Performance Anxiety

So my guests today are just the epitome of cool. They spearheaded the lounge-style music revival of the 90’s. Welcome Ben Daughtrey and Jonathan Palmer of Love Jones to the podcast. The band has just released their fourth album, The Greatest Show and it’s definitely the band’s sound, distilled into six tracks. Before we dive into how the album came to be after a 15 year hiatus, we talk about how t...

Today’s guest made me feel…liked. I was fortunate enough to talk with actor French Stewart. And it wouldn’t have happened without the kindness of two wonderful people, Laurel Green and Matt North. Thank you both so much. French’s story is wild. His acting stems from a mix of a high school elective and having a con man for his biological father. He had no idea he was going to college, let alone for...

Today’s guest has made a career playing with some of the most avant garde musicians in the world. But he didn’t start off with music in mind. Welcome drummer Bob Bert to the podcast. He grew up in a house that wasn’t super musical. In fact, his father, Angelo, was more into sports than music. He was so into sports that he won the Heisman trophy in 1943. But Bob had other ideas. Bob played some dru...

Today’s guest is almost like talking to myself from a parallel universe. Welcome Cento Threeo’s Don Cento. Don’s been creating music for decades in all kinds of ways, all kinds of styles, and in all kinds of roles. He played guitar about as seriously as any teenager until he ran across a flamenco guitar player who performed at his school. That changed everything.  When he was considering colleges,...

Today’s guest began his career as a musician but worked his way behind the scenes, managing some of the biggest tours on the planet. Welcome Larry McNeny. He’s just released a book about his career as a tour manager called Blood, Guts, and No Glory. Larry discusses his early aspirations to become a rock star, his encounters with musicians including Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Jimm...

This guest is NOT a musical chameleon. He’s a Johnny Iguana. And he’s the keyboardist/pianist for Chicago’s The Claudettes. They have a jaw-dropping new album coming out in June. But we start by talking about his early work. He’s got an unusual reason for starting piano lessons. Johnny talks about early bands and how he began playing for one of his heroes. He reveals why he left that gig and how h...

This episode is a little different. It’s still about music, but from a very particular perspective. My guest is author Daniel Rachel. He’s written some fantastic books like Isle of Noise (about UK songwriters) and The Lost Album of The Beatles. His latest release may be his most controversial. It’s called This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll: Pop Music, The Swastika, & The Third Reich. In it, Daniel explores...

Today’s guest is a legacy and I’ve had many of his family members on the show. Welcome Patrick Michot to the podcast. Patrick may come from a legendary Louisiana zydeco family but he’s forging his own path while paying homage to his family’s legacy. So this is NOT a zydeco episode. I’m so thankful that Patrick’s cousin, Louis Michot, introduced me to the music. It’s been a wild journey, listening...

This guest has just fulfilled a long-term dream. Welcome stalwart of the NYC music scene, George Usher to the podcast. But before moving to New York, he was stealing Beatles songs in Cleveland. He moved to NYC knowing no one and waited a year before playing out. But once he did, he played some legendary venues like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. He became a hired gun in the 80’s and reveals the dif...

This episode is Truly unique. I’m welcoming back an early guest (episode #3) and a new guest because they are in the same band. Welcome back Robert Roth and welcome for the first time, Hiro Yamamoto. Truly is a band everyone should know. Not only is the pedigree amazing, they write the music to back it up and have for 35 years. Robert and Hiro talk about their musical backgrounds; Robert with Stor...

As the episode title says, this episode is all about the band Genesis. My brother Scott has written two in depth articles about the band’s early years for The Strange Brew blog. Both he and long-time podcast friend Jordon Zadorozny of Blinker The Star join me to discuss the history of Genesis, from Peter Gabriel all the way through Ray Wilson. Check out Scott’s work at scottsheaauthor.com. Check o...

Today’s guest is deliberate. He’s that way with his music, his lyrics, and his touring. Welcome singer/songwriter Robert Deeble to the podcast. He’s recently released his latest album, The Space Between Us, and it’s a very easy listen. Robert talks about the themes behind the album, how he wrote the music, and who else is on it. Growing up, he struggled with music in several different ways; from p...

Today’s guest is fiery. And I have to thank Ian Ottaway for introducing me to her. Welcome Erika Switchblade from The Devils to the podcast. Erika is Italian, in southern Italy. International episodes are always interesting. And Erika sets expectations early. She’s pretty sure this will be the worst podcast I’ve ever done. I disagree. Erika talks about the first song she ever remembers hearing, pl...

Welcome super nice guy Smitti Supab to the podcast. He’s a bass player for a lot of people. And we talk about a lot of them today. But he’s got his own band, Captain Buckles, that’s released their debut album called Hurry Up. Smitti has had quite an adventurous life and not all of it revolves around music. In fact, music was almost an accident! He went to China to teach, played in ex-pat bands, ma...

Today we’re talking about family bands with two guys who know a thing or two about them; Louis Michot and Corey Ledet. Both of these gentlemen are parts of families with deep musical roots. And they both give us a brief rundown of where they fit in the family tree. Corey’s great grandfather was an early jazz pioneer while Louis’ grandmother was a professional whistler! And Louis talks about their...

Today’s guest may be one of the hardest working guests I’ve ever had. Please welcome, straight from Normandy, France, Stephane Schuck. Stephane talks about the music that inspired him as a kid. It isn’t your standard rock and roll background. Maybe part of that is growing up in France, maybe part is just Stephane’s unique angle on music. He formed a group that eventually came to known as The Salt...

Today’s guest is just a badass. I’m so excited about this one that I don’t even want to do too long of an intro. I just want her to tell her story. Welcome Wendy Rae Fowler to the show. She’s got such an interesting story. She plays bass for Humanist in addition to her own music. But her first love was dance. She talks about all her creative endeavors from dance, to acting, to bass, and more. She...

It took me about 7 years to get today’s guest. That’s because he was too busy helping other artists with their public relations. Welcome one of my oldest podcasting friends, Howard Wuelfing. Howard was instrumental in kicking off the DC punk scene early on. But he wasn’t originally from the area. Howard talks about growing up just outside of NYC and how that influenced his entire life. He was gett...

Welcome photographer and musician Josh Hight to the show. Josh’s story is near and dear to me because it centers around two of my passions: music and photography. And Josh’s story is not a straightforward one, either. Although his parents were both creative (his dad was in advertising and his mom was an interior designer) visual art came later. His first love was music. He’s from Detroit and so it...

Today’s guest is a true family man. Or is it family band? You know what? It’s both. Please welcome Lucas Ward of The Silver Snails to the show. He take a moment from traveling with his family to talk to me about his unusual musical path. It definitely hasn’t been straightforward. But it’s been incredibly fruitful. He discusses growing up and being friends with Elliot Smith, back when he was known...

This isn’t exactly a Christmas episode, although it certainly leans heavily into the season. That’s because my guest today is an 80’s icon who has released a Christmas song. Welcome Limahl to the podcast. You may remember him from the 80’s band Kajagoogoo, and the track playing underneath all this intro stuff. Or you might remember him from the international #1 hit The Neverending Story from the m...

Welcome back, Conan Neutron! Conan’s got a new Secret Friends album out called The Way Of The Neutron. The process and circumstances Conan went through creating this album are the inspiration for this episode. It’s all about integrity and perseverance…and a little bit of artisanal sand. But Conan and I thought that maybe, somewhere out there, one listener of this podcast could use a little bit of...

Today’s guest is a challenge. But I don’t mean that in a negative way. Welcome Arwen Lewis to the podcast. She’s a musician and a podcaster. And this show starts off almost like it’s duelling interviews. And before I go any further, I need to thank Astrid Young for the introduction. Arwen has quite the family tree. Her dad is Peter Lewis of Moby Grape. But going back farther, her grandfather found...

Today’s guest is plural. I’m fortunate to be joined by the entire band The Problem With Kids Today just before they hit the stage. Tate, Silas, and Reena talk about the music that inspired them, some early band experiences, and how the band came together. Tate tells me about their unusual name, their less unusual previous band name, and gelling as a band because of COVID. These guys are self-descr...

This week’s guest is very grounded. That could be because he’s British. Or it could be because his career spans several decades. Welcome the singer and guitarist for Kula Shaker, Crispian Mills. This episode is so interesting. Crispian talks about growing up in a family rooted in entertainment. He started playing gigs in pubs at a pretty young age. In fact, his first gig was with Chris Thompson of...