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, October 9, 2019

Julia Othmer + Jocelyn Olivia Nixin of The Creepy Jingles
+ Music from Outer Reaches with Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana

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

2. Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors”
from: All Mirrors / Jagjaguwar / October 4, 2019
[4th album from Angel Olsen who was born January 22, 1987. She is an American singer-songwriter and musician from St. Louis, Missouri who currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina. At age three, Olsen was adopted by a foster family that had cared for her since shortly after her birth. The difference in years between her and her parents left an impression. “Because there are so many decades of difference between us, I became more interested in what their childhood was like,” she says of her parents, both of whom still live in St. Louis. “I fantasized about what it was like to be young in the ’30s and ’50s, more so than other kids my age.” Olsen explained that “my mother just has this capacity for children.” Despite early adolescent aspirations to be a “pop star”, her interests later shifted in high school. Olsen became more introverted, regularly attending punk rock and noise music shows at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center and the Creepy Crawl as well as Christian rock shows throughout the city. She began learning the piano and guitar and writing her own music. Two years after graduating from Tower Grove Christian High School, Olsen moved to Chicago.After releasing her first EP, Strange Cacti, and a debut album, Half Way Home, on Bathetic Records, Olsen signed with Jagjaguwar, ahead of her first full-band record, Burn Your Fire for No Witness, which was released on February 17, 2014. Olsen’s third full-length album, My Woman, was released on September 2, 2016. In addition to her work with Bonnie “Prince” Billy and The Cairo Gang, Olsen has collaborated with a number of other notable figures of American indie rock, including Tim Kinsella of Cap’n Jazz, LeRoy Bach of Wilco and Cass McCombs. Her collaboration with Kinsella and Bach, as well as with Chicago poet Marvin Tate, resulted in the album Tim Kinsella Sings the Songs of Marvin Tate by Leroy Bach Featuring Angel Olsen which the group released on Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings on December 3, 2013. Her song “Windows” was featured in the final episode of the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why.]

3. Pretend Friend – “I Do”
from: Unnatural Currents / Pretend Friend / May 17, 2019
[Pretend Friend is a string-band dynamo out of Wichita, Kansas. Their songs meld traditional bluegrass and folk with fiery rock and roll zest, and their performances are distinguished by high-energy picking and three-part vocal harmonies. Pretend Friend is: Grant Boesen as songwriter, and on guitar & lead vocals; Jason Snavely on drums & vocals; Brody Wellman on bass & vocals; and Evan Ogborn on mandolin & vocals. Unnatural Currents” is Pretend Friend’s second full-length LP. This album is the first to be acoustically arranged and foreshadows Pretend Friend’s stylistic direction since Brody Wellman and Evan Ogborn have joined the ranks as upright bassist and mandolinist, respectively. “The writing of this album acknowledges the futility in pursuing supernatural absolutes, but it also validates respect of the unknown. It relishes the uncertainty of existence, spirituality, and morality, and it celebrates expressions of enthusiasm, infatuation and skepticism.” More info at http://www.pretendfriendmusic.com]

[Pretend Friend play Porch Fest KC Saturday, October 12, at 12:00 Noon, at 3022 Oak Street during The Original PorchFestKC, this Saturday, October 12, 12 Noon to 6:00 PM in Roanoke, Union Hill and Longfellow Neighborhoods, now in its 5th year this music celebration brings music from 152 local & regional bands on 68 porch stages including music in Union Hill Cemetary. The map (and parking suggestions) are available at: PorchFestKC.com ]

10:11

4. Julia Othmer – “Frickin Awesome”
from: Sound / Julia Othmer & James Lundie / June 30, 2016
[One several new songs from Julia Othmer’s upcoming full length release of “Sound,” her second album, that took 3 years to complete, and was produced with James Lundie, who also married Julia in January of 2016, during the completion of the record. Julia Othmer, is a graduate of Park Hill High School. She moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to record her 1st full-length album, “Oasis Motel.”.]

[Julia Othmer plays recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO Sat, Oct. 12, at 8:00 PM, with Amado Espinoza.]

Julia Othmer

10:14 – Interview with Julia Othmer

We are happy to welcome back to the radio show our friend, singer songwriter Julia Othmer. Julia Othmer joins us to talk about her newest album “Sound,” released on April 12, 2019 on Frikin’ Awesome Records. who went to Park Hill High and studied at Columbia University in New York City. Julia now lives in Los Angeles, California and she is back in her hometown to play recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO Sat, Oct. 12, at 8:00 PM, with Amado Espinoza.

Julia Othmer, thanks for being with us on WMM

Julia Othmer was born August 13, 1975. She is from Kansas City, Missouri. She went to Park Hill High and studied at Columbia University in New York City. Julia Othmer lives in Los Angeles, California.

Julia has lived in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and in Colorado

Julia moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to record her first full-length album, “Oasis Motel.”

Julia’s mother Sieglinde Othmer is from Hamburg, Germany, and is an artist who studied at Sorbonne in Paris. She is the author of several award winning books. Julia recently lost her father Arthur Othmer

Julia first started playing piano in first grade.

This year Julia released “Sound,” her second full-length album, produced with James Lundie, who married Julia in January of 2016 during the completion of the record.

James Lundie is from London, United Kingdom.

Last year Julia Othmer toured with and opened for The Alarm in US show and shows in the United Kingdom.

Out of Print Magazine says: “This Thursday evening in the quaint little village of NYC, Julia Othmer, the mesmerizingly sultry singer/songwriter will be riding into town tucked under the wings of a Southwest jet. She will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen St. New York, NY) at 7PM sharp. If you haven’t heard of her, it may be because she has been diligently working on her new album for the last few years on the sunny and less immediate coast. Formerly a Kansas City native, Julia has put her pillow in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, some gondola in Colorado and finally Los Angeles, the city of lights and traffic, where she currently lives with her little white piano, her rock star and her cat Cosmo. Julia’s musical musings are so diverse that they become quite elusive to the simple description. Perhaps the best way to explain it would be if Nora Jones, Tom Waits, Billy Holiday and Lyle Lovett had a musical orgy and let you watch behind a curtain of burning lace and a whiskey waterfall. I’ll bring the unfiltered cigarettes, you bring your soul.”

Last time Julia Othmer was in Kansas City she played Knuckleheads, on February 28, with Johnny Hamil on bass, Chris Tady on guitar, John Floyd Whitaker on drums. All three will join Julia on stage at recordBar. Julia will welcome special guest: Julia Reynolds.

Who will be on stage with her on Saturday?

Julia Othmer plays recordBar, 1520 Grand, Sat. Oct. 12, at 8PM, w/ Amado Espinoza.

Julia ‘s newest album “Sound,” was released on April 12, 2019 on Frikin’ Awesome Records. Produced with James Lundie.

Tim Finn describes “Sound” as a “self-made record with a big-label sound… rich in space and soaring dynamics and rife with layers and textures and melodies and grooves.”

Julia Othmer is a graduate of Park Hill High School and moved to Los Angeles in 2006. While she lives in LA, she will always call KC her hometown.

Julia Othmer, thanks for being with us on WMM

Julia Othmer plays recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO Saturday, October 12, at 8:00 PM, with Amado Espinoza. More info at http://www.juliaothmer.com.

10:30 – Underwriting

10:32

5. The Creepy Jingles – “Atom & Evolution”
from: The Creepy Jingles EP / High Dive Records / May 3, 2019
[Debut EP Release from The Creepy Jingles: Jocelyn Olivia Nixon on lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar, & Keyboards; Travis McKenzie on lead guitars, Nick Robertson on drums; and Adam York on bass. 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.”]

10:33 – Interview with Jocelyn Olivia Nixin of The Creepy Jingles

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin, is lead singer, songwriter, keyboardist & guitar player for the KC based band, The Creepy Jingles which include: Travis McKenzie on guitar, Nick Robertson on drums, and Adam York on bass. The Creepy Jingles released their self titled debut EP on May 3, 2019 on High Dive Records.

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin, thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Congratulations on the new EP Release on High Dive Records.

Ross Brown of (Shy Boys and Full Bloods) recorded and mixed the EP at escape Pod Audio.

Mike Nolte Mastered the recordings at Eureka Mastering.

EP credits give special thanks to: Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch of Shy Boys

From High Dive Records http://www.highdivekc.com:

“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. ”

From FALLY AFANI, I Heart Local Music.com (JUNE 22, 2019):

“The Creepy Jingles are really throwing us for a loop. Like, we know garage rock is supposed to sound raw and a little loose. But The Creepy Jingles are so on point with their craft, we’re not entirely comfortable with picturing them as some laid back group of rockers. Every. Single. Note. Is. Perfect. When The Creepy Jingles play, it sounds like they practice every single day. They don’t miss a single thing! Every note in every song is spot on, we haven’t heard a group of rockers this tight with their performance in ages. When they hit the Replay for their album release show Thursday night, it was hard to look away. Jocelyn Olivia Nixon runs a tight ship with this group. They began the set with her pounding away at the keys, leaving a throbbing urge for more of their exciting rock noise. Then, when they fully dove into their impeccable guitar work, the audience was also treated to her gnarly-as-hell vocals. The growls, the screams, the RAWNESS of it all brings out our most primal emotions.”

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin is Community Organizer at Bandwaggn Kansas City

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin is Singer/ Songwriter/ Guitar/ Keys at The Creepy Jingles

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin is Singer-songwriter at English Major

Jocelyn Nixin Studied Filming/Directing/Acting/writing at The Art Institute of Austin

Jocelyn Nixin Studied Studied Broadcasting & Film at University of Central Missouri

Jocelyn Nixin Studied Studied Creative Writing in English at Missouri State University

Jocelyn Nixin went to Blue Springs South High School and Jocelyn Nixin lives in Overland Park, Kansas

From The Pitch KC June 19, 2019 Nick Spacek:

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin was part of the band Abracadabras, that was active around Kansas City from 2006 to 2009 or so. Nixon fronted the band, which also included brothers Collin and Kyle Rausch, who now play in the pop act Shy Boys.

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin told Nick Spacek i nan article published in The Pitch KC on June 19, 2019, “That was, like, the first band,” Nixon says. “I’d been writing songs since I was probably about 22, and that was our first band together. So it was like we all grew up together … Once I went to Austin, I felt like it was time for me to stand on my own.”

“I’d left [Kansas City] to work on my marriage,” Nixon continues. “My wife at the time was offered a job and I figured, Yeah, Austin, great music city. I should see what happens. A music city like Austin was the silver lining in moving away from my band.”

The marriage hit the skids a few years in, but Nixon continued writing music. She released a solo project called English Major, a divorce record of sorts. Five years in, though, everything finally seemed to come to a head.

“The traffic, the cost of living — our rent went up $750,” Nixon says. “It was almost impossible to stay. I was like, Why am I killing myself to do this? I was also starting to come to terms with my own personal identity, and it blew into this existential crisis, where I was like, I can’t keep this bottled up anymore.”

Being “bottled up” was Nixon acknowledging her recent transition into life as a woman, a process she’d started early during her time in Austin.

“Tweezing my eyebrows, laser hair removal, therapy, going out more in femme,” she says — but largely abandoned after her marriage fell apart and she stepped into a new relationship. But the desire to transition hadn’t gone away; Nixon was just burying it.
“I was depressed to the point where I kind of — there’s that line in ‘Yer Blues,’ where John Lennon’s like, Feel so suicidal/ Even hate my rock and roll.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I get that line,’”

Nixon says. “I didn’t ever feel like I was going to commit suicide, but I had this fantasy of faking my death and becoming a new person, which was all sort of leading me to transition, but I was just miserable and I just didn’t want to be around it.”

She decided to leave Austin and return to KC, though moving back home as she transitioned wasn’t something Nixon was initially eager to do. “I thought it was scarier to move back,” she says. But then she realized that, as she says, “I needed to do this in front of the people I grew up with, and have those tough conversations, and tell them who I really am and how I really feel. It felt like the most honest way to do things, and it felt like the most authentic way to bridge my past to my present.”

Nixon started hormones and came out as a woman after she moved back home to KC. She says everyone’s been cool about it — tons of support.

“When I came out, I felt stupid, because I was like, ‘I should’ve done this sooner,’” she says. “An immediate weight lifted off of me, just from carrying the weight of that consuming all my mental faculties at all times. It just shot my nervous system.”

Nixon had quit playing music toward the end of her time in Austin, and she gave herself a few years during her transition to “get my head right and heal from a breakup, and also, approaching this new phase in my life,” as she puts it. But she kept writing songs.

She started jamming with Nick Robertson, a drummer. Then they brought in Travis McKenzie, a former Abracadabras guitarist, and the Creepy Jingles were born. They played around for a few years and then, last year, began recording what would become their debut self-titled EP.

“We took it slow, doing it like, once a week, and then once fall rolled around, we were like, ‘Let’s record some things,’” Nixon says. They took the music to Ross Brown, another Shy Boy, who recorded and mixed the EP in his basement. Collin Rausch ended up playing bass on it (Adam York has since joined the group as the full-time bass player).

“It was kind of like a little family reunion,” Nixon says of reuniting with old bandmates.

Nick Spacek wrote: The EP was released on High Dive Records at the beginning of May. It’s confident and exuberant, a Kinksy mishmash of Britpop garage rock”.

She says. I felt like I had to adopt a mask or a character to protect myself a little bit onstage. Now it feels very me, and I’m very comfortable.”

The Creepy Jingles play Josey Records, 1814 Oak , KCMO, Saturday, October 12, for the Eggs On Mars Album Release Show.

The Creepy Jingles play Kirby’s Beer Store, 3227 E 17th St N, Wichita, KS, on Sunday, October 13, at 9:00 PM, with Shivery Shakes.

The Creepy Jingles play ArtsTech, 1522 Holmes, KCMO, on Halloween, Thursday, October 31

The Creepy Jingles play First Friday at Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, KCMO, Friday November 1, at 6:30 PM with Videodisk, Xmas Anhedonia, and Fox Hat.

The Creepy Jingles play Colonial Club, 322 6th Street, KCK, on Friday, November 29, at 10:00 PM, with Thighmaster, and Blanky.

10:44

6. The Creepy Jingles – “Prodigal Sun Tzu”
from: The Creepy Jingles EP / High Dive Records / May 3, 2019
[Debut EP Release from The Creepy Jingles: Jocelyn Olivia Nixon on lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar, & Keyboards; Travis McKenzie on lead guitars, Nick Robertson on drums; and Adam York on bass. 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.”]

10:47 – More Interview with Jocelyn Olivia Nixin of The Creepy Jingles

We are talking with Jocelyn Olivia Nixin, is lead singer, songwriter, keyboardist & guitar player for the KC based band, The Creepy Jingles which include: Travis McKenzie on guitar, Nick Robertson on drums, and Adam York on bass. The Creepy Jingles released their self titled debut EP on May 3, 2019 on High Dive Records.

Jocelyn Olivia Nixin, thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

This has been a very busy year for you and for the band. You just finished playing Middle of The Map Festival. Before that you played Crossroads Music Festival.

The Creepy Jingles have played all over Kansas City, Lawrence and surrounding areas.

Abracadabras laid the ground work for the path Jocelyn is following for The Creepy Jingles.

The songs on the EP are incredibly poetic, and you are having somuch fun with word and wordplay. The lyrics fly by so fast while making all kinds of modern references to microchips, memes, Reddit, Twitter, Fake News, Samsung, Big Brother while also seeming to be auto biographical and personal first person narratives and calls to action about Coming Out, leaving your past behind, “turning straight people bi-focal”, our currently political reality, and personal break ups and break outs.

Collin & Kyle Rausch and Ross Brown of Shy Boys are suppoters of The Creepy Jingles.

Mark: “One of my favorite aspects of the KC music community is the mix of genre and culture. Musical artists in Kansas City have felt comfortable to come out as Gay Lesbianm non-binary, transgender, ad the music community’s response seems to be okay, that’s great, what do you sound like? I don’t see transgender artist being shoved into a separate sub category where they only play gay bars.” “As an openly gay man I have often felt more accepted in the KC Music Community than in the Kansas City LGBTQIA Community.”

High Dive Records has released some of our most played music on WMM. The ACBs, Shy Boys, Fullbloods, The Conquerors, Psychic Heat, The Whiffs, The Fog, Y God Y have been some of our most played bands on the show. More info at: http://www.highdiverecords.bandcamp.com

The Creepy Jingles play Josey Records, 1814 Oak , KCMO, Saturday, October 12, for the Eggs On Mars Album Release Show.

The Creepy Jingles play Kirby’s Beer Store, 3227 E 17th St N, Wichita, KS, on Sunday, October 13, at 9:00 PM, with Shivery Shakes.

The Creepy Jingles play ArtsTech, 1522 Holmes, KCMO, on Halloween, Thursday, October 31

The Creepy Jingles play First Friday at Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, KCMO, Friday November 1, at 6:30 PM with Videodisk, Xmas Anhedonia, and Fox Hat.

The Creepy Jingles play Colonial Club, 322 6th Street, KCK, on Friday, November 29, at 10:00 PM, with Thighmaster, and Blanky.

10:58

7. The Creepy Jingles – “Circadian Rhythm Guitar”
from: The Creepy Jingles EP / High Dive Records / May 3, 2019
[Debut EP Release from The Creepy Jingles: Jocelyn Olivia Nixon on lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar, & Keyboards; Travis McKenzie on lead guitars, Nick Robertson on drums; and Adam York on bass. Ross Bown recorded and mixed the EP at escape Pod Audio. Mike Nolte Mastered the recordings at Eureka Mastering.]

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Music from Outer Reaches Fest at recordBar Saturday October, 19

8. Lumerians – “Silver Trash”
from: Call Of The Void / Fuzz Club Records / June 22, 2018
[Lumerians is a San Francisco Bay Area-based quartet which has a psychedelic “mindbender” space rock sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by “transcendent live video projections” and having “incredible visuals”, according to one music critic. One critic described the band as “Oakland’s prize pony in the Bay Area gloom-folk horse race”. The sound has been compared to Krautrock with overtones of 1960s music. The band was founded by Tyler Green, Marc Melzer, Jason Miller and Chris Musgrave in 2006. Multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez joined in 2008. Early rehearsals and recordings were produced in San Francisco, but the group has since relocated to Oakland. They have their own recording studio in a converted church in Oakland, California. The band’s sound was influenced by groups such as Sonic Youth, Krautrock groups such as Can and Neu!, and African and South American Psych music from the 1960s and 1970s. In mid-2011 Vasquez left the group to focus on his project The Soft Moon The Lumerians have worked with vocalist Rebecca Coseboom. Coseboom and the Lumerians did the track Separate Half on the EP entitled The Answer EP by Unkle. They performed in 2010 in Brooklyn with the Butthole Surfers. Lumerians released their first full length LP, Transmalinnia in March 2011. In July 2012, Lumerians released their second LP, a collection of instrumental spontaneous compositions titled “Transmissions from Telos Vol. IV.” “Transmissions” was released as a limited 300 edition transparent vinyl by French label Hands in the Dark in Europe and an edition of 500 (150 transparent sea blue and 350 Bone) on Permanent Records in the US. In late November and early December 2012, Lumerians completed their first European tour, ending the year with the release of the Horizon Structures EP on Knitting Factory Records. A limited 500 edition vinyl of Horizon Structures is packaged with “4D Trans-dimensional portal viewing glasses” for viewing the video for “The Bloom,” shot in ChromaDepth. Lumerians released LP The High Frontier in May 2013 in the UK and Europe, supported by performances in UK, France, Netherlands and Belgium. The album was released August 2013 in the US, coinciding with a series of dates supporting My Bloody Valentine on the second half of their US tour, followed by a series of UK and European dates in 2014, culminating with them closing out the Roadburn Festival’s Afterburner in Tilburg, Netherlands. ]

11:06 – Interview with Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana

Originally called KC Psych Fest, Outer Reaches started in 2012 to bring together outsider musical acts and celebrate experimental music in Kansas City. While still very psychedelic, the Outer Reaches Fest has grown to emphasize musical acts pushing boundaries.

Dedric Moore launched this festival in 2012. The idea grew out of the music he was creating with his Brother Delaney Moore at the HQ Artspace in KCK. Dedric is a member of the bands Monta At Odds, Mysterious Clouds, and Gemini Revolution. He has also produced recordings for the Philistines and HMPH, and others.

Brenton Cook studied Computer Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology, in Rolla, Missouri, where he also had his own college radio show. Brenton has produced extensive compilations of area music for the Midwest Music Foundation. He formed the Kansas City independent music label, Haymaker Records in January 2014. The label has released multiple full length albums, for Monta At Odds, HMPH!, Be/Non, Jorge Arana Trio, Riala, Mysterious Clouds, Sie Lieben Maschinen, Schwervon!, and others on vinyl, cassette, CD, and 7 “. He has also produced two Haymaker compilation releases, called Fairgrounds. For the last 7 years, Brenton has been a co-curator of the Outer Reaches Fest.

Steve Tulipana is the co-owner of recordBar. Steve studied video, fine arts & painting at UMKC, where he graduated in 1991. Steve is a founding member of influential KC bands: Season To Risk, Roman Numerals, Thee Water MoccaSins, Sie Lieben Maschinen, and Unknown Pleasures. With Shawn Sherrill, he is co-owner of recordBar and miniBar. Along with Outer Reaches, and a full calendar of shows, Steve Tulipana also performs with The Band That Fell To Earth – in Tribute to David Bowie.

Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana share music & news about OUTER REACHES, Saturday, October 19, at 7:00 PM, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO. This boundary-pushing music festival returns for it’s 8th year with seven amazing bands: Lumerians (from Oakland, California), Thunder Jackson (from Oklahoma and Wales), and KC based bands: Be/Non, BCR (Black Crack Revue), Monta At Odds, FACEFACE, and Unicorns in the Snow (the project of multimedia performance artist Julia Vering). Accompanying the music will be live video projections provided by XO Blackwater. Outer Reaches 2019 is a partnership between Outer Reaches and Midwest Music Foundation. The show is 18+ (Under 18 with a guardian) More information at: http://www.therecordbar.com. or http://www.outerreachesfest.com

Brenton Cook and Steve Tulipana thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Congratulations on 8 years.

Bands playing Out Reaches Fest 2019:

Lumerians (from Oakland, California),
Thunder Jackson (from Oklahoma and Wales),
KC based bands:
Be/Non,
BCR (Black Crack Revue),
Monta At Odds,
FACEFACE, and
Unicorns in the Snow (the project of multimedia performance artist Julia Vering).

Accompanying the music will be live video projections provided by XO Blackwater.
Outer Reaches 2019 is a partnership between Outer Reaches and Midwest Music Foundation. The show is 18+ (Under 18 with a guardian)

Unicorns in the Snow (the project of multimedia performance artist Julia Vering).

From http://www.unicornsinthesnow.com:
Julia Vering (Unicorns in the Snow) is a performance artist, musician, animator and licensed clinical social worker. She began her involvement with the Kansas City DIY/punk scene as a teenager taking photographs and creating zines about obsolete local amusement parks and punk bands. She attended Evergreen State College where she earned a B.A. in liberal arts studying electronic music, experimental animation and social work. While in Washington state, she formed and toured with the all female conceptual art band Muñeca Chueca, volunteered at a senior center, recorded oral histories, and facilitated music recording workshops for incarcerated youth. After graduation, she moved back to Kansas City and began working at a nursing home where she facilitated art and music therapy and began an experimental drama program. She studied electro-acoustical composition and gerontology at the University of Missouri Kansas City. In 2008, she earned a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas. She designed a recreational therapy program for the inpatient geriatric psychiatric unit at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center and worked as a licensed social worker at Kansas City Presbyterian Manor facilitating a drama club, harmonica band and talent shows. She currently works as a hospice social worker and leads an experimental therapeutic drama group for people with dementia.

Vering balances her client-centered social work with the need to create intensely personal, introspective performances to share with the public. Her work explores mortality, loneliness, absurdity and empathy, seeking to monumentalize the mundane and forgotten through sound, performance and visual art. Vering received a Rocket Grant in 2011 to produce You Live Here Too, a multimedia performance utilizing video, stop-motion animation, an original score, and local senior citizens as actors and oral historians. After a hiatus from taking work after having children she created Motherhood, a psychedelic multimedia performance piece about perception, which utilizes processed accordion, field recordings of her children, stop motion animation of mink stoles and cameos from her own mother. She toured this project in June 2018 with former collaborator Angela Saylor of Mint Hill. Her current project, The Understudy, is an evolving multimedia performance piece featuring cameos from participants of the drama she leads for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. The piece was inspired by a delusion a nursing home resident shared with her 17 years ago that “every rock in here is from a different place, and if you pick it up, you can see where it’s from.” Vering continues to work within the DIY ethos recording her own music, filming, editing her own videos and writing her own scripts at her home studio in Overland Park, Kansas.

11:13 – Music from Outer Reaches

9. Unicorns in the Snow – “We Started a Rock Company”
rom: The Understudy / Julia Vering / May 9, 2019
[Julia Vering (unicorns in the snow) is a Kansas City-based performance artist, musician, animator and licensed clinical social worker. She earned a BA from The Evergreen State College studying electronic music, experimental animation and social work, and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas. She currently works as a licensed hospice social worker, and conducts bi-monthly experimental video-based drama therapy with individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias at Jeanne’s Place day program. Her solo multimedia performance work has continued to evolve, utilizing large format interactive projections, processed accordion, field recordings of her children and cameos from her mother, culminating in 2018’s Motherhood. She is currently creating and performing, The Understudy, a multi-part performance series featuring adults with dementia.]

[Unicorns in the Snow play Outer Reaches, Saturday, October 19 at recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO]

10. Be/Non – “Aahs Come From The Skies-Oohs Come From The Ground”
from: Mystic Sunrise / Sunset Magic / Haymaker Records / February 25, 2016
[Brodie Rush is a songwriter, musician, singer, organizer, artist, film maker, music video creator. Over 20 years ago KC native, Brodie Rush formed the experimental, psychedelic, prog-pop band. In 1996, Be/Non recorded two sets of songs in a small home studio in Lawrence, Kansas, that would become their first two EPs released on cassette. Be/Non, The band has had more members than Spinal Tap, but Brodie has remained the only consistent member, songwriter and producer. Be/Non personnel: 2007, Brodie Rush – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Percussion, Drums; Ben Ruth – Bass, Upright Bass, Vocals; Adam Stotts – Guitar, Vocals; John Huff – Keyboards, Synths, Vocals; Adam Phillips – Drums (although Ryan Shank – played Drums on this track.) All songs written by: Brodie Rush, except Freedom Palace with music: John Huff & lyrics: Brodie Rush. Produced by Brodie Rush. Recorded at Westend Recording (Kansas City, Kansas) 2007 (Basic tracks, some overdubs); The Gold Room (Kansas City, Missouri) 2007 (Overdubs); Studio G (Brooklyn New York) 2007 (Mixing, Overdubs); The Map Room (Lawrence, Kansas) 2003 (Overdubs). Engineeres: Paul Malinowski Recorded at Westend Recording (Kansas City, Kansas) 2007 ; Brodie Rush The Gold Room (Kansas City, Missouri) 2007; Joel Hamilton Studio G (Brooklyn New York) 2007 ; Peter Buxton The Map Room (Lawrence, Kansas) 2003, (Saxophone overdubs imported from “Do The Heat” off the record, “Esperanto At The Pantheon, Incognito”). Mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G (Brooklyn New York) 2007. Mastered by Brodie Rush. Thanks John Hulston, Anodyne Records, Brenton Cook, Haymaker Records, Paul Malinowski, Tony Maimone, Justin Warring, Adam Phillips, Brandon Phillips, Steve Neuenburg, Mike Miller, Shawna Sowersby-Booth, David Hanson, Billy Brimblecom, Steve Tulipana, Jason Cantu, David Gaume, Robert Moczydlowsky, Laurel Birdsong Sears, Kid Millions, Cypher Sound, The Record Bar. Dedicated to: Failed marriages throughout time and space. The troubled “Freedom Palace” LP was recorded over 10 years ago in the summer of 2007 by Paul Malinowski and Brodie Rush in Kansas City, Missouri. Anodyne Records had commissioned Be/Non to re-record songs from, “RAN” and “Esperanto At The Pantheon, Incognito” along with other unreleased material. The music from the title track “Freedom Palace” was written by John Huff and had the album been released, would have been the first Be/Non composition not penned by Brodie Rush. Be/Non was a 5 piece before recording negotiations began in 2007. Directly before preproduction, the band had lost its drummer of 3 years and Be/Non was actively searching for a replacement. Between Brodie filling in on drums for two songs and Billy Brimblecom playing drums on another track, Be/Non asked Adam Phillips of The Architects to drum on the album’s remaining songs. The album was mostly recorded at Westend Studios in Kansas City and at Brodie’s home studio The Gold Room. After tracking 97% of the album, the project was taken to Studio G in Brooklyn New York for mixing by Joel Hamilton. 10 days later, the album was mixed and ready for duplication. No formal album covers had been decided on. John Huff had an idea of a Unipegadong by a nebula in space, while Brodie was thinking a castle floating in mid air. The first cover idea was mostly just pointing arrows going in all directions. Emotionally that was probably the closest to the mindset of that recording. The album “Freedom Palace” was never pressed or released. Because a contractual arrangement could not be agreed upon between Anodyne Records and Be/Non, the band would not see an album released until 2009, “A Mountain Of Yeses”, 11 years after it’s last release in 1998. “Freedom Palace” is dismissed by the band as a complete failure. Ultimately not having rights to the recordings, the inability to reach a contractual agreement with Anodyne Records and unhappiness with the final mix led to the disbanding of the “Freedom Palace” line up in early 2008. Reclusive, secluded and freshly divorced, a depressed Brodie Rush stopped all live performances for the next two years. Spending time to construct the concept record “A Mountain Of Yeses” as a solo endeavor under the Be/Non band moniker. Then, six years later in 2014, John Hulston of Anodyne Records graciously gave Brodie Rush full rights to the “Freedom Palace” recordings and masters. Be/Non has since tried numerous times to re-record the material for a proper release, but never could fully accomplish this task. Finally, for the entire world, for better or for worse, Be/Non and Haymaker Records would like to present the final mix of “Freedom Palace” the way it was originally intended. Be/Non adamantly renounces the production, mix and performances on these recordings, with few exceptions. The album was mixed and recorded during a dizzying haze of drug and alcohol abuse. The lyrics, the tone and the feel of the record is very unfocused, angry and misguided. This record does not reflect the proper sonic soundscape or performances Brodie Rush and Be/Non had intended whatsoever. “Freedom Palace” was full of rehashed versions of songs better left to their previous incarnations. “Moi Ou Toi” from the 7″ is a remake from “Freedom Palace” but the “FP” version is a remake of the original “Ran” version. Complicated. In fact ALL of the recordings on “FP” are remakes from “Ran” and “Esperanto.” “Do the Heat” and “Lucy” are again remakes of the “Ran” and “Esperanto” versions. The version of “Ice Fight” on “FP” I think… is different than the B-Side to “Moi Ou Toi”. A different remix with other instruments. We had two different versions from 2015. The Kraftwerk reference was unintentional. John Huff started playing that back in 2006 but hadn’t heard the Kraftwerk song until I played it for him in 2015. He just did that and thought he was cool. I hadn’t heard that tune until 2010 or so. It was an accident. There is an unreleased, unfinished song called “No God Of Mine” I recorded in 2002 on my 8 track that when I tried to remake it in 2007 with Mike Cochran on drums, John heard it and played me a song from the band YWKMBT Trail Of Dead from 2005 that was almost identical even the timing on the changes. The vocal melody was different tho. I got so disturbed by it that I stop working on the song altogether. “Garlic”, “In The Nighttime” “More Than Enough” and “Current And The Rind” were all part of an unreleased collection called “Enhance The Smoky” from 2000. Same year “Tenderfoot” was written.]

[Be/Non play Outer Reaches, Saturday, October 19 at recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO]

11:18 – Interview with Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana

We’re talking with Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana about OUTER REACHES, Saturday, October 19, at 7:00 PM, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO.

Brenton Cook and Steve Tulipana thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

This boundary-pushing music festival returns for it’s 8th year with seven amazing bands: Lumerians (from Oakland, California), Thunder Jackson (from Oklahoma and Wales), and KC based bands: Be/Non, BCR (Black Crack Revue), Monta At Odds, FACEFACE, and Unicorns in the Snow (the project of multimedia performance artist Julia Vering).

Accompanying the music will be live video projections provided by XO Blackwater.

The show is 18+ (Under 18 with a guardian) More information at: http://www.therecordbar.com.

We just heard Be/Non from: Mystic Sunrise | Sunset Magic / Haymaker Records / 2/25/16

Be/Non will be joining Outer Reaches this year to perform a special set of music with video accompaniment. This will be their first live appearance in 3 years.

Last year Outer Reaches is part of Open Spaces KC. This year Outer Reaches is again collaborating with Midwest Music Foundation. Outer Reaches 2019 is made possible from the help of a grant through the KC Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund.

Sponsors for this year’s fest include Records with Merritt, 7th Heaven, It’s a Beautiful Day, recordBar, Seen Merch, XO Blackwater, Haymaker Records, Kosmic City, Crush Media, Boulevard Brewing Co., and Print Time. Info: http://www.outerreachesfest.com

11:24 – Music from Outer Reaches

11. Thunder Jackson – “Colours”
from: Colours – Single / Thunder Jackson / March 7, 2018
[Thunder Jackson is the meeting of an Oklahoma’s singer-songwriter and a British producer. After meeting in a taxi cab in Los Angeles, the freshly born duo started to work in basement studio on the west side of the city.Nov 26, 2017.]

[Thunder Jackson play Outer Reaches Fest, Saturday, October 19 at recordbar.]

12. BCR – “Love In Outer Space”
from: Speck of Dust / Sparkling Beatnik / December 31, 2004
[BCR is Black Crack Revue, formed 37 years ago in KC. Called “groovy polyphonic jazz/dance” band.]

[BCR play Outer Reaches Fest, Saturday, October 19 at recordbar.]

11:32 – Underwriting

11:35 – Interview with Brenton Cook & Steve Tulipana

We’re talking with Brenton Cook, and Steve Tulipana about OUTER REACHES VIII on two stages on Saturday, Oct. 19th at recordBar.

Brenton Cook and Steve Tulipana thanks for being with us on WMM.

More info: http://www.outerreachesfest.com/

The music festival Outer Reaches, in its eighth year, emphasizes musical acts experimenting and pushing boundaries. The fest aims to showcase the ‘out there,’ left-of-center, under-the-radar musical acts performing captivating live music. The shows are 18+ and feature acts from a variety of musical genres with accompanying video projection.

11:42 – Music from Outer Reaches

13. FACEFACE – “Meat Me”
from: MMmm / FACEFACE / February 15, 2018
[KC based experimental electronic hiphop musical collaboration with Paul S. Nyakatura, is a Kansas City based award winning voiceover artist, stand up comedian, commercial producer, and rapper and hip hop artist.and Ryan Lee Toms is a Kansas City based multi-instumentalist, composer and artist who has recorded original experimental dance electronic music as RLT with John Bersuch. Ryan also plays guitar with the math rock band HMPH! and he plays drums for the KC based, 5-piece post-punk deathrock band Beelzebabes..]

[FACEFACE plays Outer Reaches Fest, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, Sat, October 19]

14. Monta At Odds – “Perimeter Dancer”
from: New Unreleased track from band with Mikal Shapiro on vocals
[KCK based band formed by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore. ]

[Monta At Odds plays Outer Reaches Fest, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd, KCMO, Sat, October 19]

11:48 – Underwriting

11:56 – Music from Outer Reaches

15. Lumerians – “C – Rock”
from: Yellowcake – Single / Fuzz Club Records / June 22, 2018
[Lumerians is a San Francisco Bay Area-based quartet which has a psychedelic “mindbender” space rock sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by “transcendent live video projections” and having “incredible visuals”, according to one music critic. One critic described the band as “Oakland’s prize pony in the Bay Area gloom-folk horse race”. The sound has been compared to Krautrock with overtones of 1960s music. The band was founded by Tyler Green, Marc Melzer, Jason Miller and Chris Musgrave in 2006. Multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez joined in 2008. Early rehearsals and recordings were produced in San Francisco, but the group has since relocated to Oakland.

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

Next week on October 16 – we welcome Krystle Warren with Brad Cox and Jen Owen of Owen/Cox Dance Group who present “Love Songs” at Polsky Theatre Saturday, October 19 at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, October 20 at 3:30 PM. We’ll feature music from Krystle Warren’s critically acclaimed 2012 double album release of 24 original songs, recorded in Brooklyn with a 27-piece band. Also next week special co-hosts Betse Ellis and Marion Merritt join us for our Fall Fund Drive Show encouraging you our beautiful listeners to call us and show your support for the most original radio station you’ve ever listened to, 90.1 FM KKFI where over 85 locally produced radio shows air each week.

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

On your local radio dial 90.1 FM or
STREAMING LIVE at: kkfi.org

Show #806