‹‹ Air Check

Sera Cahoone, Producing the Smashing Pumpkins, The Brightest Quasar and More on Air Check

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58min 48sec

This month on Air Check, Sub Pop alumna Sera Cahoone hangs out with Vicky and performs a couple of songs, John Bueno from Pueblo’s Pulp magazine chats with The Brightest Quasar over a cup of coffee, local producer Bill Douglass talks about working with Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan, and Hannah Fleming explores the many stages of a rock and roll career with Chuck Snow and the Youthful Nothings. 

PART ONE: MUSICAL ROUNDTABLE

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Joan Shelly - "If The Storms Never Came" - from Joan Shelley

Palm - "Walkie Talkie" - from Shadow Expert

Fink - "Little Bump" - from Fink's Sunday Night Blues Club Vol. 1

PART TWO: SERA CAHOONE

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Sera Cahoone grew up in Colorado, but has called Seattle home for the better part of two decades. She made a name for herself as a drummer in the band, Band of Horses, and then turned to her own solo career, releasing three records on Seattle-based Sub Pop records. Her most recent album, From Where I Started is a richly layered indie-folk confection, full of personal songs of love, loss, and longing. Cahoone’s recent tour brought her through Colorado Springs, and she and stopped in to play a few songs and talk with Vicky Gregor.

PART THREE: THE BRIGHTEST QUASAR

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The Brightest Quasar
Credit via Pulp
The Brightest Quasar

John Bueno, music writer for Pueblo-based Pulp magazine, spends a lot of time scouring the web for undiscovered Southern Colorado musicians. During one recent exploratory session, he stumbled upon the bandcamp page of The Brightest Quasar, an indie-folk artist living in Pueblo. The Brightest Quasar's recordings are spare--acoustic guitar and vocals played softly into a home studio setup--but the music is rich with melody and vivid lyricism.

For a recent issue of Pulp, Bueno spoke to the man behind the music about his approach to songwriting, how being a father changed his music, and what he's learned from Herman Hesse and Kahlil Gibran. Bueno was kind enough to share his conversation with us for this episode of Air Check. 

PART FOUR: BILL DOUGLASS, PRODUCER

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We often make the mistake of thinking that Colorado Springs is far removed from national artists -- that little to nothing happens in Southern Colorado that affects the larger music scenes of bigger cities. But there is talent in plain sight here in Southern Colorado. Case in point is Bill Douglass, a music engineer and producer who runs Royal Recording in Colorado Springs. Douglass has recorded countless local groups, from Cheap Perfume to Chauncy Crandall, but in his career he's also worked with some of the biggest names in music -- NSYNC, R Kelly, The Smashing Pumpkins, and many others.

For this episode of Air Check, Douglass sat down with Vicky to talk about music production, and the different hats one sometimes wears when working in the music industry.

PART FIVE: GROWING UP ROCK AND ROLL

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For our final segment, we take a look at the many stages of a rock and roll career. 91.5 KRCC’s Hannah Fleming set out to explore the question of how an artist’s relationship to his/her music--and the music business in general--changes over time. For this piece, she spoke with a longtime member of the local music scene, as well as the teenage members of an up-and-coming Colorado Springs-based punk band to ask them how they think about music and what it means to "make it." 

Chuck Snow is a legend in the Colorado Springs music scene. For much of the 1980s and 90s, he played in the beloved local group, the AUTONO, which broke up in 1997. He's been writing and recording music under his own name ever since. His latest album is Death Comes For Ella Mae Pixley.

The Youthful Nothings is comprised of Michael Miller, Quentin Michael Gamer and Will Lachoki. Its members are still under 21, but they've already made a name for themselves playing clubs and venues in Colorado Springs and Denver. Their albums include Neverland and Living Under The Influence.