Joe Jackson is one of the most creative and complicated artists of the last 50 years. He never stays in one place for long, always wiggling out of one genre and into another. This week we attempt to tell part of the JJ story through the perspectives of his first three guitarists. Gary Sanford was there at the beginning and played on the first three albums that launched Joe's career. Vinnie Zummo took over after the "no guitars", Night and Day era that brought him fame. And then Tom Teeley droppe...
May 20, 2020•3 hr 9 min•Ep. 271
Our most popular guest ever, Level 42's Mike Lindup, returns to Deep Dive the band's debut self-titled album from 1981. We discuss the formation of the band, how the songs and performances came together including classics like "Love Games" and "Starchild," and how they found their signature sound. Level 42 went on to release several classic albums, but it all started here and remains close to Mike's heart, as well as the fan's.
May 17, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 270
The Wonder Stuff are one of those fantastic bands that only the UK can produce. And leader Miles Hunt is a personality few can rival. Honest, opinionated, and incredibly cheeky, Miles is the complete package. Sometimes that wit has gotten him in some trouble, but today he says he's a changed man. We discuss the height of Wonder Stuff fame, the new album Better Being Lucky, and hits like "Welcome to the Cheap Seats", "A Wish Away", "Mission Drive" and many others. We also get some unfiltered deta...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 269
The coolest thing happened to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford recently. While tooling around in his garage he found the master tapes to a solo album he recorded in 1985! When he gave the tapes a listen, he really liked what he heard, so he polished them up and released them last month. The album, called Magic Window, is a great rock record from the era and points the way to a possible solo career that never quite materialized. In this conversation we learn how it all hap...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 268
Last week we covered Rock Docs so this week we're sharing our round table discussion on Rock Books. For this we've invited more of our fellow podcasting brethren - BJ Kramp of the Rock and/or Roll podcast, Lane Hewitt of the Melody Motel pod, and Bakko from Cobras and Fire. We debate the good ones, the bad ones, audiobooks, biographies vs. autobiographies, and we countdown our top three recommendations. Hopefully these chats make your quarantining a little more bearable. And these are such rich ...
May 07, 2020•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 267
The Hustle turns five this week and we are celebrating with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Harrison! In normal times, this year would have been a time for celebration. Talking Heads seminal album Remain In Light turns 40 this year and Jerry was going to go on tour to play the album with original guitarist, the legendary Adrien Belew. Hopefully, that can get back on track soon. Jerry and I go deep on that album, the progression of the Talking Heads sound, his solo work, his time in the Modern ...
May 06, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 266
Australian band Real Life have many classic albums, but we thought it would be fun to invite back front man David Sterry (ep 73) to discuss a covers album he did in 2008 of classic 80s synth pop and new wave songs. Not only do you get to hear Real Life's take on standards like "I Melt With You", "Blue Monday", and "Cars" but you also get to hear what these songs and artists meant to him. Real Life also put out a new album recently called Sirens that we discuss as well. (Listen up for how David h...
May 04, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 265
In this time of quarantining we could all use some distractions. In this spirit, we bring you this roundtable discussion on Rock Docs. Joining the discussion are fellow podcasters Brad Page from the I'm In Love With That Song podcast, Eric Miller from the Pods & Sods Network, and Ben Montgomery from Records Revisited. Together we debate the good ones vs. the bad ones, will we watch a doc about any musical topic, and we countdown some of our faves and recommendations. A complete list of every...
Apr 30, 2020•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 264
At this point, Joey Scarbury is a bit of a pop culture icon. He's the voice of the eternal "Believe It Or Not", that most excellent theme song to the Greatest American Hero, which reached #2 in 1981. But what else do we know about him? Where did he come from? How did he happen to sing that song? Why was there not more? What has he been doing ever since? We go about answering those questions. Today, Joey leads as normal a life as you and me. Here's the whole story! https://www.patreon.com/thehust...
Apr 28, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 263
Jon and Jan recap the first quarter of 2020, the ups and the downs (extremes on both ends). the messiness of normal life, how we're handling the quarantine, what we're watching, and what we thought of the last three month's worth of episodes. And please get involved over on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/thehustlepod?fan_landing=true
Apr 26, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 262
Once again, we're joined by a fantastic producer that's behind tons of music we all love. Clive Langer started out fronting the crucial Liverpool band, Deaf School in the 70s. While they never made it global, they were a really big deal locally. Soon, Clive with his musical partner Alan Winstanley "fell into" producing the first singles by Madness (he's produced almost everything Madness has ever done) and it was off to the races. Artists like Teardrop Explodes, Elvis Costello, Dexy's Midnight R...
Apr 22, 2020•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 261
We're trying something different this time. We're proud to welcome Van Halen Rising author Greg Renoff to deep dive Van Halen's debut album from 1978. Greg is probably considered THE expert on the early days of Van Halen, so it made sense to hear the stories he knows about the creation of this seminal work. In addition, Greg is now releasing his next book, Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music which features Ted's recollections of working with artists like Van Halen, the Doobie Brot...
Apr 18, 2020•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 260
Peabody Award-winning rock writer David Wild joins us to share tales from his many years as a rock journalist at Rolling Stone and his tenure as a writer/producer on just about every music award show of the last 20 years. Top on that list is "Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute to Prince" airing on Tuesday, April 21st on CBS and featuring Earth Wind and Fire, Sheila E., Gary Clark Jr. and many more. If you've heard David before you know he's a master storyteller, so we get to hear his interactions...
Apr 14, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 259
We're welcoming back Glen Burtnik (ep76) this week to discuss his second album, 1987's Heroes and Zeros. Glen's debut, Talking in Code, is a favorite of mine and when combined with H&Z showcases his incredible ability to write catchy, pop/rock songs. Unfortunately, neither album got the attention they deserved (even though the single "Follow You" should have been a hit), but Glen has maintained a successful and busy music career ever since. Enjoy!
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 258
Lisa Velez always wanted to be a singer and that dream came true when the mighty Full Force production team plucked her from the dance clubs in her early teens (!) to sing the classic "I Wonder If I Take You Home". The mixture of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's performance and Full Force's production struck gold for a couple years when tracks like "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion" also went on to be giant hits. Eventually the hits slowed down, but Lisa Lisa has never stopped performing. In here we ta...
Apr 08, 2020•58 min•Ep. 257
Bruce Woolley has done a lot, but his largest contribution to pop culture is probably writing "Video Killed the Radio Star." Back in the 70s, he and his friend Trevor Horn created that song while pursuing their musical goals - Trevor with the Buggles and Bruce with the Camera Club. Of course MTV made the song iconic. His partnership with Trevor has continued to this day, in fact Bruce also wrote "Slave to the Rhythm" for Grace Jones (produced by Trevor), as well as songs by Cher, John Farnham an...
Apr 01, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 256
Eric Bazilian of the Hooters returns to the podcast to discuss the creation and recording of their 1985 breakthrough album Nervous Night. We get into how they stumbled on their unique sound, why God and spirituality plays such a role in Eric's lyrics, and how the success changed their life. We are so lucky to hear from incredible artists like Eric! https://www.hootersmusic.com/
Mar 29, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 255
There is almost nothing drummer Peter Prescott can do that will overtake the shadow caused by his band Mission of Burma. In just a brief time in the early 80s they managed to set the template for what American post-punk should sound like. After only an album and an EP, the guys split up and did other projects, but the legend just continued to grow, culminating in being featured in the invaluable book Our Band Could Be Your Life. This provoked a victory lap in the early 2000s that resulted in mor...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 254
Chris Thompson is "the voice" behind the most misunderstood lyric in rock history. Is it possible to play "Blinded By The Light" and hear anything other than "revved up like a douche"? No way! But, that's only one line item on Chris's impressive resume. In addition to singing other classic Manfred Mann songs like "The Runner", his successful solo career has netted several highlights including 80s soundtrack classics from films like The Champ, All the Right Moves, and American Anthem. He also wro...
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 253
Leee John never stops. Forty years ago he fronted the British r&b group Imagination that scored loads of hits around the globe like "Flashback," "Body Talk," and their signature tune "Just an Illusion." After a decade of success, Leee went out on his own and has consistently released music in all styles and genres, solidifying his place as one of the key voices in British dance music. These days he remains as busy as ever with new projects including a documentary on British black music, a su...
Mar 11, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 252
Producer Peter Wolf (not the J. Geils frontman) is behind some of the biggest music of the 80s, but also the most divisive. No matter how you may feel about "We Built This City" and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (and chances are you feel strongly) those songs were, and still are, huge. They also wouldn't be what they are without his Midas touch. In addition, Peter lent his genius to other classic songs of the era like "Who's Johnny," "Playing With the Boys," "Night Shift," and "King of Wishful Th...
Mar 04, 2020•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 251
Bassist Arthur Barrow had a dream and it came true. That dream was to one day play with Frank Zappa and in the late 70s that's exactly what happened. What might be more interesting is where he went from there. Imagine going from Zappa to Giorgio Moroder! Arthur began a long and fruitful partnership with Giorgio (and his stable of producers including Keith Forsey and Richie Zito) that took up much of the 80s. This put Arthur in position to work closely with artists like Donna Summer, Berlin, Bill...
Feb 26, 2020•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 250
This week it's the accomplished producer/engineer/mixer Julian Mendelsohn! Julian's golden touch (and golden ears) created some of the most beloved songs of the 80s. He's responsible for legendary tracks like "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and "Always On My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys. He's also worked closely with artists like Level 42, Paul McCartney, Tasmin Archer, Kate Bush, Nik Kershaw, Killing Joke, Go West, Pseudo Echo, INXS, The Firm, Fine Young Cannibals, Peter Gabriel, Aztec Camera, a...
Feb 19, 2020•2 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 249
This week we are honored to hear from one of the most decorated songwriters of all time, the legendary Holly Knight! Holly's career began in the early 80s with the AOR band Spider, but it was when other artists began having success recording songs she'd written (like John Waite's "Change" and Tina Turner's "Better Be Good to Me") that she switched her focus to songwriting. She went on to pen some of the biggest songs ever like "Love is a Battlefield", "The Warrior" and "The Best". In this conver...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 248
This week we get to hear from the wonderful singer/songwriter Bonnie Hayes! Coming out of the Bay Area nearly 40 years ago with her band the Wild Combo, Bonnie mastered the new wave sound and even had a couple songs featured in the movie Valley Girl. For some reason, the solo career never quite took off like it should have, but good fortune bounced in her direction when some of her songs made their way to Bonnie Raitt and were included in her massive comeback album Nick of Time in 1989. From the...
Feb 05, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 247
Jon and Noel from the Reliving My Youth podcast are at it again! This time they countdown their top 10 yacht rock songs. What counts as yacht rock? Is it a guilty pleasure or seriously awesome music? Do the songs hold up or are they tied too much to an era? You tell us how you feel!
Feb 02, 2020•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 246
Jon teams up with Steve and Drew from Suburban Underground once again, this time to play some of their favorite lesser known R&B jams! You hear songs you may not know from some of the legends of the genre, some modern goodies, and many others that may be completely new to you. Let us know what you think!
Feb 01, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 245
Jon and Jan discuss the highs and lows of 2019 including, the last few months worth of guests, our top 10 episodes of the year as well as the listener picks, and we answer your questions. 2019 was a wild ride and we share what we learned and how we feel about it. Special thanks to everyone that makes The Hustle a unique endeavor. We love you all!
Feb 01, 2020•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 244
It seemed fitting to pay tribute to an excellent Canadian drummer by speaking with another excellent Canadian drummer. Barry Connors of the fantastic AOR band Toronto (ep 9) returns to tell us what Neil meant to Canada, the influence he had on his own drumming style, and what it was like seeing Rush live back in the early days. There has never been anyone else like Neil Peart and we're lucky to discuss it with great people like Barry. https://www.facebook.com/hollywoodsandtoronto/...
Jan 31, 2020•22 min•Ep. 243
This week we are lucky to welcome the guitarist for one of the biggest bands of the 80s - Chris Hayes from Huey Lewis and the News! Chris and I discuss his time in the band and the stories behind many of the songs, but what I mostly wanted to know was why he chose to walk away almost 20 years ago. You realize what became more important to him was family and sobriety. He's a wonderful guy whose story is not well known. Enjoy!
Jan 29, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 242
