The Hustle

Yes keyboardist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Kaye returns to the show to discuss the making of Yes's 1987 album Big Generator. The band was not in a good place when producer Trevor Horn brought them together for the 90125 album. Because that album was such a surprise hit, the team came back together for the follow up, only to have more dysfunction and infighting. Surprisingly, with hits li...

We're kicking off 2023 and celebrating 400 episodes with one of our most desired guests - the great Trevor Horn! Known as the man who "invented the 80s", Trevor discusses his groundbreaking work with artists like Seal, Yes, Simple Minds, Grace Jones, Marc Almond, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and ABC as well as his adoption of technology to achieve his creative goals. More importantly, Trevor recently...

We're closing out 2022 with another twofer! This week we get to hear from 80s pop starlet Tiffany. At 16, Tiffany became the youngest female singer to reach #1 when "I Think We're Alone Now" took over the world. Pop stardom can be fleeting though, and in a short time she had to rethink her career. Since then she's done a little bit of everything - country and dance music, acting, cooking shows and...

Guitarist Ivan Julian is a punk rock lifer. Though born in the states, Ivan became a professional musician when he moved to London and started touring with The Foundations in 1972. Eventually he made his way back to NYC and was a principle of the CBGB scene and founding member of Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Even though their lone album, Blank Generation, is considered  classic, the band didn't...

This week is a super fun twofer. First up is the delightful Lisa Loeb. She talks about her new radio show, Where They Are Now, her love of David Bowie, her more recent albums, her dabbles in children's music, and much more. She's as wonderful as you think she'll be. Then we hear from drummer Steve "Smiley" Barnard. Smiley has been one of the UK's most in demand musicians for 30 years. He started w...

Author Joel Selvin joins us this week to discuss the re-release of his 1998 book Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History. When Joel originally put this book together in the 90s, there was nothing even close to a definitive history of Sly and his band. Even today, it still stands as a striking and horrifying account of a musical genius torpedoed by drugs and the band members and family members that...

What a strange trip it's been for John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. After a decade of playing every pier and boardwalk in the Northeast, they achieved "overnight success" when they were plucked to do the music for the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers. This brought them big hits like "On The Darkside" and "Tender Years" but because the popular video was taken from the movie, many listeners w...

In this live and unedited panel discussion, Jon is joined by three friends and fellow podcasters to debate whether Cher, icon that she is, belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Team NAY is made up of Jon and Scott Kummer of the 10 Junk Miles Podcast. Team YAY is Josh Fitzgerald of the Movies that Rock podcast and Nick Bambach of the Rock in Retrospect podcast. You like fireworks and hot takes...

Did you know that Miami's Exposé are the 8th most successful girl group of all time? And did you know they were the first group to land four top 10 songs on their debut album? Accolades like that are mostly forgotten with these guys, unfortunately. The combination of Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno - all great singers, all beautiful and all different - was unbeatable from the mid 80s...

Tom Werman was one of the most successful producers of the 70s and 80s. He's responsible for making Cheap Trick what they are thanks to his work on their first few albums. He's also behind some of the best power pop of the era like the Producers, Off Broadway, and Gary Myrick. And, he helped shape the sound of the Sunset Strip by producing massive albums by Motley Crue, Twisted Sister and Poison....

Talk Talk basically invented a new musical language with their fourth album, Spirit of Eden. The band began as a strong, but slightly derivative, synth pop group, but due to the artistic restlessness of main man Mark Hollis, Talk Talk evolved into something no one had ever heard before and hasn't heard since. Critics called what they did "post-rock", which is probably pretty close. Former guest Ph...

The Roots are revolutionary artists for many reasons. Not just the music they make, but being hired as Jimmy Fallon's house band changed the landscape of late night television. Guitarist Kirk Douglas has risen as one of the most exciting images on our TVs night after night. In addition to his two important day jobs, Kirk also has a solo career as Hundred Watt Heart and recently released his second...

Today sees the release of the much anticipated box set of songs from John Hughes movies called Life Moves Pretty Fast: The John Hughes Mixtapes. John's Music Supervisor, and friend of the podcast, Tarquin Gotch returns to discuss how he went about compiling the box, what got left off and why, and the love and care that went into it finally coming out. Over four discs (and plenty of extra goodies)...

Singer/songwriter Dar Williams can do it all. On top of her wonderful music career, she also publishes the occasional book and her latest is a gift to creative people everywhere. How to Write a Song that Matters shows her describing not only the best way to approach making music, but also how to tap into the best parts of yourself when tackling something inventive. She details her own experiences...

This week is a fun twofer with a couple of excellent singer/songwriters that are hitting the road together. First up is Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips. Not only has Glen fronted Toad since the beginning with hits like "Walk On the Ocean" and "Come Down", but he's also had his own robust solo career. Glen has a new album coming out this weekend called There Is So Much Here that is a w...

This week is another special twofer!  Imagine being brought into one of the biggest bands in the world at 23 years old to replace the face of the band. That's the lion's den bassist Jason Scheff strode into and remained for the next 31 years. Jason recently left the band to take care of some family matters and now has a new album with his new supergroup Generation Radio that is a total blast It's...

Jon, Andy and Jan review the 3rd quarter, discuss Andy's arboreal habits and find out what gigs we'd all been to. Spoiler alert.  Jan didn't get to any this quarter.  Find out what he DID get to, on the last day of the quarter!

The mythology of classic rock is built on the backs of legendary characters like Bobby Whitlock. Bobby was involved in three of the greatest rock albums ever made - George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street and, of course, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs from when he and Eric Clapton teamed up for Derek & The Dominos. Bobby discusses his own solo career,...

Songwriters Hall of Fame member Jack Tempchin is probably best known for the hits he penned for the Eagles. "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Already Gone" are two of the most heard songs in history. He also helped Glenn Frey have a few solo hits like "Smuggler's Blues" and "You Belong to the City" among others. Johnny Rivers, Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker and George Jones are also in his history. Today,...

This week is a pretty unique pairing of classic rockers. First up we hear from Slade drummer Don Powell! Don discusses those glory days of Slade, why they never fully caught on in the States despite being one of the biggest UK bands of the 70s, how Quiet Riot's cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize" finally brought them some attention, the personal and business obstacles the band had to overcome and his...

God bless Billy Bragg, one of mankind's greatest gifts! The man has devoted his life to fighting for those that can't fight for themselves, to improving the planet and to inspiring all of us to get involved. We learn what actually motivates him is empathy and knowing that makes his mission even better. Last year he put out a new album called The Million Things That Never Happened that sees him loo...

Great news coming out of the Smithereens' camp these days. This weekend they released The Lost Album which is a collection of songs recorded in the early 90s that never saw the light of day until now. Hearing the band, especially the voice of the late great Pat DiNizio again is like manna from heaven for fans. We welcome drummer Dennis Diken to discuss the new album and then we Deep Dive the band'...

Tony James is one of rock's great shapeshifters. He starts out with Billy Idol in Generation X, one of the great punk bands, but when Billy went solo, Tony took some time to conceptualize his next creative move. That gestation period eventually brought about Sigue Sigue Sputnik, one of the most outrageous groups of the 80s. Though they were short-lived, the band left a giant lipstick stain on the...

One of the best rock docs ever made is coming back to theaters next month to celebrate its 13th anniversary. Who can forget seeing Anvil! The Story of Anvil for the first time? For many (too many, sadly) it was our introduction to Lips and Robb and their decades long struggle to be taken seriously in rock and roll. The world fell in love with these guys, and the movie, and they've been enjoying a...

For a band that has barely made a peep over the last 25 years, the House of Love are having a major resurgence. This summer they released the incredible 8 CD box set Burn Down The World that showcases just about everything from their major label days. They're also kicking off a UK tour this week, as well as a 30th anniversary tour of the US next month, and, as if that isn't enough, they have a kil...