Mother’s Day is always tough for us, this is the 17th Mother’s Day since my mother passed, 3rd since my wife’s mother passed. But as tough as it is it’s also nice to reminisce about the times shared and pay tribute to mothers on these shows. So, virtually every set has at least one Mother’s Day song, starting off with a personal one from me, a bit of a tradition playing “Rasberry Beret” just because I heard it on repeat, back in the days before there was a repeat button, so often in the 1980s. Other Mother’s Day inspired tracks throughout the show from Pedro Infante, Lady, Sly & the Family Stone, Boogaloo Assassins and Max Roach with the JC White Singers. Lots of new tunes as well, from the King Midas Sound, Coultrain, Sharon Jones, Skip & Die and Quadron.

Melting Pot on KPFK #126: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #126: Second Hour

Los Angeles based trio King were our guests for an incredible interview/performance at KPFK. In the spring of 2011 the group self-released three tracks as well as a music video for their song “The Story” and caused a legitimate sensation, gaining major league cheerleaders in Phonte Coleman of Little Brother/Foreign Exchange, Questlove of the Roots, Erykah Badu and even Prince. Since then, they’ve been honing their craft, collaborating with Robert Glasper on the Grammy award winning Black Radio and working on their proper debut release, which we might just see here in 2013. In our interview we talked about the origins of the group, which features twins Paris and Amber Strother as well as their friend Anita Bias. We also discussed how they conceive of their own special brand of “Soul” music, how they’ve dealt with the acclaim this early in their career and a little bit about lies ahead for King.

The group played all four of the songs that they’ve released, “Supernatural,” “Hey,” “In The Meantime” and “The Story” for us during the session. Anita sings lead on “Hey” while Amber sings lead vocals on the rest of the tracks. All of the music was provided by Paris on her Nord keyboard (you might think there had to be a bass player present, but no, it’s just Paris’ skillful left hand).With the sound stripped down a bit, it highlights not only Paris’ talents as a player,but even more the special vocal harmonies that mark the trio’s signature style. Though they’ve only released a handful of songs, King is a group where the age-old adage, “the sky is the limit” truly fits. As amazing as they’ve sounded so far, there is so much more to come from this talented bunch. I’m just thankful that we were able to bring them in so we could all bear witness to their deservedly rising star. Big thanks to Mark Maxwell for his work on the sound, to Lori Lousararian and Sofia Gold for help setting things up and especially massive thanks to Paris, Amber & Anita for spending time with us at KPFK.

King on KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 04-26-2013

If you haven’t seen it before, here’s the video for “The Story,” the song that started it all for King:

We begin the show with a song from the great Mariachi singer Miguel Aceves Mejia in honor of Cinco De Mayo, a holiday I’m especially thankful for (check the history if you don’t know) and this week in particular I was especially thankful just to even be on the air. On Saturday I was involved in a accident while riding my bike in Pasadena. The car I slammed into had the worst of it, but considering how bad it could have been I was just thankful to even be more or less in good health. Unexpected moments like that can really make you think about your blessings. It’s a great privilege to host this show on KPFK and be able to bring music to the people on a weekly basis. That is especially so with shows like this past week where we were able to broadcast our interview with LA’s King (separate post to follow). King are a really special group and it was a real pleasure to have them perform for our listeners. During the first hour of the show, there’s a fair amount of new tunes, including tracks from Shannon & the Clams, King Midas Sound, Girls Names, Jungle Fire, Nametag & Nameless, Czarface and more. After 4 straight weeks with guests & interviews, next week should be just a regular show, but since it’s Mother’s Day, we’ll likely have something special going on, please tune in then.

Melting Pot on KPFK #125: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #125: Second Hour

Playlist: 05-05-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the Mgs – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)

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Miguel Aceves Mejia – Fiesta En El Corazon – El Gallo Colorado (Arcano)
Shannon & the Clams – Into A Dream – Dreams In The Rat House (Hardly Art)
Ilaiyaraaja feat. SP Balasubramaniyam – Sirikkum Mattum – Ilectro (Finders Keepers)
Jungle Fire – Firewalker – 7” (Colemine)
Czarface feat. Ghostface Killah – Savagely Attack – Czarface (Brick)
Ikebe Shakedown – Road Song – 7” (Ubiquity)

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Miguel Atwood Ferguson Ensemble feat. Coco O Of Quadron – A Song For You – Art Don’t Sleep Presents: That 70’s Soul (Self-released)
Amatorski – Never Told – TBC (Crammed Discs)
K-OS – Nobody Else – Black On Blonde (Nettwerk)
King Midas Sound – Aroo – Single (Ninja Tune)
Kode-9 – Xingfu Lu – 12” (Hyperdub)

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Nametage & Nameless feat. Black Milk – Oxymoron – For Namesake (Brick)
Toddla T Sound – Worst Enemy (Edit) – Single (Ninja Tune)
Girls Names – Hypnotic Regression – The New Life (Slumberland)
Prince & the Revolution feat. Apollonia – Take Me With U – Purple Rain: Original Soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
Shuggie Otis – Don’t You Run Away – Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (Legacy)
Orgone – Quit The Bit – Fuzzed Up (Self Released)

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King – Interview & Performance – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Robert Glasper Experiment feat. King – Move Love – Black Radio (Blue Note)
Alice Russell – Twin Peaks – To Dust (Tru Thoughts)
Lady – Money – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
Willie West & the High Society Bros. – She’s So Wise – 7” (Timmion)

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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)

It was truly an honor to interview Shuggie Otis this past Saturday at KPFK. In the early 1970s, Otis recorded three very different, but all equally fantastic, solo records before seemingly disappearing until a reissue of Inspiration Information by David Byrne’s Luaka Bop records brought him back into the public eye. Though I had known about Shuggie’s music prior to hearing that reissue, like a whole lot of people hearing that set was a revelation. Inspiration Information is the rare legendary record that actually deserves every single piece of acclaim it has gotten and then some. Recently Sony Legacy has reissued “Inspiration” along with close to 20 previously unreleased tracks that Shuggie recorded from the 1970s up until 2000. Shuggie has stepped back out into the public eye again and this time around it seems he’s here to stay. In our interview we talk a little about the influence of growing up as the son of Johnny Otis, some of his favorite guitar players, the stories behind some of his classic songs, including “Strawberry Letter 23,” “Inspiration Information” and “Island Letter.” We also discuss how Shuggie’s apparent absence from music was never really an absence (something KPFK and KPFA listeners already knew) and how he’s excited for the next chapter of his career to begin. Big thanks to Andrew Cahn & Eric Molk for helping to set up the interview and of course to Shuggie Otis himself for blessing us with all of this beautiful music. Enjoy!

Shuggie Otis Interview On KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 04-27-2013

Here’s an short documentary on the Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love project that features Shuggie talking about multiple tracks from the album, getting into even more depth than we were able to in our interview. Hopefully this is just the first step towards the full-length documentary that Shuggie so richly deserves:

Quite a show this past Sunday. During our first hour we paid tribute to a couple of fallen giants, George Jones and Richie Havens. Though they were very different people and in very different genres, there are some interesting similarities between the two men. Both had instantly recognizable and very distinctive vocals and both helped to popularize and champion more traditional styles bringing a wider audience to their cherished traditions. The second hour of our program belongs to Shuggie Otis (separate post above). Just the day before I sat in with Shuggie Otis just ahead of his show at the El Rey in Los Angeles. We spent time talking about his career and many of his classic recordings, especially “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information.” Hope you enjoyed this show as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Next week we’re back with new music plus an interview and performance from King!

Melting Pot on KPFK #124: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #124: Second Hour

Playlist: 4-28-2013
{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)

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George Jones – Things Have Gone To Pieces – The Great Lost Hits (Time Life)
George Jones & Melba Montgomery – We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds – What’s In Our Hearts (United Artists)
George Jones – A Good Year For The Roses – George Jones With Love (Musicor)
George Jones – Your Angel Steps Out Of Heaven – If My Heart Had Windows (Musicor)
George Jones & Tammy Wynette – Never Grow Cold – George Jones With Love (Musicor)
Kenny Baker – Lonesome Moonlight Waltz – Plays Bill Monroe (County)

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Richie Havens – Handsome Johnny/Freedom – Woodstock: Music From The Original Soundtrack and More (Atlantic)
Richie Havens – I’m On My Way – Richie Havens’ Record (Douglas)
Richie Havens – No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – There’s A Hole In The Future – Stonehenge (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – The Parable Of Ramon – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)

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Richie Havens – Indian Rope Man – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – Younger Men Grow Older – Alarm Clock (Stormy Forest)
Richie Havens – For Heavens Sake – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – Soundtrack For A Revolution (Entertainment One)
Kenny Baker – Brown County Breakdown – Plays Bill Monroe (County)

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Shuggie Otis – Interview – Recorded at KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Shuggie Otis – Wings Of Love – Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (Legacy)

Such a pleasure to sit in with Nicole Wray and Terri Walker, who together form Lady. Though the two women have had solo careers for a fair amount of time, the music they make together is undeniably fantastic.

Their new self-titled album on Truth & Soul records is a perfect mix of soul, old and new, and is one of my favorites of 2013, as well as a fave of Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com who sits in with me for a tag-team style interview of the group.

Nicole & Terri, along with Vincent John on Guitar, perform three songs, “Hold On,” “Money” and “Get Ready” while also talking to us about how they formed this dynamic duo, the recording and writing process for the album, some insight into a couple of our favorite tracks from the album and their plans for the future. Looking forward to even better things from these talented ladies in the future, but for now, enjoy this session! Big thanks to Julie Underwood for setting things up, Stan Misraje for doing the sound, Clifton James Weaver III for lending us his guitar amp and to Oliver Wang for being my tag-team partner on the interview.

Lady on KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 04-17-2013

Special show this past Sunday. We start off paying tribute to Charles Mingus, whose 91st birthday would have been today, by playing one of his masterpieces, 1963’s Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, in it’s entirety. The second hour begins with an interview and performance from Lady featuring Nicole Wray and Terri Walker (separate post to follow). Played a little bit of music in between those, with new tracks from Jaimeo Brown, Orgone, Toddla T Sound, King and a classic from Shuggie Otis. If all goes well this week, we’ll have an interview from Shuggie Otis on this coming Sunday’s show!!!

Melting Pot on KPFK #123: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #123: Second Hour

Playlist: 04-21-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)

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Charles Mingus – The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady – The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady (Impulse!)
Charles Mingus – II B.S. – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse!)

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Jaimeo Brown – This World Ain’t My Home – Transcendence (Motema)
Toddla T Sound – Worst Enemy – Single (Ninja Tune)
Ilaiyaraaja feat. Malaysia Vasudeva – Aththi Marakkili – Ilectro (Finders Keepers)
Orgone – Serge Went There – Fuzzed Up (Self-Released)

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Lady – Interview and Performance – Recorded Live at KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Lady – Tell The Truth – Lady (Truth & Soul)
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge feat. William Hart – Enemies – 12 Reasons to Die (Soul Temple)
Kenny Dope – Guest DJ Set – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Shuggie Otis – Island Letter – Inspiration Information / Wings Of Love (Legacy)
King – In The Meantime – Single (Self-released)
Quadron – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Bitar (Kemado)