The Hustle

This week, Jesus Jones embarks on their first US tour in 30 years! It's short, just a few shows over a couple of weeks, but it's, hopefully, the beginning of restoring a relationship with the states that will grow in the near future. Since lead singer Mike Edwards was on the show a few years ago, we are joined this time by keyboardist (and band manager) Iain Baker to not only explain the circumsta...

This week we get to hear from acclaimed songwriter Dean Pitchford! After 45 years of near consistent success, Dean will finally be inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, which is just another line on his impressive resume. He won an Oscar for writing "Fame" for Irene Cara and achieved the absolute peak with Footloose. He not only wrote the screenplay, but every song on the soundtrack...

Our guest this week is multi-Grammy winning producer Russ Titelman. Russ has been deeply rooted in the music business since the 60s as a producer, an engineer, a songwriter, and even a session guitarist. His midas touch has benefitted legendary artists like Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Cyndi Lauper, Brian Wilson, Rickie Lee Jones, and won Grammys for Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. In thi...

In 1989 when Australian rock bands like Midnight Oil and INXS were screaming up the charts in the US, you'd think the easiest thing in the world would be to present one more and let them continue the streak. Such was not the story of Boom Crash Opera. Despite getting some airplay for "Onion Skin" off their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times, and despite having material just as strong as thei...

The Dandy Warhols have been around for 30 years. That can't be right! In the 90s they seemed like hedonistic little hippies and now, they still are, but the rest of the world has caught up with them. On the 15th, the band releases ROCKMAKER, their first fully guitar-driven album in a while (maybe ever) and they embark on a US tour this week. Zia McCabe joins us to talk about the new album, how the...

These days, guitarist Nigel Bennett is as much an entrepreneur as he is a punk rocker. I'll explain. Nigel's career began in the 70s when he was hired to join The Members who were mixing punk, pop and reggae in unique ways. They're probably best remembered by their 1982 hit "Working Girl". The band didn't last long and Nigel bummed around until he was hired by the Vibrators in 1990, where he remai...

Author Joel Selvin returns to the show to discuss his new book on one of the greatest and most complicated drummers in rock history, Jim Gordon. The list of songs made better by Jim's talent is endless - "Good Vibrations", "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", "Wichita Lineman", "Apache" and hundreds of others. He was also the drummer in Derek and the Dominoes and co-wrote "Layla". Unfortunately, Jim wa...

The amazing Mike Scott returns to the podcast to go deep on the Waterboys' 1985 masterpiece This is the Sea. This benchmark album has been released in a massive 6-disc deluxe edition that includes almost 100 tracks, many of which have never been heard before, and a hardback book all of which tells the story of the album's creation. Mike takes us track by track through the original album, the contr...

Cult icon Josie Cotton joins us this week! Of course, her career exploded in the early 80s with the help of Valley Girl and the immortal "Johnny, Are You Queer?" but her time on major labels was short-lived. For almost 40 years she's built a career thriving as an indie artist and doing her own thing. Last year she released a strong new album called Day of the Gun which, like everything she does, i...

Rich Travali is one of the most successful guests we've ever featured on the show. He began his career in the 80s at the Hit Factory in New York working with legends like Patti Smith, Sting and Paul Simon, who he was especially close to during the recording of The Rhythm of the Saints. In the 90s he formed a bond with Puff Daddy which led to a couple decades of gigantic hits - 11 #1 singles and ov...

Ian Lloyd has been at this longer than many of us have been alive. He first took off fronting Stories in the early 70s for three albums. The second one, About Us, featured the surprising #1 smash "Brother Louie". From there he went solo and released some excellent (and sadly out of print) power pop albums including the wonderful Goosebumps from 1979. He also made a nice living singing backing voca...

For this Book Club we welcome noted Australian author Jeff Apter to discuss his new book on Neil Finn, Don't Dream It's Over. Jeff has been a successful music writer for decades, contributing to Rolling Stone as penning books on AC/DC, Keith Urban, and the Bee Gees. Nick and I nerd out on our love for Neil, what he's like, how the band and his family works (they're often similar), his relationship...

This week we welcome one of the greatest musicians alive, bassist Jah Wobble! Jah first rose to prominence in PIL alongside John Lydon on their first two groundbreaking albums. After he left he struggled for a few years before picking it back up with the Invaders of the Heart and playing with almost everyone. In this conversation we discuss artists as diverse as Sinead O'Connor, Ginger Baker and S...

Animotion's Bill Wadhams returns to the show to deep dive their excellent comeback album from 2017, Raise. I see this album as a perfect example of what legacy artists, especially ones from the 80s, are capable of doing in this day and age. It's an incredibly strong set of tunes that not enough people know about. Bill explains how the album came to be and the stories behind the songs. Please seek...

We go deep on excellent 90s British alternative rock with this week's twofer. First up is the iconic Saffron of Republica! The band is best known for (and still make a nice living from) "Ready To Go", which is saying a lot for a band that only managed a couple albums. They have recently come back together to make some new music including their latest single "New York". Saffron discusses all of it,...

We're honored to welcome one of music's greatest living musicians, Budgie! In this sprawling conversation we cover all the bases - coming up in Liverpool with Big in Japan, joining The Slits for their revolutionary album Cut, and joining Siouxsie and the Banshees where he would stay until the bitter end in the mid-90s. He also married Siouxsie and did their side project The Creatures for many year...

We're kicking off 2024 the way we often do by hearing from a legendary producer. This year we get to hear from the great Chris Kimsey! Chris was closely tied to the Stones for many years, producing albums like Some Girls, Undercover and Steel Wheels but his genius has impacted many other greats as well. In this conversation we cover artists big and small like Killing Joke, INXS, Duran Duran, Maril...

It's a classic rock twofer this week! First up is Don Barnes of 38 Special. Next year the band will be celebrating 50 years and they're still as strong as ever. Their peak 80s period rivals anyone's with a bunch of hits that are still beloved. Don discusses the stories behind the songs, touring today, his lost solo album and much more. Then we get to hear from original Foghat drummer Roger Earl. R...

The pioneering story of the Veldt is a one of one. Twin black brothers from North Carolina in the 80s embrace the alternative rock coming from the UK and record their debut album in 1989 with Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins producing! The album was shelved, but they did get a couple great albums out in the 90s (Afrodisiac is especially excellent) but it never really takes off mainly because lab...

This week we welcome back two of our favorites - Maia Sharp and Garrison Starr. The girls (who are also friends) return to catch us up on what they're doing these days. Maia is producing Sarah & Shannon while Garrison has paired up again with Sean McConnell for their second release as My Sister, My Brother. They also get into the music industry's handling of lesbian artists, writing lyrics, an...

Isn't the race for best alternative rock bass player in history neck and neck between Derek Forbes and Peter Hook? Those two showed what making great music with a bass as practically the lead instrument could do. Anyone who has listened to those early Simple Minds albums knows that what makes them so special is Derek's incredible bass work. Unfortunately, he was sacked from the band in '84 and has...

We welcome back for a rarefied air third time, the excellent author, Martin Popoff, to discuss his Kiss at 50 book. Kiss are a perfect band to discuss, and we enjoyed Martin's insights, and hope you do too! www.patreon.com/thehustlepod

Manchester is known for all kinds of legendary bands emerging from the area. The Smiths, New Order, The Stone Roses, Oasis, Buzzcocks and tons more. The best of the 2000s has to be Doves. Beginning as the dance group Sub Sub, Doves went on to be one of the biggest and best bands the UK has brought the world, as five consistently great albums prove. They've been less busy the last decade or so (alt...

This week we welcome back our friend Kevin Armstrong to discuss his new memoir, Absolute Beginner. This wonderful book details how his unique career took flight, from forming great bands that never go anywhere, to joining forces with David Bowie and performing with him at Live Aid, and rocking alongside Iggy Pop for a decade. There are also stops with Thomas Dolby and Propaganda as well as amazing...

The real story of Sly & the Family Stone needs to be told. Sly himself recently released a reportedly underwhelming memoir and there have been others over the years, but the true story of this revolutionary group is eroding too quickly. This week we welcome their legendary drummer (and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer) Greg Errico. Greg recounts just how special those early days were and how sad it...