KTRU 91.7 FM The Thresher is not responsible for the content of the rice radio folio. FALL 2009 The Kashmere Stage Band: A Forgotten Funk Legacy By Mark Flaum his students were passionate about. Rather locals who stumbled upon copies of their KSB is available once more, and the legacy Kashmere High School is a struggling than driving his students through big-band vinyl output. Several musicians who came of a Houston institution has returned to program in the northeast part of town, jazz or swing, he helped them arrange the of age in the band continued to make music, light. stained with an unhealthy dropout rate music of James Brown and other soul and including Bubbha Thomas (a musician- A sad postscript to the revival of the and recently threatened with closure. funk masters for large ensemble. Eventu- activist whose Summer Jazz workshop has Kashmere Stage Band—bandleader Con- Once upon a time, however, the school ally the students were composing their own trained young Houstonians for the past 30 rad O. Johnson passed away in February was host to a nearly forgotten legacy material, with Johnson helping write the years) and Melvin Sparks (a prolific solo 2008, after several hospitalizations and a of large ensemble soul-funk that ranks scores and bring the music to life. jazz guitarist), but the recordings of the mild heart attack. He had retired from among the high points of Houston music The first recordings of the Kashmere full band had become rare artifacts sought teaching back in 1978, and in fact the same history. Between 1967 and 1978 the band, Stage Band appeared in 1969 as the first by collectors and traded at high prices. weekend of his passing he had attended consisting entirely of enrolled students, release on the KRAM label, started by In 2000 the Soul Patrol label included the a fundraiser and tribute concert featuring released eight full-length LP records and Johnson specifically as an outlet for the track “Scorpio” from their fourth LP, 1972’s original KSB members performing works toured Japan, only to disappear into the recordings of his students’ band. The Zero Point, on a deep funk compilation. A from the heyday of the band. The Conrad obscurity of poor distribution and limited group remained extraordinarily prolific, year later, Stones Throw records put the O. Johnson School of Fine Arts, a musical documentation. Only recently has the producing an LP or more per year up until track “Kashmere” on the very influential magnet program at Kashmere High, aims music of the Kashmere Stage Band found 1975, including one LP dedicated to songs funk compilation “Funky 16 Corners.” Fol- to carry on the legacy of the Kashmere its way back into availability, largely thanks composed by Johnson and members of the lowing that release, Stones Throw general Stage Band despite the difficulties the to the efforts of hip-hop crate diggers and band and a live album documenting their manager Eothen Alapatt (also known as school itself is facing. beat collectors. tour of Japan. In 1972, they won the title Egon) traveled to Houston to find out more You can experience the legacy of the Conrad O. “Prof” Johnson, a jazz and “Best High School Stage Band in the Na- about the history of the band, as well as Kashmere Stage Band for yourself this up- R&B musician born in Victoria, Texas in tion,” and won 42 of 46 band competitions to get his hands on more KSB music. His coming Thursday, September 19 at down- 1915, decided in 1941 to dedicate himself to they entered over up to 1978. Beyond being journey was quite successful, leading to a town’s Discovery Green park, where the music education rather than performance. the best school band, the KSB was among double CD compilation presenting some Kashmere Reunion Stage Band, composed By 1969 he was director of the stage band the best large funk ensembles of their era of the hottest tracks off the LP releases of some of Johnson’s former students with at Kashmere Senior High School. Stage as well, comfortable with the influence of as well as unreleased material. This was guitarist Joe Carmouche, will honor the bands were found in most Texas high jazz, the slow fire of soul, and the high- perhaps the widest distribution the KSB bandleader with a tribute concert. schools of that era, but Johnson was a velocity groove of heavy funk. has ever seen, and was soon followed by somewhat unusual director—he had a And yet between 1978 and 2000, their several quasi-bootleg reissues of some healthy respect for the popular music that music was largely unheard, except by original albums on LP. The music of the Muzak John’s Joyful Noise By Matthew Brownlie and down the sidewalk behind him. As I approach the patio at Rudyard’s And John was dressed like a wizard. I see that John is already there, sitting a Cloak, big pointy hat with stars and cres- small distance from the other happy-hour cent moons, the whole bit. It was anarchic, patrons. The 50-year old man in a fishing innocent and fun. hat is abusing a small acoustic guitar, at- It is also a testimony to the friendliness tacking the fretboard with his ever-present of Houston’s semi-legendary noise scene handheld tape recorder. Before we begin that Muzak was invited to play with local our interview, he tells me that I’ll be playing heavy-hitters Rusted Shut, Ouroboros something on that guitar into that machine and Yellow #6 a mere two months after when we finish talking. Which I do, but discovering the genre. In 2000, following what I come up with isn’t nearly as wild or the end of a relationship, John decided un-self-conscious as what he’s doing now. that it was time to find out what was go- But that’s okay; he tells me some time later ing on in Houston’s small clubs. He saw that he thought it sounded great. local mainstays Richard Ramirez (aka Muzak John (or, just as often, John Black Leather Jesus) and Rotten Piece Muzak) is an anomaly inside an anomaly, at Sound Exchange, A Pink Cloud at the a somewhat playful presence in Houston’s Commerce Street Art Warehouse, and the often severe and serious noise/experimen- Legendary Pink Dots at Instant Karma. tal scene. But it’s a tribute to that scene’s (It might be worth noting that the mighty welcoming spirit that he’s also a mainstay, Sound Exchange is the only one of these

James Bricker/Breakfast on Tour performing pretty much wherever and three performance spaces still around). whenever he feels like since 2000. I first John had been a musician all his life, and saw him during one of his guerrilla perfor- in the 1980’s had fallen in love with college Ted Leo at Rice mances. He was on the ground outside a radio stations in Staten Island and New The 2009 Outdoor Show featured Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. club in the warehouse district, banging on Jersey. Noise music, however, was beyond a small Casio keyboard and shouting into even their far-reaching playlists. “It wasn’t a microphone run through a delay pedal. formal music, it wasn’t ‘song’ music,” he Domokos (then of A Pink Cloud and Rusted What is the Rice Radio Folio? Shut) kicked a big, clattery metal bowl up Continued on page 2 The Folio is first and foremost a programming and listening guide designed to help you keep up with what’s on air. For your pleasure, our DJs also generate a healthy serving of album reviews, playlists, band profiles, concert calendars, interviews, and news and information about KTRU and the Houston music scene. The Folio was a more regular feature from the 1980s through the early 1990s, when it educated and entertained readers on a weekly basis. The station’s boost to 50,000 watts and resultant lack of a reliable on-campus signal until the late 1990s contributed to its (partial) abandonment. Now the folio lives gain, in a longer, if less frequent form. If you are new to KTRU, the Folio is an excellent place to begin what will no doubt be a long and fruitful love affair. If you’re already hooked, the folio is just another way to get more of what you love.

1 InterviewS and Artist Profiles Artist profileS AND upcoming events rice radio folio FALL 2009 rice radio folio FALL 2009 Artist Profile: Hit the Ground Running: FALL 2009 Recommended shows Artist Profile:Kaushiki Chakraborty Houston’s scene runs the gamut from experimental to bubblegum pop, death metal to gamelan, so mark your calendars and check out KTRU’s upcoming By Varsha Vakil become the youngest-ever Ganda Bandh taken the world by storm. He states that it artist around the world. Her singing style shows page, and other sites that note upcoming shows in the area. Don’t forget Kaushiki Chakraborty is a name shishy, or disciple. Ganda Bandh is a cus- is not only her exceptional voice and sing- of traditional bahlawa patterns is the style to ask around or make a call to see if the show is sold out. Also, stay tuned to many aficionados of Indian music quickly tomary knot-tying ritual which fortifies ing style, but that beauty is in the intrinsic typical of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. John McEntire 91.7, and you just might pick up a few free tickets. recognize as a modern master of the Hin- the relationship between the guru and the fashion in which this gifted singer puts her Her albums Kaushiki, released in 2008, By Lance Higdon has played with the band since the late dustani, or North Indian, classical style student. The exemplary “guru-shishya” personal twist on intricate traditional ragas. and Pure, from 2005, are a pure delight for John McEntire may well be the Kevin 90s. With McEntire manning the mixing Pick your BATTLES: of singing. Kaushiki, a child prodigy, was style, a rigorous classical education sys- At a concert Chakraborty gave when she anyone seeking a captivating vocalist. Her Bacon of indie music. He has worked with board, Tortoise has spent a career explor- Friday, September 4: wood & felt/My Milky Way Arms/Casinos/Sils/Chairs born into a family of musicians in 1980 tem, symbolizes the learning relationship was 16, the young performer received a other albums are Swar Sadhna and A Jour- nearly every significant name in his ad- ing the borderlands between rock music @ Super Happy Fun Land in Kolkata, India, a city known as the with complete intellectual and spiritual standing ovation not only from the audi- ney Begins. A true global star renowned opted hometown of Chicago & beyond. A and other genres, earning themselves a Saturday, September 5: Deviations: an Impromptu Spoken Word Happening, unofficial mecca of Hindustani music. Her submission of the devoted shishya to the ence, but also from 80-year-old maestro for the spontaneity and emotional impact triple threat as a percussionist, keyboard- place as the posterchildren for post-rock. featuring Autumn & Dan & more @ The Mink exceptional talent was recognized by her guru. Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh intro- Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, who spontane- of her live performances, Chakraborty’s ist & recording engineer, his aptitude in Dub reggae, chamber-music minimalism, Friday, September 11: Black Congress/Balaclavas/No No No Hopes @ Mango’s parents when at the precocious age of two duced Chakraborty to the path of musical ously stood up to applaud her incredible music is played not only on BBC radio, but both the performance & production of various strains of electronic dance music, she was able to sing any musical note on excellence, teaching her that a balance performance in a rare show of deference has also found a following on airwaves in innovative, rock-based music has left an and the outer limits of jazz all figure into Wednesday, September 16: Chin Xaou Ti Won/Two Star Symphony @ The Mink command. Chakraborty’s father, Pandit of inborn talent, hard work and diligent from old to young. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Belgium and the Netherlands. indelible stamp on over two decades of Tortoise’s palette. Though he obviously Friday, September 25: Steel Lounge Underground @ CAMH Ajoy Chakraborty, is himself a prominent dedication, and philosophical conscious- the legendary classical vocalist of India, Hindustani classical music, which has activity. enjoys keeping a low profile, McEntire’s Thursday, October 8: Terrence Simien and the Zydeco Experience @ Discovery Green vocalist who showed extraordinary talent ness were the keys to success. When has said that “Kaushiki Chakraborty is one mainly been male-dominated, originated Born in Portland, Oregon in 1970, he inventive playing (on vibraphone and syn- in music at a very young age. His gurus Ghosh fell ill, Chakraborty returned to of the very few classical vocalists who will in the Vedic period and has been evolving Saturday, October 31: Final Walter’s Show on Washington nurtured an talent for percussion that thesizer as well as drums) and innovative were his father Shri Ajit Chakraborty, her father for her training. Clearly, music make a mark in the 21st Century; she has since the 12th Century A.D. Its most recent took him to Ohio’s prestigious Oberlin recording techniques sit at the center of Sunday, November 21: Neko Case @ Warehouse Live Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad was in her genes, but the right combina- really a very bright future if she practices evolution is the increased prominence of Conservatory. Dismayed by the lack of this very wide web of players. Make sure you check out calendars online for a full list of upcoming shows! Munawar Ali Khan, the son of the great tion of teaching and practice was crucial hard to realize her great potential.” female musicians (Girija Devi, Gangubai Patiala Maestro Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali to her development. Undoubtedly, she Chakraborty has performed and Hangal, Kishori Amonkar), who have creativity he observed among the percus- Named after a mishearing of a Gastr www.spacecityrock.com/ www.namelesssound.org/ sion majors there, he switched majors to Del Sol song, The Sea And Cake gave www.superunison.com/ www.ktru.org/shows.shtml Khan. has become an established artist thanks captivated audiences around the world. fought centuries of gender stereotypes to pursue a degree in music production & McEntire the chance to play music that Chakraborty has been highly praised not only to her talim (education) but also Among other awards she has also won break through on their own right. Among technology. Aside from paving the way to approached pop music structure with- as the future of khayal and thumri style rigorous riyaaz (practice). the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award - this new generation of woman artists, of singing. She first received her training Houston’s noted Pakistani artist Ali Asia Pacific in 2005. The Western world Kaushiki Chakraborty may have the most a career in audio engineering, his studies out losing its exploratory edge. They record store in San Francisco, and in from her mother, Chandana. At the age Durrani compares Chakraborty’s intricate usually finds it difficult to relate to Indian potential. Her worldwide appeal is opening lent his playing the sort of nuance and released their first record, The Sea And Muzak John’s Joyful Noise front of museums in Amsterdam (no of seven, she joined her father’s guru singing style to his inspiration Ustad Bade vocals, mostly due to language barriers. up the genre of classical Indian music to a insight not normally associated with rock Cake, concurrently on Rough Trade Continued from page 1 word on what, if any, costumes were Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh for training. Ghulam Ali Khan. Durrani is fascinated But Chakraborty’s singing has proven wider audience than ever before. drummers. and Bettina Richards’ nascent record donned there). Locally, John says that, says, “you could just make sounds Chakraborty had the good fortune to with this extraordinary talent that has otherwise, for she is a well acclaimed In 1989 McEntire joined the math rock label, Thrill Jockey. McEntire has since and throw in anything you want. I said “anywhere anytime’s good for a show,” band Bastro alongside ex-Squirrel Bait become synonymous with Thrill Jockey, ‘This is great, I’d like to do something but these days he’s particularly fond of the re-launched Super Happy Fun Land, members David Grubbs and Clark John- releasing most of his projects through like this.’” At the first noise show he caught at who have also put him on their stage son, adequately supplanting their drum them and handling a substantial amount at the Westheimer Block Party for the machine. After relocating to Chicago and of the recording for their artists. As in SoundEx, he met people involved with the short-lived Montrose Pirate Radio last few years. His disarmingly gentle Letter From the Station Manager replacing Johnson with Bundy K. Brown, Tortoise, his loose-limbed but meticulous station, which had transitioned into an personality gets him in with fellow Bastro released several albums before drumming and subtle shaping of the sonic musicians of all stripes, and you’ll see By Rachel Orosco another great success this past early online radio station. There, he Here’s the scoop on what’s up year was the return of our KTRU changing their name to Gastr Del Sol. environment keeps the music focused and played an all-cassette show, spinning him, tape recorder in hand, at shows After recording the album The Serpentine in peak audio form. of every genre. He’s been especially with KTRU this year: Roller Prom. This year, the revived (if that’s the right word) everything as the new school year begins, KTRU tradition was transformed into Similar in 1993, McEntire entered his When not forging new paths in mu- from the Allman Brothers to whatever liking local jazz lately, and jazz players in town appreciate what he does, too. there are several great opportunities the Polar Prom, since we decided to watershed year. 1994 saw him join up sic, McEntire owns and operates Soma local band he had just taped at their for new students and community host the event on ice rather than at with Mayo Thompson in the venerable Electronic Music Studios, also based in show through that aforementioned Well, some of them, anyway. At some point in our interview I members to get involved with the a roller rink. The Polar Prom was yet art-rock band The Red Krayola and his Chicago. He has engineered releases for handheld recorder. Soon after, he (along *All items subject to change. station. In addition to the opportu- another fun and free event provided with Al “The Plastic Clown” Pennison asked Muzak if his seemingly light- two best-known bands—Tortoise and The Dianogah, 90 Day Men and Stereolab nity to explore new musical territory by KTRU to Rice students and Hous- and others) began a year-long weekly hearted approach to creating and per- Stay up-to-date at ktru.org with Sea And Cake. among many others. Soma has also fa- by applying to be a DJ, we have a ton community members, and we residency at Mary Jane’s. John’s early forming noise music was in any way a maps, times and lineups. Tortoise possesses an all-star roster cilitated a number of remixes and some music was harsh noise but has softened reaction to the frequent self-seriousness variety of positions available for were pleased and surprised by the of Chicago underground talent. Doug film scores, most notably John Hughes’ over time. These days he’s as likely to of the genre, or if noise’s do-what-you- students interested in everything high turnout from both students and McCombs, Dan Bitney and John Hern- Reach The Rock. He has also lent his will spirit simply gave him space to, well, Friday, September 11, 2009, 5 p.m. from engineering to event planning. non-students alike. I look forward to perform with only that guitar than with Deadline: Fall DJ applications don have been constant fixtures in the loose-limbed, perfectly-timed drumming a Casio SK-1 and a few pedals, although do just that. The answer is definitely the If you have a penchant for journal- the organization of another Roller/ band since its inception. The short list of to a number of one-off recordings, such his acoustic material isn’t exactly Cat latter. He makes noise for the simple ism, consider joining our student- Polar Prom in the coming year. alumni includes David Pajo (Slint, Papa as Richard Buckner’s alt-country album Stevens. “Domokos calls me pop noise,” joy of making noise. Truthfully, I don’t Friday, January 15, 2010 created KTRU News. Also, we have although I am very pleased with M and Zwan) and Brown (who was also Since, Seam’s slowcore LP Kernel and he laughs. think that Muzak John thinks too hard KTRU Live Broadcast (RMC Lobby) several specialty shows that student the events that KTRU put on this about what he’s doing at all. Which is involved in the aptly-named Directions In the Tortoise all-drums offshoot Bumps He’s done guerilla performances DJs can get involved with, including past year, I hope to co-host more to say that I think he thinks about it but not limited to Mutant Hardcore, partnered events out in Houston Music). As if this was not enough talent in rhythmic workout of a 12”. dressed as a clown in front of Amoeba Records, the world’s largest indie just enough. Friday, January 22, 2010, 5 p.m. Navrang (music from the Indian this year similar to things we have one place, avant-jazz guitarist Jeff Parker Deadline: Battle of the Bands demos subcontinent), Spoken Word, Jazz, done in past years. For example, Scordatura (modern classical), three years ago we partnered with Friday, February 12, 2010 and the Revelry Report, where we the Contemporary Arts Museum announce weekly musical events of Houston for their Steel Lounge KTRU Battle of the Bands in Houston and often interview or series, where KTRU DJs were able Lovett Undergrounds / Lyle’s, Rice University host a live band. You can check out to DJ live for museum guests in a An Interview with Bryan Lewis Saunders ktru.org for more information on our gallery space. Also, back when the By Ayn Morgan portraits are two-dimensional and tend life has become totally devoted to docu- they occurred. The CD contains artifacts Saturday, April 10, 2010 specialty shows. Proletariat was around, we collabo- Bryan Lewis Saunders is a visual, to focus more on the present, and on menting and sharing those experiences of the entire process. KTRU Outdoor Show (Date is Tentative) In addition to our new fall hires, rated with them on several concerts. performance and spoken word artist who personal daily mental health maintenance. (much to my deliverance), new trauma KTRU: What current experimental or Location to be determined @ Rice University I am very excited about the recent I hope to reform past relationships lives in East Tennessee. His recorded The performances are big multi-media is much less frequent. I tend to isolate spoken word artists do you listen to? revival of our small concerts pro- and to form new ones with other work is intimate, honest and unsettling. public purging events, more focused on myself while working and that helps cut BLS: Amnesia by Lydia Lunch and gram. Varsha, of our Navrang show, organizations around Houston to In 2008, Saunders’ jarring release N1-N4 the past, and the demons are much more down on it enormously. When I’m alone, Jacob Kirkegaard is pretty transcendent. put together a brilliant, educational, spread the KTRU love and to provide Variations (vocal documentation from all social. When I draw or paint myself every my head becomes a tightly sealed can. Us- The combination of Kirkegaard’s science and highly-attended classical Indian student DJs with more opportunities four sleep stages)” cataloged a spectrum day, the release is what keeps me alive and ing the stories as a starting point, I weave of sound aesthetic and Lydia’s graphic music concert that gained tremen- to be involved in the Houston com- of vocalizations recorded during various somewhat sane. the feelings, thoughts and beliefs around poetic analysis seem to make her float dous visibility for KTRU and show- munity. stages of unrest in his tormented sleep KTRU: Film projections on stage can them, like fat twisted cords, really packing inside the gravity of man’s inhumanity. cased skilled, authentic classical Finally, because of the hard cycle. This year, he collaborated with distract from intense spoken word perfor- them down for several months. With the The work of Gregory Whitehead is Indian instrumentation. This year work and persistence of our dedi- percussionist Z’EV on DAKU, an intensely mances. With your strong background in lid on really tight, I finally get out and on functional-conceptual art and extremely we hope to bring several more of cated music department this year, primal journey into traumatic experience visual arts, your videos compliment your stage again. With great suspense, I slowly fascinating. Out of all of his works, these types of concerts in addition we have been able to bring in some and its physical manifestations. work. When did you first incorporate video unscrew the lid and all of these snakes jump The Thing About Bugs and The Hid- to small concerts from various other really great new music from more Saunders’ spoken word performances or projections into your live shows? out of my head, at the audience. Only it’s den Language of Trees are my absolute genres. We are always looking to ex- of our favorite independent record are empathetic, raw and cathartic. He often BLS: I started doing the videos in 2006. tragic, not funny, because the serpents are favorite. Headphones are a must. pose the eclectic, progressive, and labels. Also, we have had several tours Europe and the US, performing in I don’t often speak eloquently, so the videos real and not felt covered springs. Michael Esposito’s EVP collaborations, educational sounds of local Houston highly dedicated DJs constantly festivals and exhibitions. Also a visual are left rough and crudely edited too. The KTRU: When recording N1-N4 Varia- The Summer House with Leif Elggren talent. searching for unique music for us, artist, Saunders has created at least one rawness of both increases the tension. It tions, what was your process? How did it and the ghost of Emanuel Swedenborg This is exactly what our an- and we plan to continue to expand self-portrait every day since 1995, a project makes what I’m saying seem even more start? is great. Michael Esposito is an audio nual Outdoor Show strives to do. our vast music collection in the com- real, because they’re like home movies as BLS: Mysterious things have always scientist. Leif Elggren is a contemporary deemed “The Endlessly Reconstructing The 2009 show, held on April 11, ing year, with particular emphasis Auto-Autopsy.” He currently stores 7,000 opposed to being artsy-fartsy with a lot of happened to me in my sleep. I would artist who works with sound, drawing and marked our 18th annual show, and on expanding our specialty show of the portraits in hardbound books, and transitions and effects. frequently wake up feeling like I had just performance. Emanuel Swedenborg was we were very happy with the lineup, libraries. plans to continue producing them daily Video is the supreme tool, in that it has been run over by a truck or physically a scientist, philosopher and spiritualist for the rest of his life. the ability to convey honesty, empathy, assaulted. I had great difficulty remember- who talked to angels and dead people headed up by Ted Leo & The Phar- all in all, I am very pleased with truth and believability. The simplest way to ing any details of the events. So, I started at the same Summer House throughout macists, and ranging from B L A C K many of the improvements KTRU KTRU: Describe the difference between get people to believe and identify with you, sleeping with a tape recorder to get to the 1700’s. I E’s indescribable rap to Buxton’s has seen in the past couple years, the cathartic experience of your self-portraits when you say outrageous or unbelievable the bottom of it. At first, I would awake Bryan Lewis Saunders is currently medley of alternative Americana. and I hope to live up to the great- and public performances. things, is to concurrently show them home and immediately record anything I could working on several projects, including a Next spring is sure to bring a simi- ness of Nick, my Eastern-European- Bryan Lewis Saunders: On the surface videos of it. It becomes more powerful. remember. The more I did it, the more new release tentatively titled Near Death larly talented and eclectic mix of mu- obsessed predecessor. they both appear as vehicles for driving KTRU: How much of your life is as Pavlovian my “button pushing” became, Experience on the art/noise/spoken word sicians from Houston and beyond. Thanks for listening: bang.rice. out demons. However, the self-portraits visceral as your work? Where do you think until I was waking up between each dream label Erratum (France). For more infor- We know we can expect another edu. 91.7 ear fuck radio. out. are more like praying or meditating every this intensity comes from? and recording all of them. Eventually I mation and current projects, visit www. excellent Outdoor Show from our day, and the performances are more like BLS: It comes from an exciting, yet pushed the record button in my sleep and bryanlewissaunders.org. A Night of Navrang 2010 Outdoor Show Coordinator, Sri Gourisankar and Shankar Bhattacharyya, left, performed in an April 21 concert Kelsey Yule. hosting an evangelical revival. The self- often traumatic childhood. Now that my documented my dreams in real time as sponsored by KTRU’s Navrang show.

2 3 SUmmer hits and top 35 Specialty show playlists rice radio folio FALL 2009 rice radio folio FALL 2009

Specialty Show Playlists Local Show top 35 for the week of 09.03.2009 Artist Album Label KTRU’s specialty shows were asked to provide the names of the albums they ARTIST ALBUM LABEL Two Star Symphony Two Star Symphony Self-Released are currently spinning the most, new and noteworthy releases, old favorites, or J.W. Americana J.W. Americana Self-Released Various Artists KTRU Local Live Vol. 1 Ktru Hickoids Hickoid Heaven West World a selection of songs most representative of their show. These playlists might Young Mammals Carrots Self-Released Black Moth Super Rainbow Eating Us Graveface give you some ideas what each show is about at the moment—or they might Sprawl The Deflorist Rastaman Work Ethic Various Artists Well Hung Finders-Keepers Paris Falls Vol. III Paper Weapons inspire you to pick up an album or two. Ak-47 Bloodstains Across Texas Bloodstains Various - Nigeria 70 The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos Strut Giant Princess Summer Exposure Art Storm Wooden Shjips Dos Holy Mountain Woozy Helmet Get Down Self-Released Africana Guitars White Night White Night GTRS Micachu Jewellery Rough Trade Artist Album Label Indian Jewelry Invasive Exotics Monitor Staff Benda Bilila Tres Tres Fort Crammed Disc Elfin Saddle Ringing For The Begin Again Constellation Born Lairs Ragged Island Cutthroat Various Artists Nigeria 70: Funky Lagos Strut Strange Boys And Girls Club In the Red Various Artists The Sounds Of Wonder Finders Keepers Oumou Sangare Seya World Circuit Something Fierce There Are No Answers Dirtnap Franco & TPOK Jazz Francophile Sterns Paradox Called To Mind End Of Earth Jinkies Sea of Tranquility Everest Various Artitist Congo 7: Rock and Rumba Syllart American Analog Set Set Free Arts and Crafts Various Artists The Sexual Life of the Savages: Underground Post-Punk From Sao Paulo Soul Jazz Records Amadou and Miriam Welcome to Mali Nonesuch Archie Bell and the Drells Tighten it Up Rhino Group Bombino Guitars From Agadez Sublime Frequencies Theo Angell Tenebrae Amish D.R.I. Dealing With It Beer City Various Artists Lagos Chop Up Honest Jon’s Japanic Red Book Plethorazine Miura,Yasushi (Minimax) Magnitude No.9 Self-Released Cesaria Evoria Radio Mindelo Lusafrica Fired for Walking Fired for Walking Four Letter Music Madera Limpia La Coronaout Here Sideshow Tramps Medicine Show Self-Released Nomo Invisible Cities Ubiquity Recordings, Inc. Ba Cissoko Seno Sterns Marked Men Ghost Dirtnap Greg Greg Self-Released Golden Arm Trio Why the Sea is Salt Loveletter/Shamrock Daniel Johnston Yip Jump Music Eternal Yip Eye Whitmore, William Elliot Animals In The Dark Anti Scordatura Artist Album Label Foot Patrol Chrisspy EP Self-Released Black Dice Repo Paw Tracks Gyorgy Ligeti Wien Modern Deutsche Grammophon Crack Pipes Snakes in my Veins Emperor Jones Elder Utah Smith I Got Two Wings Casequarter Stanley Schumacher and the Now Music Ensemble Don’t Abandon Your Baby Musickmacher Productions Michael Gordon Light is Calling Nonesuch Various Artists Sleepwalking Through The Mekong M80 Morton Feldman For John Cage Hat[now]ART Spoken Word Artist Album Label Night Control Death Control Kill Shaman Luc Ferrari Les Anecdotiques Sub Rosa Elliott Sharp Tectonics Knitting Factory Scooter Audior Shorts Acksisofevil Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting PAraiso U.F.O. Lord Of The Underground: Vishnu And Magic Elixir Alien8 Matthew Shipp Harmony and Abyss Thirsty Year Bryan Lewis Saunders N1-N4 Variations Standup Tragedy Cripsin Hellio The Big Problem Does Not Equal the Solution Restless Cromagnon Cave Rock ESP-Disk Kol Simcha Voice of Joy World Class Germaine Tailleferre The Women’s Philharmonic Koch Daevid Allen The Mystery Disque No. 7 Bananamoon Obscura Casey Foubert/James McAlister Volume 3: Music For Drums Asthmatic Kitty Anton Webern Complete Works Sony Miranda July Binet-Simon Test Kill Rock Stars Studs Terkel Voices of Our Time HighBridge Audio Platinum Pied Pipers Abundance Ubiquity Ricahrd Einhorn Voices of Light Sony Stuart Saunders Smith CRUX O/O Infant Mortality Rate Blimp Needle Mayday Bonnie “Prince” Billy Ask Forgiveness Domino Group 180 Group 180 Hungapoton Howard Zinn Artists in a Time of War Alternative Tentacles Henry Cowell Henry Cowell Piano Music Smithsonian Folkways Raymond Scott Manhattan Research Inc. BASTA The Golden Hours Spooky EP Eggy Randall Smith Sondes Empreintes Digitales Steven Jesse Bernstein Prison Sub Pop Various Artists Bklyn Heavy Sounds From The County Of Kings Bastard Jazz Carl Stone Woo Lae Oak Unseen Worlds KRS-ONE The Fundamentals of Hip-Hop KRS-ONE/The Temple of Hip-Hop Matt Turner & Jeff Song Love & Fear O/O Muzak John Lo-fi ? Acoustic Self-Released Prefuse 73 Everything She Touched Turned To Ampexian Warp Akemi Naito Mindscape Bridge Records Flossie & The Unicorns Flossie & The Unicorns Hanson Jody Seabody & The Whirls Orange EP Self-Released Steve Reich Sonic Youth: Good Bye 20th Century SYR Moyers, Bill & Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth HighBridge Audio Wadada Leo Smith Light Upon Light Tzadik Bob Marsh Viovox Public Eyesore Cave Psychic Psummer Important Karlheinz Stockhausen Kontakte Ecstatic Peace! Various Artists Great Speeches of the 20th Century Rhino Illa J Yancey Boys Delicious Vinyl Paul Cooper Paul Cooper CRI Allen Funt The Candid Microphone Columbia Masterworks Biosphere Autor de la Lune Touch Lecture on Nothing Lecture on Nothing Popmafia Svarte Greiner Kappe Type Ellen Fullman Suspended Music Periplum Edward R. Murrow I Can Hear It Now Columbia Masterworks Skuli Sverisson Seremonie Extreme Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure Capitol Mono Hymn To The Immortal Wind Temporary Residence David Rosenboom Brainwave Music EM The Social Insects Let’s Be Realistic. Self-Released Robert Francis Kennedy A Memorial Columbia Masterworks Genetic Memory The Tape-Beatles Music With Sound Death of Vinyl Various Artists Cool Cats Sub Rosa Artist Album Label Mouthful of Bees Mouthful of Bees Afternoon Records TEF Cast Pitchphrase Emeralds Vaporizer Ecstatic Peace! Post Punk Insect Warfare Insect Warfare 625 Thrashcore Artist Album Label Racoo-oo-oo Racoo-oo-oo Not Not Fun Warsaw An Ideal for Killing Warsaw Noveller Paint on the Shadows No Fun Productions The Mob Let the Tribe Increase Broken Rekids KTRU SUMMER Hits 2009 Windy & Carl Instrumentals for the Broken-Hearted Blue Flea Zoomers Exist Uncalled For Music ARTIST ALBUM LABEL Corrupted Paso Inferior Insolito Suicide Suicide Red Star Werewolf Jerusalem The House of Yellow Carpet Swim Harder The Incredible Casuals Picnic Ape 7” Eat Various Artists Well Hung Finders Keepers Eloe Omoe Marauders ADR Y Pants Y Pants Periodic Document Niagra Falls Sequence of Prophets Honeymoon Music Fad Gadget GAG Mute Wooden Shjips Dos Holy Mountain Tusk The Resisting Dreamer Hydra Head Anarchitex Live 2008 Self-Released TuxedoMoon Buy or Die ’80 Ralph Black Moth Super Rainbow Eating Us Graveface Serville Sect Stratospheric Passenger Ecstatic Peace! SUNN O))) Monoliths & Dimensions Southern Lord Joy Division Closer Qwest Casey Foubert & James Mcalister Vol. 3: Music for Drums Asthmatic Kitty Concrete Violin Basement Heavy Leather A Certain Ratio Early Soul Jazz Third Organ/Government Alpha Third Organ/Government Alpha 7” Dada Drumming Culturcide Year One Culturcide Paradox Called to Mind End of Earth B L A C K I E Death Tape Heavy Leather Lizzer Mercier Best Of ZE MyDolls A World of Her Own MyDolls Black Dice Repo Paw Tracks Kodama Turning Leaf Migrations Olde English Spelling Bee Richard Young High Sun Energy/States of Time Dull Knife Devo New Traditionalists Warner Bros. Various Artists Cool Cats Sub Rosa Daniel Padden & Sarah Kenchington The Bellow Switch Shadazz Scritti Politti Early Rough Trade Red Horse Red Horse Rel Bauahus Terror Couple 7” 4.AD William Elliot Whitmore Animals in the Dark anti Dylan Nyoukis Inside Wino Lodge No Fun Productions Throbbing Gristle Greatest Hits Mute Clones We Got Party Mystic Various Artists Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos Strut Various Artists La Bamba Ultra Eczema Charles Curse Rain in Skull Olde English Spelling Bee Mission of Burma The Truth About Burma Rhino Bruce Eisenbeil Sextet Inner Consellation Vol. 1 Nemu Bhob Rainey/Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase Split 7” Sedimental DNA On DNA No More Spunk Kantarell Rune Grammofon Ludus The Damage LTM Platinum Pied Pipers Abundance Ubiquity Gange of Four Entertainment! Warner Bros. Public Image Limited Live in Tokyo Virgin Various Artists KTRU Local Live Vol. 1 KTRU Jazz/Improvised Music ESG A South Bronx Story 2 Soul Jazz Hearts of Palm Trance Nipple Manifestation Palmetto Space Artist Album Label Flow Trio Rejuvenation ESP-Disk Chickenskin Music Micachu Jewellery Rough Trade Don Cherry Live At Cafe Montmartre, Volume III ESP-Disk Sun Ra Sleeping Beauty Art Yard Artist Album Label Alexander “Skip” Spence Oar Sundazed Christof Kurzmann & Burkhard Stangl Neuschnee Erstwhile The Persuasions The Persuasions Sing Zappa Earthbeat Jonathan Richman Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild Vapour Elfin Saddle Ringing for the Begin Again Constellation Evan Parker Saxophone Solos psi Per Anders Nilsson, Sten Sandell & Raymond Strid Beam Stone psi Nathan Rogers The Gauntlet Borealis Ghost Mountain Siamese Sailbots Self-Released People Band 69/70 Emanem Beyond the Pale Postcards Borealis Rodrigo Amado, Kent Kessler & Paal Nilssen-Love The Abstract Truth European Echoes String Sisters Live Compass The Golden Hours Spooky EP Eggy John Butcher Group Somethingtobesaid Weight Of Wax Slaid Cleaves Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away Music Road Sarah Jarosz Song Up In Her Head Sugar Hill Greg Greg Self-Released Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra Secrets Of The Sun Atavistic Sophie Agnel Capsizing Moments Emanem Greg Brown Dream City Red House Booker T. Jones Potato Hole anti Peter Evans Nature/Culture Emanem Mike Rickard Living Room Songs Self Full Blast Black Hole Atavistic Grant Peeples Pawnshop Gatorbone Various Artists The Sexual Life of the Savages:Underground Post-Punk from Sao Paulo Soul Jazz Ray Warleigh Rue Victor Massé psi Richard Dobson From a Distant Shore Brambus Jason Eklund Walkin’ in Woody’s Shoes Muszeekans Mono Hymnn to the Immoral Wind Temporary Residence John Edwards Volume psi Agustí Fernández Un Llamp Que No S’acaba Ma psi David Olney Ol’ Diz a Musicak Baseball Story Self-Released Various Artists Bklyn Heavy Sounds from the Country of Kings Bastard Jazz Alexander von Schlippenbach Friulian Sketches psi Porterdavis Porterdavis Self-Released London & Glasgow Improvisers Orchestras Separately & Together Emanem Byrd & Street Love Broke the Fall Self-Released Infant Mortality Rate Radio-Electronics Mayday Tetuzi Akiyama, Kevin Corcoran & Christian Kiefer Low Clouds Mean Death Digitalis The Pines Tremolo Red House The Wailin’ Jennys Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House Red House Young Mammals Carrots Jasper Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um (Legacy Edition) Columbia John Surman Brewster’s Rooster ECM Jonathan Edwards Rollin’ Along Strictly Country The Fonda/Stevens Group Memphis Playscape Koerner Ray and Glover Blues, Rags and Hollers Red House Bossa Nostra Jackie Putumayo Charlie Musselwhite Ace of Harps Alligator Ben Neill Night Science Thirsty Ear Willie Murphy Piano Hits: Willie Murphy Atomic Theory Medeski, Martin & Wood Radiolarians III Indirecto Katy Moffat Fewer Things Zeppelin Liz Meyer The Storm Strictly Country Booka and the Flaming Geckos Baghdad, Texas Loudhouse Funk & Soul The Bottle Rockets Lean Forward Bloodshot Artist Album Label DJ Day Cd5 Self-Released Visioneers Rollin for the Ride Omniverse Metal Shafiq Husayn Shafiq En A-Free-Ka Plug Research Artist Album Label Whitefield Brothers In the Raw Now Again Mortuary Drape Mourn Path Iron Tyrant Reginald Milton & The Soul Jets Funk Spectrum bbe Dr. Shrinker Split 7” Revenge Diamond District In the Ruff Oddisee God Macabre The Winterlong 7” Blood Harvest Free Design Now Sound Redesigned Light in the Attic Martire Martire 91 EP Nuclear War Now! Clutchy Hopkins & Lord Kenjamin Music Is My Medicine Ubiquity Embrace of Thorns For I See Death in Their Eyes Iron Bonehead Change This is Your Time Atlantic Adversarial Thralls Self-Released Dam Funk Toeachizown Vol 1: Latrik Stones Throw Crucifier Trambled Under Cloven Hooves Paragon The Latin Project Musica de la Noche TLP Abhorer Upheaval of Blasphemy 7” Shivadarshina Ralph Macdonald Jam on the Groove Alpha Omega Pentacle Under the Black Cross Ibex Moon Ladybug Mecca Trip the Light Fantastic Nu Paradigm Avenger Feast of Anger Joy of Despair Deathgasm Sa Ra Creative Partners Nuclear Evolution Ubiquity Flame Into the Age of Fire Iron Pegasus The US Let’s Do It Today (Procrastination) bbe Devastator The Summoning Old Cemetary J. Rocc Hella International Stones Throw Severance Abysmal Ascent 7” Drowned DJ Sun Monday Drive EP Alternate Take Nervochaos Quarrel in Hell Ibex Moon M64 Record Breakin 7” Series Record Breakin Trench Hell Southern Cross Ripper Hells Headbangers Bobbi Humphrey Satin Doll Blue Note Destruction Infernal Overkill SPV The Repercussions Promise Me Nothing Reprise Immolation Here in After Metal Blade Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestroes Rich Medina & Bobbitto Present the Connection R2 Magnanamus Unchaining the Fevers and Plagues Blood Harvest Black Spade To Serve With Love Om Electrocution Inside the Unreal Rosemary Mayer Hawthorne A Strange Arrangement Stones Throw Thy Infernal Satan’s Wrath Moribund Little Dragon Remixes EP Self-Released Incantation Mortal Throne of Nazarene Relapse

4 5 Programming Guide Programming Guide rice radio folio FALL 2009 rice radio folio FALL 2009

Genetic Memory Rice Radio Reggae Chickenskin Genetic Memory is a series of three-hour experiments within the sonic void. It is a continu- Wednesdays from 5 – 7 p.m., KTRU’s Rice Radio Reggae takes listeners on a tour of some Chickenskin Music airs Thursday Evenings on KTRU from 8 – 10 p.m. The show gets ously redefining aural enigma, wrapped around a divergent collection of reference points, of the many facets of Reggae music. While having its origins in Jamaica, Reggae now comes Specialty Shows from percussive implosions to explosive decompressions, from trepanned sound poetry to from countries across the globe, and each week Rice Radio Reggae attempts to present an its name from an old blues expression referring to music that gives you ‘chickenskin’, or doomed Grimmrobe sludge, from the meticulous and improvised to the orchestrated and overview of the genre. You’ll hear the Roots Reggae Bob Marley made famous, instrumental Specialty shows make up around 30 percent of our programming hours, goose bumps. At the beginning it was collage of bluegrass, folk, rockabilly, classical and jazz. The idea comes from a thought that all music from A to Z is related, and can be played chaotic, from old school industrial to new school drone, from free-jazz freakouts to freaky Dub, Dancehall, and more. It’s eclectic (just like KTRU!) and, who knows? You could just most during the evening hours between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. These shows en- together. It’s just a matter of how you get from A to Z. Live guests have always been a part prog noodlings, from primitive electrons to digital dust devils, from Dadaist spasms to Ac- hear a side of Reggae you never knew existed! deavor to play unexposed music from genres other than rock. Some of our of the show. Over the years we’ve hosted Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor, Jason Eklund, The Neville tionist Grand Guignols and a myriad of tangents in between. A rotating crew of hosts and specialty shows, such as Chickenskin and Jazz, have been going strong for Brothers, James McMurtry, Preston Reed, Sue Foley, Tish Hinojosa, Ani di Franco… and hostesses gives each show a constantly shifting center of gravity, with each DJ formulating Revelry Report his or her own definition of “music minus one chromosome.” On Monday nights, from 10 over 20 years; others, like Africana, are fairly new. KTRU strives to play the the list goes on. The Revelry Report airs Friday nights from 6 – 7 p.m. and focuses primarily on local events p.m. – 1 a.m., follow the unraveling strands of Genetic Memory. greatest variety of music with the least trash of any station in the Houston in and around Texas. In the past, the Revelry Report focused on just about everything, vicinity, and specialty shows help us toward this goal. Electronic including Austin City Limits, national art openings (occurring locally), SXSW (South by First there was the theremin, humming like a flying saucer to the wave of a hand. Then Hip Hop Southwest, for newcomers), College Music Journal and a number of major benefits for along came giant modular synths and Australian computer music. As the twentieth century The Vinyl Frontier airs every Tuesday night from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. The show primarily various charities in and around town. Africana trickled onward, electronic music developed from an academic experiment to the dominant covers the latest releases from the underground hip-hop world with the occasional classic In its current incarnation, the show also places a strong emphasis on live studio per- The African/African Diaspora show explores the music of Africans and communities force on many dance floors. It has rewritten pop music, re-arranged the classical canon and thrown in. Multiple styles are covered—from abstract ruminations backed by laptop glitch formances by local and touring musicians, interviews with artists and musicians, and an of African descent wherever one finds them. This last is what is sometimes referred to as played a key part in the development of hip hop. But today, electronic music has emerged to gritty street tracks from upcoming MCs and even a club banger thrown in for good overall coverage of events in Houston. By doing so, the Revelry Report has narrowed its “the African diaspora.” Africa is home to some of the world’s greatest musical traditions. into an abundance of music in a genre all its own. Undanceable IDM, blast-happy breakcore, measure. focus, aiming to introduce our audience to alternative outlets for nightlife while exposing Our goal on the Africana show is to expose introduce the Rice community listeners to the synth-buzzing electro, glitch, lap-pop and more. You can sample the spectrum every Friday Select invited local DJs will occasionally appear on the show to illustrate their turntab- the many wonderful events in Houston that might otherwise go under the radar. rich diversity of some of the world’s greatest, and still evolving musical traditions. We to evening from 7 – 9 p.m. on the Electronic show. As a special treat, on several occasions, lism skills. Short interviews are also sometimes conducted with local and national hip-hop the rich diversity of these still evolving musical cultures. Hosts Joe and Chris have spent the electronic show has presented electronic works from students in the Shepherd School acts, and the roots of hip-hop and rap are explored by delving into the funk, soul, and jazz Spoken Word breaks that started it all. years collecting African music, and we play everything from traditional and folkloric music of Music here at Rice. The Spoken Word show offers performances from musicians, writers and poets, and to the classic recordings of the sixties and seventies to today’s dance hits. Not only do we politicians and random diatribes. Saturdays 7 – 8 p.m. present the music of 54 African countries, but we will also explore African music in the Funk & Soul Jazz/Improvised Music Americas, Europe and the Indian Ocean: everything from reggae, to jazz, to Colombian The Funk show airs every Thursday evening, from 7 – 8 p.m. What began as monstrous The KTRU Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the living legends, unsung Ska cumbias, and Cape Verdean mornas, and more. Tune in to KTRU every Saturday from heroes, rising stars and timeless pioneers in the world of creative improvisation, from the drum lines, super rhythmic electric guitar rifts, and an extra tight brass section has since Tune in every Sunday evening from 9 – 10 p.m., as we explore the origins and reincar- 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. and join Joe and Chris us on an exciting journey into the music of the innovations of classic American jazz to the rigorous explorations of today’s European and evolved into one (wo)man bands intent on conquering the same soulful journey foreshad- nations of ska. Ska was the direct predecessor of Reggae, and is characterized by upbeat Africa and its Diaspora. Japanese free improvisers. From New York’s downtown sounds to regional styles and beyond. owed by their imaginative ancestors decades ago. Henceforth, each week, the Funk show emphases, high quality horn sections, and influences from other traditions, including jazz, The Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the vast spectrum of the music of the sets out to pay proper homage to the commendable funk purveyors, while acknowledging soul, punk and more. It sounds like reggae, but often with a quicker tempo, and built to be moment which you can hear broadcasting every Sunday from noon until 9 p.m. Americana the soul scholars of today and introducing the mission controllers of tomorrow. No corner danced to. From the rude sounds of the 1960s Jamaican originators, to the two-tone UK Every Monday night from 9 – 10 p.m., the Americana show explores the roots and history of the world or era of time is left uncovered. The declaration remains: “One Nation Under anti-racist ska of the 70s and 80s, through the third wave ska of the 1990s from America of American music (and sometimes, American history through music). For example, on A Groove.” Kids and across the globe, we seek out the best, the obscure, and the unusual from around the MLK Day, we played speech excerpts from MLK, RFK’s famous speech on the assassination, Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? Do you remember the joyous anticipa- world, as we give you an international take on the scene. Rude! plus songs by Otis Spann, Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and others who recorded civil tion that you felt on Friday night, knowing that Heaven was only a few hours away? Well, rights and MLK related material. On the birthday of the Houston blues legend Big Mama you can feel that joy, again! Every Saturday, the KTRU Kids’ Show digs up the songs that Scordatura Thornton (now deceased), we played a selection of her music, and on Election Day we’ll play made your childhood. Old favorites and forgotten memories are intermixed with new clas- The General Shift The Scordatura Show explores modern and contemporary classical music: i.e. ex- appropriately themed songs (Blue Mountain’s “Jimmy Carter,” the Austin Lounge Lizards’ What does a general shift, which makes up around 70 percent of our schedule, sics and rarities that you may have never heard before—and they are all family friendly perimental, electronic, or otherwise unusual music voiced for more or less traditionally “Ballad of Ronald Reagan”). We try to cover as many American genres as possible—jazz, and youth oriented! Hear cartoon theme songs, stories, children’s artists, child artists, and sound like? The answer is as varied as the DJs that spin tracks, but there are certain orchestral instruments, generally since 1900. Representative artists would include Glass, blues, bluegrass, gospel, cajun, zydeco, rockabilly, country, western swing, etc. Other themes more! Hosted by the lovable DJ crew of Jane, Jenny and Tom, it’s sure to be the most fun commonalities. Reich, Cage, Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer, and the like, though we try to emphasize lesser have included Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Sarg Records (an obscure but important indie label you’ve had on a Saturday in a long time! (Don’t forget to let your kids listen, too!). Saturdays, our “playlist” consists of around 100 albums. General shift shows include 4 known material, as our show bleeds across into the glitchiness of the Electronic Show, the from central Texas), the best of Bob Wills, the accordion, Motown, songs about food, Sam noon – 1 p.m., only on KTRU! Cooke (on his birthday) and Townes Van Zandt (on the anniversary of his death). playlist tracks per hour, plus one each shift. The hope is for DJs to try out new and experimentation of the Jazz Show, and the noisiness of Genetic Memory. We also regularly challenging music, while leaving them by and large free to select their own tracks. feature material composed or performed by members of Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, You also will hear at least 2 tracks from underrepresented genres each hour, includ- Local including live performances. Blues The Local Show brings Houston musicians to the forefront, with occasional forays into the Join us on Wednesday nights for an exploration and insightful look at the world of blues. ing blues, jazz, world music from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, improvised and experi- rest of the Lone Star State. From Lightnin’ Hopkins to Jana Hunter, from The Red Krayola Treasures of the Sixties Taking the genre beyond 12 bars and 3 chords, this two hour program brings the stark mental music, and even pure noise. It’s not uncommon to hear a modern classical to The Fatal Flying Guilloteens, and from ZZ Top to Drop Trio, the show presents over five If you enjoy the music of the Sixties, but are sick and tired of the same old, played-out beauty of Billie Holiday, the pleading of James Brown, the delta sound of Robert Johnson, track, followed by indie pop, chased with drumming out of Cameroon, followed by hip decades of Bayou City punk, jazz, blues, psych, noise, and everything in between. Tune rotation of classic rock radio, you’re not alone. Every Wednesday night from 9 – 11 p.m., and the relentless sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, and many others to one meeting place hop. It’s eclectic; it’s challenging; it’s KTRU. in from 8 –10 p.m. every Tuesday to delve deep into the scene. Bi-weekly feature shows the Treasures of the Sixties Show revisits the decade of boundless energy with an ear for here on KTRU. It’s Blues in Hi-Fi; Wednesdays 7 – 9 p.m. on KTRU Houston! broadcast live sets and interviews with Houston heavyweights and newcomers alike, direct what sounds fresh. You’ll hear cult artists such as Spirit and Love who deserve more, well, from our studio. Listen and discover the incredible bands you share this city with. love. We like to play Texas legends like the 13th Floor Elevators, Sir Douglas Quintet, and Please note that once our newest crop of DJs us on air, all spaces marked “Robo” and “WRN” will be filled with live bodies. Mayo Thompson. You’ll even hear album cuts from the likes of the Kinks and Otis Redding, Metal artists with much deeper catalogues than commercial radio would have you believe. And Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday From The Depths, KTRU’s metal show, features 3 hours of underground metal, without with the armies of pop culture archeologists out there who make new discoveries every a trace of commercial pseudo nu-metal. Death metal, black metal, thrash metal, raw, ugly, week, we’ll prove the saying, “If you haven’t heard it before, it’s good as new.” Fight the and heavy, with an impressive amount of vinyl: 7 inches, 12 inches, etc. Real metal from tyranny of Oldies radio! Catch the Sixties show on Wednesdays. 1 am 1 am real metal-heads. From the old school to the newest underground releases. Sundays from General General General General General General General 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. Shift Shift Shift Shift Shift Shift Shift 2 am 2 am World From ancient Asian traditions to highly innovative Brazilian jazz, the KTRU World 3 am 3 am MK Ultra Music Show covers the globe. Natural indigenous music of the rainforest gets equal Need a fix of the latest in underground electronic dance music? Not to worry - MK Ultra play with exciting Indian Bhangra and African pop. From the most talented musicians 4 am 4 am has you covered, and we’re one of the very few Houston radio shows that does. Every Friday the world has to offer to the most joyous and liveliest, listeners can hear it all on Mon- ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO Marc M. ROBO night from 9 p.m. – 12 a.m., we showcase three hours of live in-station DJ-mixes from the day nights from 7 – 9 p.m. A rotating volunteer staff with experience in international 5 am 5 am cream of the crop of local acts (and every now and then some international acts). We hit all music and cultural education curates diverse set lists each week. We present acclaimed the sub-genres, whether it’s house, drum n bass, progressive, breaks, etc. You can check musicians like Talip Ozkan, Ali Farka Toure, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Mongo San- 6 am 6 am us out on the web, at www.mkultra.us for recordings, details on sending promos, and how tamaria, as well as many underrepresented and independent musicians around the to submit DJ demos. world. Listeners will find out about world music events in Houston and the surrounding 7 am 7 am region. Occasionally the World Music Show may highlight regional events that feature Andrew L Kelsey Y. Bob S. Chris C. Ira A. Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour international music, as well as Native American powwows and regional traditions with 8 am Nancy N. Preston P. 8 am Once upon a time, when today’s college freshmen were little more than a staring complex international origins. and a bad perm, alternative, indie rock, garage, emo, grunge, and hardcore all had the same 9 am 9 am name: punk. Every Thursday night from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m., the Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour Sofia M. General Shift General Shift General Shift Tobias P. explores the genre that gave birth to all the lame bands that annoy your parents, your room- 10 am 10 am Jane F mates, and your friends, proving that nothing is more cathartic than giving everyone the Navrang Jane L. finger at the same time, including yourself. Like Steven Van Zandt, we play the Ramones, 11 am 11 am everyone who influenced the Ramones, and everyone the Ramones influenced. If it’s fast Sophie L. Michael J. Daniel R. Alyssa I. Cory D. Julie A. Gary P. and loud, if it’s angry, if it rocks, we’ve got it—but it’s more complicated than that. D. Boon 12 pm Kids 12 pm of the Minutemen put it simply: Punk is whatever we make it to be. 1 pm 1 pm Chase L. Harold H. Austin W. Africana Navrang Megan W. Carina B. Joey Y. Kristie L. Anidya S. 2 pm 2 pm The Navrang (“Nine Colors”) Show covers the music of the Indian subcontinent, naturally with a focus on music from films, but also capturing the diversity of the region with Indian 3 pm 3 pm classical, folk, Indipop, Asian underground and “Western fusion” music out of the region in Rachel O. Kendra E. Patricia B. Ryan O. General Shift Lauren P. Pam T. Anneli R. Steven B. a “spicy musical curry.” Check it out Saturday mornings, 10 a.m. – noon. 4 pm Jazz & 4 pm Scordatura Improvised 5 pm News Music 5 pm KTRU News Malinda G. Burton D. Reggae Scordatura KTRU News focuses on local (and especially Rice Community) leading thinkers, pro- 6 pm Michael S. Cole P. Revelry Report 6 pm fessors, news makers, community organizations, nonprofits, arts organizations, politicians and the like, in a talk format, trying to capture what others might miss. If you have story 7 pm Post-Punk Funk Spoken Word 7 pm ideas or want recordings of past shows, check our page at www.ktru.org. Tune in Fridays World from 5 – 6 p.m. Music Blues Electronic 8 pm 8 pm Local Miguel Q. Chickenskin Ayn M. Post Punk 9 pm Americana 9 pm Treasures of The Modern Dance, KTRU’s post-punk show, airs every Tuesday night from 7 – 8 the Sixites p.m.. Focusing on underground music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we play all genres of 10 pm MK Ultra 10 pm post-punk, from the mutant disco of Cristina to the avant garage of Pere Ubu. Despite their differences, almost every artist that we play exhibits a willingness to play with—and rebel 11 pm Genetic Hip-Hop Jerroid D. Metal 11 pm Memory Nick S. Hardcore Stephanie M. against—pop music clichés. Take the rebellion and brashness of punk rock and add an Katie M. experimental aesthetic edge and you have post-punk. 12 am 12 am Les B., Kevin B. In addition to playing mixed sets and taking requests from our listeners, we often build the post-punk show around a theme. This year, for example, we have devoted entire shows to the Rough Trade label, to inaccessible music, and to synth pop. Tune into the post-punk KTRU 91.7 FM RICE RADIO CURRENT ON-AIR SCHEDULE show and you’ll get “The Modern Dance.”

6 7 album reviews album reviews rice radio folio FALL 2009 rice radio folio FALL 2009

Artist: Uchpa Artist: The Press Fire! Artist: Nomo Artist: Black Dice Title: Lo Mejor de Uchpa Title: Es Slash Tee Title: Invisible Cities Title: Repo Label: Emin Music Colombia Label: Self-released Label: Ubiquity Label: Paw Tracks By Carina Baskett By Brittany Wise By Jae Mills By Kelsey Yule

If you hear Uchpa on KTRU and like it, I know of only two The Press Fire! is a female-singer fronted group based in Los In the forever-changing terms of survival for touring bands, Brooklyn collective Black Dice first garnered attention in 1997 as places where you can buy one of the band’s albums: Cusco and Angeles, and their electrifying new LP Es Slash Tee features their Nomo has managed to keepw their heads above water by natural an angry post-hardcore punk group whose sometimes-impromptu Ollantaytambo. Both are in Peru. Sorry. Uchpa (“ashes”) has been unique electropunk style. Recorded and produced by Aaron Buckley necessity. That success in itself has to do with their unusual makeup: shows were held in places so dark and dilapidated that fans would around since 1994, but the band doesn’t have much of an online and Timothy James of LA groups Anavan and The Movies respec- a nine-piece Afro-beat indie band, based out of the college digs of brag about making it out unscathed. Consisting of Eric Copeland presence. So in lieu of their story, here’s mine: tively, EEs Slash Tee was released on July 7 of this year, but draws Ann Arbor, Michigan. The aptly titled Invisible Cities LP is Nomo’s on vocals, Bjorn Copeland on guitar, Sebastian Blanck on bass, fifth full-length and their fourth recorded for Ubiquity Records, and After a grueling, shower-free three-day hike through the Andes, all I wanted to do in Ol- heavily from the sounds of the 70s punk rebellion. The album’s infectious energy makes the and Aaron Warren (formerly Hisham Bharoocha) on drums, Black Dice took a turn towards the it’s plain to see (and hear) that this is not your average everyday Afro-beat band. lantaytambo was collapse into a chair to wait for the train to the next town. We stumbled listener want to jump around and break things, so be aware of where you decide to give this ambient in 2002 with Beaches and Canyons on the DFA label. Once again, they transformed one a listen. Frontwoman Merisa Libbey packs a powerful punch with her forward lyrics and In any given 30-day span, easily expect for Nomo’s tour schedule to confirm at least into a place called Quechua Blues Bar that was just opening, and sat on the dirty sheepskin- 20 shows played, spanning the globe many times over. Exhausting? I would think so. their sound, this time into experimental noise, and have found a new home on the label Paw energetic yet strangled screeches that vibe the positive energy that embodies punk. A registered covered chairs outside. As I ordered a “Macho Tea,” a local coca cocktail, I realized that the However, the group has managed to use this frantic existence to their advantage. Ducking Tracks. For those familiar with Paw Tracks’ star artists such as Animal Collective, Panda Bear, gravelly voice coming over the speakers was singing neither English nor Spanish. I asked the dental hygienist, Libbey joined The Press Fire! back in 2004, and with her onboard the energy in-and-out of cities in order to keep the lights on at home has endowed this team of musi- and Avey Tare’s ethereal psychedelic brand of freak folk, Black Dice’s fifth studio album, Repo, bartender if it was Quechua, and he nodded while giggling girlishly and staring at me with level jumped dramatically to reveal a whole new sound for the group. A little sleuthing on the cians with a wealth of influences, all ready fodder for their ever-evolving cosmic electronic/ may come as a surprise. If Animal Collective is the effortlessly cool hipster, Black Dice must eyes that had clearly seen way too many drugs. He oozed non-sobriety. Internet led to a fun factoid: rumor has it that Libbey “found the band through Craigslist by acoustic Afro-beat mash up. So what you have in Invisible Cities is 9 tracks of Afro, funk, be his gritty brother from the wrong side of the tracks. Quechua is an indigenous South American language that many Peruvians have spoken searching the keyword ‘Bikini Kill’”; as it would turn out, the promoter describes the group as jazz, experimental (at times), and it bangs! All of this, through the use of instrumental tools On the surface, Black Dice is completely unrefined, with its sounds of abused equipment, since the Incans reigned. Naturally, I immediately determined to get the music for KTRU. KTRU a “dancier Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a sassier Bikini Kill, and a meaner Moving Units”. such as sawblade gamelans, Nu Tone cymbals, mbiras, in addition to your expected brass misshapen samples, and lack of sequencing. Yet buried beneath all the grime, a careful ear has a lot of Latin American music and a lot of blues, but definitely no blues sung in Quechua. Es Slash Tee kicks off with “143,” a synth-heavy track that has a crisp and clean sound & rhythm sections. can hear definite song structures and feel new existence being pulled, however violently, Guillermo the bartender told me that I could find it in Cusco… but I didn’t have time to look compared to the rest of the album. Of all of the songs, it’s the easiest on the ears and remains Hard-hitting Afro-beat grooves are immediately present within a number of Invisible Cit- from bits of audio ripped from radio, television, and Internet sources. The album commences resolute in its electronic and methodical direction. The next two tracks follow with a harder there. “Are you sure,” I pressed, “that you don’t have a copy I can buy here?” ies’ selections. “Bumbo” is made to show off Nomo’s live performance prowess… a crowd with the mechanical, repetitive, and plodding rhythms of a factory in “Nite Cream.” The track sound complete with screeches and a carefree don’t-give-a-&*%! attitude. Following is “Hipster pleaser, if you will. Trademark Fela signature stamps the percussion presence while the “I might have one at home,” he said, and wandered off for a while. Luckily we were the “Glazin’” follows with what could convincingly be a broken record player in a funhouse with Crickets,” a standout with erratic guitar riffs and a thumping bass line. “Party Fowl” proclaims horns go ablaze. Lovers of the alto will simply scream for more. The title track leans more only customers, because no one else was working. He returned with a burned disc marked reggae undertones. One of the highlights of the album, “La Cucaracha,” mixes samples from “You’re not invited here to my party” over and over, and the party in this song is fueled by toward the group’s past travels: jazzier by nature with just the right amount of grit. Dig that “Uchpa” in smeared permanent marker. I paid about $7, and Guillermo kindly threw in the an orgy with glitchy African-sounding guitars for an oddly danceable tune. A more laidback grungy guitar pickings and skittish singing that induces frenetic dancing. The album ends one, and you’ll go bananas over Nomo’s earlier offerings, for sure. frayed CD cover, which I later realized had come from a different album. track, “Idiot’s Pasture,” is like a constant yet somehow pleasant wheezing. It is followed by with a solid closer track, “Pushed Too Far,” which opens with noisy, unrestrained emotion As the band continues to play more cities and venues, their scope on the art form is The album, a Best Of, is actually a mixture of blues and rock. The first track, “Perú Llaqta,” before screeching to a halt halfway through, then gliding to the end with a somber chorus of constantly evolving. As a result, each track reflects a slightly different aesthetic mix. “Ma” is “Buddy,” a short but notable track, in which the main attraction is the apparent gurgling and starts out as a nice showcase of both those influences, but I’m not a big fan of the children’s a sustained electronic melody that could attempt to justify the “electro” part of TPF’s genre all things modal, native & groovy. Simply picture a style marriage of Pharoah Sanders & Fela burbling of a swamp creature. In “Lazy TV,” the listener can imagine a robot struggling to choirs that appear late in the song. “Meike” is an improvement: after a long guitar intro, there category. It concludes with confusing, barely coherent robotic vocals that starkly contrast with Kuti and you are already halfway there. With flutes and handclaps, “Crescent” is a flight of the speak. Feeling heavily influenced by funk, “Ultra Vomit Craze” is one of the most traditionally imagination that evokes a peaceful Hari Krishna sensibility. “Banners On High” stresses an are some spoken lyrics and what I think is a balled; it makes me want to wave a lighter around. the organic, coarse vocals that are belted out for every other track. musical-sounding tracks on the album. The final notes of “Gag Shack” bring the listener back instrumental militant stance familiar to their current counterparts (i.e. Antibalas), yet unique Several of the tracks that rock a little more, like “Wakcha Asikuy,” show a clear Led Zeppelin TPF started off in the east LA scene, plavying shows at skate-punk house parties, and have to the industrial sounds of the album’s beginning. in its own right. Meanwhile, “Elijah” manages to abandon the Afro-beat setting altogether for influence (but who doesn’t?). since grown to be a familiar face in the LA area. They continue to expand and recently toured Give Black Dice’s Repo a listen with an open mind. Chances are you won’t find it pleas- Overall, I prefer the blues songs; some of the blues-tinged rock sounds too similar. But a four-minute soundscape that would make both John Coltrane and Sun Ra happy. Overall, ant, but it’s not meant to be. Black Dice is nothing if not deliberate in their inclusion of the the West Coast, hitting cities that include Seattle, Portland, and Olympia. TPF is breaking into the variety of Invisible Cities shows that Nomo’s creative growth knows no bounds. maybe that’s just because my ear is more used to rock and is just starting to get into blues. discordant, beaten down, unpolished, and offensive. It may not be your style or mine, but it’s the national scene, which will please fans that want to experience one of their epic shows, In all honesty, many of today’s North American Afro-beat bands have the chips stacked I love the angry blues of “Pawamustin” and “Wayrapim Qaparichkan,” although the guitar is which are said to match the chaotic, dancey nature of their sound. Es Slash Tee is available against them at the onset. Invisible Cities proves that Nomo is more than ready for the definitely theirs. And they know what they’re doing. simply standard. “Intipa Lluqsinan Wasi” sounds just like Dylan’s version of “House of the on their website www.thepressfire.net for $7, and the cover art of a cartoon T-Rex coming out challenge. Rising Sun,” and I would love to know if it’s a direct translation or if it has a Peruvian twist. of an explosion is probably a fitting visual to represent the listening experience. But it makes me wonder if any of the other tracks are Quechua covers of American songs Artist: Oumou Sangare that I don’t know. My favorite track is “Sapay Kani”; though the singer’s voice may be harsh, Title: Seya it’s passionate. That’s what I love about this band. Even though I can’t understand a word, I Artist: The Catalyst Label: Nonesuch get it, because the singer is so caught up in the emotions of each song. Title: Swallow Your Teeth By Christopher Spadone Lo Mejor de Uchpa is for when you want to add some Incan spice to your rock and/or Label: The Perpetual Motion Machine/Sons of Vesta blues. And don’t forget: the next time you’re in Peru, look for some more Quechua blues music By Lance Higdon Superstar Oumou Sangare returns with an energetic and engag- for KTRU, and tell Guillermo I said hi. ing collection of diverse neo-folkloric Malian music. Like all of her After a steady seven years of touring and releasing albums at work, Seya highlights the awesome range and power of Sangare’s a healthy clip, Richmond, Virginia’s The Catalyst have gifted the voice, which has earned her the nickname “the nightingale of Was- Artist: Daevid Allen & Das world with Swallow Your Teeth, one of the most technically adept soulou” and a reputation as Africa’s greatest female singer. Title: The Mystery Disque No. 7 and diverse hardcore albums of the year. Co-released by The In 1989 at age 21, Sangare burst on the world music stage with Label: Bananamoon Obscura Perpetual Motion Machine and Sons Of Vesta, it should dispel one of West Africa’s biggest-selling cassettes ever, the six-track Moussoulou, later released By Ayn Morgan any lingering notions that American hardcore is invariably fast, loud and stupid. in the West on CD. While young, she wasn’t a manufactured pop music confection; coming The Catalyst combines the best elements of the last 20 years of hardcore on Swallow from a family of griots, or West African bards, Sangare revitalized traditional Malian styles Daevid Allen is a guitarist, singer, composer, performance art- Your Teeth. The sludgy Southern breakdowns of “Lars Ulrich’s 1986 Funeral (It Should and ushered in a wave of female vocalists and neo-traditional ensembles on her first album. ist and poet. After starting his artistic career as a child radio actor Have Been You)” intersect with the start-stop patterns carried out by Botch and Deadguy At the height of Afro-Parisian fusions, Sangare modernized lyrical content by addressing the on Australia’s 3DB, he was inspired by Beat Generation writers in the late 90s. The ghost of metal’s golden age passes through in the pentatonic riffs of concerns of women, such as the destructive impact of polygamy and forced marriage. The and the complex philosophies and lyrical poetry of Sun Ra. In the “Werewolves Of Washington,” only to be spooked away by a thrashy transition to one of the aggressive sounds of her small group of folkloric musicians playing the ngoni (a banjo-like early 1960s, Allen performed with William Burroughs as a part of most introspective post-rock parts this side of Isis. four-string instrument), flutes, and calabash percussion broke through the synthesized pro- the ‘Machine Poets’ exhibition, pioneering multimedia spoken word performances in London Eric Smith and Michael Backus trade off on vocals throughout the album, Smith’s ductions popular at the time. The band’s tight rhythms and her soaring vocals made Sangare and Paris. He then formed the Daevid Allen Trio, a free jazz band performing pieces based leather-lunged tenor counterbalanced nicely by Backus’ baritone bellow. Their vocal stand out. Moussoulou remains an essential album. on one of Burroughs’ novels, The Ticket That Exploded. Shortly thereafter he co-founded the interplay is matched by instrumental prowess, as they rivet their guitar and basslines into After two more full-length releases, feature vocals on the soundtrack to the movie Beloved, psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (UK) and later Gong (France). Gong is often referred some truly off-the-wall contrapuntal runs before easing into waves of delay-blanketed bliss. and a greatest hits collection, Sangare seemed to fade into retirement from the African music scene and focus on becoming a businesswoman (A Chinese company has licensed her name to as a cult band and is now in its fortieth year of existence in several different forms. The whole affair is anchored in the dual drumming of Kevin Broderick and Jamie Faulstich to sell a line of trucks in Mali) and roving UN Ambassador. Allen’s solo career and varied collaborations since the late 1970s have created a vast cata- (Faulstich also features on second guitar in places), pounding out patterns not out of place on a Coalesce full-length. Seya is her first Western release in six years. The CD features a “who’s who” of guest logue of both music and performance art. His current projects include the band University of musicians, ranging from West African stars Tony Allen, Neba Solo, and Cheick Tidiane Seck Errors (California), the anti-art/noise band Big City Orchestra (California) and a new incarnation Smith’s lyrics display a similar dexterity, marrying aphoristic turns of phrase to personal and political diatribes. He calls out scene social climbers on “Lars Ulrich’s 1986 Funeral (It to Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley of the JB Horns. What makes the album such a joy is that of Gong (Acid Mothers Gong) with members of the Japanese collective Acid Mothers Temple while Sangare explores new sounds and employs a wide variety of musicians, the record & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. Should Have Been You)” (“I want to participate/You just want to play”), corrupt policymakers on Capitol Hill in “Werewolves Of Washington (“The werewolves of Washington howl, howl, remains firmly rooted in Malian traditions. Despite the horns, violins, and keyboards, this is Released by Bananamoon Obscura, The Mystery Disc No. 7 is an intense sound collage not a watered down fusion cross-over. Instead, the record is incredibly rich and varied, but howl beneath the pale moon / I wonder why they don’t notice black clouds reversed in the with Allen’s abstract and intelligent spoken word performances layered with prog rock textures Sangare has the good sense to leave the ngoni and calabash percussion in center stage. While reflecting pool / but maybe they do”) and the manipulators of industry and media on “Too and psychedelic noise. This medley is often bombastic and highly detailed, a richly layered, traditional, the record is accessible; the raucous pleasures of the Malian percussion and the Big To Fail” (“I know what you want us to see / repetition creates belief/forked tongue falls imaginative, and almost visual sonic theatre. virtuoso ngoni playing are evident at first listen. And thanks to extraordinary production, the out / flat lies flatlined/nice try, no dice”). Lest such lines make the band appear overly dour, Pseudo-educational rants abound on this album. Highly-evolved cows secrete oil and complexity of the music rewards repeated listening. Most of all, the album delivers Sangare’s song titles like “Assholier Than Thou” and “42012” prove a measure of tongue-in-cheek nuclear energy instead of milk. Museums and their employees cultivate malignant art in the powerful vocals: while they range from gentle and haunting to raucous and funky, her voice is comic relief. form of biological diseases to share with the masses. The earth, earning the name Pest, is the always featured. The tempo and sound of the songs are consciously varied; Sangare doesn’t The real secret to the record’s success, however, lies in its sequencing. Despite only planet containing life and therefore death. Lyrics range from brilliant Discordian hypotheses front “a one note band” repeating the same song over and over. Instead, each song is a new displaying such a plethora of styles, the songs take their time in transitioning from one to the to basically choking out periodic table abbreviations as psychotic tai chi maneuvers. There musical exploration with appropriate mood and style. next. The Catalyst prefers the long pan to the jumpcut. Rather than feeling disoriented by a are also more adult-themed songs containing extreme political frustration and deviant sexual Lyrically, Sangare continues to address the concerns of ordinary people, especially the record that starts with the feedback scour and ends with a single-note pulse, the listener is women of Mali. “Wele Wele Winteou” protests early marriage, urging fathers not to marry off themes. treated to an album that revels as much in nuance and space as volume and speed. Pressed The instrumentation is intricate and often reflects a science fiction, psychedelic and their daughters until after puberty; warning “You will destroy her life.” to black and purple-swirled vinyl & featuring a cover painting from the depths of someone’s Seya is clearly the result of years of hard work and skillful music making. Neither a fusion psychotic atmosphere. In contrast to the spoken word pieces, other tracks use Allen’s voice b-movie fever dream, Swallow Your Teeth may be the best hardcore record of 2009. album nor a traditional folkloric record, it is a product of a mature artist making “contemporary as an often obscured and highly processed sound element. Psychedelic and droning sound African music.” Oumou Sangare takes what she wants from both musical worlds; the result collage blends an aggressive, soothing and sometimes manically unbound Allen with more is a coherent, satisfying Malian album. typical prog rock instrumentation augmented by generous layering, sampling and looping. Everyone should get to know Oumou Sangare, and Seya is a good place to start an ex- At age 71, Allen has a thorough discography spanning multiple genres, decades and ploration of Western African music. Its swirl of powerful voice, brass, percussion, and strings continents. This release is a culmination of Allen’s experience in various styles: tape work and Eat the Crayon creates a sound like nothing heard before. collage for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, free jazz philosophies, multiple projects under the Planet Gong umbrella, abstract and political spoken word performances and other vari- Not your average radio news show ous collaborations. The Mystery Disc No. 7 will please established fans. It will also introduce Daevid Allen’s work to new listeners receptive to his intense music and surreal lyrical imagery, inspiring them to explore his previous works. -Report on social issues, science, and politics at Rice, Houston, and national level -Or, get involved in production and editing

Recruitment Meeting: Wed, Sept. 9, 10:00 PM Meyer Conference Room in the RMC

-Listen Fridays at 5:00 PM

-Visit ktru.org/news for past shows and Patricia Bacalao more information Patricia Bacalao -Contact the director at [email protected] The Smoking Section Music is the best medicine Students Erik Tanner, Page Robinson and Austin Edwards performed as if you can’t make the meeting Houston folk-rock band Buxton took to the stage in scrubs at the 2009 Outdoor Show. part of The Smoking Section at last semester’s Battle of the Bands.

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Photos and Guide to music Photos and comic rice radio folio SPRING 2009 rice radio folio SPRING 2009 Free Improvisation: A Houston Field Guide By Michelle Yom Doug Falk (trumpets & double bass) ment, Ryan’s improvisations now include unusually disarming. His use of repetitive, Everyone has a different feel for time. Using found objects like spray bottles “wall of sound” moments and textural abstract lines results in an expansive sense Given a two o’clock appointment, some of on metal cans, keys scraped on music vocal additions (reflecting his classical of directionless flow. us will arrive 15 minutes early, some right stands, and the “Parasite,” a toilet scrubber voice training). His pieces are tightly www.brightbluebeetle.com/ on time, and others fashionably late. In attached to his bass pickup, Doug’s music structured with clearly narrated exposi- most conventional musical forms, such a is often angular and fragmented. Doug’s tion and buildup of intensification to the Robert Pearson variety of approaches is not very well toler- time marches forward in driven bass lines, climactic conclusion. Robert is known for bleeding fingers ated. However, those of us interested in rushes by in unexpected intervals, and and post-gig rest days. His intense sonic free improvisation intentionally explore the disintegrates into crumbles of residual Lance Higdon scribbles combine post-modern angst with many modes of time perception, through quiet melodies. I asked Lance, who is also a KTRU DJ, romantic melodrama. When asked about sound. Because free improvisation (also www.dougfalk.com, www.myspace. and always working on an eclectic variety his influences he said, “Oh, I don’t know… called spontaneous composition) is char- com/nonsensemusic of projects, to do a gig with me before ever I used to listen to some classical music.” acterized by the real time process of per- hearing him play, because I was intrigued He’s a truly self-taught artist. Robert’s formance, rather than the final product, it Lucas Gorham (guitar, lap steel, & voice) by his quick but coherent temperament. sense of time is compact, as if trying to fit offers a unique opportunity for musicians Lucas first became acquainted with free Playing in a duo with him left me with in as many notes as possible before time to explore their temporal sense. Disarmed improvisation through the legendary Pau- much the same impression: intense, con- runs out. His sound is fast, furious, and by the lack of predetermined rhythm and line Oliveros’ Deep Listening. His style is a siderate, and hyper. In free improvisations sometimes bordering on violent. form, a free improviser can allow the per- peculiar combination of meditative sounds he’s completely absorbed by listening for formance to follow his or her individual and eclectic references to soul, jazz, gospel manifestations of unexplored vocabulary Sandy Ewen stream of consciousness, creating highly and world folk music. He’s often heard on the drum set, which has led him to use The first time I heard Sandy, I couldn’t individual sonic experiences. sporadically shifting from atonal guitar everything from wire hangers to pencils see what was happening, but I didn’t need Houston’s music scene is character- plucks to luau comfort chords. His impetu- as drumsticks. to. I could hear, and her sound stood out ized by an atmosphere of experimentation ous shifts in tempo result in dramatic but www.myspace.com/wallwithoneside clearly as it seemed to float along, in the and friendly collaboration, which makes cohesive collages of sound. background, but with distinction. The it the perfect breeding ground for free Paul Connolly unusual timbre she creates is due to a improvisation. There are at least a score of Ryan Edwards (guitar, voice, & alto sax) Paul Connolly, who goes by bright- variety of found objects modifying her gui- heavy hitters in the genre locally, and they Ryan’s approach reflects his deep bluebeetle, uses acoustic instruments, tar. Approaching every gesture with care couldn’t sound more different from each knowledge of music theory and expertise found objects, and electronics in different and curiosity, Sandy’s time is expansive, other. Here is a look at seven of them: as a recording engineer. Initially focused configurations to create his audio sound- nuanced, and inquisitive. on minimal textures and chordal move- scapes. Paul’s music is intimate, lyrical, and David Rosales The Cosmonauts at Battle of the Bands Rice student band The Cosmonauts (from left, Joshua Levin, Alexander Crompton, and Laura Greenwell) played a whimsical French-influenced set at the 2009 Battle of the Bands.

Patricia Bacalao Patricia Bacalao B L A C K I E at the Outdoor Show Only at KTRU… Local legend B L A C K I E performed while seated on an amp at the 2009 Outdoor Show A mysterious bear-human hybrid made an appearance at KTRU’s 2009 Polar Prom.

10 11 KTRU Staff/Folio Staff/Contact KTRU rice radio folio FALL 2009

How Can I Contact KTRU? KTRU FALL 2009 Folio STAFF Listen to or read about KTRU at www.ktru.org. Editor: Rose Cahalan On air music requests: 713.348.KTRU (5878) Layout and Design: David Wang You can also find email addresses for all of our directors at ktru.org. Copy: Rose Cahalan, Katie Mayer, Will Robedee General correspondence can be directed to [email protected] Contributors: Patricia Bacalao, Carina Baskett, James Bricker, Matthew Brownlie, Mark Flaum, Lance Higdon, Jae Mills, Ayn Morgan, How Can I submit music? Rachel Orosco, Christopher Spadone, David Rosales, Varsha Vakil, To submit music for airplay consideration: Brittany Wise, Michelle Yom, Kelsey Yule Music Directors C/O KTRU MS-506 P.O. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251

How Can I contact other people? C/O KTRU MS-506 P.O. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251 KTRU STAFF LISTING Station Manager: Rachel O Program Director: Zach R DJ Directors: Carina B, Patricia B, Jay H Music Directors: Miguel Q Assistant Music Directors: Chase L, Kevin B Business Manager: Buton D KTRU carries Rice Publicity: Anneli R, Kendra E External Ventures: Brittany W, Joelle Z Women’s Basketball and Folio: Rose C Rice Baseball. Check out Outdoor Show: Kelsey Y Operations: Mark H, Joelle Z www.ktru.org or the Promotions: Burton D, Mars V PSAs and Community: Varsha V, Emma T respective Rice Owls News: Carina B team pages for broadcast Sultan o’ Stick: Lauren P Socials: Pamela T dates and times. Webmaster: Lauren P If a game isn’t on air, Student Engineer: Andrew L it’s probably Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Steven Crowell General Manager: Will Robedee streaming online! Chief Engineer: Bob Cham Office Manager: Scottie McDonald

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