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

New & MidCoastal Releases + Giants Chair
+ Fally Afani & RAICES Benefit

1. “It’s Showtime Folks”
from: Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack All That Jazz / Casablanca / Dec 20, 1979
[WMM’s opening theme]

2. Mavis Staples – “Change”
from: We Get By / Anti / May 10, 2019
[14th studio solo album from rhythm & blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist, born in Chicago, Illinois on July 10, 1939. The album’s cover features the photograph “Outside Looking In” by Gordon Parks from his 1956 photo essay The Restraints: Open and Hidden. The album was produced and written by Ben Harper. Staples & Harper had previously collaborated on “Love and Trust”, a song from Staples’ 2016 album, Livin’ on a High Note. In a statement, Staples said, “These songs are delivering such a strong message. We truly need to make a change if we want this world to be better.” Mavis Staples has recorded and performed with her family’s band The Staple Singers. She began her career with her family group in 1950. Initially singing locally at churches, appearing on a weekly radio show, the Staples scored a hit in 1956 with “Uncloudy Day” for the Vee-Jay label. When Mavis graduated from what is now Paul Robeson High School in 1957, The Staple Singers took their music on the road. Led by family patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples on guitar and including the voices of Mavis and her siblings Cleotha, Yvonne, and Purvis, the Staples were called “God’s Greatest Hitmakers.” With Mavis’ voice and Pops’ songs, singing, and guitar playing, the Staples evolved from enormously popular gospel singers (with recordings on United and Riverside as well as Vee-Jay) to become the most spectacular and influential spirituality-based group in America. By the mid-1960s The Staple Singers, inspired by Pops’ close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil rights movement. They covered contemporary pop hits with positive messages, including Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” and a version of Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth.” Staples was briefly married to Spencer Leak in 1964; they divorced when Staples would not end her music career to stay home. She has no children. In the 2015 documentary Mavis! she reveals that Bob Dylan once proposed to her, and she turned him down.]

3. Making Movies – “Delilah (ft. Rubén Blades)”
from: ameri’kana / 3/2 Recordings / May 24, 2019
[Produced by Steve Berlin and Ben Yonas. 3rd full length release from KC based 4-piece band and made up of two sets of brothers: Enrique Chi on guitar and lead vocals; Diego Chi on bass & vocals; Juan-Carlos Chaurand on percussion & keyboards; and Andres Chaurand on drums. The band draws their influences from the origins of their families: Santiago, Panama, and Kansas City, Missouri, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The notes for this album read: “ameri’kana is a canary in a coal mine, the watchman at the tower. It is a desire to remember where we come from and assure that we better ourselves in every step along our journey. Every chapter is an example, a reason to not be silent and not accept corrupt leaders as something inevitable. ameri’kana is based on faith, faith that every person on this continent carries within themselves the ability to grow, to awaken their consciousness and merits the the same rights. We were accomplices to get ourselves to this point so we will have to be accomplices in the solutions.” This was their follow up released to their critically acclaimed I Am Another You, released May 26, 2017. The quartet has toured with Arcade Fire, Thievery Corporation, Cold War Kids, Los Lobos, Ozomatli, Tennis, Sergio Mendoza of Calexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Hurray for the Riff Raff.]

Enrique Chi

[Enrique Chi plays the Kansas City Songwriter Series curated by Hermon Mehari, Thursday, August 8, at 5:00 – 7:00 PM, at The Kemper Museum of Modern Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd., KCMO.]

[Making Movies play A Fundraiser For RAICES on Friday, August 16, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, KS with Maria The Mexican, and Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge and Meghan Heriford).]

4. The Philistines – “Further”
from: Further – Single / The Philistines / March 15, 2019
[New music from The Philistines, that will be part of the upcoming album Dysnomia. Produced and engineered by paul Malinowski at Massive Sound Studios. The Philistines are a Kansas City based rock band with a psychedelic bent, made up of: Kimmie Queen on lead vocals; Cody Wyoming on lead guitar & vocals; Rod Peal on guitar; Josh Mobley on keyboard, Steve Gardels on drums, and Barry Kidd on bass.]

[The Philistines play The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St, Lawrence, KS., Wednesday, August 7, at 8:00 PM, with You Bred Raptors?, and HMPH!]

5. Berwanger – “Friday Night”
from: Watching A Garden Die / Wiretap Records / June 28, 2019
[4th full length album from Berwanger the band fronted by rock & roll singer songwriter Josh Berwanger. Josh Berwanger was in The Anniversary, a Kansas band that released, 2000’s Designing a Nervous Breakdown & 2002’s Your Majesty and sold over 100,000 records before breaking up on tour in Japan. The band recently reunited for new shows and a tour this year. Berwanger was also in the band, The Only Children, and released, 2004’s Change of Living & 2007’s Keeper of Youth. When Keeper of Touth ended Josh Berwanger took a break and became a high school basketball coach. In the 2012 Josh formed the Josh Berwanger band. Berwanger released Dtrange Stains in April 2014, the EP Demonios November 11, 2016, Exorcism Rock in October 2017, and The Star Invaders October 2017. Josh Berwanger also plays in the band Radar State.]

[Berwanger plays recordBar, 1520 Grand, Sat, Aug 10, 8:PM, w/ Beau Jennings & The Tigers, Blue False Indigo]

6. Ivy Roots – “Appreciate (feat. Eddie Moore)”
from: Love Art Growth – EP / Ivy Roots Music / June 5, 2019
[New EP release from natie KC singer songwriter, who plays piano & guitar, and produces beats. This is a follow up to her 2016 full-length debut “Bad Intuition” released April 14, 2016. Ivy Roots has a style that ranges from R & B, Neo Soul, Hip Hop, Acoustic, & Pop. She has performed at Lincoln Center in NYC, Crossroads Music Fest, and with film & performance. Written & produced by Ivy. Info: http://www.itsjustivy.com]

[Ivy Roots plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, KCMO, Tonight, Aug. 7, at 9:00 PM w/ Sister Ivy, Ant Lab]

[Ivy Roots plays Art Class Jam, an all ages benefit concert/exhibition at Just Off Broadway Theatre, 3051 Central Street, Tomorrow, Thurs, Aug. 8, at 7:00 PM w/ Khrystal., Mae C, Jooby Truth, presented by Tribe U, Shuttlecock Music Magazine and Just Off Broadway Theatre to raise funds to send as many local young adults and teens as possible to see 30 Americans at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.]

7. NuBlvckCity – “Alive”
from: All Night / Alive – Single / NuBlvckCity / July 12, 2019
[NuBlvckCity is a KC-based music collective with Kartez Marcel (Addison), a native of Kansas City, Missouri, a Hip-Hop artist, and community program developer, sound engineer, entrepreneur, recording artist, musician, and songwriter. He provides resources to artists and assists with bringing their artistic visions to life, he also serves as the Director of A/V at a large faith-based organization. With Royce “Sauce” Handy he founded We Are Rap a hip hop program for youth. VP3 (Vernon Percy Howard III) is a Music Producer, Songwriter, Singer, Pianist, & Saxophonist. He recently graduated from the University of Central Missouri where he studied digital media production. Mae C is a singer/songwriter who’s one of KC’s go-to voices and performer’s. Mae C is a KC based singer songwriter who we’ve played several times on the show. Her single “Anxious” was preceded by her EP, Warning Sign of True Love. Influenced by Hip Hop, Rock, Jazz, Soul & R&B, Mae C is making her mark as an artist in the KC music scene. Royce “Sauce” Handy is a rapper, a songwriter, a beat maker, a designer, a teacher, an MC, a business owner, a social media manager, a husband, a father., a community organizer. He has worked with the AdHoc Group Against Crime, Teens in Transition, Storytellers Inc., Arts Tech, Mid-America Regional Council, UMKC, Representative Brandon Ellington, Mayor Sly James. He is co-owner of The Rap Asylum, We are RAP, and owner of Melanin Connoisseur.]

[Mae C plays Art Class Jam, an all ages benefit concert/exhibition at Just Off Broadway Theatre, 3051 Central Street, Tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 8, at 7:00 PM w/ Khrystal., Ivy Roots, Jooby Truth, presented by Tribe U, Shuttlecock Music Magazine and Just Off Broadway Theatre to raise funds to send as many local young adults and teens as possible to see 30 Americans at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.]

8. Khrystal. – “Alchemist (featuring Duncan Burnett)”
from: The Awkward Muva / Khrystal. / July 13, 2018
[Khrystal Coppage is Editor-in-Chief of Khorage Magazine. She served as Production Manager at UMKC University News from 2015 to 2016. She graduated from UMKC in 2016 where she studied Family Studies. She graduated from Kansas City Kansas Community College in 2013. She is a graduate of Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, in KCK. You can hear her debut album at; http://mixtapemonkey.com/2073/khrystal-q-u-a-r-t-e-r-c-e-n-t-u-r-y-l-i-v-i-n-g. Khrystal also released the three song EP, The Glow Up produced by Duncan Burnett on Novembr 7, 2017.]

[Khyrstal. plays Art Class Jam, an all ages benefit concert/exhibition at Just Off Broadway Theatre, 3051 Central Street, Tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 8, at 7:00 PM w/ Ivy Roots, Mae C, Jooby Truth, presented by Tribe U, Shuttlecock Music Magazine and Just Off Broadway Theatre to raise funds to send as many local young adults and teens as possible to see 30 Americans at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.]

10:31 – Underwriting

9. The Creighton Organization featuring: Jimmy Dykes – “Goin To New Orleans”
from: I Heard It On 18th Street II: No Foolin’ We Schoolin’ / (David Ford) / 2009
[The Creighton Organization is a Jazz band from Kansas City, Missouri with Dave Creighton on keys]

[The Creighton Organization plays The Ship, 1217 Union, KCMO – TONIGHT, Aug. 7, at 8:00 PM]

Short Round Stringband

10. Short Round Stringband – “Shine Hallelujah Shine”
from: Ain’t No Part of Nuthin’ / Short Round Stringband / July 19, 2019
[Debut album from the pan-Missouri band with a refreshing approach to old time music: Short Round Stringband is the coming together of two musical couples and a bassist with Kansas roots. The band members are Kelly Wells and Ryan Spearman (The Aching Hearts, St. Louis), Betse Ellis and Clarke Wyatt (Betse & Clarke, Kansas City), and Chris DeVictor (Konza Swamp and more). With deep connections to old-time, country and Ozark tunes and songs, Short Round Stringband takes you on a moving journey through the sounds and stories of the American experience. Their hard driving fiddle tunes will get you out of your seat. Their vocal duets will bring a tear to your eye, and their original songs and inventive new compositions showcase a passion for the depth of tradition and a look to new creative paths. And in between all of that, you’ll laugh at their madcap humor.]

[Short Round Stringband play The Westport Saloon, 4112 Pennsylvania Ave, KCMO, Sunday, August 11, at 7:00 PM, with The Tillers, and Lauren Morrow]

[Short Round Stringband play Olathe Public Library, 201 E Park, Olathe, KS., Tues, Aug. 13, at 7 PM]

11. Calvin Arsenia – “Back To You”
from: L.A. Sessions / Center Cut Records / September 20, 2019
[1st single from L.A. Sessions to be released August 16. Produced by Tony Braunagel (he also delivers exquisite percussion on LA Sessions) with Paul Brown on guitar, Mike Finnigan on keyboards, Freddie Washington on bass, and David Garfield on piano. Between them, the five musicians have worked with some of music’s most iconic names, including Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck Loeb, Rickie Lee Jones, Buddy Guy, The Neville Brothers From Center Cut Record Press Release: “It was a thrill for me to work with such legendary players,” says Calvin. “Not only were they incredibly talented, but I got off a plane straight from Australia, hit the studio, and they were more than ready to get to that place where you honor the songs, leaving their egos at the door and honoring what the muses tell them. It was one of the best recording experiences I ever had.” Calvin’s production M.O. on previous recordings was to piece together songs “like pieces of a puzzle” and “layer them over several sessions.” He believes the immediacy of the LA Sessions, and having the instrumentation all happening in the “same emotional space together as a band,” powerfully served the intimacy of the album, particularly on the reflective “Back To You.” “It’s one of the most vulnerable songs on the album, and it always plays that way in my live set, and the guys were able to help me capture that,” he says. “The song is a very heartfelt admission of guilt, I think. But it’s done in a way people usually don’t want to talk about. Breakup songs are usually angry and lashing out and this is a very sober-minded take on it. It’s not something we usually want to admit, surrendering or admitting defeat in a relationship, because everyone thinks you’re always going to make it through, and this is saying ‘no we didn’t…but it’s OK.’” Born in Orlando, Florida, his creative journey really began when he moved to the KC suburb of Olathe, teaching himself the guitar, and eventually the harp. He learned his signature instrument at the age of 20 after he couldn’t find a harpist as determined as him to meld folk, rock, classical, rap and R&B into the irresistible fusion which has become his calling card in the Kansas City music scene and beyond. His passion for stretching the boundaries of musical expression saw him transform a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland’s Fringe Festival early in his career into a life-changing music mission, with an Edinburgh church offering him a role as musical liaison between the church and the city that would change his life. Two years and 300 shows later, Calvin returned to Kansas City reborn as a humanistic songwriter/performer whose impassioned and conceptual stage shows (regularly sold-out in Kansas City, currently catching fire on the West Coast with a diverse following across Europe), are collaborative, costumed-culture-bridging spectacles which In KC Magazine has hailed as ‘equal parts opera, symphony, musical theatre, rock show, all built around its creator: a charismatic 6-foot-7-inch harpist with a natural stage command and knack for gilding gold and painting lilies.’ Calvin’s 2018 national debut, Cantaloupe (Center Cut Records), has been acclaimed for melding diverse textures into an alluring signature sound for the adventurous artist. Most recently, Calvin performed live at L.A.’s The Mint, showcasing the songs on LA Sessions with the musicians who collaborated with him on the album. Says Calvin: “It’s such a special experience to play with them. To be able to perform these songs in front of an audience and do this for a living – to have made a career out of something I love is so amazing – it is an honor that I never take for granted.” On September 15, 2018 Calvin released Cantaloupe on Center Cut Records. Calvin released Honeydew on June 28, an EP including a remix of three of the songs from Cantaloupe. Patrick Sprehe of Center Cut Records tells us that Calvin has been in California and the West Coast for much the past month. Calvin attended the Pride Parade in San Francisca and had a successful show at Hotel Utah. Center Cut reunited the musicians fromLA Sessions for a big show at The Mint in Los Angeles, Starline Social Club in Oakland, and a couple of events in Healdsburg. Calvin also played Oregon Country Fair with Quixotic and as a solo artist. alvin also played SoFar Sounds/xFinity radio show at the Tonga Room in San Francisco and is attending the first Billboard Pride Summit in LA on Thursday. Then he is off to Boulder for a couple of nights before returning to KC to finish the video for Back To You.]

[Calvin Arsenia plays Bad in Bed LIVE Aug 22 – Aug 24, 8:00 PM at recordBar 1520 Grand, KCMO]

[Calvin Arsenia plays The LA Sessions EP Release, Sept 19, 8:PM at recordBar, 1520 Grand, KCMO]

12. Ada Lea – “Wild Heart”
from: What We Say In Private / Saddle Creek / July 19, 2019
[Montreal, Quebec-based musician Ada Lea is also a painter and visual artist, and traces of her many creative abilities run throughout her debut album. To her, music and visual art are different vessels for communicating similar ideas. Ada Lea’s appreciation of female artists — including the writer Sylvia Plath, visual artists Frida Kahlo and Eva Hesse, and musicians Karen Dalton and Nina Simone — provides inspiration and guidance, informing her use of multiple artforms as tools for self-expression. Whether it’s creating music or art, “It’s a world that I can build around me and sit inside,” she says. Through all her work, Ada Lea explores the concept of womanhood as it feels and looks to her, as well as love and how it transforms over time. She doesn’t shy away from exploring uncomfortable and painful emotions, either. With the brightness of love, strength, and hope contrasted with the darkness of loss, suffering, isolation, and abandonment, what we say in private is a varied and vivid record that constantly seems to shift in the light, bringing together all the intricate influences she’s collected over the years.]

13. Florist – “As Alone”
from: Emily Alone / Double Double Whammy / July 26, 2019
[Florist is an American indie pop band from Brooklyn, New Yorkformed in 2013 with the release of a six-track EP titled We Have Been This Way Forever. Florist recorded another six-song EP, titled 6 days of songs, in May 2014, after lead vocalist Emily Sprague was severely injured in a hit-and-run while riding her bicycle. In October 2015, Florist released another EP titled Holdly on Double Double Whammy. Also in 2015, the band was listed on Stereogum’s “50 Best New Bands Of 2015” list. The band was also featured as one of Stereogum’s “Band To Watch” in 2015. In January 2016, Florist released their debut studio album titled The Birds Outside Sang on Double Double Whammy. The album was listed at number 34 on Noisey’s “100 Best Albums of 2016” list. Band members include: Emily Sprague, Rick Spataro, Jonnie Baker, and Felix Walworth. Sprague is an avid modular synthesizer collector and has made a number of YouTube videos showcasing her equipment. She self-released her debut solo album Water Memory, an ambient album composed with these instruments, in December 2017 with a follow-up album “Mount Vision” released in September 2018. In 2019, Beyonce used an instrumental portion of Florist track “Thank You” from their 2016 release The Birds Outside Sang in her Netflix concert movie Homecoming. Florist’s latest album, Emily Alone, was released was granted “Best New Music” by Pitchfork.]

14. Jay Som – “Super Bike”
from: Anak Ko / Polyvinyl Records / August 23, 2019
[9 song releaze and follow up to her debut. from http://www.jaysom.bandcamp.com: Everybody Works released by Polyvinyl Records on March 10, 2017 was the first proper album as Jay Som, Melina Duterte, 22, solidifies her rep as a self-made force of sonic splendor and emotional might. If last year’s aptly named Turn Into compilation showcased a fuzz-loving artist in flux—chronicling her mission to master bedroom recording—then the rising Oakland star’s latest, Everybody Works, is the LP equivalent of mission accomplished. Duterte is as DIY as ever—writing, recording, playing, and producing every sound beyond a few backing vocals—but she takes us places we never could have imagined, wedding lo-fi rock to hi-fi home orchestration, and weaving evocative autobiographical poetry into energetic punk, electrified folk, and dreamy alt-funk. And while Duterte’s early stuff found her bucking against life’s lows, Everybody Works is about turning that angst into fuel for forging ahead. “Last time I was angry at the world,” she says. “This is a note to myself: everybody’s trying their best on their own set of problems and goals. We’re all working for something.” Everybody Works was made in three furious, caffeinated weeks in October. She came home from the road, moved into a new apartment, set up her bedroom studio (with room for a bed this time) and dove in. Duterte even ditched most of her demos, writing half the LP on the spot and making lushly composed pieces like “Lipstick Stains” all the more impressive. While the guitar-grinding Jay Som we first fell in love with still reigns on shoegazey shredders like “1 Billion Dogs” and in the melodic distortions of “Take It,” we also get the sublimely spacious synth-pop beauty of “Remain,” and the luxe, proggy funk of “One More Time, Please.” Duterte’s production approach was inspired by the complexity of Tame Impala, the simplicity of Yo La Tengo, and the messiness of Pixies. “Also, I was listening to a lot of Carly Rae Jepsen to be quite honest,” she says. “Her E•MO•TION album actually inspired a lot of the sounds on Everybody Works.” There’s story in the sounds—even in the fact that Duterte’s voice is more present than before. As for the lyrics, our host leaves the meaning to us. So if we can interpret, there’s a bit about the aspirational and fleeting nature of love in the opener, and the oddity of turning your art into job on the titular track. There’s even one tune, “The Bus Song,” that seems to be written as a dialog between two kids, although it plays like vintage Broken Social Scene and likely has more to do with yearning for things out of reach. While there’s no obvious politics here, Duterte says witnessing the challenges facing women, people of color, and the queer community lit a fire. And when you reach the end of Everybody Works, “For Light,” you’ll find a mantra suitable for anyone trying, as Duterte says, “to find your peace even if it’s not perfect.” As her trusty trumpet blows, she sings: “I’ll be right on time, open blinds for light, won’t forget to climb.”]

[Jay Som plays The Granada Theatre, 1020 Massachusetts, Lawrence KS., Tuesday, October 15, at 7:00 PM with Gia Margaret, and Boy Scouts. All Ages.]

11:01 – Station ID

15. Giants Chair – “Ghost Love”
from: Prefabylon / Giants Chair / To be released later this year
[Scott Hobart on lead vocals & guitar, Byron Collum on bass, and Paul Ackerman on drums. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Scott and Byron met at the KC Art Institute in 1989. After college they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, and formed Giant’s Chair in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene, sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. Shiner even named one of their songs after the band. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giant’s Chair recorded two full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. Giant’s Chair ended in 1997 but have recently been working on new music. In 2017 they releases the singles “The Streets” and “Featureless Horizon” and have a third studio album the works.]

[Giant’s Chair play Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, with Truth Cult (DC), and Devil’s Den, on Friday, August 9, at 8:00 PM presented by Shuttlecock Magazine Music & Kansas City Hardcore.]

Giants Chair

11:04 – Interview with Scott Hobart

Singer-songwriter / guitarist Scott Hobart is a multi-talented artist. Known for his acclaimed honky-tonk country band, Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys (Bloodshot Records). Scott also works as the Coterie Theatre’s Resident Technical Director. He has also composed music and performed in the Coterie’s “Night of The Living Dead.” Scott met his friend Byron Collum at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1989. Eventually, they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, WI and formed the ‘post-hardcore power-trio’ GIANTS CHAIR in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene – sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, GIANTS CHAIR recorded 2 critically-acclaimed full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. GIANTS CHAIR sorted ended things in 1997 but have gotten back together here and there. In 2017 the band released two new songs and are working on material for their 3rd studio album. Giant’s Chair play Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, with Truth Cult (DC), and Devil’s Den, on Friday, August 9, at 8:00 PM presented by Shuttlecock Magazine Music & Kansas City Hardcore.

Scott Hobart thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:14

16. Giants Chair – “Kids Running”
from: Prefabylon / Giants Chair / To be released later this year
[Scott Hobart on lead vocals & guitar, Byron Collum on bass, and Paul Ackerman on drums. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Scott and Byron met at the KC Art Institute in 1989. After college they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, and formed Giant’s Chair in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene, sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. Shiner even named one of their songs after the band. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giant’s Chair recorded two full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. Giant’s Chair ended in 1997 but have recently been working on new music. In 2017 they releases the singles “The Streets” and “Featureless Horizon” and have a third studio album the works. ]

[Giant’s Chair play Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, with Truth Cult (DC), and Devil’s Den, on Friday, August 9, at 8:00 PM presented by Shuttlecock Magazine Music & Kansas City Hardcore.]

11:17 – More Interview with Scott Hobart

We are talking with Singer-songwriter / guitarist Scott Hobart is a multi-talented artist.

Scott’s Notes:

GIANTS CHAIR started in fall of 1993 when the bassist, Byron Collum and I, Scott Hobart, moved from KC to Green Bay, WI to play with drummer Paul Ackerman who Byron had gone to high school with. As this trio, we started writing and made a 7” that winter that was picked up by now-legendary mid-west indie label, CAULFIELD RECORDS of Lincoln, NE.

We made two full-length LP albums and another 7” for CAULFIELD and toured the U.S. twice – once with fellow KC indie band, BOYS LIFE – before going on “unofficial hiatus” in 1997 when we each went off to pursue other projects, including my own focus on straight-forward, hard country / honky-Tonk with Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys (Bloodshot Records).

In the last 20-plus years, we had done a handful of reunion shows and were then approached by Duane Trower with whom we had recorded the 2nd album with back in ‘96. He offered to remake that record start-to-finish now as a more-seasoned engineer with his own studio. We thought about it, and decided we’d rather try to write a new album than re-learn an old one – so we got to work in November of 2016 and finally had 10 new songs by November 2018.

We recorded the album with Duane at his new studio (WEIGHTS AND MEASURES SOUND LAB) this past winter – and here it is! It’s currently available everywhere digitally but we’re also currently working on the real, official, vinyl release as we speak.

Why this album now? At first it was kind of a “Why not? We’re still all here.” And “Can we make up some new songs that we like?” – and I feel like the music actually came pretty naturally – we’ve never talked too much about the music. We just get together and get loud. I bring some guitar parts and scratch vocal things and we see how it all falls. But I will say that, as a lyricist, it was an interesting “journey” to write and sing this kind of stuff after having now spent the last couple of decades writing very straightforward country story-songs. We can talk about that and how, ultimately, I think I found this side of me again – possibly by trying to come to terms with the uncertainty of so many things in the world and America right now.

Scott Hobart thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Giant’s Chair play Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, with Truth Cult (DC), and Devil’s Den, on Friday, August 9, at 8:00 PM presented by Shuttlecock Magazine Music & Kansas City Hardcore.

Scott Hobart thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

11:26

17. Giants Chair – “Time Lapse Shadows”
from: Prefabylon / Giants Chair / To be released later this year
[Scott Hobart on lead vocals & guitar, Byron Collum on bass, and Paul Ackerman on drums. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab, KCMO. Scott and Byron met at the KC Art Institute in 1989. After college they moved to Collum’s hometown of Green Bay, and formed Giant’s Chair in 1993. The band moved back to Kansas City became part of the burgeoning, mid-90’s KC rock scene, sharing bills with Germbox, Season To Risk, Molly McGuire and Shiner. Shiner even named one of their songs after the band. After being signed to Caulfield Records out of Lincoln NE. on the strength of their debut 7″ single, Giant’s Chair recorded two full-length albums and toured the U.S. twice. Giant’s Chair ended in 1997 but have recently been working on new music. In 2017 they releases the singles “The Streets” and “Featureless Horizon” and have a third studio album the works.]

[Giant’s Chair play Revolution Records, 1830 Locust St, with Truth Cult (DC), and Devil’s Den, on Friday, August 9, at 8:00 PM presented by Shuttlecock Magazine Music & Kansas City Hardcore.]

Fally Afani

11:31 – Interview with Fally Afani

Fally Afani is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning more than 18 years in media. She has worked extensively in radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. She has received several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for her online work in journalism. Fally lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where she reports on local & touring musicians and is the editor & founder of, I Heart Local Music a comprehensive website providing info and place for music lovers in Lawrence to gather. It was started out of a deep love & appreciation for the local music scene.

Fally Afani joins us to share details about A Fundraiser For RAICES on Friday, August 16, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, KS with Making Movies, Maria The Mexican, and Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge and Meghan Heriford).

RAICES is a nonprofit agency that provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children, families, and refugees. Ticket sales will go towards providing legal aid via the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.

Fally Afani, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

I Heart Local Music believes in equality and human rights, and is therefore appalled at the treatment of immigrants in the concentration camps at the border. More information at: http://www.iheartlocalmusic.com

On Friday, August 16th, the community of Lawrence, Kansas, will gather at the largest venue in Lawrence to stand in solidarity with immigrants.

I Heart Local Music, a music publication based out of Lawrence, is throwing a fundraiser on Friday, August 16th, for RAICES, a nonprofit agency that provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children, families, and refugees.

Sales from the tickets ($10) will go towards providing legal aid via the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. They can be purchased at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, or here.

The night will feature musical performances by: • Making Movies • Maria The Mexican • Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge and Meghan Heriford)

There will also have a raffle to help benefit RAICES, with prizes donated by: KANbucha ACME Lawrence High Dive Records Eleven Productions Presents Mammoth The Granada Theater Vinland Valley Nursery

For all media inquiries, please contact:

I HEART LOCAL MUSIC Fally Afani | contact@iheartlocalmusic.com

MAKING MOVIES Ben Yonas | ben@yonasmedia.com

Last year Latinx rock’n’rollers and activists, Making Movies, partnered with RAICES to bring awareness to the family separation and detention crisis at the US border, creating a #ReuniteEveryChild T-shirt and hosting “Rally For RAICES” concerts in Chicago and New York that raised funds toward the cause. The band was last seen in Lawrence, KS, during Live on Mass alongside homegrown favorites The Get Up Kids.

In 2019 Making Movies released their third album ameri’kana and its apparent why Rolling Stone says, “this band is breaking down walls in the United States.” Collaborating with legends Los Lobos, Rubén Blades, and the late Lou Reed has NPR Music placing ameri’kana on its Best Music of 2019.

Rubén Blades joined forces with the Making Movies to release three singles on ameri’kana: No Te Calles, Cómo Perdonar (ft. Flor De Toloache) and Delilah a song co-written by Blades and Lou Reed. Grammy.com called Delilah an “epic musical collaboration brought together by the topic of immigration” and NPR Music placed “No Te Calles: on its Best Music of 2019 (so far).

The band has toured extensively, appearing with the likes of Arcade Fire, Los Lobos, Hurray For the Riff Raff, Bomba Estereo, Galactic, Jesse & Joy, Flor De Toloache, Thievery Corporation and will be joining Rubén Blades for some tour dates fall 2019.

Fally Afani, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

A Fundraiser For RAICES on Friday, August 16, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, KS with Making Movies, Maria The Mexican, and Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge and Meghan Heriford).

11:42

18. Making Movies – “No Te Calles (ft. Rubén Blades)”
from: ameri’kana / 3/2 Recordings / May 24, 2019
[Produced by Steve Berlin and Ben Yonas. 3rd full length release from KC based 4-piece band and made up of two sets of brothers: Enrique Chi on guitar and lead vocals; Diego Chi on bass & vocals; Juan-Carlos Chaurand on percussion & keyboards; and Andres Chaurand on drums. The band draws their influences from the origins of their families: Santiago, Panama, and Kansas City, Missouri, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The notes for this album read: “ameri’kana is a canary in a coal mine, the watchman at the tower. It is a desire to remember where we come from and assure that we better ourselves in every step along our journey. Every chapter is an example, a reason to not be silent and not accept corrupt leaders as something inevitable. ameri’kana is based on faith, faith that every person on this continent carries within themselves the ability to grow, to awaken their consciousness and merits the the same rights. We were accomplices to get ourselves to this point so we will have to be accomplices in the solutions.” This was their follow up released to their critically acclaimed I Am Another You, released May 26, 2017. The quartet has toured with Arcade Fire, Thievery Corporation, Cold War Kids, Los Lobos, Ozomatli, Tennis, Sergio Mendoza of Calexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Hurray for the Riff Raff.]

[Enrique Chi plays the Kansas City Songwriter Series curated by Hermon Mehari, Thursday, August 8, at 5:00 – 7:00 PM, at The Kemper Museum of Modern Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd., KCMO.]

[Making Movies play A Fundraiser for RAICES, Friday, August 16, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, w/ Maria The Mexican, and Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge & Meghan Heriford).]

19. Maria The Mexican – “Carried Away”
rom: South Of The Border Moonlight / Independent / March 11, 2016
[Follow up to their Oct. 2013 debut full length, Moon Colored Jade. Influenced by traditional Mariachi music, Maria The Mexican is a hybrid of Mexican folklore and Rock. For over ten years, Teresa and Maria Elena Cuevas have performed with Marachi Estrella founded by their grandmother Teresa Cuevas in 1970. As one of the first all female mariachi bands in the country, Maria Teresa Alonzo Cuevas is a pioneer in the Hispanic musical community. Her band flourished in the 80s but was struck by tragedy when four of the seven members were killed in the Hyatt Skywalk collapse in 1981. Once Teresa recovered she began teaching her grandchildren Mariachi music. In 2000, Teresa and Maria began exploring other genres of music while simultaneously co-directing Mariachi Estrella. Today the fusion of Maria The Mexican is mixed with a touch of blues, soul, funk, and rock n’ roll enhanced by the musical knowledge and sounds of Garrett Nordstrom]

[Maria The Mexican play A Fundraiser for RAICES, Friday, Aug 16, at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, w/ Making Movies, Mr. & Mrs. Dodge (Arthur Dodge & Meghan Heriford).]

11:47 – Underwriting

20. Slights – “Higher Than Stoned”
from: Flow State / Slights / November 30, 2018
[Slights is a collaboration band between Ben Parks & Matthew Dunehoo. In late January, 2017 they recorded an album at Ghost Cat Studios in San Francisco w/ Ryan Kleeman and their friend Andrew Skikne on bass. Ben Parks is also visual artist & painter as well as part of the band, Of Tree. Matthew Dunehoo is also a filmmaker & actor, and has been a member of the bands: Loose Park, Baby Teardrops, Doris Henson. On Nov, 7, we interviewed Ben Parks & Matthew Dunehoo who joined us to talk about the debut release of their new band Slights. The new 11-song album was created over the past year. Matt is the founder of Elk’s Pride Pictures, based in KCMO More information at http://www.slightsband.com]

[Slights play plays miniBar, 3810 Broadway, Monday, Aug. 12 w/ Voodoo Gearshift and Joy Subtraction]

11:55

21. Cate Le Bon – “Daylight Matters”
from: Reward / Mexican Summer / May 24, 2019
[From the upcoming 5th solo album from Cate Le Bon who was born Cate Timothy on March 4, 1983. She is a musician and producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released four solo albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon has toured with artists such as St. Vincent, Perfume Genius and John Grant. In 2018, she joined John Cale on stage at The Barbican with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Le Bon was born in Penboyr, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and first gained public attention when she supported Gruff Rhys (of the Super Furry Animals) on his 2007 solo UK tour. She appeared as a guest vocalist on Neon Neon’s 2008 single “I Lust U” from their album Stainless Style. Under her original name she provided backing vocals on Richard James’s debut solo album The Seven Sleepers Den in 2006. She also appeared on his second solo album, We Went Riding, from 2010. Her first official release was a Welsh language EP, Edrych yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg (“Looking in the Eyes of a Borrowed Horse”, similar to the English expression “to look a gift horse in the mouth”), on Peski Records in 2008. She also self-released the double A-side debut single “No One Can Drag Me Down” / “Disappear” (described by Gruff Rhys as “Bobbie Gentry and Nico fight over a Casio keyboard; melody wins!”) on her website. Le Bon worked alongside Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci’s Megan Childs, who contributed violin, and Super Furry Animals and Thrills collaborator John Thomas, who added pedal steel. Her debut album, Me Oh My was released in 2009, followed by Cyrk and the Cyrk II EP in 2012. In January 2013, Le Bon moved to L A to further her career in the US. Her third album, Mug Museum, was released November 2013. It was produced by Noah Georgeson and Josiah Steinbrick in Los Angeles, and featured Stephen Black (bass) & Huw Evans (guitar). She provided guest vocals on the track “Slow Train” from Kevin Morby’s debut album Harlem River. In 2015, Le Bon collaborated with Tim Presley as DRINKS and released the album Hermits on Holiday in August 2015. DRINKS released their second album Hippo Lite in April 2018. Le Bon released her fourth studio album, Crab Day, on April 15, 2016 on Drag City to generally favourable reviews. The album was produced by Josiah Steinbrick and Noah Georgeson, and again featured Stephen Black (bass) & Huw Evans (guitar), w/ Stella Mozgawa (drums). She noted how the collaboration with Presley had made her realise “that I make music because I love to, not because I have to”. On tour she was supported by Black and Evans and on occasion by Steinbrick and Josh Klinghoffer, a five-piece that also performs instrument improvisations under the name BANANA. In January 2017, Le Bon released the four-track EP Rock Pool via Drag City. It includes her version of the track “I Just Want to Be Good” featuring Perfume Genius, which she wrote for Sweet Baboo’s 2015 album The Boombox Ballads. In the same month Leaving Records released Live by BANANA, recorded live during the band’s 2016 tour and Le Bon remixed Eleanor Friedberger’s ‘Are We Good?’ In 2018, Le Bon signed with Brooklyn based record label Mexican Summer (Ariel Pink, Jessica Pratt, Connan Mockasin). Le Bon will release her fifth studio album, Reward via Mexican Summer on May 24, 2019.]

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

Next week on Wednesday, August 14, Marion Merritt of Records With Merritt returns as Guest Producer with musical discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain. Also next week, Ivory Blue joins us live in our 90.1 FM Studios.

Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org

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Show #797