Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Renewal, Regeneration, Revival" Clocking in at just under two minutes, "Stays With You” from Blesson Roy's debut album Think Like Spring perfectly exemplifies what the band does best—craft great pop songs that take no time at all to lift off. The band’s braintrust is the L.A.-raised Terry Borden, who grew up in the '80s loving punk rock but also loving all that great stuff from the UK that could be found on 4AD or Creation or Rough Trade. He played in Pete Yorn’s band and he was a member of the legendary slow core outfit Idaho. His debut album as Blesson Roy has the perfect title in Think Like Spring—after all, the record is about renewal, regeneration and revival. A dreamy blast of layered melodies, textured choruses and mesmerizing soundscapes, Think Like Spring is emotional, thoughtful and vulnerable and it soars mightily away with the kind of muscle and grace that brings to mind everything from the Cocteau Twins to Ride. The songs and the creation of the recordings, Borden says, “Felt like a warm place

"Love Makes The World" Well, he may live on a remote farm now, but back in the 80s there was nothing remote about Andrew Farris. The guy was everywhere. The Perth-born/Sydney-raised musician got his start in a band called Doctor Dolphin, but you probably know him best from his second band: INXS A multi-instrumentalist adept at piano, harmonica, and guitar, Farris and his brothers Tim and Jon along with Michael Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly and Garry Beers were at one point the biggest band on the planet. And that was at a really competitive time—you had U2, Depeche Mode, R.E.M., and DURAN DURAN--and INXS at their peak were bigger than all of them.They put out ten records with Hutchence and two others after his death and they were elected to the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001. Pals since high school, Farris and Hutchence were a lethal songwriting combination and Farris really was the sonic architect of INXS’s sound. Not only that, but he co-wrote all but one of the band's top-40 hits in the U.S. Farris went on to produ

“When We Were Young” The Dublin outfit Whipping Boy have just three albums to their name-- Submarine, Heartworm and their posthumous self-titled effort. Look, all three are brilliant, but Heartworm is considered by many to be a front to back classic. A staggering collection of anger, passion, poetry, and grace, sonically Heartworm falls somewhere between A House and The Fall—it grinds away with staggering melodic beauty and streetwise lyrical grit and it shoots light out from every note that’s played. It is a straight up, stone cold stunner. When they formed in 1988 they were Lolita and the Whipping Boy, but when their lineup solidified, and it was Fearghal McKee (vocals), Paul Page (guitar), Myles McDonnell (bass, vocals), and Colm Hassett (drums), they shortened their name to just Whipping Boy. They were a dark and powerful band capable of staggering beauty and edgy elegies that were redolent with wisdom and philosophy. Their influence can still be heard today in bands like The Fontaines DC and Shame and

"We Will Get Through This" Frank Figliuzzi was with the FBI for 25 years, most notably serving as the Bureau's Assistant Director who headed the counterintelligence division. He also was appointed the FBIs chief inspector position, overseeing sensitive internal inquiries. A graduate of Fairfield University and UConn School of Law, Figliuzzi currently is a Nationaal Security analyst for NBC news and an in-demand public speaker. His new book "The FBI Way" is a user-friendly tour through the bureau's code of excellence. Figliuzzi demonstrates that not only are the core values of code, conservancy, clarity, consequences, compassion, credibility and consistency hallmarks of the FBI, they are universal truths that could guide anyone in any discipline through any situation. In this chat, Figliuzzi talks to Alex about repairing a tarnished reputation, intentional versus unconscious error and whether or not he and James Comey are pals. And he also tells Alex of this tumultuous time in our nation's history: "We will g

"If It’s Not Personal, It’s Not Art" The Oakland-born Bill Champlin’s High school band The Opposite Six became Sons of Champlin in the mid '60s and if you’re familiar with rock and roll history, being in a band in the bay are in the mid '60s—well, that was pretty much the sweet spot. Sons of Champlin shared bills with the Grateful Dead, The Band, Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe and the Fish. A gifted pianist, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, it didn’t take long for everyone to want the services of Bill Champlin, After a handful of excellent albums with Sons of Champlin, Bill left the band and from there his list of musical accomplishments is so extensive if they were listed on LinkedIn, LinkedIn would break. I can’t list them all here, so let me give you a partial list: Champlin has worked with REO SPEEDWAGON, DAVID FOSTER, BARRY MANILOW, ELTON JOHN, AMY GRANT, PATTI LABELLE, THE TUBES and BOZ SCAGGS. He won a couple of Grammys—one for co-writing "After The Love Has Gone" which was made massive by Eart

“Knocking Down Walls, Tearing Up Floors” In baseball terms, Suzanne Santo can pitch, play shortstop, bat cleanup, handle the outfield and play any base you want. Oh, and she can also manage the team. When you talk about Suzanne Santo you’re talking about someone who can do a lot of things. She got going on the violin in 2nd grade and it didn’t take long for the Ohio-born prodigy to come into her own as a musician. A high school scholarship followed for the young violinist and before she was 20 Santo had become pretty adept on both banjo and guitar as well. She fronted the L.A.-based band honeyhoney with Ben Jaffe who you might remember from his appearance on our podcast—and that band put out three perfect albums. A stirring confluence of indie rock, riveting roots music and West coast soul, honeyhoney toured with Sheryl Crow and Jake Bugg, logged millions of Spotify streams and found themselves hailed by everyone rom Rolling Stone to NPR. Santo’s debut solo album Ruby Red was a stunning platter of poetic fol

"Closing Out 2020 With Todd Goldstein" “I like to think of music as an emotional science,” the composer George Gershwin once said. Keeping that in mind, Todd Goldstein has been spending a lot of time in the lab. The musician’s new album under his TG moniker is called Memory Foam and it’s a textured long player whose innovative soundscapes bring to mind the work of everyone from Brian Eno to Martin Kennedy’s All India Radio. In this year-ending interview, Goldstein talks to Alex about how moving from the east coast to the west affected his notion of sound, his love of rave culture and what it was like to move from his old bands (Harlem Shakes, ARMS) into such broad compositional territory.

"Christmas With Terra Lightfoot" The Ontario-born Terra Lightfoot was on our show back in 2018 and since then she’s been quite busy. We’ll catch you up on what she’s been up to, but a little background is in order first. Lightfoot played in The Dinner Belles before going solo back in 2011. Since then she’s put out four albums, including her latest, which is called Consider The Speed. Along the way, she’s been nominated for a Juno and the Polaris Prize, she’s toured with Bruce Cockburn, the Posies, Blue Rodeo and Toad the Wet Sprocket and she’s garnered rave reviews from everyone from No Depression to Pop Matters. Consider The Speed is a powerful entry in Lightfoot’s discography. Filled with rootsy ballads, raging guitars and big crunchy pop, it’s ruminative, emotionally direct and stirring at every turn. We love Terra Lightfoot and we’re so happy to have her back. In this conversation Terra talks to Alex about her love of Bonnie Raitt, lucid dreaming and how to stay creative during Covid. She also talks abou

“You’ve Got To Be Spot-On” That’s what drummer Alan White says about being behind the kit for a band like Yes. One of the most technically proficient outfits in rock and roll history, Yes are musically precise and that’s why White has been behind the kit with them since 1973. One of the most formidable drummers in rock and roll for the last 50 years, the British born White started playing in bands when he was 13. And over the course of his career he played on records by George Harrison, Ginger Baker, Joe Cocker, Terry Reid and John Lennon. He played live with Lennon as part of the Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival Festival in 1969 and he also had a stint playing live with Steve Linwood. When he joined Yes he also had two other job offers at the same time with Jethro Tull and America. But White said no to them and yes to Yes. Pretty good move. He played on 17 Yes records, and established himself as one of the most innovative, intuitive and muscular drummers around. His playing is a deft co

“Freaking Love Songs” I kind of developed my musical style in a vacuum,” Liz Phair once said. "Even though I listen to a lot of stuff, the way I wrote was in my bedroom, really privately." Our bedrooms are private places—not in the way your thinking—I mean, that’s true but that’s not what were talking about today. Today we’re talking about the fact that there is something about our bedrooms that inspires creativity. Maybe it’s the privacy or the comfort or the familiarity of the space—who knows? But one thing is for sure: we kind of crush it in the bedroom. Not in the way you're thinking, but you know what we mean. We do good work there. Work that is personal, vulnerable, but also strong and assured. And that work, intimate as it may be ever now and then, to quote Joseph Campbell, goes from the private to the public. Like our pal Liz Phair, for example. And our new pal Pynkie, who you’re about to meet today. So the New Jersey born Pinkie is cut from that very same Liz Phair cloth. Her bedroom creations are w

“I Haven’t Written My Favorite Song Yet” Mike Viola has written some of my all-time favorite songs. But the Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter tells me in this interview that what keeps pushing him creatively is that he hasn’t written his favorite song yet. Viola's musical career began when he was a teenager, playing in a hard rock band that garnered some pretty serious regional attention, including opening for Todd Rundgren and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Viola’s solo career started with an EP in 1985 and since then he’s put out nearly 25 albums of some of the most perfect pop music you’ll ever hear. He’s produced for everyone from Ryan Adams to Fall Out Boy, recorded with Shania Twain, The Monkees, Jenny Lewis and Rachel Yamagata and he’s written tracks for and with Matt Nathanson, Mandy Moore, and John Wesley Harding. Along with his buddy Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, Viola wrote and co-produced the Oscar Nominated title track for the 1996 Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do. Viola also wrote must fo

“Rock and Roll’s Best Relief Pitcher" Dan Bern is always ready in the bullpen. A bona-fide songwriting machine, the Iowa-born Bern stays loose by being one of the most prolific guys out there and he’s always ready to take the mound with a new track. Bern has consistently been one of the most inventive, exciting, literate, intelligent and brilliant songwriters of the last 30 years. With close to 30 albums to his name, including his latest Mitch Marine produced effort Ivan’s Barbershop, Dan Bern is one of our very best. He’s written songs for movies like "Walk Hard" and "Get Him To The Greek," he’s toured with Ani DiFranco and he’s dueted with Emmylou Harris. But he doesn’t just write songs—he’s an accomplished painter, the author of several books and a pretty solid tennis player. He and I are going to bash it around one of these days on the tennis court, but until we do, our rallies will be conversational. In this particular rally, we chat about teasing Marshall Crenshaw in Alaska, the songwriting magic of Mi

“I’m A Different Guy After Lunch” That’s how David Duchovny describes the creative process—his point is that no matter when we return to an unfinished work, we’re a different person than when we started it. Whether that’s five months, five days, or right after lunch. We’re always different people. As for David Duchovny, well, he's one of those guys who wears many hats and they all fit. He’s a Golden Globe winning actor, the author of several books, a director, an environmentalist, a producer and a singer-songwriter. You know him from television shows like "The X-Files" and “Californiacation" and movies like “Kalifornia" and "Things We Lost In The Fire" but today we’re here to talk about his music. Sonically Duchovny's work is literate and rootsy, his voice a low rumble that moves through each number with dexterity and finesse. His phrasing and his lyrics bring to mind a thoughtful blend of Springsteen circa Human Touch and Lou Reed ’s New York. Duchovny is a busy guy—he can be seen in the new film "The Craf

“November Spawned A Monster" The Monster is back. And boy, do we need them. After a nearly 16 year hiatus, Thelonious Monster have roared back with one of the best albums of 2020. Oh That Monster is a staggering return to form for Bob Forrest and his band of merry men. Not only is he one of the best songwriters on the planet, he’s one of the coolest guys to talk to. In this discursive, tangential and oddly linear chat, Bob talks to Alex about Joe Strummer, Donald Trump and racism in the home. They also talk about socioeconomics, Lou Reed and The Replacements and Bob recounts a story where he had a fistfight with Axl Rose and it did not end well. For Bob. In addition to his work with Thelonious Monster, Bob Forrest has put out several solo albums, as well as an album under the name The Bicycle thief. Additionally, he was a drug counselor on "Celebrity Rehab" and "Sober House," he put out the memoir Running With Monsters, he hosts the "Rehab Bob" podcast and “This Life" with Dr Drew and he co-founded Hollywood

"Let's Keep It Weird, Shall We?" Back in 1986 a Goth friend of mine from the Bay Area who got me into Bauhaus and The Cure visited his grandparents in Sacramento and he was hanging out in the park smoking cloves and paying guitar when some dude came up to him and said "Where are you from?” My friend said he was from Berkeley and the guy said, “You should go back. There aren’t weirdos like you around here. That guy back in 1986 was way wrong. We weirdos are everywhere. Anton Barbeau is from Sacramento. And he’s a weirdo in the best sense of the word. He is one of the most innovative, idiosyncratic and fascinating musicians on the planet. The singer/songwriter is an inventive lyricist armed with post modern wit, literary smarts and a melodic sensibility that brings to mind the work of XTC and Robyn Hitchcock. He's shared the stage with Weezer, Julian Cope and Mono, he’s collaborated with The Loud Family Kimberly Rew of the Soft Boys, Cake and XTC’s Colin Moulding, he’s produced a bunch of albums including two

"Georgia On All Of Our Minds” Well, when it comes to Georgia, there’s no one better to talk to than Amy Ray. The Decatur-born singer songwriter may have started her collegiate career at Vanderbilt but her coming back home to attend Emory in Atlanta has been a kind of metaphor for her life: She’s been all around the world but she always comes back to Georgia. Ray is one half of the internationally beloved Grammy Award winning band the Indigo Girls and along with Emily Sailers, they’ve put out 15 studio albums, including 2020’s marvelous effort Look Long. Ray, who has put out six solo albums including 2018s awesome Holler, is a punk at heart and she’s collaborated with everyone from The Butches to Joan Jett. Armed with an infectious lippy snarl and pure folk finesse, Ray is truly one of the greatest American songwriters out there and her lyrics are always literary, socially conscious and deeply felt. Her new single "Tear It Down” tackles the spirit of southern rebellion and its complicated history. Written wit

"Electric Sea View" Well, it’s hard for us to think of a more charming, beguiling and altogether mysterious band than The Bats. The New Zealand outfit got their start in 1982 in Christchurch and their By Night EP in '84 was one of the first releases for the now legendary Flying Nun label. Flying Nun aren’t the only legendary ones in this conversation—The Bats fall into that category as well. With ten album under their belts, including classics like Silverbeet, The Law of Things and Free All The Monsters, The Bats remain one of the most consistently brilliant bands around. Although they’re based in NZ, over the course of their career they’ve toured the U.S. and Europe, including a stint opening for Radiohead. Their CV also includes playing SXSW, garnering rave reviews from magazines ranging from Mojo to Uncut, being shortlisted for the prestigious Taite Music prize and playing in front of nearly 150,00 people for the free relief concert in Hagley Park after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. The Bats sometimes

"I Like The Way You Talk About The Future" With the U.S. Presidential election wrapping up, Alex admits the week-long process of declaring a winner left him feeling pretty drained. Although therapeutic remedies were manifold, he found the easiest way to calm his nerves was to talk to a Canadian. The Canadian in question? Sam Roberts. The Quebec-born singer/songwriter has just put out his new album All Of Us and in this conversation he talks to Alex about how he writes songs, why renting a cabin to be creative only results in doing cabiny things, the limitations of putting a new album out during a pandemic and what it's like being a misty-eyed middle aged dad. Thoughtful, funny and honest, Roberts is one of the most engaging guys around and his new album is one of the year's very best.

“Election Night Ratio” We’re posting this podcast on election night and we can’t bear to glimpse the results because right now, the ratio is disturbingly close. However, there’s another ratio we’d rather think about and that’s A Certain Ratio. The legendary Manchester band has just put out a new album called ACR Loco and it’s another genre-defying effort, replete with jagged electronica, inventive percussion, and more sonic adventures than most bands can manage in a career. In this conversation, the band’s drummer Donald Johnson talks to Alex about why it’s important to listen to music you don’t like, what it was like to not make an album for 12 years and trying to figure out how to know when to re-enter the live music scene in the time of COVID. They also talk about the art form of the album as a true experience....

“The Strongest People Have Tender Hearts” Evangeline Gentle is strong—one would have to be to start playing clubs at 14. While it’s true that the Scottish born, Canadian raised singer/songwriter did indeed make their foray into live music at a young age, their incandescent songs about love and loneliness could make even the loudest bar go quiet with utter awe. With a voice that soars across each composition with finesse and grace and observational lyrics that bring to mind everyone from Patty Griffin to Beth Orton, Gentle’s blend of indie folk and atmospheric roots music is one of the most stirring sounds you’ll ever hear. In this conversation Gentle talks to Alex about being creative in the time of COVID, having a supportive musical family and why hearing the saying that you have your whole life to make your first album and a year to make your second is kind of freaking them out….