Local Venues

KTRU 91.7 FM
The Thresher is not responsible for the content of the rice radio folio.
A Rookie’s Guide to Houston:
mance space whose name is “Houston”
spelled backwards, is filled with knickknacks and old furniture that you’d swear
has been in the building since it was built
at the turn of the 20th century. About the
only thing you won’t find here is an air
conditioner.
Because Notsuoh has had trouble with
the law over the years, it’s a crapshoot
whether it will be open when you show up.
But in the middle of the night, where else
are you going to go? House of Pies?
You can sometimes catch live music
on the steamy second floor. Don’t expect
much, because it’s a mostly unfinished
room and the sound is bad, which they
often compensate for by being really loud.
Your ears will ring and you will sweat
Local Venues
By Justin Crane
This article is mainly for those new to
Rice or Houston. While it’s easy to find
larger touring acts at Verizon, Warehouse,
or Meridian, Houston also has countless
smaller spaces which may not immediately
catch your attention. These are venues
which may be heavier on local music,
up-and-comers, or more esoteric sounds.
Here are some crib notes to help get you
started.
Rudyard’s
Rudyard’s calls itself a “British Pub”
and it mostly lives up to this claim with
its warm wood interior and dart-playing
regulars.
It’s also a great place to see live music.
Low ceilings in the upstairs performance
space prevent them from putting in a stage
that would allow better sightlines, but this
preserves Rudz’s homey living-room feel.
Sound is always good, and the diligent
soundman even makes a point to adjust
the lights (usually with a broomstick) so
that they best illuminate the setup of the
current band.
The schedule at Rudyard’s leans heavily
on local bands and near-local bands from
exotic locales like Austin, but they do have
touring bands as well.
Walter’s on Washington
Walter’s is the sole remaining venue
in what was at one time a small collection
of clubs on Washington which regularly
featured live music.
The PA at Walter’s is generously large,
and with its hard-surface interior, watching a show there can be a loud experience.
Take earplugs. Also, try not to stand
directly under the speakers, because they
look like they might fall from the ceiling
at any moment.
Walter’s schedule tends toward the
indie and it seems to be the favored location for the shows of local promoters
Super Unison.
Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s is probably the oldest
continuously open live music venue in
Houston.
The venue has two stages: the upstairs
Main Stage and the smaller downstairs
Lounge Stage. This lends itself well to long
nights of multiple bands, though Fitzgerald’s doesn’t seem to book as many of these
multi-band shows as they could.
Instead, Fitzgerald’s focuses on the
sorts of things that are guaranteed to keep
the doors open. So you will find local punk
acts one night and a touring Pink Floyd
cover band the next.
Sound at Fitzgerald’s is often very
good, especially in the upstairs space.
The high ceilings, wood interior, and
well-maintained PA contribute to a quality
sound that is pretty much unparalleled in
Houston. That is, if the soundman actually
cares about the show that night.
Brasil
Brasil is a coffee shop/beer and wine
bar in Montrose which sometimes hosts
local bands. These bands are usually lowkey in a way that won’t interfere with the
usual coffeehouse activities of reading,
socializing, or making eyes at that certain
someone sitting across the room.
Brasil has recently expanded in order
to focus on serving food (which is delicious). One imagines that this new focus
on becoming more like a restaurant will
impact the live music, but that remains
to be seen.
Notsuoh
Notsuoh, a coffee shop and perfor-
Frolicking Fans
buckets, but you’re not likely to find a
space like this anywhere else.
Numbers
It will always be the eighties at Numbers. They may host a regular calendar
of up-and-coming touring bands, but on
every other night, Numbers reverts to its
bread and butter of eighties and eightiesinspired dance music. A favorite game is
to count how many songs you hear before
they play “Warm Leatherette.” If you’re
a little gothy or a fan of The Cure, this
is your place.
The Orange Show
The Orange Show has only recently
begun allowing music performances, and
they are still few and far between. When
Continued on page 2
Patricia Bacalao
Concertgoers dance during a performance by Rice’s own Social Insects at the 17th
annual Outdoor Show.
Artist Profile:
on to two tambourines, which he spent
a moment tightening with a hair dryer
before striking them together loudly like
cymbals. At one point he even leapt in the
air to strike the tambourines together in an
equal balance of medieval festival and war
dance. Not long after, he moved in silence
across the stage area to the gamelan, took
up a stick beside the elaborate Indonesian
percussion set and began to introduce
himself to the instruments one at a time,
beginning with isolated strikes, then rapid
resonating patterns. Eventually he moved
back to his other instruments, including a
xylophone and metal rods he dropped with
varying degrees of care. Overall it was a
tense and dramatic exploration of a wide
variety of percussion instruments, unified
by the focus and presence of Haino.
The second night took place at the
Barnevelder Movement and Arts center.
Earplugs were distributed at the door,
and for good reason. Haino immediately
set to work filling the room with dense,
shuddering layers of noise. Drone-thudding chords and glacial washes of sound
preceded a mournful cry. He sang falsetto,
but the heart of his sound was a thundering blues. Eventually his vocals became
frantic, almost shrieks, and then he let the
sound die down. But rather than draw the
concert to a close, this was the beginning
of a second section, which was launched
with another slow, heavy blues bit which he
looped in a sampler. After a time he moved
to some variety of noisy Theremin. Finally
he brought the night to a close with a long
loop of throaty, guttural moans. The show
was intense, even exhausting, and we left
feeling more than a little overwhelmed.
Haino doesn’t tour much these days,
Keiji Haino
By Mark Flaum
Since the last quarter of the 20th century, Japan has been a surprisingly fertile
garden for rock and roll’s strangest fruits.
Few pillars of the Japanese underground
cast as broad a shadow as guitarist and
musical jack-of-all-sounds Keiji Haino.
From relentless amplifier crush to delicate hurdy-gurdy drone, Haino brings an
uncanny personal intensity to every musical avenue he explores. This summer, he
visited Houston for the first time, allowing
audiences two very different windows
into his music. The performances were
arranged by the Nameless Sound Collective and occurred at Richmond Hall
and at the Barnevelder Movement and
Arts Center.
Haino first set off to participating in
Artaud-style experimental theatre in the
late 1960s, but a run-in with the music of the
Doors set him on the musical path instead.
After a few early projects, Haino convened
the band Fushitsusha in 1978, first as a
guitar/synth duo but soon a trio or larger.
One band alone wasn’t nearly enough to
contain Haino’s musical output. A flood of
side projects and collaborations followed,
as well as more than 30 solo albums.
Haino’s work is sometimes explosive noise,
sometimes delicate acoustic guitar, and at
times dedicated to percussion, voice, or
FALL 2008
the medieval drone instrument the hurdy
gurdy. With this massive discography it
was impossible to predict what a Haino
performance in Houston might sound
like, especially when word spread that the
local ensemble Space City Gamelan had
arranged to lend their Indonesia gamelan
for the first night’s performance.
That performance occurred in Richmond Hall, a space belonging to the Menil
Collection and home of a light sculpture
by Dan Flavin. The calm fluorescent
lights provided a strangely appropriate
contrast to Keiji Haino in person—dark
glasses, black troubadour blouse and
black jeans, long hair once surely black but
now showing signs of silver. A small, lithe
man whose presence was far larger than
his person, Haino easily drew the focus of
the crowd. This night he had decided on
a percussion performance—on one end
of the floor sat a drum kit, on the oppose
end the full gamelan, and between them
an array of hand percussion objects. He
entered the performance space with some
sort of small gong or cymbal on a strap,
striking it with his hand and a rod, holding
it close to his body to control the resonance
of the sound.
Eventually he took a seat at the drum
stool and began striking the kit in tight,
almost shockingly loud attacks. He moved
1
and it’s rather unlikely that he will visit
Houston again. Personally I feel lucky
to have had a chance to see such a wide
spectrum of his work. I certainly can’t
claim to have enjoyed every minute of it,
and it was a huge amount of sound to try
to absorb in just two days. But I was left
with no doubt about the power, poise and
presence of Keiji Haino.
What is the
Rice Radio Folio?
The Folio is first and foremost a
programming and listening guide
designed to help you keep up with
what’s on air. For your pleasure, our
DJs also generate a healthy serving
of album reviews, playlists, band profiles, concert calendars, interviews,
and news and information about
KTRU and the Houston music scene.
The Folio was a more regular feature
from the 1980s through the early
1990s, when it educated and entertained readers on a weekly basis.
The station’s boost to 50,000 watts
and resultant lack of a reliable oncampus signal until the late 1990s
contributed to its (partial) abandonment. Now the folio lives again, in a
longer, if less frequent form. If you
are new to KTRU, the Folio is an
excellent place to begin what will
no doubt be a long and fruitful love
affair. If you’re already hooked, the
folio is just another way to get more
of what you love.
Events and Artist Profiles
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Artist Profile: Diwaliben Punjabhai Bhil
By Varsha Vakil
Indian folk singers are usually littleknown by the Indian masses, compared to
India’s more popular Bollywood performers. Yet, in her lifetime, self-taught folk
artist Diwaliben Punjabhai Bhil has risen
from a humble background to gain acclaim
both in India and around the world.
Diwaliben Bhil belongs to the Koli
tribe and hails from Junagadh, Gujarat,
India. Journalist Jaimal Parmar discovered
her talent and helped bring her into the
limelight; until then she had been a guide
for local schoolchildren as part of the
government’s literacy programs.
In subsequent years spent recording
folk music, Diwaliben Bhil achieved
both commercial success and important
cultural achievements, acknowledged in
1990 when she was honored with Padma
Shree, one of India’s most prestigious
awards, given by the Indian government
to citizens in recognition of their distin-
A Rookie’s Guide to Houston:
Local Venues Continued from page 1
they do happen, though, they are worth
the wait.
The Orange Show is a folk art environment, composed mostly of mosaic tile
and iron work. Oh and lots of junk. It was
designed and built by postal worker Jeff
McKissack, who was determined to share
with the world his conviction that oranges
are the key to a healthy life. To that end,
he built a space that he thought would
rival Disneyland in popularity and let him
spread the gospel of the orange.
The Orange Show’s opening was not
quite the success that McKissack hoped.
In fact, nobody paid much attention at all,
and McKissack died a few years later.
So the oranges eventually failed McKissack, but you can still appreciate the genius
that went into making the place—and all
the better if you’re watching live music
while you do.
The Continental Club
The Continental Club is the Houston
franchise of this Austin roots-rock club.
It’s chock-full of kitschy neon and velvet,
but it could be no other way. If you’re looking for something a little bit country and
a little bit rock and roll, the Continental
is for you.
guished contributions to their field.
Indian folk songs are usually poignant
and earthy, with simple lyrics meant to appeal to large numbers. Notable examples
from Diwaliben Bhil include “Hoon to kagalaiyan lakhi lakhi thaki…” (a woman’s cry
to her beloved, “I am tired of writing letters
to you…”), “Varse Varse Ashadhi Kere
Megh…” (The dark clouds bring monsoon
rain…) and “Chelaiya Khama Khamare,
from the Gujarati movie Halo Gamde Jaiye
(Let’s go back to the village).
Besides Gujarati folk songs, Diwaliben Bhil has also sung many garba and
bhajans, and can be heard in numerous Gujarati films. Garba songs are particularly
popular, as they are lively and performed
at social gatherings on instruments like
the dhol (drums), cymbals, zanz (Gujarat’s
own folk percussion instrument) and shehnai (flute). With these beats and the voice
of a singer like Diwaliben Bhil, listeners
are set in a trance and dance—and this can
The Mink
The Mink is a newish bar/performance
space on the same block as the Continental. It can be a little hard to find and the
interior is a bit labyrinthine, but they have
a burgeoning schedule of indie rock going
on up in there.
Nameless Sound & Houston Institute For Culture
Nameless Sound and Houston Institute
For Culture are not venues, but these two
organizations (unrelated) organize regular
improvised music/jazz shows and performances of world music (respectively)
in Houston. Events take place in various
venues around town. Check their websites
for calendars.
DiverseWorks
DiverseWorks is an art space. But
this art space sometimes moonlights as a
place to see live music or perhaps take in
a play. These are not regular happenings,
though, so check their calendar or get on
their mailing list.
Etcetera
You can glean some info about the local
scene from Hands Up Houston and Space
City Rock on the web, as well as Houston
Press, free on the streets and online.
The 2008
Outdoor Show
in Review
By Rachel Orosco
Spring of 2008 saw KTRU’s 17th annual Outdoor Show, and after 16 years of
bringing the best mix of underexposed
artists from Houston and beyond, KTRU
did it again, this time bringing out 8 acts
from an eclectic selection of genres.
Rachel Buchman, a Shepherd School
professor, alum and children’s artist,
started the show off by getting all of the
face-painted children up on their feet for
some Sunday afternoon song and dance.
Many of the Rice students and even some
adults in the crowd joined in, getting
the show off to a fun and light-hearted
start. David Dove and Jawwaad Taylor
surprised the crowd when the jazz duo
decided to take their performance off
stage. The pair impressed the crowd with
their impromptu field performance that
proved that you don’t need a stage to grab
attention and wow the crowd.
Experimental noise group :::KAI/
ROS::: followed, fully equipped with their
very own fan club lining the front of the
stage. The group exposed the Rice community to pulsating noise, rising and falling
in a wall of sound. Local rockers Balaclavas
followed with a powerful set, showcasing why they are consistently able to fill
venues in the Houston area and beyond.
Nosaprise, who had just performed at
the Westheimer Block Party days before,
took the stage next and delivered hip-hop
that had heads bobbing throughout the
performance.
After Nosa amazed the crowd with
his beats and witty rhymes, Dead PA
started off their “Dead PA for President”
performance of electronic, drums, and
bass. Parts & Labor ended the night with
a fabulous set. Although sound and staging issues delayed each act and pushed
Parts & Labor’s performance back over
two hours, devoted fans stuck around and
had a private concert experience with the
band, which delivered a highly memorable
performance.
As always, our main goal is to bring in
the masses to enjoy an eclectic, progressive, and talented bunch of underexposed
performers right here on the Rice University campus. See you next year!
2
be experienced right here in Houston or
any large American city during the Indian
Navratri festival.
Among hundreds of garba songs by
Diwaliben Bhil, notable are “Marey todle
betho mor” (The Peacock That Sits at
my Courtyard), “Sona Vatkdi Re Kesar
Gholya” (Saffron that is Mixed in a Small
Golden Cup) and “Vage che re” (The
Music Plays).
Diwaliben Bhil attracted attention
with her song “Aiwa Aiwa” (Here They
Come) on the album Mann ke Manjeere
(The Jangle of the Heart) released in April
2001. Indian music, drama, dance and
poetry are all based on the concept of the
Nava Rasas, or the nine emotions. The
Shringar Rasa (love, sensuality) is further
sub-categorized as Virah (separation)
and Milan (being together). Diwaliben
Bhil chose to sing a Virah-inspired song,
regarding a woman who anxiously waits
for her loved one at sea when all the other
boats have safely returned. The album is
based on oppressed Indian women, their
struggle for freedom, and the celebration
once their dreams are achieved. This album won the Indian Screen awards in 2001
and was nominated for the MTV Awards.
Aiwa Aiwa itself is over 200 years old,
from Saurashtra’s Kharwa community,
whose main occupation is fishing. The
song is composed of a mix of dialects
from this region.
Diwaliben Bhil was not born into a
prestigious and influential family like
many Indian singers—she belonged to the
lower caste, and had an underprivileged
childhood. She is now looked upon as a
role model by many talented women artists
and people from lower castes. The pride
of Gujarat, Diwaliben Bhil has not only
distinguished herself with her achievements, but has also made her entire tribal
community proud.
Events and Artist Profiles
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Hit the Ground Running:
Fall 2008 Recommended shows
By Mark Flaum
Hot summer tours are winding down, but the Houston music scene
still moves through fall. Houston’s scene runs the gamut, so mark
your calendars, check out KTRU’s upcoming shows website, and
other sites that note upcoming shows in the area. Don’t forget to
ask around or make a call and see if the show is sold out. Also,
stay tuned to KTRU, and you just might pick up a few free tickets.
*All items subject to change—
Stay up-to-date at ktru.org with maps, times and lineups.
Friday, September 5, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
KTRU Live Broadcast @ Rice Memorial Center Lobby
Pick your BATTLES:
Friday, September 12, 5 p.m.
Deadline: Fall DJ Applications
September 6: Sideshow Tramps/The Grass Skirts @ The Orange Show
September 17: Jana Hunter/Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez @ DiverseWorks
Friday, February 6, 2009, 5 p.m.
Deadline: Battle of the Bands Demos and Applications
September 18: Silver Jews @ The Orange Show
September 24: Drive-By Truckers @ The Meridian
Friday, February 20, 2009, 7 p.m.
KTRU Battle of the Bands
@ Lovett Undergrounds / Lyles, Rice University
September 26: Spiritualized @ The Meridian
September 30: The Black Keys @ The Meridian
October 3: Quintron and Miss Pussycat/Golden Triangle @
Walter’s on Washington
Saturday, April 11, 2009, Noon to Dark
KTRU Outdoor Show (Date is Tentative)
Some Field @ Rice University
October 3: Henry Rollins @ Stafford Centre
October 10: Cat Power @ Warehouse Live
October 10: Laurie Anderson @ Cullen Theatre
October 17: Opeth/High on Fire/Baroness @ Warehouse Live
October 18: Girl Talk @ Warehouse Live
November 6: Deerhoof/Experimental Dental School/Flying @ Numbers
November 7: Parts & Labor/Black Congress @ Walter’s on Washington
Make sure you check out calendars online for a full list of upcoming shows!
http://www.spacecityrock.com/
http://www.namelesssound.org/
http://www.superunison.com/
http://bang.rice.edu/shows.shtml
From the Station Manager
I was asked for some words
on what’s up at KTRU.
For Rice students, we have a
bunch of new opportunities.
You could become a general
shift DJ. Or, for Shepherd School
folks and wannabes, we are
looking to expand the hours for
Scordatura (modern/contemporary classical), and for English
Majors and their ilk, Spoken
Word could use some poetically-minded people to broadcast
speech… and maybe to bring in
some guest literatos.
We also have a couple of
student engineers who would
love your help, building, breaking,
fixing and assembling our equipment, doubly so if you are a EE
or mechanically inclined. And we
could always use more students
on the News show, interviewing
anarchists, GLBT performance
artists, John Kerry and so on.
Finally, we have a local
music-news show, The Revelry
Report, which does artist interviews, live performances,
and concert calendars. If Rice
students wanted to join and talk
to big name bands, that’d be rad.
Just shoot me or Katie, one of
our DJ Directors, an email regarding any of these jobs (see ktru.
org for contacts).
I’m pretty happy with the direction the station is moving right
now, both with our music and our
organization. We’ve got a bunch
of shows back on air (News,
Funk, Navrang, Spoken Word,
Scordatura) which were either
dead or dying a year ago. We’ve
also introduced some great new
shows, like Africana on Saturdays
and Shoegaze over the summer.
Artist Profile:
Tyagaraja
By Ayn Morgan
Tyagaraja started out in a little Texas
town, with the name Jon Welch. His father
played electric guitar in a few Texas bands
in the 1960s (Spring Creek Trestle was
one). After learning his first two chords at
age nine, Jon started writing songs.
Later on, he had a project called Grindstone which he describes as having “a little
angst,” with such song titles as “Sweet
Suicide” and “Despondent.” His first
serious collaboration was Orion Elapse,
which sometimes included his father. The
songs leaned more towards prose, yet were
mathematical and inspired by progressive
metal bands. There were different incarnations of Orion Elapse, including one where
overzealous stage theatrics somehow led
Jon to break his knee. Incredibly, he still
managed to finish the show.
Jon’s early vocals were extreme. Ethereal and haunting, the lyrics were complex
and emotional, which his voice personified.
When he performed in public places, the
reactions of passersby were varied. People
would stop and evaluate. Some would keep
walking, but others would stay and come
to every show thereafter. Orion Elapse was
soulful, pulled through a filter of Eastern
sound with a large degree of lamentation
and the feel of old spirituals.
During one Orion Elapse performance,
he was approached about forming another
band which later became Million Year
Dance. The sound leaned more towards
southern rock. It resulted in touring, local
community events, and visual art performances. One show at St. Thomas Univer-
sity had a series of huge eye murals with the
band surrounded by colored lights sifting
through slow-moving yoga performers.
Outdoor shows included fire ceremonies
where the crowd was invited to add folded
paper flowers to a fire burning near the
stage. There was creative tension between
the opposing directions of the music and
visuals, and steadily increasing amounts
of focus on spiritual symbols and actions.
Imagine a rock show at Notsuoh, where
after an intense set of bands, everyone
stops to meditate as a group at two in the
morning. Like the audience, some band
members were for it and others, not so
much. The band began to fade.
That is when Amma Sri Karunamayi
found Jon and invited him to be one of her
students. Amma is revered in India as an
embodiment of divine motherly love and
tours extensively each year sharing ancient
Vedic teachings. When he met her in
person, she gave him the name Tyagaraja.
He left for India. Shortly after returning to
America, he assisted and toured with her
around the country, sometimes singing in
fire ceremonies.
Now he travels between Houston and
Austin, performing as Tyagaraja. The
songs have similar themes: spiritual,
humanistic, anti-war and folk situations.
In reconnecting with local performers,
his current project has paired this folk
songwriter with experimental, spiritual,
world and rock elements.
On the web at www.myspace.com/
orionelapse
3
We’ve reprogrammed Robo,
so if you think you are hearing
more oddball music than normal
on KTRU, it could be because
Robo is at work. We’re looking at
expanding World Radio Network
hours, bringing news from around
the world. My favorite WRN moment? Q: “What are favorite birds
for birdwatchers in Slovakia?” A:
“Well, we have many pigeons…
and blackbirds….”
The Music Department is
humming along, doing an improved job of learning about what
is coming out soon and trying to
get us new music. And they could
use your help, either as an album
reviewer, or as a DJ spinning
tunes.
Last year, I was particularly
pleased with the 17th Outdoor
Show, which Rachel revamped in
a more traditional style (numerous smaller eclectic acts, all day,
outdoors). This was in addition
to all our various concerts and
DJing events at CAMH, Rice Gallery, Proletariat and other sundry
spaces. I’d like to put on more of
these events; they’re lots of fun.
As for landmarks, 2007 put
us 40 years out from our founding as KHCR (Hanszen College
Radio) by a bunch of EEs. 2008
puts us 8 years out from The
Shutdown (see ricethresher.org).
I remember hearing about that…
in middle school.
Oh, and we’re still very sad
about losing The Proletariat to
Metrorail construction not even a
year ago, a venue that was very
good to us and to local music for
many years.
That’s all for now. Tune in or
join in—it’s your station.
specialty show playlists
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Specialty Show Playlists
Africana
Each specialty show at KTRU was asked to provide the names of the albums they
are currently spinning the most, new and noteworthy releases, old favorites, or a
selection of songs most representative of their show. These playlists might give you
some ideas what each show is about at the moment—or, they might give you some
ideas for albums to pick up.
Electronic
Artist
Album
Composite Profuse
Like Kisses Of Thread
Various Artists
Dälek vs. Ifwhen
Heartsrevolution
Portishead
Black Devil Disco Club
Building Castles Out Of Matchsticks
Solvent/Lofish
Jdsy
Sceneslow
The Notwist
Flying Lotus
Travelogue
Twine
Cubenx
John Tejada
Mochipet
Das Kabinette
Angel
18:e Oktober
The Field
Absolute Body Control
DMX Krew
Televise
My Old Red Car
Letters
Birth Certificate
Hear Less/No Good Trying
Switchblade EP
Third
Eight Oh Eight
Smile, Silly Face
Now We Are Dead
Adage of Known
Lillnea
The Devil, You + Me
Los Angeles
The Winter EP Reissue
Violets
Can’t Throw a Stone
Where
Microphonepet
Spy Thriller
Kalmukia
Kulturvetarnas Kongress
Sound of Light
Wind[re]wind
Ionospheric Exploration
Radiation Sound/Underwater
Label
Minimal Rome
October Man
I, Absentee
Claire’s Echo
ISO
Mercury
Lo
9.12
Suction
Ghostly International/Moodgadget
October Man
Domino
Warp
Self-Released
Ghostly International
Infiné
Palette
Daly City
Minimal Wave
Editions Mego
Djuring Phonogram
Heartbeats International
Daft
Kust
Club AC30
Album
Stephen Albert
Mark Applebaum
Kyoung Mee Choi
George Rochberg
Gerard Grisey
Emanuele Casale
Max Richter
Jacques Tremblay
Steven Drury
Iannis Xenakis
Tristan Murail
Yi Chen
Thomas Ades
John Corigliano
George Maciunas
Paul Lanksy
Kohei Mukai
Christopher Rouse
Hildegard Westerkamp
Sheila Silver
Sebastian Currier
John Young
Fennesz
Supersilent
Robert Ashley
Ekkehard Ehlers
Riverrun
Delos
Asylum
INNOVA
Music from SEAMUS Vol 17
EAM
String Quartets #3-6
New World
Virtuoso Accordian
Bridge
Electroacoustic Music From Sicily
EMF
The Blue Notebooks
Fat Cat
Miniatures Conretes
Emprientes Digitales
Faith The Loss Of Faith, And The Return Of Faith
Jasrac
Xenakis Ensemble
Byhast
Tristan Murail-Serendib-L’Esprit des Dunes-DeSinte
Musicdisc
Sparkle
Composers
Life Story
EMI Classics
Pied Piper Fantasy
RCA Victor
Sonic Youth With Goodbye 20th Century
SYR
Wergo Computer Music Selected Works 1991-2005
Wergo
Selected Works 1991-2005
Almus Musa
Symphony No 1
Meet The Composer
Transformations
Empreintes Digitales
To The Spirit…
CRI
Music From The Copland House
Koch
The Edge Of Noise
Empreintes Digitales
Venice
Touch
5
Rune Grammofon
The Wolfman
Alga Margen
Politik Braucht Keinen Feind
Staubgold
Album
Serie Afrovenezolana
Les Amazones De Guinee
Balla et ses Balladins
Celia Cruz
Cesaria Evora
Colomunbiafrica
Gal Costa
Etran Finatawa
Franco
Grupo Afro-Cuba
The Garifuna Women’s Project
Kasai All-Stars
The LA Drivers Union Por Por Group
Machito & His Afro-Cubans
Junior Murvin
Tito Puente King Of Kings
Rail Band
Martirio & Compay Segundo
King Tubby
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Afrobarloventeña
Conac
Wamato
Sterns Music
The Syliphone Years
Sterns Music
Azucar!
Fania / Umgd
Café Atlantico
RCA Victor
The Mystical Orchestra: Voodoo Love Inna Champeta Land
Columbia
Samba Brasil
Verve
Desert Crossroads
Riverboat
African Classics
Canto
Raices Africanas
Shanachie
Umalali
Stonetree
In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish
And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic
Crammed
Por Por: Honk Horn Music From Ghana
Smithsonian Folkways
Machito & His Afro-Cubans
Harlequin
Police And Thieves
Island
The Very Best Of Tito Puente
RCA
Soundiata
Stems Africa
Compay Segundo
Weasel Disc
Essential Dub
Metro Music
African Screams Contest: Raw & Psychedelic
Afro Sounds from Benin and Togo 70s
Analog Africa
Bachata Roja: Accoustic Bachata from the Cabaret Era
iASO
Living is Hard: West African Music in Britain, 1927-1929
Honest Jons
Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-1976
Soundway
Poetry and Languid Charm: Swahili Music from Tanzania and Kenya
British Library
Singing for Life: Songs of Hope, Healing and HIV/AIDS in Uganda Smithsonian Folkways
The Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves
from the Legendary Series
Buda Musique/Manteca
Trojan Dub Box Set
Sanctuary
The Rough Guide to Dub
World Music Network
Calypso Awakening: From the Emory Cook Collection Smithsonian Folkways
Label
Funk
Scordatura
Artist
Artist
Label
Artist
Album
James Brown
Funkadelic
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Brand New Heavies
Johnny Hammond
The Meters
T.S.U. Tornadoes
E.S.G.
Kashmere Stage Band
Fred Wesley & The JBs
Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Sly & The Family Stone
Breakestra
Archie Bell & The Drells
Bootsy Collins
Various Artists
Parliament
Manzel
Various Artists
Various Artists
James Pants
Various Artists
Quantic Soul Orchestra
Rebirth Brass Band
El Michels Affair
Plant Life
Lou Pride
In The Jungle Groove
Polydor
One Nation Under A Groove
Warner Brothers
Keep Reachin Up
Above the Clouds
Brand New Heavies
Delicious Vinyl
Gears
Milestone
The Meters
Josie
One Flight Too Many
Funky Delicacies
A South Bronx Story
Universal Sound
Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974
Now Again
Damn Right I Am Somebody
Polydor
He’s Coming
Polydor
Stand
Epic
Hit the Floor
Ubiquity
Tighten Up
Atlantic
Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!
Warner Brothers
Soul Spectrum
BBE
Mothership Connection
Casablanca
Midnight Theme
Dopebrother
Africafunk: The Original Sound of 1970s Funky Africa
Harmless
Funky Funky Houston, Vol.1
Funky Delicacies
Welcome
Stones Throw
Nigeria Disco Funk Special
Soundway
Stampede
Tru Thoughts
Ultimate Rebirth Brass Band
Mardi Gras
Sounding Out The City
Truth & Soul
The Return of Jack Splash
Counterflow
The Memphis/ El Paso Sessions 1970-73
Severn
Label
Reggae
Genetic Memory
Artist
Album
Label
Pentemple
Various Artists
Les Rallizes Denudes
Taj Mahal Travellers
Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet
Makoto Kawabata & the Mothers of Invasion
Cursillistas
Vibracathedral Orchestra
Kevin Drumm
Richard Youngs & Andrew Paine
Anton Bruhin
Volcano The Bear
Annea Lockwood
Scorces
Emerald
Riccardo Dillon Wanke
Area C
Masami Akita & Keiji Haino
Toshimaru Nakamura & English
Charalambides
Grouper
O))) Presents…
Southern Lord
Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days
Dust-to-Digital
Heavier Than a Death in the Family
Ain’t Group Sounds
July 15, 1972
Nippon Columbia
The Breadwinner
Erstwhile
Hot Rattlesnakes
Paratactile
Wasp Stings The Last Bitter Flavor
Digitalis
Dabbling With Gravity And Who You Are
VHF
Imperial Distortion
Hospital Productions
Snapshots of Rural England
Sonic Oyster
Vom Goldabfischer
Alga Marghen
The Mountains Among Us
Beta-Lactum Ring
A Sound Map Of The Danube
Lovely Music
I Turn Into You
Not Not Fun
Solar Bridge
Hanson
Caves
Sedimental
Sea of Rains
Area C Music
Pulverized Purple
Alien8
One Day
Erstwhile
Rose/Thorn
Klang Industries
Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
Type Records
Jazz/Improvised Music
Artist
Album
Fire Room
Vandermark 5
Ornette Coleman
Billie Holliday
Abraxas Pool
Alex Heitlinger Sextet
Bebel Gilberto
Bossa Nostra
Charlie Haden
Bill Dixon
Evan Parker
Phil Minton
Furt Plus
Sun Ra
The Magic I.D.
Keith Rowe
Spontaneous Music Ensemble
New York Eye and Ear Control
Frank Lowe
Broken Room
Beat Reader
Town Hall 1962
Rare Live Recordings 1934-1959
Szabo Smooth Jazz
Green light
Night And Day
Jackie
Fuiste Tu
17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound - Darfur
Conic Sections
No Doughnuts In Hand
Equals
Some Blues But Not The Kind That’s Blue
Till My Breath Gives Out
The Room
Bare Essentials
New York Eye and Ear Control
Black Beings
Label
Atavistic
Atavistic
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
Summer Sounds
Synergy
Momento
Putumayo
Land of the Sun
Aum Fidelity
Psi
Emanem
Psi
Atavistic
Erstpop
Erstwhile
Emanem
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
Album
Born Liars
The P.M.R.C.
50/50 / Endless Demise
Hypochristians
Welfare Mothers
No Talk
The Scrips
Balaclavas
Secret Prostitutes
Future Blondes
Amplified Heat
Big Boys
Cheap Time
The Fondas
Dirtbombs
Yuppie Pricks
Terrible Twos
Jay Reatard
The Ettes
Carbonas
Sugar Shack
Go Back One Day
Cutthroat
Polyphonics For The Modern Renaissance Cannibal Motorchest
Split
625/OWWR
Christ Inc.
No Weak Shit
Long Brown Hair
Self-Released
Police Mafia / A Houston Punk Is A Dead Punk
Psychowolf / AG82
Nothing’s Easy E.P. Self-Released
Inferno
Compound
Secret Prostitutes
Psychowolf / AG82
Unity Pure Demise Cult
Compound
How Do You Like The Sound Of That?
Arclight
Fun Fun Fun
Moment
Cheap Time
In The Red
Runaway Bombshell
Sympathy For The Industry
We Have You Surrounded
In The Red
Balls
Chicken Ranch
Terrible Twos
Criminal IQ
7”
Matador
Look at Life Again
Walking Around Sense
Carbonas
Goner
Get Out of My World
Estrus
Album
Bob Marley
Toots & The Maytals
Burnt Friedman
Morgan Heritage
Katchafire
Luciano
Various Artists
Ticklah
Ziggy Marley
Half Pint
Chaka Demus & Pliers
Various Artists
Elephant Man
Burning Babylon
Various Artists
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Various Artists
Various Artists
Tanya Stephenes
Monty Alexander
Various Artists
The Samples
Alpha Blondy
Bushman
African Head Charge
Third World
Finley Quaye
Roots, Rock, Remixed
Light Your Light
First Night Forever
Mission In Progress
Say What You’re Thinking
Jah Is My Navigator
Ragga Ragga Ragga 2008
Ticklah vs. Axelrod
Love Is My Religion
No Stress Express
Back Off The Wall
When Rhythm Was King
Let’s Get Phsyical
Beat Beat Beat
Latin Reggae
The End of An American Dream
Reggae Gold 2008
12” Rulers: Gussie Clarke
Rebelution
Concrete Jungle: Music Of Bob Marly
King Size Dub 11
Very Best Of The Samples
Elohim
Get It In Your Mind
In Pursuit of Shashamane Land
Black, Gold, and Green
Vanguard
Label
Tuff Gong
Concrd
Nonplace
VP
Ohana
VP
Greensleeves
Easy Star
Tuff Gong
Perpetual
Explorer Music
Heartbeat
VP
Soundshack
Putumayo
Megawave
VP
Greensleeves
VP
Telarc
Echo Beach
What Are ?
Shanachie
Paraiso
On-U Sound
Shanachie
Epic
Chickenskin Music
Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour
Artist
Artist
Label
4
Artist
Album
Blew Munday
Jason Eklund
Tim Grimm
Infamous String Dusters
Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus
Kimmie Rhodes
Eliza Gilkyson
Denice Franke
The Gordons
Chuck Brodsky
Dan Tyminski
Drew Emmitt
Miss Leslie
Punch Brothers
Bob Gibson
Darrell Scott
Mark Dvorak
Emmylou Harris
Jonathan Byrd
Austin Lounge Lizards
Adam Caroll
Jack Williams
Border Blasters
I See Hawks In LA
Robin And Linda Williams
Grant Peeples
Joe Ely & Joel Guzman
Halfway Man
Behind The 8 Ball
Holding Up The World
Infamous String Dusters
Plans Gang Aft Agley
Walls Fall Down
Beautiful World
Guld Coast Blue
Our Time
Two Sets
Wheels
Long Road
Between The Whiskey And The Wine
Punch
The Living Legend Years
Modern Hymns
What A Wnderful World
All I Intended To Be
The Law And The Lonesome
The Drugs I Need
Old Town Rock And Roll
Don’t Let Go
Trouble In Mind
Hallowed Ground
Radio Songs
It’s Later Than You Think
Live Cactus
Label
Self
Muszeekans
Vault
Sugar Hill
Self-Released
Sunbird
Red House
Certain Records
Inside Out
Waterbug
Rounder
Compass
Zero
Nonesuch
Bog Gibson Legacy
Full Light
Waterbug
Nonesuch
Waterbug
Blue Corn
Self-Released
Wind River
Boquillas
Western Seeds
Red House
Self-Released
Rack ‘Em
From the music department
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
top 35 for the week of 09.01.2008
ARTIST
ALBUM
Dual
Blevin Blectum
Two Star Symphony
Indian Jewelry
Pumice
Aelters
O9
Sugar Minott
Vibert/Simmonds
Siecox
B L A C K I E
Megaphone
Babe Stovall
Bee Vs. Moth
Various Artists
Crash Test Taurus
Drakkar Sauna
The Electric Set
La Drivers Union Por Por Group
Jess Rowland
Wicked Poseur
Various Artists
Franco Godi
Lukas Ligeti
Tom Nunn
Connie Price and the Keystones
Erik M And Dieb 13
Infant Mortality Rate
Phil Minton
Steve Reich
The Academy Of Maqam
John Cephas & Phil Wiggins
Nurse With Wound
Various Artists
Lalgudi G. Jayaraman Pyroclastics
Gularflutter
Love & Other Demons
Free Gold!
Quo
Misitch Mjeuga Djisc
Church Of The Ghetto P.C.
Dance Hall Showcase Vol II
Rodulate
Friendly House Favorites
Wilderness Of North America (Radio Edit)
Megaphone
The Old Ace
Soundhorn
Technicolor Yawn: KVRX Local Live Vol. 12
The Name Is An Anagram
Wars And Tornados
Real Magic
Por Por: Honk Horn Music From Ghana
Scenes From the Silent Revolution
Trashy Energy
Bachata Roja: Acoustic Bachata from the Cabaret Era
Signor Rossi
Afrikan Machinery
Identity
Tell Me Something
Chaos Club
Puer Aeternis
No Doughnuts In Hand
Daniel Variations
Music Of Central Asia 2: Invisible Face of the
Beloved Classical Music of the Tajiks and Uzbeks
Richmond Blues
Drunk With The Old Man Of The Mountains
Calypsoul 70: Carribean Soul & Calypso Crossover 1969–1979
Violin Waves: South Indian Classical Music
KTRU Summer Hits 2008
LABEL
ARTIST
ALBUM
A Thousand Cranes
Bee vs. Moth
Big Al Calhoun & Henry Townsend
Bill Dixon
Crash Test Taurus
Connie Price
David Berger & the Sultans of Swing
Hearts of Animals
Indian Jewelry
Infant Mortality Rate
LA Drivers Union Por Por Group
The Lexie Mountain Boys
The Magic I.D.
The Mathletes
Mattress
Necrosis
Nemeth
Phil Minton
The Pines
State Bird
Tim Fite
Various Artists
Various Artists
Wicked Poseur
Zandosis
Cheap Gold
Soundhorn
Harmonica Blues
17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur
The Name is an Anagram
Tell Me Something
Hindustan
Hearts of Animals
Free Gold!
Puer Aeternis
Por Por: Honk Horn Music From Ghana
Sacred Vacation
Till My Breath Gives Out
Fuck You and Your Cool
Heavy Duty
You Make, I Like
Film
No Doughnuts in Hand
Sparrows in the Bell
Mostly Ghostly
Fair Ain’t Fair
Bachata Roja: Acoustic Bachata from the Cabaret Era
Music of Central Asia Vol. 1: Tengir-Too Mountain Music of Kyrgyzstan
Trashy Energy
Z vs. W
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways
Jnana Records
Strut
Felmay
LABEL
From the Music Department
The Music Department meets
twice a week, and allows all KTRU
DJs to participate in selecting what
becomes a part of the KTRU catalog
for years to come.
We spend hours each week sifting through the mail we receive from
bands, labels, etc, and distributing
what we find to the specialty shows.
“Music Department” is in fact a
bit of a misnomer, as our selections
frequently include performance art,
spoken word and field recordings
of various sounds, both natural and
unnatural.
As part of our educational
mission, we maintain a “playlist,” a
group of about 100 recent releases
that most people (including DJs)
are unfamiliar with. We also try to
spotlight local artists on the playlist.
CDs are dropped and added from
the playlist each week to keep our
sound fresh.
Once an album is reviewed by
any of our DJs for the playlist, there
is a listening session to ensure
Quodlibet
Aagoo
Self-Released
Girlgang
Soft Abuse
Sonig
Asphodel
Wackie’s
Rephlex
Self-Released
Self-Released
Nataural High
Arcola
Aggraveire Music
KVRX
Imp Records
Marriage
Girlgang
Smithsonian Folkways
Pax
Mirror Vending
Iaso
Bureau B
Tzadik
Edgetone
Ubiquity
Erstwhile
Mayday Records
Emanem
Nonesuch
these albums will make a positive
contribution to out collection. We try
to create an eclectic collection of
imaginative works with cutting-edge
sounds, styles, and ideas.
Older selections, more popular
items, or imperfect-but-KTRU-worthy
music may be placed in the new
bin—“new” in the sense that it is
new to KTRU, not new to the world.
So a 45 RPM children’s record from
1965 could be in our new bin… or
electronic circa 2003.
At the end of this process, the
department is ultimately responsible for the weekly playlist distribution which updates DJs and the
music industry on our adds and the
rotation.
We also have an acquisitions
group that researches new music
we should get, and communicates
with industry contacts to make this
happen.
While participating in other
events and even while traveling
abroad, music department mem5
bers are always on the lookout for
new sounds to introduce to KTRU.
And of course, we are forever curating our stacks.
Why do we invest all this effort?
Our mission to provide exposure to
artists producing diverse forms of
cutting edge music is not merely
an aesthetic preference—if it were,
the job would quickly turn stale. It is
KTRU’s assertion that very powerful,
moneyed interests, such as promoters, distributors, music stores,
publications, and TV/radio/media
conglomerates play an inappropriate
role in determining which sounds
are “good” and acceptable to our
ears, and which are “bad” and
unacceptable, in a way which really
has little do with the what is inherently valuable about music/sound/
culture/art/humanity.
While new media (read: Internet) makes recordings available
to us in unprecedented quantities,
certain sounds remain hard to find,
confined to the unvisited Myspace
page, the album receiving only 100
pressings, or music found in only
the most obscure journals.
Self-Released
Aggraveire Music
Arcola
Aum Fidelity
Imp
Ubiquity
Such Sweet Thunder
Dull Knife
Girlgang
Mayday
Smithsonian Folkways
Carpark
Erstwhile
Self-Released
Reluctant
Self-Released
Thrill Jockey
Emanem
Erstwhile
The Record Machine
Anti
Iaso
Smithsonian Folkways
Mirror Vending
Old Gold
Is this music bad? Certainly,
most of it is. But much of it is valuable, and for these artists, KTRU
may be the only station in Texas, or
in the nation, exposing it to a wider
audience through radio.
As a non-profit station, we have
the unique opportunity to listen to
music with both ears and no eye
toward an economic bottom line.
In this way, KTRU, supported by the
University and its students, is in
turn able to support that which is
artistically and culturally valuable,
and play music that is beautiful,
interesting and challenging, in many
different ways.
Is popular music bad? Of
course not. But Bjork and Daft Punk
(KTRU DJ favorites) don’t need our
exposure, and every minute devoted
to their material is one we could
have used to fulfill our educational
mission more fully. The rarity of
hearing repeated artists and songs
on KTRU is a testament to the vast
sea of unexposed music in which
we swim.
programming guide
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Specialty Shows
Chickenskin
Chickenskin Music airs Thursday Evenings on KTRU from 8 – 10 p.m. The show gets
its name from an old blues expression referring to music that gives you ‘chickenskin’,
or goose bumps. At the beginning it was collage of bluegrass, folk, rockabilly, classical and jazz. The idea comes from a thought that all music from A to Z is related, and
can be played together. It’s just a matter of how you get from A to Z. Live guests have
always been a part of the show. Over the years we’ve hosted Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor,
Jason Eklund, The Neville Brothers, James McMurtry, Preston Reed, Sue Foley, Tish
Hinijosa, Ani di Franco… and the list goes on.
Specialty shows make up around 30 percent of our programming hours, most
during the evening hours between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. These shows endeavor to play
unexposed music from genres other than rock. Some of our specialty shows, such as
Chickenskin and Jazz, have been going strong for over 20 years; others, like Africana,
are brand new. KTRU strives to play the greatest variety of music with the least trash
of any station in the Houston vicinity, and specialty shows help us toward this goal.
Electronic
First there was the theremin, humming like a flying saucer to the wave of a hand.
Then along came giant modular synths and Australian computer music. As the twentieth
century trickled onward, electronic music developed from an academic experiment
to the dominant force on many dance floors. It has rewritten pop music, re-arranged
the classical canon and played a key part in the development of hip hop. But today,
electronic music has emerged into an abundance of music in a genre all own. Undanceable IDM, blast-happy breakcore, synth-buzzing electro, glitch, lap-pop and more. You
can sample the spectrum every Friday evening from 7 to 9 on the electronic show.
As a special treat, on several occasions, the electronic show has presented electronic
works from students in the Shepherd School of Music here at Rice.
Africana
The African/African Diaspora show explores the music of Africans and communities of African descent wherever one finds them. Our goal is to expose listeners to
the rich diversity of some of the world’s greatest, and still evolving musical traditions.
We play everything from traditional and folkloric music to classic recordings of the
sixties and seventies and today’s dance hits. Not only do we present the music of 54
African countries, but we will also explore African music in the Americas, Europe and
the Indian Ocean: reggae, jazz, Columbian cumbias, Cape Verdean mornas, and more.
Tune in every Saturday from 1:00 – 3:00 pm and join us on an exciting journey into the
music of the Africa and its Diaspora.
Funk & Soul
Americana
The Funk show airs every Thursday evening, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. What began as
monstrous drum lines, super rhythmic electric guitar rifts, and an extra tight brass
section has since evolved into one (wo)man bands intent on conquering the same soulful journey foreshadowed by their imaginative ancestors decades ago. The show sets
out to pay proper homage to the commendable funk purveyors, while acknowledging
the soul scholars of today and introducing the mission controllers of tomorrow. No
corner of the world or era of time is left uncovered. The declaration remains: “One
Nation Under A Groove.”
Every Monday night from 9 p.m. – 10 p.m., the Americana show explores the roots
and history of American music (and sometimes, American history through music). For
example, on MLK Day, we played speech excerpts from MLK, RFK’s famous speech on
the assassination, plus songs by Otis Spann, Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and others
who recorded civil rights and MLK related material. On the birthday of the Houston
blues legend Big Mama Thornton (now deceased), we played a selection of her music,
and on Election Day we’ll play appropriately themed songs (Blue Mountain’s “Jimmy
Carter,” the Austin Lounge Lizards’ “Ballad of Ronald Reagan”). We try to cover as many
American genres as possible—jazz, blues, bluegrass, gospel, cajun, zydeco, rockabilly,
country, western swing, etc. Other themes have included Halloween, Veteran’s Day,
Sarg Records (an obscure but important indie label from central Texas), the best of
Bob Wills, the accordion, Motown, songs about food, Sam Cooke (on his birthday),
and Townes Van Zandt (on the anniversary of his death).
The General Shift
What does a general shift, which makes up around 70 percent of our
schedule, sound like? The answer is as varied as the DJs that spin tracks,
but there are certain commonalities.
Our “playlist” consists of around 100 albums. General shift shows include 4 playlist tracks per hour, plus one each shift. The hope is for DJs to try
out new and challenging music, while leaving them by and large free to select
their own tracks. You also will hear at least 2 tracks from underrepresented
genres each hour, including blues, jazz, world music from Afghanistan to
Zimbabwe, improvised and experimental music, and even pure noise. It’s not
uncommon to hear a modern classical track, followed by indie pop, chased
with drumming out of Cameroon, followed by hip hop. It’s eclectic; It’s challenging; It’s KTRU.
Blues
Join us on Wednesday nights for an exploration and insightful look at the world of
blues. Taking the genre beyond 12 bars and 3 chords, this two hour program brings
the stark beauty of Billie Holiday, the pleading of James Brown, the delta sound of
Robert Johnson, and the relentless sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, and many others to one meeting place here on KTRU. It’s Blues in Hi-Fi; Wednesdays 7 – 9 p.m. on
KTRU Houston!
Please note that once our newest crop of DJs us on air, all spaces marked “Robo” and “WRN” will be filled with live bodies.
1 am
2 am
3 am
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
General
Shift
General
Shift
Daniel F.
General
Shift
General
Shift
General
Shift
General
Shift
ROBO
ROBO
ROBO
ROBO
ROBO
ROBO
ROBO
WRN
WRN
WRN
WRN
WRN
WRN
WRN
7 am
Mark H.
Jane F.
Chris C.
Matt B.
Bob S.
TBD
Christine M.
Melody Y.
Brittany W.
Ira A.
Zack R.
Sam S.
10 am
Navrang
Kristina B.
Jason B.
Nate S.
Julie A.
Claire T.
Malinda G.
Tracy J.
Will A.
Helen S.
Patricia B.
Chase L.
Jane B.
Zach M.
Katie M.
Josh L.
Rose C.
Michael W.
Carina B.
Alex S.
Les S.
Michael S.
Alyssa I.
Nick S.
Mars V.
3 pm
4 pm
1 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
Burton D.
World
Music
Americana
Tyler M.
Michelle C.
Reggae
New Specialty
Show
Blues
Local
12 am
2 pm
3 pm
Jazz &
Improvised
Music
5 pm
Revelry Report
6 pm
7 pm
Spoken Word
Electronic
Miguel Q.
Ayn M.
Chickenskin
Sixties
8 pm
Ska
Hip-Hop
Matt T.
Megan W.
Erik N.
Amber C.
Hardcore
Metal
TBD
KTRU 91.7 FM RICE RADIO CURRENT ON-AIR SCHEDULE
6
9 pm
10 pm
MK Ultra
Genetic
Memory
4 pm
News
Funk
Post-Punk
10 pm
11 pm
Africana
Scordatura
5 pm
6 pm
11 am
12 pm
Kids
1 pm
2 pm
8 am
9 am
11 am
12 pm
5 am
7 am
Andrew L.
9 am
10 am
3 am
6 am
6 am
8 am
2 am
4 am
4 am
5 am
1 am
11 pm
12 am
programming guide
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Genetic Memor y
In addition to playing mixed sets and taking requests from our listeners, we often
build the post-punk show around a theme. This year, for example, we have devoted
entire shows to the Rough Trade label, to inaccessible music, and to synth pop. Tune
into the post-punk show and you’ll get “The Modern Dance.”
Genetic Memory is a series of three-hour experiments within the sonic void. It is a
continuously redefining aural enigma, wrapped around a divergent collection of reference points, from percussive implosions to explosive decompressions, from trepanned
sound poetry to doomed Grimmrobe sludge, from the meticulous and improvised to
the orchestrated and chaotic, from old school industrial to new school drone, from
free-jazz freakouts to freaky prog noodlings, from primitive electrons to digital dust
devils, from Dadaist spasms to Actionist Grand Guignols and a myriad of tangents in
between. A rotating crew of hosts and hostesses gives each show a constantly shifting
center of gravity, with each DJ formulating his or her own definition of “music minus
one chromosome.” On Monday nights, from 10 to 1, follow the unraveling strands of
Genetic Memory.
Rice Radio Reggae
Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m., KTRU’s Rice Radio Reggae takes listeners on a tour of
some of the many facets of Reggae music. While having its origins in Jamaica, Reggae
now comes from countries across the globe, and each week Rice Radio Reggae attempts
to present an overview of the genre. You’ll hear the Roots Reggae Bob Marley made
famous, instrumental Dub, Dancehall and more. It’s eclectic (just like KTRU!) and,
who knows? You could just hear a side of Reggae you never knew existed!
Revelr y Report
Hip Hop
The Vinyl Frontier airs every Tuesday night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The show primarily covers the latest releases from the underground hip-hop world with the occasional
classic thrown in. Multiple styles are covered—from abstract ruminations backed by
laptop glitch to gritty street tracks from upcoming MCs and even a club banger thrown
in for good measure.
Select invited local DJs will occasionally appear on the show to illustrate their turntablism skills. Short interviews are also sometimes conducted with local and national
hip-hop acts, and the roots of hip-hop and rap are explored by delving into the funk,
soul, and jazz breaks that started it all.
The Revelry Report airs Friday nights from 6 to 7 p.m. and focuses primarily on
local events in and around Texas. In the past, the Revelry Report focused on just about
everything, including Austin City Limits, national art openings (occurring locally),
SXSW (South by Southwest, for newcomers), College Music Journal and a number of
major benefits for various charities in and around town.
In its current incarnation, the show also places a strong emphasis on live studio
performances by local and touring musicians, interviews with artists and musicians,
and an overall coverage of events in Houston. By doing so, the Revelry Report has
narrowed its focus, aiming to introduce our audience to alternative outlets for nightlife
while exposing the many wonderful events in Houston that might otherwise go under
the radar.
Jazz/Improvised Music
The KTRU Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the living legends, unsung heroes, rising stars and timeless pioneers in the world of creative improvisation,
from the innovations of classic American jazz to the rigorous explorations of today’s
European and Japanese free improvisers. From New York’s downtown sounds to regional styles and beyond. The Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the vast
spectrum of the music of the moment which you can hear broadcasting every Sunday
from noon until 9 p.m.
Spoken Word
The Spoken Word show offers performances from musicians, writers and poets,
and politicians and random diatribes. Saturdays 7 – 8 p.m.
Ska
Tune in every Sunday evening from 9 – 10 p.m., as we explore the origins and
reincarnations of ska. Ska was the direct predecessor of Reggae, and is characterized
by upbeat emphases, high quality horn sections, and influences from other traditions,
including jazz, soul, punk and more. It sounds like reggae, but often with a quicker
tempo, and built to be danced to. From the rude sounds of the 1960s Jamaican originators, to the two-tone UK anti-racist ska of the 70s and 80s, through the third wave ska
of the 1990s from America and across the globe, we seek out the best, the obscure,
and the unusual from around the world, as we give you an international take on the
scene. Rude!
Kids
Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? Do you remember the joyous anticipation that you felt on Friday night, knowing that Heaven was only a few hours away?
Well, you can feel that joy, again! Every Saturday, the KTRU Kids’ Show digs up the
songs that made your childhood. Old favorites and forgotten memories are intermixed
with new classics and rarities that you may have never heard before—and they are
all family friendly and youth oriented! Hear cartoon theme songs, stories, children’s
artists, child artists, and more! Hosted by the lovable DJ crew of Jane, Jenny and Tom,
it’s sure to be the most fun you’ve had on a Saturday in a long time! (Don’t forget to let
your kids listen, too!). Saturdays, noon – 1 p.m., only on KTRU!
Scordatura
The Scordatura Show explores modern and contemporary classical music: i.e.
experimental, electronic, or otherwise unusual music voiced for more or less traditionally orchestral instruments, generally since 1900. Representative artists would include
Glass, Reich, Cage, Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer, and the like, though we try to
emphasize lesser known material, as our show bleeds across into the glitchiness of the
Electronic Show, the experimentation of the Jazz Show, and the noisiness of Genetic
Memory. We also regularly feature material composed or performed by members of
Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, including live performances.
Local
The Local Show brings Houston musicians to the forefront, with occasional forays
into the rest of the Lone Star State. From Lightnin’ Hopkins to Jana Hunter, from The
Red Krayola to The Fatal Flying Guilloteens, and from ZZ Top to Drop Trio, the show
presents over five decades of Bayou City punk, jazz, blues, psych, noise, and everything
in between. Tune in from 8 –10 p.m. every Tuesday to delve deep into the scene. Biweekly feature shows broadcast live sets and interviews with Houston heavyweights
and newcomers alike, direct from our studio. Listen and discover the incredible bands
you share this city with.
Treasures of the Sixties
If you enjoy the music of the 60s, but are sick and tired of the same old, played-out
rotation of classic rock radio, you’re not alone. Every Wednesday night from 9 – 11p.m.,
the Treasures of the Sixties Show revisits the decade of boundless energy with an ear
for what sounds fresh. You’ll hear cult artists such as Spirit and Love who deserve more,
well, love. We like to play Texas legends like the 13th Floor Elevators, Sir Douglas
Quintet, and Mayo Thompson. You’ll even hear album cuts from the likes of the Kinks
and Otis Redding, artists with much deeper catalogues than commercial radio would
have you believe. And with the armies of pop culture archeologists out there who make
new discoveries every week, we’ll prove the saying, “If you haven’t heard it before, it’s
good as new.” Fight the tyranny of Oldies radio! Catch the 60s show on Wednesdays.
Metal
From The Depths, KTRU’s metal show, features 3 hours of underground metal,
without a trace of commercial pseudo nu-metal. Death metal, black metal, thrash metal,
raw, ugly, and heavy, with an impressive amount of vinyl: 7 inches, 12 inches, etc. Real
metal from real metal-heads. From the old school to the newest underground releases.
Sundays from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
MK Ultra
Need a fix of the latest in underground electronic dance music? Not to worry—MK
Ultra has you covered, and we’re one of the very few Houston radio shows that does.
Every Friday night from 9 p.m. – midnight, we showcase 3 hours of live in-station DJmixes from the cream of the crop of local acts (and every now and then some international acts). We hit all the sub-genres, whether it’s house, drum n bass, progressive,
breaks, etc. You can check us out on the web, at http://mkultra.us for recordings,
details on sending promos, and how to submit DJ demos.
World
From ancient Asian traditions to highly innovative Brazilian jazz, the KTRU World
Music Show covers the globe. Natural indigenous music of the rainforest gets equal
play with exciting Indian Bhangra and African pop. From the most talented musicians
the world has to offer to the most joyous and liveliest, listeners can hear it all on Monday nights from 7 – 9 p.m. A rotating volunteer staff with experience in international
music and cultural education curates diverse set lists each week. We present acclaimed
musicians like Talip Ozkan, Ali Farka Toure, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Mongo Santamaria, as well as many underrepresented and independent musicians around the
world. Listeners will find out about world music events in Houston and the surrounding
region. Occasionally the World Music Show may highlight regional events that feature
international music, as well as Native American powwows and regional traditions with
international origins.
Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour
Once upon a time, when today’s college freshmen were little more than a staring
complex and a bad perm, alternative, indie rock, garage, emo, grunge, and hardcore
all had the same name: punk. Every Thursday night at 10, the Mutant Hardcore Flower
Hour explores the genre that gave birth to all the lame bands that annoy your parents,
your roommates, and your friends, proving that nothing is more cathartic than giving
everyone the finger at the same time, including yourself. Like Steven Van Zandt, we
play the Ramones, everyone who influenced the Ramones, and everyone the Ramones
influenced. If it’s fast and loud, if it’s angry, if it rocks, we’ve got it — but it’s more
complicated than that. D. Boon of the Minutemen put it simply: Punk is whatever we
make it to be.
Navrang
The Navrang (“Nine Colors”) Show covers the music of the Indian subcontinent,
naturally with a focus on music from films, but also capturing the diversity of the
region with Indian classical, folk, Indipop, Asian underground and “Western fusion”
music out of the region in a “spicy musical curry.” Check it out Saturday mornings,
10 a.m. to noon.
KTRU News
KTRU News focuses on local (and especially Rice Community) leading thinkers,
professors, news makers, community organizations, nonprofits, arts organizations,
politicians and the like, in a talk format, trying to capture what others might miss. If
you have story ideas or want recordings of past shows, check our page at www.ktru.
org. Tune in Fridays from 5 – 6 p.m.
Post Punk
The Modern Dance, KTRU’s post-punk show, airs every Tuesday night from 7 to 8
p.m. Focusing on underground music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we play all genres
of post-punk, from the mutant disco of Cristina to the avant garage of Pere Ubu. Despite
their differences, almost every artist that we play exhibits a willingness to play with—
and rebel against—pop music clichés. Take the rebellion and brashness of punk rock
and add an experimental aesthetic edge and you have post-punk.
David Landry
Future ktruvian?
Nosaprise’s set at the 2008 Outdoor Show charmed fans of all ages.
7
Programming Guide
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Papa’s Definitely a Rolling Stone:
The Changing Face of Funk
by Jae Mills
Let’s face it, a large part of what the
world now refers to as indie, is actually
just the latest mutation in a long list of
pop culture derivatives of the funk. Sure,
no one can deny that the genre had its
typical image attached to the groove (as
most genres have). However, just as the
world has changed throughout the past
five decades, so has the face of funk and
soul. The Funk Show aims to prove that
the funk is built to last, still standing the
test of time. Today, funk music’s return to rock n’
roll surroundings can actually be looked
upon as the ultimate 360; for it was the
desire of Little Richard, Louis Jordan and
Bo Diddley for a more rhythmic and infectious groove that planted the seed of funk’s
initial existence, back in the 50s.
Who would have imagined that a semipro baseball pitcher from Barnwell, South
Carolina would bundle the cues taken from
the aforementioned, plus natural born talent, and create an everlasting expansive
universe we know today as the funk & soul
movement? James Brown’s vision for a
world of funk has proven to be unstoppable,
maintained by thousands willing to carry
the torch for such a worthy mission. The
tend to look at Fela Kuti and James Brown
as fraternal twin brothers from different
mothers.
Two decades after the funk’s inception
brings us to the same circumstances, obstacles, dilemmas and desires faced by a
new generation in the late 1970s. Acting off
pure instinct and a need for self-expression,
disadvantaged New York City youth created a culture of their own encompassing
its own visual artistry, dance and spoken
word. Hip-hop’s musical component was
initiated and led by the disc jockey. Even
though its execution was largely based
around musical habits adopted from Jamaican reggae soundclashes, rap music
(hip-hop’s official contribution to the history of audio recordings) took the largest
of its many influences from the funk. This
influence remains unchanged, primarily
due to similarities in the process in which
both rap and funk are created.
The original driving forces for both
lacked formal musical education, and the
advantages of being exposed to the “fine”
arts. James Brown collaborator Lyn Collins once screamed, “We got to use what
we got, to get what we want!” In Hip-hop’s
case, that meant creating a cultural phenomenon from the use of 2 turntables, a
result: layers of musical genres thriving off
the exact same yearning to unapologetically express from the soul, regardless of
the surrounding.
The experimental antics of jazz musicians, starting in the late 1960s, would
eventually lay the groundwork for today’s
growing resurgence of urban electronic
cosmonauts of the funk. The willingness
of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and the
Mizell Brothers to lace traditional jazz
landscapes with heavy doses of funk and
soul birthed the jazz fusion movement, and
in turn, the urban electronic resurgence.
Again, the funk is always there when you
need it.
Tune in to the Funk Show in any given
week, and catch a brief glimpse of some
of the strongest Afrobeat rhythms from
the 60s till now. You might think: Afrobeat on the Funk Show? There’s a simple
explanation really; It’s the perfect way to
acknowledge the funk’s origins. It’s not a
secret that native West African rhythms
provided the heaviest of influences for
funk’s parents, soul and jazz. The Afrobeat
wave that began surfacing in the late 1960s
managed to naturally bridge between
ancient African cadence and the pulse of
modern rhythm & blues. Occasionally, I
mixer, microphone, old funk-soul-jazz-rock
records and a notepad. There’s a saying
around the way: game recognize game.
And to the funk, rap music looks seriously
familiar.
As the generation trudging the beginnings of a new century, we now bare witness to a musical ferris wheel of genres.
Thanks to contributions from the likes of
Prince, Afrika Bambaattaa, and Tony Allen,
the “urban” side of today’s electronic music composition has successfully brought
forth its own torch bearers (e.g. Madlib,
Flying Lotus, I.G. Culture) via countless
new entities such as digital funk, future
soul, and broken beat. Meanwhile, pioneers such as A Certain Ratio, Kraftwerk,
and Gang of Four laid solid foundation
work for much of today’s visibly successful
indie acts (e.g. !!!, The Rapture, Fujiya &
Miyagi); birthing new channels like punkfunk, funktronica, etc. Years will continue
to pass, and mutation will follow mutation.
All of which is proof positive that the funk
isn’t something we should look upon as a
blast from the past, but rather a constant
force with which to be reckoned.
CHECK OUT KTRU.ORG FOR DETAILS
Genre Profile:
Shoegaze
by Amber Crain
Since Erik and I started the Shoegaze
Show over the summer, we’ve been asked
on many occasions, “So what is shoegaze,
anyway?” I thought the answer was simple,
but since the only reply I could come up
with was, “It’s like, My Bloody Valentine
and stuff,” I’ve discovered that a true explanation is actually quite complicated.
Let’s start with the name “shoegaze.”
What is that about? The term was coined
at the genre’s birth, during the late 1980’s
in the UK. A certain sound was starting to
develop, a noisy, feedback-laden drone to
be played at ear-bursting volume (in fact,
many of the first shoegazers today have
severe hearing problems. Kevin Shields
of My Bloody Valentine studied what
volumes and frequencies were harmful to
the human ear and actually used them on
purpose. Unsurprisingly, he had symptoms
of hearing problems even then).
When these new bands began to play
shows, it was observed that the majority of
them either stared at their shoes or turned
their backs to the audience completely
while performing, often to manipulate
pedals. Listeners called them shoegazers,
and the genre was born.
It all started with guitar feedback. The
Jesus and Mary Chain, perhaps the fathers
of shoegaze, started using feedback, volume, and an oblivious attitude toward the
crowd in the mid-80s, and the unsettling
sound became incredibly influential among
young musicians of the time. So influential,
in fact, that mass experimentation with
feedback—previously considered to be a
bad thing—began in some circles. Noise,
drones, distortion and feedback became
instruments. But underneath the noise,
beautiful and coherent songs often existed,
and the blend of the two is the core element of shoegaze. Whether the sound was
down-tempo and fiercely beautiful (like
Slowdive) or faster and noisier (like much
of My Bloody Valentine’s back catalogue),
if it had some or all of these elements and
a similar atmospheric quality, it was considered shoegaze. “Shoegazer” became a
term that signified any person that loved
the genre, not just band members, and it
became a movement.
The apex of the shoegaze movement
is commonly considered to be the release
of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless (1991).
Meticulously crafted (Shields used nineteen different recording studios and nearly
bankrupted his label) and unapologetically
loud, the band turned noise into beautiful
music. Many people still consider it to be
one of the greatest contemporary albums
ever created, based on sheer craft alone.
While there were many other important
and talented shoegaze bands, the genre’s
star will always be MBV; this band is
known in all circles, not just among the
shoegazers. However, they were not the
only ones making amazing music at that
time, and one of the things we’ve tried to
do on our show is educate listeners about
the lesser-known, and equally talented,
bands of the genre.
Shoegaze began to fade away in the
mid-90s, and many name the emergence
and popularity of grunge music as the
cause. However, the elements of the genre
went off in many different directions and
sparked other experiments in sound.
Shoegaze is an important building block
in the sound of independent music today,
even if there are many who have no idea
of its existence. Others still carry on the
heart of the genre, and do it as well as
their predecessors. On KTRU we often
play bands who have no record labels
and self-release their music, many of
which have never been (and may never
be) played on other radio stations or get
any exposure whatsoever. There are even
local shoegaze bands (Flowers to Hide
being one) still carrying the torch. Love
for this genre runs deep.
8
Programming Guide
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
A Conversation With
Ken Wiatrek Of The Sugarbeats
With KTRU DJ Ayn Morgan
Ayn: I wanted to speak with you about The
Sugarbeats, how it started out as an idea, a
fictional band… and was sort of willed into
being and now you’re making this great
stuff. When did it happen as an idea? And
when did it come to fruition?
Ken: The idea began in late 1998 when
Robert and I lived in an apartment on Roseland in Houston. We used to go out to see
bands all the time and thought the whole
system was bunk. Go here, pay money,
watch some dudes play some instruments,
leave, repeat. Kinda lame. So we decided
that we wanted to challenge this system.
We wanted to do something that made
people want to react to what was happening
in front of them. So we had this grand idea,
let’s record a silly video and put it on a loop
and put that on the stage. Maybe we’d sit
around and watch it too, like everyone else.
Eventually we found the right video, it was
this commercial for this thing called The
SugarBeats, which was a CD that had kids
singing pop songs. The commercial itself
was rad: kids on a playground singing “We
Got the Beat,” etc. We labeled a VHS tape
“Sugar Beats Commercial,” and stuck it
in one of the numerous VCRs we had in
our living room and waited. After several
months of Fruity Pebbles, we realized that
the commercial was never going to show
again. During this time, we were telling
people about the “band” we were forming,
Ayn: Did performing in Houston prepare
you for New York City in any way, either
musically and/or artistically?
tagging bathrooms, getting banned from
clubs for drawing on Oasis posters, general
mischief and misinformation. We started
realizing that this project was twofold—1.
Challenging spectatorship and 2. Content
vs. advertising.  
We gave up on the commercial, but
started making posters and hanging them
all over the place. We came up with an icon,
a TV that I have tattooed on my arm, and
started stenciling and spray-painting that
everywhere. This was all happening in 19982000. In early 2001, we were asked to play
at CSAW for one of Frank Porreco’s Wiggly
Mop events and decided to go for it.
Ken: Sure, everything you do in your life
prepares you for something else.  The best
thing I can say about the preparation is
that we don’t get let down when we see 10
people in the audience. For the most part
it’s always been that way, so we expect it
now. Anything more is bonus times.
Ayn: In the beginning, which venues did
you play? Did you open for anyone that
surprised you?
Ken: Early on our events were mostly
at CSAW, because we had a bad rap at
most clubs already for tagging up their
bathrooms. People started cooling out a
bit and letting us on their stage at places
like Mary Jane’s, The Proletariat, The
Mausoleum, and The Oven, but for the
most part we played at art events that
took place at OneTen or RAW Space. We
had the honor of playing at The Orange
Show once. Later on, we started playing
bigger shows, like with Animal Collective,
Entrance, Black Dice, but the best shows
were with A Pink Cloud, NTX, Rusted Shut,
Muzak and other friends.
Say What:
Some Thoughts
On Spoken Word
by Ian Garrett
Language is an abstraction of thought;
it allows us to communicate our ideas
efficiently, but leaves a lot of room open
to interpretation. The exploitation of this
space between thought and speech is
one that allows for creative possibilities.
Spoken Word is about this space, one
that includes the wide expanse between
simple conversation and epic poetry. It encompasses everything that comes before
setting words to music. Often the border
between word and song blurs, shaking
up our understandings of categories that
usually seem so clear.
What makes Spoken Word so compelling is also what makes it so hard to
define. Think of it geographically. Each
specialty show, with its concentration in a
specific genre, is like a city in the landscape
with its own identity, culture, celebrities,
languages, dialects. Spoken word is the
space between. With each listen, you’re
on a journey to explore the roads that
connect all genres, from the middle of
nowhere, into the suburbs, tickling the
edge of the urban core.
With this openness comes the freedom
to explore and roam, finding an interesting side street to follow and see where
it takes you. As a DJ, it becomes about
making choices about where you’d like to
go that day, and where you want to take
the audience. We have a small collection
of material in the stacks that can only be
described as spoken word. If you think
of these few titles as the extent of your
available library you’ll quickly exhaust
9
Ayn: Could you verify your discography?
There’s American Made #1 Hits and a split
7” with Indian Jewelry (through Girlgang
Records and Tapes), Supplied Demand.
Ken: Supplied Demand is on Girlgang and
there are four other things: 1. Farnsworth
V DeKalb CDR (Challenger 7), 2. Do
You Know? CDR (Challenger 7), 3. WAR
DVD—produced by Adam Baker, 4. Untitled DVD—produced by Adam Baker.
Ayn: Was the Houston music community
supportive?  Is it supportive in NYC?
Ayn: What is the best way to contact The
Sugarbeats?
Ken: No way. The Houston music “community” is very insular, and tended to
think of us as pranksters, which isn’t far
from the truth, but for the most part, the
people there at the time were really into
each other and trying to fit themselves
into some sort of indie rock mold. When
we were on the noise, the community was
finding Modest Mouse, etc. But we weren’t
really building ourselves up to get fans, we
were more about fucking with people and
seeing how quickly we could disappoint
them. The joke with no punchline… It’s
not much different here in NYC, but at
least there is an audience for everything.
It’s wild when someone comes up to us and
discusses the theories we dealt with in a
specific performance. For the most part
though, it’s still a bunch of blank stares
when The Sugarbeats perform. The other
projects, that’s a different story.
Ken: www.myspace.com/thesugarbeats
your limited resources. But, if you take
them as inspiration and spur your curiosity, you’ll find yourself pulling from every
shelf in the station.
This history of Spoken Word, as a
genre, is literally the history of spoken
word. Understanding what the show is
about is less about narrowing down to a
definition about a genre and more about
expanding a sense of what it can be. Instead of trying to chisel a clear picture, it
is more interesting to look at the genre’s
divergent paths.
Let’s start off easy with Jack Kerouac
reading from On the Road. There is a full
reading and there are some excellent interviews with Kerouac conducted by Steve Allen that can be found in the stack. Perhaps
you’d be interested to hear Jack sing; he
sounds like a drunk Frank Sinatra.
Spoken word colors another picture of
artists you may know in other lights. After
leaving Black Flag in 1986, Henry Rollins
formed his Rollins Band and became
to release spoken word albums concurrently. Aside from a tour in 2006, Rollins
Band has given way to his spoken word
career since 2003. Similarly Jello Biafra
formed the Dead Kennedies in 1979, but
has slowly become exclusively a spoken
word artist not unlike Henry Rollins, start-
ing with college appearances in 1986 as
well. Mike Doughty, now a solo artist, but
formerly the front man of Soul Coughing,
has always been a poet, studying under
Sekou Sendiata with Ani Difranco at the
New School in the early 1990s. A few of his
poems can be found on collections in the
station. Shel Silverstein has an extensive
catalogue of adult-oriented material on
vinyl in the stacks that goes beyond Where
the Sidewalk Ends. But, perhaps the most
unusual choice from our stacks is Leonard
Nimoy’s contribution to Whales Alive! by
Paul Weller. It is a modern classical selection with Spock reading D.H. Lawrence
and Melville over whale song.
The stacks are littered with gold that
you will not hear anywhere else. It is rare to
hear spoken word on the radio, especially
in a market that confines its mainstream
selections to genres like Top 40, alternative and smooth jazz. We have original and
out of print stand-up comedy, collections
of great speeches, 1950s film strip audio,
children’s stories, Chomsky, Ginsberg, Eliot, Cummings and so on. The show is open
to radio drama, live readings, interviews,
and topical programming. Some of these
things have no other place on KTRU or the
radio, but enrich the ears of our listeners,
one word at a time.
Ayn: What are you fellas up to now? Any
other projects or performances?
Ken: We have a few things going. The
Texas Firehouse up in Long Island
City is our new space where we throw
parties. Brandon (of The Electric Set and
Indian Jewelry) and I have a thing called
Terrible Eagle and Robert and Wyatt
Nash play with us sometimes. Mostly it’s
just me and Brandon though. If/when
Allie comes back to NY, I’m still interested in making more music as Eystek
with her. I’m doing projections for bands
and make drawings and paintings that
show around. I have a show at the University of Maine in September. Robert is
making machines that make noise and
is doing these whip-ass photographs.
album reviews
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Artist: Various Artists
Title: Nobel Voices for Disarmament: 1901-2001
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
By Heather Nodler
Artist: Various Artists
Title: Music of Central Asia, Volumes 1 to 6
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
By Nick Schlossman
In an era when fears of weapons of mass destruction
Smithsonian Folkways, in collaboration with the Aga Khan
Trust for Culture, is midway through producing a truly exceptional series surveying traditional musics of Central Asia. Thus
far, the series covers most of the “‘stans” and Azerbaijan, in
6 of what will ultimately be 10 volumes. It represents one of
the most significant contributions to recorded world music in recent years.
Each album is packaged in an attractive double CD/DVD combo pack, in thick glossy
packaging with in-depth liner notes. The DVDs include documentary material, live performances, maps and historical and cultural documentation which lend invaluable context
to the collection.
The albums have been released in spurts over the last two years, and have seen
heavy play on KTRU from playlist and new bin.
Volume 1, Mountain Music of Kyrgyzstan, kicked off the series back in 2006. A variety of instruments are featured from track to track, which might sound to your ears
like a fiddle, a recorder, and a jaw harp. Various performers are also featured—Zainidin
Imanaliev, Nurlanbek Nyshanov, and Kenjekul Kubatova show up repeatedly.
Invisible Face of the Beloved – Classical Music of the Tajiks and Uzbeks, represents
Volume 2 of the series. Wavering vocalizations by soloists and mixed ensembles soar
above understated string and drum accompaniment. This spiritual music, “Shashmaqam,”
puts mystical, Sufi-inspired poetry to lyrical melodies, and is performed by the Dushanbebased Academy of Maqam.
Volume 3 features soloist Homayun Sakhi, playing the Afghan Rubab, accompanied
by tabla. The tracks are instrumental and long, with two exceeding 30 minutes each.
For me, this is a standout album of the series, with the exquisite control and artistry of
Sakhi’s ragas.
Bardic Divas: Women’s Voices in Central Asia, Volume 4, features female singers
from Kazakhstan and Karakalpakstan (an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan). The
music is epic, sometimes raspy and guttural, and features a heavy helping of nomadic
oral poetry.
The Badakshan Ensemble is featured alone in Volume 5, Song and Dance from the
Pamir Mountains, an area centered in Tajikistan and extending into Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The vocals are intense and piercing, to the point of sometimes being
overwhelming.
In Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan, Volume 6 showcases Alim Qasimov, “Azerbaijan’s
most beloved traditional singer,” and his daughter Fargana, singing classical mugham
and bardic songs. These upbeat spirituals are accompanied by kamancha, balaban, oud
and drums.
By way of conclusion, this is a very fine, professional collection, and the DVDs are
a welcome addition with much value added. You can pick up each volume used online
for about $10-$12 on Amazon; maybe less on other outlets. Another batch should be
released sometime in 2008/2009.
more often serve as a justification for military escalation than
an impetus toward non-proliferation, the recently released
compilation, Nobel Voices for Disarmament: 1901-2001, coproduced by Smithsonian Folkways and the United Nations,
provides the listener with a refreshing sip from the well of reason. An unusually solemn
addition to the poetry-slam-saturated genre of spoken word, the album serves as both
a reminder of what the philosophy of disarmament sounded like pre-9/11, and a call to
action for 21st-century citizens.
Encompassing a dizzying array of Nobel acceptance speeches and interviews with
advocates of peace through disarmament, the album is divided into eight “chapters,”
including “The International Committee of the Red Cross” and “The Unwitting Victims”
(about landmines and other weapons affecting civilian populations). Each provides a
solid, powerful narrative. One particularly compelling chapter tells the story of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), an organization that
employed the Hippocratic Oath as the foundation for its mission to warn the world about
the physiological effects of thermonuclear war. Violin interludes from the Murray Adaskin
composition “Suite Hebraique” create a somber mood.
Both the scope of the recordings and the timing of the album’s release, on the eve
of a presidential election, suggest that the album’s creators seek to inspire the listener
while raising awareness of disarmament, past, present and future. In his introduction,
unlikely narrator and UN “Messenger of Peace” Michael Douglas (yes, THE Michael
Douglas of Fatal Attraction and Romancing the Stone fame) mentions several highprofile, 21st-century issues, e.g., illegal weapons trafficking, child soldiers of war, and
genocide; sadly, only one track touches on these topics. While the listener may initially
experience confusion as to whether this album functions as an archival collection or a
work of contemporary significance, the extensive liner notes help to provide some sense
of context and structure, not to mention a biography of every speaker on the album.
Presenting dark and difficult content while maintaining an optimistic perspective, this
spoken word compilation offers hope for peace in a world often seemingly on the brink
of annihilation.
Artist: B L A C K I E
Title: Wilderness of North America
Label: Self Released
By Lance Higdon
Much ink has been spilt on the international success of
rappers from Houston in recent years. While a certain degree
of psychedelia may be attributed to the indigenous chopped
& screwed treatment, none have gone as far out on a sonic
limb as one maverick MC from Pasadena. B L A C K I E (his
spelling and spacing) may hail from Houston, but any comparisons to the Swishahouse/
Rap-A-Lot camps beyond geography will fail.
On his debut self-released album, Wilderness Of North America, B L A C K I E successfully marries his punk roots (he frequently performs live with garage-punk pranksters Cop Warmth) to a blistering hip-hop aesthetic. Equally adept at crafting songs as
rhymes, his production techniques recall a southern-fried Dalek. While B L A C K I E’s
beats tend toward lower levels of BPM, they are encrusted with distortion and clashing
signals together in an inescapable, eschatological boom-bap, particularly on “I Write On
Money” and “B L A C K I E…Is Still Alive.” His sample sources are truly mind-boggling,
pulling from At The Drive In, ABBA, and dusty dollar-bin vinyl records, processed far
beyond their initial sounds into monolithic pieces.
B L A C K I E raps in a rapid-fire, fiery baritone, reveling in wordplay like a hip-hop
James Joyce and seeming to chew his own words to pieces in many places, repeating
phrases over and over until they are bored directly into the listener’s cortex. Word-wise,
B L A C K I E trades in highly personal and painful events, sounding more like pages
ripped from regretful journals than average slabs-n-sizzurp song. The terminal illness
and death of a parent and the emotional fallout from it inspires several songs. Particularly
harrowing are the recounting of a suicide attempt (“B L A C K I E…Is Still Alive”) and the
struggle over selling the morphine pills his deceased father no longer needs to garner
quick cash (“Regrets Of An Average African American Amateur Drug Lord”).
Fortunately, it’s not all downers on Wilderness..., particularly the darkly humorous
insights of a DIY MC watching suburban white kids trying to appropriate ghetto culture
(“Big Big Jokes Jokes”).
Song lengths range from four and a half minutes to forty-seven seconds, which while
hardly apropos for Clear Channel-approved edits, reflect the restless mind of a rapper
at war with the world.
Artist: Various Artists
Title: The Roots of Chica: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru
Label: Barbes
By Josh Levin
The seventeen woozy songs on the compilation The Roots of
Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru represent a syncretic
genre of music relatively little-known beyond its home country.
Chicha—named after a popular fermented corn drink—has
elements of the Colombian cumbia tradition from which it
draws its distinctive clopping rhythm, but an equally noticeable antecedent is popular
British and American music. The bands featured on this album were releasing material
during the same period when organs and sitars began to buzz their way into the global
soundscape, and the modal guitar sounds of surf rock were re-ascending in popularity.
While no one will listen to The Roots of Chicha and mistake it for Ravi Shankar or Dick
Dale, the imprint is there. Cheesy keyboards and woodblocks meet halfway on this
album—sometimes harmoniously and sometimes messily—to create something new.
A few of the tracks are instantly memorable, with loose-limbed, hummable hooks
that grab and don’t let go. The infectious choral refrain of “Nunca, pero nunca” in Los
Hijos del Sol’s “Cariñito” will ambush you in the car, on the sidewalk, before going to
bed, and while listening to other songs. Equally captivating is the rattly guitar riff in Los
Destellos’ “A Patricia.” It loops over and around in call and response with itself, all the
while jangling in a tinny tone that is unusual in how viscerally appealing it is. Other tracks
are more subtle, but no less worthy; Opening track “Sonido Amazonico,” by Los Mirlos,
with its spy-movie groove, sounds like a James Bond film set in the rainforest. Juaneco
Y Su Combo’s “Vacilando con Ayahuesca” is psychedelic repetition spliced with the
moans of a woman raving about the titular hallucinogen. “Ya se ha muerto mi Abuelo,”
by the same band, sounds like Louis Armstrong lost in Peru.
If the album has a main weakness, it is that the songs towards the end of it are either
less notable than, or from too much the same mold as, the earlier songs. Fortunately,
the mold is a highly likeable one, and the less distinguished tracks are still decent for
casual listening. The Roots of Chicha occasionally teeters dangerously close to kitsch,
but is always pulled back at the last moment by the fact that it’s melodic, varied, and
un-self-consciously fun.
Artist: +DOG+
Title: Sea Horses
Label: LEM
By Ayn Morgan
Formed in Osaka, Japan in 1991 by Steve Davis and now
settled in California, +DOG+ includes members of Expando Brain, Instagon, Eckankore, Final Solution, Cement,
Zorkhus, Kawaiietly Please and Astronovaz. They perform
regularly at Norcal Noisefest and played the final show at Il
Corral. That should give you an idea of what to expect from their most current release
through Love Earth Music.
This is harsh noise. It may not be new territory, yet dynamic details and a strange
cohesiveness converge into a powerful equation, which is very satisfying and rare.
Performed by machine, distortion, destruction, vocals and actual instruments, the
sound’s origins only come through in slight hintsin a complex scene. Everything blends
richly into a sound that vacillates between textured and overwrought, tormented and
shimmering, aggressive and evolving. There is an atypical, arrhythmic and varied percussion throughout the album which adds great movement but does not override or organize
the chaos. Vocals are surreal and unintelligible, adding another layer of abstract organic
interest. Highly recommended.
10
ALBUM REVIEWS
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
Artist: Tim Fite
Title: Fair Ain’t Fair
Label: AntiBy Rose Cahalan
Is there anything Tim Fite doesn’t sound like? He raps; he
yodels. He ingeniously weaves together lopsided waltzes
from obscure electronic samples that sound like they were
scavenged from a thrift store bargain bin; he crafts sincere,
gorgeous folk ballads. He critiques capitalism and greed, and
he also asks such perfectly sensible questions as “Who put the toast in your drank?”
There are banjoes and synthesizers, back-porch hoedowns and anti-commercialist rants,
and all this is packed into under 47 minutes on Fite’s third release Fair Ain’t Fair.
This album is far less overtly political than Fite’s last (Over the Counter Culture, 2006),
which lay squarely within the bounds of hip-hop and delivered a crushing tirade against
pop culture and attention-grubbing artists. The strong anti-commercialist attitude is
still present, but it’s now carefully layered under folk and rock influences. The clearest
example of this is “Sing Along,” an almost dementedly poppy song that mixes catchy
hooks (copious “la-la-la’s” and acoustic strumming) with lyrics that criticize the passivity
of pop listeners: “Even if we don’t have a say, even if the words are all wrong, we’re still
gonna sing along.” Fite seems to hate pop music, yet this is his most accessible album
by far. “Big Mistake,” for example, combines guitar, a compelling melody, and some
glitchy synth to create a solid folk-rock song that is undeniably catchy.
While many of the songs are dense, whimsical collages of sound that veer into total
absurdity—“Hey! Wipe that mustard off yo’ titty!” Fite shouts happily in the tuba- and
whistling-filled “More Clothes”—there are also several serene, classic Americana tracks
that evoke Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, such as “Harriet Tubman” a gentle ode to
the famed abolitionist. In that song and “Heaven is War,” another quiet acoustic track,
Fite’s voice changes dramatically, from his usual crazed wail into a rich, scratchy croon.
These tracks feel wildly out of place planted amid the more bizarre ones, but they also
prevent you from forming any expectations about what you might hear next. And that
element of surprise is precisely what makes Tim Fite such a fun listen. On this album,
his agenda has evolved from a mere criticism of the popular media into a search for new
ways to creatively work within its boundaries, and that is commendable.
Artist: Sharks and Sailors
Title: Builds Brand New
Label: Self Released
By Ian Wells
Hotly anticipated since their now almost antique self-titled
debut EP, Sharks and Sailors have finally delivered their full
length, and it does not disappoint. Their sound has seen some
revision and the lineup has shuffled a bit since their early
shows—inspiring the title—but the epic rock undercurrents
are still there. Sharks and Sailors have taken the time on this album to spread themselves out a little; while the album pivots on crunchy guitar, progressive bass, rock-solid
drums and often airy vocals, atmospheric tracks like “Cliffs” and “Candor” offer a lighter,
almost shoegazey tone—but standout “Rickshaw” confirms they haven’t sold the stack.
Definitely a band to watch.
Recommended if you like Autolux.
Artist: Papermoons
Title: New Tales
Label: Team Science
By Ian Wells
New Tales is the first full-length release from recent Houston arrivals (and even more recent departees) Papermoons.
Luckily, they’ve left us one of the best local albums in recent
memory to tide us over until their return.
The album opens with a decision—whether to pursue what
you love, regardless how far behind it may leave you—and chronicles the twenty-something
self-doubt and vulnerability that almost always follows. As vulnerable as the lyrics are, and
as desperate-sounding as that Telecaster gets, the real hook is that no track ever turns
into a plea for sympathy. Instead, there’s almost a sense of triumph running through the
album—no matter how kicked around our (perhaps autobiographical?) hero gets, pure
optimism in the face of a disarmingly somber steel guitar makes this album unique.
Standout tracks include “Front Porch,” “Lazy Bones” and “Holy Cow.”
Recommended if you like Pedro the Lion or Death Cab for Cutie. When they get back,
see them live, and marvel at their bass pedals.
Artist: Luciano
Title: Jah Is My Navigator
Label: VP
By Scottie McDonald
A beacon amidst the competitive chaos of the music industry,
Luciano is an artist who continues to produce music true to
his beliefs as a Rasta and conscious human.
While no one song on Luciano’s latest VP album would
qualify as ‘hit’ material, every track on Jah Is My Navigator
contains substance, and is presented in utterly convincing fashion via his amazing voice.
A true originator (he’s called “the messenger”), we see artists and fans alike looking to
him for inspiration. Such leadership can be seen in the tune “Wise Up Youth,” which
gives positive counsel to young people.
Prior to this release, the formidable reggae group Morgan Heritage came out with their
(excellent) CD entitled Mission in Progress. Immediately following that came Stephen
Marley and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley’s smash hit The Mission, which further borrows
melody and even a direct lyrical nod from Black Ryno’s phenomenal dancehall track “Ay
Ya Ay Ya.” With diverse influences like these, some credit to source material should be
given.
Perhaps the main difficulty with Luciano’s releases is that there are so many. Rather
than four or more CDs a year, his talent might be better served—and he might garner
more attention—if he focused on quality over quantity. As possibly the single-most
respected singer in reggae these days, Luciano delivers one nice, chill listen with Jah Is
My Navigator.
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KTRU Staff/Folio Staff/Contact KTRU
rice radio folio
FALL 2008
How Can I Contact KTRU?
KTRU FALL 2008 Folio STAFF
Listen to or read about KTRU at www.ktru.org.
On air music requests: 713.348.KTRU (5878)
You can also find email addresses for all of our directors at ktru.org.
General correspondence can be directed to [email protected]
Editor: Rose Cahalan
Assistant Editor: Ayn Morgan
Copy: Nick Schlossman
Layout and Design: David Wang
Contributors: Patricia Bacalao, Rose Cahalan, Amber Crain,
Justin Crane, Mark Flaum, Jane Flores, Ian Garret, Lance Higdon, Heather Nodler, David Landry,
Josh Levin, Jae Mills, Ayn Morgan, Scottie McDonald,
Rachel Orosco, Paul Thompson, Nick Schlossman,
Lindsey Simard, David Rosales, Varsha Vakil, Ian Wells
How Can I submit music?
To submit music for airplay consideration:
Music Directors
C/O KTRU MS-506
P.O. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251
How Can I contact other people?
<Insert Name of Director/ Department/ Specialty Show>
C/O KTRU MS-506
P.O. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251
KTRU STAFF LISTING
Station Manager: Nick Schlossman
Program Director: Rachel Orosco
DJ Directors: Katie Mayer & Michael Weeks
Assistant DJ Director: Jay Holmes
Music Directors: Miguel Quirch & Tyler Mitchell
Assistant Music Directors: Alyssa Ibarra, Mark Flaum, Jane Flores,
Jae Mills, Jose Serpas, Lindsey Simard
Music Librarians: Les Schoppe & Chase LeCroy
Business Manager: Rachel Orosco
Publicity: Patricia Bacalao & Kristina Butler
Folio: Rose Cahalan
Small Concerts: Megan Weeks
Outdoor Show: Rachel Orosco
Promotions: Burton DeWitt
Partnerships & Events: Tyler Mitchell
PSAs & Community: Brittany Wise
News: Carina Baskett, Helen Shaw, Gislaine Williams
Sultan o’ Stick: Helen Shaw
Operations & Engineering: Lacey Pyle, Andrew Lynch
Internal Communications: Zach Rubenstein
Office Manager: Zach Rubenstein
Robo: Rameez Anwar & Les Schoppe
Socials: Claire Taylor
Webmaster: Helen Shaw
KTRU carries Rice Women’s
Basketball and Rice Baseball.
Check out www.ktru.org or
the respective Rice Owls
team pages for broadcast dates
and times. If a game isn’t
on air, it’s probably
streaming online!
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Steven G. Crowell
General Manager: Will Robedee
Chief Engineer: Bob Cham
Office Manager: Scottie McDonald
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009, 7 PM
LOVETT UNDERGROUNDS/
LYLES
FREE ADMISSION
DEMOS DUE
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 6 @ 5 PM
WINNING GROUP
WILL PLAY AT THE
2009 KTRU OUTDOOR SHOW
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