This article may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite independent sources that support the characterization. (April 2011)

KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. A network of repeaters and broadcast translators allows the station to serve the Los Angeles metropolitan area and other communities in Southern California. The station has also become widely known because of nationally distributed programming, streaming Internet radio broadcasts, and podcasts^{[citation needed]}.

KCRW is known for broadcast of cutting edge music,^{[citation needed]} as well as originating numerous news-talk-information and cultural programs that are distributed nationwide.

History[link]

KCRW was founded as the College Radio Workshop in 1945 to train servicemen returning from World War II in the then-new technology, FM broadcasting. Ruth Hirschman, who changed her name to Ruth Seymour, became General Manager in 1978 and developed a mix of music, news, and other spoken-word programming that now attracts over 500,000 listeners each week. Seymour retired in February 2010. The new General Manager is Jennifer Ferro.

The station airs programs from NPR, Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Media, and the BBC, along with its own mixture of eclectic music shows with frequent live in-studio performances by new and emerging talent, locally-produced cultural programs, and a wide-ranging line up of local commentators, political analysis and debate. A new initiative, The Independent Producers Project, has been launched to showcase storytelling and documentary work by independents. The station has been a leader in adopting new technologies, which offers three program streams, on-demand listening and an extensive lineup of podcasts, featuring talk programs and live performances by unsigned independent musical artists.

Programming[link]

News and information programs dominate weekday early morning and daytime schedules from 03:00 to 09:00 PST with NPR's Morning Edition, and from 12:00 to 8:00pm PST ending with Which Way, L.A.?. Music programming is broadcast from evening to early morning, and again from 09:00 to 12:00 PST with the station's signature music program Morning Becomes Eclectic. Weekends feature music from noon to 5pm, and 6 pm to 3 am.

Warren Olney hosts the station's signature news and public affairs programs, To the Point (nationally distributed by Public Radio International) and Which Way, L.A.? which began after the riots in response to the Rodney King beating trial verdicts in 1992.

With Southern California being, arguably, the epicenter of the international film industry, KCRW covers the industry in several dimensions: Pulitzer Prize winning Wall Street Journal film critic Joe Morgenstern reviewing movies; getting past the headlines and digging deep into the deals and deal-makers with Kim Masters on The Business; getting past the cover page and deep into pop culture matters on "The Treatment" Elvis Mitchell, and commentator Rob Long looks deep beyond the set with his behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood life on Martini Shot.

Music programs feature an eclectic array of music from around the globe, especially on the daytime daily music program Morning Becomes Eclectic and the daytime weekend line-up. At night, music such as house, progressive, and electronic dance music are the main styles on shows formerly known as Metropolis and Nocturna. KCRW dropped all program names except Morning Becomes Eclectic and Strictly Jazz in 2008. Three of the station's previous music directors currently have programs on the air at KCRW.

Local and regional touring artists can send recordings to KCRW for consideration of airplay. Two weeks after submitting music, followups can be made by calling the KCRW tracking line on Wednesdays between noon and 3pm Pacific time.

KCRW airs Santa Monica City Council meetings live from 8:00 pm to midnight PST, on the Tuesdays when they are held. Because of the nature of the repeater network, Santa Monica City Council meetings can be heard throughout the Southern California region reaching out to approximately 150 mi (240 km).

Before its current host, Evan Kleiman, took over as host, the KCRW show Good Food was parodied on Saturday Night Live in a recurring skit, Delicious Dish, with Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon.

Influence in music[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

KCRW's flagship program is Morning Becomes Eclectic, a three hour daily music program that has been on the air for more than 30 years. Historically, the show host is also the station's music director. Isabel Holt created the show in 1978. Tom Schnabel hosted the show from 1979 to 1990. In November 1990, Chris Douridas took over the show, hosting until April 1998. Nic Harcourt was in the seat from 1998 until December 1, 2008. He is also previously known in his home country for discussing on a regular basis emerging music with hosts at BBC Radio 1. Longtime KCRW DJ Jason Bentley is the current host and music director.

Along with WFMU in the New York City market and 3RRR in Melbourne Australia, KCRW lays claim as one of the most influential independent music radio stations around the globe, with its tastemaker DJs populating various cultural outlets with their musical loves. Through extensive involvement in film, TV, commercial and radio work, KCRW program hosts have introduced their audiences to many artists, including Beck, Adele, Gillian Welch, Florence & the Machine, Fiona Apple, Coldplay, Dido, Massive Attack and Norah Jones, among many others. It was the appearance of an unknown artist named Beck on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic in July 1993 that instantly turned the show into essential listening for record labels and A&R scouts. In addition to playing previously unknown artists, KCRW program hosts often invite artists to visit their Santa Monica basement studios for live recording sessions and interviews, typically before they've had any exposure to the US listening audience. KCRW also helps nurture the careers of emerging bands and musicians by inviting them to perform at live events and benefit concerts in Los Angeles, and across the country.

Several hosts have extended their careers into music supervision for both film and television, notably, Liza Richardson (Friday Night Lights), Chris Douridas (American Beauty) and Gary Calamar, the music supervisor for HBO's True Blood and Six Feet Under.

Streaming media is now very important for the station, and it has gained a wide audience from this technology, streaming thousands of hours of content each week. KCRW provides three different live streams: the live broadcast, a 24-hour music service, and a 24-hour news service. Streams are available using Adobe Flash played through web browsers, with alternate streams offered using the PLS file format, which can be played using software such as iTunes, Winamp and RealPlayer. The music service and news service are also included as channels in AOL Radio. The station also archives its talk and music programs for listeners to stream at their convenience, and offers podcasts of in-studio performances and talk programs.

From 1986 to 2002 KCRW was the on-air home of Joe Frank, hosting his groundbreaking shows Work in Progress, In The Dark, Somewhere Out There, and The Other Side. Joe Frank produced over 200 radio shows for KCRW, which consisted of a series of monologues full of ironic, humorous and absurdist wit. Frank's work will be heard again ("Joe Frank: Return Engagement" briefly for five weeks only on Sundays at 11 am beginning October 10, 2010.

KCRW boasts members across the country and the station regularly sponsors live music events throughout the United States and in Canada. Giveaways to areas outside of the station's listening area are commonly found on its website.

Events[link]

KCRW promotes a great deal of live music events nationally, featuring both established and emerging artists. In April, 2011, KCRW promoted and sponsored the controversial graffiti exhibit entitled "Art in the Streets" at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MoCA). The Los Angeles Times reported an increase in tagging around MoCA after the exhibit opened to the public.

Stations[link]

KCRW programming is relayed by three full-power stations.

The call letters of KCRI, KCRU and KCRY are identified at the top of each hour alongside those of KCRW, as are the frequencies of those stations and their transmitters.

KCRW also directly feeds five low-power translators .

In addition, the other three stations collectively feed four more translators.

KCRW also has applications pending for new translators on 88.5 in Mojave, 89.9 in Temecula, 90.1 in Baker, 90.3 FM in Barstow, and 105.7 FM in Julian.

Previous translators (now off the air and licenses returned to the FCC) operated on 88.3 FM in Palmdale, 89.1 FM in Camarillo, 90.9 FM in Palm Springs, and 100.1 in China Lake. Another former translator, K296AI, was the only KCRW translator not owned by the station. It is operated by Indian Wells Valley TV Booster, Inc., which also operates translators that rebroadcast Los Angeles-area television stations in the Ridgecrest area. That translator currently rebroadcasts KMZT.

References[link]

• "The Business". http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
• Jaime Wolf (26 June 2005). "The Star Maker of the Semipopular". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/magazine/26HARCOURT.html. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
• "KCRW — A Tradition of Excellence". Santa Monica College, Profiles. 2002. http://www.smc.edu/schedules/archives/profiles/2002/022/coverstory_022.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
• Variety (February 2009). "Masters Joins KCRW's The Business". http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/02/masters-joins-kcrws-the-business.html. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 

External links[link]

• KCRW Radio official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KCRW
• Radio-Locator information on KCRW
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for KCRW
• Santa Monica College
• KCRW Presents
• The Urban Man Commentaries on KCRW
• KCRW's page on StylusCity
• KCRW music iGoogle Gadget
• "Behind the scenes at KCRW". EPIC FU. June 24, 2008. http://epicfu.com/2008/06/sporn-banned-from-the-internet.html. 

Twin Shadow
Twin Shadow at Paradise, Boston, October 6 2011
Background information
Birth name	George Lewis Jr.
Origin	New York City, USA
Genres	New Wave[1]
Labels	Terrible Records / 4AD
Website	twinshadow.net

Twin Shadow is the stage name of American musician George Lewis Jr.

History[link]

Lewis was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida. Around 2000, he moved to Boston and started the band Mad Man Films alongside Joseph Ciampini (drums) (of Hooray For Earth), and Zak Longo (bass) of Before Lazers. Mad Man Films released two records independently. Around 2006, Lewis relocated to Brooklyn, NY and adopted the Twin Shadow moniker.^[2] In 2010 he released his debut album Forget, produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear. The album has been described as "steeped in 1980s new wave",^[1] "building from streaks of haunting synth textures",^[3] having "sophisticated melodies", "R&B intimacy", and "poetic lyrics",^[4] and "hazily new wave-tinged pop".^[5] Twin Shadow was the Rolling Stone 'Band of the Week' on October 7, 2010.

Twin Shadow played Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2011, Sasquatch Music Festival in May 2011, San Miguel Primavera Sound in May 2011 and both Pitchfork Music Festival and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June 2011. He supported Florence and the Machine at certain performances during their 2011 U.S. Tour.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Forget (2010)
• Confess (July 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Twin Shadow on Myspace
• Twin Shadow on Twitter
• Twin Shadow at 4AD Records

This article on an individual musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Michael Kiwanuka is a British soul musician who is signed to Communion Records.^[1] He has been compared to Bill Withers, Randy Newman, and Otis Redding,^[2] as well as Van Morrison and the Temptations.^[3] In January 2012 he won the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.

Early life[link]

Kiwanuka grew up in Muswell Hill, North London, the son of Ugandan parents who had escaped the Amin regime.^[4][5] He attended Fortismere School, leaving there in 2005 after completing his A-Levels.^[4] He was regarded as a very friendly and modest student with a huge circle of friends and a great appreciation for all different genres of music. He could regularly be seen in school concerts and recitals playing bass guitar and jazz guitar. He then went on to study at the School of Media, Arts and Design at the University of Westminster.^[6]

Musical style[link]

Kiwanuka has acknowledged influences from musicians such as Bill Withers,^[4] Otis Redding,^[4] Pops Staples, The Band, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Eric Bibb, Tommy Sims, Richie Havens,^[7] and has played with James Gadson, who drummed for Bill Withers.^[8]

Career[link]

2011-present: Breakthrough and debut album[link]

Kiwanuka worked as a session guitarist, playing with Chipmunk and Bashy, before working as a solo artist;^[4] his first proper gig was at The Oxford, Kentish Town.^[when?] He came to the attention of Communion Records, which released his first two EPs,^[4] including his debut Tell Me A Tale on 13 June 2011.^[9]

Kiwanuka supported Adele on her Adele Live 2011 tour, as well at her iTunes Festival 2011 gig,^[10] and played at the 2011 Hard Rock Calling.^[11]

In 2011 he signed a deal with Polydor Records.^[4] He was included in the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll and was named as the winner on 6 January 2012.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Kiwanuka is a supporter of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.^[13][14]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michael Kiwanuka on Myspace

This biographical article related to music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Raphael Saadiq
Saadiq at the 2012 Time 100
Background information
Birth name	Charles Ray Wiggins
Born	(1966-05-14) May 14, 1966 (age 46)
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, neo soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Pookie Entertainment, Columbia, Sony
Associated acts	Tony! Toni! Toné!, Lucy Pearl, Eve 6, Joi, Joss Stone, Q-Tip

Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Ray Wiggins, May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend.

He and D'Angelo were occasional members of The Ummah, a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and J Dilla of the Detroit-based group Slum Village.

Saadiq's critically acclaimed album, The Way I See It, released on September 16, 2008, featuring artists Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone, and Jay-Z, received three Grammy Award Nominations and was voted Best Album on iTunes of 2008. His fourth studio album, Stone Rollin', was released on March 25, 2011.^[1] For the album, Saadiq worked with steel guitarist Robert Randolph; former Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist Larry Dunn; Swedish/Japanese indie rock songstress Yukimi Nagano (of Little Dragon fame); Funk legend Larry Graham (on the bonus cut Perfect Storm)^[2] plus soul newcomer Taura 'Aura Jackson' Stinson. ^[3][4]

Music critic Robert Christgau has called Saadiq the "preeminent R&B artist of the '90s".^[5]

Early life[link]

Saadiq was born in Oakland, California, the second-youngest of 14 siblings and half-siblings.^[3] His early life was marked by tragedy; he experienced the deaths of several of his siblings as a young child. When Saadiq was seven years old, his brother was murdered. One of his brothers overdosed on heroin and another committed suicide because he was unable to deal with his addiction to the drug. His sister died as a result of a car crash during a police chase in a residential neighborhood. Saadiq states that he does not want his music to be reflective of the tragedies he experienced, saying that "And through all of that I was makin' records, but it wasn't comin' out in the music. I did it to kinda show people you can have some real tough things happen in your life, but you don't have to wear it on your sleeve."^[3]

He has been playing the bass guitar since the age of six,^[2] and first began singing at age nine in a local gospel group.^[6][7] At the age of 12, he joined a group called "The Gospel Humminbirds". In 1984, shortly before his 18th birthday, Saadiq heard about tryouts in San Francisco for Sheila E.'s backing band on Prince's Parade Tour. At the audition, he chose the name "Raphael", and had difficulty remembering to respond to the name when he heard that he got the part to play bass in the band.^[3] He says of the experience, "Next thing I was in Tokyo, in a stadium, singin' Erotic City. We were in huge venues with the biggest sound systems in the world; all these roadies throwin' me basses, and a bunch of models hangin' round Prince to party. For almost two years. That was my university."^[3]

Career[link]

1987–99: Tony! Toni! Toné! and The Ummah[link]

After returning to Oakland from touring with Prince, Saadiq began his professional career as the lead vocalist and bassist in the rhythm and blues and dance trio Tony! Toni! Toné! He used the name Raphael Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Toné!, where he was joined by his brother Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian. In the mid-1990s, he adopted the last name Saadiq, which means "man of his word" in Arabic.^[3] His change of surname led many to speculate that he had converted to Islam at that point; in reality, Saadiq is not a Muslim, but rather just liked the way "Saadiq" sounded and changed his last name simply to distinguish himself from and avoid potential confusion with his brother, Dwayne Wiggins.^[9] As he confirmed by telling noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' in May 2009, "I just wanted to have my own identity!"^[10]

In 1995, Saadiq had his biggest solo hit to date, when "Ask of You", featured on the Higher Learning Soundtrack peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. In 1995, Saadiq produced and performed on Otis & Shug's debut album, We Can Do Whatever.

Tony! Toni! Toné! would become major R&B superstars throughout the late-1980s and 1990s. However, after the 1996 album entitled House of Musicfailed to duplicate the group's previous success, Tony! Toni! Toné! went their separate ways in 1997.

In 1997, Saadiq hooked up with EPMD for the tune "Da Joint".

1999–2004: Lucy Pearl and first string of solo albums[link]

In 1999, Saadiq's next big project became the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. He recorded the self-titled album with Dawn Robinson (En Vogue) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest). The group only lasted for one album.

In 1999, he also collaborated with rapper Q-Tip on the single "Get Involved", from the animated television series The PJs. It samples The Intruders' 1973 song "I'll Always Love My Mama" and charted at number 21 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.^[11]

His 2000 song collaboration "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" won D'Angelo a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; it was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.^[12] The song was ranked #4 on Rolling Stone's "End of Year Critics & Readers Poll" of the top singles of 2000.^[13] D'Angelo's album Voodoo won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

In 2002, Saadiq founded his own record label, Pookie Entertainment. Among the artists on the label are Joi and Truth Hurts. In 2002, he released his first solo album Instant Vintage, which earned him five Grammy Award nominations. He released a two-disc live album All the Hits at the House of Blues in 2003, and his second studio album Ray Ray in 2004, both on Pookie Entertainment.

2004–present: Expanded output and second string of albums[link]

Saadiq in 2009

In 2004, Saadiq produced a remix of the song "Crooked Nigga Too" by Tupac Shakur which is featured on the album Loyal To The Game. Other artists he has collaborated with include Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Teedra Moses, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, DJ Quik, Kelis, Q-Tip, Lil' Skeeter, Ludacris, The Bee Gees, Musiq Soulchild, Jaguar Wright, Chanté Moore, Lionel Richie, Marcus Miller, Noel Gourdin, Nappy Roots, Calvin Richardson, T-Boz from TLC, Floetry, Leela James, Amp Fiddler, John Legend, Joss Stone, Young Bellz, Anthony Hamilton, Babyface, Ledisi, Goapele, Ghostface Killah, Ginuwine, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bilal, Chali 2na, Larry Graham,^[2] Luniz as well as many others. In 2007, Saadiq produced Introducing Joss Stone, the third album of British soul singer Joss Stone.

Saadiq's third solo album, The Way I See It, released on Columbia Records on September 16, 2008, available in a collector's edition box set of 7" 45 rpm singles as well as on traditional CD, was critically well-received, made several critics' 2008 best albums lists, and garnered three Grammy nominations including Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (for "Never Give You Up", featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton); Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for "Love That Girl") and Best R&B Album for The Way I See It. Music from The Way I See It was featured in the following motion pictures: Madea Goes To Jail, Bride Wars, Cadillac Records, Secret Life of Bees, In Fighting (Rogue), and It's Complicated.

Saadiq performing at the 2009 Stockholm Jazz Festival, promoting The Way I See It.

Touring with a nine piece band, Saadiq hit the 2009 summer music festival circuit with performances at Bonnaroo, Hollywood Bowl, Outside Lands, Pori Jazz Festival, Stockholm Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz, Essence Music Festival, Summer Spirit Festival, and Nice Jazz Festival, Bumbershoot Music Festival and Austin City Limits. Saadiq has been touring Europe extensively, and held a five-night residency at the House of Blues in Tokyo, Japan in June 2009. In 2008, Saadiq formed a new label called Velma Records, a place where Raphael promises "people can express themselves like I did with The Way I See It... where they can dream something up and just go with it".^[14]

He produced songs for LeToya Luckett's forthcoming second album Lady Love, released August 2009. In 2009, Saadiq produced "Please Stay" and "Love Never Changes" for Ledisi's August 2009 release "Turn Me Loose". Saadiq also was the executive producer for an emerging group called Tha Boogie. Tha Boogie's first EP was released on iTunes and is titled Love Tha Boogie, Vol. 1 (Steal This Sh*t).

In 2009, Saadiq announced his video game development company called IllFonic. The first video game in development by IllFonic is titled Ghetto Golf, with an expected release late in 2010. In 2009, Saadiq teamed up Bentley Kyle Evans, Jeff Franklin, Martin Lawrence, and Trenten Gumbs to create a new sitcom called Love That Girl! starring Tatyana Ali. Raphael is an executive producer and composer for Love That Girl!. The show is currently in development. In 2010, Saadiq sang as part of the chorus in the 2010 remake of "We Are the World" for Haiti.

Saadiq performing at South by Southwest in 2011, promoting Stone Rollin'.

In 2011, Saadiq was the guitarist/bandleader for the group backing Mick Jagger for Jagger's tribute performance of the Solomon Burke R&B classic, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" at the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and on CBS. The band that accompanied the performance was Saadiq's touring band called Stone Rollin.^[15] In 2011 he and his band performed as the ESPY's house band for the night, where he performed his latest compositions.

Saadiq's 2011 album Stone Rollin' was released to great critical acclaim.^[16][17] "He’s always had a boyish enthusiasm for performing, and a flexible, naturally joyous voice that suggests a young Stevie Wonder," wrote Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, "but with his latest album, Saadiq finds a new gear. The album and his current tour demonstrate that there’s a big difference between retro and classic, and the artist consistently finds himself on the right side of that divide."^[18] Kot ranked the album number seven in his year-end list, in which he dubbed it Saadiq's "finest achievement" and stated, "He’s always written songs steeped in soul and R&B, but now he gives them a progressive edge with roaming bass lines and haunted keyboard textures. He’s no longer a retro stylist – he’s writing new classics."^[19] Critic Jim Derogatis called it "a stone cold gas of a party disc."^[20]

In fall 2011, he performed on the fourth results show of Dancing with the Stars season 13. In December, 2011, he performed a cover compilation of several Neil Diamond songs at the Kennedy Center Honors award ceremony.

Discography[link]

• Instant Vintage (2002)
• All Hits at the House of Blues (2003)
• Ray Ray (2004)
• The Way I See It (2008)
• Stone Rollin' (2011)^[21] (UK chart peak: #84)