Roadie Free Radio

Becky Pell is one of the lucky people who is able to follow two of her passions and turn them into thriving careers. As a monitor mixer she has worked with an incredible range of artist's including the Black Crowes, A-ha, Anastacia, Take That, Westlife, Kylie, Muse, and Natalie Imbruglia. As a yoga and meditation instructor she contributes to several magazines and blogs including Yoga Internationa...

Passion. Heartbreak. Angels. Devils. Duende, And of course, Jazz. These are the things that keep guitarist Anthony Purrone driving and striving for the truth in his playing and just a few of the things that we mined through during our time together. One of the great improvisational guitarist's, Tony has played with an incredible range of people including Jimmy heath and the Heath Brothers Band, Wi...

My guests today are songwriting and performing duo Lucinda Rowe and Michael Connelly. Based in the idyllic hills of Sherman, CT and forged out of the iconic rock sounds of the '70's, these two have paid their dues and then some. They've performed or opened for some of the industry's biggest names including: Pat Benatar, Eddie Money, Patty Smythe and Scandal, Tony Bennett, KC and The Sunshine Band,...

When I think of Jazz, the violin is not usually the first instrument that comes to mind, but today's guest has set me straight. Zach Brock is the real deal and I'm so glad we found a break in his schedule to have him on the show. He's been a member of Snarky Puppy going back to the early days of the band and has played with the likes of Matt Ulery, Bill Laurence, Wycliffe Gordon, Stanley Clarke, P...

To kick-off 2017 with style and grace my first guest in the studio is the smart and talented Fawn Segerson, otherwise known as Lullaby Girl. We talk about growing up in small town Connecticut, touring Paris, and her love of Elvis and Dolly Parton. Her new album Vis-à-vis dropped last week at The Bitter End in NYC, and she's already breaking hearts on her current European tour.

If we're being honest, and I usually am, I was a big fan of a lot of the music that came out of the early 90's New York scene. While Hip-Hop was growing fast and the raw sounds of the Seattle scene were exploding across the country, there was another faction starting to pop on the lower east side of NY. Bands like the The Worm's, the Spin Doctor's, Blues Traveler, and God Street Wine would eventua...

Roadies, in this episode I am humbled to have had the privilege to sit down with prolific author, Howard Massey. With 16 books to his name, Howard is a man of many talents; engineer, producer, songwriter, and musician. Howard's deep knowledge and love of the business is rivaled only by the incredible respect his peers have for him. Not only was he ahead of the curve with his early titles breaking...

For this weeks episode I had the pleasure of sitting down via Skype with Mike Bloomfield historian, David Dann. We recently spent time together up in Portland, Maine for a screening of the film that I co-produced called Sweet Blues: A Film About Michael Bloomfield, where Dann served as a moderator for the panel discussion. His passion for Bloomfield's playing and legacy has manifested into the cre...

For this week's interview I travelled up to Portland, Maine for a conversation with my old schoolmate and friend, Jason Spooner. Equipped with a DIY mentality, Jason has gained acclaim throughout the United States for his soulful blues-rock sound. Growing up, Jason was influenced greatly by the singer-songwriter LP's and 8-tracks of the 70's in his dad's collection. With inspiration from the likes...

With a passion for both tinkering and music, Matt Umanov opened up his first guitar store in 1963 and has not stopped since. I had the privilege of sitting down with Mr. Bleecker Street himself, and we covered topics ranging from Marijuana use to Buck Owens, to Jazz. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, it was clear from a very young age that Matt had a talent for understanding the inner mechani...

You guys are in for a treat with this week's episode. I had the privilege of sitting down and interviewing my long time family friend, Mark Snow. As a career television and film composer, Mark has lent his talent to some of the industries biggest hits. A Brooklyn native, Mark developed an affinity for music during his time at The High School for Music and Art where he gained acceptance as an oboe...

How does one go from folding airbags for Honda and deboning chickens in South Carolina, to being Christian McBrides FOH audio engineer? To answer that question you are going to have to check out today's interview featuring Fela Davis. At a young age Fela knew she wanted to be involved in creating great sounding music. A career placement test in the 8th grade fortified her dream of pursuing a futur...

What's up roadies? This week's cure for your case of the Monday blues is brought to you by monitor engineer to the stars, Steve Walsh. A 20-year industry veteran, Walsh has worked with some of rocks biggest names including but not limited to; +44, Blink-182, The Foo Fighters, Tommy Lee, and Maroon 5. Thanks to a little white lie nearly 20 years ago, Steve landed his first gig as a monitor engineer...

This installment of Roadie Free Radio is coming to you straight from the sound studio of long time Rock 'n Roll veteran, Charlie Karp. A man who has been through it all, Charlie landed his first big gig at the tender age of 16, thanks to a chance encounter at the Filmore East. That fateful night would introduce Karp to Buddy Miles. Charlie would go on to tour, write, and record for Miles over a pe...

Musician. Entrepreneur. Hustler. I think those are three good words to describe David Koltai. And just so we're clear, I mean hustler in the best sense of the word. When I arrived at the Pigtronix/Supro office in Port Jefferson, NY, David was juggling several calls, pausing shortly in between to confer with any of his staff who poked their head in for a quick word. You don't get to be the head of...

Roger Sadowsky is very clear that he never wanted his business to feel like a factory. The world in which he builds his instruments should feel more like a workshop than anything else. Wandering through his shop, past the several workstations occupied by his master builders, it's clear that he has succeeded. Since striking out on his own in 1979, Roger has built a loyal and dedicated following who...

It's no secret that for years the "road" has been a male-dominated workplace. However, that's quickly changing, and women like Rachel Ryan are forging new and indelible paths, demonstrating their might and talent, making way for a new generation of roadies. Mr. Soundlady, as Rachel is otherwise known, is a force to be reckoned with. As I dug around researching women in the audio field, her name ke...

I've known Mike Fratantuno for a while now. We met as he was making the transition from founding member and bass player with the Black Eyed Peas, to scoring music for various high-profile film and television productions with his bandmates Brian Lapin and Terence Yoshiaki, also former members of the Peas. The Black Eyed Peas was a fruitful time for Mike, Brian, and Terence, as they honed their skil...

Growing up in the '70's, Blood, Sweat, & Tears was definitely on heavy rotation in our house. "Spinning Wheel," "What Goes Up," "Sometimes in Winter"; these tunes are etched in my memory. I can't even tell you how many times my mom sang verse after verse of "God Bless the Child" to both my sister and I. The fusion of Jazz, Rock, and a horn section may not seem like that big a deal today, but back...

In all honesty, I didn't know much about Harvey Citron before our interview. I had met him at a few random events in Woodstock, NY, but we never had an opportunity to get to know each other. And, I knew nothing about his guitars or basses. As I prepped to sit down with him, I quickly picked-up on the care, precision, and thought that he brings to each instrument and to each new design endeavor tha...

"Record with John Lennon." That was Alex's response when I asked him what the future holds for him. Thing is, if he had the chance, he would probably be the kind of producer Lennon would want. I've seen Alex in action in his studio Starr Ridge, in Brewster, NY., and he never stopped moving during the entire session. It was inspiring to say the least. In this episode, producer, engineer, composer,...

I first met Cindy Cashdollar when I was shooting the documentary film BRASS, GLASS, & STEEL: THE MAKING OF ARLEN ROTH'S SLIDE GUITAR SUMMIT. She was in the middle of a small tour with Sonny Landreth, and they were stopping in to record a few tunes with Arlen at Starr Ridge Studios in Brewster, NY. She was gracious, professional, and incredibly focused. A few months later, I saw Cindy was at a smal...

I first met Cindy Cashdollar when I was shooting the documentary film BRASS, GLASS, & STEEL: THE MAKING OF ARLEN ROTH'S SLIDE GUITAR SUMMIT. She was in the middle of a small tour with Sonny Landreth, and they were stopping in to record a few tunes with Arlen at Starr Ridge Studios in Brewster, NY. She was gracious, professional, and incredibly focused. A few months later, I saw Cindy was at a smal...

When I told people Peter Moshay was a guest on the show, the immediate reaction was "wow!" Right away it was evident that Peter has earned the respect of his peers and colleagues in the industry, and that he is held in high esteem by those that have crossed paths with him. Either as a producer, mixer, engineer, tech or consultant, Peter has worked with everyone from Barry Manilow to Journey, Kenny...

Sometimes I have to pinch myself at how lucky I am to spend time with my guests and Jim Weider is no exception to that rule. Jim's roots in American music run deep, and his fifteen-year tenure with the Band helped to cement his status as a Master of the Telecaster guitar. Come hang with Jim and I in his man-cave as I learn more about his amazing career. Go to Jim's website to check his current tou...