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

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Christena Graves + Hadiza of Collidescope + Alisa Jefferson

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

2. The Avalanches – “The Divine Chord (feat. MGMT & Johnny Marr)”
   from: We Will Always Love You / Modular Recordings Co / December 11, 2020
   [Follow up release to The Avalanches 2nd studio release Wildflower, from July 8, 2016, from Modular Recordings Co. The Australian electronic music group was formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their debut plunderphonics album, Since I Left You (2000), as well as their live and recorded DJ sets. Since I Left You was a critical and commercial success, receiving multiple awards, and has been considered both one of the best Australian albums of all time and best albums of the 2000s. Their current lineup consists of Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi, and James Dela Cruz. Production of Wildflower was lead by Robbie Chater with assistance from Tony Di Blasi and lasted nearly 16 years, commencing shortly after the release of their debut album, Since I Left You, in November 2000 and not concluding until March 2016.]

3. Making Movies – “Listening Wind [ft. Calvin Arsenia and Jeremy Kittel]”
   from La Cuarentena EP / 3/2 Recordings / February 5, 2021
   [Not long after Making Movies released their newest single “Could You” on January 12, 2021 the band released a sneak peek of the new music they’ve been working on. The 7-song, La Cuarentena EP includes a brand new version of the first Making Movies song, “La Marcha” and the lullaby “Could You?” (both mixed by Jim Eno of Spoon and tracked at Memphis Magnetic studio), love ballad Una Vida, covers of Talking Heads and Tears for Fears classics, plus bonus live acoustic tracks. This EP was made available for only three days starting on BandCamp Friday, February 5 through February 7. In regard to the new song “Could You” Making Movies lead singer Enrique Javier Chi writes, “I was thinking about what to share for “Could You?” and I just go back to the fact that Memphis is a profound place… it is a place where you can feel what America truly is and where it comes from. I think you see and feel the reality that so much of this nation was built from exploiting people. You can see that our pop culture is driven by the Black community and yet that community is still the most oppressed in the nation. Things are still so messed up. // Memphis is the place where Elvis started singing black music with a country twang and where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It’s a beautiful place, it’s a charming place, it feels at times downtrodden and it’s a place that reminds me of home (both Kansas City and Panamá in different ways. Our experiences going to Memphis gave us the context to create “Could You?” It was filmed originally for AMERI’KANA TV, but we feel like we needed to share it now. In its initial role, it served as a pacifier for me, something that would help me feel a little better when I felt super anxious, so hopefully, it will feel like that for you.” Making Movies is a Kansas City based 4-piece band and made up of : Enrique Chi on guitar and lead vocals; Diego Chi on bass & vocals; Juan-Carlos Chaurand on percussion & keyboards; and Duncan Burnett on drums. The band draws their influences from the origins of their families: Santiago, Panama, and KC Missouri, and Guadalajara, Mexico. Making Movies released their critically acclaimed album ameri’kana through 3/2 Recordings on May 24, 2019. This was #1 on WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. Produced by Steve Berlin and Ben Yonas. The notes for this album read: “ameri’kana is a canary in a coal mine, the watchman at the tower. It is a desire to remember where we come from and assure that we better ourselves in every step along our journey. Every chapter is an example, a reason to not be silent and not accept corrupt leaders as something inevitable. ameri’kana is based on faith, faith that every person on this continent carries within themselves the ability to grow, to awaken their consciousness and merits of the same rights. We were accomplices to get ourselves to this point so we will have to be accomplices in the solutions.” This was the band’s follow up release to their critically acclaimed, I Am Another You, released May 26, 2017. The quartet has toured with Arcade Fire, Thievery Corporation, Cold War Kids, Los Lobos, Ozomatli, Tennis, Sergio Mendoza of Calexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Hurray for the Riff Raff.]

4. Quiet Takes – “San Fidel”
   from: “San Fidel” – Single / Sarah Magill / February 5, 2021
   [Sarah Magill released “San Fidel” under her moniker, Quiet Takes. The single will be part of an EP release of the same name on March 5, 2021. “San Fidel” was engineered and mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in Kansas City, MO. More info at: https://quiettakes.com. Sarah Magill released Ahem, a 4-song EP, on December 11, 2020. The songs were originally released under her old project name MYRY, in November 2018. Sarah Magill released her single “Wanted (The Dirty Windshield Version)” on May 1, 2020. “Wanted” was a new song, not from MYRY’s previous release. Sarah Magill writes: “Wanted” lives in the ellipses between acknowledging you want something you can’t have…and letting that desire go. The plan was to put this stripped-down version out in the fall after releasing its more produced twin on an EP this summer, but then everything changed. Beyond the pandemic’s catastrophic casualties, we are all grappling with lesser losses: plans, jobs, dreams, relationships, routines, shows, savings, physical touch. It seemed right to put this version out now. Sometimes we only realize what we want when it’s absent. That’s the gift in the grief, but it stings, doesn’t it? Music & Lyrics by Sarah Magill. Produced by David Bennett. Vocals & keyboards by Sarah Magill, guitars, & bass by David Bennett. Extra keyboards by Ian Thompson. Engineered & mixed by David Bennett at Aorist Studios in KCMO. Mastered by Zach Hanson. Quiet Takes (formerly MYRY) is an on-going collaborative music project by Sarah Magill a writer & musician based in KC. She performs with a rotating cast of friends—although these stay-at-home days, she is playing solo. In KC, she is known for hosting house shows and co-founding Rubix, a performance art collective. MYRY’s first EP, AHEM, was released in 2018. Sarah released four of MYRY’s songs from that 2018 EP release as Quiet Takes singles in 2020. Sarah Magill was a guest on WMM on May 13.]

5. Juliette Frost – “Sitar Lullaby”
   from: Subterranean.Egyptian.Sea.Monkeys / Juliette Frost / April 18, 2020
   [The 19-track, self produced, debut album, from 16-year old artist and musician, Juliette Frost. Juliette is the daughter of opera and jazz vocalist Emily Frost and nationally known Hip Hop Beatboxer Adrian “A-Train” Frost. Many of the songs on this album Juliette has been working on for several years. She recorded the album in her bedroom, sampling sounds from her own cats meowing and purring, among others. Recently Juliette spent 5 days in a recording studio with jazz musician, bassist, and producer Dominique Sanders recording songs for a new EP she plans to release this year. Juliette Frost will debut her new music on WMM when she joins us as a guest on March 10.]

6. Superflaw – “Well Understood”
   from: Fictitious / Manor Records / January 29, 2021
   [Anthony Cunard on vocals, lyrics, guitar, & drums (track 3); Edward Madill on drums; Daniel Ryan on bass. Mixed by Edward Madill & Anthony Cunard at the Morbid Ranch, Asheville, NC. Mastered by Adam Boose. Superflaw is the side project of Anthony Cunard, prolific songwriter and lead vocalist of Manor’s own lo-fi dream-pop troubadours, Blanky. He’s joined in Superflaw by frequent collaborators and good friends, Edward Madill and Daniel Ryan. While Blanky tends to experiment in the obscure realm of gothic minimalism, Superflaw has honed in on the now classic aesthetics of early 90’s alt-rock. The production and songwriting of Fictitious brings to mind favored underground big wigs such as Pavement, Superchunk, or Bright Eyes. Like most great records, Fictitious wrestles with the trials and tribulations of love — all while seamlessly pivoting between major themes of political isolationism and imposter syndrome. // As is typical of most projects Cunard is associated with, the lyrics are the important focal point along with the emphasis placed on creating a raw production. While many records made today sound sterile and “pristine” due to their being recorded entirely on a computer, ‘Fictitious’ embraces the bleed and spontaneity long appreciated by analog enthusiasts. There’s a certain chemistry that can only be captured in a recording when the players have been tracked while performing together simultaneously. The result of such endeavors is often a visceral reaction in the stomachs of skilled listeners. Those in search of this elusive fix will find what they’ve been looking for in Superflaw’s ‘Fictitious’. We recommend to anyone that enjoyed Blanky’s 2020 release, ‘No Summertime’ to give this record a solid playthrough. It not only highlights another facet of a versatile artist but it serves as a pleasant reminder that there are still gems underground to be found. For more info: http://www.superflaw.bandcamp.com/album/fictitious%5D

7. Dan Jones and The Squids – “The Hazards of Club Life”
   from: Serve Without Delay / Dan Jones / February 5, 2021
   [Recorded Friday, February 13, 2020 at recordBAR, with Paul Malinowski: live sound & recording engineer. Mixed and edited by Paul Malinowski at Massive Sound, Shawnee Kansas. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. Dan Jones on guitar & vocals, Matt Ronan on drums & vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass & vocals. All songs by Daniel Sherman Jones (BMI), except “I Wanna Be You” by Ed Cole SERVE WITHOUT DELAY, is the new Dan Jones and The Squids live album of NEW songs, 14 live tracks and 7 home recordings. Their 2019/2020 release, We Live In A World That Is Out Of This World, is included. // In 2020 the band didn’t get to play out much, so they hunkered down and worked up a double album’s worth of new tunes. It was a weekly woodshed-workshop that culminated with a live-streamed live-album show on November 13, 2020 at recordBAR. Paul Malinowski engineered and mixed. //Jones is among the hardworking lifers with taste and talent, keeping the dream alive that music matters. This is the Kansas City singer/songwriter’s seventh LP over two decades, starting in Eugene, OR before returning to his native, non-coastal home. His bio speaks of support gigs with Mike Watt (who plays these Squids on his radio show), Dinosaur Jr., Steve Wynn, John Doe, Tav Falco, Pedaljets, Peter Case, and Minus 5, all hinted at in his fine music. But what he/they most remind of is Watt’s influence The Urinals/100 Flowers, in the way he breaks out homey tunes in the rush of spikier energy—like “My Favorite Lounge,” which spits guitar glory with gusto following tight circular riffs, while hailing soulful, sweaty dives with honest bands. It’s where you’d want to catch Jones and his cephalopods, happily blasting away. . // Dan Jones and The Squids released We Live In A World That Is Out Of This World, on December 6, 2019. It was Recorded at Temple Sounds in KCMO, 2018-2019. Engineered. by JB Moreland. Produced by Dan Jones and The Squids and JB Moreland. Mastered by Tom Nunes at Atomic Disc. With Dan Jones on acoustic & electric guitars, keyboard, lead vocals + drums/bass on “Love/Life”; Matt Ronan on drums, percussion, vocals; Alex Alexander on electric guitar, vocals; Steve Tulipana on bass, vocals; Joey Slab on poem and spiel on “Beach, Please”; Scot Sperry on electric slide guitar on “Love/Life”; Donna Jones on lyrics to “The Violet Man.” More info at: http://www.danjones1.bandcamp.com)]

10:28 – Underwriting

8. Christena Graves – “Give Me A Minute”
   from: Finding My Footing / Christena Graves / February 11, 2021
   [Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing. // After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way. // 2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. The album is titled, Finding My Footing. A nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward. // The release of Finding My Footing will mark her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: christenagravesmusic.com]

10:34 – Interview with Christena Graves

Christena Graves shares details about her album, FINDING MY FOOTING. Christena grew up in western Michigan, and after leaving to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project. FINDING MY FOOTING is Christena’s first full length solo album since 1996 and her first as a band leader. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. It has been difficult to go through, but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: http://www.christenagravesmusic.com

Christena Graves, thank you for being with us today on WMM.

Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing.

After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way.

2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. Finding My Footing is a nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward.

The release of Finding My Footing in February of 2021 will mark her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs on Finding My Footing are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.”

Cristena Graves, thank you for being with us today on WMM.

The new Christena Graves album, FINDING MY FOOTING will released tomorrow, February 11, 2021, More info at: http://www.christenagravesmusic.com

10:47

9. Christena Graves – “Breaking in Two”
   from: Finding My Footing / Christena Graves / February 11, 2021
   [Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing. // After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way. // 2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. The album is titled, Finding My Footing. A nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward. // The release of Finding My Footing will mark her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: christenagravesmusic.com]

10. Blue False Indigo & The Wires – “The Cold Reminds Me”
    from: “The Cold Reminds Me” & “Side By Side” – Singles / Blue False Indigo / Jan. 22, 2021
    [The trio of Kara LePage, Makayla Scott and A.J. teamed up with alternative string duo The Wires to release these two new singles as a follow up to their debut EP, More Light, released in September of 2018. Blue False Indigo is a Spooky Folk Trio currently planted in Kansas City, Missouri. Formed at a small liberal arts college in Springfield, Missouri, the fast friends have spent the past five years cultivating a style that is delightfully unique. With intricately-woven harmonies influenced by a choral background, stirring and soulful vocals, and minimalist americana instrumentation, Blue False Indigo has coined the term “Spooky Folk” to describe the genre that has been said to be “mysterious” and “hauntingly cathartic” by the University Daily Kansan.]

11. David Luther – “Home To Kansas City”
    from: “Home To Kansas City” – Single / Grand Central Bell Records / February 3, 2021
    [Recorded and produced by David George and Pat Tomek (The Rainmakers). He released his debut EP David Luther in 2009, recorded in Nashville with Nielson Hubbard and Garrison Starr. On 2017 David Joined David George & A Crooked Mile serving as a touring guitarist and back up vocalist. David is releasing several singles this year including the release of “The World’s Gonna Change,” a previous collaboration with Academy Award and Golden Globe winning songwriter Tom Whitlock. Info at: http://www.thedavidluther.com]

11:00 – Station ID

12. Collidescope – “the opening”
    from: DEEP TAPE / Kansas City Syzygy / December 31, 2020
    [new 7-track album, Collidescope is essentially a duo that includes: Hadiza. on vocals, beats, & synthesizers; and Madison Monroe on guitar, bass, beats, synthesizers, mixing and vocals. DEEP TAPE includes Victoria Falls Stillwater on addition sound production and vocals, and was mixed and mastered by J.Ashley Miller aka Jametatone. DEEP TAPE is a follow up the the band’s debut EP Systemic released December 16, 2017. Hadiza also released her solo album SHADOW WEIGHT on November 22, 2019. More info at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com or http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com ]

11:05 – Interview with Hadiza

Our next guest, Hadiza. released her solo EP Gone on December 29, 2018, and her new 10 song, full-length album called, Shadow Weight, on November 22, 2019 which is now available on vinyl too. Born in Iowa City, Iowa, she has lived in Bushwick, and Atlanta, and worked in corporate America in the New York Finance District. Since relocating to Kansas City, Hadiza. has been slowly carving out her place as a solo artist and also as lead vocalist and lyricist for the experimental electronic duo Collidescope that recently released their new 7-track album, DEEP TAPE, on December 31, 2020.

Hadiza thanks for being with us on WMM.

Collidescope is essentially a duo that includes: Hadiza. on vocals, beats, & synthesizers; and Madison Monroe on guitar, bass, beats, synthesizers, mixing and vocals.

DEEP TAPE includes Victoria Falls Stillwater on addition sound production and vocals, and was mixed and mastered by J.Ashley Miller aka Jametatone.

DEEP TAPE is a follow up the the band’s debut EP Systemic released December 16, 2017.

Hadiza also released her solo album SHADOW WEIGHT on November 22, 2019.

More info at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com or http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com

Hadiza released her Ep “Gone” on December 29, 2018 with Madi Mclaughlin on bass & guitar, JL Bolinger on drums, and Hadiza Sa-Aadu on keyboards & vocals. Recording & Engineering: JL Bolinger & Madi Mclaughlin. Mixing & Mastering: Madi Mclaughlin.

Previously based in her hometown of Iowa City, she has spent the past year slowly but surely carving out her place in the Kansas City scene both as a solo performer (as Hadiza.) and as lead vocalist and songwriter of experimental electronic group Collidescope. Blessed to have had parents who are very much NOT students of music, but recognized the importance of music education, Hadiza spent her childhood and adolescence in part as a student of piano.

Vocally, Hadiza takes her cues from American artists including Fiona Apple, Tracey Chapman, and Billie Holiday and African artists including Angelique Kidjo,. Her sound/genre is best described as an eclectic blend of blues, soul, folk, jazz and classical. Her songwriting is a process of release and acceptance of life events navigating an often brutal bleak and harsh world and is a form of therapy.

Hadiza thanks for being with us on WMM.

the experimental electronic duo Collidescope that recently released their new 7-track album, DEEP TAPE, on December 31, 2020. Info at: http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com

11:18

13. Collidescope – “river styx”
    from: DEEP TAPE / Kansas City Syzygy / December 31, 2020
    [new 7-track album, Collidescope is essentially a duo that includes: Hadiza. on vocals, beats, & synthesizers; and Madison Monroe on guitar, bass, beats, synthesizers, mixing and vocals. DEEP TAPE includes Victoria Falls Stillwater on addition sound production and vocals, and was mixed and mastered by J.Ashley Miller aka Jametatone. DEEP TAPE is a follow up the the band’s debut EP Systemic released December 16, 2017. Hadiza also released her solo album SHADOW WEIGHT on November 22, 2019. More info at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com or http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com.

14. Stik Figa – “Labor” from: thanks, for everything / Mello Music Group / October 8, 2019 [6-song EP with all songs written and performed by Stik Figa. Stik Figa is rapper from Topeka, KS who cut his teeth on the Kansas City rap scene for close to a decade. Making a name for himself as a charismatic performer and premier lyricist in the region, releasing 9 solo albums and multiple collaborations // Later partnering with notable independent hip-hop label Mello Music Group releasing collaboration with L’Orange, “The City Under the City” and straight forward hip-hop album Central Standard Time. More info at: http://www.stikfiga785.bandcamp.com]

15. Radkey – “Underground”
from: Green Room / Little Man Records / November 27, 2020
[On Green Room the band serve as their own producers. On April 7, 2020 Radkey released a 2 minute cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” written by Bill Withers who died in 2020. The band released singles “Underground” on November 27, and “Seize” on November 29, 2020. 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 two full-length recordings — “Dark Black Makeup” 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.]

11:28 – Underwriting

16. Alisa Jefferson – “Million Ways”
    from: “Million Ways” – Single / Alisa Jefferson / December 13, 2020
    [This is one of 4 singles Rock and Roller Alisa Jefferson has recently released as a solo artist. Alisa is also lead vocalist and bass player for Radial Red a female-fronted original Kansas City rock trio with Barb Wilmoth on drums & backing vocals, and Scott Mitchell on guitar & backing vocals. Radial Red released their debut 7-song EP “Radiate” on June 1, 2015. Radial Red just recently released their new 10-song album MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020. This album is available on all major platforms. More info at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed%5D

11:34 – Interview with Alisa Jefferson

Rock and Roller Alisa Jefferson joins us to share two of her latest single releases: “Tell Me” and “Million Ways” that she recently released as a solo artist. Alisa is also lead vocalist and bass player for Radial Red a female-fronted original Kansas City rock trio with Barb Wilmoth on drums & backing vocals, and Scott Mitchell on guitar & backing vocals. Radial Red released their debut 7-song EP “Radiate” on June 1, 2015. Radial Red just recently released their new 10-song album MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020. This album is available on all major platforms. More info at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed

Alisa Jefferson thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Radial Red a female-fronted original Kansas City rock trio with Barb Wilmoth on drums & backing vocals, and Scott Mitchell on guitar & backing vocals.

Radial Red started when Barb Wilmoth found Alisa Jefferson through the Kansas City Women’s Music Network. Barb has been playing drums for seven years, before that she played bass. Alisa met Scott through the insurance industry and knew he played guitar.

The band’s debut 7-song EP “Radiate” was released on June 1, 2015.

Radial Red played for the last four years at KC Pride Fest at Berkeley Riverfront Park.

Radial Red released MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020

The members of Radial Red describe their musical and personal friendship with one another as a common core with mutual respect, love of similar music and commitment to band together to see their drive and passion through. They each feel genuinely excited and proud of this collaboration.

Alisa Jefferson thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Alisa Jefferson has released four single releases since late November. Available on iTunes.

Radial Red just recently released their new 10-song album MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020. This album is available on all major platforms. More info at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed.

11:47

17. Alisa Jefferson – “Tell Me”
    from: “Million Ways” – Single / Alisa Jefferson / December 13, 2020
    [1 of 4 singles Rock & Roller Alisa Jefferson has released as a solo artist. Alisa is also lead vocalist and bass player for Radial Red a female-fronted original Kansas City rock trio with Barb Wilmoth on drums & backing vocals, and Scott Mitchell on guitar & backing vocals. Radial Red released their debut 7-song EP “Radiate” on June 1, 2015. Radial Red just recently released their new 10-song album MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020. This album is available on all major platforms. More info at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed%5D

18. Radial Red – “Infinity”
    from: MOVING SKIES / Radial Red / December 12, 2020
    [New 10-song album available on all major platforms. More info about Radial Red at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed. Radial Red is an all original Kansas City based female fronted rock trio that was formed in 2015 with Alisa Jefferson on vocals and bass, Barb Wilmoth on drums, Scott Mitchell on guitar. They released their debut 7-song EP “Radiate” on June 1, 2015.]

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

Next week on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 – WMM Celebrates Black History Month
With Our Favorite MidCoastal Black Artists with tracks from: Janelle Monaé, Krystle Warren, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, Calvin Arsenia, The Black Creatures, The Freedom Affair, We The People, Approach with Joe Good, The Phantastics, Cuee, Khrystal., Kemet Coleman, Kadesh Flow, Crystal Rose, They Call Me Sauce with Love Mae C, Phylshawn, Eems, BLKFLANL, KD Kuro with Domineko, The Buhs, and Radkey.

Marion Merritt and Betse Ellis join us as special guest co-hosts.

Betse & Marion will encourage our listeners to call 888-931-0901, or visit http://www.kkfi.org to support 90.1 FM KKFI – KC Community Radio during our Winter Fund Drive Show.

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

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

Show #876

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

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Christena Graves + Hadiza of Collidescope + Alisa Jefferson

Mark plays more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Making Movies with Calvin Arsenia & Jeremy Kittel, Quiet Takes, Dan Jones and The Squids, Christena Graves, Blue False Indigo, Collidescope, Superflaw, David Luther, Alisa Jefferson, Radial Red, Radkey, Juliette Frost, Stik Figa, and The Avalanches.

At 10:30 Christena Graves shares details about her album, FINDING MY FOOTING. Christena grew up in western Michigan, and after leaving to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project. FINDING MY FOOTING is Christena’s first full length solo album since 1996 and her first as a band leader. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. It has been difficult to go through, but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.” More info at: http://www.christenagravesmusic.com

At 11:00 Mark talks with musician and songwriter Hadiza about her band Collidescope and their new 7-track album, DEEP TAPE, that was released December 31, 2020. Collidescope is essentially a duo that includes: Hadiza. on vocals, beats, & synthesizers; and Madison Monroe on guitar, bass, beats, synthesizers, mixing and vocals. DEEP TAPE includes Victoria Falls Stillwater on addition sound production and vocals, and was mixed and mastered by J.Ashley Miller aka Jametatone. DEEP TAPE is a follow up the the band’s debut EP Systemic released December 16, 2017. Hadiza also released her solo album SHADOW WEIGHT on November 22, 2019. More info at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com or http://www.acollidescope.bandcamp.com

At 11:30 Rock and Roller Alisa Jefferson joins us to share two of her latest single releases: “Tell Me” and “Love Conquers All” that she recently released as a solo artist. Alisa is also lead vocalist and bass player for Radial Red a female-fronted original Kansas City rock trio with Barb Wilmoth on drums & backing vocals, and Scott Mitchell on guitar & backing vocals. Radial Red released their debut 7-song EP “Radiate” on June 1, 2015. Radial Red just recently released their new 10-song album MOVING SKIES on December 12, 2020. This album is available on all major platforms. More info at: http://www.ReverbNation.com/RadialRed

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

Show #876

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

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Martin Farrell Jr + Mikal Shapiro + D Rashaan Gilmore

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

2. Foxygen – “San Francisco”
   from: We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic / Jagjaguar / January 18, 2013
   [Second full-length album by Californian experimental rock duo of Sam France, 22 years old (at the time) vocalist and songwriter, originally from Olympia, Washington, and Jonathan Rado, also 22, (at the time) who is a songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player, originally form NYC. Formed in 2005, the band self-released several EPs between 2007 and 2011. In 2012 the group was signed to Jagjaguwar Records. This album was produced by Richard Swift and recorded at his National Freedom studio.]

3. Thundercat – “Funny Thing”
   from: It Is What It Is / Brainfeeder / April 3, 2020
   [4th studio album by Thundercat, executive produced by the lead artist alongside Flying Lotus, and features guest appearances from the likes of Louis Cole, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, BadBadNotGood, and Zack Fox. The last track from the album, also named It Is What It Is, contains a vocal sample from the late Mac Miller that can be heard in the mid-track. The album is also dedicated to him. The album received critical acclaim, with critics praising the album’s humor elements as well as Thundercat’s way of expressing emotions. // Stephen Lee Bruner was born October 19, 1984) and is better known by his stage name Thundercat, a musician, bassist, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. First coming to prominence as a member of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, he has since released four solo studio albums and is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2016, Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his work on the track “These Walls” from To Pimp a Butterfly. // Born into a family of musicians, Bruner began playing the bass at an early age: by 15 he had a minor hit in Germany as a member of the boy band No Curfew. A year later he joined his brother Ronald Jr. as a member of the Los Angeles punk band Suicidal Tendencies, replacing former bass player Josh Paul. Bruner’s earliest studio album appearances include playing electric bass on Kamasi Washington’s Live at 5th Street Dick’s and The Proclamation. // Along with his band duties Bruner is also a session musician, acclaimed for his work on Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah (2008) and Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma (2010). He released his first solo album in 2011, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, which featured production from Flying Lotus, and was influenced by 1970s fusion artists such as Stanley Clarke and George Duke. The next two years saw a return to the recording studio with fellow Brainfeeder artist Flying Lotus, with contributions to the Lotus’s Until the Quiet Comes (2012) and You’re Dead! (2014), and the release of Thundercat’s second album Apocalypse (2013). // Bruner has been described as being a major contributor to and “at the creative epicenter” of Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. // Along with the involvements with previous artists, Thundercat draws inspiration from jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Mary Lou Williams and Ron Carter. Through this, he is frequently able to renew elements from old soul, funk, and jazz albums. Known as “digging in the crates”, this method is best used to bring the sound, feel and emotion he wants to convey in his music. An example of this can be heard on his EP released in 2015 titled The Beyond.]

4. Lava Dreams – “The Amazing Wave”
   from: “The Amazing Wave” – Single / RIOT / January 8, 2021
   [Lava Dreams released their debut EP “Good Energy + Focus” on June 13, 2020. Written by Lava Dreams and produced by Duncan Burnett. Solo artist Lava Dreams aka Julia Hamilton writes songs influenced by pop, soul, RnB, jazz, trap, house, funk, reggae, rock, and world music. Hailing from Kansas City, MO, her guitar-based music is both dreamy & electric. Lava Dreams began writing lyrics and melodies as a young child. Growing up, she learned to play her first guitar chords from her father – who played around the house and in local bars. After playing guitar and singing in several Kansas City bands as a teenager, she set out to become a solo artist in 2018. Julia Hamilton is also a film maker who received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Film from Avila Unversity. You can listen to Lava Dreams on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, Deezer, Google Play, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or at LavaDreamsMusic.com. Lava Dreams joined us on WMM on April 22, 2020. ]

5. The Black Creatures – “The Winter & Fall [Radio Edit]”
   from: “Wild Echoes / Center Cut Records/ September 30, 2019
   [In 2020 The Black Creatures were signed to KC based Center Cut Records. Their 2019 album Wild Echoes was remixed and remastered and re-released on August 28, 2020 and also on vinyl.. The Black Creatures are Jade Green & Xavier Martin. The band joined us on the radio on the August 26, 2019 edition of WMM. “Wild Echoes” was #2 in WMM’s 119 Favorite Releases of 2019 (Albums & EPs). Since the release of ”Wild Echoes” the band has released seven entirely new songs, nearly one per month, all posted to their bandcamp page. The Black Creatures fuse dark-pop hip-hop, soul, jazz, and electronic music with elements from science fiction to tell inter-dimensional stories of love, community, life, culture, history. Xavier & Jade have made an impression in the KC music community with their live shows in clubs, galleries, record stores, and area music festivals. The Black Creatures released their debut single “Mouth 2 Mouth” June 5, 2016. They released the album, See No Evil, December 6, 2017. The duo released the singles, “Elements” February 14, 2018; “Silver Tears” June 19. 2018; “Dare” a Gorillaz cover August 8, 2019. They released the album “Wild Echoes” September 30, 2019. The Black Creatures released the singles “Turn” October 30, 2019; “Quartz (Twilight)” November 13, 2019; “SHINE” December 11, 2019; Ghost Bustin’ Dead Prezidentz” January 8, 2020; “To Whom It May Concern” January 22, 2020; “Arcade Love” February 5, 2020; and “Run Up” Feb. 19, 2020.]

6. Bartees Strange – “Mustang”
   from: Live Forever / Memory Music / October 2, 2020
   [Bartees Leon Cox Jr., known by his stage name Bartees Strange, is an American musician. Cox was born in Ipswich, England, raised in Mustang, Oklahoma, but is now based in Washington D.C.. In March of 2020, Cox released an EP of songs by The National that were re-imagined by him, titled Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy. Cox was named an Artist To Watch by Stereogum in September 2020 and released his first full-length album on October 2, 2020 titled Live Forever. The album is a mix of hip hop, indie rock, and jazz music. The album received universal acclaim from reviews. Bartees Strange participated in the 2020 Thursday Signals V2 live show. Cox was born in Ipswich, England, to a military father and opera-singer mother. The family moved from England to Germany, Greenland and various US states before settling in Mustang, Oklahoma, USA when he was aged 12. Before becoming a musician, Cox worked as the director of communications for a nonprofit environmental organization in Washington D.C.]

7. They’re Theirs – “Let Me Roll It”
   from: “Let Me Roll It” – Single / Chase Horseman / December 25, 2020
   [New single release from Chase Horseman and Raspberry Maret recorded and released as a Christmas present to friends and fans. Raspberry Maret plays bass and sings back up vocals for Wick and The Tricks. Chase The Horseman released the EP Disinformation Blues on July 12, 2019 that was recorded & mixed by Joel Nanos & Chase Horseman at Element Recording. Mastered by Joel Nanos. Drums by Ian Dobyns, bass by Skylar Cowdry, guitar/vocals/synthesizers by Chase Horseman. Chase the Horseman is a band, film composer, multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer, & producer. He has composed music for over 40 films and as musician has collaborated with Clairaudients, Teri Quinn, Heidi Lynne Gluck, Nan Turner, KD Kuro and more. Chase The Horseman released the single “U Martyr U” June 19, 2018, and the single “Modern Ruins” on Oct 4, 2018.]

10:28 – Underwriting

8. Martin Farrell Jr. – “Take Care”
   from: Coffee and Laundry / Martin Farrell Jr. / December 18, 2020
   [“Coffee and Laundry” has an original sound steeped heavily in traditional American roots music. Martin uses his personal experiences and midwestern upbringing for songwriting inspiration but transforms this perspective by adopting the role of characters throughout history. The record identifies most easily with Alt-Country and Americana genres with elements of folk, bluegrass, rock, western and blues. Similar to his first album, he wrote the songs, self produced the album and played all of the parts on the recordings.Martin recently served as producer of Lily B Moonflower’s new album MOONFLOWER to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records where he played pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, bells, & back up vocals. Minnesota-born songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Martin is intent on discovering new ways of playing old musical styles. After moving to Lawrence, KS in 2005 he began playing banjo, bass, piano and guitar in local bluegrass and rock groups. After meeting KC based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenna Rae, the two began writing music and performing as a “cosmic western duo.” In 2017, they founded Lost Cowgirl Records with the mission to support female songwriters within the category of Americana and Roots music. More info at: http://www.jennamartinduo.com and http://www.thelostcowgirl.com]

10:34 – Interview with Martin Farrell Jr.

Minnesota-born songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Martin Farrell Jr. joins us to talk about his new album, COFFEE and LAUNDRY released December 18, 2020. He moved to Lawrence, KS in 2005 and began playing banjo, bass, piano and guitar in local bluegrass and rock groups. After meeting KC based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenna Rae, the two began writing music and performing as a “cosmic western duo.” In 2017, they founded Lost Cowgirl Records with the mission to support female songwriters within the category of Americana and Roots music. More info at: http://www.jennamartinduo.com and http://www.thelostcowgirl.com

Martin Farrell Jr., thank you for being with us today on WMM.

The second Martin Farrell Jr. album “Coffee and Laundry” contains 10 brand new original songs with a meaningful message.

Martin recently served as producer of Lily B Moonflower‘s new album MOONFLOWER to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records where he played pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, bells, & back up vocals.

Like most musicians in 2020, Martin has spent most of his time at home – working in his studio, fixing old microphones, writing songs, drinking coffee and doing laundry. Adopting daily routines and working with intention gave rist to teh album’s title. It’s also a line from the first track “Take Care” … “Coffee and laundry is all I do, sometimes predictable acceptable too.” The song also holds an important message … “Take care of yourself my good friend ’cause I wanna see your smiling face again.” Farrell has seen too many musician friends leave this world too early and made a personal decision to stop drinking in 2017, take better care of himself and focus on making the best music he can create. He has done just that, producing music for Lost Cowgirl Records, Jenna Rae, Jenna & Martin, Lily B Moonflower, and Julie Bennett Hume.

Martin Farrell Jr’s talent began to show in early childhood. One year as the family sat down to enjoy the World Series on television, they turned to watch their five year old walk over to the piano and work out the National Anthem by ear. Soon they found him an excellent teacher and after several years of taking piano lessons, playing classical pieces and studying theory, he bought a guitar and started teaching himself how to play. Martin quickly developed a deep appreciation for the music of Frank Zappa and sought out to discover the inner workings of Zappa’s extremely difficult compositions.

After moving to Lawrence, KS in 2005 he began playing banjo, bass, piano and guitar in local bluegrass and rock groups, eventually fronting his own six piece progressive bluegrass band with drums called Dr. Cotton. It was around this time that Farrell started offering his services as a sideman and joined KC based bluegrass group Kansas City Hustle on banjo as well as playing Telecaster in the Beerbellies – a honky tonk band put together by Lawrence fiddling legend and Kansas Music Hall of Fame member, Billy Spears. It was through the lens of the 1970’s revival and reinvention of Country & Bluegrass music that he would discover the true greats of the genres and find their roots. Artists like Gram Parsons, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Danny Barnes and Tony Rice shifted his interest towards monumental figures such as Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Sr., Merle Haggard, Clarence White, Waylon Jennings, Townes Van Zandt, Speedy West, Bill Monroe, and blues great Roy Buchanan. In response to these staggering discoveries, Farrell began to pursue a sound he called “Cosmic Western” – a genre which possesses a classic country sound, bluegrass techniques, gospel harmonies and rock rhythms.

During 2015, he started recording his debut release entitled “Tales from the Outer Country” – a 14 track album produced and recorded entirely by Martin in his home studio. The record shows the potential Farrell has as a writer and arranger, featuring wondrous displays of musicianship, melody, harmony and dedication to the music he makes.

“Being able to produce records on my own without input from others has allowed me to create music unaffected by outside influence and provide a virtually limitless musical environment where I am the boss.” – Martin Farrell Jr.

After meeting Kansas City based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenna Rae, the two began writing music together and worked in a six piece country band called Playing for Horses. The couple started performing as a “cosmic western duo” called Jenna & Martin and continued to make themselves known in the local scene. In 2017, they started a record label called Lost Cowgirl Records with the mission to support female songwriters within the category of Americana and roots music. Farrell went on to produce Jenna Rae’s debut record “Workin’ Woman” in 2018, playing guitar, pedal steel, banjo, piano, mandolin, harmonica, bass, drums and percussion on the album. During the 2018 holiday season, they released their first EP and accompanying short film called “Gingerbread”. They tour throughout the US as a duo with their standard poodle Roy, but will often play with a drummer and bassist for larger shows.

Martin spent around a year playing pedal steel and dobro in the Amarugia Ridge Runners, a young honky tonk group he met while living in his bus on a farm in Peculiar, MO. He also works as a session musician, graphic designer, producer and recording engineer in the Kansas City/Lawrence area.

Martin Farrell Jr, thank you for being with us today on WMM.

Lily B Moonflower’s album MOONFLOWER will be released Feb 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records. Info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com & http://www.thelostcowgirl.com

10:47

9. Martin Farrell Jr. – “No Company”
   from: Coffee and Laundry / Martin Farrell Jr. / December 18, 2020
   [“Coffee and Laundry” has an original sound steeped heavily in traditional American roots music. Martin uses his personal experiences and midwestern upbringing for songwriting inspiration but transforms this perspective by adopting the role of characters throughout history. The record identifies most easily with Alt-Country and Americana genres with elements of folk, bluegrass, rock, western and blues. Similar to his first album, he wrote the songs, self produced the album and played all of the parts on the recordings.Martin recently served as producer of Lily B Moonflower’s new album MOONFLOWER to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records where he played pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, bells, & back up vocals. Minnesota-born songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Martin is intent on discovering new ways of playing old musical styles. After moving to Lawrence, KS in 2005 he began playing banjo, bass, piano and guitar in local bluegrass and rock groups. After meeting KC based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenna Rae, the two began writing music and performing as a “cosmic western duo.” In 2017, they founded Lost Cowgirl Records with the mission to support female songwriters within the category of Americana and Roots music. More info at: http://www.jennamartinduo.com and http://www.thelostcowgirl.com]

10. Iris DeMent – “The Sacred Now”
    from: “The Sacred Now” – Single / Flariella / November 6, 2020
    [Newest single from Iris DeMent recorded in November, 2020, and one of three new singles Iris has released since October 2020. In the mid 1980s Iris moved to the midwest, and after a series of jobs as a waitress and typist she wrote her first song at the age of 25. She moved to Kansas City and played Harling’s Upstairs and open-mic nights alongside Scott Hrabko and Howard Iceberg. Iris met producer Jim Rooney from Nashville, in 1988, who helped her land a record contract. Iris Dement made her recording debut in 1992, with her independently produced album, “Infamous Angel.” The record won critical acclaim and John Prine mentioned Iris in his list of favorite recordings of the year published in Rolling Stone. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the word of mouth praise for Iris DeMent’s “Infamous Angel” earned her a deal with Warner Bros Records, which reissued “Infamous Angel” in 1993. The album also included the song, “Let The Mystery Be” a composition that has also been covered by David Bryne, 10,000 Maniacs, Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick, Greg Brown, and it was the theme song for the second season of HBO’s The Leftovers. Iris DeMent represents that place in the road, where Country and Folk music merged with honest stories, of working class people, not afraid to tell the truth about the times they are living through. Iris DeMent grew up singing gospel music, but in her teenage years, she discovered other music through the radio: country, folk, and R&B, and the music of Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. Iris DeMent’s first three releases, all on Warner Brothers records, were critically acclaimed. She received two Grammy nominations during this time, in the “Folk Music” category. Meanwhile country radio completely overlooked her original songs, and amazing voice, that has been compared to Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. For her 1992 debut record Infamous Angel, John Prine wrote the liner notes. // “One night after receiving a copy of “Let the Mystery Be,” I was listening to the tape while frying a dozen or so pork chops in a skillet. Well Iris DeMent starts singing about “Mama’s Opry,” and being the sentimental fellow I am, I got a lump in my throat and a tear fell from my eyes into the hot oil. Well the oil popped out and burnt my arm as if the pork chops were trying to say, “Shut up, or I’ll really give you something to cry about.” Of course, pork chops can’t talk. But Iris DeMent’s songs can. They talk about isolated memories of life, love and living. And Iris has a voice I like a whole lot, like one you’ve heard before— but not really. So listen to this music, this Iris DeMent. It’s good for you. And if pork chops could talk, they’d probably learn how to sing one of her songs. Then we’d all have something to cry about.” – John Prine, Songwriter, musician & president Oh Boy! Records. // Iris followed up her debut record with the autobiographical, “My Life,” released in 1994 and quickly followed with her third Warner Brother’s release, “The Way I Should,” released in 1996, which contains some of Iris DeMent’s most political songs. // In the 2002 Iris DeMent did a benefit concert for The Friends of Community Radio at Unity Temple on The Plaza. I remember when Iris asked us if it was okay that she have a musician friend open the concert for her, we agreed because Iris was donated her talent to the cause of community radio. And then she told us that this musician friend was Greg Brown, who at this point was know all over the country, but had never before played KC. // Later that year, on November 21, 2002 Greg married Iris DeMent in a private ceremony in the office of Rev. Sam Mann of St. Mark Church in East KC. // Iris released her 5th album, “Sing The Delta” in 2012, to glowing reviews from, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, and was #1 on WMM’s 112 Best Recordings of 2012. In 2015 Iris DeMent released her 6th album, The Trackless Woods in 2015 with even more national acclaim, and a #5 spot on WMM’s 115 Best Recordings of 2015. The Trackless Woods sets 18 poems by acclaimed 20th century Russian poet Anna Akhmatova to life. Hailed as one of Russia’s finest poets, Akhmatova survived the Bolshevik Revolution, both World Wars and Stalin. When Iris randomly stumbled upon Akhmatova’s work in a book of poetry a friend sent as a gift, she was immediately taken by the sorrow and burden of the poems. Iris recorded the album with co-producer Richard Bennett in her living room over a five-day period. The project also fulfilled a long yearned-for desire to connect with her adopted daughter’s culture and history. Iris and her husband Greg Brown adopted their daughter from Siberia in 2005, when she was 6, and Iris says ”I’d never have made this record were it not for her.” // Last year on September 3, 2020 Grammy Nominated singer songwriter Iris DeMent released the new single “How Long.” Then, in October of last year, Iris DeMent sent me a new song she had just written and created a lyric video. I immediately wrote back to Iris and said, “This song is so beautiful and so needed right now. I cried several times listening to it.” She wrote back, “It’s a cry and dance at the same time song. Can’t say I’ve written one of those before. She ended her message with a smily face and the words, “Much love!” // 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.”]

11:00 – Station ID

11. Mikal Shapiro & The Musical – “The Distance of Elements”
    from: Kansas City Syzygy / Kansas City Syzygy / July 17, 2020
    {The Musical is Mikal Shapiro, on vocals & guitar, Chad Brothers on vocals & guitar, Johnny Hamil on bass, and Matt Richey on drums. Recorded separately and with social distancing. Mikal Shapiro released her critically acclaimed album The Musical II on May 26, 2018 which included “Everybody’s Baby” her pop song she wrote that got a lot of radio play, but all the songs on The Musical 11 are great. The Musical II is the sequel to Shapiro’s 2015 concept album, “The Musical.” Along with Mikal Shapiro, Chad Brothers, Johnny Hamil and Matt Richey, special guests include: Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Tina Bilberry on viola & violin, Damon Parker on keyboards, and Lauren Hughes on vocals. Engineered and co-produced by Joel Nanos at Element Recording & Mastering Studios. 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 U.S. and has recorded five critically acclaimed albums. KC Star and Tim Finn declared her album “The Musical” to be one of his top five releases of 2015. A third generation storyteller, she draws inspiration from her travels, love life, and the state of the Union.] [Kansas City Syzygy is a glimpse into the music created in the middle of the map in the middle of a pandemic. Mastered by J Ashley Miller, designed by JC Franco, with compilation direction by Robert Castillo. Over 25 Kansas City-based musicians came together to create “Kansas City Syzygy,” a compilation of music created during the shutdown of the world in April of 2020. From this amazing compilation we played 8 brand new original songs from: Miki P, Trevor Turla, Kemet Coleman, Calvin Arsenia, We The People, Rob Rice & The Devils Threesome, Johnny Hamil & Jeff Harshbarger as part of the GAV7D Project, and The Musical. The album can be purchased from Bandcamp. All proceeds will be donated to KC Tenants, a local nonprofit organized to ensure that everyone in KC has a safe, accessible, and truly affordable home.]

11:03 – Interview with Mikal Shapiro

Mikal Shapiro joins us to talk about her new radio show Siren Song, Saturdays at 11:00 AM on 90.1 FM KKFI. Mikal 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 Kansas City 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 Shapiro thanks for being with us on WMM.

Siren Song, Saturdays at 11:00 AM on 90.1 FM KKFI brings Mikal back to the radio waves on a weekly basis.

Mikal Shapiro is the founder of State City Films – a new media house based in KCMO and founded by filmmaker-musician Mikal Shapiro. The mission of SCF is to create content that amplifies independent voices and tell stories that ache to be told through documentary and experimental filmmaking practices.

Mikal has worked on commercial, non-profit and independent productions since 2008. She was Director of Photography for the regional Emmy award-winning film “Tipping Point.”

She studied Film History, Film, & Writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Mikal received her MFA in Film/Video/New Media/Animation from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. She has been involved in music and arts for over two decades.

Mikal is the creator of the web television project, “Go! Go! Global Girls.” She has also created music videos for Dead Voices and Folkicide.

Mikal Shapiro has also served as a curator, producer and co-host of River Trade Radio.

Mikal Shapiro is a Kansas City 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 five critically acclaimed albums.

Mikal also performs with Chad Brothers of the band Old Sound, as Shapiro Brothers,

Mikal’s full length musical solo releases:
“The Crow The Lark And The Loon” (2008),
“For Good” (2010),
“The Musical” (2017) and
“The Musical II” (2018) have been acclaimed by local music writers.

Mikal has previously recorded albums with the bands: Eudora and Boon.

Mikal also performs with Ayllu and with Monta At Odds.

Mikal Shapiro thanks for being with us on WMM.

Listen to Mikal’s new radio show Siren Song every Saturday at 11:00 AM on KKFI 90.1 FM.

For more about Mikal, visit: http://www.mikalshapiro.com. View State City Film projects here: http://www.vimeo.com/mikalshapiro

11:19

12. Laetitia Sadier – “Find Me The Pulse of The Universe”
    from: Silencio / Drag City / July 24, 2012
    [Laetitia Sadier’s solo follow up to her 2010 record The Trip. Silencio features former Stereolab member/founder Tim Gane, the Zincs’ James Elkington, & The Sea and Cake’s Sam Prekop. Lætitia Sadier was born May 6, 1968. She is a French musician, best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. In 1996, while Stereolab was still active, she formed the side project Monade. In 2009 — the same year Stereolab became inactive – she ended the Monade project and began to perform solo work under her own name; her current band is known as the Lætitia Sadier Source Ensemble. She has frequently performed guest vocals and collaborations with other artists. // Sadier was working as a nanny when she met McCarthy guitarist Tim Gane at one of the band’s Paris gigs during the late 1980s. She was disillusioned with the rock scene in France, and soon moved to London to be with Gane and to pursue her career. She contributed vocals to McCarthy’s final albums, and when McCarthy broke up in 1990, she and Gane immediately formed Stereolab. // For the first incarnation of the band, they enlisted ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean, drummer Joe Dilworth and Gina Morris on backing vocals In 1993, the band were signed to the American major label Elektra. They were released from their recording contract in 2004. Sadier was the main contributor of lyrics, written in both English and French. In 2009, the group went on hiatus. // In 1996, Sadier formed Monade with Pram’s Rosie Cuckston. The group released the singles “The Sunrise Telling” and “Witch Hazel/Ode to a Keyring” in 1997. The band’s debut album Socialisme ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings was released on Duophonic Records in Europe and Drag City in the US in 2003. Their second album A Few Steps More was released on Too Pure in 2004. Monade’s follow-up, Monstre Cosmic, was released in February 2008 on Duophonic. She retired the project in 2009 to perform new songs under her name, and released a solo album titled The Trip in September 2010; it was followed by Silencio in 2012 and Something Shines in 2014. Sadier released the album Find Me Finding You in 2017, credited to the Lætitia Sadier Source Ensemble. // Sadier has contributed vocals to various groups and projects, at times along with the late Stereolab member Mary Hansen. She and Hansen had contributed vocals to various recordings of The High Llamas and to the Tim Gane/Sean O’Hagan side project Turn On, and has contributed backing vocals to the track “Go Round” on The Hair and Skin Trading Company’s 1993 album Over Valence. Sadier added French backing vocals on the 1994 song “To the End,” from Blur’s Parklife album. In 1995, she recorded the Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot song “Bonnie and Clyde” with Luna. Throughout the years, Sadier has occasionally collaborated with German electronica group Mouse on Mars. In 1997, Sadier sang on “Schnick Schnack Meltmade” on Mouse on Mars’ Autoditacker LP, and she and Mary Hansen contributed vocals to the Cache Cœur Naif EP. In turn, Mouse on Mars produced tracks on Stereolab’s Dots and Loops LP. // In 2001, Sadier sang on “Sol y sombra” on Fugu’s Fugu 1 LP on Minty Fresh Records. In 2002, Sadier sang the chorus on “New Wave” from Common’s album Electric Circus. She sang lead vocals on “Haiku One” from Sigmatropic’s 2004 album Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories which was an album based on the poetry of Greek poet Giorgos Seferis. In 2007, Sadier wrote songs with Mouse on Mars and toured with them in Italy. In 2009 the French label Deux Mille released an EP which features Sadier singing with Toulouse-based band Momotte. // Sadier wrote and sang the lyrics to the track “Quick Canal” by Atlas Sound on their album Logos (2009). She contributed vocals to “PartyIsntOver/Campfire/ Bimmer” on the album Wolf (2013) by Tyler, the Creator, and “Summer Long” on the album Alexandre (2014) by Brazilian band Mombojó. She wrote the lyrics and was featured in “La Ballade” on the album Something About April II (2016) by Adrian Younge, and sang on the album I’m Willing (2016) by Marker Starling. In 2017, she appeared on the Deerhoof song “Come Down Here and Say That” from their album Mountain Moves. In 2019 she appeared on the Mercury Rev album Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited where she sang lead vocals on the track Mornin’ Glory. In 2020, she appeared as featured lead singer on two compositions by Chapman Stick virtuoso Michael Bernier, released on his third solo full-length release The Beach Album. // While she spent most of her formative years in France, Sadier’s family travelled extensively, and she lived briefly in the U.S. as a child. // Sadier and Tim Gane were a couple when they formed Stereolab in the late 1980s. They ended the relationship in 2002. Together, they have a son named Alex who was born in 1998.]

13. Miki P and The Swallowtails – “Not Mine”
    from: Right Where We Are / 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 locked in with the Swallowtails create a moment with music written and arranged from the heart.” Miki P (Mikala Petillo) started playing guitar in middle school. She taught herself to play the drums, while listening to Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. As a teen she played drums for various groups including American Slim. She wrote songs for their full-length album Irreplaceable released in 2017, followed by a single “Queen of Hearts” released April 11, 2018. She also plays ukulele & piano, teaching herself how to play both the instruments, using them frequently in all projects she is involved in. She was a featured vocalist with The Band That Fell to Earth Bowie Tribute. She’s played Boulevardia, Middle of the Map Fest, Royal’s Kaufman Stadium, recordBar, Uptown Theater, Arrowhead Stadium, Nelson Atkins Museum, the Crossroads Music Festival . More info at: http://www.mikipmusic.com. Miki P was our guest on WMM on April 15, 2020.]

14. Kadesh Flow – “Soft Side”
    from: “Soft Side” – Single / Ryan Davis / January 21, 2021
    [Written, produced, performed, mixed, and mastered by Kadesh Flow. So much of the musical work of Kadesh Flow has been intermeshed with the world of animation. This track is inspired by Vegeta one of the primary characters in the saga of Dragon Ball Z. Kadesh writes, “One thing that strikes me most about Vegeta is how he went from narcissistic planet destroyer to collaborative husband, father, and hero. He has one of the most dynamic character development arcs in the franchise, and I thought I’d take a stab at addressing it.” He adds, “As always, super personal from my end, though.”Kadesh Flow released his EP Motivated on January 21, 2020. Executive Produced by Kadesh Flow. Mixed by Kadesh Flow. Mastered by Bill Beats. Kadesh calls this EP a “collection of tracks that I made to motivate myself. Hopefully they get you fired up as well.” Kadesh Flow is Ryan Davis is a rapper with an MBA. He is an emcee, producer, & trombonist. At age 11, he began rapping and playing trombone within two weeks of one another. His music has been featured on network television in multiple countries and territories across Southeast Asia. Kadesh performs as a solo hip hop artist and with his band the Deshtet. He also plays with The Tiki Brawlers, Jessica Paige, Krystle warren and Owen Cox Dance Group, the KC funk juggernaut The Phantastics, and Marcus Lewis Big Band for the Brass and Boujee concerts and recordings. Along with the EP, Motivated released on January 31. Kadesh Flow also released: the single “Now” with They Call Me Sauce, on January 16, the single “I’m A Hero (Bone Bars) on April 9, JoJo’s Jazz-hop 1 (2-Pack) on April 23, the 6-song EP I Hold Onto Heat For Too Long on May 1, “Free People” on June 5, Bleach Anime Lofi Pack 1 on Oct. 8, and “Forget About Me” on Dec. 3. More info at http://www.kadeshflow.com Kadesh Flow was our guest on WMM on March 11 and on Oct. 21, 2020]

11:28 – Underwriting

15. Krystle Warren & The Crew – “Gimme Some Truth”
    [Through isolation came unity. The Crew is Lakecia Benjamin, Matthew Silberman, Jacob Snider, Joe Blaxx, Solomon Dorsey, Zach Djanikian, Cassorla, Krystle Warren, and Ben Kane. They have recorded unique versions of classic songs with the hope of encouraging the rallying cries of The Moment: the movement of the people. // In the lockdown of their homes, they sewed together their interpretations of “Bein’ Green” (based upon Ray Charles’ rendition); “Gimme Some Truth” (a mighty John Lennon composition); “Dear Landlord” (a scathing indictment from the blistering pen of Bob Dylan); and “Rhythm of Life”, (a timeless statement originally performed by Oleta Adams). // A portion of the proceeds from The Crew. EP will be donated to the various causes and organizations. From Billboard.com: Singer-songwriter Krystle Warren has made a powerful statement about the struggle for Black equality with the help of 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. Warren embarked on the project after her forthcoming album with her regular group, The Faculty, was put on hold due to COVID-19. The 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 “Bein’ Green” video weaves in footage of this year’s Black Lives Matter protests, and also includes a heartbreaking montage of young Black children choosing white dolls over dark-skinned ones. It additionally features archival footage of such transformative Black figures as James Baldwin, Angela Davis, Malcom X, Nina Simone, Marsha P. Johnson and Al Sharpton, as well as victims of police brutality including Sandra Bland, George Floyd and Eric Garner. It ends with a clip from a speech by civil rights activist Ella Baker. // “‘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, who now resides in Paris, began performing in her native Kansas City 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 next album is slated for release this winter. // A large percentage of proceeds from sales of the EP — which is available for digital downloads via Warren’s website now and released on all streaming platforms next Friday — will be donated to the ACLU. Krystle Warren joined us live on WMM on September 23, 2020.]

11:34 – Interview with D Rashaan Gilmore

D. Rashaan Gilmore joins us to share information about his new radio show on Saturday nights at 5:00 PM on KKFI. After nearly four years as part of the team on 90.1’s The Tenth Voice, D. Rashaan has made the leap to producing and hosting his own weekly radio show. A life-long resident of Kansas City. He is community connector, organizer, collaborator, and AIDS activist, who serves as Founder and President/CEO at BlaqOut KC, which seeks to organize and mobilize the black, gay community in Kansas City and develop a leadership core. Gilmore has previously managed multiple significant HIV/ AIDS awareness and prevention grants for the Kansas City CARE Clinic. D Rashaan has also served as the Senior Field Organizer for PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT equality and advocacy organization.

D Rashann Gilmore thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

D. Rashaan Gilmore congratulations on your new radio show on Saturday nights at 5:00 PM on KKFI.

D Rashaan has already done 5 weeks of shows and has been covering insurrections, impeachments, and inaugurations. The last five weeks feels like five years.

After nearly four years as part of the team on 90.1’s The Tenth Voice, D. Rashaan has made the leap to producing and hosting his own weekly radio show.

D Rashaan starts each show with a segment called “Reclaiming My Time” inspired by the legendary U.S. Representative for California’s 43rd Congressional District, Maxine Waters.

D Rashaan has been covering COVID-19, The Vaccine, The George Senate Races, The Presidential election, Healthcare, The Articles of Impeachment, The New Administration.

A name for the show. When on The Tenth Voice D Rashaan called his show “Unbossed and Unbothered.” For this new time slot Rashaan is still deciding what it will be called.

A life-long resident of Kansas City. He is community connector, organizer, collaborator, and AIDS activist, who serves as Founder and President/CEO at BlaqOut KC, which seeks to organize and mobilize the black, gay community in Kansas City and develop a leadership core.

Gilmore has previously managed multiple significant HIV/ AIDS awareness and prevention grants for the Kansas City CARE Clinic.

D Rashaan has also served as the Senior Field Organizer for PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT equality and advocacy organization.

D Rashaan thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

D Rashaan Gilmore’s new radio show is on every Saturday at 5:00 PM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio.

11:48

16. Krystle Warren – “Sunbeams”
    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.]

17. Waxahatchee – “Lilacs”
    from: Saint Cloud / Merge Records / March 27, 2020
    [All songs by Katie Crutchfield. Recorded & mixed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, TX & Long Pond in Stuyvesant, NY. Produced by Brad Cook. Engineered by Jerry Ordonez. Additional engineering by Jon Low. Mixed by Jon Low. Mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen. KATIE CRUTCHFIELD on vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, keys; BRAD COOK on bass, acoustic guitar, piano, keys, synth; BOBBY COLOMBO on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys; BILL LENNOX on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys, percussion; NICK KINSEY on drums, percussion; JOSH KAUFMAN on electric guitars, piano, organ, percussion. Katie Crutchfield’s southern roots are undeniable. The name of her solo musical project Waxahatchee comes from a creek not far from her childhood home in Alabama and seems to represent both where she came from and where she’s going. More at: http://www.waxahatchee.com.]

[Waxahatchee plays Jimmy Kimmel Live Tues, Feb. 9 at 10:35 on KMBC 9 TV.]

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

Next week, on Wednesday, Feb 10 our guests include singer songwriter Christena Graves, Vocalist, songwriter Hadiza., and musician Alisa Jefferson.

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

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

Show #875

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

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Martin Farrell Jr + Mikal Shapiro + D Rashaan Gilmore

Mark plays more New & MidCoastal Releases from: The Black Creatures, Lava Dreams, Waxahatchee, They’re Theirs, Martin Farrell Jr., Mikal Shapiro & The Musical, Kadesh Flow, Miki P and The Swallowtails, Krystle Warren, Iris DeMent, Bartees Strange, Thundercat, Laetitia Sadier, and Foxygen.

At 10:30 Martin Farrell Jr. shares music from his new album, COFFEE and LAUNDRY released December 18, 2020. Martin recently served as producer of Lily B Moonflower’s new album MOONFLOWER to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records where he played pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, bells, & back up vocals. Minnesota-born songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Martin is intent on discovering new ways of playing old musical styles. After moving to Lawrence, KS in 2005 he began playing banjo, bass, piano and guitar in local bluegrass and rock groups. After meeting KC based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jenna Rae, the two began writing music and performing as a “cosmic western duo.” In 2017, they founded Lost Cowgirl Records with the mission to support female songwriters within the category of Americana and Roots music. More info at: http://www.jennamartinduo.com and http://www.thelostcowgirl.com

At 11:00 Mark talks with Mikal Shapiro about her new radio show Siren Song, Saturdays at 11:00 on 90.1 FM KKFI. Mikal is founder of State City Films creating content that amplifies independent voices and tells stories that ache to be told through documentary and experimental filmmaking practices. Mikal has worked on commercial, non-profit and independent productions since 2008. She was Director of Photography for the regional Emmy award-winning film “Tipping Point.” She 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. Mikal’s full length musical solo releases: “The Crow The Lark And The Loon” (2008), “For Good” (2010), “The Musical” (2017) and “The Musical II” (2018) have been acclaimed by local music writers. Mikal also performs with the duo Shapiro Brothers, and with Monta At Odds.

At 11:30 D. Rashaan Gilmore joins us to share information about his new radio show on Saturday nights at 5:00 PM on KKFI. After nearly four years as part of the team on 90.1’s The Tenth Voice, D. Rashaan has made the leap to producing and hosting his own weekly radio show. A life-long resident of Kansas City. He is community connector, organizer, collaborator, and AIDS activist, who serves as Founder and President/CEO at BlaqOut KC, which seeks to organize and mobilize the black, gay community in Kansas City and develop a leadership core. Gilmore has previously managed multiple significant HIV/ AIDS awareness and prevention grants for the Kansas City CARE Clinic. D Rashaan has also served as the Senior Field Organizer for PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT equality and advocacy organization.

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

Show #875

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

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Lily B Moonflower + Redder Moon + Charlotte Bumgarner

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

2. Rose City Band – “Wildflowers”
   from: Summerlong / Thrill Jockey Records / June 19, 2020
   [from Bandcamp.com: It is impossible to talk about modern psychedelic music without mentioning Ripley Johnson. As bandleader of Wooden Shjips and one half of Moon Duo, Johnson has continually charted new cosmic paths that expand on the language of the genre. With Rose City Band, Johnson’s songwriting and beautiful guitar lines take center stage, the veil of psychedelia notably drawn back. While his vocal treatment would be recognizable to any Wooden Shjips fan, the sparseness of the instrumentation lays bare the beauty of his writing. Shimmering guitar lines are free to shine, buoyed by driving rhythms. New to the mix are arrangements and instruments drawn directly from classic country, resulting in songs with more than a hint of twang. The aptly named Summerlong, born of Johnson’s own fondness for the season, delivers an emotional lift—an expression akin to the joy of getting out there on a warm day, be it gathering for a BBQ, hopping onto a bike, leaping into a swimming hole, or simply reading in a park. // Rose City Band started purely as a recording project, with Johnson’s role mostly obscured for the self-titled debut album. Released with no promotion, in the style of private press records, it was a liberating act, a focus on music without any expectations. Explaining it with a chuckle, Johnson elaborates, “I always would threaten to my friends that I’m gonna start a country rock band so I can retire and just play down at the pub every Thursday night during happy hour. I love being able to tour and travel, but I also like the idea of having a local band … more of a social music experience.” Freedom from expectation and obligation gave Johnson the space to experiment with new instrumentation and arrangements. The introduction of lap steel, mandolin, and jaw harp enhance Johnson’s lean guitar work with radiant overtones, placing Summerlong more overtly within the country tradition than its predecessor. Work on the album began at Johnson’s home studio in Portland during the summer, but, interrupted by touring, it would not be finished until the winter season. The dark isolation of winter and the pining for summer’s easier days can be felt in the album’s few quieter moments. Summerlong was mixed by John McEntire (Stereolab, Broken Social Scene, Tortoise) at his newly minted Portland Soma Studios and mastered by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering, also based in Portland.]

3. Ivy Roots – “Pleasure”
from: LOVE ART GROWTH 2 / Ivy Roots / December 16, 2020
[Ivy Roots released the single “Home” on April 22, 2020. KC native singer songwriter, who plays piano & guitar, and produces beats. Her style ranges from R & B, Neo Soul, Hip Hop, Acoustic, & Pop. The acoustic guitar strumming songstress draws from her inspirations; Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Deangelo, and India Arie. Ivy Roots studied audio engineering at Kansas City, Kansas Community College. She toured in a 5-piece reggae band, played regional festivals, Los Angeles, and collaborated with film & performance. She also sang in a vocal jazz group at a performing arts jazz festival at Lincoln Center in NYC, before releasing her first album “Bad Intuition” and beginning her solo career. In 2019 Ivy Roots released her EP Love Art Growth on June 5, 2019 where she collaborated with Eddie Moore. Ivy Roots released her debut album Bad Intuition on April 14, 2016. Written & produced by Ivy Roots.]

On December 19, 2020 President Obama announced on Twitter his Favorite Music of 2020, this was one of the tracks on his playlist:

4. Faye Webster – “Better Distractions”
   from: “Better Distractions” – Single / Secretly Canadian / September 16, 2020
   [Faye Webster is an American folk singer and photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Webster was first signed to Awful Records, with whom she released her sophomore self-titled album in 2017. Webster signed to the record label Secretly Canadian in late 2018. Webster released her third full-length album, Atlanta Millionaires Club, in 2019 via Secretly Canadian. Webster’s song “Room Temperature” was featured in a Rolling Stone article, and received further acclaim when one of her 2020 singles, “Better Distraction,” was featured in a Pitchfork article.]

5. Making Movies – “Could You”
   from “Could You” – Single / 3/2 Recordings / January 19, 2021
   [The song was tracked at Memphis Magnetic studio and mixed by Jim Eno of Spoon. Making Movies lead singer Enrique Javier Chi writes, “I was thinking about what to share for “Could You?” and I just go back to the fact that Memphis is a profound place… it is a place where you can feel what America truly is and where it comes from. I think you see and feel the reality that so much of this nation was built from exploiting people. You can see that our pop culture is driven by the Black community and yet that community is still the most oppressed in the nation. Things are still so messed up. // Memphis is the place where Elvis started singing black music with a country twang and where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It’s a beautiful place, it’s a charming place, it feels at times downtrodden and it’s a place that reminds me of home (both Kansas City and Panamá in different ways. Our experiences going to Memphis gave us the context to create “Could You?” It was filmed originally for AMERI’KANA TV, but we feel like we needed to share it now. In its initial role, it served as a pacifier for me, something that would help me feel a little better when I felt super anxious, so hopefully, it will feel like that for you.” Making Movies is a Kansas City based 4-piece band and made up of : Enrique Chi on guitar and lead vocals; Diego Chi on bass & vocals; Juan-Carlos Chaurand on percussion & keyboards; and Duncan Burnett on drums. The band draws their influences from the origins of their families: Santiago, Panama, and KC Missouri, and Guadalajara, Mexico. Making Movies released their critically acclaimed album ameri’kana through 3/2 Recordings on May 24, 2019. This was #1 on WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. Produced by Steve Berlin and Ben Yonas. The notes for this album reads: “ameri’kana is a canary in a coal mine, the watchman at the tower. It is a desire to remember where we come from and assure that we better ourselves in every step along our journey. Every chapter is an example, a reason to not be silent and not accept corrupt leaders as something inevitable. ameri’kana is based on faith, faith that every person on this continent carries within themselves the ability to grow, to awaken their consciousness and merits of the same rights. We were accomplices to get ourselves to this point so we will have to be accomplices in the solutions.” This was the band’s follow up release to their critically acclaimed, I Am Another You, released May 26, 2017. The quartet has toured with Arcade Fire, Thievery Corporation, Cold War Kids, Los Lobos, Ozomatli, Tennis, Sergio Mendoza of Calexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Hurray for the Riff Raff.]

6. Howard Iceberg & The Titanics – “I Wont Let You Down”
   from: Welcome Aboard! Vol. 8 / Howard Iceberg / November 25, 2020
   [Howard Iceberg on vocals & guitar, Gary Paredes on guitar, Kyle Dahlquist on accordion & vocals, Betse Ellis on fiddle & vocals. This new volume contains 12 more songs from Howard’s vault of his recordings and collaborations from over 10 years, working with Pat Tomek, that was originally released in June of 2011 as a 7 CD set of 15 songs each, containing 105 new songs, full of collaborations with over 50 area musicians. Since then Howard has continued collaborating and continued releasing new albums, making him one of the most prolific singer songwriters ever to record and release music in Kansas City. While 2020 has been an incredible challenge, Howard Iceberg released 3 full length recordings . On June 10, 2020 He released Kansas City Songs Vol. 3 from Howard Iceberg & The Titanics. This included more songs certified to have been written, performed, and recorded in Kansas City by Howard Iceberg. All words and music by Howard Iceberg. Recorded and mixed by Brendan Moreland at Temple Sounds Studio; except “Natalie,” recorded and mixed by Pat Tomek at Largely Studios. Players: Howard Iceberg on lead vocals (except as noted), guitar; Chad Brothers on lead vocal (By Your Side), harmony vocal, guitar; Betse Ellis on lead vocal (Bottle of Rye), fiddle, harmony vox ; Clarke Wyatt on banjo, guitar, keyboards; Andrew Mojo Morris on lead vocal (Promises To Keep), harmony vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo; Julie Bates-Motel on fiddle, harmony vocals; Chris DeVictor on bass; Phil Wade on dobro; Brendan Moreland on electric guitar; Brett Hodges on lead vocal and guitar (Natalie); Roger Eilts on guitar and harmony vocal (Natalie); Leo Eilts – bass and harmony vocal (Natalie); Erin Corriveau on harmony vocals. Howard also released “Absentee Ballads” on November 25, 2020, containing 15 new songs as recorded by the Hermanos Brothers which are: Howard Iceberg, Chad Brothers, Julie Bates, and Andrew Morris. Kansas City’s most prolific singer songwriter Howard Iceberg releases a total of 39 new songs to add to his catalog of hundreds and hundreds.]

7. Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices – “I Can Hear You Cryin’”
   from: Bustin’ Broncs and Honky Tonks / New Madrid Records / December 19, 2020
   [Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices is: Slim Hanson on vocals & guitar – Originally from the Sandhills of Nebraska, Slim Hanson traded his spurs and saddle for a guitar and microphone at the age of 14. Slim has been performing nationally as a guitarist and singer/songwriter for over 25 years founding and leading such acclaimed projects as The Hellcat Trio and The Grand Marquis. Deeply rooted in country-western and delta blues he has shared the stage with the likes of Doyle “Butch” Primm, the late great Magic Slim and Joe Ely. Beau Bledsoe on electric guitar & vocals – Beau Bledsoe performs and records classical music, jazz and folkloric music from around the world as he seeks to integrate different musical cultures with diverse audiences. Through his many varied projects and ensembles, Beau has toured extensively throughout Europe, Russia, South America and North America in addition to producing fifteen recordings under his recording label Tzigane. Beau is currently artistic director and founder of Ensemble Ibérica which explores the music of Spain, Portugal and the colonial Americas. His Southern roots have led him to pick up the telecaster and learn the songs he knew as a boy growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas. Marco Pascolini on pedal steel guitar – Marco Pascolini is the stuff of guitar legends. For more than twenty years he has forged his path as one of the most well-respected musicians in Kansas City. Recognized as one of the region’s most influential musicians, his talent across a multitude of instruments has been acknowledged in numerous music media including The Kansas City Star and The Pitch, among others. Be it an electric guitar or a pedal steel in his hands, you’ll find him touring with Kasey Rausch’s Country Duo or on stage in his home town with Mr. Marco’s V7, The Naughty Pines, or songwriter extraordinaire Scott Hrabko. John Currey on drums – Originally from Tyler, Texas, John Currey is a freelance percussionist with more than 20 years experience as an in-school presenter and clinician. John specializes in Modern dance accompaniment and has toured extensively throughout the US, Mexico, and Western Europe. Teaching credits include at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Graceland College, and Pittsburg State University. John currently directs the Mexican marimba quartet, Sol de Chiapas. Michael McClintock on electric bass – Michael McClintock graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City Music Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in guitar performance in 2006 after relocating to Kansas City from Neosho, MO. At the conservatory, Michael studied under the classical guitar master Douglas Niedt. Since graduation Michael has taken his place squarely in the Kansas City music scene. His first professional musical project was with the Manos Rojas School of Flamenco and Dance in Kansas City where he played with, among others, Beau Bledsoe. Michael currently directs the Cuban ensemble Cubanisms and performs regularly with Ensemble Iberia. More info at: http://realhonkytonk.com/%5D

10:28 – Underwriting

8. Lily B Moonflower – “Wild N Free”
   from: Moonflower / Lost Cowgirl Records / February 12, 2021
   [The second single, “Wild N Free”, off her debut album, Moonflower, to be released January 29, 2020. Moonflower is the debut album from KC based singer songwriter Lily B Moonflower who is originally from Desoto Kansas. MOONFLOWER was produced by Martin Farrell Jr. and features: Jake Keegan on dobro, Colby Allen Walter on mandolin, Michael Turnbo & Shannon O’Shea on fiddle, Miki P on drums, Jenna Rae on saxophone & back up vocals, and Martin Farrell Jr. on back up vocals, pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, & bells. More info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com and https://www.thelostcowgirl.com%5D

10:34 – Interview with Lily B Moonflower

23 year old Lawrence Kansas based, Lily B Moonflower, is a shining and sparkling force of nature who has been sharing her free-spirited musical style and soulful country voice on main stages and around campfires in music festivals and established venues. Lily calls her music “folk n roll with a twang.” She has been busy making music videos for her new album MOONFLOWER, to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records. More info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com and https://www.thelostcowgirl.com

Lily B Moonflower, thank you for being with us today on WMM.

Lily B Moonflower recently performed on Facebook live her work with medicine bowls.

Lily’s Album Release Show is on Friday, Feb 12 at The Aztec Theatre in Shawnee, Kansas.

MOONFLOWER was produced by Martin Farrell Jr. and features: Jake Keegan on dobro, Colby Allen Walter on mandolin, Michael Turnbo & Shannon O’Shea on fiddle, Miki P on drums, Jenna Rae on saxophone & back up vocals, and Martin Farrell Jr. on back up vocals, pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, & bells.

Songwriters & musicians that have heavily influenced Lily’s songwriting are Sturgill Simpson, Brent Cobb, The Wood Brothers, Chris & Morgane Stapleton, Grateful Dead, Samantha Fish, Willie Nelson, Led Zeppelin, The Band, Allman Brothers, Waylon, Nicki Bluhm & many many many more. Her entire life is dedicated to music.

Lily B is a ray of sunshine on and off the stage and her passion for roots music is apparent at her live shows and through her music. This debut album gives you a peek into the mind of a young songwriter who longs to be connected to people and nature, loves searching for crystals and arrowheads, has experienced love and heartbreak, and brings the party to every show. She has shared the stage with Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, Jim Lauderdale, The Hillbenders, and many more. Lily is on a lifelong journey of creating music and this debut release will be one of many more to come.

When Lily wrote Midnight Song she was inspired by late nights dancing barefoot on the honky tonk floor. Her music video represents the magical fleeting dream state that music creates. Filmed in June with loose planning & directing, Lily wrote that she” really love the way it all came together! I couldn’t have made it happen without my good friends’ creative skills. Martin Farrell Jr., Jake Keegan, Michael Turnbo, Jenna Rae, & I collaborated effortlessly in the studio, & Miki P turned the video into the quintessential Midwestern celebration of love, celebration & music!”

Lily B Moonflower’s music video “Midnight Song”was created with:
Video Producer – Miki P
The Videographers – Miki P, Michael Thompson, & Greg Graham
Music Producer – Martin Farrell Jr. & Jenna Rae
The Band – Colby Allen Walter, Jake Keegan, Michael Turnbo, Austin Quick, Shannon O’Shea, Jenna Rae, & Martin Farrell Jr.
Dream Scene – Gretchen Nothouse, Elaina Mcendree, Bridget & Rich Kiggins, Alicia & Sarah Keegan, Bob, Moravia, Zafaran, & Denali Satterfield, Andrew Moore, Jade Hodge, Ben Soukup, Jack Knauss, K.A. Browning, Shayla Hopcraft Browning, & Kevin Stone
Stunt Double Actors – James Fisher & Jade Hodge
Midnight Song music video was shot at Bubblecream’s Ice Cream Shop in my hometown, Desoto Ks

From Lily B Moonflower album reviewed by Max Paley of Americana Music Academy (http://www.americanamusicacademy.com/press)

“Lily has some advantages over your average country singer. First, her musical heritage is not hurting anything. But, more importantly, she has surrounded herself with the right people, particularly her life partner Jake Keegan (of the nationally touring bluegrass act Grassfed) and the good people at Lost Cowgirl Records. The new album sounds straight out of Nashville in terms of quality. // This is due mostly to the musical mind of Martin Farrell, Jr. Farrell retains his heavyweight Kansas Country producer belt that he acquired with 2018’s Cosmic Western Duos, defended with 2020’s Coffee & Laundry and more than holds on to with Moonflower. Farrell demands authenticity from his artists, performing very little post-production work on the album and absolutely no auto-tuning. This means that Lily is actually as good as she sounds on these recordings. // Moonflower makes for such an exciting listen because it solidifies both Lily B. Moonflower as a true Country singer-songwriter and and the Eastern Kansas Country scene as a legitimate one worth paying attention to. It is so refreshing to hear a woman telling her stories in such a digestible way and accompanied by an amazing slate of backing musicians. Plans are already in motion for a new duo album with Lily and Keegan and even a second solo album and we cannot wait!”

Lily B Moonflower has played these Music Festivals:
Hillberry Music Festival – Eureka Springs
Missouri Country Festival – Columbia
Folk Alliance International Conference – New Orleans
Lovegrass Music Festival – Wilson State Park
Pickin On The Picknic – St Louis
Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival – Winfield
Rekinection Music Festival – La Cygne
Halfway to Everywhere Music Festival – Emporia

and Venues:
The Blue Note – Columbia
Knucklehead’s Garage – KCMO
Chelsea’s Live Music – Eureka Springs
Breckenridge Brewery – Denver
The Colony – Tulsa
Rose Music Hall – Columbia
20th Century Theater – Cincinnati
Folk Alliance Int. Conference – New Orleans

Lily B Moonflower, thank you for being with us today on WMM.

Lily B Moonflower’s album MOONFLOWER will be released Feb 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records. Info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com & http://www.thelostcowgirl.com

10:48

9. Lily B Moonflower – “Midnight Song”
   from: Moonflower / Lost Cowgirl Records/ February 12, 2021
   [The first single, Midnight Song, off her debut album, Moonflower, was released to all streaming platforms on NYE 2021! Moonflower is the debut album from KC based singer songwriter Lily B Moonflower who is originally from Desoto Kansas. MOONFLOWER was produced by Martin Farrell Jr. and features: Jake Keegan on dobro, Colby Allen Walter on mandolin, Michael Turnbo & Shannon O’Shea on fiddle, Miki P on drums, Jenna Rae on saxophone & back up vocals, and Martin Farrell Jr. on back up vocals, pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, & bells. More info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com and https://www.thelostcowgirl.com%5D

On December 19, 2020 President Obama announced on Twitter his Favorite Music of 2020, this was one of the tracks on his playlist:

10. Jhené Aiko – “Summer 2020 (imterlude)”
    from: Chilombo / Artclub INTL, LLC – Def Jam Recordings / March 6, 2020
    [3rd album from Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo was born March 16, 1988. She is an American singer and songwriter, who embarked on her music career contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. At the time, she was known as B2K member Lil’ Fizz’s “cousin”, though she is not actually related to him. It was used as a marketing tool, suggested by Sony and Epic Records to promote Aiko through group and cultivate her own following. In 2003, Aiko was set to release her debut album, My Name Is Jhené, through her labels Sony, The Ultimate Group and Epic; however, the album was never released, with Aiko eventually asking to be released from the label in order to continue her education.// In March 2011, Aiko made her return to music with the release of her first full-length project, a mixtape titled Sailing Soul(s). On December 16, 2011, Aiko signed a recording contract with American record producer No I.D.’s record label ARTium, distributed through Def Jam Recordings. In 2013, Aiko appeared on Big Sean’s single “Beware”, also featuring Lil Wayne, which became her first top 40 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In November 2013, she released her first project for Artium and Def Jam, an extended play (EP), titled Sail Out. The EP was supported by the singles “3:16AM”, “Bed Peace” and “The Worst”, the latter of which went on to become certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Aiko released her major-label debut album, Souled Out, on September 9, 2014. On September 22, 2017, she released her second studio album Trip. On March 6, 2020, she released her third studio album, Chilombo, which earned Aiko three Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year. // Aiko was born in Los Angeles. Her family lived in South Los Angeles but their home burned down when she was seven. They moved near Slauson Avenue around View Park–Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills and Ladera Heights where she was homeschooled until high school. She calls her home neighborhood “Slauson Heights”. Aiko is the daughter of Christina Yamamoto and Karamo Chilombo, a pediatrician. Her parents later divorced. Her sister is R&B singer Mila J. Her mother is of Spanish, Dominican and Japanese descent and her father is of Native American, African-American and German-Jewish descent.// She took vocal lessons in Culver City, California, but quit when she unexpectedly got pregnant. At age 20, she gave birth to a baby girl she named Namiko Love Browner.]

11. Afel Bocoum – “Djougal”
    from: Lindé / World Circuit / September 4, 2020
    [Afel Bocoum was born in 1955, He is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. He began his career as a member of Ali Farka Touré’s group ASCO, and Toure is often regarded as his mentor. Both men come from the town of Niafunke on the River Niger, and are members of the Sonrai people. Bocoum is an agricultural advisor by profession. // His group, Alkibar (the name means ‘messenger of the great river’ in Sonrai) consists of two acoustic guitars, a njarka (a one-string fiddle), a njurkle (a kind of lute), calabash and djembe percussion, and two female singers as well as male singers in the choruses. Bocoum is the lead vocalist. Bocoum uses music as a medium of communication, commenting on contemporary Malian society, e.g., “if you betray one woman, you betray all women” (Yarabitala), “we live in a crazy world with no respect; tomorrow we’ll be judged by our children” (Salamm aleikum), “parents, do not force your daughters to marry; a home will never flourish without true love” (Mali woymoyo). // Most of his singing is done in Sonrai, his native language, but also in Tamasheq (the language of the Tuareg) and in Fulfulde (the language of the Fula people). Bocoum’s father was a musician and was noted locally for his ability to play the njarka and njurkel, which he employed to play music at weddings. Bocoum used to accompany his father to the weddings and there learnt the songs of the se galarare style of music. He retained his preference for acoustic over electric guitar, and the use of traditional instruments. As well as the Malian musicians he grew up with, Bocoum cites Jorge Ben Jor, Mamadou Doumbia, Salif Keita, John Lee Hooker, and Mongo Santamaría as his musical influences. // In 1968, at the age of thirteen, he joined the group of guitarist Ali Farka Touré and singer Harber Maiga as an apprentice. It was Maiga who taught Bocoum to sing and to write songs until his death on 23 March 1983. Bocoum’s first solo performance came in 1968 at a musical competition in Mopti. He was well received by the public. In 1972 he performed in front of 3000 people at Mali’s second Biennale in Bamako, which was held every two years from 1970 to 1990, when Musa Traore was overthrown. The Bambara people were dominant in Malian affairs at that time and because of his Sonrai ethnicity, Bocoum was only awarded second prize. // He left the Niafunke group in 1975 when he won a scholarship to an agricultural college in M’Pessoba, near Koutiala in the southeast of the country. After three years of study he began working in Djenné, before returning to his home town, and the group, in 1980. In 1982 he was invited to join the Orchestre Diaba Regional from Timbuktu. In the early 1980s he formed Alkibar, and influenced by his knowledge of agriculture, used their music to communicate with people about water and irrigation. // His debut album, Alkibar, was recorded in an abandoned school near Niafunke over the course of six days – the same session and location where the Ali Farka Touré’s Niafunke was recorded. In fact, Ali Farka and Bocoum appeared on each other’s albums. Bocoum and Ali Farka’s record producer believed that transporting the group to a recording studio overseas would diminish the quality of the music. // In 2002 Bocoum collaborated with the Blur singer Damon Albarn on the successful Mali Music album, and the two played together in concerts in London and Denmark. // In 2006, Afel Bocoum and his band, Alkibar, released their second full-length album Niger on the Belgian label Contre-Jour. The sounds of Niger rely heavily on the traditional instruments njarka and njurkel, which give this collection of new materials a more traditional, and distinctively different quality from their excellent Western debut, Alkibar. Niger opens with a heartfelt and stirring tribute to his late mentor, Ali Farka Touré. // There is a curiosity about a visit made by Afel Bocoum in 2001 in Brazil. On this visit, Bocoum said his name “Afel” was like “Affection”, showing what he felt for all Brazilians. Today, after 10 years many Brazilians use the word “Afel” to symbolize “Affection”. // As of 2011, Afel is touring as part of the second iteration of Acoustic Africa.]

11:00 – Station ID

12. Redder Moon – “Dominos In Slow Motion”
    from: “Dominos In Slow Motion” – Single / Redder Moon / January 12, 2021
    [Jeremiah James Gonzales on guitar, bass, analog drums, producing, arranging and composing with new collaborators; Brody Lowe (from Portland, Oregon) on synths and Jill McKeever (For Strange Women) on vocals & lyrics. The band uses layered synths & production with live bass, drums, guitars, and vocals. Redder Moon tends to skirt the line between traditional electronic act and indie avant garde. With washed out guitars, thick bass grooves, and distant reverb soaked vocals, the songs beam with the almost tactile feel of a sound track to a lost movie but with enough dance-ability to pull you out of your seat. In the last few months of 2020, the band has written and recorded an album’s with of songs, over 20 actually, without playing together, and with each member individually recording their parts at home. This was a welcome channel of creation in a time of restraint. The result is a collection that explores everything from synth pop shoegaze, to dark wave indie sounds, with dance undertones and haunting lyrics. More info at http://www.reddermoon.bandcamp.com.]

11:05 – Interview with Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever

Joining us on the phone are Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever of the KC based band Redder Moon. The band also includes Brody Lowe (from Portland Oregon) on synthesizers. We just heard their newest single, “Dominos in Slow Motion” and e’ll talk about their process of putting together their latest album. In the last few months of 2020, the band has written and recorded an album’s with of songs, over 20 actually, without playing together, and with each member individually recording their parts at home. The result is a collection that explores synth pop shoegaze, to dark wave indie sounds, with dance undertones and haunting lyrics. More info at http://www.reddermoon.bandcamp.com

Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever thanks for being with us on WMM.

The current line-up consists of: Jeremiah James Gonzales on guitar, bass and analog drums, and producing, arranging and composing with my two new collaborators; Brody Lowe on synths (from Portland, Oregon) and Jill McKeever (of For Strange Women) on vocals and lyrics. The band uses layered synths and production with live bass, drums, guitars, and vocals the Redder Moon tends to skirt the line between traditional electronic act and indie avantgarde. With washed out guitars, thick bass grooves, and distant reverb soaked vocals, the songs beam with the almost tactile feel of a sound track to a lost movie but with enough dance-ability to pull you out of your seat.

In the last months of 2020, the band has written & recorded an album’s with of songs, over 20 actually, without playing together, and with each member individually recording their parts at home.

Jeremiah you wrote that this “was a welcome channel of creation in a time of restraint.”

The result is a collection that explores everything from synth pop shoegaze, to dark wave indie sounds, with dance undertones and haunting lyrics.

Jeremiah James Gonzales is originally from in rural Idaho. After a couple years spinning his wheels at community college he discovered an outlet playing top 40 rock tunes with a non-profit organization that led him to spend months touring places like Brazil, India, Poland, as well as in the United States, from 1998 to 2001. Making many friends around the world, Jeremiah kept in touch with a drummer friend from Nigeria who had somehow landed in Kansas City. In March of 2001 Jeremiah James accepted what was supposed to be a 3-month tour of the Midwest playing bass in a hard rock band. One thing led to another and now it’s been 20 years in KC.

The Bands of Jeremiah James Gonzales (* All on guitar unless otherwise noted.)

Elevator Division (2001 – 2006 , Reunited 2020)
Lovers In Transit (Founder, 2006 – 2008)
Monta At Odds (2008 – 2010)
Be/Non (2009 – current)
Mannequin Skywalker (solo project 2009 – 2010)
Umberto (2010 – 2013 *drummer)
Redder Moon (Founder 2013 – current)
RHUNES (Founder 2014 – current)
Knife Crime (2018 – current)

Jeremiah James writes, “My passion is and always has been and will be forever, to create and share music.”

Since 2009 Jill McKeever has been an Alchemist at For Strange Women
for more info: http://www.forstrangewomen.com

Jill McKeever grew up in Kansas City and gradated from Oak Park High in 2002. She studied Video, Music/Audio design at Missouri State University where she also studied electronic arts. And graduated in 2006. She also studied at Earthship Biotecture Academy.

Jill McKeever is the author of The Spirit of Botany, Aromatic Recipes and Rituals, Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing; First Edition (October 13, 2020)

Jill McKeever founded For Strange Women Perfume in 2009. Combining her backgrounds in graphic/web design, video and audio production, photography, and music, she has developed a unique, synesthetic method of perfume construction. A passionate advocate for animals and the environment, Jill loves spending time in her garden with her cat, Onyx, and chickens, Patsy and Edina.

A visually entrancing and esoteric guide to connecting with plants through the senses. In The Spirit of Botany, artist and perfumer Jill McKeever reveals her personal rituals and creative methods of using aromatic botanical materials in incense, perfume, tisanes, ritual baths, and much more.

Jill McKeever joined Redder Moon in August 2020.

Brody Lowe is originally from from Portland, Oregon. He also recently joined the band on synthesizers. Brody Lowe studied Design at Oregon State University. He founded the company Brody Lowe Design. Along with multiple projects in print, video, space, artwork for companies, banks, artists, podcasts, and others, Brody has designed over 100 album covers.

You can learn more about his work in Art Direction and Design at http://www.brodylowe.com

The band played Lemonade park on Saturday, July 25 with Various Blonde and YUM.

The band is currently working in and out of studios. Working separately, balancing the costs of production and studio rates with a search for a record label to support the band.

The band hopes to release a new album in 2021

Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever thanks for being with us on WMM.

More info at http://www.reddermoon.bandcamp.com

11:19

13. Redder Moon – “Land of the Blind”
    from: “Land of the Blind” – Single / Redder Moon / January 27, 2021
    [Jeremiah James Gonzales on guitar, bass, analog drums, producing, arranging and composing with new collaborators; Brody Lowe (from Portland, Oregon) on synths and Jill McKeever (For Strange Women) on vocals & lyrics. The band uses layered synths & production with live bass, drums, guitars, and vocals. Redder Moon tends to skirt the line between traditional electronic act and indie avant garde. With washed out guitars, thick bass grooves, and distant reverb soaked vocals, the songs beam with the almost tactile feel of a sound track to a lost movie but with enough dance-ability to pull you out of your seat. In the last few months of 2020, the band has written and recorded an album’s with of songs, over 20 actually, without playing together, and with each member individually recording their parts at home. This was a welcome channel of creation in a time of restraint. The result is a collection that explores everything from synth pop shoegaze, to dark wave indie sounds, with dance undertones and haunting lyrics. More info at http://www.reddermoon.bandcamp.com.]

On December 19, 2020 President Obama announced on Twitter his Favorite Music of 2020, this was one of the tracks on his playlist:

14. Hope Tala – “All My Girls Like To Fight”
    from: Girl Eats Sun – EP / EMI – Republic Records / November 13, 2020
    [22 year old singer songwriter from the UK. After three yers studying at the University of Bristol with first class honors in English Literature while also traveling back and forth to London to record her first EP Starrry Ache and her second EP Sensitive Soul (August 2019), Hope Tala let her academic life to focus entirely in her musical career. Alexandra Pollard in the Independent writes, ” Having turned down a masters offer from Cambridge to pursue a career in music, 23-year-old Hope Tala has a breezy self-confidence about her – one that oozes into the music. She doesn’t so much belt out her melodies as sigh them out, in a voice that is relaxed and conversational, set against bossa nova and R&B beats. She is refreshingly uncoy about using female pronouns, too. ‘Being open about being queer,’ she says, ‘has contributed to my confidence in myself.'”

11:28 – Underwriting

15. Charlotte Bumgarner – “Haunted House”
    from: “Haunted House” – Single / Manor Records / January 22, 2021
    [Written & performed by Charlotte Bumgarner. Harmony, synth, production, mixing & mastering by Drew Richardson.. // Charlotte is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Tulsa. She has been playing the local Tulsa scene for about 2-3 years as a solo artist and for about a year with her band Graveyard Party. Charlotte’s sound can be described as a mix of many influences, but is mostly a emo singer/songwriter & folky fusion. Charlotte is also a big activist for female equality & rights and tries to integrate that into my songwriting and my footprint in the scene in general.// In 2018 Charlotte began self-recording and releasing her own music with the single “where are you” and night blooming flowers EP. From then on Charlotte continued playing throughout the local Tulsa scene as well as branching out and touring regionally as much as possible. In the spring of 2020 prior to signing with Manor Records, Charlotte self-released an acoustic set for RSU radio EP that first introduced us to her upcoming single “Honey Touch”. After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year 2021. KOSU Radio called Charlotte a “passionate about young women being taken seriously and making the music scene a safer place for everyone.” More info at http://www.manorrecords.com]

11:34 – Interview with Charlotte Bumgarner

“Haunted House,” is Charlotte Bumgarner’s newest single, released on January 22, 2021 on Manor Records. After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year. Charlotte has been playing professionally in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a solo artist for about three years, and with her band Graveyard Party for the past year. Charlotte is an activist for female equality and integrates that into her songs. More info at http://www.manorrecords.com

Charlotte Bumgarner thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Charlotte Bumgarner celebrated her 20th birthday on January 11, 2021

The new singles and songs on Charlottes debut album are written & performed by Charlotte Bumgarner.

Charlotte is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Tulsa. She has been playing the local Tulsa scene for about 2-3 years as a solo artist and for about a year with her band Graveyard Party. Charlotte’s sound can be described as a mix of many influences, but is mostly a emo singer/songwriter & folky fusion.

Charlotte is also a big activist for female equality & rights and tries to integrate that into my songwriting and my footprint in the scene in general.

In 2018 Charlotte began self-recording and releasing her own music with the single “where are you” and night blooming flowers EP. From then on Charlotte continued playing throughout Tulsa as well as branching out and touring regionally as much as possible.

In the spring of 2020 prior to signing with Manor Records, Charlotte self-released an acoustic set for RSU radio EP that first introduced us to her single “Honey Touch”.

After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year 2021. KOSU Radio called Charlotte a “passionate about young women being taken seriously and making the music scene a safer place for everyone.”

Charlotte Bumgarner thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Charlotte Bumgarner’s new single, “Haunted House: was just released on Manor Records.
Charlotte’s plan is to release a 3-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year 2021. More info at http://www.manorrecords.com]

11:46

16. Charlotte Bumgarner – “Honey Touch”
    from: Honey Touch – Single / Manor Records / December 11, 2020
    [Written & performed by Charlotte Bumgarner. Harmony, synth, production, mixing & mastering by Drew Richardson. Charlotte is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Tulsa. She has been playing the local Tulsa scene for about 2-3 years as a solo artist and for about a year with her band Graveyard Party. Charlotte’s sound can be described as a mix of many influences, but is mostly a emo singer/songwriter & folky fusion. Charlotte is also a big activist for female equality & rights and tries to integrate that into my songwriting and my footprint in the scene in general.// In 2018 Charlotte began self-recording and releasing her own music with the single “where are you” and night blooming flowers EP. From then on Charlotte continued playing throughout the local Tulsa scene as well as branching out and touring regionally as much as possible. In the spring of 2020 prior to signing with Manor Records, Charlotte self-released an acoustic set for RSU radio EP that first introduced us to her upcoming single “Honey Touch”. After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year 2021. More info at http://www.manorrecords.com]

17. The Flaming Lips – “Dinosaurs On The Mountain”
    from: American Head / Warner Records / September 11, 2020
    [American Head is the sixteenth studio album by experimental rock band the Flaming Lips, released on September 11, 2020, on Warner Records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. On March 23, 2020, Drozd announced that the band’s sixteenth studio album, titled American Head, is due for release in the summer. The album represents a shift in identity as the band decided to focus on their American roots on the album. The band officially announced the album’s release date as September 11, 2020, along with the single “My Religion Is You” on June 26, 2020. Coyne gave a track-by-track breakdown of the album for Apple Music.]

18. Ondist – “Love is Gold [feat. Jillian Riscoe]”
    from: Mise en Place / Bikiniwax Records / June 12, 2020
    [Recorded at Weights & Measures with Duane Trower with Sam Platt on drums, Eddie Moore on keyboards, Jamie Anderson on guitar, and Jillian Riscoe on vocals, In 2020 the band Ondist released three full length albums, NO COINCIDENCE on June 12, and ELECTRICITY on August 14, and MISE EN PLACE on November 13 totaling 41 songs. Plus band member Corbin Dooley released a 14-track solo album called AFFECTION on September 18. The band also released a 26 track Acapellas & Instrumentals Release on July 3, plus a 4-song EP entitled RESOUND on February 28, plus 9 singles. Ondist is Corbin Dooley, Nick Poortman, and Maya Coppola are Ondist. Recording in Malibu, Dallas, Kansas City, and Las Vegas brought environmental influences to the center of the Ondist sound, which is united by its cinematic vision of hope. Several of the tracks for all of these album releases were recorded at Weights & Measures with Duane Trower with Sam Platt on drums, Eddie Moore on keyboards, DeAndre Manning on bass, Jamie Anderson on guitar, Claire Adams on vocals, and Jillian Riscoe on vocals. With divergent backgrounds rooted in Arkansas, New Zealand, and New York, the trio connected in Los Angeles. Corbin Dooley signed Nine Inch nails to TVT Records in 1990. He managed Blur, and Tekronic. We interviewed Maya Coppola on the October 7, 2020 on WMM.]

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

Next week, on Wednesday, February 3, we talk with singer songwriter Martin Farrell Jr. We also chat with filmmaker, artist, musician and radio show host & producer Mikal Shapiro. And community and AIDS activist, Founder and President/CEO at BlaqOut KC, and host and producer of his own weekly radio show on 90.1 FM KKFI on Saturday nights at 5:00 PM D Rashaan Gilmore joins us live.

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

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

Show #874

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

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases +
Lily B Moonflower + Redder Moon + Charlotte Bumgarner

Mark plays more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Making Movies, Ondist feat. Jillian Riscoe, Redder Moon, Ivy Roots, Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices, Charlotte Bumgarner, Howard Iceberg & the Titanics, Lily B Moonflower, The Flaming Lips, Rose City Band, Afel Bocoum, and three artists from Barack Obama’s 2020 playlist: Faye Webster, Jhené Aiko, and Hope Tala.

At 10:30 Lily B Moonflower joins us to share music from her new album MOONFLOWER to be released on February 12, 2021, on Lost Cowgirl Records. Lily has been sharing her free-spirited style and soulful country voice from the main stages and around the campfires. Lily calls her music “folk n roll with a twang.” MOONFLOWER was produced by Martin Farrell Jr. and features: Jake Keegan on dobro, Colby Allen Walter on mandolin, Michael Turnbo & Shannon O’Shea on fiddle, Miki P on drums, Jenna Rae on saxophone & back up vocals, and Martin Farrell Jr. on back up vocals, pedal steel, piano, telecaster guitar, tambourine, & bells. More info at: http://www.lilybmoonflower.com

At 11:00 Mark talks with Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever of the KC based band Redder Moon. Now a trio, the band also includes Brody Lowe (from Portland Oregon) on synthesizers. We’ll share their newest single, “Dominos in Slow Motion” and talk about their process of putting together their latest album. In the last few months of 2020, the band has written and recorded an album’s with of songs, over 20 actually, without playing together, and with each member individually recording their parts at home. This was a welcome channel of creation in a time of restraint. The result is a collection that explores everything from synth pop shoegaze, to dark wave indie sounds, with dance undertones and haunting lyrics. More info at http://www.reddermoon.bandcamp.com

At 11:30 Charlotte Bumgarner joins us to share her newest single, “Haunted House,” released on January 22, 2021 on Manor Records. After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year. Charlotte has been playing professionally in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a solo artist for about three years, and with her band Graveyard Party for the past year. Charlotte’s sound can be described as a mix of many influences, but is mostly: emo/singer songwriter/folky fusion. Charlotte is an activist for female equality and integrates that into her songs. More info at http://www.manorrecords.com

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

Show #874

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

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases
Sam Wells + Barry Lee

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

2. We Are King – “Space Oddity”
   from: “Space Oddity” – Single / BEE Music / January 8, 2021
   [We are KING is an American R&B vocal girl group based in Los Angeles, California, featuring identical twin sisters Amber and Paris Strother and their close friend Anita Bias. The Strother sisters are the nieces of the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based electric bluesman, Percy Strother, who died in 2005 and are originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota; Bias was born and raised in Los Angeles. The self-contained trio first appeared in 2011, when, on March 1, they independently released their The Story, a three-song EP that captured the attention and garnered support from a number of artists including Phonte of The Foreign Exchange, Questlove, Erykah Badu, and eventually Prince, who invited the two to open for him at his 21-Night Stand Tour at the Los Angeles Forum. Prince subsequently became the girls’ mentor and advisor, providing them with managerial support until 2013. King founded their company King Creative in 2013, releasing their teaser single “In the Meantime” the same year, premiered by Billboard, and followed up with their second single, “Mister Chameleon” in 2014. On February 5, 2016, the trio released their debut studio album, We Are King, to critical acclaim. The album was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 59th Grammy Awards, making King the first independent band to be nominated in that category. We Are King was also included on mid-year and year-end lists by Rolling Stone, Time, Billboard, NPR, Spin, Newsday and Pitchfork among others. // Released on David Bowie’s birthday, January 8, 2021, their cover of his surprise 1972 hit ‘Space Oddity’ is a paean to this wholly singular and somewhat eccentric anthem. Smooth, subtle and assured, We Are KING’s version remains true to the original, while blending in just enough soul to make it their own. “There were so many amazing Bowie compositions to choose from but Space Oddity has always been our favorite- it’s so visual; it has always felt like time travel in a song. It tells such a vivid and imaginative story of Major Tom’s trip through space and it was such a cool experience to reimagine what it’d be like on the voyage” – We Are KING. BBE Music announces forthcoming David Bowie tribute album ‘Modern Love’ with first single ‘Space Oddity’ reinterpreted by Grammy-nominated twin sisters We Are KING. ‘Modern Love’ offers a fresh look at David Bowie’s diverse and transcendent back catalogue. The project is curated by Music Exec & DJ Drew McFadden, alongside BBE Music founder Peter Adarkwah.]

3. Monta At Odds – “Embrace the Night”
   from: A Great Conjunction EP / The Record Machine / December 18, 2020
   [Monta At Odds released A GREAT CONJUNCTION their new 5-song EP on December 18, 2020, just in time for the rare ‘double-planet’ convergence of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21 which last occurred in 1226. These tunes form a soundtrack to the planetary event, five songs linked together by the vastness of space and as a meditation on our infinitesimal place in the universe. “Embrace The Night” opens the EP with an opulent chug alongside synth ponderings and Krystof Nemeth’s homesick guitar. Teri Quinn then expressively vocalizes a paean to galactic connection, scanning for signals from the stars. Expansive space-rock follows in the form of “The Gods Are Conspiring.” Alexander Thomas’s drums rumble as the brothers Delaney and Dedric Moore layer on synths, bass, and other treatments with mind-altering results. “Elegant Approach” is a wind-up, all ‘sturm und drang’ and some heavy jazz rhythms (courtesy of drummer Matthew Heinrich) until morphing into a bass-lined melodic sound-trip. “Advent of a New Trigon” seems to coincide with the actual pairing of Saturn and Jupiter, Teri Quinn casting regenerative spells to the horizon with her voice and lyrics. And the EP closes with “Slide Away Gradually,” an instrumental callback to “Embrace The Night” which underscores the endless cycles of nature, the Great Conjunction certain to occur again and again and again. Monta At Odds released their 4-song EP Zen Diagram last year on May 1, 2020. Monta At Odd’s seventh full-length album, Peak of Eternal Light, is to be released in 2021 on The Record Machine. In late 2020 Monta At Odds released the single “When Stars Grow Old.” Dedric Moore describes the song, “it’s an android of a song, combining the human and the electronic into a sizzling new sonic creation. “When Stars Grow Old” is the sound of humanity visiting new worlds across the dark spaces of time, reconstructing the beat of music through memory and instinct. An ad hoc band plays to the sparkling, unfamiliar sky of a distant world. It’s the music of the future if formed from ghostly, discarded impressions of the past.” The band describes their music as: Mutant Disco, minimal synthwave, post-punk dance, Electronica, Indie, Space Rock, Ambient. Monta At Odds is a psychedelic, experimental indie/space rock/electronic collective based in KCK formed by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore. Recently the band had added Mikal Shapiro and Teri Quinn to the line up. Past supporting members: Alexander Thomas, Adam Davies, Zach Bozich, Aaron Osborne, Matthew Hayden, Mika Tanaya, Sterling Holman, Bree Plaster; Eric Bessenbacher, Ryan Shank, Jeremiah James, Samer Saba, Doug Hutchinson, Erin O’Neill, Sam Behrens, Sam Hughes, Tom Romero, Caleb Aldrich, John Aldrich. Monta At Odds released their 6th full length album Argentum Dreams on Oct 19, 2018.]

4. Charlotte Bumgarner – “Honey Touch”
   from: Honey Touch – Single / Manor Records / December 11, 2020
   [Written & performed by Charlotte Bumgarner. Harmony, synth, production, mixing & mastering by Drew Richardson.. // Charlotte is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Tulsa. She has been playing the local Tulsa scene for about 2-3 years as a solo artist and for about a year with her band Graveyard Party. Charlotte’s sound can be described as a mix of many influences, but is mostly a emo singer/songwriter & folky fusion. Charlotte is also a big activist for female equality & rights and tries to integrate that into my songwriting and my footprint in the scene in general.// In 2018 Charlotte began self-recording and releasing her own music with the single “where are you” and night blooming flowers EP. From then on Charlotte continued playing throughout the local Tulsa scene as well as branching out and touring regionally as much as possible. In the spring of 2020 prior to signing with Manor Records, Charlotte self-released an acoustic set for RSU radio EP that first introduced us to her upcoming single “Honey Touch”. After signing to the label, Charlotte’s plan is to release a three-track single series beginning with this release, followed up by her debut album later in the year 2021. KOSU Radio called Charlotte a “passionate about young women being taken seriously and making the music scene a safer place for everyone.” More info at http://www.manorrecords.com]

5. Christena Graves – “Give Me A Minute”
   from: “Give Me A Minute” – Single / Christena Graves / January 15, 2021
   [“Give Me A Minute” is from her album, Finding My Footing, to be released February 11, 2021. More info at: christenagravesmusic.com // Christena Graves writes songs in order to make sense of her world. Her lyrics are a mixture of a heartfelt acknowledgment of the pain and suffering in life, balanced by the steadying force of committed relationships. Growing up in a coastal area of western Michigan, Christena draws from her deep connection with the natural world to help frame the difficulty of the human emotional landscape. “Nature brings focus for me. I rely on it to color my lyrics.” She found her musical beginning learning to sing harmonies with her older brothers and sisters. Music was an important part of her family and they would often sing hymns together. She fondly remembers the day her oldest brother sat her on the kitchen counter and taught her to sing harmony to Jingle Bells. It was a moment that gave fuel to her love of singing. // After leaving Michigan to attend college in Missouri, she met her husband Brandon and joined the band Waterdeep as the keyboard player. After touring for several years, she stepped away from the band to raise their children. Songwriting became a release to help process the struggles of life. Eventually, she was writing songs for her church community and helping lead music on Sunday mornings. Once the kids were old enough, Christena and Brandon decided to form a new project and return to making music in a bigger way. // 2019 marked the beginning of the Christena Graves Band and the ground work being laid for her return to the music industry. In mid 2020 Greg Lafollette, a long time musical friend, moved back to KC from Nashville where he had built a successful career as an artist and producer. Greg offered his help to record a collections of songs that have become her new record. The album is titled, Finding My Footing. A nod to the difficulty of reengaging in a music business that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years but also a humble acceptance that life can be hard at times but it is important to keep moving forward. // The release of Finding My Footing will mark her first full length solo album since 1996 and her first project ever as a band leader. The songs are stories of loss, fear, struggle, and joy. “This project ended up being much more than just making a good record. I spent a lot of time in self reflection—maybe I should call it a mid-life moment. I questioned my ability and worth as an artist, as a woman, and a human. It has been difficult to go through but I am learning so much about myself. I am happy with where I am and I am proud of what I’ve said with this album.”]

6. Grand Marquis – “Take A Deep Breath”
   from: “Take A Deep Breath” – Single / Grand Marquis / December 19, 2020
   [Bryan Redmond on lead vocals, soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones; Ben Ruth on upright bass, sousaphone, backing vocals; Chad Boydston on trumpet, backing vocals; Ryan Wurtz on electric and acoustic guitars; Trevor Turla on trombone, backing vocals; Natalie Bates on drums, backing vocals. Formed in 1998, Grand Marquis has since become solidly rooted in the Kansas City music scene as one of the hardest-working bands in the region, playing over 100 shows per year! The group has performed from coast to coast, released 8 albums: “Brighter Days” in 2018, “Blues and Trouble” in 2013, “The Sun Session” in 2011, “Hold On To Me” in 2010, “One More Day” on 2007, “Grand Marquis” in 2004, “Le Chant Du Diable Bleu” in 2002, and “Burlesk” in 2000, including a 7″ 45 rpm vinyl record/CD combo recorded at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, TN. They also released the single “I Can’t Put You Down” on Teenage Heart Records. With their own versatile and thoroughly entertaining brand of American Roots, Blues and Prohibition-Era Jazz, the Grand Marquis are consistently finding themselves in high demand. More info at: http://www.grandmarquis.net]

7. Kian Bryne – “Morning Glow”
   from: Morning Glow / Kian Byrne Music / December 4, 2020
   [New 12-song album from Kian Byrne who released the single. “All The Love” on February 7, 2020. Kian Byrne is a Kansas City based multi-instrumentalist. He plays drums in The Elders, and drums for Hi-Lüx, and bass for The New Riddim, and for YUM. This is a follow-up to Kian Byrne’s solo EP “Up & Down” released July 11, 2018, part of WMM’s 118 Best Recordings of 2018. Info at: http://www.kianbyrnemusic.com]

10:28 – Underwriting

8. Maggie Rogers – “Anybody”
   from: Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011-2016 (With Commentary) / DeBay Sounds / December 18, 2020
   [Margaret Debay Rogers was born April 25, 1994. She is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. Her big break came when her song “Alaska” was played to Pharrell Williams during a master class at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2020. // Maggie Rogers grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland along the banks of the Miles River in Easton, Talbot County, Maryland. Her father is a now-retired Ford Motor Company dealer and her mother, a former nurse, is now an end-of-life doula. She began playing harp at age seven and loved the music of Gustav Holst and Antonio Vivaldi. Her mother would play neo-soul artists such as Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. By the time she was in middle school, Rogers had added piano and guitar to her repertoire and began songwriting in eighth grade. For high school, she attended St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware as well as The Gunston School on the Corsica River in Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. At school, she played harp in the orchestra, sang in the choir, joined a jazz band, learned banjo and became interested in folk music, and taught herself how to program. She also spent many summers during her formative years at a rural camp in Maine.// The summer after her junior year, Rogers attended a Berklee College of Music program and won the program’s songwriting contest, which spurred her to focus on writing. During her senior year, she recorded what became her first album, The Echo (2012). Rogers included her demos as part of her application to New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. She secured admission and started in 2012. // At NYU, Rogers considered a career in music journalism, and in her freshman year, Rogers interned for music journalist Lizzy Goodman for whom she transcribed and edited hundreds of hours of interviews with major musicians and journalists, which would be later compiled into Goodman’s 2017 book Meet Me in the Bathroom. // Rogers released another folk album, Blood Ballet (2014), during her sophomore year at the school. Folk blog EarToTheGround Music explained that the album “…begs for listeners to confront deep personal emotions.” // Rogers studied abroad in France while at NYU and after friends convinced her to go clubbing while they were in Berlin, her eyes opened to a new genre and she discovered a love for dance music. When she returned home, Rogers was ready to make new music and merge her folk style with electronic production. // In 2016, after two years of writer’s block, Rogers wrote “Alaska”, a song she wrote in fifteen minutes about a National Outdoor Leadership School course. She played the song for Pharrell Williams in a master class he taught at her school, and a video of a visibly moved Williams listening to the song went viral that June, resulting in millions of views as well as hundreds of thousands of plays of The Echo and Blood Ballet. // Rogers graduated from New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in May 2016 with a degree in music engineering and production and English. // After the Pharrell video went viral, several different record labels tried to sign Rogers. She ended up negotiating a contract with Capitol Records where “she licenses her music to them through her own imprint, Debay Sounds.” As a result, she has more control over her sound and image than many artists at a similar place in their music careers. // Rogers’ EP, Now That the Light Is Fading, was released on February 17, 2017. She released her major-label debut album, Heard It In a Past Life, in January 2019. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. // In April 2019, Rogers covered the Taylor Swift song “Tim McGraw” as a Spotify Single. She told Rolling Stone, “This song so distinctly belongs to one of – I think, personally – the greatest living songwriters.”// Rogers made her television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 15, 2017, Saturday Night Live debut on November 3, 2018 and Today Show debut on July 12, 2019. //Rogers cites Carrie Brownstein, Patti Smith, Kim Gordon, and Björk as her musical inspirations, while prominent singers Brandi Carlile and Sharon Van Etten – whom she calls her “musical big sisters” – have become mentors. // She guested with Dead & Company, performing “Friend of the Devil” and “The Weight” on November 1, 2019 at Madison Square Garden. // Rogers earned a nomination for Best New Artist at the 62nd Grammy Awards. // Rogers performed during the 2020 Democratic National Convention, appearing remotely from Scarborough, Maine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. She was introduced by Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and 2020 US Senate candidate from Maine Sara Gideon. // On November 13, 2020, Rogers collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers on a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 single “Iris”, which Bridgers said she would make if Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States elections. The song was released as a one-day exclusive on Bandcamp and was downloaded 28,000 times, with all proceeds going to Fair Fight Action. // On December 18, 2020, Rogers released Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011-2016 via her label Debay Sounds. The album is a compilation of songs she wrote and recorded in the past ten years of her recording career. Some of the songs are from her independently released first two albums: The Echo and Blood Ballet. Other songs are from her previously unreleased 2016 rock EP and a band she was previously in with Holden Jaffe, Del Water Gap. The album was released along with a deluxe version in which Rogers provides an auditory commentary talking through each stage of her music career that the songs in that section reflect. More info at: http://www.maggieragers.com]

9. The Hermanos Brothers – “The Day The Earth Stood Still”
   from: Absentee Ballads / Howard Iceberg / November 25, 2020
   [15-song album from The Hermanos Brothers, an imaginary band drawn from real life bands with: Howard Iceberg (from Howard Iceberg & The Titanics) on vocals & guitar; Chad Brothers (from Old Sound, Shapiro Brothers, and Super Massive Blackholes) on guitar and harmony vocals; Andrew “Mojo” Morris (from The Matchsellers) on mandolin, banjo, guitar, harmony vocals; and Julie “Bates Motel” (from The Matchsellers) on fiddle & harmony vocals. Howard writes: “In the bright days of 2019, just before Pandemia, we hung out in Chad’s basement on three afternoons. Howard brought a couple dozen new songs, played them once, then we all played them once, then Chad pressed ‘Record’ and we went at it.” All songs are first or second takes, to filter out any vestige of artistry. These are some of them. All words and music by Howard Iceberg. Recorded and mixed by Chad Brothers at The Sub-Basement, except tracks 3, 10, and 12 mixed by Andrew Morris. Artwork and layout by Julie “Bates Motel.”. More info at: https://thehermanosbrothers.bandcamp.com.%5D

10. Mensa Deathsquad – “Nothing Is Ever Enough”
    from: Cyclist / Gran Cavalera / February 23, 2021
    [First single from the second album from Mensa Deathsquad. Brandon Phillips laid in a Kansas City hospital through the winter of 2019-2020 as his own album release (the unintentionally but appropriately named Patient Zero by his alt-synthwave band Mensa Deathsquad) passed by in the outside world. The first tracks from his debut album Patient Zero were premiering and, chained to a Luciferian merry-go-round of post-operative infections, Brandon strained through the pharmaceutical blur to do promotion for his record, emailing editors and scraping together the necessary pieces they needed. Since his surgery a month prior had gone sideways, and the time, energy, and planning for things like photos, videos and shows had been blown to smithereens, all he had left to look forward to beyond the IVs and the machines that go “ping” was this premiere and the street date. And then came COVID-19, like a rogue wave, to finish off the aimless Mensa Deathsquad sailboat. // But Brandon didn’t die and the boat didn’t sink. As the squall receded and the wanton eye of cruel gods passed over him, Brandon clung to the boat and swore revenge… // As the aphorism goes, “revenge is sweet” and thus Brandon and his Mensa Deathsquad will have the triumphant last laugh. Holed up in the spare bedroom of his apartment in Kansas City with an open wound in his abdomen, two surgical drains, and a severely compromised immune system, Brandon slipped back into his Mensa Deathsquad persona and began working on what would become his newest full length album, Cyclist. // The music that emerged from Brandon’s isolation and illness is a raw, nearly garage-rock take on darkwave and a perfect continuation of what he had begun on Patient Zero. Launching with the one-two punch of electro-punk noir in “Nothing Is Ever Enough” and “Therapist” before the pounding synth-rock of “The Disappointment Of The Christ,” Brandon fixes his furious eyes upon the provocative hypocrisy and violence that results from American Christianity. // A heady package of nudge nudges and intellectual ruminations (a trademark of Brandon’s past as a smartpunk upstart in such seminal bands as The Gadjits and Architects), Cyclist carries both a powerful music punch, a cultural rummaging through pop culture, and a run through his ever-evolving intellect. A knowing wink to fans of the seminal vampire flick The Lost Boy, “Join Us, Michael” is at once a seething appraisal of a world scorched and defiled by an older generation and a musical love letter to that pivotal ‘80s vampire movie soundtrack. “Leap Year (Chaos Reigns)” which began as a Siouxsie & the Banshees-inspired jam serves as Cyclist’s true north – the story of a drug-fueled wrinkle in time that brought the entire cyclical nature of existence into visibility one fateful night. “End Of The World” is dance-floor nihilist electro-rock blending angular post-punk guitar with the nostalgia of neon synths and electroclash drums, while “Takes One To Know One” slowly approaches the thunderstorm of toxic relationships, soulful vocals, tech house kick drums, and grimey-as-hell bass. // As a fitting conclusion to the tour de force through his psyche, Cyclist closes with yet another two-track charge, the swaggering post-electro sneer at celebrity social media, “Famous” followed by the throbbing Giorgio Moroder-via-Tech House cover of Iggy Pop’s classic “The Passenger.” “It was important to me that I cover ‘The Passenger’ as a letter of intent.” Says Brandon. “The electronic music that I daydream about, always has that Stooges layer of dirt and shop grease on it. That’s what I wanted for Cyclist.” The result is a triumph over the storm, as Mensa Deathsquad sails, unvanquished, into victory. More info at: https://mensadeathsquad.bandcamp.com or https://facebook.com/MensaDeathsquad.%5D

11. Miss Boating – “It’s A Lie”
    from: “It’s A Lie” – Single / Miss Boating / December 31, 2020
    [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. With Pat Conway on samba orchestra. Ross Brown covered engineering & mixing for The Vhargon Sidestep. Mike Nolte handled all of the mastering New single from Miss Boating who released their debut The Vhargon Sidestep on January 1, 2020 and was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2020. From the ashes of their former band The Sleazebeats, Charles Colborne & Bill Belzer faced a difficult 2019 when combined with the death of Charlie’s own beloved mother, their friend & bassist Evan Vhargon died. The band wrote that they “were lost when Evan passed.” Through the tough times Bill & 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. . Charles Colborne & Bill Belzer were our guests on WMM on April 1, 2020. More info at: https://missboating.bandcamp.com%5D

12. No Thanks – “Wildflowers”
    from: Submerger / Black Site Records / October 31, 2020
    [Omaha Nebraska based band. Produced by No Thanks. Recorded, Engineered, and Mixed by Mathew Carroll at Little Machine (Omaha, NE). Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering (Portland, OR). Vinyl Mastered by Chris Muth at Taloowa Corp. (Yonkers, NY). Photography by Jacob Greve (Omaha, NE). BS-15 More info at: http://www.black-site.org. No Thanks formed in 2013, the fever dream of high school friends Michael Huber (guitar), Cam Stout (bass), and Castro Turf (vocals). After self-releasing a couple of singles, Gabe Cohen replaced the original drummer and the band began hitting the road in 2015. Always advocating for affordable, safe shows, Leftist politics, and captivating punk music, No Thanks has played nearly every DIY scene in the Midwest and made one hot summer tour to Florida. Notable festival appearances include Lincoln Calling, Goth Night in Lawrence, KS, Tü Fest in St. Louis, and the Nebraska Hardcore Showcase. The band’s furious and engaging live performances have earned them shows with such acts as Protomartyr, Ceremony, Screaming Females, Gouge Away, Ex-Cult, Plack Blague, See Through Dresses, and DRI. // In 2016, the band recorded their first EP, Position, in mom’s basement, and in early 2018, released their first full-length album, The Trial, which earned them the title of “Best Punk Band in Nebraska” by Kerrang!. In March 2020, with the pandemic just starting to unfold, the band released the single “Lurch” b/w “Burn the Body” followed up in July by the split album, Live at Brothers Lounge, with fellow Omaha punks, The Natural States.]

13. BCCC – “Psycho Killer”
    from: “Psycho Killer” – Single / Brad Cox / January 9, 2021.
    [BCCC is 6-year old Cecilla Cox on vocals, trumpet, and E flat peck horn; and Brad Cox on vocals, and all other instruments. More info at: https://bccc.bandcamp.com%5D

14. Ivy Roots – “Truth about each other”
    from: LOVE ART GROWTH 2 / Ivy Roots / December 16, 2020
    [Ivy Roots released the single “Home” on April 22, 2020. KC native singer songwriter, who plays piano & guitar, and produces beats. Her style ranges from R & B, Neo Soul, Hip Hop, Acoustic, & Pop. The acoustic guitar strumming songstress draws from her inspirations; Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Deangelo, and India Arie. Ivy Roots studied audio engineering at Kansas City, Kansas Community College. She toured in a 5-piece reggae band, played regional festivals, Los Angeles, and collaborated with film & performance. She also sang in a vocal jazz group at a performing arts jazz festival at Lincoln Center in NYC, before releasing her first album “Bad Intuition” and beginning her solo career. In 2019 Ivy Roots released her EP Love Art Growth on June 5, 2019 where she collaborated with Eddie Moore. Ivy Roots released her debut album Bad Intuition on April 14, 2016. Written & produced by Ivy.]

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

11:00 – Station ID

16. Sam Wells – “For The Deflated”
    from: For The Deflated / French Exit Records / December 31, 2020
    [Earlier this year 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.” These two tracks are leading up to the release of Sam’s first EP, “For The Deflated.” More info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com. Sam Wells was on WMM on May 13, 2020.]

11:04 – Interview with Sam Wells

Kansas City, based singer songwriter Sam Wells 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. Sam Wells released of her debut EP, For The Deflated, on December 31, 2020 on French Exit Records. more info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com

Sam Wells thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Since we last had Sam on the show on May 13, 2020 to talk about her single “Sugar” she has been very busy, despite all of the challenges of the pandemic.

Sam worked 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. Collaborating with our friends Maria Vasquez Boyd and Madisen Ward.

Sam also was part of Troostival organized by Kemet Coleman featuring an amazing line up of Kansas City bands and performers.

For The Deflated is Sam’s debut EP release. Riley Corbin served as producer and engineer for the new record.

Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Sam Wells is now based in downtown Kansas City , Missouri .

Folk Americana singer and songwriter Sam Wells joined us on May 13, 2020 to talk about her first two singles, “Lesson Learned” (her debut) and “Sugar that is “full of energy and funk.” These two tracks are leading up to the release of her new EP.

Sam Wells thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Sam’s first EP, “For The Deflated”, was released at midnight on December 31, 2020. More information at: http://www.whoissamwells.com

11:19

17. Sam Wells – “Taking Chances”
    from: For The Deflated / French Exit Records / December 31, 2020
    [Earlier this year 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.” These two tracks are leading up to the release of Sam’s first EP, “For The Deflated.” More info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com.]

18. Stevie Wonder – “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”
    from: Talking Book / Tamla / October 28, 1972
    [Co-written and performed by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder and Yvonne Wright, This is the last track on Stevie Wonder’s glorious fifteenth studio album Talking Book from 1972, on the Tamla label for Motown Records. This album and Music of My Mind are widely noted as being the signal recordings of Wonder’s “classic period”. The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder’s keyboard work, especially with the synthesizers he incorporated. His use of the Hohner clavinet model C on “Superstition” is widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks featuring the instrument. // Relying less on Motown’s head Berry Gordy for musical direction and expression, Talking Book is often considered as the beginning of the turning point in Wonder’s career from a youthful prodigy to an independent and experimental artist. Speaking on the album in 2000, Wonder said, “It wasn’t so much that I wanted to say anything except where I wanted to just express various many things that I felt—the political point of view that I have, the social point of view that I have, the passions, emotion and love that I felt, compassion, the fun of love that I felt, the whole thing in the beginning with a joyful love and then the pain of love.” // Talking Book peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs chart and finished at number three on the Billboard 200 Albums Year-End of 1972. The album’s first track “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart. The album’s first single, “Superstition”, also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. Talking Book earned Wonder his first Grammy Award, with “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 16th Grammy Awards. “Superstition” also won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.][Stevland Hardaway Morris was born May 13, 1950, and known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Stevie Wonder was the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway’s two children with Calvin Judkins. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind. // When Wonder was four, his mother divorced his father and moved with her (then) three children to Detroit, Michigan, where Wonder sang as a child in a choir at the Whitestone Baptist Church. She changed her name back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son’s surname to Morris, partly because of relatives. Wonder has retained Morris as his legal surname. He began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, and drums. // As a child, Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School. After his first album was released, he enrolled in Michigan School for the Blind.A prominent figure in popular music during the second half of the 20th century, Wonder is one of the most successful songwriters and musicians. A virtual one-man band, his use of synthesizers and further electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He also helped drive the genre into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive, consistent socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Wonder is often hailed as a “genius”, and has been credited as a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk and jazz. // Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy known as Little Stevie Wonder, leading him to sign with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11. In 1963, the single “Fingertips” was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder was 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder’s critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His “classic period” began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring “Superstition”, which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the tied-record holder for the most Album of the Year wins, with three. He is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. // Wonder’s “classic period”, which culminated in 1976, was marked by his funky keyboard style, personal control of production, and use of integrated series of songs to make concept albums. In 1979, Wonder used Computer Music Inc.’s early music sampler, the Melodian, on his soundtrack album Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”. This was his first digital recording and one of the earliest popular albums to use the technology, which Wonder used for all subsequent recordings. The pioneering stylistics of Wonder’s 1970s albums are widely regarded as having influenced the shape of pop music in the following decade. // Wonder has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He has won 22 Grammy Awards. He was the first Motown artist and second African-American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red. Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday in the United States. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.]

11:28 – Underwriting

19. Barry Lee & The Mystic Arrows – “The Rest Of My Life”
    from: A Belated Legacy / Barry Lee / November 27, 2020
    [Written by Dalton Howard. The album is dedicated to the loving emory of Caroline Louise Lee and Helen Virginia Lee. Recorded at Roll Away The Stone studios in Independence, MO. Barry Lee is host of Signal to Noise heard Friday nights at 9:00 here on KKFI 90.1 FM. Barry has been a longtime programmer at KKFI. Barry Lee has organized multiple benefit concerts for KKFI including his annual Beatles Tribute shows, A Tribute to Pete Seeger, and special “Collaborations” recordings. It was while playing in a tribute to Neil Young that Barry and friends formed Broken Arrows, a 5-piece band that has released their multiple records, including “Street Flowers” in August of 2018 to critical acclaim, before the band broke up. Barry Lee is also part of the band The Jubilee Mystics who have released 2 albums.]

11:35 – Interview with Barry Lee

Barry Lee joins us on the phone to share details about his new album, A Belated Legacy, released in November 27, 2020. Barry Lee is part of the Lawrence based band, The Jubilee Mystics, and he has released albums with the band Broken Arrows who were formed after a Neil Young Tribute. Barry Lee is a longtime host & producer of Signal To Noise, heard Friday nights at 9:00 PM on 90.1 FM KKFI. Barry Lee has organized multiple Beatles Tribute Shows, tributes to The Byrds, Pete Seeger and others, as benefits for KKFI where Barry also served as Station Manager for several years.

Barry Lee thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

You released this album as a semi-biographical chronical of your life in this past year of 2020. “The Rest of My Life” was written by a Lawrence area songwriter named Dalton Howard. What can you tell us about dalton and why you included that song.

2020 was a challenging for all of us and Barry survived the year and lived to sing about it.

In Early 2020 Barry Lee contracted COVID – 19. After his recovery he decided to record some songs for a record he wanted to leave behind if he hadn’t survived the plague.

Barry Lee started recording tracks at Roll Away The Stone studios in Independence, MO. In June. These were all songs that meant something to Barry personally. “A Belated Legacy” was produced by Dave Storms

Barry Lee wanted to record with as many musical friends as possible, so you hear Betse Ellis, Clarke Wyatt, Brad Growcock, Scott Gribble, Gary Paredes, Til Willis, Maria Anthony, Paul Lemon, Kristina Ning, Alan Murphy, Fred Potter, Darrell Lea, Dave Tanner, as well as members of Broken Arrows and The Jubilee Mystics on this record.

“Dearest” was the first single release. It was aired over the New Year’s weekend around the world via the syndicated Ice Cream Man radio show. Also, “License To Kill” has aired on Tasty Brew on KKFI and on The Scene on 102.7 FM in KC.

Barry Lee has been working on an anthology of Broken Arrows recordings to come out next year on Big Stir Records in LA. Barry compiled a two cd set of previously unreleased Broken Arrows recordings of cover versions, jams, original songs from scores of hours of rehearsal recordings between the years 2015 and 2019. Barry Lee is releasing “Dearest” b/w “When You Came To Say Goodbye” as a single early this year on Big Stir Records.

“Legacy” was co-written by Barry Lee and Cheri Woods

Barry Lee thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

11:48

20. Barry Lee & The Mystic Arrows – “Legacy”
    from: A Belated Legacy / Barry Lee / November 27, 2020
    [Written by Barry Lee and Cheri Woods. The album is dedicated to the loving emory of Caroline Louise Lee and Helen Virginia Lee. Recorded at Roll Away The Stone studios in Independence, MO. Barry Lee is host of Signal to Noise heard Friday nights at 9:00 here on KKFI 90.1 FM. Barry has been a longtime programmer at KKFI. Barry Lee has organized multiple benefit concerts for KKFI including his annual Beatles Tribute shows, A Tribute to Pete Seeger, and special “Collaborations” recordings. It was while playing in a tribute to Neil Young that Barry and friends formed Broken Arrows, a 5-piece band that has released their multiple records, including “Street Flowers” in August of 2018 to critical acclaim, before the band broke up. Barry Lee is also part of the band The Jubilee Mystics who have released 2 albums.]

21. Lazy Projector – “Windows”
    from: “Windows” – Single / Lazy Projectors / December 4, 2020
    [All music by Lazy Projector. Mixed and Engineered by Tell Pryor. Drums Recorded at Element Studios. Mastered by Mike Wells. “Windows” will be featured on Lazy Projector’s upcoming album to be released in 2021.Lazy Projector released their debut album, “evoco” in 2018. As reported by Michelle Bacon for 90.9 The Bridge when they premiered the new video on December 2, 2020, the new song was “written and recorded shortly after the death of George Floyd, the prismatic video for “Windows” reflects on the protest effort against systemic racism in the middle of the stay-at-home orders.” Band leader and songwriter Aaron Shinn said, “Although many were able to participate in person, others could only be part of the effort through social media and technology, it put into perspective how connected we actually are, even during times when we can feel more isolated than ever. We now have windows into everyone’s lives, cities and homes, and are able to travel miles through them.” More info at http://www.lazyprojector.com]

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

Next week, on Wednesday, January 27 we will play more New & MidCoastal Releases. PLUS, we’ll talk with Lily B. Moonflower about her new single on Lost Cowgirl Records. We’ll also talk with Jeremiah James Gonzales and Jill McKeever join us to share new music from their band Redder Moon. AND, We also talk with singer songwriter Charlotte Baumgarner about her new singles being released through Manor Records.

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

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

Show #873

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

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

New & MidCoastal Releases
Sam Wells + Barry Lee

Mark plays more New & MidCoastal Releases from: Monta At Odds, Charlotte Bumgarner, Ivy Roots, Grand Marquis, Miss Boating, Christena Graves, No Thanks, Kian Byrne, Sam Wells, Mensa Deathsquad, BCCC, Lazy Projector, The Hermanos Brothers, Regina Del Carmen, Barry Lee, Maggie Rogers, We Are KING, and Stevie Wonder.

At 11:00 we will talk with Sam Wells a songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri. Sam 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. Sam Wells released of her debut EP, For The Deflated, on December 31, 2020 on French Exit Records. more info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com

At 11:30 we talk with musician, song writer, radio show host & producer, Barry Lee who shares details about his new album, A Belated Legacy, released in December 2020. Barry Lee is part of the Lawrence based band, The Jubilee Mystics, and he has released three albums with the band Broken Arrows who were formed after a Neil Young Tribute. Barry Lee is a longtime host & producer of Signal To Noise, heard Friday nights at 9:00 PM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. Barry Lee has organized multiple Beatles Tribute Shows, and tributes to The Byrds, and Pete Seeger all as benefits for KKFI where Barry also served as Station Manager for several years.

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

Show #873

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

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

WMM Celebrates MLK

Wednesday MidDay Medley celebrates the life of human rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born Jan. 15, 1929.

MLK led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, was a cofounder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, and served as it’s first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. King delivered his, “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination thru civil disobedience and non-violent means.

By the time of his death in 1968, Dr. King had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War. King was assassinated, April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 198I. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday is Friday, January 15, 2021 The Dr. Martin Luther King Day – National Holiday is Monday January 18, 2021.

As Pete Seeger wrote: “Songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail.”

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

2. Soweto Gospel Choir – “Pride (In The Name of Love)”
   from: In the Name of Love – Africa Celebrates U2 / Shout! Factory Records / 2008
   [Formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi & Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30-member ensemble blends African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae and American popular music. The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela and has toured internationally. Their albums Blessed and African Spirit won Grammy Awards for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2007 and 2008.]

3. International Noise Conspiracy / MLK Jr. – “The First Conspiracy / Let Freedom Ring”
   from: Adbusters – Live Without Dead Time / Adbusters / 2003
   [The (International) Noise Conspiracy (abbreviated T(I)NC) were a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén (vocals), Inge Johansson (bass), Lars Strömberg (guitar), and Ludwig Dahlberg (drums). The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance. Influenced by a quote from 1960’s folk singer Phil Ochs, according to lead singer Lyxzén, the band wanted to achieve an ideal blend of music and politics that was, “a cross between Elvis Presley and Che Guevara.”]

4. Labelle – “Something in The Air / The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
   from: Something Silver / Warner Archives / 1997
   [orig. Pressure Cookin’ / 1973, 3rd album from the funk/soul trio of: Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash who each shared a rap on “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. It was the B-side to Scott-Heron’s first single, “Home Is Where the Hatred Is”, from his album Pieces of a Man (1971). “Something in the Air” is a song orig. recorded by Thunderclap Newman, a band created by Pete Townshend for The Who’s former roadie John ‘Speedy’ Keen who wrote and sang the song. It was a UK #1 single for three weeks in July 1969.]

10:14 – Soul Brother…

MLK said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

MLK said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

5. Curtis Mayfield – “Beautiful Brother of Mine”
   from: Roots / Curtom-Buddah / October, 1971
   [2nd solo release from Curtis Mayfield, born in Chicago, June 3, 1942. One of the most influential musicians behind soul & politically conscious African-American music. Mayfield started his musical career in a gospel choir. Moving to the North Side of Chicago he met Jerry Butler in 1956 at the age of 14, and joined vocal group The Impressions. As a songwriter, Mayfield became noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prevalent themes of social awareness into soul music. In 1965, he wrote “People Get Ready” for The Impressions, which displayed his more politically charged songwriting. After leaving The Impressions in 1970, Mayfield released several albums, including the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Super Fly in 1972. The soundtrack was noted for its socially conscious themes, mostly addressing problems surrounding inner city minorities such as crime, poverty and drug abuse. Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after lighting equipment fell on him during a live performance at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1990. Despite this, he continued his career as a recording artist, releasing his final album, New World Order, in 1996. Mayfield won a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995, and was a double inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of the Impressions in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. He was also a 2-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. He died from complications of type 2 diabetes, Dec 26, 1999, at 57.]

6. Maceo & The Macks – “Soul Power ’74”
   from: James Brown’s Funky People, Pt. 2 / People Records / 1988
   [This record is sampled more than crackers and cheese at Costco, it contains samples itself in the form of tape overlays of civil rights rallies, a Dr. King speech, and an announcement of King’s assassination. Maceo Parker played saxophone with James Brown, Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and Prince.]

7. Sweet Honey in The Rock, Aaron Neville, Lamar Campbell & Spirit of Praise -“Ella’s Song”
   from: Soundtrack to Boycott / HBO / 2001
   [Critically acclaimed 2001 film staring Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Terrence Howard as Ralph Abernathy, and CCH Pounder as Jo Ann Robinson.]

10:26 – Underwriting

10:30 – King’s Life, Death, and Spirit…

MLK said, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

8. Mahalia Jackson – “How I Got Over”
   from: The Original Apollo Sessions / Couch & Madison Partners / May 25, 2013
   [Gospel hymn composed & published in 1951 by Clara Ward (1924-1973). It was performed by Mahalia Jackson at the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 before 250,000 people. Mahalia Jackson (Oct. 26, 1911 – Jan. 27, 1972) was referred to as “The Queen of Gospel”. She became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world, heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as “the single most powerful black woman in the United States”. She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen “golds”—million-sellers. “I sing God’s music because it makes me feel free,” Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, adding, “It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues.”]

9. Martin Luther King Jr. – “MLK – I Have A Dream 1963 (excerpt)”
   from: Inspirational Speeches, Vo. 3 / Orange Leisure / May 16, 2011
   [American civil rights leader/activist and Baptist minister, born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King’s speeches have been issued on numerous releases – his most well-known and influential address being “I Have a Dream”, which was held during “The March on Washington” in 1963. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.]

10. Marian Anderson – “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
    from: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands / BMG / Orig. 1961 [Reissued 1991]
    [Marian Anderson (Feb 27, 1897 – Apr. 8, 1993) was one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. In 1939, the (DAR) refused to let Anderson sing in Constitution Hall. With the aid of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anderson performed a critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. before a crowd of more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions. Anderson became the first black person, to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC on Jan. 7, 1955. Anderson worked as a delegate to the UN Human Rights Committee and “goodwill ambassadress” for the U.S. Dept. of State, giving concerts all over the world. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Anderson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.]

11. Tramaine Hawkins, Ella Mitchell, Billy Porter & Chorus -“Rocka My Soul”
    from: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre “Revelations” / V2 / 1998
    [Revelations is the signature choreographic work of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was first produced by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in New York City, New York on January 31, 1960. Revelations tells the story of African-American faith and tenacity from slavery to freedom through a suite of dances set to spirituals and blues music. It’s been performed in over 70 countries in the half century since then and has been described as “the most widely seen modern dance work in the world.” The finale song of the three part “Revelations” is “Rocka My Soul In The Bosom Of Abraham” and it has been described by writer Juliana Lewis-Ferguson as a, “spiritually powerful conclusion to the suite and a purely physical release of emotion.”]

12. The Swan Silvertones – “Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep”
    from: Platinum Gospel: The Swan Silvertones / Sonorous Entertainment / 2012 (1959)
    [“Mary Don’t You Weep” (alternately titled “O Mary Don’t You Weep”, “Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep, Don’t You Mourn”, or variations thereof) is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War – thus it is what scholars call a “slave song,” “a label that describes their origins among the enslaved,” and it contains “coded messages of hope and resistance.” It is one of the most important of Negro spirituals. The song tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. Other narratives relate to The Exodus and the Passage of the Red Sea, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh’s army got drown-ded!, and to God’s rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood. With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, a song that explicitly chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, “If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus”, written by Charles Neblett of The Freedom Singers, was sung to this tune and became one of the most well-known songs of that movement. In 2015 it was announced that The Swan Silvertones’s version of the song will be inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry for the song’s “cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy”. The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1915. The best known recordings were made by the vocal gospel group The Caravans in 1958, with Inez Andrews as the lead singer, and The Swan Silvertones in 1959. “Mary Don’t You Weep” became The Swan Silvertones’ greatest hit, and lead singer Claude Jeter’s interpolation “I’ll be a bridge over deep water if you trust in my name” served as Paul Simon’s inspiration to write his 1970 song “Bridge over Troubled Water”.The spiritual’s lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time inspired the title for The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin’s 1963 account of race relations in America.]

13. Krystle Warren – “Red Clay”
    from: Three The Hard Way / Parlour Door Music / August 18, 2017
    [Produced by Krystle Warren and Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King, PJ Morton). Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Ben Kane. Written & performed by Krystle Warren. Mixed at The Garden, Brooklyn. Mastered & cut by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk. Last year in Krystle Warren premiered this song and her other 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 Johnsons 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 radio show last year Krystle shared inspirations for this record, early gospel recordings, that crossed over into Jazz from Pharoah Sanders, Edwin Hawkins, and The Swan Silvertones. 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.]

10:47 – Freedom…

MLK said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

14. Nina Simone -“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”
    from: Silk and Soul / RCA / 1967
    [Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933. She died on April 21, 2003. Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist who worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Born in North Carolina, the sixth child of a preacher, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist. With the help of the few supporters in her hometown of Tryon, North Carolina, she enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in NYC. Simone recorded more than 40 albums. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” is a gospel/jazz song written by Billy Taylor & “Dick Dallas.”]

15. Solomon Burke – “None Of Us Are Free”
    from: Don’t Give Up On Me / Fat Possum / 2002
    [Back up singers: The Blind Boys of Alabama. Born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940, Solomon Burke died October 10, 2010. He was an American preacher & singer, who shaped the sound of rhythm & blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s and a “key transitional figure in the development of soul music from rhythm & blues. During the 55 years that he performed professionally, Burke released 38 studio albums on at least 17 record labels and had 35 singles that charted in the US, including 26 singles that made the Billboard R&B charts. In 2001, Burke was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a performer. His album Don’t Give Up on Me won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003. By 2005 Burke was credited with selling 17 million albums.]

16. Nina Simone – “I Shall Be Released”
    from: To Love Somebody / RCA / 1967
    [1 of 3 Bob Dylan songs Nina Simone performed for this album. Written by Dylan in 1967. The Band recorded the first officially-released version of the song for their 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink, with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko & Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus. The song was also performed near the end of the Band’s 1976 farewell concert, The Last Waltz, in which all the night’s performers (except of Muddy Waters) plus Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood appeared on the same stage.]

11:00 – Station I.D.

11:00 – The Staple Singers & Bobby Watson and “Unpaid Bills”

MLK said, “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining… We demand this fraud be stopped.”

17. Pops Staples – “You Gotta Serve Somebody”
    from: e-town live volume 3 / e-town / December 18, 2002
    [Recorded Sept. 16, 1994, Live in Boulder]
    [Originally written by Bob Dylan. Roebuck “Pops” Staples was born on a cotton plantation near Winona, Mississippi, on Dec. 28, 1914, the youngest of 14 children. When growing up he heard, and began to play with, local blues guitarists such as Charlie Patton, who lived on the nearby Dockery Plantation, Robert Johnson, and Son House. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade, and sang with a gospel group before marrying and moving to Chicago in 1935. A “pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 70s,” and an accomplished songwriter, guitarist and singer. Patriarch of The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha.]

18. Mavis Staples – “Down in Mississippi”
    from: Live – Hope At The Hideout / Anti / 2008 [Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Mavis Staples, of The Staple Singers, is a celebrated equal rights activist. She’s performed at inaugural parties for Presidents Kennedy, Carter and Clinton, Recorded in June, 2008, in the run up to the Presidential election of Barrack Obama. Recorded live in the intimate bar The Hideout, in her hometown of Chicago. Mavis Staples, marched, sang & protested alongside Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.]

19. The Staple Singers – “When Will We Be Paid”
    from: Single / Stax (Fantasy / Ace) / 1967
    [The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group from Chicago who signed their first professional contract in 1952. Roebuck “Pops” Staples (1914–2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (1934–2013), Pervis (b. 1935), Yvonne (1936-2018), and Mavis (b. 1939). They are best-remembered for their 1970s hits “Respect Yourself”, “I’ll Take You There”, “If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)”, and “Let’s Do It Again”. In 1999 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005 the group was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The family began appearing in Chicago-area churches in 1948, and signed their first professional contract in 1952. They signed with United Records, then Vee-Jay, Riverside, Epic and, eventually, the black-owned indie Stax Records label where they hit their most fertile commercial peak. In 1967, on Columbia subsidiary Epic, the Staple Singers first began moving into mainstream pop markets with “Why (Am I Treated So Bad)” and “For What It’s Worth” (written by Stephen Stills). In 1968, the Staple Singers signed to Stax and released two albums recorded with Steve Cropper of Booker T & the MG’s fame – Soul Folk in Action and We’ll Get Over. By 1970, Al Bell had become producer, and the family began recording at the famed Muscle Shoals studio, moving in a more funk and soul direction. The first Stax hit was “Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)”. In 1972, the group had a No. 1 hit in the United States with “I’ll Take You There.” Their 1972 recording on Stax of “Respect Yourself,” written by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, was number 2 on the R&B charts and a Top 40 pop hit as well. The song’s theme of self-empowerment had universal appeal, released in the period immediately following the intense American civil rights movement of the 1960s. During this Stax period they appeared at a 1972 summer concert at the LA Memorial Coliseum attended by 100,000 people and documented in the 1973 film and soundtrack album Wattstax. The Staple Singers then signed to Curtom, Curtis Mayfield’s imprint, and released the soundtrack to a comedy film co-starring Bill Cosby called “Let’s Do It Again”. The soundtrack was produced by Mayfield; and the title song was a huge hit in 1975. After this, however, they were not able to regain their commercial momentum, releasing occasional minor hits, and moving from label to label including Warner Brothers and 20th Century before returning to Epic in the mid 80s. Lead singer Mavis Staples began a fruitful solo career in earnest that continues to this day and involves live performing with her sister Yvonne Staples. The other daughters in the group who did not pursue solo careers were Pervis Staples, and Cleotha Staples. In 1994, the family made this final recording of a duet with Mary Stuart (reprising their Last Watz style backing on a cover of “The Weight” by The Band), somewhat re-establishing an audience. Pops Staples died in December 2000. Cleotha Staples died in Chicago on February 21, 2013. Yvonne Staples died in April 2018.]

20. Bobby Watson & The I Have a Dream Project–”Check Cashing Day” [feat. Glenn North]
    from: Check Cashing Day / Lafiya Music / Digital – Aug. 28, 2013 / Physical – Nov. 12, 2013
    [From wikipedia.org: “Bobby Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, August 23, 1953. he is an American post-bop jazz alto saxophonist, composer, producer, and educator. Watson now has 27 recordings as a leader. He appears on nearly 100 other recordings as either co-leader or in a supporting role. Watson has recorded more than 100 original compositions. Watson grew up in Bonner Springs and Kansas City, Kansas.]

21. Janelle Monáe – “Turntables”
    from: Turntables (from the Amazon Original Movie “All In: The Fight for Democracy”) – Single / Badboy Records / September 4, 2020
    [All In: The Fight for Democracy is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. The film revolves around voter suppression. Stacey Abrams worked with Garbus and Cortés on the film. It was released in a limited theatrical release on September 9, 2020, followed by digital streaming on Prime Video on September 18, 2020, by Amazon Studios. Originally, Abrams, a Georgia state representative, did not intend to be part of the film; eventually she agreed to include her gubernatorial race as part of the story. // Janelle Monáe Robinson was born on December 1, 1985 in Kansas City, Kansas and was raised in a working-class community of Kansas City, Quindaro. Her mother, Janet, worked as a janitor and a hotel maid. Her father, Michael Robinson Summers, was a truck driver. Monáe’s parents separated when Monáe was a toddler and her mother later married a postal worker. Monáe has a younger sister, Kimmy, from their mother’s remarriage. // Monáe was raised Baptist and learned to sing at a local church. Her family members were musicians and performers at the local AME church, the Baptist church, and the Church of God in Christ. Monáe dreamed of being a singer and a performer from a very young age, and has cited the fictional character of Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz as a musical influence. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which Monáe bought two copies of with her first check, was another source of inspiration. She performed songs from the album on Juneteenth talent shows, winning three years in a row. // As a teenager, Monáe was enrolled in the Coterie Theater’s Young Playwrights’ Round Table, which began writing musicals. One musical, completed when she was around the age of 12, was inspired by the 1979 Stevie Wonder album Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”. // Monáe attended F. L. Schlagle High School, and after high school, moved to New York City to study musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she was the only black woman in her class. Monáe enjoyed the experience, but feared that she might lose her edge and “sound, or look or feel like anybody else”. In a 2010 interview Monáe explained, “I felt like that was a home but I wanted to write my own musicals. I didn’t want to have to live vicariously through a character that had been played thousands of times – in a line with everybody wanting to play the same person.” // After a year and a half, Monáe dropped out of the academy and relocated to Atlanta, enrolling in Perimeter College at Georgia State University. She began writing her own music and performing around the campus. In 2003, Monáe self-released a demo album titled The Audition, which she sold out of the trunk of a Mitsubishi Galant. During this period, Monáe became acquainted with songwriters and producers Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder. The three would eventually form the Wondaland Arts Collective. She worked at an Office Depot but was fired for answering a fan’s e-mail using a company computer, an incident that inspired the song “Lettin’ Go”, which in turn attracted the attention of Big Boi. // Janelle Monáe Robinson (/moʊˈneɪ/; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. Monáe is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Monáe won an MTV Video Music Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2010. Monáe was also honored with the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2015 and the Trailblazer of the Year Award in 2018. In 2012, Monáe became a CoverGirl spokesperson. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 “Janelle Monáe Day” in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership. // Monáe’s musical career began in 2003 upon releasing a demo album titled The Audition. In 2007, Monáe publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). It peaked at number two on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in 2010, through Bad Boy Records, Monáe released a first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album and sequel to her first EP. In 2011, Monáe was featured as a guest vocalist on fun.’s single “We Are Young”, which achieved major commercial success, topping the charts of more than ten countries and garnering Monáe a wider audience. Her second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in 2013 and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, serving as the fourth and fifth installments of the seven-part Metropolis concept series. // In 2016, Monáe made her theatrical film debut in two high-profile productions; Monáe starred in Hidden Figures as NASA mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson, and also starred in Moonlight. Hidden Figures was a box office success, while Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 89th annual ceremony. Monáe’s third studio album, Dirty Computer, also described as a concept album, was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim; it was chosen as the best album of the year by several publications and earned Monáe two nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and was further promoted by Monáe’s Dirty Computer Tour, which lasted from June to August 2018.]

22. Calvin Arsenia – “Scars & Stripes”
    from: Summer in Hindsight / Calvin Arsenia & Mike Dillon / October 16, 2020
    [Soundtrack by Calvin Arsenia and Mike Dillon for The West 18th Street Fashion Show’s 20th year as a feature-length film. COVID-19 changed everything in 2020. “We are moving it from the street to the screen,” says Peregrine Honig to inkansascitymagazine. “Mike Dillon and Calvin Arsenia will be scoring and performing in the film.” The film premiered October 16, 2020 at The Boulevard Drive-In. Honig wrote,. “We did this during a pandemic and a cultural revolution. I am not sure where else or how else this could happen at this moment in history.” Calvin Arsenia had recently been emotionally and greatly moved by the area and national Black Lives Matter Movement. His own research into his own family revealed that Calvin’s great, great, great grandmother Alice Gilliam Scott, was a former slave who lived to observe her 100th birthday as noted by a regional newspaper Calvin had written. In the summer of 2020 Calvin wrote “Revelation” an unreleased track inspired by Black Lives Matter. Calvin premiered the song on WMM on August 12, 2020. He later shared his other new songs, “Scars and Stripes” and “The Flying Monkees are Coming!” on our October 14, 2020 edition of WMM. Both of those songs ended up on Summer in Hindsight. Calvin Arsenia was our guest on WMM on August 12 and October 14, 2020. 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’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.” Congratulations to Calvin & his fantastic team of co-conspirators & creators: Khitam Jabr, John P. Beatty, Ignacio Galarza III, Ashlee Fairchild Jones, production assistants, & crew. The Toxic music video earned its sixth set of laurels as an official selection of the L.A. Music Video Awards, where they were nominated for Best Music Video, Best Cover Song & Best Male Vocalist. More info at: http://www.calvinarsenia.com]

11:25 – Underwriting

23. The Black Creatures – “wretched (it goes)”
    from: “wretched (it goes)” – Single / Center Cut Records / July 17, 2020 [remastered]
    [“wretched (it goes)” was originally released on The Black Creatures 2019 album Wild Echoes. Recently released as a single in collaboration with Center Cut Records who remixed a few of the songs, and added some new vocals, and remastered the album. Although it is basically the same record, the sound quality is improved. Center Cut Records plan to release the full remastered album on August 28 2020. The Black Creatures are Jade Green & Xavier Martin. The band joined us on the radio on the August 26 edition of WMM. “Wild Echoes” was #2 in WMM’s 119 Favorite Releases of 2019 (Albums & EPs). Since the release of ”Wild Echoes” the band has released seven entirely new songs, nearly one per month, all posted to their bandcamp page. The Black Creatures fuse dark-pop hip-hop, soul, jazz, and electronic music with elements from science fiction to tell inter-dimensional stories of love, community, life, culture, history. Xavier & Jade have made an impression in the KC music community with their live shows in clubs, galleries, record stores, and area music festivals. The Black Creatures released their debut single “Mouth 2 Mouth” June 5, 2016. They released the album, See No Evil, December 6, 2017. The duo released the singles, “Elements” February 14, 2018; “Silver Tears” June 19. 2018; “Dare” a Gorillaz cover August 8, 2019. They released the album “Wild Echoes” September 30, 2019. The Black Creatures released the singles “Turn” October 30, 2019; “Quartz (Twilight)” November 13, 2019; “SHINE” December 11, 2019; Ghost Bustin’ Dead Prezidentz” January 8, 2020; “To Whom It May Concern” January 22, 2020; “Arcade Love” February 5, 2020; and “Run Up” Feb. 19, 2020.]

24. H.E.R. – “I Can’t Breathe”
    from: “I Can’t Breathe” – Single / RCA-Sony Records / June 19, 2020
    [Gabriella Wilson was born June 27, 1997. She is known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced “her”, a backronym for Having Everything Revealed). She is an American singer and songwriter. Before gaining notability as H.E.R., Wilson rose to fame by participating in Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing in 2009. She later signed to RCA Records at the age of 14 and released the single “Something to Prove” under her real name in 2014. Wilson re-emerged in 2016 with the H.E.R. persona, releasing her debut EP H.E.R. Volume 1. She then released subsequent EPs H.E.R. Volume 2 (2017), The B Sides (2017), I Used to Know Her: The Prelude (2018) and I Used to Know Her: Part 2 (2018). Her first compilation album H.E.R. was released in October 2017, consisting of tracks from the singer’s first two EPs plus six additional songs. H.E.R. was nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019, winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album. // In 2020, she was nominated for five awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for I Used to Know Her and Song of the Year for “Hard Place”. On September 20, 2020, she sang Sinéad O’Connor’s version of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U”, for the In Memoriam segment of the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. // Wilson was born in Vallejo, California to a Filipina mother and an African-American father. Raised in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, she was introduced to the public as an artist as a young child, covering Alicia Keys on piano on the Today Show, before competing on Radio Disney’s The Next BIG Thing when she was 12 years old. // Addressing the secrecy over her identity, she has said: “The mystery is a metaphor for who I am, or who I was at the time of creating the project… I feel like oftentimes we don’t like to be open as people about our emotions or things that we are going through. At the time [of recording], I was very closed off except for when I was writing or when I was in the studio.” // She explained further: “I am a voice for women who feel like they’re alone in these situations. This project came from emotion, and that’s what I want it to be about – not what I look like or who I’m with, but the raw emotion and support for women.” To NPR she said, “I feel like this is the era of the anti-star. I really just wanted it to be about the music, and get away from, ‘Who is she with?’ and ‘What is she wearing?'” // After being signed to RCA under Sony at the age of 14, Wilson released a single in 2014 titled “Something to Prove” under her real name. // Re-emerging in late 2016 with a new persona, Wilson released her debut EP, H.E.R. Vol. 1 on September 9, 2016, produced by songwriter David “Swagg R’Celious” Harris. She received support from Usher, Tyrese, Pusha T, and Wyclef Jean; labelmates Alicia Keys and Bryson Tiller helped get the word out through Twitter co-signs, shoutouts, and re-posts. In April 2017, Rihanna posted an Instagram clip with H.E.R.’s track “Focus” playing in the background. The clip has been viewed over 5 million times. Additional public support came from Issa Rae of HBO’s Insecure, Taraji P. Henson of Empire, Kylie Jenner, and Kendall Jenner. // NPR listed H.E.R. Vol. 1 as the first selection in its “5 Essential R&B Albums You Slept On”. Calling the music “Slow-burning R&B that zooms in on emotional highs and lows,” Rolling Stone included H.E.R. in its March 2017 “10 Artists You Need To Know” roundup. Forbes named her one of “5 Alternative R&B Artists to Look Out for in 2017”, reporting: “In the same vein as The Weeknd’s enigmatic introduction to the world, H.E.R.’s image remains a mystery. The irony, though, is that her moniker is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed.” // Wilson’s follow-up EP, H.E.R. Vol. 2 (2017) also produced by Harris, was released on June 16, 2017 and includes the single “Say It Again”. Also in 2017, she was on tour with Bryson Tiller for the Set It Off tour, and concluded her first headlining tour, the Lights On Tour, in support of her most recent effort H.E.R. Vol. 2. She released H.E.R. Vol. 2, The B Sides (2017), also produced by Swagg R’Celious on October 20, 2017 along with the single titled 2, released on October 13, 2017. The compilation album H.E.R. was released on October 20, 2017, comprising the songs from each of the three EP’s in this series. The album won Best R&B Album and received four other nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist for H.E.R. // Wilson announced on September 12, 2018, she will be embarking on the “I Used to Know H.E.R. Tour” in support of her EP series I Used to Know Her: The Prelude and I Used to Know Her: Part 2. Her second compilation album I Used to Know Her was released on August 30, 2019. ]

25. The Freedom Affair – “Rise Up”
    from: Freedom is Love / Sunflower Soul Records / September 25, 2020
    [Debut album from KC’s newest soul juggernaut. The album explores themes of love, heartache, empowerment, and togetherness through a varying landscape of hard-hitting funk, luscious soul, and everything in between. The Freedom Affair is a unique collective featuring 3 powerhouse female vocalists in front of a dynamic 6-piece band. On “Freedom Is Love”, each of the ladies get their time to shine individually, but the magic is on full display when all 3 come together in unison and harmony, symbolically embodying the messages that they sing about. The album was recorded and produced by Chris Hazelton, utilizing the best of vintage and new recording technologies to create an authentic experience, befitting of a soul record that would have been relevant 50 years ago as much as it will be 50 years from now. The Freedom Affair is: Misha Roberts on vocals; Paula Saunders on vocals; Seyko Groves on vocals; Cole Bales on guitar, sitar (Track 3); Branden Moser on guitar; Chris Hazelton on bass guitar, organ (Tracks 1, 2, 9, & 10), Tambourine (Track 1), Glockenspiel (Track 3), & Chimes (Track 4); Dave Brick on drums; Pete Carroll on trumpet; Brett Jackson on tenor sax, baritone sax (Tracks 1 & 5), & tambourine (Tracks 5, 6, & 8). Additional Musicians: Pat Conway on Congas (Tracks 1, 3, & 6), Alyssa Bell on viola (Tracks 3, 4, & 7), Elizabeth Codd on violin (Tracks 3 & 4), Matt Bennett on violin (Tracks 3 & 7), John Wickersham on timpani (Track 4), Pamela Baskin-Watson on piano (Track 10), Nick Howell on tambourine (Track 10), The Freedom Family Choir (Track 10): Misha Roberts, Erica Hazelton, Seyko Groves, Paula Saunders, Jordyn Saunders, Cole Bales, and Chris Hazelton. All Horn & String Arrangements by Chris Hazelton except: “Heartaches Don’t Come Easy” and “Give A Little Love” by Pete Carroll & Brett Jackson “Don’t Shoot” by Chris Hazelton & Allyssa Bell. Produced, Recorded, & Mixed by Chris Hazelton. Assistant Produced by Dave Brick. Rhythm Section on Track 10 recorded by Chad Meise. Mastered by JJ Golden. Cover Artwork by Matthew “Mo” Manley. Front cover photograph of civil rights protesters in Kansas City, MO (April 9th, 1968). The Freedom Affair and their track “Rise Up” were selected to be part of Colemine Records 3xLP box set, “Soul Slabs Vol. 2” a Record Store Day Exclusive, released April 13, 2019. Colemine writes: “The Freedom Affair is a freight train of KC soul! Dirty, funky drums, gritty horns, and the combined vocals of Misha Roberts, Seyko Groves, and Paula Saunders to put this band over the top. Politically charged soul music for the dancefloor!”]

11:43:43 – Gospel & Folk Music Carried the Message…

26. Pete Seeger – “We Shall Overcome”
    from: The Essential Pete Seeger / Columbia – Legacy / 2004
    [Derived from a gospel song by Reverend Charles Tindley called “We Will Overcome” written in 1901. Adapted and made famous by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and others the song became central to the civil rights movement of the 1950 and 1960s and eventually used all around the world. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made use of “we shall overcome” in the final Sunday March 31, 1968 speech before his assassination.]

27. Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion – “Dr. King”
    from: exploration / New West / 2005
    [written by Pete Seeger][Sarah Lee Guthrie was born February 17, 1979 and Johnny Irion was born February 3, 1969. They are a musical duo. Guthrie and Irion were married on October 16, 1999 and began performing together as an acoustic duo in the fall of 2000. Their music combined Irion’s love of rock and blues with Guthrie’s roots of folk and country. Guthrie is the youngest daughter of folksinger Arlo Guthrie and the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie. As a third generation singer/songwriter Guthrie released her first self-titled album on the family owned and operated Rising Son Records in 2002. As a child she was involved in theater and dance. Her interest in music was sparked when she worked as her father’s road manager on the 1997 Further Festival tour and saw other members of the tour group having fun at late-night hootenannies. She picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing as a way to join in on the fun. “I always wrote poems, so it wasn’t that far off for me to turn that into songs.” “My dad was absolutely thrilled, of course, and would teach me stuff every day when we were on the road together. That was a really cool way to get to know my dad, because I’d never known him that way. And that’s another thing that made it easy: my dad was so supportive.” Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion performing live for Valentine’s Day 2008 at Tales From The Tavern at The Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, CA. Irion originates from a family of artists. His uncle is author Thomas Steinbeck, his great uncle is author John Steinbeck, and his grandmother, Rubilee Knight, is a classical violinist. His late grandfather, Fred Knight, sang tenor in numerous venues. Irion and Guthrie met through a mutual friend (Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes) while the two were working together in Los Angeles. In 1999 Guthrie and Irion joined guitarist Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, grandson of Pete Seeger, and performed as a trio under the name RIG.]

28. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – “This Land is Your Land”
    from: Naturally / Daptone / 2005
    [written by Woody Guthrie, Sarah Lee’s Grandfather.]
    [In November 2016, Sharon Jones suffered a stroke while watching the 2016 United States presidential election results and another the following day. Jones remained alert and lucid during the initial period of her hospital stay, jokingly claiming that the news of Donald Trump’s victory was responsible for her stroke. She died on November 18, 2016, in Cooperstown, New York, aged 60. Sharon Lafaye Jones was born May 4, 1956 and died this year on November 18, 2016. She was an American soul and funk singer. Although she collaborated with Lou Reed, David Byrne and others, she is best known as lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced breakthrough success relatively late in life, releasing her first record when she was 40 years old. In 2014, Jones was nominated for her first Grammy, in the category Best R&B Album, for Give the People What They Want. Jones was born in Augusta, Georgia, the daughter of Ella Mae Price Jones and Charlie Jones, living in adjacent North Augusta, South Carolina. Jones was the youngest of six children; her siblings are Dora, Charles, Ike, Willa and Henry. Jones’s mother raised her deceased sister’s four children as well as her own. She moved the family to New York City when Sharon was a young child. As children, she and her brothers would often imitate the singing and dancing of James Brown. Her mother happened to know Brown, who was also from Augusta.Jones grew up in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In 1975, she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. She attended Brooklyn College. A regular gospel singer in church, Jones often entered talent shows backed by local funk bands in the early 1970s. Session work then continued with backing vocals, often credited to Lafaye Jones, but in the absence of any recording contract as a solo singer, she spent many years working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island and as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo, until receiving a mid-life career break in 1996 after she appeared on a session backing the soul and deep funk legend Lee Fields. Sharon Jones was part of the very beginning of Daptone Records Daptone Records’ first release was a full-length album by Sharon Jones. A new band, the Dap-Kings, was formed from the former members of the Soul Providers and the Mighty Imperials. Some of the musicians went on to record for Lehman’s Soul Fire label, while some formed the Budos Band, an Afro-beat band. From the original Soul Providers, Roth (also known as Bosco Mann) on bass, guitarist and emcee Binky Griptite, percussionist Fernando Velez, trumpet player Anda Szilagyi and organist Earl Maxton were joined by original Mighty Imperials saxophonist Leon Michels and drummer Homer Steinweiss, plus Neal Sugarman from Sugarman 3, to form The Dap-Kings. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, the released the album Dap Dippin’ with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in May of 2002, , for which they received immediate attention and acclaim from enthusiasts, DJs and collectors. Next they released, Naturally (2005), 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007) and I Learned the Hard Way (2010). They are seen by many as the spearhead of a revival of soul and funk.]

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

Next week, on January 20 we talk with Sam Wells and Barry Lee.

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

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

Show #872

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

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

WMM Celebrates MLK

WMM celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born January 15, 1929. Dr. King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death, Dr. King had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1981.

Mark plays music of the movement from: The Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, Marian Anderson, Mavis Staples, Pops Staples, Bobby Watson & The I Have A Dream Project featuring Glenn North, Krystle Warren, The Freedom Affair, Calvin Arsenia, The Black Creatures, H.E.R., Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Labelle, Curtis Mayfield, Maceo & The Macks, The Swan Silvertones, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Aaron Neville, Soweto Gospel Choir, International Noise Conspiracy, Tramaine Hawkins, Ella Mitchell, Billy Porter, Solomon Burke, Nina Simone, Pete Seeger, and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion.

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STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org

Show #872