Friday, November 28, 2014

Heavy Metalists Favor The Fall Melt Faces and Tell Tales in "Studio 5!"


According to legend, it is said that five Midwest rockers kidnapped the best aspects of post-grunge, heavy metal, and nu metal, threw them into a 10-foot pit, and watched them duke it out gladiator style, in a sole attempt to discover the heavy badassery that this sort of showdown would surely birth. The result was Favor the Fall, who garnered influence from a few recent hard n’ heavies, such as Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, and Linkin Park, as well a few of the forerunners, including Metallica, Alice in Chains, and a hell of a lot more. 


Busting straight outta the heart of Minneapolis (with only their drummer, Joey Radke, being a Minnesota native, the rest hail from Wisconsin), Favor the Fall has been an established act since April of 2012. Vocalist Luke Roatch belts out a relentless barrage of dark and aggressive (yet undeniably honest) lyrics with his sometimes-guttural, sometimes-brightly-harmonic singing style, accompanied by the heavily syncopated guitar wizardry of Justin Cynor(rhythm), Adam Cynor (lead), and Sam Buechel (bass), as well as the ever-present thunder of Radke’s drum work. 



In studio, the group played each of the 5 songs off of their soon-to-be-released EP (which is being produced by Disturbed bassist John Moyer, no less), as well as a few that didn’t quite make the cut, and even solid renditions of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and Staind’s “It’s Been A While”. Towards the end of their set, they also discussed their historic origins, including their early individual influences and inspirations to pursue the wild career of music. 



If you want to catch Favor the Fall live, a few of their upcoming shows include December 5th at Phatheadz in Green Bay, WI, at 8 PM, December 6th at Lefty's Bar in Marshfield, WI, at 8 PM, December 13th at The Phoenix Lounge in Harrisburg, SD, at 8 PM, and December 18th at the Fine Line Cafe in Minneapolis, MN, at 7 PM, as well as a birthday celebration for Radke at Everybody’s Bar in Chippewa Falls (their very next show). 

Favor The Fall’s Facebook and Reverbnation pages are linked below:




Also, be sure to support your local “Fresh Air” Radio Station, KFAI! We are a non-profit organization, so we need your help as the listener to keep this amazing radio station alive and running, so as to deliver a wide-array of music for years to come! 

If you would like to make a donation, simply call us at 612-341-3144, or donate online! 

online donation: http://bit.ly/1yKUfq4

If you missed the original broadcast you can still listen at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our FOREVER archives just by clicking here:  http://archive.org/details/FavorTheFall

Check out the video on our YouTube page will soon be posted here: https://www.youtube.com/user/KFAIRocks 

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157649087653329/


-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette

Friday, November 21, 2014

"Live From Studio 5!" Beholds The Rustic Majesty of The Minneapolis Chapter of Roustabouts



Rambling out of Northeast Minneapolis on their way to dominate the modern world, The Minneapolis Chapter of Roustabouts, or MCOR, as they’re alternatively known, have seemingly birthed a new fusional genre that they can only, yet fittingly, describe as “junk hop”. Combining Skynyrd-esque swamp guitar, droning cello, a bright, hopeful ukele, lyrics concerning pirates and those who rule over mole hills, and a vocal style that is, at times, reminiscent of the angst-y bellowing of Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, MCOR’s style just may end up as the pioneer for a bold new blend of musical elements. 



To trace things back to the beginning, Adam Seward (vocals, dobro) and Scott Farrell (vocals and guitar) began jamming initially as a hip-hop duo while working as owners at 4 Points Body Gallery in Minneapolis, combining guitar and DJ techniques. After the two recorded an EP in a barn with the aid of a drum machine, Keya Richie decided to join in with his ukelele at the same time Anders Borg dropped by with a cello, all of them ready to kick out some serious jams. 



Originally known simply as “The Roustabouts”, a persistent fan wrote the band after hearing them on a local podcast to inform them that “there are, like, 20 bands called the Roustabouts”. It was then that the group decided to dub themselves, in a lovable tongue-in-cheek manner, as “The Minneapolis Chapter of Roustabouts”. A roustabout, for those who may not know, is described as a traveling blue collar worker, though the band’s intentions for donning the term comes from noted inspirations Tom Waits’ and Aesop Rock’s frequent use of it. 



Aside from two EPs that MCOR has released so far (one featuring just Adam and Scott, one recorded live), the group is currently in the works of recording their first full-length album, to be released sometime in the near future. 


MCOR’s website link is provided below:


Also, be sure to support your local “Fresh Air” Radio Station, KFAI! We are a non-profit organization, so we need your help as the listener to keep this amazing radio station alive and running, so as to deliver a wide-array of music for years to come! 

If you would like to make a donation, simply call us at 612-341-3144, or donate online! 

online donation: http://bit.ly/1yKUfq4

If you missed the original broadcast you can still listen at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our FOREVER archives just by clicking here:  https://archive.org/details/230Roustabouts

Check out the video on our You Tube page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/KFAIRocks 

(MCOR videos will be up shortly)

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157648972606367/



-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

THE MYSTERY OF THE PILFERED BANNERS


Have you seen these  banners?








Studio 5 had these Iconic banners up for every show and even an event or two.  Someone of Ill intent pilfered these banners from us.
If you have any information as to the whereabouts of these items, please contact KFAI,doug@dougthethug.com or Dewglass atdewglassproductions@gmail.com
If these items simply reappear, we will be thankful, and ask no questions.  The posters were created, ordered and paid for by me { Doug The Thug }  on a limited income.  If anyone has an issue with me or L5, this is a grade school response to an adult problem.  So I will probably just have to cough up more money and replace them and move on.  Maybe there's a logical explanation for this but I doubt it.  Please help us solve the mystery of the pilfered banners.






Sunday, November 16, 2014

Restoring a Classic

Restoring a Classic

BY Dewglass
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If you don’t already know KFAI is undergoing massive changes in an effort to sustain itself and move forward to a more powerful position of community engagement. Even if you do, I hope to draw your attention to a few things. There has already been a great deal of pain involving the core staff that has kept the ship afloat for many years. A restructuring that has left staff 2 options, reapply for the new reorganized positions, which by the way are for less money and more responsibilities, or not apply and train your replacement. In light of the financial bleeding KFAI has been doing for the past 7 years or so, I am not going to judge whether this was the right option. Some progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go. It has become clear that KFAI needs to expand its reach to the community, attract new listeners and partner with other nonprofit and business interests to better serve the community. With listenership lagging and a loss of grants based on this data, KFAI will lose a substantial chunk of funds it relies on to operate.
I wish to propose a partnership with area nonprofits and business to help stabilize KFAI. A closer relationship will allow your message, whether business or nonprofit, a higher profile. Increased funding will help KFAI partner with other organizations for fundraisers, and foster partnerships designed to serve the underserved and under voiced.
KFAI needs support in 4 ways, funds, equipment, facilities to hold large fundraisers, and volunteers to help in every aspect of this 36 year media veteran. Bring your expertise to the governing board and be part of the new emerging KFAI.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Dirty Louis' Sound Revitalizes What It Means To Be Unkempt




If the music of Buddy Holly, The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers, and Kenny G had a night of wicked romance, the love child would become Dirty Louis, a surrealistic fusion of musical styles bred from their humble roots in Bloomington, Minnesota. The band combines rockabilly, neo soul, country, classic rock, dirt blues, and even some baby-making saxophone to create an all-encompassing genre that is currently shaking the Twin Cities to its core. With dual harmonies, dyncamic-trekking drum kit, and crisp, vibrant guitars, Dirty Louis is one of the coolest things to happen to Minnesota since Grain Belt Nordeast. 



The righteous group of jammers consists of Michael Louis Borell on lead vocals and guitar, Brendan Smith on saxophone and rhythm guitar, Will Finer on bass guitar, Ed Draper on drums, and Eddie Rickert on guitar. Frontman Borell described the early fraternizations of the quintet during their live set, all of them having attended Bloomington high schools and participating in football, jazz bands, and other rock groups throughout their teen years. This would lay the foundation for what would eventually become Dirty Louis. 



Between sweetly serenading and rocking the ever-loving stuff out of the “Live From Studio 5!” crew, the band dropped a number of older and more recent tunes, as well as the official debut of a few numbers that had yet to leave the practice room. Two of the songs that received their first public performance included “On My Way” and “Match Made In Heaven”. A few other tunes that the band kicked out were “Glory Bound”, “Loud and Clear”, “Lake Winnipeg”, “No One Like You”, “Libido Shuffle”, and “Once You Go Black”. 


The dirty rockers also performed in support of their soon-to-be-dropped upcoming album. The album release show will be happening at Lee’s Liquor Lounge in Minneapolis on Friday, December 26th, beginning at 8 PM. They’ll also be making a public appearance on November 14th, at The Narrows in Wayzata, also starting at 8 PM. 




Be sure to check out Dirty Louis’ upcoming performances and new album release! A link has been provided below for Dirty Louis’ website:


Also, be sure to support your local “Fresh Air” Radio Station, KFAI! We are a non-profit organization, so we need your help as the listener to keep this amazing radio station alive and running, so as to deliver a wide-array of music for years to come! 

If you would like to make a donation, simply call us at 612-341-3144, or donate online! 

Online Donation: http://bit.ly/1yKUfq4

If you missed the original broadcast you can still listen at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our FOREVER archives just by clicking here: https://archive.org/details/229DirtyLouis

Check out the video on our You Tube page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/KFAIRocks 

(Dirty Louis videos will be up shortly)

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: http://bit.ly/1BkhKv1

“Live From Studio 5!” Archives:  https://archive.org/details/livefromstudio5



-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette