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 25, 2013

New & Local Releases + Judy Mills of Mills Record Company
+ Joel Nanos of Element Recording Studio

1. Marva Whitney – “Daddy Don’t Know About Sugar Bear”
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]

10:05

2. Ha Ha Tonka – “Rewrite Our Lives”
from: Lessons / Bloodshot Records / September 24, 2013
[Formed in Springfield, Missouri their music is steeped in Ozark folk. Originally from West Plains, Missouri. Brett Anderson – keyboard, guitar, and vocals; Lennon Bone – drums & vocals; Lucas Long – bass & vocals; Brian Roberts -guitar & vocals. Signed to Bloodshot Records out of Chicago. The band is named after Ha Ha Tonka state park in southern Missouri.]

[Ha Ha Tonka are hitting the road and they’ll play a special “Lessons” Release show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas, this Saturday, September 28, with Amanda Shires.]

3. Katy Guillen & The Girls – “The Race”
from: Katy Guillen & The Girls – EP / Independent/ August, 2013
[Formerly: The Katy Guillen Trio, prior to that: Katy & Go Go. The current band was formed in KC in Sept. of 2012 w/ Katy Guillen (guitar, vocals), Claire Adams (bass, vocals) & Stephanie Williams (drums).]

[Katy Guillen & The Girls play Coda, 1744 Broadway, KCMO, on Saturday, September 28 at 6:30pm]

10:12

4. The Silver Maggies – “End of Time”
from: My Pale Horse / Money Wolf Music / March 28, 2013
[Fronted by lead singer/songwriters – Patrick Deveny and Terrence Moore (American Catastrophe, The Black Water). Founding members include Felix Dukes on electric guitar, Jonathan Knecht on drums and Steve Tubbert (Zoom) on bass. Terrence joined The Silver Maggies in 2010 after performing with them that year at the Murder Ballad Ball. He brought several original songs to add to the repertoire and splits singing and songwriting duties. This spring the band added Amy Farrand (American Catastrophe, Atlantic Fadeout, EIO) on vocals and additional instrumentation, as well as Samon Rajabnik on B3 organ. Both artists performed on “My Pale Horse” and joined the band for a raucous set at the 2012 Murder Ballad Ball in Kansas City. The album was recorded over the last year by Chris Cosgrove at Black Lodge, Cosgrove Audio, WaveLab and Element Recording. Mixing was done in Tuscon, AZ at WaveLab by veteran producer/engineer Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Neko Case, DeVotchKa and many others).]

[The Silver Maggies play the Americana & Folk Rock Showcase at Californos, Fri., Sept. 27, at 9:00pm with The Clementines, The Walltalkers, Nikki & The Rooftop Punch, Tommy Donoho & Justin Penny.]

10:17 – Underwriting

In the 1st of a series of interviews about the music business in KC, we’ll feature individuals involved in production and recording and making the music available to listeners and fans.

10:18 – Interview with Judy Mills

Judy Mills opened Mills Record Company, a new independent record store, just 4 months ago at: 314 Westport Road, in Kansas City. Judy Mills has been a waitress, a student, a teacher, a poet, a corporate road warrior and a corporate retail slave.

Judy Mills, brought in some music for us today and new vinyl from Neko Case.

10:22

5. Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
from: Middle Cyclone / Anti – / 2009
[8th solo release of Neko Case who also performs with The New Pornographers. Released March 3, 2009. Grammy Nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Features “piano orchestra” made up of forsaken and abandoned pianos, asembled out in Neko’s barn on her farm. [Also: notorious 32 minute track of frogs.]

6. Neko Case – “Where Did I Leave That Fire”
from: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You / Anti- / Aug 30, 13

[Neko Case plays Liberty Hall, in Lawrence, Kansas, on Tuesday, October 15, at 8:00pm]

10:29

Judy Mills talked about her journey to open a record store and the resurgence of Vinyl.

Judy Mills is also a big Jack White fan.

[Jack White was born John Anthony Gillis on July 9, 1975. He is a musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. He is best known as the vocalist, guitarist and pianist of The White Stripes which disbanded February 2011. On April 24, 2012, White released his debut solo album, Blunderbuss which received wide critical acclaim. He is ranked No. 70 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. White’s popular and critical success with The White Stripes enabled him to collaborate as a solo artist with other renowned musicians, such as Beck, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Alicia Keys, Bob Dylan, Electric Six, and Loretta Lynn, whose 2004 album Van Lear Rose he produced and performed on. In 2006, White became a founding member of the rock band The Raconteurs. In 2009, he became a founding member and drummer of his third commercially successful group, The Dead Weather.]

10:36

7. The Raconteurs – “Broken Boy Soldier”
from: Broken Boy Soldiers / Third Man Records / May 16, 2006
[Formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring: Jack White (of The White Stripes, and The Dead Weather), Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence (of The Greenhornes, Blanche and The Dead Weather), and Patrick Keeler (also of The Greenhornes). Broken Boy Soldier” is the title track and the third single to be released from the album Broken Boy Soldiers by The Raconteurs. This track was used in an episode of the NBC television series “Life”. Broken Boy Soldiers is the debut album by American rock band The Raconteurs, released May 16, 2006. The album was generally favored among critics and spawned the #1 hit single “Steady, As She Goes”. The album earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.]

Judy Mills talked with us about her store hosting a “cassette store day,” and “in store” performances from: Akkilles, Lazy, Bloodbirds, Maps For Travelors (to name a few).

10:45

8. Braids – “Fruend”
from: Flourish // Perish / Domino / August 20, 2013
[2nd album from art rock band from Calgary, Alberta, currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Braids currently consists of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith. The band members (along with former member Katie Lee) met at a young age and began collaborating in high school. Their debut album Native Speaker was released on January 18, 2011 in Canada and the United States to generally positive reviews.]

DJ Shadow, seemed like a perfect choice for Judy’s last selection, since this recording is famous for being composed almost entirely of sampled content, most of which originated from various vinyl records obtained by DJ Shadow during trips to record shops.

10:54

Judy Mills is the proprietor of Mills Record Company, a new independent record store that just recently opened at 314 Westport Road, in Kansas City. More info at: http://www.MillsRecordCompany.com

9. DJ Shadow – “Midnight In a Perfect World (Gab Mix)”
from: Endtroducing… (Deluxe Edition) / Universal – Island Records / Nov. 19, 1996
[Joshua Paul “Josh” Davis was born June 29, 1972. He is a music producer and DJ. He is a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album “Endtroducing…..”. He has an exceptionally large personal record collection, with over 60,000 records. Endtroducing….. is famous for being composed almost entirely of sampled content, most of which originated from various vinyl records obtained by DJ Shadow during trips to record shops. Endtroducing….. was produced by Shadow in the span of two years using minimal equipment, most notably the Akai MPC60 sampler. In creating the album’s overall atmosphere, he strived to capture the downbeat nature of his previous releases for the Mo’ Wax label. The album’s content features both moody, slow-paced tracks and upbeat jams reminiscent of DJ Shadow’s early hip hop influences.]

11:00

10. FIDLAR – “Gimmie Something”
from: FIDLAR / Mom + Pop / January 22, 2013
[Debut from L.A. based skate punk/garage punk band. Elvis Kuehn (guitar/vocals) & Max Kuehn (drums) are sons of Greg Kuehn, keyboardist for Long Beach punk legends T.S.O.L., Zac Carper (vocals/guitar) is son of famed surfboard designer John Carper, along with bassist Brandon Schwartzel, the 4 have been performing together as FIDLAR since 2009. The name is an acronym for “(Bleep) It Dog, Life’s a Risk’, a skate mantra from singer Zac Carper’s former roommates.]

[FIDLAR plays Czar Bar, Friday, September 27, with The Orwells]

11. Animal Collective – “Mercury Man”
from: Centipede Hz / Domino / September 24, 2012
[9th studio album by American experimental psychedelic band that grew out of childhood friendships in Baltimore County and Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Lisbon. The band consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). Records released under the name Animal Collective may include contributions from any or all of these members; the lineup is not uniform. The group also runs the record label Paw Tracks on which they have released their own material as well as that of other artists.]

[Animal Collective will play The Midland, Thursday, October 24, with Deradoorian. On our Oct. 9 Fall Fund Drive Show, during Wednesday Midday Medley only, we will be giving 2 tickets to see Animal Collective as a “Thank You Gift” for the first 10 donations, on MC/Visa of $50.00 or more.]

12. Helen Gillet – “Atchafalaya”
from: Helen Gillet / Independent / June 8, 2012
[Recorded by Chad Meise in KCMO. Mastered by John Fishback (New Orleans); Produced, Composed and Performed by Helen Gillet. A familiar face in New Orleans’ experimental jazz scene. Her first New Orleans-recorded album, “Running of the Bells,” was released in 2011. Helen Gillet’s album has been compared to intensity and grace of John Cale and the recordings of The Velvet Underground and Nick Drake. Hellen Gillet was part of WE an art/performance/installation created in 2011 by Jane Gotch and Mark Southerland.]

[Helen Gillet plays TOMORROW NIGHT, Sept. 26, at 8:30 pm, in Sean Starowitz rocket grant funded series at the Walnut Place Laundromat, with Snuff Jazz and James Singleton and Brian Steever.]

[Helen Gillet plays a special CD release show for her new recording Ferdinand, at The Brick, 1727 McGee, Friday, September 27, at 9:00pm, with James Singleton on Bass, effects, and pocket trumpet, and Helen Gillet on Cello, and effects.]

[Helen Gillet on Cello & James Singleton on Bass will do a stripped down acoustic show performing music from Gillet’s new Ferdinand, at Birdies, 116 West 18th street, on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 pm]

13. La Guerre – “Lake Ontario”
from: The Three [EP] / The Record Machine / May 7, 2013
[Katlyn Conroy is a singer songwriter who is based in Lawrence, KS and is a member of, Cowboy Indian Bear. La Guerre is the Fench for “war.” La Guerre just released a 7-song EP called “Violent” w/ The Record Machine on Aug. 20, 2013.]

[La Guerre plays the recordBar, 1020 Westport Rd, Tuesday, October 1, at 9:00pm with Springfield-based lullabye-rock 5-piece Plaid Dragon, and also: Echo Collider.]

11:16 – Interview with Joel Nanos

Joel Nanos, musician, producer, engineer and owner of Element Recording Studio. Joel has been part of the recording of some of our favorite releases of the year from: The Architects, The Grisly Hand, Soft Reeds, Radkey, She’s a Keeper, Maps for Travelers, La Guerre, and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear.

Joel brought in six songs, that he has worked on, to share with our listening audience

We just heard La Guerre, (Katlyn Conroy’s musical project)

Joel talked about making the transition of being a musician to owning his own recording studio.

So much of the great local music we play on this show has your name attached to it as engineer and/or producer. For many in our listening audience, can you talk about the differences in working as an engineer and working as a producer?

One of the musical duos that Joel introduced has worked with is Madisen Ward and his mother Ruth Ward, who we invited to play live on Wednesday MidDay Medley on July 10. Ruth Ward told us that there was a family connection that brought them into Joel’s recording studio to do their beautiful recording, “We Burned The Cane Field.”

11:21

14. Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear – “Darling Moon”
from: We Burned The Cane Field / Independent / October 6, 2012
[Singer songwriter, Madisen Ward graduated from William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri in 2007. He plays live and records with his Mother, Ruth WardMama Bear, both on guitar, with Mama Bear harmonizing with her son. Their debut EP was recorded in Kansas city’s Element Recording by Joel Nanos.]

11:27 – Underwriting

11:28

Joel Nanos shared his observations of the local music scene.

Joel is currently working on new music with the band Hidden Pictures.

11:32

15. Hidden Pictures – “Where Does The Story Go”
from: Unmastered mix from recording sessions / / 2013
[Richard Gintowt – vox, guitar; Claire Adams – vox, electric uke axe; Chad Toney – bass; Nate Holt – keys; Cameron Hawk – drums. Richard Gintowt who was formerly in the the band OK Jones, has been a frequent music writer and reviewer for The Pitch and other publications. Richard also operates his own DJ company. Richard Gintowt joined us on Wednesday MidDay Medley, on July 25, 2012.]

11:35

Lauren Krum and Mike Stover of The Grisly Hand were on Wednesday MidDay Medley back on April 24 to talk about their wonderful full-length recording “Country Singles.”

11:39

16. The Grisly Hand – “Phineas Gage”
from: Country Singles / Independent / April 26, 2013
[The Grisly Hand, is a Kansas City based, six member band that first started playing live in 2009. The current line up includes: Jimmy Fitzner (Guitar and Vocals), Lauren Krum (Vocals and Percussion), Johnny Nichols (Bass and Vocals), Matt Richey (Drums), Mike Stover (Steel Guitar), and Ben Summers (Guitar and Mandolin). The band’s debut release “Safe House” was release in November of 2010. Their EP “Western Avenue” was one of our Best Recordings of 2012 . More info at: thegrislyhand.com]

[The Grisly Hand play The Brick, Sunday, September 29]

11:42

We talked with Joel Nanos about how the music industry is changing so quickly.

Last year, one of our favorite local bands picked up all of their members and moved as a group to Portland, Oregon, and have just released a new EP “What’s More Than Appropriate?” that Joel produced.

11:46

17. Minden – “What’s More Than Appropriate?”
from: What’s More Than Appropriate? / Independent / July 24, 2013
[Recorded in October 2012 by Larry Crane at Jackpot Studio (PDX). All songs written by Casey Burge and Minden. Casey Burge (vocals), Dan Talmadge (keyboard, vocals), Lia Gist (vocals), James Taylor (guitar), Evan Houston (bass), Ryan Johnson (drums). Mixed and mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Studio (KCMO). Art direction by Andrew Heuback.]

11:49

Joel Nanos is owner of Element Recording.

More information at: http://www.elementrecordingstudios.com

18. She’s A Keeper – “Plattsburg”
rom: Sterling / Independent / Oct/Nov. 2013
[5-piece band from Kansas City, includes: Fritz Hutchison – vocals, banjo, percussion; Zac Jurden – vocals, guitar; Colin Nelson – vocals, guitar; Elliott Phillips – bass, mandolin; Kate Sopcich – cello, keyboard. The band is currently working on a second full-length album. Zac sent us this track which is one of two singles off our new record. The song is named after the place in Missouri. Zac told us that they are looking to release the new record in october or november if everything goes according to plan. ]

[She’s A Keeper play at Concert for the Climate, Saturday, Sept. 28, starting at 11:00 am at Kaw Point Riverfront Park. You can go to http://www.ConcertForTheClimate.org for all event details.]

Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:

WednesdayMidDayMedley.org
facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
kkfi.org

11:59:30

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

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

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

Show #492