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, May 24, 2023
Mike Dillon + Malek Azrael & The Vibez + Krystle Warren
Mark will spin more New & MIdCoastal Releases from: IVORY BLUE, Malek Azrael & The Vibez, Mike Dillon & Punkadelic, Krystle Warren & The Faculty, Hannah Jadagu, ANOHNI and the Johnsons, Paul McCartney, Chet Atkins, and Stevie Wonder.
At 10:15 Mike Dillon calls in from the road, where he is touring as a member of Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, with Les on vocals & guitar, Sean Lennon on guitar, Harry Waters on keyboards, Paulo Baldi on drums, Skerik on saxophone, and Mike Dillon on percussion. Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade play Grinders KC, 1826 Locust St., on Friday, May 26. Mike Dillon was a percussionist with Billy Goat, and was one third of influential and acclaimed band, The Malachi Papers. Mike’s own band, Mike Dillon & Punkadelic features Mike on vibraphone, ma-rimba, Prophet 6, congas, & bongos; Brian Haas (of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) on Fender Rhodes, piano, bass Moog & melodica; and Nikki Glaspie (of Beyonce) on drums, cymbals & vocals. Punkadelick released their 10-track instrumental rock, debut album, INFLORESCENCE on Royal Potato Family Records, on January 30, 2023. The album was produced with Chad Meise. Mike Dillon has released over 12 solo records, multiple albums with his other bands, many singles, and collaborations with Ricki Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco and others. More information at http://www.mikedillonvibes.com
At 10:30 AM, Mark talks with Malek & The Vibez. The band includes lead singer songwriter Malek Azrael, drummer Josh Luke, bassist Jack Roberts, and guitarist Calvin Haverkamp. Malek Azrael grew up in Kansas City and works for Boys Grow. Malek Azrael was part of Making Movies non-profit organization Art As Mentorship, and sometimes plays with Making Movies. Malek played the Ameri-Kana Fest, and KKFI’s 18th Annual Crossroads Music Fest, on Aug. 27, 2022. Makek Azrael released his 10-track debut album Waves on October 15, 2021. Malek Azrael released the single “22” on January 13, 2023, and the newest single, “Anxiety” on April 30, 2023. Malek & The Vibez play THE BLACK BOX, 1060 Union Ave., KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS, on Friday, June 2, at 7:00 PM. Malek & The Vibez play Boulevardia Festival at Crown Center, on Friday, June 16, at 7:00 PM. More info at: http://www.mavband.us
At 11:00 AM we welcome Paris based, Kansas City raised, singer songwriter, Krystle Warren for our entire 2nd hour. We will play the just released single, “Macca” from Krystle Warren & The Faculty, that was recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY to be released this year. Krystle says that the song, “became equal parts: a love letter to (Paul McCartney) and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing if you think about it.” Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey just recently headlined the KC Folk Fest 2023 on Saturday, May 20, in Washington Square Park, Kansas City, MO. Krystle will spin tracks that inspired the new single “Macca” from Paul McCartney, Chet Atkins, and Stevie Wonder. More info at: http://www.krystlewarren.com
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, May 17, 2023
Spinning Records With Marion Merritt + Mikal Shapiro & KC Folk Fest + Krystle Warren
Today, we welcome back to the show, Marion Merritt as our special “Guest Producer.” Marion Merritt is our most frequent contributor to WMM. For over 19 years now Marion has been sharing her sonic discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain. Bringing music that is just not played on other radio stations. Marion grew up in Los Angeles & St. Louis. She went to college in Columbia, Missouri. She studied art and musical engineering. After nearly two decades of managing Kansas City’s largest music department store, Marion left the corporate world and went Independent. With her partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Dimitri From Paris – “Prologue” from: Sacrebleu / Yellow Productions – Atlantic / June 11, 1996 [Debut studio albumm from Dimitri from Paris was born Dimitrios Yerasimos, on October 27, 1963. He is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contemporary house music, as well as original soundtracks from 1950s and 1960s movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, La Dolce Vita and The Party, which were sampled in his album Sacrebleu. Dimitri fused these sounds with electro and block party hip hop he discovered in the 1980s. // Contrary to his musical pseudonym, Dimitri was born not in Paris but born in Peckham, South London, to Rûm parents (Greeks of Turkey), Dimitri grew up in France where he discovered DJing at home, using whatever he could find to “cut and paste” samples from disco hits or in to montages heard on the radio, blending them together to make tapes. This early experimentation helped him launch his DJ career. // He started out by DJing at the French station Radio 7, before moving on to Skyrock and finally to Radio NRJ, Europe’s largest FM radio network, in 1986. There, he introduced the first ever house music show to be broadcast in France, while simultaneously producing under the direction of sound designer Michel Gaubert, runway soundtracks for fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Yves Saint-Laurent. He also released two solo EPs from 1993 to 1994 and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357. // In 1996, Dimitri gained worldwide recognition with the release of his first full album, Sacrebleu, released on Yellow Productions. A blend of diverse influences including jazz, original film soundtracks, samba, and organic house, Sacrebleu sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by UK’s Mixmag magazine. // In 2000, Dimitri followed Sacrebleu up with A Night at the Playboy Mansion (Virgin) and Disco Forever (BBE), followed by My Salsoul in 2001, After the Playboy Mansion in 2002. In 2003, Cruising Attitude was released, to be closely followed by his first outing on UK’s premier dance music label Defected: Dimitri from Paris In the House. // He has followed a somewhat glamorous musical path by recording soundtracks and advertising campaigns for fashion houses Chanel, Jean-Paul Gautier and Yves Saint Laurent and remixing hundreds of artists as diverse as Björk, The Cardigans, James Brown, Michael Jackson, New Order and Quincy Jones. He also did the music for the anime Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase and mixed the soundtrack for the French luxury dessin animé Jet Groove produced by Method Films. // 2005 saw Dimitri go back to his Funk and Disco roots, with Japanese hip hop producer and über collector DJ Muro for Super Disco Friends a double CD mixdown. In 2006 he offered his House of Love outing to Valentine’s Day’s lovers. Later on Dimitri produced Los Amigos Invisibles “Super Pop Venezuela” album which grabbed a nomination for a Grammy Award. // 2007 saw the release of the Cocktail Disco project with longtime partner BBE, a handful of disco classics remixes and other surprises down the line. // 2009 saw the release of the Night Dubbin’, a post-disco R&B compilation remix album.]
Thievery Corporation – “Voyage Libre (feat. LouLou Ghelichkhani)” from: Treasures from the Temple / Primary Wave Music / April 20, 2018 [Thievery Corporation’s Treasures from the Temple, is a companion LP to the band’s chart-topping 2017 album, Temple of I & I. The 12-track compendium includes a trove of original recordings and remixes from the band’s Temple sessions at Geejam Studios in Port Antonio, Jamaica with vocal appearances by LouLou Ghelichkhani, Mr. Lif, Sitali, Racquel Jones, Natalia Clavier and Notch. The album’s first single, “Voyage Libre,” was also made into a music video directed by Tina Rivera. The journey to the Treasures from the Temple begins by wandering through Thievery vocalist LouLou Ghelichkhani’s psyche in a surreal, monochromatic visualization of emotional space. // Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza (born March 28, 1970) and Eric Hilton. Their most well-known track, Lebanese Blonde, has been featured in numerous movie soundtracks, but most notably on the award-winning Garden State (film) soundtrack. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bossa nova. // LouLou Ooldouz Ghelichkhani was born in San Jose California. She was raised in Paris, France till her teenage years then moved to Bethesda, Maryland. The culture shock was incredible…it took her a few years to discover the District of Columbia and all its wonders. In 1999, LouLou met Eric and Rob of Thievery Corporation through mutual friends SEE-I.. She soon was abducted by the duo on fantastic voyage : Thievery Corporation. Since then she has recorded and performed with the Thieves around the globe.]
Cécile McLorin Salvant – “Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent ?” from: Mélusine / Nonesuch Records / March 24, 2023 [Cécile McLorin Salvant was born August 28, 1989. She is an American jazz vocalist. // She was the winner of the first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2010, releasing her first album, Cécile, shortly thereafter. Her second album, WomanChild, was released in 2013 on Mack Avenue Records, receiving a 2014 Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Salvant won four categories in the 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll: Jazz Album of the Year, Female Vocalist, Rising Star–Jazz Artist, and Rising Star–Female Vocalist. Her third album, For One to Love, was released on September 5, 2015, to critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Guardian, and Los Angeles Times. It won her the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2016. // Cécile Sophie McLorin Salvant was born in Miami, Florida. Her father, who is Haitian, is a doctor and her mother, who is French, is the founder and president of a French immersion school in Miami. Salvant began studies in classical piano at the age of five, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society when she was eight. She subsequently developed an interest in classical voice and began studying with private instructors, and later with Edward Walker, vocal teacher at the University of Miami.[11] She said in 2015: “I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where we listened to all kinds of music. We listened to Haitian, hip hop, soul, classical jazz, gospel and Cuban music, to name a few. When you have access to that as a child, it just opens up your world.” // In 2007, Salvant moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, to study law as well as classical and baroque voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory. It was in Aix-en-Provence, with reedist and teacher Jean-François Bonnel [fr], that she studied improvisation, instrumental and vocal repertoire, and sang with her first band. // In a four-star review of her sold-out engagement at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London in June 2015, John Fordham wrote in The Guardian: “She brings ideas from unexpected angles to the familiar art of standards-singing, and she applies a mischievous intelligence to well-worn lyrics in ways that transform them.” // Salvant began studying voice at the age of eight with an interest in classical music. She began her transition into jazz while studying at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory in 2007, and also studied composition and music theory at The New School. Salvant says that her main jazz influence is Sarah Vaughan, recalling childhood memories of listening to her songs repeatedly. While strongly influenced by Sarah Vaughan, she is also heavily influenced by vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Betty Carter. She describes her sound as jazz, blues, with elements of folk and musical theatre. She composes music and lyrics which she also sings in French, her native language, as well as in Spanish. She enjoys popularity in Europe and in the United States, performing in clubs, concert halls, and festivals accompanied by renowned musicians. Salvant has performed at jazz venues and festivals including Ronnie Scott’s, the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, and the Village Vanguard. // In 2010, Salvant released her first self-titled album, Cécile & the Jean-François Bonnel Paris Quintet. Soon thereafter, at the age of 21, she went on to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for vocalists. Her first-prize win included a recording contract with the label Mack Avenue Records, with whom she released her next two albums. Writing in The New York Times in 2012, Ben Ratliff said: “In front of a trio led by the pianist Aaron Diehl she sings clearly, with her full pitch range, from a pronounced low end to full and distinct high notes, used sparingly […] Her voice clamps into each song, performing careful variations on pitch, stretching words but generally not scatting; her face conveys meaning, representing sorrow or serenity like a silent-movie actor.” // In 2013 she released her second album WomanChild, which was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award in the category of Best Vocal Jazz Album. The songs chosen for WomanChild include original compositions, as well as compositions that date back to the 19th century and progress into the 21st. Salvant chose the songs for this album based on songs she felt had a personal connection to her life. // In September 2015, Salvant released her second album with Mack Avenue Records, titled For One to Love. On this album, she chose songs that focus attention on strong women and independence. The album contains five original works and jazz standards. In 2016, the album won a Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album. Two years later, her third album with Mack Avenue, Dreams and Daggers, won a Grammy in the same category. // She has toured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, whose music director Wynton Marsalis was quoted in a 2017 New Yorker article as saying of Salvant: “You get a singer like this once in a generation or two.” // In January 2023, Nonesuch Records announced the release of Salvant’s seventh album. The album, titled Mélusine recounts the European folk legend of Melusine and largely features songs sung in French and Haitian Creole. The album was released digitally on March 24, 2023. //Salvant has sung in advertisements for Chanel’s “Chance” brand of products.]
Waltel Branco – “Sonho no Céu” from: Meu Balanço / Mr. Bongo / [originally released in 1975] Reissued 0n vinyl, 2023 [Waltel Branco was born in Paranaguá, Brazil, on November 22, 1929. He died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 28, 2018 He was a Brazilian conductor, composer and arranger. Waltel came from a family where music was a part, he began this art very early, through the drums, guitar and ukulele and later the cello, and has been studying harp and organ. His childhood and adolescence were marked by the study of music and religion alternating between the cities of Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro. His musical studies were consolidated in the period when he was in the seminary with the Chilean Joquin Zamacois. Among his teachers of the time, names like Benedict Mossurunga, Padre José Penalva, Jorge Koshag, Stanley Wilson and Alceo Bocchino contributed to its formation. // He was known for Vejo a Lua no Céu (1976), A Virgem prometida (1968) and Senhora (1975).]
Waltel Branco – “Meu Balanço” from: Meu Balanço / Mr. Bongo / [originally released in 1975] Reissued 0n vinyl, 2023
10:22 – Underwriting
Bodikhuu – “Tokyo” from: Tokyo / Farsi Records – Mississippi Records / March 24, 2023 [Mongolian producer BODIKHUU returns with a sonic journey through Japan in the form of 13 instrumental hip-hop vignettes. // “I wanted to portray the 80s Japanese atmosphere through my style,” Bodikhuu writes from his home in Ulaanbaatar, the coldest capital city on earth. “Even though I have never been there, this is my way of saying that I have seen the place.” // Unable to travel to Japan, Bodikhuu instead conjures an imagined city through sound. “Tokyo” evokes the neon, sweat, traffic, exhaust, gloaming towers and “monotonous lonely lives” of the sprawling megalopolis through its music. The album is a rich collage of cast-off sounds and razor sharp interpolations of city pop, obscure Japanese jazz, and 80s J-pop, all expertly chopped up on one of the few MPC-1000s in Ulaanbaatar. Faded voices over thundering drums give tracks like “Office Melancholia” and“Subway” a sense of place and emotional weight uncommon in beat tapes. // “Tokyo” builds on the international success of 2019’s “Rio/Bodianova” (the first Mongolian hip-hop record on vinyl), which found Bodi traveling through Rio on a lush bed of 1970s bossa nova and tropicalia. On this album, we’re jet-propelled into the 80s – all smooth surfaces, shimmering synths, and twinkling lights. // Collaged cut-up artwork by Digital Sting (Feel- Free Hi-Fi), warm analog master from Dave Vettraino (International Anthem) and loud-cut 160gm vinyl from Smashed Plastic in Chicago complement Bodikhuu’s considered beats. // A note from Bodikhuu: “The album’s idea came from my friend Jargalan aka Jack. I wanted to portray the 80s Japanese atmosphere through my style. Basically it represents the tremendously busy lifestyle of Tokyo – subway stations, roads, towers, factories monotonous and lonely lives of people in it. Even though I have never been there, this is my way of saying that I have seen the place. All of the samples come from city pop, j-pop, Japanese jazz & funk music and the production was done on an MPC-1000. ]
Bodikhuu – “J-Funk” from: Tokyo / Farsi Records – Mississippi Records / March 24, 2023
Tosca & Anna Clementi – “Oscar” from: Dehli9 / K7 Records / February 24, 2003 / Remastered for Vinyl 2023 [Dehli9 is the third studio album released by Austrian duo Tosca in 2003. Disc 1 contains relatively straightforward downtempo, while Disc 2 contains sparse, mostly piano music. The liner notes state “CD2 based on ’12 easy to play piano pieces’ by Rupert Huber.” // When Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber began making music together, Indian music was one of their influences, and they called themselves Dehli9. Dehli is a common alternative Hindustani pronunciation for Delhi. // Tosca are an Austrian music group consisting of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber. This is Dorfmeister’s second such project, the first being Kruder & Dorfmeister. Tosca’s first album, Opera, was released in 1997 by G-Stone Recordings. // Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber first met in school, and began experimenting with tape machines, Indian music, and poetry lyrics, under the name of Dehli9. After school, Dorfmeister and Huber went their separate ways: Dorfmeister began producing and DJing with Peter Kruder, and Huber worked in the experimental music scene. His compositions were featured by Wiener Festwochen (Private Exile, 2004), Centre Pompidou (Sonic Process, 2002) and Ars Electronica (Radiotopia, 2002) as well as in TV series (C.S.I.: Miami, Sex and the City) and radio (signations for the ORF – Austrian Broadcasting Company). // In 1994, Dorfmeister and Huber released their first 12″, entitled “Chocolate Elvis”, on Kruder and Dorfmeister’s G-Stone label. A string of critically acclaimed albums and remix collections followed – Opera (1996), Suzuki (1999), Dehli9 (2003) J.A.C. (2005) and No Hassle (2009) are considered milestones of the downtempo genre. The musical trademark of Tosca is a cheerful laid-back feel that emanates a warm, sexy, and occasionally melancholic atmosphere. // Their singles and its remixes were released as remix albums – i.e. Souvenirs – The J.A.C. Remixes, Suzuki in Dub, Chocolate Elvis Dubs or the Fuck Dub remix collection – and featured on countless compilations. Tosca has performed in live shows in the US, South America and Europe, including such prominent festivals as Coachella (Palm Springs, USA) and the Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, Austria). In 2001, Tosca was honored with Austria’s Amadeus Music Award as best Pop/Rock group. In 2009 the release of No Hassle saw Tosca move into more ambient soundscapes and the world of live instrumentation. In 2013 their sixth studio album Odeon featuring vocalists Sarah Callier, Rodney Hunter and JJ Jones was released on their longtime home of !K7 Records.]
Abraham Alexander – “Déjà Vu (feat. Mavis Staples)” from: SEA/SONS / Dualtone Music Group / April 14, 2023 [Abraham Alexander’s debut album SEA/SONS. Born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, Alexander moved to Texas with his family at age 11 to escape the racial tensions they faced in his birthplace. Shortly after moving to the states, his birth mother was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver, leading Alexander to be adopted later in his teens. He found solace in sports as a soccer prodigy and later, following a torn ACL that ended his playing career, in music once a friend handed Alexander a guitar and he unexpectedly found songs pouring out of him. // The 11 tracks on SEA/SONS touch on themes of loss, redemption, longing, anguish and joy. And while his lyrics speak to pain, trauma and life-changing loss, he instills his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirit, ultimately giving way to songs that radiate undeniable hope.]
Abraham Alexander – “Stay (feat. Gary Clark Jr.)” from: SEA/SONS / Dualtone Music Group / April 14, 2023
Kendrick Scott – “What Day Is It? (feat. Reuben Rogers & Walter Smith III)” from: Corridors / Blue Note Records / March 3, 2023 [Kendrick Scott was born July 8, 1980 in Houston, Texas, United States. He is an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. He is the founder of the record label World Culture Music. // Kendrick A.D. Scott was born and raised in Houston. The first encounters Kendrick had with the drums were in church, where his parents, Kenneth and Stepheny, and older brother were involved in the music ministry. Scott was later accepted to Houston’s famed High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) where his high school career culminated in many awards – the most notable being The Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship, given by the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Upon graduation from high school in 1998, Kendrick was awarded a scholarship to attend the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, majoring in Music Education. Since graduating from Berklee in 2002, Scott has performed with a variety of name artists including the Jazz Crusaders, guitarist Pat Metheny, saxophonists Joe Lovano and Kenny Garrett, vocalists Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, Gretchen Parlato and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, to name a few. He also was a member of the Berklee-Monterey Quartet, performing at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival in 1999-2000, 2002 and 2007. // Scott’s debut recording with his group Oracle recorded The Source in 2006, including pianists Aaron Parks and Robert Glasper, guitarist Lionel Loueke, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, and others. Scott also performed with the Terence Blanchard Quintet on the album A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (2007), which was nominated for two Grammy Awards for 2008. Kendrick was a member of the band that accompanied Terence Blanchard to the Monterey Jazz Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2007, and Scott embarked on the 22-state tour, starting in January, 2008 with the 50th Anniversary MJF All-Star Band. It featured the leaders of the past, present and future with Terence Blanchard on trumpet, James Moody on saxophone, Benny Green on piano, Derrick Hodge on bass, and jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon. // Scott also currently plays with the Charles Lloyd Quartet, featuring alongside Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gerald Clayton on piano.]
London Brew – “Miles Chases New Voodoo In The Church [feat. Benji B, Raven Bush, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Tom Herbert, Shabaka Hutchings, Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Dave Okumu, Nick Ramm, Dan See, Tom Skinner & Martin Terefe]” from: Miles Chases New Voodoo In The Church – Single / Concord Records / Jan. 19, 2023 [London Brew is the debut album by London Brew, a band consisting of a dozen British jazz musicians including Nubya Garcia, BBC Radio 1 presenter Benji B, and multiple members of Sons of Kemet and the Invisible. // The album was announced January 19, 2023 along with the release of lead single “Miles Chases New Voodoo in the Church”, an interpretation of Davis’ Jimi Hendrix-inspired “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”, and was released by Concord Jazz on March 31, 2023. The second single, “Raven Flies Low”, was released March 9m 2023. It is said to match “rugged funk aspects in the beat to glorious melodies wrought from the effects-laden violin of Raven Bush.” Terefe said that in mixing the track, he “fell into focusing on the continuous flow [of] Raven’s violin melodies and electronic pedal orchestrations. His mini compositions moved so brilliantly under the radar and this one blew my mind. I chose the title inspired by the track ‘John McLaughlin’ on Bitches Brew. Simply a hats off to a maestro at work.” // The album was released on March 31, 2023.// The band was assembled by producer and guitarist Martin Terefe and executive producer Bruce Lampcov for a series of concerts in major cities across Europe, starting with one at the Barbican Centre celebrating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. // In place of the concert, the group assembled at the Church Studios in North London in December 2020, starting five days after the end of the UK’s second COVID-19 lockdown, to record the album, an improvised set inspired by Bitches Brew. The recording took place over three days. The process started with pre-production work by Terefe and the Invisible’s Dave Okumu, which Okumu described as Terefe sharing “a vision rooted in inspiration and celebration rather than faithful recreation”. Benji B was brought in to feed Terefe’s and Okumu’s initial sketches to the ensemble. Okumu said the recording process was full of “so many special moments” such as “Shabaka and Nubya speaking to each other through their horns or Theon Cross dropping the heaviest bass line this side of lockdown.” // Terefe, left with over 12 hours of material from the sessions, said he mixed them “like a non-jazz record” with “no editing at all, except deciding where to start and end a song”, a decision he considered “the least conventional thing to do”. Terefe called the results a “new piece of music that taps into Miles’s mindset at the time and our emotion of having been through the pandemic”, and said “calling the album ‘Inspired by Bitches Brew’ comes the closest” to explaining it. // Martin Terefe – producer, mixing engineer, guitarist; Bruce Lampcov – executive producer; Dilip Harris – recording engineer; Nubya Garcia – saxophone, flute; Shabaka Hutchings – saxophone, woodwinds; Tom Skinner – drums, percussion; Benji B – decks, sonic recycling; Theon Cross – tuba; Raven Bush – violin, electronics; Tom Herbert – electric bass, double bass; Nikolaj Torp Larsen – synthesisers, melodica; Nick Ramm – piano, synthesizers; Dan See – drums, percussion; Dave Okumu – guitar; Glen Scott Lucinda Chao]]
10:59 – Station ID
Natalie Merchant – “Big Girls (feat. Abena Koomson-Davis)” from: Keep Your Courage / Big Sister – Nonesuch Records / April 14, 2023 [Keep Your Courage is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on April 14, 2023, by Nonesuch Records. It is her first full-length studio album since 2014’s Natalie Merchant and Merchant also promoted the release with a tour, accompanied on some dates by a symphony orchestra. The album has received positive reviews, but faced criticism for its tone and length. // After several years of focusing on being a single mother, Merchant returned to songwriting as an emotional outlet, composing songs for Keep Your Courage beginning in late 2020 or early 2021. These represented the first songs that Merchant had written in six years. The album is a song cycle built around the concept of having a courageous heart, and is a concept album composed entirely of love songs, which Merchant was inspired to write after having surgery as well as an anaplasmosis infection that led to sepsis and experiencing healing from love and care by others. Lyrics discuss feelings of isolation that she had during the COVID-19 pandemic and the album also explores political themes and feminism. Many of the songs are written about or to fictional or mythological characters, which is a songwriting tool that Merchant uses to approach contemporary issues. // In-studio recordings only featured up to five persons at a time due to COVID restrictions, so the resulting music was made with layering recordings. The cover is a photograph of a statue of Joan of Arc that Merchant found many years prior and kept. // Two singles preceded the album’s release: “Come On, Aphrodite” on February 15, 2023, and “Tower of Babel” on March 30, 2023. Merchant participated in a promotion with Uncut to answer fans’ questions. She also hosted a set on WDST, Radio Woodstock on April 15. On April 18, 2023, Merchant released a third single off of the album, “Big Girls”. // Beginning in May 2022, Merchant took the music from this album and prepared it for an orchestral arrangement. The promotional tour is her first long-term tour in almost a decade and it finds Merchant accompanied by a string quartet on all dates. // Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums and left it to begin her solo career in 1993. She has since released nine studio albums as a solo artist. // Natalie Merchant was born October 26, 1963, in Jamestown, New York, the third of four children of Anthony and Anne Merchant. Her paternal grandfather, who played the accordion, mandolin and guitar, immigrated to the United States from Sicily; his surname was “Mercante” before it was Anglicized. // When Merchant was a child, her mother listened to music (primarily Petula Clark but also the Beatles, Al Green, Aretha Franklin) and encouraged her children to study music, but would not allow television after Natalie was 12. “I was taken to the symphony a lot because my mother loved classical music. But I was dragged to see Styx when I was 12. We had to drive 100 miles to Buffalo, New York. Someone threw up next to me and people were smoking pot. It was terrifying. I remember Styx had a white piano which rose out of the stage. It was awe-inspiring and inspirational.” “She [her mother] had show tunes, she had the soundtrack from West Side Story and South Pacific. And then eventually… she’d always liked classical music and then she married a jazz musician, so that’s the kind of music I was into. I never really had friends who sat around and listened to the stereo and said ‘hey, listen to this one’, so I’d never even heard of who Bob Dylan was until I was 18.” Merchant says she did not have a television set between 1988 and 1989: “I grew up in a house where no one watched the news on television and no one read the paper. I’ve been discovering these things as I get older, and the news has affected me more than it ever has before.” // Merchant started working in a health food store at 16. She considered a career in special education after taking part in a summer program for disabled children, but in 1981 she started singing for a band, Still Life, which became 10,000 Maniacs. // Merchant became known for her swirling style of dancing and her simple dress while performing with 10,000 Maniacs. Merchant was lead singer and primary lyricist for 10,000 Maniacs, joining in its infancy in 1981 while she was a student at Jamestown Community College. The group recorded their first album Human Conflict Number Five, and recorded a corresponding music video at the Hotel Franklin and at Group W Westinghouse studios in Jamestown, New York, in 1982. Merchant sang lead vocals, and later played the piano as well on seven studio albums with 10,000 Maniacs. In 1993 she announced that she was leaving the group, citing a lack of creative control over the music she wrote with the band. Her last recording with the band, a cover of Springsteen’s and Patti Smith’s “Because the Night” at the 10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged performance, reached #11 on the Hot 100 chart on February 18, 1994; becoming the band’s highest-charting song in the U.S. // After her split with 10,000 Maniacs, Merchant was so eager to begin writing her own material that she went home that very day and composed the song “I May Know the Word”, which was originally meant to appear on the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia. The song was eventually cut from the soundtrack, but it would go on to appear on Merchant’s debut solo album, Tigerlily, which was released on the Elektra label in 1995. The third song on the album, “Beloved Wife”, was featured as the first song in the trailer for the film Message in a Bottle. // Tigerlily was a critical and commercial success, spawning her first top-ten hit in the single “Carnival”, and achieving top-40 success with subsequent singles “Wonder” and “Jealousy”. The album would go on to sell over five million copies, and continues to be Merchant’s most successful album to date. She did extensive touring for it and made numerous television appearances, including performances on Saturday Night Live, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The media’s immediate and critical effect on culture and cultural icons was of particular interest to Merchant. In “River”, a song from Tigerlily, Merchant defends River Phoenix as she castigates the media for systematically dissecting the child actor after his death.]
Rickie Lee Jones – “Just in Time” from: Pieces of Treasure / Rickie Lee Jones – BMG / April 28, 2023 [Pieces of Treasure (The Duchess of Coolsville) is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. It was released on April 28, 2023, by BMG/Modern Recordings. The album consists of ten covers of songs from the Great American Songbook. The album was produced by Russ Titelman, who co-produced Jones’ 1979 self-titled debut album and its follow-up Pirates (1981). // Work conceived on the album when Jones and producer Russ Titelman, who produced Jones’ first two albums, Rickie Lee Jones (1979) and Pirates (1981), began having phone conversations and lunch meetups with Titelman repeatedly presenting to Jones of the idea of making a jazz album. The album was recorded over five days at the Sear Sound studios in Midtown Manhattan. // The album’s lead single, “Just in Time”, was released on January 20, 2023. The second single, “September Song”, was released on February 24, 2023. The third single, “Nature Boy”, was released on March 24, 2023. // Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two-time Grammy Award winner (from seven nominations), Jones was listed at No. 30 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll in 1999. // She released her self-titled debut album in 1979, to critical and commercial success. It peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and spawned the hit single “Chuck E.’s in Love”, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album went Platinum later that year, and earned Jones four Grammy Award nominations in 1980, including Best New Artist, which she won. Her second album, Pirates, followed in 1981 to further critical and commercial success; it peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, went Gold, and ranked No. 49 on NPR’s list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women in 2017. // Her third album, The Magazine, appeared in 1984 before Jones took a brief hiatus from recording. Her fourth album, Flying Cowboys, was released in 1989 and later went Gold. Jones won her second Grammy Award in 1990 for “Makin’ Whoopee”, a duet with Dr. John, this time in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group. Jones’ seventh Grammy Award nomination followed in 2001 in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her album It’s Like This (2000). In 2021, Jones released her memoir Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour. // Jones was born the third of four children to Richard and Bettye Jones, on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, on November 8, 1954. She was named after her father, who was a singer, songwriter, painter, and trumpet player. Her mother, Bettye, was raised in orphanages around Mansfield, Ohio. She has a brother Daniel, and two sisters, Janet Adele and Pamela Jo. Her paternal grandfather, Frank “Peg Leg” Jones, and her grandmother, Myrtle Lee, were vaudevillians based in Chicago.[ A singer, dancer and comedian, Peg Leg Jones’ routine consisted of singing and accompanying himself on ukulele, soft shoe dance, acrobatics, and comedy. // Jones lived in Phoenix, Arizona from age 4 to 14. // At age 21, Jones began singing traditional jazz and original compositions in bars and coffee houses in Venice, California. There she met Alfred Johnson, a piano player and songwriter, with whom she wrote “Weasel and the White Boys Cool”, and “Company”, which would later appear on Jones’s debut album. In 1977, Jones met Tom Waits at The Troubadour. They dated for about two years, before splitting in 1979. // Rickie Lee Jones was released in March 1979 and became a critical and commercial hit, buoyed by the success of the jazz-flavored single “Chuck E.’s in Love”, which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and featured an accompanying music video. The song was occasioned by her friend, Chuck E. Weiss, telephoning her and Tom Waits, all three of them close friends at the time, in the Fall of 1977 to tell them that he had fallen in love. The album, which included guest appearances by Dr. John, Randy Newman, and Michael McDonald, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, went Platinum, and produced another Top 40 hit with “Young Blood” (No. 40) in late 1979. // Her appearance – as an unknown (one month after her debut record had been released) – on Saturday Night Live on April 7, 1979, sparked an overnight sensation. She performed “Chuck E.’s in Love” and “Coolsville”. Jones was covered by Time magazine on her very first professional show, in Boston, and they dubbed her “The Duchess of Coolsville”. Touring after the album’s release, she played Carnegie Hall on July 22, 1979. Members of her group included native New York guitarist Buzz Feiten, who was featured on the album and would appear in her recorded works for over a decade. Following her first-ever performances in the spring/summer of 1979, Jones appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, the cover image showed Jones posing in a crouched stance, wearing a black bra and a white beret. // Jones secured four nominations at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards: Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for “Chuck E.’s in Love”; Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for “The Last Chance Texaco”; and Best New Artist, which she won. The album also earned a nomination for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical, credited to Tom Knox. // In 1980, Francis Ford Coppola asked Jones to collaborate with Waits on his upcoming film One from the Heart, but she balked, citing their recent breakup in late 1979.[ Coppola argued that the duet would be perfect for the film, since the two main characters in the film are separated, and he asked her to reconsider. Waits ultimately sang with country pop star Crystal Gayle. // In 1981, Jones released her second album, Pirates, which received high marks from critics and was a commercial success. The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and soon achieved Gold certification. Rolling Stone remained a fervent supporter of Jones, with a second cover feature in 1981; the magazine also included a glowing five-star review of Pirates. The single “A Lucky Guy” became the only Billboard Hot 100 hit from the album, peaking at No. 64, but “Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)” and “Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking” became minor Top 40 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. // Jones left New York for San Francisco where she befriended Robin Williams. In Los Angeles, she recorded the EP Girl at Her Volcano, producing the record herself and drawing the cover art. It was released as a 10″ record in 1983, featuring a mix of live and studio cover versions of jazz and pop standards, as well as one Jones original, “Hey, Bub”, which was originally written for Pirates. Jones then relocated to Paris. // In 1983, Jones lived in Paris for four months, writing new material for her third full-length solo album, The Magazine, released in September 1984. The Magazine was produced by Jones and James Newton Howard and included a three-song suite, subtitled “Rorschachs”, which featured multi-tracked vocals and minimalist synth patterns.[citation needed] The lead single, “The Real End”, reached No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. // Jones took a four-year break from her recording schedule, largely attributed to the deaths of her mentor Bob Regher as well as her father, Richard Loris Jones, that same year]
Etran de L’AÏr – “Toubouk Ine Chihoussay” from: Agadez / Sahel Sounds / February 18, 2022 [The name Etran de L’Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous region of Northern Niger. They are based in the town of Agadez, an urban center of the desert, and a city reknowned for the production of music – in particular the electric guitar and the so-called “desert blues,” popularized as late by bands such as Mdou Moctar and Bombino. Agadez is a guitar town, and boasts dozens of bands. All of these groups are working musicians. In the Sahara, this style of electric guitar is intertwined with a social function. Bands are ceremonial, and are hired out to play in weddings, baptisms, and political events. It is possible to make a living from this “wedding circuit,” and Agadez is a center of this lucrative commerce. In the circuit of wedding bands of Agadez, Etran de L’Aïr is the best known and longest playing groups. Yet they are also a band that has remained on the fringes of success. // Etran is not just a musical group, but a family collective. Formed in 1995, an eternity ago in the Sahara, Etran was founded by member Aghaly Migi. Over the years, he taught his younger brothers to play, and integrated them into the group. Agadez was much smaller than, there was little electricy, and the electric guitar was rare. When the band began, they only had one acoustic guitar, and the rhythm section was a calabash floating in water “hit with a sandal, to make a drum.” When amplification eventually found its way to Agadez, the acoustic guitar was modified, using a transducer microphone. In the past 10 years, the band was able to acquire more material – a drum set, a few electric guitars. As the family grew, so did the band. Today, all the members are related, brothers and cousins. The size fluctuates per performance, between 5 and 9.]
Congotronics International – “Where’s the One? (feat. Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Kasai Allstars, Konono No 1, Wildbirds & Peacedrums & Skeletons)” from: Where’s the One? (feat. Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Kasai Allstars, Konono No 1, Wildbirds & Peacedrums & Skeletons) / Crammed Discs / April 29, 2022 [Congotronics International is a supergroup comprised of Konono Nº1, Kasai Allstars, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, and Skeletons’ Matthew Mehlan. // Eleven years lovingly in the making, Where’s The One? gathers 19 musicians from across four continents, working together to create a new musical language that combines the traditional electrified music of the Congolese artists with the various experimental rock styles of their admirers based in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. // The album’s 21 electrifying songs consist of concert recordings processed and mixed by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, and studio tracks produced in the years before, during, and after the Congotronics vs. Rockers tour, which brought these acts together for the first time in 2011 tour —all in all, ten lead vocalists, five guitarists, three likembe players, five percussionists, two bass players, and three drummers—for performances at 16 major festivals and venues in ten countries. / Where’s The One?’s dynamic first two singles preview all sides of the recording: the triumphant and wild “Banza Banza,” which showcases Kasai Allstars’ powerhouse lead vocalist Kabongo Tshisense, and the dreamy, folk-inflected instrumental “Beyond The 7th Bend,” written and performed by Kasai Allstars’ Tshisense & Mopero Mupemba, Matt Mehlan and Juana Molina, which intermingles Western & African guitars and a Congolese thumb piano. The album features cover art drawn by Juana Molina that portrays all the participants on stage. // It all started when the music of Konono No.1 and Kasai Allstars was first released in the US and Europe, in the later part of the ‘00s. With its blend of ritual music, traditional percussion, thumb pianos, electric guitars, and makeshift instruments made from junkyard scrap, their out-of-this-world sound – now also known as Congotronics, a word coined to title the series in which their albums appeared on Crammed Discs – deeply struck the imagination of musicians and fans worldwide. Leading rock media enthused about this newly rediscovered brand of “primal rock”, while an impressive string of avant-rock, electronic & hip hop artists (from Dirty Projectors, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective and Deerhoof to Beck, Björk, Wilco, Radiohead, Saul Williams, Questlove and many more) repeatedly quoted the Congotronics bands as major sources of inspiration. // After curating an epic tribute album by 26 rock and electronic artists (Tradi-Mods vs Rockers: Alternative Takes on Congotronics), Crammed Discs pushed the idea further, and initiated a real-life encounter, resulting in a supergroup consisting of ten members of Konono No.1 and Kasai Allstars, Juana Molina, all four members of Deerhoof, both members of Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Matt Mehlan from Skeleton$, and Vincent Kenis (in his capacity of co-founder of Kasai Allstars and curator & producer of the Congotronics record series). // For several months, a fascinating remote writing process took place: demos started flying back & forth over the net. Someone would start a song and send it on to the others, the same track sometimes travelling three times around the globe (Vincent Kenis was in Kinshasa with the Congolese participants, while Juana Molina, Deerhoof, Wildbirds & Peacedrums and Matt/Skeletons worked from their respective studios in Buenos Aires, New Mexico/New York, Stockholm and Brooklyn). // Everyone eventually flew in to Brussels to complete the writing, and rehearse for the tour which had been set up. During these intense sessions, the specificities of the supergroup emerged: there was to be no leader, everything was conceived collectively; many languages were spoken in the band (Lingala, Tshiluba, English, French, Swedish), but few people spoke more than one or two; The musical languages were another story: simultaneously more and less mutually intelligible… More, because verbal communication isn’t always necessary in those matters, and less, because massive gaps sometimes needed to be bridged. This is well described in the notes written for the album booklet by the participants, who also reveal the origin of the album’s title (Where’s the One? refers to the initial difficulties in agreeing on how to understand each other’s rhythms: “where does the first beat actually fall?”). // The concerts were fiery and wild. After the tour (16 dates which took the band to some of the best festivals and venues across Europe and Japan, in the summer of 2011), the recording process continued in remote mode, on and off. The resulting album blends concert recordings, processed and mixed by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, who considered them as raw material to which he applied studio treatments, and tracks derived from studio sessions conducted before & during the tour as well as in the following years. The record was completed in 2021 by Deerhoof’s John Dieterich & Greg Saunier and Crammed Discs’ Marc Hollander. The album’s mixing by Saunier serves to elevate its live recordings into a seamless whole alongside the studio tracks. // Congotronics International is ultimately an ephemeral supergroup, however the strong bonds and mutual respect that were born between all musicians have led to some of its members to collaborate with each other in the time since (in 2017, Molina was featured on Deerhoof’s Mountain Moves LP, while Dieterich worked on her Halo LP; more recently, Deerhoof remixed a track on Kasai Allstars’ 2021 release The Black Ants Remixes). Other collab projects are in the works. // A feature-length documentary of Where’s The One?, which offers an inside look at the initial encounters and concerts filmed and directed by Pierre Laffargue, is also set for release later this year. // Where’s The One comes out in double vinyl LP, CD and digital formats. Both physical versions include a thick booklet with pictures and extensive notes by the participants.]
The Comet is Coming – “CODE” from: Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam / Impulse! Records / September 23, 2022 [The Comet Is Coming is a London-based band who incorporate elements of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. // The band originally recorded for The Leaf Label, on which their debut EP Prophecy was released, on limited edition 12″ vinyl, on 13 November 2015, with the full-length album Channel the Spirits following on April 1, 2016. The album was nominated for the 2016 Mercury Prize, and in 2018 the band signed with Impulse!. // The members of the band use the pseudonyms “King Shabaka”, “Danalogue”, and “Betamax” to respectively refer to saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, keyboardist Dan Leavers, and drummer Max Hallett. // In a 2013 interview, Hutchings explained the name of the band thus: “The name of the group comes from a BBC Radiophonic Workshop piece of the same name. Once we heard this piece, with its allusions to sci-fi, cosmic remembrances and general space, it instantly struck a chord. We’re exploring new sound worlds and aiming to destroy all musical ideals which are unfit for our purposes so the name stuck.” // In an interview with M magazine, Betamax spoke of the band’s genesis: Me and Danalogue the Conqueror play as a psychedelic electro synths and live drums duo called Soccer96. We began to notice a tall shadowy figure present at some of our gigs. At some point he appeared at the side of the stage with his sax in hand. When he got up on stage to play with us it created an explosive shockwave of energy that stunned us all. A couple of weeks later King Shabaka rang me up and said ‘hey let’s make a record’ so we booked three days in Total Refreshment Centre studios. It all came together at an incredible speed. We played and recorded to 1/4 tape with no pre-written material. By the end of three days we had recorded hours of music. // The imagery associated with the band is based around outer space, science fiction and B-movies, as can be seen in the music videos for their singles “Neon Baby” and “Do the Milky Way”, as well as in song titles and artwork. “Do the Milky Way” premiered on The Quietus. In a feature in The Guardian in April 2016, the group were described as the “true heirs” of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra, and praised for their “fusion of jazz, Afrobeat and electronica in an improvisational, intergalactic mash-up”. The Quietus wrote that although the band is “intrinsically linked to funk…and spiritually linked to all manner of cosmic music via their imagery (and love of space-creating echo and reverb effects), The Comet Is Coming has the feel of an utterly fresh sort of project”. // King Shabaka elaborates on the cosmic side of the band and the connection to Sun Ra in the same article, when describing the crystal that dominates the cover of their Prophecy EP. He says, “The other thing about the crystal, metaphorically speaking, is the whole Sun Ra thing of creating your own myths. The thing I like that Sun Ra says a lot is the fact that societies that can create their own mythological structures are the ones that have their own agency. To the point at which you can dictate the terms of what’s real and what’s not real. The crystal in the hand forces you to create your own myth”. // In August 2016, the band was nominated for the Mercury Prize for their debut album, Channel the Spirits. // In January 2017 the band was one of the recipients of the Momentum Music Fund through PRS for Music and in April 2017 the band released the Death to the Planet EP through The Leaf Label as part of Record Store Day. // Their second full-length album, Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery, was released in March 2019 and received critical acclaim, with The Quietus noting the importance of Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane on their sound while acknowledging that “rather than being weighed down by those legacies, The Comet Is Coming have turned them into fuel, accelerating their sound, and with it, the sound of jazz today.” Pitchfork gave the album a score of 7.8 out of 10 and wrote, “Mostly low- to mid-tempo, the band skillfully integrates bleak and radiant tones, leading to an impressive nine-track suite of ambient, spoken-word and grime-infused compositions.” The album currently holds a score of 83 on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating “Universal acclaim.” // The band was part of the lineup for the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.]
The Comet is Coming – “Birth of Creation” from: Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery / Impulse! Records / March 15, 2019
11:28 Goodbyes for Marion
Marion Merritt is founder of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd., in KCMO. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com
Marion Merritt thank you for being out Guest Producer on Wednesday MidDay Medley.
11:29 – Underwriting
10:30 – 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 At Odds. Mikal is also the creator and co-host and producer of Siren Song, Saturdays at 11:00 AM on 90.1 FM KKFI KC Community Radio.
Mikal Shapiro joins us to share details about Kansas City Folk Festival, Saturday, May 20, 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at Washington Square Park, 100 E Pershing Rd, KCMO. The KC Folk Fest includes: Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey, Nokosee Fields, Mac Sauce, Hudspeth & Taylor, Flutienastiness, Sam Wells, Traditional Music Society presents Soundz of Samba, & Gamelan Genta Kasturi. Plus! No Divide KC Artist Showcase with: Waleska Barroeta, Les Izmore, & Luke “Skippy” Harbur. AND! Featured Poets: The Recipe, Natasha Ria El-Scari, Jose Faus, & Mary Silwance. AND Dance by Shashwat Chaurasia. More info at: http://www.kansascityfolkfestival.org
Mikal Shapiro Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Kansas City Folk Festival, Saturday, May 20, 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at Washington Square Park, 100 E Pershing Rd, KCMO.
The Fest features live music from: Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey, Nokosee Fields, Mac Sauce, Hudspeth & Taylor, Flutienastiness, Sam Wells, Traditional Music Society presents Soundz of Samba, & Gamelan Genta Kasturi. Plus! No Divide KC Artist Showcase with: Waleska Barroeta, Les Izmore, & Luke “Skippy” Harbur. AND! Featured Poets: The Recipe, Natasha Ria El-Scari, Jose Faus, & Mary Silwance. AND Dance by Shashwat Chaurasia.
Kansas City Folk Festival, Saturday, May 20, 12:00pm to 8:00pm, at Washington Square Park, 100 E Pershing Rd, KCMO, a free festival celebrating the music & arts, of our neighborhoods & beyond with song, poetry, dance, storytelling, art, demos, workshops, food trucks, and craft markets.
KC Folk Fest values diversity, equity, inclusion, & sustainability as a legacy for future generations.
KC Folk Fest is now an independent, community-led nonprofit organization that is admission and barrier-free thanks to the support of Folk Alliance International, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Tourism & Development Fund, sponsors, partners, & donors. Grassroots & dedicated to being family & earth-friendly.
One of the performers is Mac Sauce released the 9-track album PRINCESS DIARIES on February 25, 2022. Mac Sauce is a 10 year old Kansas City rap artist known as “the voice of the playground,” Mac Sauce is one of Kansas City’s youngest rappers who writes all her own lyrics.
Mikal Shapiro Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Kansas City Folk Festival, Saturday, May 20, 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at Washington Square Park, 100 E Pershing Rd, KCMO. The KC Folk Fest includes: Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey, Nokosee Fields, Mac Sauce, Hudspeth & Taylor, Flutienastiness, Sam Wells, Traditional Music Society presents Soundz of Samba, & Gamelan Genta Kasturi. More info at: http://www.kansascityfolkfestival.org
11:39 – Intro to Interview with Krystle Warren
Krystle Warren and with Solomon Dorsey will headline the KC Folk Fest 2023 on Saturday, May 20, in Washington Square Park, Kansas City, MO Info: http://www.kansascityfolkfestival.org
We close with “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.
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. Recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY.”Macca” arrived unexpectedly. // Krystle writes: “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 them upon the moon…’ – it sounded so distinctly Paul. Immediately I worried that the client would accept my buddy’s submission; thankfully, they didn’t.” // The “Paul” Krystle is referring 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 – ‘Wanderlust,” ‘Tug Of 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 equal parts: a love letter to him, and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful 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.”]
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, May 17, 2023
Spinning Records With Marion Merritt + Mikal Shapiro & KC Folk Fest + Krystle Warren
Mark welcomes Marion Merritt, of Records With Merritt, who joins us as “Guest Producer” to share sonic discoveries and information from her musically-encyclopedic-brain. Marion Merritt is our most frequent contributor to WMM. For 19 years she has contributed as an Associate Producer on WMM. She grew up in Los Angeles, and St. Louis. She went to college in Columbia, Missouri. She studied art and musical engineering. She saw Talking Heads on their first U.S. tour when they played One Block West, in KCK, in 1978. With her partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt, a minority owned business at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com.
Marion will spin tracks from: Thievery Corporation with LouLou Ghelichkhani, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Waltel Branco, Bodikhuu, Tosca with Anna Clementi, Abraham Alexander with Mavis Staples and Gary Clark Jr., Kendrick Scott with Reuben Rogers & Walter Smith III, Natalie Merchant, Rickie Lee Jones, Etran de L’AÏr, Congotronics International (with Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Kasai Allstars, Konono No 1, Wildbirds & Peacedrums & Skeletons), The Comet Is Coming, London Brew (with Benji B, Raven Bush, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Tom Herbert, Shabaka Hutchings, Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Dave Okumu, Nick Ramm, Dan See, Tom Skinner & Martin Terefe), and Durand Jones.
At 11:30am Mikal Shapiro shares details about Kansas City Folk Festival, Saturday, May 20, 12:00pm to 8:00pm, at Washington Square Park, 100 E Pershing Rd, KCMO, a free festival celebrating the music & arts of our neighborhoods & beyond with song, poetry, dance, storytelling, art, demos, workshops, food trucks, and craft markets. KC Folk Fest features: Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey, Nokosee Fields, Mac Sauce, Hudspeth & Taylor, Flutienastiness, Sam Wells, Traditional Music Society presents Soundz of Samba, & Gamelan Genta Kasturi. Plus! No Divide KC Artist Showcase with: Waleska Barroeta, Les Izmore, & Luke “Skippy” Harbur. AND! Featured Poets: The Recipe, Natasha Ria El-Scari, Jose Faus, & Mary Silwance. AND Dance by Shashwat Chaurasia. KC Folk Fest values diversity, equity, inclusion, & sustainability as a legacy for future generations. KC Folk Fest is now an independent, community-led nonprofit organization that is admission and barrier-free thanks to the support of Folk Alliance International, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Tourism & Development Fund, sponsors, partners, & donors. Grassroots & dedicated to being family & earth-friendly. Audiences are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. Info at: http://www.kansascityfolkfestival.org
At 11:40am we talk with Paris based, Kansas City raised, singer songwriter, Krystle Warren. We will play the new song, “Macca” from Krystle Warren & The Faculty, that was recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY to be released this year. Krystle says that the song, “became equal parts: a love letter to (Paul McCartney) and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing if you think about it.” Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey will headline the KC Folk Fest 2023 on Saturday, May 20, in Washington Square Park, Kansas City, MO. More info at: http://www.krystlewarren.com
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, May 10, 2023
Shaun Crowley & The Music of Manor Fest 5
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
Wednesday MidDay Medley spins music from 21 artists playing Manor Fest 5 including: Ebony Tusks, Shy Boys, Paris Williams, The Creepy Jingles, Jass, True Lions, Heidi Gluck, Trevor Turla, Fritz Hutchison, The Swallowtails, Blanky, Sam Wells, The Cavves, Eggs On Mars, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, Field Daze, Honeybee, Surf Wax, Abandoncy, THIMASTR, and Nightosphere. We started with Heidi Gluck
Shaun Crowley & Connor Randell of Manor Records joined us to talk about Manor Fest 5, a fundraising local music festival that consists of two weekends, Lawrence, KS. on May 19-20, and Kansas City on May 25-28, 2023, featuring 51 bands, across 17 stages, over 6 days. All profits from this fundraiser event to help Manor Records with their non-profit mission of releasing local artists’ music on physical platforms through the “Manor Records Fund”. More information at; http://www.manorrecrds.com
Shaun Crowley is a classically trained guitarist, and has studied at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. Shaun is the co-founder of Manor Records, a music label that grew out of Manor Fest, the first festival sized “house show” Shaun and friends produced in their basement featuring 12 bands. We first met Shaun as part of the band Rev Gusto, originally formed in high school with friends at Saint James Academy.
Shaun Crowley thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
In this past several years, Manor Records, has grown to become a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization based in the Strawberry Hill area of Kansas City, Kansas.
Also joining us is Connor Randell a new Board Member for Manor Records who is from Springfield MO and is a huge fan of music and avid concert attendee.
Connor Randell, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Manor Record Board
Shaun Crowley – President Skylar Rochelle – Vice President Kayla Jarrett – Secretary Connor Randell – Board Member
Manor Fest 5, includes: Ebony Tusks, Shy Boys, Paris Williams, The Creepy Jingles, Fritz Hutchison, Heidi Gluck, Pure XTC, CS Luxem, Jass, The Swallowtails, The Moose, Kat King, Eggs On Mars, Teri Quinn, The Cavves, Sam Wells, Drugs & Attics, True Lions, Trevor Turla, Daniel Gum, Khrysral., Flooding, Pale Tongue, Abandoncy, R.I. Peter, Catty Cline, Supermoto, Friendly Thieves, Charlotte Bumgarner, Field Daze, Thimaster, The Distant Now, Parry, Saving Miles Lemon, Scabb, Brent Windler, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, Surf Wax, Liney Blu, Dunes Day, MC Rue, Dalima Kapten, Brian Bulger, Joust, Tidal.Wav, Honeybee, Camp Childress, Dylan Pyles, Mint Fatigues, BIGFATCAT, Blanky, and Nightosphere.
Manor Records started in a basement of “The Shawnee Manor,” a DIY venue located in Shawnee, KS. The underground venue hosted numerous local acts, and some national touring acts from Glass Animals to Shy Boys. Founder Shaun Crowley created the first Manor Fest with 10 bands in one night, then grew to a two night event featuring 20 local bands. After years passed and a community was built, it was time for the boys to move out of the deteriorating house.
In October of 2017, Shaun and company officially launched Manor Records. A DIY record label based on the foundation of their infamous Shawnee Manor. Manor Records is a label that takes no profits from their artists, is hands-on, and self-run, with intentions of good music from good people. They began by hosting showcases featuring local and regional bands in addition to putting out cassette releases.
In the summer of 2019, after growing as a label for two years, Manor Records decided to bring back the idea of Manor Fest. Manor Fest 3 came to Kansas City with 33 bands spread across three nights in different regions of the city. We hosted showcases in traditional & non-traditional venues and featured up & coming locals such as bigfatcat and regional favorites such as Paul Cherry. After successfully putting on our first large sized festival, we realized that it was an event that helped promote and propel local artists to larger platforms. There was a need to bring it as a regular event for the Kansas City music scene to look forward to every summer. .
Alongside the festival, Manor Records has been actively providing booking, tour management, cassette releases, blog premieres/reviews, marketing and promotion services for indie acts all over the Mid-west area.
Manor Fest 5 is progressive, with staggered sets throughout the nights of two weekends, one in Lawrence & one in Kansas City, featuring 54 bands, across 17 stages, over 6 days.
Weekend One – Lawrence – Bands, 6 Stages, 2 nights
Heidi Lynne Gluck – “Sadness is Psychedelic” from: Pony Show / Lotuspool Records / August 26, 2016 [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. PONY SHOW was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM. 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 Manor Fest 5, in Lawrence on Friday, May 19, at 5:00 PM at Replay Lounge Patio, 946 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS., with Pure XTC, and CS Luxem]
10:10
The Creepy Jingles – “Nicotine Mom” from: TAKE ME AY MY WORDPLAY / High Dive Records / March 25, 2022 [From band’s 11-track, full-length debut, TAKE ME AT MY WORD PLAY. The Creepy Jingles are a Kansas City based, 4-piece rock and roll band that both honors and defies convention. Led by singer / song-writer Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, a transgender wordsmith who charms with razor wit and dazzles with her lyrical acrobatics. Nick Robertson on drums, Travis McKenzie on guitar, and Andrew Woody on bass guitar bring first class musicianship and creativity, helping Nixon paint the perfect picture of colors and sounds that don’t stay in the lines. Their new album, “Take Me at My Wordplay” is an eclectic blend of catchy Brit-Pop melodies that dance around the landscape of surf, NY garage rock, psychedelia and folk music. Paired up with lyrics centering on themes of identity, strained relationships, social media madness, meme magic, pandemic paranoia, paid off political pundits, backyard bullies and barking up the wrong tree. Everything and the kitchen sink or swim. No stoner left unturned. The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019. The release was in the top ten of WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. ] The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019.]
[The Creepy Jingles play Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Friday, May 19, at Lucia, 1016 Massachusetts, Lawrence , KS at 7:00 PM with The Dfistant Now, and The Moose]
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 play 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.
Weekend One, Night Two – Saturday, May 20, 2023
5:00 PM – Gaslight Gardens, 317 North 2nd St., Lawrence, KS (21 & up) [Sponsored by Heartland Song Network]
Teri Quinn Brent Windler Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark
7:00 PM – White School House, 1510 N. 3rd St., Lawrence, KS
Surf Wax Liney Blu Ebony Tusks
10:00 PM – Eight Street Tap Room, 801 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, KS
Dunes Day Pale Tongue Abandoncy
10:19
Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark – “Caffeine” from: Cindergarden (A Sides) / Lost River Sound / 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 Kansas City – 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 Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Saturday, May 20, at 5:00 PM at Gaslight Gardens, 317 North 2nd St., Lawrence, KS., with Teri Quinn, and Forest Porridge. Sponsored by Heartland Song Network]
Surf Wax – “Crush” from: “Crush” – Single / Neurotic Yell / July 16, 2020 [Surf Wax is an independent surf pop artist originally from springfield, mo. the project is the brainchild of songwriter, cooper kelley, who writes and records from his home in kansas city. after the release of 2 extended plays (The Basement; Dog Days), and an album (Tropic) in 2019, kelley formed a live group for the project and played shows around the midwest. during that time, he worked with Mackenzie Ballew (bass), Kevin Underwood (guitar), and his father Bart Kelley (drums). after getting his performing legs underneath him, kelley spent 2020 writing his second album (yacht club) and completing a move from Springfield, Missouri to Kansas City, Missouri. most recently, he has released his third album HERMES which is available to stream on all platforms]
[Surf Wax play Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Saturday, May 20, at 7:00 PM at White School House at 1510 N. 3rd St., Lawrence, KS with Liney Blue and Ebony Tusks]
10:25 – Underwriting
Ebony Tusks – “Bloodletting (Radio edit)” from: Heal Thyself / High Dive Records / November 6, 2020 [All songs written and performed by Ebony Tusks unless otherwise noted. // All Songs engineered and mixed by George Henry Valyer IV at Rundown Studios in Topeka, Kansas and MalaMUTE Studios in East Lawrence, Kansas. Assistance provided by Nico Williams and Claire Kuner. // Conny Franko’s vocals on “You Runner” engineered by Keith Rodger and Rick Carson at Make Believe Studios in Omaha, Nebraska. // IK’s vocals on “Gang Signs” engineered by Derek Montgomery. // Stik Figa’s vocals on “Hell Above Or Here Below” engineered by Sean Patrick at Twelves Studios in Forth Worth, Texas. // Cello on “Heir Apparent” written and performed by Brail Watson. Rhodes and Moog on “Heir Apparent” written and performed by Daniel Bowersox. // All Songs mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering in Portland, Oregon. // Album cover art by Justin Bergin. Album cover photography by Rachel Lock. Album layout by Martinez Hillard. // Album insert photography by Ailecia Ruscin and LeRoy Pristach. // Ebony Tusks is Daniel Smith on DJ & Production, Geese Giesecke on vocals & Production, and Marty Hillard on vocals & Production. Martinez Hillard told Vivid Seats: “ I began EBONY TUSKS in 2009 after a difficult period that summer. I was living in the student ghetto near the University of Kansas in Lawrence. It was an eerily calm Friday night and I didn’t have any plans after work so I crashed. I woke up shortly after 9:00 pm because my door was being kicked in. I was beaten and robbed at gunpoint. Thankfully, two of my neighbors were close friends and called the police immediately. I had nightmares for years afterward that included many symbols I’ve come to associate with various religious practices. I also began writing raps for the first time in over a decade. I was working with a couple producers and we had our first show at a house venue called Pizza Power in October 2010. Both Daniel and Geese came into the fold within a couple years of that show.” Daniel Smith lives in Lawrence, Kansas. He was born in Berkeley California. He moved to Lawrence when he was a child. Hs father is a Professor at The University of Kansas. Daniel works the United Way of Douglass County. He helps to provide after school job-training programs for under-served youth. Nathan “Geese” Giesecke grew up in Olathe but now lives and works in Kansas City, MO. He was friends with Calvin Arsenia in High School. Geese works as a producer as GEESACE. He makes beats and you can find his music at http://soundcloud.com/geesace Nathan is also a lighting designer who jumped on stage to do back up vocals for Marty and ended up being in the band. Martinez Hillard is the main vocalist and lyricist for EBONY TUSKS. He raps under the moniker Bodye, (pronounced “body”). He also produces beats. Martinez lives in the Old Town neighborhood in downtown Topeka with wife and 5 year old daughter. Martinez was part of the super group Cowboy Indian Bear. Martinez was recently elected to serve as a board member for Friends of the Library for Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. As Marty told Johnson County Library, in a piece published April 27, 2018: “ It was a project I started with other producers back in 2010. I asked Daniel to DJ for me sometime in 2011-2012 and Geese joined not too far behind him. Daniel and I had become fast friends when I lived in Lawrence and he was the nicest, most easygoing DJ of the handful I knew. He made our shows a lot less stressful. Geese was and is a lighting technician for a number of our friends’ projects and that was how I made acquaintance with him, seeing him work for a band and asking if he’d do lights for an EBONY TUSKS concert. He eventually asked if he could be hypeman for us and he brought an new intensity.” EBONY TUSKS have been a band for over 11 years making hip hop in the Lawrence scene that includes Approach, Stik Figa, Heartfelt Anarchy, and Archetype are just a small fraction. With that said, the three of us are always having conversations about how other genres influence us personally. Post-rock, post-hardcore, industrial, indie rock, and electronic all factor in. Our tastes evolve naturally and we follow accordingly. Since the three members of EBONY TUSKS live in three separate cities: Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka early on, they created a Dropbox folder to share demos with one another. And as they told Vivid Seat: “It also gave us a bit of language to use in building sounds independent of one another.” More info at: http://www.highdiverecords.com Members of Ebony Tusks joined us LIVE on WMM on February 19, and October 7, 2020.]
[Ebony Tusks play Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Saturday, May 20, at 7:00 PM at White School House at 1510 N. 3rd St., Lawrence, KS with Liney Blue and Surf Wax]
Abandoncy – “Your Condition” from: 3 – Way Split with Flooding & Nightosphere / Abandoncy / February 24, 2023 [Damian Fisher on lead guitar and vocals, Morgan Greenwood on Drums, Lincoln Peterson on bass. Recorded and mixed by Morgan Reed Greenwood. Mastered by Jonathan Nunez at Sound Artillery Studios. art by Melvin Mauch. // Aaron Rhodes in Shuttlecock Music Magazine issue 6. wrote: When Abandoncy first convened, Fisher said that the style of drummer Morgan Greenwood took some adjusting to, with its many accents and unorthodox “divisions.” Though the band plays its share of rapturous noise rock parts, many songs are more ornate than those of their contemporaries. Bassist Lincoln Peterson, in wanting to avoid overdoing it with heavy parts, wrote strategically. “I was like, if [Damian] is covering the low end, I don’t wanna be redundant, so I’d do the high end unless it was a breakdown part,” Peterson says. “In the beginning, we played our instruments opposite than the way we should. I’m gonna make this guitar sound like a bass and this bass sound like a guitar,” Fisher jokes. He says that they’ve now found a middle ground where their transitions are more “cohesively wonky.”// Fisher is currently in a PhD program at UMKC, so the songs on the band’s new LP, Pastel Anguish, freely reference philosophy and literature. He says one of the main influences in his lyric writing for the new album was the weight of the pandemic and how it impacted the health and wellbeing of his family and friends. A young cousin of his lost his life recently in part, he believes, to COVID complications.// More info at: http://www.Abandoncy.Bandcamp.com.]
[Abandoncy play Manor Fest 5 in Lawrence on Saturday, May 20, at 10:00 PM at Eighth Street Taproom, 801 New Hampshire St., Lawrence, KS with Dunes Day, and Pale Tongue.]
Weekend Two – Night One – Kansas City – Thursday, May 25
5:00 – Mean Mule, 1733 Locust St. KCMO – East Crossroads
R.I. Peter MC Rue Trevor Turner
7:00 PM – Big Mood, 2020 Baltimore, KCMO – East Crossroads
Dalima Kapten Jass The Swallowtails
10:45
Trevor Turla – “Let Go” from: “And We Continue” / Trevor Turla / April 21, 2022 [Debut EP from Trevor Turla. Trevor Turla composed all of the music on this EP that included Trevor Turla on trombone, Daniel Dissmore on trumpet, Aryana Nemati on saxophone, Fritz Hutchison on guitar & banjo, Miki P on guitar & vocals, John O’Keefe on bass, Nik Douglas on drums, Carmen Dieker on fiddle, Jake Keegan on dobro, and Chris Hazelton on organ. “Let Go” was the second single released on February 17, 2022. We first played Trevor Turla on WMM on July 29, 2020. His track “Busted” was released on a compilation titled KANSAS CITY SYZYGY that featured over 25 Kansas City-based musicians who came together to create a compilation of music created during the shutdown of the world in the Spring of 2020. // Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Trevor Turla is now lives in Kansas City. Trevor defines himself as a musician. He started playing his first instrument, the bagpipes, at the age of 8 and hasn’t stopped the pursuit of music since. He received his Bachelor’s in Jazz Studies for trombone from the UMKC Conservatory of Music. Trevor now creates music full time by playing, recording, and holding clinics around the United States. Trevor plays & sings in numerous bands, including Jake Wells, Grand Marquis, Miki P, Fritz Hutchison, & LA Jones. He was also the founder, lead singer & trombonist for the band Sulu Moon. Info at http://www.trevorturla.com.]
[Trevor Turla plays Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Thursday, May 25, at 5:00 PM at Mean Mule, 1733 Locust St. KCMO – East Crossroads with R.I. Peter, and MC Rue.]
Jass – “Lifetime” from: “Liftetime” – 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 plays plays Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Thursday, May 25, at 7:00 PM at Big Mood, 2020 Baltimore, KCMO – East Crossroads with Dalima Kapten, and The Swallowtails.]
The Swallowtails – “Take It Slow” from: “Take It Slow” – Single / Miki P / May 8, 2022 [Another single from The Swallowtails upcoming 7-track EP, THE WORLD STILL SPINS expeced May 22, 2023. 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]
[The Swallowtails play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Thursday, May 25, at 7:00 PM at Big Mood, 2020 Baltimore, KCMO – East Crossroads with Dalima Kapten, and Jass.]
Weekend Two – Night Two – Kansas City – Friday, May 26
7:00 PM – Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th St. KCK – Strawberry Hill
Camp Childress Catty Cline Field Daze
10:00 PM – The Easy Inn, 322 6th Street, KCK, Strawberry Hill
Thimaster The Cavves Drugs & Attics
11:00 – Station ID
Sam Wells – “Dear Black People” from: Black Lives Matter Compilation / French Exit Records / July 6, 2020 [The Black Lives Matter Compilation captured tracks from 22 acts from the area. On WMM we featured tracks from: Blackstarkids, Daniel Gum, Crystal Rose, UpKeep, Bream, Heavy Surface, Palace Intrigue, Self Harmony, and Sam Wells. All proceeds donated to One Struggle KC’s Liberation Fund, a Black-led coalition of KC activists seeking to connect the struggles of oppressed communities, locally & globally. French Exit Records launched two years ago and is an independent music label based out of Kansas City, Missouri founded by Brad Girard. French Exit Records has released albums for No Magic and Raymond, and has organized live events. The Black Lives Matter Compilation is available on French Exit Record’s Bandcamp page: http://www.frenchexitrecords.bandcamp.com.] [On April 21, 2020, Sam Wells released her single “Sugar” produced at the Lawrence Kansas Public Library recording studio. It was only a decade ago, Sam Wells sat in her bedroom learning the Corrine Bailey Ray classic “Put Your Records On”. This was all it took to ignite a lifetime love affair with music. Now based in Lawrence KS, the singer-songwriter brings her Folk-Americana sound to the greater Kansas City area. With her smooth and sultry voice and the warm tones of a baritone ukulele, she shares stories of love, loss and everything in between. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Sam Wells is now based in Lawrence, Kansas where she is bringing her music to the greater Kansas City area, in many venues, and now in live stream shows. Folk Americana singer and songwriter Sam Wells joins us to talk about her first two singles, “Lesson Learned” (her debut) and “Sugar” (her latest) that is “full of energy and funk.” // Sam Wells released her debut EP, FOR THE DEFLATED on French Exit Records on December 31, 2020. Sam Wells is a Kansas City, based singer songwriter who has shared stages with Betsy Phillips, Kelly Hunt, Andrew Ryan, The Zack Pietrini Band, and The Phantastics. She was featured as a composer and performer in the Kansas City Repertory Theater production of “Ghost Light” performed on the lawn of The Nelson Atkin Museum of Art in October, 2020. Sam has also performed in Troostival (2020), Kansas City Porchfest (2019) and Jamdemic. // Sam Wells recenlty released the single You Better Run” as part of the band Friendly Thieves on October 28, 2022. The five-piece alt-funk band, Friendly Thieves play Manor Fest on Saturday, May 27 at 10:00 PM at The Ship. More info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com. Sam Wells was on WMM on May 13, 2020.]
[Sam Wells plays Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Friday, May 26, at 5:00 PM, at Flagship Books, 600 Ohio Ave., KCK, Strawberry Hill with Brian Bulger, and Honeybee.]
11:10
Honeybee – “I Know What Love Is” from: “I Know What Love Is” – Single / Honeybee / January 27, 2023 [Honeybee is the Solo Project of Singer/Songwriter Makayla Scott. Makayla Scott also plays with the band Blue False Indigo. Makayla Scott studied music at Drury University graduating in 2017.
[Honeybee plays Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Friday, May 26, at 5:00 PM, at Flagship Books, 600 Ohio Ave., KCK, Strawberry Hill with Brian Bulger, and Sam Wells.]
11:10
Field Daze – “Cigarettes on The Beach” from: “Cigarettes On The Beach” – Single / Solstice Audio / April 8, 2022 [Dream Pop. Field Daze is an enigmatic quintet hailing from Kansas City, MO. Since 2021 the band has been concocting their own unique amalgam of dreampop, shoegaze, psych pop, and enfusing it with the energy of 90’s alt rock. Dan Camino (vocals/rhythm guitar), Rodd Fenton (lead guitar), Brad Smith (bass/vocals), Tracer Cauy (drums), and Kyer Lasswell (keyboardist/all around great guy) fill the stage both physically and sonically with their catchy, vibey tunes that you’ll find stuck in your head hours later. // They burst onto the local music scene with an electrifying debut performance at KJHK’s 2022 Farmer’s Ball, quickly followed by a slot in Manor Fest 4, and they are slated to support San Diego’s Ten Bulls this November at The Rino. They have a half a dozen singles with plenty more to come. More info at: http://www.fielddaze.bandcamp.com]
[Field Daze play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Friday, May 26, at 7:00 PM , at Hillsiders, 403 N. 5th St. KCK – Strawberry Hill with Camp Childress, and Catty Cline.]
Thighmaster – “Dick Simmons” from: Between The Knees And Squeeze / High Dive Records / January 10, 2020 [Thighmaster recently changed their name to THIMASTR. THIMASTR is a Lawrence, Kansas based band formed by Maxfield Yoder (formerly of the bands: Dean Monkey & the Dropouts, Plains) on guitar & vocals, Max Lock on vocals, Max Smith on tambourine & vocals, Esteban Gomez –on bass, Jennifer Graham on drums, and Jake Little on guitar. The band is resurrecting the song-writing demons that have long haunted Mayfield Yoder. THIMASTR truly is garage pop for cool grandparents. Now you too can have shapely thighs in minutes a day. Tracked, Mixed and Mastered by Ross Williams and written by THIMASTR.]
[THIMASTR play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Friday, May 26, at 10:00 PM at The Easy Inn, 322 6th Street, KCK, Strawberry Hill with The Cavves, and Drugs & Attics.]
The Cavves – “Hollywood” from: “Hollywood” – Single / The Caves / March 2, 2023 [Comprised of Sophie Emerson on vocals & guitar, Matt Clara Bennett on vocals & Guitar, Jackson Ralph on drums, and Cale Gubitz on bass. The Cavves area No Coast, landlocked indie surf rock that hails out of Wichita, KS. The Caves released the 7-track EP, LEARN TO SWIM on December 9, 2017. // The Caves released the single “Get By” on January 12, 2018. // The Cavves released the 8-track EP, VENTURE OUT on April 12, 2019. // On March 2, 2023 The Cavves released the single “Hollywood”. // On April 20, 2023 The Cavves released the single, “Guest Bedroom.” More info at: http://www.thecavvesuck.bandcamp.com] ‘ [The Cavves play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Friday, May 26, at 10:00 PM at The Easy Inn, 322 6th Street, KCK, Strawberry Hill with THIMASTR, and Drugs & Attics.]
11:20 – Underwriting
Weekend Two – Night Three – Kansas City – Saturday, May 27
5:00 PM – 9th & State, 1717 West 9th St., KCMO, West Bottoms
Mint Fatigues True Lions Daniel Gum
7:00 PM – Black Box Theatre 1060 Union Ave, KCMO, West Bottoms
Supermoto Kat King Shy Boys
10:00 PM – The Ship, 1221 Union Ave. KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS
Khrysral. Friendly Thieves Fritz Hutchison
11:25
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 plays Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Saturday, May 27, at 3:00 PM at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Rd., KCMO, West Bottoms with Tidal.Wav and Dylan Lyles.]
True Lions – “Fake Tears” from: True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette / Manor Records / April 26, 2023 [“Fake Tears” was first single from the True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette. Alison Hawkins – vocals, guitar (4,5), synth (2), strings (1), chords, melodies & structures // Fritz Hutchison – guitars, percussion, vocals (2,4), synth (3) // Eli Kosko – drums, percussion // Carly Atwood – bass // Teri Quinn – clarinet (5) // Cam Seip – trumpet (4) // Daniel Cox – flute (3) // All True Lions lyrics were adapted from the following works of poetry: // “Crowded Vacant” by Andrew Squitiro From My Year With the Devil, published by Gaggle Books, New Orleans (2021) // “Cigarette Girl” by Eileen Myles From Sorry, Tree, published by Wave Books, Seattle (2007) // “The Fake Tears of Shirley Temple” by Patricia Lockwood From Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, published by Penguin Books, New York (2014) // “Love Song” by T.S. Leonard From Reverse Cowboy + Other Poems, published by the New Emotionalist Press, Portland (2020) // “bday poem / grateful 2 b alive with u” by Delia Rainey// From Delia Writes Everyday, published by @deliawriteseveryday on May 23, 2020. 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 Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Saturday, May 27, at 5:00 PM at 9th & State, 1717 West 9th St., KCMO, West Bottoms with Mint Fatigues, and Daniel Gum.]
Shy Boys – “In Gloves” from: Talk Loud / Polyvinyl Record Co. / September 25, 2020 [3rd album from Shy Boys. Shy Boys are brothers Collin Rausch & Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Collin & Kyle come from a family of musicians. Their cousin is Kasey Rausch, their father Kent Rausch is a jazz musician and was the music teacher and band director at their High School. Their mother was a choir director. Their father was from a family of 7 brothers (Greg, Terry, Brad), many who are musicians and recording artists, including their Grandfather Dean Rausch. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were band mates in The ACBs. Collin had been playing for years in the KC area including The Abracadabras, and The I’ms with Kyle. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. In June 2014, the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. Musician Kyle Little and Ross Brown (of Fullbloods) joined Shy Boys to make the band a 5-piece. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that Shy Boys had signed to Polyvinyl Recording Co. an independent record label based in Champaign, Illinois and home to the band STRFKR, Xiu Xiu, The Get Up Kids, of Montreal, and others. Shy Boys released their Polyvinyl debut album, the autobiographical, Bell House, on August. 3, 2018. They immediately went out on an extended national tour. On February 15, 2019, Shy Boys released their singles, “Dim The Light” and “Brick By Brick” signaling new sounds from the band. Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch and Ross Brown joined us live on WMM on November 11, 2020.]
[Shy Boys play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Saturday, May 27, at 5:00 PM at the Black Box Theatre 1060 Union Ave, KCMO, West Bottoms, with Supermoto, and Kat King.]
11:38
Fritz Hutchison – “Little Referee” from: True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette / Manor Records / April 26, 2023 [“Little Referee”was the first single from the True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette.Fritz Hutchison – songs & instruments, singing & talking // Marco Pascolini – pedal steel // Alison Hawkins – fiddle (6,7) // Trevor Turla – trombone (8) // Produced by Fritz Hutchison & Alison Hawkins // Recorded & mixed by Fritz at home in Strawberry Hill KCK // Mastered by Caufield Schnug/Melody Men Mastering // Design by Alison Hawkins with art by Anna Schwartz // Photo by Alec Nichols // Logo by Nika Winn // Long Live Manor // Special thanks to Kristin Slipp, Teri Quinn & Ross Brown/ // 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 play Manor Fest 5 in Kansas City on Saturday, May 27, at 10:00 PM at The Ship, 1221 Union Ave. KCMO, WEST BOTTOMS with Khrystal., and Friendly Thieves.]
Weekend Two – Night Four – Kansas City – Sunday, May 28
5:00 PM – Howdy, 6523 Stadium Drive, KCMO
Charlotte Bumgarner BIGFATCAT Blanky
7:00 PM – Farewell, 6523 Stadium Drive, KCMO
Joust Nightosphere Flooding
Blanky – “The Real Thing” from: Blod Harmony / Manor Records / December 15, 2022 [Anthony Cunard of Blanky joined us on the show on November 4, 2020, to talk about Blanky his band that has moved from North Carolina, to KCK, and then to Lawrence, Kansas where they are based. // 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.]
[Blanky plays Manor Fest 5, Weekend Two, Sunday May 28 at 5:00 PM, at Howdy, 6523 Stadium Drive, KCMO with Charlotte Bumgarner, and BIGFATCAT]
11:52
Nightosphere – “Thrasher” from: 3 – Way Split with Flooding & Nightosphere / Abandoncy / February 24, 2023 [Nightosphere released their debut, 7-track EP KATABASIS on April 14, 2023. // Claire Hannah Festa and Brittany Sawtelle an guitar/bass &vocals, Dekota (Hop) Trogdon on drums. additional guitar on “Hubris” by Deano Erickson. // Recorded & mixed by Morgan Reed Greenwood // mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service // Artwork by Kasper Durkin More info at: http://www.nightosphere.bandcamp.com ]
[Nightosphere plays Manor Fest 5, Weekend Two, Sunday May 28 at 7:00 PM – Farewell, 6523 Stadium Drive, KCMO with Joust, and Flooding.]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week, on Wednesday, May 17 we welcome back to WMM our friend Marion Merritt as Guest Producer. Also Next week… we’ll talk with Mikal Shapiro about Kansas City Folk Fest – Sunday, May 20, at 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Washington Square Park in Kansas City along with Krystle Warren & Solomon Dorsey, Nokosee Fields, Mac Sauce, Hudspeth & Taylor , Flutienastiness, Sam Wells, Sounds of Samba, and Gamelan Genta Kasturi, with Poetry & Spoken Word from: Natasha Ria El-Scari, Jose Faus, Mary Silwance and The Recipe. (KansasCityFolkFestival.org) Also Next week we’ll talk with Krystle Warren.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.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 broadcast today! Through the airwaves, and through social media, a total of 55 people donated a total of $3149.00 to allow us to continue our mission. THANK YOU to my incredible co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt, and special guest J Kelly Dougherty, and very special guest Hermon Mehari for sharing your brilliance with our listeners. Thank you to Scott Bunte, Lincoln Dreher and Darryl Oliver for taking our donations over the phones.
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, May 10, 2023
Shaun Crowley & The Music of Manor Fest 5
Mark spins music from 21 artists and bands playing Manor Fest 5 including: Ebony Tusks, Shy Boys, Paris Williams, The Creepy Jingles, Jass, True Lions, Heidi Gluck, Trevor Turla, Fritz Hutchison, The Swallowtails, Blanky, Sam Wells, The Cavves, Eggs On Mars, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, Field Daze, Honeybee, Surf Wax, Abandoncy, THIMASTR, and Nightosphere.
At 10:00 AM Shaun Crowley of Manor Records joins us to talk about Manor Fest 5, a fundraising local music festival that consists of two weekends, Lawrence on May 19-20, and Kansas City on May 25-28, 2023, featuring 54 bands, across 17 stages, over 6 days. All profits from this fundraiser event to help us with our non-profit mission of releasing local artists’ music on physical platforms through our “Manor Records Fund”. The Festival includes: Ebony Tusks, Shy Boys, Paris Williams, The Creepy Jingles, Fritz Hutchison, Heidi Gluck, Pure XTC, CS Luxem, Jass, The Swallowtails, The Moose, Kat King, Eggs On Mars, Teri Quinn, The Cavves, Sam Wells, Drugs & Attics, True Lions, Trevor Turla, Daniel Gum, Khrysral., Flooding, Pale Tongue, Abandoncy, R.I. Peter, Catty Cline, Supermoto, Friendly Thieves, Charlotte Bumgarner, Field Daze, Thimaster, The Distant Now, Parry, Saving Miles Lemon, Scabb, Forest Porridge, Kirstie Lynn & Galen Clark, Surf Wax, Liney Blu, Dunes Day, MC Rue, Dalima Kapten, Brian Bulger, Honeybee, Camp Childress, Tidal.Wav, Dylan Lyles, Mint Fatigues, BIGFATCAT, Blanky, Joust, and Nightosphere. More information at; http://www.manorrecrds.com
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, May 3, 2023
More New & MidCoastal Releases + Philip Dickey + Elyshya “Millz” Miller + Ethan Eckert
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
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 ]
Wednesday – “Quarry” from: Rat Saw God / Dead Oceans / April 7, 2023 [Rat Saw God is the fifth studio album by American rock band Wednesday. On September 8, 2022, the band left Orindal Records and signed to Dead Oceans, releasing the single “Bull Believer”. On January 18, 2023, the band released the single “Chosen to Deserve” and announced their fifth album, Rat Saw God, which was released on April 7, 2023. // Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming concluded, “Some albums sound like the artists were trying with all their might to make an epic statement in words and music; Rat Saw God sounds like Wednesday had no such lofty aims, but their commitment to the people they write about and their instincts about crafting music to match make this a stunningly powerful work that may well turn out to be a masterpiece.” In Beats Per Minute, Tim Sentz claimed that the album is an example of, “a band operating at their highest most infectious potency, and the end result is riveting.” Craig Howwieson at Clash described it as, “Finding magic in the mire – ‘Rat Saw God’ is an emphatic, uplifting reminder of the privilege of being alive.” // Wednesday is an American band from Asheville, North Carolina, currently signed to Dead Oceans. The band consists of vocalist Karly Hartzman, guitarist Jake Lenderman, lap steel player Xandy Chelmis, and drummer Alan Miller. Wednesday was formed in 2017 as Karly Hartzman’s personal songwriting project. // Hartzman was inspired to start playing guitar after watching Mitski’s NPR Tiny Desk concert. Hartzman attended college in Asheville, where she met Daniel Gorham. The two recorded an album together under the moniker Wednesday titled yep definitely. The band’s name was inspired by the British band The Sundays. // After releasing this record, Hartzman formed another band called Diva Sweetly, alongside members of the band Pictures of Vernon. Hartzman was interested in making shoegaze music, which was not the music Diva Sweetly was making. Thus, Hartzman gathered new members to join the Wednesday band and released the second album with the group, titled I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone in 2020. The group released their third record, Twin Plagues, on August 13, 2021.// On March 11, 2022, the band released a covers album titled Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling ’em Up, featuring covers versions of songs by Gary Stewart, Chris Bell, Roger Miller, Drive-By Truckers, Hotline TNT, Greg Sage, Vic Chesnutt, Medicine and The Smashing Pumpkins. On September 8, 2022, the band left Orindal Records and signed to Dead Oceans, releasing the single “Bull Believer”. On January 18, 2023, the band released the single “Chosen to Deserve” and announced a fifth album, Rat Saw God, which was released on April 7, 2023.]
[Wednesday play the recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO, Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00 PM]
Shy Boys – “In Gloves” from: Talk Loud / Polyvinyl Record Co. / September 25, 2020 [3rd album from Shy Boys. Shy Boys are brothers Collin Rausch & Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. Collin & Kyle come from a family of musicians. Their cousin is Kasey Rausch, their father Kent Rausch is a jazz musician and was the music teacher and band director at their High School. Their mother was a choir director. Their father was from a family of 7 brothers (Greg, Terry, Brad), many who are musicians and recording artists, including their Grandfather Dean Rausch. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were band mates in The ACBs. Collin had been playing for years in the KC area including The Abracadabras, and The I’ms with Kyle. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. In June 2014, the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. Musician Kyle Little and Ross Brown (of Fullbloods) joined Shy Boys to make the band a 5-piece. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that Shy Boys had signed to Polyvinyl Recording Co. an independent record label based in Champaign, Illinois and home to the band STRFKR, Xiu Xiu, The Get Up Kids, of Montreal, and others. Shy Boys released their Polyvinyl debut album, the autobiographical, Bell House, on August. 3, 2018. They immediately went out on an extended national tour. On February 15, 2019, Shy Boys released their singles, “Dim The Light” and “Brick By Brick” signaling new sounds from the band. Collin Rausch, Kyle Rausch and Ross Brown joined us live on WMM on November 11, 2020.]
[Shy Boys play the recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, on Tuesday, May 9, Doors at 7:00 PM, opening for Pearl & The Oysters.]
Pearl & The Oysters – “Paraiso” from: Coast 2 Coast / Stones Throw Records / April 21, 2023 [Musical collaborators and life partners Juliette Pearl Davis and Joachim Polack are Pearl & The Oysters. Their Stones Throw debut Coast 2 Coast is an album documenting their move from Florida to L.A. // Juliette (Pearl) and Joachim (The Oysters) met at high school in Paris and formed an immediate bond through their mutual love of music and pop culture, spanning everything from ‘70s jazz to ‘90s space-age pop. // Coast 2 Coast draws on Juliette and Joachim’s time spent in Paris, the swamps of Florida, sunny Southern California, and beyond. “After moving so many times we feel that everywhere is our home and nowhere is our home either. Maybe that’s why we’re so attached to writing songs about places that make us feel good. Now, we’ve found that sense of ‘home’ in one another,” Juliette says of Coast 2 Coast. // Collaborators on the project include Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab), Riley Geare (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Caroline Rose, La Luz), Alan Palomo (Neon Indian), Dent May, and Mild High Club’s Alex Brettin. Juliette’s father plays vibraphone on the album, too. // “Read the Room” features one of JuJu and JoJo’s all-time favorite musicians — Lætitia Sadier of Stereolab. “We knew straight away that we wanted to work with Lætitia when we had the idea of double-lead vocals,” Juliette and Joachim say. The band describes the technicolor animation directed by Mickey Miles as “full faux-baroque glam” — a cosmic voyage across space and time, coasts and galaxies — and Pearl & The Oysters’ many inspirations. // “Paraiso” reimagines idyllic 20th-century Californian tourism ads and dreams of a time “when the idea of the ‘endless summer’ was more of a luxury commodity than a looming menace.” “Konami” ( “small wave” in Japanese) was influenced by Juliette’s white noise machine and its “surf” setting: “Somehow the beat reminded us of the kind of music associated with 90s jet ski arcade games like Wave Shark.” // “Pacific Ave,” written about their move from Florida to Los Angeles, features Alex Brettin of Mild High Club on guitar. The “Pacific Ave” video directed by Sean McGuirk, an ’80s-style live TV performance, was inspired by Japanese Jazz Fusion artists like Casiopea and Yellow Magic Orchestra’s embrace of both analog and digital in their music and visuals. // Pearl & The Oysters hhave just started a 27-city tour throughout the U.S. and Canada running through May.
[Pearl & The Oysters play the recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, on Tuesday, May 9, Doors at 7:00 PM, with Shy Boys.]
Allison Russell – “4th Day Prayer (feat. Mumu Fresh) (dim star remix)” from: 4th Day Prayer (feat. Mumu Fresh) (dim star remix) – Single / Birds of Chicago LLC – Fantasy Records / April 21, 2023 [Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh. Original version of this song on OUTSIDE CHILD released on May 21, 2021 on Birds of Chicago Records. Winner of the 2022 Folk Alliance International Folk Muaic Award for Album of the Year AND Artist of The Year. We first saw Allison Russell as part of the band/duo with her partner JT Nero as, The Birds of Chicago at the 2014 International Folk Alliance Conference, where they were an Official Showcase Artist . More info at http://www.folk.org. Russell was born in Montreal to a Grenadian student and a Scottish-Canadian teenage single mother. Her mother struggled with postpartum depression and schizophrenia, and Russell was initially placed in foster care. Her mother regained custody of her after marrying a white-supremacist American expatriate. From the ages of 5 to 15, she was physically and sexually abused by her adoptive father. At the age of 15, Russell ran away from home, eventually moving to Vancouver in 1998. She attended Dawson College. // Russell was initially a member of the Vancouver-based Celtic folk band Fear of Drinking. // In 2003, Russell formed the band Po’ Girl with The Be Good Tanyas member Trish Klein. She recorded seven albums with the band: Po’ Girl (2003), Vagabond Lullabies (2004), B-side Recordings (2006), Home to You (2007), Deer in the Night (2008), Live (2009), and Follow Your Bliss (2010). Russell formed the music group Birds of Chicago with JT Nero in 2012. As part of Birds of Chicago, Russell released three studio albums, Birds of Chicago (2012), Real Midnight (2016) and Love in Wartime (2018). With the group, she also released a live album, Live from Space, and an EP titled American Flowers in 2018. In 2018, Russell joined the musical collective Our Native Daughters alongside fellow musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah In 2019, the group released the album Songs of Our Native Daughters under the Smithsonian Folkways label. Russell was also featured alongside the rest of the group in a Smithsonian Channel documentary titled Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters. As a single, Russell released covers of the songs “By Your Side” by Sade and “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac in January 2021. She also released a cover of “Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish as a single in February 2021. // In March 2021, Russell released “Nightflyer” as the first single from her album Outside Child. She followed this up with the single “Persephone,” released in April of the same year. She also released the singles “Montreal” and “The Runner” ahead of the album’s full release. // On May 21, 2021, Russell released her first solo album Outside Child under Fantasy Records. The album explores her experiences during her youth, including her recovery from the trauma of her childhood abuse. For her work on the album, Russell was nominated for multiple awards, including four Canadian Folk Music Awards, the long list for the Polaris Music Prize, and a nomination for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2021 Americana Honors & Awards. She was nominated for this award both as a solo artist and in the duo/group category as a member of Our Native Daughters. // Russell performed her song “Nightflyer” with guests Brandi Carlile and Brittney Spencer on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired on May 25, 2021. On May 28, 2021, Russell made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. In the same year, she also performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame. She performed several songs from Outside Child live on CBS This Morning Saturday on July 24, 2021. // On September 25, 2021, Russell performed at the annual Farm Aid event in Hartford, Connecticut. // In November 2021, Russell received 3 Grammy nominations (Best American Roots Performance; Best American Roots Song; Best Americana Album). A month later, she was one of several artists to perform with the Black Opry, a revue focused on black artists in country music. // Russell has been nominated for 4 Canadian Folk Music Awards, 2 Juno Awards and has been named for the Polaris Music Prize. Info: http://www.allisonrussellmusic.com]
Amythyst Kiah – “Black Myself” from: Wary + Strange / Rounder Records / June 18, 2021 [With an unforgettable voice that’s both unfettered and exquisitely controlled, the Tennessee-bred singer/ songwriter expands on the uncompromising artistry she most recently revealed, in 2018 when Kiah joined the all-women-of-color supergroup Our Native Daughters alongside fellow musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allisoin Russell. In 2019, the group released the album Songs of Our Native Daughters under the Smithsonian Folkways label. The Kiah-penned standout “Black Myself” earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best American Roots Song and won Song of the Year at the 2019 Folk Alliance International Awards. When met with the transcendent quality of her newly elevated sound, what emerges is an extraordinary vessel for Kiah’s songwriting: a raw yet nuanced examination of grief, alienation, and the hard-won triumph of total self-acceptance. // This new studio version of “Black Myself” is a glorious collision of two vastly different worlds: the iconoclastic alt-rock that first sparked her musical passion, and the roots/old-time-music scene. Produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Amos Lee, Andrew Bird) the track was recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. More info at: http://www.amythystkiah.com]
[Amythyst Kiah plays Knuckleheads 2715 Rochester St, KCMO on Friday , May 5, 2023 at 8:00 PM]
10:28 – Underwriting
10:30 – Interview with Elyshya “Millz” Miller.
90.1 FM KKFI is a non-commercial, community radio station, we have an incredible staff of 4 individuals who collaborate with hundreds of volunteers, who create content for over 80, weekly, locally produced radio shows. Along with our giant pool of volunteers we have an Active Member group of super volunteers who elect our Board of Directors and Standing Committees. Station decisions go through a process of consensus, and debate, through committees who toil on the details and pass motions on to our Board of Directors for approval to be put into action.
Our next guest was just recently elected Vice President of KKFI’s Board of Directors, and has served for the past year on KKFI’s Programming Committee. Elyshya “Millz” Miller is the CEO of One Voice Radio, an internet radio station based out of Kansas City, Missouri, which has a very similar mission to KKFI, but with a more “Urban” vision & perspective, giving a voice to the voiceless, playing independent artists, and offering podcasts that are done live on air. Millz hosts the radio program “Millz and The Crew” on One Voice Radio. Millz helps to organize the All Missouri Music Awards with Damon Randle,OVR Unplugged at Black Charley’s Stage at 6151 Blue Ridge Blvd, in Raytown, Missouri, and many other special events during the year. More info at: http://www.ovrstation.com
Elyshya “Millz” Miller thank you for being our guest on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Congratulations to “Millz” on being elected Vice President of KKFI’s Board of Directors.
Part of the community out reach for One Voice Radio are all the annual, monthly and weekly special events you One Voice Radio sponsor, host and collaborate with to make happen.
One Voice Radio is promoting: My Momma Is Fine – A Mother’s Appreciation, Saturday, May 13 at Black Charley’s, 6151 Blue Ridge Blvd, featuring Kharizmah and Just Angel with a Pasta Buffet and a Special Prize for Best Dressed Mother.
The All Missouri Music Awards are July 9, 2023.
Vibe On Vine, the All Missouri Music Awards, SHOWTIME at Black Charlies, and many other special events during the year.
One Voice had a presence at The big NFL Draft last weekend in KC.
Elyshya “Millz” Miller is also a mom of a 25 year old son and a 12 year old daughter.
Elyshya “Millz” Miller thank you so much for being with us today on WMM.
Elyshya “Millz” Miller is the CEO of One Voice Radio, an internet radio station based out of Kansas City, Missouri, which has a very similar mission to KKFI, but with a more “Urban” vision & perspective, giving a voice to the voiceless, playing independent artists, and offering podcasts that are done live on air. Millz helps to organize many other special events during the year.
One Voice Radio is promoting: My Momma Is Fine – A Mother’s Appreciation, Saturday, May 13 at Black Charley’s, 6151 Blue Ridge Blvd, featuring Kharizmah and Just Angel with a Pasta Buffet and a Special Prize for Best Dressed Mother.
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 to be released this fall. ”Macca” arrived unexpectedly. // Krystle writes: “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 submission; thankfully, they didn’t.” // The “Paul” Krystle is referring to is of course, Paul McCartney, whose famous nickname entitles the song. //Krystle writes; “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. and singing that chorus — it evoked for me those gorgeous ballads he composed in the 80s – ‘Wanderlist,” ‘Tug of 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 equal parts: a love letter to him, and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing when you think about it: Paul’s music so often encourages us to keep going, keep trying, and in using his language (so to speak), unwittingly, he was giving me strength.”]
Yesterday the Kansas City Music Community was shaken up horribly by the news that our friend Britt Adair had died.
Britt Adair was founder and lead guitarist for the band The Bad Ideas. Britt was part of the family at Josey Records. She was an artist and filmmaker and huge nurturer of Kansas City Punk Music Scene. She has organized bands and shows for in-stores, festivals, and tours. For several years Britt organized the Summer Kamp Fest bringing nationally touring punk bands to town to play with bands from Kansas City’s diverse punk community.
Britt’s brother Dane Downing reported on Facebook on Tuesday morning that his sister Britt has passed away the night before, on Monday, May 1 at 4:59 PM. “She went to the hospital not feeling well and things took a downward turn very quickly. The doctors believe she had a pulmonary embolism. Right now there’s many many more questions than answers. Dane continues, Please keep my mom and dad in your thoughts as this was totally out of the blue and devastating for them. We love you Britt, you’ll always be my little pest!”
He went on to say, “Britt was a kind soul and always shared her love to anyone she met. Say something nice to someone today, give them a hug, a smile, tell them a joke. She would like that.”
I first met Britt Adair when she was doing video documentary work for Charlotte Street down in their offices near La Esquina Gallery, 16-17 years ago. I was telling stories of doing performance art in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and of all the protests, and gay bashings, and she was quietly, and empathically capturing it all on camera. That’s when we became friends.
I followed her beautiful artistic endeavors in working to build a stronger punk community in Kansas City and make connections with punk communities all across the country. She was so passionate about The Center of The City Fest, and of working to find a home for punk music on a regular basis.
How could anyone not love The Bad Ideas? With the multi talented Don Dawn, Britt and company proved themselves on many stages and on vinyl and on multiple recordings to be one of KC’s best ever punk bands.
Watching Britt work bartending gigs, and record stores gigs, and film work, with a humor, and kindness, and honesty that represented her artistic heart of gold. With Christian she made a home and fostered an incredible record store, Josey Records Kansas City.
Britt was on the Wednesday MidDay Medley radio show many many times, to talk about her band, music festivals, Record Store Day, benefit shows.
Britt possessed that Kansas City spirit of creating venue for others. She was just as passionate about shining a light on other bands and artists as she was on her own work. We are all so lucky to have known her. She lived true to her moral code of ethics of humanity, care for our planet, and the animals, and fairness for all. She was a true punk musician who are steadfastly writing protest music and fighting for equality of workers, women and queer people.
I am heartbroken, but I will keep Britt alive in my heart by working to get a weekly punk music show reestablished at KKFI.
My sincere condolences go out Britt’s husband and our friend Christian LaBeau, Britt’s beautiful Mom, and her Dad, and Brother and family, and Dawn Yoder and bandmates from The Bad Ideas, and Josey Records co-workers, and everyone she touched with her beautiful spirit.
Britt Adair is a shining star.
Britt was last on our show as a Guest Producer on March 6, 2019. Britt’s band The Bad Ideas were getting set to release their album “Happiness” at the end of the month and The Bad Ideas were playing The Bottleneck in Lawrence, later that month.
Along with tracks from Gurr, Hot Snakes, and Cherry Glazerr this was The Bad Ideas cut Britt played on the show that day…
11:57
11:00 – Station ID
The Bad Ideas – “Nightmare” from: Happiness / The Bad Ideas / March 30, 2019 [The Bad Ideas are: Britt Adair on guitar, Breaka Dawn on vocals, Matt Roberts on bass, and Way Jillis on drums. The Bad Ideas is an American punk band from Kansas City, Missouri formed in August 2011. They’ve written all original songs and are influenced by post-hardcore, punk, and early 80’s punk. Their EP, Worse Thoughts, was recorded on January 22, 2012 and released March, 2012. Their first self-produced full length, Lesson #1 was released March 8, 2013. The Bad Ideas also released a 7″ split with Red Kate on March 31, 2014. Their most recent release is a full length cassette, “Leave Me Alone.” Released in June 6, 2015.]
Dragon Inn 3 – “Only You” 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]
[Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com]
11:03 – Interview with Philip Dickey
Philip Dickey is a musician and producer who traveled the world in the indie pop band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for over a decade before settling in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife GraceBentley and his son Davey in 2017. He started the synth pop group Dragon Inn 3 in 2012 with Grace and his sister Sharon. The group released their sophomore album “Trade Secrets” last week on American Laundromat Records. Philip grew up in Springfield, Missouri and has been obsessed with music since he was a kid. He studied journalism at Drury University in Springfield, but has been working in the music industry ever since graduating from college. Philip’s main job is writing background music for commercials. He played bass in the band Miss Boating from 2018 to early 2023 and he currently volunteers as a manager for The Salvation Choir – a Congolese rumba choir based in the historic northeast neighborhood of Kansas City.
Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com
Philip Dickey, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
We just heard “Only You” Dragon Inn 3’s cover of the Yazoo original.
Happy Release Day! We received this excellent 4-star review from AllMusic:
Kansas City synth pop quartet Dragon Inn 3 return with Trade Secrets, a natural follow-up to 2018’s charming Double Line. The ensuing five years have done little to diminish the band’s nostalgia for glowing ’80s pop, which they continue to mine with pleasing results. As on their debut, the aesthetic they present is a curious mixture of noirish sci-fi and romantic sweetness with punny undertones of corporate intrigue. Led by producer, multi-instrumentalist, and former Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin frontman Philip Dickey, the group benefits from the airy vocals of Grace Bentley and Sharon Hamm, who inject enough earnest intent into repetitive lyrical hooks like “I can’t stop” and “it’s not enough” to make them lay just right. Nods to ’80s largesse are scattered throughout the set, especially on the yearning, pastel-hued “Out of Control (Bad Boy 2)” with its steamy sax solo, and there is even a cover of Yaz’s arpeggiated 1982 synth pop classic “Only You,” but by and large, Dickey gets the tone just right, avoiding outright genre parody by simply making catchy, enjoyable pop music. Without breaking out of the overall arc, Dragon Inn 3 move through different tones on the new wave-leaning “Teleport,” the bright indie pop of “I’ll Be Right Over,” and the lush and dreamy “Trade Secrets Theme,” giving the album some variety as it zips along. Well-crafted and easy on the ears, Trade Secrets is another strong entry in the band’s catalog. – AllMusic [4 out of 5 stars]
Dragon Inn 3 released their debut album DOUBLE LINE on American Laundromat Records on August 17, 2018. The hit single “Club Sauce” was played on this show a lot, as well as on The Bridge. Kansas City based band formed in 2012 with Grace Bentley, Sharon Bowie, Philip K. Dickey, E.P. Marcus. Dragon Inn 3’s debut LP clocks in at 28 minutes, but the band spent six years whittling away on the songs that would eventually become Double Line. 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. Opening track “What Kind Of World Are You Living In” plays like Blondie if the band hired Hall and Oates to record guitars. The album takes an intimate turn with “Bad Boy,” Bowie’s dreamy “Rocket Launcher,” and Bentley’s introspective cover of Robin Gibb’s “Juliet.” “3 Minute Mile” swoons with arpeggios and a hypnotic MOOG bass, while Bentley softly repeats the phrase “desperation/bad desire.” Then there are Italo-disco tinged tracks “Backstabber” and “Club Sauce,” with sing-songy pop hooks that harken back to Madonna and Whitney Houston’s greatest hits. “Double Line Theme” and “Murder In The Third” show off DI3’s soundtrack aspirations, and sound like lost Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder B-sides. “Up In The Business” provides indelible synth hooks and a triumphant ending to Double Line. 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.
Before Dragon Inn 3 there was Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin has been playing music in Springfield, Missouri since 1999, when Will Knauer and Philip Dickey met at a Super Bowl party. Where pop perfectionism meets studio experimentation, SSLYBY’s endearing music composes quirky chord changes amid massive hooks and addictive melodies. SSLYBY have become experts in crafting indie pop through a string of 7″s, full-length albums and a rarities collection. SPIN once declared that the Missouri band “could succeed The Shins as the band that will change your life.” The band writes: Met at a Super Bowl party in 1999. Broncos vs. Falcons. Came up with the band name in 2000. Dorm roommates in 2001. Not really sure about 2002. Recorded a short EP in 2003. Three or four people started going to our shows in 2004. First album. Broom. 2005. First tour. Signed to Polyvinyl Records in 2006. Our song “Oregon Girl” is on The OC. The OC gets canceled a few weeks later. Boris Yeltsin dies 2007. We played in Moscow a couple months later. Also in 2007: First Europe tour. Toured with Mute Math. Second Album. Pershing. 2008. Jonathan briefly quits the band. 2009. Most of our songs are used in an episode of 16 and Pregnant. Start recording LP3 with Chris Walla. Third album. Let It Sway. August 17, 2010. Toured with Tokyo Police Club and Two Door Cinema Club in 2011. SSLYBY in Shark Night 3D September 2011. B-sides/Rarities album. It’s called Tape Club. September 2011. First Japanese tour. Summer 2012. Named U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors. Return to Mother Russia January 2013. Made our fourth album back in Will’s attic. It’s called Fly By Wire. Released in August 2013. Realized we’ve played over 600 shows. Recorded a new album at Chris Walla’s Hall of Justice studio in Seattle. Produced by Beau Sorenson. 2015 New album “The High Country” out now on Polyvinyl (US/Europe) Moorworks (Japan).
Miss Boating
Another band Phil Dickey has influenced was Miss Boating a band that rose from the ashes of The Sleazebeats, who played live in various incarnations for 20 years, always with Bill Belzer on drums and Charlie Colborne on Farfisa and Electric Guitar and Vocals and songwriting. Sleezebeats had released a full length album with Jeff Harshbarger on bass on January 1, 2012
Charlie and Bill faced a difficult 2019 when combined with the death their the friend and Sleazebeats bassist, Evan Vhargon who took his own life on November 8, 2018. And also with Charlie’s mother passed away on March 1, 2019. The guys “were lost when Evan passed.”
Through the tough times Bill and Charlie kept playing music and “were blown away when Phil Dickey wanted to jam with us… the jamming turned into something more and we were going again. We couldn’t be more thankful and humbled.”
Miss Boating released the EP, The Vhargon Sidestep on January 1, 2020
Through the tough times Bill and Charlie kept playing and wrote that they “were blown away when Phil Dickey wanted to jam with us… the jamming turned into something more and we were going again. We couldn’t be more thankful and humbled.” Phil is part of the bands Dragon Inn 3, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Miss Boating is: Charlie Colborne on keyboards, guitar, vocals; Bill Belzer: drums, vocals; Phil Dickey on bass; Aaron Jones on trombone; Tim Gillespie on saxophone. Ross Brown served as engineering, did all of the mixing for The Vhargon Sidestep and Mike Nolte handled all of the mastering.
11:14
Dragon Inn 3 – “I Could Never” 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.]
[Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com]
11:16 – Interview with Philip Dickey
Philip Dickey is a musician and producer who traveled the world in the indie pop band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for over a decade before settling in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Grace and his son Davey in 2017. He started the synth pop group Dragon Inn 3 in 2012 with Grace and his sister Sharon. The group released their sophomore album “Trade Secrets” last week on American Laundromat Records. Philip grew up in Springfield, Missouri and has been obsessed with music since he was a kid. He studied journalism at Drury University in Springfield, but has been working in the music industry ever since graduating from college. Philip’s main job is writing background music for commercials. He played bass in the band Miss Boating from 2018 to early 2023 and he currently volunteers as a manager for The Salvation Choir – a Congolese rumba choir based in the historic northeast neighborhood of Kansas City.
Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com
Philip Dickey, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Philip Dickey traveled the world with the band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for over a decade before settling in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Grace and his son Davey in 2017.
He started the synth pop group Dragon Inn 3 in 2012 with Grace and his sister Sharon. The group released their sophomore album “Trade Secrets” last week on American Laundromat Records.
Philip grew up in Springfield, Missouri and has been obsessed with music since he was a kid. He studied journalism at Drury University in Springfield, but has been working in the music industry ever since graduating from college.
Philip’s main job is writing background music for commercials.
Philip Dickey currently volunteers as a manager for The Salvation Choir – a Congolese rumba choir based in the historic northeast neighborhood of Kansas City.
Members of The Salvation Choir live next door to Phil and his wife Grace. Phil would hear music coming from their house and thought it was a recording, but soon realized it was The Salvation Choir practicing music. He invited them to jam with him in his front yard and that led to a friendship with the families. Phil has been helping the band get booked at various music venues.
The Salvation Choir Released their single “Tafakarini (Radio Edit)”on February 8, 2023 This single release contains 3 versions of Tafakarini: Tafararini (Live in Kansas City, full version) 09:36 / Tafakarini (Radio edit) 05:04 / and Utukuzwe (Bonus track, lo-fi phone demo) 03:31 video . The Salvation Choir is a Congolese Rumba band from Congo and Tanzania based in Kansas City, Missouri. The are over 20 members in the choir and the choir masters are Jeune Premier Silambien and Pastor John Wilondja. “Tafakarini” was recorded live in our front yard in Kansas City, Missouri in April 2022. It was recorded and mixed by Danny Bowersox and Tyler Bachert. “Utukuzwe” is a lo-fi demo of our song that was featured on Dust To Digital. Recorded on a cassette tape and cell phone by Pastor John Wilondja in 2021. // The Salvation Choir are planning to record in the studio in 2023. More info at: www:thesalvationchoir.com
The Salvation Choir play recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, Sun, May 14 at 6:00 PM
The Salvation Choir will play at Boulevardia Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Crown Center
Philip Dickey, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
11:27
Dragon Inn 3 – “See It Your Way” 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.]
[Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com]
11:29 – Underwriting
Ethan Eckert artwork by Neon Nicodemus
Ethan Eckert – “Disarray (feat. Blueprint)” from: 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY/ Ethan Eckert / March 29, 2023 [Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan currently resides in Kansas City, Kansas with his partner Abbey, their dog, Zeus, and three kitties Julius, Sookie, and Stevie Nicks. He is hard at work on his second novel, Thanks Again, and is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” (following the same nonprofit model as his previous dozen singles released every month of 2021—$1,000 donated so far) as well as editing the music video. His happiest days begin with some Yoga and meditation, then a tennis match, making an exorbitant dinner for his family, and then playing a show to the punk kids. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp
11:36 – Interview with Ethan Eckert
Ethan Eckert join us in our 90.1 FM Studios to share details about his new 17-track full length album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY. Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” and will continue releasing singles just as he did in 2021, when Ethan released 12 singles, one each month, with all proceeds donated to area non-for-profit organisations. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com or http://www.ethaneckert.com
Ethan Eckert , Thank you for being with us today on WMM.
It’s been a few years, but I first met Ethan when he played drums in the band Salty.
Ethan has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty.
Congratulations on the new 17-track length album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY.
Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri.
He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band.
At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia.
and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles.
Ethan is busy releasing his single “Disarray” and will continue releasing singles just as he did in 2021, when Ethan released 12 singles, one each month, with all proceeds donated to area non-for-profit organizations.
11:43
Ethan Eckert artwork by Neon Nicodemus
Ethan Eckert – “A Shack On the Path” from: 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY/ Ethan Eckert / March 29, 2023 [Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan currently resides in Kansas City, Kansas with his partner Abbey, their dog, Zeus, and three kitties Julius, Sookie, and Stevie Nicks. He is hard at work on his second novel, Thanks Again, and is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” (following the same nonprofit model as his previous dozen singles released every month of 2021—$1,000 donated so far) as well as editing the music video. His happiest days begin with some Yoga and meditation, then a tennis match, making an exorbitant dinner for his family, and then playing a show to the punk kids. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com]
11:46 – Interview with Ethan Eckert
Ethan Eckert join us in our 90.1 FM Studios to share details about his new 17-track full length album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY. Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” and will continue releasing singles just as he did in 2021, when Ethan released 12 singles, one each month, with all proceeds donated to area non-for-profit organisations. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com or http://www.ethaneckert.com
Ethan Eckert , Thank you for being with us today on WMM.
His happiest days begin with some Yoga and meditation, then a tennis match, making an exorbitant dinner for his family, and then playing a show to the punk kids.
Ethan studied Yoga in College while attending the Naropa Institue
Ethan Eckert , Thank you for being with us today on WMM.
From Ethan Eckert’s new album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY here is “It Doesn’t Matter”
11:53
Ethan Eckert – “It Doesn’t Matter” from: 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY/ Ethan Eckert / March 29, 2023 [Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan currently resides in Kansas City, Kansas with his partner Abbey, their dog, Zeus, and three kitties Julius, Sookie, and Stevie Nicks. He is hard at work on his second novel, Thanks Again, and is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” (following the same nonprofit model as his previous dozen singles released every month of 2021—$1,000 donated so far) as well as editing the music video. His happiest days begin with some Yoga and meditation, then a tennis match, making an exorbitant dinner for his family, and then playing a show to the punk kids. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on Wednesday MidDay Medley on May 10Shaun Crowley joins us for an entire show featuring the music of Manor Fest 5.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.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 broadcast today! Through the airwaves, and through social media, a total of 55 people donated a total of $3149.00 to allow us to continue our mission. THANK YOU to my incredible co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt, and special guest J Kelly Dougherty, and very special guest Hermon Mehari for sharing your brilliance with our listeners. Thank you to Scott Bunte, Lincoln Dreher and Darryl Oliver for taking our donations over the phones.
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, May 3, 2023
More New & MidCoastal Releases + Philip Dickey + Elyshya “Millz” Miller + Ethan Eckert
Mark spins more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Anna St. Louis, Dragon Inn 3, Krystle Warren & The Faculty, Kristin Hamilton, Shy Boys, Ethan Eckert, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Amythyst Kiah, Wednesday, Allison Russel & Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh, Pearl & The Oysters, and Joy Oladokun.
At 10:30 AM we talk with MidCoast Radio Project 90.1 FM KKFI Board Member, Elyshya “Millz” Miller. Millz was just recently elected Vice President of KKFI’s Board, and has served for the past year on KKFI’s Programming Committee. Millz is the CEO of One Voice Radio, an internet radio station based out of Kansas City, Missouri, giving a voice to the voiceless, playing independent artists, and offering podcasts that are done live on air. Millz helps to organize Vibe On Vine, the All Missouri Music Awards, and many other special events during the year. More info at: http://www.ovrstation.com
At 11:00 Mark talks with Philip Dickey a musician and producer who traveled the world in the indie pop band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for over a decade before settling in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Grace and his son Davey in 2017. He started the synth pop group Dragon Inn 3 in 2012 with Grace and his sister Sharon. The group released their sophomore album “Trade Secrets” on American Laundromat Records on April 28, 2023. Philip grew up in Springfield, Missouri and has been obsessed with music since he was a kid. He studied journalism at Drury University in Springfield, but has been working in the music industry ever since graduating from college. Philip’s main job is writing background music for commercials. He played bass in the band Miss Boating from 2018 to early 2023 and he currently volunteers as a manager for The Salvation Choir – a Congolese rumba choir based in the historic northeast neighborhood of Kansas City. Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM. More info at: http://www.dragoninn3.com
At 11:30 we talk with Ethan Eckert about his new 17-track full length album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY. Ethan Eckert is a musician, writer, painter, and filmmaker from Harrisonville, Missouri. He started his music career age 12 playing drums with his father’s band. At 14 he started writing his own songs for his first punk band, Acadia, and has since began a solo career releasing two albums (Duets with You and Non), three EPs (Punishment Part One, Two, and Three), and fifteen singles. He has toured the country as a solo artist and as drummer for the now dissolved punk band Salty. Ethan is busy releasing his next single “Disarray” and will continue releasing singles just as he did in 2021, when Ethan released 12 singles, one each month, with all proceeds donated to area non-for-profit organisations. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com
Krystle Warren Photo by: Travis Young Ethan Eckert artwork by Neon Nicodemus
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, April 26, 2023
More New & MidCoastal Releases + Krystle Warren + Jake Walker
“Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks” from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979 [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
New York Dolls – “Lonely Planet Boy” from: New York Dolls / Mercury Records / July 27, 1973 [New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls. It was released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. However, most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their vulgarity and onstage fashion as well as homophobia in New York; the group later appeared in exaggerated drag on the album cover for shock value. // After signing a contract with Mercury, the Dolls recorded their first album at The Record Plant in New York City with producer Todd Rundgren, who was known for his sophisticated pop tastes and held a lukewarm opinion of the band. Despite stories of conflicts during the recording sessions, lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain later said Rundgren successfully captured how the band sounded live. The resulting music on the album – a mix of carefree rock and roll, influences from Brill Building pop, and campy sensibilities – explores themes of urban youth, teen alienation, adolescent romance, and authenticity, as rendered in Johansen’s colloquial and ambiguous lyrics. // New York Dolls was met with widespread critical acclaim but sold poorly and polarized listeners. The band proved difficult to market outside their native New York and developed a reputation for rock-star excesses while touring the United States in support of the album. Despite its commercial failure, New York Dolls was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk rock movement as the group’s crude musicianship and youthful attitude on the album challenged the prevailing trend of musical sophistication in popular music, particularly progressive rock. Among the most acclaimed albums in history, it has since been named in various publications as one of the best debut records in rock music and one of the greatest albums of all time. // New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial success and their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band’s first two albums—New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)—became among the most popular cult records in rock. The line-up at this time consisted of, vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain, and drummer Jerry Nolan; the latter two had replaced Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia, respectively, in 1972. On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe, wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin, makeup, spandex, and dresses. Nolan described the group in 1974 as “the Dead End Kids of today”. /// According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1995), the New York Dolls predated the punk and glam metal movements and were “one of the most influential rock bands of the last 20 years”. They influenced rock groups such as Kiss, The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Damned, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and The Smiths whose frontman Morrissey organized a reunion show for the New York Dolls’ surviving members in 2004. After reuniting, they recruited new musicians to tour and record. They released three more albums—One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011). Following a 2011 British tour with Alice Cooper, the band once again disbanded. // Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called “the Pox” in 1967. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business called Truth and Soul and Sylvain took a job at A Different Drummer, a men’s boutique that was across the street from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop. Sylvain said that the shop inspired the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and recruited Johnny Thunders to join on bass, though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar. They called themselves the Dolls. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways. // Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rick Rivets, who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders’ suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided that he no longer wanted to be the front man, David Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur “Killer” Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. // The original line-up’s first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the New York Dolls got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert. // In the band’s early days, the New York Dolls performed at the Mercer Art Center, where Ruby and the Rednecks opened for and were influenced by them. // While on a brief tour of England in 1972, Murcia was invited to a party, where he passed out from an accidental overdose. He was put in a bathtub and force-fed coffee in an attempt to revive him. Instead, it resulted in asphyxiation. He was found dead on the morning of November 6, 1972, at the age of 21. // Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who was to go on to play with Richard Hell, and with the Ramones under the stage name “Marky Ramone”), Peter Criscuola (better known as Peter Criss, the original and former drummer of Kiss), and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records’ A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. In 1972, the band took on Marty Thau as manager. // New York Dolls was produced by singer-songwriter, musician and solo artist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording; everybody was debating how to do the mix. Sales were sluggish, especially in the middle US, and a Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls’ guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers. America’s mass rock audience’s reaction to the Dolls was mixed. In a Creem magazine poll, they were elected both best and worst new group of 1973. The Dolls also toured Europe, and, while appearing on UK television, host Bob Harris of the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test derided the group as “mock rock,” comparing them unfavorably to the Rolling Stones. // For their next album, Too Much Too Soon, the quintet hired producer George “Shadow” Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl-groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band’s favorites. // By 1975, the Dolls were playing smaller venues than they had been previously. Drug and alcohol abuse by Thunders, Nolan, and Kane, as well as artistic differences added to the tensions among members. In late February or early March, Malcolm McLaren became their informal manager. He got the band red leather outfits to wear on stage and a communist flag as backdrop. The Dolls did a five-concert tour of New York’s five boroughs, supported by Television and Pure Hell. The Little Hippodrome (Manhattan) show was recorded and released by Fan Club records in 1982 as Red Patent Leather. It was originally a bootleg album that was later remixed by Sylvain, with former manager Marty Thau credited as executive producer. Due to Kane being unable to play that night, roadie Peter Jordan played bass, though he was credited as having played “second bass”. Jordan filled in for Kane when he was too inebriated to play. // In March and April, McLaren took the band on a tour of South Carolina and Florida. Jordan replaced Kane for most of those shows. Thunders and Nolan left after an argument. Blackie Lawless, who later founded W.A.S.P., replaced Thunders for the remainder of the tour after which the band broke up. // The band reformed in July for an August tour in Japan with Jeff Beck and Felix Pappalardi. Johansen, Sylvain and Jordan were joined by former Elephant’s Memory keyboardist Chris Robison and drummer Tony Machine. One of the shows was documented on the album Tokyo Dolls Live (Fan Club/New Rose). The material is similar to that on Red Patent Leather, but notable for a radically re-arranged “Frankenstein” and a cover of Big Joe Turner’s “Flip Flop Fly.” The album is undated and has no production credit, but was issued circa 1986. // After their return to New York, the Dolls resumed playing shows in the US and Canada. Mercury dropped the Dolls on October 7, 1975, their contract with Mercury having expired on 8 August 1975 – five months after Thunders’ and Nolan’s departures from the band. Their show at the Beacon Theatre, on New Year’s Eve, 1975 met with great critical acclaim. After a drunken argument with Sylvain, Robison was fired and replaced by pianist/keyboardist Bobbie Blaine formerly a member of Street Punk. The group toured throughout 1976, performing a set including some songs with lyrics by David Johansen that would later appear on David Johansen’s solo albums including “Funky But Chic”, “Frenchette” and “Wreckless Crazy.” The group played its last show December 30, 1976 at Max’s Kansas City; on the same bill as Blondie. // Shortly after returning from Florida, Thunders and Nolan formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell, who had left Television the same week that they quit the Dolls. Thunders later pursued a solo career. He died in New Orleans on April 23, 1991, allegedly of an overdose of both heroin and methadone. It also came to light that he suffered from t-cell leukemia. Nolan died on January 14, 1992 following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis. In 1976, Kane and Blackie Lawless formed the Killer Kane Band in Los Angeles. Immediately after the New York Dolls’ second breakup, Johansen began a solo career. By the late 1980s, he achieved moderate success under the pseudonym, Buster Poindexter. Sylvain formed The Criminals, a popular band at CBGB. // A posthumous New York Dolls album, Lipstick Killers, made up of early demo tapes of the original Dolls (with Billy Murcia on drums), was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006. All the tracks from this title – sometimes referred to as The Mercer Street Sessions (though actually recorded at Blue Rock Studio, New York) – are included on the CD Private World, along with other tracks recorded elsewhere, including a previously unreleased Dolls original, “Endless Party.” Three more unreleased studio tracks, including another previously unreleased Dolls original, “Lone Star Queen,” are included on the Rock ‘n’ Roll album. The other two are covers: the “Courageous Cat” theme, from the original Courageous Cat cartoon series; and a second attempt at “Don’t Mess With Cupid,” a song written by Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd for Otis Redding, and first recorded independently for what was later to become the Mercer Street/Blue Rock Sessions. // Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a taxicab driver in New York. // Johansen, meanwhile, formed the David Johansen Group, and released an eponymous LP in 1978, recorded at the Bottom Line in NYC’s Greenwich Village,featuring Sylvain Mizrahi and Johnny Thunders as guest musicians. // In May, 1978, he also released “David Johansen,” on Blue Sky Records, a label created by Steve Paul, formerly of The Scene. Johansen continued to tour with his solo project and released four more albums, In Style, 1979; Here Comes the Night, 1981; Live it Up, 1982; and Sweet Revenge, 1984. // During the later 1980’s, Johansen, ever-evolving, decided to try to liberate himself from the expectations of his New York Dolls perceived persona, and, on a whim, created the persona Buster Poindexter. // The success of this act led him to be invited to appear in multiple films: Scrooged, Freejack, and Let it Ride, among others. // He also formed a band called David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, named after the eccentric ethnomusicologist, performing jump blues, Delta blues, and some original songs. // During this period, in the early 1990s, Sylvain moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album Sleep Baby Doll, on Fishhead Records. His band, for that record, consisted of Brian Keats on drums, Dave Vanian’s Phantom Chords, Speediejohn Carlucci (who had played with the Fuzztones), and Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frank Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as New York A Go Go/ // Morrissey, having been a longtime fan of the band and head of their 1970s UK fan club, organized a reunion of the three surviving members of the band’s classic line-up (Johansen, Sylvain and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in London on June 16, 2004. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey’s Attack label, as well as a documentary film, New York Doll, on the life of Arthur Kane. However, future plans for the Dolls were affected by Kane’s sudden death from leukemia just weeks later on July 13, 2004. Yet the following month the band appeared at Little Steven’s Underground Garage Festival on August 14 in New York City before returning to the UK to play several more festivals through the remainder of 2004. // In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album entitled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006, the album featured guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (ex-Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert at New York’s Seaport Music. // In October 2006, the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band’s history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that “even if you come to our show thinking ‘how can it be like it was before,’ we turn that around ‘cos we’ve got such a great live rock ‘n roll show”. In November 2006, the Dolls began headlining “Little Steven’s Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show,” about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. In April 2007, the band played in Australia and New Zealand, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix. // On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls were removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records’ website, signifying the group’s split with the label. The band played the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008, with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008. On November 14, 2008, it was announced that the producer of their first album, Todd Rundgren, would be producing a new album, which would be followed by a world tour. The finishing touches on the album were made in Rundgren’s studio on the island of Kauai. The album, Cause I Sez So, was released on May 5, 2009 on Atco Records. // The band played at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas on March 21, 2009, and a show at London’s 100 Club on May 14, 2009 supported by Spizzenergi. On March 18, 2010, the band announced another two concert dates at KOKO in Camden, London and the Academy in Dublin on April 20. In December 2010, it was announced the band would release their fifth album which had been recorded in Newcastle upon Tyne. The album, Dancing Backward in High Heels, featuring new guitarist Frank Infante (formerly of Blondie) was released on March 15, 2011. // On March 1, 2011, it was announced the New York Dolls would be the opening act for a summer tour featuring Mötley Crüe and Poison. They announced a new lineup for the tour, featuring guitarist Earl Slick, who held previous stints with David Bowie and John Lennon, bassist Kenny Aaronson, who had toured with Bob Dylan, and drummer Jason Sutter, formerly of Foreigner. // In a 2016 interview, Earl Slick confirmed the band was over. “Oh, yeah, it’s long gone. There was no point in doing it anymore and it was kinda spent. You know, David really does enjoy the Buster thing. He’s so good at it. I’ve seen him do it a couple of times this last year, and man! He’s got it down, you know.” // Sylvain Sylvain died on January 13, 2021, at age 69, leaving David Johansen as the last surviving original member of the band. // Certainly neither great nor punk in any of its variations were words applied to the Dolls when they began performing late in 1971 – awful and ugly were more like it. Moreover, at the time, the Dolls were associated with glam-rock and David Bowie in his most flamboyantly gay period, an understandable mistake. — Ken Tucker // According to AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the New York Dolls developed an original style of hard rock that presaged both punk rock and heavy metal music, and drew on elements such as the “dirty rock & roll” of the Rolling Stones, the “anarchic noise” of the Stooges, the glam rock of David Bowie and T. Rex, and girl group pop music. Erlewine credited the band for creating punk rock “before there was a term for it.” Ken Tucker, who referred to them as a proto-punk band, wrote that they were strongly influenced by the “New York sensibility” of Lou Reed: “The mean wisecracks and impassioned cynicism that informed the Dolls’ songs represented an attitude that Reed’s work with the Velvet Underground embodied, as did the Dolls’ distinct lack of musicianship.” // When they began performing, four of the band’s five members wore Spandex and platform boots, while Johansen—the band’s lyricist and “conceptmaster” often preferred high heels and a dress occasionally. Fashion historian Valerie Steele said that, while the majority of the punk scene pursued an understated “street look”, the New York Dolls followed an English glam rock “look of androgyny—leather and knee-length boots, chest hair, and bleach”. According to James McNair of The Independent, “when they began pedalling their trashy glam-punk around lower Manhattan in 1971, they were more burlesque act than band; a bunch of lipsticked, gutter chic-endorsing cross-dressers”. Music journalist Nick Kent argued that the New York Dolls were “quintessential glam rockers” because of their flamboyant fashion, while their technical shortcomings as musicians and Johnny Thunders’ “trouble-prone presence” gave them a punk-rock reputation. // By contrast, Robert Christgau preferred for them to not be categorized as a glam rock band, but instead as “the best hard-rock band since the Rolling Stones”. Robert Hilburn, writing for the Los Angeles Times, said that the band exhibited a strong influence from the Rolling Stones, but had distinguished themselves by Too Much Too Soon (1974) as “a much more independent, original force” because of their “definite touch of the humor and carefreeness of early (ie. mid-1950s) rock”. Simon Reynolds felt that, by their 2009 album Cause I Sez So, the band exhibited the sound “not of the sloppy, rambunctious Dolls of punk mythology but of a tight, lean hard-rock band.”]
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 Kansas – Kansas City Music Community. His band Ghosty has released some of our most favorite music of the past 19 years of this radio show.]
[Andrew Connor plays The Ship, 1221 Union Ave. KCMO WEST BOTTOMS, on Friday, June 2 at 8:00 PM with Daniel Gum, and 95 Sweetbird.]
[Andrew Connor plays the Eight Street Tap Room, 801 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence Kansas on Saturday, June 3, with Miss Boating, and Empty Moon.]
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 Ghosty’s 3rd full length release with Andrew Connor, Mike Nolte and Bill Belzer who recorded the album themselves over two years with help from David Wetzel, Josh Adams, Jake Blanton, Konnor Ervin, Ryan Connor, Kirsten Paludan, and Dan Talmadge. The album was pressed on vinyl and available on digital download.]
Ghosty released the single “Love U 2” on July 15, 2013, recorded June 2013 at Westend, Kansas City, KS. A documentary was made 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-ytrack 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
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]
Photo by Dasha Brown
Iris DeMent – “Say A Good Word” 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.]
Lael Neale – “Must Be Tears” from: Star Eaters Delight / Sub Pop Records / April 21, 2023 [Lael Neale returns with her beguiling new full-length Star Eaters Delight. The album, which features the highlights “I Am The River,” “In Verona,” “Must Be Tears,” and “Faster Than The Medicine,” was written by Neale, with arrangements and production by Guy Blakeslee. The recordings were made on cassette in Virginia and mastered by Chris Coady in Los Angeles.// Star Eaters Delight reveals an expansion of Neale’s sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Blakeslee and arrives on the heels of her Sub Pop debut Acquainted With Night, which won international acclaim for its crystalline vocals, clever songwriting, and excellent use of Omnichord to build a world of beautiful reveries. That album saw praise from the likes of Uncut, MOJO, Loud & Quiet, The AV Club, Stereogum, SPIN, and earned “Best of 2021” placement from Under the Radar, Les Inrocks, Aquarium Drunkard, Gold Flake Paint, Still Listening, Secret Meeting and more. // April of 2020, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family’s farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She explains: “The unbroken silences on the farm compelled me to break them with sound. This album is louder and more external, calling out to the world.” // Album opener “I Am The River” melts the ice with a dynamic explosion of minimalist transcendental pop clearly descended from the Velvets branch of modern music’s family tree. Watch the official self-directed video for “I Am The River” below. // Lael Neale is also sharing her international tour schedule for 2023 in support of Star Eaters Delight which begins April 22nd in Los Angeles at Permanent Records Roadhouse and currently runs through May 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. For the US run, the tour will have stops in Washington, Austin, Nashville, Tucson, New York, Northampton, and Philadelphia. Tickets for these shows are on sale now.]
Photo Ops -“When You See Something Beautiful” from: Burns Bright / Paul Is Dead Records / April 28, 2023 [Photo Ops is the musical project of Terry Price. This is Photo Ops’ 4th album. Burns Bright explores hope, loss, and nostalgia through the lens of hushed yet sweeping melodies, anchored with fingerpicked guitar, lush piano, and synth flourishes. Burns Bright is out April 28, 2023 on Paul Is Dead Records. // The autumn blaze maple tree, famous as music in Nashville, is a fast grower. Imagine its teeming majesty of red leaves from above one house in the city’s Inglewood neighborhood. You see it ensconced like a controlled flame by rolling hills and winding roads. A familiar pattern lulls you from days into nights in this dreamy park town. You never realized from the ground, under the shade of that tree, how all these beautiful designs in any city keep you sane. // The sweeping vantage points of Photo Ops’ Burns Bright belong first to the quiet of Nashville’s first modern suburb after World War II. Terry Price lived there while perfecting the melodic soft-rock modes that pleased audiences on tour with Camera Obscura and Fences. Price took this way of seeing to a new home in Los Angeles. Long drives through dimensional vistas ended in his room in Los Feliz where he recorded Burns Bright. When Etta James, Molly Drake, and The Byrds are all touch-points of sound and silence, what emerges is a gentle homage to the commonalities of lasting influence in pop music, a kind of time-bending presentiment — the moment of tracking in a studio when everyone senses it’s a moment that will be remembered. Reaching through the layer of industry noise in both hallmark cities as we know them from a distance — is this a hit? — Price treasures the visceral experience of making and recognizing music. // The most devout of craftspeople, Price is on a quest toward the merciful essence of recognition when he writes songs; each line discovers a pure element of comfort, calling back to the land and to his musician mother’s love of transcendent melodies. Burns Bright reminds us how those forces are one and the same. // Price’s heroes in music are more than inspirations. To him, they offer examples of how to keep breathing in a culture that discourages total presence. It’s true that moving an open heart through the world comes with constant risk. Looking out at the expanse we all share — really seeing that world — is the practice of Burns Bright, and the special ability that makes Price a songwriter to cherish.]
10:31 – Underwriting
Photo by Too Much Rock
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]
[Red Kate plays Farewell, 6515 Stadium Drive, KCMO, Friday, May 5, at 7:00 PM with Trauma Czars from Denver, plus Backpedal, and Small Victories, 21+ Shows]
Killer Mike – “Don’t Let The Devil (feat EL-P & thankugoodsir) (clean edit)” from: DON’T LET THE DEVIL (feat EL-P & thankugoodsir) (clean edit) / Loma Vista / 8/24/22 [Killer Mike is celebrating his birthday by formally launching the countdown for his new solo album MICHAEL via the release of “DON’T LET THE DEVIL feat. EL-P & thankugoodsir.” MICHAEL marks the celebrated MCs first solo project since 2012’s critically lauded R.A.P. Music and serves as an introduction to the totality of Michael Render, a lifelong rap fiend whose consciousness is seeped in the sounds of community that raised him – multiple eras of southern rap flows, Sunday church service, and barbershop discourse. Speaking on his most autobiographical and independent album to date, Mike states “RTJ is the X-Men, this is my Logan.” For the new single Mike linked with his Run The Jewels partner in rhyme EL-P, trading verses over a lilting soul loop produced by No I.D., EL-P, & Little Shalimar. “My favorite group (US) with my favorite producers! It’s our 10 year anniversary and MICHAEL is an origin story so I wanted to start w/ El.” // “DON’T LET THE DEVIL” arrives in the wake of RTJ announcing a 10 year anniversary run this Fall, the release of their collaborative sneakers with Nike this week, and Mike’s recent appearance at SXSW, where he performed an intimate career-spanning show at Stubb’s, flanked by a choir, and previewed several new songs that are expected to appear on the Atlanta MC’s new album (read more here). He further brought the album to life at a private listening event in NYC this past Monday, where a couple hundred attendees crowded into St. Ann’s & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn to hear Mike present the album in his own words. // The single was preceded last year by “RUN (ft. Young Thug)” and “TALK’N THAT SHIT!” his first batch of solo material since linking up with El-P to form Run The Jewels, who have gone on to create four fanatically received albums and achieved near cultural ubiquity. Mike has also frequently surfaced as a cultural commentator in high regard, from his own shows Love and Respect and Trigger Warning (Netflix), regular appearances on Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Real Time with Bill Maher, his stint as a campaign surrogate for Bernie Sanders, and viral moments addressing the public in the wake of the Ferguson verdict and the police killing of George Floyd. // In early April 2023 Killer Mike re-asserted his acting bonafides in a cameo on FX’s Dave, where the titular rapper agonizes over a perceived Twitter beef with Mike, adding to a growing acting CV that also included an appearance on the last season of Netflix’s Ozark.]
Alisa Jefferson – “Falling” from: “Falling” – Single / Alisa Jefferson / April 28, 2022 [“Falling” was co-written by: Alisa Jefferson, Barb Wilmoth, Lynne Grimes, with Alisa Jefferson (Lyrics, Lead & Backup Vocals, Shaker, Bass Guitar, Rhythm Acoustic Guitar), Barb Wilmoth (Drums, Backup Vocals), Lynne Grimes (Lead/Rhythm Electric Guitar, Keys, Backup Vocals) th track was Produced/Mixed/Mastered by: Andy Oxman at SoundWorks Recording Studio. Alisa Jefferson Music/ All Rights Reserved, 2023. // Alisa Jefferson released her single “Angel” on May 8, 2022. Angel was recorded at Alisa’s home studio. Jeremy KeelerLawrence, Kanss musician Jeremy Keeler added guitar part. Angel was mixed and mastered by Andy Oxman. On June 1, 2021 Alisa Jefferson released the 10-song solo debut album, TELL ME. All lyrics, instrumentation, vocals, melodies, song content for TELL ME was written and created by Alisa Jefferson. TELL ME was also recorded by Alisa Jefferson. Mixed and produced by Alisa Jefferson and Andy Oxman of SoundWorks Recording Studio, Blue Springs, Mo. And mastered by Matt Elliott of Black Sky Studios, Buckner, MO. Alisa Jefferson grew up in KC. She played viola in her school orchestra and received her first acoustic guitar at age 13. Alisa established her rock trio, Morning Fix, in 1994, singing & playing bass. In December, 2014, Alisa established, fronted, and played bass in the rock trio, Radial Red. In 2019 Alisa performed on the side stage with Joan Jett and Heart at Starlight Theatre with KC band, Mad Libby. Info at: http://www.alisajeffersonmusic.com Alisa was on WMM on June 2, 2021 and Feb. 10, 2021]
[Alisa Jefferson & Scott Mitchell play Savage Saloon, 1611 Genessee St., KCMO, on Fri, May 19, 5:00 PM]
Friendly Thieves – “You Better Run” from: “You Better Run” / Friendly Thieves / October 28, 2022 [Debut single from five-piece alt-funk band, Friendly Thieves who are: Sam Wells on lead vocals, Jamae Breeze on lead guitar, Sam Millard on bass, John Goss on drums, and Ben Baker on saxophone. // From Michelle Bacon’s piece in http://www.bridge909.org: Friendly Thieves describes themselves as if “Alabama Shakes and Young The Giant had a Vulfpeck-inspired love child,” and well, that’s pretty spot on. Their single captures that intersection of vibrant indie-rock energy and exceptional musicianship, with an intriguing funk aroma. // The bands show at ULAH is their only KC show so far this year before the ban sets off on tour to Austin, Chicago, Denver, and Nashville. // Sam Wells released her debut EP, FOR THE DEFLATED on French Exit Records on December 31, 2020. Sam Wells is a Kansas City, based singer songwriter who has shared stages with Betsy Phillips, Kelly Hunt, Andrew Ryan, The Zack Pietrini Band, and The Phantastics. She was featured as a composer and performer in the Kansas City Repertory Theater production of “Ghost Light” performed on the lawn of The Nelson Atkin Museum of Art in October, 2020. Sam has also performed in Troostival (2020), Kansas City Porchfest (2019) and Jamdemic. In 2019, Wells released her debut single “Lesson Learned.” In early 2020 Wells released her second single “Sugar” producer and engineered by Riley Corbin at the Lawrence Kansas Public Library recording studio. It was only a decade ago, Sam Wells sat in her bedroom learning the Corrine Bailey Ray classic “Put Your Records On”. This was all it took to ignite a lifetime love affair with music. With her smooth and sultry voice and the warm tones of a baritone ukulele, she shares stories of love, loss and everything in between. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Sam Wells has lived in Lawrence, but now calls KC home. Sam Wells also contributed to The Black Lives Matter Compilation from French Exit Records that featured tracks from 22 acts from the area, and was released on July 6, 2020. Sam contributed the song, “Dear Black People”. On WMM we featured tracks from: Blackstarkids, Daniel Gum, Crystal Rose, UpKeep, Bream, Heavy Surface, Palace Intrigue, Self Harmony, and Sam Wells. All proceeds donated to One Struggle KC’s Liberation Fund, a Black-led coalition of KC activists seeking to connect the struggles of oppressed communities, locally & globally. French Exit Records launched in 2018, and is an independent music label based out of Kansas City, Missouri founded by Brad Girard. French Exit Records has released albums for No Magic and Raymond, and has organized live events. The Black Lives Matter Compilation is available on French Exit Record’s Bandcamp page: http://www.frenchexitrecords.bandcamp.com. More information at: http://www.whoissamwells.com. Sam Wells was on WMM on May 13, 2020 and January 20, 2021.]
[Friendly Thieves play a ULAH Live Session, Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 7:30 PM ay ULAH, 4707 Rainbow Blvd, Westwood, KS. Presented by You Found Music]
[Friendly Thieves play at Boulevardia Friday, June 16, 2023 at Crown Center.]
Rewound & Calvin Arsenia – “Bad Blood/I Knew You Were Trouble” from: Bad Blood/I Knew You Were Trouble – Single / House of Outlyre Productions / 4/11/2023 [Rewound & Calvin Arsenia just released their 2nd single of the year, “All Too Well” on April 25, 2023, and like their earlier single that are covering the songs of Taylor Swift. // Rewound is a trio with Carmen Dieker on violin, Alyssa Bell on viola, and Ezgi Karakus on cello that perform classical and contemporary music re-imagined. For these recordings they are collaborating with Calvin Arsenia on harp.c// Calvin Arsenia Born in Orlando, Florida, Calvin’s creative journey really began when he moved to the KC suburb of Olathe, teaching himself the guitar, and eventually the harp. He learned his signature instrument at the age of 20 after he couldn’t find a harpist as determined as him to meld folk, rock, classical, rap and R&B into the irresistible fusion which has become his calling card in KC and beyond. 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 whose impassioned and conceptual stage shows (regularly sold-out in Kansas City, currently catching fire on the West Coast with a diverse following across Europe), are collaborative, costumed-culture-bridging spectacles which In KC Magazine has hailed as ‘equal parts opera, symphony, musical theatre, rock show, all built around its creator: a charismatic 6-foot-6-inch harpist with a natural stage command and knack for gilding gold and painting lilies.’ Calvin 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. Calvin Arsenia premiered these songs in a live show at recordBar in November 2016 in a stage show that involved a company of 50 people, dancers, stilt walkers, special lighting, back up singers, guest artists. Calvin’s 2018 national debut, Cantaloupe, September 15, 2018 on Center Cut Records, has been acclaimed for melding diverse textures into an alluring signature sound for the adventurous artist. On June 28, 2019 Calvin released Honeydew, an EP including a remix of three songs from Cantaloupe. On Dec. 13, 2019 Calvin released his full length Christmas album “all is calm.” 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 is a graduate of Artist INC. // Charlotte Street Foundation announced that the recipients of the 2022 Generative Performing Artist Awards are The Black Creatures and Calvin Arsenia Scott.]
[Calvin Arsenia plays the rooftop of the Crossroads Hotel 2101 Central St. KCMO, on June 7, 2023, doors open at 7:00 PM the show starts at 8:00 PM for the Summer Concert Series.]
The Swallowtails – “Who’s Gonna Be There” from: “Who’s Gonna Be There” – Single / Miki P / August 21, 2020 [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. S Att 21, Miki P began work on her debut solo-record, Dome of Swallows, that was released August 2, 2018. Shes 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. This new single follows Miki P’s March 18, 2022 single “Peter Parker!” // More info at: http://www.mikipmusic.com]
[The Swallowtails will be playing the 5th Annual Manor Fest, May 19-20 in Lawrence, May 25-28 in KC]
11:00 – Station ID
Photo by Travis Young
Krystle Warren & The Faculty – “Rising” from: Rising – Single / Parlour Door Music / May 31, 2019 [“Rising” was included in the official soundtrack to the Ana DuVernay television series soundtrack for “When They See Us.” This single was produced by co-founding member of The Faculty, bassist Solomon Dorsey. I was texting with Krystle over the weekend after of the KC Bands Together, (Saturday, May 16, 2020) weekend 6-hour streaming concert where Krystle shared three songs including a cover of Gerry Raferty’s “The Ark” from his 1978 album, City to City. Krystle was currently doing over dubs on “Rising” that will be included on the new Krystle Warren & The Faculty album called, “Extended Play.” Krystle told me that they had wanted to do album cover photos during a concert that was scheduled in Kansas City in March, but was cancelled due to COVID-19. Getting everyone together has not been possible. Krystle was hoping for a late 2020 release. Krystle Warewn learned to play the guitar by listening to Rubber Soul & Revolver from The Beatles. Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career in collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians. After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, and moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French and British television programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling all over the world with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman. Krystle created, Parlour Door Music, to release “Love Songs: A Time You May Embrace” a recording from a 13-day session in Brooklyn, where she recorded 24 songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections.]
KC born and internationally known singer songwriter Krystle Warren joins us from France. One of our most played artists of all time on the radio show. Krystle is also one of our most frequent guests. Krystle Warren join us today to premiere the new song, “Macca” from Krystle Warren & The Faculty, that was recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY to be released this year. Krystle says that the song, “became equal parts: a love letter to (Paul McCartney) and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing if you think about it.” This is the first of three interviews we will be doing with Krystle over the next five weeks that culminate with a LIVE in-studio show with Krystle on May 26 . Krystle will headline 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, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
We just heard the single “Rising” from Krystle Warren & The Faculty and produced by Solomon Dorsey and written especially for Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed Netflix television mini series WHEN THEY SEE US, the gut-wrenching story of the Central Park Five – Five young teenagers Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana who were falsely accused, arrested, convicted and sentenced fto prison or raping and beating almost to death Trisha Meili – “the Central Park jogger” – a young white woman whose poor, battered body was found that same night. Eventually they were exonerated in 2002…
Photo By Travis Young
Krystle Warren began performing in her native KC at the age of 16 before moving to New York City, where she started busking on the streets and later formed her regular band, The Faculty. She and the group have recorded several full-length albums, including 2009’s Circles, 2012’s Love Songs and 2017’s Three The Hard Way. Her EP THE CREW released September 15, 2020. Her band The Faculty is ready to release EXTENDED PLAY
Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career in collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians.
After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, who gave her a one way ticket to France.
Krystle moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French & British TV programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling on world tours with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman.
Krystle left Because Music and created her own recording label, Parlour Door Music, to release “Love Songs: A Time You May Embrace / A Time to Refrain from Embracing” a double album recording from a 14-day session in Brooklyn, where she recorded 24 songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections. In 2019 The Kansas City based Owen/Cox Dance Group premiered a new dance piece titled “Love Songs” with choreography by Jennifer Owen, set to all 24 songs, in the order they appear in the recording,.
Krystle Warren has collaborated with Erykah Badu, Keziah Jones, Zap Mama, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, Brad Cox Amadou & Mariam, Lakecia Benjamin, Guarco, Teddy Thompson, Gwyneth Herbert, Hercules & Love Affair, and Joon Moon. Along with being included in the compilation “NYC Subway – Songs from the Underground,” and tribute recordings for Kate McGarrigle, and Nick Drake.
In an article in SPIN Magazine, December 6, 2020, The 35 Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years, Picked by 35 Well-Known Artists Krystle Was named twice!
Joan as Police Woman on Krystle Warren: “Most stellar voice, tender and strong in equal measure with a range nothing short of miraculous. Incredible writer of songs, the type of which used to get written and go on to become classics. Exquisite live performer in the way you forget completely where you are and what’s happening in your life.”
Rufus Wainwright on Krystle Warren: “Krystle Warren’s voice and performance style seared an indelible mark on me years ago when she joined Martha and I on tributes to our mom Kate McGarrigle in both London and New York. Her haunting interpretations, vocal timbre and singular look completely devastated all present, and soon after I had the honor of taking her out on the road with me. Be it covers, her own material or harmonizing with others, she is a true musician and should be considered an international treasure.”
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 HARD WAY 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
From Diary EP to Extended Play A Truncated History of Krystle Warren & The Faculty From http://www.krystalwarren.com written by Phil Anderson:
Krystle Krystle Warren met Solomon Dorsey some weekend at a high school debate competition in Kansas City. After she had trounced Solomon’s debate partner, the two ended up in an open classroom where they began playing music—Krystle had brought her guitar and was practicing chords, and Solomon, then an accomplished violinist, cellist, bassist, and singer likely had some sort of instrument on him, and even if he didn’t he had his voice.
Due to some specific details we’re not going to get into, Krystle was already living on her own; she was eighteen and he was seventeen. But she had a friend who had an apartment near hers, and this friend was having a party. “Wanna go?” she asked Solomon. And, as Solomon puts it, he has seen or spoken to Krystle every single day of his life since.
So when Solomon decided to attend the jazz program at New School in New York, he asked Krystle, “Wanna go?” And a few months after he moved, Krystle showed up. On her first night in the city, Solomon introduced her to Zach Djanikian, a saxophonist he’d become fast friends with at school. They lived in the same dorm, and Zach and Solomon took Krystle to a practice room in the basement and the three of them played musical games. According to Zach, “We’d sing as many melodies as we could over four open strings of the upright bass, plucked successively. ‘Norwegian Wood’ and the theme to Family Matters were a couple favorites.”
This led to busking as a trio, and each of them was hustling for gigs. An Italian restaurant that featured live music gave Krystle a regular night, and she often had Solomon and Zach play with her. Zach’s friend from Philadelphia, Ben Kane, would come to these nights, and he brought Mike Riddleberger.
In Philly, Zach was in a band called The Brakes, and Ben Kane was producing an album for Zach’s band in a windowless apartment that he shared with Riddleberger. Kane and Riddleberger had become friends a year earlier at NYU, bonding over their love of D’Angelo’s album Voodoo. Riddleberger says that even though he saw Krystle perform, he didn’t speak to her until after she saw him play with his band, Quintus. Zach had brought her, and she approached him after the show to play in a band she was starting.
The Faculty was formed with Krystle, Solomon, Zach, Riddleberger, and Dave Moore, a keyboardist from Kansas who was at New School, too. While the four boys had classes and gigs, Krystle floated around New York and made a lot of friends. She busked and wrote songs, and, with the help of her band members and Ben Kane, who had an internship at ElectricLady Studios and was sneaking them in at odd hours, Krystle turned those songs into an EP called DIARY.
And it was a diary. The songs were about her daily experiences in this new place and with these new people. “I’ve Seen Days” has a title that implies a reflection, but it’s about how the world is new to her, how she’s “a frightened child” in a new city. “The New Astrologer” is about a new and exciting love, one that remains a good friend of hers. “A Song For Holly” is a letter to family explaining her new quotidien life (“your big sister / out in New York on some subway / your big sister, out trying to get paid”). And “Central Park” is a document of a night she had in Central Park with Zach and his boyfriend (now husband) Jesse, and how she is coming to embrace this new city, these new people, and this new chapter of her life.
If DIARY, the Faculty’s first recordings, is Krystle’s “Songs of Innocence,” then EXTENDED PLAY, the Faculty’s latest, is Krystle’s “Songs of Experience.”
Diary led to CIRCLES, which Ben Kane co-produced with Voodoo engineer Russell “The Dragon” Elevado. Circles was bought by Because Music in France, and Krystle had her next move. She stayed in France even when her relationship with Because ended because she found Vanessa, and Vanessa was worth staying in France for. But Krystle still recorded LOVE SONGS in New York, a double album that invokes a Blakean duality with its two subtitles, “A Time to Refrain from Embracing” and “A Time You May Embrace.” LOVE SONGS was produced with most of the Faculty (Zach was on tour with Amos Lee) and a slew of guest musicians in Brian Bender’s Brooklyn studio. Bender’s assistant, Jonathan Anderson, would later go on to replace Dave Moore on keys in the Faculty.
The Faculty has always been a tenuous project for everyone involved because of the distance and the schedules. While everyone remains close friends, the band members are spread across the globe. Krystle in France. Riddleberger in New York and Zach in Woodstock. Solomon and Jonathan in Los Angeles. And then they are all working musicians, touring, recording, and collaborating with an impressive list of artists. Musicians like, in no particular order: D’Angelo, Hercules and Love Affair, Donald Fagen and the Nightfliers, Joan As Policewoman, Jose James, Emily King, Janet Jackson, Ron Sexsmith, The Dixie Chicks, Amy Helm, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Rufus Wainwright, Kylie Minogue, Sara Bareilles, Natalie Merchant, Kesha, Bleachers, Emylou Harris, Amos Lee, Lana Del Rey, Broken Social Scene, Teddy Thompson, Lakecia Benjamin, Jenny Lewis, and honestly that’s less than the half of it.
So they have been busy, and they have gained a lot of experience since the days of sneaking into ElectricLady late night or playing for meager pay and free wine at an East Village Italian resto. And while DIARY and CIRCLES and LOVE SONGS were recorded with everyone in the same room (THREE THE HARDWAY was just Krystle and Kane together), EXTENDED PLAY was recorded disparately and assembled together by the steady hands and ears of Kane and Krystle. There is distance between the musicians in the recording process, but there is still a close emotional connection that can be heard in these songs.
And Krystle is writing with a close emotional connection to the distant past. The songs that make up Extended Play are songs of experience—the lyrics reflect on a crush from high school, a departed musical hero, and others who live in memory. There is nostalgia in EXTENDED PLAY and a forlornness. And these songs are filled with references, musical and otherwise, to those who have inspired Krystle over the years, from Les Mis (specifically the song adopted by the ACT UP movement) to Gregory Djanikian, Zach’s poet father, and Audre Lord.
Krystle describes “When I Look Back,” the last song of Extended Play, as “an apology to my teenage self.” Seventeen years ago she was writing songs about what happened day-of because being young is about immediacy and living in the present tense. Now the songs are about years past because life slows down, and we are allowed the time to “look back.”
But as Krystle sings in “Rising,” “Future lingers while past is present.” She’s writing about the past because we are all our collected histories—or as she puts it in “When I Look Back”: “there’s still something of her that stays.” The future, of course, still lingers, always there waiting for us, for the next move. The album ends with a recording of Audre Lorde’s gravelly voice. She says,
“I’m going on to something else, the shape of which I have no idea. ‘Only thing I know, is it’s going to be quite different. What I leave behind has a life of its own. I’ve said this about poetry… Well in a sense, I’m saying it about the very artifact of who I have been.”
Krystle Warren & The Faculty still have more to come. They have built seventeen years of memories, experiences, recordings, and shows, and with the release of Extended Play, they continue to show a commitment to growing as musicians together, even if apart.
Written by Phil Anderson
With the EP The Crew a video was released along with The Crew’s interpretation of “Bein’ Green” an emotionally stirring five minute montage of footage of Black Lives Matter protests, young Black children choosing white dolls over dark-skinned ones, archival footage of James Baldwin, Angela Davis, Malcom X, Nina Simone, Marsha P. Johnson Al Sharpton, Ella Baker, as well as Sandra Bland, George Floyd and Eric Garner. Proceeds from the EP will be donated to the ACLU.
Bein’ Green – Kermit the Frog’s iconic song “Bein’ Green” (written by Joe Raposo). // The moving five-minute clip, over which Warren sings her rendition of the 1970 song — since recorded by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and others — sprang from a covers EP she recorded during the pandemic with a group of musicians known as The Crew. ‘Bein’ Green,’ it’s such a gorgeous song, and it says so, so much,” says Warren. “I began thinking about what I wanted it to express visually before we started [recording the song]. Essentially — it’s not easy being Black. That’s what Ray Charles was saying, and we felt it needed to be said again.”
Warren embarked on the project after her forthcoming album with her regular group, The Faculty, was put on hold due to COVID-19. The Crew EP, which tackles themes of racial injustice in the wake of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests this summer, also includes a cover of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth.”
The Crew: Lakecia Benjamin, Matthew Silberman, Jacob Snider, Joe Blaxx, Solomon Dorsey, Zach Djanikian, Cassorla, Krystle Warren, and Ben Kane.
Krystle Warren and 90.1 FM KKFI
Mark first interviewed Krystle Warren for The Tenth Voice, back 2002.To track down recorded music from Krystle, Mark waited several hours, during a winter snow storm, at a huge party, where Krystle played with her band including her longtime friend Solomon Dorsey on bass, in a packed, smoke filled apartment near Community Christian Church across the hall from where Solomon lived, to be given a 2-song demo CD, that contained Krystle’s first recorded music, including a song called “Chanel #5.” Krystle has since gone on to be known all over the world, but still maintains contact with her hometown of Kansas City.
Krystle was on WMM on June 29, 2016 as “Guest Producer” to share inspirations for her new record, THREE THE HARD WAY playing early gospel recordings, that crossed over into Jazz from: Pharoah Sanders, Edwin Hawkins, and The Swan Silvertones. Krystle’s critically acclaimed album, Three The Hard Way was #1 on WMM’s 117 Best Recordings of 2017. Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first to play tracks from Krystle’s album, before it was released. Krystle came on the show months before the release, to share music that was the inspiration for the recording. Released on Parlour Door Music, on August 18, 2017 and Produced by Krystle Warren and Ben Kane. Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Ben Kane. Written & performed by Krystle Warren. Mixed at The Garden, Brooklyn. Mastered & cut by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk. In 2015 in Krystle Warren premiered new songs from this album at the Middle of the Map Fest in a packed room at Californos in Westport and later at The Polsky Theatre for the Performing Arts Series of Johnson County Community College. For this record Krystle decided to play every instrument and vocals & back up vocals, “playing bass, drums, lap steel, piano, guitar, and vocals directly to analog tape. She and Ben Kane recorded in Villetaneuse, France, a small town on the outskirts of Paris in a vintage 70s era studio that offered just the right, rich sound to suggest the musical foundation for the record, and to do justice to the duo’s carefully balanced arrangements.” On the Wednesday MidDay Medley radio show in 2016 Krystle shared inspirations for this record, early gospel recordings, that crossed over into Jazz from: Pharoah Sanders, Edwin Hawkins, and The Swan Silvertones.
Krystle was on WMM on Oct. 16, 2019 with Brad Cox when she was in KC to present LoveSongs with Owen/Cox Dance Group at Oct 19 & 20, 2019 at Polsky Theatre at JCCC.
We talked with Krystle on September 23, 2020 about The Crew EP where Krystle and friends recorded unique versions of four classic songs with the hope of encouraging the rallying cries of the moment: the movement of the people. Warren embarked on the project after her newest album, with her band The Faculty, was stalled due to COVID-19
The World Premiere of “Macca”
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, the gut-wrenching story of the Central Park Five – Five young teenagers Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana who were falsely accused, arrested, convicted and sentenced fto prison or raping and beating almost to death Trisha Meili – “the Central Park jogger” – a young white woman whose poor, battered body was found that same night. Eventually they were exonerated in 2002…
“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 sunbmission; 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. And singing that chorus — it evoked for me those gorgeous ballads he composed in the 80s – ‘Wanderlust,” ‘Tug Of 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 equal parts: a love letter to him, and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing when you think about it: Paul’s music so often encourages us to keep going, keep trying, and in using his language (so to speak), unwittingly, he was giving me strength.”
Krystle Warren, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
WORLD PREMIERE!!! WORLD PREMIERE!!! WORLD PREMIERE!!!
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 submission; 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 – ‘Wanderlust,” ‘Tug Of 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 equal parts: a love letter to him, and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing when you think about it: Paul’s music so often encourages us to keep going, keep trying, and in using his language (so to speak), unwittingly, he was giving me strength.”]
Krystle Warren – “Born In The Fall” from: A Time to Keep Love Songs EP / Parlour Door Music / August 12, 2011 [Originally from KC, Krystle learned to play the guitar by listening to Rubber Soul & Revolver from The Beatles. Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career in collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians. After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, and moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French and British television programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling all over the world with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman. Krystle created, Parlour Door Music, to release “Love Songs: A Time You May Embrace” a recording from a 13-day session in Brooklyn, where she recorded 24 songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections.]
Ghost Funk Orchestra – “Scatter” from: A New Kind of Love / Karma Chief – Colemine Records / October 28, 2023 [The long-awaited 3rd LP from Ghost Funk Orchestra is out. Seth Applebaum is a brilliant musician and composer, and he really stretched his imagination on this album. A New Kind of Love sees the 11-piece band blending impressions of a bygone era (the 60’s and 70’s) with the personal experiences Seth has had as a film maker in the 21st century. It’s psychedelic, romantic, soulful, and yet could score soundtracks to action movies or a modern twist on a classic film noir. // Each song on Ghost Funk Orchestra’s 3rd album, A New Kind of Love, due to be released on Colemine Records … 2022, resonates like the soundtrack to a scene from an imaginary movie. The music could score a romantic drama, an action thriller, or a modern twist on a classic film noir. The spare, cascading vocals accentuate the lush instrumental orchestrations composed, performed, arranged and produced by multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum, whose latest brainchild was conceived and conceptualized during The Great Pause of 2020, a time of tension, bewilderment and isolation. Evoking the grooviness of an era which preceded his arrival on earth, Applebaum draws upon sonic devices of mid-century exotica and the succinct but dense arranging style of the leaders of the pop orchestras which dominated the hit parades of the 60s and early 70s. He blends impressions of this bygone era with an expression of his actual experiences as a young filmmaker coming of age in the 21st century, citing influences such as Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Antibalas. A New Kind of Love encompasses a reverence for the past without attempting to recreate it. // In the tradition of the “production forward” discographies of such record makers as David Axelrod and the Mizell Brothers, it’s easy to visualize Applebaum as a “mad doctor” figure, hunkered down in a studio channeling this musical representation of his inner world into the 12 compositions which make up A New Kind of Love. His writing stretches his psyche to explore a terrain in which to capture emotional notes of love going well, love gone sour, manifesting love songs based in ghostly affairs. While the studio is obviously a wondrous happy place of experimentation and creativity for Applebaum, he’s a band guy too (having actually fronted punk outfit The Mad Doctors). Applebaum has the wherewithal to bring his dreamy material to the 10 piece all star Ghost Funk Orchestra, leading them to breathe life into this sophisticated body of work which heralds the celebration of a new era for the group. Ghost Funk Orchestra will be touring in concert this summer and fall to celebrate the release of A New Kind of Love, an album which is sure to stand the test of time. More info at: http://www.ghostfunkorchestra.com]
11:29 – Underwriting
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 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]
11:33 – Interview with Jake Walker
Jake Walker Photo by: Brian Paulette
Jake Walker who has been a professional actor for 20 years, and for most of those years his artistic home has been Kansas City. In 2020 when covid-19 shut down performing arts venues across the country, Jake and several colleagues from the theatre community banded together to create the Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City, or TCF for short, a non profit organization designed to provide support to KC theatre workers. First providing food and financial assistance, then growing to also provide free career development and urgent community care. More information at: http://www.theatrefundkc.org
Jake Walker, Thank you for being with us today on WMM.
Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City Board of Directors
President, Founding Member – Amanda Arany (she/her) General Manager @ ArtsKC / Artistic Associate @ KC Public Theatre aarany@outlook.com
Executive Director, Founder – Jake Walker (he/him) Founder @ Theatre Community Fund of KC / AEA Actor kctheatrefund@gmail.com
Vice President, Founding Member – Korey Childs (he/him) Artistic Director @ The Arts Asylum grants@theatrefundkc.org
Founding Member – Christopher Barksdale-Burns (he/him) Dancer, Choreographer tcfkcboard@gmail.com
Founding Member – Sierra Berry (she/her) Local Performer & Creator tcfkcboard@gmail.com
Member – Phil “Blue Owl” Hooser Playwright, Actor tcfkcboard@gmail.com
Member – Natalee Merola (she/her) Actor, Choreographer marketing@theatrefundkc.org
Jake Walker, Executive Director writes:
“When the pandemic hit in early 2020, like millions of other theatre artists, I lost all my work, and all prospects of work for the foreseeable future. I had a little savings, but not much, and when that ran out, I had no idea how I would pay rent till my unemployment kicked in. I put out the call for help and in two days, the people in my community completely covered me. I’ve wanted to create something like TCF for some time, but this was my call to action; to create a way for any local theatre artist to have access to the same help I received.”
“KC is a theatre town, and it’s been my home for 30 years. I was in my first equity show at The Unicorn in 2001. I was in my first Shakespeare production here. I got my equity card at The Coterie. A lot of local theatre folks have the same story. We make homes and lives and families here. We get to know the people in the audience, we see them at the grocery store, or at the movie theatre. The theatre community in KC is a buzzing little eco system, everyone relying on each other in some way.”
“At some point, we all need help, and we all are capable of making a difference in someone else’s life. TCF was created to serve as a lightning rod for the generosity that already courses through our community, connecting the helpers with folks in need, grounded in the knowledge that we are all here to take care of each other. And that’s that.”
Join the Volunteer Ensemble Today!
Since 2020, our Volunteer Ensemble has assembled and delivered care packages to households in need. Ensemble members help out at our food pantry and assist at in person events. It’s ranks are filled with both theatre workers and theatre patrons, all share in their love for the theatre community and their desire to help folks who need it.
Email us today at volunteer@theatrefundkc.org to join our Ensemble of Volunteers. The Ensemble is instrumental in the success of TCF by providing support at food drives, dropping off requests, and helping our organization supply assistance to our community in Kansas City. Join today and make a lasting impact in our arts community.
TCF Food Bank
Drop Off Day is back!! For almost a year we had weekly drop off hours at The Unicorn Theatre, who generously hosted our food bank for many months. Now, Drop Off day is back, this time at The Arts Asylum. Anything you give will have a huge impact on KC families in need. If you need assistance please fill out our Request Form to get help TODAY! The TCF Food Bank is available to any theatre artist and is there for our community when you need a helping hand with groceries, toiletries, household items, and pet needs. TCF aims to take the stigma out of needing help, so don’t worry about requests. TCF is here for YOU! Contact us now and receive the help you deserve.
MOCSA – Free mental health resources – 816-931-4527
KC Tenants – Grassroots Renters rights org – 816-533-5435
Community Assistance Council (Hickman Mills, Ruskin, Center districts) Food distribution (within certain service area), Emergency Rent/Utility assistance 816-763-3277 ex. 100
UMKC School of Dentistry (affordable dental) – New patients call 816-235-2100
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception – Emergency Utility Assistance Tues-Friday, 930am to 1130am – 816-842-0416 x132
Guadalupe Center – Various programs/resources for Latino communities 1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, Kansas City, MO 64108 – (816) 421-1015 http://www.guadalupecenters.org/
Bethel-Riverview Coordination and Development – Emergency financial assistance for utilities; Food pantry 947 Osage, Kansas City, KS 66105, (913) 321-7418
Crosslines Cooperative Council, Inc. – Emergency Assistance for individuals and families with opportunities to receive basic necessities such as: Clothing Closet — free clean clothing, Rent and Utility Assistance, Shower facilities, Laundry services, Medicine Cabinet – 736 Shawnee Avenue. Kansas City, KS 66105, (913) 281-3388 / http://www.cross-lines.org/programs/emergency-assistance
Economic Opportunity Foundation Inc. – Emergency assistance to help families obtain needed supports such as utility and rent assistance, and mortgage default counseling, and to address emergency situations. / 1542 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102, (913) 371-7800, http://www.eofkck.org
Della Lamb – Community Services – Della Lamb serves thousands of Kansas City people annually through rent, utility, food, back-to-school supplies and holiday assistance. Residency restrictions apply. – 500 Woodland Ave., Kansas City, MO 64106, (816) 842-8040 / Ask for Social Services Department, http://www.dellalamb.org/educational-support-services/emergency-services/
Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City – Telephone: 720-569-4246 Address: 4741 Central St., Suite 1409, Kansas City, MO 64112
Jake Walker, Thank you for being with us today on WMM.
The Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City, or TCF for short, a non profit organization designed to provide support to KC theatre workers. First providing food and financial assistance, then growing to also provide free career development and urgent community care. More information at: http://www.theatrefundkc.org
11:50
The Salvation Choir – “Tafakarini (Radio Edit)” from: Tafakarini / The Salvation Choir / February 8, 2023 [This single release contains 3 versions of Tafakarini: Tafararini (Live in Kansas City, full version) 09:36 / Tafakarini (Radio edit) 05:04 / and Utukuzwe (Bonus track, lo-fi phone demo) 03:31 video . The Salvation Choir is a Congolese Rumba band from Congo and Tanzania based in Kansas City, Missouri. The are over 20 members in the choir and the choir masters are Jeune Premier Silambien and Pastor John Wilondja. “Tafakarini” was recorded live in our front yard in Kansas City, Missouri in April 2022. It was recorded and mixed by Danny Bowersox and Tyler Bachert. “Utukuzwe” is a lo-fi demo of our song that was featured on Dust To Digital. Recorded on a cassette tape and cell phone by Pastor John Wilondja in 2021. // The Salvation Choir are planning to record in the studio in 2023. More info at: www:thesalvationchoir.com
[The Salvation Choir will play at Boulevardia Saturday, June 17, 2023 at Crown Center.]
Stephen Marley – “Old Soul” from: “Old Soul” – Single / Tuff Gong Collective / April 20, 2023 [Stephen Marley releases his highly anticipated single “Old Soul,” now available on all streaming platforms via Tuff Gong Collective/UME/Ghetto Youths International. The award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer chronicles his growth and innocence as a youth Marley kid, the second son of Bob Marley, and his personal rites of passage through the family legacy. The warm acoustic track takes the listener on a coming-of-age journey through allusions to personal legends and eras of musical influences that “made it all possible.” / “April 1972, my mom and poppa brought me through,” Stephen sings on the moving new track. “Back then, I was the favorite, so they say.” The song arrives simultaneously as Bob Marley’s second oldest son celebrates his 51st year of life. “I’m an old soul, living in the body of a 9-year-old,” Stephen sings, sharing glimpses of his past. “Guess I’ve been here before.” The song was co-written with Jamaican pop star Omi, whose manager, renowned producer Specialist, brought it to Stephen, saying it fit him. “I had to change up the years to place my life in it,” Stephen says, “but really, Omi gave me the first inspiration.” / “Old Soul” showcases Marley’s versatility, and the message within his music remains consistent. “We come to free the people’s minds,” says the multi-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Stephen Marley. “Only way you can free your soul is to free your mind. My father said, ‘No chains on my feet, but I’m not free,’ and then he come to say, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.’ Anywhere the music calls us, we are going to be there to spread the message of love and unity.”/ Summer 2023 marks the triumphant return of Stephen’s “Babylon By Bus Summer Tour,” which includes a cavalcade of hand-picked support artists appearing at various venues across the country including Fortunate Youth, Skip Marley, Jesse Royal, Hirie, Arise Roots and Roots of Creation. The tour will begin in San Diego, CA in June with multiple stops in California before heading to Colorado, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Chicago, Cape Cod, Brooklyn, NY and more]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on Wednesday MidDay Medley on May 3 we talk with Vice President of KKFI’s Board of Directors, Elyshya “Millz” Miller and CEO of One Voice Radio – internet radio, based out of Kansas City , Missouri, giving a voice to the voiceless, playing independent artists, and offering podcasts that are done live on air. More info at: http://www.ovrstation.com
Also… next week we talk with Philip Dickey of the bands: Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin, and Dragon Inn 3. Phil shares all the details about the new album release from Dragon Inn 3 called TRADE SECRETS coming out on April 28, 2023. Phil Dickey & Grace Bentley of Dragon Inn 3 play the Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 8:00 PM.
Photo Art by William Willmott aka Neon Nicodemus
Also… Next week we talk with Ethan Eckert about his new 17-track full length album, 21, PUNISHMENT and DISARRAY. More info at: http://www.ethaneckert.bandcamp.com
In 2 weeks Shaun Crowley joins us for an entire show featuring the music of Manor Fest 5.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.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 broadcast today! Through the airwaves, and through social media, a total of 55 people donated a total of $3149.00 to allow us to continue our mission. THANK YOU to my incredible co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt, and special guest J Kelly Dougherty, and very special guest Hermon Mehari for sharing your brilliance with our listeners. Thank you to Scott Bunte, Lincoln Dreher and Darryl Oliver for taking our donations over the phones.
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, April 26, 2023
More New & MidCoastal Releases + Krystle Warren + Jake Walker
Mark spins more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Eddie Moore, Andrew Connor, Red Kate, The Swallowtails, Krystle Warren & The Faculty, Rewound & Calvin Arsenia, Alisa Jefferson, Iris DeMent, Corey Dies in The End, Friendly Thieves, The Salvation Choir, Killer Mike, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Lael Neale, Photo Ops, Stephan Marley, and New York Dolls.
Krystle Warren Photo by: Travis Young
At 11:00 Mark talks with Paris based Kansas City raised singer songwriter Krystle Warren. We will premiere the new song, “Macca” from Krystle Warren & The Faculty, that was recorded on the heels of sessions for the band’s upcoming full length album EXTENDED PLAY to be released this year. Krystle says that the song, “became equal parts: a love letter to (Paul McCartney) and a note of encouragement to me. Which is a wonderful thing if you think about it.” We will talk LIVE with Krystle Warren on the phone from France. This is the first of three interviews we will be doing with Krystle over the next five weeks that culminate with a LIVE in-studio show with Krystle on May 26. Krystle will headline 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
Jake Walker Photo by: Brian Paulette
At 11:30 Mark welcomes Jake Walker who has been a professional actor for 20 years, and for most of those his artistic home has been Kansas City. In 2020 when covid hit, Jake and several colleagues from the theatre community banded together to create The Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City, or TCF for short, a non profit organization designed to provide support to KC theatre workers. First providing food and financial assistance, then growing to also provide free career development and urgent community care. More information at: http://www.theatrefundkc.org
Krystle Warren Photo by: Travis Young Jake Walker Photo by: Brian Paulette Red Kate Photo by Too Much Rock
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, April 19, 2023
More New & MidCoastal Releases + Sondra Freeman & Midwest Music Foundation + Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison + Alicia Ellingsworth
“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 – “Apples of the Sun” from: Apples of the Sun – Single / The Record Machine / April 28, 2023 [On April 28, 2021, during its eighth flyby of the Sun, Parker Solar Probe encountered the specific magnetic and particle conditions above the solar surface that told scientists it had crossed the Alfvén critical surface for the first time and finally entered the solar atmosphere” (source: Nasa.gov). // Monta had been inspired by a Ray Bradbury short story, which in turn had been inspired by a song, and created Apples of the Sun. Speaking to the hubris of humankind and our quest to become our own gods, the song talks about the high self-esteem we collectively place on ourselves as we strive to prove we are as great as the gods of myth and legend. How best to show it? By touching the sun, we claim our invincibility and our eternal status as modern legends. It is an exciting time as we start to surpass what we thought we might never be able to do as we begin our expansion to the stars. // 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]
10:08
We wish for a healthy recovery for 16 year old High School Junior and honor student Ralph Yarl, who was shot the head and arm, after approaching the wrong house, attempting pick up his younger siblings. He confused 115th Street with 115th Terrace. The house addresses were the same except for the one detail. The homeowner inside shot Ralph in the head through the glass door. While Ralph was on the ground, the homeowner shot him again. Ralph garnered his strength to get up and knock on 3 more doors before someone offered help. He passed out before an ambulance arrived. A Go Fund Me account has been set up investing into Ralph’s recovery and future education. Go Fund Me:https://www.gofundme.com/f/nf36y-cover-medical-expenses
We ask for justice for Ralph Yarl’s horrible mistreatment, and justice for his beautiful family. And while the whole world is watching, we ask the question, what kind of world are we living in?
Many of us have been riveted watching the amazing activism in Nashville surrounding 27 year old Justin Jones who represents parts of Nashville and 28 year old Justin Pearson who represents parts of Memphis. These two young Democratic Representatives were expelled from the Tennessee State House of Representatives, in an unprecedented, hastily forced move by Republican Leader Cameron Sexton who presides over a Tennesssee Republican super majority of the Tennessee Legislature. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were punished for expressing their first amendment rights of peacefully participating in a gun control protest, (with constituents form their districts) inside the state capitol, in a manner that Republicans said was “disorderly behavior”. Many saw this action as unfair, and racist as Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are black, while a third Democratic Rep. Gloria Jones who is white and who was also protesting in the chamber, was the only member of the “Tennessee Three” to not be expelled from legislature, retaining her seat by a single vote.
Ultimately the racist Republican move backfired, and on April 10, 2023, the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to reinstate Justin Jones to serve as an interim representative pending a special election to fill the seat. Justin Pearson was reappointed by an unanimous vote of the members present at the Shelby County Board of Commissioners on April 12, 2023. The national attention on this matter has left a cloud over the Tennessee Republican Party and entire state, and catapulted Justin Jones and Justin Pearson to national acclaim.
Watching Justin Pearson at the National Civil Rights Museum in Nashville reminded my mind and heart of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the way both of these young men move crowds with their brilliant words, biblical metaphors and important historical references, all in the noble effort for a more perfect union, and for equality. So we have three songs:
Abraham Alexander was Born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, Alexander moved to Texas with his family at age 11 to escape the racial tensions they faced in his birthplace. Shortly after moving to the states, his birth mother was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver, leading Alexander to be adopted later in his teens. He found solace in sports as a soccer prodigy and later, following a torn ACL that ended his playing career, in music once a friend handed Alexander a guitar and he unexpectedly found songs pouring out of him. From his debut album s SEA/SONS we’ll play “Déjà Vu (feat. Mavis Staples)” Abraham Alexander plays The Madrid Theater, 3810 Main Street, KCMO on Monday, May 1, at 7:30 PM opening for Wilder Woods / The Fever / Sky Tour.
But before Abraham Alsexander, and because we’ve been talking about “Justin Pearson representing Memphis”, we will play Booker T. Jones, who was born in Memphis. He was named after his father, Booker T. Jones Sr., who was named in honor of Booker T. Washington, the educator. Booker T. Jones, Sr. was a science teacher at Memphis High School. We’ll play from Booker T”s album grammy winning album, The Road from Memphis released in 2011with Questlove on drums), “Captain” Kirk Douglas on guitar and Owen Biddle on bass from the Roots. The song is “Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger of The National and the late great Sharon Jones. — Booker T. Jones plays The Folly Theater, 300 West 12th Street, KCMO on Friday, April 21, at 8:00 PM. More info at http://www.follytheater.org]
This 3-song set starts with the original version of “Piece of My Heart”, sing by Aretha Franklin’s older sister Erma Vernice Franklin who was an American gospel and soul singer.
Erma Franklin – “Piece of My Heart” from: Piece of Her Heart The Epic and Shout Years / Sony / February 18, 2011 [Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. Franklin’s best known recording was the original version of “Piece of My Heart”, written and produced by Bert Berns, and recorded in 1967, for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. A cover version of the same song was recorded the following year by Big Brother and the Holding Company, with the lead vocal by Janis Joplin. Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin. // Erma Franklin was born in Shelby, Mississippi, United States, the oldest daughter of Barbara (née Siggers) and the Reverend C. L. Franklin. She was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where her father was pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church. She was raised by both parents until the age of 10, when her parents separated for the final time. Her mother took her eldest sibling, half-brother Vaughn, with her to Buffalo, New York, in 1948. Barbara Siggers-Franklin died four years later, on March 7, 1952, in Buffalo. Franklin studied Business at Clark Atlanta University (then known as Clark College). // During her childhood, Erma and her sisters Aretha and Carolyn sang at New Bethel Baptist Church. Later, when Aretha became a recording artist, Erma provided backing vocals and toured with her. Among her more notable back-up performances for her sister was on Aretha’s signature tune “Respect”. // In 1967, Erma Franklin sang the original version of “Piece of My Heart”, which was a top 10 soul hit in the U.S. and rose to number 62 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track was co-written and produced by Bert Berns. In the UK, Franklin’s version was used in a Levi’s jeans commercial (“Cinderella” AKA “Night and Day”), leading to a resurgence of interest in the song. The single was re-released in the UK in 1992 and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 9. // Franklin told an interviewer that when she first heard Janis Joplin’s version on the radio, she did not recognize it because of the vocal arrangement. // In the mid-1970s, Franklin left the music industry, apart from occasional engagements with her sister. She was one of the special guests on Aretha’s 1986 Showtime cable television special — filmed at Detroit’s Music Hall — and also performed on June 28, 1990, at Nelson Mandela’s rally at Tiger Stadium. Franklin married Thomas Garrett and gave birth to their two children: Thomas Jr. and Sabrina. For 25 years, Franklin worked for the Boysville Holy Cross Community Center, a Detroit organization that helps homeless and disadvantaged minority children. Franklin died of cancer in Detroit, on September 7, 2002, aged 64. She is interred at Detroit’s historic Woodlawn Cemetery.]
Booker T. Jones – “Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger & Sharon Jones)” from: The Road from Memphis (Deluxe Edition) / Anti Inc. / May 10, 2011 [In 2011, Jones released The Road from Memphis. The backing band included Questlove (drums), “Captain” Kirk Douglas (guitar) and Owen Biddle (bass) from the Roots as well as former Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey and percussionist Stewart Killen. The album features vocals by Yim Yames, Matt Berninger, Lou Reed, Sharon Jones and Booker T. himself, as well as lyrics contributed by his daughter/manager Liv Jones. Jones also recorded with party band the Gypsy Queens on their eponymous album. // On February 12, 2012, The Road from Memphis won at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Jones holds a total of four Grammy Awards. // Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. was born November 12, 1944. He is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.’s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. // Booker T. Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was named after his father, Booker T. Jones Sr., who was named in honor of Booker T. Washington, the educator. Booker T. Jones, Sr. was a science teacher at Memphis High School, providing the family with a relatively stable, lower middle-class lifestyle. // Booker T. Jones was musically a child prodigy, playing the oboe, saxophone, trombone, double bass, and piano at school and organ at church. Jones attended Booker T. Washington High School, the alma mater of Rufus Thomas, and contributed with future stars like Isaac Hayes’s writing partner David Porter, saxophonist Andrew Love of the Memphis Horns, soul singer/songwriter William Bell, and Earth, Wind & Fire’s singer/songwriter Maurice White. // Jones’s entry into professional music came at the age of 16, when he played baritone saxophone on Satellite (soon to be Stax) Records’ first hit, “Cause I Love You”, by Carla and Rufus Thomas. Willie Mitchell hired Jones for his band, in which Jones started on sax and later moved to bass. It was here that he met Al Jackson Jr., whom he brought to Stax. Simultaneously, Jones formed a combo with Maurice White and David Porter, in which he played guitar. // While hanging around the Satellite Record Shop run by Estelle Axton, co-owner of Satellite Records with her brother Jim Stewart, Jones met record clerk Steve Cropper, who would become one of the MGs when the group formed in 1962. Besides Jones on organ and Cropper on guitar, Booker T. and the MGs featured Lewie Steinberg on bass guitar and Al Jackson Jr. on drums (Donald “Duck” Dunn eventually replacing Steinberg on bass). While still in high school, Jones co-wrote the group’s classic instrumental “Green Onions”, which was a massive hit in 1962. // Bob Altshuler wrote the sleeve notes on the first Booker T. & the M.G.’s album Green Onions released by Stax Records in 1962: [His] musical talents became apparent at a very early age. By the time he entered high school, Booker was already a semi-professional, and quickly recognized as the most talented musician in his school. He was appointed director of the school band for four years, and in addition, organized the school dance orchestra which played for proms throughout the Mid-South. In the classroom, he concentrated on the studies of music theory and harmony. … Booker’s multiple activities earned him a coveted honour, that of being listed in the students’ “Who’s Who of American High Schools.” Booker’s first instrument was the string bass, but he soon switched to the organ. Booker came to the attention of record executive Jim Stewart in Memphis, and while still in high school he worked as a staff musician for Stax Records, appearing as sideman on many recording dates for that label. It became obvious that one day Booker would be ready to record under his own name and several months later Booker’s first recording session was set. // Over the next few years, Jones divided his time between studying classical music composition, composing and transposition at Indiana University, playing with the MGs on the weekends back in Memphis, serving as a session musician with other Stax acts, and writing songs that became widely regarded as classics. He wrote, with Eddie Floyd, “I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)”, Otis Redding’s “I Love You More Than Words Can Say”, and, with William Bell, bluesman Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” (later popularized by the British rock group Cream). // In 1970, Jones moved to California and stopped playing sessions for Stax after becoming frustrated with Stax’s treatment of the MGs as employees rather than musicians. Even though Jones was given the title of Vice President at Stax before leaving, as he put it, “There were titles given (to us) but we didn’t actually make the decisions.” While still under contract to Stax, he appeared on Stephen Stills’s eponymous album (1970). The 1971 album Melting Pot would be the last Booker T. & the M.G.’s album issued on Stax. // Jones was married to Priscilla Coolidge in 1969, sister of singer Rita Coolidge. He produced Priscilla’s first album Gypsy Queen in 1970; then the pair collaborated as a duo on three albums: 1971’s Booker T. & Priscilla, 1972’s Home Grown, and 1973’s Chronicles, and Jones produced Priscilla’s final solo album, Flying, in 1979, right as their marriage ended that year. // Making the charts as a solo artist in 1981 with “I Want You”, he produced Bill Withers’s 1971 debut album Just as I Am (on which Jones played guitar as well as keyboards), Rita Coolidge’s album Love Me Again (1978) and Willie Nelson’s album Stardust (1978). Jones has also added his keyboard playing to artists ranging from the R&B/pop/blues of Ray Charles to the folk rock/country rock of Neil Young. // On June 18, 1985, Jones married Nanine Warhurst. They have three children together, and an additional five stepchildren from their prior relationships. One of their daughters, Olivia Jones, is also a performer, and starred in Candy Girls. // On March 1, 1995, Booker T. & the MGs won their first Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the song “Cruisin'”. Jones still plays with the MGs and his own small combo called the Booker T. Jones Band. His current touring group includes Vernon “Ice” Black (guitar), Darian Gray (drums), and Melvin Brannon (bass). // Jones was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and was honored with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement on February 11, 2007. // In 2007, Jones was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. // In 2009 he released a new solo album, Potato Hole, recorded with the Drive-By Truckers,[9] and featuring Neil Young. He performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival with Drive-By Truckers on June 6, 2009, with a set including most tracks from Potato Hole as well as some Truckers tracks. On January 31, 2010, Potato Hole won the Best Instrumental Album award at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. He is featured on the Rancid album Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), playing a Hammond B-3 on the track “Up to No Good”. Jones also played his B-3 on the track “If It Wasn’t For Bad” from the Elton John and Leon Russell 2010 collaboration album titled The Union. The track was nominated at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. // Jones received an honorary doctorate degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music at its 2012 undergraduate commencement. Jones originally attended Indiana University in the 1960s, even staying after his smash-hit Stax Records recordings. // Jones was featured on organ for singer Kelly Hogan on Hogan’s 2013 release on Anti-Records, I Like to Keep Myself in Pain. // In June 2013, Jones released his 10th album, Sound The Alarm, on Stax Records after originally leaving the label more than 40 years previously in 1971. The album features guest artists Anthony Hamilton, Raphael Saadiq, Jay James, Mayer Hawthorne, Estelle, Vintage Trouble, Gary Clark Jr., Luke James, and Booker’s son Ted Jones. That summer, he performed at the TD Kitchener Blues Festival in Ontario. .. On September 1, 2017, Jones performed live at the Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms with Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra in a tribute concert honoring the 50th anniversary of Stax Records alongside Steve Cropper, Sam Moore, William Bell and British artists Beverley Knight, Ruby Turner, James Morrison and Tom Jones. // On October 29, 2019, his memoir Time Is Tight: My Life, Note by Note was released. The memoir was mentioned on Fresh Air on October 25, 2019.]
[Booker T. Jones plays The Folly Theater, 300 West 12th Street, KCMO on Friday, April 21, at 8:00 PM. More info at http://www.follytheater.org]
Abraham Alexander – “Déjà Vu (feat. Mavis Staples)” from: SEA/SONS / Dualtone Music Group / April 14, 2023 [Abraham Alexander’s debut album SEA/SONS. Born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, Alexander moved to Texas with his family at age 11ing, anguish and joy. And while his lyrics speak to pain, trauma and life-changing loss, he instill to escape the racial tensions they faced in his birthplace. Shortly after moving to the states, his birth mother was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver, leading Alexander to be adopted later in his teens. He found solace in sports as a soccer prodigy and later, following a torn ACL that ended his playing career, in music once a friend handed Alexander a guitar and he unexpectedly found songs pouring out of him. // The 11 tracks on SEA/SONS touch on themes of loss, redemption, longs his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirit, ultimately giving way to songs that radiate undeniable hope.]
[Abraham Alexander plays The Madrid Theater, 3810 Main Street, KCMO on Monday, May 1, at 7:30 PM opening for Wilder Woods / The Fever / Sky Tour. More info at http://www.madredtheatre.org]
Danza – “Business Cards” from: “Business Cards” – Single / Danza / April 7, 2023 [“Business Cards follows Danza earlier single “Things I Do” which had a video made for the track that won Best Music Video Award t Hollywood Screenings Film Festival in Los Angeles, California in March. The Kansas City based artist has recorded as Danza’s Garden but recently shortened their name to Danza. Danza, also known as Anthony Louderback, an established artist who has been delivering lush melodies and pop-laced beats since 2012. With a performance style that is dazzling and song-writing that is congenial, he has become known for delivering celebratory anthems for life’s highs, lows, and in-betweens. // Growing up with pop and hip hop as his preferred vehicles of self-expression, Danza has found success in creating music that offers empathy and hope for those seeking to find their way in life. “It’s an intuitive experience for my thoughts and feelings. I feel a connection and want that for us,” he explains. // “Things That I Do” is an introspective and thought-provoking song that showcases Danza’s talent for soul-tinged production and feel-good lyrics. With its catchy hooks and infectious beats, it is sure to become a fan favorite and leave listeners feeling inspired to take responsibility for their own actions.// Danza will be releasing a new video for “Business Cards” on April 25, 2023. More info at: http://www.soundcloud.com/danzaspecial%5D
Gemini Parks – “Snake Charmer (featuring J. Arrr & Backwood Sweetie)” from: “Snake Charmer” – Single / Love You Tons Records / March 30. 2023 [Gemini Parks is the Genre-Bending Funk Project of Kansas City Musician Josh Berwanger. Josh Berwanger’ is known for the bands: the Anniversary, and The Only Children. Gemini Parks is on a mission to make you dance. Recorded with Oklahoma producer Jarod Evans (Broncho, Flaming Lips) in 2021 at Blackwatch Studios, Berwanger later added Mitch Hewlit on drums and J-Swamp on bass. GP plans to release their first single in July, monthly single drops to followGemini Parks released his debut single “Up All Night” on August 4, 2022, followed by “Price You Pay in September 2022.
[Gemini Parks play The Brick, 1727 McGee, Street, KCMO, on Friday, April 21, at 8:00 PM with Labrys (which features member of the band Broncho).]
Kara Jackson -“Pawnshop” from: Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love / September Recordings / April 14. 2023 [Kara Jackson wants to be dangerous. Wielding her voice like a honey-coated blade, Kara crafts a blend of emotional folk music and poetic alt-country. With the radical honesty of Nina Simone, and the intricate lyricism of Fiona Apple and Joana Newsom, Kara’s writing blurs the line between poetry and song, demanding an attentive ear and a repeat listen. // Raised by country folk and Black feminist poets like Gwendolyn Brooks and Lucille Clifton, Kara’s songs have the softness and warmth of a southern drawl, while still being sharp enough to cut deep. Born and raised in Oak Park, IL, a community 10 miles west of Chicago, with a Southern sensibility imbued by their parent’s background, her innate talent was unlocked early on honing her skills for music and writing from a very young age. At five years old she began piano lessons; she later taught themself guitar and eventually her passion for poetry took full force during high school. It was then that she began to be appreciated as the Black Queer polymath that she is, earning the prestigious and coveted honour of being 2019’s National Youth Poet Laureate and releasing her debut EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart in the same year. // Why Does the Earth GIve Us People to Love, Kara’s debut album, out April 14th via September Recordings, continues in their already signature style: asking open ended questions; the meandering process of trying to answer them leaves us pause for thought. Specifically, Kara’s debut album is a sonic invitation to process our grief. The title is a question the author is always answering. How do we give ourselves permission to yearn for the people we miss? How do we find the courage to let go of what begs to be released? How do we have the audacity to love in spite of everything invented to deter us from it?
10:32 – Underwriting
Kristopher Bruders – “Butterflies and Turpentine” from: “Butterflies and Turpentine” / Kris Bruders / August 24, 2022 [One of many new singles Kris Briders has recently recorded with friends and collaborators. Kris Bruders is also performing with a new band called, Copper Threading, that Kris describes as ”that sweet sound of that old family harmony of Havilah Bruders and Kenese Cartwright right next to the trains with the beautiful upright bass sound of Brandon Day and the sweet sounds of a mandolin by Corey Clark and yours truly.” Many Kansas City music fans know Kristopher Bruders for his great work with band, Cadillac Flambé with your wife vocalist and keyboardist, Havilah Bruders. Kristopher Bruders is also one half of Freight Train Rabbit Killer with Mark Smeltzer. Kristopher Bruders is a beautiful, peaceful gentleman and then we turn on the microphone and are blown away by the power of the voice, truly reminding me of a far away train, getting closer in the middle of a cold dark night. Freight Train Rabbit Killer, a musical duet made up of Kristopher Bruders (Freight Train) and Mark Smeltzer (Rabbit Killer). Described as “Apocalyptic Roots” or “Doom Blues” their intense and riveting live shows are accompanied by suits and masks. Freight Train Rabbit Killer released their album, HAMMER OF JUDGEMENT on April 30, 2022 on vinyl from Haymaker Records.
[Kris Bruders plays , The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, hosting with Havilah Bruders, and featuring: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe for Midwest Music Foundation’s Annual Spring Donation Drive, at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, Saturday, April 22, . Donate/Info at: http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org]
10:38 – Interview with Sondra Freeman
Sondra Freeman is Director of Promotions & Artist Relations for Midwest Music Foundation, a nonprofit created to support music and musicians in Kansas City and the surrounding areas, founded in 2008 by a collective of musicians and music lovers. The Midwest Music Foundation (MMF) unites and empowers the greater KC music community by providing programs and resources to area musicians through outreach, support, education, and health care opportunities. Sondra is instrumental in MMF’s annual events: Apocalypse Meow, Murder Ballad Ball, and other collaborative musical events and fundraisers.
Sondra Freeman joins us to share details about Midwest Music Foundation’s 5th Annual Spring Donation Drive, MENTAL HEALTH IS HEALTH that culminates at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, on Saturday, April 22, with The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, music at 7:00 from: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe. Followed by The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. <ore info at http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org
Sondra Freeman thanks for being with us again on WMM.
DONATION DRIVE | APRIL 1ST-30TH, 2023
CONCERT | APRIL 22ND AT THE SHIP IN KANSAS CITY, MO
Our annual Spring Donation Drive expands our ability to connect musicians with vital resources for mental and urgent health care needs.
MMF believes that a healthy, thriving community of artists contributes to the strength and character of our city. Funds raised from the Donation Drive will expand our ability to connect musicians with vital mental health resources offering mental health care grants, education and support, while continuing to provide urgent health care grants through Abby’s Fund for Musicians’ Health Care.
Throughout April 2023, Midwest Music Foundation (MMF) continues our service to Kansas City’s music community in our Spring Donation Drive. Funds raised will expand our ability to connect musicians with vital mental health resources.
The drive will culminate in an evening of live music at The Ship (1221 Union Ave) on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
The Ship’s new All Else the Sea stage will host two events that evening – a matinee variety show curated by Havilah & Kris Bruders at 7 p.m., followed by a concert with Radkey, Pamper the Madman and Gascan. DJ Thundercutz will spin a mix of soulful and funky 45s on The Ship’s original stage.
The drive culminates at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, April 22, with The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, music from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, hosted by Havilah & Kris Bruders, and featuring: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe.
Followed by The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater KC will be on hand from 6 to 9 p.m. to provide information and resources to attendees. Research College of Nursing will be offering free health screenings from 7 to 9 p.m.
Funds from MMF’s annual Donation Drive have assisted local musicians and industry professionals with affordable, essential health care services. This year’s focus on our Mental Health For Musicians initiative will designate funds for counseling and other mental wellness resources. As artists lost countless opportunities to create, perform and generate income over the pandemic, their need for mental health support remains at an all-time high. Our initial goal of $20,000 will provide mental health grants to 10 musicians.
Tickets for the Donation Drive Concert can be purchased here: DINNER SHOW & BOTH SHOWS EVENING SHOW ONLY
If tickets remain, they will also be available at the door. Doors for the dinner show open at 6 p.m. and music begins at 7 p.m. The evening show will have doors at 9:30 p.m. and music starting at 10 p.m.
Radkey – “Better Than This” from: “Better Than This” – Single / Little Man Records / September 23, 2022 [Radkey also released the single “Games (Tonight)”: on January 28, 2022 on Little Man Records. Isaiah, Dee, and Solomon Radke of the critically acclaimed rock trio Radkey joined us live in our 90.1 FM studios on September 5, 2018. Radkey was formed in 2010 in St. Joseph, where the brothers were raised. The family moved to Kansas City. The band has released multiple full-length recordings. IN 2021 Radkey was featured in Dave Grohl’s van-touring documentary film, WHAT DRIVES US. Radkey released GREEN ROOM on Little Man Records on November 27, 2020.On Green Room the band serve as their own producers. Radkey released DARK BLACK MAKE UP in 2015 and DELICIOUS ROCK NOISE in 2016 — plus multiple EPs and singles, and were part of a MasterCard advertising campaign on digital billboards in NYC along with a national television commercial that aired during the 2018 Grammy Awards that brought the band to the attention of Jack White who asked the band to tour with him. In 2018 the band went back on the road with The Damned throughout the United States. In December they went back into the studio to record with producer Bill Stevenson of the California punk rock group Descendents. In early 2019 they played shows in Amsterdam and Stockholm. In 2018 the band released “Basement,” “St. Elwood,” “Rock & Roll Homeschool,” as well as several other singles. On February 22, 2019, Radkey released “No Strange Cats…P.A.W.” a 7-song EP is essentially a collection of the band’s most recent singles. It comes after the January 11, 2019 release of No Strange cats…Spiders – EP a 6 song EP of several new songs mixed with several singles from late 2018.]
[Radkey plays The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. for Midwest Music Foundation’s Annual Spring Donation Drive, at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, Saturday, April 22, Info at: http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org]
10:50 – Interview with Sondra Freeman
Sondra Freeman is Director of Promotions & Artist Relations for Midwest Music Foundation, a nonprofit created to support music and musicians in Kansas City and the surrounding areas, founded in 2008 by a collective of musicians and music lovers. The Midwest Music Foundation (MMF) unites and empowers the greater KC music community by providing programs and resources to area musicians through outreach, support, education, and health care opportunities. Sondra is instrumental in MMF’s annual events: Apocalypse Meow, Murder Ballad Ball, and other collaborative musical events and fundraisers.
Sondra Freeman joins us to share details about Midwest Music Foundation’s 5th Annual Spring Donation Drive, MENTAL HEALTH IS HEALTH that culminates at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, on Saturday, April 22, with The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, music at 7:00 from: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe. Followed by The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. More info at http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org
Sondra Freeman thanks for being with us again on WMM.
DONATION DRIVE | APRIL 1ST-30TH, 2023
CONCERT | APRIL 22ND AT THE SHIP IN KANSAS CITY, MO
Our annual Spring Donation Drive expands our ability to connect musicians with vital resources for mental and urgent health care needs.
We believe that a healthy, thriving community of artists contributes to the strength and character of our city. Funds raised from the Donation Drive will expand our ability to connect musicians with vital mental health resources offering mental health care grants, education and support, while continuing to provide urgent health care grants through Abby’s Fund for Musicians’ Health Care.
Throughout April 2023, Midwest Music Foundation (MMF) continues our service to Kansas City’s music community in our Spring Donation Drive. Funds raised will expand our ability to connect musicians with vital mental health resources.
The drive will culminate in an evening of live music at The Ship (1221 Union Ave) on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
The Ship’s new All Else the Sea stage will host two events that evening – a matinee variety show curated by Havilah & Kris Bruders at 7 p.m., followed by a concert with Radkey, Pamper the Madman and Gascan. DJ Thundercutz will spin a mix of soulful and funky 45s on The Ship’s original stage.
The drive culminates at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, April 22, with The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, music from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, hosted by Havilah & Kris Bruders, and featuring: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe.
Followed by The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater KC will be on hand from 6 to 9 p.m. to provide information and resources to attendees. Research College of Nursing will be offering free health screenings from 7 to 9 p.m.
Funds from MMF’s annual Donation Drive have assisted local musicians and industry professionals with affordable, essential health care services. This year’s focus on our Mental Health For Musicians initiative will designate funds for counseling and other mental wellness resources. As artists lost countless opportunities to create, perform and generate income over the pandemic, their need for mental health support remains at an all-time high. Our initial goal of $20,000 will provide mental health grants to 10 musicians.
DINNER SHOW & BOTH SHOWS EVENING SHOW ONLY
If tickets remain, they will also be available at the door. Doors for the dinner show open at 6 p.m. and music begins at 7 p.m. The evening show will have doors at 9:30 p.m. and music starting at 10 p.m. Donations at: http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org
Sondra Freeman thanks for being with us again on WMM.
Midwest Music Foundation’s 5th Annual Spring Donation Drive, MENTAL HEALTH IS HEALTH that culminates at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, on Saturday, April 22, with The Dinner Show, at 6:00 PM, music at 7:00 from: The Bruders Family Band, Copper Threading, Havilah Bruders, Bruders & Smeltzer, and Cadillac Flambe. Followed by The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Pamper the Madman, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. More info at http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org
10:57
Pamper The Madman – “Hey Joe (Judd’s Song)” from: Pity The Fool / Theresa Scott, Chris Fugitt, Johnny Hamil, Chris Tady / Dec. 31, 2022 [From Johnny Hamil: The new Pamper The Madman album is electric and Theresa has returned to full form. Her lyrics are perfection. There was lots of care put into the making of this album much like the first two. Old school fans will love it as much as the new fans. The old albums will help the new fans get access to these songs they enjoy at the live shows. // The band performed from early 90s til 98 when the lead singer Theresa stopped to start her family of three kids. The 2015 show was the first show that Pamper performed since marked the return of this amazing singer/songwriter. The shows since have been just as amazing as Theresa is truly a great performing artists that needed to be on the stage. The people in the audience both in the 90s and now will tell you how lucky they are to have witnessed these events. Goodtimes we’ve had and goodtimes await. The new album is still in works. // Theresa started playing music with Robbie Wagner in an acoustic duo called beatific smile. The sametime Robbie was starting a rock band with drummer Chris Fugitt and bassists Scott Hassler. They decided to see if the vocals would work in a rock context….. That lead to the start of Pamper the Madman which played it’s first show in the front room at Davey’s. Marshall Strong took over on bass after a few live shows. They released a demo cassette -Gosh Golly, Nothing, Muddle mind, Pork n Beans, and The wall is bleeding on it. This is very rare to find this cassette. By the time the full first album was released (CD) the band was wildly popular in the midwest. Johnny Hamil took over on bass in 95 and they recorded the second ep Muter. These two albums are widely sought after around the internet. The live shows are the main source of hearing these albums with some links below to some of it. // Chris Fugitt has been around the world as a touring musician with the band totimoshi as well as many other projects. he decided to return to kc around 2015. Chris is the founding member of the band. // Robbie Wager had relocated to South Korea and the distance keeps him from performing. Robbie and Johnny formed the band Eric after Pamper stoped playing and recorded and released 2 albums. Robbie happened to be in kc around 2015 which prompted the first show which was all the members of the band. // Johnny and Theresa were writing new material and Johnny luckily asked his friend what he was doing these days.. Chris Tady said well I’m just sitting on my couch smoking weed and playing my guitar. That’s when the magic took off as Tady is very similar background to Robbie with his Rock n roll and metal guitar god type guitar playing. It was a perfect solution. We all thank Tady for making Pamper happen again.]
[Pamper The Madman plays The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. for Midwest Music Foundation’s Annual Spring Donation Drive, at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, Saturday, April 22, Info at: http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org]
GASCAN – “Rich Boys” from: GASCAN / GASCAN / January 4, 2019 [Kansas City Punk Rock]
[GASCAN plays The Evening Show, at 9:30 PM with: Radkey, Gascan, and DJ Thundercutz. for Midwest Music Foundation’s Annual Spring Donation Drive, at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO in the West Bottoms, Saturday, April 22, Info at: http://www.midwestmusicfoundation.org]
11:00 – Station ID
True Lions – “Fake Tears” from: “Fake Tears” – Single / Manor Records / April 7, 2023 [“Fake Tears” is the first single from the upcoming True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette being released by 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 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]
Photo by Megan Karson
11:06 – Interview with Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison
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 Strikes Back” in 2021, released by Manor Records. In 2022 they became enchanted by the fiddle and obsessed with Ozark old time while hiking through North American national parks. In 2023, Al teamed up with their partner Fritz Hutchison to create a homemade split tape,to be released bu Manor Records.
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.
Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison join us to talk about their new True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette being released by Manor Records and The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show on 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
Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
We just heard one of The Single releases from the Split Cassette, “Fake Tears” with lyrics from the poem “The Fake Tears of Shirley Temple” by Patricia Lockwood, from Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, published by Penguin Books, New York (2014)
True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette releases April 26, 2023
The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show on 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
Produced by Fritz Hutchison & Alison Hawkins Recorded & mixed by Fritz at home in Strawberry Hill KCK Mastered by Caufield Schnug/Melody Men Mastering Design by Alison Hawkins with art by Anna Schwartz Photo by Alec Nichols Logo by Nika Winn Long Live Manor Records ❤ Special thanks to Kristin Slipp, Teri Quinn & Ross Brown
The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show on 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
11:15
Fritz Hutchison – “Little Referee” from: “Little Referee”- Single / Manor Records / April 7, 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]
11:18
We’re talking with Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison about 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.
Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
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 2 EPs in 2019, and a keytar-inspired album “The Fempire Strikes Back” in 2021, released by Manor Records.
In 2022 they became enchanted by the fiddle and obsessed with Ozark old time while hiking through North American national parks. In 2023, Al teamed up with their partner Fritz Hutchison to create a homemade split tape,to be released bu Manor Records.
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 also played with Grand Marquis, and Freight Train Rabbit Killer. As a guitarist he has played w/ True Lions, J Ashley Miller, Lauren Krum, Miki P, Calvin Arsenia, and others.
His 2nd solo album, MOVIE NIGHT was released 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.
Alisön Hawkins & Fritz Hutchison Thank you for being with us on WMM
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
11:26
Jass & The Boys –”Love U Like I Love U feat. Jass & Black Light Animals)” from: “Love U Like I Love U” / Groove King recors – Fat Beats / December 2, 2022 [“The Boys” are the members of Black Light Animals: Colby Bales, Branden Moser, & Cody Calhoun. Colby and Branden also are pare of the Freedom Affair. Jass is Jasmine “Jass” Couch released the EP OFFKEY: TOO HIGH on September 23, 2022. Jass released her single “Higher Ground” on August 16, 2022. It was WMM’s #1 Single in our 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, and 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 played The Essence Festival, Apocalypse Meow, Manor Fest, Farmers Ball, KC Monarchs, recordBar, Bottleneck, Mutual Musicians Foundation, Grinders, Sofar Sounds, The Uptown Theatre . She has shared the stages with The New Respects, Thundercat, Old Sound, and many others. More info at: http://www.jassrcouch.com]
[Jass & The Boys play The True Lions / Fritz Hutchison Split Cassette Release Show is Wednesday, April 26, at 7:00 PM at The Ship 1221 Union Avenue, KCMO WEST BOTTOMS.]
11:29 – Underwriting
Kemet Coleman – “Maraca (Radio Edit)” from: Duality / Kemet Creative / April 21, 2023 [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 Kansas City 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 The Kansas City 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 University of Missouri – Kansas City 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, Kansas City Syzygy, music created by over 25 Kansas City-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. All proceeds donated to KC Tenants, a local nonprofit organized to ensure that everyone has a safe, accessible, affordable home. On November 3, 2020 Kemet Coleman released EPISODE TWO: THE RISE OF KEMET EP. On August 1, 2020 Kemet Coleman released BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. On August 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.]
[Kemet Coleman plays a “Duality” Album Release Show, with DJ Skeme & Friends Friday, April 21, at 10:00 PM at The Ship, 1221 Union Avenue, Kansas City, WEST BOTTOMS]
11:33 – Interview with Alicia Ellingsworth
Alicia Ellingsworth is Executive Director and Co-Founder of The KC Farm School at Gibbs Road. Alicia has always fed people. She waited tables in high school and through college at Ohio State, and after across the country. She apprenticed with biodynamic farmer Mark Trela at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana for several years before coming to Gibbs Road Farm in 2009. It was there she found home and for six years demonstrated how much food can be grown on one urban acre utilizing six high tunnels for year-round production with sales topping $135,000. Her farm crews were apprentice farmers and over the course of those years she mentored 40+ young growers at Gibbs Farm and at the Juniper Gardens Training Farm’s New Roots For Refugees program. She’s a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow, serves on the Growing Growers Organizing Committee, Johnson County Community College Sustainable Ag Advisory Board, and was the 2019 recipient of the John Kaiahua Mentorship Award. For Alicia this farm grows possibility and a place where hope lives.
KC Farm School invites the community to Compost Fest and spring Plant Sale, Saturday, April 22, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. 2443 S. 42nd Street, Kansas City , Kansas, ADA Parking only available at 4223 Gibbs Road. More info at: http://www.kcfarmschool.org.
Alicia Ellingsworth thank you for being with us today on WMM.
Alicia Ellingsworth tell us about The KC Farm School at Gibbs Road 4223 Gibbs Rd, Kansas City, KS 66106
KC Farm School at Gibbs Road empowers individuals of all ages, abilities, and ancestries through on-farm, hands-on experiences connecting them to opportunity and their community.
The center of its community, the farm generates an inspiring environment transforming the individual and society through community-wide, multi-generational, participatory, and collaborative food projects and while it provides vocational training, job opportunities, healing, and fun.
KC Farm School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
How can individuals become involved in The KC Farm School at Gibbs Road
KC Farm School invites the community to Compost Fest and spring Plant Sale, Saturday, April 22, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. 2443 S. 42nd Street, Kansas City , Kansas, ADA Parking only available at 4223 Gibbs Road. More info at: http://www.kcfarmschool.org.
Starting in May – The Farmer’s Market at KC Farm School at Gibbs Road, 4223 Gibbs Road, KCK 66106 is open and with an online store, where customers can order online by 2:00 PM and then pick up produce during market hours from 3 to 7. Featuring organically grown veggie, herbs and floweres along with products from farmers and producers . Www.kcfarmschool.org
Common Ground, KC Farm School’s eleven acres of raw, rolling land just east of our current farm site. and room for orchards, animals, composting, and more. KC Farm School imagines Common Ground as a safe space for critical conversations that seed action. KC farm School believes in the power of this community to join in to create a tomorrow better than today, right here, right now.
Alicia Ellingsworth thank you for being with us today on WMM.
KC Farm School invites the community to Compost Fest and spring Plant Sale, Saturday, April 22, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. 2443 S. 42nd Street, Kansas City , Kansas, ADA Parking only available at 4223 Gibbs Road. More info at: http://www.kcfarmschool.org
11:47
Jacob E.chord – “Smoodie” from: “Smoodie” – Single / Independent / February 28, 2023 [Jacob E.chord released Lava Lion’s Reflections in Retrospect on November 21, 2020, Jacob E.chord released the single, “The Way 2” on February 18, 2022. // Jacob E.chord released the single, “Om, Yu! (or ‘Hologram of November Weather’)” on April 1, 2022. Music by Jacob E. Lyrics by James Shelton and Jacob E. Mixed by Jacob E. Mastered by Brandan Hoffman. // Jacob E.chord released “Go Back” on November 23, 2022 // Jacob E.chord released ABYSS on December 21, 2022 // More info at: http://www.jacobechord.bandcamp.com.]
[Jacob E.chord plays Songbird Sessions presented by Manor Records at Blip Roasters, 1301 Woodswether Road, KC WEST BOTTOMS, on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM]
Lonnie Fisher – “If I Could Live Forever” from: BEAUTIFUL STAR / Lonnie Fisher / February 9, 2022 [Last year, Lonnie Fisher’s 8-song, solo album FAMOUS GIRL was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2022. FAMOUS GIRL was released January 19, 2022 and was engineered by Ed Rose and Duane Trower with contributions from: Chris Nunez. Tim Jenkins, Tim Manning, and Julia Reynolds. On October 22, 2021 with his band, Lonnie Fisher And The Funeral released, HAUNTED with Lonnie Fisher on lead vocals, 5 String Guitar & Keyboards; Tim Jenkins on guitars; Chris Nunez on drums, Tim Manning on bass, & Julia Reynolds on vocals & keyboards.Lonnie Fischer played a solo album release show for his new album BEAUTIFUL STAR at The Brick, 1727 McGeee Street, KCMO, on Friday, December 23, at 8:00 PM with The Criterz and Killer City. More information at: http://www.lonniefisher.bandcamp.com.]
[Lonnie Fisher and The Funeral play The Brick, 1727 McGee Sweet, KCMO, Saturday, April 22, at 8:00 PM with La Cerca, and Proceeders.]
Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now” from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week on Wednesday MidDay Medley on April 26 we talk with International singer songwriter Krystle Warren and play brand new music from Krystle Warren and The Faculty. Plus, Actor and activist Jake Walker joins us to share details about the Theatre Community Fund of Kansas City and how the non-profit organization helps performing artists in need.
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 broadcast today! Through the airwaves, and through social media, a total of 55 people donated a total of $3149.00 to allow us to continue our mission. THANK YOU to my incredible co-hosts: Betse Ellis & Marion Merritt, and special guest J Kelly Dougherty, and very special guest Hermon Mehari for sharing your brilliance with our listeners. Thank you to Scott Bunte, Lincoln Dreher and Darryl Oliver for taking our donations over the phones.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information. Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
Wednesday MidDay Medley 