The Folk Brothers for Aug. 3, 2022: Remembering Mick Moloney

If there is such a thing as a "renaissance man" in 21st century culture, then Mick Moloney fit that description. Moloney, who died last week at his home in Greenwich Village, was a New York University professor, a touring and recording musician, an Irish cultural ambassador, an ethnomusicologist, and a lifelong social justice warrior.

From his work with The Johnstons, Green Fields of America, and his musical collaborations with Robbie O'Connell, Jimmy Keane, Athena Tergis, John Doyle, and many, many other Irish and American artists, Mick Moloney has left a legacy of recordings that will stand the test of time. The Folk Brothers toured Ireland with Mick, and Bill had been in Galicia with Mick just a few weeks before his untimely death.

Davisville, Aug. 1, 2022: Millennials in the market, fewer Bay Area buyers, and other Davis housing updates

The migration of people from the Bay Area to Davis inspired by the pandemic has cooled, the average price of a house in Davis has shot past $900,000, and more than half of the city’s homebuyers now seem to be millennials. That's some of the updated Davis housing information you'll hear in today's conversation with three members of a Davis family who have made local real estate their career: Steve, Kit, and James Boschken. Steve, a real estate broker, and Kit own Boschken Properties, where she is also manager, and their son James is a real estate agent and property manager who’s about to move back to Davis from Texas.

(This July 2022 photo shows the site of the Chiles Ranch new home development planned on East Eighth Street in Davis)

Steve Beck of Needle, live in the studio on Listening Lyrics, July 29, 2022

Steve Beck has been involved with music most of his life, from founding a leading musician portal in the early days of the internet, and speaking at SXSW, to releasing three acclaimed albums with his band Needle, and traveling the globe to speak to musicians on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

Needle blends Beck’s low-fi minimalist arrangements with Julie Cornett’s collection of lullabies and symphonic sagas. The duo's most recent release, The Long View, came during the pandemic. They enlisted Dana Colley (Morphine, Twinemen, Vapors of Morphine) to play saxophone on a few tracks, and Kramer (Low, Galaxy 500, Daniel Johnston) mastered the project. The Noise Room is Steve’s home on the web; he wrote or conducted most of its articles and interviews.

Neil Nayyar, the ultimate multi-instrumentalist, on Listening Lyrics, July 22, 2022

Neil Nayyar at 16 years old plays and owns 117 musical instruments from around the world.

Chances are if you love a particular type of music, Neil plays it, and he plays it well. Classical, Bollywood, jazz, rock, and sounds from all over the globe flow from this musician, but this is not the only amazing thing about him.

Neil’s parents credit much of his ability and love of music to Mozart classics he listened to while still in the womb. However, his talent didn’t surface until he was 5, when he took a drum class and wowed everyone. And this was just the beginning.

A lot of Neil’s talent and abilities as a multi-instrumentalist are natural, but he leaves nothing to chance. He practices music six hours each day, and receives training from 25 musical professionals both locally and internationally.

The Folk Brothers for July 20, 2022: The Folk Brothers debate 'Once Were Brothers'

Although the "Once Were Brothers" documentary has been out for a few years, The Folk Brothers only streamed it this past week (it's available on Hulu and Kanopy). We listened to a track by The Band and the song from which the doco got its title, then mildly debated the merits of a story told only thru Robbie Robertson's point of view.

Also today: new tracks from Joan Shelley, Martin Joseph, Lloyd Maines, Lucy Kaplansky, Kathy Kallick, and more.