Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“Starting Now” The Santa Barbara bred Toad The Wet Sprocket got their start in the late ‘80s when high school pals Glenn Phillips, Dean Dinning Randy Guss and Todd Nichols decided it was time to form a band. Cut to 1989 and the band’s demo Bread and Circus which came out on their own Abe’s Records label, was re-released by Columbia Records. From there, Toad pretty much owned the '90s, putting out albums like Pale, Fear, Dulcinea and Coil. They had massive hits with All I Want, Walk On The Ocean, Something’s Always Wrong and the Number One Modern Rock chart topper Fall Down. But as the story goes, owning the '90s was exhausting and citing creative differences, the band took a break from being a band for a long time. They played sporadic shows here and there, but for the most part, Toad The Wet Sprocket were kind of on ice. The band members went on to do different projects, Phillips had a busy solo carer and that was that. That ice melted in 2009 and the band reactivated themselves from hiatus, putting out th

“The Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers” Over the course of a 40-year career that started in 1982, the London born and Northampton raised and Oxford educated Pat Fish fronted the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy. The JBC was shortened to the Jazz Butcher and Fish, along with co-conspirator and guitarist Max Eider, had a rotating cast of characters in his band, varying from guys like David J of Bauhaus or Rolo from the Woodentops, The Jazz Butcher put out close to 15 studio albums, several live albums, a handful of compilations, box sets, singles—you get the idea. If you’re a collector—the Jazz Butcher is the band for you. They put our records on Big Time, Creation, Fire and Glass, and they played with R.E.M., Jonathan Richman and the list goes on and on. "She’s on Drugs" was the closest they came to a mainstream hit and by the late 90s, things had slowed down a bit for the band. Pat owned a bookshop, played locally a great deal, hosted the Masters of Budvar live series, and kind of just chilled out after nearly two de

“I’ll Meet You Here” The New York-born Dar Williams has been crafting some of the most engaging music of the last 30 years. A graduate of Wesleyan, Williams got her start in the early '90s in Boston. She had moved there to pursue a career in theater, but inspired by contemporaries like Throwing Muses and Melissa Ferrick, Williams starting writing songs of her own and she hit the ground running, knocking out cassette-only efforts like I Have No History and All My Heroes Are Dead. Her proper full length debut The Honesty Room came out on her own label Burning Field Music and found her a fan in Joan Baez who not only later recorded some of Dar’s songs, she invited Williams to tour with her. With almost 20 albums under her belt, including The Green World, Mortal City, My Better Self and her new one I’ll Meet You Here, Williams has established herself as one of the most enduring and endearing songwriters out there. She’s toured with Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Ani Di Franco, recorded with everyone from John

“Really Great” Since 1984 The Connells have been crafting some of the most compelling, infectious and riveting pop music around. The North Carolina outfit have just put out their first new album in 20 years. Called Steadman’s Wake, the album is another winning entry into an already winning discography. The band sounds reinvigorated and the songs are brimming with intelligence, grace and some of the catchiest hooks of the year. Singer Doug MacMillan sounds as youthful as ever and he sings with some of the most inventive phrasing you’ll ever hear. The tracks jangle away mightily and the Connells are at the top of their game. In this chat, Doug talks to Alex about TVT Records, The Replacements, and how being a collegiate athlete informed his life in a rock and roll band. www.theconnells.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Precious Time" The Sheffield born Paul Carrack’s voice is one of the worlds great superpowers. Carrack got his start at 19 playing keyboards in Warm Dust for a handful of albums. From there, he formed ACE who had the massive international hit "How Long." After they broke up in 1977 he played with Frankie Miller and joined Roxy Music as their keyboardist. He put out a solo album in 1980, then joined Squeeze who had a rather massive hit with “Tempted" that featured Carrack on lead vocals. Around the same time he had a band called Noise to Go with Nick Lowe. That band became Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit who not only put out two albums, they were John Hiatt’s backing band for Side Two of his Riding With The King record. Carrack did session work for the Pretenders and The Smiths for their debut album then he joined Mike and the Mechanics, logged a few seismic hits with them—you know, "The Living Years" and "Silent Running." He became a member of Roger Waters’ touring band, put out another solo record, had a h

“Full Grown” The California-born singer/songwriter Gregory Ackerman’s marvelous new album Still Waiting Still is shimmering with delicacy and strength. Buoyed by shadowy backbeats, sneaky melodies and Ackerman’s inimitable and unforgettable delivery, sonically Still Waiting Still falls somewhere between the work of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. The album is as breezy as it is riveting–it’s a brilliant meditation on the quotidian life and its daily comforts and disruptions. Ackerman’s work is intimate and confiding and played with the kind of commanding interior strength that gives it an instantly timeless quality. It's a rich and seamless collection of woebegone West Coast loneliness that perfectly contrasts the sunrises and sunsets of Southern California with the corresponding highs and lows of the human heart. Woven through the waves of subtlety, the quietly rushing choruses and harmonic intricacy is a true sense of optimism—that things will get dark, sure, but that darkness will lift and let’s face it: w

“Tales From The Terramar” The San Diego born C. Gibbs sounds like the surf. But not the sunny part--the deep, dark part. The part that twists through fathoms and moves with a silent, but potent current under the waves. The singer-songwriter’s music is a dreamy blend of California darkness and coastal soul. With a delivery that falls somewhere between Nick Cave and Simon Aldred of Cherry Ghost, Gibbs is a mesmerizing talent. His CV has quietly gotten pretty crammed, playing with both Foetus and Modern English, fronting his own band the Morning Glories and forming the chamber rock outfit Lucinda Black Bear. Since the late 90s he’s put out close to 15 solo albums, all of them fantastic. From 29 Over Me to Sleep The Machines to He Arrived By Helicopter: The Shiny Hostel, Gibbs’ work is always compelling and marvelous. His new album falls perfectly into that category. Tales From The Terramar is one of 2021’s very best. A stirring collection that showcases Gibbs’ gifts as a songwriter, Tales From The Terramar is a

“We’re Trying Our Best” It’s hard for us to think of a more charming pop band than Sweet Nobody. The Long Beach quartet's new album We’re Trying our Best is the follow up to their debut Loud Songs For Quiet people and it’s a confident step forward that proves this is band to keep your eye on, Filled with infectious hooks, rushing, spry melodies, prowling bass lines, a touch of surf guitar and heartbeat perfect drum fills, the music of Sweet Nobody is at once familiar and intimate. So much so that when you hear their songs, you feel like you already know them. The key is the voice of Joy Deyo—her sonorous delivery is smooth and steady and she knows how to take the corners in a pop song and glide around them with dexterity and ease. Life has not been easy for Joy in the past few years and she talks about that at great length in this interview—the bliss of pop music and the physically taxing task of living with daily chronic pain are two dominating elements in her life and she speaks about that combination. We

“When I Hear The Music” Indira May has the kind of voice that will bring you to your knees. Self-possessed, sonorous and imbued with the kind of phrasing that’s so emotionally precise it almost feels supernatural, May is a revelation. Her new EP Simpler Things is a ravishing blend of trip-hop, jazz and indie soul—trust us: it's a straight up stunner and one listen makes it clear that for this artist the sky is indeed the limit. And, Indira’s got her own music and production company called Trash Films and Music and her company is really one to watch. Yes, she’s learned by having cool parents and paying attention to their work ethic and their grace, but Indira is now making her own mark on the music world and setting examples of her own. Now a while back we had her dad Tim May on the program—Tim was in a band in the '80s called The Righteous Boys that signed with CBS, and after that band ended he went on to become a filmmaker, making documentaries for the BBC’s multi-award winning arts strand Arena. There his

“Fretted And Moaning” The British-born Andy Summers started loading up his musical CV at the age of 16 when, inspired by seeing Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie live in London, the young guitarist set out on the road and the road welcomed him warmly. After a few years playing live in local clubs, he moved to London and helped form Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band. From there, Summers joined Soft Machine and toured the U.S. for a few months, then joined the Animals for one record, 1968’s Love Is. He took a break from the rock and roll lifestyle to study classical guitar fat Cal State Northridge. After graduation, he moved back to London, played with Kevin Coyne, Joan Armatrading, Neil Sedaka, and Keven Ayers. Summers joined the Police in 1977 and Summers life was, putting it mildly, never the same. The Police put out five albums, sold 80 million of them, won six Grammys, toured the world and at one point in 1983 they were arguably the biggest band on the planet. They went on hiatus in '86, came back 22 years lat

"Heart Shaped Scars" The Scottish born Dot Allison made her initial splash in music fronting the indie dance band One Dove. They only put out one record—-1993’s Morning Dove White—but if you were a band that was only going to put one record out, Morning Dove White would be the perfect choice. A dizzying blend of hypnotic electronica and pulsing melodic pop, Morning Dove White is an undeniable classic. From there, Allison launched her solo career, putting out the wondrous album Afterglow in 1999. Since then, she’s put out several solo efforts, including We Are Science, Exaltation of Larks and her brand new one, which is also her first in 12 years, Heart Shaped Scars. Along the way she's collaborated with everyone from Paul Weller to Pete Doherty to Scott Walker to Kevin Shields. A sonorous collection of hypnotic indie folk that’s punctuated by dreamy and dedicated melodies, Heart Shaped Scars is one of the most stirring and quietly riveting collections of the year. Filled with lyrics that are informed by bo

“Meet Me On Another Day” From the mid-‘80s to about 1993, David Long used to front the Dublin band Into Paradise. Filled with moody rhythms, dark melodies and churning choruses, their work brought to mind that of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Sound. Sure enough, Adrian Borland of The Sound produced their second album Churchtown. Made up of David, Rachel Tighe, James Eadie and Ronan Clarke, Into Paradise were a spellbinding outfit whose songs were urgent and yearning. But they only put out two albums Under The Water and Churchtown and aside from a handful of great singles in the early 90s, that was that. In '96 Long and his childhood pal Shane O’Neil who fronted the band Blue In Heaven, teamed up for an album under the moniker Supernaut. The two friends had also been in bands together before, so working with each other was a natural thing. And then Long kind of stepped away for a bit. A bit being like 20 years or so. After a series of winning solo albums, he and O’Neil started writing and recording together i

“Worth The Wait” The New Zealand poet John Allison once wrote: “In dividing the light, things are seen. And we notice ourselves.” That division of light and ensuing glimpse of ones true self is the perfect description of the work of one of Allison’s native New Zealanders, Elroy Finn. Finn’s debut solo album, simply titled Elroy, is a shimmering collection of sonorous indie pop that manages to be both spare and textured at the same time. Finn is a master of musical light division and his work is brimming with low-fi folk, thoughtful psychedelia, pure poetry, and a lot of heart. Finn is no stranger to the stage, having toured with Wild Nothing and his brother Liam, and as part of his dad’s band Crowded House. But in crafting the gentle song cycle of his album, Elroy Finn took a long look at himself and that kind of honest introspection yielded results that are both intimate and universal. The songs are bleached in sun, doused in surf and then coaxed into the clouds, where they hang as resplendent as stars. Ca

“The Coronation” The Massachusetts-born Seth Glier is a musician who’s no stranger to the road, with a regular touring schedule that usually finds him playing close to 250 shows a year. But when lockdown locked into place in 2020, Glier found himself where we all found ourselves—at home. Watching the chaos outside while fostering stillness inside was the foundational element to the creation of his sixth album The Coronation. Built on the idea of reconciliation and repair, The Coronation is a stirring song cycle that’s filled with poetic precision and melodic smarts. With subject matter ranging from the death of John Prine to systemic inequality to a plea for gun control, The Coronation is a powerful and moving entry in Glier’s already winning discography. The Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter who has been praised by everyone from Paste to NPR, has shared the stage with folks like James Taylor, Mark Knopfler and Ani DiFranco The winner of five Independent Music Awards, Glier’s 2016 TedX talk focuses on

“Storm Coming” The LA.-based artist, producer and composer Ethan Gold’s debut album Songs From A Toxic Apartment left his fans wanting more and more is exactly what they’re getting. Gold will be releasing a trilogy of albums that will surely make his longtime fans very pleased and it will also bring him scores of new ones in the process. The first in the trilogy is Earth City 1: The Longing and it’s a stunner. A meditation on isolation and loneliness in a seemingly deeply connected digital world and feeling like an outsider while being on the inside, Earth City 1 is a moving and heartfelt glimpse of modern life and how it engenders alienation. A sly pop craftsman, Gold’s music is warm, heartfelt and comforting, even when he’s exploring themes that break us all apart. Over the course of his career, Gold has produced and arranged for Elvis Perkins, composed film scores which featured John Grant and Staves and in the process crafted some of the most unforgettable pop songs around. In this conversation Gold talk

"To Be Dreaming" The North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Ashley Virginia's style falls somewhere between '70s country cool and west coast cosmic Americana. Like the spiritual daughter of Stevie Nicks and Gram Parsons, visually, Ashley Virginia is one of the most distinct and innovative artists you're likely to meet. But fashion aside, Ashley Virginia's music is as cosmic as her clothing—an arresting blend of indie folk, experimental country and '60s pop, her debut album And Life Just Goes On Living is a stirring first effort that marks the arrival of a major talent. Her voice is rich and emotive, her lyrics are heartfelt and honest and her songs are brave and bold.  From being tear gassed by Raleigh police during a peaceful assembly during the George Floyd protests to her own mental health, Ashley Virginia presents the unvarnished truth of the world and the raw and sometimes unsettling state of the human soul. In this conversation, Ashley talks to Alex about weddings, fashion, and the perspective of havin

“Swinging On The Moon” Steve Kilbey can swing from anywhere he wants in the universe; the moon, the stars, whichever planet he chooses. And yes, of course, he can also swing from the milky way. Because the fact of the matter is that Steve Kilbey is a musician whose talents are not only downright otherworldly, they’re positively celestial. A poet, a painter, a singer, a writer, a partner and a dad, Kilbey is not only one of the most fascinating musicians to ever walk around on this planet, he’s also one of the most productive. In addition to the 25 albums he’s recorded with the Church, he’s got almost twenty solo albums under his belt, along with numerous side projects with members of Game Theory, The Go-Betweens, All India Radio and Remy Zero. Kilbey’s new double album The Hall of Counterfeits is a straight up stunner that’s as raw as it is ravishing. In this chat he talks to Alex about the pressures of recording for a major label, why he’s writing songs on acoustic guitar now and how heroin addiction ended

“The Hardest Battle” Talking to Colin Moulding is no battle at all. In fact, the XTC co-frontman and bassist is one of our favorite guests and we’re thrilled to have him back on the show. We’re also thrilled that the occasion of his return is to promote his new single “The Hardest Battle.” A swirling pop gem that’s filled with layered pop melodies, “The Hardest Battle” is one of the catchiest songs of the year. Moulding was on the show when he and former XTC drummer Terry Chambers under the TC&I banner put out their Great Aspirations EP, but this new track is Moulding’s first foray as a solo artist. And what a foray it is. As the bassist and co-frontman of XTC, Moulding played on 14 of the legendary Swindon band’s albums, including White Noise, Skylarking, Drums and Wires and Oranges and Lemons. And if it every comes up at parties, an interesting fact is that Moulding wrote the band’s first three charing singles. Over the course of his career he’s collaborated with everyone from Sam Phillips to Anton Barbeau

“Sparkle Up” Raised in Cork, Sean O'Hagan got his start with the beloved Irish indie outfit Microdisney in 1980. Microdisney put out five marvelous albums in eluding The Clock Comes Down the Stairs and Crooked Mile, before calling it a day in 1988. Two years later O’Hagan put out the High Llamas solo album and then he put together a band of the same name. Atmospheric, harmonic, melodic and rife with texture and nuance, the work of the High Llamas summons the musical complexity of everyone from Brian Wilson to Ennio Morricone. Therese’s even a dash of XTC in there. The High Llamas' brand of summer psychedelia summons the surf, the summer the joy and isolation of island life and the complex contrasts of any coastal city where high rises and blindingly beautiful beaches occupy the same space. The High Llamas have put out ten stellar records, including Gideon Gaye, Hawaii, Santa Barbara, and Here Come the Rattling Trees, and you would think that would keep O’Hagan busy enough, but his CV proves otherwise. He’s

“Hard To Get" My fascination with Starclub is kind of like one of those people who has a fascination with an unsolved murder. You put the pieces together and none of them make sense. You had this British band made up of schoolboy friends who knew each other since they were 11. They signed the biggest deal for a debut album in the history of anyone on the roster of Island Records (U2, Bob Marley). With “Hard To Get” they released a scorcher of a single that was the perfect embodiment of the manic pop thrill and a few weeks later their album hit shelves. So: you’ve got a great band, a great debut album, a charismatic and handsome frontman--what could go wrong? Well, in many ways, everything did. Starclub had their triumphs, but ultimately, their major label deal sucked the life out of the band and hastened their premature demise. For the '90s and the better part of the oughts, I was utterly lost about why this band hadn’t taken over the world. In fact, at one point in the early '90s I said to my friends that S