Job Description with Rick Koster

From Dennis Miller to Bobby McFerrin, Steve and Jeanne Sigel share their best (and worst) memories from more than 30 years running the Garde Arts Center in New London.

Rich Martin has been and will be a committed and ubiquitous presence in New London’s arts scene. From TAZ and Secret Theater to Hygienic Art and The Telegraph, he reflects on three decades in the Whaling City.

Sue Menhart has been laying low during the COVID-19 pandemic, but looks forward to getting back in front of an audience with something completely different and crazy.

Drummer Ed Toth has toured the world with Vertical Horizon and The Doobie Brothers, getting the chance to share the stage with the performers that comprise his record collection. No matter how far he has traveled, though, he has always considered Southeastern Connecticut, specifically East Lyme and New London, to be his home. See Ed Toth on stage with The Doobie Brothers

Fred LeBlanc of New Orleans-based Cowboy Mouth is Rick's all-time favorite rock and roll frontman. We asked Fred which frontmen influenced him, what's different about being a band from New Orleans, and why he no longer jumps off the light towers on stage. See Cowboy Mouth perform "Jenny Says"

Long revered as the creative force behind a group regarded as one of America’s premiere prog acts, Crack the Sky's John Palumbo talks about life in fame’s cruel shadows.

Kenneth Fuchs, Grammy-winning composer and University of Connecticut professor, discusses "Point of Tranquility: Band Music of Kenneth Fuchs," a seven-piece set for symphonic winds released last year by the United States Coast Guard Band under the baton of band director Adam Williamson. The album was recorded at Leamy Hall on the New London campus of the United States Coast Guard Academy and featu...

Craig Edwards, ethnomusicologist and professional chanteyman, reacts to the popularity of sea chanteys on TikTok, taking us through the history of the music form and explaining how the songs aided work and life aboard sailing vessels. See Craig Edwards perform "Way Stormalong John" Craig's website

Lickerish Quartet keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr. joins us from Los Angeles to talk about the group's new EP "Threesome, Vol. 2."

Tim Smith, bassist for The Lickerish Quartet, joins us from Atlanta to talk about the group's new EP "Threesome, Vol. 2."

Guitarist Andy Timmons talks about the legacy of Eddie Van Halen and shares a song we started writing after Van Halen's death. Timmons also shares some stories from his long and varied musical career - from playing in the metal band Danger Danger to being the musical director for Olivia Newton John. Watch Andy's weekly live streaming shows at https://www.stageit.com/AndyTimmonsOfficial Learn guita...

Bestselling author Ann Hood on the literature of grief, the joy of (essays on) cooking, and why flight attendants can write real good.

Marc Zimmer, a chemistry professor at Connecticut College and author of the new book ”The State of Science,” talks about the intersection of science and politics around issues like climate change and COVID-19, and what it was like to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony.

We talk with Ben and Nancy Parent of The Rivergods about releasing their new album "Passages" during the pandemic, and about the band's longevity. Stream/download "Passages" at https://therivergods.bandcamp.com/album/passages

We talk with Joshua Pendragon, an independent researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary, about how new words are added to the dictionary, the challenges of researching obscure words, and the evolving nature of language.

Author Lewis Shiner discusses his latest book "Outside the Gates of Eden." Shiner brings his experience as a musician - he once played in the house band at a Dallas club called Boogers - to writing about music.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and former Jellyfish and Imperial Drag bandmates Eric Dover and Tim Smith have released a new EP as The Lickerish Quartet. Manning talks with Rick Koster about the band's new music, the reissues of his solo albums, touring with Beck and Cheap Trick, and the challenges of making melodic pop music in beat-driven musical landscape. The Lickerish Quartet - "Lighthouse Spaceshi...

You've heard of one-hit wonders, but what about one-album wonders? We talk about some of our favorite artists that released one great album with no follow-up. Toy Matinee – “Remember My Name” Wild Tchoupitoulas – “Brother John” Hughes-Thrall – “Who Will You Run To” Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays – “It’s for You” The Autumn Chorus – “Three Jumps the Devil” Armageddon – “Buzzard” Lauryn Hill - "Everything...

Rick shares memories of Elvis Presley, including the time his father took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper to brag about selling Elvis a mobile home, and the time one of Rick's band-mates impersonated Elvis in order to supply the band with beer.

The New London Drone Orchestra, a loose collective of as many as 18 musicians, makes ambient music that. is based largely on in-person improvisation. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, members of the group recorded separate individual performances in isolation that were shared and mixed to create an album, "Isolation/Collaboration." Members Tim Wolf and Pamela Wilson joined us to talk about the al...

There are some rock venues that everyone knows even if they never saw a show there. The Winchester Lounge in Odessa, Texas is not one of them. But Rick got to meet members of many soon-to-be-famous bands there. Like the time he bought breakfast for the guitarist of Quiet Riot, who had no cash, on the day they hit number on eon the Billboard chart.

The Rolling Stones' new single "Living in a Ghost Town" a few weeks ago to little fanfare. Did it get lost in all the coronavirus news, or are people just over The Rolling Stones?

Rick and Peter speak with drummer Tom Trombley and producer Richard Brukner about The Reducers' new live album "Live in Montville." The album comes from a cassette tape recording of a backyard concert in 1980, three years before the band released their first album. You can hear the album at https://reducers.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-montville

Canceled tours. Delayed album releases. Loss of income. When the coronavirus forced everyone to stay home, many musicians had to quickly adapt to the new reality. We spoke with singer/songwriter Daphne Lee Martin, pianist/vocalist Eric Stevenson of Pocket Vinyl, and guitarist/vocalist Noah Feldman of Fleet and Noah & The Flood about the awkwardness of live streaming shows from their living rooms,...

Do all Young People think that songs with real instruments sound like they're from the 80s? Songs we discussed: Von Hertzen Brothers - Long Lost Sailor New Radicals - You Get What You Give The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love