Wednesday, May 30, 2018

10:30 – Interview with Josh Morgan

Josh Morgan

19. Noel Coward – “What’s Going To Happen To the Tots”
from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957] [Born Dec. 16, 1899 / died Mar. 26, 1973. English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called “a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise”. Coward did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward’s diaries & letters, published posthumously.]

20. Paul Lynde & Marijane Maricle -“Kids”
from: Bye Bye Birdie! (Original Broadway Cast) / / 1960
[Paul Lynde’s sexual orientation was an open secret in Hollywood, although, in keeping with the prejudices of the time, it was not acknowledged or discussed in public. In a 2013 radio interview, Dick Van Dyke recalled the wrap party for Bye Bye Birdie. A series of men gave short speeches, each one praising Ann-Margret and predicting success and stardom for the young actress. When it was Paul Lynde’s turn to speak, he began, “Well, I guess I’m the only one here who doesn’t want to fuck Ann-Margret.” In 1965, Lynde was involved in an accident in which a young actor, reputed to be his lover, fell to his death from the window of their hotel room in San Francisco’s Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The two had been drinking for hours before 24-year-old James “Bing” Davidson slipped and fell eight stories, an event witnessed by two policemen, yet the event was largely kept out of the press, thus saving Lynde’s career. Despite his campy television persona, Lynde never publicly came out as gay and the press generally refrained from commenting about it. In 1976, a People magazine article on Lynde featured him and Stan Finesmith; the latter was dubbed Lynde’s “suite mate” and “chauffeur-bodyguard.” In the 1970s, this was as close as the press would come to hinting at his sexuality.]

21. Charles Nelson Reilly – “The Audition”
from: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying / Victor / 1961

22. Charles Nelson Reilly, Claudette Sutherland, Company – “Coffee Break”
from: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying / Victor / 1961

23. Judy Garland – “Half – Time Tags” (sponsor announcement)
from: The Judy Garland Show – the show that got away /Hip-O /2002 [orig. taped June 24, 1963

11:00 – Station Identification

24. Wick & The Tricks – “Drama Queen”
from: Not Enough 7″ Vinyl EP / Black Site / October 14, 2017
[Wick & the Tricks are a 4-piece band with Wick Trick on vocals & sleaze, Chris Stallion on guitar, Jane Asylum on bass & vocals, and JoJo Tornado on drums. The new EP was recorded and mixed by Justin Mantooth at Westend Recording Studios.]

[Wick & The Tricks play I Heart Local Music Presents: Pride for the Masses, June 8 & 9, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Mass St., Lawrence, w/ Vibralux, Calvin Arsenia, Cuee, & Yanna the supa flowa.]

11:02 – Interview with Wick Thomas

Wick Thomas of Wick & The Tricks
(Photo by Dave Michael / aka Aardvark Foto)

Wick Thomas, was voted Best Activist by The Pitch Magazine. Wick has help organize LGBTQIA youth groups on college campuses and in High Schools, he served as President of EQUAL and won an award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Wick spent many years working for the Kansas City Public Library and now works for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. Wick is also a gardener, a student, and a he grew up in Drexel Missouri. Wick is also lead singer of Wick & The Tricks, who last fall released a, 7-inch vinyl, 4-song EP debut, “Not Enough,” on Black Site Records. Wick & The Tricks play The I Heart Local Music Presents: Pride for the Masses, June 8 and June 9, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS with Vibralux, Calvin Arsenia, Cuee, and Yanna the supa flowa. More information at http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

Wick Thomas, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Wick & the Tricks a 4-piece band with Wick Trick on vocals & sleaze, Chris Stallion on guitar, Jane Asylum on bass & vocals, and Andrew Perry aka Drouche Bag on drums.

I Heart Local Music Presents:
PRIDE FOR THE MASSES

Vibralux
Wick & The Tricks
Calvin Arsenia
Cuee
Yanna the supa flowa

There will be performances from drag queens (including MsAmanda Love!) & queer DJs.

I Heart Local Music notes: “As a straight entity, WE WILL NOT BE PROFITING FROM THIS EVENT. The only people who will be making money are the QUEER PERFORMERS and QUEER STAFF (The Jackpot will hire queer audio engineers and bar staff). This event is FOR queer members of our community, and they will be the only ones who turn a profit as a result. We feel this is an important aspect to maintain in Pride events, as many queer readers have messaged us and expressed concern that too many straight entities turn a profit from queer-targeted events. So we curated this festival to rectify that. Because we love you.”

Many thanks to Ladybird Diner, Salon Blush, and Jackpot Music Hall for helping sponsor this event to make sure our queer performers are paid.

Wick Thomas on the May 30, 2018 edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on KKFI 90.1 FM.

Wick Thomas on Wednesday MidDay Medley

The Wick & The Tricks EP was recorded and mixed by Justin Mantooth at Westend Recording Studios. and mastered by Chris Muth at Taloowa Corp. More info at: http://www.wickandthetricks.com

KC’s sassiest, trashiest and glammiest lovelies, Wick and the Tricks, released their debut 7” EP, Not Enough, on Black Site Saturday, October 14, with a premiere the video for “Tough as Nails”, the closing track on the new record.

With artwork from the band’s newest member, guitarist Chris Stallion, and packaging from the union printers at Callender Printing in Kansas City, KS.

In the spirit of the New York Dolls, The Stooges, and Jim Carroll, Wick and The Tricks proudly carry the Riot Grrrl, Queercore torch for the next generation.

wickandthetricks.bandcamp.com

Wick Thomas, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Wick & The Tricks play The I Heart Local Music Presents: Pride for the Masses, June 8 and June 9, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, KS with Vibralux, Calvin Arsenia, Cuee, and Yanna the supa flowa. More information at http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

11:14

25. Supa Flowa – “Supa Flowa”
from: The Supa Flowa EP / R.I.O.T. LLC / May 4, 2018
[Supa Flowa, also known as Yanna, is a multi-media artist and rapper currently based out of Kansas City. The Supa Flowa Ep is a very vulnerable, yet an uplifting play on Yanna’s experience in dealing with anxiety, self doubt, and becoming comfortable with the androgynous, “sunflower dyke” that she is. Her goal is to reach out to queer and LGBTQIA youth; who have endured similar experiences to hers, in finding and cultivating self love and peace of mind.]

[Yanna the supa flowa plays the I Heart Local Music Presents: Pride for the Masses, June 8 & June 9, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Mass St., Lawrence, w/ Vibralux, Wick & The Tricks Calvin Arsenia, & Cuee.]

26. Cuee – “Honey feat. Mich Anne (Clean)”
from: “Honey”- Single / Cuee / November 27, 2017
[Cuee is a Chicago rap artist currently in Lawrence. Fally Afani writes in I Heart Local Music: Your 2017 local queer anthem is here, and we are screaming. Cuee’s “Honey” features local trans songstress Micha Anne, and it’s blasting confidence all over our speakers. LISTEN TO US. This is the track you put on when you’re gussying up for a night of raging on the Replay dance floor. In the song, Micha encourages us to “work it out,” “get sexy now,” and just “slay.” Then, Cuee (always the charmer) pops in, proudly proclaims “I’m brown skinned, I like action” and that she could “pull your girl without askin’.” We’re already a hot mess. 2017 has been such a shit year and we need this unapologetic happiness right now. Together, Cuee and Micha Anne are looking good and slaying. They are our guiding lights in dark times, and we are going to sissy that walk when we follow them into the new frontier. If this is the future of music, sign us up. We are here for it.]

[Cuee plays I Heart Local Music’s: Pride for the Masses, June 8 & June 9, at Jackpot Music Hall, 943 Mass St., Lawrence, w/ Vibralux, Wick & The Tricks Calvin Arsenia, & Yanna the supa flowa.]

11:20 – Underwriting

27. Eve Sheldon – “Red Flowers“
from: Recorded in one-take from a facebook request / Eve Sheldon / May 20, 2018
[Originally recorded by Foolish Sad Robot, a 1990s band made up of Tom Livesay & Ike Sheldon – now Eve Sheldon. Early in the evening on May 20 Eve Sheldon asked “Facebook humans” to request a song of her’s and she would record four of them on the couch and post them. She ended up recording 10 songs in an hour or so, and she wrote to Tim Finn that it “was a fun freakin snapshot of her singing life.” friends chose songs from Foolish Sad Robot, The Wilders, a Trouble In Mind rap. Eve wrote, that the recordings represent her “mellow vocal stylings of this century, and the VERY FIRST song she ever wrote.” (She was was14.) Eve Sheldon called out other singers to ‘get down with this…imagine some 90s cats layin’ down some of their old tunes…and new cats laying down new tunes. i wanna hear!” Eve called out: Mark Smeltzer, David Regnier, Lauren Krum, Betse Ellis, Howard Iceberg, J Ashley Miller…the list is endless…sing for us, y’all!!!!. ]

[Eve Sheldon will be playing The Folly Theatre for KKFI’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, June 30]

Cody Critcheloe form the music video “Comeback.”

28. SSION – “Comeback”
from: O / Dero Arcade / May 11, 2018
[“Comeback” is the first single from SSION’s forthcoming LP, O. SSION (pronounced “shun”) is a multifaceted creative project spearheaded by Cody Critcheloe. An art-punk act fronted by flamboyant vocalist/artist Cody Critcheloe, Ssion recorded a series of underground releases during the 2000s, yet were perhaps best recognized for their extravagant live show. Ssion (pronounced “shun”) were founded in Kansas City, MO, by Critcheloe, who studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, and draw from a range of influences, including the punk spectacle of Iggy Pop and the dance-party new wave of the B-52’s as well as performance art and gay culture. Critcheloe’s artwork graces the cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Fever to Tell (2003) and the video for Liars’ “There’s Always Room on the Broom” (2004). Besides Critcheloe, Ssion’s membership includes, among others, backup vocalists Taylor Painter-Wolfe and Shannon Michaels, who respectively create costumes and stage props for the act’s live shows. Critcheloe made his recording debut as Ssion in 1999 with Fucked into Oblivion, a self-released cassette/CD-R. I Don’t Want New Wave & I Don’t Want the Truth, another self-released CD-R, followed in 2001. In 2003 Ssion made their label debut, releasing the Minor Treat EP and the Opportunity Bless My Soul album on Version City Records. Next, following a self-released album, Glory Hound (2005), and EP, Street Jizz (2006), Ssion signed to Sleazetone Records. In 2008 the label released the Fools Gold album and the accompanying Clown remix EP. ~ Jason Birchmeier]

11:30 – Interview with Philip blue owl Hooser and Chris McCoy

Chris McCoy and Philip Hooser on Wednesday MidDay Medley on May 30, 2018, talking about Torch Song Trilogy

Philip blue owl Hooser is an actor, playwright, director, teacher, and dramaturg. He has been on stage at The Rep, The Unicorn, the Coterie, Late Night Theater, Gorilla Theatre, Mystery Train Theatre, Just Off Broadway, The Fishtank, Musical Theatre Hertitage. His plays have been produced at The Unicorn, The Coterie, Gorilla Theatre, Late Night Theatre to name a few. Philip recent;ly participated in a live performance for Risk! Philip gives the preshow lectures at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, and is also the creative genius behind “Eat Their Words,” a live performance and reading of celebrity biographies in Kansas City. Philip is a part of the volunteer team of the Out Here Now Film Festival, and he does film pieces with Michael McQuary for KIFF and OM Film Fest. Philip Blue Owl Hooser is the co-host of The Tenth Voice on 90.1 FM – KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, broadcast Saturdys at 1:00 PM.

Chris McCoy, PH.D. is an Assistant Professor of Theatre; at William Jewell College where he teaches Acting/Directing Fundamentals, Movement and Voice, Authors and Performers, Activism and Performance Studies and serves as the stage director for Jewell Theatre Company. He has worked as an educator and arts administrator for Seattle Children’s Theatre, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, the Denver Center Theatre Company, OPERA America, Saint Louis Opera Theatre, San Diego Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Boston’s Citi Performing Arts Center and Kansas City’s Theater League. Recent production experience includes assistant directing the Broadway premiere of “Soul Doctor,” a Sacramento Regional Theatre Award in choreography for “Spring Awakening,” and developing an original documentary theatre piece on hate crimes sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities called “(Un)Civil (Dis)Obedience

Actor Philip blue owl Hooser and director Chris McCoy join us to discuss the award winning play they are working on, that opens tomorrow night – Torch Song Trilogy, written by Harvey Fierstein, and presented by The Barn Players, at The Arts Asylum, 1000 East 9th Street, KCMO, May 31 through June 10. More info at http://www.thebarnplayers.org

Philip Blue owl Hooser and Chris McCoy Thanks for being with us on WMM.

Torch Song Trilogy — Written by Harvey Fierstein — Presented by The Barn Players,
at The Arts Asylum, 1000 East 9th Street, KCMO, May 31 through June 10.

Torch Song Trilogy is constructed of three moving plays told over three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The life of Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing, Jewish drag queen living in New York City is dramatized over the span of the late 1970s and 1980s, through Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, and other ground-breaking milestones for the LGBT community. Told with a likable, human voice, Arnold struggles through love, disease, and the challenges of child-rearing. In the tradition of The Normal Heart and The Pride, and one of the pre-cursors for the seminal Angels in America, this award-winning and popular work broke new ground in the theatre: “At the height of the post-Stonewall clone era, Harvey challenged both gay and straight audiences to champion an effeminate gay man’s longings for love and family.”

Philip Hooser in the play TORCH SONG TRILOGY

CAST
Arnold – Philip blue own Hooser
Ed – Derrick Freeman
Laurel – Jennifer Loumiet
Alan – Brent Custer
Ma – Elle DeShon
David – Alex Leondedis
Lady Blues – Shelby Bessette & Lynn McCutchen
Ensemble – Sam Hoffman

The award-winning and popular work broke new ground in the theatre: “At the height of the post-Stonewall clone era, Harvey challenged both gay and straight audiences to champion an effeminate gay man’s longings for love and family.”

The first act derives its name (International Stud) from an actual gay bar of the same name at 117 Perry Street in Greenwich Village in the 1960s and 1970s. The bar had a backroom where men engaged in anonymous sex. The backroom plays a central role in the act.

Plot 1971: Arnold (Harvey Fierstein), a New York City female impersonator, meets Ed (Brian Kerwin), a bisexual schoolteacher, and they fall in love. Ed, however, is uncomfortable with his sexuality and he leaves Arnold for a girlfriend, Laurel.

1973-79: During Christmas, Arnold meets the love of his life, a male model named Alan. They settle down together, later spending a weekend with Ed and Laurel in the country, where their relationship is tested but endures. Eventually, they apply to foster a child together with a view to adoption, and their application is eventually successful and so they move to a bigger apartment. However, on their first night at their new home, Alan is killed in a homophobic attack.

1980: Months later, in the spring of 1980, Arnold’s mother comes to visit from Florida, but her visit leads to a long-overdue confrontation. Arnold’s mother disapproves of Arnold’s homosexuality and his planned adoption of a gay teenage son, David (Eddie Castrodad), as well as Arnold’s use of their family burial plot for Alan. They have a series of arguments where Arnold demands that she accept him for who he is, insisting that if she can’t then she has no place in his life. The following morning, before she returns to Florida, they have a conversation where, for the first time, they seem to understand each other. With both David and Ed (who is now more mature and settled) in his life, and a successful new career creating his own stage revue, Arnold’s life is finally complete.

Date premiered – January 15, 1982

1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play
1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Harvey Fierstein)
1983 Tony Award for Best Play (Harvey Fierstein)
1983 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Harvey Fierstein)

The central character of this play, Arnold, is a sharp-tongued, nurturing, compassionate, vulnerable, and he is someone who is unable to act normal around his mother, his lovers, and his adopted son because he loves each so dearly. This play allows readers to look beyond the invisible cultural assumptions and make it a comfortable experience. A teacher from a high school in Texas decided to add Torch Song Trilogy in his curriculum. This play was particularly important to teach due to the comfort that society feels in being silent about subjects relating to sexuality. The teacher is convinced that silence can only hurt chances of young adults who are emerging whole during their school years. This play was chosen to educate the students that love comes in all forms. Not only did this play help expand conservative minds, but the play is magically structured so that the audience is invited to build a dialogue with the onstage characters. The writing of this play is innovative and the structure of the play itself is unique that it offers ideas for students to explore and expand their ideas on how to creatively write.

The theme of this play is love, which is a universal language. Although the teacher in Houston, thought that conventional parents would be opposed to the idea that their children are learning about homosexuality, most were open to the idea and spoke about real-life experiences their friends have lived through or they have seen. The student’s parents helped their children to try to understand a world where the heterosexuals were the ones being treated the way the homosexuals were. Some students spoke about their friend’s experiences about various sexual preferences and how this play helped them understand that homosexuality is not something to be afraid of. The risk of teaching this type of story was much less than expected. This play provides a forum to explore the differences between the taboo topics of sexual orientation and gender. The difference between sexism and homophobia is distinguished as well as identifying gender roles and the society’s preconceived notion of what a “drag”, “trans”, “gay”, “lesbian” “questioning”, “a-sexual” might be. Most of these students were a group of twenty-one-year-olds, who are politically correct, but there was concern that arose about teaching this type of literature in a public high school setting.

Fierstein adapted his play for a feature film, released in 1988. It was directed by Paul Bogart and starred Fierstein (Arnold), Anne Bancroft (Ma Beckoff), Matthew Broderick (Alan), Brian Kerwin (Ed), and Eddie Castrodad (David).

Torch Song Trilogy, written by Harvey Fierstein, and presented by The Barn Players, at The Arts Asylum, 1000 East 9th Street, KCMO, May 31 through June 10. More info at http://www.thebarnplayers.org

11:48

29. David Bowie – “Rebel Rebel”
from: A Reality Tour / ISO – Columbia – Legacy / January 25, 2010
[Recorded November 22-23, 2003, Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. Originally written for a mooted Ziggy Stardust musical in late 1973, “Rebel Rebel” was Bowie’s last single in the glam rock style that had been his trademark. The song is notable for its gender-bending lyrics (“You got your mother in a whirl / She’s not sure if you’re a boy or a girl”) as well as its distinctive riff, which rock journalist Kris Needs has described as “a classic stick-in-the-head like the Stones’ ‘Satisfaction'”.Transsexual rock artist and former Bowie associate Jayne County claims that “Rebel Rebel” was based in part on County’s own song “Queenage Baby”, which was recorded in January 1974 by Bowie’s Mainman Records, but not released at the time. The song later surfaced on the independent 2006 release Wayne County at the Trucks, and some critics, upon hearing the track, echoed County’s claims. The 2004, live version features David Bowie – vocals, guitars, stylophone, harmonica; Earl Slick – guitar; Gerry Leonard – guitar; Gail Ann Dorsey – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Under Pressure”; Sterling Campbell – drums; Mike Garson – keyboards, piano; Catherine Russell – keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar, backing vocals. A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album. The tour commenced on 7 October 7, 2003 at the Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass Spider Tour. The tour grossed $46,000,000, making it the ninth-highest grossing tour of 2004. At over 110 shows, the tour was the longest tour of Bowie’s career. Bowie played Kansas City, May 10, 2004, at Starlight Theatre. I was there, seven rows from the stage.]

30. Lou Reed and John Cale – “Small Town”
from: Songs For Drella / Sire – Warner Bros. / 1990
[Dedicated to the memory of Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died unexpectedly in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by Warhol Superstar Ondine, a contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol’s crowd. The song cycle focuses on Warhol’s interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol’s first-person perspective (which makes up the vast majority of the album), third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs on the album are, to some extent, in chronological order.]

31. The Smiths – “These Things Take Time”
from: The Sound Of The Smiths [Disc 2] / Rhino UK / November 10, 2008
[“These Things Take Time” (12 “b-side of “What Difference Does It Make?”)Included in Hatful of Hollow. The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. The band consisted of vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. Critics have called them one of the most important bands to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. NME named the Smiths the “most influential artist ever” in a 2002 poll. In 2003, four of the band’s albums appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, the group signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records, on which they released four studio albums: The Smiths (1984), Meat Is Murder (1985), The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987). They have also released several compilations, and numerous non-album singles. They had several singles reach the top twenty of the UK Singles Chart and all four of their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including Meat Is Murder which hit number one. They won a significant following and remain cult favourites. The band broke up in 1987 due to internal tensions and have turned down several offers to reunite.The band’s focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and their fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk, were a rejection of the then-popular, synthesiser-based dance-pop. Marr’s guitar work, using a Rickenbacker, had a jangle pop sound reminiscent of Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. Morrissey’s complex, literate lyrics combined themes about ordinary people with mordant humour.]

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

Next week, on June 6, we present The Best of MidCoastal Releases of 2018 …So Far, with special co-hosts Marion Merritt & Nico Gray, plus special guests Joe Stanziola who records his music as Second Hand King, has a new album coming called FRANKIE coming on June 8. Also, Nadia Piotrowsky who records as Summerland and brings along her friend Belle Plaine, to share details about their show June 8, at SqueezeBox Theatre with Blake Berglund.

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/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1F

Show #736

Wick Thomas photo by Dave Michael / aka Aardvark Foto

Wednesday MidDay Medley