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 19, 2022

Kianna Alarid White & Cale Parks of Ezmerelda + Michelle Bacon & The Band That Fell To Earth + New & MidCoastal Releases

1. “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
   from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
   [WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]

2. Mensa Deathsquad – “Chin Up, Eyes Wide Open (Radio Edit)”from: Light – Single / Gran Cavalera / November 16, 2021
   [This is the second single from the forthcoming album, YOU WILL HEAR THUNDER. Written, performed and produced by Mensa Deathsquad. Mastered at Element Recording and Mastering. Brandon Phillips of Mensa Deathsquad, writes: “By the time I wrote Chin Up Eyes Wide Open, I was just this little emotional soap bubble, exploding in slow motion. I felt safe in my own skin for the first time in a really long time. This is part of trauma recovery – early on there is this identity crisis that starts in your bone marrow and extends outward into the far reaches of the galaxy and it takes a lot of effort to find yourself again in all that messy tissue and ice cold vastness. By some quirk of luck, I bumped into myself by chance when a friend made a joke about my being exactly her “tall, thin and emotionally unavailable” type. To which I shot back, “Babe, all I am is emotionally available. I am skin and emotions.” Boom. There I was, hiding in plain sight. So “Chin Up, Eyes Wide Open” is a song about my deciding to live that punch line and to just fully embody “skin and emotions” and to never mask that version of myself again. It’s a song about showing up for yourself in all your flawed, fucked up glory.” “Chin Up, Eyes Wide Open” is a follow up to “Light” released November 16, 2021. Brandon Phillips writes, “The electronic music that I daydream about, always has that Stooges layer of dirt and shop grease on it. That’s what I want.” Follow up to CYCLIST, the second album from Mensa Deathsquad released February 23, 2021. The cyclist was released with these notes: Brandon Phillips laid in a Kansas City hospital through the winter of 2019-2020 as his own album release (the unintentionally but appropriately named Patient Zero by his alt-synthwave band Mensa Deathsquad) passed by in the outside world. The first tracks from his debut album Patient Zero were premiering and, chained to a Luciferian merry-go-round of post-operative infections, Brandon strained through the pharmaceutical blur to do promotion for his record, emailing editors and scraping together the necessary pieces they needed. Since his surgery a month prior had gone sideways, and the time, energy, and planning for things like photos, videos and shows had been blown to smithereens, all he had left to look forward to beyond the IVs and the machines that go “ping” was this premiere and the street date. And then came COVID-19, like a rogue wave, to finish off the aimless Mensa Deathsquad sailboat. // But Brandon didn’t die and the boat didn’t sink. As the squall receded and the wanton eye of cruel gods passed over him, Brandon clung to the boat and swore revenge… // As the aphorism goes, “revenge is sweet” and thus Brandon and his Mensa Deathsquad will have the triumphant last laugh. Holed up in the spare bedroom of his apartment in Kansas City with an open wound in his abdomen, two surgical drains, and a severely compromised immune system, Brandon slipped back into his Mensa Deathsquad persona and began working on what would become his newest full length album, Cyclist. // The music that emerged from Brandon’s isolation and illness is a raw, nearly garage-rock take on darkwave and a perfect continuation of what he had begun on Patient Zero. Launching with the one-two punch of electro-punk noir in “Nothing Is Ever Enough” and “Therapist” before the pounding synth-rock of “The Disappointment Of The Christ,” Brandon fixes his furious eyes upon the provocative hypocrisy and violence that results from American Christianity. // A heady package of nudge nudges and intellectual ruminations (a trademark of Brandon’s past as a smartpunk upstart in such seminal bands as The Gadjits and Architects), Cyclist carries both a powerful music punch, a cultural rummaging through pop culture, and a run through his ever-evolving intellect. A knowing wink to fans of the seminal vampire flick The Lost Boy, “Join Us, Michael” is at once a seething appraisal of a world scorched and defiled by an older generation and a musical love letter to that pivotal ‘80s vampire movie soundtrack. “Leap Year (Chaos Reigns)” which began as a Siouxsie & the Banshees-inspired jam serves as Cyclist’s true north – the story of a drug-fueled wrinkle in time that brought the entire cyclical nature of existence into visibility one fateful night. “End Of The World” is dance-floor nihilist electro-rock blending angular post-punk guitar with the nostalgia of neon synths and electroclash drums, while “Takes One To Know One” slowly approaches the thunderstorm of toxic relationships, soulful vocals, tech house kick drums, and grimey-as-hell bass. // As a fitting conclusion to the tour de force through his psyche, Cyclist closes with yet another two-track charge, the swaggering post-electro sneer at celebrity social media, “Famous” followed by the throbbing Giorgio Moroder-via-Tech House cover of Iggy Pop’s classic “The Passenger.” “It was important to me that I cover ‘The Passenger’ as a letter of intent.” Says Brandon. “The electronic music that I daydream about, always has that Stooges layer of dirt and shop grease on it. That’s what I wanted for Cyclist.” The result is a triumph over the storm, as Mensa Deathsquad sails, unvanquished, into victory. More info at: https://mensadeathsquad.bandcamp.com or https://facebook.com/MensaDeathsquad.%5D

3. The Creepy Jingles – “Throwing In The Femme Fatale”
   from: “Throwing In The Femme Fatale” – Single / High Dive Records / November 18, 2021
   [The track was recorded last year, in the Ozarks at a remote lake house cabin. This song won’t be on the band’s upcoming 11-track, full-length debut, TAKE ME AT MY WORD PLAY scheduled for release in March. As lead singer Jocelyn Olivia Nixon Nixon, who is a transgender woman, told 90.9 The Bridge, “This is one of those songs we wanted to make space for and share because it was a favorite little oddball of ours, it’s a bit outside the box of what we normally do.” Nixon continued, “I wrote it to appear vague enough where it could be about a song, idea or a person that gets stuck inside your crawl space,” the song was about her own mindset before transitioning. “…This overwhelming thought about showing the world who I really was, because I couldn’t ignore it anymore.” The Creepy Jingles released their Debut EP on High Dive Records on May 3, 2019. The release was in the top tenof WMM’s 119 Best Recordings of 2019. From High Dive Records website: “The brainchild of singer/ songwriter, Jocelyn Olivia Nixon acts to guide the listener thru a self-actualized Mono-myth of forging identity thru Bizarre arcane cosmic poetry coupled with the wordplay of a wry smile and eccentric wit. Drummer Nick Robertson charges the group forward with a fiery fueled obsidian backbeat. Adam York delivers pulsing bass lines that the compliment the songs and his partner in the rhythm section. Rounding out the band is Guitarist Travis McKenzie who generously spins a holographic spectrum of color that lift the catchy Brit pop melodies that effortlessly dance about the rapidly changing landscapes of New York Garage Rock and 60s/70s folk music. Beware The Creepy Jingles, their siren call is coming from inside the house.”]

[Jocelyn Olivia Nixon of The Creepy Jingles joins The Band That Fell To Earth and their Tribute to David Bowie on Saturday, January 22, at 8:30 PM recordBar.]

4. You Monster You – “Doubt”
   from: “Doubt” – Single / You Monster You / January 10, 2022
   [The punk/emo grunge band You Monster You released their debut album “Chariot” in September 2019. with Trent Munsinger on vocals & guitar, Paul Herman onbBacking vocals, & guitar, David Owens on backing vocals & bass guitar, and Andrew McMullin on drums & percussion. They have opened for Third Eye Blind, Paramore, and Jimmy Eat World. The band released their debut single “Iron” on April 30, 2021. They released “Grip” on July 23, 2021. They released “Downtown” on October 15, 2021. You Monster You released their single, “13” on November 29, 2021. More info at: http://www.youmonsteryou.com]

5. Scarecrow Vapors– “Scarecrow Vs. Raven”
   from: Scarecrow Vapors EP / Scarecrow Vapors / December 19, 2021
   [Scarecrow Vapors is a project of Sarah Slaven and Tim Jenkins. The songs were formed around Sarah’s Poetry with Tim providing song arrangements, guitar and other things. In the studio Alex Boyd and Tim Manning came along for Drums and Upright Bass. The EP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights and Measures Soundlab. More info at: https://scarecrowvapors.hearnow.com/%5D

6. Heath Church – “Anesthesia”
   from: “Anesthesia” – Single / Heath Church / January 7, 2022
   [Heath Church is an American singer-songwriter from KC who primarily plays indie-folk music. His style is inspired by Elliott Smith, John Prine, Rivers Cuomo, and The Smiths. Featuring melodies that are often melancholy but yet catchy, many of his songs include intimate vocals, poetic lyrics, and warm acoustic guitar tracks. Heath enjoys performing at many types of venues all over the Midwest and connecting with the locals at his shows. Heath enjoys playing music in smaller, intimate venues and interacting with his faudiences. Heath has released three 5-song EPs and eight singles. Heath Church Discography: “Mystery To Me” (Single) on Feb. 6, 2021. “Free Fall” (Single) on Nov. 27, 2020. COSMIC LOVE 5-track EP on Sept. 18, 2020. “Back to Brazil” (Single) on Aug. 14, 2020. “The Stranger” (Single) on July 10, 2020. “Echoes of You“ (Single) on May 8, 2020. “Extra Pain” (Single) on November 18, 2019. CHEMICAL OPTOMETRY 5-song EP on June 14, 2019. “All Messed Up” (Single) on December 7, 2018. “Breaking Even” (Single) on April 6, 2018. THE THINGS I’VE TRIED (5-song EP) on December 23, 2017. “Dna” (Single) on October 11, 2017. “The Beautiful Things That Haunt Us” (Single ) on Sept. 15, 2014. Info at: http://www.instagram.com/heathchurchmusic Heath Church joinrd us last on WMM on July 15, 2020]

7. Jo Blaq – “Follow Me (feat. Wanda Jae)”
   from: Blaq Joy / DISTRICK / January 1, 2021
   [Jo Blaq is also known as: Joseph Macklin, a native of Kansas City, Kansas. Jo is the youngest of three “preacher’s kids.” Although his musical interest and talents existed then, as a kid, Jo excelled on the basketball court, as well. Jo was ranked as one of the top basketball players in the state of Kansas, hailing from the dominant Washington High School. He went on to play Division 1 College Basketball at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and would later continue his collegiate career at Colorado State. He played professional basketball in Australia before returning home. Blaq invests time, money, and energy into local initiatives in the Kansas City area, including the first-ever Christmas tree lighting and Christmas of Diversity concert in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District and the rehabilitation of the Quindaro Museum[, which houses houses historical artifacts from the African-American community. Jo has served as the event music producer for the American Jazz Museum and has taught music theory and coding classes through the Full Employment Council and University of Central Missouri for free. The classes offer metro-area teens paid internships and access to Jo as a mentor, songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist, and producer. Jo has worked with many of the mainstream artists. In 2015, he was nominated for a “Best Pop Vocal Album” Grammy for his vocal production work on Ariana Grande’s MY EVERYTHING. Jo was again nominated for two Grammy’s in 2016 for the vocal production on Tim Bowman’s LISTEN album and Jill Scott’s WOMAN album. Over his genre-spanning career, Jo has worked with artists such as: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Anita Baker, Justin Bieber, Cruz Beckum, Mario, Big Sean, B5, Chris Brown, 98 Degrees, Jasmine V, Next, Kendrick Lamar, B. Smyth, Evan Ross, Jordin Sparks, Shaunice, Kim Keyz, Evan Ross, Effie, & others. BLAQ GOLD was Produced By JETpack – Joseph “Jo Blaq” Macklin, Stephanie “Effie” Altoro, and Tim Ogutu. Jo Blaq also released the 7-track EP, WHAT THEY DO, in January 1, 2022 also produced By JETpack – Joseph “Jo Blaq” Macklin, Stephanie “Effie” Altoro, and Tim Ogutu. More info at: https://www.instagram.com/joblaqofficial/%5D

10:25 – Underwriting

8. Kianna White – “All Alone With Everything”
   from: “All Alone With Everything” – Single / Yes You Are / April 30, 2021
   [This single was a follow up to Kianna’s “Homecoming Queen” – Single released on Team Love Records on September 25, 2020. Kianna cut her teeth in the critically-acclaimed indie band Tilly and the Wall, touring through the mid to late aughts with bands such as She and Him, Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley and Of Montreal, playing venues around the world and major festivals like Coachella, Japan’s Summersonic, Iceland Airwaves, Reading and Leeds among others, as well as performing on Late Night with David Letterman and Sesame Street before going on hiatus in 2013. During this era, she also performed guest vocals on Rilo Kiley’s “The Absence of God”, “In the Sun” by She & Him and co-wrote and sang on Tiësto’s song “You Are My Diamond”. // Since 2017, her band Yes You Are, with now husband and co-writer Jared White, has had many song placements in movies, television and commercials, most notably in the Pepsi Super Bowl 51 commercial. When Forbes Magazine asked Lyle Hysen, the founder of Bank Robber Music, about the biggest licensing hits over the years, he spotlit Kianna and Jared’s work alongside artists like Spoon and Phantogram saying “Kianna Alarid from Tilly and the Wall has been working on new music with her band Yes You Are. They’re giving us two songs at a time, and they get placements all the time.” // Known for their electrifying live performances, Yes You Are shared the stage with the likes of K. Flay, Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums, and toured the US with Neon Trees. Even though Yes You Are had proven to be successful in many ways, Kianna and Jared felt like the band hadn’t yet accessed their full artistic potential. In mid 2020 they announced the band’s break up when unexpected and major changes in the lineup served as a clear sign it was time to move on. They also decided that Kianna’s ability to hold the spotlight shouldn’t be ignored and set to work on new songs with a solo career for her in mind. The idea proved to be immediately inspiring to the writing duo, and they quickly assembled a collection of impressive new music that feels artistically fresh and full of potential. // Going now by her married name, and having found the support of Team Love Records, Homecoming Queen is Kianna White’s first solo release. The song’s hazy mood and hypnotic guitar lines take indie pop through the looking glass. What emerges on the other side is not flower child psychedelia, but a modern, luscious, psyche-pop, where lyrics of stoned introspection and longing float around on haunted, seductive melodies. Kianna’s voice keeps the trip from spinning off into a hall of funhouse mirrors, becoming a trusted and sober co-pilot, allowing you to surrender, close your eyes, and dance. // High on the freedom to control her individual narrative for the first time Kianna filmed, starred in and edited Homecoming Queen’s innovative and spellbinding music video. All alone in her bedroom and encumbered with the limitations of self-isolation (she used only an iPhone, a Snapchat filter, a flashlight and iMovie) she managed to create something that feels new, slightly unsettling and entirely captivating. The spooky, trance-inducing visual effects over the song’s eerily inviting hooks, present us with a poignant reflection of our anxious times.]

10:30 – Interview with Kianna Alarid White and Cale Parks

Many of us were first introduced to Kianna Alarid White as part of the critically-acclaimed indie band, Tilly and the Wall, touring through the mid to late 2000s with bands such as She and Him, Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal, playing venues around the world and major festivals like Coachella, Japan’s Summersonic, Reading, as well as performing on Late Night with David Letterman and Sesame Street before going on hiatus in 2013. Kianna has also performed guest vocals on Rilo Kiley’s “The Absence of God”, “In the Sun” by She & Him and co-wrote and sang on Tiësto’s song “You Are My Diamond”. In 2017, Kianna launched her band, Yes You Are, with husband and co-writer Jared White, with many song placements in movies, television and commercials, including a Pepsi Super Bowl 51 commercial. Known for their electrifying live performances, Yes You Are shared the stage with the likes of K. Flay, Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums, and toured the US with Neon Trees. On November 15, 2019 they released one of our favorite albums of that year, “HERE’S TO THE GREAT UNKOWNS. In mid 2020 Kianna announced the band’s break up when unexpected and major changes in the lineup served as a clear sign it was time to move on. Kianna and Jared decided to start a new band behind Kianna as a solo artist Kianna White, releasing the single, “Homecoming Queen “ on September 25, 2020, along with an incredible video that Kianna herself filmed, starred in and edited alone in her bedroom using an iPhone, a Snapchat filter, a flashlight and iMovie). On April 30, 2021 Kianna released the single “All Alone With Everything.”

Cale Parks is best known for decades of drumming in the bands: Aloha, and Yeasayer, and in high profile side hustles such as: Passion Pit, Chet Faker, and Joan of Arc. Cale released the albums, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT on Sept. 26, 2009, and SPARKFACE on November 3, 2008, and the EP TO SWIFT MARS on Augusgust 3, 2004. But On May 18, 2015, Cale released his 4-track solo EP, LAGOON FOOL giving his fans the first sign of becoming a more of a “mood-altering” electronic producer with his multi-faceted record featuring interlocking melodies and everything from acid techno asides to piano-laced synth progressions. Cale followed LAGOON FOOL with his most recent solo EP, BOARDS, released on January 24, 2020 on Whirling Wolf Records. Boards ventures even further into the ether, piling on the sort of polychromatic chords, artful hooks, and mood-altering melodies one might find on an old Air or Durutti Column album. A lot of this has to do with how it was made: in Parks’ home studio rather than a cramped apartment room, which gave him space to think and toy with a wide range of instruments. Listeners can thank a long overdue lifestyle change: a move from Brooklyn to Kansas City that made Parks look at music differently. “I didn’t own a car in New York,” he explains, “so all of my listening was done as I walked around the city. There’s something about the energy of New York that requires that electricity. Moving to Kansas changed the style of music I wanted to hear; I wanted room to let records breathe.”

Kianna and Cale joins on 90.1 FM to share the details about their new musical collaboration, the duo Ezmerelda and their debut single, “I’m So Nervous.” The duo formed in the final months of 2021, drawing on influences like: Fever Ray, Budgie-era Siouxsie and the Banshees, and early M.I.A. Combining elements of their high intensity live shows with art-rock improvisation, Kianna and Cale took to the basement to self produce their brand of industrial, drum heavy electro-pop in October 2021. The result was a collection of immediately realized dance tracks that will make up the duo’s debut EP. To be released soon.

Kianna White & Cale Parks, Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Kianna was first on our radio show on January 20, 2016, just after her tour with Neon Trees and the release of Yes You Are’s first music video.

The last time Kianna was on the show was on September 30, 2020, just before her show at Lemonade Patk with The Creepy Jingles and after the release of “Homecoming Queen.

Kianna and Cale you have both collaborated with so many other musicians, and Cale was playing drums with the band that backed up Kianna. bands

Cale talked about what prompted his move from Brooklyn to Kansas City and how that changed his music.

Cale has said, “I didn’t own a car in New York,” he explains, “so all of my listening was done as I walked around the city. There’s something about the energy of New York that requires that electricity. Moving to Kansas changed the style of music I wanted to hear; I wanted room to let records breathe.”

Kianna and Cale took to both of their basements to self produce their brand of industrial, drum heavy electro-pop in October 2021. Kianna talked about how the lyrics just came out of her on the first “take” of recording. The process of writing was completely different for he with Ezmereda.

The new single “I’m So Nervous” has just been released on January 7, 2022, the result was a collection of immediately realized dance tracks that will make up the duo’s debut EP. To be released later this Spring?

10:39

9. Ezmerelda – “I’m So Nervous”
   from: “I’m So Nervous” – Single / Ezmerelda / January 7, 2022
   [Ezmerelda is the diy collaboration between indie veterans Kianna Alarid White (Tilly & the Wall, Yes You Are) and Cale Parks (Yeasayer, Aloha). The duo formed in the final months of 2021, drawing on influences like Fever Ray, Budgie-era Siouxsie and the Banshees and early M.I.A. Combining elements of their high intensity live shows with art-rock improvisation, Kianna and Cale took to the basement to self produce their brand of industrial, drum heavy electro-pop in October 2021. The result was a collection of immediately realized dance tracks that will make up the duo’s debut EP. Produced, mixed, and recorded by Kianna White & Cale Parks. Mastered by TJ Lipple. More info at: http://www.ezmerelda.bandcamp.com]

10:43

Covid-19 has changed the last two years drastically. So many venues are only now coming back to life and again shuttering for various new outbreaks, we talked with Kianna and Cale about navigating through these times.

Along with Cale’s work as a drummer and producer and with Ezmereda, he has also been doing several DJ gigs in Kansas City.

Cale you grew up on Cincinnati, Ohio, and for over 10 years lived with his partner in New York City, and now lives in KC. He told us that there are a lot of similarities between Cincinnati and Kansas City.

We talked with Kianna and Cale about the name Ezmerelda, which is a play on the name: Esmerelda a fictional character in Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame a Gypsy Dance with a pet goat who is kidnapped by Quasimodo.

Esmerelda was also the name of a nervous and anxiety ridden witch on the popular TV show Bewitched.

Kianna told us that “Ezmerelda” actually came through a lyric she was writing and inspired by a story about Imeda Marcos.

Kianna is currently working on a music video for Ezmerelda. She is filming in her house serving as the director, and every other role also.

Background info:

Yes You Are was: Jared White – songwriter, rhythm guitar, backup vocals; Kianna Alarid – songwriter, lead vocals; Jacob Temeyer – lead guitar, keyboards, backup vocals; Joseph Wilner – drums; and Willie Jordan – bass guitar, back up vocals. Yes You Are lead singer

Kianna Alarid White was also lead singer and bassist for the critical acclaimed band, Tilly and the Wall, who released 4 albums on Team Love Records (founded by Conor Oberst & Nate Krenkel in 2003). Tilly and the Wall was an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children’s book called Tillie and the Wall, written by Leo Lionni. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, instead of a drummer. // The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst’s Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Jamie brought along Kianna Alarid from another band that broke up called Magic Kiss. Derek Pressnall and Nick White, natives of Dunwoody, Georgia were drawn to the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska and moved. Nick White was also one of the few constants for Bright Eyes in 2005, appearing on I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, as well as touring worldwide with the band. // Their first show was an open-mic night at the now defunct Ranch Bowl. Their first release, Woo!, was recorded in Conor Oberst’s garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area. The group released a limited-pressing eponymous 7″ on Rue Royale Records, followed by their debut LP, Wild Like Children in 2004. It was the flagship release on Oberst’s Team Love label and made with the help of Presto studios. Wild Like Children garnered the band a substantial amount of critical acclaim and propelled them to national tours with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal. In early 2005, Tilly and the Wall became the first “band in residence” at Omaha’s Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, using the Bemis Underground’s Studio T to develop their follow-up album to Wild Like Children. // In September of that year, they released “You and I Misbehaving” as a limited-pressing 7″ in the UK through indie label Trash Aesthetics. This release picked up further critical acclaim as well as support from BBC radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq. They played their first show outside of the US at the Freebutt in Brighton on February 14, 2006. // Bottoms of Barrels, the band’s follow-up to Wild Like Children, was released on May 23, 2006. Tilly and the Wall appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on October 27, 2006, to perform “Bad Education”. The song was not played in full due to time constraints. A number of live dates were played to support the album. The band toured with Jenny Lewis in support of her album featuring The Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat. They then went on their first headlining tour to promote Bottoms of Barrels, with acts such as David Dondero, Now It’s Overhead, and Wolf Colonel supporting them. They played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 27, 2007. In addition to performing at 2007’s Splendour in the Grass festival, Tilly and the Wall toured Australia. Band members Jamie Williams and Derek Pressnall were married shortly after the album’s release, on August 12, 2006. // On February 25, Tilly and the Wall released a video for a new song entitled “Beat Control”. The digital release of the song was on March 4, with a new album track “Cacophony” appearing as a b-side. “Beat Control” was released only as a single and was not included on the album released later in 2008. // Tilly and the Wall’s third album, o, was released on June 17, 2008. Two songs they performed on their 2007 tour, “Too Excited” and “Chandelier Lake”, appear on the album. // Tilly have recorded their own version of the ABC song for the new season of Sesame Street. // The first single from the album is “Pot Kettle Black”. It was featured in the pilot episode of 90210, TV spots for the Seth Rogen film Observe and Report, the film Whip It and its soundtrack album, and in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles. // Tilly and the Wall released a new album entitled Heavy Mood on October 2, 2012, available in CD and vinyl formats.

In 2020 Team Love released a 16-track retro of Tilly and The Wall’s music from 2002

Kianna White & Cale Parks Thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Kianna and Cale are Ezmerelda and their debut single, “I’m So Nervous” was just released on January 7, 2022. The duo formed in the final months of 2021, drawing on influences like: Fever Ray, Budgie-era Siouxsie and the Banshees, and early M.I.A. Combining elements of their high intensity live shows with art-rock improvisation, Kianna & Cale took to the basement to self produce their brand of industrial, drum heavy electro-pop. The result is a collection of immediately realized dance tracks that make up their debut EP.

10:52

10. Katy Guillen & The Drive – “Reacting to You”
    from: BATTLES – EP / Katy Guillen / December 17, 2021
    [Recorded at Invisible Creature Studio in Los Angeles, CA. Engineered and mixed by Kevin Ratterman. Produced by Kevin Ratterman, Katy Guillen, and Stephanie Williams. Mastered by Shelley Anderson at Black Lab Mastering in Louisville, KY. All songs written by Katy Guillen and Stephanie Williams. Katy Guillen on vocals, guitar, bass, & keyboarda. Stephanie Williams on drums & percussion. Additional keys and programming by Kevin Ratterman. Album design and photography by Morgan JonesThis is a follow up to Katy Guillen & The Drive’s 7-song EP DREAM GIRL, released March 20, 2020. Katy Guillen & The Drive, is a project dedicated to Guillen’s songwriting that is founded on the creative spark and chemistry between Katy Guillen & Stephanie Williams. With Guillen on guitar & vocals and Williams on drums, the two sculpt a sound that recalls bands like Led Zeppelin, The Bangles, and Band of Skulls. In 2012, Guillen & Williams formed Katy Guillen and The Girls, and began to build a foundation of touring and recording that carried them through six years and produced three full-length albums: Katy Guillen & the Girls, Heavy Days, and Remember What You Knew Before. Between 2012 and 2018, they traveled the United States extensively, performed at the International Montreal Jazz Festival, toured Sweden, and supported major acts like The Doobie Brothers, Robin Trower, and Heartless Bastards. In these 6 years playing together, Guillen & Williams created a dynamic, sound informed by Guillen’s mesmerizing, emotive guitar style and poignant arrangements, and an equally captivating live show that showcased Williams’ technical, melodic style, resulting in a powerful on-stage chemistry. In addition to the compelling synergy formed by years of playing together, the two developed a method of working together on Guillen’s songs that only deepened their artistic connection, propelling them to forge a path to a new plateau in their music. KG & The Drive push ahead with a melodic, heavy, and soulful sound while maintaining the edge of the artist’s rock ‘n’ roll and blues roots. Katy Guillen joined us on WMM on March 18, 2020. More info at: http://www.katyguillenmusic.com]

[Katy Guillen & Stephanie Williams of The Drive are core members of The Band That Fell To Earth and they present the 6th annual Tribute to David Bowie on Fri., Jan. 21 and Sat., Jan. 22, at recordBar.]

11. Sam Wells – “For The Deflated”
    from: For The Deflated / French Exit Records / December 31, 2020
    [Debut EP from Kansas City, based singer songwriter Sam Wells who has shared stages with Betsy Phillips, Kelly Hunt, Andrew Ryan, The Zack Pietrini Band, and The Phantastics. She was featured as a composer and performer in the Kansas City Repertory Theater production of “Ghost Light” performed on the lawn of The Nelson Atkin Museum of Art in October, 2020. Sam has also performed in Troostival (2020), Kansas City Porchfest (2019) and Jamdemic. In 2019, Wells released her debut single “Lesson Learned.” In early 2020 Wells released her second single “Sugar” producer and engineered by Riley Corbin at the Lawrence Kansas Public Library recording studio. It was only a decade ago, Sam Wells sat in her bedroom learning the Corrine Bailey Ray classic “Put Your Records On”. This was all it took to ignite a lifetime love affair with music. With her smooth and sultry voice and the warm tones of a baritone ukulele, she shares stories of love, loss and everything in between. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Sam Wells has lived in Lawrence, but now calls KC home. Info at: http://www.whoissamwells.com. Sam Wells was on January 20, 2021.]

[Sam Wells joins the Band That Fell To Earth, as a guest artist at their 6th Annual Tribute to David Bowie on Friday, January 21, at 8:30 at recordBar.]

11:00 – Station ID

12. David Bowie – “I’m Afraid of Americans (2021 Remaster)”
    from: Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) / Parlophone – ISO / November 26, 2021
    [This version was originally released on the album Earthling February 3, 1997. Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 26 November 2021. A follow-up to the compilations Five Years (1969–1973), Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976), A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) and Loving the Alien (1983–1988), the set covers the period of Bowie’s career from 1992 to 2001, commonly regarded by analysts as an artistic renaissance following his commercially successful but critically maligned work in the 1980s (Bowie’s 1988–1992 tenure with the hard rock supergroup Tin Machine is excluded). The set comprises eleven compact discs or 18 LPs. // Exclusive to the set are BBC Radio Theatre, a live album showcasing Bowie’s uncut BBC Radio Theatre live show in 2000 (previously documented in an edited form on Bowie at the Beeb) and Re:Call 5, the fifth installment in the retrospective boxes’ exclusive rarities compilations. The latter includes non-album and soundtrack singles, single edits, and B-sides. // The set contains remastered versions of Bowie’s studio albums Black Tie White Noise, The Buddha of Suburbia, Outside, Earthling, and Hours (1993–1999). Also featured is a finalized version of Toy, an album of re-recordings that was produced in late 2000 and set for release in 2001, only to be shelved due to Virgin Records viewing it as commercially unviable in the wake of a financial downturn for the company. An alternate version of Toy, containing prototypes of the Heathen tracks “Slip Away” and “Afraid” but excluding “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” and “Karma Man”, had previously leaked in 2011 “I’m Afraid of Americans” is a song by English musician David Bowie, released as a single from his album Earthling on October 14, 1997 through Virgin Records. The song was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and originally recorded during the sessions for Bowie’s 1995 album Outside. This version was released on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Showgirls. The song was then remade during the sessions for Earthling with his then-current band, guitarist Reeves Gabrels, pianist Mike Garson, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey and drummer Zack Alford. The remake was recorded between August and October 1996 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City and featured rewritten lyrics, overdubs and transposed verses. An industrial and techno track, it presents a critique of America through the eyes of a stereotypical ‘Johnny’ and is characterized by drum patterns, synthesizers, various loops and vocal distortions. // Following its release on the album, Virgin Records issued the song as a maxi-single in North America only with six different remixes. The remixes were mostly created by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, continuing his and Bowie’s association following the Outside Tour; the ‘V3’ mix featured Ice Cube while the ‘V5’ mix was created by Photek. Reznor subsequently appeared in the music video, which reflected the song’s theme of a frightened European in an American city. A top 20 hit in Canada, the single peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 16 weeks on the chart. It was the final Bowie single to chart on the Hot 100 until 2015. Reznor’s ‘V1’ mix has since appeared on several compilation albums. // In an interview with Mojo magazine in 1997, Bowie described the song as “one of those stereotypical ‘Johnny’ songs: Johnny does this, Johnny does that”. The absurdist lyrics present a critique of America, in line with Bowie’s 1975 track “Young Americans”. Commentators have sighted similarities between the song’s titular ‘Johnny’ and the ‘Johnny’ of the Lodger track “Repetition” (1979); while the ‘Johnny’ of the former craves objects of status through self-entitlement, the ‘Johnny’ of the latter emotional abuses his wife due to his lower status. The song concludes with the revelation that “God is an American”, which biographer Marc Spitz considers an “ironic jingoism”. // Musically, reviewers have categorized it as techno, with author James Perone writing that it mixes various industrial and techno styles of the 1980s and 1990s. The Guardian’s Caroline Sullivan found the melody reminiscent of Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” (1980), with a “perky jungle percussion loop”, ultimately creating “a most singular fusion of rock and drum & bass”. Characterized by drum patterns, synthesizers, various loops and vocal distortions, O’Leary writes that the remake retained the original’s “‘laughing’ hook” and “synth hook pinging around an E♭ octave. Both the original and remake are also in the key of F major. Biographer Nicholas Pegg calls the remake “darker” and “funkier” compared to the original, while Spitz compares the track’s “loud/quiet/loud anthem[ic]” quality to the Pixies. Perone notes the musicality as “richer” than other Earthling tracks. // The original version of “I’m Afraid of Americans” was released on the Showgirls soundtrack on September 26,1995. Earthling was released on 3 February 1997 on CD and LP formats through RCA Records in the UK, Virgin Records in the US, and Arista Records and its parent distributor BMG elsewhere. “I’m Afraid of Americans” was sequenced as the eighth and penultimate track, between “The Last Thing You Should Do” and “Law (Earthlings on Fire)”. // The CD maxi-single featured various remixes by Trent Reznor (pictured in 2008), who subsequently appeared in the song’s music video. // Virgin issued “I’m Afraid of Americans” as a maxi-single in North America only on 14 October 1997, where it was backed by six remixes; the ‘V3’ mix featured guest vocals from rapper Ice Cube while the ‘V5’ mix was created by producer Photek. The project was instigated by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, continuing his and Bowie’s association following the Outside Tour. Reznor, who stated that he “tried to make it a bit darker”, stripped the production to its roots to create what biographer David Buckley calls “an eerie, psychotic track”. The ending result is an almost 40-minute project that, in Bowie’s words, was “not just a remix [but] almost…an album piece in itself. I was absolutely knocked out when I heard what [Reznor] had done. It was great.” Commercially, the single reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, becoming Bowie’s biggest hit in the country since “Day-In Day-Out” ten years earlier. It was the final Bowie single to chart on the Hot 100 until the release of “Blackstar” in 2015. It also stayed in the Canadian top 50 for six months. // Reznor also starred as the titular ‘Johnny’ in the Dom and Nic-directed music video, which was shot in New York City in October 1997 during the American leg of the Earthling Tour. Regarding the choice of Dom and Nic, Bowie explained that the duo were “making very interesting, quite hard-edged British videos at the moment. I felt it was important that it retained that outsider’s perspective of America, you know.” The video depicts Bowie as a man who is chased around the streets of NYC by a stalker portrayed by Reznor, reflecting the song’s theme of a frightened European in an American city. Discussing his character, Reznor stated: “They wanted a kind of Taxi Driver feel to the whole thing. That’s why I’m in my Travis Bickle outfit!” According to Spitz, the video received heavy rotation on MTV, a first for Bowie in over a decade. It also earned Bowie a nomination for Best Male Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. // O’Leary states that while the track has no “definitive” verison, Reznor’s ‘V1’ mix is the most recognisable, which has appeared on the compilation albums Best of Bowie (2002), Nothing Has Changed (2014), and Bowie Legacy (2016). The Showgirls version, ‘V1’ mix and Plati’s “Original Edit” were included on the bonus disc of the Earthling expanded edition in 2004.]

13. David Bowie – “Hallo Spaceboy (2021 Remaster)”
    from: Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) / Parlophone – ISO / November 26, 2021
    [This version was originally released on the album Outside and subtitled The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper-cycle, released on September 25, 1995, through Virgin Records in the United States. This was the 20th studio album by David Bowie. Reuniting Bowie and musician Brian Eno following the late 1970s Berlin Trilogy, the two were inspired by concepts “outside” the mainstream, such as various outsider and performance artists. Recording began in March 1994 in Switzerland and continued on and off until November. During the experimental sessions, Bowie conceived a world where “art crimes”, such as murder, pervade society, resulting in the Leon project, which initially faced resistance from labels due to its uncommercial nature. After the project was bootlegged, additional sessions were conducted in early 1995 in New York City to record more commercial material and revise the Leon concept after Bowie wrote a diary for Q magazine. // Partially influenced by the television series Twin Peaks, the story of Outside concerns the residents of the fictional Oxford Town, New Jersey and is presented in a nonlinear narrative. It follows detective Nathan Adler as he investigates the murder of a 14-year-old girl. Individual tracks show perspectives of specific characters, while spoken word between-song segues convey more ideals from the characters. The story and Adler’s diary entries were presented in the album’s CD booklet. Musically, Outside displays a wide variety of styles, including art rock, industrial rock, jazz, electronica and ambient. It also contains elements found on Bowie’s previous works. The album cover is a painting made by Bowie himself. // “Hallo Spaceboy” is the third and final single from the album. The track was re-recorded in 1996 and issued as a remix featuring Pet Shop Boys as guest artists. Bowie and Brian Eno co-wrote the original album version of the song. // Written in early 1995, Bowie biographers Nicholas Pegg and Chris O’Leary point to the influence of the work of Brion Gysin on the song, who purportedly spoke the words “Moon dust will cover me” just before his death in 1986. Recording partner Reeves Gabrels recalled writing a song fragment called “Moondust” in mid-1994, which he thinks may have also influenced the song. Bowie wrote and recorded the song in mostly-improvised sessions with his band in 1995, and intentionally wrote it with a Nine Inch Nails-like vibe. Early work on the song was done with Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar, and drummer Joey Barron. After finishing the track, Bowie said “I adore that track. In my mind, it was like Jim Morrison meets industrial. When I heard it back, I thought, ‘Fuck me. It’s like metal Doors.’ It’s an extraordinary sound.” // In late December 1995, Bowie was intending “Hallo Spaceboy” to be his next single after “Strangers When We Meet”, and recorded a video for the song at a concert in Birmingham. The song “Hallo Spaceboy” was performed twice at the venue, once as part of the regular set and once as the last encore, with that final performance intended to be the official music video for the song. Two live songs from the set, “Moonage Daydream” and “Under Pressure”, were used as b-sides to the single release as well. However, the Pet Shop Boys were approached to remix the song as well, and their remix was used as the official single version instead. Neil Tennant explained that since the original song had only a single verse, Lowe suggested using lyrical fragments from Bowie’s 1969 song “Space Oddity” to create a second verse. Bowie initially expressed reservation about the additions when Tennant initially told him during a telephone conversation, but later agreed that they worked well. // Tennant told NME in a 1997 interview that he and Lowe, working alongside Bowie, had completed what Tennant called the “Major Tom trilogy”, in reference to a fictional character who first appeared in Space Oddity and who had later recurred in Bowie’s 1980 song “Ashes to Ashes”. Tennant explained, “I said to David Bowie, ‘It’s like Major Tom is in one of those Russian spaceships they can’t afford to bring down,’ and he [Bowie] said, ‘Oh wow, is that where he is?'” // The final official music video for “Hallo Spaceboy” was directed by David Mallet, mixing shots of both Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys into a rapid-fire montage of Cold War era retro-footage of science fiction film clips, atomic bomb testing footage, and television advertising clips.]

11:10 – Interview with Michelle Bacon

Multi-talented musician and writer, Michelle Bacon, is Content Manager at 90.9 The Bridge, where she helps to shine a light on area musicians, causes, and events. Michelle has written for The Kansas City Star, The Deli Magazine KC, and Folk Alliance International. Michelle plays drums in the band Frogpond who released their critically acclaimed album, TIME THIEF on Black-Site Records on November 19, 2021. Michelle also plays bass with Other Americans who released the album PARANOID FICTION on February 9, 2021. Over the last decade Michelle Bacon has played drums or bass with, and Deco Auto, Heidi Lynne Gluck, Erica Joy, Chris Meck and the Guilty Birds, The Blackbird Revue, John L. Johnson, the Nathan Corsi Band, The Philistines, Freight Train Rabbit Killer, Katy Guillen & The Drive and several others. And for the past 6 years Michelle has served as the founder and producer as well as bass player for The Band That Fell To Earth: A Tribute to David Bowie. This year the band is presenting their 6th Annual Tribute to David Bowie. The two night event happens this Friday, January 21 with guest artists Sam Wells, and Meredith McGrade of Emmaline Twist, and Saturday, January 22, with guest artists: Kat King, and Jocelyn Olivia Nixon, of The Creepy Jingles. Both nights start at 8:30 PM at recordBar. Both will have different playlists. Proof of vaccination or negative test within 72 hours is REQUIRED for entry. More info at http://www.therecordbar.com

Michelle Bacon, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Michelle Bacon is the producer of The Band That Fell To Earth: A Tribute to David Bowie, w/ 2 nights of music: Fri, Jan. 21 and Sat, Jan. 22, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave, KCMO.
7:00 pm VIP doors. 7:30 pm GA doors. 8:30 pm show starts.

Each night will contain a different set list, special guests, & items created by local makers.

VIP package includes: mezzanine level access, early entry, Signed, numbered 11×17 hand-carved block print poster from Two Tone Press, and a $15 donation to Nafasi Center of KC

The Band That Fell To Earth

Michelle Bacon – bass
Alex Alexander – guitar
Nathan Corsi – vocals/guitar
Kyle Dahlquist – keys
Katy Guillen – guitar
Steve Tulipana – vocals
Stephanie Williams – drums
Havilah Bruders – backing vocals
Julia Haile – backing vocals (replacing Camry Ivory)
Christine Broxterman – cello
Laurel Morgan-Parks – violin (replacing Betse Ellis)
Rich Wheeler – saxophone
Matt Ronan – percussion

Friday, Jan 21 guest vocalists: Sam Wells, and Meredith McGrade (Emmaline Twist)

Saturday, Jan 22 guest vocalists: Kat King, and Jocelyn Nixon (The Creepy Jingles)

The band was curated by musician/writer Michelle Bacon to pay homage to the groundbreaking artist while showcasing talent across Kansas City’s vast musical spectrum.

LIVESTREAM OPTIONS – if you can’t make it to our shows next weekend or prefer to watch from the comfort of home, we now have livestream tickets available for each night!
Tix for livestream & live show are available at https://linktr.ee/bowiekcmo

recordBar is taking every health and safety precaution possible, including that the entire band and production crew will be tested prior to the show.

Video projections from XO Blackwater.

More info at: http://www.therecordbar.com

Commemorative David Bowie prayer candles & pillows will be sold by Kitschup Creations.

Tara at Lost & Found Design is offering an incredible variety of stained glass hangings and earrings – http://www.etsy.com/shop/lostandfounddesignus/ Bonus – Tara has donated one of the stained glass Bowie faces for the auction, along with the signed poster that will be auctioned off during intermission on Saturday night to raise funds for charity recipient!

Michelle Bacon thanks for being with us on WMM.

The Band That Fell To Earth: A Tribute to David Bowie, with TWO nights of music: Fri, January 21 and Sat, January 22 show at 8:30 PM, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave, KCMO. More info at: http://www.therecordbar.com

11:25

14. David Bowie – “Brilliant Adventure (2021 Remaster)”
    from: Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) / Parlophone – ISO / November 26, 2021
    [This version was originally released on HOURS, September 21, 1999, on Virgin Records. Written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels (who had the longest run with Bowie as his superstar lead guitarist. Hours (stylised as ‘hours…’ ) is the 22nd studio album by English musician David Bowie. It was originally released through the Internet on Bowie’s website BowieNet, followed by a physical CD release on October 4, through Virgin Records. It was the first album by a major artist available to download over the Internet. Originating as a soundtrack to the video game Omikron: The Nomad Soul (1999), Hours was the final collaboration between Bowie and guitarist Reeves Gabrels, whom he had worked with since 1988. The album was recorded in mid-1999 between studios in Bermuda and New York City. Compared to the experimental nature of Bowie’s other works throughout the decade, the songs on Hours were written more conventionally. A song contest conducted on BowieNet in late 1998 resulted in a fan contributing lyrics and backing vocals to one of the tracks. // A departure from the experimentation of its two predecessors, Hours presents a pop rock and art pop style reminiscent of 1971’s Hunky Dory, further evoking styles and ideals previously explored on Bowie’s past works. The lyrics are introspective, detailing topics such as the collapse of relationships and subjects of angst. Also present are overtly Christian themes, which is reflected in the cover artwork. Inspired by the Pietà, it depicts the short-haired Bowie persona from the Earthling era, resting in the arms of a long-haired, more youthful version of Bowie. The title, originally The Dreamers, is a play on “ours”. // Accompanied by multiple UK top 40 singles, Hours peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart but was Bowie’s first album to miss the US Billboard 200 top 40 since 1972. Bowie promoted the album through the Hours Tour and various television appearances. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 2004 and remastered in 2021 for inclusion on Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001).

15. David Bowie – “Hole In The Ground”
    from: Toy (Toy:Box) / Parlophone – ISO / January 7, 2022
    [TOY is also included in the Box Set Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) on Parlophone – ISO released Nov. 26, 2021. // Recorded July–October 2000, Summer 2021 (Unplugged overdubs) Studio Sear Sound and Looking Glass (New York City). // Toy is a posthumously released studio album by English musician David Bowie. It was recorded from July to October 2000 in New York City and featured re-recordings of songs Bowie recorded between 1964 and 1971, along with a couple of new tracks. The project was co-produced by Bowie and Mark Plati and featured musicians from Bowie’s then-touring band—Plati, Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Mike Garson and Sterling Campbell—with overdubs from Lisa Germano, Gerry Leonard and Cuong Vu. // Bowie’s intention for the project was to rehearse the tracks, record them live and release them as quickly as possible, predating the idea of the surprise album. Intended for release in March 2001, the album was shelved by EMI/Virgin due to financial struggles, leading Bowie to depart the label and begin work on his next album Heathen (2002). Various Toy tracks saw release as B-sides and bonus tracks in the ensuing years; two were remade for Heathen and two appeared on the Nothing Has Changed compilation in 2014. // Different mixes of the Toy tracks leaked onto the Internet in 2011, which caught media attention. Ten years later, Warner Music Group announced on September 29, 2021 that Toy would get an official release as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) on November 26, 2021, through Bowie’s own ISO label and Parlophone. A separate deluxe edition, featuring previously unseen photographs, alternate mixes, proposed B-sides and 13 new remixes of the tracks, was released on January 7, 2022. The official release received positive reviews from music critics, with many highlighting Bowie’s vocal performances. // “I’ve pulled together a selection of songs from a somewhat unusual reservoir and booked time in a studio. I cannot wait to sit in a claustrophobic space with seven other energetic people and sing till my tits drop off.” – David Bowie. // In 1999, during the Hours Tour, David Bowie began performing songs he originally recorded in the 1960s. After ending his Mini Tour with a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2000, he stated, “I hate to waste the energy of a show-honed band so I’ve asked one and all if they would like to make an album immediately when we get back to New York.” He then revealed his intention of re-recording these songs, explaining “Not so much Pin Ups II as an Up Date I.” Work on the “Sixties album” began a month later in July under the working title Toy, which came from a lyric in two songs recorded. The lineup consisted of the members of Bowie’s touring band: guitarist Earl Slick, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, pianist Mike Garson, musician Mark Plati and drummer Sterling Campbell. // According to biographer David Buckley, the band rehearsed the songs at Sear Sound Studios in New York City before recording them as live tracks. Plati recalled: “The idea was to keep it loose, fast, and not clean things up too much or dwell on perfection. As a result, we had 13 basic tracks cut in around nine days.” Slick later told Rolling Stone: “We had been doing a lot of gigs up to that point. We didn’t have to do a whole lot of thinking about how to approach the songs. We had an operating system; an unspoken one. We hardly ever talked about anything. We’d just look at each other, or David would look at us, and it would just happen.” He also stated that he refused to listen to Bowie’s original recordings of the tracks, so to prevent the originals from influencing his playing on the new versions. Plati, whom Bowie chose to co-produce the project, was integral to the new album’s sound. Pete Keppler engineered the sessions, while Bowie’s former producer Tony Visconti provided string arrangements on two tracks. Recording took a two-month break in August due to the birth of Bowie and Iman’s daughter Alexandria. // Following the two-month break, multi-instrumentalist Lisa Germano was hired by Bowie, at Plati’s suggestion, to contribute overdubs. After seeing her perform in New York for the rock band Eels in August, Plati stated “I knew I needed to get her on the Bowie album.” Germano was thrilled by the experience and both Bowie and Plati commended her contributions. Overdubs commenced at New York’s Looking Glass Studios in October. Also hired were Gerry Leonard and Cuong Vu, who contributed guitar and trumpet, respectively. Also recorded during this time was a cover of the Who’s “Pictures of Lily” for the tribute album Substitute: The Songs of the Who. Mixing began at the end of October, with Bowie predicting a release date of March 2001. // “We grew up with David’s music. For us, it pretty much started with ‘Space Oddity’, as it would for a lot of people. So we had no prior connection to these [older] songs, which I think was a good thing because there was never this idea to try to replicate those songs. The idea was for us to play them in our own way. So they felt brand new to us, too.” – Mark Plati on the Toy material. // Toy primarily consists of re-recordings of various songs Bowie originally recorded between 1964 and 1971, some of which with numerous bands. Author Marc Spitz describes it as “a sort of Pin Ups without the hits”. These included: “Liza Jane”, Bowie’s 1964 debut single; “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving”, a 1965 A-side; “Baby Loves That Way”, a 1965 B-side; “Can’t Help Thinking About Me”, a 1966 A-side; “I Dig Everything”, a 1966 A-side; “The London Boys”, a 1966 B-side; “Silly Boy Blue”, first released on Bowie’s 1967 eponymous debut album; “In the Heat of the Morning” and “Karma Man”, rejected tracks recorded in 1967 that first appeared on The World of David Bowie compilation (1970); and “Conversation Piece”, a 1970 B-side. Additionally, a new version of “Shadow Man”, which dated back to the 1971 Ziggy Stardust sessions, was recorded. Many of these tracks had previously seen release on various compilation albums, such as Early On (1964–1966) (1991) and The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 (1997). // Along with the re-recorded tracks, several new songs were written for the project, including “Afraid”, “Uncle Floyd” and “Toy” (later retitled “Your Turn to Drive”). Bowie stated that these were written in the style he “may have written them in the sixties”. More tracks written for Toy included “Hole in the Ground” and “Miss American High”. Bowie explained on his website, BowieNet, that “some of the songs from the sixties were never recorded, let alone released, so will be as new to you as any of the new ones that I’ve written.” Regarding the tracks themselves, Bowie stated: “The songs are so alive and full of color, they jump out of the speakers. It’s really hard to believe that they were written so long ago.” // Bowie initially wanted to release Toy as quickly as possible. At the time, the idea of a surprise album was several years ahead of its time. Plati later commented, “Record labels just weren’t set up to do that at the time—too many moving parts and all the rest of it.” Originally scheduled for release in March 2001, Toy was initially delayed to May. In June, Bowie revealed: “EMI/Virgin seem to have a lot of scheduling conflicts this year, which has put an awful lot on the back burner. Toy is finished and ready to go, and I will make an announcement as soon as I get a very real date.” After making Bowie’s back catalogue available for digital download in 2000, the label, who were in the middle of various financial struggles, feared poor commercial performance for Toy and expressed a desire for an album of new material instead, indefinitely shelving the record. In October, Bowie responded “Fine by me. I’m extremely happy with the new stuff …[but] I won’t let Toy slide away. I’m working on a way that you’ll be able to get the songs next year as well as the newie.” Buckley argues that had it been released, Toy would have “easily” reached the UK top 20, even if it was only bought by Bowie’s hardcore fans. // As the label were negotiating, Bowie began work with Visconti on Heathen. According to Visconti, Bowie was “hurt terribly” by Toy’s rejection and as a result, left EMI/Virgin and signed an agreement with Columbia Records in early 2002 to issue Heathen via his own ISO label. Between 2002 and 2003, tracks from Toy, including “Conversation Piece”, “Shadow Man”, “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving” and “Baby Loves that Way”, appeared as various B-sides and bonus tracks. “Afraid” and “Uncle Floyd” were remade for Heathen, with the latter retitled “Slip Away”. “Let Me Sleep Beside You” and “Your Turn to Drive” later saw official release on the three-disc edition of the 2014 compilation Nothing Has Changed. Bowie remarked in 2003: “Toy has actually started now to become a reservoir of B-sides and bonus tracks, so it’s much depleted. From the original 14 or so that I did, I think seven are now out there. I think there’s still enough in the past to be able to pop some more back and top it up, so to speak, but you know what? New writing just takes precedence. It always does.” // On September 29, 2021, Warner Music Group announced that Toy would get an official release on November 26, as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) through ISO and Parlophone. “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving” was released as a digital single the same day. “Karma Man” and an “alternative ending mix” of “Silly Boy Blue” were released as the next single on October 15, while “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” followed on November 19. Plati, who assisted in the mixing of the Toy material for the box set, said in a statement: “Toy is like a moment in time captured in an amber of joy, fire and energy. It’s the sound of people happy to be playing music. David revisited and re-examined his work from decades prior through prisms of experience and fresh perspective – a parallel not lost on me as I now revisit it twenty years later. From time to time, he used to say ‘Mark, this is our album’ – I think because he knew I was so deeply in the trenches with him on that journey. I’m happy to finally be able to say it now belongs to all of us.” // A separate deluxe edition, titled Toy:Box, was released on January 7, 2022, the day before what would have been Bowie’s 75th birthday. The release includes previously unseen photographs, alternate mixes, proposed B-sides and 13 new “Unplugged and Somewhat Slightly Electric” remixes of the Toy tracks. These remixes contain new guitar parts by Plati and Earl Slick, replicating a style done by the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. The “Unplugged and Somewhat Slightly Electric” mix of “Shadow Man” was released as a single on streaming services on January 6. The release ends with “Toy (Your Turn to Drive)”, a new track compiled from an extended jam during a take of “I Dig Everything”. Featuring updated mixing, Plati stated: “As it was culled from ‘I Dig Everything’, it makes sense to bookend the album with this track. It’s also a fitting postscript to the Toy era.” Visconti, who called it Bowie’s “ghost album”, was positive about its official release, telling Uncut magazine that he believed it contained some of Bowie’s finest work.

11:30 – Underwriting

16. Hembree – “Close To Me”
    “Close to Me” – Single / Oread Records / January 11, 2021
    [This is the 4th single from the band’s upcoming 15-track album, IT’S A DREAM! KC based band was formed in November of 2015, with Isaac Flynn on guitar, & lead vocals, Garrett Childers on bass & vocals, Eric Davis on keys & synth, Alex Ward on guitar, and Austin Ward on drums. Hembree is signed to Thirty Tigers of Nashville, TN. The band was founded by original members Isaac Flynn, Garrett Childers, and Eric Davis. Brothers Alex and Austin Ward later joined in 2018. Hembree quickly garnered national attention after their single “Holy Water” was placed in an Apple commercial that aired during Super Bowl LII. The band’s music has been featured in a variety of other national placements, including Monday Night Football (NFL) and Bose. Hembree has notably supported Elvis Costello, Phoenix, Cold War Kids, Vance Joy, JR JR, and Joywave, among others. The band first toured Europe in Fall 2018. In 2018, Hembree signed with Thirty Tigers to release their first full-length album House on Fire, released 4/26/2019. In 2019, Hembree performed at Hangout Music Festival. They will also appear on the soundtrack of 13 Reasons Why: Season 3 with the song “Culture”. Hembree was named one of NPR’s Slingshot 2018 Artists to Watch. Rolling Stone named Hembree as one of the thirty best artists at SXSW 2018. “Had It All” debuted on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 on January 19, 2017. Lowe described the song as “absolutely fantastic.” “Holy Water” was featured in Apple’s HomePod “Distortion” TV spot, which ran during Super Bowl LII, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, and the 2018 Winter Olympics. Hembree released the single, “Reach Out” on July 20, 2021 and “Operators (feat. Bodye)” on Sept. 21, 2021on Oread Records. Info at: http://www.hembreemusic.com]

Our hearts go out to the Schnebelen family after the tragic loss of Kristopher Robert Schnebelen who passed away on January 11, 2022, from cancer. Kris, along with his brother, Nick, and sister, Danielle Nicole, won at the 2008 International Blues Challenge with Trampled Under Foot and went on to win Contemporary Blues Album for ‘Badlands’ at the 2014 Blues Music Awards. Our sincere condolences go out to: Nick, Danielle Nicole, Kris Schnebelen’s fiance Gabriela, their children, and the entire Schnebelen family.

17. Trampled Under Foot – “Down To The River”
    from: Badlands / Concord Music group – Telarc Records / July 9, 2013
    [“Trampled Under Foot” is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. The lyrics were inspired by blues musician Robert Johnson’s 1936 “Terraplane Blues.” Trampled Under Foot is also one of Kansas Cities hottest blues bands consisting of siblings: Nick Schnebelen on Guitar & Vocals; Danielle Schnebelen on Bass & Vocals, and Kris Schnebelen on Drums & Vocals. Trampled Under Foot is the winner of the 2012 Pitch Music Award for Best Blues Band. More info at: tufkc.com]

18. Danny Cox – “It’s You”
    from: Danny Cox / Dunhill Records / August 15, 1971
    [In 2021 Danny Cox digitally released YOUNG AND HOT (LIVE AT COWTOWN BALLROOM) EP on July 27, 2021. Danny Cox was born in 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a folk singer and songwriter best known for his 1974 LP album Feel So Good. Danny Cox moved to Kansas City, Kansas in 1967. As a youth, he sang in a church choir together with Rudolph Iseley, and in the 1960s he started his professional career performing on a Hootennany Folk Tour. Cox has recorded albums for ABC Dunhill, Casablanca, MGM and others. He also partnered a company called Good Karma Productions, run by the KC based Vanguard Coffee House owner Stan Plesser, who managed the acts of Brewer & Shipley, and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils.]

Danny Cox Discography:
Live at 7 Cities (1963)
Sunny (1968)
Birth Announcement (1969)
Live at the Family Dog (1970)
Danny Cox (ABC Dunhill Records) (1971)
Feel So Good (Casablanca Records) (1974)
Troost Avenue Blues (3-track EP) (2006)
Bring Our Loved Ones Back (one track) (2007)
Sack of Trout (Single) (2015)
Vandalism in Eb Minor (Coin Heaven) (Single) (2015)
Kansas City – Where I Belong (Recorded at Pilgrim Chapel) (2012)
Time Is What I Need (Single) (2020)
Young and Hot (Live at Cowtown Ballroom) (5-track EP) (July 27, 2021)
Big John Buck O’Neil (Single) (December 7, 2021)

19. Danny Cox – “Big John Buck O’Neil”
    from: “Big John Buck O’Neil” – Single / East of Troost Music, BMI / December 6, 2021
    [Danny Cox released, “Big John Buck O’Neil” just one day after Buck was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame. John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil Jr. (Nov. 13, 1911 – Oct. 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the KC Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker & interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in KC, Missouri. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021 as an executive. // O’Neil’s life was documented in Joe Posnanski’s 2007 book The Soul of Baseball. // O’Neil was born in Carrabelle, Florida, to John Jordan O’Neil (1873–1954) and Louella Campbell (maiden; 1884–1945). O’Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school owing to racial segregation. Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. He grew up in Sarasota, Florida in the Newtown community. O’Neil worked the celery fields in Sarasota while his father ran a pool hall in Newtown. He then later moved to Jacksonville with relatives and attended Edward Waters College, where he completed high school and two years of college courses. // He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional “barnstorming” experiences (playing interracial exhibition games). The effort paid off, and in 1937, O’Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.// O’Neil had a career batting average of .288 between 1937 & 1950, including four .300-plus seasons at the plate, as well as five seasons in which he did not top .260. In 1946, the first baseman led the NAL with a .353 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a .350 mark in 16 games. He also posted averages of .345 in 1940 and .330 in 1949. He played in three East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two Negro World Series.// O’Neil’s baseball career was interrupted for two years (1944 & 1945) during World War II when he joined the U.S. Navy after the close of the 1943 season. He served his enlistment in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey. He returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season. // O’Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after Frank Duncan’s retirement, and continued to play first base as well as a regular through 1951, dropping to part-time status afterward. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period. His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams. // O’Neil was known to have played full-time in 1951 and as a reserve and pinch-hitter as late as 1955, but Negro leagues statistics for the period 1951 and after are considered unreliable, and rapidly dropping below major league quality. // When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O’Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs, and is credited for signing Hall of Fame player Lou Brock to his first professional baseball contract. O’Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by Cool Papa Bell, then manager of the Monarchs’ barnstorming B team in 1949. He played briefly for the Monarchs in 1950 and 1953, his play interrupted by Army duty. O’Neil was Banks’ manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O’Neil joined them as a scout. He was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962, although he was not assigned in-game base coaching duties, nor was he included in the Cubs’ “College of Coaches” system, and was never allowed to manage the team during that time. After many years with the Cubs, O’Neil became a KC Royals scout in 1988, and was named “Midwest Scout of the Year” in 1998. // O’Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of Ken Burns’ 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. // In 1990, O’Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death. In 1996, O’Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri – KC in Kansas City, Missouri. // In Feb. 2002, at the end of the NLBM’s Legacy Awards annual banquet, O’Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis. // O’Neil and all-star Ichiro Suzuki developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with O’Neil and seeking O’Neil’s knowledge of the game when the Seattle Mariners would have road games in KC. “With Buck, I felt something big. The way he carried himself, you can see and tell and feel he loved this game.” // On May 13, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State University where he also gave the commencement speech. // O’Neil was a member of the 18-member Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995 to 2001 during the time the Hall had a policy of inducting one Negro leaguer per year. O’Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in 2006, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected. // “God’s been good to me. They didn’t think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s the way they thought about it and that’s the way it is, so we’re going to live with that. Now, if I’m a Hall of Famer for you, that’s all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don’t weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.” On July 29, 2006, O’Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame. // The KC T-Bones retired O’Neil’s jersey. The team is now known as The KC Monarchs as a tribute to O’Neil and former Monarchs players. Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O’Neil signed a contract with the KC T-Bones on July 17 to allow him to play in the Northern League All-Star Game. Before the game, O’Neil was “traded” to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and was listed as the starting shortstop, although after drawing an intentional walk, he was replaced before actually playing in the field. At the end of the inning, another “trade” was announced that brought O’Neil back to the KC team, allowing him to lead off the bottom of the inning as well (drawing another intentional walk). // On Aug. 5, 2006, O’Neil was admitted to a KC hospital after complaining that he did not feel well. He was admitted for fatigue and was released three days later only to be re-admitted on Sept. 17. On Sept. 28, KC media reported O’Neil’s condition had worsened. On Oct. 6, O’Neil died at the age of 94 due to heart failure and bone marrow cancer. // During the ESPN opening day broadcast of the 2007 KC Royals, on April 2, 2007, Joe Morgan announced the Royals would honor O’Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat in Kauffman Stadium each game who best exemplifies O’Neil’s spirit. The seat itself has been replaced by a red seat amidst the all-blue seats behind home plate in Section 101, Row C, Seat 1. Due to the renovations and section renumbering in 2009 the seat number is now Section 127, Row C, Seat 9, and the seat bottom is now padded. The first person to sit in “Buck’s seat” was Buck O’Neil’s brother, Warren G. O’Neil (1917–2013), who also played in the Negro American League. // On December 7, 2006, O’Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush; the award was presented to his brother, Warren, on his behalf on Dec. 15. He was chosen due to his “excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field”, according to the White House news release. He joins other baseball notables such as Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, and Jackie Robinson in receiving the United States’ highest civilian honor. On Nov. 13, 2012 the family of Buck O’Neil donated his Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in honor of what would have been O’Neil’s 101st birthday. The medal will be showcased in a special area of the NLBM dedicated to O’Neil. // On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball’s first annual Civil Rights Game—O’Neil was posthumously awarded MLB’s first annual Beacon of Life Award at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon. // On Oct. 24, 2007, O’Neil was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award named after him. He had fallen short in the Hall of Fame vote in 2006; however, he was honored in 2007 with a new award given by the Hall of Fame, to be named after him. // In 2008 a life size statue of O’Neil was placed on display inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine in Kansas City, and the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every three years. // At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27, 2008, Joe Morgan gave a dedication speech for the award and talked about O’Neil’s life, repeatedly citing the title of O’Neil’s autobiography, I Was Right on Time. // On November 5, 2021, O’Neil was selected to the final ballot of 10 candidates for consideration by the Early Days Committee during voting for induction to the Hall of Fame. Candidates needed to receive at least 12 of 16 votes (75%) for election, with the results to be announced in December. On Dec 5, the Hall of Fame announced that O’Neil and Bud Fowler had been elected, with 13 and 12 votes, respectively.]

20. Betse & Clarke – “Auld Lang Syne 2022” (CD #21) (5:21)
    from: “Auld Lang Syne 2022” – Single / Betse & Clarke / January 2, 2022
    [Most recently Betse & Clarke released the album, WINTER on June 4, 2020. It was in the top ten of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2020. WINTER was a collection of songs and tunes, including original compositions, traditional songs and fiddle tunes, and modern songs re-envisioned. This recording was compiled during winter 2020, with a feeling of introspection. Songs under copyright were properly licensed for this digital release. Regular folks, exceptional music: This duo from the heartland (Kansas City, Missouri) has its roots in Ozark old time music, honoring traditional songs and tunes that resonate with human experience. New compositions add compelling elements to their musical tapestry. Follow up to the duo’s 2017 release, Tunes We Like released only in analog on cassette. Betse & Clarke are a traditional and future folk duo with Betse Ellis on fiddles, violins, viola & vocals and Clarke Wyatt on banjos, guitar, cello, multi-instruments. Betse & Clarke have played and toured around the world. Individually their musical roots go deep in the KC music scene. Clarke Wyatt is a founding member of Mr. Marco’s V7, and Betse Ellis is a founding member of The Wilders. Last year Betse & Clarke released ”River Still Rise,” originals and reworked traditional compositions presented “to be enjoyed as a musical adventure, much like the river exploration of the famous duo Lewis & Clark, an inspiration for the band’s name.” http://www.betseandclarke.com]

-24. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
     from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Next week on January 26 – Nico Gray returns as Guest Producer with music from: Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band, SAULT, Cocteau Twins, Fontaines DC, Nino Ferrer, Klaus Nomi, Luca Wildig, Poppy Fusée, Melvin Van Peebles, Yay, The Cure, Gabriels, Beck, Franco Battiato, Miss White and the Drunken Piano, Rodriguez, Habibi, Meskerem Mees, Cloud of I, Degiheugi, november ultra, Ottis Coeur, and Healer Select.

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 #925