John Richards

Marty Willson-Piper, guitarist, songwriter, The Church was born on this day in 1958. The Church were recently in the studio here at KEXP with John! See the full performance: youtu.be www.thechurchband.com

More from the iconic soundtrack. Echo & The Bunnymen touches down in: Seattle, WA (Showbox SoDo) Monday, June 3 and San Francisco, CA (The Warfield) Thursday, June 6! The band credits the inspiration for the song's mandolin sound to a visit they had at a museum of tractor parts. tinyurl.com www.bunnymen.com

Originally conceived less as a traditional band, more a multimedia art collective (inspired by the Plastic Ono Band), THE THE were born out of the teenage Matt Johnson’s experiments with reel-to-reel tape – initially conducted in the basement of his parents’ pub, the Crown, in Loughton, Essex, and at De Wolfe Studios in London’s Soho, where Johnson worked as an apprentice sound engineer and used the downtime to make his own music. Johnson says of 'Dusk', their 1993 album: “It’s a very honest album,” he says. “It’s very emotional… more emotional than, say, political. That became a favourite of mine. It was very, very cathartic.” www.thethe.com

The band says “It feels wild to say our next LP, "Oyster Cuts", will be out August 9th via our dream label, MERGE RECORDS. 1st single, "Apparition" is out everywhere now. We've got SO MANY shows to share these new songs with you soon- tours in Australia, US (including dates with Superchunk!), and finally we will get to the U.K. & Europe!!!” They will be in Seattle at Substation July 29th quiversss.bandcamp.com

This was the second single released for James' album "Yummy" which released last month. wearejames.com

"Hi John, I'm heading in to Swedish hospital this morning with my brave and beautiful wife, Jess. She is patient #001 in a new clinical trial. We are hopeful, anxious, excited…. and maybe a little scared. But never fearful where there is love. Can you please play TV on the Radio’s “Trouble” and let the refrain that “Everything’s gonna be ok” ring in our heads. Or just play anything that might meet us in this moment. Much gratitude." -Jim

"The song describes a time in everybody’s life that make you lose faith in yourself, in someone else, or in life itself and you just need to hear from someone that one day everything will be OK again. That no matter what, with time and patience we all will be OK.” --Lea Porcelain -- Lea Porcelain shared a Live on KEXP at Home performance with John in 2019, where they ended the set with "I Am OK.": www.youtube.com

In this song, Sharon Van Etten sings about her social anxiety and panic attacks. She is accompanied by Beirut's Zach Condon, who has social anxiety, too. In this NPR interview, the singer talks about the experience and the song: www.npr.org

I've got a request for George Harrison’s "my sweet lord' for my baby who turned 18 today. One of my favorite and first memories with her, was laying in the mid wife clinic in Eugene on a rainy Sunday morning listening to music with my new baby, Sydney. The first song she ever heard was my sweet lord. She's currently about to graduate high school but we ditched school/work today to celebrate and of course listen to KEXP! Lisa in Cali

Morning John Today is my beautiful wife Lindsay's 40th birthday and I was wondering if you could play her 'Moonage Daydream' by 'David Bowie' as we never made it to the garage sale in the end for that Bowiecorn shirt (I blame IDLES for that). I know it would make her day and getting up that little bit easier. I've included an image of her over the years...there's some pretty sweet haircuts in there don't you think? Cheers Phil in Vancouver BC

Upcoming Waxahatchee shows: May 18, 2024: Fox Theater, Oakland, CA Aug 17, 2024: Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland, OR Aug 18, 2024: Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA Aug 28, 2024: Beacon Theatre, New York, NY. waxahatchee.bandcamp.com

Suki Waterhouse will perform at Day In Day Out Festival at Seattle Center on Saturday, July 13 - check out the entire lineup: www.dayindayoutfest.com www.subpop.com

Ian in Tampa doesn’t want to think about his parents getting busy 31 and 9 months ago - happy birthday! That's Clare Grogan with those distinctive vocals. Here's the official video: www.youtube.com

Ultra Vivid Scene was a New York based alternative rock band that was active in the late 1980's-early 90's. The band was formed by former Crash guitarist, Kurt Ralske. Their album Joy 1967-1990 released on this day in 1990.

Glasgow Eyes was released earlier this year in March and was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow. tinyurl.com

Vocalist Martina Topley-Bird was born on this day in 1975. Trip-hop pioneer Tricky got his start with fellow Bristol icons Massive Attack before branching out on his own as a solo artist. www.allmusic.com

Happy bday Ian in Tampa who writes please play something by your favorite Ian...so many choices: Fugazi, Mott the Hoople, Joy Division, The Cult, Echo and the Bunnypeople, Deep Purple, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Stone Roses, James Bond theme - Ian Fleming, Motorhead - Ian (Lemmy) Kilminster, Jethro Tull aka “The Tull”) == "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division was released in 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the month after his suicide.

Music from the UK! "Project Gemini is the alias of musician, producer and writer Paul Osborne. Drawing on a wealth of influences, Project Gemini is soon to release his second LP 'Colours & Light' on Mr Bongo, a majestic collection of folk-rock, psychedelic soundtracks and hazy cinematic funk." projectgemini.bandcamp.com

IDLES on tour! IDLES will be playing: Two shows at Portland's Roseland Theatre on Sat, May 4th & Sun, May 5th. Two shows at Seattle's Paramount Theatre on Tuesday, May 7 & Wednesday, May 8. San Francisco's The Warfield on Sat, May 11th. - www.idlesband.com

This was the first song that IDLES played in our studio when John hosted them in 2018: www.youtube.com

IDLES & Heavy Lungs performed live at Studio 9294 in Hackney Wick, London, during KEXP's International Clash Day broadcast. Watch their full performance here: www.kexp.org

KEXP gets a shoutout on this new track from Leeds-based band, English Teacher! They've got a new album, 'This Could Be Texas,': "Despite appearances, I haven't got the voice for R&B / Even though I've seen more Colour Shows than KEXPs" englishteacher.bandcamp.com www.englishteacherband.com

Brooklyn band Gutaf's new album was released last month. Purchase here: gustaf-nyc.bandcamp.com

Catch Softcult at Madame Lou's in Seattle on July 6. softcult.bandcamp.com Softcult is a Canadian grunge duo consisted of twin siblings that mix grunge with shoegaze

Collab by Blondshell's Sabrina Teitelbaum and Bully's Alicia Bognanno. -- Blondshell will be performing at Seattle's Day In & Day Out Festival Saturday, July 13th. tinyurl.com www.dayindayoutfest.com www.blondshellmusic.com

Brand new music from Cults! Cults is playing The Crocodile in Seattle August 12th and Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco August 15th. www.cultscultscults.com

New music from Philadelphia band Mannequin Pussy! mannequinpussy.com

Best week, ever. Listen to more music from this Brooklyn band here: sexweek.bandcamp.com

Off of the band's upcoming release 'West' due out May 10th (this Friday)! Thunderpussy will be performing live at Seattle's Benaroya Hall with The Seattle Symphony the day of the album release (May 10th)! thunderpussyusa.com Thunderpussy performed lived in the KEXP studio back in August 2018: www.youtube.com www.thunderpussyusa.com

I Need to be cheered up. Just left the dentist and I need a crown. 👑 also it's snowing in May here in the mountains. Would love The Cure, Bjork, or Radiohead if you can fit it in. Thanks. Tuesdays can suck it Jeanne in Colorado

"Kool Thing" by Sonic Youth feat. Chuck D samples LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali". This song was inspired by an interview bassist/singer Kim Gordon conducted with LL Cool J for Spin. Although he is never mentioned by name, the song's lyrics contain several references to LL Cool J. Chuck D also provides spoken word verses on the track. - bit.ly Public Enemy's Chuck D contributes some vocals in the song. The collaboration came about as Public Enemy and Sonic Youth were both recording albums in the same small studio. Singer and guitarist Thurston Moore said: "It was real exciting for us. We're big fans. They were aware of us – I think they were kind of curious about us. Their scene is aware ours exists, but it all melts together. So, you know, we might as well be Blondie!... Chuck was around, Kim (Gordon) asked him if he'd come in, do the song, say those lines –and he elaborated on it a bit, and grooved along." -- The song sampled vocals from LL Cool J's 1987 "Going Back to Cali."

cloudnothings.bandcamp.com Catch Cloud Nothings at Tractor Tavern in Seattle on May 29

‘Sweet’ is the third track to be released as a single from the band’s forthcoming debut LP ‘Scream from New York, NY’. - beenstellar.bandcamp.com

Buffalo Tom's second album, produced by J MASCIS. Singer-guitarist Bill Janovitz said that Mascis was an influence on the band's 'edgier side'. Here is Buffalo Tom Live on KEXP in 2018: www.youtube.com

Marking the first time in three years that cult favorite London-based label Dream Catalogue have accepted a direct demo submission from a new artist, this mysterious musician unveils her debut album and it’s a striking set of magnetic shoegaze jams and addictive noise-pop earworms that pairs gritty guitar-heavy backdrops with her ethereal vocals in impressive fashion. Featuring lyrics sung in both English and Japanese, ‘lost’ is a distinctive offering from a label that specializes in dreampunk, vaporwave, and moody electronic music, yet one that succeeds and makes sense based on the strength of the music.

Byland is the moniker and last name of Seattle-based, Albuquerque-raised, Cinematic Indie Rock artist, Alie Renee. Her dynamic sound is often characterized by arrangements full of intriguing time signatures and unexpected chord changes, tethered by timeless lyrics and vocal vulnerability. For her, music is about taking time to create space to process emotions. tinyurl.com | www.bylandmusic.com

theasteroidno4.bandcamp.com The Chapel San Francisco, CA Sep 14 Nov 7 Freakout Fest Seattle, WA