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What does it take to maintain a career in music? We track down members of bands that we love and find out what their lives are like now.
Episodes
5 hours ago
5 hours ago
We've got a unique twofer for you this week. First up is Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin! Eric had been at it for a decade before Mr. Big happened. He fronted bands in the Bay Area and recorded a solo albums that were as poppy as it gets. Luckily, Mr. Big worked out and they just completed their "last" tour and released the live album, The Big Finish as a memento. They've been extra busy beecause they also released a new album earlier this year. He didn't have much time, but we get into his early days, the post "To Be With You" period, and what his plans are now. Then we hear from Bossa Nova royalty Bebel Gilberto! Her dad was the legendary Joao and her step mom was Astrid, but she's built her own incredible career taking her native music into the future. She chats with us for a bit while making lunch about it all. Enjoy!
3 days ago
3 days ago
The wonderful Carlos Alomar returns to discuss the new Luther Vandross documentary, Luther: Never Too Much. Carlos and his wife Robin Clark have been friends with Luther since high school and that friendship extends from their first group together, Listen My Brother, to them all being introduced to David Bowie for the Young Americans album and beyond. The film shows his launch as one of the greatest male r&b vocalists in history, his many talents as a writer and arranger, his battles with weight, his untimely death, and his complicated personal life. You only have to hear Luther's voice to recognize he's one of the best there's ever been. This incredible film allows us to get to know the man who was as beautiful as his voice and Carlos fleshes it all out for us.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Saturday Oct 26, 2024
Saturday Oct 26, 2024
Ska Week concludes with author Daniel Rachel and our discussion on his fantastic new book, Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story. This essential document tells the story of one of the most revolutionary record labels created to release some of the most revolutionary music ever made. Created by Jerry Dammers in the late 70s, 2 Tone was meant to be a safe place for interracial bands like the Specials and the Selecter to release the hottest ska music happening at the time. Eventually, the label launched other legends like Madness and the English Beat as well, but only lasted a few years. This discussion gets deep on the issues of race and class and how they play a part in the story. The book is as incredible as the movement and music itself. Enjoy!
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Bassist Horace Panter has been a valuable and reliable sideman for his entire career. He starts out as a founding member of the Specials, contributing mightily to the magic sound of that revolutionary band. After their demise, he joined forces with Dave and Roger to form General Public and rode that wave for a few years. Since then, he's been around for nearly every version of the Specials including the Neville Staple fronted version in the 90s and the Terry Hall reunion version of the 2000s. These days he's mostly retired and doing what he wants. We hear stories of the ups and downs, his last interactions with Terry Hall, his art career, and much more. Enjoy!
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
Sunday Oct 20, 2024
We're kicking off "Ska Week" with a conversation with author Marc Wasserman about his new book, Sole Savation: A Gen X Love Letter to the English Beat. Marc writes beautifully about his tough childhood - specifically a broken family life and poor health - and how the band's last album, Special Beat Service, got him through all of it while also informing his lifelong love of music and ska. These are sentiments we share on the Hustle so Marc and Jon go deep on what the band means to them. It's the first of three episodes this week focusing on the ska revolution of the early 80s. Enjoy!
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
We continue celebrating Morrissey's guitarists this week by hearing from longtime collaborator Boz Boorer! The love of rockabilly runs deep with this group and was central to Boz and Moz hitting it off. Boz stuck around for decades and co-wrote many of Moz's best songs including "The More You Ignore Me", "Maladjusted", and "Jack the Ripper". Right now he's about to release a solo album called Morrissey: Reimagined which is him and a bunch of friends doing wild covers of the classics we know. Boz discusses how the two of them work, his current status in the band, his days in the Polecats, and his love for rare vinyl. Enjoy!
Monday Oct 14, 2024
Monday Oct 14, 2024
The wonderful Dean Pitchford returns to the podcast to deep dive the gargantuan soundtrack to 1984's Footloose. After winning the Oscar for "Fane: in 1981, Dean set about creating the entire world of Footloose - the songs, the screenplay, etc. It's gone on to sell millions and millions of copies and never left the zeitgeist. Dean goes track by track giving us all the stories behind the songs. He also catches us up on his induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (the same ceremony that included R.E.M.) and tells us the story of the Carrie musical he worked on back in the day that never quite made it to the stage. He's a legend and we're lucky to have him back!
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
For the next two weeks we're celebrating the guitarists that make Morrissey the artist he was. First up is the great Alain Whyte! Alain was brought on in 91 to simply mime behind Moz in a video, but once they realized how much they had in common musically, he stuck around for the next several years, not to mention he co-wrote many of his best songs like "Alma Matters", "Glamorous Glue" and "Billy Budd" to name only a few. Though he's been out of the Moz orbit for a while, his impact is still felt today and he's taking this on the road. In addition to focusing more on a solo career now, he's also opening some shows for Modern English starting this week! Alain chooses to keep it positive, but you'll learn a lot about the writing process and his love for music is infectious (there are many tangents). Enjoy!
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Man, the Bangles had a ton of hits in the 80s. It came to an end by the end of the decade, but what a legacy. From there, guitarist and founding member Vicki Peterson took a break from the spotlight and got involved with a sort of mini supergroup called the Continental Drifters. Originally, the Drifters were made up of LA musicians looking for something to do, but their live shows were hot and their network eventually grew to about 10 members and included people like Vicki, Susan Cowsill, and Peter Holsapple among others. A fantastic book about them called White Noise & Lightning was recently published and an all-star tribute album was released last week. Vicki discusses her attachment to the Drifters and her mental state during that period as well as her history with the Bangles, their current status, and the stories behind many songs and videos. She's a legend! Enjoy!
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Drummer Omar Hakim is one of those players you know it's him when you hear him. He's been the go-to guy for dozens of legends for over 40 years. Artists like Miles Davis, Sting, Bowie, Dire Straits, Kate Bush rely on him to make them the best they can be. These days, Omar is excited about a new project called Sonic Boom Squad which is almost a solo project. In a fit of creativity he wrote and recorded several funk rock songs along the lines of the Isley Brothers or Mother's Finest and is releasing them over the next few months. We get into all of this as well as playing with Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Geldof, and even Don Johnson and your favorite Mariah Carey Christmas song! There's a lot here. Enjoy!
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Carmine Appice is one of the few drum legends we have left. What's interesting to me about his career is that his name is usually bigger than the bands he's in whether it's Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogart, Appice, King Kobra, Blue Murder or his side work with Rod Stewart and Ozzy. These days he's turning his attention to Cactus, who recently released a new album called Temple of Blues where they redo a bunch of the classic Cactus songs and invite their friends along. Buddies like Dee Snider, Ted Nugent, Joe Bonamassa, Dug Pinnick, and tons more feature prominently on this all-star disc. We also discuss each of these Other projects as well as a few more. Carmine's been at it for 60 years and only gotten better. Enjoy!
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Zebra were a fascinatingly interesting hard rock band in the early 80s that are hard to categorize. While they toured with Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon, Journey and the like, their style is what I call "ambitious rock" where the ideas are flowing, but not to the point of prog. They released three exceptional albums, but didn't quite reach the top and then hair metal came along and overwhelmed them. Leader Randy Jackson joins us this week to discuss how it felt on that tidal wave - working with Jack Douglas on the debut album, finally recording a fourth album 17 years later, touring with the Jefferson Airplane after Zebra were done and more. Zebra is a band that absolutely deserves your rediscovery. Enjoy!
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Wednesday Sep 04, 2024
Jon was invited on the Permanent Record podcast recently with friends Eric Miller and Heidi Waugaman-Page to do a fantasy-styled draft of an 80s super group. We each picked a singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist, producer and a special flex person and you can vote on whose band you like the best!
Go to this link and let us hear your picks!
https://permanentrecordpodcast.com/80s-supergroup-fantasy-draft?fbclid=IwY2xjawFFvc5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQFcYzczbwrr-8B9NwIorW3NevZNz-qp8yyU37oEhCTpbGocqr9J9cPA2g_aem_n7_jiZbtPC9vEuoELCT7Xg
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
L7 were pioneers. Yes, there were all female rock bands before, but how many rocked as hard as they did with as much authenticity? Those four girls let it all hang out and walked it like they talked it. Success had to find them, they weren't going to play any games to find it. They finally broke through with 'Pretend We're Dead" off their third album, but it was hard keeping it all together and the band began to fracture soon after. For the last several years, the original members have reformed for a new album (2019's Scatter the Rats), several "victory lap" tours celebrating their legacy. Donita Sparks joins us this week to discuss the whole story including hanging out with Lemmy, Nick Cave and Butch Vig as well as filming Serial Mom with John Waters, the response to their 2016 documentary, and tons more. Enjoy!
Monday Sep 02, 2024
Monday Sep 02, 2024
Actor John Scott Clough appeared in two of the great 80s movies - one underrated and one super cheesy. His big break came in the Sidney Poitier directed Fast Forward about a dance troupe from Ohio who move to the Big Apple to "make it". After appearances in other movies and TV shows of the era like Family Ties, Empty Nest and the Love Boat, he also had a juicy role in Gross Anatomy with Matthew Modine and Christine Lahti. He gives us juicy tidbits from all of this and more including eventually retiring from acting and spending the last few years battling cancer. If I can't use this platform to connect with people I've always found interesting (music or not) then what's the point? Hope you enjoy it!
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
Britain's Railway Children were a band stuck between movements. Too late for the post-punk explosion of the early 80s and done just before Britpop conquered the world, they released a handful of albums and songs that deserved more attention. "Every Beat of the Heart" did crackthe UK top 40 and singles like "A Pleasure" and "Brighter" did well on the indie charts, but it wasn't enough and the band called it quits in the early 90s after three albums. Frontman Gary Newby joins us this week to explain how it all went down including their tours of the states, going from Factory Records to Virgin, and releasing more music on the band's name. These guys are ripe for rediscovery. Enjoy!
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Candi Staton is arguably one of the best, and most underrated, soul singers in history. While Aretha and Gladys and Diana were getting most of the attention, Candi was consistently recording incredible music whether it's deep r&b in Muscle Shoals, disco smashes like "Young Hearts Run Free", or quality gospel music. She remains one of the finest interpreters of music ever and she joins us this week to discuss her storied career including starting out on the chitlin circuit, her approach to making a song her own, and her association with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker back in the day. We're so lucky she's still here, sounding great, and making new music!
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Producer/Engineer/Mixer Danton Supple has been at the forefront of big music by big artists since he first broke into the business in the 80s. U2, Coldplay, Pet Shop Boys, Morrissey and more are prominently on his CV. In this conversation we cover all of those as well as Elbow, Doves, Starsailor (which included Phil Spector's last project), Spandau Ballet and his work with past guests Clive Langer, Steve Lillywhite, Trevor Horn, Julian Mendelsohn and tons more. His stories are gold and almost as great as his talents. Enjoy!
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Annie Golden's career has hit on almost every creative endeavor there is. She starts out in the 70s fronting the punk/new wave band The Shirts who are making waves in the CBGB scene with Blondie, Television and the rest. The band released three good albums, but none of them really took off. Then, one fateful night, director Milos Foreman goes to their show and immediately decides to cast her in his new movie Hair. This kicks off her acting career (both on the big and small screens as well as Broadway) that has never let up. She might be best known these days for her role as the mute inmate Norma on Orange is the New Black. The Shirts have released a couple more albums in the 2000s with different vocalists, but Annie lends her voice to a new single, "Move On Groove On" that's a tribute to a close friend. Her spirit is infectious. Enjoy!
Monday Aug 05, 2024
Monday Aug 05, 2024
This week we continue speaking with some of the authors of the wonderful @ series. Our guest is Gillian Gaar, author of Springsteen@75. Gillian discusses her love of Bruce and how her book contributes to the narrative of one of America's most beloved artists. We discuss many of her other projects as well like books she's written on Nirvana and Queen. AND we have a copy of this book to give away! Enjoy!
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
This week's twofer is a fun one. We hear from a major British rock band and then we hear from a newer band heavily influenced by the first band! First up is Mark Gardener of Ride! They, along with bands like Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, were the key figures in the Shoegaze movement of the late 80s. Ride's debut album, Nowhere, is one of the greatest examples of the genre. Eventually the guys changed their style and imploded as they went, but they've been back since 2017 and their new album, Interplay, is their best yet. Mark and I get into all of it, including his recent collaboration with Ryan! A Shoreline Dream are a dream pop/shoegaze band heavily influenced by the likes of Ride and have been doing strong work for almost 20 years. Their new album, Whitelined, features songs with Mark. Ryan discusses the life of an indie artist and his early life in Hollywood. This episode is packed with great music. Gear up!
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Has it really been 25 years since "Everything You Want" took over the airwaves? The 90s are littered with one hit or album wonders, artists that broke out, but were forced to break down thanks to a chaotic music biz, but VH mastermind Matt Scannell has not only survived but thrived. He could have packed it in after the label buried their follow up album to the double platinum breakthrough, or he could have called it quits at any point while scratching to make it as an indie artist. But, instead, he's gone from strength to strength, gaining the admiration of people like Neil Peart and Richard Marx along the way. The band is about to hit the road with Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket to celebrate those glory days. Hear his stories from how he met the legends to his love of watches. Enjoy!
Sunday Jul 21, 2024
Sunday Jul 21, 2024
Included in the bedrock of the American alternative rock sound created by bands like REM, the Feelies, the Bongos and the Replacements is the dB's. Their debut album, Stands for Decibels, is essential to showing what us Yanks were up to while New Wave and Post Punk were gestating largely in the UK. That seminal album was just re-released on vinyl for the first time last month and Peter Holsapple joined us to deep dive the whole experience like how he and former guest Chris Stamey split up the songwriting, what influenced the sound, how was it working with Martin Rushent and (another former guest) Don Dixon, trying to break out of North Carolina, and more. Enjoy!
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
You can't tell the story of British rock and roll without acknowledging the impact of The Jam. Unfortunately, Paul Weller pretends that chapter never happened, which is sad and confusing. Drummer Rick Buckler recently published the book The Jam 1982 depicting the last year of the band's existence. They start off releasing The Gift with singles like "Town Called Malice" and "Precious" climbing the charts, but it ends with a call from Weller out of nowhere to pack it up. Rick tries to make sense of it all (Paul still isn't talking), the influence of Paul's dad John on the band, the progression of the band's sound, and what he's been doing since, including the short lived band Time UK and About the Jam. It's a disappointing and confusing epitaph for one of the greatest bands in history.
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Did America ever fully "get" 10cc? Their mix of perfect tunes with a biting sense of humor flew over the heads of many of us. Luckily, that didn't stop them from having a long and legendary career back in the UK. The only original member these days is the great Graham Gouldman, but he's taking the band on their first US tour in ages soon. He joins us this week to discuss his partnership with Andrew Gold to form Wax, his wonderful solo career (and new album, I Have Notes) working with other legends like Ringo Starr and Brian May, doing the Animalympics soundtrack, and more. We're lucky he's still at it, carrying the torch, and better than ever!
Monday Jul 08, 2024
Monday Jul 08, 2024
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the masterpiece that is Prince's Purple Rain, we welcome author Andrea Swensson to discuss her fabulous new book celebrating the achievement. Andrea knew Prince and had been to Paisley Park a few times, plus she's an acclaimed writer, podcast host, and expert on the music of Minneapolis, making her the perfect person for this book. We discuss his legacy, his artistry, his impact on Minnesota, and much more. Also, we have a copy of the book to give away! There will never be another Prince!
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
This week we welcome reggae royalty to the show with guitarist Junior Marvin! If you can believe it - on the same day in 1977, Junior was offered jobs playing with Stevie Wonder AND Bob Marley! Which would you choose? He decided to go with Bob and it changed the rest of his life. After Bob's death a few years later, Junior focused on session work and solo albums while also touring with the Wailers to keep the One Love spirit alive. He recently released a brand new solo album called Happy Family. We discuss the whole journey, including what makes Bob the icon he is today, the songs he wrote (and didn't get paid for), what Rastafarianism means to him, the new Bob movie, and more. Enjoy!
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
With the recent re-release of the breakthru Call album Reconciled on vinyl and remastered, we felt it was a good time to welcome back keyboardist Jim Goodwin and guitarist Tom Ferrier (for the first time) to go deep on the album that changed everything for the band. The album includes the powerful singles "Everywhere I Go" and "I Still Believe", which was made iconic by the "Sexy Sax Man" (and friend of the show) Tim Cappello in Lost Boys. We also discuss the spiritual lyrics by the late great frontman Michael Been, working with Peter Gabriel and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, and whether the album qualifies as "Christian Rock". Oh, and what's the deal with the baby on the cover? All of this and more will be revealed, and you'll be reminded what a strong album this is. Enjoy!
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
In 1985 the German group Propaganda managed their one perfect album, A Secret Wish. Released on Trevor Horn's ZTT label (he was also the Executive Producer), this synth pop classic featured hits like "Duel" and "Dr. Mabuse" which haven't aged a day. Though it was an achievement, it created friction within the group (as well as financial and interpersonal issues), causing the frontwomen, Susanne and Claudia, to leave the band before the follow up was recorded. Other bands were created and solo careers were attempted until 2022 when the two paired up with producer Stephen Lipson as xPropaganda and released the incredible comeback album, The Heart is Strange. This week Susanne and Claudia join us to discuss the entire ride and what they're up to now. It's rare we get to hear from one of them, let alone both!
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
t took a few years, but Tom Bailey is finally reclaiming the wonderful legacy of the Thompson Twins. The excellent hit makers were everywhere in the 80s, but eventually Tom lost interest in pop music and moved on with then wife Alannah Currie to making dub and trance music under the names Babble and International Observer letting the Twins' flame die out. Thankfully, about 10 years ago he brushed off those old hits, put out a poppy solo album, and has been back in our lives since. He's now joining forced with Thomas Dolby and others on the Totally Tubular tour this summer. We get into all of it including working with Nile Rodgers and Rupert Hine, the late great Matthew Seligman, John uHughes movies, and the stories behind a bunch of songs. Enjoy!
Thursday Jun 13, 2024
Thursday Jun 13, 2024
Session keyboardist Jeff Babko has a career that even he can't believe. His day job is playing keys in Jimmy Kimmel's band every night. Then, his side hustle on the weekends is as the musical director for Steve Martin and Martin Short on their tour. Those alone are incredible, but he also releases solo albums and has done sessions and tours with a bunch of legends. In this chat we discuss Huey Lewis, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Joe Cocker, Alanis Morissette, Smokey Robinson, Steve Perry, Colin Hay and Don Henley. He also plays on soundtracks for the likes of Scorsese and Nolan. On top of this, he's hilarious.You'll love this conversation about all of it and how it all even happened. Enjoy!
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
We have a very special twofer for you this week! We kick it off with the birthday boy himself, the great Ian Hunter! Ian turned 85 this week (!) and is still at it and as good as ever. He just released a new album called Defiance 2: Fiction (Defiance 1 came out last year) and both are star-studded affairs featuring Joe Elliott, Brian May, Slash, Todd Rundgren and tons more including the late great Taylor Hawkins and Jeff Beck. Ian and I discuss making music at this age, going glam with Bowie, his (underappreciated) solo career and more. Then we hear from John Butler, frontman for the wonderful Diesel Park West. They released one of the greatest debuts ever in 1989 with Shakespeare Alabama, and have continued to put out quality music, but remain one of those acts that deserved more. They also have a new album called Presley Trap that is among their best. You'll love what you hear!
Thursday May 30, 2024
Thursday May 30, 2024
Have we come back around to Hootie & the Blowfish yet? They went from fun, good-time band, to hugely popular, to overexposed, to punching bag, back to fun, good-time band. Today, they've settled into a nice level of fame where the band successfully tours when they feel like it and the guys each do their own projects during the downtime. Guitarist Mark Bryan joins us this week to discuss it all, especially how it affected him and his family. We also get into a lot of his solo work, which is super strong and deserves a wider audience, as well as that post peak period when the band was still churning out great music, but to a smaller audience. It's been quite a ride with a lot of ups and downs, but Mark still takes it all in stride. Enjoy!
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Jim Peterik has the power to create a whole band for every musical impulse he ever has. Survivor is mostly in the rear view, but his original band The Ides of March still get together to perform for special occasions. He has a country band called The Stormchasers. He has a smooth jazz band called Lifeforce. He has a rock band called Pride of Lions. And he has World Stage, which is him collaborating with his musical friends like Jason Scheff, Don Barnes, Kevin Cronin and many more. Each of these continue to release new music with World Stage's Roots & Shoots Vol. 1 dropping most recently. Jim and I discuss these as well as his many collaborations over the years like Dennis DeYoung, the Beach Boys, Cheap Trick and more. He even breaks into song a couple times! Enjoy!
Wednesday May 15, 2024
Wednesday May 15, 2024
Not only did the mighty Midnight Oil bless the world with their incredible music, they also educated us on the plight of Australian people and politics which ended up informing many of us and how we see the world. Guitarist and primary songwriter Jim Moginie recently released a memoir called The Silver River which tells the band's story, but, even more impressively, tells his personal journey as someone who was adopted at a young age and found his birth parents later in life. That story is really at the heart of this excellent book. We also talk about that powerful music, the pressure he felt to produce hits, saying goodbye, his writing process, and much much more. We are so lucky to hear from anyone in the Oil's camp. Enjoy!
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
For this week we welcome author, podcast host and private investigator (!) Darren Paltrowitz to discuss his book DLR Book. Capturing the real David Lee Roth, while also separating the real guy from the mythology he's worked hard to create is no easy task, but Darren does his best. David Carruth joins co-hosts this episode as we dissect DLR's Hollywood ambitions, his solo efforts, his radio hosting gigs, and much much more. He's surely one of the greatest entertainers ever, and one of the most confusing characters. Enjoy!
Friday May 10, 2024
Friday May 10, 2024
Jon was invited to hang with his good friends Haydn and Bee of the INXS : Access All Areas podcast recently to discuss our love of Australian music, the rich history, and, of course, our mutual love of INXS. Any fan of this band needs to know this great podcast is out there if they don't already. Every member has appeared on there, it's a wealth of valuable knowledge. Jon tells some stories you've heard before and some you haven't, but enjoy either way!
www.inxsaccessallareas.podbean.com
Tuesday May 07, 2024
Tuesday May 07, 2024
Can you believe another year has gone by? We can't! Who would have ever thought 9 years The Hustle would become what it has. As usual, we always celebrate this day with a very special guest and this year is no different. This week we welcome the wonderful Nick Laird-Clowes of the Dream Academy! The band snuck up on everyone in 1985 with the seminal and wholly unique "Life in a Northern Town". Those who were there will never forget it. They followed that up with two more equally excellent albums before calling it quits, but Nick has never sat still. After forging a friendship with Dave Gilmour, he's collaborated with him on many projects and continues to compose his own music. They recently released a fantastic 7-disc box set called Religion, Revolution and Railways that has everything you could ever want. Nick's enthusiasm will burst through your speakers!
Saturday May 04, 2024
Saturday May 04, 2024
For this Deep Dive we welcome back John Parr to discuss his underappreciated album from 1992, Man With a Vision. By this point in his career, John was all alone with no major label support and litigation making it hard to get heard. He self-produced this album and it's an excellent slab of peak AOR goodness, even though it's from the early 90s. John gives us the full story and I hope you'll all seek out this beauty for yourselves. Enjoy!
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
The short but solid trajectory of the Undertones' career reflects the arc of popular British music during the same time. Starting off in Derry Ireland as punks with an ear for melodies in the late 70s and ending up about five years later exploring sophisti-pop is a map of what was in style in the UK. If the band wasn't so good at both genres you might accuse them of selling out, but, in truth, they're just excellent at making catchy songs. The band split up in the early 80s and lead singer Feargal Sharkey went solo before leaving music altogether. We're joined this week by bassist and songwriter Michael Bradley. He went to work for the BBC before retiring and now tours occasionally with the other guys (minus Feargal) even releasing new music. He discusses some of the classic tunes he wrote, his approach to the band now, having John Peel as a fan, and much more. They're honestly one of the greatest ever.
Wednesday Apr 24, 2024
Wednesday Apr 24, 2024
Grammy winning engineer/producer Tom Lord-Alge has been behind some major music the last 40 years. He starts out in NYC under the tutelage of his brother Chris and breaks big working on Steve Winwood's Back in the High Life album. Over the years he's engineered dozens of gigantic hits including albums by Blink-182, Pink, Weezer, Marilyn Manson and Korn. We don't talk about any of those though (to Tom's surprise). Instead we get into Simple Minds, Live, Manic Street Preachers, OMD, REO Speedwagon, INXS, Hanson, Peter Gabriel, Earth Wind and Fire, Dave Matthews and a bunch of others surprises along the way. Tom is a riot, you're going to love this.
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Bassist Neil Stubenhaus was a key member of that pool of exceptional talent in LA in the 70s and 80s that were first calls to play on the great albums made during the era. Neil stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Nathan East, Lee Sklar and Pino Palladino (among many) to make good music even better. Included on his resume are people like Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Rod Stewart, Barbra Steisand, the Temptations and tons of others. In fact, we both had nothing else going on so we talked for 3 hours about these and dozens of others. For the last couple decades he's mainly lent his talents to movie soundtracks which is an entirely separate conversation. Strap in and enjoy a masterclass in being good at your instrument. Enjoy!
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Mike Post is probably the most successful composer of the last half century. He literally wrote the themes to hundreds of TV shows from the early 70s until now. In fact, there's a good chance that during the heyday, almost every person on earth heard his work at least once a week. That's astounding. You could argue that shows like NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Magnum P.I., Rockford Files, White Shadow, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and tons more wouldn't be what they are without him. He recently took a big risk and composed an original piece called Message of the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta that he's really proud of. It merges Americana and Classical in a way that's never been done before. We discuss all of this as well growing up with Jim Gordon, being a part of the Wrecking Crew, and producing the ill-fated Van Halen 3 album. He's "the luckiest guy you'll ever meet". Enjoy!
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Imagine being one of the architects of one of the biggest albums in rock history. It's like winning the lottery. As we know from the Fleetwood Mac story, what was happening behind the scenes on Rumours was as juicy and tasty as the music they were making. Witness to all of it was the great Ken Caillat! He went on to co-produce with Richard Dashut Tusk and Mirage as well before parting ways and parlaying that success into starting several music businesses over the years. Then, his daughter Colbie's massive success has provided an incredible second chapter no one would have predicted. We get into the nitty gritty on this one - the drama, the fights, the business, and the music. Enjoy!
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
This week, Jesus Jones embarks on their first US tour in 30 years! It's short, just a few shows over a couple of weeks, but it's, hopefully, the beginning of restoring a relationship with the states that will grow in the near future. Since lead singer Mike Edwards was on the show a few years ago, we are joined this time by keyboardist (and band manager) Iain Baker to not only explain the circumstances of the tour, but deep dive their 1991 breakthru Doubt while he's at it. We learn what influenced hits like "International Bright Young Thing", "Real Real Real" and, of course, "Right Here Right Now". He also gives his passionate feelings about everyone from Milli Vanilli to Michael Hutchence. It's a blast and even emotional in some parts. Enjoy!
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
This week we get to hear from acclaimed songwriter Dean Pitchford! After 45 years of near consistent success, Dean will finally be inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, which is just another line on his impressive resume. He won an Oscar for writing "Fame" for Irene Cara and achieved the absolute peak with Footloose. He not only wrote the screenplay, but every song on the soundtrack and collected a couple Grammys in the process. He tried again a few years later with the movie Sing, but it was less successful and his thoughts on why are fascinating. Along the way there have been collaborations with Roger Daltrey ("Quicksilver Lightning"), Cher ("After All"), Peter Allen ("The Boy From Oz"), Kenny Loggins ("Don't Fight It"), writing the Solid Gold theme song, and tons more. He's just about the nicest man you'll ever meet and we're super lucky to hear from him. Enjoy!
Wednesday Mar 20, 2024
Wednesday Mar 20, 2024
Our guest this week is multi-Grammy winning producer Russ Titelman. Russ has been deeply rooted in the music business since the 60s as a producer, an engineer, a songwriter, and even a session guitarist. His midas touch has benefitted legendary artists like Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Cyndi Lauper, Brian Wilson, Rickie Lee Jones, and won Grammys for Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. In this conversation we hit on all of that and more including how songs like "Higher Love", "Tears in Heaven", "Ain't Nobody" and tons more came to be. We're lucky to spend so much valuable time with a luminary like Russ. Enjoy!
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
In 1989 when Australian rock bands like Midnight Oil and INXS were screaming up the charts in the US, you'd think the easiest thing in the world would be to present one more and let them continue the streak. Such was not the story of Boom Crash Opera. Despite getting some airplay for "Onion Skin" off their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times, and despite having material just as strong as their peers, it didn't happen and BCO never got their just due (except back home where they remain a draw). Guitarist and primary songwriter Peter Farnan joins us this week to detail the whole story and discuss his wonderful solo career. What's surreal about all of this is that Peter is a fan of the show, making this a mutual appreciation society meeting! Enjoy and please dig into some BCO. It's killer!
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
The Dandy Warhols have been around for 30 years. That can't be right! In the 90s they seemed like hedonistic little hippies and now, they still are, but the rest of the world has caught up with them. On the 15th, the band releases ROCKMAKER, their first fully guitar-driven album in a while (maybe ever) and they embark on a US tour this week. Zia McCabe joins us to talk about the new album, how the band writes songs (fans know their albums are gloriously all over the place), what it's like having David Bowie, Duran Duran, Slash and other huge names as supporters, her proud stance as a nudist, and a ton more. The Dandies have projected and lived by their life philosophy since day one. In a world where so many things change, it's nice to know you can rely on their version of unpredictability. Enjoy!