APRIL 30TH LIVE AT THE NOMAD

Vernon Dixon on "Live from Studio Five!"

By Brian P. Rubin

To celebrate the 200^th episode of “Live From Studio Five!” the country blues band Vernon Dixon swung by the studio to play their warm, country-infused tunes during a cold and rainy Minneapolis night.

The band is fronted by the eponymous Katy Vernon Thomasberg and Drew Dixon on vocals and bass and acoustic guitar, respectively. They were joined by Jeff Waldeland on the pedal steel and banjo, Dave Stenshoel on rhythm guitar and fiddle, Pat Mavity on fiddle and lead guitar, and Renée Bracchi on drums. Of course, the band was joined by usual LFS5! mainstays Doug the Thug and Dewglass, while co-host Nicole Jean Rode made her triumphant return to the show about an hour into the episode.

The band played tunes off its album Corn Whiskey, which is available on CD and vinyl, incidentally. Songs included “Madeline,” “Cheatin’ Line,” “Mary and Joe,” “Only When the Bottle Runs Dry,” and “Bartender.” That last one reminded Doug the Thug of an old joke.

“What did the termite say as he walked up to the bar?” he asked. “Is the bar tender here?” He earned some laughs and a rimshot from Bracchi’s drums, and the band played on.

Having just played at the Eagles Club 34 in Minneapolis, the band also spoke a bit about some upcoming gigs. There’s going to be a hootenanny at Harriet Brewery on Thursday, May 1, an appearance at the Singer Songwriter series at Patrick’s Cabaret on Saturday, May 17, and the whole band will be appearing at Hymie’s Records on East Lake Street in Minneapolis on May 24 to celebrate the vinyl release of Corn Whiskey. And if you want to keep up with the band’s online exploits, be sure to check out their homepage and their Facebook page.

If you missed this show, you can listen to it at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our PERMANENT archives here:  https://archive.org/details/livefromstudio5

Check out the video of that show on our You Tube page here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tNfK8C7cCQ&list=UUMeJC71i9gFjLQ8jjM2DHWA

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157644227019456/

The Lost Wheels on "Live From Studio Five!"

By Brian P. Rubin (the drummer)

Look, let’s get this out of the way up front. I’m the drummer of the band this blog post is about. The band is called the Lost Wheels, and I’m in the band (I play the drums), and, oh, did I mention I’m the drummer in the Lost Wheels, the band that this blog post is about?

Okay.

So the Lost Wheels swung by KFAI on Wednesday during an unseasonable (and unwelcome) snow-and-rainstorm that did nothing to dampen the spirits inside Studio Five. The five of us—Dan Warner on vocals and guitar, Walt Kruhoeffer on lead and slide guitar, Daniel J. Scott on bass and vocals, Andrew J. Frederick on keys, and, oh yeah, me, Brian P. Rubin on drums and vocals—were joined by Doug the Thug and Dewglass, and we all had a rousing good time. The Thug was especially taken with Fred’s keyboard that did an admirable job of simulating a B3 Hammond Organ.

It’s not surprising. We are all often fascinated with Fred’s organ.

We played almost every song off of our debut LP Rule for a Day, including tunes like “Hardline,” “Lose Control,” “Me & You,” and “Take Me Down.” They also played songs not yet recorded, like, “Mindy (Transcendent Flight Attendent)” and the live debut of “Love Machine,” which featured Dan Scott on lead vocals. 

There were also a fair few covers, like “Rocky Mountain Way” by Joe Walsh, “Runaway Train” by Australian songwriter Kasey Chambers, and a semi-competent rendition of the Beatles’ “Come Together.”

Speaking of coming together, we also chatted a bit about how we first got together as a band, which was a blend of old friends and blind Craigslist luck. We’re fortunate that we don’t hate each other and actually have a good time when we get together. I give it another two months. We also mentioned that we got the name “The Lost Wheels” when one time a wheel fell off an amplifier.

Warner summed up the inspiration: “It was one of those lightning bolt moments where you say, ‘we have nothing better.’” And thus, a legend was born.

The Lost Wheels (again, that’s my band) will be playing at Gluek’s in Downtown Minneapolis on Saturday night starting at about 9:30 p.m. until we close the place down. Then we’ll be back at Famous Dave’s in Uptown Minneapolis on May 4 to compete in the semi-final installment of the Battle of the Blues Bands. And then we’ll be back on KFAI’s “Live From Studio Five!” during the show’s second remote at the Nomad World Pub on May 7. You lucky devils!

And if you want to find out all you can about the Lost Wheels, be sure to check out our website, www.thelostwheels.com, or look at our page on Facebook, which is www.facebook.com/thelostwheels, or catch all our funny funny tweets on our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/thelostwheels, oh, and there’s a Bandcamp page that features our album, Rule for a Day. So get over there and listen and maybe even buy it? Please? Thanks.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled bloggery. I apologize for being so obnoxious—I promise, it won’t happen again (probably). 

If you missed this show, you can listen to it at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our PERMANENT archives here:  https://archive.org/details/livefromstudio5

Check out the video of that show on our You Tube page here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5phpNGO_pc

You can see the Flickr pix from that show here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157644040947906/

Venus DeMars, Lady Tobalyas, and Timothy Donahue on “Live From Studio Five!”

By Brian P. Rubin

Week Two of KFAI’s fundraising initiative hit Studio Five this past Wednesday, resulting in this week’s show featuring music coming live from Studio…Three. But despite the change in location, the performances from Venus DeMars, Lady Tobalyas, and Timothy Donahue kept spirits high. They were joined as ever by Doug the Thug, Dewglass, and Nicole Jean Rode, who took on co-hosting duties for the second week in a row.

The first hour of music was handled by the duo of Timothy Donahue, of the Eclectic Ensemble, and Lady Tobalyas, two musicians who have appeared separately on “Live From Studio Five!” and were playing together for the very first time. The music was an avant garde soundscape that was both relaxing and engaging at the same time, and was all the more impressive since it was improvised during the duo’s inaugural performance.

During the second hour, Venus DeMars took up her guitar and played her haunting original tunes like “Damage and Razorblades,” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” by request from Doug the Thug. She also took on a challenge from some friends and tackled an impressive cover of “Love Hurts.”

In all, the three musicians provided an amazing backdrop for KFAI’s fundraising drive, proving exactly why the station and its shows are an important part of the Twin Cities music scene.

And don’t forget to check out the websites for Tim Donahue’s Eclectic Ensemble, Lady Tobalyas, and Venus DeMars.

If you missed this show, you can listen to it at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our PERMANENT archives here:  https://archive.org/details/livefromstudio5

Check out the video of that show 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/72157643810022955/) and here  (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kfai-fm/sets/72157643810436415/)

Andra Suchy and Jenny Dalton on “Live From Studio Five!”

By Brian P. Rubin

Though the music may have come from Studio Three—since Studio Five was filled with volunteers taking pledges for KFAI’s Spring pledge drive—there was still plenty of music happening on “Live From Studio Five!” this week. There were two in-studio music guests: singer-songwriters Andra Suchy and Jenny Dalton, who filled the airwaves with beautiful tunes courtesy of the acoustic guitar and auto-harp, respectively. Joining Andra and Jenny were Doug the Thug, Dewglass, and a newcomer to the show, Nicole Jean Rode, who co-hosted for the first time.

Andra kicked things off, playing songs off her albums Patchwork Story and Little Heart, the latter of which is her latest. She offered up tunes like “Libertine” and “Georgiana,” which was actually written by her father Chuck Suchy, a folk musician himself. Andra’s brother and sister are also musicians, and she spoke a bit about what it was like to grow up in such a musical family out in the rural area of Mandan, North Dakota.

Later on, Jenny Dalton took over and played a bunch of songs on her auto-harp—tunes like “When I’m Gone” and others off her albums Blood Folk, Rusalka’s Umbrella, and Fleur de Lily. Jenny pointed out that she generally plays the keys, but she wanted to bring the auto-harp to get a bit closer to her dream of playing a guitar. Doug the Thug said it might actually be a zither—“a zither with cheater buttons,” to be specific. But lacking clear answers in that regard, the music proceeded.

Doug the Thug also played a few tracks from the Live From Studio 5! Compilation CD, a 19-track disc that comes as a gift to anyone who contributes $35 during the station’s pledge drive. To make a pledge of your own, just click right here and open your heart (and your wallet).

To keep up with the Andra Suchy and Jenny Dalton, check out AndraSuchy.net and JennyDalton.com for the latest news, songs, and show dates.

If you missed this show, you can listen to it at ANY time from ANYWHERE on the planet on our PERMANENT archives here:  https://archive.org/details/169AndraSuchyJennyDalton

Check out the video of that show 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/72157643371538685/