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, September 18, 2013

Marion Merritt’s Musical Discoveries
+ Eccentric Soul + Jimi Hendrix + Damon Bailey

1. Dimitri From Paris – “Prologue”

2. The Heavy – “Coleen (feat. The Dap-Kings Horns)”
from: Great Vengeance and Furious Fire / Ninja Tune Records / Oct. 29, 2007
[Debut studio album by English indie rock band The Heavy, released September 17, 2007 in the United Kingdom and April 8, 2008 in the United States. The title is a reference to a line spoken by Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction.]

3. The Heavy – “Brukpocket’s Lament”
from: Great Vengeance and Furious Fire / Ninja Tune Records / Oct 29, 2007
[Kelvin Swaby (Vocals), Dan Taylor (Guitar), Spencer Page (Bass) & Chris Ellul (Drums). Taylor & Swaby became friends when they bonded over vintage R&B music & Jim Jarmusch films and soon formed the band.]

4. The Julie Ruin – “Just My Kind”
from: Run Fast / Discharge – TJR Records / September 3, 2013
[The Julie Ruin was formed in 2010 in NYC. The band rehearses in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and records at Oscilloscope. Band members include Carmine Covelli, Sara Landeau, Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Kenny Mellman.]

5. The Julie Ruin – “Oh Come On”
from: Run Fast / Discharge – TJR Records / September 3, 2013
[In December 2010, The Julie Ruin previewed a performance at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. In 2012, The Julie Ruin released the song “Girls Like Us,” featuring queercore artist Vaginal Davis, as a free download as part of a series inspired by the book Real Man Adventures by T. Cooper. ]

10:15

6. Willis Earl Beal – “Coming Through (feat. Cat Power)”
from: Nobody Knows. / XL Records / Sept. 6, 2013
[Beal was born in Chicago, Illinois. In his early twenties Beal joined the US Army, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Beal was medically discharged from the army due to intestinal problems. He then returned to Chicago where he worked at Sears Tower, following a five month hospital stay. In 2007, Beal moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here Beal spent some time homeless, and working entry-level jobs, notably as a night-shift security guard. During this time Beal began to record music, leaving CD-Rs in public spaces around Albuquerque. Beal would also leave self-illustrated flyers around the town in the hope of finding a girlfriend. One of these flyers was discovered by Found Magazine who put Beal on the cover of their magazine. Found later released a limited-edition box set called The Willis Earl Beal Collection, which included Beal’s poetry, artwork and a 17-song album. Through these flyers and the subsequent coverage in Found, Beal was contacted by more than 100 members of the public. Beal participated in auditions for Simon Cowell’s The X Factor television show, but dropped out of the “boot-camp” stage of the competition. In 2012, Beal signed a recording contract with Hot Charity, an imprint of independent record label, XL Recordings. Beal’s first single for the labels, “Evening’s Kiss” was released on February 17, 2012 and the accompanying music video was illustrated by Beal. Beal’s debut album, entitled Acousmatic Sorcery was released on April 2, 2012. He will also star in a film entitled ‘MEMPHIS’ directed by Tim Sutton that will premiere at the 2013 Venice film festival.]

7. Willis Earl Beal – “Burning Bridges”
from: Nobody Knows. / XL Records / Sept. 6, 2013 [.]

10:26 – Underwriting

10:27

8. King Khan & The Shrines – “Born To Die”
from: Idle No More / Merge Records / Sept/ 3, 2013
[King Khan and the Shrines, sometimes referred to as King Khan and (His) Sensational Shrines or The Supreme Genius of King Khan and His Sensational Shrines, are a Berlin-based garage rock and psychedelic soul band. The band was founded in 1999 by then 22-year-old King Khan, formerly of Canadian garage rock outfits The Spaceshits (where he operated under the pseudonym Blacksnake) and Kukamongas. The band is noted for its impressive stage antics. Typically King Khan is scantily clad, and the overwhelming frontman. His performances feature cheerleader/go-go dancer Bamboorella and a mixture of instrumentation including, but not limited to: keyboard, baritone saxophone, guitar, bass, and drums.]

10:30

9. King Khan & The Shrines – “Thorn in Her Pride”
from: Idle No More / Merge Records / Sept/ 3, 2013

10:33 – The Fabulous Rhythm Makers, Marva Whitney from the new Numero Group release Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label.

10. The Fabulous Rhythm Makers – “Mini, Mini Afro Twist”
from: Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label / Numero Group – Cleanteen Records / Sept. 3, 2013
[The Numero Group record label (“Numero” for short) was founded in 2003, by Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier, and Ken Shipley (a former A&R manager for the equally eclectic Rykodisc label).The label’s first release was a reissue of rare soul and R&B music first released by the defunct Capsoul label, which was founded in Columbus, Ohio, by William Roger “Bill” Moss. Here is the label’s stated mission (according to their website at http://www.numerogroup.com): The mission was simple: to dig deep into the recesses of our record collections with the goal of finding the dustiest gems begging to be released from their exile on geek street. No longer would $500 singles sit in a temperature-controlled room dying for a chance to be played. No more would the artists, writers, and entrepreneurs who made these records happen go unknown and unappreciated.]

11. Marva Whitney – “With Fun In My Life”
from: Eccentric Soul: The Forte Label / Numero Group – Cleanteen Records / Sept. 3, 2013
[Born Marva Ann Manning, May 1, 1944 in Kansas City, Kansas. Whitney’s performing career started as early as three years old while touring with her family’s gospel group, the Manning Gospel Singers. In 1960, when she was 16, she joined a Kansas gospel group, the Alma Whitney Singers, and ended up marrying Harry Whitney, the brother-in-law of the group’s leader. Ever since, she has gone by her married name, Marva Whitney. Marva Whitney is well known as a funk vocalist. Singing with James Brown in the late 1960s, she was able to make a name for herself with powerful songs like “I’m Tired, I’m Tired, I’m Tired (Things Better Change Before Its Too Late)” and “If You Don’t Work (You Can’t Eat).” Her recording of “It’s My Thing (You Can’t Tell Me Who to Sock It To)” reached the R&B Top 20. Her song “Unwind Yourself” has been sampled numerous times, most recognisably by DJ Mark the 45 King on his 1987 track “The 900 Number”, which was then sampled by DJ Chad Jackson on his 1990 hit single “Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)” (UK #3 in July 1990), by DJ Kool on his 1996 hit “Let Me Clear My Throat” (UK #6 in March 1997), Sway on his 2009 track Mercedes Benz and Mac Miller on his 2011 track Party On Fifth Ave. In 2006, Marva Whitney collaborated with German born DJ/collector/manager DJ Pari and Japanese funk orchestra Osaka Monaurail to produce a new single, “I Am What I Am”. Osaka Monaurail style themselves on the James Brown sound and the single was produced in the fashion of an authentic release of the recordings she produced with Brown in 1969. Two successful tours of Japan and a full length album release followed, also entitled “I Am What I Am”. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the tour was also brought to Europe. In December 2009, Whitney collapsed on stage in front of thousands of fans in Lorne, Australia, while performing with The Transatlantics at Falls Festival. She was immediately rushed to Geelong Hospital, where doctors diagnosed a stroke. The remaining dates of her tour had to be canceled, but Whitney made a recovery and performed again in 2010. In December 2012, Whitney died from complications of pneumonia at her home. She was 68]

10:40

12. Okkervil River – “Down Down The Deep River (edited)”
from: The Silver Gymnasium / ATO Records / Sept. 3, 2013
[Okkervil River is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. They self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first album in a garage, they signed with Jagjaguwar. Okkervil River continued by releasing four more albums, including the critically lauded concept album Black Sheep Boy. After a period of touring for Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River followed up with The Stage Names. The album sold 10,000 in its opening week in the United States. The group released a free covers album, Golden Opportunities Mixtape from their live performances. The band has garnered positive critical reception. Especially noted are each song’s lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and relation to the album’s themes. In addition, they were featured on the talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien and have performed with high profile bands such as The Decemberists, The New Pornographers, The National, and Lou Reed. Okkervil River released the album The Stand Ins on 9 September, 2008. They promoted the release with a series of cover songs from the album on YouTube by people they’ve met as a band. Their 2010 collaboration as a backing band with psychedelic rocker Roky Erickson yielded True Love Cast Out All Evil. On 10 May, 2011, Okkervil River released their sixth full-length album, I Am Very Far, which peaked at No 32 on the Billboard 200. The band released their seventh album, The Silver Gymnasium]

13. Califone – “Stiches”
from: Stiches / Dead Oceans / August 30, 2013
[Experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed. After the breakup of his former band Red Red Meat, frontman Tim Rutili formed Califone as a solo project. Rutili’s solo effort soon became a full-fledged musical project with a regular and rotating list of contributors, including many former members of Red Red Meat and some members of other Chicago bands. According to Rutili, Califone started as a home project: “The statement of intent would have been ‘easy listening’ compared to what we were doing with Red Red Meat. This was supposed to be making little pop songs out of found pieces. It was supposed to be just a little home project, and it slowly grew from there. Now it seems like just about anything goes.”Califone’s sound is a combination of Red Red Meat’s blues-rock and experimental music, with inspiration drawn from early American folk music, pop, as well as electronic and groups like Psychic TV. Listeners familiar with Red Red Meat can quickly tell that Califone is not an attempt to revive the old band; elements from a number of musical styles contribute to their distinctive sound. Califone’s current lineup includes Joe Adamik (drums), Jim Becker (banjo, violin), Ben Massarella (percussion), and Tim Rutili (vocals, guitar, keyboards). Each member is a multi-instrumentalist.]

10:55 – Two Bands with Justin Vernon as Member

14. The Shouting Matches – “I Had a Real Good Lover”
from: Mouthoil – EP / Middle West / August 27, 2012
[Brian Moen, Phil Cook and Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) played one show as The Shouting Matches nearly seven years ago. They reunited in Eau Claire, Wisconsin this past year and a made a record fusing influences into what they do best: playing together. Over years of sharing stages and studios in a myriad of projects, they come together as a trio and give you this here ‘Grownass Man.’]

11:02 – Station ID

15. Volcano Choir – “Tiderays”
from: Repave / JagJaguar / Aug. 30, 2013
[Wisconsin based “Astro-Folk” band formed in 2008 by Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Matthew Skemp Daniel Spack, Justin Vernon, Thomas Wincek. Over a year after its well-received release in September 2009, a decision was made to adapt ‘Unmap’ to live performance and to tour Japan. After which, it was clear that Volcano Choir existed as a fully formed entity, or as Justin Vernon succinctly puts it, “those six shows told us everything about what we could be.” There would be another record, but as with Unmap, there was no timeline. There were writing sessions that continued for years, sometimes within a couple of months of one another, sometimes within half of a year between Nov. 2010 and March 2013. Suddenly there was ‘Repave.’]

New Single Releases

16. of Montreal – “Fugitive Air”
from: Lousey With Sylvianbriar / Polyvinyl / October 8, 2013 [Single release July 23]
[Athens, Georgia based rock band, founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman “of Montreal.” The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective. Throughout its existence, of Montreal’s musical style has evolved from vaudeville and Beatles-influenced psychedelic twee pop to a mixture of electronica, funk, glam, and afrobeat music influenced by Prince and David Bowie. Lousy with Sylvianbriar is the upcoming twelfth studio album.]

17. Mazzy Star – “California”
from: Seasons of Your Day / Rhymes of an Hour / September 24, 2013 [Single release Aug. 20]
[4th studio album by alternative rock band formed in Santa Monica, California, in 1989, a collaboration of guitarist David Roback and bassist Kendra Smith. Roback’s friend Hope Sandoval became the group’s vocalist when Smith left the band. Mazzy Star is best known for the song “Fade into You” which brought the band some success in the mid-1990s and was the group’s biggest mainstream hit, earning extensive exposure on MTV, VH1, and radio airplay. Roback and Sandoval are the creative center of the band, with Sandoval as lyricist and Roback as composer of the majority of the band’s material. Mazzy Star has deep roots within the Californian Paisley Underground movement of the early 1980s. David Roback, along with his brother Steven, was one of the main architects of leading Los Angeles psychedelic revival band, the Rain Parade.]

11:16 – Underwriting

11:17 – Interview with Damon Bailey

Kansas City based singer songwriter Damon Bailey was part of the popular reggae band Seed Love. He is now in the final stages of recording his new album with his new band Quest United Heart. Damon performs as a solo artist also and will be in concert, Friday, October 4, at Californos in Westport, along with members of Hidden Pictures.

Damon Bailey was a member of Seed Love, a very popular band that he played with for several years. He is now making different music as a solo artist and with various bands including Quest United Heart.

11:20

18. Damon Bailey – “Quest United Heart” (LIVE)
Song will be available on the Quest United Heart release to be expected on Valentine’s Day 2014

11:29

19. Damon Bailey – “Forrest Avenue” (LIVE)
written by Damon Bailey for Jesse Harris and his band Gypsy Sparrows

Damon Bailey will be in concert, Friday, October 4, at Californos in Westport, along with members of Hidden Pictures.

11:40

20. Quest United Heart – “Black and Mild”
from: Quest United Heart / Indep. / To Be released: Valentine’s Day 2014

11:44

21. Roky Erickson – “It’s A Cold Night For Alligators”
from: The Evil One / Light In The Attic Records / 2013 [orig. 1981]
[2nd album from American singer, songwriter, harmonica player & guitarist from Texas, born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15, 1947). He was a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre.]

22. Roky Erickson – “Creature With the Atom Brain”
from: The Evil One / Light In The Attic Records / 2013 [orig. 1981]

11:53

23. Jimi Hendrix – “Somewhere”
from: People, Hell & Angels / Hendrix Music / March 1, 2013
[12 never before released Hendrix studio recordings, showcasing his work outside of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience trio. Beginning in 1968, Hendrix grew restless, eager to develop new material with old friends and new ensembles. Outside the view of a massive audience that had established the Experience as rock’s largest grossing concert act . Earth Blues is unlike the version first issued as part of Rainbow Bridge in 1971, this December 19, 1969 master take features just Hendrix, Billy Cox on bass, and Buddy Miles on drums.]

11:59:30

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

Marion Merritt is the co-creator of the blog: a2-m3.com providing information about: Music, Film, Art, Books, Television, Technology, with links, downloads, and articles keeping us current with the latest musical and film news.

Sources for notes on tracks: artist’s websites and wikipedia.org

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Show #491