John Beacher

“John Beacher is a gifted contemporary singer-songwriter, performer, and an original artist from New Hope, PA (formerly of Boulder, CO). He has the knack of drawing listeners into his provocative world of song and then astounding them with his vocal improvisations. His extraordinary ability to scat and vocalize in a jazzy, soulful, funky, rap-like style puts him in a category of those who have gone onto national success. His acoustic guitar playing is uniquely percussive and deeply rooted in rhythm. Within his performances there is something for everyone as he weaves in and out of musical genres with ease and cohesion. Lyrically, Beacher takes his listener on a poetic musical journey as he incorporates songs of spirituality, love, and humanity. As a live performer, Beacher has been invited to many music festivals where he was the only solo artist, chosen for his incredible stage presence and ability to captivate his audiences. In more intimate settings you can see and f eel the emotions running through his entire performance. John Beacher is simply a magnetic performer whose attraction to the listener is undeniable and powerful. John Beacher has opened up for the following internationally known musicians including: The Marshall Tucker Band, Leon Russell, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. He has also shared a stage with these up-and-coming and established artists including: Danielia Cotton, Fuzz (of Deep Banana Blackout), Paper Bird, and Elephant Revival. John Beacher is often compared to the following contemporary mainstream artists: Dave Matthews, John Legend, John Mayer, Citizen Cope and Jason Mraz. John Beacher currently is host to a popular weekly open mic night called The Beacher Community Stage. He has recently released a 12 song self-released CD which was recorded at the Cutting Room Studios in NYC. His plans are for extensive touring from coast to coast in the next few years using New Hope and Boulder as his home bases.”

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Snow falling on Erin McGrane and Jeff Freling of Victor & Penny at KRFC

“Victor & Penny is a Chicago and KC based duo singing music they call Antique Pop on ukulele and a lovely old guitar. Playing vintage instruments with modern sensibility, they bring a fresh twist to music of the early twentieth century and unique arrangements of modern tunes with characteristic charm and good humor. Victor & Penny are touring the USA in 2012.

Victor & Penny is Jeff Freling and Erin McGrane.

Erin has been an active performing artist in the KC arts and music scene for many years. She currently divides her time equally between Chicago and Kansas City, but calls KC home. Erin is a film, theater and commercial actress; a musician and songwriter; and one of the co-hosts of the new TV program CINEMAKC. Most notably, Erin appeared in the Emmy-winning web series THE UNREAL HOUSEWIVES OF KANSAS CITY and in the Oscar-nominated film, UP IN THE AIR alongside George Clooney. Look for Erin this year in the soon-to-be-released thriller feature film NAILBITER. As chanteuse Ruby Falls, she fronts the cabaret act Alacartoona who was awarded a 2009 Inspiration Grant from the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City. She is proud to say she mis-spent her youth singing in a rock band and was named Kansas City’s sexiest musician in the Pitch Magazine’s “Best of KC 2005”.

Cindy Schneider (Host), Bill Vickerstaff (Sound), Erin McGrane (Penny), Jeff Freling (Victor) and Drew Jostad (Sound) after the radio show

Jeff, originally from Kansas City, calls Chicago home most of the time where he performs regularly with Blue Man Group, Tributosaurus, Mar Caribe, the Tom Waits tribute band B1G T1ME, and has performed alongside Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices). He began furiously studying the guitar at the age of 10 when he first heard Jimmy Page’s guitar solo on “Whole Lotta Love” and has considered himself a guitar geek ever since. In the late 80s and early 90s Jeff was the guitarist and co-songwriter for two of KCs favorite bands: The Mongol Beach Party and Grumpy. He studied at the Conservatory at UMKC and at the Berklee School of music in Boston.”

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“Turn 4‘s exciting Country sound will rattle your teeth and shake some fillings loose on one song and then touch your deepest regions on the next. Humor and sincerity ooze out of these songs like so much mud, blood and beer after a good barfight.”  – Jason D. Rogers / KRFC

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“Learning violin at age four by the Suzuki Method then nurturing a passion for piano music, Stephen Letnes learned and played contemporary and classical pieces, from David Lantz to Serge Rachmaninoff to Edvard Grieg. With hyper-sensitive hearing of tone and harmony (born legally blind) coupled with a cavernous memory, he eventually began composing. Tapping the musical disciplines gathered through lessons and performances (following in the footsteps of the masters) compositions poured forth, culminating in three CDs: “A Dim Glow Through a Stained Glass Window”-dedicated to six people who greatly impacted his life; “Incorporio” -music signifying what love is, that it goes where it wishes; and his latest CD, “Labreya”.” Stephen lives in Highlands Ranch,Colorado but grew up in Fort Collins and used to be band-mates with our own Live@Lunch volunteer, Corey (Barnes) Bairre.

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Seth Glier & Ryan Hommel on tour from Massachusetts appeared later that night with Cheryl Wheeler at Avogadros Number. Seth found out that morning his 2011 release, The Next Right Thing, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

“MPress recording artist Seth Glier will grab you…if not with his powerful falsetto or his melodic prowess, then with what Performer Magazine calls his “intoxicating groove.” The 22-year-old singer, pianist and guitarist – who abandoned studies at The Berklee College of Music after one year because he “decided I should be playing for people and not for grades” – aims straight for the gut & has quickly established himself on the national scene performing over 250 shows a year.

In 2010, Glier shared stages with such diverse artists as James Taylor, Mark Knopfler, The Verve Pipe, and Edwin McCain. He has appeared as a mainstage artist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY) and the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX). USA Today recently compared Seth to Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel and recommended his track “Lauralee” on their “Listen Up Playlist” (Feb 2011).

The only musical member of his family, Seth was raised on the music of Joni Mitchell, Martin Sexton and Randy Newman, but considers his brother to be his greatest influence. “My brother is autistic and non-verbal. I learned to communicate with words better once I realized how to communicate to someone without them.” Maybe the term ‘old soul’ has meaning after all…”

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Kailin Yong’s Peace Project Trio

You may recognize Kailin Yong from his years performing with The Boulder Acoustic Society. A few years ago he started  a group called the Kailin Yong Peace Project which typically consist of anywhere between 5-12 musicians but also features some of the performers with him as a trio or quartet. They have been putting on Peace Concerts all along the front range. 

“When most performers attempt to integrate a plethora of styles into their sound, they often get in over their head, but Kailin, who came to America by way of Austria and his native Singapore, has the artistic talent and musical breadth to not merely suggest ideas of worldliness, but to actually cull the voices of other nations from his strings. This performance will be the Peace Project Trio with Kailin performing violin and vocals, James Hoskins on cello and vocals, Brett Bowen on middle eastern percussion. Kailin’s much acclaimed Peace Project was formed to promote peace, friendship and cross-cultural understanding through music. The trio will perform Kailin’s original music based on his exploration of diverse cultures. This musicial event is guarenteed to be exceptional.”
– Clark Roberts

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Mickey on MC
Steph Jay on MC/Guitar
Nick on Guitar
Brian on Bass
Adam on Drums

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We are deeply saddened by the passing of Colorado musician John-Alex Mason this morning (10/19/2011) and our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and band-mates. We wanted to share a wonderful performance/interview by John-Alex in the KRFC Live@Lunch studio as a tribute to him and his great spirit.

This Saturday night(10/22/2011), John-Alex was scheduled to play at the Boulder Outlook with Gary Allegretto. Gary and Rob Wilson’s band will be performing a Memorial Concert for John-Alex. 8:00 – 10:30. There is no cover. The Outlook is also holding a Memorial Service followed by a Blues Jam this Sunday. Many of John-Alex’s friends and musical colleagues will be there to play for him.

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Guitarist Alfredo Muro was born in Lima, Peru. At the age of ten, he began teaching himself to play the guitar and was soon awarded a scholarship to study with Maestro Jose Pepe Torres at his Guitar Academy. Many years and awards later, Muro continued his studies with two of Peru’s greatest guitar masters, Octavio Ticona and Carlos Hayre, gaining mastery of harmonic theory and the rich variety of Peruvian folklore. After four years of intense studies he moved to the United States to broaden his musical skills studying with great masters Manuel Lopez Ramos, Frank Costa and John Doan. Since then, Muro has established a prodigious repertoire ranging from classical music to Latin American and Spanish music, and from Baden Powell and Jobim, to Bach and Albeniz. Mr. Muro has a special love of Brazilian music. He has studied and mastered the intricate styles of Choro, Samba, Frevo, Bossa Nova and Afro-samba. Alfredo Muro has been described as a Latin virtuoso, but his musical styles and tastes are far more versatile, ranging from standard classical repertoire to jazz. His forte is South American music in its many guises: folk, jazz, Brazilian, classical. Whatever the style, it’s the emotional content of his music that carries the day. While on tour in Europe, Muro played in 1984, for the late Pope John Paul the Second at a “Special Audience” at the Vatican. He has been invited to several international guitar festivals around the world. He has performed in Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Italy, Germany, Canada, Dominican Republic and in many venues throughout the United States, including the Kennedy Center for the Millennium Concert Series, and the Smithsonian Institution. Muro has released six CD’s: “Journey Through The Strings” “The Musical Sea” “Alfredo Muro and Friends Live at St. Gertrude Monastery” “Alma Brasileira, Volume 1” “Alma Brasileira, Volume” and his latest solo guitar works  “Latin Impressions ”released on June 2009, was pre-nominated for the Latin Grammy . Another important project in progress is the publication of his arrangements of selected Brazilian solo guitar works.

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Roop Verma ~ photo by Cindy Schneider

“Roop Verma is an internationally respected sitarist, composer and accomplished teacher of Indian Classical and Sacred music. His training comes from two of the greatest masters of our time, Maestros Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. He has lectured and taught at major universities on three continents and has delivered celebrated concerts in some of the most prestigious concert halls they have to offer. Among his reputable outreach in music are the healing music and meditation seminars he conducts throughout the world.

He has been an honored guest of the Belgian Government and was the featured artist and composer of Acceptance, a work written in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. His memorable 1997 concert at Berwaldhallen, Stockholm was produced by Swedish National Television and Radio, and has been released as one of his many recordings.

His Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra was received with warm appreciation at its premiere, Merkin Hall in New York during November 2006. For its European premiere, the Concerto was performed by the Linkoping Symphony Orchestra of

Sweden in September 2007.

Tracy and Roop Verma ~ Photo by Cindy Schneider

He composed original music for the documentary film Dalai Lama Renaissance, which received 12 international awards and was also released as a soundtrack.
www.dalailamafilm.com

In addition to being a resident and visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Roop Verma is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Award for 2006 as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hartwick College.

As director of the East-West School of Music in Monroe, New York, he teaches summer and winter courses on the application of science, principles and techniques of Indian classical music to primarily but not limited to Western students of both instrumental and vocal music. An all inclusive course, its participants range from beginner to professional.

Roop Verma is considered one of the musical pioneers of neo-impressionism and has established his place in the world of music. The magic of his music is appreciated worldwide, with simplicity portrayed through the peace and healing experienced as a result of his music.”

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