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, July 20, 2016

Beth Byrd & Patrick Rippeto & KC Fringe
+ Diane Hightower & The Last Michigan
+ Teri Quinn

1. “Main Title Instrumental – “It’s Showtime Folks”
from: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / 1980
[WMM’s theme song]

2. Prairie Empire – “Like Birds”
from: The Salt / Commodore Trotter Records / July 1, 2016
[Brooklyn based trio of Brittain Ashford on vocals & guitar, Nim Ben-Reuven on drums, Jacki Paolella on bass & keyboards. (For their 2016 tour: Mike Marcinowsk is on drums). The band describe their sound as, “folk acoustic, folk-ish sad bastard music.” Brittain Ashford will make her Broadway debut in the fall of 2016, starring in “Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.” Music and Libretto by Dave Malloy Adapted from War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Directed by Rachel Chavkin. She was nominated for a 2014 Lucille Lortel Award for her work in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway production of this musical. More info at: http://www.prairieempire.org.]

3. Laura Mvula – “Overcome (feat. Nile Rodgers)”
from: The Dreaming Room / Sony Music UK / June 17, 2016
[British soul singer-songwriter grew up in the Birmingham suburbs of Selly Park and Kings Heath with two younger siblings and was influenced by the girl band Eternal. Her mother is from Saint Kitts and her father is from Jamaica. In 2005, Mvula sang with Black Voices, an a cappella group set up by her aunt. In 2008, she formed a jazz/neo-soul group called Judyshouse, singing lead vocals and writing material for the band. Mvula was Director of the Lichfield Community Gospel Choir, founded by Black Voices and Lichfield Festival in 2009. She has previously directed the Alvechurch Community Choir. Mvula graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire at the Birmingham City University with a degree in composition. While she was working as a supply teacher in a Birmingham secondary school, she started writing songs on her laptop. She was working as a receptionist when she sent out two demos to several people in the music industry. One of them, Steve Brown, heard the songs and sent them to his manager, Kwame Kwaten, who would become Mvula’s manager.]

4. Wye Oak – “Watching the Waiting”
from: Tween / Merge Records / July 9, 2016
[5th studio album from Baltimore, Maryland based indie duo. Tween is unique in that all the songs were “written, scrapped, and re-purposed” by Wye Oak in between the years 2011 and 2014. Therefore, the tracks for the album are all remnants from their past albums Civilian and Shriek. Andy Stack on drums, keyboards, & backup vocals and Jenn Wasner on vocals, guitars, and bass. Their sound has been described as “earnest folk-influenced indie rock with touches of noise and dream pop”. Wasner sings lead vocals and plays electric or acoustic guitar, while Stack plays both drums and keyboards, playing the drums with his feet and right hand, and the bass line with his left hand. The band was formed as Monarch in mid-2006, before changing their name to Wye Oak, a reference to the former state tree of their home state of Maryland.]

[Wye Oak play recordBar, Saturday, July 30, with Tuskha, and Jaenki.]

10:15 – Underwriting

5. Rooftop Vigilantes – “Oracle Cop”
from: Let It Be / High Dive Records / July 22, 2016
[3rd full-length, from Lawrence, danger-pop, 4-piece, formed in 2008. Zach Campbell, Oscar Allen, Hannah Hyde & Seth Wiese released their debut record “Carrot Atlas” in 2009 have toured to non-stop since, and have “slept on every couch, floor, dirty mattress there is in the lower 48.” Twice this band has been signed to record labels that later went out of business. They have now been signed to High Dive Records. For this new album, most of the songs were recorded in the basement of band member Seth Wiese. They finished the album on tour, and some of the parts were done in NYC, as was the mixing.]

[Rooftop Vigilantes play an album release show at The Blind Tiger, Friday, July 22 with Shy Boys, The Conquerors & Toys That Kill]

[Rooftop Vigilantes play an album release show at The Replay Lounge, Saturday, July 23]

6. Potter’s Field – “Run On”
from: Potter’s Field [EP] / Independent / May 16, 2016
[Dan Mesh on guitars, keyboards & vocals; Gary Paredes on guitar & backing vocals; Cory Corbino on bass & backing vocals; and Paul Lemon on drums & percussion. All songs by Dan Mesh. Recorded at Hammerhead Studio by Mike Moreland. Mastered at largely Pro Audio by Pat Tomek.]

7. Chess Club – “Nadie”
from: Hi Sad / Independent / January 29, 2016
[Debut EP from Lawrence based math-rock trio recorded from August of 2015-January of 2016. Recorded and mixed by Joel Martin. This album was performed by the members of Chess Club: Griffin Nelson on guitar & vocals, Cooper Avery on drums, and David Krejci on bass.]

[Chess Club play Records With Merritt, Thursday August 11, at 8:00 PM, with JANK from Philadelphia, Boy Rex from Oympia Washington, and Fling from Columbia, MO.]

8. Shearwater – “Quiet Americans”
from: Jet Plane and Oxbow / Sub Pop Records / January 22, 2016
[8th studio album by the Austin, Texas, based band led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg. In 1999, Meiburg and his Okkervil River bandmate Will Sheff, founded Shearwater as an outlet for quieter songs on which they were collaborating. The band’s name comes from the shearwater, a tribe of seabirds related to petrels and albatrosses. Meiburg, who holds a master’s degree in geography with a focus on ornithology, picked the name mostly for the sound of the word.] [Shearwater is currently on tour in Europe]

10:30 – Beth Byrd & Patrick Rippeto

Beth Byrd Lonski is Artistic-Director of Byrd Productions Physical Theater, founded in 1995. With over 30 years of profession work as a mime, clown, physical theater artist, producer of physical theater and teacher, Beth has toured the country as a solo artist for schools and libraries. Beth has appeared in television and film and commercials, and has collaborated with Kansas City Renaissance Festival, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, City in Motion Dance Theatre, The Folly Theatre, the Reynolds Family Circus, Dance in The Park, KC Fringe Fest. Beth was an original board member of the Just Off Broadway Theatre. Beth studied at The Goldstone & Johnson School for Mime with Marcel Marceau and is a 2014 Charlotte Street Foundation Urban Culture Project Studio Resident.

Patrick Reppito is an actor, writer, director and teacher. Patrick has been involved in theatre ever since he was a high school freshman at Excelsior Springs. He studied Speech and Theatre Education Northwest Missouri State University and finished at U.M.K.C. where he performed in several shows including; The Laramie Project, Ash Girl, and Black Comedy/White Liars. Patrick studied Commedia dell’Arte at Scuola Internazionale della Commedia dell’Arte e dell’Attore Comico. Patrick has also performed at The Living Room Theatre’s Titus Andronicus, Relevance Production’s The Tempest and Byrd Productions where he was in The French Cabaret that was performed at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. Patrick is the writer and director of The Treasure of the Golden Monkey King. Patrick also plays bass in the KC based band, Attic Light.

Beth Byrd and Patrick Rippeto join us to talk about their 2016 KC Fringe production, The Treasure of the Golden Monkey King, at The Jerome Stage of The Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main Street, KCMO presented by Byrd Productions Physical Theater and Commedia Kansas City. The play runs Saturday, July 23 through Saturday, July 30. More information at: http://www.byrdproductions.org, or http://www.kcfringe.org

Byrd Productions, and Commedia Kansas City present their first production

The Treasure of the Golden Monkey King – A comic story of greed, love and misdirection- tells the story of Isabella and Flavio two lovers to be wed. That is until Pantalone, Isabella’s greedy father denies the wedding. All is lost, until a mysterious traveler brings news of a prize so great that it could reunite the two love birds. What else could get in the way?

Unicorn Theatre, Jerome Stage, 3828 Main KCMO | 60m | Rated PG | byrdproductions.org

Cast:

Jordan Fox was in Spinning Tree Theatre (Amadeus), Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre (The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, The Full Monty, Mary Stuart, Ragtime, Pride’s Crossing, and The Kentucky Cycle), MeltingPot, KC (JFK: A Ghostly Eve.), and Stuffed Buffalo Productions (The Princess Bride, High Fidelity). In previous KC Fringe Festivals, Jordan has performed with Undisclosed Theatre Co. (The Impressionists), The Fishtank (Green Fish), and Central Standard Theatre with Bedtime Solos, which he then debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013. Jordan is a puppeteer with StoneLion Puppet Theatre, and also dabbles in directing, making his KC debut with Goat Song, for Westport Center for the Arts, in June. He has a lovely son, Jude, whom he loves, dearly.

Cooper Hart is a local performer, new to the Kansas City theatre scene. They went to Southwestern College for theatre, and now works with Sky Parade Circus, as well as running their own face painting and body art company.

Kait Dowling is a performer and photographer also known as “Kater Tot,” a comedic burlesque performer. She has recenty traveled to Texas, Alaska, and Colorado. Kait continues to study other forms of physical theater including clown and mask. Kait holds a BFA from the Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast MO State.

and also: Beth Byrd-Lonski and Patrick Rippito

July 23 – Saturday – 3:00pm | July 23 – Saturday – 10:30pm | July 24 – Sunday – 3:00pm |
July 27 – Wednesday – 6:00pm | July 28 – Thursday – 9:00pm | July 30 – Saturday – 7:30pm

Commedia Kansas City – Kickstarter Campaign for Commedia Kansas City – The Creation of a Company – Deadline: Sat, Jul 30 2016 10:39 AM CDT.

Commedia Kansas City is KC’s newest theatre company that will produce shows in the living style of Commedia dell’Arte.

Patrick, with Commedia Kansas City, hopes to introduce the audiences of KC to this charming style of theatre.

_________________________________________________________________________

Workshop Event: An introduction to Commedia dell’Arte: the style and characters.

Study with Patrick Rippeto, a student of the Commedia Maestro Antonio Fava, as he guides you through this classical style of improvised comedy. You will actively be learning the elements of Commedia dell’arte via the characters and masks that inhabit this zany style. Join us and be ready to move in this physical and fast paced workshop.

Produced by Byrd Productions in collaboration with: Commedia Kansas City and the KC Fringe Festival – Sunday, July 31, 10:00 – noon, at the Just Off Broadway Theater

_________________________________________________________________________

“Commedia Kansas City” – Film Screening – Tuesday, July 26 at 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

MTH Theater at Crown Center – 2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64108

“Commedia Kansas City,” a film created by Thad Parnell and Steve Valenzuela, will be screened as part of the Independent Film Coalition of Kansas City (IFCKC) Fringe Festival presentation. Other showings: July 26 & 28 at 6:30 PM, July 30 at 4:30 PM
__________________________________________________________________________

The Treasure of the Golden Monkey King, runs Saturday, July 23 through Saturday, July 3 at The Jerome Stage of The Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main Street, KCMO presented by Byrd Productions Physical Theater and Commedia Kansas City for the KCFringe Festival. More information at: http://www.byrdproductions.org, or http://www.kcfringe.org

Patrick also plays bass in the KC based band, Attic Light.
Attic Light will be playing the KC Fringe Festival closing night party on July 31

10:48

9. Attic Light – “Hot In Kansas City”
from: Hot In Kansas City – Single / Independent / July 22, 2016
[The newest single from Kansas City based 4-piece band, Attic Light that will be released onFriday, July 22. Attic Light who just recently finished several weeks of Midwest tour dates in support of our their second EP, The EXILE, recorded in Nashville and released on March 18. Attic Light is Nate Bowman on vocals & guitar, Michael Pittman on guitar, Patrick Rippeto on bass, and Joseph Dillman on drums.]

[Attic Light will be playing the KC Fringe Festival closing night party on July 31]

10. Teri Quinn – “Free of Wanting”
from: Moons and Meltdowns / Independent / April 17, 2016

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Interview with Teri Quinn

Kansas City based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Teri Quinn is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Teri Quinn moved to Kansas City in 2009 to study Clarinet Performance and Music Composition at the University Of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music where she graduated in 2013. Teri plays clarinet and guitar for Claire and the Crowded Stage. She is currently in the band Abandoned Bells with Krysztof Nemeth and Tyson Schroeder. Teri has also contributed experimental compositions for The Black House Collective. On April 17, Teri Quinn released her debut EP, Moons and Meltdowns.

Teri Quinn will play at Anton’s, 1610 Main St. Sunday, July 24, at 7:00 pm, with The Lowest Pair, and Natalie Prauser, Sponsored by Stewart U 360, and MudStomp Records.

At Folk Alliance International Teri Quinn met Kendl Winter & Palmer T. Lee of the Olympia / Minneapolis duo: The Lowest Pair.

This year The Lowest Pair released TWO full length albums:
Uncertain As It is Uneven and Fern Girl & Ice Man on Team Love Records

11:05

11. The Lowest Pair – “Holy Buckets”
from: Uncertain As It is Uneven / Team Love Records / April 15, 2016
[The Lowest Pair is Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee. Uncertain As It Is Uneven is the fourth album by The Lowest Pair it was released, together with Fern Girl & Ice Man their fifth full length release.]

[The Lowest Pair, will play at Anton’s, 1610 Main St., Sunday, July 24, at 7:00 pm, with Teri Quinn, and Natalie Prauser Sponsored by Stewart U 360, MudStomp Records.]

11:11

12. Teri Quinn – “Old Bones” (Live)
[a new original song from Teri Quinn]

11:17

13. Teri Quinn – “Leave” (Live)
[a new original song from Teri Quinn]

Teri Quinn also met 17 year old, KC based singer-songwriter Natalie Prauser at this year’s Folk Alliance International.

Natalie was one of top 5 Finalist for American Songwriter’s Award 2015

Teri Quinn , Natalie Prauser and The Lowest Pair, will all be in concert together, Sunday, July 24, at 7:00 pm, at Anton’s, 1610 Main St. KCMO.

11:23

14. Natalie Prauser – “so it goes”
from: being / Independent / June 17, 2016
[17 year old KC based singer-songwriter was one of top 5 Finalist for American Songwriter’s Award 2015 ]

15. Toshi Reagon – “Terrify Me”
from: There And Back Again / Music For Your Life / May 10, 2011
[Toshi Reagon was born 1964 in Atlanta. She is the daughter of Freedom Singers co-founders Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, with whom she has sometimes collaborated on musical projects. Her father is Cordell Hull Reagon, a leader of the civil rights movement in Albany, member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and co-founder of The Freedom Singers. She is also the goddaughter of folk singer, Pete Seeger and named after his wife, Toshi Seeger. Reagon began performing when she dropped out of college; soon afterward, Lenny Kravitz invited her to open for him on his first world tour. She has since shared the stage with performers ranging from Ani Difranco to Elvis Costello. Reagon, a lesbian, lives in Brooklyn, New York with her partner and their daughter.]

[Toshi Reagon with her band BigLovely, played the 40th annual Michican Women’s Music Festival, August 7, 2015, with Holly Near, Mellissa Ferrick, Ferron, Cris Williamson, Laura Love and Big Bad Gina, Jill Sobule, Betty, and many others for “The Last Michigan.”]

11:30 – Interview with Diane Hightower

Diane Hightower is someone I’ve known since 1990 when we both were part of a group of performers and artists and activists known as Big Bang Buffet. I’ve known Diane as a friend, a photographer, and a documentary film maker, as an animal rescuer, as a human rights activist, as a mom, a wife, a survivor, and now as a playwright. Diane Hightower joins us to share information about her new original play that will be featured at the 2016 KC Fringe Festival, The Last Michigan, takes place in August 2015, during the last year of the 40-year running, Michigan Women’s Music Festival. Diane Hightower’s show runs July 22 through July 30, at The Buffalo Room. More information at: http://www.kcfringe.org

We just heard Toshi Reagan who played the 40th annual Michican Women’s Music Festival, August 7, 2015, ”The Last Michigan.”

Diane Hightower was at The Last Michigan.

Background on Michigan Women’s Michigan Festival:

Michigan Women’s Music Festival, called “the Original Womyn’s Woodstock” and often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, was an international feminist music festival held every August from 1976 to 2015 in Oceana County, Michigan, USA, near Hart Township, in a small wooded area known as “The Land.” The event was completely built, staffed, run and attended by women. The 40th Festival, in August 2015, was the last one.

As a private, women-only camping event, the Michigan festival was founded in 1976 by 19-year-old Lisa Vogel, who, with sister Kristie Vogel and friend Mary Kindig, planned an event along the lines of the recent Boston Women’s Music Festival and the Midwest Women’s Festival. Attendance ranges from 3,000 to 10,000.

Women build all of the stages, run the lighting and sound systems, make the trash collection rounds, serve as electricians, mechanics, security, medical and psychological support, cook meals for thousands over open fire pits, provide childcare, and facilitate workshops covering various topics of interest to the attendees, who are referred to as “festies”. Hundreds of women spend upwards of a month out on the land building the festival from the ground up because every year the festival is torn down, leaving the land as close to how it was found as possible

Diane Hightower’s play The Last Michigan is fictional piece, but she does bring themes from her real life into the story. In the play, The characters of Annie and Michelle are in a longtime relationship. Michelle a cancer survivor. Diane is a four time survivor of cancer and is also in a long term relationship with her wife and they have two sons.

Synopsis: Annie is driven to the edge by her cravings for physical touch; Michelle struggles to feel more confident about her cancer-ravaged body. What starts out as a carefree journey to the annual women’s music festival of Michigan turns into unanswered questions about what makes a relationship work. Come along for the journey as this new play follows two lesbians into a secret forest full of feminists.

Starring Wendy Buchheit, Stephanie Spalding, Rebecca Ralstin, and Anita Davis.

Directed by Emerson Rapp. 60m R (adult language, simulated sex scene)

The Last Michigan at Buffalo Room, 817 Westport Rd, KCMO.
4 shows: Friday July 22 at 8pm | Tuesday July 26th at 6pm | Thursday July 28th at 8pm | and Saturday July 30 at 6pm.

Diane Hightower, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:45 – Underwriting

16. Betse & Clarke – “In This World”
from: River Still Rise / Independent / July 1, 2016
[Full-length debutalbum, from traditional and future folk duo, Betse & Clarke Betse Ellis on fiddles, violins, viola & vocals and Clarke Wyatt on banjos and cello. Recorded during the Winter-Spring of 2016. Produced by Clarke Wyatt and Betse Ellis. Recorded and mixed by Clarke Wyatt/ Final mix assistance from Chad Meise at Massive Sound. “River Still Rise,” is a collection of originals and reworked traditional compositions that are presented “to be enjoyed as a musical adventure, much like the river exploration of the famous duo Lewis & Clark, an inspiration for the band’s name.” Betse Ellis writes in the extended liner notes: “The phrase River Still Rise appears in the journals of Meriwether Lewis, and to me, most notably when the Corps of Discovery readied their boats and supplies for the beginning of their river journey. Documenting all the details of the excursion included aspects of the weather, the general demeanor or specific behavior of the crew, and most certainly the level of the river. The river needed to be high enough to be navigable, and in that way, Clarke and I have been putting together our gear and supplies, building our boat, and watching the weather signs for about a year and a half at this point. The process of recording RSR took several months, beginning in early 2016. We made this recording at home with the best gear we could acquire at this point, and with Clarke’s long-built engineering and producing knowledge.”]

[Betse & Clarke play the Jackson Hotel in Paola Kansas, Saturday, July 23, at 7:00 PM]

[In August and September Betse & Clarke will tour the United Kingdom, and Ireland]

17. Rachel Mallin & The Wild Type – “White Girls”
from: Degenerate Matters [EP] / Independent / releases July 30, 2016
[Indie synthpop from Kansas City based, 5-piece band that includes: Rachel Mallin on lead vocals & guitar, Justin Walker on bass, Austin Edmisten on drums & back-up vocals, Jesse Bartmess on synthesizers & keyboards, Matt Kosinski on lead guitar. Degenerate Matters was recorded, produced, and mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios. Musical Arrangements written and performed by Rachel Mallin, Justin Walker, Austin Edmisten, Jesse Bartmess, and Matt Kosinski. Lyrics written by Rachel Mallin.]

[Rachel Mallin & The Wild Type play recordBar, Friday, July 29, with Pink Royal, and Spirit is The Spirit]

11:59:30

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

Next week on July 27, Marion Merritt returns with musical discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain. Also with us live in our 90.1 FM Studios will be Rachel Mallin & The Wild Type.

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:

www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org,
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM,
http://www.kkfi.org

Show #639