Four Strings and the Truth

Sonic architect Graham Maby joins us to discuss his 50-something year career, which began with him fulfilling Joe Jackson’s vision for a bass-led pop combo, resulting in some of new wave’s most memorable songs. In addition to performing with a veritable Mount Rushmore of power pop auteurs - including Marshall Crenshaw and Freedy Johnston - the UK-to-Long Island transplant regales us with tales of doomed band auditions and fraught studio sessions, as well as meditations on a half a century of playing with Joe. Joe Jackson (https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KOqPxwfNAmZPkiCnDE9yT?si=NkUzH_ejRLOj41dRRicOQQ) Marshall Crenshaw (https://marshallcrenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/field-day-40th-anniversary-expanded-edition) Freedy Johnston (https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aeoG3xBrai5JsTqVmmgj0?si=R9McYGyKQtaxXcTcsphIeA) Natalie Merchant (https://open.spotify.com/artist/73JEBdDEFeVaOLg3y0HhBD?si=BDTXOp7kSlG8qz9Dz5FOFg) They Might Be Giants (https://tmbg.bandcamp.com/) The Health and Happiness Show (https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vFQW6uaEPhczx5FLeXzal?si=Ad8hA4hkTGO7Gx-LNDIm-g) Joy Askew (https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TkEsz8hJX1KaXWlKJLLLq?si=RGtQlfIYSTuLrfhbjbbYmw)  

Providing the rhythmic glue for Black Flag’s mid-80s heyday was just a starting point for bassist/songwriter/singer Kira Roessler. Now, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning dialogue editor (that’s half an EGOT!) based in LA, Kira still finds time - in 30-minute increments - to lay down intricate, dueling bass lines with her sometime bandmate (and ex-husband) Mike Watt in dos, while also releasing her first solo album in 2021, the aptly titled KIRA. Ms. Roessler bristles with insight and self-deprecating humor in this long awaited chat. KIRA (https://kittenrobotrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kira) (solo album) Black Flag (https://www.blackflagband.com/) Dos (https://dossanpedro.bandcamp.com/album/justamente-tres) AwkWard (https://bassawkward.bandcamp.com/album/in-progress) Buy yourself a custom Kira bass (https://www.garzguitars.com/basses) from Garz guitars

Beneath Joe Lally’s low-key demeanor beats the heart of an omnivorous low-ender, a restless composer, performer and, most recently, teacher. In an expansive conversation, the man whose bass lines launched 10,000 bands takes us through his musical upbringing, touching on the origins and status of DC hardcore standard-bearers Fugazi, his later-in-life embrace of musical theory and his ongoing creative partnership with his various bandmates, including Coriky and The Messthetics, who have just released a new album (https://open.spotify.com/album/3hewGriGKlgvZGvnZgR85A?si=XIm3FmajTV-spJzVYVsQQQ) featuring saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.  Fugazi (https://dischord.com/band/fugazi) The Messthetics (https://dischord.com/band/messthetics)  Coriky (https://dischord.com/band/coriky) Joe’s solo releases (https://dischord.com/band/joe-lally) Book a lesson with Joe on Instagram (@JoeLally898) or Facebook (https://facebook.com/joe.lally.585)

A tiny trailer for the upcoming series "Four Strings and the Truth."