With summer festival season raging, the Aug. 7 edition featured performers from Cowpie Music Fest, plus jazz trumpeter Chris Lawrence with L.A.’s Linosphere and music from new local CDs.
Boundary-Pushing Music: Linosphere brought its jazz-hued vibe to Studio X on Friday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Just like the myriad of summer festivals firing up this weekend from the Indiana border to Gaylord and beyond, this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE was an eclectic blend of folk-pop, blues-soul and experimental, electronic jazz — all of it bracing.
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In Studio X: Jenny LaJoye, left, and Tony LaJoye
First up, Tony LaJoye from the Tony LaJoye Trio and his sister, folk-pop singer-songwriter Jenny LaJoye joined forces, backing each other on songs performed in WYCE’s Studio X as they prepared to play early sets at this weekend’s Cowpie Music Festival near Caledonia in southern Kent County. (Jenny LaJoye plays at 5:50 p.m. Friday; Tony LaJoye Trio at noon Saturday. Get the full schedule online here.)
Jenny LaJoye, who’s planning to move to the Sacramento, Calif., area in coming weeks, kicked things off with “Show Me Out” from her recent studio album, with her brother on Cajon and Kyle Wellfare on upright bass. Afterward, the LaJoyes swapped instruments, with Tony performing “Release Your Demons,” an old song he used to perform with the band Is You Is.
In the second half of the show, Grand Rapids jazz trumpeter Chris Lawrence — who’s also moving to California in coming weeks — brought bassist Zephyr Avalon and drummer Jacob Richards from the Los Angeles experimental, electronic jazz band Linosphere into the studio, a group which recently released its debut album, “Digit Illusion.” (The group performs at Grand Rapids Mexicains Sans Frontieres at 8 p.m. Friday; get details online here.)
Lawrence talked about his West Coast plans with the band, which performed two songs on the air, including the title track. Check out some video highlights below.
Listen to a podcast of the show here, which included the debut of new tracks by Bigfoot Buffalo, The Crane Wives and Benray, as well as music from Peat in the Creel, Chuck Whiting and His Rowdy Friends, Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts, Hank Mowery and Full Catastrophe.
VIDEO: Linosphere (Local Spins on WYCE)
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