88Nine RadioMilwaukee: Live & In Studio

In the latest edition of 414 Music, our new music director Rachel Rose talks with The Scarring Party about the band's varied influences, a man who was born as a dog and recording their new album, Losing Teeth.

The Scarring Party defy easy categorization, yet their sound is immediately recognizable and unique thanks to great instrumentation and a unique vocal delivery. Citing influences from Queen to Sparks to Alan Lomax folk recordings, they work together to combine old sounds with a modern sensibility and create a dark aesthetic incorporating accordian, tuba and banjo and a particular brand of percussion.

The Scarring Party will be having an album release show this Friday the 13th at Turner Hall Ballroom. Also performing: The Celebrated Workingman and The Trusty Knife.

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In this edition of 414 Music, Mark Keefe talks with Frankie Flowers about his catchy track in rotation on our playlist, "Koolness," and playing with a live backing band.

Frankie is a thoughtful and honest artist who writes about more serious issues than most hip-hop artists. He tries to be a real role model for kids and writes about real life issues.

Here he performs a few tracks off his newest album, New Beginnings available on iTunes, and CDbaby.com

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Kyle Feerick thrives on collaborations. He finds that adding different musicians to his live set forces him to reinterpret his material on the spot. And he likes that.

He's been playing music around Milwaukee for almost ten years, but his new double EP release "The Change/The Balance" is the first studio recording to make it out. (He played with his band Momentary for a few years and recorded an album, but it was never released.)

In this session of 414 Music, Kyle is joined by Evan Leahy on traditional Irish drum, and Aaron Gardner on saxophone and flute.

You can see Kyle performing every Thursday at NSB Bar and Grill in Bayside and coming up at Cathedral Square at noon on September 4th.

Mulit intstrumentalist Marc Ballini is no stranger to Milwaukee's singer songwriter scene. He's had a long running gig at the Jazz Estate captivating crowds with his one-man shows.

Citing influences like Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, and Steely Dan, Marc's music builds on those sounds and creates a truly unique style of soul-inflected pop music. Sometimes playing with a band, sometimes playing alone Marc Ballini is one of Milwaukee's acoustic music staples.

Marc's shows can range from smooth and mellow to funky and upbeat rock and roll. You can find Marc every Monday at the Jazz Estate and every Tuesday at the Centanni's Piano Bar and every Thursday with the band Milwaukee's Own.

Listen as Mark Keefe talks with Marc Ballini about some upcoming gigs and getting lost in the Trinity Bar on Water street.

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Cristopher Porterfield has been playing music as Conrad Plymouth for over six years. The name started as an inside joke among friends in Eau Claire--where he got his start.

He's now playing with a full band and has a new 4 song EP out available on Bandcamp.com with a proper release on vinyl to follow soon.

Conrad Plymouth has been steadily gaining recognition around town for his indie-influenced acoustic Americana and slow-building songs.

Check out his next show at Mad Planet on June 8th at 9pm.

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Citing influences like Tori Amos, Ben Folds and Earth, Wind and Fire Tyler Traband makes music that incorporates jazz, funk and modern pop.

Traband has been nominated for 17 Wisconsin Area Music Awards and the new album, "re-issue" is now available on iTunes. Of the new record, Traband says it's put together from some older material re-worked with a new band and recorded mostly live with not much extra production.

Listen to the conversation with Scott Mullins and check out the band performing some stripped down tracks.

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California based a cappella collective Sonos came by the Radio Milwaukee studio recently to talk with Scott Mullins about their new album and their rising popularity. The group also talks about finding the right songs for vocal-only arrangements and the recent resurgence of interest in vocal groups.

Sonos is exceptional not only because of their layered vocal style, but also because of thier song choices. The group reinterprates work by artists as diverse as Bon Iver to Depeche Mode to the Jackson 5--and they're not afraid to throw a little beat box in there.

Here you can listen to their conversation with Scott as well as their renditions of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" and a non-album track "Wicked Game" by Chris Issak.

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Before their show at Mad Planet in early March, The Constellations stopped by to talk with Scott Mullins about getting signed to a major label, the music scene in Atlanta and how they strive to defy genre description.

Listen as they perform stripped down versions of “Setback” and “Felicia,” both from their major label debut album Southern Gothic.

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In another special live in studio performance Scott Mullins talks with Ed Anderson from Backyard Tire Fire about developing as a band, getting their newest record produced and touring plans for the summer.

Backyard Tire Fire is gaining some momentum coming off 2008’s well received album, The Places We Lived and will be hitting some major festivals this summer in support of the new Steve Berlin produced album, Good To Be.

Listen as the play the title track off their new album, “Good to Be” and “Roadsong #39″, both on Good to Be.

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Milwaukee rock veterans Mike Jarvis, Mike Benign and Nick Pipitone perform and talk with Scott Mullins about the differences between playing in bands and playing solo acoustic shows.

Mike Benign will be opening for Rhett Miller at Shank Hall on March 5th.

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