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, November 21, 2018

2018 – The Year in Music
with: Tim Finn, Marion Merritt, Chris Haghirian, & Fally Afani

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

Today we take a look at 2018: The Year in Music with 4 special guests who’ll share their Favorite Musical Releases of 2018. Guests include: Tim Finn of In Kansas City Magazine, Marion Merritt of Records With Merritt, Chris Haghirian of Eight One Sixty on 90.9 The Bridge, and Fally Afani of I Heart Local Music.

10:06 – Interview with Tim Finn

Tim Finn is Music Writer for In Kansas City Magazine. Tim is originally from Youngstown, New York. He studied at University of Missouri in Columbia and received his Masters of Arts, in Journalism from the University of Kansas. Tim served as Music Writer of the KC Star, where he worked for 29 years. You can hear Tim Finn Thursday afternoons between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM on 90.9 The Bridge with Jon Hart.

Tim Finn’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2018

#5. Calvin Arsenia – Cantaloupe/ Bullseye Records / September 15, 2018

2. Calvin Arsenia – “Toxic”
from: Cantaloupe / Bullseye Records / September 15, 2018 (KC Release)
[The first release on Bullseye Records. Calvin Arsenia who came home to KC in 2014 after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has released the EPs, Moments, Prose, and last year’s full length debut, Catastrophe. This year he released the EP Caviar to special guests who attended his Wickstock West show in West Bottoms. Standing at 6 foot 6 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, banjo, guitar & harp. Calvin has played Folk Alliance International, KC Fringe Fest, Apocalypse Meow, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, The Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts, Middle of the Map Fest., The Folly Theatre. Last year he undertook a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Lyon and Paris.]

[Calvin Arsenia plays The Truman December 31 with Making Movies.]

#4. Mikal Shapiro – The Musical II / Mikal Shapiro / May 26, 2018

3. Mikal Shapiro – “Everybody’s Baby”
from: The Musical II / Mikal Shapiro / May 26, 2018
[“Everybody’s Baby” is her pop song she wrote, but all the songs on The Musical 11 are great. The sequel to Shapiro’s 2015 concept album “The Musical.” Mikal Shapiro, on vocals & guitar, Chad Brothers on vocals & guitar, Johnny Hamil on bass, and Matt Richey on drums. 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.]

[Mikal Shapiro will be performing vocals for the MONTA AT ODDS Argentum Dreams RECORD RELEASE in a special ‘One Performance Only’ show on Saturday, December 1, at 8:00 PM, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, with SHANA FALANA [NYC}, MIKAL SHAPIRO & “The Musical” Band / with live video projections from VJDN8]

#3. Bob & Una Walkenhorst – For Tomorrow / Bat Records / October 12, 2018

4. Bob & Una Walkenhorst – “For Tomorrow”
from: For Tomorrow / BAT Records / October 12, 2018
[25 year old Una Walkenhorst is a singer/songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. Following the release of her debut album “Scars” in 2014, Una immediately had “new fans. . . coming out of the proverbial woodwork” (AXS). Paired with refreshingly raw vocals, Una’s heartfelt lyrics “will stop you in your tracks (at once beautiful and chilling),” wrote Gilded Palace Radio, as she weaves stories of genuine human experience. Una told KCUR FM that her father was one of the people who made her love music. But having a famous father can be challenging: “I knew that if I started my music career here I would have a lot of opportunities, but not all of them would be because of my music. They would be because I am someone’s daughter,” Walkenhorst says. Loading up her 97 Honda Civic, Una then spent a year traveling across North America promoting her music and connecting with listeners one-on-one. She ended up living in New Orleans. Una Walkenhorst is the youngest daughter of Bob Walkenhorst, a founding member of The Rainmakers, which had national and international hits in the 1980s and 90s, and continue to this day touring and recording new music. In January of 2018 Una Walkenhorst returned home to Kansas City from New Orleans. Over the past several years, Una and Bob had performed together at selected events, including Folk Alliance International. This year the father and daughter duo decided to record an album together, where they split the difference, taking turns as songwriters for the album’s songs, written individually, and recorded together, in clear beautiful harmonies, with that extra special shared musical DNA, that can be heard in the harmonies of The Carter Family, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, or Shy Boys.]

[Bob & Una Walkenhorst play RSD Black Friday Nov. 23, at 2:00 PM, at Vinyl Renaissance & Audio 7932 Sante Fe Dr, Overland Park]

#2 Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear – Radio Winners EP / Glassnote / July 27, 2018

5. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear – “Childhood Goodbye”
from: Radio Winners – EP / Glassnote Records / July 27. 2018
[Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear have garnered international acclaim, and new fans from all over the world. They signed with Glassnote Records and recorded their debut full length album in Nashville with acclaimed producer Jim Abiss. They performed their debut single “Silent Movies” on The Late Show with David Letterman, they’ve toured across the United States, and Europe, more than once. They were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s The Today Show, and “Later With Jools Holland and played Bonnaroo, Pilgramage, and the Newport Folk Festival, and the Ryman Theatre, in Nashville. Ruth Ward has continually performed throughout her life, mostly in coffee shops and open mics, for over 30 years, even recording a solo record. In the midst of this she got married and became a mom, and was busy raising a family. Madisen Ward was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 2007. Madisen’s journey to become a musician, was “melodically passed down” through the songs of his mother, where Madisen grew up watching his mom perform at local coffee shops. Eventually he began to learn to play the guitar, and poured his talent for writing into the music to create original songs. They began playing Madisen’s original songs along with the occassional cover, of a classic track reinterpreted, in their own incredibly beautiful performance of two voices and two guitars, in harmony and orchestration. Their debut album, The Skeleton Crew, was released May 9, 2015 and was our most played record that year and was #1 on WMM’s The 115 Best Recordings of 2015.]

[Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear have just returned home from the road with The Record Company with shows in NYC, Philadelphia, Portland Maine, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, Austin, Dallas, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Denver.]

#1. Amy Farrand and The Like – One / Amy Farrand / April 28, 2018

6. Amy Farrand and The Like – “Sweet Thing”
from: One / Amy Farrand / April 28, 2018
[Amy Farrand & The Like are Amy Farrand on lead vocals & guitar, Steve Tubbert on bass, Felix Dukes on drums, Kyle Dahlquist on keyboards & backing vocals, Stephan Jean-Francois on trumpet, and Katie Gilchrist on backing vocals. 11-song debut album was recorded with Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Amy Farrand plays over a dozen instruments, bass, drums, lap steel, guitar, she has hosted variety shows, and radio shows and has been a a member of the bands: American Catastrophe, Experimental Instrument Orchestra, Shotgun Idols, Sister Mary Rotten Crotch, Atlantic Fadeout, The Silver Maggies. One reviewer wrote of her, “Amy Farrand is a tough-as-nails vocalist making her an invaluable asset to any live act.”]

10:30 – Underwriting

10:32 – Interview with Marion Merritt

For nearly 15 years Marion Merritt has been sharing her musical discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain. Marion is the creator of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.

Marion Merritt’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2018

#5 – Blood Orange / Domino Recording Co. / August 24, 2018

7. Blood Orange – “Orlando”
from: Negro Swan / Domino Recording Co / August 24, 2018
[Devonté Hynes aka David Joseph Michael Hynes, was born December 23, 1985, better known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is a British singer, songwriter, composer, producer, dancer and director. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released one full-length album in 2005. Hynes went on to release two solo studio albums as Lightspeed Champion and subsequently four more as Blood Orange, between 2008 and 2018. He has written, played or produced for artists such as Tinashe, Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA twigs, Haim, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diana Vickers, The Chemical Brothers, Kylie Minogue, A$AP Rocky and Blondie. Hynes was voted the 49th ‘coolest person in rock’ in NME’s 2007 Cool List, jumping to position 20 in the following year’s list]

#4. Cowboy Junkies – All That Reckoning / Latent Records / July 13, 2018

8. Cowboy Junkies – “All That Reckoning, Pt. 1”
from: All That Reckoning / Latent Records / July 13, 2018
[The Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985. The group was formed in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timmins are siblings, and Anton worked with Michael Timmins during their first couple of bands. John Timmins was initially a member of the band but left the group before the recording of their first album. The band line-up has never changed since, although they use several guest musicians on many of their albums, including multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird who has performed on every album except the first. The Junkies’ 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded in the family garage using a single ambisonic microphone. The Junkies gained worldwide fame and recognition with their second album, The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a strong fan base. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988. The Cowboy Junkies have gone on to record a total of sixteen studio albums and five live albums, and remain an active band for over thirty years.]

#3. Tash Sultana – Flow State / Lonely Lands Records – Mom + Pop / August 31, 2018

9. Tash Sultana – “Big Smoke”
from: Flow State / Lonely Lands Records – Mom + Pop / August 31, 2018
[Natasha “Tash” Sultana was born June 15, 1995. She is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Described as a “one-woman band who brings new meaning to the concept of multi-tasking”. Half Australian and half Maltese, Sultana was born and grew up in Melbourne. She received a guitar from her grandfather when she was three, and has played ever since. She now can play over 10 instruments including guitar, bass, trumpet, flute, percussion and saxophone. Sultana’s teenage years were troubled. A self-described drug addict, she developed drug-induced psychosis when she was 17, and had to undergo several months of therapy to recover. Unable to find regular work, she turned to busking on the streets of Melbourne to get by.]

#2. Fantastic Negrito – Please Don’t Be Dead / Blackball Universe / June 15, 2018

10. Fantastic Negrito – “A Letter To Fear”
from: Please Don’t Be Dead / Blackball Universe – Cooking Vinyl / June 15, 2018
[Fantastic Negrito was raised in an orthodox Muslim household. His father was a Somali-Caribbean immigrant who mostly played traditional African music. When, at the age of 12, Negrito’s family moved from Massachusetts to Oakland, California. Oakland in 1970s was a million miles from Negrito’s conservative childhood. He went from Arab chants to Funkadelic in one day. By the time he was 20, Negrito had taught himself to play every instrument he could get his hands on. He was recording music, and after some difficulties on the streets he packed his bags and headed to LA, armed with a demo on cassette. Negrito signed with a million dollar deal at Interscope. The record deal was a disaster. Gangsta rap was ruling the airwaves and Negrito was in the wrong place at the wrong era. Negrito came out of the deal with a failed album and his confidence gutted. In 2000, Negrito was in a near fatal car accident that put him in a coma. For four weeks it was touch and go. Because his muscles atrophied while bedridden, he had to go through months of frustrating physical therapy to regain use of his legs. Rods were placed throughout his body. And worst of all, his playing hand was mutilated. Back in Oakland, Negrito forgot about life as a musician. He got married, he planted vegetables, raised his own chickens, and made money growing weed. He also settled into being a man, on his own, clear of the distractions of wanting to be a star. And then his son Kyu was born. He began recording without the hindrances that come with chasing trends. Negrito turned to the original DNA of all American music, the Blues. The beating life had given him primed him to channel his literal and musical forefathers: the Blues musicians of the Delta]

#1. R+R=Now – Collagically Speaking / Blue Note Records / June 15, 2018

11. R+R=NOW – “The Night In Question (feat. Terry Crews)”
from: Collagically Speaking (feat. Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Derrick Hodge, Taylor McFerrin & Justin Tyson) Blue Note / June 15, 2018
[Reflect+Respond=Now, a supergroup featuring Robert Glasper on keybords, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, Derrick Hodge on bass, Taylor McFerrin on synthesizer, Justin Tyson on drums, and Terrace Martin on synth and vocoder. Motivated by their ethos to “reflect and respond,” forward-thinking jazz supergroup R+R=Now makes an ambitious, socially conscious blend of post-bop jazz, electronic-tinged fusion, avant-garde improvisational music, and hip-hop-influenced funk. Led by acclaimed pianist Robert Glasper, the group came together while he was working on Nina Revisited, a companion album released in conjunction with the 2015 Nina Simone documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?]

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Interview with Chris Haghirian

Chris Haghirian has worked for The KC Star for 19 years and helped launch INK in April of 2008 where he puts together music promotions, and organizes music at, Boulevardia, The Plaza Art Fair, and Wednesday “Winsday” home game concerts at Kauffman Stadium for the Kansas City Royals. Chris hosts Star Sessions Live every Monday at Noon on Facebook Live. With Nathan Reusch of The Record Machine, Chris makes The Middle of The Map Fest happen each year, and Chris gets to share his amazing passion for the Kansas City music scene as host, with Sarah Bradshaw, of Eight One Sixty, heard Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm, on 90.9 The Bridge.

Chris Haghirian’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2017

#5. Cat Power – Wanderer / Domino Recording Co / October 5, 2018

12. Cat Power – “Woman feat. Lana Del Rey (Single Version)”
from: Wanderer / Domino Recording Co / October 5, 2018
[10th studio album by Cat Power The album was produced entirely by Marshall herself and was written and recorded in Miami and Los Angeles over the past few years, she stated: “The course my life has taken in this journey—going from town to town, with my guitar, telling my tale; with reverence to the people who did this generations before me. Folk singers, blues singers, and everything in between. They were all wanderers, and I am lucky to be among them.” The album includes a collaboration with Lana Del Rey, whom Marshall opened for on the European leg of her LA to the Moon Tour. It is her first album to not be released on Matador since 1996. In support of the release, Marshall has embarked a world tour, that began in September. Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall was born January 21, 1972, She is better known by her stage name Cat Power. She is a singer-songwriter, musician, occasional actress, and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall’s first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in Atlanta, Marshall was raised throughout the southern United States, and began performing in local bands in Atlanta in the early 1990s. She was discovered opening for Liz Phair in 1994 by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, with whom she recorded her first two albums, Dear Sir (1995) and Myra Lee (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996 she signed with Matador Records, and released a third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn, What Would the Community Think. Following this she released the critically acclaimed Moon Pix (1998), recorded with members of Dirty Three, and The Covers Record (2000), a collection of sparsely-arranged cover songs. After a brief hiatus she released You Are Free (2003), featuring guest musicians Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder, followed by the soul-influenced The Greatest (2006), recorded with numerous Memphis studio musicians. A second album of cover tracks, Jukebox, was released in 2008. In 2012 she released the self-produced Sun, which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the highest charting album of her career to date. Critics have noted the constant evolution of Cat Power’s sound, with a “mix of punk, folk and blues” on her earliest albums, and elements of soul and other genres more prevalent in her later material. Her 2012 album Sun incorporated electronica, in a self-proclaimed move from the “slower” guitar-based songs she initially wrote for the album.]

#4. Christine and The Queens – Chris / Because Music / September 21, 2018

13. Christine and The Queens – “Doesn’t Matter”
from: Chris / Because Music / September 21, 2018
[Chris is the second studio album by French singer Christine and the Queens, released in both English and French versions through Because Music. It was preceded by the release of two singles, each of which were released in both English and French versions: “Girlfriend” / “Damn, dis-moi”, featuring Dâm-Funk, and “Doesn’t Matter” / “Doesn’t Matter (Voleur de soleil)”. An English-language single, “5 Dollars”, was also released alongside an S&M-inspired video, followed by the French version of “La Marcheuse”. Héloïse Letissier (born 1 June 1988), known professionally as Christine and the Queens (or, as of 2017, simply Chris), is a French singer, songwriter and producer. Born in Nantes, France, Letissier studied theatre before forming her solo musical group Christine and the Queens. Letissier has been signed to the independent record label Because Music since 2012. Her work combines music, performance, art videos, drawings and photography.]

#3. Dragon Inn 3 – Double Line / American Laundromat / August 17, 2018

14. Dragon Inn 3 – “Club Sauce”
from: Double Line / American Laundromat Records / August 17, 2018
[Kansas City based and formed in 2012 with Grace Bentley, Sharon Bowie, Philip K. Dickey, E.P. Marcus. Dragon Inn 3’s debut LP clocks in at 28 minutes, but the band spent six years whittling away on the songs that would eventually become Double Line. Combining sugary pop hooks, hypnotic beats, and huge MOOG synths, Dragon Inn 3’s playful take on 80s pop could double as the soundtrack to a John Hughes movie (if John Hughes directed Blade Runner). The cinematic origins of Dragon Inn 3 can be traced back to 2012, when Philip Dickey (leader of the indie-pop group Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin) wrote a theme song for the award-winning short film Ghoul School. “If you watch the trailer you can tell it’s the same premise and look as Stranger Things–we just accidentally made it three years before them,” Dickey says. “I had so much fun making the soundtrack with the director (E.P. Marcus) that we decided to start a band.” Dickey recruited his sister, Sharon Bowie, an occupational therapist, and his wife, children’s librarian Grace Bentley, to help with songwriting and vocal duties. The group self-released the Ghoul School Soundtrack EP in late 2012, receiving high praise from Consequence of Sound, Philadelphia’s WXPN, and The Riverfront Times, before climbing to #1 on Bandcamp’s cassette charts. Then it was back to the studio (i.e. the bedrooms, kitchens, garages, and hotel rooms that doubled as makeshift recording studios). In between full-time jobs, parenthood, graduate school classes, and cross country moves, the members of Dragon Inn 3 put Double Line to tape. “I’m a stay-at-home dad now, so I would work on song arrangements and rough mixes when our toddler was taking his naps,” explains Dickey. “Grace would come home from work and record all her parts after his bedtime. We recorded all the breathy vocals in the living room and all the yelly parts in the garage so we wouldn’t wake him up.” The result is a highly addictive album that creates “a soundtrack for the more introspective moments on and off the dance floor,” according to critic David Greenwald. Opening track “What Kind Of World Are You Living In” plays like Blondie if the band hired Hall and Oates to record guitars. The album takes an intimate turn with “Bad Boy,” Bowie’s dreamy “Rocket Launcher,” and Bentley’s introspective cover of Robin Gibb’s “Juliet.” “3 Minute Mile” swoons with arpeggios and a hypnotic MOOG bass, while Bentley softly repeats the phrase “desperation/bad desire.” Then there are Italo-disco tinged tracks “Backstabber” and “Club Sauce,” with sing-songy pop hooks that harken back to Madonna and Whitney Houston’s greatest hits. “Double Line Theme” and “Murder In The Third” show off DI3’s soundtrack aspirations, and sound like lost Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder B-sides. “Up In The Business” provides indelible synth hooks and a triumphant ending to Double Line. With members spread out over the country (KC, LA, and Springfield, MO), the group signed to American Laundromat Records in early 2018. A demo of “Bad Boy” (co-written with Free Energy’s Paul Sprangers) landed in a commercial for Ryan Adams’ Beats 1 Radio show before the song was even completed.]

#2. Bob & Una Walkenhorst – For Tomorrow / Bat Records / October 12, 2018

15. Bob & Una Walkenhorst – “Get On The Bus”
from: For Tomorrow / BAT Records / October 12, 2018
[25 year old Una Walkenhorst is a singer/songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. Following the release of her debut album “Scars” in 2014, Una immediately had “new fans. . . coming out of the proverbial woodwork” (AXS). Paired with refreshingly raw vocals, Una’s heartfelt lyrics “will stop you in your tracks (at once beautiful and chilling),” wrote Gilded Palace Radio, as she weaves stories of genuine human experience. Una told KCUR FM that her father was one of the people who made her love music. But having a famous father can be challenging: “I knew that if I started my music career here I would have a lot of opportunities, but not all of them would be because of my music. They would be because I am someone’s daughter,” Walkenhorst says. Loading up her 97 Honda Civic, Una then spent a year traveling across North America promoting her music and connecting with listeners one-on-one. She ended up living in New Orleans. Una Walkenhorst is the youngest daughter of Bob Walkenhorst, a founding member of The Rainmakers, which had national and international hits in the 1980s and 90s, and continue to this day touring and recording new music. In January of 2018 Una Walkenhorst returned home to Kansas City from New Orleans. Over the past several years, Una and Bob had performed together at selected events, including Folk Alliance International. This year the father and daughter duo decided to record an album together, where they split the difference, taking turns as songwriters for the album’s songs, written individually, and recorded together, in clear beautiful harmonies, with that extra special shared musical DNA, that can be heard in the harmonies of The Carter Family, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, or Shy Boys.]

[Bob & Una Walkenhorst play RSD Black Friday Nov. 23, at 2:00 PM, at Vinyl Renaissance & Audio 7932 Sante Fe Dr, Overland Park]

#1. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born Soundtrack / Interscope / Oct. 5, 2018

16. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
from: A Star Is Born Soundtrack / Interscope / October 5, 2018
[A Star Is Born is a 2018 American musical romantic drama film produced and directed by Bradley Cooper (in his directorial debut) and written by Eric Roth, Cooper and Will Fetters. A remake of the 1937 film of the same name, it stars Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, and Sam Elliott, and follows a hard-drinking musician (Cooper) who discovers and falls in love with a young singer (Gaga). It marks the fourth remake of the original 1937 film, after the 1954 musical, the 1976 rock musical and the 2013 Bollywood romance film. After seeing him perform at Desert Trip festival, Cooper approached Lukas Nelson (son of country music singer Willie Nelson) and asked him to help work on the film. Nelson agreed and wrote several songs, which he sent to the producers. Nelson subsequently met Lady Gaga and began writing songs with her and she, in turn, provided backing vocals on two tracks on his self-titled 2017 album. The soundtrack, performed by Gaga and Cooper, was released on October 5, 2018, by Interscope Records. The studio announced that the album “features 19 songs in a wide range of musical styles + 15 dialogue tracks that will take you on a journey that mirrors the experience of seeing the film.”.]

11:29 – Underwriting

10:31 – Interview with Fally Afani

Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning more than 17 years in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for her online work in journalism. Fally lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where she reports on local and touring musicians and where she is the founder of, I Heart Local Music a comprehensive website providing info and place for music lovers in Lawrence to gather. It was started out of a deep love and appreciation for the local music scene. More information at: http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

11:33 – Fally Afani’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2018

#5. Khrystal – “The Awkward Muva / Khrystal / July 13, 2018

17. Khrystal. – “Some People”
from: The Awkward Muva / Khrystal. / July 13, 2018
[Khrystal Coppage is Editor-in-Chief of Khorage Magazine. She served as Production Manager at UMKC University News from 2015 to 2016. She graduated from UMKC in 2016 where she studied Family Studies. She graduated from Kansas City Kansas Community College in 2013. She is a graduate of Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, in KCK. You can hear her debut album at; http://mixtapemonkey.com/2073/khrystal-q-u-a-r-t-e-r-c-e-n-t-u-r-y-l-i-v-i-n-g. Khrystal also released the three song EP, The Glow Up produced by Duncan Burnett on November 7, 2017 ]

#4. Pale Tongue – Pale Tongue EP / Manor Records / October 5, 2018

18. Pale Tongue – “King in Yellow”
from: Pale Tongue EP / Manor Records / October 5, 2018
[Lawrence based 3-piece band formed by Carlos Calderon and Nick Fredrickson of The Appleseed Cast and bassist James Thomblinson of Arc Flash, and Psychic Heat. The trio has molded their ripping ‘dungeon rock’ sound into a fierce torrent of fuzz and fury, bending and merging gritty acidic psych-punk with hypnogogic dreamscapes, crafting a realm of experience dripping in cosmic horror and heady awe. Engineered by Mitch Hewlett. Mix and Mastered by Joel Coon.]

#3. Sona – Sona EP2 / Spounds Wierd Records / September 14, 2018

19. Sona – “Pop Song”
from: Sona EP 2 / Something Sounds Weird Records / September 14, 2018
[Sona began as the love child of husband and wife Brian and Jenna Goodman. Add Bobby Reeves on drums makes this alternative indie rock shoegaze post-punkLawrence Kansas based band a “power trio.” The EP was recorded at Fire & Ice Studios Baldwin, KS and was engineered/mixed by Steve Squire and mastered by Duane Trower with all songs written by SONA ©2018 Something Sounds Weird Records]

#4. Serene Fiend – Sowing Dischord / DK Records / July 27, 2018

20. Serene Fiend – “Just Wont Go Away”
from: Sowing Discord / DK Records / July 27, 2018
[Industrial pop-rock project from Lawrence, Kansas based Joel Bonner. Vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizers, Drum Programming, Mixing, Mastering by Joel Bonner. Written by Joel Bonner. I Heart Local Music calls Sowing Discord “warm and beautiful, wrapping you up its lush sound.”]

#1 CS Luxem – Symptoms / Whatever Forever / February 17, 2018

21. CS Luxem – “Let Me Go On”
from: Symptoms / Whatever Forever / February 17, 2018
[Debut full-length from CS Luxem who works as a solo artist as well as a collaborator. CS Luxem has released several EPs and has performed all over the United States and Europe. Info at http://www.csluxem.bandcamp.com]

Fally’s Honorable Mentions:
Brass and Boujee – “All Day”
Bummer – “Reefer Sadness” off Holy Terror
HighWesthus – “Fangs” off TAKOTSUBO: a love story
The Phantastics – “Life of the Party” off of Life of the Party EP
Duncan Burnett – “Black Boy Joy” off The Almighty
Calvin Arsenia – “Tip Toe” or “Toxic” off Cantaloupe

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

Next week on November 28, Wednesday MidDay Medley presents our Top 25 Singles of 2018 (These are stand alone single releases of 2018 that are not included on any EPs or full length album releases.)

Tune into Wednesday MidDay Medley throughout December as we present our 4-week special series: The 118 Best Recordings of 2018, on December 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th. This is our celebration of the year in music based on the playlists of this little ole radio 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/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM

Show #761