Inside MusiCast

From his early beginnings in the band Beatnik Beatch, followed by the success and cult following with his power-pop band Jellyfish in the early 90’s, Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. continues to explore and create music that contains musical excellence and well-crafted lyrics. The past three decades have been filled with a variety of projects for Roger, from Imperial Drag, to TV Eyes, to several solo an...

Todd Sucherman was destined to become a professional musician and his prowess behind the drum kit has already led him to a 45 year start. From his early days gigging in Chicago, to laying down tracks for jingles and scores, to landing the drumming chair with legendary rock band Styx, Todd has been one the busiest and most in-demand drummers in the business. But recently he’s taken another leap of...

If one word can best describe Claudia Campagnol’s life and music, it would be fusion. Her gypsy spirit has taken her from Hungary, to Sweden, to Copenhagen, with many other travels and experiences that have shaped her musical upbringing. The Copenhagen-based musician, singer, and composer was baptized into jazz, R&B, soul, pop and groove at a very early age, heavily influenced by her parents....

It’s no secret that Abraham Laboriel has been on our bucket list for a long time, but we’ve always known that he doesn’t give many interviews. Abe tends to let his music do the talking and he purposefully stays “off the grid” and avoids the spotlight.  But thanks to the help of our New Jersey Correspondent, Yinka Oyelese, we’ve secured this exclusive chat with one of the most coveted and reco...

From his early beginnings as an assistant with Phil Ramone, to his foray into recording and mixing sessions for Steely Dan, Toto, Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Hornsby, the Eagles, the Foo Fighters and many others, to becoming a pioneer in the world of surround mixing, Elliot Scheiner is without question one of the elite producers, recording engineers, and mixers to ever set foot in a studio. He has recentl...

Singer/songwriter Quint Starkie’s musical journey has taken him from the UK where he grew-up, to L.A., to Stockholm, Sweden. His career has enveloped a variety of opportunities that have stretched his talents, including work as a session musician, composer, producer, and a live performer. Quint has also been heavily involved in writing countless jingles and theme music for some of the industry’s b...

Ben Shepherd exudes groove. Not only can you hear and feel it, but you can see it on the ear-to-ear smile on his face when he's layin' it down. The New Zealand native has been energized by music since he was a kid, with the bass guitar being his focus. Ben made his way to L.A., where he's held down the groove for some incredible artists, such as Peter Erskine, David Archuleta, Ellis Hall, Kendrick...

While the rest of Los Angeles is sleeping, Jay Graydon is hard at work. His nocturnal schedule started when he was in high school and has persisted throughout his career, but this magical time of the day has afforded Jay with the creative timetable to write and produce countless gold, platinum and Grammy winning albums and songs. We last had Jay on the show ten years ago when we discussed various...

We first discovered Shawn Lee in late 2015 when we heard the news about a new, West Coast oriented band from the UK called Young Gun Silver Fox, but little did we know about his lengthy tenure in the music business and the variety of musical styles he’d been involved with, from country, to electronica, to West Coast, and more. Shawn has once again broadened his musical horizons with a brand new so...

It's been 11 years since our last connection with Robbie Dupree. At the time, he had just released his album ‘Time And Tide’, which featured his steady stable of musical colleagues - David Sancious, Rick Chudacoff, Peter Bunetta, Leslie Smith, and the late Larry Hoppen. Since that time, and with an understanding of the ever-changing landscape of the music business, Robbie has decided that writing...

Gary Husband is a musical rare breed. He’s a multi-instrumentalist who focuses on expression, textures, and improvisational thinking. That’s how he’s developed as a critically acclaimed drummer, pianist, composer and producer. Having world class skills in both piano and drums provided him with incredible diversity, which led to gigs with a vast and eclectic range of celebrated musicians including...

Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber are both well-respected musicians and have each had long and successful careers in the music business, with jazz being the root of their musical craft. While they’ve each traveled down different avenues and have developed their own, unique style, their paths have recently crossed, which has ignited a collaboration that fused their creativity and resulted in a brand new a...

On this episode of Inside MusiCast, we’re taking a trip to the smooth side of the jazz spectrum for an extensive chat with jazz trumpeter, songwriter, and vocalist, Rick Braun. However, 'smooth' doesn't pigeonhole Rick's music, as he incorporates a spectrum of jazz styles into his music, which is evident on his latest album "Crossroads" released a few weeks ago from Shanachie Entertainment. Rick a...

Versatility. For A-list session players, it’s not only the ability to adapt to a variety of musical styles and genres, but to the artists who call them in for a gig. John Peña has made a successful career in music by having this ability to adapt to any musical scenario that comes his way. On today’s episode of Inside MusiCast, we’ll chat with John about his path to becoming a first call bassist in...

Michael Thompson is proof that dreams do come true. The native New York guitarist knew at an early age that music was in his blood and he set his sights on becoming an elite session player. Having studied at Berklee with the likes of Pat Metheney, he eventually made his way to L.A. to pursue his dream at being an A-list studio musician. He quickly landed tours with Joe Cocker and Cher before break...

Don Breithaupt is a man of many talents. He’s a singer/songwriter, musician, producer, arranger, composer, author and even an Inside MusiCast Correspondent. From his steady gig with Brass Transit, to his Breithaupt Brothers collaboration with his brother, Jeff, to recently producing “True North: The Canadian Songbook” - an epic, 32 song project that celebrates Canada’s 150th birthday, Don’s passio...

On this episode of Inside MusiCast, we’re joined by two legendary musicians whose session work is as legendary as the artists they’ve worked with: Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel. Not only have these two performed and written songs for some of the most celebrated artists of the 70's and 80's, such as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Karla Bono...

Warren Ham is one of the best vocalists and woodwind players in the business. Born and raised in Texas, Warren found his way into the band Bloodrock out of Fort Worth. He and his brother, Bill, then went on to form The Ham Brothers Band, who eventually became the backing band for Bread and Cher.  From there, Warren went on to perform and tour with some of the best in the business, including K...

As adaptable as Chris Rodriguez has been throughout his career in music, having performed with a wide range of well-known artists and music genres spanning from pop, to country, to CCM, and rock, he continues to expand his musical palate.  Recently, Chris embarked on a journey that has led him to explore elements of jazz. Having some down time on the road and in-between gigs has allowed him t...

Dominique Xavier Taplin may be a young musician, but his immense talent has led him to some amazing gigs with Ghost-Note, Prince, and most recently he's taken David Paich's place on the road with Toto. However, he doesn't take these experiences for granted. He fully understands the magnitude of these artists and is honored to not only be a part of their legacies, but to have the opportunity to add...

Don Felder, is back with “American Rock 'N Roll”. It’s the second solo album by the former member of the Eagles and it comes nearly seven years after his debut solo effort titled “The Road To Forever.” On “American Rock ‘n Roll”, Don has enlisted some well known contributors who laid down parts for this all-star effort, including Slash, Bob Weir, Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Richie Sambora, Chad Smi...

t's been four years since Inside MusiCast last interviewed Evelyn Kallansee and Sebastiaan Cornelissen from the Dutch band Tristan, but being that their brand new album "The Spice Of Five" just dropped it was high time we had them back on again. This time, we have the entire band joining us, including Evelyn and Sebastiaan, along with keyboardist Coen Molenaar, bassist Frans Vollink, and guitarist...

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, jazz/soul/R&B singer songwriter Maysa Leak has established herself as a bonafide vocalist. This was proven when she caught Stevie Wonder’s attention in the early years and was invited to audition for him and his vocal group Wonderlove. He even allowed her to finish college first before joining the band. In 1991 she was recommended to the British funk-jaz...

Like most musicians who are at the top of their game, Mike Lindup’s path to music began when he was very young.  His mother and father were both creative souls and musicians, which provided an important influence for Mike. It wasn’t long after attending the Guildhall School of Music that Mike found his way into a band that would prove to be his greatest gig, keyboardist with Level 42.  F...

John Ferraro has enjoyed a panoramic drumming career that has allowed him to become a first call, A-list session drummer, and that doesn’t happen overnight. From his early tours and sessions with Larry Carlton and Barry Manilow to playing with Boz Scaggs, Burt Bacharach, and so many others, John has earned his stripes, has garnered respect among his peers in the music industry, and he’s created a...