We begin the show with a song from the great Mariachi singer Miguel Aceves Mejia in honor of Cinco De Mayo, a holiday I’m especially thankful for (check the history if you don’t know) and this week in particular I was especially thankful just to even be on the air. On Saturday I was involved in a accident while riding my bike in Pasadena. The car I slammed into had the worst of it, but considering how bad it could have been I was just thankful to even be more or less in good health. Unexpected moments like that can really make you think about your blessings. It’s a great privilege to host this show on KPFK and be able to bring music to the people on a weekly basis. That is especially so with shows like this past week where we were able to broadcast our interview with LA’s King (separate post to follow). King are a really special group and it was a real pleasure to have them perform for our listeners. During the first hour of the show, there’s a fair amount of new tunes, including tracks from Shannon & the Clams, King Midas Sound, Girls Names, Jungle Fire, Nametag & Nameless, Czarface and more. After 4 straight weeks with guests & interviews, next week should be just a regular show, but since it’s Mother’s Day, we’ll likely have something special going on, please tune in then.

Melting Pot on KPFK #125: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #125: Second Hour

Playlist: 05-05-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the Mgs – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)

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Miguel Aceves Mejia – Fiesta En El Corazon – El Gallo Colorado (Arcano)
Shannon & the Clams – Into A Dream – Dreams In The Rat House (Hardly Art)
Ilaiyaraaja feat. SP Balasubramaniyam – Sirikkum Mattum – Ilectro (Finders Keepers)
Jungle Fire – Firewalker – 7” (Colemine)
Czarface feat. Ghostface Killah – Savagely Attack – Czarface (Brick)
Ikebe Shakedown – Road Song – 7” (Ubiquity)

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Miguel Atwood Ferguson Ensemble feat. Coco O Of Quadron – A Song For You – Art Don’t Sleep Presents: That 70’s Soul (Self-released)
Amatorski – Never Told – TBC (Crammed Discs)
K-OS – Nobody Else – Black On Blonde (Nettwerk)
King Midas Sound – Aroo – Single (Ninja Tune)
Kode-9 – Xingfu Lu – 12” (Hyperdub)

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Nametage & Nameless feat. Black Milk – Oxymoron – For Namesake (Brick)
Toddla T Sound – Worst Enemy (Edit) – Single (Ninja Tune)
Girls Names – Hypnotic Regression – The New Life (Slumberland)
Prince & the Revolution feat. Apollonia – Take Me With U – Purple Rain: Original Soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
Shuggie Otis – Don’t You Run Away – Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (Legacy)
Orgone – Quit The Bit – Fuzzed Up (Self Released)

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King – Interview & Performance – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Robert Glasper Experiment feat. King – Move Love – Black Radio (Blue Note)
Alice Russell – Twin Peaks – To Dust (Tru Thoughts)
Lady – Money – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
Willie West & the High Society Bros. – She’s So Wise – 7” (Timmion)

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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)

It was truly an honor to interview Shuggie Otis this past Saturday at KPFK. In the early 1970s, Otis recorded three very different, but all equally fantastic, solo records before seemingly disappearing until a reissue of Inspiration Information by David Byrne’s Luaka Bop records brought him back into the public eye. Though I had known about Shuggie’s music prior to hearing that reissue, like a whole lot of people hearing that set was a revelation. Inspiration Information is the rare legendary record that actually deserves every single piece of acclaim it has gotten and then some. Recently Sony Legacy has reissued “Inspiration” along with close to 20 previously unreleased tracks that Shuggie recorded from the 1970s up until 2000. Shuggie has stepped back out into the public eye again and this time around it seems he’s here to stay. In our interview we talk a little about the influence of growing up as the son of Johnny Otis, some of his favorite guitar players, the stories behind some of his classic songs, including “Strawberry Letter 23,” “Inspiration Information” and “Island Letter.” We also discuss how Shuggie’s apparent absence from music was never really an absence (something KPFK and KPFA listeners already knew) and how he’s excited for the next chapter of his career to begin. Big thanks to Andrew Cahn & Eric Molk for helping to set up the interview and of course to Shuggie Otis himself for blessing us with all of this beautiful music. Enjoy!

Shuggie Otis Interview On KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 04-27-2013

Here’s an short documentary on the Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love project that features Shuggie talking about multiple tracks from the album, getting into even more depth than we were able to in our interview. Hopefully this is just the first step towards the full-length documentary that Shuggie so richly deserves:

Quite a show this past Sunday. During our first hour we paid tribute to a couple of fallen giants, George Jones and Richie Havens. Though they were very different people and in very different genres, there are some interesting similarities between the two men. Both had instantly recognizable and very distinctive vocals and both helped to popularize and champion more traditional styles bringing a wider audience to their cherished traditions. The second hour of our program belongs to Shuggie Otis (separate post above). Just the day before I sat in with Shuggie Otis just ahead of his show at the El Rey in Los Angeles. We spent time talking about his career and many of his classic recordings, especially “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information.” Hope you enjoyed this show as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Next week we’re back with new music plus an interview and performance from King!

Melting Pot on KPFK #124: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #124: Second Hour

Playlist: 4-28-2013
{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)

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George Jones – Things Have Gone To Pieces – The Great Lost Hits (Time Life)
George Jones & Melba Montgomery – We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds – What’s In Our Hearts (United Artists)
George Jones – A Good Year For The Roses – George Jones With Love (Musicor)
George Jones – Your Angel Steps Out Of Heaven – If My Heart Had Windows (Musicor)
George Jones & Tammy Wynette – Never Grow Cold – George Jones With Love (Musicor)
Kenny Baker – Lonesome Moonlight Waltz – Plays Bill Monroe (County)

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Richie Havens – Handsome Johnny/Freedom – Woodstock: Music From The Original Soundtrack and More (Atlantic)
Richie Havens – I’m On My Way – Richie Havens’ Record (Douglas)
Richie Havens – No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – There’s A Hole In The Future – Stonehenge (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – The Parable Of Ramon – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)

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Richie Havens – Indian Rope Man – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – Younger Men Grow Older – Alarm Clock (Stormy Forest)
Richie Havens – For Heavens Sake – Richard P. Havens, 1983 (Verve Forecast)
Richie Havens – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – Soundtrack For A Revolution (Entertainment One)
Kenny Baker – Brown County Breakdown – Plays Bill Monroe (County)

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Shuggie Otis – Interview – Recorded at KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Shuggie Otis – Wings Of Love – Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (Legacy)

Such a pleasure to sit in with Nicole Wray and Terri Walker, who together form Lady. Though the two women have had solo careers for a fair amount of time, the music they make together is undeniably fantastic.

Their new self-titled album on Truth & Soul records is a perfect mix of soul, old and new, and is one of my favorites of 2013, as well as a fave of Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com who sits in with me for a tag-team style interview of the group.

Nicole & Terri, along with Vincent John on Guitar, perform three songs, “Hold On,” “Money” and “Get Ready” while also talking to us about how they formed this dynamic duo, the recording and writing process for the album, some insight into a couple of our favorite tracks from the album and their plans for the future. Looking forward to even better things from these talented ladies in the future, but for now, enjoy this session! Big thanks to Julie Underwood for setting things up, Stan Misraje for doing the sound, Clifton James Weaver III for lending us his guitar amp and to Oliver Wang for being my tag-team partner on the interview.

Lady on KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 04-17-2013

Special show this past Sunday. We start off paying tribute to Charles Mingus, whose 91st birthday would have been today, by playing one of his masterpieces, 1963’s Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, in it’s entirety. The second hour begins with an interview and performance from Lady featuring Nicole Wray and Terri Walker (separate post to follow). Played a little bit of music in between those, with new tracks from Jaimeo Brown, Orgone, Toddla T Sound, King and a classic from Shuggie Otis. If all goes well this week, we’ll have an interview from Shuggie Otis on this coming Sunday’s show!!!

Melting Pot on KPFK #123: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #123: Second Hour

Playlist: 04-21-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)

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Charles Mingus – The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady – The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady (Impulse!)
Charles Mingus – II B.S. – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse!)

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Jaimeo Brown – This World Ain’t My Home – Transcendence (Motema)
Toddla T Sound – Worst Enemy – Single (Ninja Tune)
Ilaiyaraaja feat. Malaysia Vasudeva – Aththi Marakkili – Ilectro (Finders Keepers)
Orgone – Serge Went There – Fuzzed Up (Self-Released)

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Lady – Interview and Performance – Recorded Live at KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Lady – Tell The Truth – Lady (Truth & Soul)
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge feat. William Hart – Enemies – 12 Reasons to Die (Soul Temple)
Kenny Dope – Guest DJ Set – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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Shuggie Otis – Island Letter – Inspiration Information / Wings Of Love (Legacy)
King – In The Meantime – Single (Self-released)
Quadron – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)

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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Bitar (Kemado)

It was truly an honor to have the legendary Kenny Dope stop into KPFK for a quick chat and a long guest DJ session. Kenny Dope is truly a DJ’s DJ, a master at blending and mixing together disparate and diverse styles and sounds and seamlessly shifting from genre to genre and mood to mood. Over the years he’s done production work under his own name as well as collaborating with a host of talented people, perhaps most notably with Louie Vega in Masters At Work and Nuyorican Soul. For my money, Kenny Dope is the best remixer in the game (my two of my top 5 all-time remixes belong to him, the Jackson 5 “It’s Great To Be Here” you hear at the end of the interview below and his reworking of Sharon Jones “Keep On Looking”) and definitely one of the best Djs around. We didn’t get a chance to talk about too much, since he had a plane to catch and we wanted to reserve the majority of time for his Guest DJ set. The loss of a fuller conversation is definitely outweighed by the gain of an amazing 59+ minute mix, complete with a tracklist provided below! With luck we’ll be able to spend more time with Kenny Dope in the future on Melting Pot, but until then…enjoy this to the fullest and the spread the word far and wide!

Kenny Dope Interview on KPFK’s Melting Pot: 4-14-2013
Guest DJ Set from Kenny Dope on KPFK’s Melting Pot: Recorded 4-14-2013

Tracklist:
Blackrock – Yeah Yeah
Rasheed Chappell – 123 feat. Dj scratch
Destruments – Freedom
Page One – Thank Goodness Gotta Good Woman
Dionne Warwick – You’re Gonna Need Me
The Dells – I Can Sing
Mr. Chop – Deep Gully
The Soul Lifters – Hot Funky & Sweaty (Kenny Dope Edit)
Dibiase – Fly Me To The Moon
The Magictones – I’ve Changed
The Jimi Entley Sound – Charlie’s Theme
Marvin Gaye – Time (Kenny Dope Mix)
Johnny Guitar Watson – Superman Lover (Lord Finesse Revised)
Das Efx – Real Hip Hop (DJ Premier Remix)
Kenny Dope – Get On Down
The U.B.’s – Synthetic Substitition
Chopp Master Flopp – Peetie Swei Revised
The Menahan Street Band – Make The Road By Walking (Kenny Dope Edit)
Brand Nubian – All For One (Accapella)
James Brown – Funky President
Chopp Master Flopp – Daisy Crazy
Emotions – Blind Alley (Stripped)
Leela James –Let Me Tell You (Bass Dub)
Lil Louis – Fable (Director’s Cut Classic Signature Mix)
Barbara Tucker – I Get Lifted (Duck Beats)
Elements of Life feat. Lisa Fischer & Cindy Mizelle – Into My Life
Kenny Dope feat. Josh Milan – Be Your Freak (Kenny Dope O’gutta Mix)
Earth people – Dance (Dub)
Intrallazzi – Pik Nik (Cube Guys Mix)
IKE – Docs Edit
Mike Dunn presents The MD X-spress – God Made Me Funky
Elements of Life – One Dream

Relatively short show in terms of what I had to prepare, but I’m so very thankful for that because it meant that we all got the treat of Kenny Dope (Masters At Work, Nuyorican Soul, Kay Dee Records and on and on) taking us on a musical journey. At the start of the show I paid tribute to the recently departed Don Blackman with one of my favorite 1970s tracks “I Love You” recorded with Weldon Irvine for one of his records, but featuring Blackman’s lyrics, music and vocals. During the first couple of sets you’ll also hear some newer tunes from Lady (should be our guests on the next Melting Pot), Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge, local cats the Sure Fire Soul Ensemble and even long awaited music from the Pastels. But the show belongs to Kenny Dope, who was in town DJ-ing at three separate events over the weekend and was very generous with his time before flying back out to NYC. We don’t spend too long talking (hopefully we’ll get a second chance in the near future since I barely asked him any questions at all!) but that was only because we were hoping we’d be able to get a long guest DJ set from the man and he did not disappoint (separate post to follow with the full set in all it’s glory). As I mention at the end of the show, next week will also be special, with an interview/performance from Lady and a tribute to Charles Mingus featuring the complete Black Saint & the Sinner Lady!

Melting Pot on KPFK #122: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #122: Second Hour

Playlist: 04-14-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)

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Weldon Irvine feat. Don Blackman – I Love You – Sinbad (RCA)
Lady – Sweet Lady – Lady (Truth & Soul)
Lee Fields & the Expressions – Love Comes And Goes – My World (Truth & Soul)
The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble – Layin’ Low – 7” (Self-released)
Orgone – Catch A Meyer – Fuzzed Up (Self-Released)

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The Pastels – Check Your Heart – Slow Summits (Domino)
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge – The Sure Shot Pt. 1 & 2 – 12 Reasons To Die (Soul Temple)
Ilaiyaraaja – Kadal Mele – Ilectro (Finders Keepers)
Shuggie Otis – Aht Uh Mi Hed – Inspiration Information / Wings Of Love (Legacy)

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Kenny Dope – Interview – Recorded Live At KPFK
Jackson 5 – It’s Great To Be Here (Kenny Dope Remix) – Soul Source (Universal Japan)

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Kenny Dope – Guest DJ Set – Recorded Live At KPFK