Jess Goddèsse's blog

Album of the Week - Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet - "The Juliet Letters" - TH 3/31

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The Juliet Letters cover art
This week's featured album is The Juliet Letters, by Elvis Costello and The Brodsky String Quartet, released by Warner in 1993. Costello first encountered the Brodskys in 1989 at a performance of Shostakovic string quartets. They met in 1991 to begin their collaboration on this album, the concept of which is letters written to Juliet Capulet. Both Costello and the quartet members--Ian Belton and Michael Thomas, violins; Paul Cassidy, viola; and Jaqueline Thomas, cello--collaborated on the compositions.
 
The Juliet Letters seems a timely selection because E.C. is top of mind--he performed at the Masonic in San Francisco this week. It's also a wonderful example of genre-mingling, drawing fans of classical or modern string quartets into the rock/pop world and vice versa. If you were lucky enough to catch a full live performance at, say, Davies Symphony Hall, this may bring back some nice musical memories.

Zakir Hussain on The Golden Road, F 3/25

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Zakir Hussain photo

Rod Moseanko interviews tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on The Golden Road, Friday evening, March 25th. Playing in the footsteps of his illustrious father, Ustad Allarakha--who with Ravi Shankar introduced the glorious music of India to America--Zakir Hussain has acted as a musical bridge between his birth land and the rest of the world. To that end, every other year since 1996, he has served as curator, producer, and host in bringing the very cream of Indian music to tour America and Europe with his series Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion. The 2016 version will be no exception, presenting American audiences with extraordinary and exciting--and often spontaneous--combinations of percussive as well as melodic performers. The Golden Road airs Fridays on KDRT, 7-9pm PT. 

Live DiRT: Lance Canales Live on KDRT, Fri 3/25

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Lance Canales & The Flood photo

Dug Deep hosts Lance Canales & the Flood live in the KDRT studio on Friday, March 25th, starting at 2:30 pm PT. Lance Canales & The Flood are a roots-blues Americana trio from Fresno, California, where Canales lived the life that so many roots songs represent: hard labor, one-room shacks, and taunting ghosts who whisper of a better life. The Flood comprises stand-up bassist Jake (Cobra) Finney and drummer Daniel (DB) Burt, who support Canales’s guttural vocals and hard-edged storytelling with stripped-down, foot-stomping, acoustic instrumentation. 



Album of the Week - Roxy Music "For Your Pleasure" - Feb 18 at 5P

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Roxy Music cover art

AotW this week is Roxy Music's second release, For Your Pleasure, produced by Chris Thomas and released on the Island label away back in 1973. Roxy Music took an experimental, arty approach to glam, and--like contemporary David Bowie--influencing much of the U.K. punk and new wave to come. As with the band's first (self-titled) release, the roster on For Your Pleasure is Bryan Ferry on vocals and keyboards; Brian Eno on synthesizer and backing vocals; Phil Manzanera on guitar; Andy Mackay on oboe, sax, and a wonderful Farfisa; John Porter on bass; and Paul Thompson on drums. For Your Pleasure was the last Roxy Music recording for Eno, who left to gain a tremendous amount of fame as a solo-artist, producing innovative electro-pop. Ferry also achieved hits as a solo artist, including his cover recordings of popular standards.

KDRT Live at Armadillo ArtAbout with the West Nile Ramblers - Feb 12

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Alex Roth photo

The KDRT crew broadcasts live from Armadillo Music for 2nd Friday ArtAbout on February 12th with Alex Roth and his wild and woolly West Nile Ramblers. This event is free, open to all. Stop on by at 6:00 pm, listen to the interview, enjoy the performance, meet the band! RSVP on Facebook. :)

LIVE IN THE LOAM presents I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. - Feb 5 at 2:30P

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I See Hawks in L.A. photo
The Folk Brothers host SoCal band I See Hawks in L.A. for KDRT's Live in the Loam, Friday, February 5 at 2:30 pm PT. The band has an impressive catalogue of original songs that cover the musical terrain of country, rock, psychedelia, folk, and bluegrass. Lyrically, the songs display a wry sense of situational humor that typically isn’t found in this genre. The Austin Chronicle refers to their sound as "a divine fusion of humor and twang that’s definitely high, but not that lonesome."
 
I See Hawks in L.A. also appear that evening in Winters at the Palms Playhouse. Their latest release is Mystery DrugVisit the band on the web at iseehawks.com.

Album of the Week: Nick Cave "Push the Sky Away" - Feb 4 at 5P

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Nick Cave album art

AotW this week is Push the Sky Away (2013), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' first new recorded material in five years’ time. Cave spent those five years on projects unrelated to the Bad Seeds, including soundtracks, screenplays, and his musical side project Grinderman. Sky is a fairly quiet album for Nick and the Seeds, featuring misty tableaus and twisted love stories. The arrangements are subtle, wonderfully orchestrated, and well-suited to the material. In the end, it’s Nick Cave’s vocals that carry the day--equally tender and forceful, quite and dark...always a bit threatening. 

 

LIVE IN THE LOAM presents BOB WOODRUFF - Jan 22 at 2:30PM

Dug Deep hosts singer-songwriter Bob Woodruff for KDRT's Live in the Loam on Friday, January 22nd, at 2:30 pm PT. Originally a member of the country-rock band The Fields, Bob has since released four studio albums as a solo artist: 1994's Dreams & Saturday Nights, 1997's Desire Road, 2011's The Lost Kerosene Tapes 1999, and the upcoming The Year We Tried to Kill the Pain.  His songs are anachronistic yet accessible, melodic yet gritty, intimate yet universal.

Reverend Shawn Amos on Live in the Loam, Wed Jan 13

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The Reverend Shawn Amos cover photo

KDRT's Dug Deep hosts the Reverend Shawn Amos and his band for a special Live in the Loam on Wednesday, January 13, at 3pm PT. A blues singer/songwriter of the highest order, Amos is on a mission to spread the blues with unsurpassed fervor beyond his base in Los Angeles. The Reverend stops at KDRT in advance of his evening gig at the Torch Club in Sacramento. His latest record is The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You. Visit the Reverend on the web at shawnamos.com.

KDRT + KHOI Present Live Coverage of Issues Forum with O'Malley and Sanders - Sat Jan 9

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Democratic Donkey logo
KDRT collaborates with KHOI-FM in Ames, Iowa, and Pacifica Radio to bring live coverage of the Iowa CCI issues forum with Democratic presidential candidates Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders