MidCoast Takeover
Photos from MidCoast Takeover Fundraiser #1 at recordBar, 1.26.13
(Photo by Terra Peal)
The first MidCoast Takeover fundraiser show was a huge success, thanks to all of the great bands (She's A Keeper, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, Molly Picture Club, and Antennas Up) that performed, as well as Midwest Music Foundation, recordBar, and all of our sponsors!
Here’s a list of the MidCoast Takeover sponsors:
CM2 Audio
Taj Mattingly
She's A Keeper
Photos by Todd Zimmer
Drew Black and Dirty Electric
Photos by Todd Zimmer
Molly Picture Club
Photos by Terra Peal
Antennas Up
Photos by Terra Peal
Also, here's a video recap of the fundraiser from Nate Heavilin from Attic Wolves:
And thanks to everyone who came to support the first fundraiser show! We hope you’ll join us for the next ones: Friday, February 1 at Czar; Saturday, February 2 at The Riot Room; Saturday, February 16 at The Brick; and Friday, March 8 at Uptown Arts Bar. MMF will be selling raffle tickets at each of the fundraiser shows for two pairs of VIP Kanrocksas tickets, which include a tour with the Kanrocksas founder!
--Michelle Bacon
Artists on Trial: Various Blonde
For the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring artists playing the MidCoast Takeover fundraiser shows, sponsored by Midwest Music Foundation.
Various Blonde is the brainchild of Joshua Allen, formed in 2008 and presenting a dark, experimental, progressive style unique to Kansas City music. The band has opened for national acts like Russian Circles, Thursday, Murder By Death, Fang Island, and The Electric Six. We talk with them and find out more about what they’re up to as well as their plans for SXSW.
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?
Various Blonde: A bunch of experiments with trial and error sprinkled on top.
The Deli: Tell us about what Various Blonde has going on.
VB:We have been chosen as a finalist for this: http://jansport.sonichub.com/artist/various-blonde
It would be awesome to win because if we win, it's also a victory for KC. It's good to bring attention to KC. We also have two EPs up on Bandcamp for whatever people will give us. nd if we are talking promotion, there is always Facebook. Please "LIKE" us on there, but more importantly, come to a show.
The Deli: What else can we expect from you guys this year?
VB: Perform and record as much as possible. Use my axe to chop down a money tree. (sarcasm font)
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?
VB: Promoting and going to shows besides your own.
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?
VB: This is a tough question and I know I’m gonna forget someone, but I really enjoy the Jorge Arana Trio, Sons of Great Dane… The Conquerors are super sick, THE DEVIL, Snuff Jazz, Making Movies fuggin’ slays Latin dragons, obviously Hearts of Darkness! Er’body luv HOD! One of KC's best kept secrets, Clock People (just wait, their first show is March 1 at Riot Room and you should go), Cherokee.Rock.Rifle because they wrote “Black Cauldron,” RADKEY because the guy from Entourage loves them, Janet The Planet (So dope!), MINDEN (even though they moved to Portland will always be KC to me), MONOLYTH!, and The Beautiful Bodies; they've really locked in their sound and are headed for big shit!
The Deli: Congrats on being selected to play MidCoast Takeover at SXSW. Who are you guys looking forward to playing with or seeing there?
VB: Thanks. I'm looking forward to all the KC energy that will be there, but as far as nationals are concerned, I honestly have no idea who is playing. I'll let you know when I know. Andrew W.K.?
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?
VB: Zechs Marquise, No Spill Blood, Bosnian Rainbows, Chelsea Wolfe, Zach Hill, Dot Hacker, Big Sur, Flying Lotus, Swahili Blonde, Death Grips, Tame Impala, Dirty Projectors, The Stepkids, Bailiff, The Budos Band, and Antibalas are all awesome. I was tempted to write dead artists cause none of them are local to anyone, but I don't wanna be a smartass.
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?
VB: A festival with my band, Radiohead (Ok Computer, KID A, Amnesiac set), Smashing Pumpkins (original lineup Mellon Collie disc 1 and 2 set) The Mars Volta (De-Loused in the Comatorium set), Tool (Ænima cover-to-cover set), The Flaming Lips, Jack White, Blonde Redhead, Queens of the Stone Age with Grohl on drums, NIN (Fragile left and right Set), and if were including dead people that should still be alive... Biggie, Tupac, and Wu-Tang with Ol’ Dirty. After-party with Flying Lotus at Shaun White’s crib.
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
VB: On stage because you're creating a moment instead of trying to capture it. I hate to quote Coca Cola, but you can't beat the real thing!
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
VB: James Brown (hardest working man in show business, Godfather of Soul), Miles Davis (changed the face of jazz four times over four decades), brown Michael Jackson with fro in tow (King of Pop, indigo child), Hendrix (just ask the Axis).
The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
VB: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.
Various Blonde is:
Joshua Allen – guitar, vocals
Jason Nash – bass
Josh Enyart – drums
You can see Various Blonde this Saturday, February 2, where they will be playing the second MidCoast Takeover fundraiser at Riot Room. The group will be playing at 9:45, followed by Drop A Grand, Maps for Travelers, and Six Percent. Tickets available here. Various Blonde was also one of over 40 KC artists selected to play the 2013 MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW from March 13-16 at Shangri-La in Austin, Texas.
--Michelle Bacon
Artists on Trial: Antennas Up
(Photo by Gene Smirnov)
For the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring artists playing the MidCoast Takeover fundraiser shows, sponsored by Midwest Music Foundation.
Antennas Up has found local and national success since its formation in 2008, touring with bands like Girl Talk, Flogging Molly, Company of Thieves, and others. The four-piece band has played official SXSW and CMJ showcases, and its music has been featured in ads and TV shows. In 2012, the energetic synth pop band released The Awkward Phase, which spent over 10 weeks on CMJ’s Top 200 list and was lauded by critics. We talk with lead vocalist and bassist Kyle Akers about what Antennas Up has going on right now.
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?
Kyle Akers: An electro pop-rock band from Kansas City that fuses post-new wave guitar hooks with vocoder synths.
The Deli: Tell us about what Antennas Up has going on. What can we expect this year?
Akers: Right now we're working on music videos, booking tours around the Midwest and up to New York, and always writing and recording. Keep your eyes on our Facebook and Twitter for announcements as they come.
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?
Akers: I'm a big fan of sharing other bands accomplishments, songs, videos and anything else cool that local bands are doing on the Internet. It feels great to help spread the local bands we love to our fans. Everyone in KC benefits when the listeners get more opportunities to find out about all the other great bands around here.
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?
Akers: Hidden Pictures and Not A Planet always hit me in the right place. I'm really anticipating the new Republic Tigers album too. It's going to be a monster, I hear.
The Deli: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the upcoming MidCoast Takeover fundraisers?
Akers: Honestly, I am just excited to see so many great lineups all focused around supporting a huge showcase of Kansas City and Midwest music. It's a great way to show off what we can do here in KC at one of the biggest music festivals around.
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?
Akers: I've hit a rash of female-vocal led bands that have been tugging on my ears recently, most noticeably this band called HAERTS. They've got a song called "Wings" that you have to go listen to right now.
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?
Akers: Well, if we could totally throw out the idea of making a cohesive bill, right now it'd have to be Prince, Electric Light Orchestra...wait. I really think just playing the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction for George Harrison performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" would do it for me.
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
Akers: On stage. Although the day-to-day necessities of life would probably be harder to come by on a stage than in a studio.
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
Akers: This question worries me, because it's asking me to pick the four most important people in music history, and I think that's an impossible task. I'll just take the easy road and pick The Beatles. We all know that the project would only get about 1/5 of the way done and run out of funding anyway. It'd just be a mountain with four mop-top haircuts on it.
The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?
Twitter: @antennasup
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
Akers: You can spend all day long researching and learning HOW to do things, but that can only get you so far. Just go out and do things. I'll quote Adventure Time: Sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.
Antennas Up is:
Kyle Akers – lead vocals, bass
Jon Ulasien – guitar, keys, vocals
Bo McCall – guitar, vocals
The Ryantist – drums, vocals
You can see Akers and his crew this Saturday, January 26, where they will headline the first MidCoast Takeover fundraiser at recordBar. Antennas Up will play at 12:15, after a lineup starting with She’s A Keeper, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, and Molly Picture Club. The band was also one of over 40 KC artists selected to play the 2013 MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW from March 13-16 at Shangri-La in Austin, Texas.
--Michelle Bacon
MidCoast Takeover: First Round of Bands Selected
Here’s the first round of bands have been selected to play the 2013 MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The fourth annual showcase will be held at Shangri-La on East 6th Street on March 13-16, and will feature these bands along with other groups from the Midwest and around the country. The bands will perform outside on the main stage, and a second stage has been added inside for acoustic acts. Those artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
This is a free, unofficial SXSW showcase. No wristbands or badges will be required. For those of you staying in Kansas City, the entire showcase will be available to stream live on the web. More details on that soon.
The Deli KC will be featuring interviews and reviews from some of the bands playing MidCoast fundraisers and the Austin showcase. Find out more about each band and listen to its music by clicking on the links below.
MidCoast Takeover is organized by Midwest Music Foundation.
Congratulations to all of these artists!
A Silent Film (UK)
Adam Lee
Amy Farrand
Antennas Up
Appropriate Grammar
Cadillac Flambe
cherokee.rock.rifle.
Clairaudients
Cowboy Indian Bear
David George & A Crooked Mile
David Hasselhoff on Acid
Deco Auto
Drew Black and Dirty Electric
Eyelit
Fullbloods
Heartfelt Anarchy (Les Izmore & D/WILL)
Heroes+Villains
Jorge Arana Trio
Not A Planet
Olassa
Palace (STL)
Quiet Corral
Radkey
Reach
Rev Gusto
Rumblejetts
Schwervon!
She’s A Keeper
Six Percent
Sleepy Kitty (STL)
Soft Reeds
Sons of Great Dane
Spirit Is The Spirit
The Architects
The Beautiful Bodies
The Conquerors
The Dead Girls
The Empty Spaces
The Latenight Callers
Thee Water Moccasins
Tiny Horse
Troubadour Dali (STL)
Various Blonde
Vertigone & Trystyl
We Are Voices
Adam Lee
Amy Farrand
Antennas Up
Appropriate Grammar
Cadillac Flambe
cherokee.rock.rifle.
Clairaudients
Cowboy Indian Bear
David George & A Crooked Mile
David Hasselhoff on Acid
Deco Auto
Drew Black and Dirty Electric
Eyelit
Fullbloods
Heartfelt Anarchy (Les Izmore & D/WILL)
Heroes+Villains
Jorge Arana Trio
Not A Planet
Olassa
Palace (STL)
Quiet Corral
Radkey
Reach
Rev Gusto
Rumblejetts
Schwervon!
She’s A Keeper
Six Percent
Sleepy Kitty (STL)
Soft Reeds
Sons of Great Dane
Spirit Is The Spirit
The Architects
The Beautiful Bodies
The Conquerors
The Dead Girls
The Empty Spaces
The Latenight Callers
Thee Water Moccasins
Tiny Horse
Troubadour Dali (STL)
Various Blonde
Vertigone & Trystyl
We Are Voices
--Michelle Bacon
Artists on Trial: Drew Black and Dirty Electric
(Photo by Randy Pace)
For the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring artists playing the MidCoast Takeover fundraiser shows, sponsored by Midwest Music Foundation.
Starting as a solo project with the early 2012 release Wanderlust, Drew Black (formerly of The Belated) soon enlisted frontmen from two other powerful KC bands (Terra Peal of The Quivers and Zach Hodson of Dolls on Fire) and multi-band drummer Michelle Bacon. The result is Drew Black and Dirty Electric, a dark glam sound with a rhythmic powerhouse. We sit down with a few members of the band and discuss what they have going on.
The Deli: Gun to your head: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?
Terra Peal: Dark Sexy Glam with a fist full of rock-n-roll.
Drew Black: I’d like to think that it’s modern glam with elements taken from T.Rex, Bowie, Ladytron, and Queens of the Stone Age.
The Deli: Let’s talk about your upcoming EP. What can we expect?
Terra: BOOM!
Drew: It’s beat-heavy and guitar-driven. When I wrote this group of songs I wanted to write with tempos that would make the ladies shimmy and shake. The lyrics tend to be dark, but border on playful and sexy too.
Michelle: Our EP, Dead Kings and Queens, was mixed and mastered by the great Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. We’re hoping to release it digitally this week and plan to have albums pressed by March.
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?
Terra: Contributing, viewing, and heckling as much as possible.
Drew: Being in a band, I feel like that means we have to foster a community. For me, it’s not enough to just go to other people’s shows. If I am in the position to recommend a band to a venue then I will. To me it’s more than: go to a show, buy a CD… I feel like you’ve got to go and have a conversation with the artist and let them know you appreciate what they’re doing. Many times, as a local artist, we don’t get kudos. We leave a gig feeling like it went well, but everyone kind of shies away and doesn’t say anything to you. A simple “I really enjoyed your set,” goes a long way.
The Deli: Who are your favorite "local" musicians right now?
Terra: Schwervon!, In Back of a Black Car, Soft Reeds… so many great artists out there right now! Way too tough to name em all!
Drew: I really love Victor and Penny, The Latenight Callers, and of course Radkey is making a wave lately. I also love The Quivers. I feel blessed to live in a city where the music scene is so vibrant.
The Deli: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the upcoming MidCoast Takeover fundraisers?
Terra: Antennas Up, The Latenight Callers, Molly Picture Club.
Drew: We’re playing with She’s A Keeper, Molly Picture Club, and Antennas Up. I know that’s going to be such a good night of music. I think I’m, selfishly, just really looking forward to being a part of that night and supporting such a great cause.
Michelle: Tiny Horse, The Latenight Callers, Six Percent, Rev Gusto, Cherokee Rock Rifle, and everyone we’re playing with this Saturday.
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?
Terra: Thee Oh Sees, Queens of the Stone Age, Peaches, Nikki & The Corvettes, Prince, and anything else with Soul and Balls.
Drew: Oh, I’ll get into trouble for this! Somewhere along the line I started listening to music all the cool kids scoff at. I have been pretty obsessed with Lana Del Rey since the past summer. She sounds like a damsel in distress, but I just KNOW she’s hiding a knife behind her back! I also spend a lot of time listening to Ladytron, Queens of the Stone Age, and recently, Black Joe Lewis.
The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy concert bill to play on?
Terra: T.Rex, Sparklehorse, Queens of the Stone Age, and Stephen Malkmus.
Drew: That’s a tough one. I’d like to rewind time and open for Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust era. But heck, is it too much to ask to open for Lady Gaga? I’d also like to be the fifth Beatle while we’re at it.
The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?
Terra: Stage is where I come alive.
Drew: I feel the most elated after playing live. I love the studio too, but I feel like if you only record music and don’t play it live, then the songs kind of die. They will always remain the same. Playing live gives me the opportunity to breathe new life into the music. So, my vote goes to playing live.
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
Terra: Otis Redding, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Keith Moon, Marc Bolan. None of these should need an explanation.
Drew: I’ll put PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Kurt Cobain, and Bowie up there because those artists have been pivotal in shaping my sound. They retaught me how to listen to music and they gave me the inspiration to start writing songs.
The Deli: Okay. Where on this crazy web can you be found?
Twitter @dirtyelectrickc
Soon, we hope to have a Bandcamp to let you download our new EP!
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
Terra: Tacos will save you when you least expect it!
Drew: We all have delusions of grandeur, but the point is to create. Start where you are. Be confident and get out there. Don’t wait for anything to come to you. Go get it!
Michelle: Trust me; I'm Asian.
Drew Black and Dirty Electric is:
Drew Black – vocals, guitar
Terra Peal – bass
Zach Hodson – lead guitar
Michelle Bacon – drums
You can catch Drew Black & Dirty Electric this Saturday, January 26 at the first MidCoast Takeover fundraiser show. The group will be playing at 10:30 pm, after She’s A Keeper, and will be followed by Molly Picture Club and Antennas Up. The band was also one of over 40 KC bands selected to play the MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW from March 13-16 at Shangri-La in Austin, Texas.