Moth Hunter & Knuckle Children! Live!

I've been packing in the guests lately, and this week is no exception. As promised, I bring you a rare appearance by a local Circuit Bender, and a reunion gig by an experimental duo that hasn't played together in years. All in the same, nearly two-hour performance, no less. It's just part of the magic we like to provide every week, in easy-to-swallow audio format. Ob-soive:

Episode 086: Moth Hunter & Knuckle Children, LIVE! (Hour 1)
Episode 086: Moth Hunter & Knuckle Children, LIVE! (Hour 2)
(Featuring a live performances by local audio experimentalists, Moth Hunter & Knuckle Children.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

Flickr Photoset.

It's cool when you can get different sounds out of radio that you don't normally get to hear. One of the things that makes me jealous about the kinds of shows that What's This Called? and Is This Music? have become is that this kind of thing is a little more par for the course. I'm glad to be able to feature something a lot more left of center when I can, this these guys both did the job justice.

At this moment I don't have any plans for next week, but on Monday I'll be running sound for a band on Anti-Apathy, and then again on Friday for Crank Sturgeon's Live Friday Appearance. Man, the radio really ramped up this week.

See ya in seven.

Wizard Rifle!

Man, this show was fan-fucking-tastic. Join me and Hogwash from Is This Music? as we host a live performance by an amazing local metal duo who love to magically blow us away. Ob-soive:

Episode 085: Wizard Rifle, LIVE! w/ Hogwash (Hour 1)
Episode 085: Wizard Rifle, LIVE! w/ Hogwash (Hour 2)
(Featuring a live performance by an amazing local band, Wizard Rifle!)

Playlist & Footnotes

Flickr Photoset

I love shows like this, and these guys were really fun to host on the air. I'm hoping to get them on the air again soon, as they are one of my fave local metal bands.

Next week: Moth Hunter and Knuckle Children, live in the studio! Hell yeah!

See ya in seven.

Media Team Update

News Just In:

We finally got the photos processed from the great on-air appearance on What's This Called? by Paco Jones from 11 September 2010. Paco was a lot of fun to work with, and these pictures give you a little insight into how he makes the strange and weird sounds that come out of his guitar.

Entire Photoset

Don't forget: Wizard Rifle tomorrow! I'm pretty stoked.

It's Marti Grissom

On a very special episode of Blasphuphmus Radio, we add another entry into the A Family Affair series, with an appearance by none other than my own mother, Marti Grissom! Ob-soive:

Episode 084: A Family Affair, Part V (w/ Marti Grissom) Hour 1
Episode 084: A Family Affair, Part V (w/ Marti Grissom) Hour 2
(Featuring a DJ set by my own mother, Marti Grissom)

Playlist & Footnotes.

My mom used to work at a radio station, and was a bit of a musician in the late '60's, too. (The photo is cropped from one of the band's promo photos, a group called Borrowed Time.) While our tastes in music aren't exactly the same, this is a really good set, and I was impressed with how easy it was for her to jump back in the saddle again.

Wizard Rifle on Saturday. More to come in the approaching weeks. Who, there's a lot going on these days.

See ya soon.

The Schedule Is Getting Packed

I just got one more confirmation for an on-air guest: my buddy Steve will be in town on October 9th, and will be joining me for a good old-fashioned radio throw-down. He's been on the air before as DJ Sackbut, but I think we're doing something else this time. He may be appearing more often as DJ JustanotherDJ, but we'll take things one step at a time, and go from there.

Whew. What a busy month.

TJ The DJ & Kris on Blasphuphmus Radio

I pulled double duty again this week, running sound for What's This Called?, and hosting some DJ guests for my own show, in a radio-tastic extravaganza. Ob-soive:

Episode 083: Mystery DJ, Will You Please Stand Up? w/ guest DJs, TJ The DJ and Kris Hour 1
Episode 083: Mystery DJ, Will You Please Stand Up? w/ guest DJs, TJ The DJ and Kris Hour 2
(Featuring a two-hour DJ Set by my friends, TJ The DJ and Kris.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

This show was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed both the on and off-air companionship yesterday. We are talking about doing a follow-up show, that may involve our favorite comedy routines. Stay tuned.

Then, on What's This Called?:

What's This Called? w/ Paco Jones, LIVE!
(Featuring a live performance by experimental guitarist, Paco Jones!)

Playlist & Footnotes.

I ran sound for Paco's experimental guitar performance. Paco's nearest analogue would be Bruce Anderson or Roger Miller, who had used electronics, virtuosity, and mobius strip type lyrics to create a great noisy performance. Paco was a pleasure to work with, and probably one of the friendliest (and most punctual) musicians I've had to privileged of recording.

That's it for this week. My mom comes in on Tuesday, then Wizard Rifle next week. Should be great.

See ya soon.

Two More Confirmations

Today I just got word of two more confirmations for some live, on-air appearances:

14 September 2010: On a very special episode of Blasphuphmus Radio, join me for "A Family Affair," with an appearance by my Mom, Marti Grissom! My mom has made an appearance on the KWVA incarnation of my show near the end of its run, and she herself worked in radio when I was growing up (she left that job just after I graduated from High School). It'll be great to give her a two hour format to cut loose on. This'll be one you shouldn't miss. Tune in live from Noon - 2 PM; it'll be available for a download shortly thereafter.

18 September 2010: Then, at our regularly scheduled time, tune in for a live, in-studio performance by Portland's very own, Wizard Rifle. These guys blew me away when I saw them at Duckett's a while back, but between our various busy schedules, we weren't able to get things sorted out until now. A fantastic two-piece that mixes noise-rock and fantasy metal into a perfect blend for rock satisfaction. It'll be fantastic to see them play in our studio. I'll post pictures, promise.

That's it for now. September will be a busy, busy month, no doubt.

Media Team Presents

As mentioned previously, I ran sound for Neutral Uke Hotel on 30 August 2010. (Which you can still hear at this link.) My Media Team was instantly dispatched, and used my Borg Implant to take some photos.

Anyway, you can see all the pictures here:

Neutral Uke Hotel on Cat's Cradle 30 August 2010.

These aren't fantastic, as the quality on those Borg Implants aren't great. (And doesn't have a flash.) Still, it was a really fun show, and I'm glad I snapped some pics.

Anyway, keep up the good work, and I'll talk to you next time.

Upcoming Radio Events

While I've been a little behind in my radio work recently, I'm more or less back on track, and have four announcements for upcoming live radio, all for your listening pleasure. Can you believe it? Check it out:

On 11 September 2010 on What's This Called?, tune in for a special live performance by Paco Jones. I will be running live sound for this one, and Ricardo Wang will (of course) be hosting and interviewing. Paco is a Seattle based experimental artist, and will be making a KPSU live debut on the 9th anniversary of a very dark day in US history. It should be a pretty awesome show, and I'm stoked to see how this one goes down.

Then, during my show (1 PM - 3 PM the same day), join me and special guests Kristopher White and Tara J. Merritt as they come in to show of their DJing skills for a two-hour 9/11 set. I've been ogling Kris's record collection for a while now, and this is will a great chance to hear some of it by making them come down to KPSU and forcing them to play it for me. Tara promises to back-announce and pick out the occasional tune, so this should be a pretty sweet show all around.

And, on 25 Spetember 2010, tune in for a live double-header with Moth Hunter and Knuckle Children on Blasphuphmus Radio, from 1 PM - 3 PM. Both acts are related, and play electronic, circuit bend, and other home-brewed equipment to bring you sounds you've never heard before. This will be a pretty awesome show no matter how you slice it, and I'm really looking forward to running sound for these guys. This is not a show to miss.

And, lastly, tune in on 1 October 2010 for a special Live Friday appearance by Crank Sturgeon. Crank is no stranger to KPSU, and it will be good to get him into the studio again for his particular brand of wild, wonderful weirdness. This episode of Live Friday will be hosted by none other than, you guessed it, Ricardo Wang, as we usually work together, and manage to produce some pretty excellent stuff when we do.

Having run Live Friday for quite some time, this will be strange to be working on the show again, even as a one-off kind of thing. I have quite fond memories of working on the show, and I feel like I brought in a lot of stuff that doesn't normally get a lot of radio air-play, let alone on KPSU. It is one of KPSU's longest running shows, and has featured a surprising number of artists, well known and obscure, over the years. I am always happy to lend a hand where needed, and it always feels right to be contributing to this show. Thanks again to the current host and show runner, Aaron Bikis, for giving us that particular show to do with as we please. Hopefully, you won't regret it.

That's all I've got at this point. Thanks for listening, and I'll talk to ya'll soon.

As Usual, Motörhead Was Right

While it has been a few weeks since my show was expanded to a two-hour format, I haven't really been able to utilize that extra time to its fullest extent. With additional summer craziness, a severe drain on my free time, and other things tripping me up, this one was, in many ways, an accident. Fortunately for me, it was a beautiful one. Ob-soive:

Episode 082: Love Can't Buy You Money, Hour 1
Episode 082: Love Can't Buy You Money, Hour 2
(Featuring a variety of audio media centering around a bullshit capitalist symbol.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

This was one of the first shows that I fully utilized the new equipment at KPSU, and threw in a lot of other media on the fly. (I actually played fewer of the songs I'd picked out because I changed up so much stuff as I was going.) It was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to trying out again.

AND, I also managed to fit in a retrocast from earlier this year in the hour before.

Rock Out With Your Goth Out (24 April, 2010)
(Featuring some of my favorite goth tunes.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

This one was a pledge drive show, and was also a training show (featuring Anonymous 2). While it's a little out of date because of that factor, it is still a great show, musically.

Whew. Finally caught up on radio. Hopefully I won't fall behind again.

See ya in seven.

Neutral Uke Hotel?

As usual, I fill a number of roles at KPSU, but it has been a while since I was tapped to record a band that didn't appear on What's This Called? But, of course, it was only a matter of time, and I was stoked to lend a hand to Cat - for her show Cat's Cradle - for a band that showed up last Monday. I'm only a week late, right? Ob-soive:

Cat's Cradle w/ Neutral Uke Hotel, Live! (30 August, 2010)
(Featuring a live performance by Neutral Uke Hotel, comprised of members of Golden Bloom and other groups.)

Playlist & Footnotes

Later that evening, they played a show at Mississippi Studios, and they seem to be on a pretty well promoted tour. You can probably catch them in your own home town sooner or later, but until then, you can listen to this performance on KPSU. I snapped a few pictures, too, and will post more of them fairly soon.

Earlier that same day, I also managed to squeeze in a retrocast:

The Grumpy Punk, Part I (28 February, 2009)

Playlist & Footnotes

This one was mostly picked because I'd done Part IV the previous Saturday, and thought I'd revisit my hits of the recent past. But, of course, it also has some pretty awesome songs in it.

One more post, and I should be caught up. Yeah, it's been that kind of week.

Last Week

Wow. With all my summer happenings and whatnot, I fell WAAAAAY behind on... well, everything. Here's some info about last week's show in an effort to get caught up:

First off: I covered for What's This Called? last week, which gave me three hours to work with. As I was a bit behind this summer from all my vacation travels, I decided to do three distinct shows in that three hour span. This was a bit insane (as I'm sure you can guess), and to make it even crazier, I showed up a couple hours early to bring you a couple of retrocasts, too. Yeah, it was a five hour radio event. Seriously. Ob-soive:

Episode 079: Songs The Cramps Taught Us, Part II
(Featuring even more selections from the Lux & Ivy's Favorites compilations.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

Following up on the last live show I did, I picked out another hour of great rare rock songs that are fantastic. If you can only handle one of these shows, pick this one. It's dirtier.

Episode 080: The Grumpy Punk, Part IV
(Featuring even more songs that anger up the blood, and remind me of the good-old-days.)

Playlist & Footnotes

This one was sort of thrown together, which is a little obvious when you realize that very few of the songs actually get past the "D"s in my record collection. Nonetheless, this one came together pretty quickly, and I really enjoyed it.

Episode 081: More Songs About Madness & Girls
(Featuring songs about... well, going crazy over girls.)

Playlist & Footnotes.

While this isn't particularly a unique (or new) insight, it occurred to me that the perspective presented in a love song could very easily be construed as crazy if you actually pay attention to what they are saying. While this might seem like a bit of a stretch, those of you who are thinking that this was just an excuse to play a mix of new and old songs that I'm into are probably closer to the truth.

THEN:

I decided to present a pair of shows from August of 2005, shows that each celebrated their five year anniversaries recently. Enjoy!

Brought To You By The Letter M (30 August, 2005)
(Featuring one of my first ever theme shows at KPSU.)

Playlist & Footnotes

There's not much to say about this show, except that there are quite a few great bands that all start with the Letter M, and that this was the first time when I managed to find the balls to play a Charles Manson song on the air.

Sub-Basement Psyche w/ Ricardo Wang (2 August, 2005)
(Featuring Ricardo Wang's first appearance on KPSU.)

Playlist & Footnotes

While Ricardo Wang has been on KPSU for five years now (and is a long-time radio personality since the '80's), there was a time when he was new to Portland, and wanted to get involved with our humble radio station. This show features his first on-air appearance, which was cool enough to be on my show. This one showcases the kind of show I did at the time, the kind of music Ricardo is into, and is very much like the venn diagram of our musical tastes.

Well, that's about it for now. I've got more radio notes I need to update, so stay tuned. Yes.

New Assignment

Well, after much confusion and whatnot, it appears that I have a re-assignment at PSU for the 2010 - 2011 school year. Given that they had to cancel a number of FRINQ courses this year due to low enrollment, and given that I am about 15 years older than most everyone else that teaches in the program, they decided to allow me to teach SINQ courses instead. This is a bit of a promotion; normally, they only allow Grad Students to do this. There are still openings in the course if you happen to be looking into taking SINQ courses at PSU this year. Here's the lowdown:

UNST 213G (CRN 16522): American Studies w/ Scott Parker & Cody Rich (Main Session)
UNST 212H (CRN 16521): Mentor Session 1 w/ Cody Rich
UNST 212H (CRN 16520): Mentor Session 2 w/ Cody Rich
UNST 212H (CRN 16519): Mentor Session 3 w/ Cody Rich

This is a huge relief for me, as for a while it seemed like I might not get a course assignment this year. Regardless, I will do my best to make American Studies as interesting and entertaining as possible.

The other piece of news about this is: I will be teaching three distinct courses this year, one each term. I have no idea what they will be during Winter or Spring Term, but I will be working as hard as I can to get something a little more my speed.