You've heard me play his records a thousand times on the show. And you'll hear me play them a thousand more times. J.D. McPherson (and his partner in crime, Jimmy Sutton) has concocted one of those perfect perfect albums in "Signs and Signifiers." If all he had ever written and recorded was "Northside Gal" he would be guaranteed a place in rock history (like the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" or "Jump" by Van Halen). His music is honest. His talent is real. And America and the world are taking notice. I am super proud of J.D. and Jimmy (and Ray and Doug and Jason---his band). And I am super super lucky to call him my friend.

Yes, we don't usually get political on this show, but the recent failure by Congress to pass a reasonable alternative to gun control legislation has inspired some thematic musical selections this week. As Canadian comedian Jim Carrey said, "it is the responsibility of every American to speak up." At the risk of offending those who equate guns with freedom (as in just another word for nothing left to lose), I'll be playing Carrey's "Cold Dead Hand", Snoop Lion's (ne Dogg) "No Guns Allowed" as well as some great alternative tunes by Young the Giant, Metric and ZZ Ward. Tune in from 8 to 9 this Friday for A Reasonable Alternative, and peace out!!!

Come one, come all to the Fairfield Park and Recreation Department's Spring Carnival,  Saturday April 27 starting 4 p.m. at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. Admission is free and will feature games, rides, a petting zoo, pedal-tractor pulls, crafts, a dunk tank, face painting, food, a kids’ talent show and more! This is a fundraiser for their new pool and gym, and we're pleased to say the Orpheum Theatre Fairfield will have a table there. The Orpheum Theatre will have movie trivia games and prizes for all! (Thank you Dick & Crystle at the historic State Theatre in Washington and Kelly at Main Street Cinemas in Mt. Pleasant for the great prizes!) Erika Richards, Producer/Writer and Orpheum Theatre board member will be live on the Filmosophers to tell us all about it.

School is out Friday, so Junior Filmosopher Shane Miller will join us to share his review of Tom Cruise's latest film Oblivion, which we saw at the State. Also hear about the box office, new releases and movies we've seen, including Room 237, which Chris saw in L.A. and I'm keen to hear about ("Mysterious and provocative, a fascinating journey into the world of obsessive cinephilles."- RT). We're the Filmosophers, with Chris Busch and Bruce Miller, where "we give our filmosophy of the movies and have filmosophical discussions". Fridays at 12:30 PM Central, again Sundays, 9:00 AM. Streamed live @kruufm.com        "If we have souls, they're made of the love we share. Undimmed by time, unbound by death." - Oblivion

IMPORTANT NOTE:  THERE IS NO LIVE SHOW AT HY-VEE THIS WEEK. 

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:  NEXT WEEK GREAT TASTE IS LIVE AT HY-VEE ON THURSDAY AT 7:00 PM.

Join us this Wednesday at 7:00 pm on KRUU for our annual Farmer's Market show.  There is a bounty of information about the upcoming market season, and some insights into what delicious varieties of veggies we can expect.  Our participants included Barb Grijalva, Back to the Basics, Claude Nicholson, Sharon's Produce, Kim Keller, Blooming Acres, Dixie and Bob Mettitt, Tenco Tomatoes, Ana Victoria Braun, local market promoter, Steve McLaskey, MUM Organic Farm, and Jan Swinton, Hometown Harvest.

Also, our health coach, Emily Rose Shaw continued her introduction to the GBombs with an introduction to how beans can play a critical role in improving our health.  We had some fun with that topic.

KRUU presents

FAIRfest 2013

3 Days of Free Music, Artisan Food & Sustainable Fun

June 21-23

New Orleans Klezmer All Stars | Marco Benevento | Bonerama | Alex McMurray | Jim Kerwin | Mike Dillon Band | Charanga Tropical | Mike Mangione & the Union | Todd Clouser | Gin Palace Jesters | Keelan Dimick | Trouble Lights | Jefferson County Green Band

Sustainability keynote by Greenpeace board chair Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of Seventh Generation & American Sustainable Business Council

GREAT TASTE Artisan Food Court including Tacopocalypse | Art Fifty Two presents Artist & Photographer Tony Ellis | and much more

This year Smithsonian magazine ranked Fairfield one of the country's "most intriguing places to enjoy arts & smarts." Now we've got the perfect excuse to plan a visit--FAIRfest 2013!

Enjoy an artful mix of free national, regional and local entertainment, innovative keynote speakers, cultural events, art and film, in multiple venues, with artisan food, speciality vendors, and a focus on sustainable solutions, community empowerment, economic fairness, and much more--all centered around the fabulous Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

Sponors include SPI Entertainment, Fairfield Cultural Alliance, Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, Fairfield Musicians Club, Art Fifty Two, Alliant Energy Hometown Rewards, Iowa Sustainable Business Alliance, Green Building Supply, Spectra Music Group, Cafe Paradiso, AmercInn, Super 8, Everybody's Whole Foods, ICON, and Walker's Office Supplies.

Sandy Bull and John Fahey are pretty well known in the acoustic guitar world. 'Fierce imagination, versatility, and genre-bending' is frequently the gab. Well, I have some excellent examples of their work coming up. We will also hear from Happy & Artie Traum, Eric Clapton, and Neil Young, with an oldie but goodie entitled 'Down By The River'. In an unusual departure from the norm, most of the pieces in this show are country-leaning. Cool Breeze

Translation from Lakota Sioux: All my relations.

I received a set of three songs from a good friend a while back, and it inspired me to bring in a playlist of songs that all relate to one another. Those three songs are by Imogen Heap, Anias Mitchell, and Opera To Relax. Add in Jason Molina, Sigur Ros, and The Legendary Pink Dots, and you get a chance to hear just how creative and inventive bands can be at times.

See if you can relate to being in relation to... The G Man

Tonight in honor of my brother aka LoKi being accepted and competing in 4th pasition in The Untz Challenge, where if he wins he'll perform at 10 FESTIVALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY!! Tonight's show will be an experience of a wonderfully talented producer and his thoughts on music. I encourage you all to vote for him (#43) at www.theuntz.com under competitions-the untz challenge, (be sure you get the 2 confirming emails for your vote to register!)!! Big thank you to all who take part in this community effort to make a talented producers dreams come true!

Francis Thicke's five year term on the The National Organic Standards Board started on January 24th, 2013, but his dedication to organic farming began over 30 years ago. He and his wife Susan operate a 160-head, certified organic dairy on 450 acres in Fairfield. Francis previously served as a National Program Leader for Soil Science at the USDA Cooperative Extension Service, and he's been active in many environmental organizations. The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service named him the 2012 Farmer of the Year. 

At 3 PM on Saturday, April 27th in the Cambridge Room of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, Francis will participate in a free readers theater production of Farmscape: The Changing Rural Environment. This play was written by students in Mary Swander's Iowa State MFA writing class. Mary is Iowa's poet laureate, and she'll facilitate audience discussion after the performance. She'll also present a free keynote talk, "Celebrating Local Community," at 7:30 PM at the Fairfield Public Library. Both these free events are part of the EcoFairfield Festival.

To learn more about organic standards, rural issues, Farmscape, and Francis Thicke, tune in to this episode of The Studio with Cheryl.

(See link to playlist below).  The program begins with Roberta Flack's sublime interpretation (1971) of the Bee Gees cover song, "To Love Somebody" that was used recently for TV-program credits for The Americans.  This week's feature spotlight shines on two new CD releases from Dido (photo) and from the NY City band, Hem, with lead vocals from Sally Ellyson (photo with band).  Listen carefully for Fairfield's Josie Overmyer track, "The Net That Tied Me Up," that she sang recently live in our community.  This recorded version includes some awesome backing xylophone accompaniment.

Music for the second-hour Chill Session includes artists from around the world including N Grandjean (Denmark). Jiuyue Ma (China), Bombay Dub Orchestra (UK/India), Ror-shak (Germany), and Poolside (USA).   Enjoy the cool night air with these great down-tempo sonic seasonings. 

Click here for playlist.  Invite friends worldwide to join the live stream at http:www.kruufm.com.  Find out why people trust Fringe Toast Music to expand their music library!