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, January 22, 2020

Hadiza. & Les Izmore
+ Scott Hobart of Giants Chair
+ New & MidCoastal Releases

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

2. David Bowie – “Everyone Says “Hi” (Edit)”
from: Nothing Has Changed / dBpm Records / October 4, 2019
[“Everyone Says ‘Hi'” is a song recorded by English singer David Bowie for his twenty-second studio album Heathen (2002). It was written by Bowie, and produced by British duo Brian Rawling and Gary Miller, with vocals produced by the singer himself with Tony Visconti. The song was released on September 16, 2002, by ISO and Columbia Records. “Everyone Says ‘Hi'” peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and also reached number 83 in the German Singles Chart. Reeves Gabrels, Bowie’s guitarist throughout the 1990s and close creative partner up until a few years before Heathen’s released, said that “Everyone Says ‘Hi'” was the only song Bowie made after his departure that he heard “because someone told me that David wrote that for me. That made me cry. An edited version of this song was included in the 2014 compilation “Nothing has Changed” the first album to showcase Bowie’s entire career and includes a new composition, “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)”, which was later re-recorded for his final album Blackstar go 2016. Nothing Has Changed is notable for including songs from Bowie’s unreleased 2001 album Toy: “Your Turn to Drive”, previously an internet-only single, and a previously unreleased re-recorded version of “Let Me Sleep Beside You”, both of which are found on the triple CD version of the album.]

[The Band That Fell To Earth: A Tribute to David Bowie, is 2 nights: Friday, Jan. 24 & Saturday, Jan. 25. Doors at 8:PM, show at 9:PM, recordBar, 1520 Grand. A portion of sales benefit KC Anti-Violence Project. ]

3. Emily King – “Radio (Acoustic)”
from: Sides (Acoustic) / ATO Records / January 17, 2020
[Emily King has been nominated for two 2020 Grammy Awards: for best R&B song “Look at Me Now” and for best engineered album Scenery. Sides is a new collection of 11 acoustic versions of previously released from her 2011 EP The Seven, 2016 album The Switch and 2019 album Scenery. Sides was produced by Jeremy Most and features string arrangements by Rob Moose. We fIrst played Emily King on June 29, 2016 when our friend Krystle Warren was Guest Producer and played the song “Georgia” from King’s 2011 EP Seven. She is an American singer and songwriter. She started her career in 2004 and her debut album East Side Story was released three years later in August 2007. In December 2007, King was listed as a Grammy nominee for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Born July 10, 1985, in NYC in 1985, King grew up in a small apartment on the Lower East Side. Her parents, Marion Cowings and Kim Kalesti, were a singing duo who performed and traveled regularly bringing her and her older brother along with them. At age 16, King left high school after earning her GED to pursue her music career. She began playing shows in restaurants and venues around New York City including CBGB and The Bitter End. King signed her first record deal with J Records in 2004 and was featured on Nas’ 2004 album Street’s Disciple credited as simply “Emily”. Her debut album East Side Story was released 3 years later in August 2007. It went on to earn a Grammy nomination for “Best Contemporary R&B Album of the Year.” During that time King toured with John Legend & Floetry. She opened for various artists such as Nas, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan & Erykah Badu. After parting ways with her label in 2008, King continued independently. She self-recorded her follow-up EP Seven in her home, released July 2011. In October 2011, she accepted an invite from Maroon 5 to open on their European/Scandinavian tour. In 2012, King was awarded the Holly Prize (a tribute to the legacy of Buddy Holly) from The Songwriters Hall of Fame for recognition of the “all-in songwriter” whose work exhibits the qualities of Holly’s music: true, great and original. King was invited by Emeli Sande to open for her UK tour playing sold out shows in 5 cities including The Royal Albert Hall in London. King collaborated with José James on his album No Beginning No End in 2013 and can be heard on tracks Heaven on the Ground and the acoustic version of Come to My Door. In 2014, King was performing as an opening act for Sara Bareilles’ Little Black Dress tour. The year 2015 marked the release of King’s 2nd studio album, The Switch, Emily self-released on her label Making Music Records on June 26. The Wall Street Journal remarked that the album is “a tasteful collection of 11 songs that showcase King’s distinctive voice.” After signing with the ATO Records in 2017, King became label mates with Brittany Howard, Benjamin Booker & Brandi Carlile. More info at: http://www.emilykingmusic.com]

4. Adam Scott York – “What I Need”
from: The Twin Rivers EP / Adam Scott York / December 20, 2019
[Adam Scott York is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Kansas City, who specializes in bass guitar. His versatile range of influences vary from hip-hop to folk to classic rock. Adam first took up the piano at age 4 at the behest of his parents and thus began the endless curiosity that led him to learn any instrument he could get his hands on, be it guitar, banjo, drums, or bass. Adam previously played bass for The Creepy Jingles.]

5. Una Walkenhorst – “People in the Paper”
from: People in the Paper – Single / Una Walkenhorst / December 7, 2019
[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. In 2018 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.]

6. Miss Boating – “Junk Food”
from: The Vhargon Sidestep / Miss Boating / January 1, 2020
[From the ashes of their former band The Sleazebeats, Charles Colborne and Bill Belzer faced a difficult 2019 when combined with the death of Charlie’s own beloved mother, their friend and bassist Evan Vhargon died. The band wrote that they “were lost when Evan passed.” Through the tough times Bill and Charlie kept playing and wrote that they “were blown away when Phil Dickey wanted to jam with us… the jamming turned into something more and we were going again. We couldn’t be more thankful and humbled.” Phil is part of the bands Dragon Inn 3, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Miss Boating is: Charlie Colborne on keyboards, guitar, vocals; Bill Belzer: drums, vocals; Phil Dickey on bass; Aaron Jones on trombone; Tim Gillespie on saxophone. Ross Brown served as engineering, did all of the mixing for The Vhargon Sidestep and Mike Nolte handled all of the mastering.]

10:25 – Underwriting

7. Jametatone – “I Can Tell”
from: A Bird In The Hand / Jametatone / December 8, 2019
[Jametatone, is the solo project of J. Ashley Miller who has recorded with his band as Metatone. Jametatone collaborates with an esemble of musicians under the moniker Blastocyst. The recording of A Bird In The Hand was Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Jametatone at The Infoaming Vertex Studio. Assistant Engineering by Simon Huntley. Dedicated to Love. bLASTOCYST is: Jon Kizilarmut on drums & percussion; Jeff Harshbarger on bass; Eddie Moore on Rhodes, Wurlitzer & Piano; Fritz Hutchison on guitar, percussion, & piano; Billy Winston on saxophone; Simon Huntley on drums & percussion; Allison Hawkins on piano; and Jametatone on vocals & guitar. J. Ashley Miller is the 2016 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award Fellow. He is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His genre-bending trans-modern work has been performed everywhere from YJ’s to the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, to the MoMa PS1 in NYC. Ashley utilizes a diverse range of technologies, techniques, and collaborators to access obscure facets of the human emotional landscape. You can view more of Ashley’s work at http://www.jametatone.com]

[Jametatone plays Hadiza’s band Collidescope play recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 PM with ARQuesta Del SolSoul.]

8. Hadiza. – “Reactions”
from: Shadow Weight / Hadiza. / November 22, 2019
[Hadiza. released her Ep “Gone” on December 29, 2018 with Madi Mclaughlin on bass & guitar, JL Bolinger on drums, and Hadiza Sa-Aadu on keyboards & vocals. Recording & Engineering: JL Bolinger & Madi Mclaughlin. Mixing & Mastering: Madi Mclaughlin. Hadiza. is a singer-songwriter who wants you to know SHE IS NOW BASED IN KANSAS CITY. Previously based in her hometown of Iowa City, she has spent the past year slowly but surely carving out her place in the Kansas City scene both as a solo performer (as Hadiza.) and as lead vocalist and songwriter of experimental electronic group Collidescope. Blessed to have had parents who are very much NOT students of music, but recognized the importance of music education, Hadiza spent her childhood and adolescence in part as a student of piano. Vocally, Hadiza takes her cues from American artists including Fiona Apple, Tracey Chapman, and Billie Holiday and African artists including Angelique Kidjo,. Her sound/genre is best described as an eclectic blend of blues, soul, folk, jazz and classical. Her songwriting is a process of release and acceptance of life events navigating an often brutal bleak and harsh world and is a form of therapy. If you don’t relate to the content, you just don’t relate. Oh well. The most amazing experience however is when a stranger in the audience connects with a song in their own way and is courageous enough to share that with her. Aside from the therapeutic aspect of creating music, this is why she continues to write and perform.]

[Hadiza. plays Hadiza’s Shadow Weight Release Ritual at miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Sat, January 25, at 9:00 PM with Hadiza., Babydoll, The Black Creatures, and Les Izmore and the GOATs.]

[Hadiza’s band Collidescope play recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 PM with Jametatone and ARQuesta Del SolSoul.]

10:34 – Interview with Hadiza. and Les Izmore

On December 29, 2018, Hadiza. released her EP Gone, and on Novenber 22, 2019 Hadiza. released her new 10 song, full-length album called, Shadow Weight, which continues to showcase her deeply moving voice and piano. Born in Iowa City, Iowa, she has lived in Bushwick, and Atlanta, and worked in corporate America in the New York Finance District. For many years she studied the piano, while keeping her singing voice private. Eventually she made the jump into her new life of composing, singing, writing, collaborating and presenting what she calls a blend of soul, classical, blues and folk. Since relocating to Kansas City, Hadiza. has been slowly carving out her place as a solo artist and also as lead vocalist and lyricist for the experimental electronic duo Collidescope.

Hadiza., thanks for being with us on WMM.

Les Izmore is a veteran of the Kansas City Music Community fusing American Funk and Soul, Afrobeat, Kansas City Big Band, Rock, and Hip Hop as frontman for the critically acclaimed multi-genre Kansas City ensemble, Hearts of Darkness. Les has also collaborated with D/Will for the Hip Hop album release of Heartfelt Anarchy. Les has also collaborated with Julia Haile, Herman Mehari, Lee Langston, Anthony Saunders, Brad Williams and Reach to perform and release music as The Buhs. Most recently Les has been involved in exploring the indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa with the Kansas City based collective Arquesta Del SolsSoul with Jessica Ayala, Brad Williams, Jade Green, Chalis O’Neal, Irving Graham, Ernest Melton, Andres Ramirez, Fabian Prado.

Les Izmore, thanks for being with us on WMM.

Hadiza. and Les are here to share informaton about their new music and upcoming shows:

Hadiza’s Shadow Weight Release Ritual at miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Saturday, January 25, at 9:00 PM with Hadiza., Babydoll, Les Izmore and the GOATS, and The Black Creatures.

Hadiza’s band Collidescope with Jametatone and ARQuesta Del SolSoul play recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 PM.

More info is at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com

Hadiza. released her Ep “Gone” on December 29, 2018 with Madi Mclaughlin on bass & guitar, JL Bolinger on drums, and Hadiza Sa-Aadu on keyboards & vocals. Recording & Engineering: JL Bolinger & Madi Mclaughlin. Mixing & Mastering: Madi Mclaughlin.

Vocally, Hadiza takes her cues from American artists including Fiona Apple, Tracey Chapman, and Billie Holiday and African artists including Angelique Kidjo,. Her sound/genre is best described as an eclectic blend of blues, soul, folk, jazz and classical. Her songwriting is a process of release and acceptance of life events navigating an often brutal bleak and harsh world and is a form of therapy.

Les Izmore is a veteran of the Kansas City Music Community as frontman for the critically acclaimed multi-genre Kansas City ensemble, Hearts of Darkness.

Les has also collaborated with D/Will for the Hip Hop band Heartfelt Anarchy.

Les has also collaborated with Julia Haile, Herman Mehari, Lee Langston, Anthony Saunders, Brad Williams and Reach to perform and release music as The Buhs.

Les has been involved in exploring the indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa with the Kansas City based collective Arquesta Del SolsSoul with Jessica Ayala, Brad Williams, Jade Green, Chalis O’Neal, Irving Graham, Ernest Melton, Andres Ramirez, Fabian Prado.

One of the first recordings from Arquesta Del SolSoul was a track titled “SOL SOL SIX” recorded by Ted Rieder for Never Records during Open Spaces Kansas City. Featuring Les Izmore, Jessica Ayala on vocals. Recorded October 27, 2017 by Ted Rieder for Never Records during Open Spaces Kansas City. Featuring Les Izmore, Jessica Ayala on vocals. ”

Arquesta Del SolSoul is a Kansas City-based music collective featuring 3 musicians who worked together in Hearts of Darkness. They call themselves “African Futurist Genre Killerz from the Middle of the Map bringing an innovative multidimensional sound inspired by our founding musical ancestors to decolonize and time bend indigenous sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America, West, Central, and Southern Africa.”

10:55

9. Arquesta Del SolSoul – “GROW SOMETHING (Fela Minded KC)
from: GROW SOMETHING (Fela Minded KC) – Single / unreleased

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – More Interview with Hadiza. and Les Izmore

We are talking to Kansas City musicians Hadiza. and Les Izmore who join us to share informaton about their new music and upcoming shows:

Hadiza. and Les Izmore, thanks for being with us on WMM.

Hadiza’s Shadow Weight Release Ritual at miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Saturday, January 25, at 9:00 PM with Hadiza., Babydoll, Les Izmore and the GOATS, and The Black Creatures.

Hadiza’s band Collidescope with Jametatone and ARQuesta Del SolSoul play recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 PM.

More info is at: http://www.hadizaisnothere.bandcamp.com

11:10

10. The Black Creatures – “wretched (it goes)”
from: “Wild Echoes / The Black Creatures / September 30, 2019
[Darkpop hip-hop musical pulling elements from sci-fi to tell an inter-dimensional story. Xavier Martin and Jade Green have made an impression of the KC music community with their videos and songs, live shows in clubs, art galleries, record stores, area music festivals and shows in surrounding areas. They’ve released an EP, an album, several singles.]

[The Black Creatures play Hadiza’s Shadow Weight Release Ritual at miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO on Sat, January 25, at 9:00 PM with Hadiza., Babydoll,, and Les Izmore and the Goats.]

[Arquesta Del SolSoul play recordBar, 1520 Grand Boulevard, KCMO, Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 PM with Collidescope, and Jametatone.]

11. Ebony Tusks – “HDF”
from: HDF – Single / High Dive Records / January 17, 2020
[Ebony Tusks is Daniel Smith on DJ & Production, Geese Giesecke on vocals & Production, and Marty Hillard on vocals & Production. A rattling subwoofer is a sonic aberration, a byproduct of high volume that often results in a speaker system’s long-term damage. It takes the listening experience from exclusively aural to physical, evoking a range of reactions from listeners. This experience is bonded inextricably with rap music for both its fans and dissenters, a familiar beacon for some and an unwelcome nuisance for others. Marty was a cashier at Burger King while in high school, spending every Saturday morning working the drive-thru window. One of his best friends pulled up to the menu and filled the speaker with sounds from his 1972 Volkswagen Beetle’s cassette adapter. Marty’s headset was filled with hot, white noise. He knew it was a rap song but it was mutated to scorched earth. It also happened to come through the main speaker right inside the drive-thru window. His manager was not at all pleased, rushing quickly to turn it off. Marty and his friend laughed it off at the time. EBONY TUSKS is a compilation of moments like these. Daniel, Geese, and Marty are three people from the Midwest who take pleasure in the mutations of sound available in the least expected places.]

11:17 – Where are all the protest songs?

12. Kate Bush – “Army Dreamers”
from: Never for Ever / EMI America / September 7, 1980
[“Army Dreamers” is a 1980 song, the third and final single to be released from the album Never for Ever, by Kate Bush. It was a UK top 20 hit in October 1980. Norwegian songwriter Pål Knutsen, released his fourth studio album Unsongs on September 16, 2016 on Propeller Recordings. A collection of covers of protest songs which included Kate Bush’s “Army Dreamers” which was banned by the BBC for anti-war sentiments during the Falklands conflict. “Army Dreamers” is an example of a song which only grows more powerful and relevant through the establishment trying to silence it. Of the track, Moddi says “while most of the songs on the album are explicitly political in form, it was difficult for me to see how ‘Army Dreamers’ would pose a threat to anyone at first glance. Initially, I thought it was ridiculous to ban it. However, when I tried singing the song, I began taking in the message. The words are so simple, describing nothing but pure and bottomless motherly sorrow, a sorrow against which I could not defend myself. Then I understood why the song was dangerous: because it calls forth compassion. Inescapably. Kate Bush was never imprisoned like Pussy Riot or killed like Víctor Jara but the message she was trying to spread was nonetheless silenced. This song made me realise that censorship is so much more than violent suppression. It happens quietly, in our homes and on our radios, every day. And usually we don’t talk too much about it.”]

13. Anti-Flag – “Christian Nationalist”
from: 20/20 Vision / Spinefarm Records / January 17, 2020
[Anti-Flag is an American punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The band is well known for its politically charged lyrics and activism, focusing on human rights and various left-wing causes. The line-up includes singer/guitarist Justin Sane and drummer Pat Thetic, who founded the band together; later members are guitarist Chris Head, and singer/bassist Chris Barker who replaced Jamie “Cock” Towns, who had replaced original bassist Andy Flag in 1997 following his departure one year prior. Anti-Flag is known also for their advocacy of progressive political action groups such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Most recently, the band has declared solidarity with the global Occupy Together movement. On October 7, 2019, the band released their song “Christian Nationalists”, alongside the announcement of a European tour the following year. On the band’s website, the song’s meaning was explained by a quote from Justin: “History is full of wealthy and powerful people using religion and cultism to justify policies of oppression and inequality. Invariably, these policies target the most vulnerable in society so that elites can maintain their dominance. Today we see this same strategy employed by right wing politicians all over the world. Just as the anti-fascists of the 1930s and 1940s rejected the fascist ideologies of their era, we reject the neo-fascists of this era. Theocracy is dangerous and inherently anti-democratic because it restricts individual choice and provides an avenue by which politicians can claim a moral superiority over “the other”. It gives political cover and justification for policies and actions which might otherwise be deemed morally objectionable, inhuman, or adverse to the best interest of the country.” The website also provided a list of Republican politicians, along with sources indicating that said politicians had accepted large amounts of donations from the NRA and gun lobbyists for their support of many of the concepts that are explained in the quote, along with a list of mass shooting incidents. Later that month, the band announced their twelfth studio album, 20/20 Vision, alongside the release of the song “Hate Conquers All” and the song’s music video. More info at: http://www.anti-flag.com]

11:24 – Underwriting

14. Pedaljets – “Dissassociation Blues”
from: Twist The Lens / Electric Moth Records / February 14, 2020
[Twist The Lens was recorded in three main sessions, produced by the Pedaljets alongside their former lead guitarist Paul Malinowski (Shiner, Season To Risk). Though the Pedaljets core trio of lead vocalist Mike Allmayer, bassist Matt Kesler, and drummer Rob Morrow has remained a constant throughout their tenure as a band, they’ve worked with multiple lead guitarists throughout the years, with Twist The Lens being the first record to showcase their newest addition, Cody Wyoming. Bringing in Wyoming, and working alongside Malinowski, allowed the new songs to benefit from a fresh and outside perspective, while still keeping the album within the Pedaljets family. It also lent itself to a more utilitarian process where, as Allmayer describes, “We would constantly listen back and ask ourselves, ‘Are you hearing something this song needs?’ We were really focused on pushing ourselves to make the best music we can and being extra critical.” To round out the team, the band brought in veteran producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile) to mix the record and reunited with Archer Prewitt (The Sea and Cake) whose artwork has adorned the last three Pedaljets album covers. Once hailed as “Kansas City’s answer to the Replacements,” the Pedaljets formed in the mid-80s and immediately began touring the United States nonstop, gaining critical acclaim and support slots with some of the decade’s biggest acts, but never becoming a household name on their own. After releasing two LPs, 1988’s Today Today and 1989’s Pedaljets, the band split up. After laying low for a few years, Allmayer and Morrow formed the band Grither and signed with MCA before Morrow decided to go back to school and relocate to Scotland. Kesler owned and operated the Kansas City vintage music shop Midwestern Musical Company, selling gear to artists including St. Vincent, The Arcade Fire, Jason Isbell and more. The Pedaljets couldn’t stay apart forever, though, and returned in 2008 with a re-recorded version of their self-titled album and a rekindled hunger to perform.]

[The Pedaljets play miniBar, 3810 Broadway Rd, KCMO, on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 8 PM with Dan Jones & the Squids.]

15. Giants Chair – “Kids Running”
from: Prefabylon / Spartan Records / December 6, 2019
[Third album from Giants Chair who are: Scott Hobart on lead vocals & guitar, Byron Collum on bass, and Paul Ackerman on drums. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Scott and Byron met at the KC Art Institute in 1989. After college they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, and formed Giant’s Chair in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene, sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. Shiner even named one of their songs after the band. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giant’s Chair recorded two full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. Giant’s Chair ended in 1997 but have recently been working on new music. In 2017 they releases the singles “The Streets” and “Featureless Horizon”.]

11:33 – Interview with Scott Hobart

Originally from St. James, Missouri Scott Hobart is a multi-talented artist, singer-songwriter, guitarist. Known for his acclaimed honky-tonk country band, Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys that were signed to Bloodshot Records, and their newest incarnation, Scott Hobart & The Honky Tonk Standards (who have a regular monthly slot at The Ship in the West Bottoms). Along with being a husband and a dad, Scott Hobart also works as the Coterie Theatre’s Resident Technical Director. He has also composed music and performed on stage in the Coterie’s Latenight series. Scott is also the co-founder of the mid 1990s ‘post-hardcore power trio” Giants Chair formed with friend Byron Collum who he mat at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1989, and with drummer Paul Ackerman who Byron had gone to high school with. Giants Chair recorded two critically-acclaimed full-length albums and oured the U.S. twice, before ending in 1997. After several reunion shows, on December 6, 2019, Giants Chair released their third album on Spartan Records.

Scott Hobart thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giants Chair recorded 2 acclaimed full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice.

Giants Chair sorted ended things in 1997 but have gotten back together here and there. In 2017 the band released 2 new songs and are working on material.

Giants Chair started in fall of 1993 when the bassist, Byron Collum and I, Scott Hobart, moved from KC to Green Bay, WI to play with drummer Paul Ackerman who Byron had gone to high school with. As this trio, we started writing and made a 7” that winter that was picked up by now-legendary mid-west indie label, Caulfield Records.

Giants Chair toured the U.S. twice, once with fellow KC indie band, BOYS LIFE, before going on “unofficial hiatus” in 1997 when members pursued other projects, including Scott’s interest in straight-forward, country, honky-Tonk with Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys (Bloodshot Records).

In the last 20-plus years, Giants Chair have done a handful of reunion shows and were then approached by Duane Trower with whom we had recorded the second album with back in 1996. Duane offered to remake that record start-to-finish now as a more-seasoned engineer with his own studio. We thought about it, and decided we’d rather try to write a new album than re-learn an old one – so we got to work in November of 2016 and finally had 10 new songs by November 2018.

Giants Chair recorded the album during the Winter of 2018-2019, with Duane Trower at Weights and Measures Sound Lab, in Duane’s new studio. It’s currently available everywhere digitally and it is also available on vinyl.

Scott wrote that about why the band put this album now? “At first it was kind of a ‘Why not? We’re still all here.’ And ‘Can we make up some new songs that we like?’ – and I feel like the music actually came pretty naturally – we’ve never talked too much about the music. We just get together and get loud. I bring some guitar parts and scratch vocal things and we see how it all falls. But I will say that, as a lyricist, it was an interesting ‘journey’ to write and sing this kind of stuff after having now spent the last couple of decades writing very straightforward country story-songs. We can talk about that and how, ultimately, I think I found this side of me again – possibly by trying to come to terms with the uncertainty of so many things in the world and America right now.

11:13

Scott Hobart thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:45

16. Giants Chair – “Ghost Love”
from: Prefabylon / Spartan Records / December 6, 2019
[Third album from Giants Chair who are: Scott Hobart on lead vocals & guitar, Byron Collum on bass, and Paul Ackerman on drums. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Scott and Byron met at the KC Art Institute in 1989. After college they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, and formed Giant’s Chair in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene, sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. Shiner even named one of their songs after the band. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giant’s Chair recorded two full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. Giant’s Chair ended in 1997 but have recently been working on new music. In 2017 they releases the singles “The Streets” and “Featureless Horizon”.]

17. Miki P and The Swallowtails – “Not Mine”
from: Not Mine – Single / Miki P/ November 21, 2019
[Meeting in the vast network of Kansas City’s rich music scene, in October of 2018 Miki P and the Swallowtails was created, and by the fall of 2019 they released their first EP Swallowtail independently. With half of the band’s members having Classical music degrees, and the other half with Jazz degrees, Miki P is a self-taught musician/multi-instrumentalist & songwriter driving the Swallowtails into a creative collaboration like any other. The group includes Miki P on guitar & vocals, Rachel Lovelace on bassoon, Adee Dancy on cello & vocals, Robert Castillo on bass, and Cade Pool on drums. Each member is an integral part of the Kansas City music scene, writing, arranging, performing, and collaborating original music for their own groups and several other projects in the metro. “Introspective pop music with lyric-driven folk influences, mixed with collaborative energy & an odd pairing of instruments, Miki P locked in with the Swallowtails create a moment with music written and arranged from the heart.” Miki P started playing guitar in middle school. She taught herself to play the drums, while listening to Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. As a teen she played drums for various groups including tAmerican Slim. She wrote songs for their full-length album Irreplaceable released in 2017, followed by a single “Queen of Hearts” released April 11, 2018. She also plays ukulele & piano, teaching herself how to play both the instruments, using them frequently in all projects she is involved in. She was a featured vocalist with The Band That Fel to Earth Bowie Tribute. She’s played Boulevardia, Middle of the Map Fest, Royal’s Kaufman Stadium, recordBar, Uptown Theater, Arrowhead Stadium, Nelson Atkins Museum, the Crossroads Music Festival and the SXSW Music Fest.]

11:55

18. David Byrne – “Road To Nowhere”
from: American Utopia on Broadway: Original Cast Recording / Nonesuch / Oct. 18, 2019
[We saw this show from the front row at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on June 7, 2018. Following a sold-out world tour, the acclaimed theatrical concert is now in performances at Broadway’s intimate Hudson Theatre for a limited engagement. DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA delivers “an experience unlike anything else” (Billboard) and marks a major cultural milestone in the worlds of music and theater. Pitchfork reviewed American Utopia on Broadway, writing that Bryne, “… remains an artist to be grateful for—same as he ever was.” Innovative pop/rock icon David Byrne (Talking Heads, Here Lies Love) shares the spotlight with a diverse ensemble of 11 musical artists from around the globe. Together with production consultant Alex Timbers and choreographer Annie-B Parson (his collaborators on Here Lies Love), Byrne and ensemble deliver “a marvel of staging and motion” (Chicago Tribune) that’s as surprisingly poignant as it is supremely funky. Don’t miss this “thought-provoking example of the power of live music” (Forbes). “The boisterous ensemble surrounding Byrne is able to capture and amplify already-iconic moments in his catalog. Their Afropop drum grooves nod to My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Byrne’s landmark 1981 collaboration with Brian Eno, while their guileless twitches of choreography and playful melodrama point back, once more, to Stop Making Sense. When they stomp in methodical marching band moves—including that rotating spiral that high school music nerds know all too well—they evoke the live show for Love This Giant, Byrne’s 2012 joint record with St. Vincent, only far more euphoric. Their greatest moment may well be their gauzy inversion of Remain in Light opener “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)”: Nimble in the melodies and forceful in the percussion, their version is even more thrilling than the original.” (Pitchfork).]


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

Next week, on January 29 We talk and play new music from Jairy. We also welcome company members of Spinning Tree Theatre’s KC premiere of “Girlfriend” based on Matthew Sweet’s 1991 rock album of the same name. The show runs January 24 through February 9 at Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf, Overland Park, Kansas. “Girlfriend is set in 1993 small-town Nebraska during the summer between high school and whatever comes next. College-bound jock Mike and self-assured but aimless Will find themselves drawn to each other. Their rush of first-time love, full of excitement, confusion and passion, is captured by the power-pop precision and frayed guitar emotion of Sweet’s alternative rock album.

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 #821