Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“Meet Me On Another Day” From the mid-‘80s to about 1993, David Long used to front the Dublin band Into Paradise. Filled with moody rhythms, dark melodies and churning choruses, their work brought to mind that of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Sound. Sure enough, Adrian Borland of The Sound produced their second album Churchtown. Made up of David, Rachel Tighe, James Eadie and Ronan Clarke, Into Pa...

“Worth The Wait” The New Zealand poet John Allison once wrote: “In dividing the light, things are seen. And we notice ourselves.” That division of light and ensuing glimpse of ones true self is the perfect description of the work of one of Allison’s native New Zealanders, Elroy Finn. Finn’s debut solo album, simply titled Elroy, is a shimmering collection of sonorous indie pop that manages to be b...

“The Coronation” The Massachusetts-born Seth Glier is a musician who’s no stranger to the road, with a regular touring schedule that usually finds him playing close to 250 shows a year. But when lockdown locked into place in 2020, Glier found himself where we all found ourselves—at home. Watching the chaos outside while fostering stillness inside was the foundational element to the creation of his...

“Storm Coming” The LA.-based artist, producer and composer Ethan Gold’s debut album Songs From A Toxic Apartment left his fans wanting more and more is exactly what they’re getting. Gold will be releasing a trilogy of albums that will surely make his longtime fans very pleased and it will also bring him scores of new ones in the process. The first in the trilogy is Earth City 1: The Longing and it...

"To Be Dreaming" The North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Ashley Virginia's style falls somewhere between '70s country cool and west coast cosmic Americana. Like the spiritual daughter of Stevie Nicks and Gram Parsons, visually, Ashley Virginia is one of the most distinct and innovative artists you're likely to meet. But fashion aside, Ashley Virginia's music is as cosmic as her clothing—an arre...

“Swinging On The Moon” Steve Kilbey can swing from anywhere he wants in the universe; the moon, the stars, whichever planet he chooses. And yes, of course, he can also swing from the milky way. Because the fact of the matter is that Steve Kilbey is a musician whose talents are not only downright otherworldly, they’re positively celestial. A poet, a painter, a singer, a writer, a partner and a dad,...

“The Hardest Battle” Talking to Colin Moulding is no battle at all. In fact, the XTC co-frontman and bassist is one of our favorite guests and we’re thrilled to have him back on the show. We’re also thrilled that the occasion of his return is to promote his new single “The Hardest Battle.” A swirling pop gem that’s filled with layered pop melodies, “The Hardest Battle” is one of the catchiest song...

“Sparkle Up” Raised in Cork, Sean O'Hagan got his start with the beloved Irish indie outfit Microdisney in 1980. Microdisney put out five marvelous albums in eluding The Clock Comes Down the Stairs and Crooked Mile, before calling it a day in 1988. Two years later O’Hagan put out the High Llamas solo album and then he put together a band of the same name. Atmospheric, harmonic, melodic and rife wi...

“Hard To Get" My fascination with Starclub is kind of like one of those people who has a fascination with an unsolved murder. You put the pieces together and none of them make sense. You had this British band made up of schoolboy friends who knew each other since they were 11. They signed the biggest deal for a debut album in the history of anyone on the roster of Island Records (U2, Bob Marley)....

“Good Clean Fun" Bonnie Hayes moved to San Francisco from the San Joaquin Valley in the early '70s and it didn’t take long for her to establish herself as a commanding musical presence. Her new wave band The Punts became Wild Combo, and they signed with Slash and put out the Good Clean Fun Record. Slash was about as cool as it got—they had Fear, The Germs, The Gun Club and The Blasters and Hayes w...

“A Castle For A Song” It’s hard to explain how profoundly important Miles Copeland has been to modern music. Put it this way: without him, a lot of your favorite bands wouldn’t have been your favorite bands because you never would have known they were bands in the first place. Copeland’s I.R.S. Records brought R.E.M., Fine Young Cannibals, The Cramps, The English Beat, The Go-Go’s and The Bangles...

“Rip Tides And Clean Horizons" With his band New Model Army, Justin Sullivan has put out 15 fabulous albums, including such legendary efforts like 1986’s The Ghost Of Cain, 1993’s The Love Of Hopeless Causes and 2019’s From Here. Formed in West Yorkshire in 1980, New Model Army have turned out a bit like The Fall—hard to categorize, defiantly original and boasting a revolving door of so many membe...

“Pull It Out Of The Bag” So, Salt Ashes has been on the show before and I asked her to come back because I love talking to her. She’s charming, witty, honest and she’s one of those people that just feels familiar to me. And I think it won’t be long before her music is familiar to a very big audience. The London-based singers' work is inventive, artistic, bold, and thrilling. A ravishing blend of s...

“American Canyon” The Jenny Thing are back. Although it’s been 20+ years since the Bay Area band have put out a record, they have returned more potent than ever. Formed on the campus of U.C. Berkeley, The Jenny Thing’s brand of catchy New Wave and carefully crafted indie rock made them fan favorites in the Bay Area in the early ‘90s. The band’s original lineup finds them on their brand new fourth...

"Motherhood, Butterflies And American Quilt" We're so happy to welcome back Paula Cole to the podcast. The Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter is one of our favorite guests and in this chat she talks about maternal responsibility, baby butterflies and her fabulous new album American Quilt. The Grammy Award-winning musician is about to head back on the road to support American Quilt and she discus...

“Beast Of Eden” Our guest today on the program is a real artist. The Jersey born J Hacha De Zola is hard to categorize—he’s wholly original and unlike anything out there today. A feral blend of David Johansen, Screaming Lord Sutch and Nick Cave,over the course of his five album career, J Hacha Zola has delivered some of the most captivating, fascinating and utterly infectious music around. Like a...

“Reason To Live” Well, if you're looking for the kings of the indie rock grand slam, it’s a short list. But Lou Barlow is on it. The Ohio-born Barlow has Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, the folk Implosion and his solo career on his CV and that’s only a partial list that doesn’t include Sentridoh and Deep Wound. Yes, Lou Barlow has been a major part of major bands that were all groundbreaking and game chang...

"There’s Room On The Street For More Than One Restaurant" James Mastro’s musical CV is a string of highlights—over the course of his career, he’s worked with Patti Smith, John Cale, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate, Phoebe Snow, Richard Lloyd of Television, and The Jayhawks. In between all that, he formed the Health and Happiness Show who put out two fabulous albums on Bar None and for almost twe...

“Fatal Mistakes” In this special mini-episode, Alex reviews the new album from Del Amitri. Titled Fatal Mistakes, the album marks the first new effort from the legendary Scottish band in almost 20 years. Singer Justin Currie will be on the podcast in a few weeks, so in the meantime, Alex breaks down Fatal Mistakes and plays two songs from the album. His verdict? "Fatal Mistakes is as searing as it...

“Silent Dreams” When the Victims were an active proposition back in the ‘80s, hard rock and hair metal were running the show, so a few dudes dressed like new romantics or goths playing the kind of new wave that fell somewhere between OMD and the Cars, probably weren’t an easy sell in their small town of La Crosse, Wisconsin. But they did get out there and play and before too long, they had a devot...

“Introspection and Awareness" The French born drummer Greg Gilmore landed in Seattle as a young man and what better way to punctuate those formative teenage years than with a punk band? Joining forces with John Conte, Todd Fleishman, and Duff McKagan Gilmore and his pals played speedbag punk that fell somewhere between the Clash and The Germs. They became local favorites, opened for DOA in Vancouv...

"Blood" The Maine born, Massachusetts-raised Julian Hatfield studied at both Boston University and the Berklee College of Music. Along with John Strohm and Freda Love she founded the Blake Babies, who put out five fabulous, critically-acclaimed albums. One of the most potent artists out there, Hatfield has put out nearly 20 solo albums, including Hey Babe, Become What You Are and Whatever, My Love...

“Bach Is My Torah" The Philadelphia-born Eric Bazilian's dad was a psychiatrist but it was his concert pianist mother who likely influenced him to start playing the piano at age 5. Four years later he was playing guitar and seven years later at the age of 16 he had his first band, Evil Seed. While getting a B.S. in Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, Bazilian and his college pal Rob Hyman f...

"Mercy Rising" The California born singer/songwriter Maia Sharp wrote her first song at 5, so it’s no surprise that over the years her compositions have been recorded by—and by the way this is going to be a murderers row of talent, so get ready—Bonnie Rait, Keb Mo, Cher, Art Garfunkel, Paul Carrack and Trisha Yearwood. More Maia Sharp resume items: and mind you, this is a partial list: she’s toure...

“Nothing’s Ever Lost" Eleventh Dream Day have never stopped being great. Since their self-titled 1987 EP, over the course of 13 albums the band have retained the same scruffy splendor that has always made them one of the most riveting acts around. I always told my friends they sounded like a cross between X and R.E.M. but that was an oversimplification on my part. That might have even been a bit l...