Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Golf Clubs Gliding Through Space" Well, not exactly. But in spite of the fact that Greg Laswell is a singer-songwriter of tremendous sensitivity, if you happen to see him on the golf course, he might be throwing a club across the course. In this engaging, contemplative and honest interview, the Long Beach-born Laswell talks to Alex about how even though he's a chill guy, something about playing g...

"Brexit: Allergy Medication Or Baffling British Political Strategy" Let's be honest: you have no idea what Brexit is. I mean, you kind of know, but you don't REALLY know that much. Well, you're not alone. I don't get it either, but I want to. In this wildly educational chat with Owen Vyse, who sang for Starclub and toured as a guitar player with Echo and the Bunnymen, Owen explains blow by blow EX...

"The Impossible Falcon Flies" And it almost didn't. Although the brother/sister duo Wardell, which is comprised of Theo and Sasha Spielberg, had a ton of momentum with their debut album Love/Idleness in early 2015, the follow-up took years to make and it almost didn't happen. But thank god it did. Titled Impossible Falcon, the band's new long player is a bewitching blend of mesmerizing indie pop a...

"Feminine, Marvelous And Tough" Using that line from the poet Ted Berrigan is the only way that Alex can describe what it was like to see Paula Cole play live in 1995. A spellbinding performer whose arresting and percussive approach to music was as refreshing as it was exciting, all these years later Paula Cole is still one of the most thrilling musicians in the business. The Massachusetts native'...

"The Best Thing To Do In High School? Start A Band, Man" That's what Phil Radiotes did. The Bay Area born musician grabbed his friends and they spent their high school years playing in a band. But here's the thing: that band still exists. Although almost 20 years have passed and the band have relocated to Brooklyn, Phil and the Osophers have almost 15 albums under their belts and their spry indie...

“Drive Your Convertible Into What’s Left Of The Summer” Wilderado’s “Surefire” is such a late summer anthem that it makes Alex want to get in his convertible and drive into what’s left of the summer. But then he remembers: he doesn’t have a convertible and he’s in the middle of doing a podcast. So: back to business. Convertible or not, Wilderado’s track is so catchy, so free and so irresistibly aw...

“Don’t Die Alone In A Dark Room” That’s the thesis that James Levy and Alex arrive at in this epic conversation. It’s how Serge Gainsbourg ended up, and as far as endings go, that’s about as big of a downer as you can get. A discursive mediation on life, love, human behavior, the creation of art and why we do it in the first place, the Vermont-born singer-songwriter opens up about—well, about pret...

"Give This Album A Grammy And Get On With It” It’s hard to explain how brilliant Bernard Fowler’s new album Inside Out is. A percussive and poetic spoken word reimagining of The Rolling Stones’ songbook, Inside Out is an innovative and wildly creative collection. If there’s any justice in this world, this record will not only be nominated for an album—it will win one. A touring member of The Stone...

“Kristin Hersh Makes Me Feel Better About My Birthday” It’s not easy turning…22. Okay, 49, but what really takes the sting out of the advancing years is a conversation with Kristin Hersh on your birthday. Alex welcomes the singer/songwriter back to the podcast on his birthday and the two get right to it, chatting about life, family, art and survival. They cover Hersh’s perspective on the Throwing...

"Of Sisyphus And The Rock (And Roll)” In this conversation with Wylder’s Will McCarry, Alex and the singer/guitarist uncover the tricky and bottomless nature of being an artist, likening the process to Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill. In other words, once a song is written, instead of spiking the ball and stopping the clock, musicians go back to the grindstone to do it all over again. An int...

“I Haven’t Talked To Stephanie Seymour In 30 Years” The last time I spoke to Stephanie Seymour was 1989. She was a publicist at Island Records and I was the Music Director of my college radio station. Stephanie and I lost touch after she left Island to go on tour with her band The Aquanettas but we’re back in touch now! In this entertaining conversation Seymour catches Alex up on the last 30 years...

“Don Felder Says You’ll Never Master The Game” Although he’s one of the most legendary guitar players of all time, Don Felder says music is like golf—it’s a game you can’t master. That said, Felder is pretty masterful. The Florida born musician’s third solo album American Rock and Roll is further evidence that he’s one of the most innovative players on the planet and at the height of his creative...

“Two Terrible High School Class Presidents Come Clean” It doesn’t take long in this conversation with Modern Love Child’s Jonny Shane for he and Alex to realize they had a few things in common: they were both high school class president and they were both terrible at it. Motivated only by giving disruptive speeches, the two laugh about how they had no interest or capacity in their jobs beyond that...

Geoff Downes Always Knew He Wasn’t Going To Be A Concert Pianist” Although Geoff Downes is a staggering keyboard player who is truly one of modern music’s great composers and innovators, as a young man, he came to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to be a concert pianist. Taking an alternative path through music, Downes formed The Buggles with Trevor Horn, then joined Yes for their Drama al...

“Chris Stamey Doesn’t Normally Do These Things” And by “things” we mean podcasts….It’s true: the Chapel Hill, North Carolina singer/songwriter doesn’t show up a lot on podcasts, but we got lucky by catching him at just the right time and he agreed to be on the show. Stamey may have cut his teeth with the db’s back in the early ‘80s, but since then he’s been a critically-acclaimed solo artist, a re...

“David Schelzel Used To Think 30 Was A Good Age To Stop Making Records” But that was before he was 30. Admittedly, when you’re an introverted kid growing up listening to The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen, 30 probably seems pretty ancient. At least it did to the Ocean Blue’s David Schelzel He figured once he hit 30, he’d probably be done putting out records. Well, he was wrong. Although The Ocea...

“The Days Of White Men Shutting People Up Are Over” In this frank and unflinching interview Laces talks to Alex about her past as a young artist on a major label when she worked under the moniker Charlotte Sometimes. A truly exciting time, for sure, but she opens up about the dark side of the experience and the abuse she incurred in the most forthright of terms. The good news is that Laces is a su...

“When Lou Reed Calls At 4:30 AM And Tells You To Get A Pen…You Get A Pen” There’s no other option. And that’s exactly what happened to Nils Lofgren years ago when the legendary singer/songwriter phoned him to tell him he’d written lyrics for some of Lofgren’s compositions. While the fruits of that early morning collaboration remained dormant for decades, Lofgren’s new album Blue With Lou brings fi...

“Matthew Edwards May Have Just Recorded His Last Album” Although he’s in an admitted state of grace about his band’s new album The Birmingham Poets, singer/songwriter Matthew Edwards isn’t sure he’s got it in him to do another. While recording the album Edwards’ parents passed away, a member of his band fought through a serious illness and another experienced a wrenching breakup. In other words, t...

“Meat Beat Manifesto Are Like The Beatles…Interpreted Through A Jackhammer” It turns out there’s some pop roots coursing through the creative veins of the legendary Industrial outfit Meat Beat Manifesto. Growing up, braintrust Jack Dangers may have been a huge fan of bands like Throbbing Gristle, but he was also a huge fan of The Beatles. In this interview, the Swindon-born Dangers talks to Alex a...

“The Waterboys’ Mike Scott Always Has Something Cooking” One of the most prolific songwriters around—his band’s B-sides have B-sides—it’s no surprise to hear Mike Scott tell Alex that he’s always got a new music idea cooking. The Waterboys have released three albums in the last five years and their new effort Where The Action Is might very well be one of their best ever. A simmering platter of Cel...

“Be Gentle With Yourself” It can get pretty tough out there for any aspiring artist putting themselves and their work on public display. But singer/songwriter Rosie Carney has some advice: Be gentle with yourself. The British-born musician may only be 22, but she’s been through so much, she’s wise beyond her years. Carney was signed at 16 to Polydor and dropped by the label at 18. While that might...

“No Loops For Robert Forster” It may come as no surprise for fans of Robert Forster, but the singer/songwriter is not a guy who uses laptops and loops when he’s recording. A traditional studio approach works just fine for the Brisbane-born musician and his winning body of work verifies that. The co-founder of the legendary Australian band The Go-Betweens has just put out a new solo album called In...

“Jenn Vix Is NOT Having It” Jenn Vix admits that at this point in her life, her fuse is smaller than it’s ever been and she refuses to tolerate nonsense from anyone. “I can’t afford to,” she says. “I’m not going to tolerate crap from anyone…Jenn Vix is NOT having it.” With a voice that’s sonorous, soulful and stirring, Vix is one of the most fascinating and inspiring artists around. Refusing to be...

“Robin Wilson Doesn’t Want To Watch YouTube” Well, to be more specific, Robin Wilson doesn’t want to watch a YouTube channel of some guy with a guitar singing covers. In this conversation, the Gin Blossoms singer tells Alex that he may not be into that, but he’s into a lot of other stuff. For example, the home studio he built with his son, sailing on his boat and the Gin Blossoms themselves. Toget...