VOLUMEN: SET TO POP AT BIRTHDAY BASH! (and) PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE PANTS.
Lots of reportage here in KBGA Country, friends: first things, first: KBGA is now streaming over the web! link up and listen from anywhere with a decent connection! http://kbga.org/ is the site! Next up: KBGA's big- summer co-sponsored to-do, Total Fest VIII was a smashing success, and in particular, the station's contribution of Oakland boogie-rockers Drunk Horse helped make this August event one of the most memorable yet! The Horse rumbled, rocked and ultimately slayed a packed Badlander house on August 22nd. This Holly Huthman photo attests to the wildness. Other highlights: Japanther (juicers gone wild), Wildildlife (psych psounds!), Electric Dandelion (dandelonious!), Helms Alee (!!!!holeeee SHEIZ!!!!), Filth Mattress (wahooooo!) Etc. etc. etc. It was an epic year, and KBGA was a proud part of the festivities.

NEXT UP: KBGA's 13th annual Birthday Bash is nearly upon us! The Bash happens Friday, Sept. 25th at the Badlander and Palace Lounge, downtown Missoula. Click here to avail yourself of all the Birthday Bash festivities. Heavy Missoula new wavers Volumen (who've been a band for just longer than the station, but who've been one of the local bands the station's always had a soft spot for) are using the occasion of the Birthday Bash to push out a BRAND NEW ALBUM! The record, entitled "Skipper of Reverses," is a heavy-hitting collection of this great band's last few year's worth of material. It's music that's largely based around single riff, or a at max a couple riffs per song, when in the past the bands ability to multi-song on single songs was a big part of their stock in trade. I've always liked comparing to Volumen to (good) XTC, with its heaviness, great melody, wild hooks and a serious grounding in pop. The record was enginered my Shmedley "Shmed" Maynes at his Club Shmed studio.

Other star power at the birthday bash comes in the form of Spokanite and sound-mixer extraordinaire, James Pants. Pants has been putting his hometown on the map for a bunch of years as a guy you'd be much more likely find in downtown Philly, or the Bronx, rather than the self-proclaimed capitol of Washington state's (rural) "Inland Empire." He's got over 8000 myspace friends and is buds with Peanut Butter Wolf. What more do you jive turkeys need?