Perhaps you’ve heard of Seattle radio station KEXP, with its eponymous series Live on KEXP. The recent viral moment that introduced Angine de Portrine to millions around the world came by way of this program. They’ve hosted lots of great acts, like a Tiny Desk Concert but perhaps less NPR-ish.
Well, what if I told you Bisbee’s KRBP radio station has its own live-in-the-studio program? It’s true! We wrote about Bisbee’s low power radio station before, the occasion being their fall fundraising event last October. Today we explore KBRP’s Live at Studio B, Bisbee’s “Tiny Studio Concert” series.
Live From Studio B is a passion project for volunteers Liz Van, former station manager and Joe Barron, producer. Joe runs the sound and audio editing, and Liz does the interviewing and videography. The project has been around for well over a year, and has featured many local music acts and some from a bit further out of town. Since its inception they’ve captured performances from over a dozen acts local and not-quite-local. Below we’ll have a few words to say about some of these performances, before a hard-earned blowing of our own horn. More on that below, but let’s take a ride through some of my favorite picks from KBRP’s growing catalogue.
The Feel Goods
Featuring Bisbee all-stars Becky Reyes, Scott Muleman and Daniele Panther, and joined by Brenda Pratt and Eric Hawkes, the Feel Goods serve up original, Bisbee-born songs with three-part harmonies punctuated by some of the best harp playing this side of the Rockies. The Feel Goods also keep alive the music of the legendary, star-crossed couple Nowhere Man and A Whiskey Girl, adding a small selection of late couple’s songs into their set. You can find the Feel Goods playing around town and at the Morning Star Café in nearby Palominas.
Galena
Described as “Bisbee’s only metal band, that we know of,” Galena takes its name from the mineral ore from whence lead, that heaviest of metals, is smelted. This video features Miguel Carillo and John Hampton, pulling off a stripped down, raw rendition of original songs. John has played in several local bands and lent his talents to other one-off projects (like this one). Miguel is better known as the bass player and vocalist for Counter-Clockwise, a local classic rock staple for many years. Galena is a worthy addition here as they’ve got the sheer audacity to throw their heavy metal ore around in a town that tends to bend towards music decidedly more mellow. Rock on Galena!
World’s Clyde
A project of Noah Smith (guitar and vocals) Rick Richards (drums and vocals), and Michael Costa (bass), World’s Clyde (now known as Clyde) offers up a variety of good old rock and roll with a fat dash of 70s and a dollop of country flavor, not to mention some killer harmonies. Relative newcomers to Bisbee, these boys’ new grooves and original, tasty licks are a welcome addition to the scene.
The Mystic Blues Quartet
Begging your pardon, dear reader: this is where your humble blogger and friends get to “blow our own horn,” if you please. With Brian Mullins on mandolin and a four-string tenor guitar with a psychedelic, resonating “e-bow,” Sam Panther on hand percussion and drum kit, Frank Tornoe on bass and yours truly on 12-string and vocals, the Mystic Blues Quartet was grateful for the chance to have a turn at Live From Studio B. We served up a sampler platter drawn from three albums (and one in the oven), bringing our unique brand of weirdo-beardo, psychedelic folk to Bisbee locals and, thanks to the internet, the world beyond. KBRP video-volunteer Robyn Talbot assisted Liz with the camera work. The result has us blown away.
And here we’ll give the reader a bit of perspective from the near side of the mic. Liz, Robyn and Joe were all excellent to work with, consummate professionals truly invested in making their best effort. They invited us into the editing process, asking earnestly for our feedback with the aim of attaining the best possible result. The atmosphere, the camera work, the audio engineering and their excellent bedside manner (not to mention the free pizza) made us feel right at home. It was an amazing experience, from performance to editing to debut; the full rock-star treatment, pre-and post-production. One hesitates to speak for others, but surely we weren’t the only musical act to come away feeling like the Live From Studio B experience helped cement our identity as a band, and to open doors to the world beyond Bisbee.
We keep saying it because it proves itself over and over: Bisbee punches way above its weight. It’s a place where superlatives are common currency, all out of proportion to our small town status. As we’ve written before, Bisbee not only encourages, it demands participation in the creative life of the town. This is a place where one can find their true self and be the artist, creator, or DJ, videographer or producer one was meant to be. Live From Studio B is just one more feather in a cap gathering enough plumage to fly high. We may not have NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert clout, nor KEXP’s reach, but we’ve got what we’ve got.
And what we’ve got is a lot.
Keith Allen Dennis is a Bisbee writer, living the dream of becoming the songster he was meant to be. Grateful to play with some of Bisbee’s finest, hardest working musicians in the KBRP studio was a dream come true. Find our music at keithallendennis.bandcamp.com. Better yet, come see us at the Grand Hotel & Saloon on Sunday, October 4th, where we’ll be joined by producer/bestie Stuart Oliver.