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Description
Every artist has a story. Whether big or small, they‘ve all seen the ups and downs and worked hard to maintain careers in music. We chat with some of the most interesting legacy artists in pop music and go in depth on their careers, how they feel about them, what it‘s like being a ”rock star” and also hear their best stories. If you‘re a music junkie you will love these long form conversations with beloved figures from your life.
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The Blue Nile would never be accused of being overly prolific. In 20 years of activity, they only managed four albums, two of which, 1984's A Walk Across the Rooftops and 1989's Hats, are absolute masterpieces. Ask Taylor Swift if you don't believe me. The hallmarks of their unique sound is part Paul Buchanen's soulful voice and part PJ Moore's wholly unique synth work. In 2023 PJ Moore and Co. finally released his first solo album, When a Good Day Comes, that is just what you would want from someone of his caliber. He joins us this week to explain the working habits of the Blue Nile, how technology affected their creativity and where he goes from here. If you don't know them, you're in for a treat. Your life will never be the same.
www.pjmooreandco.com
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
We all miss Prince. It's a hole that will never be filled. Imagine what it would have been like to be a part of the Revolution during his peak 80s period. He can play every instrument better than his band members, but he's reliant on them to put on incredible concerts and keep his musical instincts in check. It's not an accident that he made his best music when he had them as collaborators "Dr." Matt Fink was at Prince's side playing keyboards for over a decade. Who can forget the cool guy in scrubs and shades in all the videos! Matt joins us this week to discuss his time with Prince - how the songwriting worked, life at Paisley Park, the craziness of Purple Rain, where the band members fit in with the overall sound, and more. Enjoy!
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Author Graeme Thomson returns this week to discuss the updated release of his 2012 book, Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush. He had no idea when he finished that book 12 years ago how Kate's profile would change in the next few years. From induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, to the rediscovery of "Running Up That Hill" by millions of new fans, to her Before the Dawn concert residency at a time you assumed she'd never perform again, it's as if her story was just beginning. We discuss why her career seems almost "critic-proof", why she remains so elusive, and what the music she makes now says about her place in life. She's definitely one of the most interesting artists ever and Under The Ivy captures our fascination incredibly well.
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Ivy-Music-Omnibus-Remastered/dp/1915841356
https://www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Music writer Chris Charlesworth joins us to discuss his new book, Just Backdated, which depicts his years writing for Melody Maker in the seventies. Every music lover would kill for a job like this and Chris was the lucky guy that had it. He befriends his favorite band (the Who), sleeps with groupies, parties with everyone, lives the high life in NYC, goes to concerts every night, and hangs out with all the rock stars of the decade. The book is so fun you won't believe it or put it down. Enjoy!
https://www.amazon.com/Just-Backdated-Melody-Maker-Seventies/dp/1915858259
https://www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
We've got a unique twofer for you this week. First up is Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin! Eric had been at it for a decade before Mr. Big happened. He fronted bands in the Bay Area and recorded a solo albums that were as poppy as it gets. Luckily, Mr. Big worked out and they just completed their "last" tour and released the live album, The Big Finish as a memento. They've been extra busy beecause they also released a new album earlier this year. He didn't have much time, but we get into his early days, the post "To Be With You" period, and what his plans are now. Then we hear from Bossa Nova royalty Bebel Gilberto! Her dad was the legendary Joao and her step mom was Astrid, but she's built her own incredible career taking her native music into the future. She chats with us for a bit while making lunch about it all. Enjoy!
www.mrbigsite.com
www.bebelgilberto.com
The wonderful Carlos Alomar returns to discuss the new Luther Vandross documentary, Luther: Never Too Much. Carlos and his wife Robin Clark have been friends with Luther since high school and that friendship extends from their first group together, Listen My Brother, to them all being introduced to David Bowie for the Young Americans album and beyond. The film shows his launch as one of the greatest male r&b vocalists in history, his many talents as a writer and arranger, his battles with weight, his untimely death, and his complicated personal life. You only have to hear Luther's voice to recognize he's one of the best there's ever been. This incredible film allows us to get to know the man who was as beautiful as his voice and Carlos fleshes it all out for us.
The Bolshoi flirted with Goth and synth pop in the late 80s, but what they ended up doing was releasing some great alternative rock songs. "A Way", "Lindy's Party" and "Sunday Morning" still hold up and tours with Peter Murphy and Sisters of Mercy should have propelled them further, but it didn't happen. Eventually the band splintered with lead singer Trevor Tanner moving to FLA and going solo and keyboardist Paul Clark doing his thing in Seattle. Those two have partnered up over the years as the Bolshoi Brothers and are about to release some new music. They join us this week to discuss their journey and where they are today. Enjoy!
www.thebolshoibrothers.com
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Ska Week concludes with author Daniel Rachel and our discussion on his fantastic new book, Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story. This essential document tells the story of one of the most revolutionary record labels created to release some of the most revolutionary music ever made. Created by Jerry Dammers in the late 70s, 2 Tone was meant to be a safe place for interracial bands like the Specials and the Selecter to release the hottest ska music happening at the time. Eventually, the label launched other legends like Madness and the English Beat as well, but only lasted a few years. This discussion gets deep on the issues of race and class and how they play a part in the story. The book is as incredible as the movement and music itself. Enjoy!
www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/too-much-too-young-the-2-tone-record-story/
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Bassist Horace Panter has been a valuable and reliable sideman for his entire career. He starts out as a founding member of the Specials, contributing mightily to the magic sound of that revolutionary band. After their demise, he joined forces with Dave and Roger to form General Public and rode that wave for a few years. Since then, he's been around for nearly every version of the Specials including the Neville Staple fronted version in the 90s and the Terry Hall reunion version of the 2000s. These days he's mostly retired and doing what he wants. We hear stories of the ups and downs, his last interactions with Terry Hall, his art career, and much more. Enjoy!
www.horacepanterart.com
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
We're kicking off "Ska Week" with a conversation with author Marc Wasserman about his new book, Sole Savation: A Gen X Love Letter to the English Beat. Marc writes beautifully about his tough childhood - specifically a broken family life and poor health - and how the band's last album, Special Beat Service, got him through all of it while also informing his lifelong love of music and ska. These are sentiments we share on the Hustle so Marc and Jon go deep on what the band means to them. It's the first of three episodes this week focusing on the ska revolution of the early 80s. Enjoy!
www.diwulf.com/products/skaboom-an-american-ska-and-reggae-oral-history-by-marc-wasserman-by-marc-wasserman
www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
We continue celebrating Morrissey's guitarists this week by hearing from longtime collaborator Boz Boorer! The love of rockabilly runs deep with this group and was central to Boz and Moz hitting it off. Boz stuck around for decades and co-wrote many of Moz's best songs including "The More You Ignore Me", "Maladjusted", and "Jack the Ripper". Right now he's about to release a solo album called Morrissey: Reimagined which is him and a bunch of friends doing wild covers of the classics we know. Boz discusses how the two of them work, his current status in the band, his days in the Polecats, and his love for rare vinyl. Enjoy!
www.bozboorer.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
The wonderful Dean Pitchford returns to the podcast to deep dive the gargantuan soundtrack to 1984's Footloose. After winning the Oscar for "Fane: in 1981, Dean set about creating the entire world of Footloose - the songs, the screenplay, etc. It's gone on to sell millions and millions of copies and never left the zeitgeist. Dean goes track by track giving us all the stories behind the songs. He also catches us up on his induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (the same ceremony that included R.E.M.) and tells us the story of the Carrie musical he worked on back in the day that never quite made it to the stage. He's a legend and we're lucky to have him back!
www.deanpitchford.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
For the next two weeks we're celebrating the guitarists that make Morrissey the artist he was. First up is the great Alain Whyte! Alain was brought on in 91 to simply mime behind Moz in a video, but once they realized how much they had in common musically, he stuck around for the next several years, not to mention he co-wrote many of his best songs like "Alma Matters", "Glamorous Glue" and "Billy Budd" to name only a few. Though he's been out of the Moz orbit for a while, his impact is still felt today and he's taking this on the road. In addition to focusing more on a solo career now, he's also opening some shows for Modern English starting this week! Alain chooses to keep it positive, but you'll learn a lot about the writing process and his love for music is infectious (there are many tangents). Enjoy!
www.alainwhytemusic.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Man, the Bangles had a ton of hits in the 80s. It came to an end by the end of the decade, but what a legacy. From there, guitarist and founding member Vicki Peterson took a break from the spotlight and got involved with a sort of mini supergroup called the Continental Drifters. Originally, the Drifters were made up of LA musicians looking for something to do, but their live shows were hot and their network eventually grew to about 10 members and included people like Vicki, Susan Cowsill, and Peter Holsapple among others. A fantastic book about them called White Noise & Lightning was recently published and an all-star tribute album was released last week. Vicki discusses her attachment to the Drifters and her mental state during that period as well as her history with the Bangles, their current status, and the stories behind many songs and videos. She's a legend! Enjoy!
https://cooldogsound.square.site
https://continentaldrifters.com
http://www.thebangles.com
https://www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Drummer Omar Hakim is one of those players you know it's him when you hear him. He's been the go-to guy for dozens of legends for over 40 years. Artists like Miles Davis, Sting, Bowie, Dire Straits, Kate Bush rely on him to make them the best they can be. These days, Omar is excited about a new project called Sonic Boom Squad which is almost a solo project. In a fit of creativity he wrote and recorded several funk rock songs along the lines of the Isley Brothers or Mother's Finest and is releasing them over the next few months. We get into all of this as well as playing with Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Geldof, and even Don Johnson and your favorite Mariah Carey Christmas song! There's a lot here. Enjoy!
www.facebook.com/OmarHakimMusic
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Carmine Appice is one of the few drum legends we have left. What's interesting to me about his career is that his name is usually bigger than the bands he's in whether it's Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogart, Appice, King Kobra, Blue Murder or his side work with Rod Stewart and Ozzy. These days he's turning his attention to Cactus, who recently released a new album called Temple of Blues where they redo a bunch of the classic Cactus songs and invite their friends along. Buddies like Dee Snider, Ted Nugent, Joe Bonamassa, Dug Pinnick, and tons more feature prominently on this all-star disc. We also discuss each of these Other projects as well as a few more. Carmine's been at it for 60 years and only gotten better. Enjoy!
www.carmineappice.net
www.cactusrocks.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Zebra were a fascinatingly interesting hard rock band in the early 80s that are hard to categorize. While they toured with Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon, Journey and the like, their style is what I call "ambitious rock" where the ideas are flowing, but not to the point of prog. They released three exceptional albums, but didn't quite reach the top and then hair metal came along and overwhelmed them. Leader Randy Jackson joins us this week to discuss how it felt on that tidal wave - working with Jack Douglas on the debut album, finally recording a fourth album 17 years later, touring with the Jefferson Airplane after Zebra were done and more. Zebra is a band that absolutely deserves your rediscovery. Enjoy!
www.thedoor.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Jon was invited on the Permanent Record podcast recently with friends Eric Miller and Heidi Waugaman-Page to do a fantasy-styled draft of an 80s super group. We each picked a singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist, producer and a special flex person and you can vote on whose band you like the best!
Go to this link and let us hear your picks!
https://permanentrecordpodcast.com/80s-supergroup-fantasy-draft?fbclid=IwY2xjawFFvc5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQFcYzczbwrr-8B9NwIorW3NevZNz-qp8yyU37oEhCTpbGocqr9J9cPA2g_aem_n7_jiZbtPC9vEuoELCT7Xg
L7 were pioneers. Yes, there were all female rock bands before, but how many rocked as hard as they did with as much authenticity? Those four girls let it all hang out and walked it like they talked it. Success had to find them, they weren't going to play any games to find it. They finally broke through with 'Pretend We're Dead" off their third album, but it was hard keeping it all together and the band began to fracture soon after. For the last several years, the original members have reformed for a new album (2019's Scatter the Rats), several "victory lap" tours celebrating their legacy. Donita Sparks joins us this week to discuss the whole story including hanging out with Lemmy, Nick Cave and Butch Vig as well as filming Serial Mom with John Waters, the response to their 2016 documentary, and tons more. Enjoy!
www.l7theband.com
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
Actor John Scott Clough appeared in two of the great 80s movies - one underrated and one super cheesy. His big break came in the Sidney Poitier directed Fast Forward about a dance troupe from Ohio who move to the Big Apple to "make it". After appearances in other movies and TV shows of the era like Family Ties, Empty Nest and the Love Boat, he also had a juicy role in Gross Anatomy with Matthew Modine and Christine Lahti. He gives us juicy tidbits from all of this and more including eventually retiring from acting and spending the last few years battling cancer. If I can't use this platform to connect with people I've always found interesting (music or not) then what's the point? Hope you enjoy it!
www.patreon.com/thehustlepod
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Fantastic. I've been obsessed with Hunters/ Mark Seymour since about 1988 and since I live in Canada, he has always seemed a bit inaccessible. You asked him a lot of the kind of questions I would have liked to ask! I might have to listen again.
Great show!
Best podcast for hearing from some lesser known musical geniuses and some not so lesser known. Love it!!
brilliant insight into the reality of being in a criminally underrated band. love Embrace.
The Hustle Podcast great! The Host, Jon, gets the best stories from guests. This is definitely one of my favorite podcasts.
Great interviews with guests that you don't normally get to hear from.
Great show
Eddie and The Tide were great
Great show buddy