Earlier this week I was surprised to get a pretty large dropbox link from my friends at Big Stir Records. Taking a look at the contents, I noticed that there was not only a sampler compilation of many of their current artists, but there were almost two dozen station IDs recorded by those artists specifically for my show.
To say I was pleased would be an understatement. I was seriously touched, even though I knew they were having their artists record these for stations all over the world. But for my little show? I had to show my appreciation, so tonight’s episode is (almost) all Big Stir artists. Besides a track or two from each of the artists who recorded a little something for me, there’s an extra hour of some of my favorite tunes from the label.
If you’re not familiar with Big Stir, they are a Burbank, Clifornia label founded by two of the most lovely people in the music business, Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome of The Armoires (one of the artists featured in tonight’s show). Over the years they have released more than 70 albums on vinyl and CD, and they specialize in melodic power pop.
Here’s the best part of this Big Stir theme. One of their artists, Popular Creeps, had earlier expressed interest in recording a “Teenage Kicks” cover for my “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series. Once this theme was solidified, I sent leader Lenny Grassa an email asking if he had made any progress on it. He just so happened to be heading to Lansing, Michigan to do just that with his friends in The Stick Arounds! So tonight’s show kicks off with a brand new cover of “Teenage Kicks”, followed by a couple of tracks by both bands. (The Stick Arounds are not on Big Stir Records, though, but I just had to show my appreciation to them for assisting Grassa.)
As I do every week, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!
For more information, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com