One of the great perks about being a KCRW DJ is sitting in on the wonderful Morning Becomes Eclectic sessions that take place. I remember one time when Sebastien Tellier performed La Ritournelle and I was sitting about 5 feet away from Jason Bentley and Ariana Morgenstern holding in tears (For the record, they were manly masculine tears). Where was I…anyway, this song moved me despite having no clue as to what the French lyrics meant. It was all sound, texture and emotion provided by a live drum break and piano chords by Tellier.
Fast forward to April 6, 2010. This time around I found myself holding back tears once again with another live set on MBE. Clarence Greenwood aka Citizen Cope was the guest. The minute I found out this brother was coming through to MBE, I knew I had to witness this man’s magic and craft in person. Ten hours earlier I had played his single “I Couldn’t Explain Why” on my KCRW show and here he was, live, capturing that intimate studio sound in his performance on MBE. He played a bunch of new songs from his new album “The Rainwater LP” and even took a request! Jason mentioned on air that the phone lines were buzzing with requests in Master Control. Cope’s face lit up and asked “What songs are they asking for?” The winning request: his new single “I Couldn’t Explain Why.”
He also closed out the set with a cover of Neil Young’s “Out on The Weekend.”
It was obvious that Cope has a connection to his fans and it’s always a great feeling when I see an artist performing on MBE and the phones lighting up nonstop during the entire set. I guess that great energy Citizen Cope and crew brought went beyond the studios and all across Los Angeles and possibly the world via KCRW.com. All transported from a tiny little basement in Santa Monica.