Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Don’t Remind John Andrew Fredrick About How Obscure The Black Watch Are" …Because he already knows and he’s kind of sick of hearing it. And why wouldn’t he be? After nearly 25 albums and EP’s, Fredrick’s the black watch remain one of the best kept secrets in music and that they are remains a befuddling fact. However, in spite of outlets ranging from USA Today to Trouser Press declaring that the S...

"Liam Croker Rode A Horse Named Zeus” And that shouldn’t surprise you. Why? Because The Winachi Tribe frontman is as fearless offstage as he is on. That brand of confidence has given his band a clean shot of momentum. Together since 2015 The Winachi Tribe has released a string of critically-acclaimed singles, been lauded by the NME, gotten heavy airplay from KCRW to the BBC6, opened for The Happy...

“Dane Lloyd Came Home From Tunisia And Got A Phone Call From Sony" After a six month sojourn to North Africa where he and his Into The Ark bandmate Taylor Marshall Jones were playing holiday resorts, the duo came home to find the EP they recorded before they left had garnered some hefty interest from several labels. Their soulful harmonies and rootsy grooves not only landed them a final appearance...

“Petra Haden And I Admit We’ve Never Heard Pavement” A bit of a shocker, for sure. But in this conversation, singer/violinist Petra Haden tells Alex she’s never heard the legendary indie band. And Alex admits he hasn’t either. And that’s just the beginning of the confessions in this wildly entertaining chat. Haden talks about how she handles self-consciousness, why she put down the violin as a tee...

"Andy Wickett Is Sick Of Talking About Duran Duran" Well, after all this time, you probably would be, too. After leaving the Birmingham outfit TV Eye in 1979 Andy Wickett replaced Stephen Duffy as the singer of Duran Duran. What did Stephen Duffy do? Well, he replaced Wickett in TV Eye, naturally…With Wickett Duran Duran cut a series of tracks, including Wickett’s “Girls On Film.” That song was th...

“Daniel Ash Knew I Drove A Honda Fit” It didn’t take long for Daniel Ash to know Alex drives a Honda Fit. Only minutes after their chat began, the former Love and Rockets frontman could tell Alex wasn’t a fellow thrill-seeking motorcycle enthusiast. Call it intuition, call it a lucky guess, but either way, Ash was right on the mark. Also on the mark is Ash’s new band Poptone, which finds him paire...

“Steve Barton Didn’t Have A Plan” When college rock favorites Translator broke up in the mid-‘80s, singer Steve Barton didn’t have a plan as to what he was going to do next. So he did what he does best: He wrote songs. With a series of winning solo albums under his belt and Translator back together and putting out records, the L.A.-born Barton talks to Alex about songwriting, his life with Transla...

Magic Dick Has Epiphanies Every Day Even though he’s considered to be one of the greatest living practitioners of the harmonica, Magic Dick never stops practicing. As a result of his tireless work ethic, the Connecticut-born musician tells Alex he has two to three epiphanies every day. A few years ago the former J. Geils Band member teamed up with guitar virtuoso Shun Ng and the two formed an acou...

"Joy Lenz Didn’t Always Love Cats" You might know Joy Lenz from shows like “One Tree Hill” and “Guiding Light” and “Colony” but on this podcast we learn a lot about the actress that you may not have known. Joy tells Alex about discovering she had a four octave singing voice, writing a musical based on the life of “Pocahontas” and how she didn’t used to love cats but she sure does now. This special...

“Tav Falco Got A Late Start” The legendary Tav Falco is our guest this week and mid-way through the interview he confesses that he got a late start in life. Well, he’s sure made up for it. Not only is Tav Falco one of the most enigmatic and authentic musicians out there, it's hard to think of a bigger champion of underground music, art and literature in the modern age. A musician, photographer, hi...

"Terrorizing Peter Murphy" While on tour with his band The Sextants in the early 90s, Brennan Hester and his bandmates kept running into Peter Murphy. So they did what any band would do when staring down the Goth legend: they kept slapping Sextants stickers on his tourbus. Brennan tells Alex about running into Peter Murphy in a speedo, opening for Jane’s Addiction, his disdain for Morrissey and wo...

"Joachim Cooder Could Hear His Daughter’s Voice While He Was Underwater" An avid swimmer, Joachim Cooder found that after his daughter was born three years ago, he thought he heard her voice underwater when he was swimming laps. Now a father of two, it’s not just the sounds of his kids’ voices that Cooder hears and his new EP Fuchsia Machu Pichu is a testament to the sonic elements that Cooder hea...

“David Klotz Nursed His Broken Heart With Vintage Synthesizers” A few years ago David Klotz had two heartbreaks going on at once: the break-up of his band, (the critically acclaimed sepia pop outfit Fonda)and the break-up of his marriage. And it turned out that both events were intertwined, as Klotz was married to Fonda singer/keyboardist Emily Cook. So David Klotz did what anyone would do in this...

Xavier Boyer Cut His Date Short On Valentine’s Day How nice of a guy is Xavier Boyer? So nice that not only did he agree to talk to Alex on Valentine’s Day, he cut his dinner date short with his girlfriend to do it. While she lounged at the restaurant where they’d been eating, Xavier climbed into his car and chatted with Alex about his solo album Some/Any/New. They also talked about Tame Impala, c...

“Wendy James Has Always Been Ferociously Independent" Growing up in London, Wendy James always had to fend for herself. Her home life was emotionally bereft and the young James was often left to her own devices. Streetwise, independent and unfailingly self-reliant, James learned early on that the only person she could truly count on was herself. Right in the middle of recording her new solo album...

“Elizabeth Nelson Got Depressed A Week Early” Elizabeth Nelson thought daylight savings was a week before it was actually set to take place. So, the singer of the Paranoid Style tells Alex, she got depressed about the waning light a week earlier than she needed to be. But being in the D.C. outfit the Paranoid Style is nothing to be depressed about. Redolent with thorny takes on the modern world, p...

"Ben Vaughn Loved Music So Much, He Didn’t Care If He Made Money Doing It" Growing up, Ben Vaughn loved music so much he didn’t care if he made money doing it. In fact, he figured he wouldn’t ever make money doing it. He committed himself to the creative life, followed his own artistic impulses, toured with his band and kept making records. In 1995 with grunge still dominating the charts and Britp...

"Bianca Marais Used To Watch Diff’rent Strokes" For anyone in America who grew up in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, the above headline probably doesn't seem like a very big deal. But for the South African-born author Bianca Marais, it was a very big deal, indeed. Contorting the antenna of her television into the lock-picking bunny ears format, Bianca was able to beam in a station that was broadcasting...

“Terra Lightfoot Is Terrible At Kiss Pinball” Well, who isn’t? Terra tells Alex she’s never been any good at playing Kiss pinball, but she needn’t worry, because she’s super good at playing music. The Canadian singer/guitarist’s new album New Mistakes is a scorching set of soulful stomp, ragged roots rock and bluesy thunder, all played with sincerity and heart. Terra talks to Alex about taking up...

"Mark Bryan Is Finally Using His College Degree" Almost 30 years after graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, singer/songwriter Mark Bryan is finally putting that degree to good use as host of the Emmy Award-winning program "Live At The Charleston Music Hall." Bryan, who also created the show, tells Alex about how the process from conception to ince...

"Colin Moulding Tells Me What His Favorite XTC Album Is" He really does. But the former XTC bassist tells me a lot more than that. He details his return to pop music as one half of the band TC&I, an outfit he’s formed with ex-XTC drummer Terry Chambers. And he doesn’t stop there. Moulding talks about XTC and the current state of his relationship with Andy Partridge, he offers a warning for younger...

“Alison Moyet Is Middle Aged Creative Woman” And she wants you to know it. Alex sits down with the legendary Alison Moyet who talks to him about getting older in an industry that covets youth and beauty. “I don’t want to pretend I’m anything but middle aged,” she says. “I hate to see women being de-valued when they move beyond being shag-worthy.” It’s an empowering conversation that encompasses Al...

"Ben Jaffe Makes Me Guess How Old His Dad Is" Ben Jaffe may have grown up with a father who was a bit older than the other dads, but his record collection was far more comprehensive and it gave the younger Jaffe a wider musical palette to draw from. Raised on Art Blakey, classical music and blues, Jaffe’s wide array of tastes are all over his new album Oh, Wild Ocean Of Love. The honey honey guita...

Inara George Doesn’t Know What’s In Weird Al’s Heart But then again, none of us do. Singer/songwriter Inara George sits down with Alex Green for a candid chat about youth, why it’s hard to make friends when you’re older and Weird Al. That’s right. Weird Al. Inara tells Alex her kids prefer Weird Al over their mom’s music. When Alex says he hopes Weird Al records an album of heartfelt acoustic ball...

“New Tales To Tell” It’s true. The drummer of the legendary band Bauhaus had pretty much put down his sticks for almost eight years before deciding to pick them up again and join forces with his old Bauhaus/Tones On Tail bandmate Daniel Ash and Kevin’s daughter Diva on bass under the moniker Poptone. Kevin talks to Alex about growing up in Northampton, the cruelty of the British press and the stat...