Eden's Hour

Karl Blau In-Studio with Eden's Hour 09/20/08

2008-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

_{Pic by Erin Skipper}
Karl Blau* stopped by for a special in-studio performance. Karl shared a song with us that he had just written and recorded the night before :) And he started out the set with some tunes from his latest album Nature's Got Away (avail. on K Records Sept. 23rd) including an acoustic version of 2 Becomes 1 that is absolutely stunning! *See what Spin Magazine had to say about Karl

YOU CAN HEAR THIS SHOW IN THE KRUU ARCHIVES RIGHT HERE

#24 Eden's Hour 08/23/08 - 09/13/08

2008-08-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

Oh it has been a crazy month! I've been slacking (aka really busy with other stuff) when it comes to posting weekly blogs here and I still owe this space the links to playlists for the last few shows, so here they are:

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 09/13/08

and HERE for the complete playlist for 09/06/08

and HERE for the complete playlist for 08/23/08

#23 Eden's Hour 08/16/08

2008-08-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 08/16/08

#22 Back From LA LA Land

2008-08-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

Ezra Reich (*Pictured with me) was almost true to his word in his June 10th Eden's Hour interview in which he promised to get his full band together for a live show soon. Even though his bandmates Elliot Glass and Eric Starr are still in NYC and violinist Rebecca Cherry is touring with the Jonas Brothers, Ezra managed to pull off a near miraculous feat of rounding up an amazing last minute line up to join him in opening for the July 16th David Lynch Foundation benefit concert in Hollywood. Which was awesome, but it was only one song and I expect more live performances from you Ezra Reich!

(*Pictured at right) Joe Escalante, whom David does the daily weather report for on Indie 103, was a wonderful concert MC and auctioneer. David introduced the concert and thanked all the bands for supporting his foundation ...and in true weather man fashion declared that "it's gonna be blue skies and golden sunshine from here on out". And I think he may be on to something.

Astra Heights(*Pictured) played the first set followed by 8mm, The Bangkok Five, Gods and Monsters, and Nico Vega. As this review points out ...there was no shortage of tight black pants, sweat, and ...um, crack.

But I'll spare you the details on the crack. What I will say is that this concert was such a fun night and came together amazingly well considering we had only been working on it for a short while. Since I work with the musical wing of the DLF I have been wanting to organize benefit concerts for quite some time now, but my attention has always been elsewhere. Shortly after the April 2008 Lynch Weekend I decided I was going to start coordinating a concert and that very same day I got an email from Joshua Reed of Gods and Monsters asking if his band could do a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation. Obviously, I said yes. Joshua and his friends did an outstanding job of coordinating things in LA and getting all the other bands on board.

Thanks again to all the musicians who donated their time to play. And a MAJOR thanks to all of the volunteers and to the sponsors and the donors who provided fabulous auction items. David's lithograph Factory At Night With Nude was a hot item, but there were so many great things to choose from. I only wish that I hadn't been so busy managing the auction table, because I would have been up there during the live bidding to snag Glen La Ferman's limited edition print of Bob Marley. Glen was commissioned by Bob Marley's family to photograph Bob shortly before his death. The print that he donated was from that last and lost collection and it was absolutely gorgeous! One of our volunteers was lucky enough to win it.

Included in the show that I did this week were a couple of the artists who performed at the July 16th benefit and I'll be playing more next week. That will also give me a chance to share some more of Elizabeth Thorp's pictures that she shot that night, like this beautiful and sultry shot of 8mm. *All of the photos in this blog entry were taken by Elizabeth aka thee photoG images. If you're a Myspacer be sure to check out her photos in our DLF album.

If you want to see some footage from this benefit concert, ADD THE BRAND SPANKING NEW MYSPACE PAGE FOR THE SOON TO LAUNCH DAVID LYNCH FOUNDATION TELEVISION!!!!!!

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 08/09/08

#21 Happy Birthday Sub Pop 07/12/08

2008-08-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

How to sum up 20 years of Sub Pop in a few words?

Grunge + Funny = Fungy?

I already blogged a little bit about this show at KRUUFM.com so I can be sparse with words here. Instead I'll just gush over my Sub Pop comedy crushes... Jemaine Clement? YES! And my favorite sexpert Eugene Mirman ...OH HELL YEAH! Both funny men who I finally got to see live when they performed at the SP20 festival. Eugene sums up the past twenty years best:

Sub Pop's roster keeps getting better and better. Take this Fleet Foxes song for example ...sheer beauty!

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 07/12/08

#20 Eden's Hour 06/28/08

2008-07-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled by Karl Blau's flowery image. The kicking bass from the Port Townsend show pictured above rendered no less than three 911 calls from the neighbors! Nuff said.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 06/28/08

Eden's Hour chats with Ezra Reich! #19

2008-06-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

This blog has been a little neglected lately because I've been a little tied up as you can see from the May 24th post. I've been coordinating the first David Lynch Foundation benefit concert coming up July 16th at the Key Club in Hollywood. And I've just been super busy with my assistant being out of town I've been running my shop by myself AND I'm moving AND I'm selling a car AND yada yada.

The car that I'm selling? I don't know what to do about it. The stereo won't give me back my favorite cassette tape! The one tape that I can listen to non-stop and never get sick of ...Crush by OMD. That cassette has gotten more air time than any other that I've ever owned and now it will forever live in the tape deck of my soon to be sold car. I hope whoever buys it has a thing for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

I guess I'll have to let go of that trusty old cassette tape and focus on my latest musical crush ...Ezra Reich! Ezra recently sent me his CDs including a yet to be released album of songs he recorded in 2007 with his New York based band. I admit that at first I wasn't sure if his music was too cheesy for my sensitive pallet, but I loved the feeling. And let's face it, I kinda have a thing for cheese ...OMD's Crush? Hello!

I don't like to compare bands to other bands ...so I won't, but I can safely say that the more I listened to Ezra's latest album it became more clear to me that this could be one of those albums that I could listen to a million times. There is just something so timeless about his music. I was fortunate enough to catch up with Ezra in an ongoing email conversation that slowly evolved into an interview ...the very first Eden's Hour blog interview no less.

Do you lace your music with crack or any other illegal substances because I'm seriously addicted to your songs... I'm talking Whitney Houstonesque crack ho addiction.

One hundred percent. Two to three minute high and then you have to repeat. Seriously, I think its a matter of making the best melodies out of each element of the arrangement of a song. And than a certain feeling coming through that.

The 2007 songs that you sent me are golden. Are there any plans to release your latest material as an album?

I am hoping so.

I hope so too! It's seriously good stuff. How do you keep up with your musical projects since you have moved to LA and your band is still in NY?

I hid the band in a storage unit when I came out here and gave them a drip to drink from. No. I actually have taken a little break from performing live. I have been writing/recording/ and producing a few other singers. Its always fun to try writing for other people. My band in NYC included an all female string quartet. I'll get everyone together for something good sometime soon. Promise.

Great. Counting on it! I'm guessing from the range of styles that I hear in your music and some of the timeless inspirations like Roy Orbison and others that music has been a huge part of your life. What shaped your musical interests in your early years?

Music that gets to me makes everything in life better. I used to annoy kids in my class in early grade school by making this droning mantra like sound while I played. Just that kind of vibration and tonality always made me feel more right with the world. I was exposed to lots of classical/ show tunes/ and minimalist new music as a kid. My dad is composer (ed note: hear Ezra's dad here) and his mom had been a pop/stage singer in LA. But it was really around the age of five that I heard Ritchie Valens singing "C'mon Lets Go" on the 1980s radio show 'kids america', on WNYC, that I caught the music bug in a big way. I went out and bought Ritchie live at Pacoima Valley high on audio cassette. About a month after that I heard Roy sing "Only the Lonely" on the radio. That late 50s early 60s pop music has been absolute magic to me since those moments and the innocent yet obsessive quality of it have influenced me greatly. Other early music heroes included Pete Townshend and Tom Petty, who were the reasons I begged for a rickenbacker guitar for my twelfth birthday.

Who are some of the musicians that you could listen to endlessly and is there an album that will be with you to the grave?

I could listen to Roy Orbison sing endlessly. I could also listen to a mix of all the work Phil Spector was invloved in and I'd be OK musically on a desert island. Oh and The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1....That's a take it to the grave kinda record. That and Somebodys Baby by Jackson Browne. And 16 Reasons by Connie Stevens.

Thanks Ezra! A Roy Orbison and Ritchie Valens loving cheeseball... you're a man after me own heart :) Looking forward to seeing what happens with your latest collection of songs.

Ezra Reich - Emily

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 06/07/08 and the re-broadcast on 06/14/08

Eden's Hour 05/31/08

2008-06-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

Polka Dot Dot Dot ...they don't just look good, they sing purdy too. I was lucky that they decided to play a small show at my friend's gallery because if I'd blinked I might have missed them before they launched their tour.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 05/31/08

ERIN CAN'T COME TO THE MIC RIGHT NOW

2008-05-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

She's a little tied up at the moment, but no worries...
Eden's Hour is in good hands.

You know the time and place.

LIVE FROM DAVID LYNCH WEEKEND 04/26/08

2008-04-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH, EDEN'S HOUR WAS LIVE FROM DAVID LYNCH WEEKEND AT MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT FOR A SPECIAL TWO HOUR SHOW FEATURING CHRYSTA BELL, MOBY AND DONOVAN.

THE CONCERT WILL BROADCAST AGAIN SOON!

P.S. AFTER THE CONCERT WE HEADED OVER TO SURPRISE THE HIGH SCHOOL PROM. DAVID CROWNED THE PROM KING AND QUEEN AND ALL OF THE MUSICIANS FROM THE WEEKEND LINEUP PLAYED A FEW SONGS. FOR ME, IT WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEKEND AND THE ONLY TIME I HAVE EVER BEEN TO PROM. PUKI COMPILED A VIDEO OF THE NIGHT THAT CAN BE SEEN HERE.

ABOVE IS A PIC OF DARON, LAURA DAWN MOBY AND DONOVAN WARMING UP BEFORE WE WENT IN TO THE PART OF THE BUILDING WHERE THE PROM WAS HELD. AND JUST BEFORE WE HEADED OUT, DAVID ASKED MARCUS GRAF (OF CHRYSTA BELL'S BAND) TO PLAY HIS TRUMPET IN THE GARAGE BECAUSE THE ACOUSTICS WERE GREAT. AND YES, IT WAS A VERY LYNCHIAN MOMENT.

EDEN'S HOUR 04/12/08

2008-04-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

WOOoooo! I have been waiting for the arrival of a sweet package from Israel based Onili, and it finally came so I can share her tunes with you.
Listen.
Love.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 04/12/08

Dennis Driscoll joins Eden's Hour 03/29/08

2008-03-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Dennis Driscoll performed live in our studio this week. He currently lives in Seattle and Oysterville where he spends most of his time writing music in the woods on the coast of Washington. A K Records alum, Dennis has since launched his own label Egg Recordings.

Dennis played a variety of songs on the show, including some of his hits and a few songs that he had just written that week. Stay tuned for the archived show!

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 03/29/08

EDEN'S HOUR 03/22/08

2008-03-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Patty Duke's legacy inhabits the hearts of teenagers young and old. This week we featured some music from the collection of Patty Duke fans who's devotion cannot be rivaled. Top Quality Rock and Roll, out of Detroit, has published several written Fanzines dedicated to all things Patty past and present. I played a few tracks from PDFZ #6: LOVE TO PATTY including a cover of Donovan's song Colours by Los Angeles based the Ettes and a dreamy All Through The Day by Asobi Seksu (pictured).

And thanks to Torbor, I learned a valuable lesson that will never be forgotten. Flaccid and Flatulence are NOT to be confused. Consider yourself learned.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 03/22/08

EDEN'S HOUR 03/15/08

2008-03-19T22:37:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! This week I managed to finish all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is a bittersweet time for me because as much as I LOVE Buffy ...all good things must come to an end. Damnit. Or do they? I think I will have to get my hands on some of the comics that carry the story on past season 7 and find out for sure.

It was my Buffy addiction that initially attracted me to UK band Molloy. Their parody band picture of them as the cast of Shoreditch Vampire Slayers (right) drew me in, but it was their music that made me stay. Jez and Caz were kind enough to send me a cd of some of their favorite Molloy songs so I got a chance to finally play them this week. Their high energy songs are not for those whom are tired and wanting to fall asleep ...I learned that the hard way. Hey, just cuz I like vampire shows like Buffy does not mean that I am one. Of course, it's not just the vampires on that show that seem to have endless energy ...the entire Scooby Gang is always up 24/7 fighting evil. What is up with that? Anyway, if you are in the UK or France be sure to catch Molloy on tour this spring!

Perhaps it was the influence of Buffy working its way into my psyche that drove this week's playlist in the direction it went (with a Magnetic Fields song about Zombies and bands like Vampire Weekend) even though originally I had planned on playing only Twin Peaks related songs this week. I did manage to get in a few songs that were directly Twin Peaks related and some that were very sorta Twin Peaks related.

On the less obvious side of the Twin Peaks songs in this week's show were some songs that Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer on Twin Peaks) turned me on to, like Antony and the Johnsons as well as "Grace Is Crying Her Eyes Out", a song written about her by a former cast mate Jonathan Rundman. While I was getting ready to go to the studio to do the show Richard Beymer (Benjamen Horne on Twin Peaks) called me to chat about stuff and I asked him if he had any special request... always the tricky trickster that he is, he gave me a false band name for his "request" and what I gave him was the 1978 Barnes & Barnes classic, Fish Heads, made famous by Dr. Demento ...and MTV, but who's counting?

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 03/15/08

EDEN'S HOUR 03/08/08

2008-03-12T09:59:00.001-07:00

Hilarity ensued in the station this week ...I'm not sure what it was, but Bill and I got a little kooky. It started as soon as we got on the microphones. Thank gosh that while the songs are playing nobody has to listen to us!

But what really threw us over the edge was Benett's playful quest to find heaven. Now I can't hear "Way To Heaven" without cracking up. Thanks Benett. If I pee my pants next time I listen to you ...you owe me new panties!

On a slightly more serious but equally as blissful note, I ended today's show with a Donovan song in honor of our next big adventure ... Lynch Weekend 2008!!!

This is our third year of doing this fantastic weekend long splurge into Consciousness Based Education. Last year I got to spend a lot of time with and getting to know Donovan and his muse and wife Linda ...they are the cutest. And they are doing fantastic work along with David Lynch to bring Consciousness Based Education to schools around the world.

David, Donovan and some of the David Lynch Foundation crew went on an extensive tour through Europe last fall. Sadly, I did not go with them ...of course when they got home I got a call saying "you should have come with us ...next time!" ..sigh. Because I did not get a chance to write about the tour from first hand experience, I asked Donovan to write a little something about their time in Europe and he just sent me his tale of the trip. Stay tuned to the DLF page because I will posting his stories and some great photos soon!

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 03/08/08

EDEN'S HOUR HAS A SWEET TOOTH 3/01/08

2008-03-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

_{original pic by Tara Gorman}

I was caught with my hand in the Harry Candy jar this week. In other words, I served a couple songs from Ball of Wax Volume 11. Ball of Wax is a compilation, put out by Levi Fuller, with songs as diverse as the 35 Seattle and New York musicians that were randomly selected to write songs together within a 24 hour period as part of the game known as Harry Candy Pic by Seth Howard.

Most of the participating musicians are a part of the Beep Repaired Records community which extends to Hollow Earth Radio, Dandelion Gold and Whprwhil Records. The one rule of the game: the musicians that end up in the same group can't already be in a band together. The results are tasty.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 03/01/08

Eden's Hour 2/23/08

2008-02-26T23:44:00.000-08:00

Fredo Viola, pictured right, sent me some of his latest recordings, one of which is adorned with a Lion sporting some serious flare in the form of a rainbow-esque mane and I was pleasantly surprised to find the pot of gold that laid behind the catchy and colorful cd covers.

A London born New Yorker, Fredo Viola's skills are well trained and his music traverses through a wide ranges of political, soulful and whimsical styles and they are all gorgeous. After several rounds of listening to his cds and not being able to settle on a favorite I decided to play his song Red States on this week's show, but I could have chosen any of his songs and been equally as happy and look forward to sharing many more of his songs with KRUU listeners.

While I didn't realize it at first, I had heard some of Viola's music before. One of his songs was used in Jonathan Damme's 2004 film The Manchurian Candidate, a movie that I loved so much that I had to go out and buy the original version with Angela Lansbury and Frank Sinatra. Yeah, I'm a sucker for Ol' Blue Eyes.

Speaking of shifty eyes ...do yourself a favor and visit Viola's new website. There you will not only find wonderfully rainbow-clad artwork by Richard Colman, you will discover multiple golden treasures.... and there are sneaky guardians galore who's sly glances will point you in the direction of hidden doors which will open to let you in on their secrets.

After Bill and I wrapped up in the studio we headed out for some live action and to witness a little bit of musical history! That's right, it was the highly anticipated unveiling of the Jason Webley and Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame) produced band Evelyn Evelyn!!! I have been a fan of the act, comprised of conjoined twins Evelyn & Evelyn, since hearing them via Jason's Myspace page and was stoked to hear that they were maybe going to appear that night.

Fortunately for us, the girls decided to grace us with their presence and geez I love them. They were really shy at first since it was their debut performance, but with songs like Elephant Elephant and lyrics profusing their desire to be loved as individuals and declaring their need for "my space", AND faces as nervous and cute as the ones below ...what's not to love?

_{stroke the picture above for more twin treats}

I will probably have more to share about the venue that Evelyn Evelyn performed in soon. Even though 608 is a small venue, it proves that size does not mean inability to deliver great shows with big acts. 608 is an artist's space which has seen many incarnations and is currently being run by members of recently relocated band Estradasphere. I didn't know it Saturday night, but a good friend of mine was scheduled to play there the next night so less than 24 hours later I returned to see him perform with Secret Chiefs 3, which is also comprised of members of Estradasphere. Welcome to Seattle Estradasphere. You sure do know how to make an entrance.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 2/23/08

Eden's Hour Saturday February 16, 2008 9pm CST

2008-02-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

_{original pic by _{Tara Gorman}}

It's no secret.... I like the Cave Singers. A lot. I played some of their songs on Eden's Hour a couple weeks back, the same evening that I went to go see them live at Neumos. At the time my only knowledge of the band was that they play great old time sounding folk/punk music. I love the lead vocalist and although I can never understand any of their lyrics, everything about them is sweet ...oh, and I also love the guitar playing in their songs and it doesn't hurt that their guitar player is ridiculously cute. To my pleasant surprise I briefly met Derek, their guitar player, by chance recently and afterwards curiosity got the best of me.

I went home and jumped on the internet to figure out how this new mysterious band that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, at least in my radar, managed to get themselves signed to Matador records. Apparently I am always the last to know these things.

It didn't take too long to figure out that the Cave Singers are comprised of former members of Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Both bands that I also like and have played on my radio show before, but I never saw either of them live because I was not living in Seattle when they were together.

Coincidentally, when I found all this out, I had already put together this week's playlist which included Pretty Girls Make Graves ...and a few other bands that have sent me cd's recently. Bands whom I think are good stuff! Bands like Astral Navigations from the UK who's song A Kleptomaniac Stole My Heart was included in this week's show.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 02/16/08

Eden's Hour Hiatus

2008-02-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

Last week was a long week of me trying to figure out if I could go to India for the cremation ceremony for Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation Program. He entered Mahasamadhi, or eternal silence on February 5th in his Vlodrop, Netherlands home and his body was flown to Allahabad, India for the cremation and final rites. In the end I decided to stay in Seattle and organize for a beautiful memorial service here so I did not have time to do a radio show.

The cremation ceremony was broadcast on national television in India and it was incredibly moving to see how much reverence and appreciation for Maharishi there is. The news broadcaster kept saying how remarkable his achievements were and how never before has there been a state honored funeral for a spiritual leader. The timing was extraordinary as the ceremony took place during the Kumbha Mehla spiritual festival in India and the four Shankaracharyas, or spiritual leaders, were there to prepare Maharishi's casket for the final rites and his ashes were spread into the holy sangam in the Ganges river. During the 1989 Kumbha Mehla the eldest living saint at that time was incredibly inspired by Maharishi's contributions to reviving the tradition of Vedic Pandits and said that "Maharishi has returned the Vedic Tradition to India, Maharishi single handedly has revived the Vedic Culture".

My parents met on a meditation course in the 60's so I was meditating in the womb and I learned Transcendental Meditation (aka TM) when I was four years old. TM has been a life saver for me. It's not a religious thing or a matter of faith or superstition. Transcending is a very real experience that cannot be put into words ...except I will say that it is absolutely wonderful! It means the world to me and I am forever grateful for all of the love, light, intuition, creativity and profoundly positive influence TM has brought to my life. I am so glad that I was born at a time when Maharishi was alive and even more glad that I have had the opportunity to dive deep into the field of Maharishi's consciousness based approach to education and health care.

It's been great to hear other people's experience this past week as they have shared their thoughts about Maharishi and what he and his programs mean to them. So, even though I did not do a radio show, Howard Stern shared some spectacular stories on his show that can be heard here

Jai Guru Dev

Eden's Hour Exclusive Interview with Jason Webley airing 2/2/08

2008-02-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

_{Pic by Erin Skipper}
Jason Webley joins Eden's Hour for a special in-studio interview and live performance. While he may be sans orchestra for this interview, we can expect nothing less than fantastic from this energetic one man band.

Jason was supposed to be launching a tour with his long-time friend and musical comrade Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls. However due to Amanda's need to get surgery, the shows were cancelled unexpectedly. Sad for the artists and the many people who had already purchased tickets to the much anticipated shows, but lucky for us because he had time to share with us his awesome gypsy and punk inspired folk music. And we also got a chance to pry a bit into his personal desire to seduce Leonard Cohen. Do I smell a collaboration? Only time will tell...

Click HERE for the complete playlist for 02/02/08

Eden's Hour learns its ABC's

2008-01-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

I took a little trip into the musical territories of bands such as Apples in Stereo, Beirut, and a few songs from the hypnotic folk/punk trio the Cave Singers whom I saw perform live right after the show. Yippee!

All the songs that I played this week ended up in alphabetical order. It was more of a technical glitch than a revealing display of OCD but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Amidst the bands listed above was Morning's Window, one of the many fine songs from Cock and Swan (Johnny and Ola of Cock and Swan pictured) who's pretty songs will melt the most callus of hearts. I also played a simple yet incredibly addictive track that often find myself humming when I wake up in the morning; Marrakesh, by Tennessee boy Spencer Thomson.

Click HERE for the complete playlist for this show originally aired on 1/26/08

EDEN'S HOUR -6 CELEBRATING DAVID LYNCH'S BIRTHDAY

2008-01-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

Pic by Kimberly Wright

"I guess I got whacked hard in the mystery department when I was little. I found the world completely and totally fascinating then - it was like a dream."

~David Lynch

The fascinating and dream like way in which David Lynch sees the world has been infused into his unique body of creative work during his 62 prolific years. With David Lynch's birthday coming up this Sunday I decided it was the perfect time to play some songs from a compilation cd that I put together a couple years ago as a birthday present for David.

This particular project started when Ryan Walsh of Boston bands the Stairs, Hallelujah the Hills and the Motel Candlewasters sent me the Candlewaster's song Whacked Pretty Hard in the Mystery Department which was directly inspired by the quote at the top of this blog. The following week Josh Lambert of The Octopus Project mentioned to me that they had named their latest song Bees Bein Strugglin' after David's short film Out Yonder on DavidLynch.com.

Once I asked for a few more songs from people... the ball really got rolling and after a few short days an entire cd was born.To my pleasant surprise Talkshow Boy has whipped up some incredibly zany Twin Peaks inspired IDM. And who would have thought that mariachi, surf music and David Lynch could blend together so beatifully? Well, Gringo Motel, that's who.

BRILLIANCE: A collection of songs and art inspired by the creative genius of David Lynch is loaded with amazingly talented musicians. I am particularly excited to to share some of it on KRUU, because it's a fun and wildly eclectic mix of songs. Since only three copies were made, very few people have heard it in its entirety ...including the 48 contributing bands. There were so many songs in fact, that I cannot play the entire cd in one show so stay tuned for a sequel show. Pic and cd cover design (above right) by Steven Lapcevic

Click HERE for the complete playlist for the 1/19/08 show

EDEN'S HOUR -5

2008-01-11T19:11:00.001-08:00

_{original pic by _{Tara Gorman}}

Germany was an unintentional sub-theme in this weeks electrifying show. I played several German bands including Olaf Boqwist, trip-hop duo NeoQi, and Berlin based, French-born electro-pop cuties, the Underwires (and I am not talking about the annoying piece of lingerie that jabs into your sides).The Underwires are twin brothers Aurélien and Théophile (pictured at right) and their friend Arnaud. They sent me their latest cd In Your Room Again which consists of cleverly crafted songs that I could say hints at pop and yet in my mind it settles somewhere in the imagination of a renegade who's whiskey laden thoughts flow out in the form a perfectly pretty and seducing album. They have been getting a lot of radio play in France and although they only have two other US stations listed as having played them, I think that will soon change.

Click HERE for the complete playlist

EDEN'S HOUR -4

2008-01-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

My first show of 2008 kicked off with a memorial for a music venue and for a friend ...both of whom left too soon.

A few weeks ago I had planned to go see Robin Pecknold, the lead singer of Fleet Foxes, perform at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle but instead went to the Northwest Film Forum for a live rendition of Andy Warhol's version of A Clockwork Orange. In retrospect I wish I had gone to the Crocodile instead because as it turns out it was the last ever show to be performed at that particular venue. The following day the owner called all of the employees and said that they were shutting their doors forever ...due to financial difficulties. The sudden closure of the club left a lot of employees hanging and scheduled bands I am sure had to be compensated something for the cancellation of their shows.

The Crocodile has been a staple in the Seattle scene since 1991 and although I never went to the Crocodile during its grunge heyday and I did not attend any of the shows that bands like Nirvana, Hole, R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys played there... I will miss the many a nights spent there watching friends of mine play with their various bands and parousing the booths of various local indie artist at I Heart Rummage.

With the passing of the Crocodile Cafe I decided that I was going to do a tribute show to some of the bands that I have heard live there. Admittedly I can't remember who they all are so I had to go with just a few bands that I was coherent enough to recall. I think that the last live show that I went to was The 88. It was the first time that I saw them in person. Afterwards their entire entourage spent the night at my house and not only are they a kick ass powerpop band, they are the nicest guys ever.

I know that I have also seen several Beep Repaired bands there including one of my all time favorite Seattle bands, the now defunct "math rock" ...with emphasis on the word "ROCK" band Wimbledon.

One show that sticks out in my mind the most is Kimya Dawson's (pic at right by Jeff R Williams). It was the first time that I had seen her perform live and I was completely awestruck (practically to tears) by the power, honesty and heart that she pours into her music. I wholeheartedly believe that Kimya is one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. I have known Kimya by name and face for several years although it wasn't until right around the time that I first saw her at the Crocodile that I knew she played music. We both partied ...a lot... and lived off and on in the same small community of Port Townsend so some of her lyrics strike at the core of a lot of people from that town. Our friends are interwined into her songs ...and sadly not all of their stories are flattering or worth putting on a pedestal, but fortunately Kimya avoids glorifying them and tells it like it was and in some cases as it still is ...and sometimes it is just plain crazy.

The last time I saw Kimya was just last week in Port Townsend. It was kind of ironic because many of our old friends were there and I got to finally see the movie Juno for the first time. Ellen Page, the lead actress in Juno, hand selected Kimya Dawson and her band The Moldy Peaches as the kind of music that her character would listen to. It was definitely cool to see the movie in Port Townsend. The irony was that day I had been hanging out with people whom are mentioned in some of the songs in the movie, particularly the song that plays during the credits.

But it was all too unfortunate that we were in town for a group reunion forced upon us in the most tragic of circumstances. A good mutual friend of ours passed away very suddenly over the holidays. Robert was an extremely talented musician and a devoted father to his two year old son. It is truly one of the saddest interpersonal losses I have seen in a long time, and I spent the entire week in Port Townsend with our friends, family and widow. Over the years too many of our friends have died from an overdose or other sudden death. I was hoping to play some songs that Robert was particularly fond of to include with this week's playlist, but it was just too soon for all of us. However he was definitely in my thoughts and awareness while I was doing this show.

RIP Robert Treibel 1978-2007.

Click HERE for the complete playlist

EDEN'S HOUR -3

2007-12-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

In the very few times that I have dabbled in videography, I ended up making experimental music videos of sorts. It was an excuse to teach myself basic editing so I chose a few songs that I thought worked well with the visual story that I was telling. It made me realize how intimately you get to know a piece of music and how much more you appreciate the special moments in a song when you see them marry a particular visual sequence that you are fond of. Some of the songs that I used during my autodidact editing moments were Love As Laughter's Miss Direction and Yo La Tango's You Can Have It All and I have become so accustomed to hearing these songs back to back that I decided to start this week's show with them.

Speaking of the fine art of mixing audio and visual components ...last year while David Lynch was on tour to promote his book Catching The Big Fish and his latest movie INLAND EMPIRE, he would have local musicians perform at each one of his Q&A's. When we were in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theater someone asked him if there were any musicians that he was particularly fond of. He mentioned the New York based Au Revoir Simone whom had accompanied him at his book reading at Barnes & Noble New York.
At that time I had never heard them, but I have since become quite fond of the pretty songs that these three ladies belt out ...well, to be accurate they do less belting and more sweet and swoonful singing, and I am not complaining.

_{Pic by Kevin Abosch}

Au Revoir Simone has not only gained the attention and praise of David Lynch, they have been invited to tour with some of the reigning Indie honeys of our day such as Air, Peter Bjorn & John and Voxtrot, although I don't think the notoriety will change these girl's ability to be so damn cute. The last time I saw Annie Hart, Heather D'Angelo and Erika Forster was in the middle of their worldwide tour that seemed to be going on forever and yet they still managed to be upbeat, adorable and capable of carrying on a conversation all night long. Heck, even their Sad Song is about the least sad sounding song that I have ever heard.

Click HERE for the complete playlist