Blogs

The ukulele will be front and center this week on Listening Lyrics. Abhineet Ram will share his talent and knowledge of the ukulele. I have heard him play and it was exceptional. Abhineet is a fourth year cell biology student at UC Davis and started playing the ukulele when he was 14 years old. He also playes the clarinet and bass clarinet. As if that isnt enough, he is also a thrower on the UC Davis Track and Field Team. With him in the studio will be Matt Elliott with his saxaphone - I'm looking forward to one great radio hour.

Summertime means Bossa Nova!

Noah Byrd is back in the studio with us. Noah is a local songwriter (indie rock) and will be introducing to us his new EP Feathers. With a voice compared to Elliot Smith and Bradley Nowell, he combines melancholic vocals with punk-influenced acoustic guitar, giving an aggressive undertone to his otherwise laid-back sound.

All Listening Lyric shows are live on Fridays from 4:00PM to 5:00PM (PST) on KDRT 95.7FM. For those outside the listening area, the show will stream live online at KDRT.org . It will also be available for replays in the show archives or as an podcast on iTunes under Listening Lyrics.

I hadn't heard of the Toronto punk band PUP until a few months ago, when I was scanning Twitter and saw a bunch of musicians I like saying “holy hell, the new PUP song!” This band was being endorsed by five or six musicians I loved, so I felt it prudent to check it out. That song was called DVP, it it hit me like a freight train. It sums up the band pretty well: rapid and relentless, but with plenty of melody laced through from start to finish.

DVP is from their second album, which comes out tomorrow (May 27). After hearing it, I dove into their first album, which is self-titled, and have shared them widely ever since. Two-thirds of The Polyorchids (me and Tony, who plays bass) will be in the studio today playing that album and explaining its goodness. We’ll also play a couple of songs from the follow-up record that comes out tomorrow, which is called The Dream is Over.

Listen to DVP and watch the retro video game music video. It's a good starting point. 

Gary has programmed more music this week that channels the Third Stream well.

Motion-picture love themes have about ten minutes time: Alex North, John Barry, and Andre Previn give 3rd Streaming a romantic touch with music from Spartacus, Out of Africa, and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. That's music from the 60s and the 80s.

Leonard Bernstein's early piece from 1942 will be played by Stanley Drucker and Leonid Hambro. That's Bernstein's "Sonata for Clarinet and Piano."

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu titled his 20th-century work "Three Ricercari" even though the term "ricercare" comes from the Baroque Era. The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra performs it.

"Impressions of the Puna" by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (pictured) is another piece you'll want to hear. "Puna" refers to the high-altitude grasslands of South America's Andes Mountains. Ginastera's work is totally beautiful and played as much so by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

A group of local Sacramento musicians featuring A wide variety of Rhythmic vibrations is about to hit the airways. If you enjoy a little jamming, this up and coming group will fit your earbuds. Keith - Guitar/Vocals, Bryant - Bass, Jon - Keys/Vocals, Bob - Drums

All Listening Lyric shows are live on Fridays from 4:00PM to 5:00PM.(PST) on KDRT 95.7FM. For those outside the listening area, the show will stream live online at KDRT.org . It will also be available for replays in the show archives or as an podcast on iTunes under LISTENING LYRICS.

Jazz from the 30’s and 40’s tonight!  

• Harry Roy & His Orchestra
• Billie Holiday
• Benny Goodman
• Dizzy Gillespie
• Charlie Christian
• Bunny Berigan (Kay Little vocals)
• Erroll Garner
• Artie Shaw
• Glenn Miller
• Thelonious Monk
• King Cole Trio
• Miles Davis
• Charlie Parker
• Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, MIlt Jackson
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Getz, Quinichette & Sims