Icon Fetch

She never fit into the “rock star mold” that the record company wanted her in. Now she’s playing by her own rules Debora Iyall fronted the Eighties band Romeo Void, who scored a pair of MTV hits in the biting “Never Say Never,” and the funky “Girl in Trouble is a Temporary Thing,” before calling it quits in 1985. After a brief stint as a solo artist, Iyall left the music business altogether to con...

Can a band take 16 years off and return like they never left? Yes Urge Overkill scored an alternative smash in 1993 with “Sister Havana,” from the album Saturation. Then, director Quentin Tarantino used their version of the Neil Diamond nugget “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” for his surprise hit movie Pulp Fiction a year later. After their next LP, Exit the Dragon, failed to match their previous re...

Gaye Ann Bruno is the co-host of the “Between the Sheets” podcast. The show, which also features Terri Nunn of the Eighties band Berlin, has gained a reputation for its “no-holds-barred” style and unique lineup of guests (which includes reclusive Jefferson Airplane vocalist Grace Slick, porn star Tera Patrick, and Devo bassist Gerald Casale). Bruno has also managed several prominent bands, worked...

They say everything is bigger in Texas – and singer / songwriter Eric Hanke is no exception. Standing 6’8” tall, he is literally a head above his competition. Hanke has just released his sophomore record called Factory Man, a blend of country, folk and rock with Hanke’s down-home lyrics. Icon Fetch talks to the Austin native about taking five years to put the record together and the stories behind...

Legendary guitarist Elvin Bishop has returned with a brand-new live CD called Live on the Legendary Blues Cruise, featuring performances by many of Bishop’s friends including John Nemeth, Finis Tasby, Kid Anderson, and Terry Hanck. Icon Fetch talks with the Oklahoma native about what it’s like playing this cruise year after year and gives us background on each member of his “Raisin’ Hell Revue.” P...

The Fort-Worth band Calhoun has just released their third album called Heavy Sugar. It’s an appropriate title for a CD filled with shimmering melodies that linger long after you’re done playing the album. Icon Fetch talks with both vocalist / guitarist Tim Locke and guitarist / keyboardist Jordan Roberts about how the band actually broke up for a while, the reformed. We also find out what is was l...

Peter Parcek was nominated for “Best New Artist” at this year’s Blues Music Awards. He’s returned with a brand-new 4-song EP of Bob Dylan interpretations called Pledging My Time. We talk to the New England guitarist about choosing which Dylan songs to cover, the sparse production of the album, and the unique “Name Your Price” approach he took to distributing his new music.

Carmine Appice, with his heavy-hitting style and showmanship, set the standard for rock drumming. His first taste of success came with the proto-metal band Vanilla Fudge and their 1967 Supremes’ reworking “You Keep Me Hanging’ On.” He’s since played with a wide array of artists, including Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Ted Nugent and Rick Derringer. In the mid-Eighties he fronted a hard rock band, King K...

Ernie Rideout, the former editor for Keyboard magazine, has just put together a new book, Keyboard Presents: Synth Gods, which profiles 20 of the most influential keyboard pioneers in music. From the early inventions of Robert Moog to the trailblazing sounds of Brian Eno, Rideout shows how each artist would take the ideas from the past and give them their own personal touch. Icon Fetch talks to th...

Ernie Rideout, the former editor for Keyboard magazine, has just put together a new book, Keyboard Presents: Synth Gods, which profiles 20 of the most influential keyboard pioneers in music. From the early inventions of Robert Moog to the trailblazing sounds of Brian Eno, Rideout shows how each artist would take the ideas from the past and give them their own personal touch. Icon Fetch talks to th...

Veterans of the underground, the Meat Puppets scored a rok radio hit in 1995 with “Backwater.” They were also prominently featured in Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged, with Kurt Cobain and company performing three of their songs from Meat Puppets II. Now, they are back with a brand-new CD called Lollipop. Icon Fetch had a chance to catch up with singer / guitarist Curt Kirkwood about the spontaneous record...

David Lemieux is the official audio and video tape archivist for the Grateful Dead. He’s overseen countless live CD and DVD releases since 1999, when he took over the position after the passing of Dick Latvala, the original Dead archivist. He also hosts a daily segment called Today in Grateful Dead History on Siruius/XM radio. Lemieux chats with Icon Fetch about the band’s most ambitious project y...

Guitarist Damon Johnson fronted Brother Cane, who were a staple on rock radio in the mid Nineties with tracks like “Got No Shame,” and “And Fools Shine On.” Since the band’s breakup in 1998, Johnson has concentrated on various projects, including playing guitar in Alice Cooper’s band, as well as the hard rock outfit Slave to the System and country band Whiskey Falls. He’s also co-written hit songs...

Singer / guitarist Glen Phillips led Toad the Wet Sprocket through five albums throughout the Nineties. Starting out on the underground college radio scene, the band would eventually score hit singles like “All I Want,” “Walk on the Ocean,” and “Good Intentions.” After the band called it quits at the end of the decade, Phillips would embark on a solo career that would see him tackle many different...

Larry Harris was the executive vice president of Casablanca Records – home to Kiss, Donna Summer, Parliament, and the Village People, among others. The record label became a symbol for the extreme excesses of the late 70’s, eventually imploding in a haze of drugs and over-spending. Harris wrote a book documenting the rise and fall of the record company in And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of C...

Scot Sax was the leader of the Philadelphia band Wanderlust, who scored a rock radio hit with “I Walked” in 1995, before breaking up two years later. He then formed Bachelor Number One, who had a song on the first American Pie soundtrack. A few years later, in a strange twist of fate, Sax co-wrote the song “Like We Never Loved At All,” a hit for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, which won a Grammy for Be...

John Oates is one-half of Hall and Oates, the most successful duo in rock history, scoring six #1 hits and seven platinum albums from the Seventies and Eighties. Although he helped create numerous pop smashes, Oates’ true love is still the rhythm & blues and folk music he grew up on. Which brings us to his brand new solo album, Mississippi Mile, a kind of musical road map of his long career. He gi...

Big Head Todd & the Monsters had a smash album in 1993 featuring the radio hits “Broken-Hearted Savior” and “Bittersweet.” Since then, they’ve released several albums and developed a reputation as a great live band. Their latest project, credited to the Big Head Blues Club is 100 Years of Robert Johnson, a tribute to the influential bluesman who would’ve hit the century mark this year. The band ha...

Jim McGorman is currently on tour as Avril Lavigne’s guitarist in support of her latest record, Goodbye Lullaby. The multi-instrumentalist was also a part of the house band for both season’s of the CBS show “Rockstar” (INXS & Supernova). He’s toured with a variety of people, including Cher, Shakira, and Paul Stanley of Kiss. In addition, he also makes music of his own. Icon Fetch talks with the Ph...

Former teen pop sensation Tiffany actually began her career singing country music. But, when she was discovered by manager George Tobin, he steered her towards pop music. She became the youngest female artist to top the Billboard Album chart with Tiffany in 1987, scoring two number one hits in a cover of Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now,” and the ballad “Could’ve Been,” as well as another top...

Guitarist Joe Robinson won Australia’s Got Talent back in 2008 when he was only 16 years old. He’s also been named “Best New Talent” by Guitar Player Magazine. Now he’s heading out on the road for his first-ever tour of the United States. Icon Fetch catches up with the young virtuoso to talk about his experience becoming a TV star in his homeland, recording his latest CD, and where he gets the wac...

Ivan Julian has played with everyone from Matthew Sweet to the Clash. He was also a part of the seminal mid-Seventies punk band Richard Hell & the Voidoids. Surprisingly, the Naked Flame marks Julian’s first-ever solo record. Icon Fetch sits down with the influential guitarist and producer to talk about why now was the right time for his solo debut, plus the inspiration behind many of the songs, a...

Our RETROactive Eighties week concludes with Thomas Dolby, best known for “She Blinded Me With Science,” an early New Wave hit on MTV. But, a quick listen to any of his studio albums reveals a much deeper melodic sense than that quirky synth hit. Dolby took a great deal of time off from the music business to concentrate on developing new technology (he actually created the synthesizer that plays r...

The Motels were one of the biggest bands of the early days of MTV, with hits like “Only the Lonely,” and “Suddenly Last Summer,” all led by the smokey vocals of Martha Davis. Icon Fetch sits down with the singer to talk about those early days, and what she’s been up to lately, including recording a jazz CD. Davis also shares her unique insight into the music business.

Our RETROactive Eighties week kicks off with Mr. Big, who had a worldwide smash with their ballad “To Be With You” in 1992. After taking some time off, the band is back with a brand new album called What If… that is full of their signature blend of technical prowess and melodic sensibility. Icon Fetch talked with drummer Pat Torpey about the recording process, the story behind “To Be With You,” an...