If you were one of those people who read the liner notes on all your records, no doubt you saw the name Jerry Marotta on many of your favorites. From the late 70s til the mid 80s Jerry drummed for Peter Gabriel AND Hall and Oates at the same time! When those gigs came to an end he joined up with the Indigo Girls for a while. Along the way he recorded with the likes of Paul McCartney, Tears For Fears, Robbie Robertson, Fee Waybill, Sarah McLachlan, Los Lobos, Cher, John Mayer, and a bunch of othe...
Jan 22, 2020•3 hr 7 min•Ep. 241
One of our most popular guests, Marshall Crenshaw, returns to discuss the brand new deluxe vinyl edition of his 1996 album Miracle of Science. One of his great, but unsung albums is finally getting the treatment it deserves and is available now! Marshall recounts the writing and recording of it and we discuss the shows he's been doing with the Smithereens since the passing of frontman Pat DiNizio two years ago. Enjoy! www.marshallcrenshaw.com...
Jan 17, 2020•34 min•Ep. 240
It's been a wild ride for Michelle Shocked. Her career as a protest singer began in the mid-80s by accident and has expanded to touch on every genre you can think of. She doesn't want to be pigeonholed and she does what she wants. Which makes the "Yoshi Incident" even more confusing. In March of 2013 during a concert in San Francisco, Michelle, believing rightly that there were bootleggers in the room, said some pretty despicable things about homosexuals and gay marriage. Her career's never been...
Jan 14, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 239
Charlie Midnight's success as a songwriter has spanned nearly 40 years. After partnering up with Dan Hartman in the early 80s, the two wrote a string of hits for both Dan and others, many of which were featured on soundtracks for films like Fletch, Ruthless People, Breakin', and Rocky 4 with James Brown making "Living in America" iconic. From there, Charlie forged his own successful writing and producing career working with artists like Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, the Doobie Brothers, and Joni Mitch...
Jan 08, 2020•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 238
Audio engineer Brad Sundberg returns to discuss the making of the epic Quincy Jones album Back on the Block from 1989. The legendary producer called all of his famous friends to contribute to this opus of an album that went on to win seven Grammys and sell a million copies. Among the legends appearing on Back on the Block are Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Ice T, Barry White, Sarah Vaughn, George Benson, James Ingram, Chaka Khan, Kool Moe Dee, the Brothers Johnson, Al B. Sure, Bobby ...
Jan 03, 2020•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 237
Imagine getting only one chance at the big time and it not working out. That can't be easy to deal with, but that's what happened to this week's guest, Tom Croucier of the band Life By Night. Tom's career started picking up steam in the early 80s when he played with both Scorpions and Dokken (his brother Juan is in Ratt), so when he fronted his own band that was equal parts rock and new wave, it seemed like a slam dunk. The result is the 1985 Life By Night album that featured the closest they ca...
Dec 31, 2019•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 236
Here it is, warts and all! It's another Merry Chris-mas at the Hustle! This year we hear from indie legend Chris (get it?) Stamey! After forming the dbs in Chapel Hill 40 years ago with Peter Holsapple, Chris has carved his own unique and diverse solo path. To prove my point, this year he released a new album New Songs for the 20th Century that was heavily influenced by the likes of Cole Porter and Henry Mancini! I ask Chris why the change in style, but he doesn't see it that way. In fact, this ...
Dec 25, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 235
Forrmer guest Richard Bush (ep 69) returns to talk about the brand new album Social Studies by his current band The Peace Creeps. You may remember that 40 years ago, Richard fronted the wonderful Philly power-pop band The A's. The Peace Creeps brand of rock is more psychedelic, but no less effective. The first single, "Through Our Ruins" is getting some radio attention, thankfully, so we talk about how that feels at this stage in his career and what he hopes to accomplish with this new album. Ch...
Dec 22, 2019•27 min•Ep. 234
The Knack are the poster band for both extreme success and extreme flame out. They had the biggest hit of 1979 with their debut single "My Sharona", a song that remains as killer today as it was then. But, almost immediately the backlash came - they copy the Beatles too much, the lyrics are misogynistic, power pop is over, etc. Unfortunately, the band never really got over that despite staging many reunions and comebacks over the years. However, when frontman Doug Feiger died in 2010 that was al...
Dec 18, 2019•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 233
Jon and the boys from Suburban Underground come together for another hour of music. This time the topic is "songs that move us." You'll notice when you listen to this that we each define "move" in different ways. Who do you identify with the most? Don't be shy! https://www.facebook.com/SuburbanUndergroundRadio/
Dec 13, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 232
The 90s were a fickle time. Fads came and went, stars were made and just as quickly left behind. Austin's Fastball had what it took for the long haul, but it hasn't been easy. Lead by the dual songwriting chops of Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga, the band broke big on their second album with hits like "The Way," "Out of My Head," and "Fire Escape." But, as it often happens, by the time the follow up came out the crowd had moved on. They've never really gone away though and they even released a soli...
Dec 11, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 231
Imagine this - one of the greatest rock singers in history decides to leave his hugely successful band and you've been selected to take his place. That's what happened with Johnny Edwards. Though it was the beginning of the 90s, Foreigner's Mick Jones felt that even though Lou Gramm was out of the band there was still enough gas in the tank to keep things going. He recruited Johnny and they recorded Unusual Heat, a solid rock album that never really stood a chance. This scenario wasn't entirely ...
Dec 04, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 230
Walter Egan's 1978 smash "Magnet and Steel" will follow him around wherever he goes, deservedly so, but what gets lost sometimes is the absolutely stellar power pop album he made in 1983 called Wild Exhibitions. It featured his last hit "Fool Moon Fire", but didn't get the attention it deserved then, and still doesn't, so we attempt to right that wrong. In this Deep Dive, Walter and I shed light on this hidden gem, while also gliding over his entire career. We love Walter and hope that you will ...
Dec 01, 2019•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 229
There's never been anyone like Mike Watt. He's an American treasure at this point. There's the Minutemen. Then fIREHOSE. Then about a million other projects of various size including a period with Porno For Pyros, another with Iggy and the Stooges and even an appearance on a Kelly Clarkson record! One of Mike's recent projects is the Jumpstarted Plowhards - a collaboration between him and guitarist/singer Tony Congelliere with a a rotating roster of drummers. Their first release of a projected s...
Nov 27, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 228
In a decade that churned through artists as tastes and fads changed weekly, Everclear managed a heckuva lot of hits. Storming the gates with the hyper-catchy "Santa Monica," the guys dropped radio staple after radio staple like "Everything to Everyone," "Father of Mine," "I Will Buy You a New Life" and the list goes on and on. By the 2000s, the wave was starting to die down, but the band never really went away, even if the players came and went. The mainstay has always been leader Art Alexakis, ...
Nov 20, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 227
Cinderella may have been put to bed years ago, but frontman Tom Keifer has been slowly building up his solo project for a while now and it just keeps getting bigger. The Tom Keifer Band recently released the new album Rise and completed a US tour (another leg is taking shape early next year). In this short conversation, we discuss the difference between his current band and his old one, how he views his legacy, the state of his health (he's undergone several throat surgeries over the years, but ...
Nov 17, 2019•38 min•Ep. 226
The last few years have been a blur of prolific activity for Juliana Hatfield. There was the anti-Trump album Pussycat from 2017, there have been side projects with Paul Westerberg (The I Don't Care's) and Nada Surf's Matthew Caws (Minor Alps), and there have been albums of new material (2019's Weird and 2015's Whatever, My Love), but what is a wonderful new focus for her are these albums of covers. In 2018 she released Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John to wide acclaim and this week she ...
Nov 13, 2019•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 225
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Jon engages in conversation with his 12-year-old daughter Georgia, discussing their love of Kiss and counting down their top 5 songs. This was done quick and dirty, no editing, no production. Hope you're all impressed!
Nov 10, 2019•52 min•Season 1Ep. 224
The summer of 1991 belonged to bands like EMF. When they took over the world with their debut single "Unbelievable," it signaled a change in the sound of mainstream music where white British guys merged alternative rock with dance music, hip-hop and skate culture. Coming out of the gate with a song as big as that one, you'd think EMF would continue on, but such was not the case. Like so many others, they suffered the dreaded sophomore slump on the second album and barely released a third before ...
Nov 06, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 223
Sometimes you just have to wonder why some bands don't make it. Take the Hollywood Stars. Brought together by famous impresario Kim Fowley, the guys were meant to be a West Coast answer to the New York Dolls. After some stops and starts, the band finally released their debut album in 1977, but it didn't show what the band could do, it under-performed, and the band broke up ending the potential for greatness. Guitarist Ruben De Fuentes enjoyed the LA music scene of the period and went on to play ...
Oct 29, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 222
Flesh For Lulu had it all. They mixed the Stones' swagger with the New York Dolls' grease and added a healthy dose of 80s glam to perfection as evidenced on possibly their best known hit, 1987's "I Go Crazy" from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack. But, it all ended too quickly and now it never will be again. Lead singer Nick Marsh passed away in 2015 of cancer, putting a permanent end to this wonderful band. Guitarist Rocco Barker tells us the full story - how his first band Wasted Youth was...
Oct 23, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 221
In part 2 of our crossover episode with Reliving My Youth, Jon and Noel countdown their Top 10 soundtrack songs of the 90s.
Oct 18, 2019•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 220
Red Rockers were all set to be the "American Clash." They may have started as the go-to punk band in their native New Orleans, but when they wrote the 1983 hit "China" for their second album, not only did their style change, but MTV played them incessantly, recognition soon followed, and original fans screamed "sell outs!" Unfortunately, the switch to a more commercial sound only led to moderate commercial success. Other than the still beautiful "China" they never quite got off the ground. When ...
Oct 16, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 219
It's that time again, Hustlers and this time Jon and Jan are joined by Brad Page of the I'm In Love With That Song podcast. We're honored to have the man with the buttery voice slumming it with us knuckleheads. Not only do we recap the last three months of episodes, but we also discuss bad publicist experiences, we get an update on Jan's love life, whatever happened with HustleFest, and who was it that cut our interview short? And good news - no airports this time! Enjoy! You can find out inform...
Oct 14, 2019•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 218
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson is busy these days. First of all, November sees the release of the new book The Ballad of Jethro Tull. For the first time ever Ian, along with former members of the band, tell the full story of their musical formation and legacy. You can preorder this beautiful new book now and get your name printed inside. You will also receive an mp4 of Ian reciting new tracks "The Ballad of Jethro Tull" and "Marmion". In addition, Oct. 18th sees the release of the 40th anniversary d...
Oct 11, 2019•32 min•Ep. 217
Martha Wash has one of the most recognizable voices in pop history. Well, maybe a better word for it is "utilized." She has sang on some of the biggest club/dance hits of the last 40 years and you may not even realize it. In the 70s she and her friend Izora Rhodes began singing back up for disco legend Sylvester, becoming known as Two Tons O' Fun. This lead to their own record deal and two albums released under that name before changing it to the Weather Girls. Then came "It's Raining Men," a gi...
Oct 09, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 216
We lost another good one recently. To discuss the great Eddie Money we bring back Steve "Eddie" Rice of the killer Bay Area rock band Eddie and the Tide. Money produced their album Go Out and Get It in 1984 for what we think may be Eddie's only production credit of his whole career. Steve shares stories about what Eddie was like to work with, the jokes he told, his approach to songwriting and even a somber recent phone call they had that may have implied Eddie knew what was down the pike. Once a...
Oct 04, 2019•28 min•Ep. 215
It almost didn't happen for George McCrae. In fact, the whole thing was a total fluke. He and his wife Gwen sang back up on recording sessions around Miami with his focus more on managing her career than pursuing his own. But when Harry Wayne Casey wrote a new song that was too high for his register, he asked George, who happened to be around, if he would sing it. That song, 1975's "Rock Your Baby", went on to be one of the biggest selling singles of all time, selling at least 11 million copies,...
Oct 02, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 214
This month we welcome back the fantastic Robert Tepper (ep66) to discuss his 1986 debut album No Easy Way Out. True, the title track from Rocky 4 is one of the greatest AOR songs ever and was a decent-sized hit, but when it came time to release the full album his label was on to other things. We discuss the creation of the songs, who played on them, and how royally Scotti Bros. botched this thing! In addition, Robert releases his new solo album Better Than The Rest today! We also get into that a...
Sep 27, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 213
In 1995 "Lump" was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. And it became a hit. That was followed up by "Peaches," another weird one that reached the same status. Where did these funny, but rocking (novelty?) songs come from? Who writes songs like this? The band is literally called The Presidents of the United States of America? It all seemed like someone was playing a joke, but the tunes were undeniable and millions of people snatched up the album. Unfortunately, it didn't last. The sophomore slump...
Sep 24, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 212
