Threads and Tangents Music Hour

This week's musical thread is John Fahey and American Primitive Guitar. It’s pretty rare to be able to pinpoint a genre’s founder and its beginning. In the case of American Primitive Guitar, it’s John Fahey and his 1959 Blind Joe Death album. The style draws inspiration from blues artists of the 20's, dissonant 20th century classical music, and the Indian raga tradition. If John was still alive, the 28th would have been his 85th birthday.  This week's show will be an introduction to American Primitive Guitar. We'll hear music from: John Fahey; John's early influences: Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys, Etta Baker, and Bukka White; John's Takoma Records peers: Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, and Rick Ruskin; and, American Primitive Guitar's next waves: Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, Marisa Anderson, Daniel Bachman, Yasmin Williams, and Gwenifer Raymond.
Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is showcase bands from this year’s Your Roots Are Showing Folk Conference. Held in Dundalk Ireland, the conference celebrates the rich tapestry of folk music and traditions from around the world. Now in their second year, Your Roots Are Showing brings together artists, musicians, scholars, and fans to explore and share the diverse cultural expressions that make up folk music.   We'll hear music from: Shaun Ferguson, Gráinne Hunt, The Jeremiahs, Medusa, Conor Mallon, Niall McCabe, Irish Mythen, Rum Ragged, Steafan & Saskia, Tamar Ilana & Ventanas, Steve Wallis, and Wör. For more information about the conference and the performers, check out https://www.showingroots.com/  Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is Mardi Gras. On last year’s Mardi Gras show, I stuck mostly with the classics. This year I’m mixing it up a bit, with different versions of some of those classics, plus music from southern Louisiana.  It’s a nice mix.   We'll hear music from: the Balfa Brothers, Marcia Ball, Buckwheat Zydeco, Big Al Carson, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Sugar Boy Crawford and The Cane Cutters, Dr. John, Galactic, Leyla McCalla, Professor Longhair, Rebirth Brass Band, and the subdudes. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is Arhoolie Records. The founder of Arhoolie, Chris Strachwitz, captured the best “down home music” the world had to offer.  He was at the forefront of nearly all the roots revivals over the last 60 years including blues, zydeco, Cajun, and Tejano music.  His work documenting traditional music helped introduce the nation to our diverse musical heritage.  We'll hear music from: Beausoleil, Clifton Chenier, Grupo Mono Blanco, Aziz Herawi, Flaco Jimenez, Klezmorim, Mance Lipscomb, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Mississippi Fred McDowell, ReBirth Brass Band, Savoy Family Band, Big Mama Thornton, and Katie Webster. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

After last week’s show featuring the Wrecking Crew, and all of the pop music that went along with that, I needed a change of pace this week.  Back when the Wrecking Crew’s pop songs were all over the AM dial, especially right around 1970, late-night FM stations were playing something completely different.  The antecedent for this music may have been blues, jazz, or even Eastern music but these musicians shaped it into a psychedelic sound.  Everything that I’ll play tonight was released between 1969 and 1971, and are all personal favorites.
We'll hear music from: Amon Düül II, Alice Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dr. John, Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Pink Floyd.

This week's musical thread is the Wrecking Crew, a collective of Los Angeles session musicians who played on thousands of studio recordings in the 60s and 70s, including several hundred Top 40 hits.We'll hear music from: the 5th Dimension, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Sam Cooke, The Crystals (really The Blossoms), Johnny Mandel & The Mash, The Mamas & The Papas, Scott McKenzie, Harry Nilsson, The Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, Nancy Sinatra, Mason Williams, and Frank Zappa(!). Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is Eyes and we'll hear music from: Captain Beefheart, Kim Carnes, Eva Cassidy, Jimmy Cliff, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Doors, Peter Gabriel, Jerry Garcia Band, Steve Goodman & Jethro Burns, Grateful Dead, The Hillbenders, Maxwell Street Jimmy, Peter Rowan, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's show will be a little different because I’m tying up some Loose Threads. Each week, I come across way more songs than I can fit in a one-hour program. This is my chance to go back to a few of the episodes and play some songs that I wished I’d been able to play the first time around, and also to include some songs listeners thought I missed. We'll hear music about: FLYING from Indigo Girls, Husker Du, and Jason Isbell & the 400 UnitHORSES from Flying Burrito Brothers, Serene Green, and Tony RiceMUSICIANS THAT DIED in 2023 - Geordie Walker (Killing Joke), John Kezdy (The Effigies), Mars Williams (The Waitresses), Ahmad Jamal, Barrett Strong, George Winston, Peggy Scott-Adams, Billy "The Kid" Emerson.   Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org 

This week we’ll hear music from some of the musicians that passed away in 2023. Regular Threads and Tangents listeners know not to expect to hear music from the biggest names, but you also know that you’ll hear music from some of the best, and most creative, musicians that passed away this year.   We'll hear music from: Peter Brötzmann, Astrud Gilberto, John Gosling (The Kinks), Steve James, David LaFlamme (It's A Beautiful Day), David Lindley, Shane MacGowan (The Pogues), Rodriguez, Wayne Shorter (Miles Davis Quintet), Alice Stuart, Tail Dragger, Tom Verlaine (Television).  Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is winter, with an emphasis on snow, something we just don’t get enough of out here in the NW Corner.    We'll hear music from: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Jade Warrior, Chris Jones & the Drivers, Robert Earl Keen, The Kinks, Ruth Moody, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, The Slocan Ramblers, Bow Thayer, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway.   Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org