Episodes
Tuesday Jun 28, 2016
Episode 60 - Peter McCann
Tuesday Jun 28, 2016
Tuesday Jun 28, 2016
Peter McCann is the man behind the immortal classic, "Do You Wanna Make Love" which was a #5 smash in 1977. He's an admitted one-hit-wonder, but his career is much broader than the one hit. He started out in a folk group called The Repairs who were managed by Andrew Loog Oldham (also of the Rolling Stones) and signed to Motown of all places! Berry Gordy didn't know what to do with them, so they were dropped after two albums. Peter went solo, but learned early on that he much preferred writing songs for other people. In fact, Jennifer Warnes had a #6 hit also in 1977 with his "Right Time of the Night". Peter has been a successful songwriter ever since, penning tunes for artists like the Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, and Janie Fricke. One of his songs even made it on Whitney Houston's debut album (which has since sold 30 million copies). He's an exceptionally refreshing guy with a wonderful outlook on the business. He also tells a great story about Christie Brinkley and the Vacation soundtrack!
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
Episode 59 - George Winston
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
Tuesday Jun 21, 2016
George Winston is an icon of New Age music (or "rural folk piano" as he calls it) and an American treasure. His beautiful piano songs have become a part of the country's fabric and some of his albums, especially 1982's December, are essential recordings no matter the genre. To me, George has been a mysterious figure, ever present, but never in the limelight. I wanted to get to know the man behind the music. Turns out he's a talkative, gregarious, student of music who has created his own world and plays by his own rules. His definition of success is refreshing. Get to know the man behind the music. And listen to the end for details on how you can get some free CDs.
Tuesday Jun 14, 2016
Episode 58 - Neil Taylor
Tuesday Jun 14, 2016
Tuesday Jun 14, 2016
Neil Taylor has been a hugely successful session guitarist for over 30 years, ever since some of his buddies called him up one day asking if he could rush over to the studio and lay down a guitar solo on a song they were working on. That song was "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and, of course, the band was Tears For Fears. This began a long and fulfilling career that's seen him work with luminaries such as Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and Robbie Williams, whom he performed alongside for 10 years. Today, Neil is putting together an excellent solo career that deserves your attention. In this conversation we discuss many of his collaborators (Naked Eyes, Holly Johnson, Johnny Hates Jazz, Howard Jones, Jane Wiedlin, Red Box, Martin Page, Tina Turner, Trevor Horn) and he shares some incredible stories. I love this one a lot.
Friday Jun 10, 2016
Bonus - Jan "The Man" Reports Back From The Axl/DC Concert
Friday Jun 10, 2016
Friday Jun 10, 2016
Our intrepid producer, Jan "The Man" is a huge AC/DC fan, and has been trying to finagle a way to see them for literally years.
Tuesday Jun 07, 2016
Episode 57 - Ben Watkins of The Flowerpot Men/Juno Reactor
Tuesday Jun 07, 2016
Tuesday Jun 07, 2016
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of Ferris Bueller's Day Off this month, our guest this week is Ben Watkins, former lead singer of The Flowerpot Men who had that excellent track "Beat City" that was featured heavily in the film. What's really interesting about Ben is that he went on to be a key figure in the electronic and techno scene of the early 90s when he started the hugely successful Juno Reactor, a band that has been going strong around the world ever since. Ben has also contributed heavily to numerous other films, most notably The Matrix sequels. Would you have ever guessed that the same guy would be responsible for iconic tracks on movies as disparate as Ferris Bueller and The Matrix? We also talk about when Juno Reactor served as the backing band for actress Traci Lords when she released her debut album in 1995. So many points of interest with this guy!