Twirl Radio #832 – Lisa Mychols and Chandler Travis

After ten years at a National Public Radio station in Chicago, Mike Lidskin returned to California in 1997 and created Twirl Radio, a weekly two hour radio program which features the finest independent music and artists from the rock era. Mike’s on a mission to not “just spin rock music, but to educate listeners about this vital art form.” Indeed, he doesn’t just announce the songs, but gives histories about some of the artists, the albums, and the songs themselves.

You can catch Twirl live each Saturday afternoon, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM PST on Sacramento’s Voice, KUBU 96.5 FM, and archived right here, as well as at http://www.twirlradio.com. If you haven’t headed into your Saturday night with an earful of Twirl, you’re doing it wrong!

Chandler Travis interview
Chandler Travis Three-O | More Than This Night | Backward Crooked From The Sunset
Chandler Travis Three-O | The Mayor Of Drunktown | Backward Crooked From The Sunset

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS:
The radio gods really smiled down on me and my little Twirl Radio show this week. I was once again given the chance to do a 4 hour show (thanks, Bill Fuller), and had interviews with two well-known and well-loved musicians: Lisa Mychols and Chandler Travis.

Lisa Mychols has had a long and storied musical history, going back to The Wondermints, The Masticators, and Nushu, and her solo career is equally as legendary. I’d heard OF Lisa long before I ever heard any of her music. She’s one of the standard bearers of today’s pop scene, and can always be counted on to create upbeat, sunny songs with a crunchy, yet sweet backdrop. Which brings us to her new album, “Sugar”. She loves collaborating, and this album was done with Steve Refling, who’s been one of her “go-to’s” for a long time. The album artwork reminds me of a vocalist’s album from the 1960s, something which might have been in my parents’ record collection. The composition, the fonts, even the photo of Lisa–all look like a vintage Nancy Sinatra record. The music: sweet, crunchy, thoughtful, and fun–just like you’d expect from Lisa. And our conversation was exactly that–a conversation, not an interview. Lisa was one of those rare interviewees who asked me questions too. It was a fun and meaningful chat, and this one was special. It will go down in the annals of Twirl Radio history as one of the best conversations ever done on the show. Check out Lisa’s many ventures at mycholsfabulousplayground.com.

Chandler Travis is legendary. He started as part of Travis Shook and the Club Wow–a comedic musical group who toured with George Carlin. He founded the Incredible Casuals. Now, he’s the leader of several different groups of musical misfits/geniuses. We started off the interview in the exact opposite manner of the previous interview–a little awkward and stilted–I was kind of hinting around that I wasn’t too wild about the new album from the Chandler Travis Three-O, “Backward Crooked From The Sunset”, and Chandler was kind of agreeing that perhaps not enough thought went into the album. We carried on the charade for a full two minutes, until I had to fess up to the audience that Chandler and I had planned this out in advance. In an email exchange we had, he kidded me and asked “what if the album is terrible”? So I replied–“I’m sure it’ll be great, but what if I interviewed you as if it was terrible?” As it happens, I’m not a very good actor, because “Backward Crooked From The Sunset” is terrific. It continues in the Three-O tradition of gentle music that takes a quirky turn now and then. Guitars, woodwinds, clever lyrics–they’re all there. If you’re near Cape Cod this summer, go catch any one of Chandler’s bands. This is the high season to see these gentle (and occasional lady) dressed up in colorful garb, playing in any number of beachfront venues, amazing and amusing the tourists and locals alike. As I always say about his bands, recommended if you like NRBQ. You can figure out the rest at www.chandlertravis.com.