music

Salt. It’s a mineral that is essential to life on earth. As humans, we cook with it, preserve our food with it, and sometimes even light our rooms with it. But there’s a different salt here in the Ozarks. The power trio SALT is a band made up of guitarist Bobby Gardner, bassist Kim Painter and drummer Ryan Fannin. They describe their sound as raw and original rock. It can be edgy and at times heavy, but coated in melody and thick, glorious harmonies. Be sure to check out the band’s music videos on YouTube.

Poet molly. has been writing since her teen years, but she’s new to performing music. Her first gig was just two years ago.

The pandemic has been hard on all of us. We’re all doing our best, trying to get by. For musician Jimmy Re­­ā of the Hillbenders, he saw the pandemic as an opportunity to work on a project he previously didn’t have much time for.

Balisle: What is the recording club?

This month’s episode of SoundCheck features the practice of exercising the earbone. Musician Calvin Todd explains.

“Kind of viewing the act of listening as a muscle that the body has, or that the mind has, or bone, and exercising that. Making it stronger or weaker and how we use that,” he said.

I told Todd that I had never heard the term earbone before when it comes to listening and playing music.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a seismic shift for so many of us, including musicians. This month on SoundCheck, we hear from singer/songwriter Barak Hill and his pandemic project. It all started when he and his partner Katy Frederick bought a house in August 2019.

“One of the things I loved about it was it had this shop out back that I could, I thought, very easily convert into a home office/studio,” Hill said.

It took the pandemic for dreams of the studio to actually begin taking shape, as Hill’s live music career has been stalled.  

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted every aspect of our society these last few months. We all are feeling its lingering effects as we stay at home. We wear masks when we do go out. Groceries are delivered and shaking hands is out of the question. For musicians all over the country, the pandemic has meant lost gigs.

Fayetteville singer/songwriter Jeff Arrigo had a weekly Wednesday gig at the Pesto Café. With the onset of COVID, that quickly came to an end. But, Jeff is one of the lucky ones.

Clarence Brewer is many things. He’s a welder, sculptor, actor, musician, and songwriter, going by the name, “King Clarentz.” I called Clarence up for an interview to talk about what it was like growing up Black in Springfield during the 1950s and 60s.

As a child, Clarence went to Timmons Temple with his mother and recalls the music of that church having a big impact on him.

“My mother was in the Pentecostal church. But, the Pentecostal church was rockin’. It was very musical. With a really good backbeat, the place would erupt,” said Clarence.

This month for KSMU’s series SoundCheck, Jess Balisle interviews full-time musician Justin Larkin on how he is dealing with cancelled gigs, waning income and how to stay positive during the coronavirus pandemic. There will not be an April Studio Live, but we will reschedule Larkin for early next year.  

Violet Vonder Haar has always had nautical themes in her life; her father was a riverboat captain. Last year, her Columbia-based band Violet and the Undercurrents released The Captain, a double album centered around these themes. 

Many of you are probably familiar with NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts. A musician or band performs at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen’s desk at the NPR headquarters in Washington, DC and the videos are posted to YouTube. The sixth annual Tiny Desk Contest is open now for unsigned musicians ages 18 and up to enter and have the chance to perform at the iconic Tiny Desk.

It’s not out of line to say Sister Lucille is one of the hottest bands in Missouri right now. At the time of writing this, they hold the number three spot in the state on the Roots Music Report for their new album, Alive. The record was number 15 on the national Roots charts and debuted at number four on iTunes.

Sister Lucille is married couple vocalist Kimberly Dill and guitarist Jamie Holdren, as well as drummer Kevin Lyons and bassist Eric Guinn. Guinn is retiring from the band and will be replaced by Reed Herron.

Steve Ames will perform on KSMU's Studio Live Friday, December 13, 2019 at noon. He'll be at Tie & Timber Beer Co. that same evening from 6-8 pm for Studio Live Social Hour. 

What happens when you take a classically trained opera singer and introduce him to folk music? You get the music powerhouse Steve Ames. Our story starts in Decatur, Illinois, where a young Ames began his vocal journey.

This month’s SoundCheck episode takes a look at the musical evolution of the Kursk. The band will be on KSMU’s Studio Live Friday, November 8, 2019 at noon, followed by Studio Live Social Hour at Tie & Timber Beer Co. from 6-8 pm that same evening.

This month’s SoundCheck episode looks at the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of the weird sounds of Equal Sponge 22.0. The duo will be on KSMU’s Studio Live Friday, October 11 at noon, followed by Studio Live Social Hour at our new location, Tie & Timber Beer Co. from 6-8 that same day.

The year is 1996. The Springfield music scene is full of classic acts such as the Skeletons and the Smarties. Big Smith is beginning to take the town by storm.

KSMU’s series SoundCheck takes a sneak-peak at the bands of Studio Live. This month, the young songwriter Avery Mann lets us in on how he learned to play the guitar. Catch him on Studio Live on Friday, September 13, 2019 at noon, followed by Studio Live Social Hour at the Backlot at Alamo Drafthouse from 6-8 pm that same day.