Cover to Cover with Matt Tarka

Matt dials up members of a new band known as So Sure , which includes Brendan Kelly and Sean Kelly of A Fragile Tomorrow as well as drummer Kyle Polk. So Sure can be described as dream pop, shoegaze, post punk, and influenced by alternative music of the 80s and 90s. Their debut, 5-song EP Caffeine Drip is available via NoiseTrade and is also being streamed on Paste Magazine. So Sure has chosen 100...

We telephoned DC-area artist Cathy DiToro (of Party Like It's ..., Project Hera ) to discuss Alanis Morrisette's landmark album, Jagged Little Pill , which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! Cathy and I spoke extensively about each track on this record and it will be obvious to you, dear listener, the impact Jagged Little Pill had on Cathy's career in music. Enjoy!

In this episode, we spoke with musician/voice over artist Jonathan Tea about an album that reinvigorated his life when he needed it most: the Foo Fighters sixth studio offering Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace , which was released on RCA Records back in 2007. Enjoy!

Today's episode features DC area musician Ann Brandstadter. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she moved to the D.C. area in the 90s. A communications professional by day, Ann moonlights as a local rock star in bands such as Grandma's Mini, Mimi Loco, and most recently AJ and the Kids and a new pandemic duo, Smart Patrol. AJ and the Kids is a D.C. area rock band that plays original music and covers...

Our guest in Episode 52 is New York, NY’s soul/rock & roll outfit known as Babyllon. Guitar World magazine has referred to Babyllon as "A happy talent trifecta!" with a loud live sound that sounds like Amy Winehouse and Led Zeppelin put together. We spoke by phone and focused on the classic Led Zeppelin song "Ramble On" from Led Zeppelin II and how it altered the course of her craft. Enjoy!

In this episode, we meet podcaster Christie Gee of The Christie Gee Podcast . Christie stopped by the show to discuss MxPx's 1996 album 'Life in General. Christie reminisces about growing up in a small Texas town, a batch of VHS tapes of artists on Tooth and Nail Records which would inevitably change her life, and later becoming good friends with the group. Enjoy the conversation! '

In this episode, we chat with songwriter/guitarist Neal Karkhanis of Baltimore, MD's The Great Heights Band about Ben Folds Five and their influential 1997 album Whatever and Ever Amen. We take the plunge into the depths of Ben Folds' lyrics as well as discuss the staggering musicianship of the group. Keep your favorite black t-shirt, friends. Enjoy!

In this episode, we sit down with Marc Plotkin : an American Songwriting Award-Winning Artist, a Grammy shortlisted Producer, a Bloomberg BusinessWeek Top 25 Entrepreneur, and a Professor at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. For our conversation today, we’ll be discussing Evolve, which is the 12th studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released in 2003. We spo...

In this episode, we spoke with Berkeley, CA composer/sound supervisor Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach ( IMRSV Sound ) on Oxford, UK's Radiohead and their 1997 groundbreaking album OK Computer. We talked with Jacob about the songs from OK Computer that changed his life in music, both personally and professionally. Enjoy this thoughtful perspective on an important album which altered the course of pop musi...

In this episode, we spoke with Charlottesville, VA based singer/songwriter Brian Franke who also comprises one-half of the duo FarAway . We talked about an important rock band known as King's X, and their 1994 album Dogman, King's X is a musician's band - a group whom many believe did not receive the critical acclaim that they rightfully deserve from rock critics - even after playing a spell-bindi...

Today's episode features Beau from The Rock Savages Podcast ! We rifled through a few stacks of records and fell upon The Black Crowes and their 1994 record Amorica. We find the "classic lineup" playing by their own set of rules outside a musical landscape consumed by "grunge" and experimenting with newer sounds and rhythms at this juncture. It's still the Crowes you've known and grown to love, bu...

Today's guest is London, UK's Danny Green of the bands DG Solaris and Laish . Green shared a record that has played a pivotal role in his own explorations of songwriting: Will Oldham (AKA Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)'s 2001 LP "Ease Down the Road." We spent a considerable amount of time attempting to dissect the lyrical meaning behind the songs on this record. Be forewarned: Bonnie Prince Billy's lyrics...

This week's episode features a discussion with Ric Gordon , a Kansas City & Nashville based artist and Director of A&R and a staff songwriter with music publisher Ammar Music Group is this week's guest. Recently his original songs have been recorded by pop singer Taylor Mac and country artist Jim Martin. We took some time to chat about a pivotal record in Ric Gordon's life and rock music as a whol...

Alexandria, VA based multi-instrumentalist and record producer Jarrett Nicolay ( Mixtape Studios ) is our guest on the program this week! For those unfamiliar with Nicolay's work, check out his solo project My New Mixtape , and bands Virginia Coalition , Astra Via and Franklin Gotham . We discussed an important English Rock band known as The Smiths and a their 1987 compilation titled Louder Than B...

In this episode, singer/songwriter Kevin Conaway and I discuss in great detail Canada's finest prog-rock band, Rush, and their 1987 album Hold Your Fire. We explore a variety of topics, namely, lyrical themes presented to the listener by drummer Neil Peart, what was happening in the world in 1987 that informed the band and their continued influence on Conaway's approach to his musical craft. Enjoy...

In this episode, we spoke with Kendra Muecke of Kendra and the Bunnies about the sixth record from Animal Collective titled Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino Records). Kendra discussed her favorite tracks, meeting the band, as well as the open-ended interpretations of lyrics presented on this record. We also wound up discussing the use of an Oxford Comma in the English language. Do you appreciate...

Our guest this week is artist, producer, Palo Santo Records co-founder, and Dallas, TX indie music godfather Salim Nourallah . We spoke by telephone on a lazy, April afternoon and discussed The White Album by The Beatles, which changed the course of popular music forever, and cast aside traditional methods of presenting one main musical genre on a record. Salim reminisced about the impact The Whit...

In this episode, Matt calls up Toronto, Canada based musician Nelson Sobral to discuss The Rolling Stones 1972 double record Exile on Main St. We extensively go track x track through Exile and all of its influences on the band, who is certainly at the peak of its powers. Enjoy!

In this episode, we sat down with guitarist and songwriter Brian Pagels of The Beanstalk Library and Uptown Boys Choir to discuss Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 1999 album Echo, which spawned the singles "Room at the Top," "Swingin," and "Free Girl Now ". We focused on the darkness of Echo's lyrical undertones, and the increased roles of guitarist Mike Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurst...

My friend Derek Evry and I have created “Cover to Cover Presents: LIVE” A four-part miniseries for April, which you can also follow @cover2coverlive on Instagram and Twitter. We’re talking about live music this month and try to keep its spirit alive through the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode 4 of this 4-part series is now up for your listening pleasure. Derek and Matt focus on some impactful live albu...

My friend Derek Evry and I have created “Cover to Cover Presents: LIVE” A four-part miniseries for April, which you can also follow @cover2coverlive on Instagram and Twitter. We’ll be talking about live music this month (in pajamas) and try to keep its spirit alive through the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode 3 of this series is now up for your listening pleasure. We talk about important American music...

My friend Derek Evry and I have created “Cover to Cover Presents: LIVE” A four-part miniseries for April, which you can also follow @cover2coverlive on Instagram and Twitter. We’ll be talking about live music this month and try to keep its spirit alive through the COVID-19 pandemic. Episode 2 of this series is now up for your listening pleasure. We talk about important television shows in the 1950...

A podcast where Matt & Derek talk about live music & try to keep the spirit alive through the tribulations concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic. This is an ongoing series throughout the month of April 2020. It will be four episodes. Visit @cover2coverlive on Twitter and Instagram . Write to the show: covertocoverlivepodcast@gmail.com

We sat down with musician Sean Kelly of the band A Fragile Tomorrow to discuss one of his all-time favorite records involving Neil Finn: Crowded House’s fourth studio record from 1993, Together Alone. We discussed in great detail the influence of record producer Youth at the helm, Sean’s introduction to the group, Together Alone’s “lyrical tapestries,” as well as A Fragile Tomorrow’s studio collab...

In this episode, John Athayde , the man behind an experimental rock project known as Rotoscope , discusses the impact of U2's seventh studio record from 1991 known as Achtung Baby during his salad days to the present day. We dig deep into Achtung's heavy themes (biblical, divorce), guitar tones by The Edge, Bono's anthemic lyrics and the addition of dance and industrial sounds to U2's sonic palett...