The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt

Actor, producer, author and activist Jamie Lee Curtis' career has spanned multiple genres in both television and film, including the role of Laurie Strode In the 'Halloween' series and comedies such a 'Trading Places', 'A Fish Called Wanda' and 'Freaky Friday'. She won her first Golden Globe for her work on ABC’s 'Anything But Love', and a second for her role in James Cameron’s 'True Lies' opposit...

Benjamin Gibbard is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Death Cab for Cutie. The group released their debut album, 'Something About Airplanes' in 1998, and quickly built a fan base throughout the next five years with a series of independent releases before breaking into the mainstream with their fourth album, 2003's 'Transatlanticism' followed by their major label debut, the platinum selling...

Rita Wilson's film appearances include 'Sleepless in Seattle', 'That Thing You Do!' 'Runaway Bride' and 'It's Complicated'. She has produced a whole bunch of movies, including the smash hit 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', 'The Mama Mia' movies and the new film “A man called Otto" starring her husband, Tom Hanks. Rita co-wrote the theme song for the movie, 'Til You're Home' the with David Hodges and co...

Sandra Bernhard is perhaps best known for portraying Nancy Bartlett Thomas on the ABC sitcom 'Roseanne' from 1991 through the end of the show in 1997. More recently she played Nurse Judy Kubrak in the FX drama series 'Pose' and Fran in the current season of 'American Horror Story'. Her other work includes Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" where she played a crazed fan, who along with Robert D...

Moby’s early days in the music world found him playing in underground punk bands before moving to New York City and turning to electronic and dance music, finding success as a DJ and remixer throughout the first part of the 90’s. He's considered to be one of the most important dance music figures of that decade. His career exploded in 1999 with the LP 'Play' which became the most licensed collecti...

Composer producer and performer Jean-Michel Jarre is a pioneer in electronic and ambient music as well as massive outdoor spectacles featuring his music, along with laser displays large projections and fireworks. His 1976 album, 'Oxygène' (recorded in a home studio on analog synthesizers) and its 1978 follow up 'Équinoxe', heralded the arrival of an international star, and in 1979 Jean-Michel perf...

John Lloyd is an English television and radio comedy producer and writer whose work includes Not the Nine O'Clock News , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI. He is also the author of the book " 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways" , a collaboration with John Mitchinson and James Harkin. John is currently the presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Museum...

Fran Healy, songwriter, lead, singer, and guitarist for the band. Travis. The band's first studio album, 'Good Feeling' released in 1997, recorded in the famous Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York garnered them early praise, and the follow up release 'The Man Who' and its single "Why Does It Always Rain On Me” saw the band find mainstream success. A number one album, a slew of awards, includ...

This week's podcast is a "minisode"; occasional interviews and conversations that don't quite fit our format, but that we think you might enjoy. This episode features a Proust like questionnaire about music and life with 21 questions for the legendary musician and cultural icon, Willie Nelson. Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Willie wrote his first song at age seven...

Writer, director and producer, Adam Mackay and Nic actually met almost 20 years ago when Nic was asked to help make some music suggestions for his film 'Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy'. Adam's comedy credits include 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby', 'Step Brothers', and 'The Other Guys'. Along with his then business partner Will Ferrel he also co-produced the HBO series 'Eastbo...

Tara Lipinski is the 1997 world champion and 1998 Olympic champion in women's singles figure skating. She was the first woman to complete a triple loop, triple loop combination jump in front of judges, and when she turned professional, she won every competition she entered during her professional skating career. Her second career as a broadcast commentator and tv host began when she joined NBC, te...

Patti Smith is a singer songwriter, poet, author, and visual artist who was at the forefront of the New York city punk movement. Her 1975 debut album 'Horses' announced her arrival, and since then she has carved out a career that allows her to speak truth to power in and outside of her work, and is cited by many artists including Michael Stipe, Johnny Marr and Shirley Manson as an important influe...

When David Gray released his 'White Ladder' album in 2000, he had nothing to lose. After three critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums, he found himself adrift, without a record label and an unsure future. Freed of the "write a hit" shackles, he enlisted the help of a couple of trusted friends and essentially recorded 'White Ladder' at home in his bedroom. The rest is history, th...

From her early days in radio and local television to high profile anchor gigs at NBC and CNN, and more recently hosting and producing her own syndicated weekly talk show 'Matter of Fact' Soledad O'Brien has covered live breaking news, Presidential elections and Hurricanes. She has also produced and hosted documentaries on the experiences of Black and Latino families in America, and co-hosts a podc...

With his mix of guitar, slide guitar playing, vocals and musical styles, Ben Harper's career has taken him around the world. From full band rock records and searing shows to intimate solo albums and performances, he's a busy guy. Ben is also in high demand for his production skills, helming projects for many greats, including Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys Of Alabama and Charlie Musslewhite. Nic ca...

Rosanna Arquette has a pretty impressive list of credits, moving seamlessly from movies like 'Desperately Seeking Susan', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Crash' to Television shows like 'What About Brian', 'The L Word' and 'Ray Donovan'. Rosanna has also been a constant advocate for causes she believes in, and in this episode shares her response to the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade. She also share...

This weeks podcast is a Minisode; occasional interviews and conversations that don’t quite fit our format but that we think you might enjoy. This episode features a Proust like questionnaire about music and life with 21 questions for actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician Fred Armisen. Fred has carved out an extensive career in the worlds of television film and music, he spent eleven year...

Brett McKenzie is best known as one half of the music and comedy duo 'Flight of the Conchords' and along with his partner in crime Jemaine Clement created the BBC radio series and HBO television series of the same name. On the solo tip Brett has worked extensively as a songwriter in film and television, most notably on the last two Muppets movies, (he won an academy award for best original song fo...

Actor, Comedian, Writer, Director and Producer, Dave Foley is a co-founder of the sketch comedy group The Kids In The Hall, whose groundbreaking show ran on CBC in Canada and HBO and later CBS in the U S from 1988 through 1995. Dave went on to star in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, and his numerous acting and voice over credits include 'Flik' in "A Bug's Life" and 'Terri and Terry' in "Monsters Univers...

Amanda Palmer is a best-selling author, feminist songwriter, community leader, pianist, and ukulele enthusiastic! She began her career with the highly regarded theatrical punk cabaret duo, the Dresden Dolls, before moving on to diverse solo work such as the groundbreaking crowdfunded "Theater is Evil" album, which debuted at the top of the billboard 200 in 2012 and remains the top funded original...

Actor, Musician, Comedian, Director and Producer Harry Shearer, aka This Is Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls, aka The Simpsons' Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brown and many more, joins Nic this week and talks about his first gig (aged 7!) with Jack Benny, his early years creating satirical news on the radio in LA, and how Spinal Tap came to be (It alm...

Classically trained on both piano and cello and a student of music theory, Julietta Venegas horrified her parents when her first live concert was with a Ska band in Tijuana. They shouldn't have worried. Julieta's career has spanned 30 years, in which she toured the world becoming an international star winning multiple Grammys, Latin Grammys and other awards. She plays 17 different instruments and...

Paige Sara began her wide ranging career at age 12 when she purloined her family's point and shoot camera during summer vacation. On this week's episode of the Sound Of Success Paige tells Nic about how editorial fashion layouts in magazines like Vogue inspired her career choice, her early love of boy bands and Justin Bieber's music, how she came to work with artists like Billie Eilish and Greta V...

Mike O'Malley, actor & writer, hosted the early 1990s children's game show Nickelodeon Guts before moving to Los Angeles later that decade to star in his own sitcom for NBC called The Mike O'Malley Show. He is best known for his role as Jimmy Hughes on Yes, Dear, a CBS series which aired from 2000 to 2006. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Burt Hummel on the Fox series Glee. H...

Congressman Ted Lieu, Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves, joins Nic on the latest episode of Sound of Success to discuss how he and Congressman Cicilline were moved to act inside the Capitol on January 6th, Russia's weakness and former President Trump's alleged appetite for classified documents. Congressman Lieu reveals his fear of flying and why the theme music for Hawaii 5-0, Blondi...