Icon Fetch

He helped define the sound of early Sixties' British rock The name Shel Talmy may not be immediately recognizable, unless you’re a liner note junkie.  But, you’ve certainly heard his work.  Talmy is responsible for producing all of the early singles for the Kinks including “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All the Night,” and “Sunny Afternoon.” He also went on to do the same for the Who, with “I C...

olk-blues singer covers Black Sabbath on her new album Austin singer Ruthie Foster defies classification.  Her previous albums have featured covers from the likes of Johnny Cash, David Crosby and Adele, as well as her own originals.  For this new project, Joy Comes Back, her first release in three years, the approach is equally eclectic: she tackles songs by the Four Tops, Mississippi John Hurt an...

What if we traveled back in time and the tour buses for the Kinks and Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five crashed into each other? Well, we’d have quite a mess on the road, but you might come close to the sound of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, equal parts rock irreverence and vintage jazz, with a bent sense of humor thrown in for good measure. The band is celebrating 20 years together and have commemor...

Things are definitely looking up for singer/songwriter Em Rossi.  She’s recently collaborated with Jim McGorman, who’s worked with Avril Lavigne & Paul Stanley, and has also been a guest on our show.  The two of them have put together a series of singles that she’s been issuing on Youtube and social media. Well, people are responding - Em’s up to 5 million views on the online video channel.  The v...

Who's gonna stop me"? Delbert McClinton has made a career out of doing whatever he wanted.  He got his start blowing harmonica on Bruce Channel’s classic “Hey Baby” - that was 1962, before the Beatles invaded America. In fact, that little old band from Liverpool actually opened for him on an early gig. Not long after, he began leading his own band, and creating a body of music that defies classifi...

Why we love the blues EXPLAINED Even though the subject matter is often sad, why is it that we feel refreshed when we listen to blues music or attend a blues concert? What is the appeal of this classic form of music in 2017? These and other questions are posed by Dr. Marie Trout in her new book, The Blues: Why It Still Hurts So Good. Trout is no stranger to the blues, as her husband is legendary g...

He's 83 years old and is playing 130 shows this year - how does John Mayall keep going? He’s been called the Godfather of the Blues, John Mayall is into his 8th decade of life and yet is showing no sign of slowing down.  His band has been a proving ground for some of the greatest musicians of all time - guitarists like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor and Sonny Landreth, plus Aynsley Dunbar,...

Legendary melodic songwriter Peter Holsapple is back with a new vinyl 45, his first new solo project in 20 years. Peter was a touring musician for both R.E.M. and Hootie & the Blowfish If you trace the roots of Power Pop,  in the Seventies you had the Raspberries, Badfinger & Big Star.  Later in the Nineties you had artists like Matthew Sweet, the Gin Blossoms & Weezer that were able to have comme...

Stephen Pearcy fronted Ratt through several platinum albums in the Eighties and early Nineties, including Out of the Cellar, Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover and Reach For the Sky.  The band had success on the pop charts as well, hitting #12 in 1984 with “Round and Round,” also a huge MTV hit. In the early 2000’s, Pearcy embarked on a solo career, and he’s just issued his fourth solo l...

Legendary Motown Guitarist Talks New Archival Jazz Funk Release Dennis Coffey is truly one of the unsung heroes of the guitar.  In the late Sixties, he became a member of the famed “Funk Brothers” - the backing musicians that played on all the Motown hit singles.  His unique style can be heard on “Ball of Confusion” by the Temptations, “War” by Edwin Starr, and  “Someday We’ll Be Together" by the...

Enuff Z’Nuff arrived at the height of hair metal, but had more in common with bands like Cheap Trick, emphasizing melody over guitar trickery. They scored a couple of radio hits in the early Nineties with “Fly High Michelle” and “New Toy.” The band has continued releasing albums full of great melodic hooks. Their latest release, Clowns Lounge, goes back to the beginning, featuring songs that were...

Our first show of 2017 is a joint collaboration between Icon Fetch and Dan Miles of the Friends of Dan Music Podcast. We profile several of the legendary artists that passed away in the brutal year that was 2016. Through the magic of modern technology, Dan and Tony (in Arizona and Ohio, respectively) trade off giving tributes to Prince, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, David Bowie, Maurice White of Earth...

A talk with the co-president of Real Gone Music, one of the finest reissue labels around. When you’re ranking the Best Christmas records of all time, The Ventures Christmas Album is definitely near the top of the list.  Not only is it incredibly clever, the way the guys used current songs of the Sixties and morphed them into holiday classics, but it’s also a whole lotta fun to listen to. Real Gone...

Gayla Peevey was all of ten years old when she recorded the now-classic Christmas song, “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas.”  She cut the track back in 1953 for Columbia records and even performed the single on the Ed Sullivan show.  The song’s popularity allowed her hometown zoo to obtain a real hippopotamus. But, Gayla found following up her hit song difficult, and trying to break out as a ser...

Two-disc set chronicles power popster's productive latter years You could say it’s been one hell of a ride for Dwight Twilley.  Emerging from Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid Seventies, he scored a big hit right out of the gate with “I’m On Fire” - establishing right away Twilley’s keen way with a melody, something he’s been doing for over 40 years.  After souring on the bright lights of the big city, h...

Big Star’s first two LPs were full of chiming guitars, heavy drums and melodic hooks, yet somehow both albums failed to meet the high expectations. Those failures loomed large as Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens went to work on their next project. Eventually called Third or Sister Lovers, the songs recorded for these sessions seemed at times to be the polar opposite of their first two records - alte...

We talk to the man behind one of the best albums of the year Remember when an album was a collection of great songs that you wanted to play over and over?  Seth Walker does, and he's recently issued Gotta Get Back, his ninth album, full of his signature soul-blues hybrid. The new record finds him returning to his roots, enlisting family members to play on the album, and embracing the music that se...

John Hall has been able to live two distinctly different lives. In one, he led the Seventies soft-rock outfit Orleans, co-writing their two big hits “Dance With Me” and “Still the One.” In the other, he was a US Representative for New York’s 19th District from 2007 to 2011. John’s just put out his memoir, Still the One: A Rock n’ Roll Journey To Congress and Back. In it, we find several times wher...

Well, they say that everything old is new again - that holds true for Banjo Nickaru & the Western Scooches, who have combined elements of country, bluegrass, western swing, rockabilly, and Dixieland jazz.  The result is an infectious blend of styles that will get you dancing.  They’ve just issued a new EP called The Very Next Thing, and from the band we talk with both Nick Russo, who plays guitar...

Singer Tiffany had phenomenal success at an unbelievably young age.  Her debut album went quadruple platinum when she was only 15 years old.  That record yielded back to back number one hits with the Tommy James’ cover “I Think We’re Alone Now,” and “Could’ve Been.”  Other hits followed, including the Beatles reworking “I Saw Him Standing There” and “All This Time.” But, the shelf life of a teen i...

Singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop scored several hit songs in the 70’s & 80’s like “Save it For a Rainy Day,” “On & On,” and “It Might Be You.”  He wrote songs for many other artists, including “Separate Lives,” a #1 hit for Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin.  He’s part of one of the most iconic scenes of the classic Animal House movie, where John Belushi smashes his guitar. Stephen has a brand new alb...

The Connells came out of the same Southern Pop scene that birthed R.E.M. and Let’s Active in the early Eighties.  They scored multiple hits on US college radio with songs like “Something to Say,” “Stone Cold Yesterday,” and “Fun & Games.”  The band was even bigger overseas, turning in the surprise European smash “’74, ’75” in 1993 (the song still makes “best of Nineties’ lists overseas). The band’...

The Beach Boys are the greatest American Rock n’ Roll Band. Their music is ever-present in our culture. Kids of today are as likely to know the words to “Surfin’ USA,” and “Fun Fun Fun,” as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” A new collection released by Omnivore Recordings, Becoming the Beach Boys, the Complete Hite and Dorinda Morgan Sessions, gives us the clearest view into the group’s origins. Through d...

Lesley Gore had a series of million-selling singles in the mid 1960’s, including “It’s My Party,” “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” and “You Don’t Own Me.” At the same time, she blazed a trail for the current crop of female artists that are dominating the pop music of today. Unbelievably, there has never been a biography written about this influential artist – until now. Trevor Tolliver, a life-long fan, has...

Long before Justin Bieber, N’ Sync, and even David Cassidy, Fabian was one of the original teen idols, scoring big hits in the late 50’s and early 60’s with songs like “Tiger” and “Turn Me Loose.”  The shelf life of a teen idol is a finite one, yet Fabian was able to adapt, becoming a successful, and critically acclaimed actor, starring in many films, including North to Alaska with John Wayne, Mr....