Music FridayLive!

Folk-punk troubadour Bryan McPherson has just released his latest album Wedgewood which with first single “Born On A Highway” that starts with a vocal intro by his young nieces. Touring year-round, Bryan has hit the road many times with punk luminaries Dropkick Murphys, opened for the legendary Chuck Berry and boasts a fan in Slash. And he puts his music to work with Occupy in Oakland, with a strong drive for social justice.He joins Music Friday Live! This Friday with songs from the new album and stories from the road.

Jim Pugh is currently President of the Little Village Foundation for Music but his career spans over 40 years as a keyboardist. He has recorded and performed with a star-studded array of musicians including BB King, Etta James, Robert Cray, Boz Scaggs and Van Morrison and many others. He has performed on a dozen CDs with the likes of Robert Cray, Tommy Castro and The Gospel Hummingbirds and been a member of The Robert Cray Band since 1989. Jim has 4 platinum and 4 gold CDs, 20 Grammy nominated CDs and 5 Grammies. We are proud he joins us this Friday.

Fifteen year-old Olivia Penalva has accomplished more than most people twice her age. Her new single charted on top 30 in Canadian radio, she has just released an album, she was a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and now she has a new single out “Ferris Wheel” written and produced with songwriters Sony/ATV writer and fellow Canadian chart topper Andrew Allen, writer/producer Josh Cumbee (Madonna, Nick Howard), and hit producer Brian West (Nelly Furtado, Maroon 5, K’naan, Andy Grammer). She joins us this Friday on Music FridayLive!

Tarralyn Ramsay is a gospel and blues singer with the voice of an angel and the determination needed to succeed in a tough music business environment.  She has been singing since she was 2 years old, signed a recording deal at 13 and released a debut album that entered the gospel charts  at number 7. A contestant on the Voice and  the X-Factor, winner of numerous awards and shared the stage with such great artists as Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Pat Benetar, Lisa Marie Presley, Stevie Wonder and Ashanti. She is performing at the BET Entertainment Experience this weekend in Los Angeles and joining us on Music FridayLive! this Friday.

JANANI is an alternative rock band from Orlando, Florida led by Janani Vaidyanathan (lead vocals), with Nathan Hockett (guitar) and Erick Campos (bass). The band was formed by Vaidyanathan and Campos in 2010 and released  their  debut album, Hey! Mister! In 2010, recorded with Jeremy Birdsall at Kavode Records. Hey! Mister!, their first single, has been heard on radio stations in Canada and Orlando. The music video for Hey! Mister! was selected to air by Comcast and Indie Music Channel. JANANI's music has also been featured in DIRECTTV's documentary, Gone Until December.. Janani joins us Friday with some new songs.

Formed in 2013 and currently based in Brooklyn, the 5-piece band Bellehouse is between down-home roots music and intellectual folk-rock. Bellehouse delivers a sound that embraces a variety of genres — from Celtic traditional and folk revival to soul and Motown. The close-knit group consists of Jess Taylor Clinton (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Sarah Elizabeth Haines (vocals, viola), Catie Friel (vocals), Nick Lenchner (bass) and Ryan Gross (banjo, vocals). Bellehouse released their second single, “Breakaway Town,” from their upcoming, debut self-titled EP which will be out early this summer. Bellehouse joins us Friday and barings their new songs

Eric Zayne is a self-taught producer and multi instrumentalist based in Los Angeles and known for eclectic sound, dynamic live performances and instrumental versatility. His EP Between Us gained online acclaim with his hit 'Maneater' and 'True North', which features Amber Riley from Glee. Zayne’s musical career got serious in 2014 when he won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. He has just  released his  highly anticipated single, “Spin the World” and he will be back on Music FridayLive! this week to tell us how he put it together and where in the world he has been since we talked last.

The Crazy Carls are an upbeat pop-rock band based in Orlando, FL. started by frontman  Alex Baugh, known for the wildest hari in rock. Alex  has used his charisma and talent to build a solid following of over 20,000 fans on Facebook and Twitter and garner a combined 2 million YouTube views. Theeir shows are always packed and they have to bat the fans off (especially the femal fans). The Crazy Carls have toured with  major bands like Train, Big Sean, The Wailers and Aaron Carter.   Their second album To the Stars is due out this summer and Alex will be her to talk about his new  new solo EP project under the stage name, Zander.

Born in Havertown, PA and currently based in Los Angeles, singer/Songwriter Mary Scholz  has been singing since the age of four and writing since the age of fourteen, producing a blend of lyric folk & pop/rock with a bittersweet twist.  After three EPs and a full  album, The Girl You Thought You Knew whose single “Bridges We Burn”  was nominated for a 2014 Hollywood Music and Media Award, she toured in  2014 in the US and Europe and is now launching her 2015 Summer tour, starting in her home state and ending up in Southern California.  But, first, she taks to us at Music FridayLive!.

Seventeen-year-old Seattle high school senior, pop singer and YouTube sensation Jessica Domingo is probably the busiest woman in music anywhere.  She has released two CD’s, garnered more than 2 million views for her video cover of “Thinking About You” and  was a semi-finalist for the worldwide UnsignedOnly Music Competition.  And she manages her own YouTube and Vevo Channels. Her 2014 West Coast tour was sold out at every gig and she  continues to perform in Seattle and on the festival circuit. This January she released her latest EP, Masterpiece,  produced with multi-platinum Grammy award-winning producer Mikal Blue at Revolver Recordings in Los Angeles.  The album releases tomorrow! and she will be here to tell us how she did - and does - all that great music this Friday.

As a special treat, MITRE will join us for a few minutes at the beginning of the show.

YUCA is a Canadian alt rock band made up of  Matt Borck on lead vocals and guitar, Andy Boldt on  bass and backing vocals, and Dave Atkinson on drums.  YUCA’s sound has been described as “epic and unparalleled” and compared to Muse, Radiohead, Coldplay, and U2.  Their live performances routinely fill stadiums engage their audiences to experience raw emotion and power.  They have launched a new music distribution model and Borck will be on hand to tell us all about it.  

Corinne West, a Bay Area-based fourth generation Californian, has been described as “the Siren of the Sierras” with a voice that “invokes angels, if angels had a dangerous side.” Corinne’s powerful and eloquent voice, and transformative songwriting has earned her a place at the apex of  the global acoustic roots scene. She has recently released her fifth album, Starlight Highway, already praised by critics as her best ever – which is saying a lot.  Corinne will take time from the album release tour to talk with us and play some of the new tunes.

Marisa Ronstadt hails from a talented family whose name was made famous by her cousin, Linda Ronstadt. Marisa’s musical tastes are rooted in mariachi, R&B/soul, and rock, but like many Mexican-Americans raised in the U.S., her influences range from Lola Beltran and Pedro Infante, to The Beatles and Marvin Gaye.  Now In Los Angeles, Marisa began songwriting with Jeremy Keller, and before she knew it, they had given birth to a new band, Marisa and The Know It Alls. Her debut single Blueberry Moon is the first recording by “The Know-It-Alls” and she joins us this Friday to tell the story.

Matt LeGrand is a an emerging pop singer based in Chicago whose music is a sleek mix of Nick Jonas’ style and Justin Bieber's urban feel mixed into a unique sound that’s entirely his own. His debut single “Spring Break GRL” blasts off with a booming beat, Matt’s vocals creating an unforgettable melody that flows fluidly across the slick synths aimed right at his legions of fans known as The Legrand Girls. He will bring “Spring Break GRL” and his other songs to us Friday and any LeGrand Girl who wants to call in a talk with him is welcome on the air.

Chris Riffle is a young bi-coastal folk singer whose  heartfelt music landed him on local radio while in college and gained support and landed gigs for such indie mainstays as Death Cab for Cutie. His new full length album, Out of town, produced by Jimi Zhivago  has just been released.  He will join us this Friday with songs from Out  of Town.

Amy Loftus is a  country-folk with training in Nashville and now in Los Angeles. With an angelic voice that still has the Nashville twang, she delivers sweet ballads and tender love songs in a unique style that transcends the Nashville formula.   Her new album, That Whole Entire Time is now out and she is on tour.  She joins us Friday with tunes from the new album.

Midnight North  is a Northern California –based band whose heartfelt rock & folk songs have a country feel,  tight vocal harmonies and a steady beat reminiscent of the Grateful Dead.  The Dead sound is not a coincidence; Midnight North’s founder and leader, Grahame Lesh, is Dead guitarist Phil Lesh’s son and Grahame learned his dad’s musical magic very well. Midnight North’s  eponymous debut album, produced by band bassist Connor and Grahame and recorded with singer/songwriter Elliot Peck and drummer Eric Saar  in the redwood groves at In The Pocket Studios in Forestville, CA promises a long a successful career of original music.

Cylvia is an LA-based pop-rock Indie band known for  high energy rock performances in LA clubs and underground warehouse raves.  Led by band founder, vocalist and  rhythm guitarist Zach Villa, the five men and two woman  combine singing, dancing and theatrics that has attracted a large and loyal following.  Their tour starts soon and their debut EP is out now. They will be playing Saturday night in Mill Valley California at the famed Throckmorton Theater.

We will have a special live guest, Molly Falk of Steps of Doe who will tell us all about the bands tour which starts Friday nght!

Among the most revered rock bands in music history, the Ramones have been ranked by Spin Magazine as the #2 "Greatest Band of All Time," second only to the Beatles. Renowned drummer Marky Ramone joins us to play some music and talk about his new memoir, PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG: My Life as a Ramone . We will be playing  you a classic interview with Marky Ramone that I conducted in January.

Lee Presson and the Nails is (are) an award-winning nine-piece jazz band from San Francisco. Led by the manic Lee Presson, LPN has been pounding out their peculiar brand of sinister swing since 1994. Often accompanied by dancers, backup singers and general craziness, Lee Presson is one of the most dynamic and fun bands around.  We will be playing a classic interview with Lee from this past January.