22.02.11 California Diner - 'Goin' Off The Deep End!'

Hate to tell you this, but I got fooled! I like to consider myself musically astute, and fairly tech savvy, but there are days when your old buddy Chef Mike just ain't right!

This may be one of them. One of the most exciting, amazing genre-crossing tracks to come my way in a long time blew my mind this week. And the incredibly powerful, usually on-target software I use to produce the California Diner got it wrong.

Left Step Band come from London, UK, and they recorded a bouncy, soulful, dramatic tune called The Deep End. My software, which is generally smarter than me, somehow went out to the internet, and brought back the WRONG BAND NAME! What the heck? So my software, which shall remain nameless, tells me that the band is called “Blank & Jones”. So the fact-checking department of The California Diner (everybody should have their own fact-checking department) kicked into overdrive, and found out that Blank & Jones are a German Trance duo. Very popular in that genre. They also did a song called The Deep End. Strangely enough, their song is dance music, no lyrics, sounds nothing like the gem at hand. So my software figures that hey, The Deep End must be that trance tune. Wrong-o! And even more wrong, since my software is so much smarter than I, I announced it wrong. So how smart does that make me?

So let's get back to Left Step Band. Their song, The Deep End, is an incredible amalgam of symphonic sounds, hip-hop, reggae, and anything else that bounces and uses horns. A Jamaican-sounding rapper, and a lovely female voice backing him up. I've not heard a fusion of styles like this in a long time, if ever. It's too fast to be reggae. Too bouncy to be hip-hop. This song is really unique. And they themselves describe their music as “beats so fat they clinically obese”!

myspace.com/leftstepband

Fortune Dwellers are a jazzy, alternative-sounding pop band from Seattle, led by none other than one of my favorite female vocalists, Katelyn Berreth. She recorded a stunning debut album a few years ago. Her presence and confidence absolutely belied her young age of 19. Well, she's back with a new band, and they released an album called Schizophonic. This one's good. It's got some really jazzy, adult-type tunes that could have been written by Burt Bacharach for Dionne Warwick. Some songs want to make me sit back with a scotch, a comfy chair, and a roaring fire on a cold night. Others make me want to take my wife out for a night on the town, dressed in our finest threads. Kate really wraps her lush, soulful voice around these memorable songs. There are so many interesting textures and rhythms, you'll be drawn in before long. It is literally impossible to not like this album, so just give yourself over now to the charm of the Fortune Dwellers!

reverbnation.com/fortunedwellers

If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com.

This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com.

See you then!

Chef Mike

mike(at)rechargedradio.com

MN2BDNC

The Smith Bros - Kerrie Anne

Fortune Dwellers - Keep It Simple

The Taters - Such A Good Day

K. C. Bowman - Mare Island

Tina Lie - Twilight Hour

Ben Parcell - Close Your Eyes

Nelson Bragg - Tell Me I'm Wrong

Duncan Faure - In The Right Place

The Dashing Suns - Sally Moore

Joe Symes - Lost Along The Way

Anton Barbeau - Fuzzchild

The Standards - Like a Heart Attack

Kate Burkart - Cross The Street

Chad Neaves - Something In My Soul

Laurie Biagini - Under the Tropical Moon

The Ks - 13 Steps

Splitsville - Pretty People

Skip Heller - I Used To Love California

Maxi Dunn - How Was I To Know?

Left Step Band - The Deep End

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Forestiere Gardens

Joseph Swidenbank - Harsh Words

Sexfresh - True

Vegas With Randolph - Above The Blue

The Clutter Family - Head

The Big I Am - Banging on the Wall

Sarah Taylor - Bad Medicine

Joey Oskys - In This Town

Tom Alford - Yes It's You

Terese Taylor - I'm Here

Sweet Sweet Concorde - Carrot Cake

Rich McCulley - Just a Few Miles To Go

Corner Laughers - The Red Queen 

15.02.11 California Diner - 'The Twirlie Awards!'

Ah, it's that time of year again. Mid-winter, and that annual music awards show is back. It comes from California, that mecca of music. Lovely ladies in shimmery evening gowns, and gentlemen wearing tuxedos, presenting awards. The buildup of tension. A worldwide audience waiting on pins and needles—the air so quiet and dramatic, you hear nothing but the tearing open of the envelope containing the awards. And finally, as the winners of the various categories are read—Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Female Vocalist, Best Male Vocalist—the crowd erupts into spontaneous applause. The band plays a victory theme. The worthy recipients stroll up the red carpet to make their gracious acceptance speeches and nab their awards.

Yep, it's exactly the awards show you're thinking of: the Twirlie Awards!

2010 was another banner year for the best indie music the world has to offer, and as part of my year end “best of” lists, I recognize some standout artists that I think you should get to know better. This is also a chance to promote all the top albums and songs of the year.

Each year on my long-standing Sacramento, California-based radio show Twirl Radio (www.twirlradio.com), the effervescent Amber Alexander and I do a live, without a net, awards show. It's a chance to hear what my live, Sacramento show sounds like. (Interestingly enough, not much different from my London, UK show!)

We'll hear examples of the music that won the awards. We interview the winners of the top awards. And we always have a special musical guest, somebody who's no stranger to the Twirlies. This year's guest is the San Francisco Bay Area's own ukulele troubadour, Tippy Canoe. She is an alumni, an emeritus “Best Debut Album” winner, from the 2009 Twirlie Awards. We'll hear the latest happenings in the world of Tippy, plus a track from that now-legendary debut album of hers, Parasols and Pekingese. She just exudes charm, wit, and general niceness, and you'll hear why she's such a favorite on the show!

www.tippycanoe.net

It's a lot of fun, but with a purpose. I want you to introduce you to some of the hard working musicians who made last year so memorable. So join me as we take one last look back at 2010, before we continue on with an even better 2011.

If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com.

This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com.

See you then!

Chef Mike

mike(at)rechargedradio.com

MN2BDNC

Boomchick – TGTW

The Scratch – Alcohol's A Depressant

Dave Stephens – Mr. Wonderful

Teina Anthony – A Natural Life

Beth Thornley – A To Z

June And The Exit Wounds – Cathy Dennis

Tippy Canoe Interview

Tippy Canoe And The Paddlemen – Champs Elysees

Sarah Taylor – Easy To Forget

Joey Oskys Interview

Joey Oskys – Try

The Clutter Family – Artist In The Office

Lindy LaFontaine Interview

Lindy LaFontaine – Free To Breathe

Eric Kern/John Ratts (Vegas With Randolph) Interview

Vegas With Randolph – The Better Part

Bill Mumy – Can't Complain

Maple Mars – Borrowed Sunshine

Corner Laughers Interview

The Corner Laughers - Stonewords

2011 Twirlie Award Winners

Here is the complete list of 2011 Twirlie Award Winners, presented live on Twirl Radio, Saturday, February 5, 2011, in Sacramento, California. Congratulations to all, and more importantly, a big thank you to all the great independent musicians who make it possible for me to do this radio show.

Album of the Year

The Corner Laughers, for their album Ultraviolet Garden

Album of the Year Runner up

Maple Mars, for their album Galaxyland

Song of the Year

Vegas With Randolph, for their song The Better Part

Female Vocalist of the Year

Lindy LaFontaine

Male Vocalist of the Year

Joey Oskys

Ear Candy

Beth Thornley, for her album Wash U Clean

Best Debut Album

Sarah Taylor, for her album The Cure To Everything

Best Songwriting

Bill Mumy, for his album Glorious In Defeat and Sarah Taylor's album The Cure To Everything

Best Guitar Solo

Teina Anthony, for the solo in his song A Natural Life

Best Line In A Song

Dave Stephens, for his song Mr. Wonderful. The line was "Mr. Wonderful, you're so big and tall, too bad quarterbacks only live so long..."

Best Humorous Album

The Clutter Family, for their album The Clutter Family

DJ's Playlist Most Pilfered From

Sparky from ShockPop Radio

The Wayback Award (aka the "Please Come Out Of Retirement Award")

June And The Exit Wounds, for their 1998 album A Little More Haven Hamilton, Please

---

Top Albums: (alphabetical order)

Baby Scream – Baby Scream

Mark Bacino – Queens English

Laurie Biagini – A Far-Out Place

The Corner Laughers – Ultraviolet Garden

Debora Iyall – Stay Strong

Maple Mars – Galaxyland

Bill Mumy – Glorious In Defeat

Nushu – Hula

Allyson Seconds – Bag Of Kittens

Dave Stephens – Time Will Tell

Sarah Taylor – The Cure To Everything

Beth Thornley – Wash U Clean

Top Songs: (alphabetical order)

Boomchick – TGTW

Kate Burkart – Cross The Street

Anny Celsi – Tangle-Free World

The Clutter Family – Artist In The Office

Dead Heart Bloom – Sentimental Cures

Todd Dillingham – Crimson Spires

Debora Iyall – Stay Strong

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop – Forestiere Gardens

Laurie Larson – All Year Long

Tina Lie – Twilight Hour

Rich McCulley – Tell Me, I’m Listening

The Scratch – Alcohol’s A Depressant

Joe Symes – Lost Along The Way

Vegas With Randolph – The Better Part

Beth Thornley – You’re So Pony

Top female vocalists you should listen for: (alphabetical order)

Laurie Biagini

Kate Burkart

Hillary Burton (Nushu)

Anny Celsi

Maxi Dunn

Lindy LaFontaine

Laurie Larson

Lisa Mychols (Nushu)

Allyson Seconds

Sarah Taylor

Beth Thornley

Emily Zuzik

08.02.11 California Diner - 'Putting the Power in Power Pop!'

What if there were a world without caffeine? No buzz from coffee, tea, energy drinks, 5 hour energy supplements, and the like? Well, there would probably be fewer wars, fights, and reality TV shows, because all those terrible things require alert people!

But really, most of us are normal people, and we occasionally need that little pick-me-up to help us through the slow parts of the day. If there were no caffeine, we could use that fantastic genre of music known as Power Pop to lift our spirits, and invigorate us! And on this week's California Diner, we're going to serve up a couple of examples of that energizing music.

The Smith Bros. are a band from Columbus, Ohio who traffic in just that sort of thing. They've got it all—the catchy hooks, the Hollies-like harmonies, and rising choruses reminiscent of the Raspberries. Mike Clark, Pat Dollenmayer, Kris Phillips and Eric Fritsch are currently working on their third album, and from what I've heard so far, it promises to be so uplifting, I might be able to toss my Starbucks card out the window. Mike was kind enough to sneak a track my way, and we'll hear it on this week's show.

www.myspace.com/thesmithbrosmusic

The Popdudes are, well, just that: some Pop dudes from Southern California who know their way around a power pop tune or two. The core of the group are legendary music scribe John Borack on drums and Sparkle*jets UK singer/songwriter Michael Simmons (no relation to Sparklejet, whom coincidentally, we'll also hear on tonight's show). John writes for Goldmine Magazine, and recently penned a biography about John Lennon as well. The Popdudes usually perform lots of covers to please their friendly crowds (of which I was part of last summer, on a trip to L.A.), but they've got some original tricks up their sleeve. And we'll hear one of these highly-charged treats this week on the Diner.

www.myspace.com/thepopdudesrawk

So there you go. If you're feeling a bit run down, these two bands will zap you right up! We'll play tons of other fine music, careening from from folk to jazz to rock to trip-hop, to make sure you stay alert and engaged.

If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com.

This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com.

See you then!

Chef Mike

mike(at)rechargedradio.com

MN2BDNC

Agony Aunts - Linus's Fists Of Death 

The Smith Bros - Kerrie Anne 

Jimmy Catlett - Falling Up 

Three Hour Tour - Pig in Disguse 

Ben Parcell - Close Your Eyes 

Baby Scream - The Ghost Of Valerie 

Anny Celsi - Thanksgiving In Hollywood 

Tom Alford - Look To The Stars 

Little Guilt Shrine - What I'm Thinking 

Maxi Dunn - Always Be My Friend 

Adrian Bourgeois - Mr. Imaginary Friend 

Sue Leonard - Nickel 

The Mike Brown Band - Pay 

Laurie Biagini - You're A Dangerous Thing 

IC7 - Given 

Jeff Merchant - Love Yourself Away 

Bill Mumy - A Hundred Good Reasons 

Joseph Swidenbank - Harsh Words 

Todd Dillingham - Crimson Spires 

Cult of Wedge - Uprising 

Dave Stephens - Mr. Wonderful 

Nushu - Here's To Feeling Free 

Sparklejet - Let's Behind That Place 

Lindy LaFontaine - Sunday 

Winzenried - Ohio 

Century Man - Get Out Alone 

Rich McCulley - First Word 

The Big I Am - Right About Now 

Sarah Taylor - The Cure To Everything 

Popdudes - Neglected 

Maple Mars - Add The Numbers 

Go National - Mess Girl, Best Girl 

01.02.11 California Diner - 'February Already!'

Seriously! February already? Wasn't it just New Year's? Oh heck, wasn't it just 2000? Time goes by too fast.

So here we are. Midwinter. The doldrums. The blahs. The blues. Buried under 3 feet of snow, and subzero temperatures.

Okay, full disclosure. Not me. Somebody is, but not me. I'm here in Sacramento, California. The only thing I'm buried under is some morning fog, but that usually turns into brilliant, cool, sunny afternoons. We've got lots of lemon and orange trees fairly well bursting with their brightly-colored fruit.

Are you still with me, or are you looking for something to smack me with? Okay, since I don't get too much crummy weather around here, I guess it's my responsibility to cheer you up. And I've brought along more than 30 songs to do just that!

Here's what cheers me up at the moment:

If you've known me for any length of time, you'll realize that my favorite era of music is late 1980's-early 1990's alternative music, and Sound Sessions from Leeds, UK nail that sound perfectly. We'll check out one of their new tracks this week.

www.myspace.com/sound.sessions

Jeff Heiskell, former Judybats frontman (speaking of great early 1990's alternative, there you go) has a thriving solo career. He's based in Knoxville, Tennessee. I interviewed him on Twirl Radio a few years ago, and to this day, that 30 minute chat is still one of the most fun interviews I've done. Some of his songwriting hits complex, intense subject matter, but his over the top sense of humor balances it all out.

www.heiskellmusic.com/

Sacramento-area chanteuse Ricky Berger is a delightful singer-songwriter who plays something like a dozen or so different instruments, and is not afraid to use them in her live gigs. Her songs are both cute and meaningful, and will undoubtedly charm you and inspire you to snap your fingers and tap your toes.

www.myspace.com/rickyberger

Sending you peace, love, and sunshine from California! Oh yeah, good vibes and lots of music too!

If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com.

This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com.

See you then!

Chef Mike

mike(at)rechargedradio.com

MN2BDNC

Maxi Dunn – How Was I To Know?

Allen - Black Widow

Sound Sessions - Be My Shaper

Sexfresh - Dilemma

Maple Mars - Big Imagination

Auditorium - I'm the Enforcer

Soundserif - Brian Adams

Boomchick - TGTW

Sweet Sweet Concorde - Armadillo Man

Allyson Seconds - Dig My Pig

Heiskell - The Death of Knoxville Cool

Baby Scream - Lazy

Nathan Brooks - Change

Nushu - So Long (Maybe)

Bill Mumy - Heartfull

Karim Fanous - Perfume

The Shindig Addicts - Not Long Now

Miami Dan and the Hayes Street Band - Star Of The Beach

Kat Jones - The Night Is A Veil

The Taters - Such A Good Day

Fake Teak - Church of Steve Honest session - Post Office Tower

Cy Taggart - Cut It Out

Debora Iyall - Stay Strong

Mad Tea Party - Blues Slip In

Laurie Biagini - Crazy People on the internet

Laurie Larson - Corporate Chew Toy

Michael Miller - I Made You Up

Rich McCulley - Tell Me, I'm Listening

The Big I Am - Hole

Joseph Swidenbank - What Did You Want?

Ricky Berger - Silly Boy, Goodnight