So much music you’re going to need bigger pants

by Doug MacRostie

There are a lot of great MN bands out there, and more and more of their CDs keep coming into KAXE hoping to be featured on Centerstage MN (and you can’t blame them, that show rocks ;D) and I’ve got a lot planned for this week; from Duluth hip-hop to Minneapolis jazz to psychedelic acoustic rock, to instrumental Celtic tune sets, be sure to tune into Centerstage MN this Thursday night at 6 on KAXE.

This week on Centerstage MN I’ll be talking with jazz guitarist Cory Wong. From out of this world soundscapes to a jazz fusion interpretation of Radiohead’s Idioteque, Cory Wong’s debut album “Even, Uneven” is a wonderful collection of experimental jazz excursions by a young and talented group of musicians. At the age of 23, Cory has already established himself as an innovative and creative jazz musician in Minnesota and I am looking forward to having him on CSMN.

Speaking of experimental jazz, we’ll also hear from the new release “For All I Care” from The Bad Plus, which is their first album to have vocals (and yet, I’m playing an instrumental tune…) and I can’t spend this much time thinking about jazz guitar w/o playing some Sam Miltich and the Clearwater Hot Club.

We’ll also have a hip-hop set w/ Duluth’s reality rappers Kritical Kontact and hip-hop/electronica artist Prophis out of the Twin Cities. Plus, new music from St. Dominic’s Trio and The Brothers Burn Mountain.

Next week I’ll be talking with local singer/songwriter Shannon Murray – she is the mastermind of SisterSong. Now in it’s 2nd year, the SisterSong Concert is a celebration of women and their music happening Sat. March 28th at the Wild Rose Theater in Bemidji starting at 6:20pm. Shannon will tell us about the event and she’ll pick some performers to highlight next week.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6pm, streaming live at KAXE.org, or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 in Bemidji, heard again Sunday mornings at 6.

Jazz Fusion, Experi-delic and Horns!!!

by Doug MacRostie

This week on Centerstage MN (Thurs @6 on KAXE) I'll be talking with jazz fusion guitarist Cory Wong from Minneapolis about his debut release "Even, Uneven." Cory is a regular performer in the Twin Cities area, and he also does recording and production work, including with artists such as Bootsy Collins, Jimmie Vaughan, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Pat Donohue and more. "Even, Uneven" is one of those CDs where the longer the songs are, the better they seem to get ("Well You Needn't" for example - which takes you from one extreme to another before it's over). Sometime's the album's just rockin' (like halfway through the 9 minute song "Sea Journey", which also has some great spacy sections). But, that doesn't mean the short songs are lacking. The 2 minute "Ani" is a "sounds of the universe being born" kind of two minutes :) The musicians that Cory has with him on this CD each stand out and hold their own with great soloing and a great energy.

I'll also be playing from my current "favorite new MN CD" - The Brothers Burn Mountain "Wild Cat Road." I'm not sure how to describe it (experi-delic rock?)...it's like a new interpretation of the OLD-school Moody Blues style (I'm talking "Threshold of a Dream" type stuff...but with a modern and edgy feel) complete with harmonies (but, 2 part instead of 5 like MB) and creative stellar imagary. I'll definitely have this brother duo on Centerstage MN sometime.

New to the show will be St. Dominic's Trio, which is an offshoot of the nine-piece Van Morrison cover bandThe Belfast Cowboys. This 9+ piece "trio" recorded their latest CD "Switch" at Sparta Sound on the Iron Range and it even has MN legend Rich Mattson on guitar and back-up vocals! The CD is a great rock album complete with horns, keys and a cut-loose attitude which is a lot of fun to listen to.

That's just a snap shot of some of the new MN CDs that I've been enjoying - tune in to Centerstage MN every Thurs evenings @ 6; streaming at KAXE.org, or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd, 105.3 Bemidji)