Author Ben Wardle has pulled off what, until a few years ago, would have been impossible. He's written a brand new book detailing the life of the late great, and intensely private, Mark Hollis of Talk Talk. A Perfect Silence includes interviews with many people who worked closely with Mark and helps us get as close as possible to understanding the man who walked away from music (and public life) almost 25 years ago and never resurfaced. We learn Mark was into golf and motorcycles, but never stra...
Apr 03, 2022•54 min•Ep. 422
Good ol' Dave Wakeling. Still out there keeping the flame of English Beat and General Public alive. Sadly, after the passing of his old buddy Ranking Roger three years ago, the mantle sits squarely on his shoulders. In this conversation (that's the best word for it) Dave and I discuss the ups and downs of his relationship with Roger, his approach to songwriting, his non-starting solo album, their early 90s comeback, whether Mick Jones was meant to be a member of General Public, growing old, John...
Mar 30, 2022•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 421
Would Lady Gaga, Madonna and New Wave music in general be what they became without the stylistic influence of Dale Bozzio and the guys in Missing Persons? Not only did the band establish a template for the new wave sound with their debut album Spring Session M in 1982, but Dale otherworldly look married substance and style in a way that hadn't been done before. Dale writes about her wild life in her new book Life Is So Strange, which details her being discovered by Frank Zappa, marrying Terry Bo...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 420
Almost exactly 30 years ago, Curtis Stigers had it all going for him. His first album is hitting big thanks to the song "I Wonder Why" climbing the charts, his cover of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" is included on The Bodyguard soundtrack (famously making Nick Lowe a rich man) and he's working with legends like Carole King. But, after a few more years, Curtis makes the bold choice to switch to jazz and he's been among the best of the genre since. He recently released th...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 419
This week we're welcomed by rock royalty. Tim Finn is one of the most consequential artists of the last 50 years, especially for music lovers Down Under. As one of the founding members of Split Enz, he brought New Wave closer to the mainstream and pushed boundaries for others. Then his wonderful solo career, dalliances with Crowded House and collaborations with brother Neil as well as Phil Manzanera, Eddie Rayner and many more have maintained an unparalleled level of quality. He and Eddie are at...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 418
Australia's Hoodoo Gurus are releasing their first new album in 12 years, Chariot of the Gods on March 11th. Lead singer Dave Faulkner returns to the pod to discuss the state of the world that inspired a lot of these songs. the idea that it might be the band's final statement, and the status of their world tour. Also, the band will be performing the whole album on a livestream the day before the release. Tickets to the show are available on their website below. We're so lucky to have this band s...
Mar 06, 2022•48 min•Ep. 417
Thanks to the effective and entertaining documentary from 2020, the Go-Go's are enjoying a much-deserved resurgence. The revolutionary group of gals even made it into the Rock Hall last year, finally! Drummer Gina Schock released the beautiful coffee table picture book/memoir called Made In Hollywood last year. With all that's going on, it's time for Gina to tell her story. In this chat we expand on stories from the book, get a feel for the band dynamic, and go deep on her musical contribution t...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 416
If all you know about Men Without Hats is their eternal hit "Safety Dance" you're missing out. The Canadian synthpop outfit tried other styles and broadened their sound (1987's Pop Goes The Worldbeing a high point), including a grunge album few have heard, but it's been "Safety Dance '' that has never gone away and for good reason, it's still as fresh as it was in '82. Frontman Ivan Doroschuk has been at the helm the whole time and talks candidly about some of his struggles, but, ultimately, his...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 415
First time author Bradley Morgan felt compelled to compare the political world that encircled U2's creation of the iconic Joshua Tree album with the state of the country today. Bradley dissects the album track by track, retelling the inspiration behind each song, and paints a vivid picture of what inspired four Irish punks to make a definitive statement of Reagan's America. Additionally, how does it stand up today and have "the two Americas" become more unified? We're joined this week by co-host...
Feb 20, 2022•46 min•Ep. 414
No Rock Doc is complete without an appearance from esteemed British rock writer Mick Wall. Mick's career goes way back to the 70s working promotion and PR for many of the great New Wave bands, but he quickly realized the real action was in Heavy Metal. This led to gigs writing for Kerrang! and Classic Rock magazines (among many others) and penning books on Zeppelin, GnR, Meat Loaf, Ozzy, Maiden, Sabbath, Lemmy and many more. Mick recently started the Mick Wall Podcast which is a load of fun. Mic...
Feb 16, 2022•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 413
Here's my conversation with label honcho, political blogger, gay activist and more Howie Klein. In the 70s Howie was a DJ and concert promoter in San Francisco when he started 415 Records. That story was told brilliantly in Bill Kopp's new book Disturbing the Peace that we showcased last week. When 415 was sold to Columbia, it kicked off Howie's long career as a mover and shaker in the music biz. In here we talk a lot about his time at Sire and Warner Bros. where he worked closely with Depeche M...
Feb 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 412
One could argue that producer Beau Hill is the architect of the sound of 80s Hair Metal. Just as his nascent producing career is getting started, Ratt hit the jackpot with Out of the Cellar and "Round and Round" and from there he (along with Bob Rock and Ron Nevison) becomes THE go-to-guy for that sound. That leads to huge commercial success with bands like Warrant, Winger, Twisted Sister, Europe and Alice Cooper (not to mention fantastic bands that didn't take off like Airrace, Sandy Stewart, S...
Feb 09, 2022•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 411
Author Bill Kopp has gifted music lovers with a fantastic piece of history. In his new book, Disturbing The Peace, Bill tells the story of San Francisco's influential 415 Record label started by Howie Klein and Chris Knabb. The story recounts how this upstart label even got off the ground, the key venues that built the scene, and, of course, the many excellent bands, many of which have been lost to history. Eventually, when 415 artists like Romeo Void, Translator, Wire Train and Red Rockers star...
Feb 07, 2022•58 min•Ep. 410
Rocker Mark Seymour is one of Australia's greatest gifts to music. From his many years fronting the mighty Hunters & Collectors to his last couple decades putting out quality solo work, Mark has fought the good fight and inspired millions of others to do the same. In our conversation we discuss the difficulty of being the main songwriter for a large band with strong opinions as well as their change in sound over time, why they never quite took off in the States while compadres like Midnight ...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 409
Jon and Jan look back at 2021, discuss life without their dads, the state of the world and more. We also recap the last three month's worth of episodes with any behind the scenes stories, and countdown our Top 10 eps of the year, as well as the listener picks. And lastly, we answer some listener questions (hope we got most of them). Thanks for sticking with us!
Jan 31, 2022•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 408
Where to start with Jacknife Lee? He's been one of the most successful and in demand producers of the last 20 years for a start. A short list of people he's worked with include the Killers, Weezer, Modest Mouse, James, Neil DIamond, One Direction, Taylor Swift, REM, Snow Patrol, the Hives, Bloc Party and the Cars, and he won a Grammy for U2's Atomic Bomb album. Then there's his solo work, which always includes incredible artists like Beth Ditto, Sneaks, and Open Mike Eagle to create forward-thin...
Jan 26, 2022•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 407
Raleigh, North Carolina's Connells have had a unique career. Jangly, college rock mainstays in America/HUGE one-hit-wonders in Europe. Throughout the 80s and 90s the band was able to make a career in Indie rock with songs like "Stone Cold Yesterday" and albums like the MItch Easter produced Boylan Heights. But, in 1993 they had a giant hit across the Atlantic with "74-75" which seemed to come out of nowhere. The band called it quits 20 years ago, but in 2021 they released their first album since...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 406
Singer Dee C. Lee's vocal talents are undeniable. She was already making strides in the London music scene when she was pegged by Wham! to sing back up on their first album which featured hits like "Club Tropicana" and "Young Guns (Go For It)". This led to the life-changing gig with the Style Council. Hits like "Walls Come Tumbling Down", "Shout to the Top", and "Wanted" wouldn't be what they are without her. She proved to be so valuable she became a full member and a writer, not to mention she ...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 405
Would you ever guess that one of the key producers for the radical synth-styled music coming out of the UK in the 80s was an American former LA session musician? Thanks to artists like New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, OMD and many others, Stephen Hague shaped what we think of when we think of the best music artists like that had to offer in the 80s. He's been a key figure in music ever since. Since his 80s career was recently covered fantastically on the 80sography podcast, we dig into other a...
Jan 05, 2022•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 404
In 1980, Rocky Burnette hit #8 on the pop charts with "Tired of Toein' The Line", an excellent song that still holds up today. That may have been the peak of his solo career, but his musical history stretches much further. His dad was Johnny Burnette, the Godfather of Rockabilly. Rocky shares stories of growing up in old Hollywood and hanging out with Elvis. His cousin is Billy Burnette, who replaced Lindsey in Fleetwood Mac in the late 80s, and has had a solid career of his own. After Rocky's s...
Dec 29, 2021•50 min•Ep. 403
Colin Campsie is one of those artists that consistently made quality music whether everyone was paying attention or not. He and his partner George McFarlane finally started having success in the early 80s as The Quick, an excellent dance group that had a #1 Dance chart hit with "Zulu". After three albums they changed their name to Giant Steps, took on a more r&b style, and scored a #13 hit in 1988 with "Another Lover". However, both before and since, Colin has written and produced for other ...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 402
DEVO are the template for New Wave. Mixing the DIY aggression of punk with the new technology of the late 70s is what they did better than anyone else. Over the years, the music could be up and down, but their vision of de-evolution has proven to be accurate. Co-founder Jerry Casale has also had a successful career as a director and has recently created one of his best videos yet to his new single "I'm Gonna Pay You Back". It's amazing. Here we discuss his entire career as well as a heavy dose o...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 401
This week I had a chat with four of our newer podcasting friends, all of which have started their own pods fairly recently. There's Alex Alt of the Sly Dog Music-Cast, Mike Wiles of Retro Rock Roundup, Patrick Dupuis of EETF and Nick Bambach of Rock in Retrospect. Each host brings with them stories about what it takes to start and maintain a podcast, what have we learned, what were expectations going in and how have they changed, monetization, work vs reward, and where we see this going. If anyo...
Dec 12, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 400
Our good friend Brent Zius (Podcast Rock City) has a unique and ambitious music project we wanted to tell you about. With the help of musician Zoog Von Rock of Angelspit, they've created an epic vinyl sci-fi concept album called Sequence One: Glass Jar. It's a space fantasy audio journey unlike anything you've seen before. The project is in the kickstarter stage, so if you like what you hear, please consider contributing. Either before or after this interview, be sure to watch the video at the l...
Dec 11, 2021•29 min•Ep. 399
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Kaye does what he wants. As a founding member of Yes, he helped build the band into legends, but left after three albums when it stopped being fun. After spurts in bands like Detective and Badfinger and touring with Bowie, he came back to Yes for their 80s heyday, but eventually left again, when it stopped being fun. In fact, he's been known to leave music altogether to play tennis, sell t-shirts, whatever got him excited. Now, largely retired in Florida, he's cr...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 398
This week we welcome back more of our best buddies - Joy Royland of Sit and Spin with Joe, Ben Montgomery of Records Revisited and, the Podfather himself, Ken Mills to discuss again our impressions of the Get Back documentary. What did we learn, what would we change, etc. This leads to a second discussion on musical wormholes we went on this year. Again, this was recorded live and then released - no edits! Enjoy!
Dec 05, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 397
When you think about all the classic synth pop duos of the 80s (Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, etc) Naked Eyes are right up there too. Rob Fisher and Pete Byrne only managed two albums in their heyday, but scored four top 40 hits like "Always Something There to Remind Me" and "Promises Promises" that have remained evergreen. After Rob's death, Pete IS Naked Eyes these days and put out a brand new album this year called Disguise The Limit, their first album of all new material in over 35 years. Pet...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 396
Today we recorded a live round table with some of our best friends - Brad Page of the I'm In Love With That Song podcast, BJ Kramp from Rock and/or Roll, and Eric Miller of the Pods & Sods Network. The point of the discussion was to countdown our top three TV shows of the year, which we do, but before that we spend a lot of time discussing Get Back, whether BJ and Eric are even still in podcasting, Thanksgiving, turning friendly chats into content, and a bunch of other stuff. Once again, we ...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 395
When singer/songwriter Jude Cole was on the scene from the mid 80s to the mid 90s you knew you were listening to someone special. His ability to marry hooks and harmonies in a rock, bordering on Americana, tradition (think of someone like Aimee Mann) put him above the rest. But, after four strong albums and some moderate hits, he decided to change his focus to artist management, even discovering successful acts like Lifehouse. After 20 years of being on that side of the business, Jude is back th...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 394
Noted audio engineer/producer Susan Rogers began her unique career in the late 70s, but she really earned her bona fides when she moved to Minneapolis to assist Prince. She was right by his side during those peak Purple Rain to Sign O the Times years, helping him create, record, log, and document his every creative impulse (she created his famous "Vault"). She shares stories of her experiences that add invaluable color to who Prince was and what he was like to work with. After leaving Prince, sh...
Nov 17, 2021•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 393
