Mumcast: The Rick Mummey Show

 Kyle Bledsoe is a fabulous musician who has been perfecting his craft for years now. He established himself in the Lafayette, IN scene, and now lives in Indianapolis, where he can be seen regularly doing his acoustic sets at Fat Dan's and other spots (including some Anthem work at Colts games!).

 Kyle's new project is "Milkman and the Jugs". Kyle's debut with them will be at the Vogue on 7/20, and there will be many more gigs. This rockin' band has a unique feature of two (count 'em, two) bass players!

  We discussed the band, the new music, and being a professional musician with a family, including his son Leo and partner Kali. We also include 2 Milkman tunes for your enjoyment. 

  When I first met this young man some years ago, I had a feeling he was going to crush it. Consider it crushed.

 On our last podcast, many of you sent us your feelings about live music experiences. The response was great. Now, we want to do a series of podcasts about your musical experiences; the first important song or album, concert experiences, music related to life milestones. You can send your stories to [email protected].

  On this episode, I turned to two favorite people of mine, Dr. Will Miller, a frequent flyer on the Bob and Tom radio show, minister, stand-up comic, counselor. He talked about an early special album, and a U2 concert experience. Then Joe Peters talks about some high school special music, and the thrill of being able to become a musical influence himself. We finished with a song from Joe called, "Kingdom Come", which features Joe and music genius Mike Kelsey.

  Let us know your musical stories, and we'll pass them on, and contact some of you for a podcast interview. Enjoy!

 There's always plenty of discussion about the health of live music and its venues. Any town's music scene will have some ebb and flow, certainly. I asked folks on Facebook and Instagram to opine about what makes them decide to go or not go to a live show. Is it venue? Start time? End time? Price? The acts themselves? Quality of publicity? Some combination of all these. We talked about their responses, and gave some thoughts of our own directed to venues, acts, and the General Public. We concluded withy music from a group that did a fantastic show locally, sponsored by one of the premier organizations in our area for bringing in shows. Feel free to comment at [email protected]

 Recently in Lafayette IN (home of our podcast), racial tensions flared due to separate events. There was angry debate, along with substantive discussions. Hate groups had posted racist signs and flyers in prominent places, and two groups were booked to appear locally that many believed to be racist performers. To counter all that, a group of musicians have decided to perform in a show called "No Time To Hate" at the Lafayette Theater.

  We spoke to one of those performers, Christopher Lee from the Grateful Dead cover band, Graciously Departed. We talked about the band and its upcoming gigs, especially No Time To Hate, and the idea behind the show. It's something other communities could do to help ease tensions and promote positivity.

  We end with a song from one of the participating acts, Sheeza, a brilliant band with a desire for social justice that comes from the heart.

 Jason Wells is a guitar phenom who has been taking his music around the country for several years now. He's brought all that experience, along with three other superb musicians to his new release "Nine Hours". Wells intended for this album to sound like a spontaneous jam feel, and he hit the target. Varied in style, but never lacking intensity, 9 Hours is a piece of work the author can be proud of.

 We discussed the album-making experience and got a sense of Jason's intentions for the album. I think this interview would be a good companion to the album. We also provide a taste here, a song called "My Love is Real". The whole album is the real deal, as well.

  Do you have a friend that you can talk to for hours and be entertained and educated? I sure do. He's Dr. Will Miller, author, counselor, clergyman, stand-up comic, frequent contributor to the Bob and Tom radio show..he even did a series of appearances on "Nick at Night". He's a busy and brilliant man. We recently recorded one of our chats, which I have excerpted in this podcast. We spoke about the meaning of wealth, and addressed the recent sexual harassment revelations, and its effect on our appreciation of creative people involved in this movement.

  Looking back on the past year plus, we finish with a tune from one of my favorite people and musicians, David Corley, called "Available Light". Happy New Year!

 Jason Wells plays the blues and rock, sells his own coffee blend, runs an open mic night, and generally works his butt off. Which is good for you, since you can see the fruits of his labor on stages across America, and in Lafayette IN on 12/30. His band will perform at the Lafayette Theater with a local band called Graciously Departed (a nice dose of Dead!), and up-and-coming singer songwriter Tara Marlow.

 The show will start with Marlow's acoustic music, follwed by the GP and their happy set, then Jason Wells and Friends with some crunchy rockin party jams. Jason talked about his music, his coffee brand, how to run an open mic, and a cool deal for those who buy tickets prior to the show.

  We conclude with a Jason jam and a Merry Crimble to all!

 This episode, we spoke to Brittany and Hans Rees of the band Frank Muffin, following their triumphant show at the Lafayette Theater: Sgt. Pepper in its entirety, with 22-piece orchestra. They talked about their view of how things went, the money made for charity, and what might be their next big show.

  We also spoke to Jeff Lagaveen of Lafayette Super Group about their upcoming benefit show, a benefit for a friend of Jeff's (details in the podcast). We talked about the LSG, basically a music collective of whatever of Lafayette's finest players can be rounded up. It's a concept that makes for plenty of spontaneity and flexibility in performance.

  One awesome gig down, more to come.

 In 1967, we opened our new copy of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", expecting something brilliant and groundbreaking. Turned out to be much more, as Pepper became one of the most influential albums, not only in the Beatles' canon, but in all of contemporary music.

 Members of local Lafayette band Frank Muffin, along with 20 musicians from the community and elsewhere, will be staging that album from start to finish, with extras, December 9, at Lafayette Theater. It's a mammoth undertaking, and we spoke to Frank Muffin's Brittany and Hans Rees about the idea and the process of rounding up band members, dividing the labor, and coming up with a fitting tribute to this cultural landmark.

Details: Tickets locally at the Theater Box Office, $10 advance, $15 day of show. Also available at People's Brewing, JL Records, and McGuire Music. Proceeds to a wonderful charity, Therapeion, a therapeutic equestrian center in Brookston, IN

 Gail Davis and her Unitarian minister husband Charlie make music to and from the soul. They hope to provoke reflection, understanding, empathy, and peace. They are in the middle of a 4-album journey through the emotions, and the effects of modern life on the soul. The second of the four is recently released and entitled "Scared". It addresses not only fear, but the idea of standing up to it with strength and perspective. The album was produced by Michael Kelsey, musician and producer extraordinaire. His credit on the album says,"Producer, guitars, percussion, mystical vibrations". And those vibes permeate the album. We feature their song, "Amanda", a great example of how this artist-producer collaboration can produce beautiful results. 

  This pair's discussion of their work is interesting and compelling. And the story of their music is testimony of their desire for peace among us.