Troubled Men Podcast

The Cowboy Mouth guitarist and singer started as the frontman of the Rat Finks turned Red Rockers, in the thick of the New Orleans punk scene. Hit singles (“China,” “Good as Gold”), MTV success, and exhaustive touring with U2, the Go-Go’s, and Joan Jett followed. John is obviously a kind and patient soul. That should come in handy with the Troubled Men. Topics include a police visit, the mayor’s r...

The record producer and Los Lobos saxophonist reflects on his stellar career, including his early days with seminal L.A. groups like the Blasters, the Flesh Eaters, Top Jimmy, and the Plugz. He was at ground zero for the 70s/80s punk-roots explosion, and he’s produced more cool records than you can shake a stick at. Steve’s seen a lot and isn’t afraid to talk about it. Tonight the Troubled Men are...

By the time the North Mississippi Allstars guitarist and singer started playing with Hill Country masters R.L. Burnside and Othar Turner, he’d already received a firm grounding in roots music at the knee of his record producer and piano player father, Jim Dickinson (Big Star, Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan). Luther’s traveled the world spreading the blues rock gospel, but after growing up in the Memphis may...

The bassist and singer is a founding member of That Dog, the Rentals, and the Haden Triplets and a featured collaborator with Weezer, Beck, and Todd Rundgren. As the child of jazz great, bassist Charlie Haden, she and her siblings grew up immersed in music. The forthcoming album “[Simon and The Astronauts featuring Rachel Haden](https://www.ringrecords.org/?fbclid=IwAR0nI4eqvgjcNIYLDI1Y3sD-LilYeGa...

The frontman for Stanley & the Undesirables led the legendary punk-country outfit that included, at times, George “the Max” Reinecke, Nicky Sanzenbach, Becky Kury, Alex Chilton, Clark Vreeland, and Pete LeBon. A lifelong Chilton friend and protege, Stanley has stalked the golden Memphis-New Orleans-Pensacola triangle for decades and knows where all the bodies are buried. Tune in as he tells so...

The Grammy-winning trombonist, composer, producer, educator and member of the mighty Marsalis family along with father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton, and Jason joins the Troubled Men for a lively discussion of topics from the sublime to the ridiculous. A veteran of the Art Blakey, Ray Charles, Max Roach, and Elvin Jones bands, he currently leads his own Uptown Jazz Orchestra. Delfeayo manage...

The notorious drummer and songwriter’s resume includes Tori Amos, Marianne Faithfull, Pat McLaughlin, and Dr. John. Carlo returns by popular demand to tell the epic tale of the Continental Drifters’ cross-country trek from L.A. to New Orleans and back that started it all. With Susan Cowsill, Vicki Peterson, Mark Walton, Gary Eaton, and Dave Catching on board, the story is full of all the thrills a...

The G. Love & Special Sauce drummer discovered singer and guitarist G. Love in an empty Irish bar in his hometown of Boston. As a duo expanding to a trio, the hip hop/blues group hit with “Cold Beverage” on their first release, and it’s been a wild ride of world tours, records, and TV ever since. A New Orleans residency leading rock steady group 007 and Nashville session work with Dan Auerbach...

Widely considered one of the top harmonica players in the world, the singer and songwriter has been making records, winning awards, and thrilling audiences since he was a teenager. Ricci spent time studying and playing with blues legends like James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Winter, R.L. Burnside, and Howard Levy, and would come to be accepted by them as a peer. When it comes to hard livi...

The Bangles founding guitarist, songwriter, and singer has had an amazing career that includes work with the Americana supergroup the Continental Drifters, her duo with Susan Cowsill, the Psycho Sisters, and Action Skulls with husband John Cowsill and Bill Mumy. Tonight Vicki takes her chances with the Troubled Men. Topics include a Super Blow recap, Mardi Gras, house floats, an earthquake, a firs...

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s founding baritone sax player logged years playing with Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, and Deacon John and the Ivories before the formation of the groundbreaking group. He’s spent over 40 years with the Dozen since they revolutionized the genre by adding bebop, pop, and the avant garde to the traditional second-line repertoire and helped spread New Orleans brass band music a...

The radio personality, satirist, comedian, and author has been illuminating local politics and culture for decades. After cutting his teeth on the national slam poetry scene, he’s gone on to write and produce 15 one-man shows and authored “The Y’at Dictionary” and “Secret New Orleans,” addressing fringe elements of local dialect and history. His latest book on the NFL, “The Most Important League i...

The colorful drummer, composer, and arranger switches styles as easily as he changes crop-tops. His two new albums under the Context Killer and Diamond Kinkade monikers add live-looping avant funk and ambient piano and synth soundscapes to the straight-ahead jazz and funk he’s been known for. Simon has always liked to stretch the boundaries of musical forms and identity. If things get kinky, that’...

The James Beard Award-winning superstar chef and owner of Bayona, Mondo, and Rosedale restaurants has always followed her heart. Her international navy brat childhood and years as a free-spirited world traveler informed her adventurous palette and fearless creativity. Tonight Susan dishes with the Troubled Men and addresses some culinary queries from the Nation. One bite and you’ll know she’s got...

The bari and tenor sax player with the legendary band Morphine and now Vapors of Morphine carries on the legacy of the groundbreaking “low rock” trio with a new record, “Fear and Fantasy,” coming out this year. He joins the Troubled Men to catch up on the 20 years since the passing of visionary frontman, Mark Sandman. Tune in to hear just how low they can go. Topics include the Capitol attack, MAG...

From his work with the Continental Drifters, the Cowsills, and Terrance Simien to his playing with John Papa Gros, Grayson Capps, and the Covered in Vinyl series he founded with wife Susan Cowsill, the Opelousas native has a groovy, joyous approach to the drums that always shines through. While the classical training and pro-cycling career may come as a surprise, Russ’s purity of spirit and eterna...

The Grammy-nominated Zydeco accordion player and singer comes from a distinguished family of Creole musicians who played with everyone from Clifton Chenier and Rockin’ Dopsie to Louis Armstrong and Bunk Johnson. Corey celebrates the release of his 14th album on Lost Bayou Rambler Louis Michot’s Nouveau Electric Records. He pays tribute to his Black Creole roots with several songs sung in the Kouri...

His resume includes the Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones, and Keith Richard’s X-Pensive Winos. The keyboard player, singer, and songwriter grew up as r’n’b royalty playing in the Neville Brothers with his father Aaron and his uncles, Art, Charles, and Cyril. Years of solo records and high-profile session work led to ultimate redemption from the pitfalls of rock’n’roll indulgence....

The veteran trombone player discusses the recent New Orleans Nightcrawlers’ Grammy nomination for “Atmosphere,” as well as his years with Bonerama, the Harry Connick Jr. Big Band, and his cameo appearance on “The Simpsons.” His love of traditional jazz led him from hanging out at Preservation Hall as a teen, to co-founding the Storyville Stompers Brass Band, and eventually joining the Pres. Hall b...

The Grammy-winning author and filmmaker’s landmark book, "[It Came from Memphis ](https://therobertgordon.com/books#/it-came-from-memphis-updated-and-revised)," has just been reissued in a 25th anniversary revised edition. The cultural collisions between bluesman Furry Lewis, producer Jim Dickinson, Alex Chilton, pro wrestling, photographer Bill Eggleston, fife & drum bands, the Panther Burns,...

The top-tier drummer’s stellar resume includes the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Warren Haynes, Ani DiFranco, Karl Denson, and John Scofield. Coming to the attention of producer Don Was, Terence played on the national Last Waltz tour with Robbie Robertson, as well as on all-star TV tributes to Willie Nelson and Elvis, and spent a week as guest drummer on Late Night with Seth Meyers. No matter how rarefi...

The keyboard player and singer’s tenure with George Porter and Papa Grows Funk stemmed from his love of New Orleans R’n’B, particularly the triumvirate of Art Neville, Allen Toussaint, and Dr. John. His years on Bourbon Street taught him the value of a timeless song. He brings these twin imperatives to bear on his latest album, “Central City,” recorded with an all-star lineup and released this spr...

The guitarist and singer’s bands include the Tin Men, the Valparaiso Men’s Chorus, Kings of the Smalltime, and the Alex Band. One of New Orleans’ premier songwriters, he’s released two original solo albums, “Lucky One” and “Road Songs,” this year, in addition to “Into the Sky” with songwriter collective the Write Brothers. Recordings with his own Royal Fingerbowl, as well as projects like 007, the...

The Grammy-winning producer and musician’s credits include records with Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop, the Neville Brothers, and Chris Whitley. Throughout his long association with fellow Canadian producer Daniel Lanois at Kingsway Studio, and in his own Clouet St. and Kingston, NY studios, Malcolm has always pursued a taste-over-flash aesthetic with an affinity for handmade music. He also h...

The strip-mine crooner burst onto the scene with Tuscaloosa art agitators the Raudelunas Pataphysical Revue, fronting No Wave big band Ron ‘Pate & His Debonaires. Their live record and the subsequent studio albums, “From the One That Cut You” and “Car Radio Jerome,” established them as a mythic presence in the southern underground. Years out of sight and scarcity of the discs heightened the my...