Laura Lou Takes Leisure In Lavish Lounging

To some, Laura Lou and her Loungeabouts might simply be delivering their interpretation of the female-folky bliss that recent greats like Caroline Smith or The Head and the Heart have brought to the table. To others, she may reflect a soft, reticent Southern touch, one that might conjure an image of fresh eggs and two-percent milk preparing to be consumed. To this writer, they are an amalgam of everything above and more, proceeding to blend hints of jazz and silky R&B, while intermittently adding punchy acoustic drum breaks dished out by drummer Tommy Jacobs. Laura’s ukelele tells a soft tale of life’s yearned-for simplicity and relationships gone both right and wrong. Becky Shaheen’s piano adds a layer of stately finesse atop her subtle-twang harmonies, while Chris Kopp and Nick Mordal pluck and strum in a more than complimentary fashion. Laura and her posse will usher you into a much-needed session of relaxation while simultaneously stimulating the emotional psyche, inevitably inducing memories of sweet times and the sweet people with whom they associate. Check out Laura’s previously released album Seduction Lullaby on the group’s Bandcamp for a dose of semi-surreal folky fluidity. 

Provided below are links to the band’s Website (you can be linked directly to their Bandcamp, Facebook, and Instagram pages through the website’s homepage):

Website: http://www.lauraloumusic.com

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/244LauraLouLoungeabouts

Check out the video on our You Tube page 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/72157651077451175/

-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette

The Karma Kicks Kick Crap Karma To The Curb on Studio 5!

Sporting some serious half-beard charm and a relatable hipster-ish pride for the Northlands, The Karma Kicks have seemingly nothing on the horizon but a brightly golden kismet. The Saint Paul berthed trio bear a likable tongue-in-cheek confidence that percolates amidst their folksy blues-rock performance, and immersion within it provokes feeling of both feel-cool melancholy, and the slight paranoia that they just might be making fun of you in their lyrics. The latter may be induced by their smoothly unanticipated transitions amongst styles, such as jungle tom-tom drum work dropping suddenly and painlessly into a milky folk chop, followed by a raspy Detroit-blues kick. Consisting of Andy Arvidson on drums and organ, Andy Vogl and Dave Abbot on guitars and bass, and all three boys behind the mic, The Karma Kicks leave their listeners with a digestible down-to-Earth taste in their mouths, one that many local artists constantly strive for but fall just short of. 

Conspiring in March of 2012, The Karma Kicks released an eponymous debut album later that year, followed by their sophomore effort All Gone Wrong in 2013. Their music is available on their Bandcamp page, link provided below. Catch these cool dudes at a live performance as soon as your girlfriend lets you leave the apartment.

Bandcamp: http://thekarmakicks.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKarmaKicks/timeline

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/243KarmaKicks_201502

Check out the video on our You Tube page 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/72157648583747924/ 

-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette

Tim Casey & The Martyrs Jam For What They Believe In On Studio 5!

If you’re up for a quick dose of some cool-drivin’ rock n’ roll that doesn’t leave much else to be desired, Tim Casey & The Martyrs are your boys. Serving up sloshy drums, crunchy guitars, happy harmonies, and lyrics pertaining to a jocular kind of love (and not to mention a badder-than-badass homemade Hammond organ), this fab foursome is a refreshing dab of feel-good rock that we all probably need as soon as possible. Just in time for Valentine’s Day Weekend, The Martyrs might actually make you feel good about dropping hundreds of dollars on a single date night. 

Under the ever-watchful eye of Kirsten Ann Lind.

The man himself, Tim Casey, is the primary songwriter of the group, as well as the lead singer and guitarist. Following him into melodic battle are his loyal sycophants, drummer Robb Burnham, keyboardist Kris Brauning, and Mike Cronin on bass guitar.  Although they currently reside in Minneapolis, The Martyrs have graced stages up and down and all around the Midwest. They released a well-received album, titled Boom, in 2010, and have recently been promoting their newest release called You Should Know, which debuted in 2012. Their music is available on their website, as well as iTunes and Spotify. 

Links to Tim Casey and The Martyrs’ website and Facebook have been provided below:

Website: http://timcaseyandthemartyrs.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timcaseyandthemartyrs/timeline

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/242TimCaseyTheMartyrs 

Check out the video on our You Tube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidK9XKz7MU&list=UUMeJC71i9gFjLQ8jjM2DHWA 

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: Flickr

-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette

Multi-Talented Members Make Up Rat Pit

Multi-Talented Members Make Up Rat Pit

Legend has it that Rat Pit was formed “in the back of a ’98 Saturn SL4”, but for all any of their fans truly know, this story may simply be the result of some cosmic contact high. The four lads that make up this group (drummer Tyler Hudson, bassist John Manning, and guitarists Sam Arneson and Ian Carson) formed in July of 2012, and since then have unleashed a hell storm of irresistible musical virtuosity upon the Twin Cities. Besides the fact that each member contributes vocal harmonies and the classic-cool gimmick of the guitar players swapping instruments mid-performance, Rat Pit proves that it is hardly held down by any singular genre. Perhaps more prominently featuring a dance-inducing, feel-good-real-good jam band feel, the boys have no hesitation when it comes to sliding into a snaky Alice In Chains doom groove, a Black Crowes junk blues throw down, or even a Grateful Dead acid-voyage. Not to mention, they wield their pedal boards like King Arthur wielded the mother f***ing Excalibur. In short, Rat Pit will make you feel the polar opposite of crappy, so if the weather, the flu, or the broken New Year’s Resolution has got you down, flip on any of these dude’s songs at random and prepare to feel better than Hulk Hogan at a high school wrestling meet. 

Rat Pit recently threw a release party at the 331 Bar in Minneapolis in celebrating of their newest album, Birthday Season, unveiled to the public barely two weeks ago. The collection contains more than a few badass drops of the finest style, including songs like “Cheese”, “Mars Is Our Native Planet, We Are Martians”, and “He’s Probably Been Drinking”. Be sure to check out their website (posted below) for an instant listen to any of their songs off of Birthday Season as well as info on upcoming shows, events, and the friendly band members themselves.

Links to Rat Pit’s website and Facebook have been provided below:

Website: http://ratpitmusic.com/index.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rat-Pit/322434864479292

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, just like the guys in Rat Pit did, 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/241RatPit

Check out the video on our You Tube page 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/72157650247412068/

-Article by Seth Hynes-Marquette