Wintergrass Music Festival Presents: Westin Concerts – Dan Tyminski, featuring Gaven Largent! Feb 24, 2023

Wintergrass Music Festival Presents: Westin Concerts – Darrell Scott Bluegrass Band! Feb 24, 2023

The Darrell Scott Bluegrass Band is a hot “super group” of musicians:

–Bryn Davies on upright bass & vocals (guy clark, tony rice, peter rowan, patty griffin)

–Shad Cobb on fiddle & vocals (mark oconnor, robbie fulks, tim o’brien)

–Matt Flinner on banjo & mandolin (leftover salmon, trey anastasio, matt flinner trio)

–Darrell Scott on guitar & vocals (Sam Bush, Robert Plant, Steve Earle & Bluegrass Dukes)

“Having traveled in the bluegrass festival circuit for over 25 years, I have seen the best of the best and these players are THAT…the brightest and most fearless I know”, says Darrell,” we listen as intently as we play and sing, and are ready to turn at every moment to follow where the music leads while doing our own songs as our basis.”

The Darrell Scott Bluegrass Band follows Darrell’s songs with Bluegrass instrumentation – the end result being as close to Newgrass and Improv as it is to Singer/Songwriter, with all members contributing their own tunes, as well. This is hot playing, soulful singing and nimble ensemble work at its’ Bluegrass, Newgrass, Americana, Singer/Songwritery, fiery best.

Wintergrass Music Festival Presents: Westin Concerts – The Cactus Blossoms! Feb 24, 2023

The band is composed of brothers Jack Torrey (guitar, vocals) and Page Burkum (guitar, vocals) with a touring act including their cousin Phillip Hicks (bass), Jake Hanson (guitar) and Jeremy Hanson (drums).

The band’s musical styling of “the sounds and approaches of early country and rock n’ roll” was inspired by traditional American folk music and “hillbilly” music and is “reminiscent of 60s Nashville and Los Angeles as heard in artists like Roy Orbison, The Byrds, and Duane Eddy.”

Brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum began playing music today at ages 18 and 23, respectively but didn’t form the band The Cactus Blossoms until they were both in their 30s. The band began playing local shows in Minneapolis in 2010 and self produced and released a self-titled debut album in 2011.  Their popularity secured them a residency at St. Paul’s Turf Club where they self-produced their first live album titled Live at the Turf Club.

After several tours supporting other artists, JD McPherson proposed working together, where he would produce their first studio album. In 2015 the band signed with Red House Records and on January 22, 2016 released their first studio album titled You’re Dreaming. The album reached #23 on the Americana Billboard chart and was met with favorable reviews with American Songwriter describing it as “honest, unvarnished, completely engaging style that is clearly retro but in no way musty.”

The band was contacted by David Lynch‘s office to appear in the revival season of the televisions series Twin Peaks where the band performed “Mississippi”. The song is also featured on the soundtrack album, Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series.

In 2017 the band was invited by Dan Auerbach to his Nashville studio to write some songs together. Two of the songs, “Got a Lotta Love” and “Blue as the Ocean” appeared on their studio album Easy Way which released March 1, 2019. Departing Red House Records, the album was released on the band’s own Walkie Talkie Records label.

After taking a forced hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing the protests in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd, the band began recording their third studio album in an at-home studio. The band’s third album, One Day, was released on February 11, 2022.

KBCS Reflections on the First Day of Broadcast 50 Years Ago

Protest Tunes Looks Back

DJ General Strike looks back at the Top 40 (not that Top 40!) protest songs of 2022. These are Molotov hot tracks!

1. Adeem the Artist – Heritage of Ignorance – White Trash Revelry- Four Quarters Records (folk/country)
2. Dropkick Murphys – All You Fonies – This Machine Still Kills Fascists – Dummy Luck Music (folk/country)
3. Ezra Furman Lilac and Black – All of Us Flames – Anti (folk/country)
4. Miko Marks – Trouble – Trouble – Redtone Records (folk/country)
5. Shaina Taub – Tikkun Olam – Songs of the Great Hill – Atlantic (folk/country)

1. Coco Peila, Aima The Dreamer, Ryan Nicole – I Am Jane Roe – I Am Jane Roe – Miss Behave Records (hip-hop)
2. David Strickland – Stand Up – Spirit of Hip Hop: Elements – MNRK Music Group (hip-hop)
3. Gabriel Teodros – Coffee & Sage – Coffee & Sage – Gabriel Teodros & Third Eye Bling (hip-hop)
4. Lecrae – Still in America – Church Clothes 4 – Reach Records (hip-hop)
5. Linqua Franqa – Wurk – Bellringer – Ernest Jenning Record Co. (hip-hop)
6. Nas – Don’t Shoot – King’s Disease III – Mass Appeal (hip-hop)
7. Propaganda – Soil is Sacred – Terraform: The Soil – RMG (hip-hop)
8. Robert Glasper – Black Superhero – Black Superhero [Feat. Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid & Big  R.I.T.] – Loma Vista (hip-hop)
9. Architects Deep Fake – the classic symptoms of a broken spirit – Epitaph (Metal/Hardcore)
10. Rise Against The Answer – Nowhere Generation II – Loma Vista (Metal/Hardcore)

1. Stray from the Path III – Euthanasia – UNFD (Metal/Hardcore)
2. Voice of Baceprot – Not] Public Property – [Not] Public Property – 12WIRED (Metal/Hardcore)
3. Anne Beretta – The Real America – Rise – Bully Me Now Music (punk)
4. Anti-Flag – Laugh. Cry. Smile. Die. – Laugh. Cry. Smile. Die. – Universal (Punk)

1. Newtown Neurotics – Climate Emergency – Cognitive Dissidents – Cadiz Entertainment (Punk)
2. Petrol Girls – Fight for Our Lives – Baby – Hassle Records (Punk)
3. Rebelmatic – Walk on Water – Walk on Water – Coffee Grind Media (Punk)
4. Special Interest – Concerning Peace – Endure – Rough Trade Records (Punk)
5. Ben Harper – We Need to Talk About It – Bloodline Maintenance – Chrysalis Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)

1. Bitch Polar Bear – Bitchcraft – Kill Rock Stars (R&B/Funk/Soul)
2. Fantastic Negrito – They Go Low – White Jesus Black Problems – Storefront Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
3. Hurray for the Riff Raff – Precious Cargo – Life on Earth – Nonesuch Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
4. Taina Asili – Abolition – Abolition – Taina Asili (R&B/Funk/Soul)
5. The Suffers – How Do We Heal – It Starts with Love – Missing Piece Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
6. Captain Ska – This Is A Warning – La Isla Del Brexit – Captain’s Records (Reggae/Ska)
7. JER – Decolonize Yr Mind – Bothered/Unbothered – Bad Time Records (Reggae/Ska)
8. Sizzla – Stop Destroying the Earth – Stop Destroying the Earth – Na Lef Ya Muzik – Reggae/Ska

1. Soom T – Big Bad World – Good – Renegade Masters (Reggae/Ska)
2. Danceland – Not Without a Fight – Pink Lem – Pinkfoot Music (Rock)

1. Midnight Oil – We Resist – Resist – Sony Music Entertainment (Rock)
2. MILCK, Autumn Rowe, BIANCO, Ani DiFranco – We Won’t Go Back – We Won’t Go Back – Tone Tree Music (Rock)
3. Muse – Will of the People – Will of the People – Warner Music UK (Rock)
4. P!nk – Irrelevant – Irrelevant – RCA (Rock)
5. The Last Internationale – 1984 – 1984 – The Last Internationale (Rock)
6. The Snuts – Zuckerpunch – Burn the Empire – Parlophone Records (Rock)

Road Songs Looks Back

Our host of Road Songs (and Night Train!), Rus Thompson, looks back at 2022 with a few of his favorite albums of the year. Catch Road Songs every Tuesday from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

“The mark for me of a memorable album of songs is that I end up playing all of them at some point on Road Songs. And what makes a memorable song? Personal and piquant writing, with imagery that evokes the heartbreak, happiness, and trials of everyday life, especially life on the road. Here are my five most memorable albums of 2022:”

Zach Bryan/American Heartbreak/Belting Bronco Records

Plains/I Walked With You a Ways/Anti

Laura Benitez and the Heartache/California Centuries/Copperhead Records

Chris Canterbury/Quaalude Lullabies/Rancho Deluxe Records

Ian Noe/River Fools and Mountain Saints/Lock 13 Records

Sunday’s Hornpipe Looks Back

Our host of Sunday’s Hornpipe, John Gibaut, looks back at 2022 with a few of his favorite albums of the year and reminisces about an early album that might surprise you! Catch Sunday’s Hornpipe every Sunday afternoon beginning at 3:00 PM. 

“I started collecting albums in the late 60s / early 70s. In my first 20 or 30 albums were several that I still occasionally play during Sunday’s Hornpipe. Artists like The Chieftains; The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem; The Boys of the Lough; Alan Stivell. Other artists like Jethro Tull and The Moody Blues also accounted for a large proportion of those early albums. Not such a great surprise I suppose, reflecting the music of the era. 

However I have one album from those early days that I often have playing in my head. The chance of it ever popping up in a Sunday’s Hornpipe playlist is probably way beyond ‘extremely remote’!

I bought Zero Time, Tonto’s Expanding Head Band’s first album, the year after it was released in the early seventies. The band were Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff, and TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra). TONTO was instrumental in bringing synthesized electronic music into the mainstream. Many well known performers used it in their work, most famously Stevie Wonder. No one in the Celtic genre has ever been tempted!   

Cheers and happy holidays”

-John

Top 20 Albums

Brighde Chaimbeul, Ross Ainslie, Steven Byrnes – Las – Great White Records

Eabhal – Aisling – Eabhal

Goitse – Rosc – Goitse Music

inni-k – inion – Green Willow Records

Ruth Keggin & Rachel Hair – Lossan – March Hair Records

Beinn Lee – Deo – Beinn Lee

Padraig Mac Aodhgain (Paddy Egan) – Tobar Gan Tra – Padraig Mac Aodhgain

James Duncan MacKenzie – Fibhig – James Duncan MacKenzie

Kenneth I MacKenzie – Glendrian – Caberfeidh Music

Rory Matheson & Graham Rorie – We Have Won The Land – Rory Matheson & Graham Rorie

Moynihan – Black Brook – Moynihan

Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl – Heal & Harrow – Heal & Harrow

Muireann Nic Amhlaoidh & the Irish Chamber Orchestra – Roisin Reimagined – MNicA/DOC/KAF/ICO

Niteworks – A’ Ghrian – Comann Music

Cathal O Currain – Cosan Ceoil – Cathal O Currain

Rura – Our Voices Echo – Rura Music

Talisk – Dawn – Talisk Records

Teada – Coisceim Coiligh – as the days brighten – Gael Linn

3 on the Bund – Frenzy – 3 on the Bund

Ye Vagabonds – Nine Waves – River Lea Records

Giant Steps Looks Back at 2022

Our host of Giant Steps, John Pai, looks back at 2022 with a few of his favorite albums of the year! Catch Giant Steps every Monday night beginning at 11:00 PM.

King Britt and Tyshawn Sorey, Tyshawn & King, The Buddy System

Nala Sinephro, Space 1.8, Warp Records

Vijay Iyer, Uneasy, ECM

Helen Sung, Quartet+, SunnySide

Ill-Considered, Liminal Space, New Soil

City Soul Looks Back at 2022

Friday nights at 9:00 P.M. J-Justice presents a kaleidoscope of soulful electronic sounds, City Soul connects the dots between modern club culture and its past influences from around the globe. Check out a few of his favorite albums from 2022!

• High Pulp – Pursuits of Ends – Anti
• Sonnyjim- White Girl Wasted
• Hagan – Textures – Python Syndicate 
• Barbie Bertisch – Prelude – Love Injection
• Mr Fingers – Around the Sun Pt. 1 – Alleviated Music
• Malayan McCraven – In These Times – International Anthem
• Space Ghost – Private Paradise- Pacific Rhythm
• Nu Genea – Bar Mediterrano – NG Records

Flotation Device Looks Back at 2022

Recovered Voices and Radical Music

by Michael Schell

December is the season when a DJ’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of…the year’s best albums. And when your corner of the world is as variegated as the cutting-edge creative and improvised music we feature on Flotation Device, then there’s a lot to choose from! One of the most remarkable items to cross our desk this year is about to be showcased on our December 11 show: A House of Call, My Imaginary Notebook, by the German composer and recovered rock-and-roller, Heiner Goebbels.

Goebbels has a penchant for juxtaposing dissimilar kinds of music. In A House of Call, voices from old archival recordings are accompanied by a live orchestra in unexpected ways. The excerpt we’ll be playing uses the solo voice of a Namibian native, captured on a wax cylinder in 1931. Goebbels garnishes it with fractured big band music that suggests a Trinidad night club—which seems innocuous enough until you consider that the source recording was made at a German-owned cattle ranch in southwest Africa at the height of the colonial era.

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Although Goebbels hints at his ideological stance in the title for this section, Wax and Violence, he nevertheless presents his material dispassionately. What’s conveyed here, and throughout the album, is a disorienting ambivalence—perhaps a nostalgia for lost voices and myths, but also a reminder of the tenuous cohesion of human memory, and how deeper meanings often lurk beneath the surface of things. At a time when much contemporary art seems calculated to deliver political messages to already-convinced audiences, Goebbels demonstrates that music often communicates more profoundly when things are left ambiguous.

The idea of accompanying a recorded song with live musicians originated in a work by Gavin Bryars that coincidentally was premiered exactly 50 years ago this Sunday. It’s called Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, named for a hymn tune sung by a homeless Londoner, a recording of which Bryars fashioned into a tape loop that plays continuously throughout the performance. And like Goebbels he deploys an orchestra to interact with the lonely voice. But there’s a twist: the man sings in tune, but slightly off-rhythm. So the live musicians tend to falter a bit trying to stay in sync with him. In Bryars’ treatment the man’s deprivation and optimism both come through in his voice, like an old Beckett character laughing at his suffering. Nowadays the piece is considered one of the great masterworks of musical minimalism, and we’ll sample it on our program via two different recordings, including one that features Tom Waits.

I can’t help but admire the pluck and resilience of these beleaguered voices, refracted and amplified by contemporary musicians. They epitomize the impactful and far-reaching sounds we look for every week on Flotation Device—music below the radar of commercial broadcasters, and even most jazz and classical stations. It’s the kind of programming you’ll only find on KBCS, and I’m pleased to share it with you Sunday nights from 10 to Midnight!

Photo captions:

• Heiner Goebbels: A House of Call, My Imaginary Notebook (ECM Records, 2022)
  Link: https://www.ecmrecords.com/shop/1656665861/heiner-goebbels-a-house-of-call-my-imaginary-notebook-ensemble-modern-orchestra-vimbayi-kaziboni
• Vimbayi Kaziboni and Heiner Goebbels by Wonge Bergmann
• Gavin Bryars with Tom Waits: Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Point Music, 1993)
• Michael Schell

Links:

• Flotation Device program page at KBCS.FM:
  https://www.kbcs.fm/programs/flotation-device/
• Flotation Device Facebook page:
  https://www.facebook.com/FlotationDeviceRadio