The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt

Nic's guest on this episode is musician, singer, songwriter, podcaster, John Roderick. John is the lead singer and guitarist of the Seattle band The Long Winters and co-hosts the podcasts Roderick On The Line with Merlin Mann and Omnibus with former Jeopardy! champion and current host Ken Jennings , but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of his remarkable life. Nic had a great time tal...

Accomplished songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and one of the most highly regarded bass guitar players working today, Gail Ann Dorsey is Nic's guest on this episode. As a session musician Gail's work has graced recordings and performances by numerous artists. including The National, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Ferry, Boy George, The The, Gwen Stefani, Seal, Charlie Watts, Gang of Four, Ani DiFr...

Lauren Mayberry is the lead singer of the Scottish band Chvrches. She has played the piano since she was a child and drums since she was a teenager. Before her music career took off Lauren completed a four-year undergraduate law degree at the University of Strathclyde and earned a master's degree in journalism leading to her first gig in music as a freelance music journalist. In Chvrches she co-wr...

Kate Pierson's band the B-52s, who formed in Athens Georgia in 1976, have a long list of bona fide hits, including "Rock Lobster" "Planet Claire" "Party Out of Bounds" "Private Idaho "Love Shack" and "Roam". Her distinctive mezzo-soprano vocal range is a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Outside of her work with the band she has appeared in films and TV shows, including "The Flintstones" (with...

Nic is joined on this episode by guitarist, singer, songwriter and author Thurston Moore, who is probably best known as a member of the groundbreaking and highly influential band Sonic Youth. Outside of that band Thurston has a long list of side projects and credits, including work with John Zorn, Richard Hell, Lydia Lunch, Yoko Ono, Dave Grohl. REM, and Beck! He has also made 9 solo albums, the m...

Camilo Lara is perhaps best known for music that he releases under the name Mexican Institute of Sound, with six full-length albums released since 2006 and a recent compilation 'Algo Ritmo Hits 2004 - 2024'. He is also a highly sought after producer and his list of collaborators is long and impressive, Sly and Robbie, Tom Tom Club, Gaby Moreno, Calexico, and Norah Jones are just a few. Camilo is i...

Neil Finn is best known for being in two of the most important bands to come out of his homeland of New Zealand. Split Enz , a band in which he shared writing and lead duties with his brother Tim , That band had a string of hit's including "I Got You", "History Never Repeats" and "Message to My Girl". After that band broke up he was a founding member of Crowded House whose hits include "Don't Drea...

Musician, writer and filmmaker Stuart Murdoch is the lead singer and songwriter for the Scottish band Belle and Sebastian. The group's first album 'Tigermilk' was released to critical claim in 1996; sparking a career that has seen them put out a series of singles, 9 ep’s and 12 albums, the most recent, 'Late Developers was released in 2023'. Stuart says "We definitely wouldn't describe ourselves a...

Actor, writer, and musician, Jason Schwartzman began his acting career in 1998 when, at the age of 18, he starred in Wes Anderson’s 'Rushmore'. Since then he has taken roles in an eclectic array of both film and television projects. His movies include, 'Marie Antoinette', 'Saving Mr. Banks', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'The Polka King', his most recent films are Wes Anderson’s 'Asteroid City' a...

Former USMNT soccer star, Alexi Lalas exploded onto the international stage during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a summer in which Americans embraced the world's most popular sport. He went on to become the first American to play in Italy's Serie A; and when Major League Soccer kicked off in 1996, he returned to the US and spent the rest of his playing career helping launch the league, with stints at t...

Beginning with her debut album 'Red Shoe Rebel' in 2002, Singer-songwriter and musician Grace Potter has released 5 albums under her own name, and another four with her band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. At the time of this conversation in October of 2023, her most recent release 'Mother Road' finds Grace deconstructing her deepest fears and darkest regrets, charting the fallout with brutal hon...

Musician, songwriter, and singer Johnny Marr was the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths (from 1982 thru 1987). He has at one time or another been a member of The Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, The Cribs; as well as becoming a prolific session musician. In the last decade he has worked in film, collaborating with Hans Zimmer on scores for movies such as 'Inception', 'The Amaz...

When he was just two years old musician, Kofi Owusu-Ansah (known professionally as Genesis Owusu) and his family emigrated from Ghana in West Africa to Australia's capital city, Canberra. In a town where his family were the only black people he knew, he immediately found himself an outsider and had to learn as he says, "how to be myself from a young age." His early efforts at music included collab...

It was perhaps inevitable that Emily Haines would become a writer/lyricist and musician; her dad (Paul Haynes), was a revered Avant Garde poet and musician. Emily formed her first band at age 15 (Edith's Mission) with school pal Amy Millan (STARS). She spent her University years in Vancouver (UBC) and Montreal (Concordia) before meeting James (Jimmy) Shaw in 1997 and forming the band that would be...

Singer, songwriter and composer Natalie Merchant got her start when she joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 at age 17, becoming the lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She made seven albums with the band before setting out on a solo career and in 1995; her debut album 'Tigerlilly' was an immediate success with singles 'Carnival', 'Wonder' and 'Jealousy' helping the album sell over...

Liverpool born, Manhattan based broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker Roger Bennett hosts multiple podcasts and TV shows focussing on soccer/football through his Men in Blazers Media Network. He’s also a published author releasing his memoir 'Reborn in the USA: An Englishman's Love Letter to his Chosen Home' in 2021; which debuted at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.

Lyle Lovett began performing by playing acoustic sets at bars just off of the Texas A&M University campus, while studying for bachelor degrees in German and Journalism. His career has been typically associated with country music and he’s won four Grammys, including awards for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. He’s also incorporated gospel, blues, jazz and swing into h...

This week's guest is songwriter, producer, (and let’s just say it) rockstar, Noel Gallager. Noel was the main songwriter, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the band Oasis (the most popular and successful UK band of the 90's) from 1991 until their split in 2009. He has written nine UK number-one singles and ten UK number-one studio albums. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High F...

John Gourley is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the band Portugal. The Man , a group who after five independently released albums and another three on Atlantic Records, found crossover success around the world with their 2017 album ‘Woodstock’ and it's hit song " Feel It Still ” which scored the group a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group performance in 2018. Like many in the creative community...

Lucinda Williams is one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of her generation. Her first two albums ' Ramblin' on My Mind' and ' Happy Woman Blues', recorded in 1979 and 1980 respectively, received critical acclaim. Her 1988 self titled release opened the doors to a career that has has seen her mix of Rock, Blues, Punk and Country Americana establish her own unique lane in the music business...

Alex Gibney is a documentarian and film maker whose body of work includes 'Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room', 'Taxi to the Dark Side', which won an Oscar, 'Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief', 'The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley' (about Elizabeth Holmes), 'The Forever Prisoner', and most recently, 'Boom! Boom! The World Vs Boris Becker'. He has an Academy Award, multi...

Judy Greer has appeared in most of your favorite films and tv shows of the last 20 years, including early roles in the films Jawbreaker , What Women Want , Elizabethtown and Love & Other Drugs . Judy's other film roles include 13 going on 30, The Village, Adaptation, Carrie, the Planet of the Apes reboot series, and she joined the Marvel Universe for Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp . Judy als...

Robert Hilburn was music editor for the Los Angeles Times from 1970 to 2005; his thought provoking reviews, essays and profiles appeared in the Times as well as other publications around the world. His work helped shine a light on the nascent careers of a diverse range of artists from Elton John, Tom Petty, Patti Smith and Elvis Costello to Prince, Guns and Roses, Public Enemy, Eminem and The Whit...

You probably know Zach Braff from his work on the television series 'Scrubs' which ran from 2001 to 2010 (nine seasons); and his 2004 movie 'Garden State', which he wrote, directed and co-starred in. The film, which was based on Zach's real life experiences, received positive reviews and won a grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack album for a Motion Picture Television or other visual media. The s...

Steve Kilby, singer, songwriter and bass player for the legendary Australian band, The Church, has amassed an impressive body of work with over 1000 original songs registered with the Australasian Performing Rights Association. The Church have released 25 studio albums, their most recent 'The Hypnogogue' arriving in February 2023. Their 1989 single 'Under The Milky Way' was a massive hit around th...