The City's Backyard

For eighteen years (1983-2001) a fixture of radio & television’s Howard Stern Show, comedian Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling was born and raised in East Norwich, a tiny hamlet on the glorious North Shore of Long Island, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Oyster Bay High School and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University in 1971.  I n March, 1979, he created a d...

Steve Holley from Paul McCartney & Wings is a great friend and band mate of the late rock legend Denny Laine! On this episode we chat about his time in WINGS, and his relationship with Denny, after all Denny was the guy that helped open the door for him to play in WINGS! Steve tells the story....also we play the new tribute re release track of Time To Hide,  the song that Denny wrote, sang and...

It's a true crime episode with the cast of How (NOT) To Get Rid Of A Body Episode 3 "Graveyard Shift"  featuring John Campanile from Chicago, Kathy Sanders from the Maryland area, Dave Eggers II from Long Island, and yours truly Matt Zako from Westchester, New York! We talk about the filming of this True Crime episode and go behind the scenes of the making of a true crime story that...

Former bandmates of the late Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician, Denny Laine, just released a new tribute version of one of Laine’s signature songs, Time To Hide, to coincide with what would have been Laine’s 80th birthday, October 29. The song, released under the artist name McDonald’s Farm, will feature Steve McDonald, Grant Roberts and Laine’s former Wings bandmate Steve Holley, with keyboar...

Joe Walsh is coming to QUEENS, NEW YORK for VETS AID 2024 with his drummer Joe Vitale! We love having Joe drop by ...that's "Joe Bob" to Don Henley from The Eagles as what he calls him not to confuse him with Walsh when they all have played together on tour. We catch up with Vitale to talk about VETS AID coming to New York in November, plus we chat about the catalog of albums and so...

Comedian JOEY CAMEN originally from the streets of DETROIT makes his way from LA to NYC! Here is what he said.... "A big thanks to United Solo for having the NYC world premiere of my new seriocomic one-man play Laughing Through the Pain on Nov 9th at Theatre Row!  Here's a promo trailer to give you a little preview. Enjoy. Get your tickets @ https://festival.unitedsolo.org/show/172289460...

Are You An Ozzy Fan? Then Get Ready to Rock!  The members of the band take great pride in creating the next best thing to a live Ozzy performance that transports you through time to experience the energy of Ozzy Osbourne capturing his solo career from Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde. As the song says, “You can’t kill rock-n-roll, it’s here to stay!” Ozzmosis proves it every time.  Join us on this journ...

Rock Legend DENNY LAINE is featured in ONE HAND CLAPPING, a Paul McCartney film that was just released for limited showings in theaters. In a PART 2 conversation we chat with Denny's lovely wife Liz Hines and now widow. We recap the film and get her thoughts on it....plus we also play clips of Denny from his previous interviews on " The City's Backyard Podcast". In this episode...

Denny's wife Liz Hines and now widow joins us on " The City's Backyard Podcast" to talk about the rock n roll legend's legacy and his role in Wings as Paul's right hand guy... in a Part 1 interview ...we also chat about the Paul McCartney film with Wings called One Hand Clapping showing this week! Denny Laine was an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a...

Eliot Lewis was with Hall&Oates for almost 20 years...and we had to ask him if he had seen the break up coming....also we chat about his experience working on the show LIVE FROM DARYL'S HOUSE and his current solo tour!  Eliot is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and has toured the world over as a member of the Daryl Hall & John Oates band, as well as a former member of T...

Is it safe to walk alone in New York City? We chat all about how times have changed in the big city with licensed therapist PAM GARBER who developed a new safety app called NEVER WALK ALONE!  For more info check out the website!  http://www.neverwalkalonesafetyapp.com/

L.A. neo-psych group, Dream Phases , share their new LP Phantom Idol on this episode. On the album, Brandon Graham says, " Phantom Idol is our third full length album that was written and recorded between 2022-2023. It has by far the most collaborative writing of any of our albums so far, as Shane, Keveen and I co-wrote about half of the tracks on the album as opposed to writing the songs ind...

Grammy Recording Bassist & Songwriter Scott Spray is our guest! Scott is a local musical legend in Connecticut...a killer bassist who has played with rock and blues legends Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter....also Rick Derringer, Ronnie Spector, Peter Criss from KISS, The Rascals and even Eric Clapton in the studio! Scott has written music for TV shows such as SEX in The City and more! Currently...

ZX3 is a heritage Alternative Rock band with powerful, memorable songs. We check in with the original members Z and the crew to chat about the new songs, some of the new members and their local dates in the area! We play a couple of their new tracks and chat about the band and how excited they are to be back on the music scene. ZX3 plays the Norwalk Oyster Festival Saturday September 7th at Vetera...

Our guest on this episode is JD SEEM from the band FASTER THINGS- THE ALLMAN BROTHERS TRIBUTE! Faster Things conjures the twin guitar harmonies and searing slide guitar sounds of the original Allman Brothers band as created by Duane Allman in 1969. Their tight sound recreates the energy of The ABB! For more info on shows click on their website!  https://fasterthingsabb.com/

Amanda Rowe is our guest from Springfield, Massachusetts! Her band ROWE COUNTY is a tribute to the greatest female country artists of the 90's to today with a twist of your favorite rock classics! For more on Rowe County check their website for more!  https://rowecountyband.com

 The granddaughter of Academy Award winning  actress Loretta Young and the daughter of Peter Lewis, a founding member of ‘60s psychedelic cult heroes Moby Grape . . .   Arwen’s  EP is available on the  OMAD RECORDS . . the imprint of Oscar-winning singer/songwriter John DeNicola . . .   While Arwen’s self-titled debut, features her interpretations of her father’s songs, this time out she’s flying...

If you love the Allman Brothers Band you will love this episode with Dr. Bob Beatty -historian/author of the book PLAY ALL NIGHT: Duanne Allman and The Journey To FILLMORE EAST!  Dr Bob Beatty is recognized as one of the most respected historians of the Allman Brothers Band and their important legacy and influence on American music, politics and culture. For more on Bob and his work about The Allm...

For eighteen years (1983-2001) a fixture of radio & television’s Howard Stern Show, comedian Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling was born and raised in East Norwich, a tiny hamlet on the glorious North Shore of Long Island, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Oyster Bay High School and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University in 1971.  I n March, 1979, he created a d...

Dominic a young artist who is just beginning his professional musical journey.  Based in California, Dominic is excited about the release of his debut album, Happy Little Accidents , which was released June 28 on Quarto Valley Records. Happy Little Accidents is fresh music but with hints of nostalgia from the many artists that influenced him since he was a kid, such as the Beatles, Aerosmith, Rick...

Insult Comic Lisa Lampanelli drops by The City's Backyard to chat about retirement and her new show called "IRRELEVANT"!  ANNOUNCING “LISA LAMPANELLI: IRRELEVANT!” TWO NIGHTS ONLY! MTC is thrilled to present an exclusive 2-night fundraising event: comedy icon Lisa Lampanelli's brand-new solo show! In this script-in-hand performance, the former comedian reveals all about her pat...

On this episode we welcome back our local friends from The Tom Petty Project! They have some shows lined up in the area! For more on the band check out their social media or the website to see if they are playing in your area of New York City's Backyard! https://www.facebook.com/tpp203 https://www.tpp203.com/

BEYOND PURPLE performs a showcase of the biggest hits from Deep Purple and Whitesnake, as well as Rainbow and Dio; all born out of the Deep Purple family tree. The band faithfully re-creates the vivid experience of live, high-energy music from what many consider to be Rock’s greatest era.  ​Beyond Purple consists of elite musicians with national ties, including guitarist Jimi Bell (Autograph, Hous...

OTIS  drops by The City's Backyard this week... The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a storied music history and a large catalog of renowned artists. While it's most famous for producing more country music stars per capita than anywhere else in the United States, musicians all across the spectrum —from bluegrass to rock and roll—have called Kentucky home. Out of this musical melting pot come...

Patty Griffin has had this gift her entire life, but at first was afraid and unsure of what to do with it.  She began reading professionally in 2014, and has since performed readings across the East Coast, for private readings,fundraisers, gallery, and stage events. She finds gratitude in helping to provide peace of mind, closure and validation for many guests. Griffin says: "When you can con...