Twirl Radio

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #842 – 9/15/2018: Addison Love interview!

Addison Love

On this week’s show, we meet Southern California based singer/ songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist Addison Love. As it happens, we at Twirl Radio are no strangers to his music. A few years ago, when he was still in high school, he was part of the trio Yorktown Lads (along with his music instructor/ mentor Mike Simmons). The credo for that band was “if you write the song, you sing the song”. So flash forward to 2018, and his first solo record, “Thoughts On Lunch?”, comes out on Big Stir Records, and the rest is history. If it’s on Big Stir, it’s good. And if Addison writes it, it’s good.

He’s just 22 years old, but musically speaking, he’s an old soul. His most obvious influences include The Beatles and Beach Boys, and they are present on the record. “Like The Beatles” spells that out fairly clearly–if the girl doesn’t love The Beatles, how can she love him? “Wee & Nancy Lee” is a great upbeat earworm that has been lodged in my brain for the past few weeks, and will be one of your favorites as well, I’m sure. There are some great ballads here too. There’s a level of sophistication to these songs that many artists never reach, but comes rather easily for Addison. And in his musical studies right now, he’s learning even more instruments that are not usually found inside the rock genre. He’s also got several music projects going on right now, and lots more music to come. That’s good news for us music fans. We had a fun chat, and covered a lot of musical ground. I even learned the answer to my pressing question–how did he come up with the album title “Thoughts On Lunch?” You can learn even more about Addison at http://www.addisonlovemusic.com/.

Addison Love interview
Addison Love | Wee & Nancy Lee | Thoughts On Lunch?
Addison Love | The Ballad Of Dr. Minard | Thoughts On Lunch?

September 16, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #841 – 9/8/2018: In-studio interview with Sparklejet!

Sparklejet

Only eight days in, and September has turned into a rather amazing month for the show. This week, the Fresno power trio Sparklejet drove up Highway 99 and made Twirl Radio their first Sacramento stop. Victor Sotelo, Wade Krause, and Chris Estep spent well over an hour with me, in an unstructured (my fault), free-ranging conversation. We heard some great examples of their music from the past decade or so, and talked about how it all come together.

This visit was particularly auspicious for a few reasons. It was the first time they’d been to Sacramento in over a decade, and that night was to be their first show at the venerable tavern, Old Ironsides, in over 20 years. And–Victor had recently released his first solo record, “Homeland Insecurities”–and it is a good one. Every bit as good as the Sparklejet releases–just different.

Bonus pic: Sparklejet in the Twirl studios in Sacramento. Left to right: Victor Sotelo, Wade Krause, Mike Lidskin, Chris Estep. Photo courtesy of Sparklejet.

Sparklejet is a seriously hard-rocking band. They’re both studious and reckless. They put much care and effort into their songs, and they perform them with reckless abandon. I like to think of them as “intellectual hard rock”. They’re not afraid to try new things. I liked talking with these guys–as important as their music is, they never take themselves too seriously, so we were able to have a light-hearted chat about serious topics. They even brought along a few tracks to play for the show. I think you need to get to know them a little better.

Check out their discography at https://sparklejet.bandcamp.com/.

September 10, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #840 – 9/1/2018: In-studio interview with Ronnie Barnett of The Muffs!

Ronnie Barnett, founding member and bassist of The Muffs

So I got this text message from Stephen “Spaz” Schnee the other day, telling me that Ronnie Barnett, founding member of The Muffs, was going to be in Sacramento over the Labor Day weekend. Now Spaz has been telling me for a while that the next time his friend Ronnie comes up to Sacramento, I should try to get him on Twirl Radio. Since this was “the next time”, I took that as my opportunity to invite him on. And what happened afterwards was fairly epic. I got not just Ronnie, but his fiance Julie, and Spaz himself. A nice full studio of fun people.

Ronnie and I chatted about The Muffs’ history, his history as a bass player and music fan, and we played a few tracks from the band’s legendary 1993 debut album. The four of us talked about a whole bunch of things including that so-important topic, Jimboy’s Tacos (a Sacramento “thing”, to be sure). That hour went by incredibly quickly, and I look forward to another visit sometime in the future. https://www.facebook.com/TheMuffsMusic

Then to kick off the second hour, Spaz fulfilled a long-running inside joke of ours. Since last November, he would occasionally ask me if I was going to play a track from the new Christopher Cross album. (Christopher Cross, as you may recall, was the “captain of early 80’s yacht rock”.) So he finally got to play a track from that album. Moral of the story: if you want something done right, do it yourself! He also treated me to a brand new Gilbert O’Sullivan track as well!

And we rolled out some more brand new 2018 music–and I even kicked off the show with perhaps the only Labor Day song I’ve ever heard: “Labor Day”, by William Cleere + The Marvellous Fellas, a great duet between William Cleere and Karla Kane of The Corner Laughers. A great song for a nice long weekend. Enjoy the show–it was a particularly spirited episode!

Spaz’ picks
Christopher Cross | Take Me As I Am | Take Me As I Am
Gilbert O’Sullivan | At The End Of The Day | Gilbert O’Sullivan

September 2, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #839 – 8/25/2018: In-studio interview/performance with Pepe Espada of Banjo Bones!

Pepe Espada of Banjo Bones in the Twirl studio

Today’s show was a fun one. Pepe Espada, of Sacramento’s own Banjo Bones, returned to the Twirl studios, and spent a full hour with me on the air. He’s about to release the fourth Banjo Bones album, “Ghostly Musings from the Delta”, and it is a fine record–perhaps his finest to date. Stellar songwriting–bleak subject matter juxtaposed with sometimes upbeat melodies, a great vocal performance, against the backdrop of a National Resonator steel guitar–make for a good, thoughtful listen. Banjo Bones’ tagline is “The Dark Side of Americana”–but don’t think that’s the only thing they’re known for. Pepe’s earliest influences include rock ‘n’ roll and punk rock. Influences included Chris Whitley, Tom Waits, and Beck. And while not a blues artist, much of this record owes a debt to the early bluesmen–and that beautiful Resonator guitar kind of reinforces this.

The album has a release date of Thursday, August 30th–with a release show at Sacramento’s Blue Lamp music venue. The live band is tight and professional, and they really make the songs come to life. I hope to see you there. More info at www.banjobones.com.

August 25, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #838 – 8/18/2018: Deborah Gee & Glen Laughlin of The Cherry Bluestorms interview!

Deborah Gee and Glen Laughlin of The Cherry Bluestorms

On today’s show, Deborah Gee and Glen Laughlin of the L.A. psych-pop band The Cherry Bluestorms returned for some great conversation! This was the eve of the release of their new album, “Whirligig!”. We talked about the making of the album, the evolution of the band, and about the album release party, which also has Duncan Faure as their opening act! What’s really cool is that although it took a while to get to this, their third album, their musical pipeline has a bunch more treats in store. There is a solo Deborah Gee album on the way, and the next Cherry Bluestorms album is also in progress! (Easy there, guys–the world needs to hear this one first!)

Deborah and Glen have put together the perfect band to bring these new songs to life on stage–and we discovered that their ideal is more or less the classic guitar driven rock of the 1960s, filtered through the swirly, trippy, organ-drenched late 1980s Madchester sound. And that is music to my ears–and will be to yours, shortly. This is one intelligent band, aware and respectful of their roots, while forging a new sound. I’ve seen them live a number of times, and they are not to be missed. Deborah and Glen are the truth.

Check ’em out, and order yours at http://www.thecherrybluestorms.com.

Also in this show, we debuted a brand new single from Duncan Faure (former Bay City Rollers and Rabbitt frontman), and played a track from brand new Chicago supergroup The Imperial Sound. And my long time friend Susanna Reilly and her son Derek were visiting from Pittsburgh, PA–and each picked a track to play on the show.

Enjoy the show!

Cherry Bluestorms interview
The Cherry Bluestorms | Roy Wood | Whirligig!
The Cherry Bluestorms | Be Here Now | Whirligig!

August 19, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #837 – 8/11/2018: Karen Haglof interview!

Karen Haglof

Today’s show featured an interview with oncologist/singer-songwriter (a rare combination, to be sure) Karen Haglof. The New York City-based physician/musician sent us a sneak preview of her forthcoming EP, “Palomino Steady Rocking”, and it is terrific. She had written a whole batch of songs, intended for her next album, and four of those all were thematically connected–they had something to do with horses. And thus was born the EP. The leadoff track, Ode To Bon Jovi, has perhaps the quirkiest backstory. It’s about a horse that she likes to ride, which is actually named Bon Jovi. And the horse throws her off quite often. Oh–and it used to be owned by John Elway. I’m going to go out on a limb here, and state that there probably has never been quite another song like this one! Oh–and it rocks, and it’s kind of in your face, sonically speaking. The rest of the EP treads more familiar territory for Karen–veering between Americana and rock ‘n’ roll. http://karenhaglof.com/

We also continued playing the new music that 2018 keeps sending us! A quick survey showed that about two thirds of the tracks on this show were released this year. How exciting!

I hope you enjoy this show–and your feedback is always welcome.

Karen Haglof interview
Karen Haglof | Ode To Bon Jovi | Palomino Steady Rocking
Karen Haglof | Palomino Steady Rocking | Palomino Steady Rocking

August 12, 2018
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Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #836 – 8/4/2018: Interview doubleheader with Robert Poss and Raquel Bell!

Robert Poss

After a couple of weeks off (and big thanks to Bill Fuller for filling in for me last week), the Twirl Radio interview engine revs up again with a couple of interviews! We got all experimental on you during this show. In the first hour, we chatted with guitarist Robert Poss. The founding member of Band of Susans has spent the last 30 years coaxing all sorts of creative avant garde music from his guitars. He’s become well known for creating songs using feedback, distortion, and all sorts of unusual sounds–but making them accessible and listenable. There’s a lot of good rock and roll here. We chatted about his brand new album, “Frozen Flowers Curse The Day”, which was released the day before the show was broadcast. Find out more at https://www.robertposs.com.

Raquel Bell

In the second hour, we had an in-depth conversation with experimental musician Raquel Bell. She’s had a varied background, both musically and geographically. She grew up in Humboldt County, in far Northern California, but has also lived in such rich and varied places as New York City, Austin, TX, and now Los Angeles. She also finds herself spending a lot of time in the desert landscape of Joshua Tree. Her musical influences range from classical, jazz, pop, country, reggae, and folk. These places and musical genres all show up in her work. Her new album, “Swandala”, is varied, but the common thread between all these different influences is her vocals. They are intimate, gritty at times, ethereal at other times, but always passionate. The music can be a little strange at first, but once you sit down and listen–it’s completely mesmerizing. Learn more at https://www.rbell.ink/raquelbell.

I hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as I did putting it together!

Robert Poss interview
Robert Poss | I’ve Got A Secret List | Frozen Flowers Curse The Day
Robert Poss | Sketch 72 | Frozen Flowers Curse The Day

Raquel Bell interview
Raquel Bell | Who Gets To Name The Name | Swandala
Raquel Bell | Wizard Liar | Swandala

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

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #835 – 7/21/2018

Relaxing in the Twirl Studios, 7/21/2018

Today’s show was a chance to enjoy a laid-back summer afternoon in Sacramento. I decided to take a slight break from the interviews this afternoon. I’d done so many over the past few months–some days, I did two and even three interviews–in a single episode! And I was given the opportunity to do a couple of double shows. So for today, it was time to kick back, and kick out the new music to you. Lots of new stuff, and some older stuff. Musical magnificence from Adam Marsland, Danny Wilkerson, and Sunshine Boys, just to pick three off the top.

So I hope you enjoy this week’s edition of Twirl: The Relaxed Version!

July 21, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #834 – 7/14/2018: In-studio interviews/performances with Sean O’Brien and Rick Hromadka!

Gifts. That’s what I was given on this show. It appears that July 14 was the day to be in Sacramento. Both Sean O’Brien and Rick Hromadka, longtime Twirl favorites, were going to be in the area, and were available for a visit. So a musical meeting of the minds was going to happen. The two had heard of each other, and are actually scheduled to play on the same night at the IPO Festival in Los Angeles–but hadn’t before met. Until they came to the Sacramento Twirl studios on July 14th.

Sean O’Brien in the Twirl studio

Sean O’Brien came in from the San Francisco Bay Area. He has recorded for years under his own name, and with his band, Sean O’Brien and His Dirty Hands. He’s had a long musical history, going back to the 1980s. He’s been rather prolific in the studio for the last year, releasing an album, an EP, a single, and is putting the finishing touches on another album. The live His Dirty Hands band is a Bay Area mini supergroup, featuring members of Camper Van Beethoven and Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express. His sound is slightly foreboding and ominous, but always rocking. Sean played a couple of songs for us live, in-studio, and let us hear a couple of unmastered tracks from his next album, My Colors Dark. We’ll get him back in the studio once the new album comes out, this fall or winter. http://www.seanobmusic.com/about/

Rick Hromadka in the Twirl studio

Rick Hromadka also has a long and illustrious musical history. He arrived in Los Angeles from New Haven, CT in the early 1990s, and through the years, formed the bands Double Naught Spies, Maple Mars, and Ruby Free. I first heard of Rick at the time the 2010 Maple Mars album, Galaxyland came out, and was instantly in awe of its psychedelic, yet rocking sound. I’ve seen Maple Mars play twice in L.A. over the years. They are powerful live, and could truly play stadiums. Stadium bookers: take note! This year, Maple Mars did a tour from Nashville through New England. Double Naught Spies is going to be doing a reunion show later this summer. And Rick’s busy writing songs that could wind up being used for any or all of those bands, or even solo. He was traveling through the Sacramento area on Saturday, and we were lucky enough to snag him for the show, and get him to do a couple of songs. http://www.maplemars.com/ and https://www.sodastarmusic.com/

And if all that weren’t enough, we also got to play advance pre-release music from Danny Wilkerson’s and Victor Sotelo’s forthcoming solo albums. This show held an abundance of musical gifts for me and the listeners. I hope you enjoy listening!

July 15, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #833 – 7/7/2018: Chat with Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of The Armoires and Big Stir!

Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome, “The Paisley Twins”

I was originally going to take a break from all the amazing and fun interviews that have transpired lately on Twirl. I planned to spend two hours just relaxing and playing music in the studio. But then, my friend Bill Fuller asked me once again if I’d be willing to fill in for him on his 2-4pm show on KUBU, The Longhair Detectorists Guild. And of course, “willing” is not the right word to describe how I feel when I’m asked to do that. “Thrilled” is a better word. But then I realized that if I’m being given this gift of a 4 hour show, I should get a couple of people I really like, to share it with me and talk music.

So those two would be Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of the L.A. band The Armoires. They have started a scene called Big Stir. Big Stir started as a monthly series of live shows, but is rapidly, and organically, turning into a movement. There is an associated record label, magazine (actual paper!), and a radio show (full disclosure–they’re my colleagues on Woody Radio, with their Thursday night show, Big Stir Radar Hour).

They were the perfect people to chat with on a relaxed (at least for me) Saturday afternoon. For them it was a busier day. They were kind enough to take a break in the middle of a video shoot to chat with me. More info at www.bigstirrecords.com

I also got to roll out even more new 2018 music. 2018 is a banner year for independent music, and it keeps coming in. Four hours was barely enough time to get it all in, and what I didn’t cover this week, we’ll get to on the next show.

Chat with Christina and Rex of Big Stir/The Armoires
The Armoires | Responsible | Incidental Light Show
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Alchemy C’mere | Make

July 7, 2018
Categories: Playlists . . Author: The Lids . Comments: Leave a comment

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