Blogs

Tonight we're going to feature 3 tracks from the brand new album from the wordsmith Chris Stapleton. Although Traveller is his debut album, he's been hanging out in Nashville for over 15 years, writing hit songs for many mainstream country artists. Normally we tend to steer clear of mainstream country music, but tonight we're going to make an exception, this album is just too good to let some arbitrary standard of independent artist get in the way. This guy writes songs like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. He sings with the power and soul of Mike Farris and Otis Redding. Traveller is 14 tracks but sprawls from stripped-down acoustic country tracks, like Whiskey and You, to alt-country rockers like Parachute, to pure soul like Tennessee Whiskey. I have a feeling we're going to hear a lot about this album and Chris over the next year. We'll open the show with a four song tribute to our Veterans in recognition of Memorial Day, with tracks from The Black Lillies, Guy Clark, The Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. We're also going to hear another track from Lucinda Williams' newest album.

Mostly 40s and 50s jazz tonight!

An hour of piano and vocal jazz!

I happened upon this band a couple of months ago while scanning the show calendar for the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. I found their first full-length album “Get Disowned” on Spotify, clicked play, and then got back to work. For a few minutes, the songs clipped along in the background — gritty in some moments, melodic in others. Interesting, but very much in the background. It wasn’t until the back half of track 4, “No Good Al Joad,” that the album gripped my attention. After fading into silence, the band's female singer, Frances Quinlan, rattles off about 90 seconds of my favorite vocals in a while. I saved the album on Spotify and have been listening a ton ever since. 

I’ve since learned that Hop Along signed to Saddle Creek Records last year and released their second album, “Painted Shut,” just a few weeks ago. It sounds great, but I plan on taking in their first album a bit longer before diving into the new one completely. That's why I’m playing "Get Disowned" for Album of the Week this week. 

Bossa nova, bop, and soul jazz tonight. Featured perfomers: Charlie Rouse, Boogaloo Joe Jones. Vocals by Eliane Elias. Plus Thelonious Monk and Cannonball Adderley. 

Repeats Saturdays 9 - 10 pm, and Mondays 11 - 12 pm.

KDRT is celebrating 10 years of homegrown radio. Every year, we cultivate our grass roots with an annual fund drive to keep the station going strong. As a project of Davis Media Access, we’re supported entirely by contributions from listeners, like you. Your tax-deductible donation keeps KDRT on the air and our unique programming flowing, from local public affairs to independent music and artists.

If you listen local, please give local: Donate online or by mail to Davis Media Access, 1623 Fifth Street, Suite A, Davis, California, 95616.

Thank you so much for your continued support. :)

Friday, May 8th from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight on your local community radio station, KDRT 95.7 FM LP or KDRT.org for this special broadcast.

“Well everybody’s dancin’ in a ring around the sun, nobody’s finished – we ain’t even begun.  So take off your shoes, child, and take off your hat – try on your wings and find out where it’s at!” – The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) by the Grateful Dead

On May 5, 1965, the original five members of the Grateful Dead played their first paid gig as a band at Magoo’s Pizza Parlor in Palo Alto.  50 years later, almost to the very day, KDRT 95.7 LP will air a special broadcast  in celebration of the spirit & music of the Grateful Dead.  The broadcast will air live Friday, May 8th on KDRT 95.7 LP from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight and will be hosted by KDRT DJ’s Rod Moseanko & Lee Maddex (The Golden Road), Wayne Hagen (Sounds So Sweet) and Jesse Deere (Dead Wax) who will bring their long-time appreciation of the band’s music, their many experiences of seeing The Grateful Dead perform live in concert and their extensive  archives of top quality recordings to the KDRT studio for the event.

The Grateful Dead were the most important band of the psychedelic era and among the most groundbreaking acts in rock and roll history. They broke all the rules while slowly and steadily building a career that carried them from the ballrooms of San Francisco in the Sixties to arenas and stadiums all over the country in the decades that followed. A leaderless democracy, they were fronted by guitarist Jerry Garcia, whose improvisational tangents made him a pied piper to the largest and most devoted cult following in popular music: a massive network of fans known as “Deadheads.” The Dead and their followers did much to keep the spirit of the Sixties alive in modern times.  Heavily steeped in Americana, the group had its roots in blues and bluegrass, folk, R & B, jazz and highly experimental sounds. The Grateful Dead learned to approach music from an improvisational perspective and illuminated the world with their music, transforming culture and consciousness as well. In so doing, they became an improbably durable and influential institution. 

So please join us on Friday, May 8th from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight on your local community radio station, KDRT 95.7 LP for this special broadcast.

Max will be with us for the hour, his mission is to talk dirty with us, dirty blues that is. Max Van Dyke is a 22-year-old college student and musician. Born and raised in Winters, he began playing the drums at age 9. He picked up his first guitar when he was 13. From that early age he began playing in a rock bands including an all-ages band, The 220 Band in which he shared the stage with his father, a blues/rock band called A Beautiful Shade of Joe, and currently with Ryan Mcbride and Ari Schwartz. Max just began singing a couple of years ago and is continually working to improve his vocals, songwriting and guitar skills. He primarily plays dirty blues, and can be found several evenings a month at Open Mic Nights throughout Yolo and Solano counties. He was recently a finalist in the Vacaville Singer Songwriter contest. His Influences include Hozier, The Black Keys, Matt Corby and Vance Joy.

The songs on Real Time were recorded in Scott's living room over the period of a week. Both musicians play multiple instruments including banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bouzouki; they also exchange lead vocals and sing some very fine harmony. Both the song choice and songwriting add to this project. Hank Williams'"Weary Blues from Waiting" receives an acoustic revision, with both singers sharing lead vocals and providing affecting harmony. O'Brien sings a charged version of "Little Sadie" driven by Scott's aggressive guitar playing. Part of the beauty of this album is how fresh and vital these traditional songs become with these simple and straightforward arrangements. Real Time also contains a handful of refined originals, including O'Brien's "Walk Beside Me" and "I'm Not Gonna Forget You." Scott has written the impressive "There Ain't No Easy Way," complete with the same soulful singing found on his last release, Family Tree.

Join us Wednesday April 29 @ 5PM as we feature 3 tracks from Nikki Lane's 2014 debut LP, All Or Nothin'. Somewhere between roots rock and country, Nikki has the attitude of an outlaw. Produced with a light touch from her friend Dan Auerbach, this fantastic album has a ton of lap steel guitar, driving electric bass, and a touch of surf guitar. Nikki's wonderfully unique voice is front and center in the mix. And today is Willie's 82nd birthday! We'll play a few tracks from his newest LP (2014), Band of Brothers. Plus a little Sturgill Simpson, Otis Gibbs, Valerie June, Parker Millsap, and a few surprises. Twangy guitars? Check!