The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music

Jim McCarty, legendary English musician & drummer of The Yarbirds, is this week's guest on The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music! McCarty has been the only individual featured in every lineup of The Yardbirds. Hear Jim discuss the band's deep blues influences & their evolving sound through the years. A few of the most groundbreaking guitarists - Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck & Eric Clapton have...

Every Beatles fanatic has been talking about it - the new documentary "Get Back," directed by Peter Jackson. The 3 part documentary contains unseen footage of the iconic group (distilled from 60+ hours that Jackson had exclusive access to), & showcases their writing & rehearsing of 14 new songs, followed by their unforgettable rooftop concert on London's Savile Row. This week is a special episode...

This week we're revisiting a favorite episode from this past year - Jay Jay's conversation with Frank Marshall. Hear Jay Jay chat with the acclaimed film director and producer, who recently directed the Bee Gees documentary "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." Listen to this unique interview to hear Jay Jay and Frank discuss documentary filmmaking, The Bee Gees early years , the love of music & Fran...

This week's episode is a must listen for all tone freaks out there. Jay Jay's friend David Wilson, editor & publisher of The ToneQuest Report, is this week's special guest. Hear all about why Jay Jay strongly recommends The TQR to all guitar players, & finds it to be a refreshing alternative to all other guitar publications out there. David talks about why he believes all guitarists are chasing th...

This week's guest is psychedelic rock legend & pioneer, Peppy Castro. Peppy has done it all, from being a founding member of The Blues Magoos, to starring in the original Broadway production of Hair. Tune in to hear about his unique career journey, all the way back to his beginnings in the world of rock n roll as a teenager on the east coast. Don't miss hearing the story of Jay Jay & Peppy's first...

This week we're revisiting one of our highlight interviews from earlier this year - Don McClean. Tune into hear legendary American singer/songwriter Don McLean & Jay Jay discuss the cultural impact of Don's hit "American Pie," how much Don's music has impacted Jay Jay, resilience in show business, and the ups & downs of their remarkable journeys in the music industry. Produced & Edited by Matthew...

This episode is a must listen for all Dead Heads. This week's 2 guests are Justin Kreutzmann & Mark Pinkus. Justin is a director, & the son of legendary Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Justin has worked on a large catalogue of projects with music legends such as Pete Townshend and The Who, Motley Crue, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Emmylou Harris, Mavis Staples, & last but not least - The Grateful...

This week we're revisiting a classic episode, with guest & metal legend Rob Halford. In the second ever released episode of the Jay Jay French Connection, Jay Jay brings on heavy metal legend Rob Halford, to discuss his new book "Confess." Tune in to hear Jay Jay & Rob discuss the birthplace of heavy metal, their early days in Judas Priest and Twisted Sister, memorable performances, communicating...

For the first time ever - Jay Jay welcomes back a special guest for the THIRD part of their conversation - legendary luthier Juha Ruokangas. For the guitar enthusiasts who couldn't get enough of their previous conversations - tune in to hear Jay Jay & Juha dive even further into the endlessly fascinating world of guitars. Juha discusses everything from how the internet has led to a renaissance of...

This week's episode is another must-listen for all guitar enthusiasts. Jay Jay welcomes back Juha Ruokangas of Ruokangas guitars for part II of their conversation. Juha joins Jay Jay from Helsinki & they get right back into it, discussing everything from heat treatments and finishes, to the evolving quality of beginner guitars & the longevity of various guitar models. Juha discusses the difference...

This week's guest on The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music is THE master guitar maker Juha Ruokangas. Juha is a Finnish guitar maker & entrepreneur who founded Ruokangas Guitars. Ruokangas Guitars builds solid-body and semi-hollow electric guitars, including models such Duke, VSOP, Mojo, Hellcat and Unicorn. Their company builds guitars using traditional methods – no modern computer-cont...

This week is part II of Jay Jay's conversation with Mark Mendoza! Tune in to hear these 2 lifelong friends share stories that they've never told each other. Mark discusses in depth how he got to where he is in music - from the first bands he auditioned for and played with, all the way to his current musical activity & ongoing projects. Mark is a legendary bass player that has an incomparable feel,...

Jay Jay welcomes back a very special guest, renowned producer & director Steve Binder. Tune in to catch part two of their conversation, all about The Elvis Presley: '68 Comeback Special - a televised concert of Elvis Presley which aired on December 3rd, 1968 via NBC, that Steve produced & directed. Hear the story of how Steve & Elvis connected to create this documentary, and how it changed both of...

Jay Jay's book "Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock 'n Roll" is available on September 21st, & is currently available for preorder. Twisted Business is co-authored by Jay Jay's great friend and mentor Steve Farber, and their book is the focus of today's episode. Tune in to hear Steve's second appearance on the show to learn all about how Steve & Jay Jay met & built a lifelong friendship...

This week's guest is the legendary producer and director Steve Binder. Steve found success behind the camera on television shows showcasing music, when he was only in his early 20s. He was also influential in creating music programs that featured a wide range of musical styles. He's well known as being the director & producer of the remarkable rock documentary known as the T.A.M.I. Show, which gre...

Lifelong friend of Jay Jay's, & Twisted Sister bandmate Mark "The Animal" Mendoza is this week's special guest. Mark is a legendary bass player that has an incomparable feel, stage presence & knowledge of the bass guitar. Mark & Jay Jay have been business partners, musical collaborators & in-laws to one another for years. Despite how well they know one another, Mark & Jay Jay still manage to find...

This week's guest is a music industry powerhouse, & good friend of Jay Jay's - Jay Marciano. Jay is currently the CEO & chairman of AEG, & one of the biggest figures behind the scenes in the live event industry. Hear Jay discuss how he caught the music bug, his early career working in music promotion, & the efforts he has made to help keep the live music industry healthy & afloat this past year. T...

This week's guest, Scott Benarde, is author of the book "Stars of David: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Jewish Stories." In his book Scott focuses on how Judaism influenced the life & the art of many individuals in Rock n Roll. Scott combines his passion for Judaism, journalism and rock ‘n’ roll - the result: a revealing look at what has been, until now, the “stealth” contribution and influence of Judaism on roc...

Motivational speakers, who are close friends & mentors of Jay Jay's - Steve Farber & Tommy Spaulding - are this week's guests. Tune into this week's episode to really go beyond the music, & to hear these three discuss the world of motivational speaking & the importance of challenging oneself in their life's endeavors. Steve & Tommy are both great speakers themselves, & encouraged Jay Jay to get in...

Tune in this week for a unique guest, Jay Jay's producer Matthew Mallinger. In addition to being Jay Jay's producer, Matthew is a creative technologist & drummer currently based in Los Angeles. Hear Jay Jay & Matt reflect on all of the guests that have been on the show thus far, and the progression of the show as a whole. Jay Jay counters the joke that " if you remember the 60's you weren't there,...

No one knows analog recording & guitars quite like Perry Margouleff. Perry is a guitar player, songwriter, engineer, record producer, & guitar collector with a passion for analog recording. He has spent his life collecting guitars & recording guitar-based music of all genres. He built a world class analog recording studio on Long Island's North Shore, the renowned Pie Studios, which has been home...

This week's guest is legendary producer & Rock historian Denny Somach. Denny has been just about everywhere in the music business, & has produced records for the likes of Johnny Winter, Alan Parsons, Eric Johnson & Todd Rundgren. He has authored two books about The Beatles, "Ticket to Ride" and "Meet the Beatles...Again," as well as the ultimate Led Zeppelin book "Get the Led Out: How Led Zeppelin...

This week's guest is Director, Producer & Rock Doc veteran DJ Viola. Hear all about DJ's recent directorial project "Biography: KISStory," which chronicles the band KISS's five decades in the business, as founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons reflect on their historic career. Jay Jay talks about catching KISS shows in their early years, and tells the story of how he auditioned for the band in 197...

"Come gather 'round the fire, there are stories to be told and you're among friends," is the introduction to the weekly program "The Conspiracy Show" the weekly program hosted by this week's unique guest, Richard Syrett. Richard is the host, creator, and writer of the weekly syndicated radio program The Conspiracy Show, which airs out of Toronto on Zoomer Radio (AM 740 and 96.7 FM) Sunday nights a...

This week on the Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond the Music, Jay Jay interviews podcaster & radio personality Jordan Harbinger. Jordan is a lawyer turned social dynamics expert, who has been on the forefront of podcasting for years. Listen to these two compare their unique journeys, & discuss how they both ended up in podcasting. Don't miss these two entrepreneurial minds share their best advice...