On this show, we meet Heazza, a remarkable Chicago-based vocalist. Her given name is actually Heather Leonhardt, but I’ll let her tell you how she acquired the stage name Heazza–it’s kind of a fun story. But more importantly, her music. She has a wonderfully rich voice, full of drama and passion. And her songs–grown-up, cinematic, sometimes downbeat, othertimes dreamy. She calls her sonic palette “muted neon”–a fairly accurate and unique description. I call it wonderful. Her debut EP, “Heazza”, is a great introduction to this amazing songwriter-vocalist. A true artistic statement. http://www.heazzaofficial.com/

We spent the rest of the show playing a whole bunch of great music from 2019, mixed in with some great older stuff. Give a listen!

Artist | Track | Album
Jody Porter | In The Beginning… | Pacifier
The Claustrophobes | Free | Underdog Pop
In Deed | Heart Attack | Everest
Todd Rundgren | I Saw The Light | The Very Best of Todd Rundgren
The Well Wishers | Great Day Out | The Lost Soundtrack
Steven Bradley | Pre-Emptive Strike | Summer Bliss And Autumn Tears
Sunshine Boys | John Cage | Blue Music

Heazza interview
Heazza | Stuck | Heazza
Heazza | Occupied | Heazza

Maxi Dunn | How Was I To Know? | Welcome To Soonville
Desario | Down Among Them | Red Returns
Little Guilt Shrine | One, Two | Boy Girl Boy
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Alchemy C’mere | MAKE
The Rubinoos | January | From Home
The Brothers Steve | Angeline | Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave
Sparklejet | Northern Land | Phonovella
The Cherry Bluestorms | Baby, You’re A Rich Man | Transit Of Venus
The Corner Laughers | The Girl, America | Matilda Effect
Nick Heyward | Stars In Her Eyes | The Apple Bed
Sex 66 | I Dreamed I Was A Dragster | Grew Up Down
The Bobbleheads | Holding On | Myths And Fables
Krista D | Penny For Your Thoughts | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Bud Rogers | Intercity Mars | Starman
Morphine | Scratch | Yes
The Armoires | Anenome! | Side Three
Glenn Mercer | Wheels In Motion | Wheels In Motion
Dionne Warwick | I’ll Never Fall In Love Again | The Very Best of Dionne Warwick
Lannie Flowers | Let It Go | Single release
Bellygunner | Negative Kid | Machine Gun Built For Two
Tawny Thiele | Happy Together | The Fowl Tone Sampler
The Freddy Jones Band | Waitress | North Avenue Wake Up Call
Matt Langlois | Anything Goes (Your Modern World) | Merde!
Anny Celsi | Empty Hangers | Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits
The Replacements | Attitude | All Shook Down
Girls On Grass | Down At The Bottom | Dirty Power
Richard X. Heyman | If You’re So Inclined | Pop Circles
Juliana Hatfield and Tonya Donelly | Josie And The Pussycats | Single release
Jet Electro | Through | Jet Electro

January 22, 2020
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

About a decade ago, I had David Bash on my show, in anticipation of the 2010 Liverpool edition of IPO. He is the founder and CEO of the IPO Music Festival (International Pop Overthrow). It was a good time, and I always thought I’d like to get him back on the show someday. Then earlier last year, I interviewed Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of Big Stir Records, while they were inside a parked car outside the L.A. IPO festival. During the interview, John Borack and David Bash joined them, and we all had a good time on the call. Later in the year, I was again chatting with Christina and Rex, who were at Christina’s house, and who should be there once again, but David Bash!

I may be slow, but I do eventually get the message: this was a clear sign that it was time to get David back on my show. I felt a little guilty that he wasn’t getting a full interview, just bits and pieces here and there. So finally, October 26th was the day–the return of David Bash to Twirl Radio!

The IPO, named after famed Chicago band Material Issue’s debut album, has been around since the late 1990s. It’s basically a music festival that travels to about 15 different cities in North America and Europe, and runs for multiple nights in each city. The idea is to bring together a lot of worthy, indie rock and roll bands in a veritable music smorgasbord. David and I talked about the origins of the festival, the current state of music, and even listened to a few tracks off the IPO 2019 compilation. It was a fun chat, and we covered a lot of ground. Get yourself to an IPO near you for some great live music.
https://internationalpopoverthrow.com

Artist | Track | Album
Bill Lloyd | Let Her Dance | Lloyd-ering
Maxi Dunn | Always Be My Friend | Welcome To Soonville
The Armoires | Alesandra 619 | Zibaldone
R. Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner | Another Day Slips Away | Make It Be
Gin Blossoms | Allison Road | New Miserable Experience
Allyson Seconds | Little World | Little World

David Bash interview
The Morning Line | I Can’t Say | International Pop Overthrow Vol. 22
The Top Boost (feat. Roger Joseph Manning Jr.) | Dreaming | International Pop Overthrow Vol. 22
Zombies Of The Stratosphere | London Social Degree | International Pop Overthrow Vol. 22
The Sharona | Oh My Girl | International Pop Overthrow Vol. 22

The Spampinato Brothers | Let Him Think On That | Pie In The Sky
The Gold Needles | This Autumn Road | Through A Window
Lindy LaFontaine | I Might Not Love You | Single release
Chris Church | Bell The Cat | Limitations Of Source Tape
The Rubinoos | Do You Remember | From Home
Lannie Flowers | Good | Single release
Rachel Taylor Brown | Little Gyre | Run Tiny Human
Trip Wire | Had Enough | Once & Always
The Seven And Six | The Wonder | EP #1
Paula Carino | Flying Dream | Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave
The Morning Line | Nostradamus | North
Spanic Boys | When You Fall | Torture
The Claustrophobes | Clever Minds | Underdog Pop
Jeremy | Pop Overflow | Pop Overflow
Harvey Danger | Carlotta Valdez | Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
Steve Barton | Gimme Your Hand | Tall Tales And Alibis 3
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | She’s Better | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
Sunshine Boys | Caroline Yes | Blue Music
Krista D | Crazy Bitch | Single release
The Bottle Kids | Guitars In The Sky | Starry Eyed: The Records Tribute
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Make A New Day | MAKE
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions | Four Flights Up | Rattlesnakes
The Bobbleheads | I Really See You | Myths And Fables
Glen Campbell | Galveston | The Very Best Of Glen Campbell

January 15, 2020
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

This week’s show features a couple of fun interviews. We start off with Fort Worth, Texas-based music historian/ lyricist/ dancer/ –I could go on and on with the slashes–she’s multitalented, and has done so much–Elaine McAfee Bender! She got her start in her teens, setting up one of the very first Beatles fan clubs in America, and doing live radio music reports in Dallas-Fort Worth, back in the 1960s. She’s met a lot of the legendary, now-classic rock artists back in their heyday. She’s written songs, poetry, reviews, and more. She was basically right there at ground zero of 1960s rock and roll! I’ve known her for several years, and have always enjoyed her amazing personal stories of those days–delivered with an infectious enthusiasm. I recently realized that I needed you to hear those stories too, so today’s the day. We’ll hear some old music that she loves, and some newer music that’s grabbed her attention.

Nashville-based Johnathan Pushkar may be chronologically young, but he is a musical “old soul”. Like Elaine, he’s a huge fan of the 1960s music, style, and attitude, and it comes through in his upbeat music and persona. Pretty quickly, he got signed by the legendary Jem Records label. His debut record, “Straighten Up”, shows influences from The Beatles through Weezer and more. It’s 10 tracks of upbeat power pop, compactly written and buoyantly performed. There’s 12 string Rickenbacker guitar all over this album, and it lulls, jangles, and crunches as needed, to serve the songs. Great vocal harmonies pull it all together. This is a fun listen for sure. My conversation with Johnathan was fun and inspired, and I’m looking forward to what comes next for him.
https://www.johnathanpushkar.com

Enjoy the great stories and music!

Artist | Track | Album
Jonah’s Onelinedrawing | Better Than This | Sketchy EP#1
The Seven And Six | Strataplastic | EP#1
Don Hawkins | Acquisition | Stutter Step
Trip Wire | Bottle Rocket | Once & Always
Jane’s Addiction | Stop | Ritual De Lo Habitual
Skip Heller | I Hate You | That Was Then
Dionne Warwick | I Say A Little Prayer | The Very Best of Dionne Warwick

Elaine McAfee Bender interview
The Beatles | Things We Said Today | A Hard Day’s Night
Herman’s Hermits | Mrs. Brown | Single release
Laurie Biagini | The California Quake | A Go-Go Girl In A Modern World
David Bullock | Blue Ridge Mountains | In The Waking World
Train | Drops Of Jupiter | Drops Of Jupiter

The Armoires | Not A Good Man | Side Three
Sunshine Boys | Only A Million Miles | Blue Music
Anny Celsi | Empty Hangers | Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits
Three Minute Tease | Love Is Onion | Three Minute Tease
Spanic Boys | When You Fall | Torture
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Sun Up | The Underground Garden
Sundial Symphony | Merri Goes Round | Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave

Johnathan Pushkar interview
Johnathan Pushkar | We Could Be Together | Straighten Up
Johnathan Pushkar | Boyfriend | Straighten Up

Lannie Flowers | James Bond Theme | Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007
Librarians With Hickeys | Black Velvet Dress | Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave
Krista D | Penny For Your Thoughts | Look At Me I’m Krista D
The Rubinoos | Do You Remember | From Home
R. Stevie Moore | Back In Time | Afterlife
Smoking Popes | Before I’m Gone | Destination Failure
Poplord | Kill Me | The Fowl Tone Sampler

January 13, 2020
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my Twirl Radio shows, due to various reasons. But let’s just say that I pretty much missed an entire autumn’s worth of shows, and I’m now starting to catch up.

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been doing any radio. On the contrary–I’ve still been doing the live radio shows. But I realize that it’s time to get them out there so that you can have a listen. So here we go–this is what September 21st sounded like. No guests that day, just 3 hours of great rock ‘n’ roll. Enjoy!

Artist | Track | Album
The JAC | Persistent Man | Faux Pas
Steven Bradley | Pre-Emptive Strike | Summer Bliss And Autumn Tears
Girls On Grass | Down At The Bottom | Dirty Power
Anton Barbeau | Milk Churn In The Morning | Magic Act
Smoking Popes | You Spoke To Me | Destination Failure
R. Stevie Moore | Irony | Afterlife
Elk City | 25 Lines | Everybody’s Insecure
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Disentangled | Single release
Duncan Faure | Lies And Promises | 4
Jody Porter | In The Beginning… | Pacifier
Wade Johnson | When Will It End | Single release
Harvey Danger | Carlotta Valdez | Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
In Deed | Heart Attack | Everest
The Morning Line | South Carolina | North
Maxi Dunn | Rescue Me | Single release
Felsen | I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore | I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore
Jeremy | Pop Overflow | Pop Overflow
Don Hawkins | So Much To Learn | Stutter Step
The Lilacs | I Saw Her First | Endure
Lannie Flowers | What Did I Know | Single release
Kat Jones | Those Expensive Eyes | La Rosa, La Calavera
The Cherry Bluestorms | Baby, You’re A Rich Man | Transit Of Venus
Jenifer Jackson | Mercury, The Sun & Moon | Parasol’s Sweet Sixteen Vol. 3
Charlie Cheney | She’s Made For Sunshine | Giant Chicken
The Bobbleheads | Do You | Myths And Fables
Squeeze | In Quintessence | East Side Story
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | Take You Home | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
Sunshine Boys | There Goes Another One | Blue Music
Matt Langlois | Don’t Tuck Your Shirt Into Your Pants | Merde!
David Brookings & The Average Lookings | And It Feels Like… | Scorpio Monologue
Anny Celsi | Little Black Dress | Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits
The Replacements | Attitude | All Shook Down
Krista D | Simple Social Tragedy | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Smashing Pumpkins | Frail And Bedazzled | Pisces Iscariot
Drunken Prayer | Science | Cordelia Elsewhere
The Spampinato Brothers | Refined Man | Pie In The Sky
The Paul & John | Long Way Back | Inner Sunset
The Armoires | Is Drama Sue Here? | Zibaldone
Heroes Of Toolik | Perfect | Like Night
Translator | Everywhere That I’m Not | Translation
The Sleep Junkies | The First Time Is Never The Last Time | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Lost Leaders | Probably Why We’re Here | Promises Promises
Richard X. Heyman | Hope | Pop Circles

January 12, 2020
Categories: Playlists . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: 3 Comments