RADIOTHON..... IS ON.

That's right, brothers and sisters! RadioThon is ON! Missoula's home to independent, community, student, punk, reggae, hardcore, hip hop, local, local, local, metal, tamburitza and Malian musics, news, Pet Problems, locally-developed high quality shows, etc. needs your support! We are in the midst of RadioThon this week, and need you to be part of the station's support base!

Head to brand new: kbga.org and go about it that way, or go ahead and call 406-243-KBGA!
Your donation helps keep the doors open, and keeps things pumping. The premiums are nuts, $15 gets you a tee shirt, printed on super soft American Apparel.

Watch this several times, please.

ONEIDA: MISSOULA-BOUND.
Sonic wasters from New York, Oneida are coming to Missoula this month, courtesy of KBGA. Oneida play Total Fest IX, which happens August 19-21 (2010) at the Palace, Badlander, Missoula Art Museum and Big Dipper Ice Cream. Ear Candy Music in Missoula has passes, and KBGA will feature a interview, and we'll post a link to that here shortly. A full listing of all Total Fest bands can be found at totalfest.org, brah. Total Fest is an all-ages welcomed event.

Hey, enjoy a vid of their (quite poppy, by other) standards the Adversary tune here, and familiarize with some of their other music, like the tune Up With People. Their catalog runs incredibly deep, and we dig it from start to finish.

PUBLIC MEETINGS, NEW STAFF and SUMMER PLANS!
While this picture would make it seem like mssrs. Justice and Parker were taking part in some kind of Desecration Ritual (or something equally sinister) this is actually a photo from KBGA's innaugural open-to-the-general-public meeting! I think these guys were getting some cheez-dip or cruidite...

Anyhow, at the end of April KBGA opened its doors and heart to the public at large, and among other things, heard some great supportive words from long-time listeners and supporters about the important role the station plays in providing an independent source of music, news and ideas. Most of the crowd comprised folks with some kind of direct station connection, with the exception of Charles Martin, an awesome photographer who's documented a ton of Missoula's live music scene on his Flickr page. Some of us discussed the awesome role KBGA plays in offering a venue for local music to be played and find support, and expressed intrest in developing a broader vision for the station, beyond what's traditionally been around. Folks discussed the importance of maintaining an informal "use KBGA to learn, make mistakes and figure out radio" vibe, but also discussed the possibilities for creating and archiving some of the station's unique content.

KBGA has gone through its annual new-hiring process, and if you're interested in seeing who comprises the student staff, have a look at the main website, good ol' KBGA.org

And what all else here... KBGA is sponsoring Total Fest (August 19-21)again this year, and specifically, is responsible for underwriting the travel of Brooklyn psych lords ONEIDA! Whoa. Be there.

A Fresh Dose of Baltic-Sad Wave: Bērnības Milicija From the part of the world that nurtured artistic luminaries like Sergei Eisenstein, Alexander Pushkin and Karlis Padēgs comes a young, new band hardly old enough to remember the tail end of the Soviet Union. Latvia is a small country bordered by Lithuania, Estonia and Belarus. It's got ever so slightly more ethnic Latvians than it does Russians, and it regained it's independence in 1992 when the Soviet Union collapsed. Bērnības Milicija -sounds like "bear-knee-bus meeleet-see-yuh," means childhood militia- is a band from Riga (Latvia's capitol) and they play music that sounds like a combination foreign language Joy Division, Gypsy subway-tunnel accordion wail, and late 80's Russian underground rock. To me, what's extremely special about Bērnības Milicija's music is that it continues the sad, dark, and utterly creative tradition of Soviet-Russian Leningrad supergroup Kino, or perhaps a better example is, Yanka Dyagileva. If you're unfamiliar with those two folks and consider yourself a conniseur of underground music from around the world, I recommend listening to Brian Turner's recent show, on which Kevin Pink Reason played a bunch of excellent Russian underground music. Speaking of WFMU, Bernibas Milicija has been getting some air time from that excellent outfit, in addition to KBGA.

Bernibas Milicija have got a new record called Nakti Gulot Uz Muguras which, like their debut Mūzika Dejām (Dance Music) was released by long-standing Riga label: Tornis Records.
While you're exploring that, there's a pretty solid handful of excellent Latvian music to be had from Tornis, which is also responsible for an excellent handful of 90's and 00's vintage stuff from all kinds of weird, obscure and excellent bands. Start by checking out Kartaga, Plastalins, Sarkanais Oktobris, Sirke and Voiceks! Inokentijs Marpls and Skyforger aren't directly associated with Tornis, but they make great music and are Latvians as well. If you'd like to go back further into the deep well of , search around for NSRD and Dzeltenie Pastnieki.

AIDS WOLF: NAKED ART-JAZZ CANUCKS ATTACK MISSOULA WED. NOV. 26TH
Montreal, Quebec may be better known for the ponderous meanderings of Godspeed You Black Emperor, or the sappy pop of the Unicorns, but for my money, AIDS Wolf get to wear the weirdo crown. In a world where being indie/alternative/punk generally means structuring most all of your music in the standard way that it's been done for the past 60 or so years (blues-based, 4/4 time, etc.), a band that just gets up and beats the shit out of their gear, has a good participatory time, and makes you think is a refreshing change. Speaking of refreshing, judging from the photos of the band (when you google image search) AIDS Wolf seem essentially uncool with clothing.

Amusical music? Free jazz punk? Spazz rock? Not sure.
Compelling, wild and great: Check.

The show's officially free, but as you might imagine, gasoline and food still aren't giving themselves away, so bring along a couple dollars to pitch their way.

If you're into comparisons, I get reminded of Arab on Radar (interestingly another Skin Graft outfit) and lots of the more driving no-wave from the Early '80's.

Why Aren't You Listening to the Jesus Lizard?

Hey Kids,

Rod Powers here, you might know me from my work on LA Law, Jake and The Fat Man and Hanging' with Mr. Cooper. When I'm not doing loads of coke and banging hookers I like to stay up on what's hip in the music world. KBGA has asked me chime in every so often to submission you jerks into liking what I like.

So my first order of business is to spread the word of The Jesus Lizard. If you don't like them or haven't heard them before than you're like Sonny Corleone to me "DEAD". This band could have possibly done more coke than me and Corbin Bernsen combined. So take some time out of your boring day and listen to The Jesus Lizard. Now!!

Love You Baby.

Rod Powers

Jesus Lizard Youtube Video links down low.

The Jesus Lizard "Nub" Video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7wilcAlAal8

The Jesus Lizard "Wheelchair Epidemic" Live
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mrAoCp3nI0w