I've never met her. The main instrument on that record that I wrote a lot on was a harmonium. That shot is in sharp contrast to Cheryl Waters’ image of Nick Cave the reclusive songwriter hunched over a typewriter at his desk in a dim, kerosene-lamp lit room. I got to borrow a harmonium from a band called The Brunettes actually, and I started writing on it and felt immediately like I was going into a meditative state when I was playing on it, because it is used for meditation in certain cultures. When Waters was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Richards was the first person she told, and he was the one who broke the news to the KEXP staff. I owe everything to my parents for taking me in at one of the hardest points in my life, where they let me live with them for a year, as long as I got a job, and went to therapy, and went to school, and got a hold of my life, and figured out what it was I wanted to do and have conviction in that. When we were making Tramp together the following year, he pushed me to pick up the electric guitar, and to bring in a drummer, and to still call on more of my musician friends. He believes that openness is what makes KEXP unique. WA could re-criminalize drug possession. Through expert use of harmonies, instrumentation and intimate ruminations on a past painful relationship, epic touched the hearts of music-lovers and musicians everywhere, including here in Seattle. So when I reached out about this covers record, of course "Love More" came to mind, but they were like, 'Well, we kind of already did that. “I don’t know a more steady person on the microphone than Cheryl,” he says. "Don't Do It" is one of my favorite songs on epic, and it's probably the one I play the most on my radio show. I hate bothering artists after shows, you never know what their energy level is. The driving guitar and the drums. She’ll ask Richards to co-host. Posted by 6 months ago. When you get to spend your day playing songs you love, interviewing your favorite artists and going to concerts, nerves seem to … She’s done this at least 5,000 times: Gently open the studio doors. It's impossible for me to select a favorite from this covers album, but I was certainly very excited to see Shamir covering "DsharpG." 43 comments. "And it seems very full circle for Big Red Machine to now perform their version of "A Crime." I'm literally walking backstage and super nervous. But she’ll go on long walks, she says, and might even be back at KEXP — even if only to listen, or join Richards in the studio to share updates. Speaking about exciting people to have working on the record, for song number three: Lucinda Williams, one of the greatest songwriters alive today, alongside yourself. I try to keep up with the music that's happening now, but being a parent, I feel like I'm not as hip as I once thought I was. But it also felt so familiar. Most of Waters’ unease, however, centered on the news she’d have to share with listeners. Sometimes I want to see people, sometimes I'm exhausted. Cheryl Waters is back at KEXP! I feel like you and Lucinda both have this unique power of writing songs about past relationships that don't give the focus to the other person, or the hurt that they caused. Waters should be back on the air full-time in late January or early February. “They are an important part of my life, and they let me know how important I am to their lives as well.”. Cheryl Waters was born on January 18, 1947 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA as Cheryl Ann Waters. Her “Midday Show” assistant started a Google Doc dedicated to soup recipes called “Darn good recipes.” (Tired: butternut squash. She hadn’t been vacationing somewhere for three weeks. You processed a lot through the writing process for that first record and approached epic with a lot more confidence. It's just finding the right people to help you convey those ideas. Also helping him, you know, things that he loves... just not force anything down his throat with the weird lifestyle that we have, but encourage the things that he's excited about and see what happens. As an adult, learning how to accept help from others was huge. You say, 'Alone in this basement where I will write these songs.' I was solo up until I started making epic, and it ended up giving me the courage to get a band together. Recorded 04/12/2019. I know epic represented a shift in confidence for you as an artist. She’s also thankful that she has “a thousand sick-days.” And health care. I myself first discovered Sharon’s music via this record, and have been a lifelong fan ever since. You use so much imagery of being trapped, chained, tied to a bed, and that's the same imagery which pops up often in Fiona's Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Tell me about your relationship with them and how it felt for you to hear them interpreting the song. But I'm hoping that I walk in her footsteps and learn how to write as eloquently as she does. Her upcoming absence will mark the longest period of time Waters has ever been away from the mic, or from KEXP, in her 25 years with the station. I didn't even know that Vagabon was going to be on the song when I first reached out to Courtney. Her gentle voice has filled Seattle’s airwaves ever since. As the curator and booker of most of the station’s in-studio and other broadcast performances, she’s also helped craft KEXP’s identity as the independent tastemaker for alternative and emerging music. Notes. It's such a remarkable track, your ability to capture universal emotions without specifying specific actions or events in a way that people can relate to, and just sort of imprint their own personal relationships. In addition to numerous genre-specific shows like punk, electronic, hip-hop, local, blues, reggae, and rockabilly, KEXP boasts two amazing variety shows daily M-F, one hosted by Cheryl Waters, and the other by the best radio DJ ever, a friend John Richards–aka John To this day, I still have a Fender Jag that kind of marked the album Tramp. And I felt like hearing it from that perspective would help give this song a new life. Not streaming it online from afar in Brooklyn, but right here, in Seattle. I want to be an open book to him as much as I can. We have conversations about everything. And it's nothing I would ever do — that's exactly why I reached out to St. Panther. Sharon Van Etten Sublimely Shreds "Seventeen" on, Sharon Van Etten Shares Glam Video for "Comeback Kid". Honestly, I'm still dumbfounded that she said yes. It just felt like this friendship is real. I'm so glad that it's reached people in a positive way, to know that it can get better if you just find that connection somehow. I imagine it takes a lot of bravery to release a song like that, which is so complex in its simplicity. I think when I was looking at all of the artists that I chose for this covers record, I wanted to make sure it was diverse in genres, in age, in gender, in race. While Waters didn’t work full-time during radiation and chemo six years ago, she did continue hosting her four-hour show on air. Alabama Shakes Live at Live In-Studio On KEXP on 2012-01-31. by Alabama Shakes. His story recalls that of Car Seat Headrest, the local KEXP darling and favorite of rock fans who want to party like it’s 1987. We made sure of it to feel that way, so that however somebody approaches the song, you would feel like every song was a different world. Career 1970s. Cheryl Waters is the host of The Midday Show on KEXP, every weekday from 10am-1pm PT on KEXP.org, the KEXP app or 90.3 FM in Seattle. He helped give me a language and find more confidence in building up the songs that were so stark, and taking epic to the next place. When I usually sit down and write a song, it's because I'm going through a lot emotionally. She would soon have to go off the air again for weeks of radiation. She’s been a fixture at the public radio station for the past 18 years, and though she currently hosts the uber-popular “Midday Show,” her other KEXP gig might be more important. How did you first approach her about covering "Love More"? You're a parent now. Cheryl Waters, Actress: Messenger of Death. That turns into your family during that time. “I have all kinds of little tongue exercises. In many ways, Waters has grown up with the public radio station. That was the first time that I had seen another artist cover my songs. 03 Solitude Is Bliss 04 [interview with Cheryl Waters] 05 [tuning] “I knew in my heart that the listeners would embrace [me], but it felt vulnerable and scary,” Waters says, sitting in a vacant, dimly lit studio at KEXP on a recent morning ahead of her show. I think the big ones are "DSharpG" and "Love More", where I wrote on the harmonium and just sang. “To be so fresh with that and then also reading these messages from listeners, that’ll be challenging. I can't imagine a better fit than Fiona Apple to close out the cover album with "Love More." I think it was about the same month that I heard Shamir on a playlist on Spotify. save hide report. KEXP Music That Matters. Cheryl Waters hosts The Midday Show on 90.3 FM KEXP Seattle, and online at KEXP.org. I heard about Shamir a couple of ways, one was actually a recommendation from St. Vincent. Following the ceremony, Rose Windows and Bass Drum of Death performed live during a remote broadcast of The Midday Show with Cheryl Waters. My partner and I, we're in a very healthy relationship, we communicate about everything. Muddy Waters: Cambridge Club 47 AUG 24 66 Steamhammer: Koln 4-30-70 Steve Miller Band: KPFA fm ‘68 Ten Years After: Malmo ‘68. I feel that epic's release 10 years ago really marked the start of your relationship with these indie giants who you now consider your peers and contemporaries. How many all female rock bands have there been? Suicide is obviously immediate. As a teenager we butted heads a lot, but there were a handful of artists that we connected on as mother-daughter, and it was definitely Mary Chapin Carpenter and Lucinda Williams. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert, “Same Love" 2012 WATCH. “Even though it was really scary … there was just no way that I couldn't share [the cancer diagnosis] with people — be gone for a period of time and just leave them wondering what was going on,” Waters says. I think she was nervous when she first sent the song, because she also worked with the producer Ricky Reed on the song, he does a lot of pop stuff. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Get well soon, Cheryl! I know that he had reached out to my manager being like, 'does she like it? Host of “The Mid Day Show” (Mon-Fri, 10 am - 2 pm): Began DJing at KEXP (then KCMU) in April 1994 and still loves it as much today as I did then. I can only imagine the impact it continues to have on individuals who've been through similar situations. Back in 1994, Cheryl was volunteering her Friday nights (Saturday mornings, technically) to work 1 to 6 a.m. in the DJ booth at KCMU. I probably wouldn't have believed it. Tell me a little bit about that. That was the first time I got to meet her, and she invited us backstage. When you look back at that age, do you have advice for young women emerging into the music industry that you'd pass on? St. Panther's interpretation of "One Day" is pure joy. After that meeting with Aaron, with my initial reach out for the making of epic, that's when he said, 'you know, in the meantime, if you want to demo some songs at the studio in Brooklyn that he had, I could help you with your demos.' “The Morning Show” will move to 7-10am, the “Midday Show with Cheryl Waters” relocates to 10am-1pm and Kevin Cole will segue to 4-7pm in a new slot called “Drive Time” with veteran KEXP DJ Riz Rollins, who was hosting Monday late-nights. During the Open House, attendees were offered public tours of the new space, and free coffee and doughnuts courtesy of … However you need to. Sonically we live in different universes for the types of genres that we're put in, but there is that sense of camaraderie when you keep running into each other on tour and you're like, 'we're still doing this.' This item has been hidden. I was lucky enough to meet IDLES when we were touring in 2019 for my last record Remind Me Tomorrow, and we high-fived on a lot of festival circuits. KEXP DJs Cheryl Waters, Kevin Cole and John Richards pick their favorite songs of the decade, from Arcade Fire to Lizzo, Deerhunter to A Tribe Called Quest, and discuss the personal and cultural impact of music in the 2010s. She was someone that I grew up with. This thread is archived. 1. “And I definitely don’t feel like a kid right now.”, “The biggest thing for me in making epic — I was learning how to reach out to other people and communicate how I envisioned my songs moving forward with instrumentation and collaboration. Can you pick another song?' John Richards hosts The Morning Show, Cheryl Waters hosts The Midday Show and Kevin Cole hosts The Afternoon Show on KEXP. Read KEXP's interview with Japanese Breakfast Read KEXP's album review of Mitski's 'Be The Cowboy' Watch SASAMI perform Live on KEXP Cheryl Waters is back at KEXP! (KEXP Photo / … KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters is one of the tastemakers defining the Seattle sound. We've kept in touch over the years, played festivals together and gotten to hang out. photo by Matthew B. Thompson. And it seems very full circle for Big Red Machine to now perform their version of "A Crime." In the silence of the soundproofed studio, as well as on the mic, Waters’ S’s and T’s land with a slight lisp, a consequence of the surgery, which “cut out a chunk” of her tongue, as she puts it. I found that moving less helped me explore vocals a lot more. Radiation will make it increasingly difficult to speak and swallow. As the On-Air Events Coordinator, Waters also books the artists that perform at the KEXP live in-studio performances, live remote broadcasts and KEXP events. Her cancer doesn't faze her. Alabama Shakes perform live in the KEXP studio. 722. E-mail him at Matt.McKnight@Crosscut.com. I think all the songs are special to me, but "Love More" is definitely the one that I feel... took me out of the bedroom feeling sorry for myself, and help me reach out to other people and connect, not just in the writing process, but in the recording process, in the connecting with other musicians as I found myself over the years. How did you know they were the perfect band to cover this track? ANNA ERICKSON/SEATTLEPI.COM KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters broadcasts the Mid-Day Show in the station's new home. Just for a minute, forget about all that. Taking time away from her job will be challenging. 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