After ten years at a National Public Radio station in Chicago, Mike Lidskin returned to California in 1997 and created Twirl Radio, a weekly three 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 3:00 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!
Artist | Track | Album
Jackpot | Sensory Overload | Moonbreath
Shplang | Spanish Galleons | Los Grandes Excritos
Harvey Danger | Carlotta Valdez | Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
Anny Celsi | Tangle-Free World | Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits
The Bobbleheads | Two Become One | Myths And Fables
Deborah Crooks | All Signs | The Department Of The West
Steve Barton | Gimme Your Hand | Tall Tales And Alibis 3
Ev Gold interview
Cinema Cinema | Cyclops | CCXMD
Cinema Cinema | Colors | CCXMD
Lauren Rocket | Diamond Nights | Single release
Lannie Flowers | My Street (Memphis Version) | Single release
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions | Perfect Skin | Rattlesnakes
Maxi Dunn | The Neglected Gambit | The Neglected Gambit
Richard X. Heyman | Action Screams Louder Than Words | Pop Circles
Tawny Thiele | Happy Together | The Fowl Tone Sampler
Lisa Said | Comes And Goes | No Turn Left Behind
Don Hawkins interview
Don Hawkins | So Much To Learn | Stutter Step
Don Hawkins | Acquisition | Stutter Step
Freedy Johnston | Down On The Moon #1 | The Trouble Tree
Spygenius | If You Go A-Roving | Big Stir Singles: The Second Wave
The Imperial Sound | Yesterday | The New AM
Nick Eng | It’s Alright | Long Shot
Trip Wire | Had Enough | Once & Always
Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets | You Dear | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
The Whigs | Production City | Mission Control
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop | Clever Things | Pop Songs & Kyries
Sunshine Boys | Questions | Blue Music
Gail George | It’s Not Me | Follow Your Bliss
Pugwash | Everyone Knows That You’re Mine | Silverlake
Ass Ponys | Astronaut | Single release
The Armoires | Just Like Carl Crew Said | Zibaldone
The Corner Laughers | (Now That I Have You I’m) Bored | Poppy Seeds
Anton Barbeau | Milk Churn In The Morning | Magic Act
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS:
In my continuing effort to bring you up to date, here’s another show from the recent past. This one featured two interviews. The music was stylistically from opposite ends of the spectrum–but both types fit in well on Twirl Radio, and the interviews were both fun.
In the first hour, we met Ev Gold of NYC-based “Experi-Metal Punk” band Cinema Cinema. Their sound has been described as having a distorto-drenched post-grunge and damaged-funk assault. Whew! That’s a mouthful, an earful, and a headful. It’s really good, intense music. Ev himself is a great guy–full of fun and life. We had a really spirited chat, and heard a couple of tracks from their recent album, CCXMD. You’ll learn an interesting little secret about that album title when you listen to the interview. Check ’em out at www.cinemacinemaband.com.
In the second hour, a we had a long-anticipated interview with Don Hawkins. Don originally comes from Sacramento, and he originally part of Anton Barbeau’s band JoyBoys. He started making his own music, and has been going strong at it for the past couple of decades. He now lives up in Washington state, and has released several albums just in the past 3-4 years alone. We talked about his recent effort, Stutter Step, which features some amazing songwriting and playing. (#3 album of the year, Twirlie Awards.) If I had to narrow down the sound, I’d say it reminds me of some of the smart, quirky alternative rock from the early 1990s that I loved so well. This album is a must-listen. https://www.amazon.com/Stutter-Step-Don-Hawkins/dp/B07S2DPR3H
More episodes coming soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the show!
