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, August 13, 2025

The World of Lotuspool Records with Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi

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. Zoom – “Balboa’s Cannon”
   from: Helium Octipede / Lotuspool / October 5, 2018
   [Helium Octipede originally released in 1993 by Tim Kerr Records, the same label that William S. Burroughs was on at the time. Lotuspool re-released Helium Octipede in 2018, which included a 180 gram vinyl release of the album. I picked this song because Zoom is our flagship band. They were the reason we started the label. It was their EP, “Rockin’ In Rio” that inspired us all to move to Lawrence to start the label. Oddly enough, Lotuspool didn’t release the Rockin’ in Rio EP till 2018, when we released it on 8-track and digital. // Mark Henning on vocals, guitar & percussion; Jeremy Sidener on vocals, bass, & percussion; Chris Cosgrove on drums, bass & percussion; Steve Tubbert on guitar, percussion & other [Radon]. Produced June 1-9, 1993 at Zeno studios, Phoenix, AZ.]

10:03

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. 
I’m Mark Manning. Today we’ll welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is the co-founder of Lotuspool Records. He also is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters who released their 7th album, the 13 track album, Suneaters IV: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fingers, on September 23, 2022. Lotuspool Records, was born in 1992. Chris writes “We started the label when we were very young, and the bands that were on it were very young, too,” he reported. “Back then, you could put out an indie record and get a lot of attention and press. At that time, there was a lot of support for indie music. Around 2000, Lotuspool went on an unofficial hiatus. The label was never inactive, but Garibaldi spent most of 2000s doing Los Angeles connected gigs. In 2011, Chris Garibaldi relocated to Parkville, he and Scott Hartley — bassist in the Suneaters — brought a new vision for Lotuspool Records. The label has been the home for releases for Heidi Lynne Gluck, The Bump Band, Bully Pulpit, The Whips, Poster Children, Zoom, Voice of Action, June Henry, Hollow Body, Chris Cardwel, and many others This year the label is celebrating 33 years!

Chris Garibaldi, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Chris: We will spin tracks from: Heidi Lynne Gluck, James Grauerholz, June Henry, Krafty LoveLordz, Suneaters, Bully Pulpit, Poster Children, Panel Door, Hum, The Bump Band, The Whips, Mild 7, and Voice of Action.

We started with Zoom – “Balboa’s Cannon”

Chris: I picked this song because Zoom is our flagship band. They were the reason we started the label. It was their EP, “Rockin’ In Rio” that inspired us all to move to Lawrence to start the label. Oddly enough, Lotuspool didn’t release the Rockin’ in Rio EP till 2018, when we released it on 8-track and digital.

Zoom was Mark Henning on vocals, guitar & percussion; Jeremy Sidener on vocals, bass, & percussion; Chris Cosgrove on drums, bass & percussion; Steve Tubbert on guitar, percussion & other [Radon]. Produced June 1-9, 1993 at Zeno studios, Phoenix, AZ.

Heidi Lynne Gluck – Pony Show / Lotuspool Records / August 26, 2016

Chris: “Title track from Heidi’s 2016 release on Lotuspool. This was another 180 gram vinyl release and is one of the best albums we’ve ever released. I’m a huge Heidi fan.”

10:10

3. Heidi Lynne Gluck – “Pony Show”
   from: Pony Show / Lotuspool Records / August 26, 2016
   [Chris: “Title track from Heidi’s 2016 release on Lotuspool. This was another 180 gram vinyl release and is one of the best albums we’ve ever released. I’m a huge Heidi fan.” // Heidi Lynne Gluck is a Canadian-born artist who calls Lawrence, Kansas home. After transplanting herself from the plains of Manitoba to the midwestern United States, Heidi quickly became an in-demand player, performing on stage and in the studio both as a solo artist. Heidi is every musician’s dream to play with, given her impeccable ear for nuance and detail. She is a versatile singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing bass, keys, vocals, guitar, accordion and lap steel. // Heidi has collaborated live and in studio with dozens of musicians, including Tom Brousseau, John C Reilly, Juliana Hatfield, Margo and the Nuclear So and So’s, The Roseline, Lily and Madeleine, Frogpond, and 95 Sweetbird. Heidi’s music channels 70’s folk rock with a groovy Wurlitzer laying the bed for her warm, matter-of-fact delivery. Subtle acoustic guitar lines snake around crunchy electrics, embellished with ethereal pedal steel guitar. // She’s been featured on The Moth, The Great American Folk Show, The Mystery Hour and NPR live sessions. Her songs have been placed in The Listeners documentary and Tig Notaro’s hit show, ‘One Mississippi’.// She has recorded three albums. Heidi recorded and produced the majority of these albums at home. // Her message is uplifting and nurturing without being cloying, encouraging you to acknowledge your pain and face the unknown with strength and grace. Heidi Lynne Gluck released a remixed version of her song “Severence” through Dynamite Red on March 11, 2024. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the album, MIGRATE OR DIE on July 7, 2023. The album was #1 on WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. She released the singles: “All I See Is Magic” on May 25, 2023, “I’m Not Free” on June 2, 2023 and “Skyscraper” on June 7, 2023 Heidi released two singles with Tom Brosseau, “Under African Skies” on Feb. 17, 2023 ang “Sunflower” on Dec. 15, 2022. Heidi Lynne Gluck released the 8th edition of the Too Much Rock, limited edition, 7” vinyl Single Series on Aug. 3, 2018, featuring her original song, “Party Line.” and the B-side, “Good Guys and Bad Guys” a new version of Camper Van Beethoven song. Heidi Lynne Gluck released her critically acclaimed album, PONY SHOW through Lawrence based Lotuspool Records on Aug. 26, 2016. This was the follow-up to her critically acclaimed release THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ROOM, released April 28, 2015. Heidi Lynne Gluck also plays with the band the Roseline and was a featured vocalist on “Beauty in the Distance” with Asterales.] Heidi Lynne Gluck played 90.1 FM’s Crossroads Music Fest, September 10, 2023. Heidi Lynne Gluck joined us live on WMM on June 8, and August 24.]

10:15 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. 
I’m Mark Manning. Today we’ll welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the world of Lotuspool.

We just heard the Title track from Heidi’s 2016 release on Lotuspool The Pony Show.

Next up: To A Hustler – James Grauerholz

Song from the double album anthology, Life’s Too Good To Keep. Released in 2024 in a project that took five years to complete.

James was a key figure for Lotuspool in the early 90s. He let us use his studio, his equipment, and his talents. He co-engineered the initial Panel Donor release.

10:19

4. James Grauerholz – “To A Hustler”
   from: Life’s Too Good To Keep / Lotuspool Records / November 1, 2024
   [Written in 1993. Recorded by James Grauerholz live to stereo DAT in KJHK’s on air studio in 1994 in Lawrence, Kansas. / James Grauerholz writes: “A talented young man named Jamie, who after ur brief love affair had to move San Francisco, where I bitterly imagined him meeting with disappointment.” // Mark Henning writes in the album’s liner notes: To anyone in the Art, Literary & Music world, James has long been known as ‘The Burroughs Guy’. From 1974 until William Burroughs death in 1997, James has handled the business of William S. Burroughs Communications, acting as his manager, bibliographer, editor, literary executor and companion. To this day he continues to helm the business of Burroughs. What has been little-known up until now is that James has led a double life as an accomplished musician and songwriter with an extensive body of work stretching back from the late 1960s to the present. In fact, music was his first passion. // James set out to be a singer-songwriter before fate led to his calling with William S. Burroughs and despite the demands of his literary responsibilities, he continued to write music as a creative outlet. Over the years James witnessed and has been an important figure in many extraordinary musical eras. He was referred to as the ‘Zelig of Punk Rock’, having been part of a small coterie who helped kick-start the CBGBs scene in NYC from 1974 through the end of the decade. If you haven’t read the book ‘Please Kill Me’ by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, do yourself a favor and pick it up. James’ stories are among the best in it. His ‘mates’ during that time were the likes of Lester Bangs, Howard Brookner, Robert Palmer and Robert Quine -to name only a few. // The Zelig comparison is dead accurate, but it goes far beyond Punk Rock. James was there for the Midwestern Country-Rock explosion of the early 1970s. The legendary oral history ‘Cows Are Freaky When They Look At You’ paints a hilariously warped picture of the people in James orbit during those K.C./Lawrence years prior to him moving to NYC. He was there for the AOR singer-songwriter movement of the late 1970s, mixing his songs with Boz Skaggs in San Francisco. He was at the Hacienda in Manchester when Factory Records ruled the scene and where New Order, The Smiths and The Fall took the world by storm. He was around when New Wave and Hardcore emerged AND he was a steadfast contributor to the evolution of underground music of the early 1990s. In Lawrence, KS where James has lived since the early 1980s, and where Zoom and Lotuspool Records evolved, James lent his opinions, his studio, his gear, his chops and his time, unselfishly on innumerable occasions to help fledgling bands get a leg up. // Through all of these eras, James’ voice as a songwriter has held its own piece of real estate. Each of the twenty-two tracks represented on this double album bear a style that is distinctly his own, both lyrically and compositionally. It is worth adding that James is one hell of an accomplished guitar player too. Assembling this collection was no easy task, despite James’ impeccable documentation of his own catalog. Tapes were baked, no stone was left unturned and several ‘new’ discoveries were made that hadn’t made their way into the master list. // What you have here is a collection of songs that span thirty years, or as James so aptly puts it ‘My Life In Four Acts’ -with each side of the two LPs representing an Act. Though much of the material could easily be considered Great American Songbook in style (hooks everywhere, turns of phrase that remain stuck in your head, broad themes of love, loss & loneliness…), there is also a deeply personal and distinctly Queer element to the songs. One must not forget that back in the 1970s hardly anyone was doing this. In fact, James may have created his very own lane. There were Queer outsider artists like Tom Wilson doing more ‘camp’ numbers, but NO ONE was doing pop-type radio songs represented here. Some of the songs could even qualify as a new genre: Gay Yacht Rock. One must also wonder whether, despite the appeal factor, maybe James just wanted to keep the songs for himself as a log of his own personal journey? // You, the listener can decide for yourself. We hope you enjoy these four acts as much as we did while assembling them. For me they just keep getting better the more I listen.” – Mark Henning (Zoom, National Trust, Voice of Action)]

10:23 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the world of Lotuspool.

We just heard To A Hustler – James Grauerholz – from the double album anthology, Life’s Too Good To Keep. Released in 2024 in a project that took five years to complete.

Next up: “Close” – June (August) Henry

From the 2020 album South Ramp, originally released under the name August Henry. August transitioned to June and is now our most popular artist.

Second generation Lotuspool. June is the spawn of Matt Hyde, the other Lotuspool founder.

10:27

5. June Henry – “Close”
   from: South Ramp / Lotuspool Records / 2020
   [Chris: originally released under the name August Henry. August transitioned to June and is now our most popular artist. June Henry is a second generation Lotuspool. June is the spawn of Matt Hyde, the other Lotuspool founder. // June Henry released The Exhumation of Princess Pavement on February 14, 2024. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. // June Henry is a 22-year-old is a Lawrence KS. Based, freak folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.. Her music explores themes of mental illness, queerness, and growing up. // Prior to her official debut, Henry had collected her music in a Google Drive folder, shared only with a small group of friends. Bedridden in 2022, she was convinced to release this music in her first official album Class Pet. // It’s not really something I know how to do, as much as something I have to do to stop myself from exploding,“ from June Henry’s Spotify bio. // Since her debut, she hasn’t gone more than a couple months between releases- creating a niche audience and some of her most popular songs, such as Void-Adjacent and Excoriation. // In 2024 she has released 9n singles, two 4-song EPs., the 11 track album, The Exhumation of Princess Pavement, released February 14, 2024, the 14 track album Between Singles and One-Offs, exclusive CD comprised of singles and EP tracks released May 27, 2024, the 17 track album Podium, released June 30, 2024. // June Henry released the single “method act” on December 16, 2023. // June Henry released the single “fall into” on December 2, 2023. // June Henry released the 3-track EP “the light I SPIT OUT” on November 14, 2023. // June Henry released the single “vampire song” on November 3, 3023. // June Henry released the 5-song EP “flat earth romcom” on September 22, 2023. // June Henry released the 11-track album “something friend” on June 20, 2022. // June Henry released the 15-track album “class pet” on March 15, 2022. // June Henry released the 7-track album, “SOUTH RAMP” through Lotuspool Records when she was “a gay boy in high school (released as August Henry.) // June Henry has been posting a bunch of tunes on bandcamp! These are official releases along with things that have been archived from streaming platforms, AND many demos and voice memos from long ago. Her personal favorite is “the trouble i made”, which features five tracks written and recorded in high school. The first one, “straight boys, was recorded when June was fourteen. Check http://www.junehen.bandcamp.com for even more releases from June Henry.]

10:30 – Underwriting

10:32 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. 
I’m Mark Manning. Today we’ll welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the world of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is also the lead singer, guitarist for the band Suneaters

Chris: “One of the mistakes we made as kids running the label was that we made a lot of short-term decisions,” Garibaldi says. “We didn’t have foresight. We were too concerned about paychecks and debt. And now it’s like, ‘Let’s take the thing that we do well, which is to foster interesting music, and not worry about the little things.’ Let’s see if we might be able to figure out something that might make the music bigger. That’s the goal.”

Up next: Krafty LoveLordz with “Baggin’ Babes”

Recorded in 1990, released in 2015 on the Krafty LoveLordz anthology album, Head Case.

A lot of Lotuspool roots stem from the LoveLordz. Bully Pulpit and Suneaters have ex-LoveLordz in them.

10:36

6. Krafty LoveLordz – “Baggin Babes”
   from: Head Case / Lotuspool Records / August 4, 2015
   [Labeling themselves, “The second most awesome band to come out of La Grange, IL!” The Krafty Lovelordz were all about granola bars, burritos and massive amounts of coffee. They were the ultimate testimony to what happens when bored teens pick up instruments after consuming all the SST, Touch & Go, Twin Tone, and Homestead LPs that one could find in the mid to late 80s. Recorded in 1990, but released in 2015 on the Krafty LoveLordz anthology album, Head Case. A lot of Lotuspool roots stem from the LoveLordz. Bully Pulpit and Suneaters have ex-LoveLordz in them. ]

10:39 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. 
I’m Mark Manning. Today we’ll welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the world of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is also the lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Krafty LoveLordz – “Baggin Babes” from: Head Case / Lotuspool / Aug. 4, 2015

Next up: Suneaters – “Burden in the Hand”

Released in 2022 on the album, Suneaters IV: Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fingers.
Suneaters IV is my greatest musical achievement as it got on The Big Takeover’s list of Top 200 albums in 2022.

10:43

7. Suneaters – “Burden in the Hand”
   from: Suneaters IV: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fingers / Lotuspool Records / September 23, 2022
   [Suneaters’ seventh album, “Suneaters IV: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fingers” is an homage to late 80s digging through record store “alternative” bins looking for appealing art and unique song titles. // Find herein some surf vibes, a dash of Cars and unexpected Americana. Other touchstones include Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr, Guided By Voices, Minutemen and Television. Mix in frenetic jams, a la Meat Puppets and a dose of Animals era Pink Floyd and there you have it. // Incorporating the touch, the feel of their previous releases, but now with eager brevity, this latest incarnation of Suneaters subtracts excesses and adds copious hooks. Featuring driving rhythms courtesy of new drummer and longtime Lawrence Kansas club owner, Nick Carroll, Chris, Mike and Scott explore the landscapes of their most cherished indie/punk/new wave rock. Children of the 70s exploring music of the 80s and 90s in the 2020s. // Suneaters are an American psychedelic, rock and roll band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 2008. Its core members are Scott Hartley, Chris Garibaldi, Chris Cardwell, and Michael Judd. Suneaters’ debut LP “One” was released in October 2011 on Lotuspool Records, an independent record label started by Chris Garibaldi in the early 1990s. Suneaters advocate what they call a DIT (Do-it-together) culture – a variation on the DIY (Do-it-yourself) punk rock ethos. DIT emphasizes collaboration, collective action, art sharing, and experimentation in fracturing the dominant music industry paradigms. // Suneaters released the albums: Suneaters I in 2011, Suneaters XIII in 2012, Suneaters II: Loving Relationship in 2015, Suneaters XII: L’appel Du Vide in 2017, Suneaters III: Unfathomable Darkness in 2019, Suneaters XI: It’s The Future in 2021. // Chris Garibaldi writes: Suneaters IV is my greatest musical achievement as it got on The Big Takeover’s list of Top 200 albums in 2022.]

10:45 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the world of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is also the lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Suneaters – “Burden in the Hand” from: Suneaters IV: Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fingers / Lotuspool Records / September 23, 2022

Next up: Bully Pulpit with “The Art of Disappearing”

Released in 2023 on Natural Flavors, the fourth and best album by Bully Pulpit.
Bully Pulpit was the third band signed to Lotuspool after Zoom and Panel Donor. They average a new album every 10 years and we are hoping they can pick up that pace since every album seems to top the last.

10:49

8. Bully Pulpit – “The Art of Disappearing”
   from: Natural Flavors / Lotuspool Records / June 23, 2023
   [Bully Pulpit released their fourth album, “Natural Flavors” on June 23, 2023. The band of Chicago natives is currently comprised of Matt Hohmann (guitar) Tom Banks (vox, guitar), Jim Valentin (bass, synthesizer), and Jim MacGregor (drums, guitar, keyboard). “Natural Flavors” includes tracks written and recorded with previous member of the Pulpit, Liz Bustamante (drums, percussion). // The album’s opening track, “The Art of Disappearing” was adapted from the Naomi Shihab Nye poem of the same title. Nye graciously granted use of the lyrics when she heard the song. // Matt Engstrom and Soren Pedersen recorded the album over a series of sessions while Engstrom manned the dials for the final mixes and mastering. // As is the case for the last three Pulpit albums, Lotuspool mainstay artist/designer Michael Legleiter created the album’s artwork with photography submitted by the band and clever use of AI. // Thomas Banks on guitar & vocals; Matt Hohmann on guitar; Jim Valentin on bass & synthesizer; Liz Bustamante on on drums & percussion; Jim MacGregor on drums, guitar & keyboards; Matthew Mrozinski on tenor saxophone. Recorded by Soren Pedersen. Recorded, Mixed and Mastered By Matt Engstrom. Album was released in the US, but the album was pressed in the Czech Republic. The LP was released in an outer sleeve with a sticker reading “Made In Czech Republic”.]

10:53 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is also the lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: The Art of Disappearing – Bully Pulpit from Natural Flavors / Lotuspool Records / June 23, 2023

Next up: Poster Children with “Grand Bargain!”

Lotuspool has released all the Poster Children albums that were engineered by Steve Albini. They did other things with him (Eps and singles), but we re-released Daisychain Reaction and Flower Plower. Grand Bargain! was Poster Children’s latest album and the album where they returned to working with Steve after a long stretch of albums done by other engineers.

Lotuspool is extremely proud to work with Poster Children since Rick and Rose helped us start Lotuspool back in 92’. We also are all disciples of Steve Albini’s and are heartbroken that he’s gone.

10:57

9. Poster Children – ”Grand Bargain”
   from: Grand Bargain / Lotuspool Records / May 18, 2018
   [Rick Valentin on vocals & guitar; Rose Marshack on bass & vocals; Jim Valentin on guitar & keyboards; and Matt Friscia on drums. Engineered and Mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio (July 30-31 2016, July 29-30 2017, August 25-26 2017). Mastered by Bob Westonat at Chicago Mastering Service. All Songs written by Poster Children. // Poster Children was formed in Champaign, Illinois in 1987 by Rick Valentin (guitar, vocals) and Rose Marshack (bass, vocals). Jim Valentin joined on guitar in 1991 and Matt Friscia (drummer #7) joined in 2001. // They have released twelve studio albums, on various independent and major labels, and one feature-length film, “Zero Stars.” // Known for their strong DIY ethic, the band members toured incessantly in the 1990s, driving their own van around the US and Europe, creating their own artwork and T-shirt designs, and operating their own record label. Poster Children were also pioneers in several forms of electronic technology relating to performance art, including enhanced CDs, webcasts, and blogs. // In 2023, the band re-released their first album, Flower Plower, in a deluxe double-vinyl set on Lotuspool Records and University of Illinois Press published Rose’s book, Play Like a Man, recounting her time in the band and indie rock scene of the 80s and 90s.]

11:00 Station ID

11:00 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Thanks for tuning into WMM on 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio. 
I’m Mark Manning. Today we’ll welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is the lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Poster Children – ”Grand Bargain” from: Grand Bargain / Lotuspool Records / May 18, 2018

Next up: Panel Donor with “Lt. Weightmen”

Song from the second Panel Donor album Lotuspool released, 1996’s Lobedom and Global.
Matt Nalbach, a longtime friend and band mate of mine, was the in-house Lotuspool engineer and while he didn’t engineer the album version of Lt. Weigtmen for Panel Donor, he did engineer the demo. He was wearing a Lyons Township High School Weightmen tee shirt when he recorded the song and thus inspired the song’s title. The relevance of Lyons Township High School is because a LOT of Lotuspool acts include people who went to Lyons Township High School. The comedy of the shirt is that none of us were on the weight lifting team when we attended LT.

Lyons Township High School Alums:
Zoom
Bully Pulpit
Poster Children
Hollow Body
June is the offspring of an LT grad
Krafty LoveLordz were an LT band
Mild 7
Suneaters
And Voice of Action

11:04

10. Panel Donor – “Lt. Weightman”
    from: Lobedom & Global / Lotuspool Records / October 1, 1996
    [Guitar, Vocals – Jeremy Sidener on guitar & vocals; Brandon Aikin on guitar, vocals, & Moog Synthesizer; Charlie Hines on sass, loops & tapes; Jeff Conaway on drums, loops and tapes. Mastered by Brandon Aikin, Brian Byers. Producer – Christina Files. Engineered by Dave Schuman and Michael Deming at Studio .45, Hartford, CT, July 25-August 1, 1995. Artwork by Bob Deck, Brady Vest, Liz Ebert/ // Two editions exist: a Release version in silver-backed letterpressed digipak, and a Promo version in a letterpressed digipak on yellow art paper, with the band’s name spelled incorrectly on the spine. // Panel Donor was a brilliant collection of musicians with a flair for the delightfully bizarre. // Originally helmed by Brandon Aikin (vocals, guitar), Jeff Conaway (drums), and Charlie Hines (bass), Panel Donor added Zoom bassist, Jeremy Sidener (vocals, guitar) to create their most notable album, “Lobedom and Global”. // With a mighty run from 1994 to 1997 and a single show reunion in 2017, Panel Donor is a cherished and missed juggernaut from the 90s indie/math rock era.]

11:08 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Panel Donor – “Lt. Weightman” from: Lobedom & Global / Lotuspool Records / October 1, 1996

Up next: Hum with “Diffuse”

Released in 1993 on Lotuspool’s first compilation album, Feast of the Sybarites.
Chris writes: “I believe Hum recorded the track in the same session as their massive RCA release, You’d Prefer An Astronaut. They gave us the track for free and it is now our most streamed song of all time.”

11:12

11. Hum – “Diffuse”
    from: Feast of the Sybarites / Lotuspool Records / October 1, 1993
    [A collection of Lotuspudlians. Chris writes: I believe Hum recorded the track in the same session as their massive RCA release, You’d Prefer An Astronaut. They gave us the track for free and it is now our most streamed song of all time. // Jeff Dimpsey on bass guitar, Tim Lash on guitar, Bryan St. Pere on drums, and Matt Talbott on guitar and vocals. // Hum is an American alternative rock band from Champaign, Illinois, United States. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit “Stars”. After initially disbanding in 2000, Hum was largely inactive (save for sporadic performances) until reuniting in 2015 for a series of short tours. On June 23, 2020, the band announced and released Inlet, their first album of new material in over twenty-two years. There is another lost media album called Menthol, which is not anywhere online. // The initial lineup of the band formed in 1989, with guitarist Andy Switzky, guitarist Matt Talbott, bass guitarist Akis Boyatzis and drummer Jeff Kropp. Talbott and Switzky met at a cafe named Treno’s, in Urbana, Illinois, where Switzky worked. Discussions about music led to the two forming the nucleus of Hum. Talbott had previously played in the local group We Ate Plato and was presently a member of Honcho Overload; Switzky had performed in the semi-serious live band Obvious Man and had studio experience with Designer Mustard Gas. // The group performed at Akis’ basement for their initial months. At the suggestion of Rick Valentin of Poster Children, the band chose the name Hum (over contenders like Grendel’s Arm, Pod, and Feedbag), an intentional vague description of their sound and went through a second drummer before overhearing Bryan St. Pere playing along to a Rush record out of his apartment window and recruiting him. // This lineup was not to last long, though, as Boyatzis left home for Greece in 1990. Local musician Joe Futrelle, who played with Switzky in Designer Mustard Gas joined briefly, before leaving for more serious musical pursuits and was replaced by Rod van Huis, later of Steakdaddy Six. For personal reasons, he amicably left the band and went on to perform in the Great Crusades. With the addition of Balthazar “Baltie” de Lay, of the band Mother (later Menthol), the band recorded their first demo in famed engineer Steve Albini’s basement in Chicago. // The band recorded eight songs in first or second takes, with only vocal overdubs and had an official demo to shop around, named Kissing Me Is Like Kissing an Angel. At this point, Switzky was the group’s primary singer, guitarist and songwriter, which remained the case when their first album, Fillet Show, was released by local label 12 Inch Records in 1991. The album features a faster, heavy sound somewhere between punk rock and heavy metal, with more overt political and humorous material than the later oblique lyrics that Matt Talbott would write. // Pressure grew on de Lay to focus his efforts on Mother and other pursuits, so he too left on good terms with the other members of Hum. Left without a bassist again, Talbott suggested Jeff Dimpsey, his bandmate in Honcho Overload. In that group, and during his brief stint with the Poster Children, Dimpsey played guitar and Talbott actually played bass, but the transition was smooth, and the band recorded two singles, “Hello Kitty” and “Sundress”, the former on 12 Inch, and the latter on the new Champaign-based label Mud Records. Around this time, the Champaign scene started to coalesce with members of one band joining up with members of another to form an indefinite amount of one-off side projects, and the Parasol Records distribution company helped promote local acts nationally and brought in alternative music to record stores in Champaign, Illinois. // In the interim between these singles and the next album, creative differences grew between members of the band, and Switzky left. The remaining members recruited a local fan named Tim Lash, almost a decade their junior, to play guitar. His previous experience had been in a speed metal group The Grand Vizars (with Joe Ludwinski from Scurvine and Matt Friedburger from The Fiery Furnaces), and once casually remarked to the band after a show that if they ever needed a guitarist, they could give him a call. // The classic lineup of the band was in place, and the quartet headed to Idful Studios with Brad Wood producing Electra 2000. The album was released in its first two pressings by 12 Inch Records and distributed through Cargo Records. The lyrics were far more non-linear and conceptual, and introduced some of the space and science imagery that would dominate later songs. The album produced no singles, but due in no small part to distribution by Parasol, caught the attention of representatives from RCA Records. The band was signed, and hooked up with local club owner and sometimes-musician Ward Gollings as tour manager. They switched to producer Keith Cleversley for their major-label debut You’d Prefer an Astronaut in 1995. The album would produce their biggest hit, the single “Stars”, which ended up peaking at #11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and #28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. They also supported the album with promotional appearances on Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Howard Stern Show, 120 Minutes, and a video that was included in an episode of Beavis and Butthead. // The album swiftly sold 250,000 copies, and Hum played their largest dates promoting the record. Further singles “The Pod” and the promotional “I’d Like Your Hair Long” failed to generate much interest, and the band spent much of the rest of the year and 1996 on the road. In late 1997, they teamed with Mark Rubel at Pogo Studios to record their fourth album, Downward Is Heavenward.]

11:17 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Hum – “Diffuse” from: Feast of the Sybarites / Lotuspool Records / October 1, 1993 – A collection of Lotuspudlians.

Up next: The Bump Band with “Snookie’s Vibe”

From the album, Our Music, which was recorded in 1983 and shelved due to Bump Funk’s issues with his label at the time.

Chris writes: I’m close friends with Bump’s son, the rapper J. Scott and when J. brought me this album, we realized Lotuspool had to put it out, so the album was released in 2022.
Nick Spacek, KC journalist has been tremendously kind to this album.

11:21

12. The Bump Band – “Snookie’s Vibe”
    from: Our Music / Lotuspool Records / March 4, 2022
    [Bump Funk on keyboards, Wanda Byrd on vocals, Robert Clarkson on guitar, Herman Lacy on drums, Terry Grimmett on saxophone. Music By, Arranged By – Jerald Scott. // Jerald Scott (known as Bump Funk) was legendary in the Kansas City soul music scene. From the late 60’s to the early 80’s, Bump and his bands electrified crowds across the country with live performances that rivaled the largest names of that era. After performing with a number of groups, Bump assembled a band of musicians that most shared his talents and passions, “The Bump Band.” // “Our Music”, the Bump Band’s only full length album, was recorded in 1983. It was never released due to “industry challenges.” The original recordings were forgotten for decades, but were recently discovered in Bump’s attic. When Bump’s son, Jeremy Scott, and the folks at Lotuspool Records listened to this lost treasure, it was undeniable that “Our Music” had to be shared. // The release of “Our Music” is a dream come true for Bump. It’s also a loving tribute to the band members no longer with us (Herman, Terry and Wanda). We hope you enjoy the vibes! // From the album, Our Music, which was recorded in 1983 and shelved due to Bump Funk’s issues with his label at the time. // Chris Garibaldi of Lotuspool Recordswrites: I’m close friends with Bump’s son, the rapper J. Scott and when J. brought me this album, we realized Lotuspool had to put it out, so the album was released in 2022. // Nick Spacek, KC journalist has been tremendously kind to this album.]

11:27 – Underwriting

11:29 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: The Bump Band – “Snookie’s Vibe” from: Our Music / Lotuspool Records / March 4, 2022

Up next: The Whips with “Ready or Not (Featuring Anna Duntz)”

From The Whips first full LP, How To Hold A Grudge released in 2023, this is a monster pop album. The Whips, like June Henry are going to break. Too much talent, too much hustle to fail.

Second generation Lotuspool, son of Zoom’s drummer.

11:32

13. The Whips – “Ready Or Not (Feat. Anna Duntz)”
    from: How to Hold a Grudge / Lotuspool Records / September 1, 2023
    [The Whips are Miles Patterson on drums, Quinn Cosgrove on bass, Max Indiveri on guitar, and Coop on piano. The Whips are a funk/soul band based in Kansas City. The Whips released their 12 track debut album HOW TO HOLD A GRUDGE on Lotuspool Records on September 1, 2023, Recorded with Audio Engineer Chris Cosgrove. the album features an array of their favorite local musicians guest in various tracks including: Malek Azrael, Anna Duntz, Atomic Blonde, Die Jane, Tre’ Mutava, Lymerrick & Lucy Brock. // The Whips released their EP STARDUST & MOTOR OIL on Midtopia Records on August 2, 2024. It was pat of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. The Whips released their single, “Begin Again”on February 2, 2024. The Whips released their single, “As Long As You Want Me” on March 8, 2024. The Whips released their 6-track Debut EP, NEVER CHANGE, OR DO on August 20, 2021 on Draft Crew Records. The Whips released multiple singles in 2021. // Fueled by stimulants, a love of funk music, and the need to compensate for something, four lifelong friends set out to travel the country competing to embarrass each other and rope unsuspecting strangers into their escapades. Is this Tru TV’s Impractical Jokers? No this is The Whips! Hailing from the longitudinal center of the United States, The CEOs of Midwestern Funk continue to cruise the sweet freeways of the U.S. of A. to swap sweat with fans of the high-stakes funk pop filled with both hooks AND grooves so syncopated that they reset all clocks in a 40-mile radius. // They also surf the waves of the web with their rapidly accumulating internet following gained from viral videos of their funkiest moments. Build a song? That was them! Call and response game? That was them! The Hindenburg disaster? no comment. Each member of The Whips has pledged their life, and the life of their firstborn child to the pursuit of high-energy funk that makes your toes tingle and they have NO BACK-UP PLAN! They’re so funky, sweaty, and mildly famous online, so what are you waiting for? Join The Whips today and recruit two friends to be your own boss! // More info at: ww.thewhipsband.com]

11:36 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: The Whips – “Ready Or Not (Feat. Anna Duntz)” from: How to Hold a Grudge / Lotuspool Records / September 1, 2023

Up next: Mild 7 with “Rain Sweat”

Recorded in the late 1980s, but released on the Mild 7 EP in 2013, this is another LT high school legendary gem. This tape got passed around our school for years. I’m glad we finally got to put it out.

11:39

14. Mild 7 – “Rain Sweat”
    from: Mild 7 EP / Lotuspool Records / April 20, 2013
    [MILD 7 TAKES IT EASY, RIDER – Grifting the moniker from a much‐loved brand of Japanese cancer sticks, Mild 7 arrived on their scene exceeding the limits of domestic space. Partners in smoke Darin Walsh and Thomas F. Banks (Bully Pulpit, Hollow Body) first bonded as sophomore year imports to Lyons Township High School, where they began to collaborate on a set of acoustic duets to be performed on suburban street corners and at Cool Kid parties. / At some point 1986 arrived and their pal Jim Valentin (Poster Children, Salaryman) fired up his Fostex 4‐track to collect a short batch of these esoteric compositions. The resulting tracks document their arcane adolescence devoted to preternaturally skewed desiderata; these interests expressed via acoustic guitar tunes are sonically indebted to the hard‐working vocabularies of DIY jazz, acid folk, and sundry SST artists of the day. // Chris Garibaldi of Lotuspool Records writes: Recorded in the late 1980s, but released on the Mild 7 EP in 2013, this is another LT high school legendary gem. This tape got passed around our school for years. I’m glad we finally got to put it out.]

11:41 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Mild 7 – “Rain Sweat” from: Mild 7 EP / Lotuspool Records / April 20, 2013

Up next: Chris Cardwell – “Aurora”

11:45

15. Chris Cardwell – “Aurora”
    from: Burning Heart / Lotuspool Records / September 21, 2018
    [Sometimes you shouldn’t argue with the evidence in front of you. Songs you just have to let guide you. Roll over you. They might show you the promise in a small inflection, the charity in the pick and bend of a steel string, the gift of a vulnerable pause. // Like toes in the sand, the songs feel right. Heart meet sleeve. Sounds keen and kind, welcoming and modest like the soft seed from a sycamore pod. // Reluctant confessions cling like hickory smoke to his pensive sounds. Cardwell, like a Kristofferson from Kansas up to his elbows in Sunday mornings, has spirit and weary pegged. The saunters of a song rendered to give shape to memories. Like when you hear a song for the first time and know instantly it’s the one that’s been bouncing around in your head since the day your eyes opened. // Listening while your wheels purr from Bird City to Flint Hills, Chris, companion sitting shotgun, might just help you understand where things went wrong. Or he might stroll by in song to explain why lovers abandon themselves for a small taste of endless. So pay attention! .. The fraternity of Van Zandt, Parsons, Prine and Buckley finds an eager pledge in Cardwell. Sympathetic and honest with a splash of divinity, his scuffed soul makes it’s way into your bar. It buys you a cold one, loans a smoke and makes you a good friend. One you can always rely on.

11:47 – Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi from Lotuspool Records

Today on WMM we welcome Guest Producer Chris Garibaldi co-founder of Lotuspool Records for a special look inside the World of Lotuspool.

Chris Garibaldi is lead singer, guitarist and occasional trombonist for the band Suneaters

We just heard: Chris Cardwell – “Aurora” from: Burning Heart / Lotuspool Records / September 21, 2018

We close with – Voice of Action and “Sell Everybody Out”

Released on the self-titled album, Voice of Action in 2018.
Mark Henning of Zoom’s last band.

Mark and Scott Hartley are two guys who have been enormous contributors to Lotuspool throughout the years. They both played together in grade school in a band called The Locals. Mark might argue that Lotuspool’s roots arguably started there.

Chris Garibaldi, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

For WMM, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening.

11:53

16. Voice of Action – “Sell Everybody Out”
    from: Voice of Action / Lotuspool Records / October 19, 2018
    [VoA is a collection of Mark Henning’s more recent compositions. He spent the late 90s and early-to-mid aughts making broad gestures in the studio with The National Trust and wanted to move towards something he could show up and play without seventeen other musicians. // He helmed the legendary, but criminally overlooked early 90s band Zoom, who shape-shifted the first four years of the decade and invented a brand new sound on their last LP, “Helium Octipede”, a collaboration with the dark prince of American Underground Rock-n-Roll, the one-and-only Greg Sage (Wipers). The Creator of it all. // He spent many years in Chicago and New York making playing and making records with the likes of Brian McMahon (Electric Eels), Chris Connelly (Ministry & Revolting Cocks), Neil Rosario (Dolomite/National Trust), Hamish Kilgour (The Clean), Dwight Twilley, The Lowdown Dirty D.A.W.G.S. to name a few. // He is joined by Jeff Panall on drums (Songs Ohia, Hot Dog City) and Alissa Hacker on bass (Twat Vibe, Office).

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

Next week, on Wednesday, August 20, Brad Smith joins us to discuss Enigmatic Brunch and in our second hour Jim Hubbell joins us as “Guest Producer” to share his Electronic Dance Music DJ Skills with a special show show the roots of a melody sampled in dance music.

A really big THANK YOU to every one of you who donated during Wednesday MidDay Medley and our Summer Fund Drive for KKFI 90.1 FM. We had 47 individuals donate a total of $3529.00 in support of Community Radio. Special thanks go to my co-hosts and guests: Betse Ellis, Mikal Shapiro, Sandra Draper and Steve Tulipana and Lincoln Dreher!!!

THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Executive Director – Bess Wallerstein-Huff, Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, and Office Manager Book Keeper – Shaina Littler.

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

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

Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:
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http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org,
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Show #1108