Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Silent Highway" Formed out of the ashes of the post-punk outfit Finger Printz, the Silencers' core was comprised of two members of that band--guitarist Cha Burns and singer Jimme O'Neill. The Silencers quickly signed to RCA and hit the ground running, putting out three brilliant albums in under five years. They toured with Squeeze, The Pretenders, The Alarm and at one point, when opening for Simple Minds at Wembley, they played in front of 80,000 people. And they crushed it. O'Neill is one of those frontmen you can't take your eyes off--he's a dynamic performer who's loaded with energy and charisma, making every second of a Silencers gig a thrilling experience. The Silencers have put out nearly fifteen albums, including A Letter From St. Paul, A Blues For Buddah, A Night Of Electric Silence and their latest effort Silent Highway, which marks their first album in fifteen years. And they haven't lost a step--O'Neill remains one of the most thoughtful songwriters around and Silent Highway is a thrilling return to form. Although Burns passed away in 2007, O'Neill is carrying the torch proudly along with a crack band that includes two of his kids, Aura and James O'Neill. This is an expurgated history of a brilliant band, but Jimme will fill in the gaps and then some--he's got some amazing stories and profound insights. This guy is the real deal. www.thesilencersmusic.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.embersarts.com (http://www.embersarts.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.c) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"Follow The Leader" So, Rain Phoenix first was on my radar back in 1991 when she and her brother River had a band called Aleka's Attic. They had a marvelous song called Across The Way on this compilation Tame Yourself, which also featured The Pretenders, Michael Stipe, the Indigo Girls and K.D. Lang. The Texas-born Phoenix acted in TV shows like Family Ties and Amazing Stories and in movies like Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and Hitch. She fronted Papercranes, who put out three really great albums and she was in the Galactic Country band Venus and the Moon with Chris Stills. She also put out a really stunning solo album called River, which was named after her late brother, in 2019. A native of Southern California, Kirk Hellie is like a music archeologist because he knows how to dig sounds out of the deepest of grounds. A lover and studier of Avant Garde music, was in bands like Hellie Siblings, Death Loop Detonator and Pink Noise Test. Hellie played with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, and toured with The Cramps and Iggy Pop.Together, Phoenix and Hellie are Escape Artist Lovers, who play a dizzying blend of sonorous and scruffy indie rock that sounds something like Beth Orton fronting the Jesus and Mary Chain. The interplay between these two musicians is pure magic and the songs, whether they're stripped back or coated in layers of fuzz and groove, are delicious slices of melodic bliss.   https://escapeartistlovers.bandcamp.com/ www.launchleft.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Breathwork" The Hawaii-born, New York raised and London Royal Academy of Music-educated Lara Somogyi is one of the most gifted harpists on the planet. A traditionalist and a modernist, Somogyi is an inventive instrumentalist who isn't afraid of exploring new creative possibilities for her instrument. As a composer, Somogyi has experimented with blending electronica and pedal effects and the results have yielded the boldest and most dynamic sonic leaps in the history of the harp. She has single-handedly recontextualized an instrument whose last great leap forward was probably during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when its popularity led it to evolve into different iterations. Somogyi has emerged in recent years as the most in-demand session harpist around--she's not only recorded for movies like The Lion King and Coming To America 2 and television shows like Bridgerton and Little Fires Everywhere, she's played with John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Josh Groban and Rufus Wainwright. Awarded as an honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for her contributions to her field, her latest effort is an expanded edition of her exclamation mark album. That's right, it's just a single blast of punctuation, which is perfect, because it's a very singular album. Redolent with thrilling textures and virtuoso playing, ! is a stirring blend of sweeping soundscapes, moving crescendos and poetic subtlety. It's just gorgeous work. Lara is a thoughtful and fascinating musical practitioner, and she also happens to be an incredibly nice person. www.larasomogyi.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Thanksgiving Day Special" There's a lot of things I miss about being a kid--somebody else driving, somebody else making dinner, not having to pay bills, not having to shave or get gas or pay rent--I was just going mention one or two things, but apparently I'm not pleased about being an adult. The reason why I brought this up is because the one thing I really miss about being a kid are the holiday TV specials that mark time. From The Grinch That Stole Christmas to It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, those specials helped keep me grounded as a kid. They made the calendar kind of stop and forced me to realize where I was and who I was with.They felt like something tangible. I wish I could do something like that for you here on the podcast and the closest I can come is my chat with Justin of 98 degrees. To me, it feels Thanksgiving-ish. At first it's sort of a talking points interview, but then something happens and it just kind of takes off and it takes off in a way that has to do with actually caring about other people. I'm not going to say too much more, but I will say this. This is our Thanksgiving special and I'm very proud of it. I'm thankful for this chat with Justin, I'm thankful he opened up and I'm thankful you get to hear it. And THANK YOU, for continuing to support this podcast.  www.98degrees.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagaine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"When We Rise" Over the course of her career, the New York born Jess Klein has put out nearly fifteen perfect albums. From her Rykodisc debut Draw Them Near in 2000 to other winning entries like 2006's City Garden and 2014's Learning Faith, Klein has demonstrated she's a singer/songwriter of tremendous strength and heart. Blessed with a natural penchant to write hook-filled songs with burning emotional center and big scruffy hearts, her new album When We Rise is another winning entry in her brilliant discography. Redolent with hope, resolve and stability in a world that doesn't stop shaking, When We Rise is a rousing call to arms--from the defiant "You're Never Gonna Break Me" to the stirring "Safe Harbor," this album is a blast of sonic comfort that's fiery, affecting and reviving. www.jessklein.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Continuance" Don't feel bad if Joey Alexander's resume' makes you feel inferior about your childhood achievements. We all feel that way. The Indonesian born pianist taught himself to play at age 6 and was flawlessly covering Thelonious Monk before he was in 1st grade. Because of the paucity of jazz opportunities at home, Alexander sat in with the top jazz players in Bali and Jakarta. At 8 he played for Herbie Hancock, at 9 he won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Master Jam Fest in Odessa and by 10 his family had moved to New York City so Alexander could have more playing opportunities. After catching the attention of Wynton Marsalis, Alexander made his U.S. debut at Marsalis' annual gala playing Monk's Round Midnight and the next day, nothing was the same. Hailed as a genius by the New York Times and Downbeat Magazine, from there Alexander's career took off. He's played for ex Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, snagged a Grammy nomination, put out six perfect albums, including his new one Continuance, played shows all over the world from Copenhagen to Montreal to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and he was nominated as Music Scholar by the T. Washington Scholars Program. Bear in mind, this is just a partial list. At 20, Alexander is now more than just a prodigy--he's a bandleader. And Continuance is a perfect example of his maturity as a player. Filled with arrangements that are windswept, jaunty and achingly precise, Alexander's talent is one of those rare and expansive things. He's commanding, he's elegant and he's got the kind of rhythmic finesse that comes from the Cosmos, so it's no surprise that Continuance rolls with majesty and grace. www.joeyalexandermusic.net www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Ozark Symphony" Born in Memphis into a musical family, Kelly Hunt grew up listening to classical, folk and Delta Blues. She sang in the choir and played the piano, but it was the five-string banjo that stole her heart. Hunt was both a traditionalist and a modernist, blending old-time picking with her own brand of improvisation. After graduating from college she explored farming, the visual arts and French breadmaking and then she settled in Kansas City and got to work on the songs that would make up her debut album Even The Sparrow. Even The Sparrow is a stunner of a debut, garnering a nomination for the International Folk Music Award. Her sophomore effort Ozark Symphony ups the ante' and makes the case that Hunt might very well be one of the most spellbinding forces in folk music. Summoning philosophy, poetry and the legacies and stories of the American South, Ozark Symphony brings to mind Joni Mitchell, Walt Whitman and Rhiannan Giddens. From the soaring glory of Top Of The World to the gentle percussion of On The Bayou, Ozark Symphony is a stunner. The songs are played with precision and finesse and the lilting melodies and achingly beautiful hooks are emotionally exact. Now, I've interviewed Jesse Malin while he was running errands, Xavier Boyle from Tahiti 80 talked to me while he was on a date, and Kelly Hunt? Well, she did this whole interview on a swing. Seriously. So let's swing!! http://www.kellyhuntmusic.com http://www.compassrecords.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Get Me To A Nunnery" The Hawaii-born, Wisconsin-raised Heather Lynne Horton has a lot of stories to tell and because she's a born storyteller, she does so with the perfect blend of humor, hi-jinx and self-deprecation. We'll let her tell you those stories, but in the meantime, we'll offer this quick version of who she is. After college she hit Minneapolis in search of the mythical Prince and then landed in Chicago where she met her real life prince, singer/songwriter Michael McDermott. She plays fiddle and sings backup in McDermott's band and the two also had the fabulous side project The Westies. Her first solo album Postcard Saturdays came out in 2012, which was followed by Don't Mess With Mrs. Murphy in 2018. Although it took nearly six years for the follow-up Get Me To A Nunnery to hit shelves, it was well worth the wait. A moving and stirring song cycle that brings to mind Beth Orton, Sinead Lohan and 1,000 Kisses-era Patty Griffin, Get Me To The Nunnery is redolent with strength, vulnerability, humor and darkness. Horton's phrasing is emotionally precise and each syllable lands with finesse and grace. It's a top to bottom a perfect album and this conversation is so much fun. She's a character--you're going to love her. www.heatherhortonmusic.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.embersarts.com (http://www.embersarts.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Heart Like Thunder" The Colorado-born, Brooklyn-based Hallie Spoor is a true artist. And she's a true athlete. And she knows that to be either one of those things, you've got to put in the reps. Trust me when I tell you, Spoor has put in the reps.The trained opera singer and former collegiate soccer player is well aware of the hard work that's needed to hit a note that carries to the clouds or kick a soccer ball that soars right alongside it. Hallie Spoor's voice is wondrous, elegant and filled with limitless beauty. Her new long player and her fourth overall, is Heart Like Thunder and it's nothing short of spellbinding. Bringing to mind everyone from to Nina Simone to Beth Orton, Spoor's vocal command is a cascading blend of power and grace and her compositions are moving blends of indie folk and rolling jazz.  www.halliespoormusic.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Summer of No Light" The Philadelphia-raised Kip Berman had a musical life before he was the Natvral and that life could be found in his band The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. The beloved New York outfit was around for a little over a decade, calling it a day in 2019 after four perfect albums of indie pop that brought to mind everyone from Aztec Camera to Belle and Sebastian. Berman's 2021 debut as The Natural was the scorching beauty of an album called Tethers, which, for those of you keeping score, was my favorite album of the year. His sophomore album Summer Of No Light is a straight-up killer. It's got all the howl of Basement Tapes era-Dylan and the raw pop smarts of early Dream Syndicate, and it's one of those records that grabs you from the beginning, leaving you mesmerized by its raw and tender power. I love this album. It's somehow feral and polished and it's filled with the most achingly lovely hooks you'll hear all year. www.thenatvral.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com