Wednesday MidDay Medley
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
WMM presents Malek Azrael & Rock is Black + Julie Bennett Hume + Doug Hitchcock
Mark spins New & MidCoastal Releases from: Ivory Blue, The MGDs, Ayron Alexander, Jamogi, Frankie Shorez, Heath Church, Julie Bennett Hume, Malek Azrael, She Said, Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, Benjamin Booker and Σtella.
At 10:30 we talk with veteran musician, Doug Hitchcock about the recently released BURST from Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom. The recording was from sessions from 1993 in New York. Doug Hitchcock has been working as a musician since the mid-1980s. He played with Freedy Johnston on demo recordings that got his first recording deal. Doug moved to New York in the late 1980s and played with bands in the Brooklyn Beat Scene, including The Original Rays, Frank’s Museum, Bite the Wax Godhead, The X-Rays, and Medicine Sunday. Doug’s Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom began in that period as a series of studio experiments that morphed into a working band gigging at The Knitting Factory and other NYC venues. Since returing to KC in the late 1990s, Doug is has performed with Everette DeVan, TooBig2Fail, The Midtown Quartet, The Old Crows, The Douglas County Quintet, Ricky Dean Sinatra, The Mad Kings, and his “home band,” SHE SAID.
At 11:00 Mark welcomes Julie Bennett Hume who has been playing and writing music for over 35 years in the Lawrence/Kansas City area. She has played and sung in various ensembles including a blues trio, an Afro-Cuban ensemble, various string bands, a Cajun ensemble and folk/Americana duos and ensembles. Her music shows a strong Cajun, Old-time and Blues influence with a nod to some of her favorite songwriters such as Stephen Stills, Maggie Roche and Gillian Welch. Julie has released four CD’s of original music including “Late Bloomer” in 2017, “Vinegar” in 2019, “Songs of Latter Days” in 2021 with the Multiverse and in February of 2025, “The Lorelei”. The title track of “The Lorelei” is based on the poem of the same name by the German poet Heinrich Heine and revisits the theme of the dangerous siren. Songs on her latest project deal with politics, family dynamics, love and loss. More info at: www.juliebennetthume.com
At 11:30, 25 year old musician & vocalist Malek Azrael joins us to share details about ROCK IS BLACK—a celebration of Black artists in rock music, happening February 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM at the Zhou B Art Center, 1801 E 18th Street, KCMO. Rock is Black features: Malek Azrael & The Vibez, Jamogi and The Jammers, Stephonne, and Frankie Shorez & Mercy Fire. Rock is Black is dedicated to uplifting and showcasing underrepresented Black artists in the rock music genre, and celebrate the rich, yet often overlooked, contributions Black artists have made to rock music throughout history. From blues rock to pop punk, this unique occasion serves as the release concert for the highly anticipated indie rock EP by Malek Azrael and the Vibez, a band committed to redefining the landscape of music through a Black lens. Malek Azrael is a Kansas City-based singer, songwriter, and producer whose music effortlessly blends elements of Indie Rock and R&B Pop.
Show #1080