The Hustle

Tower of Power have been one of the landmark r&b outfits for 50 years now. From humble beginnings in the East Bay of Northern California, co-founders and sax players Emilio Castillo and Doc Kupka started something very special that carries on today, arguably better than ever. In fact, TOP put out one of their best albums ever in 2018 called Soul Side of Town. While there have been ups and downs an...

City Boy was a band that was almost impossible to classify. Imagine if ELO, Queen and Yes got together and decided to get weird and you're in the ballpark. They did manage to hit the pop charts once when the epic "5705" off their third album Book Early reached #27 in the states in 1978. Unfortunately, that was it in terms of the charts, but then again chart success was never the highest priority....

Canadian rockers Honeymoon Suite might be the most undervalued melodic rock band of the 80s. Though always maintaining a profile up north, the band deserved more attention in the states and around the rest of the world. Hits like "New Girl Now," "What Does It Take" and "Feel It Again" from their 1986 masterpiece The Big Prize (produced by Bruce Fairbairn) are perfect examples of the very best that...

Jeffrey Osborne is one of the greatest balladeers in r&b history. Who can ever forget his amazing performance on 80s standards like "On the Wings of Love," "We're Going All the Way," and "You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)." After leaving his first band L.T.D. he teamed with the legendary producer George Duke to become one of the most successful singer of the 80s with additional hits like "Stay...

Kevin Armstrong has been a go-to guitarist for some of the greatest artists of the last 35 years. After first tasting success playing with Thomas Dolby during the Golden Age of Wireless era, Kevin went on to partner with David Bowie for several years, including backing him at Live Aid and being the "unofficial" 5th member of Tin Machine. This also lead to a partnership with Iggy Pop, which continu...

In this special bonus episode we chat with Zombies bassist Chris White about the resurgence the band has enjoyed over the last 15 years or so leading to them being nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a fourth time! This rediscovery is largely thanks to generations getting turned on to their excellent 1967 album Odessey and Oracle, which was a bomb at the time (though it did include th...

Brian James doesn't like to sit in one spot for too long. In the mid-70s he joined up with Rat Scabies and the gang to form the pioneering punk band The Damned. That band holds many firsts - first punk band signed to a major label, first punk band to release a single with "New Rose" in 1976, and the first to tour America. But, after an ill-fated second album, the band broke up and Brian went on to...

The Buzzcocks remain one of the greatest punk bands in history. Their mixture of punk's aggression with pop's hooks set them apart from their contemporaries with standards like "What Do I Get," "Autonomy," and "Ever Fallen In Love." Co-founder Steve Diggle lays out the history of the band, the effects of punk on his young psyche, the story behind the big hits, how David Bowie influenced male sexua...

Translator were one of those great polyglot bands of the early 80s - a little new wave, a little power pop and a lot of genres like "jangle pop" and "college rock" that hadn't even been invented yet. They released four album in the 80s and are probably best known for one of the best singles of the decade, 1982's "Everywhere That I'm Not." Eventually the band went on hiatus and Steve and his impres...

Jon and Jan are happy to be joined by the great Sonny "Hollywood" Pooni of the Growin' Up Rock Podcast Rock City podcasts to recap the last couple months of episodes. We also discuss the Rock n Pod Expo, how he got into podcasting, and the possible future of The Hustle. Sonny has suggested a deliciously fun topic to discuss - Top 3 songs that we wish had hit #1 between the years 1983-1989. Songs g...

Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker is going to be busy for a while. Not only did his original band announce recently they were reuniting for a 40th anniversary tour in 2019 AND releasing their first album of new material in many years, Lee himself is about to release a new solo CD/DVD in December called The LOW Road! In fact, there is a Pledge Music campaign associated with the release and you can get...

In 1992 the Spin Doctors had an era-defining, cultural touchstone of an album on their hands when their debut, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, finally took off after months of release. It went on to sell over 3 million copies on the back of perennial hits like "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." Unfortunately, as is often the case, the curse of the Sophomore Slump hit them pretty hard when...

In this fun bonus episode we chat with Joyce Hyser Robinson, star of the classic 1985 movie “Just One of the Guys”. She talks about her experience making the movie, who else was up for the part, her career afterwards, and other things she’s done like being almost completely cut out of “Spinal Tap.”  She also explains the important non-profit she’s a part of, the Harold Robinson Foundation. Enjoy! ...

The Babys were one of the great British rock bands of the late 70s. They released five albums between 1976 and 1980 and scored a number of hits like "Every Time I Think of You" and "Isn't it Time" which were a perfect showcase for the vocal chops of frontman John Waite. But, in 1981 the band broke up when Waite went solo and keyboardist Jonathan Cain joined Journey. This week we talk with drummer...

Bob Rock is one of the most successful producers in rock history. Run down some of the benchmarks on his resume and your jaw will drop (Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation, Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood, The Cult's Sonic Temple and of course Metallica's black album). But before all that he and musical partner Paul Hyde were young punks in Vancouver, British Columbia fronting...

In the late 70s, artist Robin Scott adopted the moniker "M" and created one of the most enduring pieces of pop art in history with his 1979 global #1 "Pop Muzik." This piece of profound simplicity wrapped in the guise of fluffy, disposable pop art took the world by storm and showed in neon what the next decade of music would sound like. As Robin continued to push the boundaries of pop music, his s...

The music career of Alan Shacklock reads like a history of British rock and roll. He started out rocking as a pre-teen hobnobbing with other future luminaries and eventually made it big as the guitarist and creative force for the 70s blues band Babe Ruth. They may be best known for their hit "The Mexican" which has become one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop history. In the last 70s he decided...

For nearly 40 years, Keith's Scott's partnership with Bryan Adams has produced some of the most memorable guitar rock of all time. Content to remain "the guy behind the guy", Keith deserves more credit for the magic he brought to seminal songs like "Cuts Like a Knife", "Summer of '69", "It's Only Love" and many more. It's truly "RIFF ROCK" at its finest. In this rare conversation, Keith tells the...

Redbone are another of those excellent 70s hitmakers that are enjoying a career resurgence thanks to their inclusion on the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks. The band released many hits that decade like "The Witch Queen of New Orleans,"One More Time," and "Wovoka," but the biggest was "Come and Get Your Love" which reached #5 in 1974 and is currently enjoying a rebirth. Pat Vegas and his brothe...

Jon was recently invited to guest on the super fun podcast Reliving My Youth with host Noel Fogelman. Noel picked the topic of Top 5 Covers of 80s songs, which should spark some great debates. If you're unfamiliar with Reliving My Youth you should give it a shot. Noel talks to pop culture icons from back in the day, including actors, actresses, musicians, you name it. In fact, we've had many cross...

Looking Glass made a brief, but lasting impact in 1972 when they scored the #1 smash "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" off their debut album. After only one more album in 1973, the band broke up and Brandy's songwriter Elliot Lurie put out one non-starting solo album in 1975 before his music career basically ended. He went on to a long and successful career as a music supervisor for films and is respo...

Jon and Jan come together again to discuss topics like Jon's visit to the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo, Jan's internet lovelife, and the guests featured in July and August. Oh, and Jon's sick again.

Robbie Dupree scored big out of the gate with the enduring "Steal Away" which reached #6 in 1980 and the follow up "Hot Rod Hearts" also did well on the pop charts. But, after the relative disappointment of his second album, 1981's Street Corner Heroes, Robbie's plans changed. Thankfully, there was still a hunger for Robbie in the Asian market and a new record deal allowed him to continue to make...

Another excellent Rock n Pod Expo is in the books and Jon was honored to be asked once again to host a panel on Songwriting and Collaboration. We only had 30 mins this year, but the guests were all excellent. The introductions weren't recorded, but they were Gary Corbett, keyboardist for Kiss, Cinderella, Debbie Gibson and Lou Gramm, Paul Taylor of Winger and Steve Shareaux of Kik Tracee. The Expo...

John Aizlewood is a British music writer and broadcaster, contributing over 30 years of thoughtful interviews to UK publications like The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Evening Standard and (my beloved) Q Magazine. But, I became aware of him as one of the talking heads on the AXS TV program "Rock Legends" where he can be found alongside other British music experts telling the stories of the legen...