Instrumental Invasion, 1/5/22 January 6, 2022

The January 5 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP, the first show of 2022, was recorded over three days in November 2021. The first hour was recorded on my 40th birthday, November 17, the first second hour segment on the 18th, and the other two segments on the 19th. A pickup was recorded on the 20th with more pickups on December 14 as I shortened the length of four segments.

The playlist was created and annotated, and the talk break script was drafted, on November 16.

Jeff Kroll was generous enough to record liners for the show, but he went the extra mile by contributing show open voice overs. Hearkening back to the latter days of The Mike Chimeri Show, I added a laser gun sound and the end of “Brave New World” by The Rippingtons. The end result:

I’ll be using that every week going forward.

I originally intended on talking about that emotional time in my life when I was first exposed to “Dancing with Ivy” by Nelson Rangell (written by Jay Rowe). Coincidentally, it was the latter days of The Mike Chimeri Show. I was depressed, obsessed with the New York Mets, obese, felt threatened by WebRadio WCWP’s new death metal format, Capital Punishment Radio, and I treated anyone and everyone like a therapist. My stubborn arrogance led me to foolishly record a promo where I mocked the tropes of other DJ’s promos, such as a flange effect and bleeping curses. Capital Punishment replied with a mocking promo of their own. It began with a big band excerpt, cut off by DJ derision, and then mimicking a portion of another insulting promo of mine. Picking up on namesakes, I said in the promo that my show didn’t have Coldplay, but did have Fourplay; no Yellowcard, but Yellowjackets; no Jessica or Ashlee, but Brian Simpson. “We don’t have Yellowjacket,” one of them said in my voice, before concluding with words to the effect of smooth metal “and a whole lot more.” That played off my show’s tagline, “smooth jazz and more.” That humbling, humiliating experience eventually led me to stay in my lane and be a team player, but not until after Evening Jazz. I wasn’t a team player then, either. Evening Jazz on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then just Thursdays, was wildly different from the nights Fred Camin hosted. I once ranted to Bernie Bernard, “Ayn Inserto? Insert this.” What a jerk I was.

With that confession out of my system, on a lighter note, I consulted Jay Rowe while working on the playlist, remembering that he admitted who Ivy was when he played it on his piano during a 2020 Facebook livestream (my request). I had forgotten, but Jay reminded me it was for his guitarist friend Tod Baharian‘s daughter, who was just a toddler at the time.

“Chrome Explosion” by Anders Enger Jensen was first played on Instrumental Invasion on June 24, 2020, the same week I first played “Song for Bilbao” by Michael Brecker, which I replayed last week. Here is the “Chrome Explosion” music video I referenced in the subsequent talk break:

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

7:35 AM UPDATE: It took until listening to the aircheck to notice that Tony Watson Jr. played soprano sax on “Ear Candy” by Pieces of a Dream, not tenor. Sometimes, foolish oversights escape my ear until it’s too late.