Brooklyn, New York-based singer-songwriter Frankie Rose has been keeping busy during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has been recording not one, but two new albums. One is a Frankie Rose solo project, and a follow-up to 2017’s “Cage Tropical.” The other is an all-electronic album. On July 2, 2020, Rose (former member of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and Beverly) chatted with KWVA’s Turbo Dogg about both of those projects, and why they won’t be released anytime soon. She also told him what it’s been like working and living in New York during the pandemic, as well as her experiences on the frontline of recent protests.

This interview was conducted by KWVA alumnus Turbo Dogg, who worked for us from 1994-1997. He came on board as Production Director and was responsible for making station promos and PSAs. In 1996, he was promoted to General Manager. All the while, he hosted various “mix shows,” bringing listeners the latest in college rock, and his own personal favorites. He is among the alumni who have come back to help out with our “Old School Summer” programming. Turbo hosts “Turbo Mix.” You can hear his mix of pop, indie, dream pop, disco, metal and 80s music on Saturday, August 15 and Saturday, August 29 from 12 pm to 2 pm. When he is not obsessing about music and wishing it was still the 80s, Turbo can be found playing tennis. Badly.

Otakusuite Eggs (2020) Review by Leo Phillips

Eggs, the debut album from up-and-coming Italian trio Otakusuite, is a delicious stew of prog rock, psychedelia, and jazz. What more could you want in an indie band? With only 7 tracks, Eggs may appear to be an easy listen on the surface, but the full listening time totals up to a solid 48 minutes of genre-blending instrumental jams.

Chicken Caravan Deluxe opens up the album to introduce you to the band’s signature sound, which can only be described as jazz fusion meets jam band. The funky riffs, extended chords, and fuzzed-out guitars on this track would not feel out of place at a Eugene house show. What follows is an epic, almost 10-minute long psychedelic experience in the form of Manannan Mac Lir, my personal favorite. Killer Monk, the shortest track at 2:24 showcases the band’s prowess in the stoner rock sphere, not wasting any time to melt your face. Country Cousins Meets the Wolf is reminiscent of some of the more experimental bands of the 70’s, exploring the evolution of a nostalgic melody through various time signatures and tempos. The final track, The Curse of the Bready Bready Flute, although a wonderful song, leaves me with my only complaint about the album: it closes with a fade out.

Regardless, Otakusuite manages to consistently deliver a distinctly unique fusion sound throughout this album, somehow blending the dichotomy of jazz fusion and stoner rock into a refreshing marriage laden with heady, quasi-improvised guitar solos and my only fear looking forward is that the band won’t be able to top this with their future releases. I don’t necessarily have frequently correct predictions so take this with a grain of salt, but I really feel Otakusuite has the potential to become the next big name in college radio. Just in case, you should all listen to this album so you can say you heard them before they were cool.

FFO: Ty Segall/Fuzz, Yawning Man, Pink Floyd, ORB