Stereo Embers: The Podcast

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0425: Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine, The Delines) by Alex Green Online

"Lookaftering" Well, we talked about doing the thing and the fact of the matter is, the British-born Vashti Bunyan started doing the thing pretty early. In the 1960s, while studying at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford, Bunyan was expelled for focussing more on making music than on drawing. So she went home and started making music. When her mother's hip actress friend got the 19 year old Bunyan a face to face with the Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham, he was properly charmed and handed her the Stones track "Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind" to record. And so she did. Backed by her own song "I Want To Be Alone," "Some Things" featured Jimmy Page on guitar, but it didn't turn as many heads as Bunyan had hoped. She did another single, sang on a Twice As Much album, and appeared in a documentary about swinging London. So the ball was rolling. Bunyan and her fella hit the road in search of an artistic community and she ended up Holland, The Scottish Highlands and the Cumbrian Mountains. He

"Run With Me" The Ontario-born Bry Webb formed the underground outfit The Constantines out of the ashes of the emo band Shoulder in 1999. With their jagged guitars, tribal drums, snarling bass lines and Webb's ferocious vocals along with his poetic lyrics, The Guelph-based Constantines were one of those rare bands that seemed to arrive fully formed. From 2004 to 2008, the Juno-award nominated Constantines put out four brilliant albums--their eponymous debut, Shine A Light, Tournament Of Hearts and Kensington Heights. And there's not a false note to be found anywhere--the syncopated rhythms, musical intensity and the sheer muscle and heart that powered every song brought to mind everyone from Fugazi to the Minutemen to The Replacements. This is a partial list of their highlights; they toured with The Tragically Hip and The Weakerthans, were signed to Sub Pop, played Lollapallooza, the Vancouver Olympics and a gig at the legendary Massey Hall. With the band on hiatus, Webb formed a band called The Harborcoats

Stereo Embers The Podcast: Midge Ure (Ultravox, Visage, Rich Kids) by Alex Green Online

"I Still Want To Share" The London-based singer/songwriter Sophie Jamieson's sophomore album I Still Want To Share is a stunner. The follow-up to her 2022 debut Choosing, which, I'd like to add, was my album of the year, I Still Want To Share is a deft and moving collection of indie folk that's stark and sweeping and textured and spare. I know textured and spare seem to be opposites, and in many ways they are, but impossibly,Jamieson manages to do both; the songs here unafraid to soar into the clouds of the bluest sky or plunge into the black waters of the deepest and darkest of lakes. Jamieson's voice is a wondrous thing; it's woebegone, it's crushingly beautiful and it's emotionally precise, making I Still Want To Share an early contender for album of the year for 2025. www.sophiejamieson.com (http://www.sophiejamieson.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) BLUESK

Stereo Embers The Podcast: Melanie Radford (Built To Spill, Blood Lemon) by Alex Green Online

Stereo Embers The Podcast: Don and Karen Peris (The Innocence Mission) by Alex Green Online

“Merry Christmas, Emily” David Lowery does so many things, his CV needs a sequel. He's a professor, a mathematician, a writer, a musician, a producer and an entrepreneur. He's also the singer of two of my all-time favorite bands: Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. Let's start with the former. Lowery formed Camper Van Beethoven when he was a student at UC Santa Cruz in the early '80s. I was so obsessed with Camper Van when I was in high school I cut class to buy their new album--but I had the wrong day, so I cut class the next day to get it. Totally worth it, by the way. Camper Van Beethoven put out a handful of genius albums likeOur Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Telephone Free Landslide Victory before temporarily disbanding in 1990. Lowery didn't miss a beat and formed Cracker with guitarist Johnny Hickman and they put out a handful of genius albums like Kerosene Hat and The Golden Age, logged a #1 Modern Rock track with "Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)" and scored three platinum albums. This is

"Swept Away" Is this an emergency episode of the podcast? Kind of. And by kind of, I mean...yes. It is. It's actually quite urgent because art is at stake and without art, we have nothing. This show is about the current creative moment in an artist's life and on that front, this episode couldn't be more on the nose. My guest today on the show is currently starring in a Broadway production that, in spite of its massive critical praise, is set to shut down prematurely on December 29th. We have a lot to go over, but the thesis of the show today is we don't want this production to get Swept Away. Adrian Blake Enscoe is currently starring on Broadway in the musical Swept Away, which is based on the Avett Brothers' album Mignonette and written by John Logan. Centered around a group of sailors who have capsized while on a whale expedition, the show opened up to rave reviews from The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, The Wrap and Deadline. So the question is, if the sho

"Shelters" If you think you recognize the name Josh Lovelace, you probably do. Lovelace's full-time job is the keyboardist of the South Carolina outfit NEEDTOBREATHE, a band he's been with since 2011. Lovelace is a busy dude, but the Tennessee-born musician has found time to not only play with NEEDTOBREATHE, but he's also put out a handful of spirited and charming albums for kids under the moniker Young Folk. There's no doubt that Lovelace's creative endeavors have left him satisfied, but another endeavor had been marinating in his brain for a long time and he knew it was time to put the shovel in the earth and break ground. The result of all that personal digging is Shelters, Lovelace's first solo album under his own name. A stirring 11-track song-cycle that's intimate, personal and deeply moving. Shelters is an unflinching look at the wounds of the past and the results are achingly precise and deeply moving. Filled with melodic finesse and interior harmonies and subtle pop immedi. Shelters is a quietly rou

“Shapes & Forms" There’s nothing Sandra Bernhard can’t do: she’s an actor, a singer, a comic, a radio host, an author and a pioneer of the one-woman show and the list goes on. I was going to say that in many ways, Sandra Bernhard is the Shohei Ohtani of entertainment, but that’s not totally accurate because she’s been around longer, so the right way to say it is Shoehei Ohtani is the Sandra Bernhard of baseball. The Michigan-born, Arizona-raised Sandra Bernhard is nothing short of a cosmic force. She’s been in over 40 movies like The King Of Comedy, Playing Mona Lisa and Zoolander and she’s been in over fifty television shows like The Richard Pryor Show, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Roseanne, Will and Grace, The Larry Sanders Show, Dr. Katz, Broad City, American Horror Story and the Sopranos. Her CV is packed with riches, so keep in mind this is just me sifting through the gold and it’s really a partial list because there’s so much. She’s performed on Broadway, appeared on Letterman almost 30 times, put out a handfu

“Here And Now” Letters To Cleo may seemed to have suddenly shown up on the pop culture landscape in 1994, but the fact is, the Boston outfit had been grinding it out on the club since 1990. Their single “Here and Now” was an instant classic—a melodic dose of perfect pop stomp that showcased singer Hanley’s powerful vocal delivery. The band tore through the ‘90s, releasing three perfect albums (Aurora Gory Alice, Wholesale Meats And Fishes and Go), appeared as the house band in 10 Things I Hate About You, played SXSW, and playing with everyone from Cheap Trick to Neds Atomic Dustbin. Oh, and I almost forgot: In 1996, playing Mary Magladene, Hanley co-starred with Extreme’s Gary Cherone in the Boston Rock Opera’s performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. In the early 2000’s, Hanley was the singing voice for Rachel Leigh Cook in Josie and the Pussycats and though the band called it a day that same year, they did record 15 new and original songs for the Kids’ WB cartoon Generation O! That will become important in a

"Thanksgiving Day Special" There's a lot of things I miss about being a kid--somebody else driving, somebody else making dinner, not having to pay bills, not having to shave or get gas or pay rent--I was just going mention one or two things, but apparently I'm not pleased about being an adult. The reason why I brought this up is because the one thing I really miss about being a kid are the holiday TV specials that mark time. From The Grinch That Stole Christmas to It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, those specials helped keep me grounded as a kid. They made the calendar kind of stop and forced me to realize where I was and who I was with.They felt like something tangible. I wish I could do something like that for you here on the podcast and the closest I can come is my chat with Justin of 98 degrees. To me, it feels Thanksgiving-ish. At first it's sort of a talking points interview, but then something happens and it just kind of takes off and it takes off in a way that has to do with actually caring about

Stereo Embers The Podcast: Ashley Henry by Alex Green Online

"Unbreakable Heart" The Texas-born Amber Martin has no regrets. The singer/songwriter has lived quite a life and it's one that found her moving coast to coast in the name of art. But geography aside, Martin moves relentlessly forward and doesn't look back with revisionist repentance. She'll tell you all about that, so let me fill you in on the other stuff. A brilliant and powerful singer with precise phrasing and improvisational smarts, Martin is a force of nature, her live shows punctuated by comedic tales, observational stories and a classic cabaret sensibility. Her career has a lot of highlights, so let me give you a partial list: She opened for Joan Rivers, sang with Sandra Berhnard, recorded with the Scissor Sisters, performed on Broadway, had several solo art residencies and starred in the live variety show Cassette Roulette with the Tony Award winning John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The follow-up to her AM Gold album, Martin's Unbreakable Heart is a wicked blast of classic country

Stereo Embers The Podcast 0410: Tom DiCillo (Living In Oblivion, Box Of Moonlight) by Alex Green Online

"What About You?" With time running out on 2024, Spooky Mansion are checking in with one of the best albums of the year. The California outfit's new long player What About You? is a rousing blast of scruffy surf and west coast soul. Led by braintrust Grayson Converse, Spooky Mansion are one of the most inventive and exciting bands around.Filled with winning tracks like "Weather," "Long Time Ago,", and "The River," What About You? is filled with horny swagger, bluesy howl and scrappy indie rock. Converse is an enigmatic frontman by night, but by day he works as a contractor and the duality of his life is something we cover in this chat. We also cover a whole lot more--a seafaring father, growing up in California and the reality of romantic notions. This is a great chat--you're going to love this guy. www.spookymansionofficial.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter:

"Para Llevar" You might know Johnny Delaware from the South Carolina alt-country outfit SUSTO, but the singer/songwriter's new solo album Paro Llevar reminds us that he's a musical force even when he's away from the band he co-founded with Justin Osborne. SUSTO's five albums, including Ever Since I Lost My Mind and 2023's My Entire Life are roots rock classics and the band has a pretty rabid global fanbase, but the South Dakota-born Delaware, who was a collegiate runner, is no stranger to going it alone. His new solo album Para Llevar is produced by Delaware himself, who also plays a majority of the instruments on the album. A stirring and dreamy blend of gliding psychedelia, Latin American rhythms and blissful rootsy grooves, Para Llevar is one of the most moving albums of 2024. It's filled with philosophical ruminations, personal revelations and internal meditations and it's inviting, engaging and downright beautiful; it brings to mind everyone from Paul Simon to Elliott SmithHow does Mexico fit into all o

"Underwater Detection Method" I always knew the San Francisco-born musician Greg Lisher as a guitar player. As a member of Camper Van Beethoven and the Monks of Doom, Lisher's imaginitive and distinct playing remains instatnly recogniziable. But for his new solo album Underwater Detection Method, Lisher decided to make a left turn and make the keyboard the central instrument on the album. A riveting 12-song collection, Underwater Detection Method is a series of synthesized soundscapes made up of dreamy dub, prowling post-punk, artful ambient fills, swirling electronica and elegant prog rock detours. The instrumental album is nothing short of experiential; it's like being given a tour of the cascading hills of a Dali-colored parallell universe with Lisher acting as your trusty guide. From the stirring "All Things Japanese" to the musical finesse of "Snowblind," Underwater Detection Method is a riveting and evocative listen. www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (

"Backbone" The Australian-born Kasey Chambers has been in this game for a long time. At sixteen she and her family formed the ARIA Award winning Dead Ringer Band, who put out four perfect albums, including Living In The Circle and Home FIres, which won best Country album in 1996. In 1999 she decided to go solo and hit the ground running with her debut The Captain. How did that decision pan out? Well, let's just say this: Kasey's solo career is an endless reel of highlights. With almost fifteen albums to her credit, Chambers has been piling up acclaim from the beginning--if you think I'm exaggerating, try these numbers: She's had five number one albums, won fourteen ARIA Awards, ten APRA awards, had four top ten singles, won nine Country Music Association of Australia awards, and put out two books--A Little Bird Told Me and Just Don't Be A Dickhead and Other Profound Things I've Learnt. She's collaborated with Paul Kelly, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran, and Foy Vance, she was inducted into the Australian Recording I