(conqueroo) Marshall Crenshaw has been busy this summer with many tours and other activities. He continues to tour on what might be called the “NPR circuit.” He took time out of his own tour to tour with DKT/MC5, the band of MC5 survivors for which Crenshaw plays guitar and sings. He appeared on Dar Williams’ new album, My Better Self. And his long-running radio show, “The Bottomless Pit,” now streams on both the originating station’s web site and Crenshaw’s own site. Let’s take this in order:
Crenshaw recently returned from Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he appeared with DKT/MC5, the band fronted by MC5 proponents Wayne Kramer, Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson. He had toured the U.S. and Europe with the band before as guitarist and vocalist — sharing Detroit roots with the Motor City Five.
Of the experience, Crenshaw said, “I was really glad to get a chance to play with DKT/MC5 again after being on their first tour last summer, and I felt right at home; we really locked into it. I know that they've really been kicking ass on the international circuit over the last year, and it was cool to see all the young fans that they have in Brazil. It was all kids, no old hippies, and they knew all the songs. To play in a great rock’n’roll band like that is such a blast!”
Crenshaw played on Dar Williams’ forthcoming album, My Better Self, set for September release on Razor & Tie Records. He appears on a cover of Neil Young’s “Everyone Knows This is Nowhere” and on one of her own compositions, “Teen for God.” He comments: “There should be lots of songs challenging all the bogus religiosity that's out there in our society right now and I give Dar a thumbs-up for writing a good one.”
Crenshaw’s radio program in Upstate New York, “The Bottomless Pit,” long a favorite of locals, can now be heard worldwide as an audio stream at http://www.marshallcrenshaw.com/what.htm and on the station’s web site, http://www.wkze.com .
Describing the program, Crenshaw says, “Over the years I've always really gotten off on playing ‘guest DJ’ on other peoples' shows, running my mouth in public about music that I love, etc. After doing a Steve Earle show I seriously got the urge to try doing a radio show myself, and doing ‘The Bottomless Pit’ on WKZE has been stimulating and enjoyable for me. I bring 99% of the stuff in from home. Most of the sets are thematic in some way. I try to make the show fun and interesting. It's a pretty eclectic mix, everything from Bessie Smith to The Stooges, Albert Ayler to Doris Day, but I think it works.. “
And finally, Crenshaw’s own tour continues to very slowly make its way across the U.S. Late summer and early fall dates are as follows:
August 26 AMAGANSETTE, LI, NY Stephen Talkhouse
September 26 BROOKLYN, NY Southpaw
October 2 PHILADELPHIA, PA Tin Angel
October 19 MILWAUKEE, WI Shank Hall
October 20-21 CHICAGO, IL Shuba's Tavern
November 10 ROCHESTER, NY Montage Grille
November 11 MARBLEHEAD (BOSTON), MA Me and Thee Coffee House
November 12 BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ The Sanctuary Concerts
November 27 NEW YORK, NY Joe’s Pub
