On his debut EP, Kid From Kansas, bedroom recording artist Kyle Blake presents refreshingly traditional singer-songwriter pop without trendy digital treatments. His instrumentation and whispery tenor swell for emotional emphasis, and his lovelorn lyrics are earnest without being emo: Honestly, I’m not that funny/So please don’t give me a slice of courtesy. That’s from “California Ave.,” the EP’s strongest track,…
Many confront the task of letting go of a sordid past and moving forward in life (unsavory as that process may be). Local songwriter Noah Earle’s latest release, This Is the Jubilee, feeds off that spirit of rejuvenation. His lyrics embrace liberation from the past and immersion in life and love. (Yes, some people still write silly, little love songs.)…
For most of the early ’90s, Southern rap labored in obscurity. Then two rap classics, Goodie Mob’s Soul Food and Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, turned hip-hop’s compass in a new direction. Both works can be traced to a famous studio in Atlanta known as the Dungeon, whose inhabitants — a loose collection of that city’s rappers and producers — are known as…
Amid Kansas City’s failure to preserve and redevelop 18th Street and Vine — a historic business district that flourished during segregation and a cradle of the jazz that put Kansas City on world maps — the Mutual Musicians Foundation has kept the beat. Nearby, the American Jazz Museum requires a $550,000 annual subsidy from the City of Kansas City, Missouri….
The Beer for Bikes fundraiser — a happy hour organized by Variety of Greater Kansas City — is tonight from 5-7 at the Boulevard Brewery. “We couldn’t be more excited for young people to get out, have fun, and help out children in Kansas City,” says Deborah Wiebrecht, Variety’s Executive Director. The “Kids On the Move” campaign hopes to raise…
Raspy folk rockers Deer Tick are stopping by the Jackpot in Lawrence on April 11, accompanied by saucy garage-country girl group Those Darlins. You’ll remember Deer Tick from Jenny Lewis’ show last summer, where frontman John McCauley delivered howling renditions of his tight, whiskey-soaked alt-country tunes. Those Darlins’ sassy-but-sweet lo-fi twang took the stage when King Khan and BBQ bailed…
As I watched this video, I wondered if the parents of these Japanese children have any clue as to how lucky they are. Are they aware of recorder concerts, wherein a couple dozen moppets haltingly work their way through “Three Blind Mice,” or is it all Leonard Bernstein for them? Also of note is the fact that this video features…
Heavy equipment is tearing down Hereford House, the iconic meatery that arson put on the path to demolition. The restaurant on W. 20th Street exploded after midnight on October 20, 2008. Investigators quickly determined the blast happened on purpose. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives eventually released images of two suspects captured by security cameras. No arrests have…
Miss America likes pancakes…but not too many Less than 48 hours after beautiful Caressa Cameron received her tiara and sash as Miss America 2010, she had signed on as the official spokesperson for IHOP’s National Pancake Day celebration on February 23. All participating IHOP restaurants will offer a free short stack of three buttermilk pancakes that day, from 7 a.m….
%{}% Missouri House Speaker and alleged woman beater Rod Jetton told a St. Louis newspaper that he has little doubt that a federal grand jury is investigating him for pay-for-play allegations involving campaign donations that watered down a bill regulating the porn industry. Jetton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn’t take money from the adult entertainment industry to…
Since a groundhog saw his shadow and a quahog squirted to the left, we’re destined for six more weeks of winter. Thus, it only seems appropriate to share my secret for great chili and New England Clam Chowder. The first thing you should know about chili is that it isn’t hard — you just need time to cook it. Chili…
There are currently 48 condemned men in Missouri. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is asking for execution dates for two men
The Columbia, Missouri, City Council approved an ordinance that allows residents to raise chickens within city limits. In passing its urban-chicken ordinance, Columbia joins Springfield, Independence, St. Louis, Kirksville and Kansas City, Missouri. Here in Kansas City, property owners are allowed to have 15 chickens or 50 chicks (under the age of four months) as long as they are not…
The Mutual Musicians Foundation, a legacy of the union of black musicians who made Kansas City a jazz capital, has new leadership. Bitter feelings and mistrust marked the transfer of power, which is described in this week’s feature story. The new president, Will Matthews, asked for productive and respectful dialogue after the votes were cast in early December. Matthews thinks…
Student government is an ego-driven affair so why not make Stephen Colbert, the biggest egomaniac of them all, student body president of the University of Kansas? In a grab for attention (hey, it worked), KU student senator Tom Cox is introducing a resolution tonight that would make Colbert student body president for life … that is, if he’d show up…
Releasing Hello, Goodbye back at the beginning of December, and the Still Ain’t Easy Bein’ Skinny mixtape at the beginning of last month hasn’t put a crimp in Stik Figa’s productivity. The Topeka rapper released a brand-new track on his blog yesterday. It’s a confessional piece, talking about the stress going on Stik’s life, from family issues to money troubles…
Dunkin’ Donuts took one step closer to downtown — downtown Overland Park that is — by starting construction on a store at 7446 Metcalf. Expected to open in May, the donut shop will be located on the former site of a BP Gas Station at the busy intersection at 75th and Metcalf. The pad around the site was mostly dirt…
“Every never is now,” chants P.O.S. “It’s important to say that shit enough so you know it’s true. It’s all about moving forward.” The Minnesota rapper isn’t trying to preach; he means it. Socially conscious and unabashedly honest, P.O.S. (an anagram meaning Product of Society and Pissed Off Stef, among others) raps over revving drums and rolling distortion, urgently spouting…
This ought to bolster abortion rights advocates’ calls for federal authorities to step up their investigation of an alleged network of violent anti-abortion extremists. The Associated Press reports that Shelley Shannon, the woman who shot and wounded George Tiller in 1993, has issued a warning of more violence against abortion providers in the wake of Scott Roeder’s first-degree murder conviction…
Many of us have made the mistake at Quik Trip of letting it ride with a shot of Irish Creme and a shot of pumpkin spice flavoring, laying waste to our travel mug of coffee. And yet as bad as our early morning experiments might have been, they can’t come close to touching what goes on in the blog Putting…
When boss lady Elke asked if I’d be interested in reviewing one of the CDs in the Rockabye Baby series, I agreed without hesitation. Having just turned 30, I’ve scads of friends who are contemplating baby making, and it’d be nice to give them something other than a rubber ducky. I figured many of our readers are in a similar…
