Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community RadioWMM
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Spinning Records With Marion Merritt
+ Nathan Reusch of The Record Machine

Mark welcomes Marion Merritt as our special “Guest Producer.” For 15 years now Marion has been sharing her musical discoveries and information from her encyclopedic brain on Wednesday MidDay Medley. Marion is the creator of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.

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

2. Dimitri From Paris – “Prologue”
from: Sacrebleu / Atlantic / 2001

3. Fela Kuti – “2000 Blacks Got to be Free (feat. Roy Ayers)”
from: Music of Many Colors (feat. Roy Ayers) / Knitting Factory Records / 2019
[Originally released January 1, 1980, reissued on CD 1996 on M.I.L. Multimedia. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born October 15, 1938 and died August 2, 1997 He was also professionally known as Fela Kuti, or Fela. He was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre and human rights activist. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa’s most “challenging and charismatic music performers. Fela Kuti was a political giant in Africa from the 1970s until his death. Kuti criticized the corruption of Nigerian government officials and the mistreatment of Nigerian citizens. He spoke of colonialism as the root of the socio-economic and political problems that plagued the African people. Corruption was one of the worst, if not the worst, political problem facing Africa in the 70s and Nigeria was among the most corrupt countries of the time. The Nigerian government was responsible for election rigging and coups that ultimately worsened poverty, economic inequality, unemployment, and political instability, which further promoted corruption and thuggery. Fela’s protest songs covered themes inspired by the realities of corruption and socio-economic inequality in Africa. Fela Kuti’s political statements could be heard throughout Africa. Kuti’s open vocalization of the violent & oppressive regime controlling Nigeria did not come without consequence. He was arrested on over 200 different occasions and spent time in jail, including his longest stint of 20 months after his arrest in 1984. On top of the jail time, the corrupt government would send soldiers to beat Kuti, his family and friends, and destroy wherever he lived and whatever instruments or recordings he had. In the 1970s, Kuti began to run outspoken political columns in the advertising space of daily and weekly newspapers such as The Daily Times and The Punch, bypassing editorial censorship in Nigeria’s predominantly state controlled media. Published throughout the 1970s and early 1980s under the title “Chief Priest Say”, these columns were extensions of Kuti’s famous Yabi Sessions—consciousness-raising word-sound rituals, with himself as chief priest, conducted at his Lagos nightclub. Organized around a militantly Afrocentric rendering of history and the essence of black beauty, “Chief Priest Say” focused on the role of cultural hegemony in the continuing subjugation of Africans. Kuti addressed a number of topics, from explosive denunciations of the Nigerian Government’s criminal behavior; Islam & Christianity’s exploitative nature, and evil multinational corporations; to deconstructions of Western medicine, Black Muslims, sex, pollution, and poverty. “Chief Priest Say” was cancelled, first by Daily Times then by Punch. Many have speculated that the papers’ editors were increasingly pressured to stop publication, including by violence.]

4. Kevin Morby – “Seven Devils”
from: Oh My God / Dead Oceans / April 29, 2019
[5th release from Kevin Robert Morby born April 2, 1988. follow up to his 2017 release City Music. Kevin learned to play guitar when he was 10. In his teens he formed the band Creepy Aliens. 17-year-old Morby dropped out of Blue Valley Northwest High School, got his GED, and moved from his native Kansas City to Brooklyn in the mid-2000s, supporting himself by working bike delivery and café jobs. He later joined the noise-folk group Woods on bass. While living in Brooklyn, he became close friends and roommates with Cassie Ramone of the punk trio Vivian Girls, and the two formed a side project together called The Babies, who released albums in 2011 and 2012. He began a solo career in 2013 releasing his debut album Harlem River. His 2nd album Still Life was released in 2014. His album Singing Saw was in WMM’s The 116 Best Recordings of 2016. His album City Music was in WMM’s The 118 Best Recordings of 2018]

5. Kevin Morby – “Ballad of Faye”
from: Oh My God / Dead Oceans / April 29, 2019

10:35 – Underwriting

6. Lucy Rose – “The Confines of This World”
from: No Words Left / Arts & Crafts / March 22, 2019
[Lucy Rose was born June 20, 1989, She is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Her debut album, Like I Used To was released in 2012. Rose released her second album, Work It Out, in 2015 on Columbia Records. Her third album, Something’s Changing, was released in 2017 on Communion Records. Born in Camberley, Surrey, England. Rose’s musical origins began with her playing drums in her school orchestra; her songwriting started with her writing tunes on her family home’s piano. She is the youngest of three sisters. She later bought a guitar from a shop she passed on the way to school, taught herself and began writing material at around the age of sixteen. Rose never played her material for anyone until she left home after completing her A-levels. At eighteen, she moved to London; instead of taking her place at University College London to study geography, she began experimenting and performing with other musicians. It was at this time when she met Jack Steadman, the frontman of Bombay Bicycle Club. After becoming friends, Steadman asked if she would like to perform vocals on a song he had written and was recording. The acoustic album Flaws came out with Steadman on lead vocals, and Rose performing backing vocals, most notably on the title track “Flaws”, as well as others on the album. She also performs some backing vocal duties on Bombay Bicycle Club’s third album, A Different Kind of Fix, and features in their fourth, So Long, See You Tomorrow. Rose also performs some backing vocal duties on the track This Sullen Welsh Heart by the Manic Street Preachers on their album Rewind the Film. A fan of tea, Rose began selling her own blend named ‘Builder Grey’ (two part English Breakfast and one part Earl Grey) at her shows as a substitute for merchandise or CDs..]

7. Lucy Rose – “Pt. 2”
from: No Words Left / Arts & Crafts / March 22, 2019

8. Weyes Blood – “Mirror Forever”
from: Titanic Rising / Sub Pop Records / April 5, 2019
[Weyes Blood is Natalie Mering, born June 11, 1988, in Santa Monica, CA and grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has released 4 albums and an EP. Both her siblings and parents are musicians and music played an important part in her upbringing. Her older brother, Zak Mering, is also a noteworthy recording artist, producer and songwriter under the “Raw Thrills” alias. At the age of 15 Mering began using the moniker Wise Blood to write songs. She changed to Weyes Bluhd on several self released records before changing the spelling to Weyes Blood. She took the name from the Flannery O’Connor novel Wise Blood. At the same time, while working on her own material, she toured the underground music scene with bands Jackie-O Motherfucker and Nautical Almanac. In 2011 she released the album The Outside Room as Weyes Blood And The Dark Juices on Not Not Fun Records. Uncut magazine described the album as “the vibe is devotional and ethereal, but with an edge”, while Beatbots found it “an impressive and ambitious album”. Natalie released her second record in October 2014 called The Innocents, which was released through Mexican Summer. In 2016 she released the album Front Row Seat to Earth on Mexican Summer to great acclaim throughout the music industry, and has spent the past few years touring throughout Europe and the states.]

10:57 – Station ID

9. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Tombes Oubliées”
from: The Brian Jonestown Massacre / A Records / March 15, 2019
[The Brian Jonestown Massacre is the self-titled eighteenth studio album by American band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film Dig!, and have gained media notoriety for their tumultuous working relationships as well as the erratic behavior of Newcombe. The collective has released seventeen albums, five compilation albums, five live albums, thirteen EPs, sixteen singles as well as two various-artist compilation albums to date. The band name is a portmanteau of deceased Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones and the 1978 Jonestown Massacre.]

10. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – “We Never Had A Chance (Edited)”
from: The Brian Jonestown Massacre / A Records / March 15, 2019

11. Eddie Russ – “The Lope Song”
from: Soul Jazz Records Presents Eddie Russ: Fresh Out / Soul Jazz Records / Mar 15, 2019
[Eddie Russ’s Fresh Out was independently released in Detroit in 1974 and has remained a collector’s item ever since. Russ was an important figure to emerge from the vibrant underground jazz scene that thrived in Detroit in the early 1970s, existing in the cultural and economic desolation of the city after the departure of Motown in the late 1960s. This scene included the musical collective Tribe (including members Wendell Harrison, Marcus Belgrave, Phil Ranelin, Harold McKinney and Doug Hammond) and Kenny Cox’s Strata Records. Eddie Russ’s Fresh Out was first released in 1974 on the independent Jazz Masters record label. As well as including the classic jazz dance cut The Lope Song, Eddie Russ’s Fresh Out featured the debut of the group The Mixed Bag who subsequently recorded for both Tribe and Strata Records. Eddie Russ released two further classic jazz funk albums in the late 1970s, See the Light and Take a Look at Yourself.]

12. Throbbing Gristle – “20 Jazz Funk Greats (Remastered)”
from: 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Remastered) / Mute Records / 2019 [Reissued on vinyl]
[3rd studio album by British industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, released in December 1, 1979 by the band’s label Industrial Records. It is known for its tongue-in-cheek title and artwork, and has been hailed as the band’s best work, with UK magazine Fact naming it the best album of the 1970s. 20 Jazz Funk Greats is the band’s first full studio album, as prior albums contained both live and studio recordings. The production is credited to “Sinclair/Brooks”. The album was recorded on a 16-track borrowed from Paul McCartney after Peter Christopherson had worked on artwork for McCartney. The album was produced using electronic musical instruments and effects units, primarily from Roland and Boss. Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group, officially formed in September 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by members Genesis P-Orridge (born Neil Megson), Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Newby), Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evolving from the experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle made their public debut in October 1976 on COUM exhibition Prostitution, and, the following year, released their debut single, “United / Zyklon B Zombie”, Throbbing Gristle dissolved in 1981 due to interpersonal differences; the individual members went on to participate in other projects, such as Psychic TV, Coil and Chris & Cosey. The band was reformed in 2004, and released three more studio albums—TG Now (2004), Part Two, and The Third Mind Movements (2009)—before disbanding again after P-Orridge’s departure and Christopherson’s death in Autumn 2010; the band’s last studio project—a cover version of the 1970 Nico album Desertshore—was released in 2012 under the moniker X-TG.followed by an album, The Second Annual Report (1977).]

13. Ibibio Sound Machine – “I Need You to Be Sweet Like Sugar (Nnge Nte Suka)”
from: Doko Mien / Merge Records / March 22, 2019
[Ibibio Sound Machine is an English electronic afro-funk band from London. Formed in 2013, the band currently consists of vocalist Eno Williams, guitarist Alfred Kari Bannerman, percussionist Anselmo Netto, drummer Jose Joyette, bassist John McKenzie, trombonist/keyboardist Tony Hayden, trumpeter/keyboardist Scott Baylis and saxophonist/keyboardist Max Grunhard. The band was formed in London 2010 by producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard, and Benji Bouton. The trio were interested in producing music fusing elements from 1980s afrobeat and 90s drum-and-bass. They approached singer Eno Williams to create vocals for the project. After the first sessions had been successfully finished, live musicians were added to create a full band. These included the Ghanaian guitarist Alfred Bannerman from the band KonKoma and Afro-rock band Osibisa, Brazilian percussionist Anselmo Netto, and multi-instrumentalists Tony Hayden and Scott Baylis. The band released their first single in January 2014 on Soundway, entitled Let’s Dance. Their self-titled debut album followed in March the same year. In 2016, the band signed to Merge Records to create their follow-up record. Their second album, Uyai, was released in 2017. Ibibio Sound Machine is a clash of African and electronic elements. The band claims their sound is inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West African funk and disco, modern post-punk, and electro. The name of the band itself finds influence from Eno Williams’ mother, whose native tongue was Ibibio. While Williams was born in London, she spent most of her childhood in Nigeria with the rest of her family. Her mother often recounted numerous folk and children’s stories from her own heritage and passed them on to her daughter. Williams took this inspiration and crafted lyrics from these sources and married them to modern themes.]

14. Ibibio Sound Machine – “Wanna Come Down”
from: Doko Mien / Merge Records / March 22, 2019

11:32 – Underwriting

15. Coby and the Prisoners – “One Thru Ten”
from: One Thru Ten – Single / The Record Machine / May 10, 2019
[Coby Hartzler, Matt Garver, Nate Sustar, Joey Weaver, William Stansifer. Coby and the Prisoners began in 2012 during some downtime between projects for songwriter and founder Coby Hartzler. A collection of solo songs and ideas were recorded over a long weekend at a studio in Indianapolis. It was released quietly online in conjunction with a few shows around Ohio, but the project soon fizzled out and was left at that. // The next phase of the band began to slowly form sometime in 2015. A few new players came into the picture, adding their own flavors and styles. The sound started to take shape creating what could be considered the band’s second album, “Candy Queen”. The album hones in on Hartzler’s knack for pop hooks layered with sounds that can feel somewhat classic yet modern at the same time. Guitar licks and melodies that pay homage to classic rock or the Nashville country of old, yet never retreading over already worn down or recycled territories. // Having grown up in a fairly conservative, small town with religion starkly at the focus, Hartzler began to question what he was being fed. Similarly, small town America rejects the idea that a grown man can continue to pursue the art of music as something more than a teenage hobby. For Hartzler, music is a way of clawing back at some of these things. With this album, he begins to address these issues head on, as if you can see the layers slowly being peeled away. “Candy Queen” hovers somewhere around playful off the cuff lyrics and thoughts that can suddenly dip into deeper and darker territories without warning. Like a simple sunny drive on an early summer’s evening that can feel almost too perfect. When a moment is so good that you can’t help but be reminded of the fleetingness of it all. That it will end. All of these themes swirl throughout the center of his songs but come wrapped up in a colorful candy wrapper.]

11:38 – Interview with Nathan Reusch

Nathan Reusch is founder of The Record Machine, a homegrown record label started in 2003. Originally created to promote music from Kansas City & Lawrence, TRM has grown to turnout records from bands all across the country. Nathan is also co-founder & curator of the Middle of The Map Fest.

Nathan Reusch joins us to talk about upcoming events sponsored by The Record Machine including multiple SoundMachineKC events, new singings to the label, The What’s Next Concert on July 13 in collaboration with Mid-Continent Public Libraries, and Middle of The Map Fest.

Nathan Reusch thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

SoundMachineKC Shows:

Thursday, May 2, at 9:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents Jorge Arana Trio, Lung, Jametatone at Minibar 3810 Broadway Rd, KCMO.

Saturday, May 4, at 8:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents The Freedom Affair, Soultru, Duncan Burnett at recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO.

Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents Big Bend, Pala Zolo, Myry at Minibar 3810 Broadway Rd, KCMO.

The Record Machine Recent Signings

– Pala Zolo
– Coby and the Prisoners
– Soultru
– Spooky Wilson

11:43

16. Soultru– “Can You Keep A Secret”
from: Soultru & Progeny / Fake Four Inc. / December 25, 2018
[Singer, songwriter, poet and emcee Terrance A Banks aka Soultru is a native of Davenport, Iowa and is currently based out of the Quad Cities area of NW Illinois/NE Iowa. Combining his poetic and lyrical talents with a soulful voice, Soultru has forged his own unique sound. Soultru credits a wide range of influences, including Gavin Degraw, John Legend, Yelawolf and Son Little..]

[Soultru plays SoundMachineKC on Saturday, May 4, at 8:00 PM, with The Freedom Affair, and Duncan Burnett.]

11:47 – Interview with Nathan Reusch

Nathan Reusch is founder of The Record Machine, a homegrown record label started in 2003. Originally created to promote music from Kansas City & Lawrence, TRM has grown to turnout records from bands all across the country. Nathan is also co-founder & curator of the Middle of The Map Fest.

Nathan Reusch thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

SoundMachine Shows:

Thursday, May 2, at 9:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents Jorge Arana Trio, Lung, Jametatone at Minibar 3810 Broadway Rd, KCMO.

Saturday, May 4, at 8:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents The Freedom Affair, Soultru, Duncan Burnett at recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO.

Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 PM – SoundMachineKC presents Big Bend, Pala Zolo, Myry at Minibar 3810 Broadway Rd, KCMO.

http://www.therecordmachine.co

17. Pala Zolo – “Up Nothern”
from Up Northern – Single / The Record Machine / May 15, 2019
[Pala Zolo is the instrumental electronic project of Lawrence, KS musician Eric Davis. In Pala Zolo, Davis blends synthesizers and drum machines with live instruments to create his blend of cinematic pop music. He chose the name to pay homage to his Sicilian heritage by naming the project after a small Sicilian village he spent time in while studying abroad in Italy. Pala Zolo allows Davis the full freedom to experiment in ways that are a departure from his main gig as the keyboard player in buzzy up-and-coming rock band Hembree (Thirty Tigers, Oread Records). // The inspiration for Pala Zolo came from a chance meeting with fellow electronic musician, Tycho’s Scott Hansen. One day while working at The Granada Theater in Lawrence, Davis was given the job of being Hansen’s driver. For years Davis had been writing and recording his own demos and was completely unsure of what to do with them. After spending the entire day with Hansen and seeing him perform, Davis realized he could bring his incomplete ideas to life in his own unique way. Seeing an instrumental band perform such an emotionally charged set inspired Davis to finish his songs without traditional vocals and to begin creating his own sound in that genre. // Soon after, Davis set forth to finalize the recordings with his good friend and producer Joel Martin (Y god Y). The two of them spent countless hours experimenting with synthetic and acoustic textures to create perfect soundscapes to compliment Davis’ intricately arranged compositions. In 2018, Davis self-released singles House Plant & 40K, and continued to take Pala Zolo to another level by performing live with drummer Gerardo Rojas. The duo brings the songs to life with live synths, guitars and drums and has been resonating with audiences. // In the summer of 2019, Pala Zolo is releasing their debut EP on Kansas City label The Record Machine and looks to take Pala Zolo to new heights.]

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

Next week on May 8 The Wires Alternative String Duo with Laurel Morgan on violin, and Sascha Groschang, on cello join us to share details about The Wires 2nd Album Release – Wilder, Saturday, May 18, at 7 PM at recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, Kansas.

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 #784