March 2017 - For Ken Haferman, a true American iconoclast

in

"Ken knew a lot about a lot of stuff. He was a self-educated cantankerous iconoclast in a classic mold. He could be a pain in the ass, I'm sure. The main event for me, though, was getting to back him on guitar while he spun old-timey American gold on his banjo. Ken was one of my all time favorite musicians to play with. I can't say exactly why. It was just always fun."

Featuring: Tamikrest, Wheelchair Sports Camp, alt-J, Gorillaz, and more.

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Aug/Sept 2014 ~ Free At Last

in

"Graceland has always been an outlier in the happy pasture of my love for Paul Simon. I'm not exactly sure why. I think it might have partly to do with the way a lot of the production hasn't really aged well outside of the 80's. Maybe it's the way the album sometimes seems to openly invite the "cultural appropriation" critique (which I consider to be somewhat hackneyed anyway). Maybe it's the saxophone. Okay, it's probably the saxophone. "

Featuring: Robbie Fulks, alt-J, The Soup Dragons, The Coasters, and more.

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June 2014: Psych Around the World (Cup)

in

I sent myself down a deep rabbit hole of international psychedelic music from the '60s and '70s. That's a deep deep hole, as it seems like almost every spot on the globe (Cambodia, Turkey, Nigeria, Brazil, Korea, Iran!) went through the process of working through the psychedelic rock revolution and found a way to reconcile it with their own indigenous sound. Some results are better than others.

Featuring: Kim Jung Mi, clipping, alt-J, Otis Redding, and more.

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