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, July 2, 2025
WMM presents: Mara Williams & J.M. Banks of Voices of Kansas City + “The Spooky Sh*t Show” + Beth Watts Nelson
- “Main Title Instrumental – It’s Showtime Folks”
from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / December 20, 1979
[WMM’s Adopted Theme Song]
- Hotline TNT – “Break Right”
from: Raspberry Moon / Third Man Records / June 20, 2025
[Hotline TNT is an American rock band from New York City. The band is fronted by singer and guitarist Will Anderson, who writes and records all of their music and performs live with a rotating lineup of musicians. Their style is characterized by Anderson’s wall-of-sound layering of distorted guitars and is often described as shoegaze. Hotline TNT have released three full-length albums, Nineteen in Love (2021), Cartwheel (2023) and Raspberry Moon (2025). // Prior to the formation of Hotline TNT, Will Anderson was previously a member of a number of small indie rock bands, such as Happy Diving and Crazy Bugs. He most notably moved on to the Vancouver-based duo “Weed”, where he released three studio albums between 2011 and 2017. Upon spending most of his twenties in local rock bands, he began to feel burned out, wondering if he should quit and focus on other aspects of his life. Additionally, his parents divorce and his pursuit of his Master’s Degree in education took away from his focus on music. However, every time he began to seriously consider the change, he still found himself tinkering around with guitar riffs in his free time, unable to step away from music. In 2018, he decided to form his a new musical group, Hotline TNT. He established Hotline TNT as a band; he would be the sole constant member, while working with a rotating collection of other band members. Anderson refuses to disclose the meaning of the band’s name; he states that he and the original band members he worked with made a vow not to publicly disclose it. // A series of EPs were recorded and released by Anderson between 2018 and 2019: Cool If I Crash, Fireman’s Carry, and Go Around Me. Moving into 2020, Anderson had secured a tour as the opener for indie musician Snail Mail, but the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the plans. Instead, Anderson would work on recording a song called “Stampede” for a local COVID charity compilation release, and with all of the downtime that came with the pandemic, proceeded to record the band’s debut studio album, Nineteen in Love. The album was recorded entirely in GarageBand, without using any guitar amps or drum sets. The album was released in late 2021; initially exclusively on YouTube as one long video, where individual tracks could not be chosen. This was done both as a statement on how music streaming services were hurting the industry, and as a way to force listeners to play the entire album rather than just single songs. Anderson conceded it led to mixed results; it helped create a dedicated fanbase, but generally did not help with finding new listeners, and was eventually made more widely available. The band toured extensively in support of the album the following year, alongside self-releasing another EP, When You Find Out. // While touring in 2022 with Island of Love, the band became in contact with reps with their record label, Jack White’s Third Man Records, who expressed interest. Upon the conclusion of the tour, and another one with Snail Mail, the band started getting approached by other record labels as well. Anderson was initially apprehensive to signing to a record label; he was used to more of a do it yourself work ethic, and was sensitive to accusations of “selling out” that often come with it. However, he was eventually persuaded, largely upon learning that Sheer Mag, a band he was both friends with and respected musically, was also signing with Third Man. Anderson met with the label, who responded favorably to the demos he was working on. Upon learning that they would also offer him the most creative freedom in his music, and a path that would allow him to focus his efforts entirely towards his music, he eventually signed to the label. // Prior to signing the label, Anderson had already completed some amount of work on a second studio album. Some songs, such as “Protocol” and “History Channel”, were complete enough to enter regular rotation on the band’s live setlists. Others were written entirely in the studio. Leading up to their second album, the band released another EP in April 2023, Spring Disco, which included a song left off the second album, “If We Keep Hanging Out”. In November 2023, the band released their second full-length album Cartwheel. Cartwheel was named “Best of the Week” from Paste magazine, and also received “Best New Music” distinction from Pitchfork. The band plans on spending much of 2024 touring in support of Cartwheel, including shows in North America, Europe, and Japan. Anderson states that he has also has already started early work on a third studio album, which will be the first to feature a live drummer rather than a drum machine. He aims to record it in between the band’s busy touring schedule. // In July 2024, the band released a remix EP titled Somersault. The five song release featured electronic-leaning remixes from five separate artists – They Are Gutting a Body of Water, DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, Poisonfrog, Downstairs J, and Car Culture. In November 2024, the band released an expanded version of their compilation album Trilogy, which collected many of the songs off of their earlier EP releases, bundled with 2 previously unreleased songs from the era. // In April 2025, the band announced the name of their third studio album, Raspberry Moon, and its release date, June 20, 2025. // Hotline TNT’s music has commonly been described as shoegaze, alternative rock and noise pop. Much of the band’s music involves a dense wall of sound of distorted guitar. Anderson records and layers the guitar himself in the studio, and then recreates the sound live with a three guitar approach done by himself and two touring guitarists. Anderson writes all the lyrics, which generally are themed about interpersonal relationships of his, both romantic and platonic. He commonly drops names in songs, something he believe help make song more memorable and relatable, though he concedes he generally changes names to protect the anonymity of the song’s subjects. // Despite commonly being labeled as shoegaze by critics, Anderson noted that many music fans dispute whether the band falls into the genre, something he feels indifferent about. Anderson said of the shoegaze label: “I think ‘shoegaze’ is now kind of similar to what the word ‘indie’ became like 10, 20 years ago. It doesn’t describe a genre anymore. It’s more of a large umbrella for guitar-based music, or music with distorted guitars. Sometimes they’re kind of bendy or going in and out of tune a little bit. Sometimes the vocals have a little more reverb, but that doesn’t describe Hotline necessarily…It’s just the way language works and trends work. To go back to the beginning, I had a pretty typical journey myself of hearing Loveless by My Bloody Valentine when I was in 10th grade. It had a pretty big effect on me, as it did with many other people. A couple of years after that, I started making my own music and that was one of the big influences on it.” // Contrary to many shoegaze and guitar-based bands, Anderson places little emphasis on his guitar set up and gear. He describes the band as “anti-gear” – they don’t use guitar pedals, and place no emphasis on what guitar amps used.” // Band members: Will Anderson on vocals, guitars (2018–present); Lucky Hunter on guitars (2024–present); Haylen Trammel on bass (2024–present); and Mike Ralston on drums (2023–present)]
- Annahstasia – “Overflow”
from: Tether / drink sum wtr / June 13, 2025
[Annahstasia Enuke, known monomously as Annahstasia, is an American soul musician from Los Angeles. Annahstasia released her debut EP Revival in 2023. Annahstasia released her second EP, Surface Tension, in 2024. Annahstasia released her debut album, Tether, in 2025 to critical acclaim, including the “Best New Music” designation from Pitchfork. // Annahstasia was also featured in the music video for Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s song “Luther”, portraying the love interest. / From Bandcamp: “My career has been a lesson in patience,” says Annahstasia, having cultivated her musical language between blazes of intimacy and independence across different lives, locations, and iterations, loves lost and gained, expectations evaded and recreated. The rising troubadour’s proximity to love — for and from others, in society at large, and deeply within herself — guides the spirit of her soulful, poetic folk songcraft. Love is the elemental constant, alongside her distinctly resonant voice, shading the singer-songwriter’s music since her earliest self-taught recordings, back when a 17-year-old Annahstasia Enuke was discovered and propelled into the pressures of an industry that nearly stifled her greatest strengths. Artistic resilience, gratitude, and dedication to process have yielded Tether, Annahstasia’s full-length debut on art-forward indie label drink sum wtr, a collection of beaming torch songs, orchestral hymns, and astral anthems that feel lived-in, drawn from the human experience and the spectrum of love. // Annahstasia assembled the pieces of Tether slowly and with deep intention; she’s carried these songs with her on the road, sang them for friends and strangers, and evolved them over time alongside her personal revelations. “The song is written, and then I have to live with it and see if I really believe what I’m saying,” she explains. She brought material to sessions at the storied Valentine Studios in Los Angeles, joined by producers Jason Lader (ANOHNI and the Johnsons, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey), Andrew Lappin (Cassandra Jenkins, L’Rain, Luna Li), Aaron Liao (Liv.e, Moses Sumney, Raveena) and a range of accomplished musicians, including featured guests aja monet and Obongjayar. The recording became instinctual, done only in live takes to capture the feeling of the room, the community of the music. The sequencing was just as essential; she arrived at a flow with shifting energies and poignant arcs. The instrumentation swells, at times understated and others supremely lush, and through each arrangement, Annahstasia’s voice rings true, open-hearted, and free. “I’ve come into the power of my voice as a medium,” she says. “As a tool of expression, I am able to shape the emotional space around me.” // Lyrically, Annahstasia embraces the nuance of poetry, inviting listeners to engage in words laced with meaning, whether ruminations on romance or social constructs. She sees the opener “Be Kind” more as a poem than a song, “a reflection upon the beauty of the mundane and the grandeur of everyday life…a reminder to myself and others to be kind to each other.” The track’s minimalist atmosphere picks up where 2024’s Surface Tension EP left off, with her vocals left bare and up-front, exploring the capacity of her gift with newfound latitude as strums, strings, and keys enter the frame. // The palette expands for “Villian,” welcoming drums, brass, and horns into a sweeping nod to healing. “We are all made of both shadow and light. From some angle, we have all been the villain of the story,” she adds, suggesting that often, the only way to move on is through understanding that “we are all trying our best, negotiating survival.” At its triumphant peak, above gospel-like shouts, she delivers the reprise with a smile: “Take it / Take it back / This dull knife of memory / I still hear your voice inside my head / Says that I’m the villain of the story.” // Album centerpiece “Slow” emerges from a chance connection with London-based Nigerian musician Steven Umoh, aka Obongjayar. After exchanging DMs, Obongjayar came to one of her shows, and the two artists talked for hours afterward; “he was like a lost brother,” she says. Later, they wrote and demoed the track in the living room of her Airbnb in London, where they huddled around a single ribbon microphone. “I’m just playing the guitar, and our eyes are locked; it was very sensual and intense.” Emboldened by one another, their voices orbit and coalesce, trading verses on the signals the universe sends us (“I heard it on the wind / To go slow”), harmonizing the last stanzas (“What’s the worst that can happen / If we just let it happen”). Without proper album plans at the time, the song sat for a while; then, in another cosmic chance, Obongjayar happened to be in town during the Tether sessions. Annahstasia reflects, “It was a beautiful experience to have us all in the room. The artistry, the moment, a real acceptance of African art where these two Nigerian musicians are coming together and making something very tender and pretty outside genre expectations.” // Later, Annahstasia finds a kindred spirit in aja monet, the NY-based surrealist blues poet and her new labelmate, who lends stunning prose and voice to “All is. Will Be. As it Was.” Given only the prompt of “open air,” monet wrote the lines on the ride to the studio. Together with Annahstasia on guitar and Ashley Fulton on piano, they captured the piece in its purest form as if bottling a breeze. // Annahstasia described the EP prelude to this culminating set as a “romantic war,” and the artist truly thrives amidst and after drama. She taps into a punk sensibility for “Silk and Velvet” — “I’d say it’s punk in the sense that it is really dry, really stark and selectively dissonant.” A clashing of cello and piano mirror pointed lyrics about “living with the hypocrisy of having revolutionary ideologies but consumerist tendencies.” The tension comes full circle on “Believer,” a song she’s been trying to get right for years, now finally recorded in the right place with the right people. Nearly every instrument on Tether returns in full force; towering percussion, jagged guitar lines, and howling singers encircle Annahstasia at the mic as she enters a fantasy of rock stardom. “I love how in making a record, you get to make a film and pick which direction to take it. Now I have this version that I blast in my headphones, play air guitar, and pretend I’m performing it for 100,000 people.” The sheer power of Tether is the result of patience, and it’s not hard to picture such a dream realized in good time.]
- Sly & The Family Stone – “I Gotta Go Now / Funky Broadway”
from: I Gotta Go Now / Funky Broadway – Single / High Moon Records/ July 18, 2025
[On June 9, 2025 we lost one of the biggest change makers inAmerican music. Sylvester Stewart passed away quietly at home surrounded by his family. // Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of psychedelic soul and funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia, and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s. AllMusic stated that “James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it,” and credited him with “creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds”. Crawdaddy! has credited him as the founder of the “progressive soul” movement. // Sly & The Family Stone changed everything. RIP Sly Stone. He was a musical genius who deserved so much more than we gave him. He was a genius DJ, songwriter, producer, band leader, and father. Thank you for making my radio sound so much better!!!!! // High Moon Records is proud to announce the official release of Sly & The Family Stone’s ‘The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967’, available Friday, July 18 on CD, LP, and digital download. This earliest live recording of the pioneering band is accompanied by a deluxe booklet with liner notes from the set’s GRAMMY nominated producer Alec Palao, featuring exclusive interviews with Sly Stone and all of the original band members, never-before-seen photos, rare memorabilia, and more. The CD edition includes a bonus performance of Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness.” An electrifying “I Gotta Go Now / Funky Broadway.” // Sly & The Family Stone were true pioneers on so many levels: black/white, male/female, rock/soul, the act shattered all preconceptions of what popular music could be and would go on to become one of the most innovative and influential groups the world has ever witnessed. // Originally released as a sold-out, limited edition LP, earlier this year for Record Store Day, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 is an electrifying live performance by the original Family Stone line-up, a full year before their chart breakthrough with “Dance To The Music.” This fascinating recording was featured in Questlove’s critically acclaimed 2025 documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and spotlights Sly Stone’s singular brilliance on a tremendously exciting and atmospheric set of vintage soul covers and original compositions, peppered with the arrangements, motifs, and intoxicating energy that would soon become familiar during the group’s ascent. // Sly & The Family Stone served as the house band at Redwood City, CA’s Winchester Cathedral from December 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967, lighting up the club with their dynamic, crowd-pleasing performances. The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 was recorded in the early hours of March 26, 1967, by Sly & The Family Stone’s first manager, Rich Romanello. Upon the group’s signing to Epic Records later that year, Romanello put the 7-inch analog tapes into storage where they sat for thirty-five years. The reels were rediscovered in 2002 by Dutch twins Edwin and Arno Konings, renowned Sly & The Family Stone archivists, and carefully restored by their co-producer Palao for this set. // With mastering by Dan Hersch and a lacquer cut by Kevin Gray, the result is an electrifying fifty-minutes that proves the genius of Sylvester Stone.]
- Brad Mehldau – “Tomorrow Tomorrow (feat. Daniel Rossen)”
from: Ride Into The Sun / Nonesuch Records / August 29, 2025
[Brad Mehldau’s Ride into the Sun, Featuring the Music of Elliott Smith, out August 29 on Nonesuch Records, features performances by Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear), Matt Chamberlain, Chris Thile, John Davis, andFelix Moseholm plus a chamber orchestra conducted by Dan Coleman // “Brad Mehldau is one of the most influential and acclaimed jazz pianists alive today. His many recordings feature a wide range of jazz and American popular song standards, but he is also known to interpret music that lies outside the typical jazz catalogue.” —NPR, Fresh Air // “Mehldau has forged a singular style that has not only enhanced jazz’s musical vocabulary but modernised it too.” —Mojo // “Brad Mehldau is arguably the greatest working jazz pianist. Top five, for sure.” —New Yorker // Nonesuch Records announces pianist and composer Brad Mehldau’s Ride into the Sun—a songbook record of music by the late singer, songwriter, and guitarist Elliott Smith—to be released on August 29, 2025. // Featured musicians include singer/guitarist Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear); singer/mandolinist Chris Thile (Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek); bassists Felix Moseholm (Brad Mehldau Trio, Samara Joy) and John Davis (who also engineered and mixed the album); drummer Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Randy Newman); and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman, who also conducted on Mehldau’s 2010 album Highway Rider. // Ride into the Sun’s ten Elliott Smith songs are complemented by four Mehldau compositions that he says are “inspired by, and reflect, Smith’s oeuvre.” Also included are interpretations of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” which Smith also covered, and “Sunday” by Nick Drake, who Mehldau says, “I look at in some ways as sort of Smith’s visionary godfather.” // Recalling how he first got to know Smith and his music, which has been a regular part of his repertoire for years, Mehldau said that after years living in New York, he moved to Los Angeles “and there was this wonderful scene of singer-songwriters that was congregating at a club called Largo. That included Elliott but it also included artists like Rufus Wainwright, Fiona Apple. And then other musicians who had been around for a while would come down every Friday night to sit in on a gig that was led by Jon Brion. I played behind Elliott on his own tunes with Jon. It felt to me like a kind of renaissance in songwriting that flourished for a number of years.” // “Elliott Smith masterfully rendered the dark/light admix not in the least through his distinct harmony,” Mehldau continues. “Specifically, he had a way of combining major and minor modes that was all his own. You hear that on the unique, captivating chord progression that he introduced on ‘Tomorrow Tomorrow’ for just a moment before the last verse of the song. I use it, extending it for my piano solo here. This kind of minor-major gambit has a long pedigree, and my own associations as a listener include the music of Schubert and Brahms, among others. // “‘Ride into the sun’ is a beautiful point in the lyric of one of the songs that we play, ‘Colorbars,’” Mehldau says. “Elliott Smith says in the original song, ‘Everyone wants me to ride into the sun.’ When I listen to music, I have a feeling that I can be in communion with somebody who is no longer in this earthly realm, like he is here. And as far as ‘riding into the sun,’ it’s maybe more of a perpetual riding into the sun with him. I don’t know… There’s something mystical there.” // Brad Mehldau’s Nonesuch debut was the 2004 solo disc Live in Tokyo. His subsequent twenty-one releases on the label include six records with his trio as well as collaborative and solo albums. His most recent releases were After Bach II and Après Fauré, both released in May 2024. The albums both feature compositions by their namesake composers as well as music Mehldau wrote that was inspired by them. // Other recent recordings for the label include a solo album Mehldau recorded during COVID-19 lockdown, Suite: April 2020; Jacob’s Ladder (2022), which featured music that reflects on scripture and the search for God through music and was inspired by the prog rock Mehldau loved as a young adolescent; and Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles (2023), a live solo album featuring the his interpretations of nine songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and one by George Harrison.Mehldau’s memoir, Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part I, was published in 2023, offering a rare look inside the mind of an artist at the top of his field, in his own words.]
- Big Thief – “Incomprehensible”
from: Double Infinity / 4AD / September 5, 2025
[4x Grammy nominated Big Thief have announced their sixth studio album, Double Infinity, out September 5th via 4AD, and shared the lead single and album opener, “Incomprehensible.” Double Infinity is the follow-up to 2022’s Grammy-nominated album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, and was recorded last winter at the Power Station, New York City. Together with a community of musicians, they would play for nine hours a day, tracking together – simultaneously – improvising arrangements and making collective discoveries. The album was recorded live with minimal overdubs. Double Infinity was produced, engineered and mixed by longtime Big Thief collaborator Dom Monks. “How can beauty that is living be anything but true?” Adrianne asks as she drives nose against the future with childhood mementos on lead single “Incomprehensible.” She understands “everything I see from now on will be something new.” The silver hairs on her shoulders are new as well. Yet fear of aging is cracked by proof. If a life is shaped by living, “Let gravity be my sculptor, let the wind do my hair.” Being born, then staying a while, remains the greatest mystery. Adrianne claims her place and time. “Incomprehensible, let me be.” // To celebrate the release of Double Infinity, Big Thief will embark on the first leg of their Somersault Slide 360 Tour. The extensive tour – their first US shows in over a year – kicks off in September and includes stops at Berkeley’s The Greek Theater, Los Angeles’s The Hollywood Bowl (their largest non-festival headline show yet), Boston’s MGM Music Hall, and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium. // “[Big Thief are] the best indie-folk band around.” – Rolling Stone
- Religion of Heartbreak – “Love Tourniquet”
from: “Love Tourniquet” – Single / Kosmic City Recoirds / June 27, 2025
[Religion of Heartbreak strike with their latest single “Love Tourniquet,” the first taste of their forthcoming EP Lunate due this September. Mikal Shapiro’s cool, detached vocals float over Dedric Moore’s pounding rhythms and bright-yet-gothic synths, resulting in the ideal soundtrack for stumbling through a fog-drenched nightclub where the lights have just cut out. // The track captures that intoxicating rush when desire floods the system—blood to the head, pulse in your throat—only to fade as quickly as it arrived, leaving you back on the dance floor, chasing the same high again. Moore’s growling bass anchors the swirling soundscape while subtle dark-disco elements lift the arrangement into urgency. // “Love Tourniquet” thrives where euphoria meets emptiness, where the black mirror of the dance floor reflects nothing but your own endless cycle of want. Repetition becomes ritual and desire becomes devotion. // Religion of Heartbreak formed out of a desire to make music with a darker dance floor focus. The combination of Mikal Shapiro’s vocals battling against Dedric’s icy synths, mechanized beats and dub-inflected electro-bass creates a juxtaposition that works in all the right ways. //Religion of Heartbreak delves into the sounds of Darkwave, EBM, and the darker side of Synth Pop. The grooves are there. The songs are clever and always filled with a sense of lost love as we follow our dark hearts. // ROH is the band formerly known as Monta At Odds. It was recently announced that Krysztof Nemeth was stepping away for Religion of Heatbreak to focus on his band ReViser also with Dedric Moore and with Breaka Dawn. // On February 3, 2025 Religion of Heartbreak released the 5 song EP Dream Reflection eithj Dedric Moore on vocals, guitar, synths, programming; Mikal Shapiro on vocals, Krysztof Nemeth: baritone guitar, electronic percussion; Alexander Thomas on electronic percussion on MGGG, Dream Reflection, Skeptic; Regan Moore on electronic percussion on Dark Hour of Meditation // Dream Reflection EP carries forward the motorized heartbeat of classic darkwave while forging its own metallic path. Drawing from EBM and Synth Pop traditions, this five-track release sees the Monta At Odds offshoot strip away unnecessary embellishments, leaving only the essential elements and textural remnants that speak to our collective digital malaise. // The EP’s centerpiece and title track emerges like a ghost in the machine, with Mikal Shapiro’s coolly delivered vocals floating above Dedric Moore’s gritty synth programming and precision-guided guitar along with Krysztof Nemeth’s synth pad percussion. Each track builds upon this foundation, from the robot-dance urgency of “Forget About You” to the beautiful desolation of “Skeptic,” creating a cohesive statement about modern isolation and the personas we construct. The result feels familiar and alien—like catching your reflection in a black mirror and seeing someone else staring back.]
[Dedric Moore of Religion of Heartbreak will be a special guest on WMM next week on July 9, sharing details about the Kosmic City Fest at miniBar July 12.]
10:29 – Underwriting
- Marvin Gaye – “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)”
from: “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)” – Single / Tamla- Motown / Sept. 16, 1971
[“Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, often shortened to “Inner City Blues”, is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single, and the climactic song from his 1971 landmark album, What’s Going On. Written by Gaye and James Nyx Jr., the song depicts the ghettos and bleak economic situations of inner-city America, and the emotional effects these have on inhabitants. // In 1998, co-writer James Nyx Jr. recalled, “Marvin had a good tune, sort of blues-like, but didn’t have any words for it. We started putting some stuff in there about how rough things were around town. We laughed about putting lyrics in about high taxes, ’cause both of us owed a lot. And we talked about how the government would send guys to the moon, but not help folks in the ghetto. But we still didn’t have a name, or really a good idea of the song. Then, I was home reading the paper one morning, and saw a headline that said something about the ‘inner city’ of Detroit. And I said, ‘Damn, that’s it. ‘Inner City Blues’.” // The song was recorded in a mellow funk style with Gaye playing piano. Several of the Funk Brothers also contributed, including Eddie “Bongo” Brown, and bassist Bob Babbitt. // In its unedited version as it appears on the album, the final minute of the song (and of the LP) is a reprise to the theme of “What’s Going On”, the album’s first song, then segues into a dark ending. This final minute was cut off of the single version, as well as other sections of the song so the single edit runs under three minutes—this edit appears on most reissues of the LP. // Lead and background vocals by Marvin Gaye. Piano by Marvin Gaye; Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra including: Bobbye Hall on bongos. // Motown released “Inner City Blues” as a single on their Tamla label on October 14, 1971. Record World predicted that it would be Gaye’s “third [single from What’s Going On] to smash.” // The song helped Gaye make history by being one of the few artists to have three or more Top 10 songs off Billboard’s Pop Singles chart peaking at #9 and one of the first to have three consecutive #1 hits on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart where it stayed for two weeks. Although not certified by the RIAA at that time, all three releases from the What’s Going On album gained Gold status by selling over 1,000,000 copies in the U.S.]
10:34 – Interview with Mara Rose Williams + J.M. Banks
Mará Rose Williams is The Kansas City Star’s assistant managing editor for race and equity issues. She has served as a member of the Star’s Editorial Board and she is an award-winning columnist. She has written on all things education for The Star since 1998, including issues of inequity in education, teen suicide, universal pre-K, college costs & racism on university campuses. She was a writer on The Star’s 2020 “Truth in Black amd White” project, and the recipient of the 2021 Eleanor McClatchy Award for exemplary leadership skills and transformative journalism.
Mara Rose Williams thanks for being our guest on WMM
J.M. Banks is Co-Host of Voices of Kansas City on KKFI 90.1 FM. He grew up in Kansas City. and went to Paseo Academy Of Performing Arts and then Studied at University of Missouri – Kansas City. J.M. Banks is The Kansas City Star’s culture and identity reporter. He has worked in various community-based media outlets such as The Pitch KC and Urban Alchemy Podcast. He is former Advisory Board Member at KSHB 41. J.M. is the Creator and Host of J.M. Banks: The KC Renaissance now in its 7th year.
J.M. Banks thanks for being our guest on WMM
Mará Rose Williams and J.M. Banks, join us to talk about The Kansas City Star’s new 5-week radio series, VOICES OF KANSAS CITY, that The Star is producing in collaboration with 90.1 FM KKFI. The series begins on Wednesday, July 9, at 7:00 pm.
Mara Rose Williams and J.M. Banks are the cohosts of this new series.
This is the third season of VOICES OF KANSAS CITY that The Kansas City Star has created in collaborations with 90.1 FM KKFI.
The first season of VOICES OF KANSAS CITY told the stories of 8 Black owned small business in Kansas City and aired September 22, through October 13, 2023 at 12:00 Noon, and was part of KKFI’s “new schedule roll-out.”
The second season of VOICES OF KANSAS CITY told the stories of 8 Black activists in Kansas City and aired April 17, through May 8, 2024 at 6:00 pm.
This third (and final) season of VOICES OF KANSAS CITY will run for five weeks starting July 9 through August 6, every Wednesday at 7 p.m. on KKFI Community Radio. The last show on August 6 and will be a full-hour interview. All the other hour-long shows will consist of two half-hour interviews
Here is the run of show for the entire third season:
Week 1, July 9 – Mara Williams talks with Darryl Chamberlain, an unexpected music educator who started an urban youth orchestra in Kansas City.
In the second half hour, she will be talking with Dianne Brewington, who spends her time teaching adults to read.
Week 2, July 16 – Star reporter Joseph Hernandez will introduce you to James Hogue, a childbirth educator who is the CEO and founder of the non-profit, Fathers Assisting Mothers.
In the second half hour, The Star’s vice president and Editorial Board Editor, Yvette Walker, will introduce you to Dr. Tiffany Whitt, the director at Hope Leadership Academy, a public charter school in Kansas City.
Week 3, July 23 – Star reporter J.M. Banks talks with Torrence Allen, principal at Belton High School.
In the second half hour Star reporter P.J. Green will talk with Vincent Gunnels, an English teacher, coach, mentor, and community advocate.
Week 4, July 30 -, Star reporter J.M. Banks talks to Melissa Ferrer, Kansas City’s poet laureate and CEO of the Freedom School KC.
In the second half hour, J. M. Banks talks with Samaiyah Jones Scott, the dean of students at Metropolitan Community College- Penn Valley Campus.
Week 5, August 6 – Mará Rose Williams, assistant managing editor for race and equity at The Kansas City Star, wraps up the season with a special hour-long conversation with Dr. Cokethea Hill, the CEO at BLAQUE, a nonprofit supporting public education in KC.
Voices of Kansas City, is a joint project between The Kansas City Star and KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, 90.1 FM. For three seasons, Star writers, and editors have highlighted the stories of Black business owners, Black activists, and Black educators in the KC metro.
Technical support was provided from J.M. Banks and Monty Davis. With cooperation from KKFI Chief Operator Chad Brothers, and Chair of KKFI Programming – Mark Manning
This series is part of The Star’s continued effort to improve coverage of Black Kansas Citians, following the paper’s 2020 publication, of the award winning, six story, “Truth in Black and White,” an apology for the news organization’s poor, inadequate, and often absence of coverage of Black Kansas City which perpetuated systemic racism in our city.
Mara Rose Williams started the conversation with KKFI by referring to The Kansas City Star’s December 22, 2020. The Kansas City Star published an apology:
“Today we are telling the story of a powerful local business that has done wrong.
For 140 years, it has been one of the most influential forces in shaping Kansas City and the region. And yet for much of its early history — through sins of both commission and omission — it disenfranchised, ignored and scorned generations of Black Kansas Citians. It reinforced Jim Crow laws and redlining. Decade after early decade it robbed an entire community of opportunity, dignity, justice and recognition.
That business is The Kansas City Star.
Before I say more, I feel it to be my moral obligation to express what is in the hearts and minds of the leadership and staff of an organization that is nearly as old as the city it loves and covers:
We are sorry.”
Read more at: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article247928045.html#storylink=cpy
From this apology The KC Star has made a commitment to change. They hosted “Community Listening Projects” to find out what readers want, what are their issues, what are their loves.
The KC Star wanted to partner with KKFI to have us be the broadcast platform to air these programs, as a limited series.
KKFI is a non-commercial radio station under the direction of a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization. We operate under FCC and IRS regulations. The series would not be about selling any specific products, it would be more of a journalistic approach to the who, what, where, when, how, of the people behind the business, to tell stories of success.
The KC Star Initiative mirrors KKFI’s “New Program Roll Out” Initiative of working to make both of our organizations even more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and representative.
Mara Rose Williams and J.M. Banks thank you for being our guest on WMM
The third season The Kansas City Star’s radio series, VOICES OF KANSAS CITY, produced on collaboration with d 90.1 FM KKFI will begin on 90.1 FM KKFI on Wednesday, July 9, at 7:00pm, following On The Air With Nikki Brooks. The Series will run for 5-weeks through August 6, 2025.
10:54
- Valerie June – “Joy Joy!”
from: Owls, Omens, and Oracles / Concord Records / April 11, 2025
[Rooted in the belief that what we focus on is what we manifest, June dreams a song path forward with Owls, Omens, and Oracles that leaves no one behind. Halfway through a decade of immense and rapid global change, June asserts a multidimensional Blackness steeped in laughter, truth, magic, delight, and interdependence. This album is a radical statement to break skepticism, surveillance, and doom scrolling – let yourself celebrate your aliveness. Connect, weep, change, open. Throughout the M. Ward-produced Owls, Omens, and Oracles, Juneʼs distinctive Tennessee twang grips the listener. Visceral twists and a fierceness of raw emotion thread textures and tones through the needle of a multi-genre American quilt, striking against notions that voices should always sound polished and pretty. Gracefulness and gentleness harmonize with dissonance, edginess, and precarity in the sharpest parts of her voice. // Juneʼs singular sound is a North Star as steady and undeniable as any true love story, telling us to “trust the path.” She is inviting us out of the small boxes that keep us apart from each other, her music creating a space where we are already together, already one. The horizon changes as we get closer to it, but our artist is sure-footed in the face of uncertainty and change. She wants everyone who listens to this music to want to be alive, to love, co-creating a future together. // Valerie June returned to CBS Saturday Morning where she performed several songs off Owls, Omens, and Oracles. Accompanied by her band, she played lead single “Joy, Joy!,” the unreleased “All I Really Wanna Do,” and debuted “Endless Tree,” a song that was released on Tuesday as a single with an accompanying video. Juneʼs spirited performance gives a taste of what to expect on the upcoming Owls, Omens, and Oracles Tour, which kicks off next week and runs through late June. // Valerie June Hockett was born January 10, 1982, known as Valerie June, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Her sound encompasses a mixture of folk, blues, gospel, soul, country, Appalachian and bluegrass. She is signed to Concord Music Group worldwide. // Born in Jackson, Tennessee on January 10, 1982, June is the oldest of five children. As a child growing up in Humboldt, June was exposed to gospel music at her local church and R&B and soul music via her father, Emerson Hockett. As a teenager, her first job was with her father, owner of Hockett Construction in West Tennessee, and a part-time promoter for gospel singers and Prince, K-Ci & JoJo, and Bobby Womack. She helped by hanging posters in town. Her father died in late 2016. // June relocated to Memphis in 2000 and began recording and performing at the age of 19, initially with her then-husband Michael Joyner, in the duo Bella Sun. After her marriage ended, she began working as a solo artist, combining blues, gospel and Appalachian folk in a style that she describes as “organic moonshine roots music”, and learning guitar, banjo, and lap-steel guitar. She became associated with the Memphis-based Broken String Collective. // In 2009 she was a featured artist on MTV’s online series $5 Cover (following the lives of Memphis musicians attempting to make ends meet), and in 2010 she recorded the EP Valerie June and the Tennessee Express, a collaboration with Old Crow Medicine Show. // In 2011 she was honored by the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission at the Emissaries of Memphis Music event. She raised funds to record an album with producer Craig Street via Kickstarter.com, raising $15,000 in 60 days. Later that year she relocated from Memphis to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Shortly after, record producer Kevin Augunas introduced June to Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, which led to the recording of June’s album Pushin’ Against a Stone in July 2011, which was co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach and Kevin Augunas. // In 2012, June performed with producer John Forté on a collaboration called Water Suites (on the hip-hop-blues song “Give Me Water”), and with Meshell Ndegeocello on the song “Be My Husband”. She contributed The Wandering’s 2012 album Go on Now, You Can’t Stay Here: Mississippi Folk Music Volume III. In 2012 she performed in the UK for the first time, playing at Bestival and appearing on Later… with Jools Holland. // She has received substantial radio play in Europe on BBC Radio 6, including a feature on Cerys on 6 with Cerys Matthews. Mary Anne Hobbs of XFM has said of June: “This woman has already touched my heart, she really, really has.” // In February 2013, June was invited to support Jake Bugg on the UK leg of his tour. In March 2013, June performed two nights at South By Southwest. The first performance was on March 14 as part of the Heartbreaker Banquet. On March 16, June performed again, this time as part of The Revival Tour. Rolling Stone June’s second album, The Order of Time one of the 50 Best Albums of 2017, citing “her handsomely idiosyncratic brand of Americana, steeped deep in electric blues and old-time folk, gilded in country twang and gospel yearning….a blend of spacey hippie soul, blues and folk with June’s pinched, modern-Appalachian voice at the center”. In a 2017 interview, Bob Dylan was asked what artists he listened to and respected; June was among the artists he mentioned in reply. More info at: http://www.valeriejune.com]
- U.S. Girls – “Firefly on the 4th of July”
from: Scratch It / 4AD / June 20, 2025
[Meg Remy’s U.S. Girls — hailed by The Guardian as “America’s most vital band” — returns with the adventurous and ambitious new album Scratch It, out now via 4AD. A fearless fusion of rock & roll and soul, Scratch It was recorded live to tape in Nashville with a heavyweight band featuring Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) and Charlie McCoy (Roy Orbison, Elvis, Bob Dylan). // The project launched with the spellbinding 12-minute lead single “Bookends,” a cinematic ballad that journeys through themes of mortality and memory, written in tribute to Remy’s late friend Riley Gale (Power Trip). Inspired by Remy’s reading of Eyewitness to History, the single arrived with a stunning short film directed by Caity Arthur. // Now, Remy follows up with “Like James Said” — a sauntering, ELO-tinged dancefloor anthem and lyrical response to James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing.” Co-written with longtime collaborator Rich Morel (“4 American Dollars,” “Rosebud”), the track is a celebration of dancing alone as a form of release and renewal. Its release was accompanied by a playful one-shot choreography video starring comedian Tom Henry. // Scratch It has already received early praise from Pitchfork, CREEM, and Bandcamp Daily, with more to come as U.S. Girls gear up for a headline tour this summer and fall.
11:00 – Station ID
- Frankie Cosmos – “Vanity”
from: Different Talking / Sub Pop Records / June 27, 2024
[Frankie Cosmos is the musical moniker of Greta Simone Kline was born March 21, 1994, in New York City, the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Kline and actress Phoebe Cates.. She is an American musician and singer. She is known for her independent releases, inspired by Frank O’Hara’s poetry, DIY ethics of K Records and the early 2000s New York City’s anti-folk scene. Her former stage name “Frankie Cosmos” is now the name of her band. // Different Talking, is the sixth and, so far, best album from Sub Pop. It’s a collection of fragments and memories, remembered places, and reinterpreted feelings that adds up to a lucent, humming whole: a sturdy, worldly indie-rock record about aging and the passage of time that nonetheless manages to feel sharply current. The album includes the previously released singles, “Pressed Flower,” “Bitch Heart” and “Vanity” which Stereogum described as “…bigger and more complex than most of what we’ve heard from Frankie Cosmos in the past, without sacrificing the innate warm, DIY quality of Kline’s songwriting.” // “…The close quarters echo the intimacy of Kline’s early bedroom recordings, but a decade removed from her debut, her twee quirks have hardened into revealing idiosyncrasies… Singing with a sweet weariness, Kline can seem bemused by her melancholia, her resigned acceptance given an appealing warmth by a band whose gentle sway lends her pop miniatures depth.” – [4 out 5] MOJO Magazine // “Greta Kline’s four-piece continue to mature on this thoughtful sixth album, which sees the songwriter wrestle with the growing challenges of life as she enters her early thirties… These issues, dramatic or otherwise, unfold against an exquisitely cute jangle-pop backdrop, where simple, pure melodies meet bracingly short and uncluttered arrangements.” – Uncut Magazine // “Leaning in to the band’s strengths, you can hear aspects of Guided By Voices in their stubborn unwillingness to conform to the rules.” – [“Vanity”] Clash // “Kline’s oeuvre chronicles over a decade’s worth of personal and professional growth, neatly packaged into light-hearted ditties and passionate rock songs” – The Line of Best Fit // “Different Talking brings together soft indie rock influences and sways like the wind on a summer’s day.. An elaborate and well produced collection of songs. Seventeen tracks of hazy alternative anthems” – [4 out of 5] Narc Magazine]
11:02 – Interview with Spencer Thompson, Amanda Davis, and Derek Trautwein
Joining us now in our 90.1 FM Studios we welcome Spencer Thompson, Amanda Davis, and Derek Trautwein who join us to share details about the return of Kansas City’s popular comedic horror show, “The Spooky (Sh*t) STUFF Show,” created by local Kansas City playwright, Derek Trautwein. This year’s edition is titled “HITCHCOCK’D The Spooky (Sht) STUFF Show” starring Bryson Kenworthy as Alfred Hitchcock with Nicole Hall, Matt McCann, Stefanie Stevens, Spencer Thompson, and Em Coffin. “HITCHCOCK’D The Spooky Sh*t Show” has performances on Friday, July 18 at 8:30pm, Saturday, July 19 at 5:30pm, Sunday, July 20 at 4:00pm, Wednesday, July 23 at 7:00pm, and Saturday, July 26 at 7:00pm. All performances at the Levin Stage at The Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main Street, KCMO, as part of the 21st annual KC Fringe July 17-27. For more information please visit: http://www.kcfringe.org
Derek Trautwein is Artistic Director and Creator. Derek is a Kansas City-based theatre artist and wearer of multiple hats. Not just a director, but also an actor, producer, designer, playwright, and arts educator. He’s also the creator and artistic director of “The Spooky (Sh*t) STUFF Show”. You may have seen his work on and offstage at KC Public, Olathe Civic Theatre, Just Off Broadway Theatre, KC Melting Pot, Stuffed Buffalo Productions, The Living Room, KC Horrorfest, KC Moliere, and at various colleges in the Kansas City area, such as a ten year professorial stint at Benedictine College, William Jewell College, and Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City. When not freelancing from one place to another, Derek can usually be found at the Coterie Theatre, where he serves on staff as the Technical Director.
Derek Trautwein thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Spencer Thompson is Associate Artistic Director. Spencer was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas, Spencer Thompson (He/Him) is an actor and technician around Kansas City. He’s also the Associate Artistic Director of “The Spooky Shit Show” and Derek’s right-hand man! Some of his favorite credits include All four past productions by The Spooky Shit Show, The Great Comet of 1812 (Pierre), The Head of Medusa (Poseidon), Reefer Madness (Ralph), and Vilna: A Resistance Story (Avrom Sutzkever).
Spencer Thompson thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Amanda Davis os the Creative Marketing Director. Amanda is a KC-based artist, designer and “Jill of all Trades”. She is also the Creative Marketing Director for “The Spooky Shit Show”. She got her start as an artist at just 5 years old and has been exploring artist endeavors ever since. She creates nerdy, nostalgic art through her company, Mandolin Artworks. She’s the creative mind behind our Spooky merch and marketing. She also runs a successful, international PR company, Anam Cara Communications. In her free time, she can be found enjoying the company of her pup Shasta, exploring Kansas City, being a theatre groupie, shopping estate/garage sales and working on her house.
Amanda Davis thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Created by Derek Trautwein, The Spooky Shit Show started as a podcast in 2021 and came to fuller fruition in 2022 with its first stage production at KC Fringe. The Spooky Shit Show is a celebration of all thing’s horror, spookiness and all varieties of terrifying fun!
Fans of “Creepshow” will appreciate the campy horror comedy of “The Spooky Shit Show.” It does the genre justice.
The Spooky Shit Show team has expanded with new members, bringing in fresh talent and expertise, including Spencer Thompson – Associate Artistic Director, and Amanda Davis – Creative Marketing Director!
ollow us at @thespookyshitshow (IG), @thespookyshitshow (FB) and @thespookyshtshow (Youtube) for more details, Spooky surprises, upcoming shows, & more!
Upcoming Shows:
Hitchcock’d! at KC Fringe – July 17-27 at the Levin Stage at the Unicorn Theatre
The Spooky (Sh*t) STUFF Show returns to Kansas City Fringe Festival (July 17-27), after a “positive” reception in last year’s festival, with Hitchcock’d at Levin Stage at the Unicorn Theatre (3828 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64111).
Jan has a new co-host since her last partner died… again and is joined by the “Master of Suspense” himself, Alfred Hitchcock! But what happens when worlds collide, and Alfred’s works enter the “Shit Show-niverse” and are turned into the zany and ridiculous productions that The Spooky (Sh*t) Stuff Show is known for?
This new installment in the series that has been called, “Sick & Twisted,” “Unique & Energetic,” and “Extremely fun to watch!”
The KC Fringe Festival is the largest celebration of arts and culture in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Tickets are available via the KC Fringe website or at any participating location for $15 per ticket, plus purchase of a one-time $5 Fringe button. Every audience member of KC Fringe Festival must purchase and wear a button in order to access the events.
Our show dates:
- Friday, July 18 – 8:30 PM
- Saturday, July 19 – 5:30 PM
- Sunday, July 20 – 4 PM
- Wednesday, July 23 – 7 PM
- Saturday, July 26 – 7 PM
The Basement Party – August 8 at The Black Box
The Basement Party is our annual fundraiser. This year, on August 8th at 7:30 PM at The Black Box, we will feature four local acts and a special performance from The Spooky team! Then at 9:00 PM, we will turn the whole place into a nostalgic gaming lounge. Tickets for the whole night are $20.
Nightmare on Main Street
Our September show will be “Nightmare on Main Street” at The Black Box (September 18-22).
Spencer Thompson, Amanda Davis, Derek Trautwein thanks for being with us on WMM.
“HITCHCOCK’D The Spooky (Sht) STUFF Show” starring Bryson Kenworthy as Alfred Hitchcock with Nicole Hall, Matt McCann, Stefanie Stevens, Spencer Thompson, and Em Coffin. “HITCHCOCK’D The Spooky Sht Show” has performances on Friday, July 18 at 8:30pm, Saturday, July 19 at 5:30pm, Sunday, July 20 at 4:00pm, Wednesday, July 23 at 7:00pm, and Saturday, July 26 at 7:00pm. All performances at the Levin Stage at The Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main Street, KCMO, as part of the 21st annual KC Fringe July 17-27. For more information please visit: http://www.kcfringe.org
11:22
- Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Unknown Potion”
from: Soft New Magic Dream / Red Cult / June 6, 2025
[The project’s 7th album, and first in 7 years. Black Moth Super Rainbow (occasionally abbreviated as BMSR) is an American psychedelic electronic indie rock project from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. BMSR is a solo music project created by Thomas Fec, who is also known as Tobacco. Fec writes, records, and produces the work of BMSR independently. In live performances, it features members Tobacco, whose vocals are altered via a vocoder, synth players The Seven Fields of Aphelion and Pony Diver, drummer Iffernaut, and bassist STV SLV. // Black Moth Super Rainbow’s music contains elements of psychedelia, folk, electronica, pop, and rock. Their distinctive sound is characterized by analog electronic instruments including the vocoder, Rhodes piano and Novatron. // A Graveface insert included inside the album Dandelion Gum describes them as such: “Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees.” // When comparing BMSR with Tobacco, the former tends to be accessible and overall pop friendly with more tangible lyrical themes. Tobacco on the other hand, while using the same core instruments, tends to be more experimental and abrasive, often featuring songs that have been sonically mutilated. More differences come to light in the live performance, where BMSR has typically featured a full band, Tobacco has been a more stripped down performance with less live instrumentation. // When prompted on the origin of BMSR, frontman Tobacco stated the following: “I had started off really noisy and abstract with Allegheny White Fish. We were all so happy with ourselves for coming up with that name in 10th grade, but it wasn’t too funny 4 years later. Then ssc [satanstompingcaterpillars] was like my way to be more melodic all the time, and a little more serious. Then when it started to shift again into something I might be a little more comfortable performing live, I brought in the rest of the band and we changed over again. I’ve always felt like these ideas shouldn’t outstay their welcome. 3 or 4 records is enough, because I get really bored, and I like to keep these bands and ideas as pure as I can, in their places in time, until it seems like I’ve finally gotten it right. // From 1996 to 2000, musician Tobacco, along with other musicians, worked on and recorded songs for the Allegheny White Fish Tapes. When former member Power Pill Fist joined, a side project called satanstompingcaterpillars was born and became active from 2000 to 2002. Under the project, the members self-released their music on different labels, including Fuckeroo and Side 8. After their third album, The Most Wonderfulest Thing in 2002, the newly banded together musicians added three members, Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion and Iffernaut. They changed their name to Black Moth Super Rainbow (BMSR) in 2003. Tobacco and BMSR are both active today. // BMSR began releasing their music on The 70’s Gymnastics Recording Company, which is the band’s own imprint. It is characterized by a tree-person jumping rope in a dress. Black Moth Super Rainbow’s first album Falling Through a Field serves as a best-of collection for satanstompingcaterpillars. // After 2005, Graveface picked them up with Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods and bonus reissued versions of their first two albums. // The group’s third album Dandelion Gum was released in 2007. The LP is their most commercially and critically successful release. With it came their first music video for the track “Sun Lips.” // On November 4, 2008, BMSR released Drippers. The EP not only includes new tracks like “Happy Melted City” and “Milk Skates” but also features some lost tracks from the Dandelion Gum era such as “We Are the Pagans” and “One Day I Had an Extra Toe.” The release also features Mike Watt and BMSR’s first official remix of Laura Burhenn’s song “Just for the Night.” Along with Drippers, the band released Bonus Drippers for MP3 download on their Myspace, which includes older tracks, unreleased tracks and bonus tracks like “The Dark Forest Joggers,” a Dandelion Gum vinyl exclusive, “Side 9,” a studio version of the Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods vinyl bonus demo, or “Melting in the Meadow,” a Start a People outtake track. // Their fourth album Eating Us was released on May 26, 2009. Around the end of the year, Rad Cult re-published The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed by satanstompingcaterpillars. // On January 12, 2012, Tobacco posted via his Facebook account that a BMSR album entitled Psychic Love Damage had been recorded, but scrapped soon after completion. According to Tobacco, “it was supposed to come out this year, but it wasn’t very exciting. and not good enough in my opinion for you to spend your $ on. so i junked it for its best moments and made an album that i’m really in love with.” He went on to state that although scrapped, a new BMSR album was slated for release in the near future, possibly in the summer. He also stated he would be releasing many of his favorite scrapped pieces through his soundcloud account. // On April 5, 2012, Tobacco posted news on the BMSR website confirming the next album’s release date. The announcement arrived alongside the release of a single titled “Spraypaint” to promote the untitled new album. // On July 10, 2012, Tobacco created a Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of their newly announced album Cobra Juicy. Different donation ranges contain different prizes, beginning with $1 for a digital download of the upcoming single “Windshield Smasher” to $10,000 for a rollerskating party in Pennsylvania to be DJ’d by Tobacco. Most prizes contain CDs, LPS, or digital downloads of the new album. The abandoned Psychic Love Damage EP served as a bonus prize. // On May 4, 2018, the project’s 6th album Panic Blooms was released and their first album to chart on Billboard’s Top 100 sales, as well as #1 on the Heatseeker chart.]
- Willi Carlisle – “We Have Fed You All for 1000 Years – Radio edit”
from: Winged Victory / Willi Carlisle – Signature Sounds / June 27, 2025
[“It feels relatively easy to crown Winged Victory as the high-water mark of Carlisle’s recorded output…” – No Depression // “His thoughtful musings and memorable melodies collide in weird and wondrous ways over and over again” – Bandcamo // “Like a true poet Willi Carlisle invents a sound like none other…” – western AF // “Winged Victory reveals there is great beauty in darkness, that singing itself is an act of optimism, and that exile creates its own narratives. Therein, Carlisle has found a way of singing through dark times.” – The Bluegrass Situation // “The return of one of folk music’s most life-affirming and brilliantly eccentric voices.” – Holler // “The singer-songwriter’s songbook is a hymnal of folk gospels so full of heart they nearly pop at the seams; weeping with wisdom and brimming with radical empathy, they’re like arms you could fall into at your weakest, your worst. They are fiercely, fervently life-affirming in a world increasingly undone by hate—songs that we need now more than ever.” – Paste // Within his heart and his music, folksinger Willi Carlisle holds tight the conviction that love is bigger than hate, and no-one is expendable. Deemed “One of country music’s most important and unmistakable voices.” (PASTE), Carlisle’s music has always been a dance between spectacle and philosophy. On his fourth studio (and first self-produced) album, Winged Victory, Carlisle returns with his signature blend of traditionally-rooted folk music and kaleidoscope of oddball characters to confer with his core tenets in more overt and provocative ways. // Intent on creating art and a well-rounded life in a broken world, Carlisle directly addresses the hope that by understanding our collective suffering we might be free of it. Rather than a manifesto, the eleven songs on Winged Victory should be understood as a reflection. They revel in the beauty of tiny, monetarily-worthless moments and things, offering with them a consideration of our innate humanity. // WILLI CARLISLE is a poet and a folk singer for the people, but his extraordinary gift for turning a phrase isn’t about high falutin’ pontificatin’; it’s about looking out for one another and connecting through our shared human condition. // For Carlisle, singing is healing. And by singing together, he believes we can begin to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love. .. More info at: http://www.willicarlisle.com ]
11:29 – Underwriting
- Beth Watts Nelson – “Tallgrass”
from: TALLGRASS – EP / Rural Grit Records / May 3, 2025
[“Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. All three songs were recorded in one day on site at the Grimm-Schultz Farmstead during her time in residency with the Volland Foundation on April 26, 2025. For the recording Beth Watts Nelson played Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals, and Betse Ellis played Fiddle. Mixing and Mastering was completed by Clarke Wyatt, at Gnomes and Goats Studio. // Beth Watts Nelson’s band Little Miss Dynamite released their six-song debut EP GROW UP on May 3, 2024. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. Little Miss Dynamite is a four piece string band with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. Engineered and Mixed by Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio. Little Miss Dynamite played Boulevardia, Sat, June 14, 2025. More info at: http://www.bethwattsnelson.com]
[Little Miss Dynamite play 21st Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Sat., Sept. 6, 3pm to Midnight, in West Bottoms at Lemonade Park, Stockyards Brewing, Livestock Exchange, The Campground, Voltaire, The Ox Cafe & Bakery(VIP Venue) with KRYSTLE WARREN / LAURA NOBLE & FRIENDS / THE MGDS • RUDY LOVE AND THE ENCORE / SEYKO • STRANDED IN THE CITY / FRIENDLY THIEVES • LITTLE MISS DYNAMITE / FLAT SUSAN • ROYAL CHIEF • SASS-A-BRAS / THE WHIPS • JESUS CHRIST TAXI DRIVER / SARA SWENSON • TALIA KEYS • JELLY ROSE / MARIACHI ESTRELLA & GRUPO FOLKLÓRICO ALMA TAPATÍA / TERI QUINN & THE COYOTES • 3 TRAILS WEST / DJ THUNDERCUTZ • NATURE BOYS • TIMBERS / SKY SMEED • JULIE BENNETT HUME & ERNEST JAMES / DJ NANA G • LINEA FRONTERA • DYM N D / RURAL GRIT ALL STARS • THE APOLOGIES / JOHN KECK • OSEZUA • BOBBY SCHARPING / ART AS MENTORSHIP PRESENTS THE REBEL SONG ACADEMY Info at: http://www.cmfkc.com]
11:35 – Interview with Beth Watts Nelson
Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Building upon a twenty year career in music education she is now the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults. In addition to solo and duo performances, she can be heard in several projects throughout the KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her 4 piece string band Little Miss Dynamite with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals.
Beth Watts Nelson, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
Beth Watts Nelson joins us to share her new 3-song EP, “Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. “Tallgrass” was composed in Coffeyville, KS. “Western Wind” and “Wild Indigo” were composed in Volland, KS.
All three songs were recorded in one day on site at the Grimm-Schultz Farmstead during my time in residency with the Volland Foundation on April 26, 2025.
credits.
For the recording Beth Watts Nelson played Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals, and Betse Ellis played Fiddle. Mixing and Mastering was completed by Clarke Wyatt, at Gnomes and Goats Studio.
Beth Watts Nelson has a twenty year career in music education.
11:47
- Beth Watts Nelson – “Western Wind” (LIVE)
Also released on TALLGRASS – EP / Rural Grit Records / May 3, 2025
[“Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. All three songs were recorded in one day on site at the Grimm-Schultz Farmstead during her time in residency with the Volland Foundation on April 26, 2025. For the recording Beth Watts Nelson played Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals, and Betse Ellis played Fiddle. Mixing and Mastering was completed by Clarke Wyatt, at Gnomes and Goats Studio. More info at: http://www.bethwattsnelson.com]
11:51 – More Interview with Beth Watts Nelson
Beth Watts Nelson is an award-winning Kansas City based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and lifelong student of music. Beth Watts Nelson joins us to share her new 3-song EP, “Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. “Tallgrass” was composed in Coffeyville, KS. “Western Wind” and “Wild Indigo” were composed in Volland, KS.
Beth Watts Nelson, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
She is the founder and director of Notorious Chorus – a community-based, group singing workshop for adults.
In addition to solo & duo performances, she can be heard in projects throughout KC metro including Konza Swamp Band, CATGUT, and her latest endeavor, Little Miss Dynamite.
Little Miss Dynamite released their debut six-song EP of original music featuring stringed instruments and vocal harmony titled “Grow Up”. The band’s spark was ignited when KC singer, songwriter and music educator, Beth Watts Nelson and co-founder, Caleb Gardner (both of Konza Swamp Band) joined up to sing harmonies together in the garage. The addition of long-time friend and fiddler extraordinaire, Betse Ellis (The Wilders) and the inspired playing of Brandon Day (The Matchsellers) on bass.
Production: Rural Grit Records, 2024 Beth Watts Nelson (ASCAP). Musicians and Instrumentation: Beth Watts Nelson – guitar, banjo, lead vocals; Caleb Gardner – guitar, mandolin, lead vocals; Betse Ellis – fiddle, harmony vocals; Brandon Day – bass, harmony vocals. Engineered and Mixed by Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio. Album Art by Grady Keller, Mound Creative, All songs written by Beth Watts Nelson except “Circle the Drain” by Caleb Gardner
Little Miss Dynamite will play the 21st Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Saturday, September 6, 3:00pm to Midnight, in West Bottoms at Lemonade Park, Stockyards Brewing, Livestock Exchange Lot, The Campground, Voltaire, The Ox Cafe & Bakery(VIP Venue) with KRYSTLE WARREN / LAURA NOBLE & FRIENDS / THE MGDS • RUDY LOVE AND THE ENCORE / SEYKO • STRANDED IN THE CITY / FRIENDLY THIEVES • LITTLE MISS DYNAMITE / FLAT SUSAN • ROYAL CHIEF • SASS-A-BRAS / THE WHIPS • JESUS CHRIST TAXI DRIVER / SARA SWENSON • TALIA KEYS • JELLY ROSE / MARIACHI ESTRELLA & GRUPO FOLKLÓRICO ALMA TAPATÍA / TERI QUINN & THE COYOTES • 3 TRAILS WEST / DJ THUNDERCUTZ • NATURE BOYS • TIMBERS / SKY SMEED • JULIE BENNETT HUME & ERNEST JAMES / DJ NANA G • LINEA FRONTERA • DYM N D / RURAL GRIT ALL STARS • THE APOLOGIES / JOHN KECK • OSEZUA • BOBBY SCHARPING / ART AS MENTORSHIP PRESENTS THE REBEL SONG ACADEMY More info at: http://www.cmfkc.com]
Info at: http://www.bethwattsnelson.com
Beth Watts Nelson, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley
For WMM, I’m Mark Manning. Thanks for listening.
11:53
- Beth Watts Nelson – “Wild Indigo”
from: TALLGRASS – EP / Rural Grit Records / May 3, 2024
[“Tall Grass” a compilation of songs inspired by the Flint Hills. All three songs were recorded in one day on site at the Grimm-Schultz Farmstead during her time in residency with the Volland Foundation on April 26, 2025. For the recording Beth Watts Nelson played Banjo, Guitar, & Vocals, and Betse Ellis played Fiddle. Mixing and Mastering was completed by Clarke Wyatt, at Gnomes and Goats Studio. // Beth Watts Nelson’s band Little Miss Dynamite released their six-song debut EP GROW UP on May 3, 2024. It was part of WMM’s 120 Best Recordings of 2024. Little Miss Dynamite is a four piece string band with Beth Watts Nelson on lead vocals & banjo, Betse Ellis (of The Wilders, Betse & Clarke) on fiddle, Brandon Day (of The Matchsellers) on bass, and Caleb Gardner (of Konza Swamp) on mandolin, guitar & vocals. Engineered and Mixed by Clarke Wyatt, Gnomes and Goats Studio. Little Miss Dynamite played Boulevardia, Sat, June 14, 2025. More info at: http://www.bethwattsnelson.com]
[Little Miss Dynamite play 21st Annual Crossroads Music Fest, Sat., Sept. 6, 3pm to Midnight, in West Bottoms at Lemonade Park, Stockyards Brewing, Livestock Exchange, The Campground, Voltaire, The Ox Cafe & Bakery(VIP Venue) with KRYSTLE WARREN / LAURA NOBLE & FRIENDS / THE MGDS • RUDY LOVE AND THE ENCORE / SEYKO • STRANDED IN THE CITY / FRIENDLY THIEVES • LITTLE MISS DYNAMITE / FLAT SUSAN • ROYAL CHIEF • SASS-A-BRAS / THE WHIPS • JESUS CHRIST TAXI DRIVER / SARA SWENSON • TALIA KEYS • JELLY ROSE / MARIACHI ESTRELLA & GRUPO FOLKLÓRICO ALMA TAPATÍA / TERI QUINN & THE COYOTES • 3 TRAILS WEST / DJ THUNDERCUTZ • NATURE BOYS • TIMBERS / SKY SMEED • JULIE BENNETT HUME & ERNEST JAMES / DJ NANA G • LINEA FRONTERA • DYM N D / RURAL GRIT ALL STARS • THE APOLOGIES / JOHN KECK • OSEZUA • BOBBY SCHARPING / ART AS MENTORSHIP PRESENTS THE REBEL SONG ACADEMY Info at: http://www.cmfkc.com]
- Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]
Next week, on Wednesday, July 9, we’ll talk with Dedric Moore and Mikal Shapiro of Religion of Heartbreak, who will share details about the Kosmic City Fest at miniBar July 12. ALSO we welcome the Swallowtails and with Casii Stephan, and the band Cheery will play Greenwood Social Hall, 1750 Belleview Ave, second floor, KCMO on Thursday, July 10 @ 7:00PM Doors at 6:30
Big THANK YOU TO THE FABULOUS 44 PEOPLE WHO DONATED in support of Wednesday MidDay Medley for KKFI 90.1 FM’s during our On-Air Winter Fund Drive! With the help of my amazing co-hosts, we raised $2,693.00 toward our goal of $2,685.00. We achieved 100% of our goal for KKFI 90.1 FM. Thank you Betse Ellis, Rachel Christia, and Mikal Shapiro and J Kelly Dougherty and all our fabulous donors and listeners!
THANK YOU to our incredible KKFI Staff; Director of Development & Communications – J Kelly Dougherty, Volunteer Coordinator – Darryl Oliver, Chief Operator – Chad Brothers and Shaina Littler – Office Manager Book Keeper
This radio station is more than the individual hosts of each individual radio show. Instead it is about a collective spirit of hundreds of hardworking people, unselfishly setting aside ego, to work for the greater good of community building and the gigantic goal of keeping our airwaves free, non-commercial, and open to all! Congratulations and thank you to all programmers & volunteers who went the extra effort to keep our station alive.
Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org
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Show #1102
Wednesday MidDay Medley 