Chris K's Colorado Playlist

News & Notes: This is the last monthly spins chart for 2010.  In the January 2011 report, we’ll look at the most spun releases of the previous 12 months, and at the “Best Of” list – culled from our network of programmers, djs, critics and hard-core fans from around the state.

KDNK‘s Labor of Love Auction returns to the airwaves November 29-December 4 and to the Village Smithy on First Friday, December 3.  To participate in the on-air auction:
1.  Register. Call 963-0139 and get a bidder number.
2. Download a catalog at kdnk.org (or request one be mailed to you).
3. Listen to the on-air closeouts from 6-8pm Monday through Thursday, November 29-December 2 and 10am-1pm on Saturday, December 4.
4. Call and Bid at 963-0139.

One of the biggest news stories of 2010 was the resolution passed by the KRFC board of directors in August, which instructed the interim general manager of the station (Dennis Bigelow) to evaluate and implement a Colorado-centric format, unless there was a specific reason to not do so.  That process is ongoing today – but is expected to reach a conclusion by mid-January.  Keep your fingers crossed.  The board is working on it … to keep up with memos, FAQs, and other relevant postings, pls see the FAQ section of the station’s website at http://www.krfcfm.org

Colorado TOP 40 Spins NOVEMBER 2010
(1) 1.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners (Remington Road) americana, folk
(6) 2.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster (self) americana
(3) 3.  Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread (self) rock, indie/alternative
(2)  4.  Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints (self) americana, country
(11) 5.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This (delmark)  jazz
(7)   6.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss (Rounder) folk
(17) 7.  Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day (self) rock, jamband
(14) 8.  White Water Ramble – All Night Drive (self) jamgrass
(5)  9.  Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention (OA2) jazz
(DEBUT) 10.  Andrew Vogt – Cats Afoot (self) jazz
(NC) 11.  Big Head Todd & the Monsters – Rocksteady (BIG) rock, adult alternative
(DEBUT) 12.  Robert Marcey & Familyman Barrett – Wailin’ for Justice (Dread I) reggae
(16)  12.  Sweet Sunny South – Carried off by a Twister (2Dolla Reccas) americana, bluegrass
(NC)  13.  Head for the Hills – Head for the Hills (self) newgrass
(28)  14.  Bobby Walker – Way Back When (BWM) blues, r&b
(DEBUT)  15.  the Love Royale – Love Letters (Cuebro) funk, soul
(15)  16.  Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound (self) bluegrass
(21)  17.  Grant Gordy – Grant Gordy (self) neo-acoustic, new grass
(12)  18.  John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light – Beautiful Empty (Free School) rock, adult alternative
(NC)  19.  Great American Taxi – Reckless Habits (Thirty Tigers) americana, roots rock
(29)  20.  Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way (self) bluegrass
(NC)  21.  Gabrielle Louise – Mirror the Branches (self) folk
(15)  22.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3 (Telarc) blues, trance blues
(20)  23.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight (self) americana, folk
(NC)  24.  Romano Paoletti – Story of a Lifetime (self) americana, country
(DEBUT)  24.  Young Cities – Young Cities (self) rock, indie/alternative
(NC)  25.  Megan Burtt – It Ain’t Love (self) adult contemporary
(28)  26.  John McVey – Unpredictable (self) folk, singer-songwriter
(8)  27.  Chris Thompson – The Road Ahead (self) rock, jamband
(24)  27.  Kinetix – Let Me In (Steel Giant) rock/pop
(NC)  28.  Aakash Mittal Quartet – Videsh (self) jazz, world fusion
(30)  28.  After Midnight Jazz Band – Midnight in Madison (self) jazz, trad, vocal
(NC)  28.  Eric Shively – Eden’s Light (Half-vast Records) alt-country, americana
(DEBUT) 28.  Kenny Perkins – Wild Frontier (self) rock, adult alternative
(NC)  28.  the Mile Markers – Take to the Road (self) folk, bluegrass
(NC)  28.  Scott Von – The Age of Plenty (self) singer-songwriter
(30)  29.  Big Jim Adam & John Stilwagen – Back in My Hometown (Fossyl Records) blues
(NC)  29.  the Congress – The Congress (self) rock, adult, roots
(NC)  29.  Tickle Me Pink – On Your Way Down EP (self) hard rock
(13)  30.  Jeff Brinkman – To the Bones (Devonshire Records) rock, adult alternative

Fell out of Top 40 in November
(4)  Apples In Stereo – Travellers in Space and Time
(10)  the Heyday – Till We See the Sun
(18)  Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil
(19)  Danielle Ate the Sandwich – Two Bedroom Apartment
(22) Something Underground – Intention and Release
(23)  Greg Harris Vibe Quintet – Glass Gold
(25)  The Foot. – Primary Colors
(26)  Bailey Stauffer & the Katy Janes – Bend or Break
(26)  Pretty Lights – Passing By Behind Your Eyes
(27)  Dan Craig – Alchemy
(27)  David Rynhart – By the Hollow Tree
(27)  Fuzzy Killing Machine – Enjoy & Destroy
(30)  30db – One Man Show
(30)  Dave LeMieux & House of Soul – Jazz Shaped
(30)  Jubilant Bridge – Power Lines

ADDed
Bop Skizzum – Beauty Queen EP
Brothers O’Hair – EP
Dust On the Breakers – American Revolution
Elephant Revival – Break On the Clouds
Eolian – Egg
Fly and Family Stone – Demo
Gritch – Arrivals and Departures
Kal Cahoone – Saints and Stars
Kenny Perkins – Wild Frontier
Love Royale – Love Letters
Mixed Breed – Mixed Breed
The Centennial – Second Spring EP
Three Squared – object
Various Artists – Act So Big Forest Compilation Volume 1- Triton
Whiskey Blanket – No Object
Young Cities – Young Cities

DROPPed
Adam Bodine Trio – The Chauffer
Chad Price – Smile Sweet Face
Changing Colors – Ghost of Red Mountain
Euforquestra – Soup
Grippe – The Grippe
Hello Kavita – To A Loved One
Houses – Fall EP
Mike Schikora – This Cowboy’s In Love
Mitguards – Lookin’ For Something True
Moors & McCumber – Moors & McCumber
Papa Juke – Jukin’ at Jack’s
Pretty Lights – Passing By Behind Your Eyes

KAFM (Grand Junction)
1.  Stray Grass – Written in the Stars
2.  White Water Ramble – All Night Drive
3.  John McVey – Unpredictable
4.  Bobby Walker – Way Back When
4.  Head for The Hills – Head for the Hills
4.  The Haunted Windchimes – Honey Moonshine
4.  The North 17th Street Band – Dirt on the Tires
5.  Adam Bodine Trio – The Chauffeur
5.  Euforquestra – Soup
5.  Flobots – Survival Story
5.  Loose Cannon Bluegrass – Loose Cannon Bluegrass
5.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners

KDNK (Carbondale)
1.  Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day
2.  Aakash Mittal Quartet – Videsh
2.  Apples In Stereo – Travellers in Space and Time
2.  Big Head Todd & the Monsters – Rocksteady
2.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
2.  Chris Daniels & Bmaster – We’ll Meet Again
2.  Colcannon – Three Days in May
2.  Everything Absent or Distorted – The Lucky One
2.  Head for the Hills – Head for the Hills
2.  Jaden – Midnight Sky
2.  Kort McCumber – Ain’t the Same as Before
2.  Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way
2.  Mile Markers – Take to the Road
2.  Sweet Sunny South – Carried off by a Twister

KGNU (Boulder)
1.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
1.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight
2.  Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints
3.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
3.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3
4.  Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound
5.  Kal Cahoone – Build the Fire
5.  Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way
5.  Munly & the Lupercalians – Petr and the Wulf
5.  Pretty Lights – Glowing in the Darkest Light

KRCC (Colorado Springs)
1.  Matterhorn – The World Began Without Man
2.  Dear Rabbit – I Am Home
3.  the Changing Colors – Ghost of Red Mountain
3.  Lonesome Traveler – Looking for A Way
4.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
4.  Deuce – Two in a Million
4.  Flashbulb Fires – Glory
4.  Grass It Up – Day After Yesterday
4.  Great American Taxi – Reckless Habits
4.  the Mitguards –     Lookin’ For Something True
4.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
4.  Otem Rellik – Elephant Graveyard
4.  White Water Ramble – All Night Drive

KRFC (Fort Collins)
1.  Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
2.  Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread
3.  Halden Wofford and the Hi Beams – Sinners and Saints
4.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
5.  Musketeer Gripweed – Dyin’ Day
6.  Paper Bird – When the River Took Flight
7.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
7.  Jeff Finlin – The Tao of Motor Oil
7.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3
8.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This

KUNC (Greeley)
1.  Andy Hackbarth – The Last Love Song
1.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
2.  Grant Gordy – Grant Gordy
3.  Jerry Palmer – Cherry Picking

KUVO (Denver)
1.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This
2.  Lynn Baker Quartet – Azure Intention
3.  Andrew Vogt – Cats Afoot
4.  Greg Harris Vibe Quintet – Glass Gold
5.  3 Squared – Object
5.  Aakash Mittal Quartet – Videsh
5.  Dominant 7 & the Jazz Arts Messengers – Fourteen Channels

KVNF (Paonia)
1.  Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Saints & Sinners
2.  Nathaniel Rateliff – In Memory of Loss
3.  Blue Canyon Boys – Mountain Bound
4.  Gabrielle Louise – Mirror the Branches
4.  Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams – Sinners and Saints
4.  Otis Taylor – Clovis People, Vol. 3

The Colorado Sound
1.  the Love Royale – Love Letters
2.  Boulder Acoustic Society – Champion of Disaster
2.  Brad Goode – Tight Like This
2.  Robert Marcey & Familyman Barrett – Wailin’ for Justice
3.  Fierce Bad Rabbit – Spools of Thread
3.  Young Cities – Young Cities
4.  Andrew Vogt – Cats Afoot
5.  Joshua Novak – Dead Letters
*5.  Whiskey Blanket – No Object
*5.  White Water Ramble – All Night Drive

*in fairness to all parties involved, an * beside an entry indicates an album I’ve been paid to ship out to radio and press around the state.  There is no expectation of airplay or reviews, positive or negative, on anyone’s part.  Any airplay received on The Colorado Sound is because I like the record – and in fact typically has come before I either solicit an act or am solicited about sending out their record.  Please refer to the ABOUT section for a list of records I’ve sent out to radio and press on behalf of bands/artists.

NEWS & NOTES –

30db “Susanah” from One Man Show (2010)
Chris Thompson “The Road Ahead” from The Road Ahead (2010)
Coles Whalen “Go Child” from The Whistle Stop Road Record (2009)
The Heyday “All The Time in the World” from Till We See the Sun (2010)
The Big Motif “The Daily Motion” from Big Motif (2010)
Musketeer Gripweed “Dyin’ Day” from Dyin’ Day (2010)
Houses “Red Feather” from Fall (2009)
Chain Gang of 1974 “Devil Is A Lady” from White Guts (2010)
Whiskey Blanket “Rule the Roose (feat. Macklemore)” from No Object (2010)
Jennifer Lane “River of Truth” from In A Magazine (2008)
Buckner Funken Jazz “In Walked Bucky” from Late for School (2001)
Acoustic Junction “Oh Me Oh My” from Strange Days (2000)
Apples in Stereo “No One In the World” from Travellers in Space and Time (2010)
Kenny Perkins “Last Goodbye” from Wild Frontier (2011)
Hello Kavita “To A Loved One” from To A Loved One (2009)
Runaway Express “West Texas Wind” from Howlin’ At the Moon (2010)
The Motet “Push” from Dig Deep (2009)
Greg Harris Vibe Quintet “Northside Hunter” from Glass Gold (2010)
Meryl Romer “I’ve Waited Long Enough” from So Sure (2009)
Jeff Finlin “East by West” from The Tao of Motor Oil (2010)
The Samples “My Town” from Samples (1990)
Drew Emmitt “Gypsy In My Soul” from Long Road (2008)
Great American Taxi “Get No Better” from Reckless Habits (2010)
The Dominant 7 “South Corea” from 14 Channels (2010)

Wow .. it’s really been over a month since the last MMMM???  Geeze Louise .. LOL .. okay … listen in and read .. and if you like what you hear, please hit up the band/artist site and gitchasum … 🙂 

Whiskey Blanket – No Object
Website: http://www.whiskeyblanket.com/
Genre/Style: alternative hip-hop
RIYL: Jurassic 5, Atmosphere, People Under the Stairs, Bonobo
Notes: features Joe Lessard from Head for the Hills in a role many of us would have never suspected…. and as a featured guest, Bonnie Paine from Elephant Revival further muddies the hip-hop waters with bowed saw and other earthier sounds and instruments… which also includes instrumentals that bridge classical, neo-acoustic-Colorado-bluegrass and more … so much more in fact that Brian Johnson, the esteemed publisher/editor of Marquee Magazine in Boulder has said, ““…the elements that Whiskey Blanket bring to the table with live violin and cello mixed into their hiphop are soaring and grand…you almost question if they should be filed under hip-hop at all.”  Special note here in the interest of full transparency…. the band’s management hired me to send this record out to public, community and college stations statewide … got my fingers crossed on this one – a very special addition to Colorado based hip-hop … haven’t heard anything that has this much cross over appeal since the heyday of Yo, Flaco!  Even if you think you DON’T like hip-hop (rap), spin this one … very very tasty indeed.

The Love Royale – Love Letters
Website: www.theloveroyale.com
Genre/Style: neo-soul, electric soul, indie pop
RIYL: Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill
Notes: from the band website, “Love Letters is the first of three long-form EPs from Denver collective The Love Royale, preceding The Breakup Album, because every love has a beginning.”  Produced by Denver legend Kyle Jones (Elephant Six collective, Flobots, Rubber Planet), Kyle cracks bass over some serious neo-soul vocals courtest of Heather Larrabee … some fine stuff here for the groovin’ feets… The Love Royale gets my nod for bringing us the album of the month for November 2010.

BOP SKIZZUM – Beauty Queen EP
Website: http://www.bopskizzum.com/
Genre/Style: funk, rock
Notes: Andy “ROK” Guerrero has been one very busy man this year … this is the 2nd ep for Bop Skizzum since last April.  Along the way albums he either produced or helped see the light of day include those by Air Dubai and Kinetix … two of the finest pop records to come out locally in 2010.  As guitarist in Flobots, Andy also stays busy with those shows and is slated to begin working on a new Flobots record.  Not to be overshadowed in the least, vocalist Erin Jo Harris can lay claim to being one of the top female funk singers to come out of the region over the past many years … and overall the band just flat out kicks it …

Young Cities – Young Cities EP
Website: www.youngcitiesband.com
Genre/Style: pop/rock
Notes: How cool is it that this band got to record in the same studion that the likes of Frank Sinatra, Beach Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers have laid down tracks in?  How cool is it that OneRepublic guitarist Drew Brown helped get them there?  Don’t be surprised in the least if you see this band breat the national pop charts in the next year … it could happen.

Air Dubai – Wonder Age
Website: www.reverbnation.com/airdubai
Genre/Style: rock, pop, hip-rock
Notes: When a band lays down something like, “We are Air Dubai. Hear us roar. We are the raunchiest, grittiest sex-driven live hip-rock band you’ve never heard of. Our raps will make you “ooh” and our caffeine-fueled guitar solos will kick you in the throat, you’ll be choking for more just as soon as you regain your sanity..” you just gotta smile a bit and check em out … big buzz band in Colorado in 2010, this record is for those who enjoy lots of sugar, caffeine, and booze … LOL.

FEATURED ALBUM of the WEEK

Kenny Perkins – Wild Frontier
Sampled Tracks:
1. Tiny Distraction
4. Last Goodbye
7. Wild Frontier
8. Let Me Know
11. Who But An Angel Website: www.kennyperkins.com
Genre/Style: rock, alternative adult contemporary
RIYL: John Hiatt, Van Morrison, Delbert McClinton, Leon Russell
Notes: You know those times when it’s all about the mood?  A nice 12 year old single malt .. maybe a snappy Shiraz .. and for those who have the taste-buds a nice thick cigar that might be more about the pungent aromatics than a more sensible smoothness.  There’s always that bite, that tongue going crazy, the senses perking up a bit… the heart jumping at the sensations that follow.  And love … gotta have the love thing going … but not a new love, an old love – one that has settled in and become accepting of your own unique way of saying things in the morning, when the throat is still rough and slightly scratchy from the scotch and cigars of the night before.  That’s the vibe I have gotten this past week from listening to Kenny’s new album on repeat mode in the office… with the lights down low, while chatting online with my wife who’s visiting family back east for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays.  And, not to overshadow the fine work that Kenny does on this, his second full length, but perhaps part of the reason for this album sounding so “classic” is the work that producer John Macy (John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, Richie Furay) brings here — mixing the whole thing on Lonnie Mack’s 1979 NeoTek console and lending pedal steel on a track (Let Me Know, track 8)… simply luscious and… well … classic … vintage … an old scotch, a nicely aged wine … a nicely wrapped cigar … and a warm and inviting wife … a little soft glow .. and a wonderful soundtrack to the night .. or in Kenny’s words – “Like a Raphael Madonna, you came when you heard me call.”  WOW… All I can say is, hell of a nice album Kenny … really. – Chris K.