Around Hear
Rocker turned avant instrumentalist Mark Reynolds titled his most recent release I Used to Be a Pedaljet, but it could just as easily have been named I Was Once a Fabulouse or, most luridly, Formerly a Chick with a Dick. Evils of Stealing, Ludicrous Behavior, and Castration rank among the other band names on Reynolds’ lengthy resume, which reflects 20 years of prolific involvement in Kansas City’s punk/alternative/ hardcore scene. Best known for his work in Grither and Cher UK, Reynolds has taken the solo route of late, releasing the droning electronic albums A Nice New Toy and Music for Enemies as well as Pedaljet, which consists of acoustic guitar riffs delivered at a metronomic pace. Chords appear and vanish repeatedly as the album alternates between sparse noise and silence, with occasional bursts of melody providing fleeting glimpses into the realm of the tangible. Unlike the electronic efforts, Pedaljet features distinct songs (with appropriately dark titles, such as “The Death” and “The End”), but all of the tunes are confined to one lengthy track — the better for listeners to observe the subtle effect as upbeat notes gradually take a dark turn before another “song” begins, setting into motion another descent through the scale.
Reynolds has released such self-produced albums for years, dating back to his early-’90s peddling of tapes in front of the downtown all-ages spot The Rhumba Box, when he put them out under the name “Anonymous.” At the time, Reynolds paired his music with slide presentations; he plans to resurrect this practice, though it might be awhile before local fans witness such a performance. He’s heading out to the West Coast to promote his latest electronic efforts with a late-October mini-tour that includes gigs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. “They seem to appreciate that stuff out there,” he explains. “There’s a lot of techno and trance places in that area. There’s not much electronic stuff going on here in town, so I don’t know where I could play it here.”
But locals who want to get their hands on his output can contact Reynolds at 911 Cambridge, Kansas City, MO 64126. “It’s totally grassroots,” he says of his do-it-yourself distribution, making an analogy to Ani DiFranco before using a sotto voice to exclaim: “I want all the money. Total control!”
Mountjoy to the World
On Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Grand Emporium, local musicians perform stripped-down versions of their tunes during what the creativity-impaired might dub “KC Unplugged.” Thankfully, this month-old showcase sports the much more interesting name “RobRoy Mountjoy‘s Acoustic Soul Slam.””Local musicians looking to try their trade acoustically now have a forum,” explains the titular host, whose solo performances are part of the program. Acts such as Holstein and Mustard Couch have been booked for this time slot, but walk-ins, to some extent, are welcome.
“I don’t want this to seem like open-mic night at the Holiday Inn, and I don’t want cover bands or anything, but this is definitely a place for people trying to get into the business to come down and give it a shot,” Mountjoy says. “It’s a place for musicians to network and mingle, and the club’s owner (Roger Naber) is usually there, so it’s a chance to impress him and get some regular shows. It’s for people who are really hungry to get involved in the scene.”
Lawrence bands and fans dominated the first few Soul Slams, but Mountjoy says more people are attending each week, and Kansas City artists have started to warm up to the concept. “People are coming in, having a good time, joking, laughing,” he says. “It’s fun, but it’s also about some serious music. It’s a place to grow, a place for people who have something in their hearts that they want to get out. I want this to be a strength; something that makes people take notice of the rock scene in this area. It’s my puppy, and I’m going to treat it like an angel.”
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To the Max
It’s getting more and more difficult to find actual videos on MTV. But clip-starved viewers in search of the latest from the Ruff Ryders or Snoop Dogg can park their remotes in the single digits (channel 4 for Time Warner digital subscribers; 1B for those who are still on the A/B system) on Friday afternoons, then stay tuned for regional flavor. After Street Signs at 4 p.m. (which features hip-hop and rap videos) and Rhythm and Soul at 5 p.m. (it’s mostly pop and R&B), the locally operated MaxTV offers Entertainment News at 5:55, during which host Susan Garrett runs through everything from recent developments in Napster’s court battle to this weekend’s Santana concert. Finally, the station takes it to the streets with In the Mix, as KPRS 103.3 personality Sean Tyler hosts a hip-hop/R&B video wrap-up peppered with interaction involving such area celebrities as Tech N9ne, the Royals’ Jermaine Dye, and, for Friday’s broadcast, singer Douglass, who will perform live in the studio.MaxTV is the brainchild of Cedric “Maxwell” McLaughlin, and he estimates it’s taken roughly a year to bring his vision to the air. Produced in conjunction with Kansas City’s Paddock Productions, MaxTV uses a staff of 12 to piece together its weekly showcase.
“This is just the coming-out party,” McLaughlin says, explaining his plans to expand MaxTV’s airtime as more time slots become available. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get our own channel sometime next year.”
McLaughlin says that after just three weeks on the air, he’s been overwhelmed with local artists asking to be included in an In the Mix segment. McLaughlin recommends that interested musicians send a demo tape or CD, a bio, contact information, and a photo to MaxTV, P.O. Box 2692, Olathe, KS 66063. He also advises keeping interviews and performances clean — or artists risk getting the boot.
Engineering a New Fab Four
First-time concert promoter Amil Mistra scored quite a coup in his debut effort, managing to unite four world-class talents who have never before shared a stage. But then, Mistra isn’t the typical rookie. He’s an associate professor of civil engineering at UMKC, and his Ph.D. gives additional weight to his excited claims that Indian bamboo flutist Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Brazilian guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti, percussionist Anandan Sivamani, and tabla player Vijay Ghate will produce “chemical reactions of musical fusion.” Still, like most promoters, Mistra is a fan at heart, making his involvement in bringing the Music Without Boundaries tour to the Music Hall on Sunday, October 1, a labor of love.”I’m really interested in promoting the fusion of Indian classical music with Western music, especially the jazz style,” Mistra says. “I’ve seen all of these performers before, all in different situations. Hari Prasad Chaurasia mostly plays Indian classical music, but he also works with Indian pop genres, East/West fusion, global music, and new age. He has about 300 CDs to his name. Anandan Sivamani is a rising star in India. He uses drum sets, African percussion instruments, and anything else he can lay his hands on, including cooking utensils. He’ll come on the stage and start doing his stuff, and if he sees something that interests him, he’ll play on that. I think he’ll be the hit of the show.”
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Rounding out the quartet are Gismonti, who in his 30-year career has ranged from Brazilian folk and jazz to a brand of Brazilian blues known as choros, and Ghate, a master of the tabla, one of Indian classical music’s most essential instruments. Proceeds from the concert go to Brindavan Gurukul, a nonprofit San Francisco-based school/camp founded by Chaurasia that offers Indian bamboo flute lessons. Mistra, who works with Brindavan Gurukul, has a special stake in this event. But despite the stress involved in planning what he describes as an “ambitious and daunting undertaking,” he’d be happy to repeat the process. “I hope to do it more,” he says.
While additional Mistra productions might be forthcoming, these artists likely will never perform together again. So it’s even more essential for music fans to get out and observe the combination of musical genius that can inspire a professor to describe the “ecstatic and orgasmic satisfaction” he expects their rare collaboration to produce.
