signal to noise

headin' south

2008-03-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

in addition to the show moving to 7:00 pm on sundays, we're also heading on the road to sxsw in austin, tx next week. if i can learn this new laptop keyboard well enough, i'll try and blog the festival for you. harry will do the show on sunday the 16th. i think he's planning to play all instrumental music for that show, so tune in. it should be perfect backround sounds for watching cartoons on tv.

yeah, i'm still here

2007-12-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

well, i haven't abandoned this site quite yet, although it seems so, i'm sure. you can now find my playlists for each show at the kkfi website: www.kkfi.org. just click on the signal to noise link on the kkfi schedule and you'll be taken to the latest playlist. i generally have them up within a couple of days of the show. in other news, lonesome cowboy bill will be guesting on next sunday's show. we'll also be doing a four hour slot on kjhk in lawrence on saturday the 12th of january from 8 pm till midnight. just the shift for us... i also now have a minimal site in myspace. check it out under "signal to noise." or don't--it's not very complete yet. i'll also do two other saturday shows from 4-8 pm on kjhk, saturday the 5th and 19th of january. caroline will join me for the first one and harry may do the last one with me. you can listen via audio streaming at the kjhk website. i wish i could say i was optimistic about the new year, but i can't. too much blood under the bridge from last year, and the cause of that blood is still in office for another bloody year. i did send a copy of a special show to the troops in iraq, specifically to a medic who was a former dj at wcni radio in new london, ct. he also was a listener of my show and moby's trip at kkfi. it was a high point of my year when i got word back that our shows were well received there, even by those who didn't necessarily agree with our stance on the war. they caused lots of dialog between the soldiers, which is always a good thing. thanks again to all the listeners who supported this show last year. i'm still blown away by your support and kind words. it keeps me doing this show through those times when i sometimes think it's not worth it. it is worth it, thanks to you. hope you all had a happy holiday and a merry crimble.

It's About Time!

2007-08-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

yeah, yeah, I know, i haven't posted for quite awhile. if i were getting loads of complaints, which i'm not, i might post more often. but, for the two or three of you who read this thing, here's the upcoming schedule as i know it now for signal to noise: next sunday there will be a guest dj, tony millett, who'll do the first hour. the second hour will be chad rex live in the studio for an acoustic preview of the upcoming elvis costello tribute. i suspect he will do his own songs, of course, too. the sunday after that, bridgett ellis of WCNI of new london, connecticut, will join lonesome cowboy bill, caroline, and me for a dj free for all. we will create a show before your very ears. after that, i'll take two weeks off and harry will fill in for me. a nice break for me, since i don't have to create any shows ahead of time for four whole weeks. it's fun to do, but nice to take a break from, too. i should come back from the west coast with loads of good stuff for your ears to take in.
cheers!

sxsw photos

2007-04-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

those of you who read my blog from sxsw this year might be wondering where the photos are. wait no more. some of them are now posted up in the photo section of the blog. i'll post more when i get the chance this weekend. most were taken by caroline lee, but a few by me. most venues were not lighted that well and, of course, there was lots of crowd jostling, so these should be looked at as candid shots, not professional portraits. there were already some up from last year: willie nile, steve wynn, and cyril jordan (of flamin groovies' fame). i tried for some audio verite recordings, but have yet to master the digital recorder. i will need to remember to bring the frickin' instructions next time. next year's blog will feature mp3s from sxsw as well as photos and live blogging. we'll do a show shortly with musical portraits of who we saw (and heard).

clapton report

2007-04-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

here's a different take on the clapton concert than the kc star's. submitted by correspondent joe jenkins:

Clapton at Kemper April 2 .
If one came to see EC play his pop hits you were likely disappointed last night. No I Shot the Sherriff, no Lay Down Sally, no Tears in Heaven. Personally, I was dreading a set list dominated by the hits. No worry. Eric was all about the blues last night. The only real pop hit in the set was Wonderful Tonight. Mostly blues standards like Key to the Highway, Drifting Blues, Nobody Loves You When Your Down and Out, Further On Up the Road etc. EC and his second guitarist Doyle Bramhill played these songs about as well as they can be played. Several songs from Derek and the Dominoes album including a cover of Jimi Hendrix' Little Wing. Nice acoustic set in the middle. Crowd really went nuts with Layla. Kemper sound was muddy as usual but seemed to get better as the night went on or maybe I was just able to wrap my ears around it. Strong encore with Cocaine and Crossroads. I enjoyed the guitar fireworks on stage and though no expert it sure seemed like Clapton's playing was as good as ever. But many in the capacity crowd seemed restless and people were headed for the exits before the encore. Not sure why. Clapton did not say much. But I expected that. He's always been a shy performer. I think he sometimes would love to just be a musician in a band instead of the front man. Maybe many in the crowd wanted to hear the hits or it's just the state of short attention spans. At his core Eric Clapton is a bluesman and he proved it last night. Good show.

yeah, it's april fools

2007-04-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

for those that care, the show sunday by jim jackson, the guest dj, was, indeed, an april fool's joke, but only the premise. the music was no joke and it was good. i've recommended him for a permanent gig at kkfi. i had a few callers who didn't notice that he had not been there for "ten years" which reenforces my belief that people really don't care who the host of the show is, but care about what the music is and how good it is. this thought keeps me humble. not that i promote myself much anyway. back to a regular show on this easter sunday. it will end with an anti war set, entirely appropriate for easter, i contend. in the coming weeks, i will do my annual sxsw show with caroline, and a comedy show with harry, my co host. when he started out on the show, that's the kind of shows we did, because everyone needs to lighten up sometimes. hope to do some live concerts soon as well. more about that, later.

sxsw part 2

2007-03-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

ooh wee! such fun posting at 1:30 in the morning after the last two long days and nights of sxsw. i'm sure the memories are going to be out of synch and more than a little blurry. just got back from red eye fly and saw the bloodshot showcase. at least most of it. the band we stayed for, the detroit cobras, had taken too much of whatever they're taking these days and just were not together. too bad, because we really had looked forward to them. we left about halfway through their set. the lead singer was comfortably numb and the rhythm guitarist was in a world of her own--just not our world. we also saw the deadstring brothers for the second time. we first saw them at yard dog on friday where they committed the cardinal sin of dissing the sound guy before the gig. most bands know better than to do it publicly. it would just be their luck that they get some big gig in the future and who's running sound? the guy they made look bad back in austin. not good. he must be an acquaintance, however, since he ran sound for them at red eye fly also. appears things aren't too copacetic in that band, either, as we noticed some testiness between certain band members during the set. not a bad set, though. the silos were very good with walter salas humara running through lots of songs from their new bloodshot release with jon dee graham sitting in on guitar. saw a nice opening set from john rauhouse as well. we also caught alejandro escovedo downtown during the afternoon at tresoros trading company doing his usual excellent set. he informed the crowd that the venue was to be torn down next year for a new hotel. odd that all the hispanic businesses seem to be affected by this new hotel... i dimly recall seeing part of the ponderosa stomp on friday. we got there late and thought we had missed rockabilly legend ray sharpe, but found he was still on stage, backed up by three members of the sir douglas quintet with charlie sexton on guitar. we were surprised to see he was black, having assumed he was a white southern rockabilly guy. a pleasant surprise, indeed. he played an excellent set showing off impressive blues licks on guitar. he was having so much fun, his set went over time. we also saw steel guitar legend herb remington who had played with such luminaries as bob wills and hank penny. caroline was jazzed to see darrell anger playing fiddle with him. we then headed over to downtown to see john hammond and his band do an excellent set of uptempo raw blues. two young girls standing next to me commented, "this is good lovemaking music." indeed it was. he has aged a bit, but the lines drop off and he looks twenty years younger once he starts to sing. we saw a bit of james mcmurtry at big red sun before we headed off to dinner at our favorite mexican gourmet restaurant, fonda san miguel. i'm not quite sure why all the bands we wanted to see were sequestered on 6th street this year. did the more respectable bars on west 6th street have some problem with sxsw, or what? normally we don't go over to east 6th street at all. who am i forgetting--ahh--graham parker at yard dog. a nice set of newer stuff from his latest album. very dylan-like lyrics--quite good. he also did "hotel chambermaid" per audience request. we kept hearing that pete townshend was showing up and jamming at various places in town, but we never got to see him, unfortunately. i'm sure i've missed something. i'll try and post more either tomorrow or when i get home. we'll do a sxsw show at some point soon on kkfi. i've got a pledge drive show to do when i get back with lonesome cowboy bill, then a surprise show on april fool's day, then maybe i get to do a new show. caroline and i will also fill in for jeanne jasperse on the 25th, by the way. be sure to pledge lots. she is sorry to miss the show, so let's make her feel good, ok?

SXSW

2007-03-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

lack of access to a workable computer has delayed the postings, unfortunately. tuesday we got in late afternoon and got in some record shopping. we didn't start seeing folks until wednesday afternoon when we caught the last two songs by the waco brothers at yard dog. sally timms sat in for the last tune, sticking out her tongue at the bass player during the solo. after a meal at guero's we went to the parish bar to see charlie louvin. the country legend was in good form as he ran through new tunes from his most recent album as well as louvin brothers classics like "cash on the barrelhead" and "great atomic power." some snot-nosed punk writer in the chronicle dissed his set, but obviously the guy didn't know charlie's music and was back at the bar, not up close like us. we then went a couple of doors down and caught blackie and the rodeo kings, who are down to a threesome including canadian songwriter colin linden. they rocked the house, playing mostly acoustic and, at one point, playing unamplified out in the crowd. to this point, this was the best gig we'd seen. we then went over to central presbytarian church to catch a set by rosie thomas, who was quite charming and even a little giggly as she played songs from her new album, including a cover of fleetwood mac's "songbird" that came off well. the audience was attentive and supportive considering there were not many uptempo tunes in her set. after resting up quite nicely, we went to breakfast at the magnolia so caroline could indulge her favorite breakfast, the three alarm taco. we then headed over to jovita's a well known mexican restaurant out on 1st street, to catch the twangfest shows. we saw elizabeth cook, who was pretty good. did covers of the velvet underground's "sunday morning" as well as lone justice's "soap, soup and salvation." this was followed by an acoustic set by jim lauderdale, who was in a very good mood and told his usual round of funny stories and jokes as he went through his large catalog of songs, including "divide and conquer" and "whisper" as well as newer stuff from his "bluegrass" release. we also saw dolly varden and emma pollock from the delgados, who did not go over well with the twangfest crowd. we were puzzled as to why she was booked there as her music is not really country or rock. at 5:00 pm we got what we came for: los straitjackets featuring big sandy on vocals. they ran through a number of vintage rock and roll numbers sung in spanish, including "mother in law" and "good golly miss molly." there were also the usual instrumentals from los straightjackets including a long version of "tailspin." they rocked the house and apologized for not being up to snuff so early in the day, although they were the best thing we'd seen all day. after a gourmet dinner at the east side cafe, we went into town to see the norton records showcase at red 7. in a croweded, sweltering bar, we saw garage rockers the a-bones, as well as the classic cleveland band from the sixties, the alarm clocks, crank out vintage 60s rock and roll. they were followed by sam the sham, who was dressed in bright red with a big straw hat. his voice is still intact, although he only did about four songs, "little red riding hood," "wang dang do," "crossroads," and, following two songs by members of his band, who included charlie rich jr and speedy sparks, came back for the inevitable "wooly bully" with loud assistance from the crowd. we had intended to stay for reigning sound and mary weiss of the shangri-las, but the sweltering heat and drunken dancing fat boys, drove us out of the place back into the fresh air and home. more to report tomorrow, i hope, if the hotel computer is operational. we plan to catch the bloodshot party at yard dog, which includes the detroit cobras, graham parker, the waco brothers, and other guests. a long day, indeed.

Band Auction

2007-03-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

First, sorry about the lack of a picture. For some reason, AOL would not let me post up a cool shot of Ray Wylie Hubbard. Second, this coming Sunday will be the KKFI band auction. I have three artists who will be on the show: Amy Sala, Brion Leftwitch, and a Lawrence band, Distance To Empty. If you'd like to hire a band or artist at discount prices for your block party, kegger, wedding party, whatever, here's your chance to call in and hire a band yourself--you don't even need an agent... The Sunday after that, the 18th, I'll be winding up SXSW in Austin, Texas, so Harry will be at the helm. Harry and I will both do a comedy show when I get back at some point. We have the fund drive the first Sunday I'm back, so remember that we need your support at that time, too. I will try and blog from SXSW and post up some photos when I get back. I'm sure Caroline will take out the ones I'd rather not show the public first.

ray wylie hubbard photo

2007-02-20T15:55:00.000-08:00

By Corky Carroll:

Ray Wylie Hubbard review

2007-02-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

So there we were, Joe, Ken, and myself rolling into Knuckleheads Sunday night. I had an extra ticket and Ken had agreed to go with us, despite not even knowing who was playing. I felt bad about dragging him out of an evening nap to go honky tonking with us, but as soon as he got a couple of beers in him and managed to turn his shirt right side out, he was good to go.
Ray's producer/guitar player Gurf Morlix opened with a short set of acoustic songs which were well received. Before Ray and the band took the stage, I managed to run into him in the back room at Knuckleheads. He admired my Tom Russell 'Hotwalker' shirt and told me to be sure to say Hi to Tom when he played KC in April. I told Ray how much I enjoyed his new CD 'Snake Farm' and that I had seen him last time in town on his solo tour. He mentioned that tonight was gonna be a LOT louder, which was fine with me. As I turned to go, I stopped and asked Ray if he wanted to borrow my comb before he went onstage, but he just laughed and waved me off.
Ray and his band took the stage just before 8:00 and opened with 'Rabbit', a song off his new CD. He followed that up with the title song 'Snake Farm' (it just sounds nasty) and I had to admit, it WAS much louder than the last time I had seen him. And, it also sounded really good, kind of a swampy Texas blues type of sound, reminiscent of early Stones guitar sound. By this time, Ken was pounding me on the back and saying 'Man, these guys are great!" and I had to agree.
After taking a moment to thank all the fans (Knuckleheads was pretty full, good crowd) Ray strapped on a older guitar (see picture) and told us that this guitar used to belong to his Grandpa, he bought it back in the early 50's. Ray always wanted to play it, but Grandpa always told him no. Ray was on the road when he got a call from his Grandmother, he needed to head home as Grandpa was not doing well. Ray drove 30 hours to see his Grandpa, who was on his death bed, calling out for Ray. As he got to see his Grandpa for the last time, Ray once again asked about the guitar and Grandpa agreed to sell it to him! The crowd exploded in laughter at that, and Ray added that he wrote him a hot check. He then launched into 'Last Train to Amsterdam', then followed up with a love song to his wife 'Polecat'.
Ray and the band (guitar, bass, drums) were in tip top shape and the music was just as good as it could be. But once again, it was the little stories that Ray would tell between and sometimes during songs that were the highlight. He played 'Name Droppin', 'Rooster', 'Mississippi Flush' (the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush), 'Three Days Straight', 'Conversation With The Devil', and then one of my favorite cuts off the new CD 'Live And Die Rock and Roll'. In that song he manages to reference 20-25 different bands or songs, and he works them into the song in such a smooth way that you cannot help but be impressed with his fine songwriting talent. In fact, as good as the music is, it is often his lyrics that are the real hooks to his songs.
On to 'Dust Of The Chase', 'She Sang Amazing Grace' (that was a big crowd sing along), 'The Beauty Way' and then bowing to requests from fans who had driven in from Wichita just to hear it, he fired up that classic 'Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother'. That was also a sing along, but at one point Ray had the band quiet down and told the crowd that instead of buying his CD's as he had previously asked, we might be better off taking that money and buying a metronome, a pitch pipe and singing lessons instead! He also pointed out that people often asked him about writing songs, and the first thing he tells them is, "If you write a song, just make sure it is something that you can sing for the next 36 years!" As embarrassed as he is that he even wrote that song, he says twice a year he goes out to his mailbox and gets a real nice letter and a royalty check, and he feels a lot better about it.
Coming into the closing stretch of the show, the band tore into a smoking hot version of 'Wanna Rock and Roll/John The Revelator' that just about blew the roof off the joint! Man oh man, that one really cooked! At the end, Ray and the band took a bow and once again thanked all the fans for coming out. The applause reached a crescendo, everybody in the place was standing and clapping, whistles and cheers filled the air. So, they strapped on their instruments one last time and played their version of James McMurtry's 'Choctaw Bingo', which was also a huge crowd favorite.
With that, they waved to the crowd one last time and walked off stage, another fine performance complete. Joe, Ken and myself walked out into the cool night, steam rising off of us as we walked to the car. We were thoroughly pumped, and Ken continued to thank us for including him. As he said "I did not even know who this guy was a couple of hours ago, but now I am a huge fan!" So, with that, I felt my work for the night was done...

Submitted by your roving musical reporter,
Mark

2007-01-24T15:45:00.001-08:00

yes, i'll be back this sunday with a new show. been sick and then weather intervened. i'd post more, but, since almost nobody reads this, sometimes it's just like talking to myself. but, it's there for those who want to discover it.
i'll get back to posting playlists as well.

where the hell have i been?

2007-01-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

when illness strikes

2007-01-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

so much for my plans of working with lonesome cowboy bill on kjhk last saturday. i made it through the night before with my wife and had a fun time, but early the next morning was struck with a nice batch of stomach flu. first time in years i've had that evil stuff. thanks to bill for soldiering on for me and harry, who covered for me sunday with very little notice. the show this sunday will be what i was planning to do last week. unfortunately, i don't think it's as good as the show harry did on short notice. i also have lots of leftovers from what i planned to use on the show with bill, so i'm going to use them the week after next to do something different. some of you may know that i'm collaborating on a blues cd for the next kkfi fund drive. more about that later, but it will be all local artists, including some who have left the city, but whose roots are here. we hope to have it done before the next fund drive. we had planned a two cd set, but i think we'll settle for one this time. thanks for all the nice phone calls last friday from kkfi listeners while we were on kjhk. we hope to have the signal back at full strength before long. oh yes, before i go..i'll post harry's playlist to the blog as soon as he delivers it to me.

quick news

2007-01-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

it's probably too late, really, but just a notification that i will be subbing on kjhk (90.7 FM) in lawrence ks on friday the 5th of january and saturday the 6th of january from 8 till midnight both nights. the first night my wife caroline and i will do the show, the second night, lonesome cowboy bill and i will do our annual four hour freakfest of music, commentary, and just plain free-form fun. you can also hear the station on the internet at www.kjhk.org.

Merry Crimble

2006-12-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

For those of you not in the know, "Merry Crimble" is how John Lennon would refer to Christmas on the Beatles Christmas discs. My wife Caroline and I will do a Christmas Special on Christmas Eve. I will also be on KJHK in Lawrence, KS., on January 5th from 8-midnight, doing four hours of tunes for you all. I'm trying to line up a time for Lonesome Cowboy Bill to join me on KJHK, so stayed tuned for that item for those of you who want to know. Not sure yet what I'm doing on New Year's Eve. I had thought of doing a tribute show to all the musicians who had died in 2006, but, the more I thought about it, the more like a gimmick it seemed, so maybe that's out the window, now. I will do some more live concerts in 2007. There's some names on my wish list, but we'll see how many want to play live on a Sunday. I can't do this on the air, but i would highly recommend the new Beatles cd, "Love" for Christmas if you're stuck for something to give someone. If the person has surround sound capabilities, get them the cd/dvd version. You will be blown away by how great the sound is on this. George and Giles Martin did an excellent job "mashing up" the Beatles catalog. I think this is George's last gift to the band. Everyone I've turned on to this cd has really enjoyed it, so there's the solution to your Christmas shopping woes. Also, remember to buy from local artists and craftsmakers when you can. Wouldn't it be much better to keep the money you spend in the city you live in rather than giving it to a big corporation? Something to ponder as the year draws to an end. Also, a big thank-you to all the listeners I've met in the last year. I've gotten such nice kind words from you all. It reinforces the belief that the decision I made to come back to the airwaves was a good one. I will keep doing the best show that I can for as long as I can.

Seger Sessions

2006-12-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a review of the Bob Seger concert by listener Mark Stitt: Kemper was filled to the rafters Saturday night. Bob Seger's Travelin Salvation show was in town for the first time in over a decade. The crowd was filled with lots of baby boomers, from their mid 30's all the way up to 70's. This was Seger concert number 7 for me, and I could not help but recall some of the shows I had seen in the past. I distinctly remember show #1, I was 17 and saw Bob and the band at Municipal Auditorium, which was a general admission show. Back then, Seger was not nearly as well known since that was before 'Night Moves' came out and the band was working hard to convert people at the show into fans. I was blown away, and became a life long fan that night!
Eric Church and his band were the opening act, and they did a 45 minute set of mainly non-descript music. They left the stage and the soundtrack to 70's classic rock was playing in the interlude. Right at 9:00, the volume was cranked up, the song 'The Boys Are Back In Town' came over the speakers and the lights were shut off. The crowd rose as one and cheered as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet band took the stage. Bob, dressed in a black tee shirt and blue jeans, grabbed the mic, said "Hello Kansas City, good to see ya again" as the opening piano chords sounded from 'Roll Me Away' and they were off and rocking! This was just going to be one big sing along concert as everyone in attendance knew the words to all the songs. A younger gal sitting behind me was extra excited, and what she lacked in singing ability she more than made up for in volume.
Although Bob was touring in support of his new CD 'Face The Promise', this was really a greatest hits show with some of his newer stuff (Wreck This Heart, Wait For Me, Face The Promise, No Matter Who You Are, Simplicity) thrown in. After the opening number, they went right into 'Tryin To Live My Life Without You' as the crowd continued to stand and sing along. Followed that with 'Main Street' then right into 'Old Time Rock and Roll'. It was like that all night, just one classic hit after another. Towards the end of the first set, the band really hit their stride with 'Betty Lou's Gettin Out Tonight', which had fans dancing in the aisles. Then, Bob sat down at the piano and played the classic ballad 'We've Got Tonight' which of course brought out all the lighters (along with cell phones!) and followed that with 'Turn The Page'. That song still brings chills with the haunting sax sound. Bob sounded pretty good, despite not being able to stretch his voice like he used to. They closed out the first set with a red hot smoking version of my all time favorite 'Travelin Man/Beautiful Loser' that just rocked!
After a brief intermission, the band (guitars, bass, keyboards, sax, along with a horn section and three female back up singers) once again took the stage. Bob said he was gonna play a song he wrote over 40 years ago, and with that the drummer launched into that instantly recognizable beat for 'Ramblin Gamblin Man'! Went from that into an old Chuck Berry song 'C'est La Vie' (You Never Can Tell), then 'Sunspot Baby' followed by 'Horizontal Bop'. Bob closed out the set with another rocking favorite 'Katmandu'. At the conclusion, the entire band lined up and took a bow. However, the crowd applause reached such a deafening roar that after just a few minutes, they came back out and Bob strapped on an acoustic guitar, strummed the opening lines and sang "I was a little too tall, could have used a few pounds" a song that I was sure he wrote just for me, from his timeless classic 'Night Moves', and the years melted away and it was the summer of 1976 again and anything was possible. Such is the evocative power of a well written song! The crowd, after singing along word for word roared its approval as the band tore into 'Hollywood Nights', then 'Against The Wind' and for his closing number that all time favorite 'Rock and Roll Never Forgets'! This time, Bob changed the lyrics slightly by singing "Now sweet 16 has turned 61" as he spread his arms as if to say "Can you believe it"?
And with that, the band took their final bow, waved to the crowd and left the stage. I was not alone in thinking what a great show we had just seen, everyone in the crowd was smiling and sweaty, some still singing along with their memories, proof that rock and roll is more a state of mind rather than a matter of age!
Submitted by your roving rock and roll reporter,
Mark

Holidays

2006-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Been very busy this month working on three projects at once. Next Sunday's show is done and will have some new material from the just-released Tom Waits box set. I'm also working on a Christmas show with Caroline that will air on Christmas Eve. Been getting to the upcoming Beatles rarities show as well, although I have lots of material still to go through. I had hoped to have the Wilders on the show before Christmas, but that's looking improbable at this point. They are currently down in Louisiana working on a new album and will be back in KC by the 10th, but I don't think they are going to have time to do my show and still make the sound check at St. Andrews that same afternoon. This may change, so we'll see. Just finished a show with Lonesome Cowboy Bill. In spite of some cd player glitches, it came off all right. If you're up late at 3 am on Saturday mornings, tune him in. He's the best dj in town--hands down. I've been asked by KKFI to help compile a two cd set for the next fund drive. We are going to do a series of them in different genres. The first will be blues. We will be contacting musicians and probably do some promos for material soon. Whoever gets selected for inclusion will need to sign a waiver for mechanicals and royalties, but that shouldn't be a problem. It's possible we may sell this cd online and make it available to stores, also. Again, a big thank you to everyone who supported this show and kkfi during the last fund drive. I really can't thank you enough. i hope in the coming year to continue doing the best I can to stimulate your brains and your urges to dance.

Great Lost Post

2006-11-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

somehow, my last post seems to have vanished into the ether and not made it to the blog. to condense it a bit: i was basically giving the schedule for the next few weeks. this week will be my version of "nuggets" british invasion style. you'll be surprised how a lot of this music later mutated into punk and garage band music. there was a lot of worthless music created in britain between 1961 and 1967, but there was a lot of cool, ahead of it's time sounds being made that didn't necessarily make it to the radio, especially american radio. so, this sunday will be my version of radio caroline, so to speak. coming up afterwards, on the 19th, i'll do the special program on rare and unreleased tracks by local and regional artists. got some real good stuff including the first recorded music by the experimental instrument orchestra, some unrleased tracks by dwight frizzell and BCR, as well as other goodies from arthur dodge, forrest whitlow, the royal nonesuch, and even something from the fabulous flippers. the sunday after thanksgiving will be an improv show with lonesome cowboy bill. these are the kinds of shows we sometimes pull off on kjhk in lawrence, but this one will be condensed to two hours. i have no idea what it will sound like and neither does he at this point, but we'll all find out on the 26th, won't we? other than that, i'll certainly do a beatles rarities show on december 17th with sir edward chavez and caroline and i will do a special christmas show on christmas eve. hopefully next year, more live performances and more special shows.

More things to come

2006-10-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who donated to the fund drive for KKFI. It's the only homegrown community station we have, and our city is better for it. This was the best fund drive ever, and if you were a part of it, you should be proud of yourself. Congratulations to Robert Keyserling, who matched my $100 pledge and copped a pre-release box set of the history of Hightone Records. Thanks also to Bridgett Ellis, station manager of WCNI in New London, Ct., who, not only pledged money to the show, but also did a phone-in pledge pitch on air. Major thanks to Lonesome Cowboy Bill and Harry Linder, who co-hosted the pledge drive show with me and all the folks who took the phone calls that day. We had a ball, as those of you who listened heard. In other matters, here's a sneak preview of the next three weeks: there will be a regular free-form show next week. I'm going to concentrate on newer stuff this time. I've just started on it, so it really hasn't taken form yet. November 12th, I'll do a British Invasion garage band show. There was some kick ass rock and roll recorded during those years; most of it didn't reach the ears of American listeners during that time, so I've resurrected some cool tracks for you. There will be some unreleased live Rolling Stones, as well as a rare Beatles track or two amongst other great songs. November 19th will be a show some of you may have heard about during the summer: a rarities show of all local and regional music. Got lots of goodies to share with you, including a rare Fabulous Flippers single, an unreleased Arthur Dodge performance, and the first music recorded by the Experimental Instrument Orchestra, whom you've read about in the Pitch and the Star. After that, who knows? I'm open to suggestions. If there's any artists you want to hear, any songs you have in mind that would blow some minds out there, let me know, and I'll try my best to incorporate them. Listeners who have called to request stuff have been very understanding when I explain how I prerecord and sequence the music for the show. It leaves no time for requests, and even if it did, it's not likely I'd have the requested tune with me. Of course the KKFI record library is not open on weekends, anyway, so, unless I stumble onto the secret lock code, I'm not getting in there. But, I DO take requests, there's one in this week's show, for example. You will just have to be patient to hear the songs you request because it will be a week or two until they get on air (assuming I have them or can find them.) After all, this show is intended be a long-term project unless get rich and move to Bora Bora or something...

yes, it's that time, again...

2006-10-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

the semi-annual kkfi fund drive is upon us. i've only been back for a short time and i don't think most of the listeners have me figured out yet, but i remain optimistic that SOME of you will pledge to the show. hightone records has kindly given me a box set to give away with a $100 pledge. it has three cds of great stuff as well as a dvd with videos from folks like rosie flores, dave alvin, and others. i've also roped lonesome cowboy bill and harry to come down and join in the fun. we're going to wing the music as i usually do when i work with bill, but don't worry, it will be good, we're used to doing it that way. in spite of the loud p.a. sound filtering in to the studio last week, we had a boatload of musicians playing live for you. i will post up some sets from that show to the website. you will find them in the next few days in the mp3 portion of the home page. still working on getting the wilders to come play on the show. i've also talked to mark smeltzer about having the experimental instrument orchestra play live for you. if you've been reading the kc star lately, you will know that these folks create their own instruments out of everyday discarded items and make music with them. they are hopeful of travelling to london to be filmed by the bbc. i've got a cd of the show they did where they were discovered by the esteemed british network and i'll air a track from it when i do the local music rarities show in november. in case anyone out there still wants to submit cds of rare or unreleased material to me for the show in november, you better get them in soon. contact me through this blog by posting a comment and i'll get in touch. leave your email address or some other way for me to contact you. been working on two shows simultaneously for the post pledge drive shows. one is called "dreamscapes" and will be the musical equivalent of a dream state (i hope) and one with caroline, my wife and former kkfi dj, that she will do with me the week after the dreamscape show. once again, remember this show come sunday and thank all of you that have contributed to the show and station in the silent fund drive. kkfi is the best there is in KC and let's keep it that way.

songs and dances

2006-09-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

thanks for the great response to the bob dylan special. you can be sure that sir edward and i will do some more. we've also planned yet one more beatles anthology special for some time in december. some of you may remember that we did about five shows featuring rare and unreleased beatles tracks, some of them before the official anthology was released. we think we have one more in us, so we'll see how it goes. we certainly have some more live tracks that bear listening to. on sunday, october 8th, i'll have what i'm calling a musicians open house. we'll feature an entire show of live performances from various local artists. there will also be an acoustic jam outside the station (weather permitting) on the 8th from 1 till 6 pm. i'm hoping that the last hour of the show that day will also be a jam. i'll see how many of the visiting artists are up for it. the following week, october 13th, in fact, the kkfi fall fund drive arrives. if you've liked what you've heard so far this year, please consider donating to support signal to noise and kkfi. i will match the first $100 donation out of my own pocket. we will also be joined on sunday the 15th by lonesome cowboy bill of moby's trip. we'll give you an idea of what it's like when we do 4 hour stints on kjhk. bill and i will also work on some new promos for the fund drive that hopefully you'll be hearing soon. those of you who don't need sleep on the weekends should tune in to moby's trip on saturday mornings from 3-5 am. this week's show will also feature some home grown music from david hakan, chad rex, and pendergast. chad rex will appear live on the 8th with howard iceberg. we also are expecting appearances from bob morris, darrell lea, forrest whitlow, kasey rausch, and some more folks i won't reveal yet. i've really appreciated the feedback i've gotten back from listeners so far, as i enter my sixth month back on the air. it feels good to be back.

It goes in...it must come out...

2006-09-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

working on the show for this sunday after a two week vacation, it became even more clear to me how what i see and hear and experience becomes part of the show. caroline and i went through kentucky, tennessee, and the virginias during those weeks. we visited the carter fold, homeplace of the carter family, as well as bristol, tn., where the carters and jimmie rodgers first recorded. in the process we drove over 2,000 miles, mostly through the rural routes, and spent time in not only some of the economically poorest parts of the country, but also at the birthplace of our constitution, thomas jefferson's house. also, prior to the trip, i had some health issues that could have potentially been serious in addition to hearing about the death of ron rooks, so death was on my mind, too. once i finished selecting the songs for the show, i noticed how much the south had seeped in to the sets. even the first set, which is a requiem for ron, has songs by southerners lucinda williams and kevin gordon in it. the other sets about current rural life, downtowns, travelling, and the anti war set--which came from and was inspired by seeing thomas jefferson's home and realizing how far this country has strayed from his ideas and ideals--all had their genesis from the trip. when i'm in the car for long periods of time, i usually get ideas of sets or certain songs i want to use in the show. i came back with lots of scribbled notes jotted down when inspiration struck me. i think this is not dissimilar to what songwriters experience. they get input and then, after it gestates for awhile, it comes out as a song. for quite a long time now, i've thought of the show and it's various sets like songs, or as a poem, with each song being a line or verse, so to speak. if you listen to the whole two hours, if i've done my job, the show should be an organic whole--with some subjects and themes reoccurring and sometimes the songs within a set are a counterpoint to each other or relate to each other. most listeners aren't going to notice or care about this, but this is what i try to do each week, when possible. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i like to think that by listening closely to each week's show, you can tell how my week went and what was on my mind. if the listeners don't want to go that deep, i at least try and make it entertaining to hear.

War and Remembrance

2006-09-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

It will be nice to be back in the saddle this Sunday. Thanks to Harry for filling in so ably, as always. The first part of the show will be a musical requiem for Ron Rooks. Will also do a long anti-war set in the second hour. Other shows coming up: October 8th will be a street jam as well as an acoustic jam and concert on my show. So far, I've got commitments from Howard Iceberg, Chad Rex, Darrell Lea, Kasey Rausch, Bob Morris, and Forrest Whitlow. There will be others I can't announce yet, also. We'll probably have each artist do a couple of songs and then end the show with a long jam during the last half hour. Also started work on the Dylan special, which will be the Sunday after this coming Sunday. My friend Sir Edward Chavez will co host. The semi-annual KKFI fund drive will start on the 8th, so I'm looking forward to hearing from some of my new-found listener friends as well as old friends, too. This station is a precious commodity and a rare thing in radio today--a station where the DJs can do what they want and are allowed freedom to create shows as they see fit, not as some marketing consultant wants them. We'll talk more about this in a later post. I'll also post a couple of photos from my trip to the east coast soon.

Goodbye, Ron

2006-08-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear of the untimely death of Ron Rooks this morning. For those of you who don't know, Ron was the long-time proprietor of the Music Exchange, one of the country's best used record stores. I spent lots of time in his store both at it's old location and when he moved to larger quarters on Broadway. The last time I spoke to him was at the Blasters concert. He told me that he was working on compiling a box set of material from his most recent band, Three Businessmen. I expressed my regrets that I hadn't had time to visit his new location in the bottoms yet and we agreed to get together soon. He had always wanted me to do a show with him at KKFI and he had bought some dj time last year, but I was still gone from the station at that point and couldn't do it with him. I'm sure there's lots of folks out there that have some great and not so great memories of Ron. I'm getting ready to leave town for two weeks, so will not be able to pay tribute to him until I get back. I'll try and do a show that he would have liked. He was one of KC's colorful gentlemen, and I think , in time, he'll be remembered as fondly as Piney Brown, Milton Morris, Ben Asner, and other larger than life characters that graced this town. My condolences to his wife Nancy, and his two lovely children.

it's progressive ROCK!

2006-08-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, some folks call it "prog rock" but KC progressive rock musician and composer Fred Potter calls it like it is. It can be progressive, but it has to ROCK! This Sunday's show will feature progressive rock. I don't do this genre too often, so join us, if you will on a rare and special broadcast. There will be bands like Yes, U.K., ELP, and Curved Air, but we will not play "the hits." Fred has selected tracks that aren't often heard by the general public. Even those of you who don't like prog should tune in and give it a listen. I think you may well be surprised. This stuff isn't wimpy. Also, Fred is a computer expert and runs his own business called PC Housecalls KC. You can find a link to his website in the "links" portion of this blog. During the show he will answer any questions you may have about computer glitches or problems off the air. Thanks to the FCC, we can't tell you much about his business on the air, but I can here. He's also webmaster for my site and makes it look pretty spiffy in spite of my tendency to want to make it sloppy and crude. He's also fixed my computers for years. Call him during the show and he'll negoatiate a price with you if you need him to come to your house and work on the messed up motherboard, or faulty modem. He's not only a great musician, but he's a stone genius. Look for the playlist on the home page before Sunday.

tom waits

2006-08-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

maybe it was memphis, or maybe it was the ghost of howlin' wolf that tom waits had in mind.
we made the 10 hour journey to memphis on august 4th, principally to see mr. waits in a rare live appearance. only 8 shows on this "tour" to tout his upcoming three cd box set of rare material. of course, in typical tom form, he performed nothing from the box set. the opening was pure theater: the lighting was such that you could see the elongated shadows of the band behind the curtain of the historic orpheum theater as they took the stage. when they were all in place except for tom, his shadow appeared behind the curtain as a loud cheer went up. he immediately bent over and struck a nosferatu pose, with his arms outstretched and his fingers crooked like gnarly tree branches. quite effective. once onstage, he launched right into "singapore." i noticed that duke robillard was playing guitar with the band. the song was played more smoothly than in the past with the jazzy/bluesy elements brought to the fore. this was to set the tone for the evening. tom played electric guitar through half the show and, maybe because the duke was playing with him, the music was less angular, more blues-influenced than usual. after that, another vampire pose and then into an intense version of "make it rain" gesturing and stomping it out . He dipped a bit more into his older material as the concert went on, singing, rather than talking, through "shore leave", strapping on electric guitar for "tango till they're sore," doing a howlin wolf version of "heart attack and vine" which sequed nicely into "spoonful" with duke robillard doing his best hubert sumlin solo. in between songs there was not as much patter as in his past concerts, but he still spoke to the audience as they shouted at him between songs. he did nice verbal riffs on square watermelons you can buy in japan, the gentrification of 9th and hennepin, and the difficulty these days of finding a really bad cup of coffee. at one point, a piano was wheeled out and he did some solo tunes accompanied only by larry taylor on bass. starting with a perfect version of "the house where nobody lives" and then, after fielding requests, too many of which prompted him to threaten a medley, he went into a spoken word version of "the ocean doesn't want me." Then he again strapped on the electric guitar and the band retook the stage for killer versions of "shake it" which had the audience laughing after some of the lyrics and then singing along with "rains on me." finally, after a very lowdown dirty blues of "get behind the mule," "murder in the red barn," and a rockin' version of "goin out west" which had members of the audience leaping up and screaming "i look good without a shirt!", he walked off stage to a standing ovation. The encore was two songs, starting with an acoustic version of "the day after tomorrow" which garnered loud applause for the anti war lines, he ended with "sins of the father." an informal poll of the audience revealed that none of the people i talked to were from memphis, some coming from europe, and other states, to see him. the online chat groups expressed some disappointment that duke robillard and not mark ribot or smokey hormel was playing with him on this tour, but i didn't mind his presence. although some might feel that he "watered down" the music to make it more accessible, i think it was good that memphis brought out the blues behind tom's material. he was clearly energized by the audience and i was struck by how powerful his voice is live. he has lost nothing to the years of singing and touring. he was clearly having a ball and the band, which included his son on percussion, were all totally into the music. the famed bullhorns only came out once or twice, although a huge array of them littered the stage. i noted that there were cameras and recording equipment at the venue, so this was professionally filmed. hopefully a long awaited dvd is on the way. all in all, it was about 20 hours of travel for 2 and a half hours of tom waits. it was a fair trade.

More news

2006-07-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

i've started getting some unreleased stuff from some of you folks. thanks bruce and pat and robert and the rest of you folks who've sent stuff. i will start going through it all soon. at some point in august i'll probably cut off submissions. i feel like one of those guys who works on about three cars in his yard in his spare time. i've got at least three future shows in various stages of completion. harry and i spent some time friday working on the "dvd show." we looked at some cool footage including some early carl perkins, a dean martin song accompanied by a folk group, as well as more modern stuff. we need to get together at my house and go over some of my stuff for the show next. also, a prog rock show with fred potter is in the works. fred has his portion done, i just need to get mine going. we're also deep into a dylan anthology show, with loads of unreleased material we're sifting through. sir edward chavez and i will do that one sometime soon.

i couldn't really announce this on the air sunday, but lonesome cowboy bill and i will be spinning discs on kjhk saturday the 29th from 8 till midnight. we have lots of fun there during semester breaks, so tune in. one thing we talked about doing was a car set with all automobile songs.

this coming sunday will be a special show programmed by howard eisberg, a great area songwriter and musician. i've seen the playlist for the first hour and it will be a good show. also of note, area musician forrest whitlow has not one, but two anti-war songs in mp3 form on neil young's website. check out neilyoung.com and post your own mp3s if you want.

coming distractions

2006-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

here's some things already scheduled to add to your calendars...on july 30th, howard iceberg will host the show and spin some tracks for you. he took advantage of kkfi's pledge drive offer to host a show for a donation to the cause. he wanted to do one with me once i was back on air, so tune in on that sunday for two hours of songs selected by howard. some of you may remember harry, who used to fill in for me when i would have to leave town suddenly. we will do a show together on august 27th. we decided to go into our dvd collections and run some dvd-only songs to cd and do a show of them. this way we also can get together and watch some dvds. there will be some rare and unreleased stuff on this particular show. i will do a prog rock special on august 20th with fred potter, who's a local composer/prog rock musician. he also will offer free advice on computer problems for all you listeners who need it. a dylan anthology show will be forthcoming, probably in september. this will consist or rare and unreleased dylan tracks, co-hosted by sir edward chavez.

more contact info

2006-07-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are interested in submitting rare and unreleased material, per the posts below: you can contact me by posting to the comments on this blog. I've set it up so that the comments are emailed to me.
The playlist for tomorrow is up. tomorrow's show will be one suitable for listening around the swimming pool or grill as you cook out. my wife caroline will co-host and she has prepared a good deal of the music, as well. hope you enjoy...

Local Music Show

2006-07-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

here's the info on what i'm up to--i plan to do a show and maybe a series of shows featuring rare and unreleased music from local and regional artists. i can handle any genre of music you want to send. you can send me material in cassette form, cds, reel to reel tapes, DAT tapes, or even vinyl if you're brave enough. i can't guarantee what you send me will make it on air, though. multiple submissions are fine, but don't let it get out of hand. keep your originals or a safety copy and send me copies. i will not be able to return anything to you once you send it to me. i'd like rare stuff--whether it be live concert tapes, demos, unfinished songs, songs that were left off your albums-- stuff like that. it will help if it sounds good, but that's not a requirement. however, if it's really lo-fi, it may not make the cut. also, don't assume that if you're song doesn't make the show that i think it sucks. i probably just didn't have enough time to get everything in. i may also play some of these things on regular shows, too. send me what you want aired to: Signal To Noise, KKFI, PO Box 32250, KCMO 64171. remember that kkfi is heard worldwide on the web, so other folks in other countries will get to hear your songs. another reminder: if your songs contain some of those nasty little words that offend the FCC, your song will probably not be aired. If your song is just too cool to not air, i will digitally alter the bad words before i broadcast it. if you want to talk to me in person about this, call me on sundays when i'm on air between 1-3 pm on Sundays. the phone number is 816-931-5534. i'm often there about a half hour before showtime, so you can catch me then, too. you can post comments to this blog if you have questions (or comments).

Local Music Show

2006-07-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

OK, those of you visiting this site for more info on the blurb in the KC Star today...I'm going to do a series of shows featuring rare and unreleased local music. I've got lots of stuff I've accumulated over the years, but I want to extend an invitation to local and regional artists to submit music for the show. You can send either cassettes, cds, DAT tapes, reel to reel tapes or even vinyl if you want to risk it. Unreleased stuff only, please. Please keep a safety copy or the originals and make me a copy because i won't be able to return the material to you. Send your submissions to: Signal To Noise, KKFI, PO Box 32250, Kansas City, MO., 64171. You can call me when i'm on the air Sunday if you want more details, or post your comments to the blog and i'll try and respond as soon as I can. You can call me on Sundays from 1-3 pm at 816-931-5534. Be patient because I don't have a secretary to answer phones for me, so things can get backed up. Don't have a date yet for the first show, but it will be this fall. If your stuff doesn't get aired it doesn't necessarily mean I think it sucks, it just means I didn't have enough time to get to it. I may also air submissions on other regular shows if they fit what I'm doing that week, so stay tuned for that, too. I can handle things with less than stellar sound quality, but if it's really lo-fi, it may not make the cut, so keep that in mind. If you have anything with those nasty little words that the FCC objects to, don't send it, or if you do, keep in mind that I will digitally alter those offending words if I air your song at all. Any questions or comments, you can send them here. Remember, KKFI is now audio streaming on the web, so your stuff is going to be heard worldwide. I can't guarantee a record deal and all the associated perks that come from that, but I know it's at least a good buzz to hear your hard earned songs on the radio.

Up and Running..

2006-06-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Two shows under my belt and it feels good. I kind of feel like George Harrison must have felt when he left the Beatles and he had all these songs backlogged that he wanted to record. Feel like I could do a show every night for a month and still not get everything in. I've talked to the Wilders about appearing live and it looks like it may be happening in the fall. Their schedule is pretty heavy for the rest of the summer and early fall. I'm thinking of a double bill with the Midday Ramblers and the Wilders. Also, there will be a guest DJ show with Howard Iceberg sometime within the next two months. He took advantage of the KKFI fund drive promotion that, for a fee, allows the listeners to DJ their own show. He wanted to do one with me, so we will. I will also have a collaboration with former KKFI dj (and my wife) Caroline Lee before the end of July. I've put word out unofficially to some local bands to send me unreleased material for an archival show I'm going to do soon. It will have all unreleased and rare recordings from local and regional bands. I'll try to get the Pitch and the Star to publicize it so I can get recent things as well as older material. I have had some people wonder why I haven't played a lot of blues yet. I will remedy that situation next week with the first 22 minutes of the show being a long blues set. I had some nice calls from some old listeners who remember my last stint there. It's nice to hear from you all. Remember that requests can't be done that same day, unfortunately. I burn the whole show to two cds and bring them down there, so I generally don't have extra cds with me. I'll take requests, but you will have to be patient before you hear them.

Coming Distractions

2006-06-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

The first show's not even done yet, but I'm already figuring out what kinds of special shows I'd like to do this summer and fall. Here's what's on the drawing board. I've been casting around for rare tracks from local and regional bands for a special archival show sometime this summer. I've already got some good stuff, but I'll tell more about this when it gets closer to happening. Some other special shows probably coming soon: a Dylan Anthology show with all unreleased tracks, maybe a British Invasion special with some rare and not generally heard live and studio tracks showcasing the hard underground stuff out at the time that didn't get heard much on the radio, yet another Beatles unreleased tracks show, a rarities show of some sort with live broadcasts, rare tracks downloaded from bands' sites and other aracana, perhaps also a show with early music from the 20s, 30s, and 40s that kicks ass. My second show will have a sneak preview of what I have in mind for this. I want to continue to do some live performance shows. Some artists on my wish list would include Forrest Whitlow, Howard Iceberg, Joel Kraft, the Midday Ramblers, The Border Band, and the Wilders. I also want to do some live jazz, which I never got around to when I did the show the first time. If you're a local artist or band and you'd like to get me copies of your work, send it to Signal to Noise c/o KKFI. You can find the station's address at www.kkfi.org. I can handle cds, mp3s, cassette tapes, DAT tapes, vinyl, most any form you can put music on I can deal with. If you want to play live on my show be aware that I can't do electric stuff as a rule. I used to be able to, but the station is essentially down to two mics in the on-air studio for live performances, so that limits my options, unfortunately. One of the other things I like to do is collaborate on shows with musicians, artists, and other DJs. In the past I've done shows with Gary Kirkland, Mike Ireland, writers David Cantwell and Tim Finn, djs Lonesome Cowboy Bill, Jennifer Field, Lord Spencer Drake, my wife, Caroline Lee, (or Mullen as she was known then) and others. I'll do this again, of course. Probably my soul brother Lonesome Cowboy Bill and I will do something soon. We have been known to show up on free form slots on KJHK between semesters at KU since I'm an alumni dj there. So stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

Back!

2006-06-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's now official. Signal to Noise returns to the air starting Sunday June 18th on KKFI. The new gig will be from 1-3 on every Sunday. As noted before, you can either listen live or check out the audio streaming at www.kkfi.org. I will be posting playlists as we go. Check out the homepage at www.signaltonoisekkfi.com.

Back From the Shadows Again...

2006-06-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

It's now official: Signal To Noise returns to KKFI starting Sunday, June 18th. The new gig will be from 1-3 pm on Sundays. Remember you can listen to the radio or hear it online at www.kkfi.org. I have the first two shows "in the can" as we say in the biz, so it should be fun. After being gone over three years or so, I doubt most of the original fans of the show remain, but it will be nice to make some new friends. I will try and post playlists each week so you all can see what was played. There will be more work done on the home page at www.signaltonoisekkfi.com so that you will be able to interact with it better. Stay tuned. It's going to be a wild ride.

2006-06-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's now official. Signal To Noise resumes broadcasting on KKFI starting June 18th from 1 to 3 pm. I'll hold down this slot on Sundays for the foreseeable future. Got the first show and second show "in the can" so to speak, so you'll be able to see what my hand-scrawled playlists look like each week. I'll post up a couple of the Saturday show playlists on the www.signaltonoisekkfi.com page. There are also some photos up from my trip to Southbysouthwest in March of this year. The show was actually supposed to start on June 11th, but Caroline and I will be out of town seeing Bruce Springsteen in Des Moines that weekend. Thanks to Linda Wilson and the KKFI Board for making this happen. I will try and actually publicize the show's return and see if the KC Star or the Pitch will help promote it. I also did a new promo for the show which has "guest appearances" from Frank Zappa, William S. Burroughs, and Bill Hicks. You'll be hearing it soon on KKFI.

Cross ref

2006-05-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Check out the main page at www.signaltonoisekkfi.com. This will tell you a little more about the show and what to expect if you've never heard it before. Also check out my friend Lonesome Cowboy Bill on KKFI Saturday mornings from 3-5 am. Moby's Trip is one of the most wild ass shows in KC and it's back after a long hiatus. You can check out KKFI's audio stream at www.kkfi.org. My main page is still under construction, but it will mostly link here where I can post stuff much easier. Hope you like it.

2006-05-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

who am i?

2006-05-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

OK, so much for the test. If you've seen the homepage and my screed posted there, you already know this. From what I know now, Signal To Noise should resume on KKFI by the end of May. I plan to post playlists for each week's show. Since I've been filling in on Saturdays at 7 pm, I may post a few of those playlists so you can see what I'm doing. If any of you remember me from the old days at KKFI when I was on air there for over 13 years, drop me a line. I'll try and post the changing stuff to this page and leave the home page pretty much static. I'll also try to put up mp3s for you.