Well, it’s now fall, and I’m just now starting to put the finishing touches on the fun summer we had here at Twirl Radio. This episode was pretty exciting. In the first hour, we chatted with George Miller of New Jersey funk-soul band Solid Bronze. He and his musical partner Ian Everett recently released their debut album, “The Fruit Basket”, and it’s a great listen. Since summer goes on until about Halloween here in Sacramento, I can highly recommend driving around town with the windows rolled down to this album. It’s very summery, and it’s hard not to move to this music. Very funky and listenable, and there’s even a guest vocal turn by Atlanta-based hip hop artist CLEW. It was produced by Mickey Melchiondo, better known as Dean Ween, who took a genuine liking to Solid Bronze’s music, and was inspired to help them finish the album rather quickly at his studios. Give a listen–this is some of the grooviest music of 2019 so far. www.solidbronzeband.com

I was only a “little” nervous in the moments leading up to the second interview. After all, how often do you get to interview a living legend? Well, about 5 seconds into my phone call with Genya Ravan, my mind was put at ease–she was sweet, rowdy, and completely friendly and gracious. And man, does she have some stories to tell. Genya pretty much formed and led the first all-female rock and roll band (Goldie and the Gingerbreads), took it to England and toured with The Rolling Stones and met with plenty of success there. Later on, she played a leading role in the burgeoning NYC punk rock movement, producing The Dead Boys’ debut album. She’s played on the same bills as the likes of Chubby Checker, Lou Reed, Bo Diddley, Donna Summer, Dave Mason, and so many others. She’s fronted her own bands, released solo records, written a book, painted art, and currently, hosts a pair of radio shows on Sirius/XM satellite radio. Her good friend Little Steven Van Zandt persuaded her to join his station, the Underground Garage. She supports female artists on her Chicks and Broads show, and champions unsigned artists on her other show, Goldie’s Garage. Oh yeah–and here it is, 2019, and she has a new album out, “Icon”. It rocks pretty hard–drawing heavily from her years in the New York/CBGB scene of the punk era. Her voice is strong, and her attitude even stronger. I’ve only scratched the surface of her many achievements–you really should visit her at www.genyaravan.com, to find out more!

Enjoy the show!

Artist | Track | Album
DEVO | Uncontrollable Urge | Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!
The Lilacs | Shadow Of Doubt | The Lilacs Endure
Bellygunner | Negative Kid | Machine Gun Built For Two
Lisa Mychols | Endless Daydream | Sugar
Drunken Prayer | It Happens All The Time | Cordelia Elsewhere
The Gold Needles | This Autumn Road | Through A Window
Jet Electro | For Sale By Owner | Jet Electro

George Miller interview
Solid Bronze | Papa’s Bug | The Fruit Basket
Solid Bronze | Like That Ol’ Saying Goes | The Fruit Basket

Chris Church | Fall Into Me | Limitations Of Source Tape
The Carpetbaggers | Sin Now…Pray Later | Sin Now…Pray Later
The Armoires | Responsible (Reuptake) | Side Three
Nick Eng | Too Good For Anyone | Long Shot
Rachel Taylor Brown | Up You | Run Tiny Human
Lannie Flowers | Day Glow | Single release
The Claustrophobes | Con Man | Underdog Pop

Genya Ravan interview
Genya Ravan | He Got Me (When He Got His Pants On) | Icon
Genya Ravan | Mean It | Icon

Maxi Dunn | Messed Up | The Neglected Gambit
In Deed | Another Start | Everest
The Well Wishers | Someplace | The Lost Soundtrack
Sunshine Boys | Save It For A Windy Day | Blue Music
Deborah Gee | Risk | Portal
Steve Barton | Little Strange One | Tall Tales And Alibis 3

Enjoy these bonus pics from Genya Ravan’s career:

September 22, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

The number “8” is the luckiest number in Chinese culture. And if you look above, today’s show was show #888–extra lucky! And it proved to be true. You might recognize today’s guests–Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of Big Stir Records, and The Armoires! They were just on my show a few weeks ago, when they were here in Northern California. Today, we did a Skype chat to them, all the way in Burbank (400 miles south).

Why were they back on the show so soon after the last visit? Well, that last visit was SO three weeks ago, and a lot has happened since then. So I needed to catch you up on all of it, and who better to let you know than Christina and Rex themselves?

In short, here’s what’s going on:

• They’ll be hosting Swedish band In Deed on their California tour.
• Big Stir Records has formed a collaboration with Futureman Records.
• Big Stir Magazine #4 is out now.
• They let me premiere–to the world–a new single from The Hangabouts–the first effort of the combined Big Stir and Futureman labels.

As always, we had fun, and the conversation went a dozen different directions–and still, landed near home. And we played a lot of great music on the show. Good times, good times!

bigstirrecords.com
futuremanrecords.bandcamp.com

Artist | Track | Album
Richard X. Heyman | Long Way Down | Pop Circles
Clifford Ulrich | I’m Going To Miss Her | Big Stir Singles: The Second Wave
Mean Mary | Rainy Day | Cold
Spanic Boys | Keep On Walking | Spanic Boys
The Rolling Stones | Respectable | Some Girls
Dan Politano | Another Year | Staring With My Eyes Closed
Disturbed Furniture | Hit Or A Miss | Continuous Pleasures

Christina Bulbenko & Rex Broome interview
In Deed | Heart Attack | Everest
The Armoires | Alesandra 619 | Zibaldone
The Hangabouts | Who Wants Cilla | Single release
The Kariannes | This Song Is A Cure | Big Stir Singles: The Second Wave

Chris Church | Something Completely | Limitations Of Source Tape
Maxi Dunn | Meteor Shower | Edmund & Leo
Trip Wire | Had Enough | Once & Always
My Little Hum | One Of A Kind | Pioneer
The Rubinoos | Phaedra | From Home
Luscious Jackson | Naked Eye | Fever In Fever Out
The Judybats | She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own) | Native Son
Mike Blanchard And The Californios | Burning Rubber | Dark Secrets
Jet Electro (feat. Lil Shynee) | Cool | The Fowl Tone Sampler
The Re-Used Electrics | One Track Mind | For Johnny
Sam Phillips | World On Sticks | Human Contact Is Never Easy
Steven Bradley | You Walk By | Summer Bliss And Autumn Tears
Bill Mumy | You’re My Inspiration | Lockford
Matt Langlois | Let Your Sunshine Out | Merde!
The JAC | Frantic Romantic | Love Dumb
Anton Barbeau | Magazine Street | Natural Causes
Smoking Popes | Just Broke Up | Born To Quit
Girls On Grass | Down At The Bottom | Dirty Power
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | Take You Home | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
Lannie Flowers | Good | Single release
JonEmery And The Unconventionals | If You Think You’re Heartbroken Now | Wrecked
R. Stevie Moore | The Winner | Afterlife
Don Hawkins | If I Were A Pen | Stutter Step
Sunshine Boys | Schoolyard Bully | Blue Music
The Morning Line | South Carolina | North
Bill Lloyd | Ineterrupted | Working The Long Game

September 7, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

On this week’s show, we took a break from the recent bounty of interviews, and simply brought you three hours of some of the finest recorded music available, both old and new, indie and not-so-indie. We’ll get back to interviewing today’s vital recording artists shortly.

Artist | Track | Album
The Babys | Isn’t It Time | Anthology
The Britannicas | The Moment Passed | High Tea
Spygenius | Shall I Show You In My Mirror? | Pacéphale
Little Tin Frog | Yesterday Flowers | The Pain And Pleasure Machine
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | Three Times | Twitch!
Felsen | Felsen’s Gonna Save You | Breaking Up With Loneliness
Frank Black | (I Want To Live On An) Abstract Plain | Teenager Of The Year
Poplord | Flower Bomb | Poplord vs The Universe
Girls On Grass | Street Fight | Dirty Power
Maxi Dunn | Why Do I Want You? | The Neglected Gambit
Wade Johnson | When Will It End | Single release
Bill Lloyd | Til The Day That I Break Down | Working The Long Game
Walker Brigade | DIsEASE | Therapy Animal
R. Stevie Moore | Another Day Slips Away | Afterlife
Popdudes | Dance With Me Tonight | International Pop Overthrow Volume 22
Dwight Yoakam | Understand Your Man | Kindred Spirits: A Tribute To The Songs Of Johnny Cash
Sunshine Boys | Only A Million Miles | Blue Music
Melissa Phillips | Centralia | Fits & Starts
The Apples In Stereo | Tidal Wave | Fun Trick Noisemaker
Lisa Mychols | She Lied | Above, Beyond & In Between
Nick Eng | Too Good For Anyone | Long Shot
The Morning Line | Nostradamus | North
The Church | Under The Milky Way | Starfish
Salt | Crime Spree | The Loneliness Of Clouds
Diplomats Of Solid Sound | Good To Do | A Higher Place
Duncan Faure | The Day That I Found Love | 4
Shawn Colvin | Diamond In The Rough | Steady On
Don Hawkins | So Much To Learn | Stutter Step
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Clever Things | Pop Songs & Kyries
The Gold Needles | This Autumn Road | Through A Window
Lannie Flowers | Let It Go | Single release
Jefferson Airplane | Go To Her | Surrealistic Pillow
The Well Wishers | Free | The Lost Soundtrack
Krista D | Run Jane Run | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Havana 3 AM | Joyride | Havana 3 AM
The Rubinoos | January | From Home
The Armoires | Appalachukrainia | Zibaldone
The Decibels | Stupidity | Scene, Not Herd
Rachel Taylor Brown | Up You | Run Tiny Human
The Bobbleheads | Two Become One | Myths And Fables
Elk City | 25 Lines | Everybody’s Insecure
Trip Wire | Into The Sound | Once & Always

September 4, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

On this week’s episode, I had the chance to meet two artists whose bands were popular back in the day, then went dormant for decades, then recently re-formed their bands and released great new EPs. I mean, one success story like this would be pretty cool–but two in one show? Wow!

In the first hour, I got to meet Alexa Hunter of Disturbed Furniture, and we had a lively chat as she drove around L.A.–safely, and hands-free, of course! Disturbed Furniture were a fixture of the late 70’s-early’80s New York City club scene. They shared bills with such heavyweights as The GoGo’s, Psychedelic Furs, Stranglers, and The Waitresses. Their music could be described as intelligent post-punk. After years of being apart, a 2017 museum show which featured their old music videos motivated them to get back together. Their new EP, Continuous Pleasures, is a fine return to the limelight. Look for west coast and east coast shows in the fall. www.disturbedfurniture.com

Later on, Ken Kurson of seminal Chicago band The Lilacs joined me for some more great music talk. The Lilacs were part of the legendary Chicago music scene of the early 90s–you know, the one that produced Material Issue, Liz Phair, Urge Overkill, Smashing Pumpkins. Back then, every time you turned on the radio, it was exciting–you never knew which great new alternative band you would hear. Interestingly enough, Jim Ellison of Material Issue nurtured and even named the band, and Brad Wood (producer of Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville) produced their first long player. Alas, they too broke up, and needed some time and space–about 25 years, and most of the band left Chicagoland. 2019 brought their new EP, The Lilacs Endure, and they haven’t missed a beat. Produced by Richard Lloyd and recorded in Nashville, it rocks hard. They’ll be playing some shows this fall as well. www.facebook.com/TheLilacs1990

Artist | Track | Album
Chris Isaak | Dry Your Eyes | First Comes The Night
Lost Leaders | To The Top | Promises Promises
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | At Every Train Stop | MAKE
Identical Suns | Miss Her Reminiscing | Week Minded
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | Take You Home | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
Steely Dan | Barrytown | Pretzel Logic
Yung Wu | Shore Leave | Shore Leave

Alexa Hunter interview
Disturbed Furniture | In The Front | Continuous Pleasures
Disturbed Furniture | Angel Of Losses | Continuous Pleasures

Sally’s Six-Gun Sorrow | Have Another Drink On Me | Single release
Smoking Popes | Before I’m Gone | Destination Failure
Anton Barbeau | Creepy Tray | Natural Causes
The Pretenders | Bad Boys Get Spanked | Pretenders II
The Rubinoos | Do You Remember | From Home
Arrica Rose & The …’s | When You’re Gone | Low As The Moon
Matt Langlois | You Are My Weekend | Merde!
Lannie Flowers | Flavor Of The Month | Single release
The Armoires | Responsible (Reuptake) | Side Three
The Gold Needles | Sunset Girl | Through A Window
The Bangles | Walking Down Your Street | Different Light
Diplomats Of Solid Sound | Already Gone | A Higher Place
R. Stevie Moore | Irony | Afterlife
In Deed | Song To You | Everest
Tawny Thiele | Happy Together | The Fowl Tone Sampler

Ken Kurson interview
The Lilacs | Monica | The Lilacs Endure
The Lilacs | Shadow Of Doubt | The Lilacs Endure

Gretchen’s Wheel | Plans | Black Box Theory
Richard X. Heyman | If You’re So Inclined | Pop Circles
The Imperial Sound | The Sun Goes Out | The New AM
Don Hawkins | So Much To Learn | Stutter Step
Chris Church | Fall Into Me | Limitations Of Source Tape
Sunshine Boys | Tripping Through Time | Blue Music
Lisa Mychols | Endless Daydream | Sugar
Frank Black | Superabound | Teenager Of The Year

September 1, 2019
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment