Music Friday with Patrick O'Heffernan

On Music Friday This Week: Junk Parlor is a Northern California-based gypsy junk rock band born from the mind and musical wanderings of Jason Vanderford featuring rock, gypsy jazz rhythms and a 50's tinge supporting Vanderford's throaty howling voice. Backed by drummer and cajon player Rt Goodrich and the electric fretless bass of Tim Bush, Junk Parlor's debut album "Wild Tones" was released October 2013. They recently completed a Pacific Northwest tour and are now touring in Southern California.

In segment 2 we are joined by Robin Yukiko, a Pennsylvania-based eclectic pop and blues singer/songwriter and a music producer. Robin has operatic and choral training and an international background. She left her opera training to produce her debut album Me & My Apathy, an eclectic suite of 11 original songs. She released a second album, "Love War" and performs locally, writes and produces songs for other bands while keeping up with her new baby.

On Music Friday This Week: Maggie - on her way to stardom; Kris Guen - seasoned folk troubadour with new CD

On Music Friday This Week: American Beauties and Terese Taylor

On Music Friday This Week: Kris Guen, singer/songwriter on tour in California, Niki English, lead singer for Western Avenue and Nashville Awards nominee and Rory Partin, big band leader and blues rock singer.

On Music Friday This Week: Xander Demos is one of today's premier shred metal guitarists. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, he currently fronts his own band, XDB and national tribute act, James Rivera's Sabbath Judas Sabbath, as well as playing in Rivera’s solo band. Xander performs in excess of 100 times a year and records with artists all over the world. His style ranges from the beautifully melodic to the jaw-droppingly insane, encompassesing much of what he has learned artists like Shawn Lane, Eric Johnson, Neal Schon, and John Sykes. One constant in his music is a focus on strong guitar melodies. In February 2012, Xander released his full-length follow-up to his EP Road To Guitarcadia.

Diane Cameron is an international recording & performing artist, actress and teacher. Her music celebrates the beats and melodies of Africa and the Afro-Carribean music community. She writes songs that echo the natural world, she plays percussion, produces and sings. Her albums are heard worldwide and she travels worldwide establishing performing arts and sports programs for youth, orgainizing Summer Camps for the Performing Arts, while teaching acting at Georgia Tech. Her youth environmental play, "Trash Tawkin" was recently debuted at the 2011 Hilton Head Island, SC., Earth Day Celebration.

On Music Friday This Week: Billy Kay is an American Country songwriter and performer who holds the distinctions of being the most downloaded artist in Las Vegas and in South Carolina. Now taking Nashville by storm, this homeless veteran travels America writing, recording and performing with top musicians on his now-famous "Abject Poverty Tour". He donates a share of all royalties and merchandise sales to shelters for homeless people and battered women. Billy organized 2011 "Country for a Cause" CD, which featured some of the most talented and award winning indie musicians in country music. He will play his breakout hit "Ready... Set... Gone!" and other songs that have put him at the top and tell us what makes him go.

Maxton Waller and Chuck Riviera, aka, Handsome as Sin, join us Friday to kick off their debut album, Tell Me How You Died. People call them alt. rock, bad-ass rock, just rock. Whatever you call them, they put on a hell of a show. Based in LA, they make people listen and dance in the clubs and we get to find out how at 2:30 pm ET this Friday.

On Music Friday This Week: Amy Rose has already earned a reputation for being one of Canada's best-known country music exports. Her soaring vocal range and pop country sensibilities have garnered high praise and international airplay for "I just Want You to Know" and "Party Like a Redneck", which hit #6. She has received a 2013 Ontario Country Music Association nomination for "Rising Star" and was named Country Music Entertainer of the Year by the International Music and Entertainment Association. She is assembling a new project for 2014 joins us at 2:05 pm ET to play some of the songs and talk about it.

Brent Buffan is a Toronto born singer/songwriter with 2 unreleased full length albums and the edge of success. He has spent years performing and recording, giving him a solid foundation for his next step. After assembling albums and touring alone, he joined up with four highly talented and versatile musicians in the band "The Ride." Together they have raised the bar for themselves and are now on tour in Southern California, successfully introducing this true troubadour's songs in one of the most competitive markets in the country. Brent joins us at 2:30 with his new songs and a preview of the tour.

On Music Friday This Week: Toby Lightman has been described by People Magazine as "no small talent..." With 5 hit albums plus an EP she has landed on national television on Letterman, Conan O'Brian and The Today Show and her songs have been featureed on over a dozen TV shows and movies. Typical of her enrgy, Toby has launched a new initiative, EKOB - Every Kind of People - an album to be produced with crowd-sourced funding and input from her fans. Toby joins us Friday, 12.13.13 to tell us about it and give us a peek and what she is planning for next year.

"Nashville's Darling" is what they call the determined and prodigiously talented Sarah Darling whose sexy, summery hit "Little Umbrellas" single followed acclaimed country releases "Every Monday Morning", "Angels and Devils" and the "Home to Me" EP. In her latest album, Have a Merry Little Christmas, Darling does the near impossible - she makes the overdone holiday songs we hear on the radio and in elevators and shopping malls new and fresh and a joy to listen to. Whether or not you are a country music fan, Sarah Darling belongs on your playlist and we are more than delighted to welcome her to Music Friday, this Friday, 12.13.13

On Music Friday This Week: Mindy Smith, the iconic singer-songwriter who crosses genre lines with hits in country, pop, and alternative rock returns to Music Friday with her new Christmas EP, Snowed in. Her career took off in 2003 when she was invited to contribute to a Dolly Parton tribute album by her label, Vanguard, and appeared with Dolly on national television. She hasn't stopped since: she has produced five critically acclaimed and very successful albums and seven hit singles, one, Come to Jesus, which hit the Billbaord 40 at #32. She is appearing at the Grand Ole Opry December 14 with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and we are delighted she is taking the time to talk with us this Friday.

Jason Vanderford is an eclectic, entrepreneurial, jazz, rock and gypsy/cajón genius who assembles musical projects/albums/tours/bands, his latest being the Junk Parlor. Junk Parlou is gypsy rock - a combination of jazz, rock, 50's 4-4 beats and Vanderford's vocals ranging from smooth and low to hot and howling. Joining Jason are Jimmy Grant on the Django-infused lead electric guitar, drummer and cajon player Rt Goodrich, and Tim Bush on the electric fretless bass. The effect ranges from mad genius to pure fun. Junk Parlor just wrapped up its Northwest tour with a final set of concerts in Seattle and will head to southern California right after Friday's show.

On Music Friday This Week: Next week film Director Sini Anderson releases her new documentary, The Punk Singer, on Kathlenn Hanna, the founder of teh punk band Bikini Kill and the national riot grrl movement, and we have Sini on the show for an extended interview. Sini worked closely with Hanna to document the genesis of Bikini Kill, her later bands Le Tigra and Julie Ruin, her near death from a mystery disease and her current work in politics and music. Hear the interview, then see the film. 2:30 pm ET.

World class guitarist Bruce Victor teams up with Accordian Babe, singer, songwriter, musician and artist (and Bruce's new wife) Marla Fibish on a stunning debut album, Travel in the Shadows which sets classic poems to great music. The band is called Noctambule and joins them on the air to travel through their vivid dreams and imagination and superb music. Call in and talk with them both at 2:05 pm ET.

MUSIC FRIDAY is where we listen to music, interview bands and get ready for the weekend. Every kinbd of music with an emphais on rising stars. We also interview film directors of docs on music and musicians. You tell us who you would like to hear and talk with and we try to get them here for you. Nominate bands at http://musicfriday.nationbuilder.com.