Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“When You Always Knew You Were On Your Own Planet” Growing up, Vanessa Daou always knew she was meant to be an artist. Growing up in The Virgin Islands, Daou escaped a difficult childhood by immersing herself in the creative world. An avid reader, the young Daou was inspired early on by bookslike Harold And The Purple Crayon and the Little Prince and, taking her cue from characters who fashioned t...

"Justin Jeffre Of 98 Degrees On Pop Music And Social Activism” Justin Jeffre may be widely recognized as one of the four famous faces in the R&B group 98 Degrees, but he keeps a far lower profile while volunteering for the Homeless Coalition in Cincinnati. Jeffre and his bandmates have sold over 10 million albums and are currently on a nearly 40-date pre-Christmas tour called ’98 Degrees At Christ...

"John Ondrasik And A Melancholy Life With A Lot Of Moments Of Joy" As we all know, happiness is not a permanent state—it’s a place you get to visit, but you can’t live there. And singer/songwriter John Ondrasik is just fine with that. In this interview, the Five For Fighting frontman talks to Alex about how to strike a balance between the creative life and the normal life offstage and he recognize...

“Greg Norton Says You Have To Be Reminded All The Time You Can Be Better” Nobody would fault Greg Norton for resting on his laurels. After all, he played bass in Hüsker Dü, who is one of the most influential and important bands of all time. But Norton is not one of those guys who coasts through life—he’s a hard worker and pushes himself to be a better version of himself every day. Norton joined th...

"Arleigh Kincheloe Changes Her Son’s Diaper In The Middle Of This Podcast" I’ve interviewed thousands of bands but in this interview with Sister Sparrow, whose real name is Arleigh Kincheloe, something happens that’s never happened before: A diaper change. Kincheloe takes a break in the middle of our chat to change her son’s diaper, but she’s back in a flash and we pick up right where we left off,...

"If You Want Cheery You’ve Called The Wrong Person” Although that statement has an Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here kind of vibe, Ed Kuepper is actually one of the most genial fellows around. The former guitarist (and founder) of the legendary Australian punk band The Saints and the Laughing Clowns talks to Alex about his early interest in composition, the scene in London in the ‘70s and what it...

“Shavo Odadjian Is Always Busy” You probably tell people you’re super busy all the time, but very few people are Shavo Odadjian busy. The System of A Down bassist is one of those guys who runs at his most optimum when he’s got a full day ahead of him. This comes as no surprise—after all, this is a guy who, during his college days, went to class, managed a band, played in a band and worked at a ban...

“Matt Costa Moves To A Different House Every Time He Makes A New Record” Singer/songwriter Matt Costa is one of the most affecting musicians around and his new album Santa Rosa Fangs is brimming with the hushed pop finesse of Elliott Smith and the lush precision of Roddy Frame’s Surf. In this conversation he reveals that whenever it’s time to make a new record he packs his things and moves to anot...

“Why Psychiatrists Are Crazy” And we hope he does again! The Amazing Kreskin stops by for a chat with Alex and they talk about why psychiatrists are crazy, the prescience of the Manchurian Candidate and the power of suggestion. And nobody knows about the power of suggestion more than Kreskin. He's not a magician, an occultist or a psychic who’s equipped with powers of telepathy, precognition, or m...

“Telling Your Son There's No Santa Claus” On a late summer day in September, just hours before our chat, Lyrics Born told his son there was no Santa Claus. He figured it was time. Lyrics Born’s son is 8. If I had a son I’d probably wait until he was…43. But LB explains his thinking behind breaking the news early and not only that, he explains a lot of other things as well in this illuminating chat...

“Getting Mono From The First Girl You Kiss” A rough romantic start for sure, but don’t worry, everything worked out for Jay Aston. While convalescing from his illness, the Welsh teenager started to listen to music in a more forensic fashion than he had before. Taking in Bowie, Eno and Roxy Music, Aston began crafting his own artistic vision. Moving to London with his twin brother Michael, Gene Lov...

"Brothers In Bands Will Always Work It Out" And he should know. After all, The Trews' guitar player John-Angus has been in a band with his brother Colin for most of his life. Whether it’s Oasis, The Black Crowes or The Kinks, John-Angus tells Alex that brothers will always work it out no matter what. Although the Kinks have indeed reformed, the jury’s still out on his other two picks. However, the...

“The J.D. Salinger Of New Wave?” It’s a fair question. When Bailey sang for the Thompson Twins in the ‘80s, he was everywhere. But in the ‘90s, he was nowhere to be found. Like Salinger, his hiatus was by choice. After years fronting one of the biggest bands in the world, Bailey was nowhere to be found. But while Salinger’s absence from the creative life was an inexplicable mystery punctuated by o...

“David J Says Peter Murphy Is Keeping Everyone In Stitches” Although it’s hard to imagine the Dark Prince of Goth is also a fountain of chuckles, David J says his bandmate Peter Murphy has been in fine form and keeping everyone laughing while on tour. The two former Bauhaus members have teamed up with a full band for an extensive tour to commemorate 40 years of Bauhaus and they’re crushing it ever...

“A Punk Who Reads Proust” As a member of The Heartbreakers, Walter Lure may have tenured in one of the most hedonistic, wild and downright feral punk bands of all time, but there was a lot more to this native New Yorker than met the eye. For one, before Lure joined the Heartbreakers he had finished college, graduating from Fordham with an English major and a minor in Chemistry. Lure survived the H...

"When You're At Your Darkest Point, Write A Children’s Book” Everyone copes with the darkness a different way. For Shannon McArdle, after her divorce to Mendoza Line guitarist Timothy Bracy, she lost her band and her marriage. So she did the only thing she could at such a bleak moment in her life: she wrote a book for kids. But that’s not all she did. Roaring back from the abyss with the stone-col...

“Danny O’Reilly Of The Coronas Returns!” We’ve been at it here at Stereo Embers: The Podcast for a little under a year and we’re proud to announce our first return guest. The Coronas’ Danny O’Reilly sat down last year with Alex for a frank discussion about self-doubt and it remains to date the episode we’ve gotten the most letters about. That a high profile musician like O’Reilly was willing to ta...

“Going Through A Ghost Phase” After getting divorced and moving out West with her young daughter, singer/songwriter Jessi Williams found herself going through a ghost phase. Whether she was reading or writing about ghosts, that seemed to be the subject matter she’d landed on for the time being. And Williams’ new EP with her band Coyote is full of those ghosts—they weave in and out of the five song...

“Roger Joseph Manning Jr. And I Love Elvis Costello For Different Reasons” Roger Joseph Manning Jr. is one of the great sonic architects in modern music. From his work in Jellyfish to playing in Beck’s band to his own solo material, Manning continually evinces an inherent and complex understanding of music composition. So it’s no surprise that when he listens to Elvis Costello he doesn’t really he...

“Jerry Slavonia Doesn’t Light Candles When He Writes Songs” In this interview singer/songwriter Jerry Slavonia, who fronts the L.A. outfit The Honey Cane, tells Alex that his creative process has less to do with nuance like lighting candles and adjusting aesthetic, and more to do with letting the songs flow through him. While Slavonia admits that sometimes that approach requires patience, his band...

“Graham Bonnet Likes Doo-Wop” That’s a fact that might confuse metal fans, but the legendary singer not only talks to Alex about his love of doo-wop, the Beach Boys and Billy Joel, he touches on his departure from Rainbow, his lasting power as a vocalist and his penchant for perfectionism. One of the most enduring, muscular and downright feral singers of all-time, over the course of his long caree...

“Tony Kaye Plays The Net Now” Tony Kaye was a baseliner on the tennis court for years, but then he figured out the efficacy of playing the net and he was hooked. Kaye was hooked on music at an early age, starting his formal classical piano training at the tender age of four. When he signed on to be an original member of Yes in 1968, his classical roots were long behind him. He’d been playing jazz...

“Tony Lewis Is Always On Time” He sure is. The former Outfield frontman tells Alex that he and his bandmate John Spinks were always known for being punctual and he’s continuing that tradition. But, he confesses, away from his musical life, he’s rarely on time ever. In this interview Lewis talks about his new solo album Out Of The Darkness, the death of his musical partner Spinks and the joys of be...

“Kari Kimmel Is Everywhere And You Had No Idea” Kari Kimmel’s music has probably been in your head at one point or another and you had no idea it was her. With her music and her voice appearing in almost 1,000 films, television shows and commercials, Kimmel is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous singer/songwriters out there. The only thing is, she could knock on your door and you wouldn’t know who...

“James Williamson Doesn’t Need To Do This Anymore” When you’re one of the most respected guitar players on the planet and you’ve already been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and everyone from Johnny Marr to Kurt Cobain has sung your praises, you don’t need to do much anymore. But thankfully, James Williamson is still doing what he does. The Texas-born Williamson talks to Alex about hi...