Music, Pitch

Nineties KC-Lawrence club fixture DJ Ray Velasquez returns home for a few shows

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

DJ Ray Velasquez comes home for some shows. by David Hudnall Those tuned in to the local club scene in the 1990s will remember Ray Velasquez. In addition to hosting Nocturnal Transmissions, a Saturday-night, electronic-music program on the much-loved Lawrence station KLZR (the Lazer) 105.9, Velasquez was a pioneering DJ at venues in KC and Lawrence from 1983 until 1999, when he moved to New York City.…

Jazz Beat: The Jazz Disciples, with Book of Gaia

Larry Kopitnik — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by Larry Kopitnik The hard-driving, in-your-face, contemporary jazz of the Jazz Disciples (Gerald Dunn on sax, Everett Freeman on piano, Bill McKemy on bass and Michael Warren on drums) anchors a couple of the Blue Room's most popular monthly shows. This Saturday night, the Jazz Disciples are joined by Book of Gaia, a sharp ensemble featuring three of Kansas City's finest jazz singers: Angela Hagenbach, Pamela Baskin-Watson and Nedra Dixon.…

Streetside: Surviving the Mystery Train's murder-mystery dinner theater

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall There was a time, and it was not that long ago, when the promise of a free meal was enough to persuade people to accompany me to just about any event, no matter how stupid. But lately, everybody seems to have a little more money and a lot less time.…

Music Forecast May 23-29: Cheap Trick, Japandroids, Drive-By Truckers, El Ten Eleven, Dawes and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall Cheap Trick The power-pop pride of Rockford, Illinois, is still touring 40 years into its career. Cheap Trick knows no other way — or, at least, its members have no other marketable skills.…

Music Forecast May 16-22: Yo La Tengo, KC Psychfest, Telekinesis, Laura Stevenson, and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A look at some concerts on KC stages this week. by David Hudnall KC Psychfest After a happy first run in 2012, KC Psychfest returns this weekend. FOKL, the KCK arts space that was the fest's home last year, has downsized, so the shows will be split among its new lower level and courtyard and Monta HQ, about a dozen blocks away.…

Replay Records' slow and steady approach to local vinyl

David Hudnall — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall The Replay Lounge is a Lawrence institution. Everyone knows this.…

Hot Club of Cowtown singer and violinist — and KC native — Elana James on her band's latest, Rendezvous in Rhythm

David Hudnall — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

We talk with Hot Club of Cowtown's Elana James: singer, fiddler, KC native. by David Hudnall "I think this creepy obsession with new, new, new, personal 'I wrote it' stuff is a kind of plague on American traditional music," Elana James tells The Pitch. "What's wrong with reinterpreting traditional melodies or, in our case, standards and traditional songs from the early part of the 20th century, in an absolutely current, sincere and thrilling way?"…

Some recent 7-inch releases from Replay Records

David Hudnall — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall Radkey "Spirals" and "N.I.G.G.A." — the first official release from St. Joseph's buzzed-about teenage band of brothers — captures the Radkey aesthetic: vaguely ominous, Danzig-deep vocals over a feverish, Descendents-style racket. "Every band has that moment where they're like, 'Holy shit, I'm listening to myself on vinyl,' " Isaiah Radke says, "and Replay Records gave us that moment."…

Music Forecast May 9-15: Ra Ra Riot, Royce Diamond, Louiz Rip, Martin Sexton, Pusha T, Fabolous, Scammers and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Take in some of these performances around town. by David Hudnall Royce Diamond, Louiz Rip Rappers tend to be our most prolific musical artists, and neither Royce Diamond nor Louiz Rip is an exception. Both released solo albums in the last year (Mirrors and Smoke and Joe Average, respectively), in addition to a host of collaborations with other local rappers and beat makers.…

Rounding up recent releases from local heavyweights Cowboy Indian Bear, Fourth of July and Soft Reeds

David Hudnall — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall Fourth of July Empty Moon (High Dive Records) The last few years have seen a mild exodus of longtime Lawrence musicians and acts.…

Streetside: Mills Record Co. arrives in Westport with an unlikely pitch: new vinyl

David Hudnall — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall If you pay even glancing attention to the movements of the music business, you're by now familiar with at least a few narratives. Nobody buys CDs anymore.…

Streetside: Hi-Dive makes a well-timed splash in 39th Street West

David Hudnall — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Hi-Dive makes a splash on 39th Street. by David Hudnall The 39th Street West neighborhood is home to a number of city-famous establishments — Jazz, Donna's Dress Shop, d'Bronx, Room 39 — but is not exactly an entertainment district. At least, not in the way Westport, the Plaza and the Power & Light are.…

Talking with Sephiroth about the Sucka Free Producer's Showcase

Chris Milbourn — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

RecordBar hosts the Sucka Free Producer's Showcase Thursday. by Chris Milbourn I don't want to rap. I don't want to be a DJ.…

The warped, artful folk of David Bennett's Akkilles

David Hudnall — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall When David Bennett started playing music, he gravitated toward conventional folk songs: "These kinds of ballads where it'd be just me and an acoustic guitar, maybe a girl singing harmonies or something," he says. "I got a little bored of that."…

Music Forecast May 2-8: Bill Callahan, Big Boi, Crystal Castles, and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A look at the bands playing around Kansas City this week. by David Hudnall Bill Callahan Part of me thinks that Bill Callahan is a ghost. Few in the RecordBar crowd, last time he was in town, seemed to even notice that he had taken the stage; the set started both abruptly and unassumingly.…

The Grisly Hand returns with Country Singles

David Hudnall — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall As a title, Country Singles has the generic ring of some bargain-priced George Jones best-of album. But it's also the name of a publication you can find at truck-stop newsstands in rural parts of the Midwest.…

The Black Keys' Patrick Carney on Danger Mouse, Tennis and hanging out with Anthony Bourdain in Kansas City

Leslie Kinsman — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney fills us in. by Leslie Kinsman The Black Keys continue to kill it. The dirty-blues duo cleaned up at the 2013 Grammys with Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.…

Music Forecast April 25-May 1: Fleetwood Mac, Cowboy Indian Bear, and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A look at the bands playing around Kansas City this week. by David Hudnall Afentra's Prom Lazlo and the crew over at 96.5 the Buzz have spent the past few weeks blitzing listeners with ominous warnings about the station's health: Ratings are down, and Entercom is threatening to end the whole operation. Throwing a big, free concert at the Midland is probably not going to solve these problems, but a show of moral support never hurts.…

Dolewite sells it on the weekend

Berry Anderson — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Local group Dolewite stands apart. by Berry Anderson Freezing rain, a thermometer stuck at 37 degrees Fahrenheit, grim partiers more likely to turn blue than go green — this is St. Patrick's Day 2013 inside the Living Room, the Power & Light District's main entertainment venue. Backstage, the six members of hip-hop cover act Dolewite (and a couple of wives) wait in the small, slightly cramped green room, drinking their comped Miller Lite bottles.…

Lawrence lifers Fourth of July on their new album, Empty Moon

David Hudnall — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

The Pitch talks to Fourth of July about its new album. by David Hudnall College-town vibes are alive in the dark basement of the Ohio Street house in Lawrence where Fourth of July practices: Pacifico bottles, Predator on TV, a long discussion about litter boxes. The band of brothers — Brendan and Patrick Hangauer, Brian and Brendan Costello — is prepping for the release shows it's playing this month for Empty Moon, another unsparing album of dizzy folk-rock tunes.…

Music Forecast April 18-24: Lucero, Allah-Las, T.I. and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A look at the bands playing in and around Kansas City this week. by David Hudnall Lucero, with Langhorne Slim Once a country-punk bar band, Lucero has embraced its Memphis roots on recent albums — its songs now include richer elements: horns, pedal steel and gospel vocals. It's a great look.…

Music Forecast April 11-17: Akron/Family, The Revival Tour, Bon Jovi and more

David Hudnall — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A look at the bands playing in and around Kansas City. by David Hudnall Artopia Artopia, the annual Pitch-sponsored party at Screenland Crossroads, is a reliably weird celebration of art, fashion, food and, yes, music. In addition to burlesque performances, live painting and free shit from Accurso's Italian Restaurant, the Melting Pot, Grace's Best Cookies, Tallgrass Brewing and Smirnoff, $25 ($30 day of event) gets you a nice smattering of local music.…

What's good and what sucks among recent local releases

David Hudnall — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Rating some recent local CD releases - the good and the bad. by David Hudnall The Blackbird Revue Glow (Self-released) Churchy McLachlanisms abound on Glow, the new four-song EP from husband-and-wife duo the Blackbird Revue.…

Streetside: Horribly disgusting band Gwar debuts its barbecue sauce at Grinders

David Hudnall — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

by David Hudnall The music industry continues to collapse, but booze sales are holding steady. In the last decade, there has been a marked increase in the number of musicians peddling their own alcoholic products.…

Sigur Rós' Georg Hólm on band films, hitting reset, and occasionally being taken a little too seriously

April Fleming — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:00:00 -0500

A re-energized Sigur Rós is amped about its new release and tour. by April Fleming In 2010, Icelandic post-rock act Sigur Rós announced what sometimes amounts to a coded death knell: the dreaded "hiatus." But there's a happy ending: Sigur Rós has emerged from its two-year break re-energized and once again eager to release new music and tour.…