13th Floor MusicTalk

Marty Duda spoke to Ziggy, who was in West Hollywood, California, having just played with his buddy Jack Johnson in France. Ziggy shares a few insights on how the tour is going and what to expect once it arrives down under. And while we're at it, we have an serious chat about Ocean Awareness and...surfing. 

Julie Byrne  releases her long-awaited third album,  The Greater Wings , tomorrow. Its been six long years in the making, with tragedy striking along the way.  Marty Duda  spoke to the Buffalo, NY native who now makes her home in Brooklyn. Julie began recording the album in Chicago in early 2020, but the sudden death of her musical collaborator and producer  Eric Littmann...

sparkle*jets u.k.  are a band from LA who were (and are) part of the LA Pop Scene that grew in the late 90s along with bands like  The Wondermints  and  Candypants . Their new album,  Best Of Friends , is filled with covers of songs originally written and recorded by 21 of those bands back in the day.  The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  tracked down two of the sparkle*...

The Baseball Project  is a supergroup featuring members of  R.E.M., The Dream Syndicate  and  Young Fresh Fellows. ..among others. The new album,  Grand Salami Time , is just released and here is  Steve Wynn  to talk about Yips, Screwballs and Disco Demolition all on the 4th Of July.

Veteran soul singer  Bettye LaVette,  has, at age 77, released what is being called her most daring album in years. The title is  LaVette!   Bettye has once again teamed up with producer  Steve Jordan , who is also the drummer for  The Rolling Stones . So, why is this album so daring? Well, its a collection of songs by a relatively obscure songwriter who’s name is&nbs...

Brigid Mae Power is an Irish singer/songwriter who is about to release her new album, Dream From The Deep Well . Here she is, direct from Ireland, to tell us all about it. Marty Duda spoke to Brigid just before Dream From The Deep Well is about to be released on Fire Records. Brigid reveals the stories behind her songs and how her influences range from traditional Irish ballads to artists such as...

Youth Lagoon  is the musical project of  Trevor Powers , at least it was until 2016. Then he retired the name and kept a low profile. Now  Youth Lagoon  lives again! The new album,  Heaven Is A Junkyard  has just been released and Trevor is back in the spotlight. Its taking some getting used to. We found Trevor Powers home in Boise, Idaho where he is taking stock of t...

Fenne Lily  is getting rave reviews for her third album, the recently-released  Big Picture.  The UK-born, New York-based artist recorded it in North Carolina with producer  Brad Cook. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Fenne about how  Big Picture  took shape and about throwing her voice.

Veteran Canadian singer-songwriter  Bruce Cockburn  has celebrated 50 years of making music with his new album  O Sun O Moon . Marty Duda  spoke with  Bruce Cockburn  shortly after  O Sun O Moon , his 35th album, was released. The 77-year old tells us about making the album with friends like  Shawn Colvin, Buddy Miller  and  Sarah Jarosz  and...

Baxter Dury  has just released his seventh album,  I Thought I Was Better Than You . We find him home in West London pondering the result. Marty Duda  spoke to Baxter (the 51-year-old son of  Ian Dury ) about making the new album, sampling  Citizen Kane  and making ‘ facile music for old people ‘.

Jon Cleary  has released his latest album,  So Swell,  and we go way down yonder to New Orleans to talk about it. Marty Duda  spoke to Jon, who was home in New Orleans to find out why a record that took two days to record took four years to be released.

Avenged Sevenfold  are back with a vengeance! A new album,  Life Is But A Dream , is just around the corner and here is  Johnny Christ  to tell us why it took over 4 years to make it.

The Hard-Ons  have just released a new album titled  Ripper ’23,  the second to feature new vocalist  Tim Rogers,  who you know from  You Am I. Marty Duda  spoke to founding guitarist  Peter “Blackie” Black  about what its liker having another Aussie rock legend joining his band.

Marty Duda spoke to Henry who was home in Nashville. As always, Henry's got a lot on his mind and he's not shy about sharing it. So, sit back, relax and listen as Henry Rollins pontificates on life, politics and music. And find out what his most treasured possession is in his massive record collection. 

The Refugees are Wendy Waldman, Deborah Holland and Cidney Bullens and they have just recorded an album full of California classics with harmonies to die for. Marty Duda spoke to Wendy, Deborah and Cid who were scattered across the US and Canada. Fortunately for us, they were able to get together last year to record their own versions of tunes like Monday, Monday, Good Vibrations, Sail On Sailor a...

Robert Ellis  is about to release a new album entitled  Yesterday’s News . It’s a quiet, personal collection of nine songs recorded in just two days. Marty Duda  spoke with Robert who was home in Fort Worth, Texas. Robert tells us about the making of  Yesterday’s News , in a style he calls “folk/jazz”.

Marty Duda spoke to the good Captain who was home in Devon preparing to hit the road once again. The Damned's new album, Darkadelic, is collecting rave reviews and the Captain can't wait to play Wellington and Auckland. Hear how he and vocalist Dave Vanian mange to get along so well, how the reunion of the original band went down last year and how Motorhead's Lemmy saved the band back when they we...

Lauren Daigle is a Grammy Award winning singer songwriter with a new album due out. Working with acclaimed producer Mike Elizondo set Lauren out on a new music journey. Marty Duda spoke to Lauren, who was at home in New Orleans. Lauren's collaboration with Elizondo ( Eminem, Fiona Apple, Ry Cooder ) has resulted is enough material for two albums. We talk to Lauren about the songs that comprise thi...

Debora Iyall was the singer for trailblazing punk/new wave band Romeo Void . Here she is to talk about the band's glory days, the new Record Store Day release and occupying Alcatraz.

Immaterial Possession is a band, a commune, perhaps even a cult. Their new album, Mercy Of The Crane Folk is just out. And they are sworn to secrecy. Marty Duda spoke to Cooper Holmes and Madeline Polites at their home outside of Athens, Georgia. We "try" to talk about The Crane People and get a colourful tour into their psychedelised world.

Natalie Merchant  has just released  Keep Your Courage , her 9th solo album, and first collection of new songs in almost a decade. Marty Duda  spoke to Natalie about music, politics and how she survived major health issues (and the pandemic).

Eilen Jewell is about to release her 9th studio album, titled Get Behind The Wheel . Find out how it was made and why its her favourite out of the nine.

Rickie Lee Jones releases her new album, Pieces Of Treasure. We talked to the Duchess Of Cool about reuniting with her old friend, producer Russ Titelman . Marty Duda found Rickie at home in New Orleans and talked about how she and Russ made this beautiful collection of classic songs sound so... Rickie Lee Jones.

Rodney Crowell is about to release his new album, The Chicago Sessions , produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and record up at The Loft in Chicago. Marty Duda spoke to Rodney Crowell , who was at home in Nashville, about working with Jeff Tweedy , singing Townes Van Zandt songs and celebrating Emmylou Harris' birthday.

Julie Christensen has sung with Leonard Cohen and was a member of Divine Horsemen . Here she is with a new solo album titled The Price We Pay For Love. Marty Duda spoke to Julie who was home in New Mexico. For this record, Julie teamed up with bassist and string arranger Terry Lee Burns to record songs by Joni Mitchell, Wendy Waldman and Jimmy Webb , among others.