Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“The Hypnogogue” With close to 30 albums to their credit, including classics like Heyday, Starfish, The Blurred Crusade and their fabulous new one The Hypnogogue, The Church are one of the most enduring bands of all time. Led by the British-born but Australian raised Steve Kilbey, the Sydney-based outfit continue to put out music that’s mesmeric, melodic and meditative.Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2010 and with gold records and hit singles under their musical belts, the Church are not ones to rest on their laurels. In fact, what makes this band so alluring is that they continue to challenge themselves and their listeners. Their new album is a perfect example of this—it’s a dense and textured collection of dreamlike jams, textured instrumentation, graceful hooks and churning elegance. It’s the kind of album that rewards you with each repeated listen. As for Mr. Kilbey, he remains one of the most prolific artists in rock and roll, delivering not only high quality work with his band, but also adding

“Down Rounder” Cat Clyde is crushing it. The Canadian singer/songwriter’s just-released new album Down Rounder hit the #1 spot in the most added Americana Radio Album charts and her single "Mystic Light” was the #2 most added single on the same chart. Produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Paul McCartney), Clyde’s third album is a wondrous and poetic collection of indie folk and breezy roots music. Filled with spare acoustic numbers, jangling pop, and heartfelt ballads, the album has flourishes of piano, surf guitar, chiming bells, and unreasonably beautiful vocals that tug and yearn and long and ache. Using the natural world as a philosophical guide, Clyde’s third album is a moving mediation about home and love and our ever shifting philosophical and spiritual selves It’s an album about rediscovery, persona, self-expression, and realizing that feeling lost is the only way to be found. www.catyclydemusic.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com wwww.embersarts.com St

“Grandfather Courage” Fantastic Negrito may have been born in Massachusetts, but he’s a Bay Area guy through and through. The 8th of 15 kids, he moved to Oakland as a twelve year old and immediately immersed himself in the sounds of the 510 and the 415. He was no stranger to punk rock clubs like Berkeley’s Gillman or the underground hip hop clubs of Oakland. He liked it all—metal, indie rock, soul, punk and jazz and the legend goes that he learned to play by sneaking into the music classrooms at Cal, even though he wasn’t a student. Using his birth name of Xavier, in 1993 he signed a deal with Prince’s former Manager’s Lexington House Records who had a distribution deal with Interscope. Three years later he put out his debut album, simply titled Xavier. A horrifying car crash in 1999 nearly killed him but after waking up from a three week coma, he started to see his career in a totally different way. That new angle wouldn’t take hold until 2014, seven years after a self-imposed exile of not making music anym

“When The Storm Has Passed” With ten albums or so under their indie folk belts, The Great Lake Swimmers have consistently been one of the most arresting affecting and spellbinding bands around. The Canadian outfit introduced themselves to the world with their self-titled 2003 effort and since then have put out classics like New Wild Everywhere, The Waves, The Wake and the Juno-nominated Lost Channels, which was also shortlisted for the Polaris Prize. Sonically, the band bring to mind everyone from R.E.M to Teenage Fanclub to Miracle Legion. And throughout their songbook, singer Tony Dekker’s poetic lyrics form a literate blend of ecology, environmentalism and good old fashioned romanticism. He’s a potent triple threat. The band have also put out four live albums, four EPs and a covers album that features takes on numbers by The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits and NeIl Young and John Cale. Oh, and Dekker also has a marvelous solo album called Prayer of The Woods. The point here is that there’s a healthy crop of Gre

“No Warning Shot Fired” Fang got their start in the early '80s in the East Bay. The Berkeley hardcore band’s early start was a little less hardcore and more experimental but that lineup, which featured future Glass Eye bassist Brian Beattie, only lasted under two years. The new lineup, with newly minted singer Sam McBride on vocals, became the punk rock powerhouse that blasted their way across the Bay Area with shows that were feral, wild and filled with rabid intensity and hardcore muscle. But feral as they were, Fang’s fans felt a part of a discernible community. As a friend of mine who never missed a Fang show once said to me: "Being at Fang concert was like being at a fistfight where everyone’s winning.” The band’s first two efforts—Landshark and Where The Wild Things Are—remain undisputed punk rock classics and although that lineup dissolved in ’85, McBride soldiered on with new personnel and as a result, Fangs’ legacy became firmly cemented in punk rock lore, with their songs being covered over the yea

“I’m Not Sure At All” Bringing to mind a low-fi Kate Bush mixed with Cat Power and Beth Orton, the Kent-born Marlody is a revelation. Her debut album I’m Not Sure At All is a rich and lustrous affair, filled with confident songwriting about feeling unconfident. And that’s the beautiful thing about Marlody—her music is a delicious cauldron of contrasts that’s redolent with vulnerability and strength. The songs on I’m Not Sure At All ache with longing and uncertainty, yet then ring out with bursts of sure-footed courage, poise and tenacity. A trained classical pianist with an orchestral future set out before her, Marlody tossed traditionalism aside and immersed herself in indie noise rock like Shellac and Slint and found a through-line that linked the classical with the cacophonous. I’m Not Sure At All is one of 2023's great finds and Marlody’s music is a riveting and spellbinding listen. Bandcamp: https://skepwax.bandcamp.com www.marlody.bandcamp.com MARLODY: Instagram/Twitter: @_marlody_ SKEP WAX: Insta

"Tender Years" The Brisbane-born Robert Forster is perhaps best known as a founding member of the legendary band The Go-Betweens. How legendary are they? Well, let’s just say this: There’s a bridge in Brisbane called The Go-Between Bridge. I was going to say they were one of the most critically-acclaimed bands of the last 40 years, but that falls short of the mark— they’re one of the most critically acclaimed bands ever. Their nearly ten-album discography is a rare one in that every entry is a classic. The band ceased to be after the death of Grant McLennan, but Forster has pressed on with a winning solo career that got started back in 1990 and has yielded a classics like Danger In The Past, I Had A New York Girlfriend and his new one The Candle And The Flame. The Candle And The Flame is astonishing work. Recorded after the news that his wife and musical partner Karen was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer, Forster’s normally meticulous process was put aside and he and his family—his son Lewis and his daughter Lo

“The Last Mile” The Scottish-born Chris Connelly got his start with the electronic outfit Finitribe. Championed by John Peel, the inventive band did a long and harrowing UK in '88 and so arduous that tour was, it led to the shedding of three members, including Connelly, who left for the U.S. and landed in Chicago, where he fell in with the Revolting Cocks and Ministry. Connelly had hung out with the latter’s Al Jourgensen in London so he knew him a bit, but once Connelly hit the states, he really immersed himself in the Wax Trax-powered industrial scene. Over the course of his career, Connelly has been affiliated with Pigface, Ministry, The Revolting Cocks, Die Warzau, Acid Horse, KMFDM, The Joy Thieves, PTP and The Damage Manual. And my friends, that’s a partial list. His almost thirty album-long solo discography is a knockout, containing classic albums like Whiplash Boychild Shipwreck and Graveyard Sex. His newest effort Eulogy To Christa is a moving, stirring and deeply satisfying homage to Nico. Comprise

“Direction Of The Heart” Whether you’re good at math or not, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Simple Minds have sold 60 million records. After all, the Scottish band have been around since 1977 and since then, have put out an uninterrupted string of classics like Empires and Dance, New Gold Dream, Sparkle in the Rain, Once Upon A Time, Street Fighting Years and their most recent effort Direction of the Heart. With 20 albums under their musical belts, plus number one songs like "Don’t You Forget About Me" and "Belfast Child,” plus taking home the Ivor Novello Prize, the Q Inspiration Award, a few MTV music video awards, Brit Awards and an American Music Award, it’s safe to say that Simple Minds' CV is far too long to be enumerated in full on this podcast. Just trust us on this: Simple Minds are a proper band. And singer Jim Kerr is a proper frontman—a great singer, a man with tremendous presence and a believer in the democracy of a rock and roll band. Their new album Direction Of The Hear

“I Hate Memory” Born in Budapest, Eszter Balint relocated to the United States and as a ten year old and found herself in New York living with the avant-garde Squat Theatre troupe, which was founded by her dad. Being surrounded by artists was no new thing for the violin-playing actress, who came from generations of artists. Her father was also a poet, her grandfather was a renowned visual artist and her great grandfather was one of the premier intellectuals and art critics at the turn of the century in Hungary. Balint acted in the troupe and living amongst writers, painters, actors and visual artists had an instant effect on her sensibility and her career path. In other words, it wasn’t likely she was going to be a realtor. By 15 she played violin on a song produced by Basquiat and not long after, she started appearing in movies like Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise, Woody Allen’s Shadows and Fog, Trees Lounge and The Linguini Incident. She also had a several episode arc on Louie CKs sitcom “Louie." Sh

“Desert Flowers” The New Mexico-born Heather Trost is one half of the American Balkan Folk Band A Hawk And A Hacksaw, the other half being her husband, the accordionist Jeremy Barnes, who, by the way, also hails from New Mexico. Over the course of their career, A Hawk and a Hacksaw have put out seven marvelous albums, including Darkness At Noon, The Way The Wind Blows and their most recent effort, 2018’s Forest Bathing. I know 2018 isn’t that recent, but Trost and Barnes have been busy. Trost has put out four solo albums, including her brand new one, Desert Flowers and she’s played with everyone from Beirut to Swans to Thor and Friends. Desert Flowers is a stone cold stunner—filled with lilting strings, dreamy melodies and sonorous hooks, the nine-track album is stirring work. A hypnotic blend of deliciously dusty hymns and introspective indie rock with elements of metaphysics, cosmology and even a little desert surf, this is a powerful and internally evocative album. It’s a quiet and poetic revelation. This

“Analog Holiday” Arielle is one of those rare talents that comes along where you look at what she’s capable of and it kind of knocks you out. A guitar virtuoso who also is blessed with a four-octave voice, Arielle has played on stage with everyone from Queen in the "We Will Rock You” musical to Cee Lo Green at Coachella. She’s opened for Guns 'n Roses, Larkin Poe and Heart, collaborated with Eric Johnson and Kings and Daughters' Talia Dean and appeared regularly on the TV show “Nashville." She studied at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London, put out EPS and albums, including her latest—Analog Girl In A Digital World—and, along with Queen’s Brian May, she designed a guitar, the retro future BMG Arielle. May said of the instrument: "It’s a new dimension. To understand why this guitar was irresistible to me, you have to hold her in your hands. She’s light, smooth, agile and she sings like a bird.” An activist, an artist an engineer and a master technician, Arielle’s gifts are profound and p

“Cuando” Adam Topol doesn’t sit behind a kit the size of Alex Van Halen’s or Chad Smith’s, but he’s equally as mighty. Topol is like Charlie Watts in the sense that he just kind of sits in the pocket and holds it all down. Like Watts, his style looks super laid back, but looks are deceptive because laid back appearance aside, big work is getting done. Topol is a subtle player who’s inventive, tasteful and intuitive and he plays with a blend of finesse and muscle—he’s one of the best drummers on the planet. Subtlety aside, the Lake Tahoe born Topol was reared on punk rock and his teenage years were spent listening to bands like Black Flag and the Adolescents. The young drummer pounded away on his kit to the loud stuff, but he was also equally smitten by the quieter stuff like the music of Cat Stevens. Educated at USC and the Berklee College of Music, Tool’s formal education quickly gave way to knowledge that can only come from outside a university campus. In other words, real life. And in his real life, Topol

“Year Of The Tiger” Art Alexakis is one of the most dynamic frontmen in rock and roll. The L.A.-born musician's songs have power and sting and he plays them with equal parts muscle and heart. To date, his band Everclear, which got started in ’91, have put out nearly 15 fabulous albums, including Sparkle and Fade, So Much For The Afterglow, Welcome To The Drama Club and 2015’s Black is the New Black. Alexakis was weaned on everything from punk rock to Elvis Costello and his songs, as a result, have a dynamic sheen that have intensity and immediacy. Everclear have played all over the world, sold a few million records, been nominated for a Grammy, won Billboard’s Modern Rock Band of the Year, toured with the Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots, had their songs in movies like Romeo and Juliet and Rock Star, played for the U.S. troops in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Hawaii, Abu Dhabi and Iraq. The Everclear resume is a several page affair. Alexakis has acted, produced, run his own label, hosted a radio show on Sirius

“Strip" The daughter of the late critically-acclaimed poet Robert Sward, Hannah Sward grew up surrounded by literature. Her unconventional childhood of the 70s found her moving around with her dad and eating tofu and brown rice and having gurus visit the house. But Sward’s memoir Strip isn’t just about an eccentric childhood. It’s a far darker affair than that. Kidnapped in the park as a child by a stranger in a van and sexually assaulted by him, Sward chronicles her young life in unflinching detail. And she doesn’t stop there—she candidly describes working as an escort and a stripper and bravely documents her addiction to meth and alcohol and the great pains she took to keep her work and her additjioncts secrets from everyone. Strip is a raw and feral memoir that’s punctuated by streetwise poetry, achingly precise descriptions and a collage of memories that float together to form a complete picture of the lived life. Harrowing, moving and written with authorial finesse and undeniable narrative velocity, St

“Still Comes The Night" Raised by a drama teacher mother and an acting coach father, the arts were coursing mightily through the Sudol house. A lover of literature and music, the Seattle-born Alison Sudol started crafting her path at a young age. In her teens, the self-taught pianist created a persona that operated under the A Fine Frenzy sobriquet, releasing a power trio of albums, including 2007’s A Cell In The Sea, 2009’s Bomb In the Birdcage and 2012’s Pines. A Fine Frenzy played SXSW, toured Europe, opened for everyone from the Stooges to Rufus Wainwright and had international hits in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. But by 2011, she announced A Fine Frenzy had been summarily put to bed. Focusing on her acting, Alison joined the cast of Transparent and later the program Dig and in 2016 she got cast as Queen Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. She went on to star in the subsequent two Fantastic Beasts movies—The Crimes Of Grindelwald, and the Secrets of Dumbledore. Retuning to music in

“The Story Of My Life” Based out of Brooklyn, Holy Hive are a truly singular band. Formed in 2015’s Holy Hive’s innovative brand of neo-folk is both spare and rich, incorporating elements of Turkish Funk, Chicano soul, low-fi pop and traditional American roots music. Singer Paul Spring’s falsetto floats with the kind of effortless finesse that falls somewhere between Brian Wilson and Shuggie Otis. Meanwhile, drummer Homer Steinweiss, who has sat behind the kit for Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, Adele and Bruno Mars, plays so deep in the pocket the groove it yields is sheer percussive bliss. He’s an extraordinarily player whose instincts and inventions make him one of the best drummers around. Their debut album Float Back To You cashed in on the promise of their Harping EP—and their self titled second album was a quiet and stirring revelation. They also released an instrumental version of the album, which is an equally stirring companion. www.holyhivemusic.bandcamp.com www.bigcrownrecords.com www.bo

“Things Will Be Different” The Little Murders formed out of the ashes of the punk outfit The Fiction. The Melbourne band first fired things up in 1979 and they’ve been crushing it ever since. Led by the British born Rob Griffiths, The Little Murders are one of those rare bands where every song is a winner. Seriously. Every single one. Their songs are hook-filled blasts of melodic pop that rips the cover off the ball every single time. Griffiths is a commanding frontman who just radiates charisma. Over the course of their brilliant career, the Murders have put out classic albums like First Light, We Should Be Home By Now, Dromona Rama and Dig For Plenty and to say they’re still going strong would be an absurd understatement. They’ve never been better. They have a new EP out called Wait 'Til The Summer Comes, a new album on the way and a tribute album just landed called Things Will Be Different: A Tribute To The little Murders. www.littlemurders.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @

“Memories To Burn” The Williams Brothers come from a rich musical lineage that goes all the way back to the late ‘30s, when Williams Brothers Andy, Dick, Bob and Don started their singing quartet that took them all the way from their home state of Iowa to sunny Los Angeles, where they appeared in movies and were under contract with MGM Films. The second iteration of The Williams Brothers featured Don’s sons Andrew and David, who put out two albums in 1973. As teen idols they had a hit with “What's Your Name" and even made an appearance on The Partridge Family. They resurfaced again in the late ‘80s, putting out a trio of fabulous albums for Warner Brothers, their last being 1993’s Harmony Hotel. Along the way they backed up Brian Setzer, Joe Ely and The Cruzados, sang back up on the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away" and were part of T-Bone Burnett’s band for a tour of Europe. They had a hit with "Can’t Cry Enough" in '92, appeared as an Everly Brothers duo in Alison Anders' Grace Of My Heart and after that….

"Dan McCafferty Remembered" Okay, to be fair Dan McCafferty left the legendary Scottish band back in 2013 but worthy replacements aside, he will always be the voice of Nazareth. After 45 years fronting the internationally acclaimed outfit, McCafferty stepped aside due to health reasons. Recharged, revitalized and sounding better than ever, McCafferty roared back with The Last Testament, his third solo album--and first since 1987. In this conversation he chats with Alex about his collaboration with the Czech instrumentalist Karel Marik, why he's never planned anything in his life and why the easiest people to talk to are fishermen.