2-24-09 playlist

Rotating Tongues:2 was a roaring success this weekend and a reminder that Boise has as many or more vital bands than it has at any other point. I saw many new bands for the first time like ATTN, Nollifur and Juntura who I hope to get into the mix soon. It was cool to see the older guys who had been on the original comp rock as hard as young kids like La Knots (who's set the first night ruled). Self proclaimed “elder statesman” of the scene John O'Neil led his eL Dopamine through a blistering set the first night that set the bar high for the rock the followed both nights. I don't want to mention too many more things because the bands and the performances were uniformly awesome. What does this have to do with my radio show you ask? Well, this weekend reaffirmed the need for a show like mine and locally programmed community radio in general... With so many great artists playing original music in the valley there needs to be as many venues as possible for their music to get heard and create excitement about their performances.

This week’s show has one new-to-us band, an old Boise punk/new wave band called The Ticks. The tracks were sent to me by someone and Mr. Bonefish Sam confirmed that it was a Boise 7" release. Enjoy!

Haggis - “Falling Squirrels”

Dirt Fishermen - “In Your Heaven”
Magnetics - “Caravine”
Clock - “Red Letters”
Stuntman - “8 Women & 2 to 3 Men”
Bovalexia - “Manipulator”
The Halo Benders - “Do That Thing”
Ticks - “Fodomat”
Black Happy - “Black Radio”
Bonefish Sam and His Orchestra - “Cheap Gear Jam”
Central Boise Library - “Truth’s Revealed”
The Invasion - “The Law”
Narcissus Isthmus - “Land Station”
Brett Nelson - “Years Too Late At Least For Now”
Raspberry - “Euro K Nothing”
Pajama Party in a Haunted Hive - “Shooting Star”
Built to Spill - “Sidewalk”
Godzoundz - “From the Last Page”
Finn Riggins - “Geology”
Lowbelly - “line of automobiles”
Pete Holly and the Looks - “What Did I Say?”
Doug Martsch - “Window”
G. America - “These Hands”
Splinter - “Scene Report”
Lovey - “complaint #3”
Dirtboy - “Bus Stop”
Treepeople - “Cartoon Brew”
Septic Death - “Thaw (Cold World)”
Caustic Resin - “Cancerous Eye”
Kid Corduroy - “Thin”
Juan Fangio - “Underground”
Veronica and the Mental Foreplays - “World's Sex REcord, 300 Men & Jerry Springer”
A Man Called Sun - “(Reprise)”

The Very Most - “Friendly Friend”

Flycatcher - “Caught Up”

25 Wheeler - “Roger’s Gone”

02-17-09 playlist

Hey everybody... It's Rotating Tongues:2 week and this show is packed full of the artists who will be appearing at the event this weekend (and a few from the original compilation). Hope you can make it to VaC in Garden City on  Friday, Febrauary 20th and Saturday, February 21st for two nights of brand new music from some of Boise's most exciting artists. This week I also ask the question: Which is the best 2 minute 38 second contemporary Boise pop song, The Very Most's ”Dodged Ev’ry Bullet, Pt 1” or Central City Music Company's “Lorie”? I’m quite smitten with both.

Finn Riggins - “Box Elder”

ReVoLtReVoLt - “Farewell Address”
Bone Flower - “1600 Miles”
Treepeople - “Something Vicious for Tomorrow”
La Knots - “Spring Song”
With Child - “High On a Rocky Ledge”
Low-Fi - “Where You Are”
Magnetics - “Rotten Sunday”
Dirt Fisherman - “Hole Song”
Bonefish Sam and His Power Orchestra - “Dumb Cute Ditty”
Crogan - “Silver Scooter”
The Very Most - “Dodged Ev're Bullet, Pt 1”
Discoma - “Cubed”
Netson Family - “God is Wrong”
Hillfolk Noir - “Born A Balladeer”
Doug Martsch - “Instrumental”
Geyser - “I Again”
Central City Music Company - “Lorie”
Kris Doty - “Pivot”
Le Fleur - “Grooming Song”
Caustic Resin - “Drive #49”
eL Dopamine - “Canvas”
Ian Waters - “The Radio Drown”
Butterfly Train - “Blame Weight”
Universal - “Dead Battery Accident”
Hive - “Butterfly”
Built to Spill - “Now & Then”
Freak in a Jar - “Crack Down”
mayerforceone - “shadowboxing”

2-10-09 playlist

Splinter - “After All”
Red Set- “In This State”
Built to Spill - “Linus and Lucy”
La Knots - “Commie Song”
Black Happy - “Up the Faith”
Dirt Fishermen - “Breakin' Bones”
Shack Nasty - “Down”
Eightball Break - “Parenthetical Love Song For Janeane Garofolo”
With Child - “Don't Want None”
Discoma - “My Every Nerve”
Caustic Resin - “I Feel”
Lovey - “miss k.”
Stone Garden - “SF Policeman Blues”
Falldowns - “Trench Broom”
G. America - “Fake Love”
The Halo Benders - “Love Travels Faster”
Hillfolk Noir - “Preface to a Hole”
Clock - “A Man and His Dream”
Haggis - “Don't Tell Me”
Septic Death - “Control”
Bovalexia - “Backwards”
Fury III - “First Kiss”
Le Fleur - “Ceramic Dog”
Treepeople - “Gre”
H is for Hector- “Rock Sniper”
Gordie Howe Trio Unit - “Buglas Unit”
Magnetics - “Choke it Down”
Central Boise Library - “The Ballad of Angela Davis”
The Suffocation Keep - “An Overload”
Finn Riggins - “DeTamble Wings”
The Hand - “No Sleep”
Low-Fi - “Broken Compass”
The Very Most - “The Word "Almost" ”
Kid Corduroy - “Layaway”
State of Confusion - “Trashed”
Royball - “Blow”
Bonefish Sam & His Power Orchestra - “Over Here”

2-03-09 Playlist

This list is a little longer than my allotted time, so the last couple of tracks might get cut off... sorry. Last week the Stone Garden song didn't play and I want to make sure enough time was filled in case it happened again. Enjoy.

Caustic Resin - “People Fall Down”
Low-Fi - “1957”
The Blue Flames - “Electric Car”
Finn Riggins - “Pannin' for Gold”
Godzounds - “Yellow and Read”
Treepeople - “Treepeople”
Chris Bock - “Connie”
Ian Waters - “Come Back”
Crogan - “Put Down”
Juan Fangio - “I Won't Compromise You”
The Halo Benders - “Bombshelter, Pt. 1”
Dirtboy - “Pacer X”
Grant Ave - “Dress”
The Treatment - “Mr. Goodbar”
Flycatcher - “Weather King”
Lowbelly - “alpha twelve”
Pajama Party in a Haunted Hive - “Oh Yeah!”
Central Boise Library - “Start Transmission”
The Skulldiggers - “Werewolf”
Mayerforceone - “Angels”
Geyser - “Save It”
Boise Cover Band - “I Love You More” (Lee Williams and the Cymbals cover
Pete Holly - “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”
Kris Doty - “Lemonade”
Dirt Fishermen - “If I Could”
Butterfly Train - “Distorted, Retarded, Peculiar”
el Dopamine - “Faded”
Gordie Howe Trio Unit - “His Hands Are Made of Fire”
Stone Garden - “Oceans Inside Me”
Built to Spill - “Easy Way”
Netson Family - “Title TBD”
Discoma - “Wetslap”
Size of Alaska - “Danger”

10-27-09 playlist

Howdy Friends... This week has more of the Rotating Tongues:2 participants (see post below) and just a couple of introductions. My pal Gina from Lovey & The Dirt Fishermen shared some great old Boise music with me (well, with the show... so all of you, too) from Red Set. I don't know much other than this was recorded in 1982 or 83 at the Casia Center and Red Set was Tad Doyle's pre-H-Hour and TAD, band. Mr. Doyle played drums, Jon Hale sang, Tom Kennedy played guitar and Scot Smith played bass. I was going to play a track by a Lewiston psychedelic group from the late 60's, but for some reason the awesome track by Stone Garden didn't load... stay tuned.

The Very Most - “Dodged Ev'ry Bullet, Pt 2”
Morningly - “8 am and dave smiles”
Finn Riggins - “Blackrock”
Red Set - “Peaceful Man”
Treepeople - “Web in Front”
The Left Coast - “I Wanna Hurt Someone”
Piso Mojado - “Track 2”
Dirt Fishermen - “Breakdown”
Clock - “What Happens Between Panels”
Central City Music Company - “(My Girlfriend's Got) No Sense of Smell”
Hillfolk Noir - “The Lord Will Come”
Freak in a Jar - “Walk Don't Run”
The Pugs - “Fade Away”
Stone Garden - “Bastard”
Caustic Resin - “Eventhings”
Built to Spill - “Time Trap”
Lovey - “tina & ton”
G. America - “Get Used To It”
The Invasion - “The Great Divorce”
With Child - “Undressing in the Wind”
Bonefish Sam & His Power Orchestra - “Bonefish Lullaby”
Discoma - “For Here”
Le Fleur - “Brother”
Graveltruck - “Carlos”
Kid Corduroy - “Desert”
The Hand - “Mississippi”
Magnetics - “Not That Nice”
Splinter - “Lightbulb”
Fury III - “31 Naught 33”
Septic Death - “Burial”
The Suffocation Keep - “It's You”
Narcissus Isthmus - “Diastole”

January 20th & 23rd playlist

This week's show has some Septic Death courtesy of that band's drummer Paul Birnbaum. Septic Death was were active in Boise in the early 80's and their singer Brian "Pushead" Schroeder is a renowned illustrator who has created artwork for Metallic and The Misfits. Pushead's art was all over the Thrasher magazines I read as a kid in Nebraska long before I moved to Idaho. The Mad Cow Disease track is from the Big Trouble in River City compilation on Coming in Second records... they morphed into Piso Mojado, but not the Piso Mojado featuring Sam and Ed from 25 Wheeler. Some old friends from my days in Lewiston, Id simultaneously requested some "Funnelhead" for the show, so I decided to over deliver with 3 versions of the classic Treepeople song. This gives us a good reason to play one of my favorite North Carolina bands, Archers of Loaf, too.

La Knots - “Surf Solo”
Clock - “Man Gets Jealous; Finds Jesus”
Lovey - “ghost man”
Magnetics - “Big Love”
mad cow disease - “Lo-cool”
Haggis - “Bully”
Septic Death - “Hardware”
State of Confusion - “Decency”
With Child - “We Sing In Praise Of Our Hope In Thee”
mayerforceone - “shadowboxing”
Hillfolk Noir - “The Hypnotist (8-track version)”
The Blue Flames - “Mind Invasion”
Pete Holly and The Looks - “Look Out Below”
The Halo Benders - “Freedom Ride”
Royball - “Cruiser”
The Skulldiggers - “Bodily Harm”
Eightball Break - “Suckerpunch”
Built to Spill - “Joyride”
Geyser - “Apartments”
Netson Family - “Title TBD 7”
Lowbelly - “turn it over”
The Suffocation Keep - “Number Two”
The Very Most - “Spilt, Spilt Milk”
Treepeople - “Funnelhead”
Archers of Loaf - “funnelhead”
Pajama Party and Bonefish Sam - “Funnelhead”
Le Fleur - “Truce”
The Universal - “Supermassive Microbursts”
Gordie Howe Trio Unit - “Damaged Unit”
Stuntman - “One At A Time”
Bock - “After the War”
Kris Doty - “Rain”
Ian Waters - “Man Made Soul”
Low-Fi - “Second Best”
Built to Spill Caustic Resin - “Shit Brown Eyes”
Raspberry - “Pokey”
Splinter - “Michelle Janet Hell”
Flycatcher - “Screwdriver”

Rotating Tongues:2 - Feb. 20th & 21st @ VAC

When I moved from Montana to Boise in 1994, I knew a little bit about the Boise music scene, but just a little. In high school I had seen The Dirt Fishermen play with Portland's Dharma Bums at the University of Idaho and thought they were cool. One of the two women in the band, KT, came out and talked with me and my friends (we "snuck" into the college show after driving from nearby Lewiston). Later, I was attending community college in Montana and a high school pal sent me some tracks from Built to Spill's Ultimate Alternative Wavers - I immediately sought out the full record and it became an instant favorite. When it came time to transfer to a proper four year college, BSU ended up on the short-list and I decided that Boise must be a cool place based on the music I had heard... and I didn't have any friends or family there so it seemed like an interesting adventure. That summer, my brother I listened to Built to Spill 45's, the first Halo Benders record and Treepeople albums (my brother was already a big fan of theirs).

When I finally got to Boise, I discovered the Record Exchange downtown. One of my first purchases was a compilation of local bands called Rotating Tongues, which I picked up for a short, but sweet Built to Spill track appropriately titled Shortcut. There was a great track by The Dirt Fishermen and bands that shared members with Built to Spill and Treepeople, like Caustic Resin, Butterfly Train, Splinter and Hive. Rotating Tongues also introduced me to the likes of el Dopamine, Graveltruck and Boneflower, bands who I'd get to know better through shows at The Crazy Horse and, later, Neurolux. Rotating Tongues has 20 bands in all, including 2C hip-hop artists M.C. Shake and Boise reigning metal band, Midline. I didn't like ALL of it, but I appreciated the breadth and diversity of the compilation and was thankful that "Executive Producer" Anneliessa Balk had put together such a great snapshot of the scene as it existed then. Over the years, other Boise compilations have come out, but for me, none of them hit the high-water mark set by Rotating Tongues.

Fast-forward to 2008. In the years since I first spun the Rotating Tongues disc, I've worked with some of the folks on the compilation, interviewed some of the bands for the college paper, wrote about others in my old zine, drank some beers with them, did some videos for a few of them and said goodbye to couple of friends who played in bands on the CD (R.I.P. Pat Brown and Andy Capps). A couple of the bands are still around and most of the musicians from the compilation have remained active members of the local music community. Anneliessa, now Anneliessa Balk Stimpert, runs the gallery/venue, Visual Arts Collective, with her husband Sam and this fall I gave her a call to see if I might help with any design projects. When she told me that they were doing a sequel to Rotating Tongues and asked if I'd be interested in doing design for the CD and some event posters, I jumped at the chance.

So here we are in 2009 and this February (the 20th and 21st, to be exact) 25 bands will descend upon VaC to unleash brand new songs, which will be recorded live and later will comprise Rotating Tongues:2. Much credit goes to Elijah Jensen, a local musician who brought the idea of doing a live compilation at VaC to Anneliessa and Sam. The new compilation will be a veritable who's who of southern Idaho music with some alumni from the original compilation performing with new bands as well as plenty of fresh blood. This time around, the line-up is a little more cohesive, but no less diverse. I'm honored to be involved and excited for the shows. I hope you all can come out and be a part of this special event. The event will benefit The Idaho Food bank and cover is only $7 or $5 with a prepackaged food item (if you pay the $7, $2 will go to the Idaho Food Bank).  Oh yeah...the bands:

ATTN, Bonefish Sam, Central City Music Company, Craters of the Moon, Discoma, El Dopamine, Finn Riggins, Hillfolk Noir, How's Your Family?, Ian Waters, Juntura, Kris Doty, La Knots, Le Fleur, Low-fi, Magnetics, Mayerforceone, Netson Family, Nollifur, Pussy Gutt, Revolt Revolt, Tim Andreae, The Universal, The Very Most & With Child.