Monday, September 7, 2020 at 9 PM
The remarkable talents of South Bend songwriter Kevin Scott Joiner are on full display this week on The Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour. During the show, Kevin shares 4 beautiful songs—each fashioned with a different feel and a different voice. In the song, Decorated Cage, he sings of the challenges of living the creative life, unleashing a raspy blues voice perfect for the theme, “You’ve been marked and you’ve been measured, You’ve been cataloged and filed, All your talent’s been repurposed, And you childhood dreams reviled, There’s a checklist in your heart now, And you cherish every page, As you’re living on your own terms, In this decorated cage.” Alluding to the influence of Van Morrison on the piece, he just as easily sets up the beautiful and haunting folk song, Life Is a Hospice, by recounting the story of his family’s stay in a hospice as his sister lay dying, his poetic voice unfurling this beautiful lyric as a way to process the loss, “Out there beyond your window, Autumn grew shy, Her colors fading/Like the sunset in your eye. All veins and paper, Frail edges curled, Ready to fall at any moment/Into the whirlpool of the world.” Two more songs, Worst Way to Hide, and There Goes the Day, round out the show, each containing a different yet haunting feel – prayerful and tender in delivery – and executed masterfully on both electric and acoustic guitars.
Also appearing in the middle of the show, is Hope College intern, Katy Smith’s, Mt. Olympus Radio Hour, a drama complete with Apollo (Ball State student, Levi Crawford), Athena (Smith), and Tonatiuh (Voice Actor, Jacob Moreno)—Aztec God of the Sun. During this lighthearted review, Apollo and Tonatiuh come to terms with their competing mythologies and agree to share a mutual respect for each other’s religious traditions. Along the way, an obnoxious owl adds an ongoing bit of mischief.
All in all, it’s a thoughtful and poetic listen; all served up for your listening pleasure. You can catch it right here or by by going to wildrosemoon.com. Indeed, this week, Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour is a “Home for Humans,” and the gods.