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

Wednesday, November 25, 2019

2020 – The Year in Music
with: Tim Finn, Marion Merritt, Chris Haghirian, & Fally Afani

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Motion Picture Soundtrack to All That Jazz / Universal / Dec. 20, 1979
   [WMM’s theme]

Tim Finn’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2020

5. The Roseline – GOOD / GRIEF / Alt Country Club / April 3, 2020

2. The Roseline – “8 Bilirubin”
   from: GOOD / GRIEF / Alt Country Club / April 3, 2020
   [From the 6th album of the Lawrence, KS, based alt-country, Americana, rock band, formed by Colin Halliburton with friends in 2005. The songs were born, largely, in response to the death of Halliburton’s best friend (and keyboardist in The Roseline), as well as the loss of his mother-in-law to suicide. Additionally, the album explores themes of love & marriage, the grieving process, elder millennial existential dread, politicized rage, drugs, and mortality. Beyond simply the lyrics, they have added sonic textures that have not previously been explored, thanks to the addition of guitarist Bradley McKellip, bassist Colin Jones, and keyboardist and vocalist Heidi Gluck. Drummer Jim Piller and guitarist Kris Losure have returned as solid mainstays of the band. Guest appearances from lap steel player Mike Stover, pianist Dan Loftus, and vocalist Chase Horseman widen the sonic spectrum even further. The album was recorded, engineered and produced by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studios in KCMO. The new album follows the September 29, 2017 release “Blood,” and the June 19, 2015 album, “Townie.” The band has toured the US and Halliburton has completed two European solo tours thus far, taking him through Poland, Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands.]

10:05 – Interview with Tim Finn

Tim Finn is Music Writer for In Kansas City Magazine. Tim is originally from Youngstown, New York. He studied at University of Missouri in Columbia and received his Masters of Arts, in Journalism from the University of Kansas. Tim served as Music Writer of the KC Star, where he worked for 29 years. You can hear Tim Finn Thursday afternoons on 90.9 The Bridge with Jon Hart.

Tim Finn, thanks for being with us on again on WMM.

2020 has been a year unlike any other with: COVID-19 killing a quarter million citizens in the U.S. in 8 months; a presidential election from hell; and the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement in the streets and in all organizations who care about equality for all. The cover of The Roseline album is a tornado with gold embossed words: GOOD / GRIEF.

Colin Halliburton’s new songs were born, largely, in response to the death of Halliburton’s best friend (and keyboardist in The Roseline), as well as the loss of his mother-in-law to suicide. Additionally, the album explores themes of love & marriage, the grieving process, elder millennial existential dread, politicized rage, drugs, and mortality.

4 Daniel Gum – Thirteen / Manor Records / October 30, 2020

3. Daniel Gum – “In The Worst Ways”
   from: Thirteen / Manor Records / October 30, 2020
   [Produced by Mike Crawford and Daniel Gum. All songs written, performed, and mixed by Daniel Gum.
   Engineered by Mike Crawford. Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Daniel Gum is a 23 year old singer-songwriter from Kansas City. Since the age of 12, he has spent the majority of his time writing and recording songs by himself in his room. His most recent project, Moon, on the other hand was recorded by someone else in another room while Daniel was by himself in yet another room. The Moon EP was released December 7, 2019. It was engineered by Mike Crawford and Daniel Gum and mixed by Daniel Gum with piano and accordion by Cole Crawford. Daniel Gun released his EP i’m not dead October 25, 2017, and his 10-song album Reorient on July 31, 2015, with all songs written, recorded and mixed by Daniel Gum who also performed all vocals guitars, drums, piano, bass. harmonica, and programming. The first single from Daniel Gum’s album, Thirteen “Ruin Your Life” was released on September 4, The second single, “In The Worst Ways” was released September 28, 2020. ] [On our July 22, 2020, WMM show we played Daniel Gum’s track, “Tired Saint” from French Exit Records – Black Lives Matter Compilation, released July 6, 2020. French Exit Records was launched two years ago as an independent music label in KCMO, founded by Brad Girard. French Exit Records has released albums for No Magic and Raymond,. BLM Compilation is 22 acts from the area, with all proceeds donated to One Struggle KC’s Liberation Fund, a Black-led coalition of KC activists seeking to connect the struggles of oppressed communities, locally & globally.]

3. Shiner – Schadenfreude / Two Black Eyes / May 8, 2020

4. Shiner – “Nothing”
   from: Schadenfreude / Two Black Eyes / May 8, 2020
   [Shiner is an American post-hardcore band from Kansas City, Missouri that was active from 1992 to 2003. Since 2012 Shiner has been playing several shows a year. The band’s new record “Schadenfreude.”The group formed in 1992, and quickly found wide exposure, releasing a vinyl EP in 1993 and touring with acts such as Sunny Day Real Estate, Chore, Jawbox, Season to Risk, The Jesus Lizard, and Girls Against Boys. The group released their first LP, Splay (recorded at Steve Albini’s Chicago studio) in 1996, and a second album, Lula Divinia the next year. Sub Pop took notice, and released a 7” single of the group’s songs “Sleep it Off” and “Half Empty”. Following this the band toured with Hum in 1998. A third full-length, Starless, was released on a label run by members of Descendents, Owned and Operated, in 2000. A fourth LP, The Egg, would follow before the group broke up in 2002. This was recorded and produced at Matt Talbott’s recording studio, Great Western Record Recorders in Tolono IL. Guitarist Josh Newton is the guitar/synth player/mastermind for Sie Lieben Maschinen, Jason Gerken on drums plays in multiple projects, Paul Malinowski on bass. also produces music at Massive Sound Studio, lead singer songwriter Allen Epley is also in The Life and Times.]

2. Fritz Hutchison – Wide Wild Acres / Center Cut Records / March 27, 2020

5. Fritz Hutchison – “Stationary”
   from: Wide Wild Acres / Center Cut Records / March 27, 2020
   [Debut album of Fritz Hutchison,. Written & performed by Fritz Hutchison. Produced by Fritz Hutchison & Joel Nanos. Recorded & mixed in KC by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Studio. Mastered by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room in Chicago. Multi-instrumentalist Fritz Hutchison was born May 27, 1991. A life-long resident of KC Since 2008 he’s been part of multiple bands playing drums with: She’s a Keeper, Freight Train Rabbit Killer, and Grand Marquis. As a guitarist he has played along side J Ashley Miller, Lauren Krum, Miki P and Calvin Arsenia. A decade of lending an ear and a hand to other musicians has left Fritz poised to launch his own solo career as a singer-songwriter.“Fortunate Flaws” features Ian Teeple on bass, and Coleen Dieker on strings. All other instruments: drums, guitar, piano and vocals are performed by Fritz Hutchison.]

1. The Freedom Affair – Freedom is Love / Sunflower Soul Records / Sept. 25, 2020

6. The Freedom Affair – “Out Of My Mind”
   from: Freedom is Love / Sunflower Soul Records / September 25, 2020
   [“Freedom Is Love” is the debut album from Kansas City’s newest soul juggernaut, The Freedom Affair. The album explores themes of love, heartache, empowerment, and togetherness through a varying landscape of hard-hitting funk, luscious soul, and everything in between. The Freedom Affair is a unique collective featuring 3 powerhouse female vocalists in front of a dynamic 6-piece band. On “Freedom Is Love”, each of the ladies get their time to shine individually, but the magic is on full display when all 3 come together in unison and harmony, symbolically embodying the messages that they sing about. The album was recorded and produced by Chris Hazelton, utilizing the best of vintage and new recording technologies to create an authentic experience, befitting of a soul record that would have been relevant 50 years ago as much as it will be 50 years from now. The Freedom Affair is: Misha Roberts on vocals; Paula Saunders on vocals; Seyko Groves on vocals; Cole Bales on guitar, sitar (Track 3); Branden Moser on guitar; Chris Hazelton on bass guitar, organ (Tracks 1, 2, 9, & 10), Tambourine (Track 1), Glockenspiel (Track 3), & Chimes (Track 4); Dave Brick on drums; Pete Carroll on trumpet; Brett Jackson on tenor sax, baritone sax (Tracks 1 & 5), & tambourine (Tracks 5, 6, & 8). Additional Musicians: Pat Conway on Congas (Tracks 1, 3, & 6), Alyssa Bell on viola (Tracks 3, 4, & 7), Elizabeth Codd on violin (Tracks 3 & 4), Matt Bennett on violin (Tracks 3 & 7), John Wickersham on timpani (Track 4), Pamela Baskin-Watson on piano (Track 10), Nick Howell on tambourine (Track 10), The Freedom Family Choir (Track 10): Misha Roberts, Erica Hazelton, Seyko Groves, Paula Saunders, Jordyn Saunders, Cole Bales, and Chris Hazelton. All Horn & String Arrangements by Chris Hazelton except: “Heartaches Don’t Come Easy” and “Give A Little Love” by Pete Carroll & Brett Jackson, “Don’t Shoot” by Chris Hazelton & Allyssa Bell. Produced, Recorded, & Mixed by Chris Hazelton. Assistant Produced by Dave Brick. Rhythm Section on Track 10 recorded by Chad Meise. Mastered by JJ Golden. Cover Artwork by Matthew “Mo” Manley. Front cover photograph of civil rights protesters in Kansas City, MO (April 9th, 1968). The Freedom Affair and their track “Rise Up” were selected to be part of Colemine Records 3xLP box set, “Soul Slabs Vol. 2” a Record Store Day Exclusive, released April 13, 2019. Colemine writes: “The Freedom Affair is a freight train of KC soul! Dirty, funky drums, gritty horns, and the combined vocals of Misha Roberts, Seyko Groves, and Paula Saunders to put this band over the top. Politically charged soul music for the dancefloor!”]

10:28 – Underwriting

Marion Merritt’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2020

10:30 – Interview with Marion Merritt

For more than 16 years Marion Merritt has been sharing her musical discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain with the listeners of WMM. With her partner Ann Stewart, Marion is the proprietor of Records With Merritt a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.

Marion Merritt, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

5. Holy Fuck – Deleter / Ef Records / January 17, 2020

7. Holy Fuck – “Deleters (feat. Angus Andrew)”
   from: Deleter / Ef Records / January 17, 2020
   [Holy Fuck is an electronica band from Toronto. They were a part of Dependent Music, a music label & artist collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2004 until its closing. They were then a part of the Young Turks label. In 2016 they signed with Innovative Leisure. The band uses live instrumentation & miscellaneous instruments and non-instruments, including a 35 mm film synchronizer, toy keyboards & toy phaser guns, to achieve electronic-sounding effects without the use of laptops or programmed backing tracks. According to Pitchfork Media, “The band formed with the intent of creating the equivalent of modern electronic music without actually using the techniques, looping, splicing, programming and the like, of that music.]

4. Throwing Muses – Sun Racket / Fire Records / September 4, 2020

8. Throwing Muses – “Dark Blue” from: Sun Racket / Fire Records / September 4, 2020
   [Sun Racket is a studio album by American alternative rock band Throwing Muses. The album was released on Fire Records on September 4, 2020, and has received positive reviews from critics. // Although it had been seven years since Purgatory/Paradise and a decade prior to that since Throwing Muses, primary songwriter Kristin Hersh had continuously been writing songs both for this band and her project 50 Foot Wave and the songwriting for this album was influenced by the harder rock sound of the latter band. She was only motivated to make a new Throwing Muses album once she had the right songs that sounded appropriate for this group: according to Hersh, the distinction is so stark that she has written them in a fugue state as a response to post-traumatic stress disorder and has no memory of their composition.// The first single from the album, “Dark Blue”, was released in February 2020. The second single, “Bo Diddley Bridge”, was released in July, and the third, “Frosting”, in August. // The album had a planned release date of May 22, 2020 but was later delayed to September 4, 2020. Throwing Muses is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly (stepsisters), who both wrote the group’s songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh’s stark, candid writing style; Donelly’s pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo’s unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hersh’s hallucinatory, feverish lyrics occasionally touch on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.]

3. Lianne La Havas – Lianne La Havas / Nonesuch – Warner Records UK / July 17, 2020

9. Lianne La Havas – “Bittersweet”
   from: Lianne La Havas / Nonesuch -Warner Records UK / July 17, 2020
   [Third studio album from Lianne La Hava born Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 23, 1989). Lianne La Havas is a British singer and songwriter. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for whom she sang backing vocals. In 2010, La Havas signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting, before releasing any music. La Havas’ debut studio album, Is Your Love Big Enough? (2012), was released to positive reviews from critics and earned her a nomination for the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll and awards for the iTunes Album of The Year 2012. La Havas was born and raised in London, England, to a Greek father and Jamaican mother. She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents after her parents separated. La Havas began singing at seven, and cites her parents’ diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. Her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11, but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. Lianne sang in her school choir. She attended Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Thornton Heath where she studied art A-level, and had planned to take an art foundation course before she decided to leave college to pursue a career in music full-time. Her birth name is Lianne Barnes, and her stage name is an adaptation of her Greek father Henry Vlahavas’ surname. She lives in London.]

2. Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? / Cooking Vinyl / August 14, 2020

10. Fantastic Negrito – “Chocolate Samurai”
    from: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? / Fantastic Negrito – Cooking Vinyl / August 14, 2020
    [Follow up to his June 15, 2018 release, Please Don’t Be Dead on Blackball Universe – Cooking Vinyl Records that was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. His 2016 album The Last Days of Oakland won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 59th Grammy Awards. In 2019, his album Please Don’t Be Dead won the same category for the 61st Grammy Awards.Fantastic Negrito was raised in an orthodox Muslim household. His father was a Somali-Caribbean immigrant who mostly played traditional African music. He was the eight of 15 children. When, at the age of 12, Negrito’s family moved from Massachusetts to Oakland, California. Oakland in 1970s was a million miles from Negrito’s conservative childhood. He went from Arab chants to Funkadelic in one day. By the time he was 20, Negrito had taught himself to play every instrument he could get his hands on. He was recording music, and after some difficulties on the streets he packed his bags and headed to LA, armed with a demo on cassette. Negrito signed with a million dollar deal at Interscope. The record deal was a disaster. Gangsta rap was ruling the airwaves and Negrito was in the wrong place at the wrong era. Negrito came out of the deal with a failed album and his confidence gutted. In 2000, Negrito was in a near fatal car accident that put him in a coma. For four weeks it was touch and go. Because his muscles atrophied while bedridden, he had to go through months of frustrating physical therapy to regain use of his legs. Rods were placed throughout his body. And worst of all, his playing hand was mutilated. Back in Oakland, Negrito forgot about life as a musician. He got married, he planted vegetables, raised his own chickens, and made money growing weed. He also settled into being a man, on his own, clear of the distractions of wanting to be a star. And then his son Kyu was born. He began recording without the hindrances that come with chasing trends. Negrito turned to the original DNA of all American music, the Blues. The beating life had given him primed him to channel his literal and musical forefathers: the Blues musicians of the Delta]

1. Gregory Porter – All Rise / Blue Note Records / August 28, 2020

11. Gregory Porter – “If Love Is Overrated’
    from: All Rise / Blue Note Records / August 28, 2020
    [Sixth studio album from Gregory Porter, born November 4, 1971. He is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014 for Liquid Spirit and in 2017 for Take Me to the Alley. Gregory Porter was born in Sacramento, California, and was raised in Bakersfield, California, where his mother Ruth was a minister. Porter has seven siblings. His mother was a large influence on his life, having encouraged him to sing in church at an early age. His father, Rufus, was largely absent from his life. Says Porter, “Everybody had some issues with their father, even if he was in the house. He may have been emotionally absent. My father was just straight-up absent. I hung out with him just a few days in my life. And it wasn’t a long time. He just didn’t seem to be completely interested in being there. Maybe he was, I don’t know.” // A 1989 graduate of Highland High School, he received a full athletic scholarship as a football lineman to San Diego State University (SDSU Aztecs), but a shoulder injury during his junior year cut short his football career. // Porter’s mother died from cancer when he was 21 years old. From her death bed, she entreated him: “Sing, baby, sing!” // Porter moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in 2004, along with his brother Lloyd. He worked as a chef at Lloyd’s restaurant Bread-Stuy (now defunct), where he also performed. Porter performed at other neighborhood venues including Sista’s Place and Solomon’s Porch, and moved on to Harlem club St. Nick’s Pub, where he maintained a weekly residency. Out of this residency evolved what would become Porter’s touring band. // Porter released two albums on the Motéma label together with Membran Entertainment Group, 2010’s Water and 2012’s Be Good, before signing with Blue Note Records (under Universal Music Group) on May 17, 2013. His third album, Liquid Spirit, was released on September 2, 2013, in Europe and on September 17, 2013, in the US. The album was produced by Brian Bacchus. The album won the 2014 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. // Liquid Spirit enjoyed commercial success rarely achieved by albums in the jazz genre, reaching the top 10 on the UK album charts. It was certified gold by the BPI, selling over 100,000 units in the UK. // In August 2014, Porter released “The ‘In’ Crowd” as a single. On May 9, 2015, Porter participated in VE Day 70: A Party to Remember, a televised commemorative concert from Horse Guards Parade in London, singing “As Time Goes By”. //His fourth album, Take Me to the Alley, was released on May 6, 2016. In UK’s The Guardian it was Alexis Petridis’s album of the week. // On June 26, 2016, Porter performed on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2016. Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick said, “The portly middle-aged jazzer may be the oddest pop star on the planet but he is a refreshing testament to the notion that the most important organ for musical appreciation should always be our ears. And Porter has one of the most easy-on-the-ear voices in popular music, a creamy baritone that flows thick and smooth across a rich gateaux of juicy melody. It’s a voice that makes you want to lick your lips and dive right in.” // In September 2016, Porter performed at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park from Hyde Park, London. He would go on to perform in the annual BBC Children in Need show in November, a night dedicated to Sir Terry Wogan, who hosted it in previous years and was a fan of Porter. // In January 2017, Porter performed the song “Holding On” on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show. In September 2017 he performed as part of the Later… with Jools Holland: Later 25 concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In October 2017, he performed the song “Mona Lisa” on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show with Jeff Goldblum on piano. // His debut album, Water, was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. He was also a member of the original Broadway cast of It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. His second album, Be Good, which contains many of Porter’s compositions, garnered critical acclaim for both his distinctive singing and his compositions, such as “Be Good (Lion’s Song)”, “Real Good Hands”, and “On My Way to Harlem”. The title track was also nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. In his review of Water, Kevin Le Gendre of the BBC wrote that “Gregory Porter has a voice and musicality to be reckoned with.” // The New York Times described Porter as “a jazz singer of thrilling presence, a booming baritone with a gift for earthy refinement and soaring uplift” in its review of Liquid Spirit. // Michael G. Nastos of AllMusic wrote a mixed review of Water, stating: “In hard bop trim, Shorter’s ‘Black Nile’ has Porter shouting out a lyric line that was done many years ago by Chicago’s Luba Raashiek, but Porter’s voice is strained and breaks up. While on every track Porter sings with great conviction, he’s more effective on lower-key compositions”, but went on to say that “he’s right up there with José James as the next big male vocal jazz star.” // Porter is married to Victoria and they have a son, Demyan. Their home is in Bakersfield, California. // For public appearances, Porter always wears a hat reminiscent of a deerstalker incorporating fabric that covers his ears and chin. In a 2012 interview with Jazzweekly.com, when asked: “What’s with the weird and wonderful hat?” Porter replied: “I’ve had some surgery on my skin, so this has been my look for a little while and will continue to be for a while longer. People recognize me by it now. It is what it is.” In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016, he divulged that he received some facial scars when he was “seven or eight”, but declined to go into the specifics of how they were sustained. He said: “I just saw it one day (The hat) and said ‘I’m gonna put this on, I like it.’ It was before the music career. The cap is a Kangol Summer Spitfire]

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Interview with Chris Haghirian

Chris Haghirian shares his passion for the KC music community as host of Eight One Sixty, heard Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm, on 90.9 The Bridge, just a few clicks up the dial. In May of this year Chris Haghirian organized KC Bands Together – A Livestream Concert on May 15, and 16, celebrating KC musicians in the area and around the world! To benefit Midwest Music Foundation, and raising over $60,000. Chris worked for The KC Star for over 20 years. In normal non-pandemic years Chris organizes music for, Boulevardia, The Plaza Art Fair, and concerts at Kauffman Stadium. With Nathan Reusch of The Record Machine, Chris created The Middle of The Map Fest. Chris was an early adaptor of Pandemic Times creating KC Bands Together served as a template for many virtual music festivals to follow: including Crossroads Music Fest, Apocalypse Meow and others.

Chris Haghirian thanks for being with us on WMM.

Chris Haghirian’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2019

5. Jo MacKenzie – let me give you what i wish i had. EP / Jo MacKenzie / Oct. 3, 2020

12. Jo MacKenzie – “Lost Myself”
    from: let me give you what i wish i had. EP / Jo MacKenzie / October 3, 2020
    [One of several new singles from 16 year old, Kansas City based singer songwriter, Jo MacKenzie released this year now collected together in a 5 -song EP, written, performed and produced by Jo MacKenzie. Mixed by Harper James. Jo MacKenzie released her Debut EP Proud on November 17, 2018. Along with Proud, Jo Mackenzie released the single “Just Like Rain” on August 18, 2018; “I Should Come with a Warning Sign” on September 28, 2019; and “Alaska” on November 23, 2019 and the single “Suicide Season” on February 1, 2020, and the single “Lose My Face” on April 24, 2020. More info at http://www.jomackenzie.com]

4. Silver Girl – silver girl / Silver Girl / August 14, 2020

13. Silver Girl – “Ceremony”
    from: silver girl / Silver Girl / August 14, 2020
    [“ceremony” is one of three singles released from Silver Girl’s self titled debut 7-song EP. Silver Girl is the collaboration between producer and musician Jared Logan and singer songwriter Chloe Jacobson.]

Last week on Chris Haghirian’s radio show he paid tribute to musical artists who have gone out of their way to help raise money for needed causes. Una Walkenhorst was one of those people, as she has worked tirelessly this year for Greenline Grows KC – Benefit for The Greenline Initiative, a Black family-owned organization that uses crowdsourcing to help historically marginalized and low income populations buy and renovate the houses they rent. Based in KC’s 3rd District, the initiative builds permanent community and generational wealth in formerly redlined neighborhoods. More info at: http://www.thegreenlineinitiative.com

3. Una Walkenhorst – Woman of the Year / Una Walkenhorst / April 16, 2020

14. Una Walkenhorst – “People in The Paper”
    from: Woman of the Year / Una Walkenhorst / April 16, 2020
    [2nd single from Una’s “Woman of the Year”. 25 year old Una Walkenhorst is a singer/songwriter from Kansas City. 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, with beautiful harmonies. Una will be on WMM on March 18]

2. BLACKSTARKIDS – SURF / Bedroom Records / February 28, 2020

15. BLACKSTARKIDS – “Sounds Like Fun!”
    from: SURF / Bedroom Records / February 28, 2020
    [Second album from, BlackStarKids, a pop/R&B/hip-hop group based in Kansas City, Missouri. Members include: TheBabeGabe, Deiondre, and TyFaizon (of the Drop Dead XX collective). The group released its first album, Let’s Play Sports, in 2019. Blackstarkids,recently caught the attention of The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy and now they’re signed to The 1975’s management company, Dirty Hit Records and they were just featured in Clash Magazine.]

1. Ebony Tusks – Heal Thyself / High Dive Records / November 6, 2020

16. Ebony Tusks – “Bloodletting (Radio edit)”
    from: Heal Thyself / High Dive Records / November 6, 2020
    [All songs written and performed by Ebony Tusks unless otherwise noted. // All Songs engineered and mixed by George Henry Valyer IV at Rundown Studios in Topeka, Kansas and MalaMUTE Studios in East Lawrence, Kansas. Assistance provided by Nico Williams and Claire Kuner. // Conny Franko’s vocals on “You Runner” engineered by Keith Rodger and Rick Carson at Make Believe Studios in Omaha, Nebraska. // IK’s vocals on “Gang Signs” engineered by Derek Montgomery. // Stik Figa’s vocals on “Hell Above Or Here Below” engineered by Sean Patrick at Twelves Studios in Forth Worth, Texas. // Cello on “Heir Apparent” written and performed by Brail Watson. Rhodes and Moog on “Heir Apparent” written and performed by Daniel Bowersox. // All Songs mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering in Portland, Oregon. // Album cover art by Justin Bergin. Album cover photography by Rachel Lock. Album layout by Martinez Hillard. // Album insert photography by Ailecia Ruscin and LeRoy Pristach. // Ebony Tusks is Daniel Smith on DJ & Production, Geese Giesecke on vocals & Production, and Marty Hillard on vocals & Production. Martinez Hillard told Vivid Seats: “ I began EBONY TUSKS in 2009 after a difficult period that summer. I was living in the student ghetto near the University of Kansas in Lawrence. It was an eerily calm Friday night and I didn’t have any plans after work so I crashed. I woke up shortly after 9:00 pm because my door was being kicked in. I was beaten and robbed at gunpoint. Thankfully, two of my neighbors were close friends and called the police immediately. I had nightmares for years afterward that included many symbols I’ve come to associate with various religious practices. I also began writing raps for the first time in over a decade. I was working with a couple producers and we had our first show at a house venue called Pizza Power in October 2010. Both Daniel and Geese came into the fold within a couple years of that show.” Daniel Smith lives in Lawrence, Kansas. He was born in Berkeley California. He moved to Lawrence when he was a child. Hs father is a Professor at The University of Kansas. Daniel works the United Way of Douglass County. He helps to provide after school job-training programs for under-served youth. Nathan “Geese” Giesecke grew up in Olathe but now lives and works in Kansas City, MO. He was friends with Calvin Arsenia in High School. Geese works as a producer as GEESACE. He makes beats and you can find his music at http://soundcloud.com/geesace Nathan is also a lighting designer who jumped on stage to do back up vocals for Marty and ended up being in the band. Martinez Hillard is the main vocalist and lyricist for EBONY TUSKS. He raps under the moniker Bodye, (pronounced “body”). He also produces beats. Martinez lives in the Old Town neighborhood in downtown Topeka with wife and 5 year old daughter. Martinez was part of the super group Cowboy Indian Bear. Martinez was recently elected to serve as a board member for Friends of the Library for Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. As Marty told Johnson County Library, in a piece published April 27, 2018: “ It was a project I started with other producers back in 2010. I asked Daniel to DJ for me sometime in 2011-2012 and Geese joined not too far behind him. Daniel and I had become fast friends when I lived in Lawrence and he was the nicest, most easygoing DJ of the handful I knew. He made our shows a lot less stressful. Geese was and is a lighting technician for a number of our friends’ projects and that was how I made acquaintance with him, seeing him work for a band and asking if he’d do lights for an EBONY TUSKS concert. He eventually asked if he could be hypeman for us and he brought an new intensity.” EBONY TUSKS have been a band for over 11 years making hip hop in the Lawrence scene that includes Approach, Stik Figa, Heartfelt Anarchy, and Archetype are just a small fraction. With that said, the three of us are always having conversations about how other genres influence us personally. Post-rock, post-hardcore, industrial, indie rock, and electronic all factor in. Our tastes evolve naturally and we follow accordingly. Since the three members of EBONY TUSKS live in three separate cities: Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka early on, they created a Dropbox folder to share demos with one another. And as they told Vivid Seat: “It also gave us a bit of language to use in building sounds independent of one another.” More info at: ww.highdiverecords.com]

11:28 – Underwriting

11:30 – Fally Afani’s Favorite Musical Releases of 2020

6. TL Jones – “No Chaser feat. Aka from DNA” – Single / TL Jones / May 2, 2020

17. TL Jones – “No Chaser feat. Aka from DNA (Clean)”
    from: “No Chaser feat. Aka from DNA” – Single / TL Jones / May 2, 2020
    [Originally recorded on No Chaser – EP from TL Jones released July 23, 2018. TL Jones is an author, singer, rapper, songwriter, based in Kansas City, Kansas. Her single “Miss Me” was released July 4 through Empire.]

10:32 – Interview with Fally Afani

Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning nearly 29 years in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for her online work in journalism. Fally lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where she reports on local & touring musicians and is the editor & founder of, I Heart Local Music a comprehensive website providing info and place for music lovers in Lawrence to gather. It was started out of a deep love & appreciation for the local music scene. And has grown to produce a quarterly printed magazine. Info at: http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

Fally Afani, Thank you for being with us in Wednesday MidDay Medley.

5. Thighmaster – ” Between The Knees And Squeeze / High Dive Records / Jan. 10, 2020

18. Thighmaster – “Jane Fonda You”
    from: Between The Knees And Squeeze / High Dive Records / January 10, 2020
    [Thighmaster is a Lawrence, Kansas based band formed by Maxfield Yoder (formerly of the bands: Dean Monkey & the Dropouts, Plains) on guitar & vocals, Max Lock on vocals, Max Smith on tambourine & vocals, Esteban Gomez –on bass, Jennifer Graham on drums, and Jake Little on guitar.Thighmaster recently signed with KC based label High Dive Records. The band is resurrecting the song-writing demons that have long haunted Mayfield Yoder. Thighmaster truly is garage pop for cool grandparents. Now you too can have shapely thighs in minutes a day. Tracked, Mixed and Mastered by Ross Williams and written by Thighmaster.]

4. The Sluts – Enjoy The Show / The Sluts / May 7, 2020

19. The Sluts – “King Kong” from: Enjoy The Show / The Sluts / May 7, 2020
    [Follow up to last year’s 6-song EP Break Their Heart. The Lawrence based band The Sluts were formed by Ryan Wise & Kristoffer Dover in 2011. Produced recorded, mixed, and mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording and Mastering Studios, KCMO. The Sluts released their debut EP Virile on November 14, 2013. The Sluts released The Loser EP on July 8, 2014. They released their 11-song full length album The Sluts on June 17, 2015. The Sluts released their EP Only One on May 25, 2017. Info at http://www.thesluts.bandcamp.com]

3. Harrisonics – Love Songs For All Occasions / Fabcom Records / July 6, 2020

20. Harrisonics – “Trailer Court Goth Girls”
    from: Love Songs For All Occasions / Fabcom Records / July 6, 2020
    [Lawrence Kansa trio. The band was a quartet, but the guitarist quit. Now their songs are even shorter. The band writes: Sparkling power pop or middle-aged dullard rock? It’s your nickel. We would have sounded pretty edgy in about 1979. We still like loud guitars and we would love to play for you sometime. ]

2. DumpStar – DumpStar – Exile on 9th Street / DumpStar / April 24, 2020

21. DumpStar – “Divine Spark”
    from: DumpStar – Exile on 9th Street / DumpStar / April 24, 2020
    [Kurt Mangold on guitars, more guitars; Tim Manning on bass, vocals; Nick Wells on drums, percussion; Steve Wilson on lead and backing vocals. Exile on 9th Street” is the first in a series of extended play releases from DumpStar. People who like us say we put them in mind of the New York Dolls, Stooges, Stones, Dead Boys, Real Kids, and of course the Beaux Arts Trio.]

Fally Afani Honorable Mentions:

Godzillionaire – Ballad of the Topeka Gentleman (5:13)
Bloom Pressing – Palms (6:13)
Pala Zolo – You Can’t (3:16

1. Unfit Wives – “Damn That Man” – Single / Lost Cowgirl Records / June 19, 2020

22. Unfit Wives – “Damn That Man”
    from: “Damn That Man” – Single / Lost Cowgirl Records / June 19, 2020
    [Unfit Wives bring their hard-driving bluegrass originals to Kansas City and surrounding areas with hot licks, lyrics, and feisty four-part harmonies. Unfit Wives are: Jenna Rae on guitar & vocals, Shannon O’Shea on fiddle & vocals, Monica Greenwood on mandolin & vocals, and Kahlen Mitchell on upright bass & vocals.
    Unfit Wives who played a Parking Lot Show with Ryan Manuel, and Tyler Gregory, Saturday, October 10, at 7:00 PM, at Theatre Lawrence, 4660 Bauer Farm Drive, Lawrence Kansas, presented by I Heart Local Music and Theatre Lawrence for a socially distanced drive-in concert at the Theatre Lawrence parking lot. More info at http://www.unfitwives.com and http://www.thelostcowgirl.com]

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

Next week on December 2, Michelle Bacon joins us to share her Favorite Releases of 2020. Also, in the first hour, Wednesday MidDay Medley spins our Top Singles of 2020! (These are stand alone single releases of 2020 that are not included on any EPs or full length album releases.)

Tune into Wednesday MidDay Medley throughout December as we present our 4-week special series: The 120 Best Recordings of 2020, on December 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th. This is our celebration of the year in music based on the playlists of this little ole radio show.

Thank you to all who donated to Wednesday MidDay Medley and KKFI 90.1 FM during our Fall Fund Drive. Between our on 10/14 and 10/21 air fund drive shows, and our Facebook Fundraiser, we had a total of 50 listeners who donated a total of $2954.00 to support community radio. THANK YOU!!!!

Tim Finn photo by Paul Andrews

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

Black Lives Matter

Show #865