Matters

Moby in interview with me, 6 July 2021, talking through his journey in music and more especially his lush retelling of his greatest hits, orchestrally.

Described as the album that brought Mercury Rev back from the edge by guitarist Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak, 1998’s Deserter’s Dreams went on to become one of the last millennium’s more critical listens. Fast forward 23-years and the album’s subject matter could not be more relevant given our collective current reality. I chatted to the band’s Adam Snyder to unpack the backstory and explore their...

In 1997 Jon Bon Jovi was in a good place, but had something to say as a solo voice was ready to deliver his second chapter.    New beginnings, fine collaborations and serendipity, AKA Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) producing, this is Jon's story of that time. USA meets UK, Jon knew how to make records and Dave knew how to experiment, together they were strong.

Finding the sandcastle inside of yourself. Spontaneity is key, Yello’s Dieter Meier spoke to me about his and Boris’ journey in music – not as pioneers, but as authentic artists making music that matters, circa 2 May 1997. Influenced by the sounds of nature, diesel engines and the music Boris heard, it’s a conglomerate of the planet’s sounds. "We are who we are." Yello never tried to fit a format.

Frontman Huey Morgan in the room, dropping the dirt on what made 100% Colombian , great!

Wilco multi-instrumentalist, John Stirratt in May 2007 spoke frankly and openly about the Chicago-based band’s journey to Blue Sky Blue ’s release.    Six albums in and still riding on the coattails of 2001’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and 2004’s A Ghost is Born , listen to an interview that sheds light on a journey filled with being overly self-aware, lacking objectivity and the joy of being...

Staying true to themselves, Soft Cell returned in 2002 with the group’s fourth studio album, some 18 years after their last, 1984’s The Last Night in Sodom . Cruelty Without Beauty was their triumphant return, and I had the privilege of interviewing one half of the duo, Dave Ball. Another of my legacy interviews, this one being of equal age as Soft Cell’s hiatus was, all dusted off and resuscitate...

Tim, Jules and Ben, Up Close and personal, circa May 2021.

The year was 2002, 22 years into his career when I first got to speak to the one-time Hüsker Dü and Sugar lead singer and equally successful solo artist, Bob Mould.  Over that year and the next, Bob delivered no less than three albums. I caught up with him just after the release of the first of the three, Modulate.   * Disclaimer: Due to the poor sound quality on this one, it's intended...

Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega is a greatest hits album by the American singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega. The album was first released on 28 September 1998 and includes two songs ("Book & a Cover" and "Rosemary") that were not available on her earlier studio albums.

1996’s Different Class took its toll on the band, almost splitting Pulp for good. Mental health and physical strain came to a head with the band fractured. Fast forward two years, Pulp restored as a now five-piece, reinvigorated and ready the band embraces it all again. Describing themselves as a rugged bunch of misfits, drummer Nick Banks retells tales from the last album’s close and the road to...

Bring It On was the debut album by English indie rock band Gomez, released in April 1998 by Hut Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 1997, during which time Gomez also toured the United Kingdom with Embrace.  I spoke to the band and the very start of their rather stellar journey into the world of popularity. The first single, "78 Stone Wobble", was released in March 1998, w...

Circa 2001, I finally got to chat to one of my childhood idols, Ian McCullough - he being the much lauded and rewarded lead singer of Echo & The Bunnymen. What a gentleman.

A self-proclaimed narcissist, I still can't decide, having listened back to this 2007 interview, whether I like Ben Harper as much as I do his extraordinary music. #podcast #music #interview #inspiration #storytelling #lifeline #benharpermusic

Throwing Muses did not form to be famous, they got together to make the music they wanted.  I had the honour of speaking to the late band’s lead singer and respected solo artist at the time of the release of her second solo album, Strange Angels.    The year was 1998, late February, when the two of us first connected. What followed in our 20 minutes together was her speaking of a fu...

In the world of thrash metal influence, it doesn’t get bigger than Metallica. On October 15, 1999, I had the privilege of interviewing the band’s bassist, and my namesake, Jason Curtis Newsted.   On September 27, 1986, during the European leg of the Damage, Inc. Tour, Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton tragically died as a result of a road accident. Following Burton's death, the band began the...

Chatting to the lead singer of Australia’s Midnight Oil, Peter Garrett, was a personal highlight for me, if only because we [unbeknownst to him] shared a certain level of empathy and awareness of, and with, the world around us.   In this unedited interview, you’ll get to hear a pivotal voice unpack the perpetual creative struggle real creatives grapple with, regardless of their station.

In May 2020, Rolling Stone magazine crowned Britney Spears’ 1999 breakout smash hit, “…Baby One More Time”, as the greatest debut single of all time.    I spoke to her in February of that year, at the very beginning of her career in music, when the sky was limit and the stars seemed perfectly aligned. What followed is well documented as anything but a fairy-tale, where Britney sadly rema...

Not one of life’s great planners, I caught up with New Order and Electronic frontman, Bernard Sumner on the eve of the release of the latter group’s third and final 1999 album, Twisted Tenderness.   He never wanted to be a singer, only write and play guitar, but then tragedy struck, and everything changed. Bernard goes back to the untimely passing of Joy Division’s lead singer, Ian Curtis, an...

The very first media interview Radiohead conducted in support of the release of OK Computer.   The interview with Colin, Ed, Johnny and Phil, on a hotel rooftop garden in Barcelona - 22 May 1997, marked the beginning of what was to become of the the most important and revered albums of all time.  The recording was reclaimed from the original cassette used on the day and the interview, as...

On the phone with Seether’s lead singer, Shaun Morgan circa 2004, all was not wine and roses – even though the band had already sold a whopping half-a-million copies of Disclaimer.   Ironically, at the time of this interview being captured, Seether was about to become real rock stars, in the true sense of the word, all thanks to “Broken” and a world tour in support of Evanescence.  ...

Spoiler alert – As those who listen to my interviews will know, no two are made equal. They’re all unedited and captured, in the moment, warts and all. This is another one of those.    Between gushing fanboy, struggling to not fail my idiosyncratic idol, this interview saw us take a good five minutes to settle into a groove.   Boys for Pele was dark, she even found it hard to l...

On April 2nd, 2021, Travis’ 1997 debut, Good Feeling is being re-released on vinyl.  Seven short years after that critically acclaimed album’s original release, on 24 September 2004, I got to interview lead guitarist Andy Dunlop on the eve of their then first, Greatest Hits compilation, Singles .    Travis appeared and rose above their peers of the day, at the time creating equally...

Chatting to Dave Matthews on the eve of their third RCA album release was a coup of sorts, if only because at the time he wasn’t doing interviews with the South African media.    Close on four years after their breakout smash hit record, Under the Table and Dreaming, followed by Crash, two years later, the Dave Matthews Band were already colossal having built their audience independently...

“We’re very happy with what’s happening, but we’re aware it could disappear in a heartbeat.” Humble, yes, but oh so wrong! Circa March 1998, Matchbox 20’s Paul Doucette took time to talk me through the very early days of the band’s success with their then debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You. Today it stands as one of the most successful albums of its era. #matchbox20 , #pauldoucette , #robth...