A creative musical experience that crosses genres and labels, with the best in new, cutting edge music, spanning independent pop and rock, electronica, world and other sounds. From Beck to the Postal Service, Stereolab to Stereophonics, the best local groups and more - it's radio for your creative side. Evening Eclectic - Monday thru Friday, six till midnight. It's radio. Remixed.
Stay up to date with the latest shows from your favorite local and out of town bands with the 90.7 KFSR Evening Eclectic Concert Calendar. Who says there's nothing to do in the Valley? Evening Eclectic Local Music Calendar
Evening Eclectic Interview: The Futureheads
Jaff, bassist and vocalist with UK indie rock band The Futureheads called in to 90.7 KFSR for an interview with Evening Eclectic host Richard Jones, to talk about their upcoming US tour and their new record This Is Not The Word. Archived audio:
Hailing from Stafford in England, Richard Jones was raised on diverse musical sounds, hanging around his father's record shop and listening to his parent's David Bowie, The Cure and Otis Redding records. His musical tastes run the gamut from blues to ska, reggae, old punk, modern rock, new wave and Brit rock. Some of his favorite bands are Blur, The Stone Roses, Madness and Flogging Molly. Richard loves seeing bands in small venues, and especially the shows put on by Sound n Vision in Visalia at Howie's Pizza and The Cellar Door.
Richard is a graduate student at Fresno State, in the nursing program. When he's not studying on campus, you can find Richard rummaging through the vinyl racks at Rasputin's looking for "buried treasures." Check out Richard's shift on the Evening Eclectic on Friday nights from 6:00 PM till 9:00 PM where he keeps it upbeat and eclectic.
DJ Kirsten: Tuesdays 6:00pm - 9:00pm 1. DNTEL - Dumb Luck
2. M.I.A - Kala
3. Bjork - Volta
4. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
5. Feist - The Reminder
6. The Chemical Brothers - We Are the Night
7. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
8. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
9. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
10. Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
Don Fischer: Wednesdays 6:00pm - 9:00pm 1. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
4. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
5. Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
6. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
7. Radiohead - In Rainbows
8. Shins - Wincing the Night Away
9. El Perro Del Mar - El Perro Del Mar
10. Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child
M. Garcia: Thursdays 9:00pm - Midnight 1. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
2. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
3. The Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
4. Shape of Broad Minds - Craft of the Lost Art
5. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days 100 Nights
6. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
7. Besnard Lakes - Are the Dark Horse
8. Radiohead - In Rainbows
9. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
10. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
CD Review - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days 100 Nights
This album is spectacular. By the sound of them, you would think Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings started making funk-threaded soul music together in the 1960s. Few devotedly retro acts are as convincing. Her voice oozes soul and sass, and the Dap Kings back her with a groove that makes it impossible to stay still once you hear it. This is their third CD, and contains more ballad oriented material than their hard hitting first disc, "Dap Dippin". However, this disc is not lacking in grooves. The title track "100 Days/100 Nights" is so catchy its addictive. I have played this song so many times its not even funny. If you liked the first album by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, you should definitely pick this one up, they continue to be the best funk band around. - M Garcia
Fans of 90.7 KFSR's Evening Eclectic won't want to miss etown. Each week, hosts Nick and Helen Forester bring 90.7 KFSR listeners exclusive live performances by eclectic, socially conscious artists like Michael Franti, the Avett Brothers, Neko Case, Ray LaMontagne and more. Every week, etown also also honors everyday people who have made a difference in their community or environment with the "e-chievement" award.
Founded in 1991, etown is a nationally syndicated radio show heard 52 weeks a year on over 150 stations across the US, including 90.7 KFSR. Every etown show is taped in front of a live audience, and features performances from many of today's top musical artists as well as thought-provoking interviews and much more.
In this dynamic album, Bitter:Sweet’s captivating debut, The Mating Game, is reworked by top remix producers. Many of the songs on this album are rare unreleased gems. This album is loaded with the golden touch of mixmasters like Thievery Corporation, AtJazz, Skeewiff, Nicola Conte, and Fort Knox Five. Going from deep house to funky breakbeats, the lush album evolves a whole new approach to an already enchanting duo. - M Garcia
CD Review - Talib Kweli - "Eardrum"
Ever since emerging as a member of Black Star in the late 1990s, Talib Kweli is one of the few hip-hop artists making commercially viable music that matters. The Brooklyn bred rapper's hard-hitting music has been able to educate and entertain simultaneously. With Ear Drum, his first album released on his own Blacksmith Music and his sixth album overall, Kweli has delivered his career-defining work. - M Garcia
CD Review - The Polyphonic Spree - "The Fragile Army"
From a demo release in early 2000, to TV show appearances and movie soundtracks, The Polyphonic Spree is definitely more than just a novelty band. Their latest release, The Fragile Army combines their usual quirky sounds and ‘all will be okay if we stick together’ lyrics with darker attitudes (and new outfits!), exploring what it means to them to be a fragile army. Section 22 (Running Away), the single, encompasses these new changes completely along with the high energy (read: relentlessly upbeat) usually reserved for live Spree experiences, while Section 29 (Light to Follow) proves to be one of the album’s defiantly interesting tracks, combining strong female vocals and various lyrics about when love is not as cherished as it should be (“it feels so alive/going backwards”). Section 27 (Mental Cabaret) is an electronic/pumped up remix of the same titled song from their underrated EP Wait, while explaining “this mental cabaret is dancing with my fate/these empty impressions left me engaged with a game.” These lyrics and the rest of the CD cover the ‘variety-show’ range of a cabaret, from light entertainment to serious political stances. - Tracy Stuntz
CD Review - Ryan Adams - "Easy Tiger"
Love him or hate him, Ryan Adams is back with his ninth major release, Easy Tiger. The North Carolina native and New York transplant has put forth his first album since the release of "29", "Jacksonville City Lights", and "Cold Roses" all in 2005, Tiger boasts an all-star cast and a much more polished sound than any of his previous recordings. The album drifts around genres, at times resembling folk, rock, alternative country, or even downright twangy country. Fans of his older works like Heartbreaker and Gold will be pleased to hear Ryan Adams and the Cardinals return to a similar sound while progression and originality are still audible.
The record’s lead off single, Two surprisingly features Sheryl Crow, and is made up from the classic Ryan Adams formula for a heartbreaking tune that you just can’t stop listening to. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. is a gorgeous down-tempo track, bound to be a fan favorite on the record. Its stripped down sound doesn’t have much instrumentation, which highlights a great vocal by Adams. Acoustic guitar floats around the voice track and is sporadically accompanied by a short piano riff and even a little banjo. Another star on the album is the very bluegrass track, Pearls on a String. It is a perfect song for summer with its upbeat lyrics and fast paced guitar and banjo picking.
All in all, Easy Tiger is a good album and Ryan Adams fans are sure to love it. People not familiar with Adams, be prepared to have to be able to stomach the slide guitar and good ol’ southern feel, as many indie listeners cannot. Even if you’re not a fan of alt country, there are bound to be at least a few tracks that transcend the genre and are easy to listen to and to love. - DJ Kirsten
Evening Eclectic Interview: Matt Sharp of The Rentals
Matt Sharp of the band The Rentals talks with Evening Eclectic's DJ Kirsten in this special online interview. We'll find out more about their current tour, Matt's time in the band Weezer, and much more. Listen to this interview online... (mp3 download)
Evening Eclectic EN VIVO (3/31/07) is a smash success!
Thanks to everyone who made Evening Eclectic En Vivo such a great event. We had four great bands who ROCKED The Crossroads, and a capacity crowd of KFSR fans, and even people who drove in from LA, Santa Cruz and beyond. Thanks to Brazzaville, The Same Shape, El Olio Wolof, and Patrick Contreras for bringing their great music, to The Crossroads for providing the venue, to all of KFSR's staff and volunteers for making it happen, and YOU for showing up and making it a GREAT night of ROCK AND ROLL! There will be more En Vivo shows in the future, so stay tuned, you won't want to miss out!
Mike Oz of the Fresno Bee had some great things to say about Evening Eclectic En Vivo, on the Fresno Beehive blog, and has also posted four videos from the evening to YouTube. Check them out here.
Evening Eclectic CD Spotlight: Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, You Are the Destroyer?
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is Of Montreal's latest and darkest album to date. The work is essentially a solo effort from the band's prolific songwriter and front man Kevin Barnes, who provides us with poppy but pained self-revelations throughout. Apparently the opening line to "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" is true: "I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway," and the song captures both a beautiful Scandinavian snowscape and Barnes's efforts to keep himself and his family together. The album's epic "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" is a jaw-dropping 11+ minutes' worth of sublime self-flagellation, whose sonic sensibility steers the band away from The Beach Boys (to whom they are often compared) and toward the grim and gritty jams of Yo La Tengo. Barnes's lyrics are both personal and literate (he references Georges Bataille's The Story of the Eye) ensuring that his brand of psychedelia is also psychotic. Other album standouts include "Heimdalsgate Like a Promtethean Curse," "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider," and "She's a Rejecter." - DJ Prof
Evening Eclectic CD Spotlight: Subtle - For Hero: For Fool
Subtle's For Hero: For Fool could just as suitably have been titled Dung, Guts, and Blood. Lyricist Doseone conjures forth a dark and gruesome world where people are "carefully combing their own eager entrails" ("Midas Gutz") or lay "prostrate, chipping salt" from their lips ("Nomanisisland"). "The Mercury Craze" asks "what would you give to get your hands on the latest most luxurious blood?" while "Middleclass Stomp" is littered with glass eyes, seed-encrusted teeth, and "a sturdy bag of sperm." The lyrics are cryptic, but the morbid obsession with the body is clear. Musically, the songs are nearly as oblique; they may just be the best mash-ups that aren't. "The Mercury Craze" quotes the bass line for "Feel Good, Inc.," and then out-Gorillaz the Gorillaz; throughout, the beats are funky and danceable. Meanwhile the vocals are at once strange and sexy, ranging from deep gutturals to eerie falsettos. Other standout tracks include "A Tale of Apes" Parts I and II. And don't miss the endearingly creepy video for "The Mercury Craze." - DJ Prof
Jaff, bassist and vocalist with UK indie rock band The Futureheads called in to 90.7 KFSR for an interview with Evening Eclectic host Richard Jones, to talk about their upcoming US tour and their new record This Is Not The Word. Archived audio:
1. DNTEL - Dumb Luck
1. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
This album is spectacular. By the sound of them, you would think Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings started making funk-threaded soul music together in the 1960s. Few devotedly retro acts are as convincing. Her voice oozes soul and sass, and the Dap Kings back her with a groove that makes it impossible to stay still once you hear it. This is their third CD, and contains more ballad oriented material than their hard hitting first disc, "Dap Dippin". However, this disc is not lacking in grooves. The title track "100 Days/100 Nights" is so catchy its addictive. I have played this song so many times its not even funny. If you liked the first album by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, you should definitely pick this one up, they continue to be the best funk band around. - 
In this dynamic album, Bitter:Sweet’s captivating debut, The Mating Game, is reworked by top remix producers. Many of the songs on this album are rare unreleased gems. This album is loaded with the golden touch of mixmasters like Thievery Corporation, AtJazz, Skeewiff, Nicola Conte, and Fort Knox Five. Going from deep house to funky breakbeats, the lush album evolves a whole new approach to an already enchanting duo. - 
Ever since emerging as a member of Black Star in the late 1990s, Talib Kweli is one of the few hip-hop artists making commercially viable music that matters. The Brooklyn bred rapper's hard-hitting music has been able to educate and entertain simultaneously. With Ear Drum, his first album released on his own Blacksmith Music and his sixth album overall, Kweli has delivered his career-defining work. - 
Love him or hate him, Ryan Adams is back with his ninth major release, Easy Tiger. The North Carolina native and New York transplant has put forth his first album since the release of "29", "Jacksonville City Lights", and "Cold Roses" all in 2005, Tiger boasts an all-star cast and a much more polished sound than any of his previous recordings. The album drifts around genres, at times resembling folk, rock, alternative country, or even downright twangy country. Fans of his older works like Heartbreaker and Gold will be pleased to hear Ryan Adams and the Cardinals return to a similar sound while progression and originality are still audible.
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is Of Montreal's latest and darkest album to date. The work is essentially a solo effort from the band's prolific songwriter and front man Kevin Barnes, who provides us with poppy but pained self-revelations throughout. Apparently the opening line to "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" is true: "I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway," and the song captures both a beautiful Scandinavian snowscape and Barnes's efforts to keep himself and his family together. The album's epic "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" is a jaw-dropping 11+ minutes' worth of sublime self-flagellation, whose sonic sensibility steers the band away from The Beach Boys (to whom they are often compared) and toward the grim and gritty jams of Yo La Tengo. Barnes's lyrics are both personal and literate (he references Georges Bataille's The Story of the Eye) ensuring that his brand of psychedelia is also psychotic. Other album standouts include "Heimdalsgate Like a Promtethean Curse," "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider," and "She's a Rejecter." - DJ Prof
Subtle's For Hero: For Fool could just as suitably have been titled Dung, Guts, and Blood. Lyricist Doseone conjures forth a dark and gruesome world where people are "carefully combing their own eager entrails" ("Midas Gutz") or lay "prostrate, chipping salt" from their lips ("Nomanisisland"). "The Mercury Craze" asks "what would you give to get your hands on the latest most luxurious blood?" while "Middleclass Stomp" is littered with glass eyes, seed-encrusted teeth, and "a sturdy bag of sperm." The lyrics are cryptic, but the morbid obsession with the body is clear. Musically, the songs are nearly as oblique; they may just be the best mash-ups that aren't. "The Mercury Craze" quotes the bass line for "Feel Good, Inc.," and then out-Gorillaz the Gorillaz; throughout, the beats are funky and danceable. Meanwhile the vocals are at once strange and sexy, ranging from deep gutturals to eerie falsettos. Other standout tracks include "A Tale of Apes" Parts I and II. And don't miss the endearingly creepy video for "The Mercury Craze." - DJ Prof