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On Wednesday, June 7th @ 10:30AM, Astral Projection speaks with UK-based singer-songwriter, Billie Marten, ahead of her show at The Chapel in SF later that same night.

Billie – born Isabella Sophie Tweddle – got her early start in music thanks to parents who surrounded her with the music of Nick Drake, John Martyn, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, Kate Bush, Loudon Wainwright III and northern folk artist Chris Wood (who once told a nine-year-old Billie to “go for it!”).

With her fourth record, Drop Cherries, now out in the world, Billie Marten has at last learned to stop thinking about what others want to hear and has finally started to trust her own instincts.

Drop Cherries is a series of vignettes highlighting different pieces of a relationship, while trying to fit them together. From celebrating moments of the mundane (“Just Us”), through deep existential questioning (“Devil Swim,” “Acid Tooth,” and “Arrows”), to the final resolve which is the pure simplicity of sharing a moment with someone you love (“Drop Cherries,” “I Bend To Him”).

It’s often the case that each record has to be a new ‘statement’ for the artist, a re-branding, a progression. But Billie Marten’s statement is always the same: “I’m simply searching for clarity. I’m re-examining the same feelings I had when I first started writing: I feel different to others, so I’ll write about what that’s like and see if I can work out why that is. If I ever do, maybe I’ll stop writing.”

Tune in on Wednesday, June 7th @ 2PM to hear Excuse My French in conversation with Detroit-born / Nashville based singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist, Olivia Jean, before she plays the Brick & Mortar Music Hall in SF on June 8th.

Olivia Jean first staked her flag with the gothic garage rock upstarts The Black Belles in 2010 and quickly set herself apart from the pack, performing as a side musician to a varied group of stylistically diverse musicians on a variety of instruments, culminating with her debut solo release Bathtub Love Killings in 2014.

The third full-length from Olivia Jean, Raving Ghost, is an album populated by mysterious characters in various states of danger: cursed lovers, doomed souls, women deliriously haunted by unseen forces. Over the course of its 12 spellbinding tracks, Jean amplifies that drama with her wildly melodic take on garage-rock, handling each riff with the power and precision she’s previously shown as a member of the Black Belles (and as an in-demand session/touring musician who’s played with legends like Wanda Jackson). A stunning evolution of the retro-surf sound of her past solo work, Raving Ghost ultimately makes for the most magnificently heavy and mesmerizing output yet from an endlessly fascinating artist.

On Tuesday, June 6th @ 4PM, Charley Varrick hosts singer-songwriter, Dorothy Moskowitz, for a live in-studio interview.

Dorothy Moskowitz is a Bay Area based musician, who was most notably a lead vocalist in the experimental rock band the United States of America. Moskowitz and the band produced some of the earliest examples of electronic rock. Following the band’s demise, Moskowitz continued her music career, and was a member of Country Joe’s All-Star Band.  As an active musician for over 70 years – Dorothy’s career spans world renowned bands to public radio spots and children’s musicals.

New album, Under An Endless Sky represents the interchange that took place between electronic composer Francesco Paolo Paladino, composer and writer Luca Chino Ferrari, and Dorothy Moskowitz.

Moskowitz’s extraordinary voice and modal melodies float over Paladino’s magical musical textures. There are no guitars, bass, drums or other technological devilry, but only virtual sounds (sometimes without even keyboards) upon which are grafted some acoustic interventions: violins and violas, woodwinds and percussion entrusted to excellent musicians such as Italians Riccardo Sinigaglia, Angelo Contini, Stefano Scala, Trio Cavallazzi and Gino Ape, and English folker Sean Breadin.

Join Reality Check on Friday, June 2nd @ 10:30AM when he speaks with Brazilian musician, Hermeto Pascoal, before he plays The UC Theatre in Berkeley on Sunday, June 4th.

Few musicians have ever reached the stature of Hermeto Pascoal. A true maestro and a cultural icon, he represents the highest level of musical evolution; as a multi-instrumentalist, as a composer and as an arranger.

Hermeto is a Brazilian legend. He has worked with the greatest of the greats, such as: Milton Nascimento, Tim Maia, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and countless others. He first gained public attention in 1971 after performing and recording with Miles Davis on the Live/Evil album, of which Miles said, “Hermeto is one of the most important musicians on the planet.” There is good reason (beyond his Gandalf-like appearance) why he is known as “O Bruxo” (the Wizard). Long before Miles, he was performing and collabing with the likes of Edu Lobo and Elis Regina. Later collaborations involved fellow Brazilian musicians Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. From the late 1970s onward, he has mostly led his own groups, playing at many prestigious venues, such as the Montruex Jazz Festival in 1979.

Pascoal often makes music with unconventional objects such as teapots, children’s toys, and animals, as well as keyboards, button accordions, melodica, saxophones, guitars, flutes, voices, various brass and folkloric instruments. He uses nature as a basis for his compositions, as in his Música da Lagoa, in which the musicians burble water and play flutes while immersed in a lagoon: a Brazilian television broadcast from 1999 showed him soloing at one point by singing into a cup with his mouth partially submerged in water. Folk music from rural Brazil is another important influence in his work.

On Friday, June 2nd @ 3:45PM, Lucky Star airs a recent interview with L.A. based band, The Aquadolls, ahead of their show the following day (June 3rd) at Bottom of the Hill in SF.

The Aquadolls’ third album, Charmed (which is named after the popular ‘90s/‘00s TV show), is a natural progression for their discography. Don’t let the relatable tales focused on love and relationships, heartbreak and longing for more fool you, The Aquadolls still are about having fun and showcasing humor in their lyrics. Charmed charts the growth in The Aquadolls’ sound, fusing elements of melodic ‘60s harmonies and ‘90s-driven crunchiness with a modern twist that ushered in a new era for them, and it serves as a strong representation of what they want to do.

Even as the current edition of The Aquadolls continues to evolve, their signature sound as a guitar-driven band remains the same. Armed with a continued desire to promote their message of self-love and positivity, Charmed is the perfect step forward. Combining a cohesive sound with this message, The Aquadolls are comfortable growing up with their audience — who view things through never perfect, Vaseline-tinged view of the world.

Tune in on Tuesday June 6th at 11:59 pm when the Kalx Dj The Berkestir will air
a two hour special Midnight Express.

During the Berkestir’s stay in Bath, England, the Berkestir discovered that his Arbnb host was none other then Steve Swindells, an original member of Hawklords and a sometime member of Hawkwind, a solo artist with nine total solo lp’s, and a member of the group, Pilot, for their last lp, “Two’s a Crowd.” Steve also worked with the Who’s Roger Daltrey, who recorded four of Steve’s songs. Steve also was a Gay Club promoter in the 80’s in London with a steady flow of rock stars at his famous Clubs and a party organizer, including Prince’s after-party after his Wembley Stadium performance. Steve is also a writer and visual artist.