Kevin Cole

"Having shared both a flat in Brighton and an appreciation of shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Hollie Warren and Suki Sou, along with their friend Linda Jarvis, formed Houdini Kill Sale. The project, however, never made it past the early stages of development and the trio soon called it quits, while Jarvis headed in her own direction to form Echo Lake. Warren and Sou then moved to London where they joined up with Sophy Hollington and formed Novella in February 2010. It wasn’t until the autumn of 2011 that the band released their debut double A-side “The Things You Do”/”Oh Brian” on Dirty Bingo Records. Produced by Rory Atwell (Male Bonding, Veronica Falls), the accomplished, '60s psychedelic-tinged sound was a result of six months of hunkering down without any live appearances. The pay-off was that the band, with the help of friend Iain Laws on drums, soon began playing with the likes of Dum Dum Girls, Veronica Falls..." goo.gl

"... Narratives seem to find good company with the music that we make, rather than us always coming to the studio well-prepared. In fact, we have a horrible habit of not rehearsing. Once, we rented a rehearsal space, and it just ended up becoming a storage space. We eventually realized we were wasting our money, and that we could replace our expensive rehearsal space with a far-cheaper storage cabinet. Now, without a rehearsal space, we're essentially rehearsing and writing whilst we're in the studio." goo.gl Here's a 2013 in-studio session for your AV pleasure: blog.kexp.org

"Fans of The Joy Formidable are used to seeing guitarist and vocalist Ritzy Bryan thrashing about wild-eyed on stage, practically destroying her guitar, her amps and the audience’s ears. She and bassist/vocalist Rhydian Dafydd and percussionist Matthew James Thomas always seem to keep it together, though, even on the verge of chaos. That’s their gift, and why fans pack venues to see their explosive live shows. Funny, then, it should be during an acoustic set on the Morning Show when they let out all of their internal band anger — apparently Rhydian and Matthew bicker like a married couple, and they all seem to want to shove each other’s heads down tour bus toilets." Catch the band's 2013 visit to the station and their ensuing sparkling performance: blog.kexp.org

Ryan Lindsey on playing small and huge stages: "The first couple nights, when I’m talking, it’s definitely different being able to understand someone in a huge PA. There’s probably a speed and a tone thing when you talk to a crowd that big that you try to figure out, and I think I’m making more sense of that. I’ve gotten previously just enough to know what I want in a monitor mix on a big stage, and that’s a huge thing. In a small club, it’s just so loud that it doesn’t matter. You can turn up and it feels great. It gives you instant energy to be in a tiny club and really loud. On a big stage in a big theater, things can sound really quiet, and I think figuring out what each of us individually really want out of our monitors and really knowing how to get the most out of that has definitely helped me energy-wise. Because it’s like, if the monitors are loud, that shortens up the room a little bit and then you don’t have to think about how big the room is." goo.gl

"The first commercially successful punk group was British sensations The Sex Pistols. In their short careers they put out only one album, but they are the undisputed kings of punk rock legend. Many say that manager Malcolm MacLaren created the band, but Johnny Rotten has another opinion." Our documentary on Sex Pistols here: goo.gl

"The Heavenly States came together in 2002, united by a shared passion for complex and cathartic rock bursting with literate, provocative lyricism. A series of acclaimed albums and a seemingly endless capacity for touring – including a landmark 2005 trek to Egypt and Libya – confirmed their status as one of America's fearless music outfits, flying the flag for self-determination and intelligent, energetic rock 'n' roll. The band is anchored by songwriters Ted Nesseth and Genevieve Gagon. Austin musicians Gray Parsons, drummer and Benjamin Howard, bassist joined the lineup in 2012." www.theheavenlystates.com/about_bio.html

"The Strokes was my life. It was everything, and I put everything into it—it was a journey that I wanted to keep moving forward, but I couldn’t do that anymore, and it was very frustrating. So it took all this time to getting round to almost starting a new band to get to the point where I can continue to do what I set out to do from the beginning. It’s like if we had the best team ever and before the championship people started celebrating and not practicing. And we still have to play the playoffs... I feel nostalgic sometimes. Also I drank too much. I don’t have clear memories. I wish I could go back and do it all sober so I could really just savor everything. I remember stuff, but maybe the things I’d be the most nostalgic for I was a little numbed for how I’d like to remember it." maybeyoulivetwice.noisey.com

"Founded in 1998 by Martín Perna as "Conjunto Antibalas", the group first performed on May 26, 1998, at St. Nicks Pub in Harlem at a poetry night organized by renowned visual artist Xaviera Simmons. Over the course of the next few months, the group solidified with a core of eleven band members and expanded their repertoire of original songs. For the first year of the group's existence, they performed exclusively at non-commercial venues such as block parties, lofts, and public parks, before securing a Friday night residency at the now-defunct NoMoore in August 1999. Called Africalia!, the residency lasted from August 1999 till April 2001, when the club was shut down by fire officials during the Giuliani administration's crackdown on nightclubs and cabarets. Guitarist and producer/engineer Gabriel Roth wrote several of the earlier tunes and oversaw recording and production of the first three records." goo.gl

"Through the rest of the 60s, James Brown and his band hit the charts with funk songs 'Cold Sweat,' 'I Got You' and 'Mother Popcorn.' Funk wasn’t only strong on the dance floor, James Brown used is as a political platform with the 1968 single 'Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud).' Giving African-Americans a new kind of pride in their ethnic identity with 'Say It Loud' definitely cost James Brown some commercial success, but it changed the face of America forever." bit.ly

"Whether they’re referring to the heated passion of her lyrics, her smokey voice or occasionally scorching melodies, listeners can’t help notice the bright quality shining through the album’s inner darkness." Check out Angel Olsen's beautiful in-studio session, which includes a live version of this song: blog.kexp.org

The Only Ones were originally formed in August 1976 in South London by Peter Perrett. Perrett had been recording demos since 1972, and in late 1975 was introduced to guitarist John Perry as a temporary bass guitar player. Perry wanted to concentrate on playing guitar, so by August 1976 he and Perrett then found drummer Mike Kellie (ex-Spooky Tooth) and bassist Alan Mair, who previously had success with Scottish band, The Beatstalkers. Their first single, "Lovers of Today", self-released on the Vengeance record label, was immediately made "record of the week" by three of the four main music papers. A year later they signed to CBS. Their next single "Another Girl, Another Planet" was a very popular and influential song, and unquestionably the band's best-known song. It is often featured on various musical box-sets featuring a punk rock or new wave theme, and after its inclusion on the 1991 compilation album, The Sound of the Suburbs, it was re-released as a single." bit.ly

"Hop Along is Frances Quinlan, Mark Quinlan, Tyler Long, and Joe Reinhart who all went to rural suburban high schools (except for Joe, who went to a suburban suburban high school). Eventually they moved to Philly and started playing music together. Get Disowned is their first full-length release. It was made piece by piece, over the course of two years, at Headroom Studios in North Philadelphia." hopalong.bandcamp.com

On coming up with the riff for "White Hot Gold": "I was hanging out at Chris Pontius's house in LA, from the Jackass crew. I was playing one of his guitars. He has a ton of guitars, and sometimes he makes guitars. He'll take parts of different guitars and put them together and refinish them. I think I was sitting on his back porch overlooking a little creek. It just popped into my head, which is rare, because usually I need to be in motion if I'm going to write a riff. Like walking somewhere or driving somewhere. I was sitting there with his guitar. Sometimes a different guitar can inspire something—it was a semi-hollow body. I was playing high up on the neck, and it had a weird sound." bit.ly

"Enter Fatboy Slim A.K.A. Norman Cooke, a British DJ who started out playing at big parties (he also had a stint as bassist for the band the Housemartins). Being a live DJ gives you a direct line to the listener. You know when a song bombs because everyone immediately clears the dance floor. After years at dancefloor Norman started putting out albums. Most of them had one or two incredible songs, and usually those songs were a bit long for airplay. But in 2007 my man put out this incredible collection of radio edits of his best songs and one new song." Enjoy this Friday Night Spotlight: blog.kexp.org

"Just being in front of that many people feels strange, but especially when you’re trying to recreate these crappy bedroom recordings. I’m up there thinking: ‘I wonder if anyone knows that I made this music pottering around in my pyjamas. Not having a clue what we were doing, just giving it a go.'" bit.ly Catch them in performance here in our studios back in 2013: blog.kexp.org

"I always thought money was something just to make me happy. But I've learned that I feel better being able to help my folks, 'cause we never had nothing. So just to see them excited about my career is more of a blessing than me actually having it for myself. My folks ain't graduated from high school or nothing like that, so we always had to struggle in the family—and I come from a big family. But as far as me handling this, it's a weird feeling because it's like a blur right now. I think my worst problem is actually living in the moment and understanding everything that's going on. I feel like I'm in my own bubble. People tell me all the time, 'You're crazy, going there by yourself,' because it wouldn't have soaked in yet that I'm supposed to be quote 'Kendrick Lamar'—whoever this guy's supposed to be. I still feel like me. So it's really about me trying to adapt—that's like the toughest thing for me right now. I feel like I'm in my own world." bit.ly

"Funkadelic, arguably the greatest 'black rock' band ever...Actually, strike that, they are far and away the best black rock band ever. In fact, screw everything, they're one of the greatest rock bands period, up there with any classic rock dinosaur you care to name. And though it's tempting to launch an essay on the racism of rock radio-- or rock journalism for that matter-- I'll stick to the band. Even as they're revered as legends and purveyors of the some of the best funk of the 70s, I've read relatively few accounts on their greatness as a pure rock band. But they had it all: great players, great singers, a great look, a great concept, actual hits, great albums, great drugs, freaky sex, disputes over money-- everything Led Zeppelin (or Spinal Tap) taught us was necessary to make the world's greatest rock music." bit.ly

Celebrating the 36th Anniversary of this album's release. "The record company decided which songs were put on the album, as well as the cover artwork, without Robert Smith's consent. For all Cure albums since, Smith has ensured he is given complete creative control over the final product before it goes on sale... Despite Smith's displeasure with the record, Three Imaginary Boys was well-received critically at the time of its release." bit.ly Apparently, this was one song Smith did not want on the album, and did not appear in the US release.

Incidentally, based on Smith's unhappiness over which songs were included in the album, this track did not appear on the UK release.

Graham Coxon on Blur's 2003 breakup: "I was quite selfish. Young men are volatile, weird creatures, especially when they're tired of being told a bunch of stuff they don't really want to do. We were all going through the same thing, but they were probably just a little more professional than I was. ["With Magic Whip",] I wanted to make amends to the fans and the group after all that trouble I caused years ago." rol.st

"Doldrums craft musical montages, paint sonic pictures from a new palette, construct sounds using Airick’s own unique architectural blueprint. They apply a punk rock ethos to electronic music, creating songs using samplers and DJ gear in place of guitars. Bold, anxious, dream-like, uplifting, glacial, hypnotic, constricting, expansive, alien - this is an album that is ever-changing. 'Conflict is at the heart of this album,' explains Airick. 'There’s a lot of paranoid sentiment and Dystopian imagery in there. The threat of a mundane reality ties it together, as does an obsession with plasticity. Songs come from specific feelings or images. Anxiety is my default state.'" www.subpop.com/artists/doldrums

"In an interview with Mojo, Coyne revealed that during the recording of Yoshimi..., band member Steven Drozd was trying to kick a heroin addiction. When they took breaks from playing, Drozd would have a really tough time with his withdrawal. Listening to him cry, and with the death of his father in mind, Coyne wrote 'Do You Realize??' 'Whenever I analyze the scientific realities of what it means to be living here on Earth – in this galaxy – spinning around the sun – flying through space – a terror shock seizes me!!! I'm reminded once again of how precarious our whole existence is...'" bit.ly

"Mind Games is the fourth studio album by John Lennon. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973. The album was released in the US 29 October 1973 and the UK 16 November 1973. The album was Lennon's first self-produced recording without help from Phil Spector. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games was poorly received by some music critics upon release. It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US , where it was certified gold. The album was recorded while Lennon was having difficulties with US immigration and at the beginning of his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono. The title track was released as a single at the same time as the album. The album itself was later reissued several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s." bit.ly

"What started as a trio of songs roughly recorded during a trip to his home state of Michigan turned Ben Schneider’s songs into a full-scale folk rock band under the name Lord Huron. Schneider took those songs back to Los Angeles, where he continued recording and gigging under the Great Lakes-inspired moniker. Enlisting his friends Mark Barry, Miguel Briseño, and Tom Renaud (as well as the since-departed Brett Farkas), Schneider began a long touring cycle behind the early EPs and, eventually, their debut LP, 2012’s Lonesome Dreams." Read more about our Song of the Day, and download "Fool For Love"! blog.kexp.org

"The pop-minded singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw built up an impressive body of work over the course of his career, showing a fine craft for everything he approached while stubbornly following his own creative muse to reach that end. To call Crenshaw's career "interesting" would be putting things mildly. He starred in several movies and portrayed John Lennon in the road-show version of Beatlemania. His songs were featured on several film soundtracks and covered by such diverse artists as Robert Gordon, Bette Midler, and the Gin Blossoms. He assembled a bunch of like-minded show business acquaintances and issued a book about rock & roll movies entitled Hollywood Rock & Roll. He assembled compilations for record companiesand contributed chapters to books on vintage guitar collecting. In short, Crenshaw is a true rock & roll renaissance man, and his own music remains as commendable as his alternate projects." bit.ly

Doug Martsch on the band's longevity: "Well, it’s just what I do. It’s my life and kind of like a family or something. You don’t choose it so much — it’s kind of where you find yourself. I’m the kind of person that goes with the flow of my life, and that is where it’s gone. I’m not a person who has a lot of other interests. This is the best thing that I have going. I don’t think that I would be successful at anything else, and I’m still to this day stunned that I’ve ever had any success. I never intended to. I grew up with punk rock and stuff and thought it’d be fun to play in a band, and it’d be cool to maybe someday get to the point where we can make a record and somebody else would pay for the recording cost. I never imagined having a career doing this stuff, so I still feel lucky. I want to take advantage of it. It’s fun, too. It’s fun to play shows, it’s fun to be on tour, and it’s fun being the studio making records. It’s fun just jamming with your friends." bit.ly

"The debut album from this Seattle band spearheaded by Jake Jones is a promising set of lo-fi, punkish power-pop inflected with surf, beach-pop, doo wop and other styles, combining raw, rumbling guitars and energetic rhythms with wry lyrics and an abundance of bright pop hooks." Don Yates

"The band... came together organically: Lelah Maupin (drums) and Eric Randall (guitar) met in their native Longview, WA—two hours south of Seattle, the very town that Green Day named their breakout debut single after. Lelah's family room was wallpapered with framed Magic Eye posters, hence 'Stereogram,' the cross-eyed love letter to that bizarre ‘90s optical fad. She met lanky Eric while both worked at Safeway, wearing the chain's distinctive navy aprons before breaking north to Seattle. Eric's band The Trashies practiced and played in the basement of the 24/7 House in the Central District, where Long Beach, CA native Bree McKenna (bass) was living, amongst the dust, boxes, and spiders. Lelah met Butte, MT native Emily Nokes (voice, tambourine) in one excruciatingly early/boring graphic design class, slipping her a doodled-upon note; she soon noticed Emily's big voice while she sang along with R. Kelly on the radio." tacocatdotcom.com

Win Butler on inspiration behind The Suburbs: "I got a letter from an old friend and it had a picture of him and his daughter at the mall near where my brother and I grew up [in Houston, Texas]. It was unforeseeably moving and it brought back a lot of memories. This combination of someone that I hadn’t seen for a long time and his daughter who I’d never met and a totally generic but familiar place. It was this conflicted but very deep feeling... I try not to psychoanalyse myself too much. Montreal is the place I’ve lived longest besides Texas. I’ve been there for almost ten years now. Next year I will have lived in Montreal longer than I’ve lived anywhere. It feels like home. Even though Houston is currently the place I’ve lived longest in my life it’s the place I feel least connected to, so even though it’s not all literal and not all about me, I wanted to make a record about that feeling." bit.ly

With their raw, enthusiastic immaturity, the Adverts were a bright, though short-lived, light of the punk era, distinguished by the fact that their bassist, Gaye Advert, was one of the first female stars of punk rock. After they (barely) mastered one chord, the Adverts began playing at London's Roxy Club in 1976, where they quickly came to the attention of the Damned's guitarist Brian James. James offered the band an opening spot on the Damned's tour and directed them toward Stiff Records. Stiff released their self-deprecating debut single, "One Chord Wonders," in 1977, when the band could still barely play, but when they released their second single, the disturbingly funny "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," the group rocketed into the U.K. Top 20 in a storm of controversy..." www.allmusic.com/artist/the-adverts-mn0000753617/biography

"The members of Talking Heads wanted to make an album that dispelled notions of frontman and chief lyricist David Byrne leading a back-up band. They decided to experiment with African polyrhythms and, with Eno, recorded the instrumental tracks as a series of samples and loops, a novel idea at the time. Additional musicians were frequently used throughout the studio sessions. The lyric writing process slowed Remain in Light‍ '​s progress, but was concluded after Byrne drew inspiration from academic literature on Africa. The artwork for the album's cover was crafted with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computers and designing company M&Co. Following the album's completion, Talking Heads expanded to nine members for promotional concerts." bit.ly And here, read about a collaboration between Byrne and Eno, as well as download the song, "Strange Overtones": bit.ly

Check out a past visit from Alabama Shakes, where they give us a blisteringly great performance: http://blog.kexp.org/2012/02/13/live-video-alabama-shakes/ The Shakes are in the midst of an extensive tour; more info here: www.alabamashakes.com/tour/

"If Parquet Courts were tired, it was hard to tell. While on stage the Brooklyn band can go from indolent to agro in about a second, they arrived at the KEXP studio on the very last day of what must have seemed an interminable tour. Thankfully, the year and a half of globe spanning dulled neither their wit nor their edge as they performed five songs from their stellar new album, Sunbathing Animal, live on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole." Check it out here: blog.kexp.org

"Childbirth – comprised of Julia Shapiro, Bree McKenna and Stacy Peck – also have a knack for quick, punchy riffs and lovable vocal hooks. On 'Will You Be My Mom?' there’s a call and response that’s both fun and haunting. 'Can you do French braids – Mom? / Will you be my maid – Mom?' You get the sense that with these songs there is a catharsis going on too, with the band members purging the frustrating duties and obligations that many women deal with, while still maintaining a sense of humor to keep everything together." Keep reading, and download your very own copy of this hilarious track: bit.ly

"In August 1979, the band entered Wessex Studios to begin recording London Calling. The Clash asked Guy Stevens to produce the album, much to the dismay of CBS Records. Stevens had alcohol and drug problems and his production methods were unconventional. During a recording session he swung a ladder and upturned chairs – apparently to create a rock & roll atmosphere. The Clash got along well with Stevens, especially bassist Paul Simonon, who found his work to be very helpful and productive to his playing and their recording as a band. While recording, the band would play football to pass the time. This was a way for them to bond together as well as take their mind off of the music, and the games got very serious. Doing this helped bring the band together, unifying them, making the recording process easier and more productive. The album was recorded during a five- to six-week period involving 18-hour days, with many songs recorded in one or two takes." bit.ly

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