Twirl Radio

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #814 – 2/17/2018: Amy Annelle interview, and bustin’ out the 2018 releases!

Amy Annelle

On today’s show, we celebrated a couple of things. We chatted with outsider folk singer-songwriter Amy Annelle, whose cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Buckskin Stallion Blues” appeared in the Golden Globe Best Film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”! We got to explore a bit of her album “The Great Unveiling” as well. And we celebrated the incoming flood of great new 2018 indie music! It was a thrill to play the first ever collaboration between Wade Johnson and John Borack, and to play a track from Lisa Said’s new band, Piramid Scheme! 2018 is looking pretty good from where I sit!
www.highplainssigh.com

Amy Annelle interview
Amy Annelle | Buckskin Stallion Blues | The Great Unveiling
Amy Annelle | Wild Geese From The West | The Great Unveiling

February 17, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #813 – 2/10/2018: Bill Kopp interview!

Author Bill Kopp

Today’s show marks our first ever visit with music writer/author Bill Kopp. I’ve been following his work for several years with his Musoscribe blog. He’s really prolific–since 2009, he’s published over 2000 pieces there. He usually has a new article or review up there every business day. As if that weren’t enough writing about music, he is about to publish a full length biography of a specific period of Pink Floyd, and I think the title says it all: “Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon”.

Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon

The book is extremely well researched and written. It’s all about the musical journey that Pink Floyd took. They started out as a sort of experimental psychedelic rock band, founded and led by eccentric genius Syd Barrett. He left the band, and they were a band with a record deal, but no real songwriters and no vision to speak of. Within five years, they released one of the most renowned concept albums in history. Bill’s book describes in great detail, how this transformation came to be. He did his homework too–interviewing the likes of Robyn Hitchcock and Jerry Shirley, as well as learning 18 Pink Floyd songs and performing them in public. His perspective is from the inside out.

We also played some great new indie music from the still-young year of 2018. Artists from all over the world, such as Spygenius, Michael Carpenter, Cootes Paradise, The Bottle Kids, and Anton Barbeau. If you had even half as much fun listening to the show as I did producing it, then, well, you had a lot of fun!

http://www.reinventingpinkfloyd.com/
http://blog.musoscribe.com

February 10, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: 1 Comment

2018 Twirlie Award Winners and podcast (Show #812 – February 3, 2018)

Mike and Marty getting ready to give out some Twirlie Awards.

Here is the complete list of 2018 Twirlie Award winners, presented live on Twirl Radio, Saturday, February 3, 2018, 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.

Album of the Year (tie)
The Welcome Matt, for their album More Empire Days

Album of the Year (tie)
Felsen, for their album Blood Orange Moon

Album of the Year Runner up (tie)
Jody Porter, for his album Pacifier

Album of the Year Runner up (tie)
Chris Church, for his album Limitations Of Source Tape

Song of the Year
Ruby Free, for their song Owe To The Man

Song of the Year Runner up
Banjo Bones, for their song Cowboy Dreams

Female Vocalist of the Year
Rose Reiter, for her EP Leonty

Male Vocalist of the Year
Adam Marsland, for his album Bulé

EP of the Year
Cirrone, for their EP Kings For A Night

Ear Candy
Celsi, Bragg & Maitland, for their album The Road To Glasgow
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
Fun Of The Pier, for their album 14:42

Best Seasonal Music
The Bobbleheads, for their song Groovy Time Of Year

Best Songwriting
Karla Kane, for her album King’s Daughters Home For Incurables

Best String Instrument Solo
Giorgi Khokhobashvili, of Banjo Bones, for his violin solo on Cowboy Dreams

Best Line in a Song
Lisa Said. The song: “Some Dudes”. The line: Well, all of them! Lots of references to classic rock songs, while being a sort of response to the Rolling Stones’ “Some Girls”.

Best Interview
Sam Phillips, 1/14/2017

Best Live Session
Skip Heller and Spike Sikes, 5/20/2017

Best Concert Performance
The Bobbleheads, Woodland, CA, 7/30/2016

Best Rock And Roll Moment
1. BBQ/Tex-Mex/Power Pop/Swimming/Drinking/Shooting/Baseball Watching/Carousing Summit, Arlington, TX, 7/2017.
2. The live show “Twirl Radio Pop Fest ’17”, Woodland, CA 8/20/2017.
3. Starting up a second radio show at Woody Radio, 11/2017.
4. Joining the SoundwavesTV network, 3/2017.
5. Being given an electric bass guitar by my wife, Amber, for Christmas, 2017.

Best Co-hosted show
DJ Gidget from Woody Radio, 12/16/2017

Radio Comeback Award
Raffa Chavez, La Raza Soul Kitchen (the show that follows Twirl). Raffa returned to Sacramento’s Voice, KUBU 96.5 FM, after a 15 year absence.

Wayback Award (aka “How’d I miss this one the first time?”)
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets, for their 1999 album “Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad”, which I didn’t discover until 2017.

Cover Song of the Year
Lannie Flowers, for his cover of the James Bond Theme

Best Compilation Album
Songs. Bond Songs: The Music of 007, curated by Andrew Curry

Reason To Live Award
Debut albums coming in 2018 by Sunshine Boys, Piramid Scheme, Cootes Paradise. New albums coming in 2018 by Anton Barbeau, The Bottle Kids, Maxi Dunn, Blake Jones & the Trike Shop, Cult Of Wedge.

Best Dressed
Delbert Raines, The Pengwins

Best Album Title
Sad Scientist, by Gretchen’s Wheel

Most Innovative Album Packaging
The American Professionals. Their album, Sympathetic Overdrive, was released on a custom USB memory stick.

Best Band Name
Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands

Beverage of the Year
Top beverages consumed during production of Twirl Radio.
1. Almond Milk Latte
2. Decaf Almond Milk Latte
3. Cafe Americano
4. Coffee
5. Decaf Coffee

Top Albums of 2017:
1. (tie) The Welcome Matt – More Empire Days
1. (tie) Felsen – Blood Orange Moon
2. (tie) Jody Porter – Pacifier
2. (tie) Chris Church – Limitations Of Source Tape
3. Plasticsoul – Therapy
4. R. Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner – Make It Be
5. Gene Loves Jezebel – Dance Underwater
6. Matt North – Above Ground Fools
7. Richard X. Heyman – Incognito
8. Heiskell – Emotional Terrorism
9. Banjo Bones – Cowboy Dreams
10. Karla Kane – King’s Daughters Home For Incurables
11. The Bye Bye Blackbirds – Take Out The Poison
12. Ruby Free – Shades
13. Gail George – Bloom
14. Celsi, Bragg & Maitland – The Road To Glasgow
15. Gretchen’s Wheel – Sad Scientist
16. Adam Marsland – Bulé
17. Chandler Travis Philharmonic – Waving Kissyhead Vol. 2 & 1
18. The Feelies – In Between
19. Desario – III
20. Walker Brigade – Therapy Animal
21. honeychain – Crushed
22. Richard Turgeon – In Between The Spaces
23. Eric Peter Schwartz – Highway 45
24. The American Professionals – Sympathetic Overdrive
25. Fun Of The Pier – 14:42
26. Edward Rogers – TV Generation
27. My Little Hum – Remembering Houses
28. Rich McCulley – Out Along The Edges
29. Sitcom Neighbor – Shag
30. Mod Hippie – Big Wow

Top Songs of 2017:
1. Ruby Free – Owe To The Man
2. Banjo Bones – Cowboy Dreams
3. R. Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner – I Am The Best For You
4. Gail George – A Wonderful Life
5. Lannie Flowers – Everything A Man Could Want
6. Felsen – Poor In A Wealthy City
7. Richard X. Heyman – Incognito
8. Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands – Mistakes
9. The Welcome Matt – My Town
10. The American Professionals – WMPMS
11. Heiskell – Still Life With Broken Heart
12. Plasticsoul – Therapy
13. Karla Kane – King’s Daughters Home For Incurables
14. Walker Brigade – DIsEASE
15. Chris Church – Fall Into Me
16. Lisa Said – Some Dudes
17. Jody Porter – By Your Side
18. Fun Of The Pier – Cavern Song
19. Chandler Travis Philharmonic – Going Back To Work Tomorrow
20. Gene Loves Jezebel – Summertime
21. Matt North – A Good Day In Nashville
22. Gretchen’s Wheel – The Price
23. Anton Barbeau – Milk Churn In The Morning (Antronica 2 version)
24. Richard Turgeon – I’m 30
25. Eric Peter Schwartz – Last Ditch Man
26. Irene Peña – Must’ve Been Good
27. Edward Rogers – She’s The One
28. Mike Collins & Kyle Vincent – Sign Me Up
29. The Bookends – A Girl Like Me
30. Trip Wire – Long Days Gone

Top EPs of 2017
1. Cirrone – Kings For A Night
2. Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands – Mistakes
3. The Pengwins – Go Away
4. Lisa Said – Estranged
5. Hannah Judson – I Wanna Know
6. Leonty (Rose Reiter) – Leonty

February 4, 2018
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: The Lids . Comments: 1 Comment

Happening today: The 2018 Twirlie Awards

Mike wearing the legendary tuxedo T-shirt–worn only once a year, at the Twirlie Awards!

We are in what the entertainment press refers to as “the run up to the Twirlies”! That is, if the entertainment press were to cover this fine independent music awards presentation.

As it turns out, the tenth annual Twirlie Awards happens today: Saturday, February 3rd, 2018, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific time, at KUBU 96.5 FM, Sacramento’s voice, and http://www.twirlradio.com. We’ll be broadcasting live from the red carpet. Or at least from a room that has carpet in it.

Hosts Marty Anaya and Mike Lidskin will be presenting such coveted awards as Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Male and Female Vocalists of the Year, and many others. We will be ripping open hermetically-sealed awards envelopes, and revealing the top albums and songs lists, for work released in 2017 and played on Twirl Radio. We’ll have the well-loved red carpet interviews that Marty is known for. You simply cannot afford to miss this epic show. In fact, we will be taking attendance, so you’ll want to listen to every minute of it!

In all seriousness, we are glad to honor the great musicians who give Twirl Radio its reason for being. Hope to see you there!

More information: The 2018 Twirlie Awards event on Facebook.

February 3, 2018
Categories: Twirl Radio Events . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #811 – 1/27/2018: Charlie Crabtree & William Cleere interview/show takeover!

William Cleere and Charlie Crabtree in the Twirl studios

As we enter Year 21 of the Twirl Radio era, I knew we had to kick it off with a fun show. My two guests, Charlie Crabtree and Bill Cleere, were the right men for the job. Both are musicians on Allen Clapp’s great Mystery Lawn Music label, from the San Francisco Bay Area. Charlie is best known as the drummer for The Corner Laughers, and Bill’s band is William Cleere And The Marvellous Fellas. But don’t let that neat compartmentalization fool you–they’ve both played in the many recombinant bands in the Mystery Lawn family. (Makes me kind of jealous–I need to learn an instrument, or how to sing and write songs, so I can get in on this fun!)

So about three years ago, Charlie moved to Sacramento, and we decided that we need to get together sometime. Then his lifelong friend Bill moved to Sacramento, and the three of us decided that we REALLY need to get together sometime. Turns out, “sometime” was January 27, 2018, and we had a blast on the radio. I knew that there would be laughs, music, and talk of food, and I was not disappointed. We did indeed chat about everything, in an epic 1-1/2 hour conversation, punctuated by music. Which version of AC/DC is better? What food doesn’t Bill like? What’s Charlie’s favorite song on Matilda Effect? What would the world have been like if KC Bowman had impersonated Michael McDonald’s vocal style on Agony Aunts “You’re So Vague”, rather than the Bill Cleere-Allen Clapp duet? We went over all of these pressing issues, and for those who didn’t catch the show live, you can hear it all on the replay.

Everything you need to know about all the bands on Mystery Lawn can be found right here: mysterylawn.com

January 28, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #810 – 1/20/2018: Twirl Radio 20th Anniversary Special!

20 years of Twirl. It’s hard to believe that it’s gone by this fast, and that we’re still on the air. Access Sacramento first let me through the studio doors on January 17, 1998, and a nervous, shaky me somehow got through it.

Playlist from the first Twirl Radio episode, 20 years ago, January 17, 1998.

The first song I ever played on the radio was Juliana Hatfield’s “Everybody Loves Me But You”. At the time, my focus was on the alternative and Americana music that everybody loved, but couldn’t seem to find on the air anymore.

Maxi Dunn

Fast forward to 2018. Access Sacramento’s radio station now broadcasts on KUBU 96.5 FM in Sacramento, as well as on the internet. Content wise, the focus of Twirl has shifted a bit. I now champion independent musicians who make some of the best sounding and most critically acclaimed music today, and those who were once receiving commercial airplay, but now need a home for their still-vital music. It’s important to me to provide a platform for these great artists. But aside from this being a mission, it’s really a labor of love. I feel that if I didn’t have this radio show, I’d still be sitting around on Saturday afternoons, playing their songs at home. But I’d rather share them with you.

Anton Barbeau

Today’s show featured interviews with artists who have long been part of the history of Twirl, and who represent, well, what we represent–the highest caliber of independent music. We chatted with the incomparable Maxi Dunn, live, all the way from Liverpool. She embodies the independent, DIY ethos, while maintaining incredibly high musical standards for her dramatic songs. We also chatted with Sacramento native and musical icon Anton Barbeau. He now lives in Berlin, but we chatted in Fresno, while he’s back home visiting Sacramento. (Sorry, I can’t explain it any better than that!) His forthcoming album is terrific. We also chatted with Fresno’s own Blake Jones & the Trike Shop, quirky pop geniuses, who constantly reinvent themselves, and always find a way to thrill live audiences.

Blake Jones & the Trike Shop

In addition, we had recorded greetings from about two dozen indie musicians, from four different continents, who have been part of the fabric of Twirl for a long time.

My commitment to you: to not sit here and look backwards, but to kick off Year 21 properly–by discovering more new rock and roll for you, and making sure you get to hear as many great artists as possible. Thanks to Access Sacramento for providing a home for my show and all this great music. Thanks to the all the wonderful musicians for practicing their craft, and creating all this great music. And most of all–thanks to the wonderful listeners, who spend time listening to my show and getting as thrilled by this great music as I do. Enjoy the show!

January 21, 2018
Categories: Playlists, Twirl Radio Events . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #809 – 1/13/2018

Enjoy this picture of my new headphones!

Today’s show started out one way, but turned into something else, equally as good. We were supposed to interview outsider folk singer-songwriter Amy Annelle, but circumstances beyond our control prevented that. But we did get to hear a couple of her songs, including her cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Buckskin Stallion Blues”–which appeared in the Golden Globe Best Film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”! So we’re going to reschedule our chat with Amy sometime in the near future.

So what did the show turn into? A two hour feast of some great indie rock ‘n’ roll! And even the tunes by the not-so-indies were pretty great and unusual. Also–I had the chance to test out some new headphones that I acquired this week, so the show sounds even better than ever–to me, at least!

But stick close, my friends. Next week is the special 20th Anniversary edition of Twirl Radio. And two weeks after that: the annual Twirlie Awards show!

January 13, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #808 – 1/6/2018: Vic’s Picks: A conversation with Victor Erwin of Spyderpop Records!

Victor Erwin

We started off the first show of 2018 with a bang–a chat with Victor Erwin of Spyderpop Records, of Arlington, Texas! I’ve known Vic for about four years, and I’ve been wanting to get him on the show ever since the day we met. We were hanging out in Texas, enjoying barbeque and beers, and chatting for hours about music. Next day, we were at the Spyderpop Records office, watching music videos (loudly), and listening to music (loudly), and talking about music (at a moderate volume).

Vic’s Pick

Vic eats, drinks, breathes, sleeps, works, and plays music. His love for music is contagious and endearing. So we’re going to kick off the occasional series, “Vic’s Picks” (much like the blog series he does in the News section of Spyderpop’s website: Vic’s Picks at Spyderpop Records). Today’s topic was the watershed musical year of 1977, and specifically, the three punk bands who led the way: The Ramones, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, and I suspect you did too.

Spyderpop records is a great champion of amazing independent rock and roll, and you should check out some of their offerings: www.spyderpop.com.

January 6, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #807 – 12/16/2017: Special guest cohost DJ Gidget of Woody Radio!

DJ Gidget Bates

Today’s show is the final live Twirl Radio show of 2017, so we went out with a fun show. My very special guest cohost was none other than DJ Gidget Bates of Woody Radio! I’d been wanting to get her back on the show for a few years, and the opportunity presented itself, so we made the most of it. We spent an hour playing music, and engaging in, er, a “free-ranging, unmoderated” conversation. To say the least. There’s a reason I like listening to Gidget on her radio shows, and it was fully evident today–she can talk about anything, and make it sound fun and interesting. Her enthusiasm for independent music is infectious. Now I enjoy a good conversation myself, and honest to goodness, we didn’t really plan any of this out–so the topics flowed easily. We covered everything from burritos to DNA ancestry testing, all the way to the non-existent private parts of steers! Oh–and music too!

Gidget brought along some music for us to play–a couple of Christmas songs, and she gave us the great honor of announcing her top two favorite tracks of 2017, right on the show!

I’ve been a fan of Woody Radio for the past several years, and always admired their passion for music. The DJs there are all incredibly knowledgeable, and very real. Gidget has occasionally hinted that I’d be welcome there if I ever wanted to join them, and recently, I took the plunge. I’ve started my own show there (twice monthly, 1st and 3rd Tuesday nights), and was welcomed with open arms and brought into the fold. It’s a lovably quirky station, and Gidget is the ringleader. I’m proud to call myself a member of the Woody Radio family. www.woodyradio.com

December 16, 2017
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #806 – 12/9/2017: Jody Porter interview!

Jody Porter

On today’s show, we got to meet Jody Porter. You might recognize him as the guitarist from Fountains of Wayne. He’s currently staying in the UK, so we had an in-depth, middle of the night chat about his 2017 solo album Pacifier, a really great listen. He explained the concept behind the album, and we learned of his influences, how the album came together, and some exciting news about what he’s working on next. There’s a lot of depth to this album, and not only are the songs good, they sound great. The album was mixed on tape at Abbey Road Studios (yes, THOSE Abbey Road Studios), and Jody was incredibly pleased with the results. More info at https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jodyporter4

Jody Porter interview
Jody Porter | Valerie Sometimes | Pacifier
Jody Porter | Armageddon Blues | Pacifier

December 9, 2017
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: 2 Comments

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