Here is the complete list of 2020 Twirlie Award winners, presented live on Twirl Radio, Saturday, February 1, 2020, in Sacramento, California, at Access Sacramento’s KUBU 96.5 FM. Congratulations to all, and more importantly, a big thank you to all the great independent musicians who make it possible for me to do this radio show.

In 2019, Twirl Radio expanded to a full three hours. This enabled us to really do the Twirlies right–we started things off with a half hour “pregame show”. My colleague at KUBU radio, Bill Fuller, was my special co-host and color commentator. We used the time to discuss the colorful history and culture of the Twirlie Awards.

At 3:30, the official awards presentation began. My longtime co-host Marty Anaya joined the fray, and we immediately started opening envelopes and giving out awards left and right. Scroll to the bottom to see more photos of the festivities.

One of our top two categories, Song of the Year was announced at the Twirlies on Saturday, but we held back on the rest of the Top Songs list until the following Tuesday. The entire list was revealed and played in its entirety on Woody Radio on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. It’s what we in the biz refer to as “the best of both worlds”. Additionally, the podcasts for both of these shows will be placed here as soon as they are made available.

I give you…The 2020 Twirlie Awards:

Twirlie Awards show, 2/1/2020:

Twirlie Awards top songs countdown show, 2/4/2020:

Album of the Year
Lannie Flowers, for his album Home

Album of the Year Runner up
Lost Leaders, for their album Promises Promises

Song of the Year
Kai Danzberg, for his song Not Only Sunshine (Reprise)

Song of the Year Runner up
Wade Johnson, for his song When Will It End

Female Vocalist of the Year
Michal Towber, for her album No Resolution

Male Vocalist of the Year
R. Stevie Moore, for his album Afterlife

EP of the Year
Project: Ghost Outfit, for their EP Project: Ghost Outfit

EP of the Year Runner up
Elk City, for their EP Souls In Space

Ear Candy (tie)
The Bobbleheads, for their album Myths And Fables

Ear Candy (tie)
Matt Langlois, for his album Merde!
The Ear Candy Award is given to an album that is a “go-to” album. You can pick any song, and it sounds great in any set of music, at any time.

Ear Worm Song
The Kariannes, for their song “This Song Is A Cure”.
The Ear Worm Award is given to a song that sticks in your head for hours after you’ve heard it–and you don’t mind at all. In fact, you invite it back into your head often!

Debut Album of the Year
Johnathan Pushkar, for his album Straighten Up

Best Songwriting
Lannie Flowers, for his album Home

Best Line in a Song
Michal Towber. The album: “No Resolution”. The song: “Old”. The line: “I’ll be 17 until the day I die…but secretly, both you and me, know I’m old…” Alternative choice–the song Rockstar. Can’t say it on the air, but do look up this song and its lyrics.

Best Interview
Victor Erwin of Spyderpop Records and John Ashfield/Rob Harford of The Bobbleheads, 5/18/2019 (There were 64 interviews on Twirl Radio in 2019.)

Best Live, in-studio Session
The Armoires w/Blake Jones, 8/17/2019

Best Concert Performance
Bellygunner, Twirl Radio Popfest, 5/26/2019, Blue Note Brewing Co., Woodland, CA

Music Scene of the Year
Woodland, CA, as curated and promoted by Chuck Dodds.
Chuck created the Sunday concert series at Blue Note Brewing Company, and First Friday concerts in a historic former bank building. He works with other local venues–coordinates schedules, so as not to compete with their music nights.

Record Label of the Year
Big Stir Records

Spirit of Twirl Award
Craig Carlstrom, for posting and reposting about Twirl Radio shows and events

Best Rock And Roll Moment
1. Broadcasting live from Texas (John Borack, Stephen “Spaz” Schnee, Dave “Boogieman” Kaufman. Guests included Alan Petsche, Victor Erwin, Lannie Flowers, Wade Johnson, Danny Wilkerson.
2. Twirl Radio expands to 3 hours.
3. Fres-cast: 10/5/2019, live broadcast from Blake Jones’ Whispermaphone Studios, featuring Sparklejet, Poplord, Blake Jones, Chelsea Jones.
4. Meeting the following musicians in person: Bill Lloyd, Craig Carlstrom, Dean Seavers, Brent Seavers, Brian Machado (The Decibels), James Bourbeau (Sex 66), Larysa Bulbenko (The Armoires).
5. Spyderpop Tour comes to Sacramento.

Wayback Award
Harvey Danger, for their 1999 album “Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?” Just discovered the rest of this 20 year old album beyond “Flagpole Sitta” in 2019, and it is an alternative-era classic.

Cover Song of the Year
Popdudes, for their cover of the Walter Egan classic “Magnet And Steel”. This came from their album Maximum Rock Stupidity.

Best Compilation Album
Big Stir Singles: The First Wave.
Big Stir Singles: The Second Wave.
Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave.
Big Stir Singles: The Fourth Wave.
Four waves so far, a fifth is on the way.

Reason To Live Award
New albums coming in 2020 from Sunshine Boys, The Handcuffs, Anton Barbeau, The Corner Laughers, Chris Church, The Seven and Six, Forrest, Sparklejet, and more.

Best Album Title
Matt Langlois, for his album titled “Merde!”. It’s a French word; look up the translation, and look up its use in theatrical productions in France.

Best Band Name
Sally’s Six-Gun Sorrow (Krista Acheson)

Beverage of the Year
Top beverages consumed during production of Twirl Radio.
1. Water, refillable bottle
2. Water, paper cup with ice
3. Water, military canteen/flask (tie)
4. Water, fountain down the hall
5. Water, single use bottle

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Top Albums of 2019:
1. Lannie Flowers – Home
2. Lost Leaders – Promises Promises
3. Don Hawkins – Stutter Step
4. Drunken Prayer – Cordelia Elsewhere
5. The Bobbleheads – Myths And Fables
6. R. Stevie Moore – Afterlife
7. Richard X. Heyman – Pop Circles
8. The Armoires – Zibaldone
9. In Deed – Everest
10. Matt Langlois – Merde!
11. Trip Wire – Once & Always
12. Anton Barbeau/Salt – Berliner Grotesk/The Loneliness Of Clouds
13. The Rubinoos – From Home
14. Anny Celsi – Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits
15. The Decibels – Scene, Not Herd/Big Hits! (Plus Twelve More)
16. Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands – My Colors Dark
17. Popdudes – Maximum Rock Stupidity
18. Nick Eng – Long Shot
19. JonEmery and the Unconventionals – Wrecked
20. The Morning Line – North
21. Girls On Grass – Dirty Power
22. The Gold Needles – Through A Window
23. Karen Haglof – Tobiano
24. Johnathan Pushkar – Straighten Up
25. The Well Wishers – The Lost Soundtrack
26. Steven Bradley – Summer Bliss And Autumn Tears
27. Heiskell – Songs In The Key Of H
28. Identical Suns – Week Minded
29. Jeremy – Pop Overflow
30. David Brookings & The Average Lookings – Scorpio Monologue

Top Songs of 2019:
The full list was revealed and played on Woody Radio on February 4, 2020.
1. Kai Danzberg – Not Only Sunshine (Reprise)
2. Wade Johnson – When Will It End
3. Girls On Grass – Down At The Bottom
4. Don Hawkins – So Much To Learn
5. In Deed – Heart Attack
6. Identical Suns – Miss Her Reminiscing
7. Heiskell – The Great Opaque
8. Drunken Prayer – Cordelia
9. Lannie Flowers – Free To Dream
10. The Kariannes – This Song Is A Cure
11. The Morning Line – Nostradamus/Synthadamus
12. Lost Leaders – All That I Want
13. Diplomats Of Solid Sound – Already Gone
14. The Armoires – Responsible (Reuptake)
15. The Decibels – Big Hits
16. Salt – A Song For Jerome
17. Blake Jones and the Trike Shop – Disentangled
18. Nick Eng – Too Good For Anyone
19. Elk City – Luncheonette
20. Richard X. Heyman – Upside And Down
21. Amoeba Teen – Like A Hit To The Head
22. The Bobbleheads – I Really See You
23. Trip Wire – Easy Exit
24. JonEmery And The Unconventionals – If You Think You’re Heartbroken Now
25. The Amplifier Heads – Who’s That Girl?
26. 50 Watt Heavy – Absolutely Fading (Nasty)
27. Michal Towber – Rockstar
28. Chancellorpink – A Rainbow’s Knocking
29. R. Stevie Moore – Another Day Slips Away
30. Bill Mumy – You’re My Inspiration
31. Project: Ghost Outfit – Mess My Mind
32. Steven Bradley – Capitol Hill
33. Matt Langlois – You Are My Weekend
34. Librarians With Hickeys – Until There Was You
35. Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands – My Colors Dark
36. Johnathan Pushkar – We Could Be Together
37. Sally’s Six-Gun Sorrow – 5 Miles From Home
38. My Little Hum – Don’t Build It Alone
39. The Lilacs – Shadow Of Doubt
40. Karen Haglof – Tobiano Twirl

Top EPs of 2019:
1. Project: Ghost Outfit – Project: Ghost Outfit
2. Elk City – Souls In Space
3. The Armoires – Side Three
4. Rogers & Butler – Diana Dors
5. The Seven And Six – EP#1
6. The Lilacs – The Lilacs Endure
7. Disturbed Furniture – Continuous Pleasures
8. The New Duncan Imperials – Hunny Bunny
9. Janet LaBelle – I Only See You
10. Heazza – Heazza

February 2, 2020
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: 2 Comments

Due to the high volume of fun this summer, I have been a little bit behind in posting these blogs and playlists for my radio shows. The show on Saturday, 8/17, just piled even more fun on the already prominent heap of fun that I’ve been involved with lately. This was the day, long planned, where folks from several Big Stir bands would visit me in my Sacramento radio studios.

These guys and gals were all traveling from the Los Angeles and Fresno areas to San Francisco, to be part of the IPO (International Pop Overthrow) music festival, and took a side trip to Sacramento for some radio fun. So here’s the lineup of who we crammed into my studio on that epic day:

Christina Bulbenko, Rex Broome, Larysa Bulbenko of The Armoires.
Blake Jones of Blake Jones & The Trike Shop
John Borack of Popdudes and The Test Pressings, who was filling in on drums for The Armoires on this tour.

In addition, Dean Seavers of Sacramento’s The Decibels hung out for a while, because he wanted to meet the Big Stir folks, and Evan Palley traveled up and down the state with the Big Stir delegation as well.

This was kind of an auspicious date as well. This particular weekend was the 50th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock music festival. So to kind of honor this tradition–we had lots of people in the studio, and several live performances. (No drugs or mud, though.) This show was epic in every way, and you’ve got to listen–if only for the live performances and the laughter. These are a bunch of amazing musicians who do what they do for the love of the music, and I’m proud to call them all friends.

After two hours with Big Stir, they had to hit the road back to San Francisco. I tried to carry on all by myself for the last hour, but man, the afterglow of a wonderful visit kept going for hours. Check the bottom of this post for some bonus photos and videos from the day. Enjoy the show!
bigstirrecords.com
blakejonesmusic.com
John Borack’s Goldmine Magazine column
thedecibels.bandcamp.com

Artist | Track | Album
Pete’s Copter | Magic Circle | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Bellygunner | Negative Kid | Machine Gun Built For Two
Don Hawkins | Pricks And Stones | Stutter Step
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | She’s Better | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad

Big Stir studio invasion
Blake Jones | Wednesday | (Live in studio)
Blake Jones | Soft Rock Girlfriend | (Live in studio)
The Armoires | Appalachukrainia | Zibaldone
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Alchemy C’mere | MAKE
In Deed | Heart Attack | Everest
The Armoires | Pushing Forty | (Live in studio)
The Armoires | When We Were In England (And You Were Dead) | (Live in studio)
The Armoires | The Laws Have Changed | (Live in studio)
Popdudes | Desperation Time | Maximum Rock Stupidity
Trip Wire | Act Fast | Once & Always
The Morning Line | Nostradamus | North

Salt | A Song For Jerome | The Loneliness Of Clouds
Lannie Flowers | Good | (Single release)
JonEmery And The Unconventionals | If You Think You’re Heartbroken Now | Wrecked
Felsen | BFF OMG | Breaking Up With Loneliness
Rachel Taylor Brown | Up You | Run Tiny Human
Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands | Final Say | Risk Profile
Girls On Grass | Down At The Bottom | Dirty Power
The Corner Laughers | For The Sake Of The Cat | Ultraviolet Garden
Duncan Faure | Man Of A Thousand Dreams | Pronounced “Four-Uh”
Chris Church | Bell The Cat | Limitations Of Source Tape
The Bobbleheads | Do You? | Myths And Fables
Krista D | Penny For Your Thoughts | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Elk City | 25 Lines | Everybody’s Insecure

August 25, 2019
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

This week’s show was kind of epic. It had everything going on: thrills, spills, chills, and Doan’s Pills (old timey reference)! Ok, maybe not all of that, but still, a pretty big show. Lots to unpack here, so let’s take it from the top.

In the first hour, we met NYC-based singer-songwriter Janet LaBelle. We spoke about her exquisite little EP “I Only See You”, and her career as a songwriter in general. She started in the punk-pop band Avery in her teens, but moved into a style that was more suited to showcasing lyrics and her vocals. Her role model for production and arranging is Brian Wilson, and her attention to detail really shines through. Our chat was fun and lively. Check out Janet’s work at janetlabelle.com.

In the second hour, we were scheduled to chat with Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of The Armoires and Big Stir Records. They literally released their second album, Zibaldone, the day before, so we wanted to talk about that. But The Armoires and I have an interesting history of phone interviews conducted from inside their car. The last time that happened they were in San Francisco, in the Haight district, and Marty Schneider of Trip Wire just happened by and said hello to them. This time, Christina and Rex were parked outside the site of the IPO (International Pop Overthrow) Festival in Los Angeles, and a couple of music luminaries not only said hello, but jumped into the car with them, and joined the interview, already in progress. So we got to say hello to writer John Borack, and the impresario behind IPO itself, David Bash! The conversation soon took a turn for the sillier–and I loved every second of it!
bigstirrecords.com goldminemag.com/blogs/power-pop-plus internationalpopoverthrow.com

And if that weren’t enough, the third hour brought us a visit with Lannie Flowers and Danny Wilkerson, two of the artists on Arlington, Texas’ Spyderpop Records, ahead of their Sacramento area appearance the following day. Lannie has been the flagship artist for the label for a decade, and is nearing completion of his next album, Home. Last year, Danny released his magnificent solo debut, Wilkerson, which made many year end “best of” lists (Editor’s note: including mine), and is just now starting to perform these amazing songs live. Those two, along with the legendary Bill Lloyd and the great Chris Church, are touring different parts of the country (currently in California), backed by the ace Lannie Flowers Band. We chatted about life on the road, and the current tour. (Editor’s other note: the show on Aug. 4th in Woodland, CA, was magnificent!)
spyderpop.com.

That’s a whole lot of radio show. I hope you enjoy it!

Artist | Track | Album
The Cherry Bluestorms | Roy Wood | Whirligig!
Holiday Flyer | It Shouldn’t Hurt So Bad | Blue Harvest
JonEmery | Britney Spears & Beers | Americana
The Bangles | In A Different Light | Different Light
The Imperial Sound | Yesterday | The New AM
Trip Wire | Bottle Rocket | Once & Always
R. Stevie Moore | Hurry Up | Afterlife

Janet LaBelle interview
Janet LaBelle | I Can’t Believe You Did That | I Only See You
Janet LaBelle | I Only See You | I Only See You

Bud Rogers | Intercity Mars | Starman
The Who | Pictures Of Lily | Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy
Irene Peña | Must’ve Been Good | Single release
Richard X. Heyman | If You’re So Inclined | Pop Circles
Girls On Grass | Down At The Bottom | Dirty Power
The Chandler Travis Philharmonic | That’s What She Said (Clean) | Let’s Have A Pancake
Drunken Prayer | Cordelia | Cordelia Elsewhere

Christina Bulbenko, Rex Broome, John Borack, David Bash interview
The Armoires | Pushing Forty | Zibaldone
The Armoires | (How Did You Make) A Mistake Like Me | Zibaldone

Danny Wilkerson & Lannie Flowers interview
Bellygunner | Negative Kid | Machine Gun Built For Two
Bill Lloyd | What Time Won’t Heal | Working The Long Game
Wilkerson | Too Much Of A Good Thing | Wilkerson
Lannie Flowers | Flavor Of The Month | Single release

Anton Barbeau | Magazine Street | Natural Causes
Sunshine Boys | John Cage | Blue Music
Squeeze | Cool For Cats | Cool For Cats
Maxi Dunn | Change The Record | Edmund & Leo
Jody Porter | Valerie Sometimes | Pacifier
Rachel Taylor Brown | Up You | Run Tiny Human
Lost Leaders | People Like Us | Promises Promises

August 7, 2019
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

Here is the complete list of 2019 Twirlie Award winners, presented live on Twirl Radio, Saturday, February 2, 2019, in Sacramento, California, at Access Sacramento’s KUBU 96.5 FM. Congratulations to all, and more importantly, a big thank you to all the great independent musicians who make it possible for me to do this radio show.

The award presenters: Martin Anaya and Mike Lidskin. Marty was our Hollywood correspondent, co-hosting live from Hollywood, California, while I broadcasted from the Sacramento studios.

A new feature this year: although the Song of the Year was announced at the Twirlies, the rest of the Top 40 Songs list was revealed and played, in its entirety, on Woody Radio on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. It’s what we in the biz refer to as “the best of both worlds”.

Twirlie Awards show, 2/2/2019:

Twirlie Awards top songs countdown show, 2/5/2019:

Album of the Year
Sunshine Boys, for their album Blue Music

Album of the Year Runner up
Danny Wilkerson, for his album Wilkerson

Song of the Year
Elk City, for their song 25 Lines

Song of the Year Runner up
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, for their song Alchemy C’mere

Female Vocalist of the Year
Krista Acheson, for her Krista D and Molly Grue projects

Male Vocalist of the Year (tie)
Danny Wilkerson, for his album Wilkerson

Male Vocalist of the Year (tie)
Michael Simmons, for his album First Days Of Summer

EP of the Year
Roger Joseph Manning Jr., for his EP Glamping

Ear Candy
Bill Lloyd, for his album Working The Long Game
The Ear Candy Award is given to an album that is a “go-to” album. You can pick any song, and it sounds great in any set of music, at any time.

Debut Album of the Year
Addison Love, for his album Thoughts On Lunch?

Best Album that’s NOT an Album
Lannie Flowers, for his 10 March To Home monthly single releases in 2018

Best Songwriting
Steve Barton, for his triple album set Tall Tales & Alibis

Best Line in a Song
Rachel Taylor Brown. The album: “Run Tiny Human”. The song: “Maker”. The line: “We’ll take your town, we’ll make it better.” The context: Hipsters moving to your city (in her case, Portland), and gentrifying it.

Best Interview
Lisa Mychols, 6/30/2018

Best Live, in-studio Session
Rick Hromadka of Maple Mars/Ruby Free, 7/14/2018

Best Concert Performance
The Re-Used Electrics, Arlington, TX 7/28/2018

Music Scene of the Year
Big Stir: Big Stir Records, Big Stir Magazine, Big Stir live shows, Big Stir Radar Hour radio show

Record Label of the Year
Spyderpop Records, with releases by Wilkerson, Bill Lloyd, Lannie Flowers, The Re-Used Electrics, Pat Buchanan

Spirit of Twirl Award
Poplord recording radio drops and promos for Twirl Radio

Tip of the Iceberg Award
Given to the Song of the Year Award. I only played and announced the Song of the Year, but there are dozens more songs on my list, which will be named shortly. Thus–I have literally given an award to one of my awards.

The Meta Award
Given to the Tip of the Iceberg Award, for giving an award to one of my awards. Oops–I did it again! As Marty said during the broadcast, I think we broke the fourth wall here.

Best Rock And Roll Moment
1. Getting to do 55 interviews in one year
2. Woody Radio stole/started carrying Twirl Radio
3. BBQ / Tex-Mex / Spyderpop live music fest / Whataburger / Record Shopping / Heat and humidity / Carousing in Texas, late July 2018
4. Meeting the following musicians in person: Lisa Said, Marty Schneider & Stu Shader of Trip Wire, Chuck Lindo & Cheryl Hendrickson of The American Professionals, Matt Langlois of The Welcome Matt, Roger Rocha of Felsen, Trevi Weiser, Ronnie Barnett of The Muffs, John Clifton
5. Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’18, 5/20/2018, Blue Note Brewing Company, Woodland, CA

Wayback Award
Yung Wu, for the re-release of their 1988 album Shore Leave. Yung Wu is a Feelies side-project, led by drummer Dave Weckerman.

Cover Song of the Year
The Test Pressings, for their cover of The Love Boat Theme. This came from the compilation album White Lace And Promises: The Songs Of Paul Williams. Performers: Karen Basset, Robbie Rist, John Borack.

Best Compilation Album
The Fowl Tone Sampler, released by Fowl Tone Records, Fowler, CA. 12 different bands and genres–but all performed by Poplord: Tom Magill, Craig Daniel, Stan Schaffer.

Reason To Live Award
New albums coming in 2019 from The Bobbleheads, The Armoires, Maxi Dunn, Matt Langlois, Edward Rogers, Duncan Faure, Lannie Flowers, Jimmy Catlett, Karen Haglof, The Handcuffs, and more.

Best Album Title
Molly Grue (Krista Acheson), for the EP titled The Happy Ending Cannot Come In The Middle Of The Story

Best Band Name
Little Jimmy Giant, on The Fowl Tone Sampler

Beverage of the Year
Top beverages consumed during production of Twirl Radio.
1. Hot green tea
2. Almond milk latte
3. Water
4. Coffee
5. Iced coffee

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Top Albums of 2018:
1. Sunshine Boys – Blue Music
2. Wilkerson – Wilkerson
3. Steve Barton – Tall Tales & Alibis (1, 2, 3)
4. Anton Barbeau – Natural Causes
5. Bill Lloyd – Working The Long Game
6. Blake Jones & The Trike Shop – Make
7. The Cherry Bluestorms – Whirligig!
8. The Imperial Sound – The New AM
9. Victor Sotelo – Homeland Insecurities
10. Elk City – Everybody’s Insecure
11. Fowl Tone Records – 12 Timeless Classics: The Fowl Tone Sampler
12. Gretchen’s Wheel – Black Box Theory
13. Vegas With Randolph – Legs And Luggage
14. Michael Simmons – First Days Of Summer
15. Lisa Mychols – Sugar
16. Byron Isaacs – Disappearing Man
17. Rachel Taylor Brown – Run Tiny Human
18. The Bottle Kids – Let Me In On This Action
19. Chandler Travis Three-O – Backward Crooked From The Sunset
20. Spygenius – Pacéphale
21. Daniel Trigger – Right Turn
22. Skip Heller & Spike Sikes – Sacramento
23. William Duke – Quatro
24. Pugwash – Silverlake
25. Addison Love – Thoughts On Lunch?
26. The Orange Peels – Trespassing
27. Astral Drive – Astral Drive
28. Banjo Bones – Ghostly Musings From The Delta
29. Bay Station – Other Desert Cities
30. Alison Hogan – Songs From The Third Act

Top Songs of 2018:
The full list was revealed and played on Woody Radio on February 5, 2019.
1. Elk City – 25 Lines
2. Blake Jones & The Trike Shop – Alchemy C’mere
3. Anton Barbeau – Magazine Street
4. Rachel Taylor Brown – Up You
5. The Cherry Bluestorms – Purple Heart Magic
6. Wilkerson – How She Lost My Heart
7. Sunshine Boys – Only A Million Miles
8. Lannie Flowers – Day Glow
9. Bill Lloyd – Satellite
10. Melissa Phillips – The Flame
11. Pete’s Copter – Magic Circle
12. Byron Isaacs – Disappearing Man
13. Steve Barton – Before I Get Too Young
14. Pugwash – Everyone Knows That You’re Mine
15. Wade Johnson – You Know It
16. Agony Aunts – FU4 Tryna’ Be Bolth
17. Michael Simmons – No More Girls
18. Addison Love – Wee & Nancy Lee
19. Crooked Flower – Dancing
20. William Duke – Caroline And The Silver Screen
21. Krista D – Penny For Your Thoughts
22. Gretchen’s Wheel – Plans
23. Lisa Mychols – Into Oblivion
24. The Bottle Kids – Let Me In On This Action
25. Piramid Scheme – Bandwagon Jumping Machine
26. Vegas With Randolph – Women In Airports
27. Victor Sotelo – Hey Paul!
28. The Imperial Sound – Yesterday
29. Astral Drive – Summer Of ’76
30. Chandler Travis Three-O – Backward Crooked From The Sunset
31. Alison Hogan – This Time
32. Spygenius – Godfearing
33. Daniel Trigger – Rock N Roll Party
34. The Orange Peels – Running Away
35. Gail George – Blue
36. Hot Nun – Big Fat No
37. Karen Haglof – Palomino Steady Rocking
38. The Crushing Violets – Strange Voices
39. The Outryders – Should Have Known
40. Cootes Paradise – It’s True

Top EPs of 2018:
1. Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – Glamping
2. Melissa Phillips – Both Ways
3. Gail George – It’s Personal
4. Krista D – Look At Me I’m Krista D
5. Karen Haglof – Palomino Steady Rocking
6. Hot Nun – Born To Blaze
7. Piramid Scheme – Get Rich Quick Too
8. Crooked Flower – Into The Light
9. The Jangle Band – The Guy Who Used To Care/Now That’s Over
10. The Re-Used Electrics – For Johnny

February 3, 2019
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment

On this show, we had the privilege of chatting with both the legendary Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and the local musical stalwart Warren Bishop. We also previewed the Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’18, which was held the following day. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s take it one piece at a time.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. has had an illustrious career, from being a founding member of Jellyfish, through his work with Beck, and producing many others. He’s also found time for a solo career, and just relased a wonderful four song EP called “Glamping”. We chatted about his unorthodox writing process–which sometimes takes years–and heard a couple tracks off of Glamping. We also discussed his new fan outreach, through PledgeMusic, where you can find all sorts of vinyl reissues, and his newer material as well, and gain some insight into his artistic process. https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/rogermanningjr

Warren Bishop has been a mainstay of the Sacramento music scene for many years. He’s been in many bands of his own, from Mojo Filter all the way through his current one, Blame The Bishop. But he also is the sound engineer for the venerable Sacramento music venue Old Ironsides (which opened its doors for the first time, pretty much the day after Prohibition ended, in 1933). And he’s the first to lend a helping hand to other musicians, and promote what they’re doing. In other words, he’s a Sacramento music champion. So we spent an hour together just talking about the live music scene, and playing some of the music that’s influenced him. www.reverbnation.com/blamethebishop

And speaking of Warren, Blame The Bishop was one of five bands on the bill at the Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’18, held on May 20. The Blue Note Brewing Company graciously invited us back, and this time, since the spring weather in the Sacramento area was super nice, the stage was on the inviting patio. So I spent a half hour playing music from the bands on the bill–Trip Wire, The American Professionals, Blame The Bishop, The Bobbleheads, and Desario. It was a nice blend of San Francisco and Sacramento bands, and they all hung out and got to hear each other’s music. They were all well received by the friendly Sunday afternoon crowd. http://www.bluenotebrewingcompany.com/

Oh–and lest we forget–this is a double show. Bill Fuller, who does the show right before Twirl, The Longhair Detectorists Guild, was off, and invited me to expand into his time slot for the day. So big thanks to him for letting me do a big show!

Artist | Track | Album
Freedy Johnston | Trying To Tell You I Don’t Know | Can You Fly
Arrica Rose & The …’s | Whole Lotta Lows | Low As The Moon
Wade Johnson | You Know It | Single release
Elk City | Ride The Slide | Everybody’s Insecure
Right Said Fred | Upon My Heart | Up
Plasticsoul | Therapy | Therapy

Warren Bishop interview
Blame The Bishop | These Are The Days | New And Used
The Telefones | I Knew The Bride | The Telefones
NRBQ | At The Drive In | Grooves In Orbit
The Flat Five | Almond Grove | A World Of Love And Hope
Cockeyed Ghost | Ginna Ling | Daylight Kissing Night
50 Watt Heavy | Ashtrays | 50 Watt Heavy

Twirl Radio Pop Fest segment
The American Professionals | Falling Down | Sympathetic Overdrive
Desario | Formula One | III
The Bobbleheads | Who’s Gonna Love You | Make Yourself Happy
Trip Wire | I’m Not The Enemy | Cold Gas Giants
Blame The Bishop | Happiest Unhappy Girl | New And Used
The Bobbleheads | Bedazzler (Redux) | Make Yourself Happy
Desario | Parking Lot | III

Two Dollar Pistols | Gettin’ Gone | You Ruined Everything
Jody Porter | By Your Side | Pacifier
Maxi Dunn | The Last To Know | Welcome To Soonville
Chris Church | Bell The Cat | Limitations Of Source Tape
Daniel Trigger | Rock N Roll Party | Right Turn
The Babys | Isn’t It Time | Anthology

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. interview
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. | Operator | Glamping
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. | I’m Not Your Cowboy | Glamping

The Pengwins | Go Away (Nervous Mix) | Single release
HUGElarge | Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White | HUGElarge
Gretchen’s Wheel | The Maze | Black Box Theory
Sparklejet | The World Before Longitude | Single release
Krista D | Black Eyed Susan | Look At Me I’m Krista D
Jason Berk | (One Eye On) Rockville | Coming Home
The Beatles | Good Morning Good Morning (Take 8) | Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Edition
Duncan Faure | Where Is The Music | Pronounced “Four-Uh”
Sunshine Boys | Only A Million Miles | Blue Music
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Take A Look At The Stars | MAKE
Lloyd Cole | Tell Your Sister | Don’t Get Weird On Me Babe
Tawny Thiele | Happy Together | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Pugwash | Easier Done Than Said | Silverlake
Lannie Flowers | Lost In A Daydream | Single release
Elton John | Grow Some Funk Of Your Own | Rock Of The Westies

May 21, 2018
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: twirlradio . Comments: Leave a comment