Fugitive Waves #9: Atomic Wine

We’ve just released our latest Fugitive Waves — Episode #9 Atomic Wine: Actor, Gael Garcia Bernal takes us into his grandmother’s Mexican hidden kitchen, Werner Herzog eats his shoe, and Frances McDormand takes us in to the world of wine, war and counterfeiting and the romance and sex life of the date.

Fugitive Waves is a founding member of Radiotopia—a podcast collective of some of the best new storytelling out there. Radiotopia is in the midst of a mighty Kickstarter campaign.  When you back Radiotopia you’re supporting 7 podcasts, a small revolution in public radio, and the possibility of adding 3 new women podcasters to our ranks.

Musical Monday – Cathedrals

If anyone had told me that the band who took the stage at last weekend’s Treasure Island Musical Festival under the noon sun had never played a festival before – and only a handful of shows of any kind – I would have likely yelled “Impossible!” and put down fifty bucks (that I don’t have) on them lying. There was no way; Brodie Jenkins sang with the authority and confidence of a master diva while Johnny Hwin’s guitar alternately churned, sang and murmured effortlessly and percussionist Mitchell Wilcox pounded his kit with virtuosic vigor; these were indisputably seasoned pros.

But if someone had taken that bet, I would have been out approximately dinner for one at Chez Panisse… or a lot of shumai and pot stickers from Delicious Dim Sum on Jackson and Stockton. Because it was indeed true: San Francisco’s Cathedrals are a very young band, even if they don’t show it for an instant.

Their self-titled EP, released last month on Neon Gold Records, shares the energy of their live performance but with added tricks and twists. On opening track “Harlem,” Jenkins’ layered voice snakes over and under itself, a pitter-patter of percussion opens into a gallop and Hwin takes the song to its highest peak with a pounding riff. In between are about three hundred hooks to help you get through this Monday morning. Listen to “Harlem,” and the rest of the Cathedrals EP, below.

Musical Monday – Antique Naked Soul

We all have our methods for transcending Monday morning grumpiness. For some, a certain brown liquid will suffice. For others, some quality time with the New York Times crossword puzzle on the ivory throne is imperative. For my roommate Walker, the morning isn’t complete unless he has subjected himself to half an hour of agonizing stretching exercises, lying prostrate on the living room floor and groaning like a wounded wildebeest, as I eat my breakfast. But here at Kitchen Sisters HQ, we would like to offer an alternative to coffee or downward dog: an exhilarating musical ensemble whose powerful lyrics, bold voices and gorgeous melodies will shoot straight to your brain faster than coffee ever could.

Antique Naked Soul is a completely a cappella four piece led by Candice ‘Antique’ Wicks and the virtuosic beat boxer Tommy Shephard, Jr. Together, they craft ‘manifesto music,’ songs that bravely explore notions of racial and socio-economic inequality with a blend of soul, hip-hop, RnB and gospel music. Listening to their self-titled debut LP is like taking a walk through musical history: the group incorporates the spiritual “Wading in the Water,” references the Fugees and covers James Brown, all in a way that is uniquely their own.

Antique Naked Soul performs Friday at Studio Oakland as part of their three month residency, during which they have been working on ‘The Naked Soul: A Soundscape of Black Shame.’ In the project, “Antique Naked Soul leads the audience on an all-vocal mission to reclaim and heal the physical symptoms of suffering resulting from a history of enslavement and institutional oppression.”

Watch Antique Naked Soul perform their song “Lay Low” at the Fruitvale BART Station below.

Kitchen Sisters Interviewing & Recording Workshop Comes to KCRW in LA

Dear Friends,

KCRW’s Independent Producer Project is bringing The Kitchen Sisters sound, interviewing and recording workshop to KCRW in Santa Monica.  Friday morning, November 21 from 10-1:00. This three-hour session is designed for people who want to acquire and hone their skills for an array of audio and media projects: radio, online, podcasts, storytelling, oral histories, audio slideshows, family histories, news, investigative reporting, documentaries and other multimedia platforms.

The workshop will cover interviewing approaches, miking techniques, sound gathering, use of archival audio, field recording techniques, how to make interviewees comfortable, how to frame evocative questions that make for compelling storytelling, what equipment to use and what to pack in your kit, how to build a story, and how to listen.

The workshop is customized to fit the projects you are working on. People who attend come from radio, film, multimedia, newspapers, blogs, journalism, photography, oral history, historical societies, music, writing, libraries, archives, web design, detective agencies, farms, universities, restaurants, health care organizations, theaters, electrician’s unions and beyond. The groups are always lively and good contacts are made.

Of course, snacks will be served.

The workshop will be held at KCRW / 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405.

Fee: $135.00.  Register here.

Questions? Email us at kitchen@kitchensisters.org.  And please pass this announcement along to your community. 

Expand your skills, meet new people, support KCRW and the work of The Kitchen Sisters.

See you at the station,

Davia & Nikki

Radiotopia Kickstarter: A Storytelling Revolution

Musical Monday – The Tropics

They’re saying that today is a holiday, but is it really a holiday if you still have to go work? Columbus Day? Indigenous People’s Day? Do we even know what we’re celebrating?! If you find yourself perplexed, unsure of whether you’re supposed to be heading to the office or if some cosmic force is simply toying with your dreams of a three-day weekend, than this week’s Musical Monday is undoubtedly for you.

The Tropics brand-new video for “Fireproof” may also instill a sense of confusion, but for reasons exponentially more delightful; a video that inspires the same sort of déjà vu as when that cute redhead you were checking out on Tinder might have just walked right by you in the organic exotic greens section of your local food co-op.

If you find yourself thinking, “I”ve totally seen this video before!” then you’re half-right. Working with the director Frank Door, the San Francisco indie rockers have recreated, shot-by-shot, the video for Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch’s 1991 hit “Good Vibrations.” (Yes, that is Mark Wahlberg).

Although the videos are brilliantly similar, the song “Fireproof” makes a statement all its own. Led by singer Claire George, the band gallops and stomps their way through three  minutes of rollicking rock and roll. While the guitars’ coordinated riffs brings to mind garage-rock bands like the Strokes, the soaring chorus is the kind of melodic perfection that Stevie Nicks would jump on in a second. We can only imagine how much fun the band had making the video; on this day of utter confusion, hopefully it will bring you some joy, too.

“Fireproof” appears on the Tropics upcoming Wind House EP, out 10/28 on Breakup Records. Watch the Tropics “Fireproof” video, and Marky Mark’s original, below.

Musical Mondays – The Seshen

The BART trains are packed with silent grumblers, the lines at Starbucks seem longer than usual – another work week has begun in San Francisco. Across town in Golden Gate Park, efforts are underway to clean up the aftermath of the three-day Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Gears are grinding slowly back into motion – perhaps you too had some difficulty forming coherent sentences this morning? But have no fears, dear reader, this week’s dose of Musical Monday is sure to get you up and moving!

If you are looking for an escape, for music to get lost in, look no further than San Francisco seven-piece the Seshen, who are set to release their Unravel EP tomorrow on Tru Thoughts Records. On the title track, electronically manipulated drums take on the shape of a marching band, a thick synthesizer sounds a bit like a buzz-saw and Lalin St. Juste’s captivating vocals soar overhead, looped and twisted into mesmerizing hooks. Producer (and bassist) Aki Ehara spins all of these parts together into a hypnotic wash; one minute into the song and you may feel like you’re being carried away, down a river, into the unknown.

St. Juste describes “Unravel” as “the slow destruction of a relationship,” but its infectious melodies and spiraling rhythms can inspire a sense of openness and exploration, too; a reminder that even as things fall apart, there is always the promise of something new. Not the worst thing to keep in mind on a Monday morning.

The Seshen play an EP release show this Saturday at Leo’s Music Club in Oakland, along with fellow Bay Area bands Waterstrider and St. Tropez.

Watch the video for “Unravel” below:

Making Custom Lipsticks at the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in NYC!

We are scheming up some custom Kitchen Sisters lipstick shades!  Help us name our colors!

You can read more about Bite Beauty here.