This week’s show was a treat. The legendary Mimi Betinis, front man of seminal power pop band Pezband, was our guest. I’ve been meaning to have him on Twirl for quite some time, and a special occasion provided the right time for a visit. What was the special occasion? A 40th anniversary remix and re-release of Pezband’s 1979 album Cover To Cover. (Has it really been 40 years since 1979? A lot of us are wondering that exact same thing.)

Whenever I hear of a re-release, I always wonder what the reason is. In this case, Mimi actually had the original 2-inch master tapes from Cover To Cover, and they were in good condition. He took them to audio wizard John Pavletic, who was able to remix, remaster, digitize, and generally update the sound. It sounds better than it did in 1979, with today’s modern technology. Once that audio magic was done, Marty Scott, of Jem Records, who originally signed Pezband in 1977, wanted to go full circle and do the re-release. The album is doing well, and it’s bringing this timeless music to a new generation of fans. And–it was so much fun to chat with Mimi–he’s still got an acute sense of humor and we laughed our way through the conversation! More Pezband info at http://pezbandofficial.com. More informaton on Mimi Betinis at http://www.popmusicsounds.com.

In the second hour of the show, we previewed the music of the bands who played at the following day’s Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’19, at the Blue Note Brewing Company in Woodland, CA. (Spoiler alert–the show went great. The sound was incredible. The festival was well-attended, even in the rare Northern California Memorial Day weekend rain. The bands earned new fans, and new friendships were forged.)

Hope you enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Salt | A Song For Jerome | The Loneliness Of Clouds
Richard X. Heyman | Upside And Down | Pop Circles
Amoeba Teen | (Coming On) Stronger | Medium Wave
Heiskell | Dirty Unicorn (Album Mix) | Songs In The Key Of H
Elk City | No Depth | Everybody’s Insecure
Maxi Dunn | I Mean That | Welcome To Soonville

Mimi Betinis interview
Pezband | Don’t Look Back | Cover To Cover
Pezband | Didn’t We | Cover To Cover
Pezband | Back In The Middle | Cover To Cover

Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’19 Preview
50 Watt Heavy | Bummer Solstice | Better Days
Bellygunner | Negative Kid | Machine Gun Built For Two
Spidermeow | The Bridge | Holler
The Bobbleheads | Do You? | Myths And Fables
Blame The Bishop | These Are The Days | New And Used
The Bobbleheads | I Really See You | Myths And Fables
Bellygunner | Heldtogetherbyasinglestitch | Machine Gun Built For Two

The Armoires | Not A Good Man | Side Three
Lannie Flowers | Day Glow | Single release
Tawny Thiele | Happy Together | The Fowl Tone Sampler
JonEmery And The Unconventionals | Ghost Town Road | Wrecked
Nick Eng | It’s Alright | Long Shot
Dara Ackerman | Golden Circle | Partially True Stories
Pugwash | Easier Done Than Said | Silverlake

May 27, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

If last week’s show was one for the books, this week’s was one for the ages. 3 sets of guests–all live, in the Sacramento studio. And thanks to my friend Bill Fuller (The Long Hair Detectorists Guild), who was off this week, I got to expand to a full 4 hours! And we seriously needed every minute of it, because the action was nonstop. There was some overlap between the guests, where they were all in the room at the same time–just like the TV talk shows of old. I’ve never done a show quite like this before.

Victor Erwin was visiting California, all the way from Texas. He was doing advance work and making arrangements for a West Coast leg of the Spyderpop artists summer tour, going to venues up and down the state of California, meeting with the right people, in person. That’s how you do it–ensure that the artists have the right room to present their songs to discerning music fans. Which artists are we talking about? None other than Bill Lloyd, Lannie Flowers, Danny Wilkerson, and Chris Church, that’s who! We spent the first hour talking about that, Vic’s musical influences, and everything else under the sun. We even heard a track from his band The Re-Used Electrics. For more Spyderpop goings-on, check out spyderpop.com.

In the second hour, we focused on John Ashfield and Rob Harford of San Francisco band The Bobbleheads. These guys are the guitar attack of their infectiously upbeat, rockin’ live sound. That live sound translates well to record, as heard on their new one, Myths And Fables. We got some insight into their songwriting and recording process, and just what it takes to be a Bobblehead. Later on, they played DJ, and brought some of their favorite songs to share on the air. Be sure to check these guys out here in the Sacramento area–they’ll be bringing the fun to the third annual Twirl Radio Pop Fest on Sunday, May 26th, at the Blue Note Brewing Company in Woodland, CA. It’ll be an all ages free show starting at 1:00 p.m. You really don’t want to miss them live. thebobbleheads.com

We then spent over an hour hanging out with legendary music journalist Stephen “Spaz” Schnee. When I found out about all this musical greatness that was going to cross paths in Sacramento, I simply had to make sure Stephen was there to experience it too. He lives in Sacramento now, and it would be musical malpractice if he wasn’t there for all this epicness. And as has become a semi-regular tradition, he brought along some new music (some truly new, others, new-to-me). We not only heard some music, but we talked, philosophized, and reflected about music and the state of modern day music. Check out some of his various ventures: reviews and interviews (Discussions Magazine http://www.discussionsmagazine.com/) and videos (But Is It Power Pop? “But Is It Power Pop?” on YouTube)

After all that, I had a little bit of quiet time to wrap up the show. So we enjoyed it, but sure weren’t quiet about it, as we wrapped up with some new and new-ish music. All in all, a fun, wild musical ride. Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Victor Erwin interview
The Re-Used Electrics | One Track Mind | For Johnny
Wilkerson | How She Lost My Heart | Wilkerson
Lannie Flowers | Lost In A Daydream | Single release
Chris Church | Fall Into Me | Limitations Of Source Tape
Bill Lloyd | Satellite | Working The Long Game
Bill Lloyd | Working The Long Game | Working The Long Game

The Bobbleheads interview
The Bobbleheads | Like Oxygen | Myths And Fables
The Bobbleheads | Feel This Way | Myths And Fables
Gyllene Tider | Man Blir Yr | Dags att tänka på refrängen
Mover | Move Over | Move Over
The Rubinoos | Amnesia | Paleophonic
The Bobbleheads | Joey | Myths And Fables

Bellygunner | Kilobyte | Machine Gun Built For Two
JonEmery and the Unconventionals | If You Think You’re Heartbroken | Wrecked

Stephen Schnee interview
Guitar Gangsters | Undefeated | Let ‘Em Have It
Squire | September Gurls | The Singles Album
Andy Williams | Happy Heart | Happy Heart
The Tourists | Blind Among The Flowers | The Tourists
Cloud Eleven | On Pismo Beach | Footnote
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Alchemy C’mere | Make
Heiskell | The Great Opaque | Songs In The Key Of H
Orson | Broken Watch | Culture Vultures
Danny And The Doorknobs | Contempt | Jukebox In The L.A. River

Duncan Faure | Man Of A Thousand Dreams | Pronounced “Four-Uh”
Maxi Dunn | How Was I To Know? | Welcome To Soonville
R. Stevie Moore | The Winner | Afterlife
The Armoires | Anemone! | Side Three
Anton Barbeau | Baby Can You? | Berliner Grotesk
Chancellorpink | A Rainbow’s Knocking | All Of Them Monsters
Steve Barton | Gimme Your Hand | Tall Tales & Alibis 3

May 23, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

This show was one for the books. Completely fun and unpredictable. Another episode with three interviews, and yes, we pulled this off.

First up–Anton Barbeau and Julia Boorinakis Harper returned to the show. Yes, Anton is from here (Sacramento) originally. And yes, he lives in Berlin. And yes, he’s finlly released his long-awaited solo record, Berliner Grotesk. This one is really, really good. It’s piano-based, but rocks hard in the right places, and applies the quirkiness liberally in the right places. As always, excellent songwriting abounds. Anton semi-jokingly calls it the third album in the trilogy, preceded by Magic Act and Natural Causes. It sounds nothing like those two, but it’s an essential piece of the puzzle. You need this one. http://antonbarbeau.com

Postscript to the previous paragraph: Just because Anton has given you an album in 2019, doesn’t mean he’s stopped working on new music. He’s got at least a couple more albums up his sleeve right now, so keep your ears open for that.

In the second hour, we got to meet Gaby Alter. He’s a noted composer who’s written off-Broadway musicals, soundtracks, and even pieces for NPR and PBS. But he’s always wanted to do a solo, folk-based project, and his Yes Gabriel debut EP is the perfect vehicle. Five extremely well-crafted, intimate songs, about relationships and more. This is the music you should have on when you’ve got your favorite hot beverage at your fingertips. We chatted a little about the composing process, and the similarities and differences of writing for a large live audience or for a single headphone listener. Terrific music. www.yesgabriel.com

And a little bit later, I was paid a surprise visit by my old friend Bex Francis. She’d been living out of state for about a year, and has returned to Sacramento, where she works on the staff of Access Sacramento, home to KUBU 96.5 FM, doing outreach and membership stuff. But that would be understating her impact, as she does a lot of work on the television side of the house, as well as acting, voiceover work, and filmmaking. That last one is big–she recently won the 48 Hour Audience Favorite Award at the Sacramento Film Festival! It’s exactly as it sounds–she and her crew had 48 hours to write, produce, and edit a short film–kind of the indie filmmaking version of the Food Network show Chopped. Talk about total exhilaration–yet she kept it all together, leading her team through the process. We talk about it a bit on the show. http://californiafilm.net

Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
Nick Eng | Too Good For Anyone | Long Shot
Lost Leaders | People Like Us | Promises Promises
The Armoires | (How Did You Make) A Mistake Like Me? | Single release

Anton Barbeau interview
Anton Barbeau | Berliner Grotesk | Berliner Grotesk
Anton Barbeau | Don’tforgettogetyourfingerwet | Berliner Grotesk
Anton Barbeau | Disambiguation | Natural Causes
Anton Barbeau | I Been To Bromley | Berliner Grotesk

Gaby Alter interview
Yes Gabriel | Dear To Me | Yes Gabriel
Yes Gabriel | Fall Asleep | Yes Gabriel

The Bobbleheads | I Really See You | Myths And Fables
Bellygunner | Medicine | Machine Gun Built For Two
Lannie Flowers | Let It Go | Single release
Leslie Pereira & The Lazy Heroes | Last June | Fight For Now
Matt Langlois | Let Your Sunshine Out | Merde!
Girls On Grass | Because Capitalism | Dirty Power
Trip Wire | Act Fast | Once & Always

May 13, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment