Out of the Main

Tom and John, still residing in the Minneapolis area, take an expedition through the Prince album archives, from 1979’s “Prince” to 1989’s “Batman.” Follow along and score along, as they allot points to each album (out of a total of 100) to determine which of the 10 albums in this remarkable run gets the highest score in aggregate...and which gets the lowest.  Has there ever been a more impressive...

Unmoored from the harbors of Marina del Rey, the yacht gets trailered to The Land of a Thousand Lakes this week, where John and Tom go exploring for the history, sonic markers and artists that made up “The Minneapolis Sound” of the late 70s and 1980s. What made this sound great? Let’s dive in! Want to do a freshwater deep dive yourself? We’ve got you covered: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20pY...

Here we go! Rick Such and Eddy Cabello from Inside MusiCast are here to help us settle this thing once and for all! Who will match up as the perfect pair in the finals of the Toto Invitational Tournament Spectacular? Tune in...follow along...one song will soon have its “One Shining Moment!” Listen and Subscribe: ⁠ Find the podcast platform of your choice here ⁠ . References and Related: ⁠⁠ Playlis...

Kicking off Round 1 of the Toto Invitational Tournament Spectacular this week, with guest bracket busters Listeners Jorn and Mikael! They certainly proved their Toto bona fides...but did they get the picks right? You make the call! Tune in...follow along...fill out your own brackets. It’ll be madness, y’all! Listen and Subscribe: ⁠ Find the podcast platform of your choice here ⁠ . Lightning Round:...

It's March! You know what that means around these parts. Time for a tournament of madness! This year, it's not the NIT (Nyacht Invitational Tournament) but the Toto Invitational Tournament Spectacular! John and Tom set the table this week...deciding the play-in games and talking through some tough breaks on Selection Sunday. Next week, we kick off a two-part Toto tourney. Follow along to s...

Tom is going in blind this week, as John pops him with a surprise topic. Totally unprepared and unrehearsed, the crew goes exploring through the heyday of music production through a totally new lens. What’s the surprise? Tune in to find out for yourself. Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of your choice here . Lightning Round: Found at Sea: Our Bob Clearmountain Spotify Playlist Burie...

How well do you know the name, talents and discography of Bob Clearmountain? You certainly know the music he’s mixed. Perhaps the first “official mix master,” Clearmountain has his fingerprints on some of the best-sounding music in pop/rock history.  This week John and Tom dive into his career to uncover and examine what makes Clearmountain one of the most sought-after mixers in music...even to th...

Neil Stubenhaus returns to the podcast for part two of our conversation with the iconic session bassist, from his approach to his discography, from his philosophy to his memories of sitting in on some of the most iconic sessions from the 70, 80s and all the way through to modern day. Come back to see if Neil storms off the set, as John feared at the end of Part 1! Listen and Subscribe: Find the po...

The talented, cerebral and prolific session bass guitarist Neil Stubenhaus joins the podcast this week to talk through his approach, his discography, his philosophy and his memories of sitting in on some of the most iconic sessions from the 70, 80s and all the way through to modern day. Tally another bass player, for those keeping score at home! Listen and Subscribe: Find the podcast platform of y...

We’re back! Season 5 of Out of the Main picks up where we left off at the end of Season 4: with John’s cliffhanger! Did music production and artistry peak during the yacht rock years — beyond the confines of yacht rock itself? If so, why? Where else did we see the same attention to detail and emphasis on sophistication? When did it end, and why? Where are we headed going forward? All of these ques...

Our final intermission episode before next week's launch of Season 5 brings one of our all-time favorite guests: Tris Imboden. This first part of our two-part interview was the beginning of a wonderful relationship between Tom and John and one of music's true gems. Part 2 is here. Original show notes: Legendary session and touring drummer Tris Imboden climbs aboard the yacht rock podcast,...

Digging through the archives as we get ready to launch Season 5 in a couple weeks and found this buried treasure — our first interview with Dane Donohue! The yacht rock legend joined the podcast to discuss life after rock and roll, his big break, the making of a masterpiece with hall of famers, and much, much more. Keith Barry, journalist with ⁠Narratively.com⁠ , told the story we all needed to he...

Our tour of the archives continue, while we prepare for Season 5. Here is Part 1 of our chat with Tamara and Bill Champlin when we caught up to them backstage before a concert in Dayton Ohio in 2022. Part 2 is here. Listen in to clips from their conversation: everything from singing technique to songwriting to performing live and working in the studio. We covered a lot and learned a lot, and you w...

During the inter-season hiatus, we will continue to post interviews from the archives. Here is one of our all-time favorite guests: Jay Graydon! We pick the conversation up with Part 2 of our three-part interview. Part 1 is here. Part 3 is here. Highlights from Part 2: The Rhodes’ comeback in modern music ⁠Watch Stefan Olofsson do his Al Jarreau and Steely Dan medleys on the Rhodes⁠ (scroll down o...

For those new to the podcast, we are republishing previously released episodes until we kick off Season 5 in a few weeks. This week is Part 1 of our two-episode interview with Kenny Loggins, covering most of what was revealed in his memoir, "Still Alright," published in 2022. If you'd like to continue along with the conversation, part 2 can be found here (wherever you get your podcas...

Our favorite convention from the late 70s and early 80s: Everything had a Christmas Special! And every year, they would rerun the same holiday special specials and we never got tired of them. It was tradition! Our yacht rock podcast should be no different! John and Tom scour music-dom for the yachtiest yuletide merriment to bring your season glad “tide”-ings, including songs from the era and moder...

Tom and John close out the fourth season of Out of the Main by clearing the decks of various odds and ends they’ve saved up over the course of the year but never got to. PLUS, some discussion of new music to come, as well as a look ahead to Season 5. NOTE : Here's that funk playlist John made. Thank you all for listening, and especially to those for supporting the podcast. We literally couldn’...

E23.46: Monkey House’s Don Breithaupt Tom knew him as one of the members of Monkey House. You might know him as the Emmy-award-winning composer and musician who has worked with the likes of Chicago, Marc Jordan, Jay Graydon and Manhattan Transfer. Others know him as the author of the “Aja” book, having interviewed Donald Fagan himself. And if you still don’t know him, tune in to get to know Don Br...

The Grammy-Award-winning first-call brass maestro Jerry Hey rejoins the podcast for part two of our  interview. Learn the back story, hear his process, and tune in for some intriguing and informative anecdotes. Beginning even before yacht rock all the way up to recent gigs, you won’t want to miss a beat! If you want to hear our original tribute episode to Jerry Hey “Beast Mode,” that can be found...

The man behind countless memorable horn arrangements and countermelodies, Jerry Hey, joins the podcast for a two-part interview. Learn the back story, hear his process, and tune in for some intriguing and informative anecdotes. Beginning even before yacht rock all the way up to recent gigs, you won’t want to miss a beat! If you want to hear our original tribute episode to Jerry Hey “Beast Mode,” t...

John Zaika, the filmmaker behind the forthcoming Bobby Kimball documentary “Kite on a String,” returns to the podcast to answer the most-asked question on our YouTube channel : “When is the Bobby Kimball story coming out?!” John provides updates, shares new stories, and reveals things we never knew about the living legend who once fronted Toto. Lightning Round: Found at Sea Buried Treasures Off th...

Captain G climbs aboard to take the class to school on the history of disco, including its relation and adjacency to yacht rock. On loan from Yacht Rock Miami, DJ Alex brings us back to the 70s and the origin of disco, including the differences between New York, west-coast, and Miami disco. Were there any crossovers between disco and what we know today as yacht rock? Let’s go to school to find out...

It’s the crossover episode we’ve all been waiting for! No, not The Simpsons meets Family Guy. Not Fonzie appearing on Laverne & Shirley. Not Chicago first responders crossing the streams on shows that nobody watches anyway… It’s Out of the Main meets Shelter at Sea, featuring the Hot Shyachts from Milwaukee Yacht Rock themselves, John O'Grady and Prescott Sobol! This week, our show teams u...

Love is in the air this week on Out of the Main, as we return for another “Who Wore It Best” episode.  (Spotify playlist link.) Now entering the ring: “Can’t Hide Love” Earth, Wind & Fire Jaye P. Morgan Dionne Warwick “It’s the Falling In Love” Michael Jackson Carole Bayer Sager Dionne Warwick “Love Never Felt So Good” Johnny Mathis Paul Anka Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Reb...

In honor of Halloween, John and Tom devote an entire episode to the dissection, admiration and analysis of Atlanta Rhythm Section's "Spooky." Until you've studied it, you haven't truly heard it. Break out the headphones, people! Do you know the full history behind the song? How much do you know about the genesis of Atlanta Rhythm Section? Are you aware of the many, many versi...