88.5 FM receives so much music on a daily basis... CDs, downloads, reissues, box sets, cassette tapes, vinyl records and more. Songs are generally chosen by committee at the station, but it's the job of the music director to go through the stacks and stacks with a fine tooth comb. This blog may include major label releases, independent artists, even random submissions for your listening pleasure.
Music Director Picks #21
SUNNY WAR - SHELL
Coming on the heels of her critically acclaimed 2018 album With the Sun, Sunny War’s upcoming LP Shell Of A Girl finds the songstress and virtuosic guitarist looking back on the rocky roads of her past with a surprising amount of nostalgia. The LP was written in a burst of creativity during a transition period, as War moved from the Venice Beach boardwalk where she first made her name to the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
L.A. EDWARDS - LEAVING LOS ANGELES
L.A. Edwards is the music of Luke Andrew Edwards. The band's debut record, “True Blue” is the most recent release out of the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers camp, produced by Heartbreaker bassist Ron Blair. They stepped into the studio with the goal of making a great California rock album. The result is a fresh take on the Laurel Canyon sound for the next generation. Eagles-esque brothers harmony, Stones inspired guitar weaving, the melancholy of Jackson Browne, and the working class optimism of Petty himself can all be heard on the record and on the stage.
JOSHUA RAY WALKER - CANYON
“I often unintentionally write from the perspective of characters that I dream up,” says Walker. “I can usually attribute a character to a person I’ve met, or people that I’ve known, combined with similar traits I find in myself. If it’s by poor decisions or circumstances beyond their control, I find inspiration from the downtrodden and destitute. I see myself in these characters. I use these characters to explore things about myself in songs I’d otherwise be too self-conscious to write about.”
