We begin today with some new bands for us. Mexican Knives come from Detroit and A Place to Bury Strangers come from Brooklyn. A Place… lead by Oliver Ackermann is not a new band, but their recent EP is a tribute to Dead Moon, and it’s impossible to ignore. Boston legends Big Dipper, a band that had some very nice albums in the late 80s, reunited last year and today we check out their new alvum Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet. After a new album last year, dB’s are back with the new ep Revolution of the Ming. And finally, a rare 1983 cassette tape The Mush Mind Blues by the legendary dobro player from Tucson, Rainer Ptacek and his Combo, came out as an Internet download and his first album Barefoot Rock is scheduled for vinyl reissue this summer.
Carnival Season – Obsessive Season;
Mexican Knives – Down To Hell;
A Place to Bury Strangers – Graveyard;
Dead Moon – Graveyard;
Guided By Voices – He Rises! Our Union Bellboy;
Big Dipper – Robert Pollard;
Big Dipper – Lunar Module;
Paul Kelly and the Messengers – Forty Miles to Saturday Night;
Paul and Dan Kelly – Forty Miles to Saturday Night (Live in CLE);
The dB’s – Revolution of the Mind;
Chris Stamey – You n Me n XTC;
XTC – The Tissue Tigers;
Oblivians – Desperation;
Rainer – Deadly Sins;
Howe Gelb – Forever and a Day;
Minutemen – Have You Ever Seen the Rain;
John Fogerty and Alan Jackson – Have You Ever Seen the Rain.
Disciplina KiÄme boasted self-confidently as being the “greatest band in Yugoslavia” back in the late eighties. One thing is certain, they were the most original and it was exciting growing up and learning from their chants. Zerkman was their trumpet player and he passed away at the age of 50. Zerkman was the member of the band in their most glorious period from 1986 to 1991. Although legendary Koja was the undisputed boss in the band, Zerkman’s trumpet was a major contributor to the originality of Disciplina’s sound. The band originally featured only Koja on bass and a guy on a drum set. Then they added trumpets, an extra drum set and took the entire country by surprise. Going into the nineties, Koja and Zerkman from Belgrade, were joined by two Zagreb musicians Gulić and Novoselić and it looked like nothing can stop them. Nothing, but the war. Koja moved to London and when he returned, there was no room for trumpets in the new sound. Just two days before Zerkman suddenly passed away, Zerkman joined Disciplina once again on the stage, but that was also his last stand. Today we dedicate this show to him, and to the incredible sound of his trumpet that changed my life. I can only hope that the music you learned in your formative years was half as exciting as this one.
Today we say last goodbye to two important rock’n’roll musicians. Ray Manzarek played keyboards in The Doors and passed away on May 20th from bile duct cancer. Trevor Bolder, bass player in David Bowie’s Spiders from Mars and Uriah Heep passed away on May 21st from pancreatic cancer. Both will be remembered for their big contributions to the world of music. We also ding some time to hear some new music. Oblivians from Memphis have a new record out called Desperation and they are back together in the studio for the first time after 15 years. Mark E. Smith continues to toil with The Fall and we sample the new album called Re-Mit. We introduce Dan Kelly, nephew of Paul Kelly, with his cover of Paul’s song Crosstown and a song in our Live in Cleveland segment.
Today we have new songs for Black Lips and Grant Hart. Nick Saloman and his Bevis Frond has a new double album out called White Numbers. We also sample the new tribute record called Dring A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock, which collects interesting cover versions of cheesy 70s radio hits. As it turns out, those songs weren’t that bad after all, so we hear Lisa Mychols’ cover of David Soul’s Don’t Give Up On Us and Plasticsouls’ cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Sentimental Lady. Australia is the land of great garage rock bands. Step-Panther is another new name from that scene to prove it.
Today we check out the new work for the two former Beasts of Bourbon bandmates, Australian guys Kim Salmon and Spencer P. Jones. They have a very nice new album Runaways. We also introduce two new bands from Indiana. Hypocrite in A Hippy Crypt and Nomad Planets. We go back in past and dig out a lost album from the Cleveland band Coffinberry, which sounds pretty awesome. The new Mikal Cronin album MCII is in, and it really is grand. And, the last but not the least, we check out the new EP for the most exciting newcomers from Atlanta, Turf War.
Today we present new albums by Howe Gelb of Giant Sand, which is one of his budget home recordings. Yet it sounds wonderfully intimate and we warmly recommend it. Thee Oh Sees experiment with some new styles for them on their new record store day release Moon Sick EP. New bands today are Miss Chain and The Broken Heels from Italy and Tijuana Panthers from California. I’m on a Mick Taylor kick, so we hear two of his amazing guitar solos today. Another great guitar legend who gets a spotlight in this show is Duane Allman. There’s a new 7CD set anthology dedicated to his work and career. And in the end, we are saying goodbye to one the greatest voices in music ever, George Jones who passed away last week at 81.
Devastating week for rock’n’roll… This time we have four obituaries to cover. Scott Miller was one of the most creative college rock musicians from the 80s. He was the leader of Game Theory, which had a series of very interesting albums back in the day and that was often played on college radio stations across the US. Then we have Storm Thorgerson, the leading artist in the Hipgnosis art collective who designed many of the iconic album covers throughout the 70s. Lead singer of the Australian band Divinyls, Chrissy Amphlett also died a few days ago at the age of 53. And the most recent news is that Richie Havens, who had a memorable live appearance at the original Woodstock, also passed away. Beside tributes to these artists, we also feature the new single for Turf War, new albums for Carla Olson and Todd Rundgren and a new band Bazooka from Greece.
Michael Tarbox used to lead a great band called Tarbox Ramblers. Hailing from the Boston area, Tarbox Ramblers were the leaders of the new blues revival for the past 15 years with a blend of academic and heartfelt approach that won our hearts. The first album for Rounder Records in 2000 was a furious collection of authentic and raw blues which relied on the primitive traditions on North Mississippi blues and Appalachian folk. The second album also for Rounder A Fix Back East was a step towards rock roots, split produced by one and only Jim Dickinson and Paul Q. Kolderie who we know best from his work with Morphine. Then, a long decade with sporadic limited edition discography followed.
Today we feature the new music for the long time rock legends Meat Puppets who have a new album Rat Farm. Our old friends from Australia, City of Cool have a new single and we pick one song in a string of demos by a musician from Šabac, Marko Artuković. Shannon McNally has a new album called Small Town Talk, which is a very nice tribute to late great Bobby Charles. Dirtmusic is also back with a new song. New band today James And The Ultrasounds from Memphis.
The central piece today is our large block in which we compare the music of famous rockers and their children. We paired up Ethan and Glyn Johns, Ambrose Kenny and Broderick Smith, Lilly and John Hiat and Trixie and Chris Whitley. We also listen to the Cynics live in Cleveland, new music for Jimbo Mathus and we have one new name – Diemonds from Toronto in Canada.