This week’s show was a fun one. Yet another week where I had the privilege of doing multiple interviews, and both musical guests were really great fun to chat with.

In the first hour, Heather Trost of A Hawk And A Hacksaw returned to the show. Heather, along with Jeremy Barnes, comprise the New Mexico-based folk duo. But to call them folk kind of understates what they do. They recently released their seventh album, “Forest Bathing” to the world, and it really encompasses lots of classical and traditional European sounds as well. It’s all instrumentals, and it really acts as musical therapy. Indeed, Japanese tradition maintains that “taking in the forest atmosphere” is a form of preventive medicine. Several virtuoso guest musicians hold forth on this record, and the collaboration is stunning. Heather and Jeremy have toured all over the world with their music, and are about to hit the road again soon. Get more info, and perhaps some records, at http://lmduplication.com.

In the second hour, a little bit of Australia, in the form of Trevalene Weiser (known as Trevi), comes to Sacramento. The Perth-born and raised singer-songwriter recently moved with her family from Australia to Sacramento, and is ready to put down some musical roots here in California. She’s already quite accomplished, with dozens of songs recorded. Her sound is poppy, but filtered by the sound of 90’s alternative rock–which completely hits my musical sweet spot. She’s one of these musicians who can pretty much pick up any instrument and learn it, and on several of her songs, she plays everything–and still sounds good at it. We had a fun and spirited chat, live in the Sacramento Twirl studios, as we sampled a few of her songs. She’s ready to form a band and do some live shows here in Northern California. That’ll be a good thing, because these songs should be heard. Give Trevi a listen! www.facebook.com/trevielevateme.

Near the end of the show, a good friend of mine, Rene Chavez, popped in for a visit. Rene used to do a show called Collective Edge at Sacramento’s Voice, and has since taken it to the internet. It’s a great show, and hearing Rene talk about it, and the exciting blend of music he plays, gets one all fired up. It had been a few years since we saw each other, so this on-air reunion was very welcome. It basically happened because he was just driving around East Sacramento, and popped in to say hello. A nice capstone to a fun day on the radio.

Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Three Hour Tour | Firebird | You Never Know
Pete’s Copter | Magic Circle | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Bud Rogers | Pictures Of A Modern World (acoustic) | Single release
R. Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner | I Am The Best For You | Make It Be
Maxi Dunn | Make It Better | The Neglected Gambit
Lannie Flowers | About You | Single release

Heather Trost interview
A Hawk And A Hacksaw | The Magic Spring | Forest Bathing
A Hawk And A Hacksaw | A Broken Road Lined With Poplar Trees | Forest Bathing

Trevalene Weiser interview
Trevi | Stand On Your Own | Single release
Trevi | Back Home | Single release
Trevi | Won’t Stop | Single release

Chandler Travis Three-O | Not In Service | Backward Crooked From The Sunset
Sunshine Boys | John Cage | Blue Music
Steve Barton | When She’s Lost Your Mind | Tall Tales And Alibis 1
Duncan Faure | Ball And Chain | Pronounced “Four-Uh”
Pugwash | The Perfect Summer | Silverlake
Chris Church | Bell The Cat | Limitatons Of Source Tape

June 24, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

On this week’s show, I was given a really nice Father’s Day gift: the chance to do a double show–4 full hours of radio! Bill Fuller, who normally does the show before mine, took the day off and asked me to fill in. So what do you do with a gift like that? You share it, and bring more musicians onto the show. So we did. Three interviews, and it went like this.

Sunshine Boys is a new Chicago supergroup, made up of veteran musicians Dag Juhlin (Poi Dog Pondering, The Slugs), Freda Love Smith (Blake Babies, The Mysteries of Life), and Jackie Schimmel (Justin Roberts, Big Hello). Their debut album, Blue Music, is simply special. I’ve listened to it many times through, and it hits all my musical sweet spots. Kind of a zoomy early 90s sound, shot through with a Midwest wistfulness (a term we all agreed on during the interview), and a positive outlook. This flawless record belongs in your record collection, and the in-depth conversation explores what went into it. http://www.sunshineboys.net

Gretchen’s Wheel is Lindsay Murray’s very successful project. She’s been super prolific with it too. Black Box Theory is her fourth full length album since 2015. Not only that, but she’s had time to release an EP, and to be part of a few all star tribute compilation albums, most recently, those covering Matthew Sweet’s catalog and songs from the James Bond movies. Black Box Theory is quite possibly her artistic and technical peak to date. Strong rocking songs, well-crafted, intelligent lyrics, excellent vocals, and she plays all the instruments except for drums. If you want to know what a powerful, mature album sounds like, pick up this one. http://www.gretchenswheel.com

Krista D is one of the many artistic endeavors of Krista Acheson. She’s got three music projects, and three visual arts projects, and she compartmentalizes them, because they are so varied. Adam Waltemire forwarded me a copy of her EP, Look At Me, I’m Krista D, and I was instantly hooked. She describes the sound as a ska/doo wop combination. Although she doesn’t think she has any specific musical influences, growing up in the 90s, the bouncy ska sound left an imprint on her. So when you listen to her songs, the upbeat melodies catch you at first, but there are some darker undertones to be found once you start really hearing and understanding the lyrics. They tell a story, but give hope to the listener. All six songs have been played on my radio shows, and they are all equally strong. It’s a great collection of songs, and you might want to get yourself a copy of your own. http://theoriginalkristad.bandcamp.com

Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Emily Zuzik | The Biggest Mistake | Detours
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Alchemy C’Mere | Make
Astral Drive | Summer Of ’76 | Astral Drive
Anton Barbeau | Magazine Street | Natural Causes
Ass Ponys | Little Bastard | Electric Rock Music
Maxi Dunn | Meteor Shower | Edmund & Leo

Sunshine Boys interview (Dag Juhlin, Freda Love Smith, Jackie Schimmel)
Sunshine Boys | Tripping Through Time | Blue Music
Sunshine Boys | Caroline Yes | Blue Music
Sunshine Boys | There Goes Another One | Blue Music
Sunshine Boys | Only A Million Miles | Blue Music
Sunshine Boys | Schoolyard Bully | Blue Music

Dionne Farris | I Know | Single release
The Who | Whiskey Man | A Quick One
The Rubinoos | That Thing You Do | 45

Lindsay Murray of Gretchen’s Wheel interview
Gretchen’s Wheel | Something’s Coming | Black Box Theory
Gretchen’s Wheel | Plans | Black Box Theory

Wilkerson | Let It Go Tonight | Single release
Pugwash | Everyone Knows That You’re Mine | Silverlake
Peter Murphy | Cuts You Up | Deep
The Bottle Kids | When You Come Around | Let Me In On This Action
Death Of Samantha | Conviction | If Memory Serves Us Well
Steve Barton | Where Did I Go Wrong | Tall Tales & Alibis 3
Allyson Seconds | Little World | Little World

Krista D interview
Krista D | Land Mine | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Krista D | Simple Social Tragedy | Look At Me I’m Krista D

David Houston | I’m Into You | Heart With Tears
According To Bazooka | All Aboard | Where We Are Now
Chris Church | Worse Things Happen At Sea | Limitations Of Source Tape
Michael Simmons | EP’s Are Weak | First Days Of Summer
Supersmall | A Better Life | Silent Moon
Duncan Faure | Where Is The Music | Pronounced “Four-Uh”
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. | Funhouse | Glamping
Braam | Angel Baby | The Things You Think You Have
The Crushing Violets | Black Mountain | Ghost Fields
Chandler Travis Three-O | Settling For Less | Backward Crooked From The Sunset
Lannie Flowers | Good | Single release
Spygenius | Godfearing | Pacéphale
Yung Wu | Spinning | Shore Leave
Lisa Mychols | Endless Daydream | Sugar
Googen | Never Wanna Lose That Thing | The Fowl Tone Sampler

June 17, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

So for the past two weeks, we had doubleheader interviews on the show. Where do you go after that? How about two interviews–live, in the Twirl studios? So we did just that.

There was a very special occasion in Sacramento that night–a show at the lovely Shine Cafe, featuring Anton Barbeau (with full Antband Kenny), and Felsen. These two bands had never before played a gig together–and in fact, had never even met.

So on the show, we had Anton Barbeau and Julia Boorinakis Harper from Anton’s band, and Andrew Griffin, frontman of Felsen, live in the studio. The in-studio photo shows this historic first meeting, and we were honored to have it happen live, on the air.

Anton Barbeau is no stranger to our show. He lives in Berlin, but fortunately for us, makes frequent visits to his hometown of Sacramento, and it’s always fun and insightful to catch up with him whenever he does. This is the first visit since his wonderful Natural Causes album was officially released. Some say this album is the “most Anton” of all his records, or “the Anton record they’ve been waiting for”. It’s hard to know just what that all means, but suffice it so say, Natural Causes is by turns accessible and poppy, yet quirky and charming. If you already like Anton, you’ll love this record. If you’re just discovering him, you’ll love this record. http://antonbarbeau.com/

Andrew Griffin of Bay Area band Felsen is also no stranger to our show. He’s the mastermind behind Felsen’s five studio albums, and some amazing live performances over the years. The last few Felsen records have been what I would consider to be vital listening for the 21st century. “I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore” was my pick for Album of the Year for 2013. It spoke to isolation in the technology age. The current album, “Blood Orange Moon”, tied for the Album of the Year for 2017 (technically a 2018 release, but I’ve had it since last September, so it counts). It picks up where the last one left off, but with a couple of changes. The entire band, save for Andrew, has changed. And the sound is not quite as boisterously rockin’. It is a bit quieter, but no less intense–this one simmers and smolders. In REM terms, this is Felsen’s “Automatic For The People”. We were treated to Andrew performing a couple of the newer songs live on the show. Try out both albums: https://felsen.bandcamp.com/

And in case you were wondering, the live gig at Shine was every bit as good as you might expect. Two great bands, playing loose, but fiery sets. At the end, another bit of rock ‘n’ roll history was created: Andrew called Anton up to the stage, for a duet of “Suffragette City”. A magical capstone to a magical day of music in Sacramento.

Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Richard Turgeon | Lost Angeles | Lost Angeles
Three Hour Tour | Gray Waves | You Never Know
Sunshine Boys | Schoolyard Bully | Blue Music
Poplord | Kill Me | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Maxi Dunn | Change The Record | Edmund & Leo
Bud Rogers | Slave To Passion | Whiteout
The American Professionals | Just Do Something | Sympathetic Overdrive
Lannie Flowers | James Bond Theme | Songs, Bond Songs.
Duncan Faure | The Day That I Found Love | 4
Braam | Maybe Honey You’re A Lemon Tree | The Things You Think You Have
Gretchen’s Wheel | The Maze | Black Box Theory
The Crushing Violets | Strange Voices | Ghost Fields
Pugwash | Make It Yourself | Silverlake
Elk City | No Depth | Everybody’s Insecure

Anton Barbeau and Felsen interviews
Anton Barbeau | Disambiguation | Natural Causes
Anton Barbeau | It’s The Coffee That Makes The Man Go Mad | Natural Causes
Felsen | Lay Kenneth Lay | Accidental Drowning
Andrew Griffin | Vultures On Your Bones | Live in Twirl studio
Andrew Griffin | Private Airline | Live in Twirl studio

June 10, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

For the second week in a row, I had the pleasure of doing two interviews on the show. It was a real treat–both are great artists. I’ve known one for years, and the other, I met for the first time just today.

Lannie Flowers has been a staple of my radio shows since his 2010 album Circles came out. We used to joke that he wasn’t part of the North Texas power pop scene–he WAS the North Texas power pop scene! His fan base runs far and wide, and his hook laden songs catch everybody’s ear instantly. I’ve seen him play on both the west coast and in Texas, in both his band and the longtime band The Pengwins. For the past four months, he’s been releasing one free single download each month, on Spyderpop Records. And at the end of each month, the old single gets taken down, to be replaced with a new one. None of these songs will be on his forthcoming album, “Home”, due to be released in Fall, 2018–so this makes them exceedingly rare. You’ll really want to get over to the Spyderpop website and download the current track each month. They’ve all been excellent, arguably some of the finest songs of Lannie’s career. And while you’re there, do catch up on the rest of Lannie’s catalog, as well as albums from Bill Lloyd, Chris Church, Danny Wilkerson, The Pengwins, and the Elvis Costello charity tribute album, “Beyond Belief”. We had a fun and spirited chat today, and heard a couple of the new singles. http://spyderpop.com/

In the second hour, we meet rock-Americana singer-songwriter Byron Isaacs. Byron is a bass player, based in Brooklyn, NYC. He’s had a fairly illustrious career as a founding member of Americana band Ollabelle. He’s also been part of Levon Helm’s band (and played on his two Grammy award winning albums), part of The Lumineers, and played with Joan Baez, Larry Campbell, and many others. So after two years on the road with The Lumineers, he found a little time to record his first solo album, “Disappearing Man”. It’s due out on June 12th, and it is nothing short of amazing. When a guy cites his musical influences as The Beatles, Metallica, Charles Mingus, The Band, and various punk bands, you know his first solo record is going to be nothing short of amazing–and Disappearing Man does not disappoint. It’s a wonderful collection of 9 songs. His CD release show will be on that June 12th release date at City Winery in New York, and if you can’t be there, at least make the effort to get the record. byronisaacs.com

Besides Lannie and Byron, we found time to play 10+ brand new tracks from 2018. The musical feast that is 2018 continues unabated. Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
The Bye Bye Blackbirds | Like A Thief | We Need The Rain
The Sleep Junkies | The First Time Is Never The Last Time | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Sunshine Boys | Glider Pilot | Blue Music
Daniel Trigger | Running Into The Wind | Right Turn
Chandler Travis Three-O | Backward Crooked From The Sunset | Backward Crooked From The Sunset
Maxi Dunn | Watching The Stars | Edmund & Leo

Lannie Flowers interview
Lannie Flowers | Day Glow | Single
Lannie Flowers | About You | Single

Astral Drive | Wishing I Could Change The World | Astral Drive
Elk City | No Depth | Everybody’s Insecure
Anton Barbeau | Creepy Tray | Natural Causes
Felsen | Private Airline | Blood Orange Moon
Steve Barton | Little Strange One | Tall Tales & Alibis 3
Lisa Mychols | Goodbye To All Carousels | Sugar
Duncan Faure | Lies And Promises | 4
Krista D | Land Mine | Look At Me I’m Krista D

Byron Isaacs interview
Byron Isaacs | Daddy’s Farm | Disappearing Man
Byron Isaacs | Disappearing Man | Disappearing Man

June 2, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment