,the KC Fringe Festival is part of a network of Fringe Festivals happening all over the country and all over the world including being World Fringe Member and U.S. Association of Fringe Festivals
Audrey Crabtree started her performance career in Kansas City with Gorilla Theatre.
KC Fringe is a non-profit organization, now in its 19th year, with a Board of Directors, a small staff and hundreds of volunteers helping KC Fringe pull off 17 days of over 300 performances in multiple venues?
KC Fringe offers three big free events:
KC Fringe Free Plaza Library Preview at The Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch – Truman Forum Auditorium. 4801 Main St, KCMO on Thursday, July 6th, Doors at 5:30 and performance at 6:00 pm.
Description: We are nearing the start of the 19th annual KC FR!NGE Festival – a two-week performing and visual arts extravaganza spread across multiple Kansas City venues – and some of its hottest acts will deliver a special preview, one-night only!
At this sneak peek you will see a range of family-friendly performances showcasing dance, live music, musicals, comedy, dance, and fun surprises!
There will also be a visual arts display in the LOBBY with a brief reception with snacks and non-alcoholic beverages at 5:30 pm and the performance starting at 6:00 pm. Doors to the AUDITORIUM will open at 10 minutes prior to the performance.
Cast/Crew: On Account of Sex – Fourth Wave Theater Naked Molerat – Cyclopedic Ensemble J to the A to the ZZ – Jazzy K Productions Adolescent Cabaret – Madilynn Mansur Library Rock – Ry Kincaid Razzle Dazzle – Kansas City Dance Collective And a special appearance from Beth Byrd from Two Mimes in a Pod!
Free First Friday at The Bird Comedy Theater, 103 W 19th St, KCMO, on Friday July 7, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Description: Come in from the heat and and enjoy the AC, buy yourself an icy cocktail, or a frosty beer and relax and enjoy comedy from KC Fringe previews hosted by Brandon Durkes of The Bird Comedy Theater!
BLOCK ONE: Nathan Thomas-Never Stood a Chance // Abby Bland-Godzilla’s Not A Dinosaur // Derek Trautwein-Guttertheif
BLOCK TWO: Csquared Productions – Of Monster & Men (and Murder) // The Bird Comedy Improv
BLOCK THREE: KC Fringe Film Preview // Kansas City Dance Collective- Razzle-Dazzle // Katherene Garry-The Black Card Experience
BLOCK FOUR: The Bird Comedy Theater Improv
Fringe Flash Preview Night Black Box, 1060 Union Ave, KCMO, on July 20, 2023, at 8:00 PM
Description: Audiences get to see 54 shows in 1 and 1/2 hours. Flash Preview present each of the KC Fringe’s 54 productions in one minute, to entice audiences to see their shows during the festival. Audiences are invited to come into the Air Conditioning, grab a cool beverage and chill out as the performers tease them with snip-its. Then they can mix and mingle with performing and visual artists, staff and volunteers, while getting your tickets, festival buttons, show passes, with musical accompaniment by Colton Cox and Kody Krause. Doors at 7:30pm No Fringe button required.
Audrey Crabtree thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
The KC Fringe Festival, is July 14-30, 2023, showcasing 54 productions, 6 films, and 2 galleries featuring 35 visual artists featuring performers from around the world.
KC Fringe Festival will present a special preview offering a free sneak peek of family-friendly performances showcasing dance, live music, musicals, comedy, dance, and fun surprises! This one-night only event happens On Thursday, July 6 at 6:00 PM at the The Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch – Truman Forum Auditorium. 4801 Main St, KCMO. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
10:50
The Philistines – “1971” from: The Backbone of Night / The Record Machine / June 4, 2016 [KC based rock band with a psychedelic bent, for this recording the band was made up of: Kimmie Queen on lead vocals; Cody Wyoming on lead guitar & vocals; Rod Peal on guitar; Michelle Bacon on bass & vocals, Josh Mobley on keyboard, Steve Gardels on drums. Recorded & mixed with Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound Studios and mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. In March 2019 The Philistines made available, two new tracks: “Further” and “Velvet Rabbit,” that will be part of the upcoming album Dysnomia. Produced and engineered by paul Malinowski at Massive Sound Studios. For these new recordings The Philistines were made up of: Kimmie Queen on lead vocals; Cody Wyoming on lead guitar & vocals; Rod Peal on guitar; Josh Mobley on keyboard, Steve Gardels on drums, and Barry Kidd on bass.]
[The Philistines, play recordBar, at 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, on Saturday, July 8, at 7:00 PM for the Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream – Record Release Party, along with Friendly Thieves.]
Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream – “Cuts Like A Knife” from: “Cuts Like A Knife” – Single / myowndamnrecords / August 12, 2022 [The first single from Nathan Corsi’s new rock band featuring Kansas City veterans Chris Meck, Tom Hudson, and Benjamin Hart. Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream released their second single, “Hits You Twice” on September 28, 2022. Nathan Corsi has one of the best voices in Kansas City music. With Steve Tulipana he fronts The Band That Fell To Earth paying tribute to David Bowie in this annual project created by Michelle Bacon. Nathan toured for nearly a decade with his band Not A Planet who released critically acclaimed EP, NAP on December 1, 2011; the album, THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE STRANGE on May 10, 2013; SMOKE BOMBS & CIGARETTES: THE HISTORY OF NOW (EP) on September 9, 2016.]
[Nathan Corsi and My Atomic Daydream play recordBar, at 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, on Saturday, July 8, at 7:00 PM for their Record Release Party, w/ The Philistines and Friendly Thieves.]
Semper Viridis – “Snakes and Ladders” from: “SNAKES AND LADDERS EP / Mixtape Meditation Records / July 14, 2023 [Born in the spinnel the life changing power of creativity. We are celestial twins who are driven to share our love of music with the world.’ Kirsten Paludan (Olympic Size, KP & the Key Party) and Nate Holt aka Asterales (DJNOTADJ) met in the mid 90’s on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, but didn’t start collaborating until nearly 20 years later. After being reintroduced to each other by playing together in the local scene, they discovered that they were musical kindred spirits and quickly formed a bond. During the second year of the pandemic, KP recorded guest vocals for several Asterales tracks, and their creative connection was cemented. Not long after, they actively began making original music together as Semper Viridis. // Out everywhere on July 14th, Semper Viridis’ first EP Snakes and Ladders is released with the support of Mixtape Meditation Records (Dallas, TX). Mastered by Brutus DeClaibornio (BAC Studios, Lincoln, NE), Snakes and Ladders features six tracks of eclectic electro, including the title song and first single, an uptempo electro pop anthem that clocks in at just over three minutes. Two music videos are being released in conjunction with the EP, (Projecting Shadows and Snakes and Ladders), both created by David Jerret Fulton. // On January 6, 2023 Semper Viridis released the singke, “Dreams in Color” written and recorded by Kirsten Paluden & Asterales (Nate Holt). Mixed by Asterales. Mastered by Brent Clabaugh. Semper Viridis is the Kirsten Paluden and Nate Holt recently collaborated for Nate’s musical project Astereles and the album, FUTURESPECTIVE on Datura Records released on March 25, 2022 that was Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. They performed for the track “Let Go.” KC based leftfield, experimental, electronica music maker, also known as Nate Holt. Asterales eleased the 5-track EP, WORK HOURS on Sept. 6, 2016 in collaboration with Aikido Bray, Leo Minor, Katlyn Conroy, and Tanner Walle, with synthesizers, production, recording, engineering & mastering by Etan Tioh for Datura Records. This was followed by the 3-track EP, FRAGMENTS, released Feb. 3, 2017. Asterales released the single A.M. on Feb. 4, 2017. Asterales released the 10-track album, OUTSIDE THE BOX on Oct. 31, 2017. Asterales released the singles: “Brkfst 4 Btlvrs” on Oct. 31, 2017; and “Soft Spheres” on April 21, 2018. Asterales released the 10-track album ORBITAL DEBRIS: VOL. 1 on Aug. 14, 2020 on Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the single “ASTR_40” on Aug. 26, 2020. Asterales released the 4-song EP EXTRA JUNK on Dec. 4, 2020 through Mr. Furious Records. Asterales released the singles: “Solstice Song” on Dec. 21, 2020, and “Desire (Tanner Walle) – Asterales Remix” on Jan. 29, 2021. Asterales released the single “Offline” on Feb. 26, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Beauty In The Distance feat. Heidi Gluck)” on March 31, 2021. Produced & mixed by Asterales, vocals by Heidi Gluck. lyrics by Approach, mastered by Royce Diamond. Asterales released the single, “So Easy (feat. Royce Diamond)” on April 30, 2021. Asterales released the single, “Let Go” on May 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales, lyrics by Royce Diamond, vocals by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Paraglider” on June 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Kinugemi” on July 31, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Variable Stars Pt. 1″ on August 30, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Asterales released the remix single, “She Left (Asterales Remix)” on Sept. 2, 2021, produced by Asterales. Remix artwork by Gordon Leadfoot & Asterales. Asterales released the single, “P@!omAr-1” on September 28, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. More info at: http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com Asterales released the remix single, “Cory Phillips & the Band of Light – Give & the Take (Asterales Remix)” on October 1, 2021. “Give & the Take” was written by Cory Phillips coryphillipsmusic.com “Give & the Take – Asterales Remix” Produced by Asterales. Asterales released the single, “Calling Me (feat. Ghostmind)” on October 31, 2021. Produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Vocals and guitar performed and recorded by Ghostmind. Lyrics by Ghostmind. Artwork by Asterales. Asterales released the single “Your World or Mine (Feat. Approach)” on November 30, 2021. Produced, mixed and mastered by Asterales. Lyrics and vocals by Approach. Asterales released “Right Here, This Moment (feat. Royce Diamond & Maria Cuevas)” on December 31, 2021, produced, mixed & mastered by Asterales. Lyrics & vocals by Royce Diamond. Background vocals by Maria Cuevas (of Maria The Mexican). One of 14 singles Asterales released in 2021. More information at http://www.asterales.bandcamp.com]
[Semper Viridis plays a Snakes and Ladders EP Release show at The Ship, 1217 Union Ave. KCMO, West Bottoms, Friday, July 14, at 10:00 PM with Monta AND w/ DJ Ray Velasquez.]
11:00 – Station ID
11:00 – Interview with Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory
Chip Ashby is an automotive historian and videographer, and now a KC Fringe Fest playwright. Chip graduated from UMKC with a BA in history and film studies. Having worked in the museum industry, and as a historical consultant for various cable shows and YouTubers, Chip launched his own youtube channel, Chip The Historian, last year. Chip can usually be found either behind a camera or wrenching on his old motorcycle.
Stephanie Iszory is a Therapist by day, and an Aerialist by night. Stephanie started her aerial silks journey in 2015. Over the years, she has performed in Lawrence Busker Fest, KC Fringe Fest, and multiple Voler shows. Stephanie has a B.S. from Kansas State in Life Science and a masters in Family Therapy. She utilizes both of her degrees working full-time as a therapist and running her private practice Stay Golden Therapy.
Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory join us to talk about Voler Aerial Academy’s KC Fringe production, DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage. Disco Daisy is an aerial arts extravaganza, featuring several aerial elements including silks, lyra, trapeze, chandelier, and rope. The show was written by Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory. It is a family-friendly romp set to favorite music from across the decades. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory thanks for being with us on WMM
Voler Aerial Academy’s KC Fringe production, DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage.
Playwrights Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory share details about how Disco Daisy and her Defenders save the soul of the city from the dastardly Dr. Rock & Roll and his evil henchmen, Hardcore, Punk, and Heavy Metal.
The show was written by Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory. It is a family-friendly romp set to favorite music from across the decades. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
Cast/Crew: Aliyah Velazquez-Pullin, Mary English, Sonja Schutz, Malisa McEachen, Stephanie Iszory, Emily Garnett, Laura Lockton, Kelsey Coon, Crystal Swope, Jade Ransom, Lindsay Hays, Warren Hall, Rylee Herr, and Erin Kleffner
Past Fringe Shows: Flights of Faery Fancy // Flights of Myth and Mayhem
Chip Ashby is an automotive historian and videographer.
Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory, thanks for being with us on WMM.
Voler Aerial Academy’s KC Fringe production, DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage.
Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory, thanks for being with us on WMM.
Voler Aerial Academy’s KC Fringe production, DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
11:19
Cloud Nothings’ “Stay Useless” spins a litany of hopeless words into a triumph over inertia.
Cloud Nothings – “Stay Useless” from: Attack on Memory / Car Park Records / January 24, 2012 [The band’s third album, Attack on Memory, was recorded with producer/engineer Steve Albini at Electrical Audio. It was the first outing to feature the live lineup and the first album in 2012 to receive “Best New Music” status on Pitchfork.com. It received a score of 8.6 and was ranked No. 22 on their Album of the Year list for 2012. Rolling Stone’s Jon Dolan awarded the album 3 1/2 stars and selected Cloud Nothings as the “Band to Watch”. Spin Magazine rated it 9/10 and “Attack on Memory” reached No. 2 on the CMJ Radio charts. The band toured Europe, performed at the Fuji Rock Festival (Japan), Pitchfork Festival and made their debut television appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show performing the single “Stay Useless”. The band continued to tour throughout most of 2013 including Europe, Israel, Australia (Laneway Festival) and an appearance at the Coachella Music Festival // Indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, founded by singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi. It currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Baldi, drummer Jayson Gerycz, bassist TJ Duke, and guitarist Chris Brown, who had joined the band earlier in the year as a touring member and is now a part of the band full-time. Beginning in 2009, the band originally started as a solo project, with Baldi recording both vocals and instrumentals in his parents’ basement, although he performed live with a full band. The band is signed to Washington, D.C.-based Carpark Records.]
[Cloud Nothings play The RINO, 314 Armour Road, North Kansas City, MO on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM.]
Christena Graves – “Swingin” On The Stars from: “Swingin On The Stars” – Single / Christena Graves / June 28, 2023 [Christena Graves writes that, “This is a song that has been on the back burner for a while. We’ve been waiting for the right time to release it and this summer is it! The lyrics for ‘Swingin’ on the Stars’ came out of a conversation I had years ago with another songwriter about the sky being full of songs. He said, “it’s all one big song and all we do as is reach up and pull a piece of it down.” That has stuck with me. I love the connectedness of it. All of us songwriters are pulling from the same pool and the air is full of music! We are all breathing it in.” // Christena Graves released her album, FINDING MY FOOTING on February 11, 2021. It was one of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2021. Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing. // After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way. // 2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. The album is titled, Finding My Footing. A nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward. // The release of Finding My Footing marks her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: http://www.christenagravesmusic.com] [Christena Graves was guest on WMM on February 10, and on July 7, 2021.]
Various Blonde – “Love is How We Will Survive” from: “Love is How We Will Survive” – Single / The Record Machine / September 24, 2021 [Various Blonde. Kansas City based experimental, rock, pop, and funk band originally formed in 2008 and currently served by founder Joshua Allen on guitar, synthesizers, and vocals; and Mark Lomas on drums. The band has been described by Mills Record Company as, “Having all the sex appeal of The Weeknd and all the grit of Rage Against the Machine–the combination makes for a performance that is explosive.” On August 19, 2022 Various Blonde released the single, “Obtuse”. On June 9, 2022 Various Blonde released the single, “Too Many Secrets.” On March 13, 2020 Various Blonde released a three song EP called 3s 2 through The Record Machine. On January 2020 Various Blonde released a three song EP called 3s 1 through The Record Machine. On September 16, 2016 Various Blonde released the 10-track album ALL BASES COVERED through The Record Machine. On January 13, 2015 Various Blonde release the 10-track album, SUMMER HIGH. “Love is How We Will Survive” was in the TOP TEN of WMM’s 50 Favorite Singles of 2022. More info at: http://www.variousblonde.com]
11:29 – Underwriting
11:30 – Interview with Beth Byrd-Lonski
Beth Byrd-Lonski is a professional mime, clown, physical theater artist, producer of physical theater, and teacher. She’s been performing since 1982. She creates unique clown, mime, and themed characters for parties, weddings, special occasions, corporate events, etc. // She’s enjoyed touring the country as a solo artist for schools and libraries as well as collaborating with various artists and arts organizations to create original material. // Beth has been an Artist in Residence with the Charlotte Street Foundation and an Art in the Loop Artist. She has produced shows and/or workshops for the KC Fringe Festival as well as emceeing the KC Youth Fringe. // Beth is a Physical Theater Artist who uses aspects of Mime, Clown, Music, Poetry, Art, Dance and Pure Physical Theater to create original work. Dealing with themes that go beyond words such as emotion and humanity, Physical Theater speaks directly to the essence of mankind; it is immediate, intimate, familiar, and universal. Beth strives to relate to her audience through skilled performance as well as through shared experiences.
Beth Byrd-Lonski joins us to share details about her KC Fringe Theatre show 2 MIMES IN A POD – Students of Marcel Marceau, featuring Beth Byrd-Lonski and Dean Hatton on July 21 – July 29, at The Center for Spiritual Living. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
Beth Byrd-Lonski thank you for being with us today on WMM.
2 MIMES IN A POD – Students of Marcel Marceau, featuring Beth Byrd-Lonski and Dean Hatton on July 21 – July 29, at The Center for Spiritual Living.
Theses Two students of world re-known Mime artist Marcel Marceau, like to get together every few years and show their latest Mime pieces. This is one of those years. Beth and Dean will be bringing their latest, silliest, serious, most favorite numbers to the stage.
Direction Assistance from Gregg Goldston. Light and Sound design by Roger Stoddard. More Info at: http://www.byrdproductions.org
Beth Byrd chooses projects, commissions, or assignments that challenge her to become a better performer, as well as a better human being. Whether it’s a commission from a gallery to interpret visual art through Physical Theater, a project with musicians to create a Bastille Day performance or a request to perform a Marcel Marceau tribute solo – each performance is a unique collaboration with fellow artists and the audience.
Beth Byrd-Lonski thank you for being with us today on WMM.
2 MIMES IN A POD – Students of Marcel Marceau, featuring Beth Byrd-Lonski and Dean Hatton on July 21 – July 29, at The Center for Spiritual Living. Direction Assistance from Gregg Goldston. Light and Sound design by Roger Stoddard. More Info at: http://www.byrdproductions.org
11:45
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Janelle Monáe attends the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/FilmMagic)
Janelle Monáe – “Lipstick Lover from: The Age of Pleasure / Wondaland Productions – Badboy Records /June 8, 2023 [The Age of Pleasure is the fourth studio album by Janelle Monáe. Two singles have been released so far to promote the album: “Float” and “Lipstick Lover”. Monáe announced the album alongside the release of “Lipstick Lover”, which they first previewed at their Met Gala after-party in early May. It is her first studio album in over five years since her previous album Dirty Computer (2018). // Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985 in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in a working-class community of Kansas City, Quindaro. Her mother, Janet, worked as a janitor and a hotel maid. Her father, Michael Robinson Summers, was a truck driver. Monáe’s parents separated when Monáe was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker. Monáe has a younger sister, Kimmy, from their mother’s remarriage. // Monáe was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church. Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church, the Baptist church, and the Church of God in Christ. Monáe dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age, and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Monáe bought two copies of with her first check, was another source of inspiration. She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows, winning three years in a row. // As a teenager, Monáe was enrolled in the Coterie Theater’s Young Playwrights’ Round Table, which began writing musicals. One musical, completed when she was around the age of 12, was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”. // Monáe attended F. L. Schlagle High School, and after high school, moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she was the only black woman in her class. Monáe enjoyed the experience, but feared that she might lose her edge and “sound, or look or feel like anybody else”. In a 2010 interview Monáe explained, “I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn’t want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person.” // After a year and a half, Monáe dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta, enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University. She began writing her own music and performing around the campus. In 2003, Monáe self-released a demo album titled The Audition, which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant. During this period, Monáe became acquainted with songwriters and producers Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder. The three would eventually form the Wondaland Arts Collective. She worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan’s e-mail using a company computer, an incident that inspired the song “Lettin’ Go”, which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi. // Janelle Monáe Robinson (/moʊˈneɪ/;[9] born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. Monáe is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Monáe won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010. Monáe was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018. In 2012, Monáe became a CoverGirl spokesperson. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 “Janelle Monáe Day” in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership. // Monáe’s musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition. In 2007, Monáe publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in 2010, through Bad Boy Records, Monáe released a first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album and sequel to her first EP. In 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.’s single “We Are Young”, which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monáe a wider audience. Her second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven-part Metropolis concept series. // In 2016, Monáe made her theatrical film debut in two high-profile productions; Monáe starred in Hidden Figures as NASA mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson, and also starred in Moonlight. Hidden Figures was a box office success, while Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 89th annual ceremony. Monáe’s third studio album, Dirty Computer, also described as a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications and earned Monáe two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monáe’s Dirty Computer Tour, which lasted from June to August 2018.]
Quite Frankly – “Is This Still Even Fun?” from: “Might Be” – Single / Quite Frankly / October 22, 2021 Quite Frankly followed this single with “Might Be” released August 1, 2022. Before that they released, “Blue/Red” on May 14, 2021. In the dawn of 2016, shy but precocious middle schooler, founding member and bassist Scout Matthew, decided she wanted to try her hand at turning her musical ambition into reality by creating a band that would take her and her friends well beyond their beginning musical education at School of Rock. She began planning rehearsals out of her garage and within a short time, she convinced her supportive family to renovate their home’s basement into a rehearsal space. Ever since, Quite Frankly the Band has been committed to perfecting its sound, writing their own original music and adding amazing covers. // This young band is no longer just a student band, holding its own opening for, The Greeting Committee, The Darbies, John Corabi, The Jacks and LA Guns! with several yers experience the band members have moved into high school and beyond, Jolson, Carolyn, Scout, Gavin & Eli have built an impressive resume. // The band gained attention by being the youngest winners of the Nelson Atkins Battle of The Bands 2018 and for being nominated as Pitch’s “Best in KC” two years in a row. They’ve played First Fridays in the Crossroads, Starlight Theater, The Rino, recordBar, Lemonade Park, Kauffman Stadium, Sprint Center with Big Slick and Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame. More info at: http://www.quitefranklytheband.com]
[Quite Frankly plays Lemonade Park, 1628 Wyoming St. West Bottoms,KCMO on Friday, July 7, at 7:00 PM with The Box Cutters, Killer City, and Hexicharmed.]
Caley Rose – “Here We Go” from: “Here We Go” – Single / Caley Rose / June 23, 2023 [Performed by: Caley Rose who co-wrote the song with Henry Ingraham, Cassandra Jane Boettcher. Produced by: Henry Ingraham. Mixed by: Tyler Spratt. Trumpet by: Scott Bel // Caley Rose is a Billboard Charting Pop Singer & Songwriter whose music has been featured on Top 40 radio. She empowers women & youth by partnering with organizations that uplift females and by speaking about confidence in schools across the country. She has received awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Mid Atlantic Song Contest.]
[Caley Rose plays The Rochester, 1513 Grand Blvd,. KCMO. On Sunday, July 9., at 10:00 AM with Julia Reynolds, and Andrea Allen to benefit a local not-for-profit called Cereal For Breakfast]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Stay tuned for: ARTSPEAK RADIO with Maria Vasquez Boyd at noon, followed by Jazz Afternoon at 1:00 with Jeff Harshbarger. At 3:00 it Dub’s Groove with Warren Williams. At 6:00 PM it is Ebony’s Bones
Next week on June 12, Academy Award Winning filmmaker and writer Kevin Willmott and Professor of Communication & Film at the University of Central Missouri, Mark von Schlemmer join us to talk about their new documentary film: NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST HATE IN KANSAS. // We also talk with singer songwriter Heidi Gluck about her fabulous new album, “MIGRATE OR DIE.” Heidi Lynn Gluck plays an Album Release Party, at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence, KS, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7:30 with Frightened Stag and Daniel Gum // We also talk with Jade Osborne of Mid America Arts Alliance about the 2023 Art In The Loop Project
THANK YOU to all of our listeners & friends who generously donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio!!! During our Wednesday MidDay Medley Spring Fund Drive shows on June 7 and June 14, and through social media, we raised $4742.00 from 59 individual Donors! Thank you to our diverse and beautiful listeners who generously donated to allow us to continue our great mission here at 90.1 FM KKFI.
THANK YOU to my incredible Fund co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, and our wonderful staff KKFI Director of Development and Communications, J Kelly Dougherty, Vounteer Coordinator Darryl Oliver, and Chief Operator Chad Brothers. And to all of our fantastic phone volunteers.
This radio station is not about the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of wonderful 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 Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
WMM Shines a Light on the 19th Annual KC Fringe Festival Audrey Crabtree + Voler Flight Academy + Beth Byrd + New & MidCoastal Releases
Mark plays more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Monta, Teri Quinn, Nathan Corsi & My Atomic Daydream, Claire Adams, Semper Viridis, Christena Graves, Janelle Monae, The Philistines, Caley Rose, Various Blonde, Quite Frankly, Cloud Nothings, Yaeji, Feeble Little Horse, and Sparks.
At 10:30, KC Fringe Executive Director – Audrey Crabtree joins us to share details about the 19th annual KC Fringe Festival, July 14-30, 2023, that will showcase 54 productions, 6 films, and 2 galleries featuring 35 visual artists featuring performers and creators from Kansas City, and across the country, and around the world. KC Fringe Festival will present a special preview offering a free sneak peek of family-friendly performances showcasing dance, live music, musicals, comedy, dance, and fun surprises! This one-night only event happens On Thursday, July 6 at 6:00 PM at the The Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch – Truman Forum Auditorium. 4801 Main St, KCMO. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
At 11:00 members of Voler Aerial Academy join us to talk about their KC Fringe production, DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage. Playwrights Chip Ashby and Stephanie Iszory share details about how Disco Daisy and her Defenders save the soul of the city from the dastardly Dr. Rock & Roll and his evil henchmen, Hardcore, Punk, and Heavy Metal. Disco Daisy is an aerial arts extravaganza, featuring several aerial elements including silks, lyra, trapeze, chandelier, and rope. It is a family-friendly romp set to favorite music from across the decades. More info at: http://www.thievesofflight.com
At 11:30 AM Mark welcomes Beth Byrd-Lonski of Byrd Productions Physical Theater who shares details abut her KC Fringe show, 2 MIMES IN A POD – Students of Marcel Marceau, featuring Beth Byrd-Lonski and Dean Hatton on July 21 – July 29, at The Center for Spiritual Living. Theses Two students of world re-known Mime artist Marcel Marceau, like to get together every few years and show their latest Mime pieces. This is one of those years. Beth and Dean will be bringing their latest, silliest, serious, most favorite numbers to the stage. Direction Assistance from Gregg Goldston. Light and Sound design by Roger Stoddard. More Info at: http://www.byrdproductions.org
On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org
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, June 28, 2023
WMM’s 1000th Show!
WMM Celebrates 1000 Shows with Live Performances from: Madisen Ward, Mikal Shapiro, Calvin Arsenia, IVORY BLUE, Stephonne and Poet Jen Harris
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / Universal / Dec. 20, 1979 [WMM’s theme]
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens – “Inaugural Pop Music For Jane Margaret Byrne” from: The Avalanche: Outtakes And Extras From The Illinois Album / Asthmatic Kitty / July 11, 2006 [A press release on the Asthmatic Kitty website reported that the Illinois album was supposed to be a double record (with somewhere near 50 songs), but the idea was eventually scrapped. After the success of the album, Stevens returned to his analog 8-track recorder in late 2005 and began the process of finishing 21 of the previously abandoned songs, which would eventually become The Avalanche. Stevens has stated during interviews that although he doesn’t like The Avalanche as much as Illinois, he felt it was important to release the songs in light of the success of his most recent album. He has also said that he decided to release the album in order to buy time until his next “The 50 States” project,” release.]
Thanks for tuning into Wednesday MidDay Medley. I’m Mark Manning. Today we celebrate 1000 Shows! 1000 weeks of radio broadcasts, with LIVE performances in our 90.1 FM Studios from: Madisen Ward, Mikal Shapiro, Calvin Arsenia, IVORY BLUE, Stephonne, and Poet Jen Harris.
Today’s show is a celebration of 1000 show, That’s 1000 consecutive weeks of radio broadcasts (and I’ve only missed one show), 2000 hours of radio, 30,000 hours of preparation, over 2900 Interviews, 2500 guests, and over 20,000 songs, from thousands of musical artists.
We have made it our mission to mix musical genres, playing with themes, diversity, equality, free speech, connecting artists and venues and listeners and communities.
Wednesday MidDay Medley has proudly endeavored to help tell the story of our growing Kansas City area music community, “The Midcoast Sound,” as we like to call it. We have dedicated a majority of our programming to New & MidCoastal Releases.
We’ve happily presented new formats in radio, with our popular, “A Story In A Song” series, and our special shows featuring: Apocalypse Meow, The Crossroads Music Fest, Folk Alliance International, The Outer Reaches Festival, Manor Fest, Innovation Fest, Boulevardia. KC Fringe Festival, Owen Cox Dance Group, Bach Aria Soloists, KC Pride Fest, and our annual tribute shows to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., David Bowie, Iris Dement, Pioneers of Punk, Visual Art, The Spoken Word, Gay Pride, Civil Rights, Black Lives Matter and our inteviews with Tommy Ramone, Iris Dement, Laurie Anderson, Lily Tomlin. Plus, our annual 4-week special: The 120 Best Recordings of the Year.
To say I’ve been inspired by the KC music community, is an understatement. The KC music community is fueled by a collaborative and generous heart that is beating in so many of the artists I’ve met while doing this show.
I am inspired by the women who created radio on KKFI 90.1 FM long before me: my friend April L Fletcher who plays bass professionally in Los Angeles, and hosted Mix Well Before Serving on 90.1 FM in 1988 on KKFI’s first year of broadcast, and this year returned after 35 years to host and produce WMM.
And my friend Anne Winter, who left us in 2009, and reminded us how we’re all connected. At Anne’s funeral I realized that I was connected to hundreds of other people who Anne had touched with her gentle, wise, guidance and had nudged into taking a job, going out on a stage, organzing an event, doing a radio show. We were all connected because she had loved us all, and supported us, and some of us made a pact, to pick up just a little bit, of the work that Anne did, and if we all did a little, we could continue her work, to help build our community. That is how I keep Anne alive in my heart. Doing her work.
And through collaboration, and shining a light, like Abigail Henderson, who we lost in 2013, but not before she ignited a movement to create the Midwest Music Foundation supporting heath care needs and mental health care for the music community. Abigail was a guest several times on the show. She was always radiant. She performed in our “A Story In A Song” LIVE show at recordBar. She told me early on, “We like to think of Wednesday MidDay Medley as OUR show.” After I thought about what she said, I realized what one could really do with a radio show, if you check your own ego, and realize you are part of something bigger. Abigail taught me to dive deep into the incredible musical world of our area, and to never be deterred by the bullshit artists, and the naysayers, and the hypocrites, and the people who sit around judging and doing nothing, while others continue the work of building our community for a better place for those who follow.
I’ve always known that a radio show at KKFI is not mine. It belongs to the community. And every radio show at KKFI is only as healthy as the radio station itself, and like a cooperative grocery store, if you want a discount on your groceries, you got to stock the shelves. At KKFI, our station exists because of those generous programmers who volunteer for the station in addition to doing a radio show. It is the most selfless work you’ll ever do, and you’ll have to always remind yourself that it is for the mission, it is for the community, it is to keep the airwaves free.
Like water off a duck’s back, let it slide away. Let the people who project their own fears on to you, slide away. Let the folks that’ve stopped dreaming, that are left unimaginative, the selfish people, let their fear slide away. You do not need to absorb their darkness. Just remember how much you love music, and how much you love the music community, and how much you love talking with other people about music, and how much you love collaborations and learning from others. Love is always going to be stronger than the fear that “lost souls” will try to throw at you. And you’ll let it slide away, like water off a duck’s back.
I’m inspired by the diverse , intelligent, motivated, listeners, looking for place on the dial, where they can connect to the stories and music and voice of our community. 90.1 FM KKFI. And I want to especially thank Marion Merritt of Records With Merritt, for her musically encyclopedic brain, and all of the great shows she produces, over the last 19 years, and all the support she and Ann Stewart offer at every fund drive. And I want to thank my “Radio Wife” Maria Vasquez Boyd, Host and Producer of ARTSPEAK RADIO and Nico Gray, Host and Producer of Radio Nicopisa. Two shows that were first developed on Wednesday MidDay Medley and grew, organically, over time to become their own great radio shows, serving KKFI’s Mission.
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers. We celebrate 1000 weeks of WMMy, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves. Thanks for listening.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Calvin Arsenia
10:05
Calvin Arsenia – “The Painted Ladies of San Francisco” (LIVE) (4:00) also available on: Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023
10:09 – Calvin Arsenia Interview
Calvin Arsenia is one of our most frequent guests, who has been a guest on our show, 22-times, since he first appeared on WMM on July 25, 2012. // Tim Finn Music Writer for KC Magazine has hailed Calvin as ‘equal parts opera, symphony, musical theatre, rock show, all built around its creator: a charismatic 6-foot-7-inch harpist with a 3 and ½ octave range, natural stage command and knack for gilding gold and painting lilies.’ // Born in Orlando, Florida, Calvin’s creative journey began when he moved to Olathe, Kansas, teaching himself the guitar, piano, banjo. He learned his signature instrument, the harp, at the age of 20. His passion for stretching the boundaries of musical expression saw him transform a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Festival // In 2012, Calvin traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Theatre Festival, and found himself accepting a role as musical liaison with an Edinburgh Church that became a life-changing musical mission, where Calvin found himself. // Two years later Calvin returned to KC reborn with a new confidence, a new sense of self. At 24 he released his 2nd EP, Moments, in 2014, and his EP Prose in 2015, and his Folk Alliance exclusive EP Catastrophe in 2016. On February 14, 2017 Calvin released his critically acclaimed full length debut, Catastrophe, with a live show at recordBar in November 2016 that involved a company of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers. // After signing to Center Cut Records, Calvin released the albums: Cantaloupe in 2018, with a sold out gigantic spectacle at The Gem Theatre on Saturday, September 15, 2018 that involved a huge band, dancers, and at the end of the show Calvin led the entire audience out of the theatre and down the street on a street parade that ended on the steps to the Mutual Musicians Foundation, where the music continued. // Calvin then released, L.A. Sessions in 2019, and the EP, HONEY DEW, and the EP, Goddess with Quixotic, the Holiday album, ALL IS CALM. // In 2020 Calvin collaborated with Mike Dillon on the Soundtrack to “Summer in Hindsight,” a feature-length film created by The West 18th Street Fashion Show that starred Calvin as an actor. // During the pandemic Calvin became the co-creator of the podcast “We Were Christian Kids” created with childhood friend Justin Randall who is a stand-up comedian working in New York City and now Los Angeles. // Calvin is also the published author of EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE, a collection of Poetry & Prose published on October 5, 2021, by Andrews McMeel Universal. // Calvin was voted KC’s Best Musician in The Pitch 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. // He has been featured in Billboard, NPR.org. NEWNOWNEXT, Pride.com, and GRAMMY.com. Charlotte Street Foundation awarded Calvin the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards along with The Black Creatures. // Calvin Arsenia is a multi-instrumentalist, a renaissance man, a model. and actor, a designer, an artist, a writer, a collaborator, a teacher, a friend, an inspiration… Calvin has shared his own journey openly with his fans. His journey to find himself, his journey as a working artist and musician, his journey to find love, his coming out as a Queer Artist, his coming-out as Black man, his journey to understand his spirituality and the redefinition of beliefs.
On June 23, 2023 Calvin released his newest album PARADISE with two gigantic shows July 23 and July 24 at The Emerald with a team of over 50 people making the show happen.
Calvin Arsenia thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
19:18
Calvin Arsenia – “You Are Not Your Crime” (LIVE) also available on: Paradise / Calvin Arsenia / June 23, 2023
10:22
The Whittlers – “Touch The Artist” rom: Touch The Artist / Independent / Summer 2002 [One of four full length releases from Tom Livesay and Phil Wade released between 2000 – 2004. The album was made up entirely of covers with the exception of this song where Phil and Tom edited together excerpts of records from their collections. Ike Sheldon played piano and keyboards on several tracks.]
10:23 – Underwriting
10:24 – Intro
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers, the lovers. Today we celebrate 1000 weeks of Wednesday MidDay Medley, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves. Thanks for listening.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Poet Jen Harris
10:24
Jen Harris – “Regards” (LIVE)
10:28 – Interview with Jen Harris
Poet Jen Harris (she/her) is a writer based in Kansas City, Missouri. Jen has been featured on NPR, Netflix Queer Eye, Creative Mornings, TEDx, and many more, Harris is the author of 3 books of poetry and the recipient of numerous accolades. A sought-after performance artist, Jen has collaborated with Owen Cox Dance Group, Gilda’s Club, Big Bang Buffet, InterUrban ArtHouse, Artist Inc, KC Artist Coalition, Mid America Ats Alliance, Shelf Life, Eddie Moore Trio, Midwest Music Foundation and Apocalypse Meow. Jen Harris is the founder and host of The Writing Workshop KC, whose mission is to nurture creative curiosity and inspire confidence within prompt-based writing workshops. She hosts weekly classes and offers creative coaching to private clients. Additionally, Jen is one half of the artist-to-artist indie podcast Confessing Animals. Her firstborn community love child, Kansas City Poetry Slam, sold out monthly for seven years.
Jen Harris, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
10:37
Jen Harris – “Untitled” (LIVE)
10:41
Mexican Institute of Sound – “My buddy @julps” from: Politic0 / Nacionao Records / July 17, 2017
10:42 – Intro
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers, the lovers. Today we celebrate 1000 weeks of Wednesday MidDay Medley, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Madisen Ward
10:42
9. Madisen Ward – “Mr. James” (LIVE)
10:46 – Interview with Madisen Ward
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. From there Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear were born. They started playing in coffee houses and then quickly 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.”
Madisen Ward is playing the Fortune Fest in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday, August 12. And Madisen Ward plays The Ship on Thursday, October 12.
Madisen Ward thanks for being with us on WMM.
10:56
10. Madisen Ward – “I’ll Never Dance With You Again” (Live)
Be / Non – “Journey” from: A Mountain of Yeses / Unipegadong / 2009
11:00 – Station ID
Stephin Merritt (far left) has led The Magnetic Fields since the early 1990s, with a songwriting style that ranges from sincere to bitter to ironic.
The Magnetic Fields – BBC Radiophonic Workshop from: Holiday / Merge / 1994
11:01 – Intro
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers, the lovers. Today we celebrate 1000 weeks of Wednesday MidDay Medley, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves. Thanks for listening.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Ivory Blue
11:02
13. IVORY BLUE – “Elite Dreamland” (Live)
11:06 – Interview with IVORY BLUE
IVORY BLUE‘s debut EP, Ready Get Set was released in June 2015. 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 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. 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. IVORY BLUE released their debut album COMPOUND LOVE on February 25, 2022.
Ivory Blue thanks for being with us on WMM.
11:15
IVORY BLUE – “Family Table” (Live)
11:19
Wagon Christ – “Rennie Codgers” from: Tomorrow / Ninja Records / March 29, 2011
11:19 – Underwriting
11:20 – Intro
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers, the lovers. Today we celebrate 1000 weeks of Wednesday MidDay Medley, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves. Thanks for listening.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Stephonne
11:21
Stephonne – with: Zachary Arias “The King’s Gambit” (Live)
11:25 – Interview with Stephonne
Stephonne describes himself as the lovechild of Prince & Billie Holiday. He grew up in KCK and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Benedictine College, and Masters in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University. Singer, songwriter, actor, model, artist – Stephonne Singleton keeps very busy, organizing Tribute Shows, working as a Resident Artist at Charlottee Street studios, playing Music Festivals, Lemonade Park, Lawrence Pride, Manor Records, Midwest Music Foundation, The AIDS Service Foundation of KC, InterUrban ArtHouse, The Black Box, The Folly Theatre, collaborating with The Black Creatures, Calvin Arsenia, Miki P, Jass, Eboni Fondren, putting out EPs, and singles. Stephonne released his EP SIS: Side B on June 24, 2022 it was in the TOP TEN of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. Stephonne was a featured performer at the 23rd Annual West 18th Street Fashion Show on Friday, June 2, 2023.
Stephonne thanks for being with us on WMM.
11:34
Stephonne – with: Zachary Arias “Highlander (There Can Be Only One)” (Live)
11:38
Monta At Odds – “Little Chance is Left” from: Gringo / Montamusic / June 11, 2008
11:38 – Intro
Today we celebrate the pure idea of community radio, free form radio, radio that tells the story of the people who live here, the artists, the writers, the teachers, the performers, the lovers. Today we celebrate 1000 weeks of Wednesday MidDay Medley, the show that has brought us together, at this time, on this frequency, in these community airwaves. Thanks for listening.
Live in our 90.1 FM Studios…This is Mikal Shapiro
11:39
Mikal Shapiro – “Demolitions” (Live)
11:42 – Interview with Mikal Shapiro
Mikal Shapiro is founder of State City Films creating documentary and experimental filmmaking practices. Mikal studied Film History, Film, & Writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She received her MFA in Film/Video/New Media/ Animation from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. Artist, filmmaker, puppeteer, ring-leader, Mikal Shapiro is a KC songwriter whose musical influences span popular songs, psych rock, lounge, classic country and old time spirituals. She has toured extensively across the United States and has recorded 5 critically acclaimed albums Mikal also performs with Shapiro Brothers, and Monta. Mikal was the original co-host and co-creator of River Trade Radio. She is also the creator and co-host of Siren Song, Saturdays at 11:00 AM on 90.1 FM KKFI KC Community Radio. Mikal also serves as Coordinator of Kansas City Folk Fest.
Mikal Shapiro thanks for being with us on WMM.
For Wednesday MidDay Medley, I’m Mark Manning, Thanks for listening
Once Again… Mikal Shapiro
11:51
Mikal Shapiro – “Out Of This World” (Live)
11:55
Les Petits Minous – “À la claire fontaine” from: À la claire fontaine – Single / Musicreche / September 25, 2008
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Special Thanks on our 1000th Show go to: Marion Merritt, Maria Vasquez Boyd, Nico Gray, Joelle St, Pierre, Kelly Dougherty, Darryl Oliver, Chad Brothers, Mary L. Bass, Aurora Nicol, Necia Gamby, Calvin Arsenia, Jen Harris, Madison Ward, Ivory Blue, Klaartje Van Lue, Stephonne Singleton, Zachary Arias, Chris Haghirian, James Carter, Barry Lee, John Todd, Diana Griffin Ennis, and all of our listeners and friends!!!
Next week on WMM on July 5, 2023, we shine a light on the 19th annual KC Fringe Festival, July 14-30, 2023, with 52 productions, 38 visual artists, unjuried, uncensored performing, film and visual arts featuring performers and creators from Kansas City, national and international artists. At 10:30 Mark talks with KC Fringe Executives Director – Audrey Crabtree. At 11:00 members of Voler Aerial Academy join us to talk about their KC Fringe production DISCO DAISY SAVES THE CITY FROM ROCK & ROLL, July 21 – 29 at Union Station City Stage. At 11:30 AM Mark welcomes Beth Byrd who shares details abut her KC Fringe show, 2 MIMES IN A POD – Students of Marcel Marceau, July 21 – July 29, at The Center for Spiritual Living. More info at http://www.kcfringe.org
Big THANK YOU to all of our wonderful listeners and friends who generously and thoughtfully donated to support KKFI 90.1 FM – Kansas City Community Radio!!! During our Wednesday MidDay Medley Spring Fund Drive shows on June 7 and June 14, and through social media, we raised $4742.00 from 59 individual Donors! Thank you to our diverse and beautiful listeners who generously donated to allow us to continue our great mission here at 90.1 FM KKFI.
THANK YOU to my incredible Fund co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, and our wonderful staff KKFI Director of Development and Communications, J Kelly Dougherty, Vounteer Coordinator Darryl Oliver, and Chief Operator Chad Brothers. And to all of our fantastic phone volunteers for donating your time to take our donations over the phones.
This radio station is not about the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of wonderful 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 