The great John Sebastian celebrates his 81st birthday today as we're posting this. We had the good fortune to have a lengthy conversation with John this past fall to discuss John B. Sebastian, his 1970 debut as a solo artist. It's an album which is certainly underrated and if your ears have never had the pleasure of hearing it, today's the day to change that. Our good friend Peter Lubin helped to arrange the time with John and joins us for this discussion, which is one that we'll all remember for a long time. Keep up with John at his official website and thank you for listening!

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In picking her favorite album, author K.L. Doty let us know up front that she couldn't settle on just one -- something which we're all familiar with as music fans, right? So we talk about a lot of different music. But in regards to Disintegration by the Cure, specifically, she shared a thought that will land with many of us who have grown up (I guess that's all of us) and made our way out into the real world, which can maybe be the first real moment where you learn about things like compromise. Prior to the interview, K.L. told us the reason for her love of Disintegration comes back to this: "It reminds me of dreams and all the things I wanted as a child that I ultimately left to go chase."

Her story is an interesting one, because she's been chasing a lot of different things for a good amount of time. There's been both happiness and heartbreak -- that's life in a nutshell on some days -- but also, redemption and discovery. Her newest project found her spending the past few years helping former Great White vocalist Jack Russell put his memories on paper and her book was the result of the hours of conversations they had. The True Tale of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative was released this summer and is an unvarnished look at Russell's life and career. Through Doty, Russell puts it all out on the table. We enjoyed talking with K.L. to learn about how the book came together, but also, we spoke about her general life journey that has brought her to this point and what's ahead. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

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You might know Brian Wecht as Ninja Brian. Or maybe you know him as Trey Magnifique. Perhaps, you just know him as Brian and that's fine too. Matt and Jeff were just thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about Al Jarreau's mighty fine Breakin' Away album. But there were conditions. First, an impromptu 20 minute discussion about Kenny G. You'll see. Is there a Chicago reference followed by some scathing condemnation? You know there is.

As it happens, Brian, er, Trey Magnifique has a new holiday EP, Let it Blow, available now as you're listening to this. We talk about that and you should buy it and give Brian some of your hard-earned money that you were planning to spend on Christmas cookies. Was Jim Morrison on the receiving end? What does it all mean? I guess it means that we had a really fun and extremely random conversation with Brian that covers a lot of different topics. Which frankly, it feels like that's exactly what needed to happen.

Our thanks to Brian for spending time talking tunes with us. We look forward to having him back on the podcast soon! Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, but also follow him on BlueSky. You know he has a podcast, right? It's called Leighton Night and you can listen here.

P.S. This episode has some filthy language. You kind of expected that, didn't you?

P.S.S. Jeff and Matt are on BlueSky as well.

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Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip joins Matt to discuss the 35th anniversary of the band's 1989 debut, Up to Here, which is being celebrated with a lavish box set featuring a wealth of previously unreleased content. The box set is available today digitally and will be released in a variety of physical formats on Nov. 15. You can order your copy of the box set here.

The conversation with Rob was wonderfully free-flowing and numerous topics are discussed, including of course, stories from the time period that Up to Here was in the works. But also, Rob and Matt dig into the band's early struggles before they secured their first label deal, the challenges they've had in locating and preserving their archival material, recording in unique locations and even a humorous Rush story, just to name a few things.

In addition to the new box set for Up to Here, fans can also enjoy No Dress Rehearsal, the new four-part documentary on Amazon Prime. There's also a new book. So it's a good time to be a fan of the Tragically Hip and it was a real pleasure to speak with Rob to hear some stories. Fellow longtime fans will enjoy this conversation and we appreciate Rob's time!

P.S. Our comrade Allison Rapp also had a recent conversation that will be of interest to Hip fans. She spoke with bassist Gord Sinclair to discuss his love of Joni Mitchell's music for her Joni podcast and it's a chat you won't want to miss!

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Professor Louis Moore joins Matt and Jeff to discuss his essential new book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback. Our engaging discussion with Lou took us deep into the history of Black quarterbacks and athletes in general in the NFL and he talks about the journey he took as he was writing the book. However much progress you might think has been made in the NFL (and beyond), this discussion -- and Lou's book -- will remind you that there's a lot that still needs to be addressed.

Lou also shared his history as a music fan and the formative experiences he had as a listener growing up, and why Life is...Too $hort is still one of the most important albums in his collection. We had a blast speaking with Lou and if you haven't had a chance to check out his book yet, you'll really want to after hearing this conversation. Our thanks to Lou for writing this book and the time he spent with us to talk about it! You can visit his official website and read more information about his career to date below.

P.S. You can skip the intro and go right to our conversation with Lou, which begins at 10:02.

About Professor Louis Moore:

Louis Moore is a Professor of History at Grand Valley State University. He teaches African American History, Civil Rights, Sports History, and US History.

His research and writing examines the interconnections between race and sports.  He is the author of two books, I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 and We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality, and has an Audible lecture, African American Athletes Who Made History. In addition, he has two Audible lectures, African American Athletes Who Made History and A Pastime of Their Own: The Story of Negro League Baseball. He has also written for various online outlets including The New York Daily News, Vox, The Global Sports Institute, First and Pen, and the African American Intellectual Historical Society, and he has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, and BBC Sports. The co-host of the Black Athlete Podcast, his latest book, The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans and the Making of the Black Quarterback is out now.

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This is almost a "lost episode" of sorts. To pull the curtain back a bit, we recorded this episode back in July and then promptly got busy with a bunch of other things. So if you hear a mention or two that sound a bit dated, there ya go. What remains is a fun discussion that we had regarding Robert Wyatt's 1974 album Rock Bottom. We examine where Robert was career-wise in 1974 as he was continuing to evolve his solo work following his time with Soft Machine and subsequently, Matching Mole. Fellow prog aficionados and those who like a good, weird album, just generally, this one's for you.

P.S. As we get into the fall, we've got a bunch of fresh episodes ready to roll and you'll be hearing them here in the coming weeks! Thanks for listening and for your ongoing support of The Record Player!

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The guys end summer break with a completely random "accidental Cassingle," as Jeff tagged it. There are discussions of Funyuns (which still exist!), Taco Bell, concept albums, Jeff's new book, asbestos, kids who swear a lot, new music from Jon Anderson of Yes, the upcoming solo album from Warren Haynes and other subjects that are probably being forgotten. We got together to record a simple introduction for our next podcast episode....and this happened. Anyway, it's been a good summer away, but we've all missed you!

P.S. Don't play this particular episode around your kids. There's some swearing.

P.S.S. Apparently Funyuns are 55 years old this year! It's time for them to start pulling their weight around here.

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Our latest Bonus Track features a conversation with author and journalist John Barry, who covered Woodstock '94 as it happened. Thirty years later, he joins Matt to share some of his memories of the experience. Music fans will also be interested in the book that John wrote about Levon Helm's incredible second act with the Midnight Ramble and other events that happened during the later years of his career.

Levon Helm: Rock, Roll & Ramble - The Inside Story of the Man, the Music and the Midnight Ramble is an essential read for fans of Levon and the Band. John shares the story of how the book came together and some of the Levon memories he's really grateful for.  You can read John's latest articles at the Times Union website and he also has an ongoing newsletter, Quicksand.

Big thanks to John for the conversation!

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Jeff and Matt love nothing more than coming across obscure AOR gems. Jesse Colin Young's 1982 album, The Perfect Stranger, fits into that category. Featuring guest appearances by Carly Simon, Michael McDonald, Bill Payne and Fred Tackett of Little Feat and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles, The Perfect Stranger also finds Jesse surrounded by an unbelievable cast of many of the era's best session players.

Jesse tells the guys how he came to work with producer Michael James Jackson on The Perfect Stranger, which he describes as an album he'd never made before - and it was an experience he ultimately didn't repeat.

We also discuss his current songwriting contest with Future Youth Records. They're seeking to help inspire young songwriters from 18-24 to "use their unique voice to inspire change. Jesse knows a thing or two about that, having been the voice for "Get Together," the inspiring and unifying hit he released in 1967 with the Youngbloods. Entries for "The Perfect Stranger" songwriting contest are being accepted through August 15. Good luck!

Jesse also tells us about the early days of the No Nukes movement, which he co-founded, his struggles with Lyme Disease and his memoir that he recently completed. We also ask him how many times he saw the Freedom Rock commercial in the '80s.

It was a delight speaking with Jesse and for the first time, you can now find The Perfect Stranger on your favorite digital service, wherever you get your music, so dig in!

P.S. Jeff has been quite busy. He has a new book out and he continues to write even more good words beyond that at Jefitoblog.

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Podcasting pioneer Jimmy Pardo hosts the award-winning podcast, Never Not Funny. But he also puts his name behind a lot of good things. Witness his annual Pardcast-a-Thon, which provided nine hours of laughs from Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Dave Holmes, Jon Cryer and numerous others -- INCLUDING DAVID FOSTER -- raising over $125 thousand dollars for charity in the process. For $25 you can purchase an archive of this year's performances and if you like to laugh, we highly recommend that.

Jimmy is also a big fan of '80s AOR music and the only rock band with horns that you need to have in your life, Chicago. Which means that when we needed a friend to help us talk about Chicago 17 in honor of its 40th anniversary, Jimmy came right over to "Stay the Night." Okay, wait. We're taking that last part back. Here's what we can promise about today's edition of the podcast: You will hear three guys talking for more than an hour about Chicago 17 -- before and beyond -- making obscure band/Peter Cetera references and other things we can't remember now that it's been several days since we recorded this. Short version: you will probably enjoy this.

Thanks to Jimmy as always for hanging out with us. Visit Jimmy's Records & Tapes for even more music nerd fun.

Visit Jefitoblog.com for even more Jeff Giles.

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This is a flashback moment to our previous podcast, 1991: The Year AOR Ate Itself. For those of you who didn't hear that podcast series, you'll be interested to hear this episode, which aired July 5, 2021. In my memory (note: I'm making this up), we decided to celebrate Independence Day by talking about Foreigner's first album without Lou Gramm, Unusual Heat.

Even though that's not true, we did have a lot of fun discussing Unusual Heat with our friend Ben Arthur, who brought a really interesting perspective as a fellow artist to this discussion. It was Jeff who had the idea overall for the AOR podcast and I'm really glad we did it. We had a lot of fun talking about some of our favorite albums from 1991 and who knows, maybe we'll visit another year from the '90s -- or even the '80s -- one of these days. In the meantime, there's 12 other episodes of this '91 'cast if you enjoy what you hear today. Dig in!

We've both been tied up with life stuff, but will be back with a fresh episode this week -- and it's another one of our favorite albums (I don't think I'm wrong in saying that, but we'll find out, won't we?). In the meantime, enjoy this conversation regarding a Foreigner album you've probably never heard!

P.S. Ben is back with a new season of his SongWriter podcast. Check out the initial episode here!

Related:

An article at Ultimate Classic Rock from Jeff and Matt regarding Unusual Heat, featuring interviews with Johnny Edwards and Mick Jones. 

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Our latest Bonus Track features a great conversation with the legendary Leland Sklar and director Denny Tedesco regarding his film, The Immediate Family. That's right, someone finally made a movie about Lee Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel and Russ Kunkel. If you're a liner notes nerd, you know those names!

Here's one example:

Jackson Browne's Running on Empty album was one where the music fans got to be part of the process. Because it was recorded live on stage in concert -- and at other points along the touring trail, backstage, in hotel rooms and even on the tour bus - it was a unique and often chaotic experience for those involved in the recording.

As Sklar told me, Running on Empty was unlike anything he had ever been a part of. While bands and artists are very used to the uncomfortable nature of playing new material in front of an audience that's just there to hear the hits, Running on Empty captured moments with Browne and the band where they were playing new songs that the audiences hadn't even had a chance to get on an album yet, because they hadn't been recorded.

For Sklar, it was just one experience of many songs and albums that he's played on across the decades. While he's worked with countless names, there were a few that kept coming up -- guitarist Waddy Wachtel, guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Russ Kunkel. The four became known as The Section, the '70s heir apparent to The Wrecking Crew of the '60s. Collectively and often together, they've played on thousands of albums.

In more recent years, they've acquired a new moniker, one which fits well with their connection to the legendary albums they played on by Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Don Henley and many others -- The Immediate Family. Adding vocalist Steve Postell to their ranks, they've put out several albums.

But it was Tedesco who decided to tell the story of the guys, through the words of their famous employers and associates. He's well-suited for the task, having put out a film about The Wrecking Crew, the group of session musicians that featured his father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco. He saw the natural throughline that connected that collective with what Kortchmar, Wachtel, Sklar and Kunkel continued with the Section.

The Immediate Family is a fascinating journey, one which weaves together valuable history as recounted by those who were there. The film was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray and continues to screen nationally. You can find further details at immediatefamilyfilm.com.

I loved chatting with Denny and Lee -- and it was exciting to hear some details from Denny about his next project, a movie about Wolfman Jack that's currently in process! Can't wait!

P.S. I mention it during the episode, but here's a direct link to Leland's YouTube channel.

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The 1974 Project continues as we welcome back our friend and A&R man Peter Lubin to discuss Pussy Cats by Harry Nilsson. Produced by John Lennon, Pussy Cats is an interesting and at times, unfortunate mile marker in Nilsson's career -- and the guys discuss why that is.

There is once again a great tribute album at the heart of all of this Nilsson stuff for Jeff and Matt, 1995's For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson. Jeff describes the doors that opened for him as a music fan after he heard that album. We talk about the many peculiarities of Harry's career -- including the fact that he never toured.

How did everyone not die while recording Pussy Cats? Good question. Okay, so that scratches the surface, rather roughly, on some of the areas that we cover in today's episode. All you really need to know is that whether you worship this album, or you've never heard Harry's music, there's something here for everyone. Thanks for listening!

Related:

The Harry Nilsson documentary (which is a great watch and very much worth your time)
An article that Jeff wrote about Pussy Cats for Ultimate Classic Rock
The mega-Nilsson playlist that Matt knew Jeff had somewhere in his digital back pocket. Can you finish it?

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In 1984, Christopher Cross added a unique new entry to his discography. "A Chance For Heaven" was selected as the official swimming theme for the Olympics. I bet you didn't even know there was an official swimming theme that year, did you? Neither did we. Discovering that factoid during our episode about Christopher's 1985 album, Every Turn of the World, was enough to send us out on an important quest.

What if we were to discuss the Olympics soundtrack albums for 1984, 1988 and 1992? That's the task that Jeff and Matt decided to tackle on today's episode of The Record Player. It's not an easy one, because none of the three volumes are on streaming. Which means, YouTube to the rescue!

Here's streaming links for all three volumes:

The Official Music Of The XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984
1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time
Barcelona Gold (1992) - note that a few songs are not streaming officially, but 12 songs are. You'll get the point. But here's the complete rundown.

This is a wide-ranging discussion that explores the bulk of the first two compilations track-by-track with scattered thoughts on Barcelona Gold, because we  were at the clock limit and honestly, the tone of the song curation changed with Barcelona Gold in a way that felt less specific to the Olympics. But where else are you going to find En Vogue and Damn Yankees back to back on the same album? That's a really good question.

There are references along the way to the Ghostbusters soundtrack, the We Are the World album and a bunch of other things -- including the most excellent Little Feat-related tribute album from the '90s, Rock & Roll Doctor: A Tribute to Lowell George. Streaming the Lowell tribute appears to be a bit of a chore -- it's on Apple Music at the very least, but finding it on Spotify was an elusive task.

Anyway, we talk about some things and you've got some fresh listening material to enjoy now as well. Thanks as always for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog for even more thoughts from Jeff. Have a good weekend!

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In our first Bonus Track of 2024, legendary artist and producer Narada Michael Walden tells Matt about his time working with the late Tommy Bolin. It's an emotional subject for Narada, but also a period in his career that he retains a lot of love and affection for.

We spoke in November of 2023 as Narada was just about to release his newest solo album, Euphoria. The record features a wealth of exciting new compositions -- and also, a long-in-the-works collaboration with Sting, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder.

You can hear "The More I Love My Life," the song which came out of the collaboration and read more about how it happened right here.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog!

If you're listening to this podcast on YouTube, you can also find it wherever you get your other podcasts, including Apple Music and Spotify. Here's a complete list of providers.

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The magnificent Davia Schendel joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Suzi Quatro's second album, Quatro.

Today's conversation definitely goes deep into "music nerd" territory. We talk about record stores of the past, making playlists devoted to things like gated reverb and snare hits. Should we talk about the underrated power player in music that is known as the saxophone? You're darn right, we should.  How much does the bass rule? We've got thoughts.There are stray conversations about movie soundtracks, AOR soundtrack rarities , Roxy Music and Duran Duran. We discuss some non-musical things too, you know, the related and relevant topics like the holy trinity of oxygen machines, smoking and gambling.

But there's also wisdom. Davia puts the thought out there about how "nothing is singular." We're keeping that as our new mantra. It was truly a joy to speak with Davia about so many things and it's a conversation that we both walked away from feeling energized and inspired.

Check out Through the Deluge, Davia's newest EP -- and make sure to sign up for her newsletter/podcast, Zeitgest Deterrent. Our huge thanks to Davia for spending the time with us.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to visit Jefitoblog!

If you're listening to this podcast on YouTube, you can also find it wherever you get your other podcasts, including Apple Music and Spotify. Here's a complete list of providers.

Related links:

Davia's snare hit playlist
Davia's sax playlist
Her Celluloid Tracks podcast (the prelude to her current Zeitgeist Deterrent podcast)
The Suzi Q documentary about Suzi Quatro
The AOR soundtrack rarities playlist.
Kathy Valentine's memoir.

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We have another first on the podcast, but you're going to have to listen to find out what it is. Let's start with the facts: Benjamin Miner of The Feldons joins Jeff and Matt to talk about 1969's Uncle Meat album, by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Have you ever heard this album? It's a wild ride, just like our discussion. In addition to Uncle Meat, we also discuss pinball machines, pinball lust, churches with pinball machines and basketball gyms that have no air conditioning.

Oh yeah, we also dig deep into the story behind The Feldons and their latest album and the fascinating journey that Benjamin took with both the band and the music. He unpacks the path that took him from Zappa to having his own band -- and there's a surprising revelation about horn sections. Is that a horn section-related plot twist? Perhaps.

Our thanks to Benjamin for hanging out with us today. You can get your hands on a copy of the Feldons album at Bandcamp and for you fellow vinyl nerds, there's even vinyl to be had!

Thanks also to all of you for listening to this episode. Don't forget to visit Jeff at Jefitoblog where you'll find even more musical discussion and thoughts.

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Benjamin Wagner joins the guys for a frank discussion about mental health in the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month. He's spent a good amount of time thinking about -- and researching the subject. His new film, Friends & Neighbors, is the result of that work. Benjamin tells Jeff and Matt how his own mental health struggles influenced the movie -- and what he learned once he finished the project.

In Friends & Neighbors, Benjamin thinks back to the words of his friend, Fred Rogers -- known to the world as Mister Rogers -- and how he always encouraged people to "look for the helpers." For Benjamin, one of those helpers, beginning in his formative years as a teenager, was definitely music. One of the key albums was R.E.M.'s Reckoning. He shares his love for both the record and the band itself -- and why he really respects what they did from the beginning to the way they handled the end of their career.

We also discuss Benjamin's first interview -- which happened to be with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe -- and moments from his incredible run at MTV News which lasted for nearly two decades. As it happens, you can hear a whole lot more about Benjamin's time at MTV. He's got an essential podcast, You Hear It First: An Unofficial and Unfiltered History of MTV News, where he's been interviewing an incredible mix of people from the network -- including many of his former colleagues. For those of us who grew up with MTV News -- and perhaps eventually worked in the industry themselves -- it's a fascinating journey.

Friends & Neighbors is screening this month at select locations and will feature panel discussion with Benjamin and others. You can find information on those screenings here. And If you're not in range to attend a screening, you can stream it during the month of May by visiting the film website.

You can also find information on Benjamin's previous movie, Mister Rogers & Me at the film's official website. The movie is available for streaming on many major platforms.

Thanks so much for listening to the program as always! Join us for further discussion at Jeff's website at Jefitoblog. We'll see you there (and we'll be back soon enough with Benjamin #3. You'll see what we mean after listening to this episode.)

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Emmy-nominated songwriter Ben Arthur released his third album, Edible Darling, in 2004. A longtime friend of the podcast (long before there was a podcast, in fact), Ben joins Jeff and Matt to look back on the album in its 20th anniversary year. He recaps his rollercoaster experience navigating the music industry in those early years and how it ultimately influenced where he's gone with his life's work since then.

To date, Ben has released 10 albums and an ongoing series of singles, with his most recent song release being "Bless Your Heart" earlier this year. He is the creator and host of SongWriter, a podcast that turns stories into songs. SongWriter is launching its sixth season and has featured guests/collaborators that include  Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd,  Susan Orlean, Neil Gaiman, George Saunders, Katie Melua, David Sedaris, and Steve Earle.

Our thanks to Ben for hanging out with us. We had a blast looking back at one of our favorite albums and learning more about what was going on at the time.

If you're new to The Record Player, check out our extensive archive of past episodes wherever you get your podcasts! Keep the experience going and visit Jefitoblog for more thoughts from Jeff (and more abuse from Matt). Thanks so much for listening!

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Legendary producer Tom Werman joins Jeff and Matt to talk about one of his favorite albums, Who's Next, by the Who.

Tom is one of the best kind of people you can hope to meet in the music industry, because not only is he very talented as a producer, but he also is a music fan at heart. That's something that comes through again and again as you're reading his new memoir, Turn It Up:  My Time Making Hit Records In The Glory Days Of Rock Music (Featuring Mötley Crüe, Poison, Twisted Sister, Jeff Beck, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, And More).

Yes, that's a very long title, but the good news is that if you needed a refresher course about Tom Werman and his life's work, you just got it! One of the great things about Turn It Up is that you get the stories about Werman's experience working with the mentioned artists (and more), but you also really get an inside look at what a producer does -- and how they do it. It's a valuable fly on the wall perspective on a number of levels, but Tom is able to explain the very technical job he did -- without getting overly technical in the way he illustrates that process.

As it happens, the roots of the book began with a column that Tom wrote, The Producers, which ran at Jeff's website, Popdose. It's an interesting prequel that Jeff and Tom talk about as the interview begins. Tom has long been one of our favorite people when we think back to all of the albums we own that have his name in the liner notes, so it was a real joy to get a chance to dig in with Tom and discuss his career.

P.S. Are you reading Jeff's words at Jefitoblog yet? Goodness gracious, get on over there and become part of the discussion!

P.S.S. Here's a link to the Who's Next / Lifehouse box set that Matt mentions during the conversation with Tom. It's essential if you're a fan of the album.

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Andy Timmons is one of our favorite folks to talk about music with and he returns to the program -- with his guitar once again in hand -- to discuss his love for Peter Frampton's fourth studio album, 1975's Frampton.

Andy tells Jeff and Matt why Peter has been such an important influence on his own career -- and he shares the story of how he came to write his newest single, "The Boy From Beckenham" as a tribute to Frampton. Happily, Frampton himself joined Timmons to play on the track. It's a heartwarming look at how a musical friendship deepened between the pair as a result.

We discuss a lot of different things with Andy on the Frampton tip, including the Sgt. Pepper movie -- and yes, as you might expect, there are some side topics as well, like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. and Andy's surprising connection to the late, great Louisville record store, ear X-tacy. We're up to our usual BS, in other words. But in all seriousness, it was a wonderful hang with Andy, which wrapped up with each of us dashing out the door to go get Thai food. A perfect start to the weekend!

Our thanks to Andy for the time. You can see the music video for "The Boy From Beckenham" right here. Make sure to visit Andy's website to stay in tune with everything that he has going on. Thanks for listening!

Related Links:

Andy's GuitarXperience
Andy's Electric Truth album.
The Shout! Factory reissue of the Sgt. Pepper movie.

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The Reverend Shawn Amos is our guest today on the podcast. Matt has had a conversation with Shawn in the past, so he knew that Jeff would love speaking with The Good Reverend.

Shawn opened up right away, getting deep and personal with Matt and Jeff about a wide variety of sociopolitical topics surrounding his latest album, Soul Brother No. 1, including the reckoning with past traumas that informs the music making up the album. But don't let us give you the wrong impression — much like many of the songs on the record, this was an honest, joyous exchange rather than a truly heavy conversation.

Long story short, we really loved talking with Shawn — in fact, it was so satisfying to talk about Soul Brother No. 1 that we almost didn't have enough time to get into his love of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's Ain't That a Bitch. (Never fear; we did get there eventually.)

Soul Brother No. 1 is out May 3 on Immediate Family Records. You can find more info via Shawn's links here.

Here also is a link to his book, Cookies & Milk, which we discussed during this episode!

Our thanks to Shawn for spending the time with us!

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UCR's Allison Rapp is back with Jeff and Matt for another episode of The 1974 Project. This time, they're talking about On the Border by Eagles and digging into a bunch of related (and yeah, sometimes, unrelated topics). For instance, why do so many people hate the Eagles? Why do people get worked up about calling them "the Eagles" instead of "Eagles" when the band is discussed.

What was it like covering the recent trial regarding the allegedly stolen Hotel California lyrics and being in the presence of Don Henley? Allison shares details about that experience. For those of you who take a drink every single time that Jeff says, "It's fine," you're in luck once again this episode.

Because this is The Record Player, there are also stray references to Michael McDonald and Chicago. P.S. Make sure that you read Michael's upcoming memoir, because it rules.

Our thanks to Allison as always for joining us. You can catch up on her latest work at Ultimate Classic Rock by following this link. We hope you enjoy this episode!

Some of our favorite lists from Allison -- including a couple mentioned in this episode:

55 Times Albums Shared a Name
Shelved Songs: 22 Songs That Took Years to Complete
24 Songs About Managers and Record Executives

Oh yeah, please don't forget to read Jeff's stuff at Jefitoblog. The universe thanks you.

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We couldn't miss out on the chance to post a new episode of The Record Player on a rare Leap Day!

As one of our comrades said very recently, "Happy Leap Year, to all who celebrate!"

We're back with the latest installment in The 1974 Project, our ongoing collaboration with Ultimate Classic Rock spotlighting a variety of albums that were released, as you might have guessed, in 1974.

UCR's Nick DeRiso joins Jeff and Matt to discuss What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits by the Doobie Brothers. The wide-ranging conversation touches on a number of topics including a Doobies song that was once compared to both Chicago and Eagles, bands with two drummers, the Doobie Liner and five-time Grammy Award winner Michael McDonald.

There's more, but those are the dubious highlights of our discussion. Nick also shares details regarding Journey: Worlds Apart, his new best-selling book about Journey and its many eras and side projects. Our thanks to Nick for taking the time!

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Mike Duquette of The Second Disc and Duque's Delights is in the hot seat with Jeff and Matt to discuss The Seeds of Love by Tears for Fears.

Matt has been waiting two years and several days to have an in-depth conversation with Mike. But he's also been waiting since the early '90s to find someone to have a similarly long conversation about The Seeds of Love. On this day, two dreams came true at one time.

For only the fifth time in the history of this podcast, Jeff and Matt agree on an album. (Okay, now you can really tell that Matt writes these dumb episode descriptions.) We celebrate some important life happenings for Mike and in general, have a great conversation about Tears for Fears.

Our thanks to Mike for joining us.

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The latest episode of The 1974 Project finds Jeff and Matt teaming up with Matthew Wilkening of Ultimate Classic Rock to discuss the self-titled debut album by Kiss, which was released on February 18, 1974. But the conversation covers a lot of territory involved with just being a music fan. Sneaking out of the house to go buy albums. Parents putting their foot down regarding bands/music they find to be objectionable. How the albums that you're hearing can change your impressions (positively or negatively) regarding a band/genre. Rogue school bus drivers helping to facilitate further musical education.

On the subject of Kiss, we talk about the merits and stereotypes surrounding the first album. The album cover that could have been (but unfortunately, was not). The underrated Kiss record that more fans should embrace. Should you listen to the entire Kiss discography from top to bottom? What is "Nothin' to Lose" really about? How do you feel about '80s Kiss? An alternate reality where Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons follow through with Wicked Lester and Kiss never happens.

Our thanks to Matthew for joining us!

Related:

Were Kiss Really Asked to Dress Like Clowns on Their First Album: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-clown-album-cover/

'Detroit Rock City' Movie Pretty Much Ends Kiss Reunion:
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-detroit-rock-city-movie/

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Van Halen's self-titled debut celebrates its 46th anniversary this month (today in fact, as this is being posted). Jeff and Matt celebrate by welcoming journalist Steve Rosen to discuss this legendary album.

Steve brings unique insights to today's discussion as someone who was covering Van Halen from the moment that the album hit the shelves. He became friends with Eddie Van Halen, kicking off a series of conversations that lasted more than two decades. Those discussions have now been collected into a book, Tonechaser - Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey With Edward Van Halen.

Now entering its third printing, Tonechaser is not just a collection of interviews -- Rosen has gone far beyond that, taking the original conversations, adding in additional context and details. Folks who love a fly on the wall perspective, you'll love this book.

Our thanks to Steve for taking time to hang out and talk VH with us!

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Our second entry in The 1974 Project focuses on Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell's sixth studio album. UCR's Allison Rapp once again joins Jeff and Matt to discuss a number of topics related to the album.  We talk about the impact that Court and Spark had on Joni's career -- and why it stands out when compared to the rest of her discography. How challenging is it to navigate Joni's overall body of work? How was it received by some of her peers, then and now?

Allison also shares her experience seeing Joni's live performance at the Gorge ("near" Seattle) in 2023 -- and her own origin story with Joni's music.

P.S. -- here's some more information on the Gorge documentary that's mentioned during this episode.

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The wonderful Bill Lloyd returns to The Record Player nearly two years after he stopped in to discuss Paul and Linda McCartney's RAM with us.

This time, we're talking Todd Rundgren with Bill and the conversation spirals in a lot of different directions -- including plenty of record collector nerd chatter. We also discuss Look Into It, Bill's latest solo release, which has a really cool music video for the initial single, "This Ain't My Parade."

Our thanks to Bill as always for taking time to converse about music with us! We had a ball.

P.S. Here's a link to the absolutely essential Rundgren book from Paul Myers that we mentioned during our conversation.

P.S.S. Don't forget to check out the newly reborn Jefitoblog.

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Kudos to Chris and Stephanie from Ida Mae for helping Matt and Jeff connect the dots when it comes to the music of Richard and Linda Thompson. We loved getting a chance to dig into their Pour Down Like Silver album.

There's a new Ida Mae album that demands your ears also, called Thunder Above You. This particular conversation with Chris and Stephanie has been in the production vault for a minute and we're thrilled to finally be able to share it with you.

Jeff also shares some details regarding the rebirth of Jefitoblog -- and we preview the forthcoming trip to Bootleg City. Longtime readers and listeners, you'll be happy to hear that Bootleg City is once again being recognized as a proper town....or is it a village? The "City" part has always been a bit overblown, that much is known. There's a new sheriff in town....and a new Mayor. The Great Gross-Off is back in action at Jefitoblog and there are mumblings about Rock Court and many of the other features you know and love. This reboot is a good one, so don't miss it.

We also talked about how Pour Down Like Silver is yet another example that not everything is on streaming. If you guessed this might spark Matt to go on a tangent and talk about some examples, you'd be correct. Related to that, our buddy Mike Duquette is going to dig deep into that topic as part of "Stream Police," his new column at Duque's Delight which will focus on "unstreamable music." We can't wait!

There's probably some other stuff that we talked about as well in the really, really long intro, but that's why it's there for you to dig in and find out! Enjoy.

P.S. Did you listen to our first episode of The 1974 Project regarding Bob Dylan's Planet Waves? Our next episode regarding Court & Spark by Joni Mitchell lands next week!

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Bob Dylan finally reunited with the Band officially to record the Planet Waves album in 1974. The stories behind the creation of Planet Waves and the events of the subsequent tour will make you wish that time machines were a real thing.

Planet Waves is just one of a number of albums marking its 50th anniversary here in 2024. As it happens, Ultimate Classic Rock recently collected 50 albums turning 50 this year and Jeff had an idea: Why don't we spend part of each month in 2024 discussing some of those albums at the 50-year mark?

This conversation about Planet Waves is the first installment of The 1974 Project. Jeff and Matt welcome UCR's Allison Rapp to talk about a bunch of Bob-related subjects as they examine how Planet Waves came together. How does it stand up against the rest of Bob's catalog today? Was David Geffen ultimately the villain? Can you imagine these songs without the Band playing on them?

We also discuss Bob's feelings about the '74 tour -- and dig into some fun Bob quirks. Subway sandwiches! Welding! Al Jarreau! Plus, Georgia Satellites guitarist Rick Richards drops in (virtually) to share some amusing Bob anecdotes from his personal experiences.

Our thanks to Allison for joining us to spend a bit of time in the Dylan rabbit hole!

Related:

Here is the UCR article that Jeff wrote (and doesn't remember) about Planet Waves.

We mention Ray Padgett's excellent Dylan newsletter and if you're not already reading that, now's a great time to jump in as he's going through each show of the '74 tour.

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Our guest today is a longtime friend of the podcast, David Lebovitz. He brought us two album choices and while it's always an enticing idea to discuss Warren Zevon, we tabled that and begged for him to talk about a really weird Johnny Cash album with us instead. Thankfully, he bent to our will. If you've never heard of this particular Johnny Cash album, you're in for quite a ride. We dig into why it's such an intriguing and mystifying entry in his catalog of work -- and David came prepared with quite a bit of material.

Big thanks to him for putting this album in front of us! David's all over the place on socials -- here are his many links in the form of a good old-fashioned link dump, as the kids call it.

https://twitter.com/leboism

https://bsky.app/profile/leboism.bsky.social

https://letterboxd.com/leboism/

https://ko-fi.com/leboism

https://thedavidbugle.substack.com/

David also suggested the following Salon article for further reading about this album.

Here also is the documentary that he references during the conversation, plus the book about Bitter Tears.

P.S. If you enjoy this podcast, we'd love it if you were moved to join our Patreon. The Record Club offers all sorts of bonus content related to this podcast and beyond -- including advance listens to our episodes and additional bonus audio! Thank you for your support and listening ears!

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Katherine Yeske Taylor is our guest today on The Record Player and boy, this conversation was an absolute joy. We discuss her new book, She's a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism, which is coming out on January 16, but we also dig deep into a bunch of different topics.

Katherine is a fellow music journalist who began her career as a rock critic in Atlanta in the 1990s, interviewing Georgia musical royalty such as the Indigo Girls, R.E.M., and the Black Crowes while still a teenager. Since then, she has conducted several hundred interviews and contributes regularly to Billboard, Spin, and American Songwriter, among others. She is a longtime New York City resident and is extremely active in the downtown rock scene.

We talk a good amount of journalism shop -- including the many things and particulars that go into the craft of interviewing. Katherine also shares a lot of good Athens stories and tales of how music can intersect with life in some pretty cosmic ways.

R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People weaves in and out of the discussion -- with some choice memories filtering through the songs and moments. If this episode doesn't make you want to visit Athens, you probably should think about visiting Athens.

If there's any justice, Katherine's book will become a valuable resource  -- both now and in the coming years -- for anyone who wants to know the often difficult path that women in rock have traveled as part of the ongoing fight for gender equality.  

Our thanks to Katherine for an inspirational, illuminating and entertaining discussion. We'll look forward to the next round!

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Welcome to our longest episode to date! Matt and Jeff are joined by Peter Lubin, who returns to the podcast to talk about an important artist in his A&R career, blues guitarist and vocalist John Campbell.

But this time, Peter also brought additional ammo: We were thrilled to also welcome British music journalist Harry Shapiro, who recently published a great book about John's career called John Campbell: Spirit of a Bluesman.

Heavily researched with a wealth of new interviews and previously unknown information, Spirit of a Bluesman is an essential read, especially if you've been curious to learn more about the all-too-brief career of John Campbell. We devoured every page in less than a weekend and were subsequently stoked to get the chance to take a deep dive into John's career with Harry and Peter.

If you've never heard of John Campbell, this can be your entry point to his work, a journey that's well worth taking. We use John's 1991 One Believer album as our center, but we also delve into many other aspects of his career and life. Our thanks to both Peter and Harry for sharing so much of their wisdom!

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Guess who finally decided to return with a new episode? To be fair, we have no real good excuse...except LIFE!

In that vein, what a thrill it is to be alive when you're speaking with someone like Cidny Bullens, and going through selected bits of the incredible adventure that has been his life.

His career has seen him sharing the stage with Sir Elton John, Rod Stewart -- and even Bob Dylan, just to name a few from his extensive highlight reel. He takes stock of his life and the journey that it has led him on with his memoir, Trans Electric: My Life As a Cosmic Rock Star.

Beyond the key career moments that he details in his book, Cidny also reveals his own healing process and how he ultimately found himself and transitioned from female to male ten years ago.  Going through the process, he found unexpected love, becoming a stepfather and a grandfather.  Happily, he also discovered his true voice and true power as a performer.

We really enjoyed speaking with Cid and getting to go inside his experiences both past and present. He continues to work tirelessly on new music and recently put out Little Pieces, his latest album via Kill Rock Stars. Look also for a forthcoming collaboration with Lucinda Williams, where he'll revisit one of his own songs for a new single that's expected to be released in 2024.

For more about Cidny Bullens, we highly recommend reading David Browne's excellent profile which recently ran at Rolling Stone. And of course, for goodness sake, don't miss the book. You won't be able to put it down.

Our thanks to our dear comrade Angie for helping to make this conversation happen. Kudos!

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The music gods are truly smiling, because Brother Cane is hitting the road for a reunion tour this fall. On top of that, the band has recently put out a 30th anniversary reissue of their debut album on both CD and vinyl -- marking the first time, by the way, that the record has been out on wax!

That seemed like a good enough excuse to get Damon Johnson on the horn to talk some music with Matt as part of the latest Bonus Track. Damon shares lots of Brother Cane stories, digs into some Lynyrd Skynyrd talk -- and tells the tale behind the new Brother Cane songs that are finally hitting our ears....and that's just scratching the surface on the topics we covered during our nearly hour-long chat.

Enjoy it and make sure to hit Brother Cane's website to get all of the details regarding the music and the upcoming tour dates!

New Music From Brother Cane:

"Blinded by the Sun" https://youtu.be/GUeRx1vl4bM?si=5jPiynxjxymD4CGq

"Are You in There Anymore" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWCch_4Uyag

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Guitarist Mike Connell of the Connells is our guest on the latest installment of The Record Player.  The North Carolina band has had a busy few years, including the long awaited arrival of a new studio album, 2021's Steadman's Wake. Their entire back catalog went digital, including a few things that had been out of print. Here in 2023, they released their first-ever official live album called Set the Stage.

This summer, their 1993 album Ring was expanded to a double disc in honor of its 30th anniversary, adding a full bonus disc of previously unreleased tracks.

Mike joins us to discuss all of the above and also shares his thoughts and memories regarding The Kinks and their seminal compilation, The Kinks Kronicles.

As a bonus (depending on your point of view), Jeff and Matt dig into a chunk of random items in the podcast intro, a throwback of sorts to their sorely missed Cassingle entries. So for those of you who were hoping we'd discuss a bunch of random stuff? It's your lucky day!

Our thanks to Mike for joining us and sharing some great stories about the band's history. We had a ball chatting with him.

If you like what we're doing with the podcast, join our Record Club on Patreon for all sorts of bonus material, including exclusive interviews and other material. Thanks so much for listening and for your support!

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Jono Manson is one of the godfathers of the NYC jam band scene, an influential presence in the early days when bands like Blues Traveler and Spin Doctors were cutting their teeth. A longtime singer, songwriter and producer, Jono has an impressive list of credits and he's one of those guys who always seems to be working on something.

He's released two albums here in 2023, including Stars Enough to Guide Me, his latest solo album -- and also, Bootlegger Days, a collaboration with John Popper. He joined Matt to discuss a wide range of topics, including those early days in NYC, some recent work with Eric Ambel, adventurous times in the '90s out on the road with the H.O.R.D.E. festival and lots more.

Jono will be on the road starting this month for a lengthy series of shows with Blues Traveler in addition to his own solo headlining dates. It's been quite a while since he's been out for such a lengthy tour, so go see him if he's coming your way! 

Our thanks to Jono for this conversation, which was a lot of fun!

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Trevor Rabin joins us on the eve of the arrival of Rio, his first vocal album for the rock/progressive audience since 1989's Can't Look Away.

The multi-talented guitarist, vocalist and composer will be in Cleveland on Friday, October 6 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to celebrate the release of Rio.

He'll converse with the Rock Hall's Jason Hanley about the new album and his career. Fans will have an opportunity to meet Trevor following the interview during a signing session where copies of. Rio will be available for purchase.

Ticket information for the Rock Hall event can be accessed here.

Jeff and Matt were thrilled to speak with Trevor in advance of the event to discuss the Rio album and a number of other topics from his career. We touch on topics like his early solo work (1979's "Now"), his collaboration with Supertramp's Roger Hodgson, working with Jerry Bruckheimer and other similar giants in the film industry, some choice Yes moments -- including great Chris Squire stories -- and lots more!

You can pre-order the Rio album now.

Music:

"Big Mistakes" -  https://youtu.be/KPzga7UJwy4?si=cVL6y3NdC-ztvTPR

"Push" -  https://youtu.be/udpVPB223O0?si=5cqhXwaK3ZrRpQUw

"Oklahoma" -  https://youtu.be/NzN62Oouhyo?si=8MnTNDWuJb21-Z0n

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It's a good day, because we get to talk about Satan. Okay, let's clarify that, actually. We're sitting down with singer-songwriter Brennen Leigh to discuss Satan is Real by the Louvin Brothers. Country music is full of fascinating corners and Satan is Real is no exception. You'll hear many artists cite the Louvin Brothers as an important inspiration and we dig into that topic with Brennen to get her own insights on that subject.

We also talk about Brennen's latest album, Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet (what a title!) and her plans for the fall -- among many other things. Sadly, her roosters nearby did not make a major ruckus. We were hoping for it.

Our thanks to Brennen for spending time with us!

If you dig these episodes, please consider supporting our Patreon. Join our Record Club to receive access to a ton of additional material and interviews. We appreciate your support!

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Richard Patrick is our guest for the latest Bonus Track. We caught up with Richard out on the road where Filter is presently playing shows on the Freaks on Parade tour with Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie and Ministry. He joins Matt to discuss the band's new album, The Algorithm, plus a number of additional topics, including his time working with Robert and Dean Deleo in Army of Anyone, plus last year's amazing reunion with Nine Inch Nails.

Find the latest Filter tour dates here.

Music featured in today's episode: "The Drowning" and "Burn Out the Sun"

Watch the Nine Inch Nails reunion via YouTube.

Listen to the 2008 interview with Richard mentioned during the intro.

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Bill returns to the podcast to talk about all things Little Feat, including the new reissues for Sailin' Shoes and Dixie Chicken. Bill also digs into some of his past session work, including time spent with Bob Seger and Pink Floyd. He also reveals details regarding the memoir that he currently has in the works. As always, it's a thrill to talk music with Bill.

Visit Bill's website at BillPayneCreative.com and if Little Feat is coming your way, don't miss 'em! They're on the road as we speak and they'll be touring this fall performing Sailin' Shoes and Dixie Chicken in full. In short, you'll want to be in those seats for that experience!

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It's our 100th episode! We're so thrilled to welcome legendary guitarist Steve Lukather on this occasion.

Steve and the members of Toto are hosting an incredible benefit concert on Saturday, September 9th at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The all-star lineup features Ringo Starr, Stone Temple Pilots, Joe Bonamassa, Colin Hay and Hoobastank. Each artist will play a selection of songs from their catalog with the all-star band. Tickets are disappearing quickly, so grab yours via this link.

Proceeds will benefit the Ed Asner Family Center. Steve tells us how this event came together. We also discuss Bridges, his latest solo album -- and Steve shares a wealth of stories from across his career.

Luke is a big fan of the James Gang and Joe Walsh and tells us why their first album, Yer' Album, is his favorite. We've both spoken to Luke a number of times over the years, but this was the first time talking to him together. It was a total blast and hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as we did. Here's to the next 100 episodes!

P.S. If you dig what we do, how about joining our Patreon?  There's all sorts of bonus content that you'll love, extra interviews and other stuff! Details are here and we appreciate the support!

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This will go down as another one of our favorite episodes. Singer-songwriter David Wilcox joins us and his music is one seed in the origin story of our friendship. We've both interviewed David separately over the years, but it had been a while, so we were looking forward to this one. David did not disappoint, bringing an hour's worth of insightful thoughts about, yes, songwriting, but also, life and the things we face as humans -- and how he processes all of that back into what he does.

David has a wonderful new album, My Good Friends, which is available wherever you get your music on August 18. During the podcast, he performs a couple of songs from that album live, while also discussing some other tracks from his catalog. We talk about dads and so many other things. It was an absolute delight, as always, to speak with David.

We also get into conversation with David regarding Jesca Hoop, one of his favorite recent discoveries musically -- and his habits as a fellow music fan. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this chat as much as we did!

Please do rate and review this podcast wherever you're listening. It helps out a lot! We'll leave you with some more information about David's new album for your reading pleasure.

P.S. For some bonus reading, check out Jeff's 2011 chat with David about his essential album, Home Again.

--

David Wilcox is a penetrating storyteller. The revered folk musician has an effortless talent for spinning lyrics that quietly cut deep, and crafting melodies that seamlessly ride the plot twists and turns. Wilcox handily exemplifies the power of lyrical and musical catharsis.

Pick any song from Wilcox’s new acoustic album, My Good Friends, to be released August 18 on his own Fresh Baked Records, and you will find yourself instantly immersed. Sometimes you’ll see yourself in the lyrics, other times you’ll marvel at the 4-minute mini-movie. My Good Friends is a stripped-down, acoustic collection of 10 songs, a fan-requested creative respite for Wilcox as he also continues to work on a full band album coming in 2024.

My Good Friends features Wilcox on guitar, Bill Berg on drums, and Steve Cohen on bass. It is produced by Wilcox and almost entirely written by him except for co-writer Robert Vincent on “Just a Trace of Light.” Of special note are “Jolt,” with its jittery rhythm playing perfect backdrop to lyrics about today’s obsession with online fear mongering and internet disinformation. The title track is a folk-blues number about living a life filled with close calls and surviving them all. Then there’s a trio of story songs – “Dead Man’s Phone,” “This Is How It Ends,” and “Lost Man” – that are as cinematic as they are charismatic. Wilcox says those last three songs “create a whole movie in my imagination.”

In fact, the way Wilcox feels about every tune on My Good Friends proves this is indeed a fan-requested labor of love. “I am grateful for the community that sustains me – my good friends,” he says. “These are the kind of friends that get you through difficult times. The kind of friends that you go to for a fresh perspective when the future looks grim. These songs grew out of conversations with friends, and they hold ideas that I like to have around.”

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It was a thrill to get a chance to chat a bit with longtime comrade (via Twitter and X and whatever we're calling it now) Jude Gold for this latest Bonus Track.

Jude is currently out on the road with Jefferson Starship (he's been their guitarist since 2012) as the band tours as part of the inaugural Parti-Gras festival lineup with Bret Michaels and Night Ranger (in addition to a flurry of special guests).

We dig into Jude's thoughts regarding Poison's music, his early experience getting to see the legendary Brad Gillis play live -- and how the Parti-Gras tour is a mecca for those who love guitar players.

He's got some cred to address that whole guitar player thing as a longtime fellow journalist for Guitar Player and many other outlets. Since 2015, Jude has been the mastermind behind the essential No Guitar is Safe podcast. Even if you're not a guitar player, you will love the hell out of the musical journey that Jude takes with each episode of No Guitar is Safe. Some of the episodes that we mention include his conversations with Kevin Cadogan (ex-Third Eye Blind), Jake Faun (David Lee Roth, Winger) and Vinnie Moore (UFO).

Big thanks to Jude for taking the time. We'll have to get a part two one of these days to dig deeper into his work on No Guitar is Safe and the many career highlights that we didn't get a chance to address. You can read more about Jude at his website. P.S. Don't miss the latest Jefferson Starship release, Mother of the Sun. It's an excellent listen.

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As Tres Hombres turns 50, Jeff and Matt get together to talk about the wild, weird and wonderfully eccentric, rockin' world of ZZ Top. They examine the band's history from the early years to the Eliminator era and beyond (with an occasional argument about certain songs). Along the way, there are stray topics, including listener mail, a discussion of band fan clubs and lots more.

On a related note, if you haven't seen the ZZ Top documentary from Banger Films, you'll want to check that out. It's an excellent watch.

Please rate and review this podcast wherever you happen to be listening. We appreciate it! Also, if you enjoy these episodes, please consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps fund the beer and pizza we mention on the podcast -- but it also (okay, this part is serious) helps to cover the hosting costs and other associated expenses. In exchange, you'll receive a ton of bonus material and additional interviews related to this podcast.

Thank you and enjoy!

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Jeff and Matt are alone in the studio this week to discuss Michael Bolton's big breakout album, 1989's Soul Provider. They review the history which led up to this record (including "Fools Game," which could be one of the best Bolton songs you've never heard) and dig into some of the stories and Michael's own musings from the time period. Is this the smoothest episode of the Record Player that you'll hear in 2023? Time (Love and Tenderness) will tell.

If you enjoy listening to these episodes as much as we enjoy doing them, consider supporting our Patreon. Record Club members receive a wealth of bonus content and additional fun stuff. Thank you. We appreciate your support!

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We’re dipping into the archives for this previously unreleased Bonus Track featuring a conversation with Steve Howe recorded in September 2022. The legendary Yes guitarist joined Matt to discuss the band’s forthcoming (at that time) tour featuring a full album performance of Close to the Edge.

Additionally, Steve talks about Lunar Mist, the posthumously released collaboration with Virgil Howe, the follow-up to the pair’s 2017 album Nexus. Plus, he shares stories regarding Yes albums including Heaven and Earth, Fly From Here, The Ladder and more.

Don’t miss Mirror to the Sky, the latest Yes album, which is available wherever you buy music. Thanks for listening!

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider supporting our Patreon. Record Club members enjoy access to bonus interviews and a wealth of additional material. We appreciate your support!

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Today's Bonus Track features the legendary John Lodge of the Moody Blues. John's heading out this week for a special tour starting on July 18 where he'll be playing the entire classic Moody Blues album Days of Future Passed.

We dig into a lot of different topics, including Days of Future Passed, of course -- and John also shares some stories regarding the individual members of the Moody Blues and some of his favorite memories.

A couple of weeks after this interview, John announced that he'd completed a full re-recording of the album, titled Days of Future Passed - My Sojourn. Information on how the new version of the record came together follows.

Our thanks to John as always for taking the time to chat!

--
John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has announced that he will be releasing his version of the iconic album ‘Days of Future Passed’, entitled ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn’, to accompany his upcoming tour of the same name.
 
The album is to be released on CD as special fan club only release, and will be available at the upcoming shows starting July 18th, and through John’s website https://shop.johnlodge.com for pre-orders, with shipping on August 7th.
 
The album was recorded over the last year, and has grown from John’s current live show as he, and his 10,000 Light Years Band, lovingly recreate this classic album. The album also features a special recording by the late Graeme Edge and performances by Jon Davison of YES. It is being released as part of John’s celebration of the album ‘that changed his life’, and with the hope that it will continue to introduce fans to the original iconic recording. The album’s orchestration is by John’s long-term collaborator, and great friend, Alan Hewitt.
 
“November 2023 will be the 56th anniversary of 'Days of Future Passed’. It’s incredible to look back on this album that changed my life, and that still has so much impact today on so many, and I felt that it deserved celebrating, and so I began rehearsals in 2021/2022 to bring this celebration to life on stage. What was important to me was to make this concert another milestone in the history of ‘Days of Future Passed’, and so I asked Graeme if he would record his poetry, ‘Morning Glory’ and ‘Late Lament’, to include in my concert. Graeme gave me his blessing and said, ‘John, Keep the Moody Blues music alive’. We had a fantastic time putting the show together, with Alan, Duffy, Billy and Jason, and Jon Davison, giving me so much support and helping bring my vision to life. After the final rehearsals for the concert, I realised I should capture this new moment in time, although a reflection of the past, forever, by going into the studio and recording the album, ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn’. I am hoping that this will bring a new generation of listeners to the album, that they then may rediscover the original recording, and the beautiful vocals of Mike Pinder, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas and myself.  I dedicate this album to Graeme, Justin, Mike and Ray, to Tony Clarke, and to all the fans that are with me on this sojourn, no matter when you joined…”  John Lodge July 2023
 
The CD in Digipak will be available starting July 18th at John’s first show in Rockford, IL, and a vinyl album is due to follow in the Fall.  The album will also be available to stream and download from July 14th. The cover features a poignant photograph of John and his wife, Kirsten, taken by his daughter-in-law, Inga Wilson - for John, this was an image that perfectly encapsulated the idea of past and future and what this album means to him.
 
Go here to stream and download, https://slinky.to/DaysOfFuturePassed

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Our buddy Rob Smith likes to talk about albums that are "the one after the big one" and Lucinda Williams' 2001 album Essence is in that category. Both Jeff and Matt enjoyed diving into the record for the first time -- with special guest Mya Byrne.

If you're not familiar with Mya's music, you should be! Playing Americana steeped with potent branches of blues, rock, glam and country music, Byrne is every bit the voice of the outsider that built the foundation of the genre, where we behold stages beaming with the light of those who are so willing to stand tall and confident in the entirety of their truth. Here Byrne stands too. Americana has many champions, but there are scarce few like Byrne; a queer trans woman creating ripples that will find themselves born again and again as waves.

On Rhinestone Tomboy, Mya's newest album, we are treated to a portrait painted with shades of Byrne’s youth, one spent listening to stacks of her mama’s dusty 45s, and thrift store 8-tracks blasting from blown speakers out the window of an old Chevy. Songs that opened the trailhead to a lifelong journey that informed Byrne’s musical landscape.

Find all of the latest episodes of The Record Player wherever you get your podcasts -- and if you enjoy what we do here, we invite you to join our Patreon and become a member of the Record Club. You'll receive access to a ton of bonus content and interviews. We appreciate you support and your listening ears!

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The incredible Royston Langdon of Spacehog drops in on Matt for the latest Bonus Track. This time, they're talking about Royston's new album, President Alien, which will be released on July 14.

As one might gather from the title, President Alien is a unique return to Spacehog's 1995 debut album, Resident Alien. Nearly 30 years later, Langdon revisits each song from the original album in an acoustic format. He tells Matt how he arrived at the idea of doing the project -- while also sharing some great stories about the roots of the original recordings as well as the early days of Spacehog.

There's also some interesting Spacehog news + other topics to dig to. Our thanks to Royston for taking the time to chat. You can pre-order President Alien on CD, vinyl or digital right here.

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Nick Heyward's North of a Miracle is our featured album on this episode and it was a big thrill to welcome Steven Page, who shares what the album means to him. We also dig into a lot of other topics including some music nerd stuff like the cutout bin! Steven tells us what it meant to get the opportunity to open some shows for the Who last fall + we dig into some surprising Barenaked Ladies topics when it comes to his songwriting in that period.

Steven has been on an absolute tear creatively and released his latest solo album, Excelsior, which is available wherever you get your music. He also has fostered an incredible fan community through his website/Patreon and the ongoing Live From Home series, which he began during the pandemic and LFH recently celebrated its 105th episode.

Across more than 100 episodes, Steven has done a lot of really cool themed shows, including performing full albums from his BNL and solo catalog with a bevy of stories to go along with the music. More than that, he invited the LFH audience into his creative process for the Excelsior album, playing the songs live as he was in the midst of honing them. We discuss with Steven what that part of making this current album was like.

Find information on Live From Home, the latest album and all of Steven's current activities at his website. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

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It's been nearly 50 years since the Who released their epic Quadrophenia album. Mike Peters of the Alarm joins Matt and Jeff to share his memories of hearing the album for the first time and why it became such an important record for him personally.

Mike joins us also celebrating the arrival of a brand new Alarm album, Forwards, which is now available wherever you get your music. We dig into the story behind the album, Mike's health issues and how the experience influenced this new record. Mike also shares some classic Alarm tales. We had a great chat and as always, appreciate Mike's time and wisdom.

Visit the official Alarm website for more information regarding Forwards and all things Alarm-related.

Don't forget that we've got a Patreon! Join the Record Club for hours and hours of additional entertainment related to these episodes as well as bonus interviews and lots more. We appreciate your support!

Please also rate and review this podcast wherever you're listening. Thank you!

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Joshua Radin joins Jeff and Matt to talk about his love for the classic 1968 Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks.

We also discuss Joshua's new EP, 'though the world will tell me so, volume 2,' which is out on June 23rd.

The follow up to ‘though the world will tell me so, volume 1,’ the breathtaking collection of songs featured on Radin’s upcoming EP were inspired by his time on the road in 2022. Rather than wait for inspiration to strike, Radin seeks it out wherever possible. To that end, in the fall of 2022, he left his material existence in the rearview, grabbed a backpack, packed his guitar, picked up a pen and a pad, and sought new stories to tell. “I felt like I was going to live the life of a kid on a gap year after high school,” he smiles. “However, it has helped my writing and my soul. I feel so much freer.”

It was a pleasure to get a chance to talk tunes with Joshua. Check out all of his latest info, including upcoming tour dates at his official website.

P.S. We mention David Wild's classic 1990 profile of Van for Rolling Stone. You can read that here. What an adventure!

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Mickey Hart is currently out with Dead & Company as they play what is being termed as their final run of tour dates under that banner. Fans have a unique opportunity to check out Mickey's art while he's on the road. He'll be making two special appearances (see details below) for exhibits that are being presented by the Wentworth Gallery.

Mickey joins Matt for the latest edition of the Bonus Track to discuss his art, the meaning of "vibrational expressionism" and he also digs into the process of how he creates his works.

We discuss numerous other topics, including what Mickey is doing with "Drums" and "Space" on this current run -- and some selected Grateful Dead memories, including a funny story about the "Touch of Grey" video. It was a lot of fun to speak with Mickey about his long career -- and why he still loves what he is doing so much!

Here are the exhibition details for Mickey's appearances on June 4 and June 23.

 ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“These visual representations from my sonic-driven world are snapshots into the music I am making. The basis of all life is vibratory, from the cosmos to human organism to the rhythms of nature and the music that come from what we make, from what we call culture. These are the worlds of rhythm that envelop us on a daily basis. Understanding these rhythms is essential in our daily lives. These works have been drummed, vibrated into existence. This technique is essential in the creation of my art.” – Mickey Hart
 

IN GALLERY APPEARANCES BY MICKEY HART
(artist will be in attendance at both showings - contact the Gallery for information on attending)

SUNDAY, JUNE 4  @ 2:00 PM
Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria
Address: 1807 Galleria at Tysons II, McLean, VA 22102
(703) 883-0111

FRIDAY, JUNE 23 @ 6:30 PM
Wentworth Gallery at Mall at Short Hills
Address:  1200 Morris Tpke, Short Hills, NJ 07078
(973) 564-9776

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Kansas hits the touring trail this week beginning on June 2 to begin their 50th anniversary tour. In advance of the trek, guitarist Rich Williams spoke with Matt to discuss moments from the band's history. He also details the group's new 50th anniversary compilation, Another Fork in the Road: 50 Years of Kansas.

Find the latest Kansas information including current tour dates at their official website.

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What a thrill it is to be able to share this chat with the legendary Ivan Neville.

Ivan joined Jeff and Matt for a lengthy conversation to discuss his new album, Touch My Soul. He was also quite generous about sharing stories from many different corners of his career.

Touch My Soul is an incredible musical journey featuring guest spots from Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald, Trombone Shorty -- and both Aaron and Cyril Neville. Music fans will dig this album, we guarantee that.

Our thanks to Ivan for taking the time to chat. You can find more information regarding Touch My Soul here at Ivan's official website.

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The Hooters have new music (!!) and will be on tour this summer with Rick Springfield, Paul Young and Tommy Tutone (and some other artists depending on the market). These events transpired after our conversation about the band's 1985 album Nervous Night.

We've long been fans of the legendary Philly group who notched a number of successful hit singles -- while also stepping outside of the Hooters camp to write additional smash hits for other artists. So it was a total delight when Jonathan Rundman approached us and asked if we'd be game to chatter about Nervous Night. Of course, we said yes nearly immediately.

We also dig into the details behind Jonathan's 25th anniversary reissue of his album, Recital and his memories of the time period. Jonathan has a busy 2023 currently in progress, including solo dates and additional performances with the Silos and the Rundman Family Band. In short, there was a lot to talk about. Our thanks to Jonathan for sharing his story and a lot of good laughs.

P.S. Matt is sorry for interrupting Jonathan more than any other guest in the history of this podcast ;-)

P.S.S. Jonathan did a great story about David Williams of the Williams Brothers and Marvin Etzioni which you can read right here.

Thanks as always for listening. Please rate and review this podcast wherever you're tuning in. We also have a Patreon, so if you'd like access to a wealth of additional content related to our podcast, check it out and become a member of our Record Club!

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Guitar fans, this one's for you! It's a big thrill to have Steve Morse back out on the road for his first Steve Morse Band tour in 10 years. The next round of tour dates kicks off with a weekend jaunt beginning May 25th in Homer, New York and wrapping up on May 28th in Cleveland, Ohio at the Music Box Supper Club.

Steve joins Matt as part of the latest Bonus Track to talk about his return to the road following his 2022 departure from Deep Purple. We dig through a lot of other topics including some great road war stories, a Miami Vice tale and what he thinks about today's generation of guitar players.

Visit Steve's official website for the latest dates and news regarding all of his upcoming activities.

If you enjoy these podcast episodes, consider joining our Record Club on Patreon for a wealth of additional bonus content. We appreciate your support!

Also, please rate and review this podcast, wherever you're listening. Thank you!

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Jeff and Matt have finally defeated technical and scheduling gremlins to return with a new episode of The Record Player!

We were so thrilled to welcome author Lauren Thoman to talk about her brand new book, I'll Stop the World, which was recently released by Mindy's Book Studio, the new imprint helmed by Mindy Kaling. It was an absolute blast hearing Lauren's story about her literary journey with this new book + it's been great to see all of the success she's having with it.

Signed copies of I'll Stop the World are available here and chances are good that Lauren might be coming to your neck of the woods as she continues her book tour! Find the latest greatest details at her website.

Lauren also shared her music nerd side with us to dig into one of her favorite albums, R.E.M.'s legendary Murmur. We hope you enjoy our discussion!

If you dig these episodes, we invite you to join our Patreon. Become a member of our Record Club and access a ton of additional bonus content! We appreciate your support.

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Angelo "Scrote" Bundini is the creator and musical director for the Celebrating David Bowie tour.

Fans can look forward to the inaugural Camp Stardust happening July 4-July 7  Featuring former Bowie Music Director Adrian Belew, Scrote, Spacehog’s Royston Langdon, Jeffrey Gaines, guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, sax great Ron Dziubla, bassist Matt McJunkins, and drummer Jeff Friedl

They'll be joined by  music industry maverick Miles Copeland and moderator & performer Robert Burke Warren, plus additional special guests to be announced.

We discuss how the Camp Stardust idea took shape + a ton of additional topics, including a preview of what fans can expect from this fall's Celebrating David Bowie tour which will feature Peter Murphy joining the lineup. We also dig into Bowie's music, the genius of Adrian Belew and lots more.

Check out the Record Player website for a full archive of all of our episodes and please rate and review our podcast wherever you're listening. We appreciate it so much!

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Here's one for fellow rock doc lovers. Bobby Colomby of Blood, Sweat & Tears drops in to discuss the new film, What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?

The movie, which is in theaters now, reveals an incredible story which has been under wraps for more than 50 years. Blood, Sweat & Tears traveled overseas in June 1970 to become the first American band to perform behind the Iron Curtain. The tour, which was sponsored by the U.S. State Department, put the band into a situation they never could have imagined.

Through documentary footage shot during the Iron Curtain tour (and thought to be lost) and present-day interviews with band members and historians, as well as the unsealing of government records,  What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? unravels the details of this extraordinary year in the life of the band.

In addition to the movie, we also discuss Bobby's additional adventures in the music industry, working in A&R and as a producer with the band Pages, plus projects with the Jacksons and the Tubes, just to name a few. We dig through a lot of topics.

Bobby wants to hear your feedback and answer questions about the film. Get in touch via Twitter @RecordPlayerPod and we'll collect the questions for him to answer on a follow-up edition of this podcast.

Find information about local screenings via the official film website and make sure to check out the soundtrack and score which will be released on April 21 by Omnivore Recordings.

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It was an absolute thrill to get a few minutes with the legendary Rickie Lee Jones! She's got a new album, Pieces of Treasure due out on April 28.
The record reunites her with producer Russ Titelman, opening a fresh chapter for the pair. They initially worked together on her first two albums, including1981's Pirates, which landed at #49 on NPR's 2017 list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women.
Pieces of Treasure finds Rickie Lee tackling a potent collection of selections from the Great American Songbook and you can preview three tracks from the album wherever you listen to music.
She also has tour dates coming up and will land at Birdland in NYC for three shows, including her April 7 gig which is available as a livestream.

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Joe Kleon is a veteran of the Cleveland music scene who has worked in a lot of different capacities, including a lengthy career in radio. More recently, he's developed an interesting career in concert photography that's now approaching the 20 year mark.

Matt's path with Joe first crossed in the '90s when the two got together to discuss Rush and play through some vintage concert bootlegs from the Canadian rock legends -- which inevitably led into a lot of other musical discussion beyond that. In the years that have passed since then, it seems like we're often heading in two different directions when we're out and about. As Joe's heading for the front of the stage to get ready to take photographs, Matt is looking for his seat to settle in for that night's show.

It was fun to get a chance to talk a bit of shop with Joe, who is back with his fifth annual fundraiser for Kitten Krazy, Inc.  We dig into his history and how he got into photography. He also shares stories from his 20+ year friendship with Michael Stanley, plus additional music biz war stories ranging from the Jonas Brothers and the Scorpions and everything in between!

Here's a documentary about the unique photo studio that we discussed during the episode, which Joe uses for his Kitten Krazy photos -- complete with an extensive gallery of photos at the end of the doc!

Information regarding the Kitten Krazy fundraiser and related events follows. Our thanks to Joe for taking some time to tell a bunch of stories!

Kitten Krazy opened in May 2004 and operates in over 7,000 square feet
located at 930 Lafayette Road, Unit A, Medina, OH 44256. The adoptable
cats are free-roaming in multiple rooms so that you can sit and meet
them or “let your cat pick you!” Fully-vetted cats and kittens are
available for adoption every Tuesday through Friday 12-5 pm and
Saturdays 12-3 pm.

Joe Kleon has photographed over 1,500 pop & rock concerts since 2002.
This year he has donated concert photos from artists such as Paul
McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Rush, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Bruce
Springsteen, Taylor Swift, AC/DC, Kiss, Stevie Nicks, ZZ Top, Michael
Stanley, U2, Rush, and many others. To check out the photos and/or place
a bid on one or more photos, the Ebay auction begins the morning of
Friday, March 24th and ends Monday, April 3, 2023. Links to each auction
can be found at www.kittenkrazy.org.

On Sunday, March 26, from Noon to 3 pm, Kitten Krazy is hosting an
Open House fundraiser - Admission is FREE! Come enjoy a rare behind the
scenes look at how Kitten Krazy operates. There will be many cats and
kittens to adopt as well as mamas and their baby kittens to see! We will
also have Chinese Raffle baskets, 50/50, and other games of chance with
prizes for adults and children. Please consider bringing any of the
following donations: canned cat food, clay and/or scoopable litter,
bleach, and detergent. Or, simply make a cash donation to help in the
cost for the 650+ cats that Kitten Krazy adopts out every year.

Eric “Eroc” Sosinski and Jim Tigue from Wish You Were Here who will be performing throughout the event and Kleon will also have concert photos available for sale.

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With Matt's dad in declining health, Jeff suggested that today's album should be "one for Dad." We discuss Dave Brubeck's Buried Treasures, an archival release which was originally recorded across three nights in Mexico City back in May of 1967. Notably, Dave took the stage with his quartet, featuring legendary saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello. As Brubeck writes in the liner notes, the concerts were recorded for Bravo! Brubeck!, an album that had a "Latin American themed" concept.

Bravo! Brubeck! was released that same summer and the concept for the record meant that anything that didn't fit the theme was left on the shelf.  Which means a lot of material went unheard for years. The Buried Treasures release gave Brubeck fans a fresh round of cuts from what had been an extremely inspired run of shows. The liner notes, written by Brubeck, offer an extensive look behind the curtain of the performances. A separate booklet details Brubeck's history with Columbia Records. All of this makes for a fascinating journey into the world of Dave Brubeck if you're up for the trip.

But that's just one part of today's episode. We discuss a number of different topics, including dads and parents in general, the sacrifices they make that we often don't know about until years later -- and getting a chance to repay the gifts. Some debts can never be truly repaid, but the gratitude lasts a lifetime. This one's for you, Dad.

P.S. Get yourself a copy of Philip Clark's book, Dave Brubeck: A Life in Time. It's a must.

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Gilbert O'Sullivan has had an amazing career with 16 Top 40 hits and six of them that went to number one. While some artists would be content to coast on those stats, Gilbert keeps rolling.

His latest album, Driven, featuring collaborations with Simply Red's Mick Hucknall and others, arrived in 2022. On the heels of that release, he's heading back to the United States for his first tour here in ages. The tour launches on Saturday, 3/11 in Boston and will run through the month of March, wrapping up in Nashville on 3/22.

Gilbert also has a new collection featuring 67 tracks, a comprehensive overview of his career including material from Driven. Physical media lovers, you can get the three disc version here. Or stream each volume wherever you listen to your music!

Our thanks to Gilbert for taking time to discuss all of this and lots more here on The Record Player. Visit his official website for tour dates and other information.

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It was a thrilling 10 minutes with the legendary Rod Argent, discussing the new Zombies album, Different Game which lands on March 31st. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends will be at South by Southwest later this month to perform and also celebrate the debut of a new Zombies documentary.  Rod discusses the new album and documentary and recent singles including the gem "Love You While I Can." We also dig into a couple of classic stories from his Argent era. Visit the official Zombies website for more information on all things Zombies!

Thanks for listening to our episodes. You can follow us on Twitter or join our Record Club via Patreon. We appreciate all of your support!

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For our 75th episode, we've got the most significant interruption by Jeff's dogs to date. They'll have to work hard to top this one. But we're here to discuss a number of topics, including Roomful of Blues' 1997 album Under One Roof.

For more than 50 years, Roomful of Blues have been delivering their unique blend of music to the masses -- and that's something that we explore: what is it that makes them unique in the crowded field of blues bands? We've got that answer for you. Matt also details a recent music transaction that didn't go exactly as planned and we dig into a bunch of other subjects beyond that -- including laserdiscs!

For more Record Player fun, check out our Patreon or bother us on Twitter. We love a good musical discussion! 

Thank you very much for listening.

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Blue Rodeo recently played a great evening of deeper cuts from their history at the Songs Seldom Heard performance at Massey Hall in Toronto.

As Matt watched the events (virtually) unfold, it brought him back to a conversation he'd had with the band's Jim Cuddy in late November of 2021. The pair discussed Many a Mile, the latest album from Blue Rodeo, which was released that December.

Whether you're a longtime fan or this is the first time you're hearing about Blue Rodeo, we think you'll enjoy this conversation with Jim. The chat covers a lot of ground, including some great memories of the late Gord Downie of Tragically Hip.

Stay tuned for more from The Record Player and thanks for listening! You can follow us on Twitter and also check out our Record Club on Patreon. We appreciate your attentive ears and ongoing support!

Stay up to date with Blue Rodeo at their official website.

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Libby Cudmore was our first guest on The Record Player. Sort of.

Here's the thing -- as we were batting around the ideas for the podcast which became this one, we made up a spreadsheet and started writing down albums that we wanted to discuss. Then we began to think about people who would be fun to discuss those albums with.

We reached out to Libby in November of 2021 and quickly had her committed to discuss a particular album. Flash forward more than a year and we're here to discuss a completely different album with Libby.

It was such a thrill to discuss Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies with Libby and she came armed and ready times one thousand. She made us a playlist, Consider the Daddies, which we are linking here for your listening pleasure. It was everything, as your ears will reveal to you after you're finished listening.

Quick disclaimer: We just kind of logged in and all started talking. A proper intro of Libby arrives about 10 minutes or so into our discussion. If you can imagine that you walked into a local establishment and we were already there deep in conversation, that's kind how this one unfolded.

However you think you feel about the Daddies right now, leave those feelings at the door. Listen to Libby's playlist, listen to this episode and get yourself a new favorite band.

As far as today's episode, we dig through a lot of topics -- including how Libby's own writing was inspired by the Daddies. We had a blast and look forward to our next round with Team Cudmore. Thanks as always for listening!

By the way, if you enjoy these episodes, how 'bout checking out our Patreon? We appreciate it and we'd love to have you as a member of the club!

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Fellow music nerds who love harmony will know a thing or three about the Roches. But you might not be aware of an album that came before the group.

Maggie and Terre Roche's Seductive Reasoning arrived in 1975 and helped to lay the groundwork for the Roches' debut that emerged four years later in 1979.

Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls joins Jeff and Matt to share the importance of Seductive Reasoning -- and how the Roches influenced her own musical path.

We discuss a wide range of topics, including Amy's newest solo album, If It All Goes South. Fans will get a chance to hear songs from the record live as Amy heads out on the road with her band starting in early February for a month's worth of dates.

The tour begins in Dallas and includes a stop at Nashville historic Ryman Auditorium, where Amy will be opening for Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Along the way, she'll play a number of other headlining dates, wrapping things up in Georgia with gigs in Athens and Atlanta. Kevn Kinney of Drivin N Cryin will be sharing the bill for all of the dates except Nashville.

P.S. Matt is getting over a cold and apologizes for the bit of coughing in the intro. Happy New Year!

P.S.S. It's the one year anniversary of The Record Player. We talk about that a bit.

Additional Stuff:

Read Amy's interview with The Big Takeover that we reference during today's podcast.

Listen to the great Indigo Girls interview on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast.

Yes, there's an Indigo Girls documentary coming this year! We can't wait to see It's Only Life After All, which premieres at the upcoming Sundance Festival.

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This week marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's Incesticide.

Liz Barker joins Jeff and Matt to discuss seeing the Seattle legends when she was 15, the personal impact of Incesticide  and why it remains a favorite for her as a music fan.

We discuss a number of subjects, including the interesting encounters and bonding experiences at concerts, plus how the members of Nirvana used their platform to speak important truths.

If you're like us, you've heard the radio hits by Nirvana a lot. Maybe you never need to hear them again. You might enjoy taking a quick trip off the usual beaten path by listening to Incesticide.

Check out Liz's excellent newsletter, it was fun till he started getting serious.

Read the Incesticide liner notes by Kurt Cobain.

How about some books? We'd suggest Danny Goldberg's 2019 memoir about his time working with Kurt and Nirvana, Serving the Servant. There's also a book that centers its discussion around Incesticide. and that one is called Dark Slivers: Seeing Nirvana in the Shards of Incesticide.

Thanks as always for listening! Please check out our Patreon if you enjoy these episodes. We'd love to have you as a member of our Record Club. There are over 100 exclusive posts for members.

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As Starship prepared to release their third album, 1989's Love Among the Cannibals, a lot had changed. Grace Slick had departed from the lineup - severing the last link to the original Jefferson Airplane crew. But vocalist Mickey Thomas, a veteran of six albums with Jefferson Starship and Starship, was there to guide the ship forward vocally. Guitarist Craig Chaquico and drummer Donny Baldwin were also still on board. On the heels of two successful hit albums, it seemed reasonable that they were poised to continue the streak.

So what happened? That's one of the questions that Jeff and Matt seek to answer with today's discussion. They also talk about the long and complicated saga of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship and how it compares to other similarly complex group dynamics.

As mentioned in the episode, music fans who enjoy a good rock book that doesn't hold back on the dirt and brutal quotes are encouraged to seek out a copy of Jeff Tamarkin's book. Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane is a crucial trip for all who enjoy this episode.

Thanks for listening and please consider supporting our Patreon if you enjoy these episodes! Join our Record Club, dammit! We appreciate your patronage and your dedicated ears!

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It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Kenny Wayne Shepherd took over rock radio with songs like "Slow Ride" and "Blue on Black," but time flies when you're playing rock and roll, right?

Kenny Wayne joins Matt to discuss Trouble Is...25, his new multimedia project which features fresh recordings of the songs from Trouble Is... recorded with original album producer (and previous podcast guest) Jerry Harrison. A bonus DVD or Blu-ray adds a documentary that goes deep into the history of the album, plus a full live performance of Trouble Is... recorded live in Kenny Wayne's hometown of Shreveport.

You can purchase autographed copies at Kenny Wayne's website and if you loved the original album, this is one you're not going to want to miss.

Please rate and review this podcast wherever you're listening.

If you enjoy these episodes, please consider joining our Patreon. Become a remember of our Record Club and access a ton of bonus material released to the podcast. We appreciate your support!

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Today's Bonus Track is one for fans of progressive music. The band VOLA formed in Copenhagen in 2006 and they blend their love of electronic music with progressive pop metal to create their own unique thing, drawing on influences including Opeth, Meshuggah, Soilwork, Porcupine Tree and many others.

I spoke with Asger of Vola as the band was getting ready to launch their first-ever tour of the United States and Canada which begins on Saturday, November 12th in Boston at the Middle East. Several of the shows are already sold out and you can find the complete tour schedule right here.

Their current album Witness has received numerous accolades, including being named the 17th best album of 2021 by Loudwire and they have a recent live album, Live from the Pool, which was recorded inside a swimming pool at an abandoned military camp in New Zealand.

Asger handles lead vocals and guitar for the group and we talk about how the band has evolved, songwriting, what it’s like to record a live album inside a swimming pool and his love for Metallica, just to name a few things.

Thanks for listening to our podcast. If you dig these episodes, consider joining our Patreon to receive early access and bonus interviews, plus a wealth of additional material related to these programs. We appreciate your support and look forward to welcoming you as a member of our Record Club!

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Daniel Lanois is our guest for this latest Bonus Track. The legendary producer, artist and songwriter joins Matt to discuss his newest solo album, Player, Piano, which is available now.

The album features a series of exotic instrumental piano performances and was recorded at Lanois’ studio in Toronto with the help of co-producer Dangerous Wayne Lorenz.

“Making this record transported me at a time when I couldn’t go anywhere,” Lanois reflects. “I got to travel to Cuba and Mexico and Jamaica. I got to visit with the ghosts of Erik Satie and Oscar Peterson and Harold Budd. I got to go back in time to my work with Brian Eno and Kate Bush and Emmylou Harris. All without ever leaving my studio.”

In order to achieve the timeless-sounding recordings on Player, Piano, Lanois and Lorenz set about transforming each of the three pianos in the studio, dampening the strings with tea towels and dulling the percussive impact of the hammers by adding small felt pads to the heads. When it came time to record, they used vintage ribbon mics and arranged them behind the instruments rather than in front in an effort to further soften the sound. “I decided that if I was going to make a piano record, I wanted it to sound like recordings from the ‘40s and ’50s, back when the piano was soft and beautiful,” explains Lanois.

As one of the most acclaimed and influential producers of the modern era, he’s helmed iconic albums for everyone from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to U2 and Peter Gabriel. As a prolific and critically acclaimed songwriter, he’s composed scores for Oscar-winning films and blockbuster video games in addition to releasing more than a dozen genre-bending solo records. Rolling Stone declared that his “unmistakable fingerprints are all over an entire wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” (think The Joshua Tree, Wrecking Ball, Time Out Of Mind), while NPR lauded him as the author of his own “brilliant albums of heartfelt songs.”

Player, Piano follows the 2021 release of Lanois’ album Heavy Sun, which received wide acclaim from outlets such as SPIN, World Cafe, No Depression and American Songwriter and more.

Each song on Player, Piano is a portal, an invitation to lose yourself in the moment and disappear into a world of imagination and memory. Melodies unfold slowly with patience and grace; ethereal arrangements drift around them like fog rolling through the mountains. More than just an album, Player, Piano is a gateway into a cinematic sonic universe full of mystery and wonder, a place where the lines between reality and fantasy blur and deep truths and desires reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways.

It was a joy to speak with Daniel and he shared some great stories from his past work, including experiences with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, the Neville Brothers and more.

If you dig what we're doing with the podcast, check out our Patreon for bonus material related to these episodes, plus additional interviews and other fun stuff. Join our Record Club to gain access to all of it!

Thanks for listening! Please rate and review this podcast wherever you're finding us. We appreciate it!

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Author Grady Hendrix dropped in on The Record Player for what became one of our favorite chats to date. Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson is the album that Grady brought along to discuss with Jeff and Matt.

Released in 1990, Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye features an all-star cast including R.E.M., the Jesus and Mary Chain, Poi Dog Pondering, John Wesley Harding, Julian Cope, ZZ Top, Bongwater, Butthole Surfers and many others.

They all pooled their musical talents in support of Austin singer-songwriter Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators) who was dealing with hard times. The album helped to spark a renaissance for his career, with Erickson eventually making his return to recording and playing live.

Producer Bill Bentley revisited his experiences of working on Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye in a 2017 article celebrating a vinyl release of the compilation. He went on to mount a second tribute to Erickson which was released on Light in the Attic in 2021.

About Grady:

Grady Hendrix used to be a journalist, which means that he was completely irrelevant and could be killed and turned into food at any time. He is one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival, but he is not responsible for the bad parts of it. For years he was a regular film critic for the New York Sun but then it went out of business. He has written for Playboy Magazine, Slate, The Village Voice, the New York Post, Film Comment, and Variety. He has a hard time making up his mind.

He is very, very beautiful, but if you ever meet him, please do not let this make you uncomfortable. He does not judge.

The New Yorker once ran a short profile of him, and this means that when the time comes and they are lining people up for the Space Arks he will be guaranteed a seat ahead of you.

Okay, so you can read everything in full at Grady's website. He’s a funny guy. A number of his books have been optioned for movies and television, including My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which you can now watch on Amazon Prime and he’s got a new book coming in early 2023, which we discuss briefly in our conversation.

The Record Player:

Please rate and review our podcast wherever you might be listening. It all helps and we appreciate your ears and thoughts!

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Our latest Bonus Track features a conversation with author David Leaf who joins Matt to discuss  God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys and the California Myth, his newest book.

Originally published in 1978 as The Beach Boys and the California Myth, this groundbreaking study was both the first full-length book on the band and the first to recognize Brian Wilson as one of the most significant and influential artists of the 20th century. Covering the turbulent family strife and internal conflicts as well as giving proper attention to the remarkable music, the book was an instant classic.

An intimate look at Brian’s rollercoaster of a life and career, it’s told through the eyes of those who were there during Wilson’s most legendary productions including Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations.

Revised and updated (and now double the size of the original book), God Only Knows covers the decades since the 1985 edition, including Brian’s first acclaimed solo album, his startling return to live performing, the landmark Pet Sounds tour, the “All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson” (which Leaf wrote and produced) and the triumphant and miraculous Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE world premiere in London.

Filled with surprising revelations, insight and behind-the-scenes detail, this indispensable book written by renowned Brian Wilson expert David Leaf also features forewords by Sir Paul McCartney, the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, Jimmy Webb and Melinda Wilson, Brian’s wife.

It was fun to dig into the book a bit with David, who also shared some stories about his experiences working on the original book in the '70s and how he gained access to some of the Beach Boys/associates that he interviewed at that time.

Purchase God Only Knows here where it's available as a physical book or ebook depending on your preference!

Please rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to this episode.

If you enjoy our podcast, we invite you to join our Patreon and become a member of the Record Club. You'll receive advance access to our episodes as well as a wealth of additional interviews and bonus material related to these shows. Thanks so much for your support!

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Nashville songwriter Fred Wilhelm (Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Little Big Town) is with us to discuss Bruce Springsteen's classic Tunnel of Love album.  As his Instagram bio says, "I'm a songwriter. I make stuff up." We think he's being modest.

Fred shares his personal connection with Tunnel of Love and tells us why he still maintains such a strong connection with the album. We also discuss the life of a songwriter (named Fred) in Nashville.

Please rate and review this podcast wherever you're listening. If you enjoy these episodes, consider joining our Patreon. Become a member of our Record Club to receive access to bonus episodes and interviews, plus a wealth of additional content related to the show. Thanks for your support!

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Grammy-nominated producer Andrew Sandoval is our guest for the latest Bonus Track. He joins Matt to discuss the new Kinks box set devoted to their Muswell Hillbillies/Everybody's in Show-Biz  albums. The new reissue is available in a variety of formats and features bonus materials which include fresh remixes of 11 tracks by Ray Davies.

Andrew digs deep into the history behind both albums, while also detailing some exciting new projects that he has in the works. We discuss his research process behind last year's updated edition of The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story book, a mammoth collection that clocks in at over 700 pages.

You can find Andrew on the radio each Monday hosting Come to the Sunshine on WFUV-FM from 6pm-9pm EST.  Listen live or access archived broadcasts and playlists for his show on the station's website.

If you enjoy these episodes, please consider supporting our Patreon. Join our Record Club and receive access to a wealth of additional interviews and audio related to the podcast. Thanks for listening!

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Jeff and Matt are flying solo for today's musical expedition, diving deep into the world of smooth jazz to take a listen to the first official collaboration between Bob James and David Sanborn.

Double Vision features liner notes stacked with players you know and a cameo appearance by Al Jarreau. We're not going to spoil it, you're just going to have to listen.

Along the way, we talk about Moonlighting, The Avengers (but not in the way you might think) and a bevy of additional topics. Matt demands some justice for Kenny G.

Some additional reading you should dig into after hearing this episode: Please go get yourself a copy of The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma by Ben Sidran. If you like a good music industry read, you'll dig Ben's book.

The Record Player is on Twitter, waiting for your follow and/or complaints and shameless praise.

We also have a Patreon and would love for you to join our Record Club. Get cool stuff in addition to and related to these episodes! Thanks for listening!

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Producer Spencer Proffer arguably became a household name with his work on Quiet Riot's Metal Health, which became the first heavy metal album to hit number one. But that's just one sliver of his fascinating career.

Spencer joins Matt for a special Bonus Track to discuss his career, including The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's "American Pie," which is streaming now on Paramount Plus.

He shares updates on the documentary that he's currently working on about fellow legendary producer Eddie Kramer (KISS, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones). We discuss his own work with Aussie singer-songwriter Billy Thorpe ("Children of the Sun"), Guns N' Roses, Clive Davis and lots more.

Spencer also tells us how he ended up pivoting to working on television, film and multimedia projects with his company Meteor 17.

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider signing on with our Patreon. As a member of our Record Club, you'll receive early access to episodes, bonus interviews, additional content and lots more. Thanks for the support and your listening ears!

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Singer-songwriter Cory Branan is our guest to chatter about Mule Variations, the 1999 album from Tom Waits.

We've been looking forward to being able to share this conversation with you all. Cory has a fantastic new album, When I Go I Ghost, which is being released this week (10/14/22).

The album features guests Jason Isbell, Brian Fallon and Garrison Starr and is hands down, one of our favorite records of the year. From the moment you drop the proverbial needle and hear "When in Rome, When in Memphis," it's a sure bet that you'll be on board with this release from Cory.

Cory had great insights regarding Waits and it was a real pleasure to welcome him to The Record Player. Check out his music and dates for his fall tour which is  in progress as we speak. Get out and see a show. You'll thank us later.

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Former Chicago vocalist Jason Scheff joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Generation Radio, his new band with Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts (and a wealth of other players that fellow liner notes nerds will appreciate). We dig into a few of the less familiar corners of his career and Jason shares his love and appreciation for Elton John's classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album.

Find out more about Generation Radio by visiting their official website for music and upcoming tour dates!

If you enjoy our podcast, consider joining our Patreon. Become a Record Club member for advance audio, bonus interviews and lots more! We appreciate your support!

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Matt chats with David Libert who was on the road with the original Alice Cooper Group in their prime. But that's just one chapter of David's amazing career, which has now been immortalized in his new book.

Rock and Roll Warrior: My Misadventures with Alice Cooper, Prince, George Clinton, Living Colour, The Runaways, and More... is exactly the wild ride you'd expect from the title. It was a pleasure to converse with David and hear him expand on some of the stories in the book. He also shared some anecdotes that didn't make it into the pages.

You can get an autographed copy of David's book via his website. It's also available wherever you get your books.

If you enjoy this podcast, we invite you to become a member of our Patreon. Join our Record Club for bonus audio, interviews and more!

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On today's podcast, Jeff and Matt are taking a look at the brief, but very prolific career of Wes Montgomery. Austin guitar legend Eric Johnson joins us to share how Montgomery's work, particularly 1968's  Down Here On The Ground, influenced his own career.

Eric is celebrating the release of two new albums, The Book of Making and Yesterday Meets Today. The new releases find Eric digging back into his archives while also writing some exciting new material. Fans who purchase the albums directly from Blue Elan Records will receive a bonus digital EP of additional tracks.

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider joining our Patreon. Become a member of our Record Club and receive access to a wealth of additional bonus material including extra interviews and tons of audio connected to these shows.

You can find us on Twitter @RecordPlayerPod. Thanks for listening!

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Dennis Diken of the Smithereens is our guest to discuss 1965's The Beach Boys Today! album. In addition to his longtime role as drummer for the legendary New Jersey group, you'll find Dennis' words in a variety of places, including his liner notes for the 2000 reissue of 15 Big Ones by the Beach Boys.

He went solo in 2009 with the release of Late Music, the debut album by Dennis Diken with Bell Sound, his collaboration with longtime friend Pete DiBella. Recently, he reissued a rare track from that pairing that was not on the album. "Bear (In My Garden)" is now available on his Bandcamp page with all proceeds going to benefit the people of the Ukraine.

The Smithereens will release The Lost Album on September 23, an entire album's worth of songs that were recorded in 1993  that were shelved in favor of the group's subsequent 1994 album A Date with the Smithereens.

The record is an intriguing look at what the band was up to after they departed Capitol Records and decided they were going to write and record an entire album of material to release on their own label. While that never came to pass, the songs they captured during the month they spent recording in New York City at Crystal Sound Studios are an interesting snapshot from the period and fans will be delighted to hear a new, previously unheard slice of that classic Smithereens sound.

Dennis came armed with a lot of good stories, including tales of an ill-fated show with ZZ Top and Ted Nugent as well as the details behind their night as the backing band for Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks in 1991.

Our thanks to Dennis for spending some time with us talking music!

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Today we're digging into Ben Kweller's amazing Sha Sha album from 2000.

Our guest Annie Dressner joins us to share some of her favorite moments regarding the record and how it connects back to her own personal history as a songwriter.

Annie also plays a couple of songs live for Jeff and Matt during this conversation, which happened just a few days before she went back out on tour. She discusses "I've Always Been Like This," her newest collaboration with Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and lots more. We had a blast speaking with Annie and look forward to seeing what's ahead as she continues to work on new music.

Visit Annie's website for upcoming tour dates, music and more!

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Legendary producer and Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison joins Matt to discuss his current reunion with Adrian Belew. The pair are celebrating the Remain in Light album with a special performance in Los Angeles on September 29 at the Wiltern.

He digs deep into his time with both Talking Heads and the Modern Lovers and how his time working with Jonathan Richman informed his eventual collaboration with David Byrne. We also discuss a number of other subjects including working with Brian Eno, the Remain in Light period and the legendary gigs that produced the Stop Making Sense concert film.

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Thank you for listening.

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For more than a decade now, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi have been building up an incredible body of work with Tedeschi Trucks Band.  "America's best rock 'n' roll big band" is how Trucks himself described the touring and recording behemoth that has developed organically across the past decade.

The pair detail I Am the Moon, the group's newest project, during a conversation with Matt. Featuring 24 songs spread across four albums, the endeavor contains some of the band's best work to date -- and if you're not already familiar with TTB, this is a great place to jump in.

Trucks and Tedeschi shed a lot of light on how the albums came together, where the film component came into play and how the pandemic fed the whole project. They also discuss the experience of covering the classic Layla album from Derek and the Dominos, revisiting Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen and in general, getting the chance to collaborate with legends.

It's a wonderfully free-flowing conversation that will leave you feeling like you've just spent the afternoon with a couple of good friends.

If you enjoy these episodes, please consider joining our Record Club on Patreon. We appreciate your support! 

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Little Feat's Bill Payne joins Matt and Jeff to discuss the band's legendary live album, which has recently been expanded into a super deluxe box set. He also details new music that the band is currently working on, plus stories about the group's legendary past, writing with Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, his memories of legendary Warner Brothers record man Mo Ostin and lots more!

If you enjoy episodes like this one, please consider joining our Record Club on Patreon and take a moment to rate and review our podcast! We appreciate your support as always!

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Legendary record executive Mo Ostin passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind an incredible legacy of work. For more than 30 years, Ostin was one of the key industry figures associated with Warner Brothers and Reprise, first joining the latter in 1960 when he was recruited by Frank Sinatra. He became chairman and CEO of Warner/Reprise in 1972  and held that title until his departure in 1994.

That year, his peers at the label assembled Mo's Songs, a six disc promotional box set that was presented to Ostin and the label staff as a musical send-off. The compilation opens with "Mo," an original song from George Harrison and offers an astounding overview of Ostin's career in the 100+ tracks that follow.

Jeff and Matt welcome David Wild, who shares memories of his unique encounters with Mo over the years. David also reveals a Mo project that he was working on.

We also discuss Naked Lunch, the fantastic new podcast that David is hosting with his longtime friend, Phil Rosenthal. As always, the stories are great and we appreciate David taking the time to join us.

If you enjoy our podcast, we invite you to become a member of our Record Club on Patreon to unlock even more Record Player fun. You'll get access to advance audio of these episodes, bonus interviews and a wealth of additional content. We appreciate your support!

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Collective Soul will release Vibrating, their 11th studio album together, at the end of this week (August 12).

Ed Roland is always a fun chat and we dug through a number of topics, including stories about Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen, performing at Woodstock '94 and a signature moment in "Shine" that came from a unique place.

Matt and Ed also discuss the incredibly prolific period of writing and recording that will keep fans well stocked with further new music next year and beyond.

Collective Soul is currently on the road with Switchfoot. Visit the band's website for the latest tour dates and get out to see a show!

If you enjoy our podcast, we invite you to support our Patreon and become a member of our Record Club. You'll receive tons of exclusive bonus material related to these episodes. We appreciate you listening to the show!

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Robert Palmer's Riptide made the English singer-songwriter a household name worldwide, selling millions of copies on the strength of mega-hits like "Addicted to Love" and "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On." But what was the rest of the album like? Jeff and Matt share their recollections of buying Palmer's eighth studio album, the doors that purchase opened up and its lasting impact.

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Jeff and Matt are flying solo today as they explore Spin This, the 1998 album which found Danny Wilde briefly splitting away from his longtime songwriting partner Phil Solem. Billed as Danny Wilde + The Rembrandts, the record is an interesting entry in the group's overall discography and one which deserves a second look more than 20 years after its release.

We examine the history of the Rembrandts in brief, taking a look at the series of events that found the Los Angeles group enjoying high times of major success with the Friends theme song . But they struggled to deal with that good fortune and Spin This was one result that emerged from the aftermath.

Solem and Wilde happily resumed their partnership in 2000 and remain active to this day. Their most recent album, 2019's Via Satellite, deserves your ears.

If you enjoy our program, please consider becoming a member of our Record Club on Patreon. Members receive extensive bonus content related to these episodes. We appreciate your support!

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Kurt Neumann, the songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer behind the BoDeans, is our guest this week.

He shares his love for the music of Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio. But beyond that, talks about how music has had a positive impact on his own mental health and how he seeks to spread that to others with his own songwriting.

We discuss 4 The Last Time, the newest BoDeans album, as well as Staring at the World, his podcast which recently launched its second season.  Margaret Cho, Steve Vai, Soledad O'Brien and many others have joined Neumann to share how they learned to trust their intuition and follow their creative spirit.

It was great to speak with Kurt and we think you'll find a lot to enjoy in this edition of The Record Player.

We have a Patreon that helps us to cover the costs of recording and producing the podcast. If you dig what you hear, we'd appreciate your support. All members of our Record Club receive extensive bonus material related to the episodes as well as bonus interviews.

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We're thrilled to welcome Niko Stratis to the podcast. She joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Grandaddy's 2003 album, Sumday. We also talk about record stores, her articles about various '90s alt-rock bands (including Counting Crows), grocery stores and retail customers in general.

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Steph Trivison joins Jeff and Matt to discuss her career as well as her latest album, Little Thrills. We dig into the work she's been doing as well with music placement, plus songwriting, production and there's even a bit of stray ukulele discussion.

We also discuss Butch Walker's 2004 solo release, Letters. Steph talks about how formative Butch's work as as producer and songwriter was to her own eventual music output.

If you enjoy these episodes, consider supporting our Patreon and joining our Record Club. We appreciate your support and feedback!

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On July 15th and 16th, Jim Messina will reunite with his old collaborative partner, Kenny Loggins, for two special shows at the Hollywood Bowl. The concerts are marking the 50th anniversary of the initial show that the duo played at that same venue in 1972.

Messina got on the phone to chat briefly about the upcoming gigs and how the pair are preparing for them. He also shares some thoughts on Kenny's memoir -- and stories of their past together.

There's some Poco chat as well, regarding the beginnings of the group and their reunion in the late '80s for the Legacy album, which produced the hit single, "Call It Love." Messina also shares his love for late Poco vocalist Rusty Young.

Thanks to Jim for the time!

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Jeff and Matt are joined by Howie Edelson to discuss Wild Honey, the 13th studio release from The Beach Boys. Howie is the creative consultant for The Beach Boys and their company, Brother Records, Inc. and brings a wealth of Beach Boys knowledge to today's discussion.

Howie works with the band and their associates on all aspects of production for their archival releases, including the newly expanded Sounds of Summer, which is being released on June 17. Originally released in 2003 with 30 tracks, the new version now has 80 tracks, with 24 new mixes including four tracks that have been mixed in stereo for the first time.

Edelson wrote the highly informative liner notes for the new collection, which uncover some fascinating history behind the songs. It was a lot of fun to dig into the history of Wild Honey with Howie, while also getting the skinny on what's coming up from the Beach Boys.

Find more information about today's episode here in the show notes.

If you enjoy these episodes, please consider supporting our Patreon by joining our Record Club. You'll receive access to numerous exclusive posts and bonus material related to the episodes. We greatly appreciate your support!

Follow us @RecordPlayerPod and find an archive of the past episodes right here.

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Jackyl's Jesse James Dupree is with Matt to discuss his upcoming appearance as one of the experts on The Booze, Bets and Sex That Built America, the new series that premieres Sunday night (06/12/22) at 8pm Eastern on The History Channel.

We also talk about the new Jackyl song, "Get All Up in It (Another Round of Mother Funker)." Watch the music video here.

Jesse shares additional Jackyl news, an Aerosmith story and reflects on the inspiration he took from Metallica. Our thanks to Jesse for the time as always.

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Author and journalist Mitchell Cohen joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Willie Nile's 1980 self-titled debut on Arista Records. The Buffalo, N.Y. singer-songwriter has enjoyed a long career that has been especially prolific in the last decade. Mitchell helps us trace the early days of Nile's career and how it all began.

We also discuss Mitchell's new book, Looking for the Magic: New York City, the '70s and the Rise of Arista Records, which is a fascinating read covering the birth of the label and its initial history as an independent venture. Along the way, we dig into a few additional chapters of Cohen's A&R career including his experiences with Savage Garden and he shares his thoughts on Milli Vanilli.

You can find the show notes for this episode right here.

If you enjoy the Record Player, consider joining our Patreon and become a member of the Record Club. You'll receive additional bonus content related to these episodes as well as early access to the shows as we record them. We appreciate your support!

Visit @RecordPlayerPod on Twitter and find our complete episode archive here. Thanks for listening!

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Howard Jones joins Jeff and Matt to discuss the 30th anniversary of his album, In the Running. It was his fifth release and marked a departure from his signature synth-driven style. There was a vulnerability to both the sound and the songwriting which made the record a really engaging listen. To date, it's probably one of his most underrated releases, so it was a pleasure to get a chance to discuss it with Howard.

We also dig into the stories regarding Dialogue, his newest album, which will be released in September. Dialogue is the third album in a planned four album series and Jones tells us about how the series of work developed and has evolved.

Howard Jones will be on the road this summer beginning in June for a series of concerts with Midge Ure. Both artists are touring with a band and this is a bill not to be missed. Visit Howard's website for details on both the tour and the new album.

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider joining our Record Club on Patreon to support what we do. We greatly appreciate it!

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It's been a minute since Jeff and Matt have gotten together for a Cassingle. With a holiday weekend looming, it was good to get together and discuss a busy week of new releases. Bruce Hornsby, Def Leppard, Wilco and others have new albums out. Top Gun: Maverick is in the theaters and the fourth season of Stranger Things has just been released.

Find the show notes for this episode right here.

If you enjoy this podcast, consider joining our Patreon. Become a member of the Record Club and receive early access to episodes as they are recorded, bonus content related to the shows and lots more. We appreciate your support!

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Singer-songwriter Bill Deasy joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Jackson Browne's third album, 1974's Late for the Sky. The discussion leads to the songwriting muse, how long to spend on a song before moving on and how Bill's own writing has changed.

We also dig into the details behind If The Creek Don't Rise, the latest solo release from Bill. He discusses his past work with the Gathering Field, meeting Michael Stanley and co-writing with a wide range of artists including Maia Sharp, Kim Richey, Howard Jones, Jane Wiedlin and more. You can hear a sample of material from Bill's album at the end of the episode.

Show notes for this episode can be found here.

Find us on Twitter @RecordPlayerPod and if you enjoy what you hear here, please support this podcast by joining our Patreon for additional bonus content and interviews related to these episodes. We appreciate your support!

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Today's Bonus Track features a trio of short conversations. First, Kelly Carlin joins Matt to discuss George Carlin's American Dream, the new documentary from Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio which premieres this weekend in two parts on HBO Max beginning on Friday, May 21.

'80s rocker Corey Hart shares the stage with the Go-Go's, Soft Cell and Charli XCX as part of a special virtual concert happening on June 23 presented by Doritos and Stranger Things.

Finally, we spoke with Triumph's Rik Emmett briefly to discuss the new documentary, Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine, which has a special limited streaming engagement on Nugs.net through May 31.

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our Patreon and becoming a member of the Record Club. We greatly appreciate your support!

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In his early days as a singer-songwriter, Dan Miraldi met Matt. While the wise thing would have been to run away screaming, Dan did one better than that -- he moved to New York City. But in the years since that initial meeting, Dan and Matt continued to cross paths occasionally and one thing that was always consistent was that they were guaranteed to spend some time nerding out about music.

Today, we continue that tradition, digging deep into Dan's latest album, Radio Friendly Darling. But we also discuss a wide variety of additional subjects, from Ben Kweller and Radish to KISS. It was a blast speaking with him and hopefully you'll enjoy our chat.

We reference a lot of different things and you'll find links to many of them in the show notes.

Dan has shows coming up soon in both Cleveland and the New York area. Visit his website for all of the details.

If you enjoy The Record Player, please consider supporting our Patreon by joining our Record Club. We appreciate it!

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Not long after we launched this podcast, we got an email from Matt Sledge, suggesting that if we ever wanted to discuss R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi, he'd love to be the one to sit in with us. So here we are, Jeff, Matt and Matt, discussing the tenth studio album from the Athens band.

It's arguably one of the most interesting records in their catalog in the sense that it found the group taking a really intriguing journey in song. The liner notes of the 2021 expanded reissue pull the curtain back a bit to add some more details to what we already knew about the innovative approach they took to capturing the songs on the album. In short, it was every bit of the adventure that was advertised in the album title and then some.

Find the show notes for this episode right here.

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Today's Bonus Track features Steve Forbert, who joins Matt to share stories from his career and he also performs a couple of songs from his new record acoustically. They discuss his latest album as well as his recent memoir.  Steve is currently on tour and perhaps he's headed your way.

Join our Patreon to become a preferred subscriber to this podcast and you'll receive access to a wealth of materials related to the show. We appreciate your support.

With a mix of folk, roots-rock, and richly delivered storytelling, Steve Forbert is truly a pioneer of the roots-rock genre. He's been a torchbearer of the sound for more than four decades since, navigating the twists and turns of an acclaimed career that's taken him from gold records to Grammy nominations, from New York City's CBGB to Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, from his 1978 debut album to 2022's vital and versatile Moving Through America.

The songs take centerstage once again with Moving Through America. Filled with character portraits and quirky insights, the album unfolds like a mosaic of modern-day American life, delivered by someone who's been crisscrossing the country for nearly half a century. With an author's nuance and a humorist's wit, Forbert offer glimpses into the everyday lives of his characters: a dog running from the sky's thunderclaps; a Houston man preparing to take his girlfriend out for fried oysters; a former drug dealer celebrating his freedom after incarceration; a road-tripping motorist steadily making his way across the midwest.

Forbert inhabits each character, turning their storylines into first-person narratives that blur the lines between subject and scribe. Backed by the same band that appeared on his collection of cover songs, I, in 2020, he sounds every bit as spirited as he did in the late 1970s, back when he left his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, and headed to New York in search of new horizons.

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We're sticking around in 1990 for one more week after our episodes about REO Speedwagon and Eric Johnson. This week, Jeff and Matt are discussing Michael McDonald's third solo album, 1990's Take it to Heart. The album featured a variety of collaborations and guest players and big names like Don Was and Diane Warren in the mix behind the scenes. If you haven't heard this album, it's time for you to hear this album.

Show notes for this episode are here.

Support this podcast and join our Record Club on Patreon. Receive bonus content related to our episodes including additional interviews. We appreciate the love!

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Jesse Harms began writing songs in 1989 with REO Speedwagon vocalist Kevin Cronin who had been exploring some creative projects outside of the group. The chemistry between the pair was good and Harms was invited to join REO Speedwagon.

Though his stint in the group was a short one, he ended up co-writing six out of the 11 tracks on the band's next album as well as co-producing the record.

Harms joins Jeff and Matt to discuss his experiences working on REO's 1990 album, The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken -- as well as the subsequent tour.

He also shares some initial details regarding All Sides, the new six disc box set from Melodicrock Classics  that collects decades of his songwriting, including previously unreleased songs with Sammy Hagar, John Waite, Patty Smyth and others.

Hear two songs from the new box set here and stay tuned for pre-order details.

Read more about Jesse's extensive career as an artist, songwriter and producer here.

If you enjoy these episodes, we'd love to have you join our Patreon and become a Record Club member. You'll receive bonus content, early access to episodes as soon as they are recorded, additional interviews and other fun things! We appreciate your support.

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What an absolute thrill it is to welcome guitar legend Eric Gales to our program today to discuss Eric Johnson's pivotal Ah Via Musicom album. Gales joins Matt and Jeff to dig into his love of the Austin guitarist's music and how Johnson's playing influenced his own path as an artist.

Both guitarists have new music that you should be aware of. Gales has been turning a lot of heads this year (yet again) thanks to the arrival of Crown, his newest album produced by Joe Bonamassa. We discuss the raw and emotional circumstances that influenced these latest songs.

Eric also shares some memories at the beginning of our conversation about his early days, including the work he did with Survivor's Jimi Jamison, who came in to sing background vocals on the first two Eric Gales Band albums.

After this interview, news broke regarding Voodoo Nation, the newest Supersonic Blues Machine album, which features Eric, guitarist Sonny Landreth, Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr and many others. Look for that in your favorite record store June 24th.

As mentioned, Eric Johnson will also be releasing two (!) new albums this summer. Visit his website for details on how you can acquire them -- including a special package where you can order both albums and receive seven additional songs.

We have a Patreon where you can receive lots of additional bonus material related to these episodes and a ton of fun stuff beyond that. So if you enjoy this podcast, please join our Record Club. We appreciate your support!

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Irish-born/NYC-based rocker Pierce Turner joins Matt for today's Bonus Track to discuss Terrible Good, his latest album, which was released in late February on StorySound Records. The songs for the album came together over a four year period and Turner paired up with guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright, Suzanne Vega) to bring them to life.

The two Irishmen, who have spent the greater part of their lives living and experimenting with music in New York City, have married those experiences to produce an Irish album recorded with a New York attitude.

The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including Pierce's early collaborations with Black 47's Larry Kirwan. Matt and Pierce also discuss legendary freeform NYC radio DJ Vin Scelsa and how people like Vin were so important to music fans. Pierce shares tales of his time working in a record store. That's merely a thumbnail sketch of everything that was discussed.

By the way, here's the video of Pierce's complete performance at Joe's Pub that is referenced during the chat.

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Matt and Jeff are joined by author Daryl Gregory to discuss David Bowie's classic 1971 album Hunky Dory. They get into a number of other stray topics including the Hardy Boys and Daryl's latest book, Revelator.

Show notes for this episode are right here.

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Jeff and Matt are joined by longtime friend Michael Fortes, the biggest Weather Report fan they've encountered in this life. As they'll learn, he's not the holder of that title for the world. That is an honor that surely must go to the guy who wrote a book about the band (along with running the most impressive fan site on the internet for many, many years).

Michael stopped by The Record Player to discuss Sweetnighter, the band's third album and we loved exploring a bit of the group's history through his eyes.

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Guitar maestro Andy Timmons joins Jeff and Matt for a unique conversation about the classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Having recorded his own version of the album, Timmons has spent a good amount of time exploring the music of the Liverpool group, both as a musician and many times, simply a music fan. He brought his guitar and it was a true joy to talk with Andy.

His new album, Electric Truth, is out this week and deserves your ears. We enjoyed hearing the stories about how the record came together. In general, Andy is a fellow music nerd like us and we can't wait for a chance to speak with him again down the road.

Show notes are right here.

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Matt and Jeff are talking about the Eagles, both solo and together. We discuss a few of the week's new releases very briefly and give a nod to the Low Culture Boil podcast (they're talking about Twinkies and ramen and we couldn't look away).

Show notes as always are right here.

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Jeff and Matt are joined by Miles Francis and Lizzie Loveless (and their dog, Tony) for a special Bonus Track. They both have new albums that deserve your ears. Check out Miles' Good Man and Lizzie's You Don't Know (which Miles produced).

The journey that each of them took to arrive at the albums that they ended up with is a pretty compelling story, which we dig into during this episode. This conversation ends up being a special time capsule as well. Miles and Lizzie got engaged just a few days before this episode was recorded. Congratulations!

Show notes for this episode are here.

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The incredible Rax King is our guest to discuss Sleater-Kinney's 1997 album Dig Me Out. But we're also talking about the other Rax King, a restaurant called Rax, the band Creed and the Lazarus of Christian rock.

Rax has a great new book called Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer. It's awesome, but don't take our flimsy word for it, just read the damn thing. While you're reading, listen to her Low Culture Boil podcast, featuring "Rax Facts" and everything you need to know about Twinkies.

She's got a Patreon that deserves your attention. Hell, we've got a Patreon. Join both, feel better.

Show notes for this episode can be found right here.

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There's a new Cowboy Junkies collection on the horizon and it's one to be excited about. Guitarist and songwriter Michael Timmins joins Matt to discuss Songs of the Recollection, which will be released on March 25.

Michael shares a lot of good stories, including his memories of Vic Chesnutt, and also, the band's collaboration with Garth Hudson of the Band, just to name a couple. It was a real pleasure to speak with him.

The band will be back on tour starting in April. Check out the tour dates to see if they're coming your way.

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Del Amitri's Justin Currie is our guest to discuss all things Dels-related, including Change Everything, the band's third album, which turns 30 this year.

On March 26th, Del Amitri will launch their first U.S. tour in 25 years. We discuss the upcoming trek with Justin and he shares the details behind Fatal Mistakes, the band's newest album, which helped to make this tour a reality.

While Change Everything is one element of our conversation with the Dels frontman, we dig deep into other stories regarding the band's catalog of work. We appreciate Justin's time and insights. It was such a thrill.

Jeff had a scheduling conflict, so producer and A&R man Peter Lubin, a previous guest on our fourth episode (and a big fan of the group), joined Matt and Justin for the conversation.

You can find show notes regarding the episode here.

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Matt and Jeff are celebrating 311 Day. March 11 is also a great day, because it means there's now a brand new live album from the Georgia Satellites that you can listen to.  Cowboy Junkies have a new album coming out later this month and Matt just spoke with Michael Timmins from the band. Those are just a few of the many topics we dig into.

You can find the show notes here.

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We enjoyed having guitarist George Marinelli on the podcast earlier this year to talk about some of his favorite music, including Ahmad Jamal.

He's back for a special Bonus Track to discuss Sign Here, his new solo album that's being released on March 10. You can pre-order the album now and all proceeds are being donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We also discussed  a good amount of music, including Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, the Police and more. He shares the story of how he connected with Bonnie and also some cool anecdotes about working with Don Was on a number of projects.

The show notes for this episode can be found here.

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Okay, so on today's episode, we actually discuss two albums by Mew, 2005's And the Glass Handed Kites and 2009's No More Stories. Our show intro features "Introducing Palace Players" from the latter album.

Yvette Young is our guest to discuss these records from the Danish band that provided interesting influence on her own career as a musician and songwriter. As you'll hear, Yvette is always wrapped up in a bunch of different musical projects. Truly, she lives, breathes and sleeps (not necessarily in that order) music all of the time.

She announced a tour with her band, Covet, not long after we recorded this episode. You can find details on the Frogwild tour (best tour name EVER) here.

Stay tuned for the show notes for this episode, which will be here.

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It's weird being online. Remember when friendship disagreements involved a conversation instead of the block button? That's one topic of today's Cassingle. Jeff and Matt also discuss Klassik '78, a great band that fans of '70s KISS should be aware of. Are you watching The Afterparty? Well, you should be.

The show notes you crave will be here.

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Podcasting pioneer, funny guy and fellow music nerd Jimmy Pardo (Never Not Funny, The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien) is our guest to discuss Peter Cetera's third solo album, One More Story.

A fellow lifelong Chicago fan, Jimmy has seen the band a zillion times and appeared in the documentary film, Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago. He also wrote liner notes (with fellow Record Player guest David Wild) for the 2021 box set, Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete.

But his real credentials for being on this episode are that he once spent actual time writing up setlists for Peter Cetera that he did not actually deliver to Peter Cetera. In all seriousness, we had so much fun discussing Peter Cetera and all things Chicago with Jimmy for this episode. We'll look forward to speaking with him again soon to continue our music nerd session.

Until that happens, check out Never Not Funny and for a whole bunch of music nerdery, Jimmy's Records and Tapes.

Show notes for this episode can be found here.

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On the heels of our conversation with David Wild regarding Ringo Starr's Time Takes Time album, which turns 30 this year, we went a bit deeper. (As if David's great interview with Don Was in that same episode wasn't impressive enough....)

Former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch (a talented producer and songwriter himself) had the pleasure of co-writing a song for the Ringo album called "Don't Know a Thing About Love."  He got on the phone to share his memories of writing the track with Richard Feldman, enlisting Sheryl Crow to sing on the demo and lots more.

Stan has new music on tap for release this year from The Speaker Wars and also, The Chefs, his band with Dan Baird, is readying a second course (read: second album). He gives us an update on both pending releases.

Show Notes:

Our conversation with David Wild regarding Ringo Starr’s Time Takes Time (with David’s bonus interview with Don Was regarding his work on the Ringo album).
Thanks to Dan Baird for connecting us with Stan
Georgia Satellites - Lightnin' in a Bottle: Live in Cleveland 1988
Stan is organized.
Stan’s parents
The Speaker Wars, Stan’s latest band.
The Speaker Wars and Andy Timmons
The Speaker Wars - "Never Ready to Go"
Andy Timmons - Electric Truth album
The 30th anniversary of Ringo Starr’s Time Takes Time album
Stan’s song on Ringo’s album, “Don’t Know a Thing About Love”
Richard Feldman
Eric Clapton - “Promises”
June Pointer - “Love Calling”
The birth of “Don’t Know a Thing About Love”
Writing for Ringo
Sheryl Crow
Stan’s history with Don Was
Was (Not Was) = awesome
Going to hear the finished song
Meeting Ringo
All roads lead to Ringo
Stan sitting in with Ringo and the All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr, the drummer
Stan’s impression of the Get Back documentary
The demo of Stan’s song vs. what ended up on Time Takes Time
New music from Stan and Dan Baird - the second album from The Chefs
Someone/Anyone Todd Rundgren tribute 
Was Stan a Rundgren fan back in the day?
Stan and The Speaker Wars have recorded different versions of “No Matter What” for a Badfinger tribute

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Legendary rock scribe David Wild joins Matt and Jeff to discuss Ringo Starr's Time Takes Time on the brink of the album's 30th anniversary. But that's not all -- David came armed with audio from Ringo Starr and additional audio of a conversation he had with Don Was to revisit Don's experience as one of the producers on Time Takes Time.

While David's wife just wants him to listen to more Rick Springfield (that's our flimsy tease for one of the subjects of this episode), we somehow convinced him to tell us about working with Ringo on the new book, Lifted. The book is available now in two different editions, with profits benefiting The Lotus Foundation charity.

David has also teamed up with Phil Rosenthal (Everybody Loves Raymond) for the forthcoming podcast, Naked Lunch. He shares plenty of details on that exciting endeavor as well.

No worries, he tells plenty of rock and roll war stories also. We had so much fun chatting with David and we're already plotting to get him back.

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Show Notes:

David’s famous experience trying to interview Van Morrison 
David’s Bob Dylan story
Bob Dylan’s Hearts of Fire movie ​​
Ringo Starr - Time Takes Time EPK
David’s experience working on Ringo Starr’s new book, Lifted.
Ringo Starr on Jimmy Kimmel
David spoke with Don Was for this episode
David’s Flowers in the Dirt story
Paul McCartney - “Figure of Eight”
Paul McCartney - “Distractions”
Ringo Starr - “Weight of the World”
The Ringo audio
Ringo Starr - Don’t Go Where The Road Don’t Go
Paul McCartney - “1985”
David’s Paul McCartney Grammy story
Ringo Starr - “Don’t Know a Thing About Love”
Ringo Starr - “Golden Blunders”
Ringo Starr - “In a Heartbeat”
Mickey Thomas and Robin Zander are, in fact, awesome.
Matt’s defense of “We Built This City”
Starship - “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”
Mickey Thomas - Alive Alone
Elvin Bishop - “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”
Jeff’s UCR article regarding Jefferson Starship and Starship 
David Wild’s 1992 Rolling Stone profile on Time Takes Time 
Ringo’s Old Wave album
David’s new podcast with Phil Rosenthal
David’s appearance on Jimmy Pardo’s Never Not Funny 

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Mike Errico joins Jeff and Matt to discuss Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, the 1995 debut album by Sparklehorse, the banner which the late Mark Linkous used to bring his music into the world.

Nearly 30 years after the record first hit the shelves, it remains an extremely compelling listen. We enjoyed having the chance to revisit the album with Mike. It proved to be the catalyst for a number of interesting discussions. Visit Mike at his website, where you'll find details on his new book, which we also talk about.

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Show Notes

Cleveland memories
The Twinemen and Morphine
Dana Colley “The guy who played two saxophones at the same time.”
Morphine - ‘Sharks”
Morphine in Cleveland
Meeting Mark Sandman at a diner
The History of Bones: A Memoir by John Lurie
The threads that connect our favorite musicians
Warren Zevon
Mike’s experiences touring with Warren Zevon
Running into Steve Buscemi at a Tom Waits show in Columbus, Ohio
Playing Woodstock ‘99
Almost getting beaten up as the opening act for a concert
Opening for Art Garfunkel
America - Crying in My Sleep (not written by Art, but written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by Art) 
Art Garfunkel - The Singer (I called it “The Songwriter.” Dammit, Jeff wins again!)
Richard Marx, Night Ranger and Kevin Cronin
Mike’s book
Big questions about songwriting
The similarities between songwriters and astrophysicists
Twitter rage caused by Martians
The allure of a chorus
The movie Contact and why it’s Mike’s favorite sci-fi film, but why it’s also a horrible movie.
Giving prospective songwriters a map that doesn’t exist
Jeff Giles 2011 interview with Mike Errico
Pancakes and the importance of milk
The Wallflowers - Bringing Down the Horse
Battling self-esteem issues with a project
Students walking the alternate path
Battling against the urge to quit.
George Saunders
Trusting the universe and being open to taking a different path
Mike’s path to Sparklehorse
Analyzing the sound of Sparklehorse
Contemporaries of Sparklehorse
What was it like submitting this album to Capitol Records?
Alessandro Nivola and the movie Laurel Canyon, which uses two of Mark Linkous’s songs from Sparklehorse
Mark’s vision for his songs, “Every song is a different planet.”
Mark Linkous interview by Chip Midnight
Sparklehorse article at Stereogum by Annie Zaleski
Mike’s favorite songs from the Spark

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Matt speaks with Mitchell Stuart, writer/director of the new film, Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York. The movie is now available to stream and also can be found on select cable networks. Highly recommended for radio nerds, music fans and anybody who loves a good documentary watch. Stuart details his experiences working on the film with radio legends Scott Shannon and Elvis Duran.

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Show Notes:

Some information on Scott Shannon
Some Z100 history
Official film trailer
Where to watch
Sean Ross’ review of the film
New York Post story on the film (with a great Bruce Springsteen story -
Mitchell Stuart’s introduction to Z100 and Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon is not easy to deal with, but neither is Mitchell
Jim Kerr and the radio wars
Z100 going from worst to first in less than three months
What is the story that Mitchell regrets cutting from the film?
Nile Rodgers rules
Outtakes, there are lots.
Matt’s WMMS oral history
The rare audio and video Mitchell used in the film
Working with Scott Shannon
The best story from Scott
Z100’s sound processing / Frank Foti

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We weren't planning on venturing back to Hiatt Country so soon (after our initial episode on John Hiatt's Bring the Family), but we got an email from Michael Elliott, author of the new book, Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story with an interesting idea.

He pointed out that February 18 is the 30th anniversary of the release of Little Village by Little Village, featuring John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner. Would we be interested in discussing the album? Hell yes.

If you enjoy what you hear on today's episode, nab yourself a copy of Michael's book. He spoke with all involved with Little Village to get the definitive story behind the album for the first time. It's a great read (and if you're a Hiatt fan, you already know this is an essential acquisition).

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Show Notes:

Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story
The birth of the book
What was the alternate plan if Hiatt didn’t participate?
Interviewing Hiatt
Ry Cooder
Little Village in the book
Initial thoughts on the Little Village album
How those initial thoughts changed with time
Traveling Little Village Wilburys?
Nick Lowe’s Party of One
The catalyst for Little Village
The tour for the Little Village album
What could it be holding up a Little Village reunion?
Collaborating by fax
It’s a good time to be these guys -- they can call their own shots.
The second generation of Little Village
The Bodyguard and Nick Lowe
Bring The Family Again…..The Little Avengers
30 years later..what do you really love about this album?
What should people listen to in order to get into this album?
The importance of believing in yourself and the ideas that you have.
Michael's John Hiatt playlist/soundtrack to the book

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