If you’re looking for an inexpensive gift that is charitable, cool and useful, you can’t beat the local-music compilation CD “IdaHo Ho Ho with Moxie Java.”
Buy it. You’ll help feed a needy family. You’ll support underappreciated Idaho musicians, who donated their time and songs. And you’ll have a quality Christmas album that sets the mood when you’re sharing presents with family and friends in front of a fire.
Featuring a mix of seven originals and six covers, the second annual CD costs $15 (a $5 Moxie Java gift card is included). Proceeds go to the Idaho Foodbank.
Some of the musicians are well-known in these parts: Folk singer Rosalie Sorrels, reggae-rockers House of Hoi Polloi, country-rockers Reckless Kelly (who now reside in Austin, Texas.)
Some of the songs will make you smile. The kids from Boise Rock School uncork a raucous tribute to “Christmas Break.”
Some might introduce you to local talent you hadn’t heard before: Boisean Sue Leonard — who sang on K.D. Lang’s 1994 hit “Constant Craving” — contributes an original holiday tune. Others might show you a fresh side to a familiar face: Todd Sloan, frontman for rock band Low-Fi, delivers a simple, beautiful standout called “Winter Wheat.”
In year two, the compilation feels like a new Boise holiday tradition.
Musicians have lined up to contribute. Not only does it aid a noble cause and provide a little exposure, well … what else do you do with that Christmas song you wrote but never did anything with?
“I think that the quality of these first two (albums) is enough to inspire other people to start finishing their Christmas songs,” says producer Steve Fulton, frontman for House of Hoi Polloi and owner of AudioLab recording studio.
“I think it’s a fact of life after this,” he adds. “I have 10 more songs that I’ve got earmarked for next year already.”
The 2010 debut of “IdaHo Ho Ho” sold 1,150 copies, generating nearly $6,000 for the Foodbank. Pick up a copy of the new CD at Moxie Java locations or the Record Exchange.
FUTURE OF CHANNEL 12
There can’t be much holiday spirit floating through the Nampa offices of KTRV Channel 12. The station suspended its news operation Monday, putting not just anchors and reporters out of work, but other behind-the-scenes employees as well.
What should Channel 12 viewers expect now? Syndicated shows where local news once ran: dramas, sitcoms, court shows.
On a positive note, Channel 12 will continue the locally produced sports programming it launched earlier this year. KTRV has been broadcasting high school football, local rodeos, even a one-hour “Inside the Broncos Football in the West” before Boise State games. The station also is airing Friday-night Idaho Stampede basketball.
There are no plans to eliminate those broadcasts, says Rick Joseph, KTRV’s president and general manager. In fact, he hopes to add high school basketball to the plate.
There is a chance Channel 12 could bring back a local news operation. Block’s vice president indicated that the company will continue to “compete aggressively for any network affiliations that come available, and we may even restore the news at some point in the future.”
But unless you think the U.S. economy is about to do a 180-degree turn, don’t hold your breath.
CHARITY CONCERTS SUCCEED
Kid Rock’s sold-out show Sunday at the Knitting Factory had a special vibe. (Review, page 19.) He’s donating proceeds to three local charities. Idaho Foodbank, for example, says it will receive $5,000 from Rock.
Another giant success: The Mat Kearney/Nate Fowler gig at 94.9 FM The River’s ninth annual “Concert for Cause” Tuesday. The show and silent auction raised more than $15,000 for the Learning Lab.
Michael Deeds appears Thursdays on “Today’s Channel 6 News”; at 12:40 p.m. Fridays on NewsRadio 99.1 FM; and from 9-10 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM The River.
