Blasst

This is our second entry in the COVID CALLS series, and our first to feature primarily healthcare workers' stories. All work (including music) produced by Andres Sanchez.More info and updates on today's stories can be found at the BLASST Blog: http://blsst.blogspot.com

Introducing BLASST's first mini-series, COVID CALLS, where we center the narratives of people from the Rio Grande Valley and highlight all of the different ways we as a region have persevered in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each caller also gets to select a track to play on the show, which is perhaps our favorite part of the whole thing. This is our first episode in the series, and doubles as episode 108.More notes on the BLASST Blog: https:/blsst.blogspot.com

Well, I imagine a lot of people are pretty upset with Bernie Sanders now. He's gone ahead and played along with the game of politics the way he did in 2016 when he endorsed Hillary Clinton after being denied the Democratic nomination by the DNC - that time. You could argue that it's a long-game move, he's still a state senator after all, and if he wants to expect any kind of cooperation on the legislative floor, he has to play ball in some way. It doesn't make it any less disappointing to see though. The 'movement' he built over the last 5 years has lit a fire under people's butts. Hot enough to get them into the streets? Perhaps not, especially considering our need to stay home to curb community spread of COVID-19. Even the cops are involved now. Anyway, the world is moving forward whether we like it or not, and we may as well make the best of it while we can. Today's selection is eclectic and stimulating, not at all like this tea I made in a hurry to warm up my voice.

Today's BLASST features our second guest of 2020: Angel Corsi! Angel is a singer-songwriter from Harlingen, TX with a strong community-oriented MO. He's owned venues, music shops, organized municipal live music events across the Valley, and most notably to me, he also regularly teaches classes on how to write music and be a better songwriter and performer - even from a business sense. His contributions to the RGV music scene have brought him to my attention over the past couple of years, and with the release of his latest EP, In The Quiet Hours, I wanted to bring him on the show to talk about all of it! I can honestly say that this is one of my favorite conversations I've ever had on the program, and I hope you enjoy it too. More at the blog: http://blsst.blogspot.com

What will the future look like? What will the world look like after COVID-19? When will 'after' arrive? We don't know. We'd have a better idea if people actually stayed home and washed their hands, helping mitigate the spread of the deadly respiratory illness. In the meantime, I've got some tunes to tide you over while you self-quarantine!More on the BLASST Blog: http://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's broadcast features BLASST's first guest of 2020, the avant-pop upstart from San Benito, TX, Pillowsnake!We talk about videogames, producing music on a smartphone, and everything that makes the Pillowsnake world go 'round. More at the BLASST Blog!http://blsst.blogspot.com

STAY HOME. STOP GOING OUT TO CROWDED PLACES. THAT'S HONESTLY THE WORST FLEX YOU COULD HAVE ON A PERSON - "THAT VIRUS WON'T GET ME" AKA "I HAVE NO REGARD FOR MY OWN WELL-BEING, LET ALONE THAT OF MY FELLOW MAN - and other favorites. RIP Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. http://blsst.blogspot.com

And stop sneezing into open air! Keep your germs to yourself! The Covid-19 panic is bad enough, we don't need people actually getting sick in the midst of it! - and other favorites.http://blsst.blogspot.com

It's been a minute ! If you live in the United States, Super Tuesday - AKA the last day you can vote in the Presidential Primaries - is tomorrow! GO VOTE! VOTE WITH OTHERS IN MIND. VOTE WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND. VOTE LASTLY, WITH YOURSELF IN MIND - and other favorites.

Today's episode is a mix of everything we offer, blistering listens, strange sounds, and thank you's. Many, many thank you's. Thank you for listening.http://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's BLASST features our final Space-themed episode, Space IV: Strange Sounds From The Past, For The Future. Within you will find a collection of music from across the past 50 years that has pushed boundaries forward (both within music as well as ourselves). Some of today's selections might be considered mature or NSFW, so I would like to state that listener discretion is advised.http://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's playlist is pretty eclectic and great for filling in the backgrounds of your work spaces and dinner tables, but considering that Fourth of July is also happening this week, I ask that you think long and hard about what exactly the United States of America represents. The fourth of July is supposed to be our Independence Day, but how have we put our independence to use? If you have even the slightest notion of what's happening in the world today, you'll know that the US government has been detaining thousands upon thousands of immigrant families fleeing violence and seeking asylum in our country, and forcing them to live in cages without proper access to sanitation, food, and water. When do these people get to claim their own independence from the United States' evil clutches? When will they be free? If you want to play around with roman candles, don't point them at your friends, point them at Border Patrol, point them at ICE agents, point them at this fucking system.

Today's episode features my conversation with the endlessly talented Harriet Brown, a funky soul from Los Angeles, California. On this episode, Harriet and I discuss his musical journey, from the ups and downs of living in a place as big and bustling as LA, to discovering Prince in college..and we actually spend a fair amount of time talking about Prince and all his eccentricities near the end. It's a solid episode, my friends. Be sure to catch Harriet Brown when he comes through the Valley July 3rd at the Tropicana Lounge in Edinburg!Tune in!: http://blsst.blogspot.com

Fresh tunes from all over on this one.http://blsst.blogspot.com

On my recent trip to New York City, I made a point of visiting as many record stores as possible. I've been to the city twice before and on neither trip did I find the time to visit a record store. Granted, I had other stuff to do—the city is pretty big after all—and with my pick of things to do to pass the time, I found myself quite busy without spending all of my hard-earned on a handful of cherished records.This time around, I swore things would be different.http://blsst.blogspot.com

Roky Erickson passed away last Friday. The impact his music and his spirit have had on the world of music and art is absolutely immeasurable. A singular figure in the world of Psychedelic Rock music and a symbol of how one can absolutely overcome the worst possible odds of all time and end up on top. It feels so surreal to think of how he's gone, but in these situations, where people we care about die, I think it's best to spend time thinking about them and helping cement the memory you wish to remember most about them for the foreseeable future. For me, that memory is seeing Roky walking around downtown Austin with a tote bag on his shoulder at one of my first South by Southwests. At the time, I had a negative association of men wearing bags like that, but seeing Roky wear one meant it was okay, and that I was mistaken. From that day forward, a tote bag has been my bag of choice when going out and about. It's proven itself to be an incredibly utilitarian and valuable decision in my life, and i

Today's BLASST is a little late. Gimme a break, I'm out and about in the world! I'm actually just in New York City again, (see BLASST #23 for my first visit), but while it may be one city, it's filled with people, food, and languages from all over the world. An "American" city in that it is a prime example of how immigrants have managed to forge lives for themselves despite oppressive living conditions, ever-ascending rent rates, and a constantly changing world surrounding them. Even the homeless people make up a key component of what this city represents: possibility. I know that sounds silly, but the way I see it, even folks who don't have a roof over their heads and walk around reeking of their own urine refuse to leave, so that has to say something about what this place means to the people that live in it. I've only been here a few days and still have another few to go, but already I'm getting both exhausted (you have to walk everywhere, who thought that up?) a

On today's BLASST I get to sit down and chop it up with arguably the most popular trouble-makers in the RGV music scene, the gender-inclusive pain in the violently conservative state of Texas' proverbial "ass", and the Rio Grande Valley's premier ska group: L@s Skagaler@s. We talk about the band's loooong story, the attack on choice in this country (as well as at home), and the band's upcoming performance at this weekend's Skank for Choice event, a pro-choice benefit show that will raise funds for non-profit organizations that help provide abortion access to those who choose who need it. Case in point: Alabama, where due to the passing of "Human Life Protection" Act (100% inaccurate name btw), even being remotely connected to an abortion can result in a criminal charge. We also jam some new tracks from the Tales from the Border EP, which some of the Skags helped create specifically for the benefit this weekend.More at the BLASST Blog.InstagramTwitter

KBYL (Know Before You Listen): Today's conversation contains a description of sexual assault from 18:08-19:50. Feel free to skip past it if it may make you uncomfortable.Today's episode brings us a conversation with two-thirds of Brownsville's leading post-punk group, The Objects. We talk about their upcoming album and release show while learning a little more about the band than we planned for. Special guest appearance by Brandi Castañeda.http://blsst.blogspot.com

Today's BLASST features our conversation with the Rio Grande Valley's increasingly versatile singer-songwriter, Jesika Espiricueta! Among the subjects we discuss are her journey into music, her experiences opening for Helado Negro and Mitski on their 2017 Texas Tour, her growing vintage clothing business, Trash Brat, as well as her upcoming show with Helado Negro at Cine El Rey in McAllen on 5/16!Jesika has been a friend of mine for some time as well as a listener of BLASST since the very beginning, so it's an immense pleasure to be able to have her on the show today! Check it out!http://blsst.blogspot.com