Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“Dynamic, Kinetic and Unexpected” So a quick introduction to the principal members of the 3 Clubmen will give you a foundational understanding of what this band is all about. Or will it? It won’t, because their sound is so unexpected and fresh and inventive, that a little background can’t prepare you for what they sound like, but introductions are part of our job, so let’s get that out of the way. Andy Partridge is one of the greatest songwriters to ever walk the planet. His work with XTC pretty much cements that statement, but his work outside of XTC with Robyn Hitchcock and Martin Newell just give further evidence that Partridge is a first-rate talent whose discography is comprised of classic upon classic. The Swindon-Based producer/musician and Professor Stu Rowe has played with everyone from Paul Weller to Future Sound Of London to Shriekback and the L.A.-born Jen Olive has an extensive resume, including writing and recording for A&M Records, putting out her own albums and contributing music to various American Film Institute projects. Okay, so what about the 3 Clubmen? Well, the 3 Clubmen are an energizing and kinetic blend of experimental pop, jagged and racing percussion, bent jazz and inventive production. What does this add up to? Putting it simply, one of the most refreshing EPs of the year. Or, any year. This self-titled four song effort is filled with the unexpected and it keeps delivering pop surprise after pop surprise. The sonic angles of The 3 Clubmen are sharp and dynamic and although the arrangements are textured blasts of idiosyncratic beats and rhythms, there’s a shimmering pop center to these songs that makes them utterly irresistible. We feel the same way about this chat. The 3 Clubmen: Instagram: @the3clubmen https://burningshed.com/the-3-clubmen_the-3-clubmen-ep_cd Stereo Embers Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com www.bombshellradio.com

“The Unspeakable Milo Binder” Milo Binder put out one brilliant album in 1991 and then, that was that. He was gone. Alias Records was an indie rock label that had folks like Too Much Joy and The Sneetches and when they put out Milo’s album was a huge departure from their roster. A eleven song folk album, Binder’s self-titled release was one of those rare instances where the artist arrived fully formed with no need to take three or four albums to find their musical footing or narrative voice. Songs like "Donald Thorn" and "A Boy And His Career" were wise and observational and his guitar playing was rich and assured, his delivery confident and brimming with belief. He called into my college radio show Bedtime With Alex on KSMC and he was gracious enough to play two songs while his girlfriend held the phone for him—Donald Thorn from the first album and the song you just heard Skywriters, which would be from the second. But the second one never came until now, 32 years later it’s about to arrive. Titled The Unspeakable Milo Binder, the two tracks you’ll hear in full on today’s episode demonstrate that Binder not only still has the magic, he’s never sounded better. And he’s been deeply missed. I can’t think of an an artist with as much musical dexterity, poetic exactitude and narrative finesse. Sit back and join in me as I welcome back Milo Binder. Follow Milo Binder on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Milo-Binder-100063524654721/ www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Born To Archive" Alright, so imagine this: The thing you do really well as a kid becomes your career. In the case of my guest today on the program, that’s exactly what happened. Jackie Clary is a born archivist. As a young girl growing up, she was a huge fan of Wham! and George Michael, and she started collecting ephemera that was related to them and their music. But it wasn’t just that—Jackie had a librarian like penchant for cataloging and preserving a lot of things that extended far past Wham! Jackie has had a really cool career and this list of her accomplishments is only a partial one, but one eI read through it, you’ll get the idea of what she’s done. She worked at Reelin’ In The Years, researching and cataloging a 20,000 hour strong cache of interview and music performance, she ran the tape library for ABC news affiliates, she worked for MTV News and Docs, produced the videos for the Roots Rhymes and Rage: The Hip-Hop Story at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was the lead curator of the Hall’s first Teen Idols exhibit, she worked on a lot of DVDs, including Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Definitive Performances 1963-1987, The Temptations 1963-1972 and she interviewed Englebert Humperdinck for h is Greatest Performances DVD. She was the associate producer on the 12-DVD Merv Griffin box set, produced an oral history on Newport Beach’s Carden Hall School, and she worked as the archivist on documentaries by everyone ranging from Little Richard to the new movie Still: A Michael J. Fox. Jackie is the coolest and in this chat she talks about how her curatorial skills emerged early on as a kid packed the road to where she is now. www.jackieclary.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“4th of July Special: What's The Point Of A Strawberry?” Well, not counting the fact that they lower your blood pressure, are high in fiber, rich in antioxidants and guard you from cancer, strawberries are pretty much useless. In this wildly discursive 4th of July chat with singer-songwriter Shannon McArdle, the Brooklyn musician talks to Alex about why she’s not into strawberries (or fruit for that matter), why she got on a subway in the middle of a pandemic and how she lost the tip of her finger. Look, this is our perennial and evergreen 4th of July Shannon Spectacular and this conversation not only covers all the bases, it will make you forget that there’s no (legal) firework celebrations this year. This chat covers the genius of the new Dylan album, the durability of Soda Stream machines and the 20th anniversary reissue of Shannon’s old band The Mendoza Line’s We’re All In This Alone. Oh, and Alex worries Shannon might get scurvy. And Shannon doesn’t seem worried about this at all. An hour and a half of comedy, antics and dogs. Enjoy! Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“An Crann” Damian O’Neill is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the legendary band The Undertones. One of Northern Ireland’s most successful bands, the Derry outfit got their start in 1974 and featured Damian’s brother John on rhythm guitar. The band pretty much tore things up, releasing nearly 15 singles and four classic albums and which still sound as vital today as they ever have. The Undertones are one of the greatest bands of all time and their exhilarating blend of pop and punk remains as dynamic and rousing as ever. The original lineup called it a day in 1983, though a revamped version of the band would reform years later and put out two excellent albums which are strong additions to the band’s legacy. The O’Neill brothers went on to form That Petrol Emotion, who ruled college radio in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, putting out fifteen singles and six fabulous albums, including Manic Pop Thrill and Babble. O’Neill stays busy, putting out a solo album of experimental electronica, playing in a band called The Everlasting Yeah and keeping the Undertones going on a full-time basis. O’Neill’s new album AN CRAN is a largely instrumental affair that was recorded at his home and features acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass, organ, vibraphone, toy marimba and glockenspiel, melodica, mouth organ, squeezebox, kalimba, bells and various percussion and human voices. Influenced by French, Japanese, American and British music, the album demonstrates that O’Neill is one of the great composers. His compositions are thoughtful arrangements that evince poetry, narrative dexterity and musical finesse. They’re melodic and harmonic soundscapes that evoke verdant vistas, Tokyo nightclubs and Parisian waterways. This is one of the most compelling albums of 2023, put together by one of the true masters. www.damianoniell.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“How To Love” The London-born and Scottish based singer/songwriter Dan Willson is truly one of the best we’ve got. Over the course of three albums with his band Withered Hand, Willson has asserted himself as a songwriter of tremendous sensitivity, poetic smarts and lyrical grace. A little history: Willson had played in bands but with art school behind him, when he picked up a guitar at 30 and found that the technicolors of songwriting were as alluring as the visual arts, well, he went on a bit of a tear: 2009’s Good News and 2014’s New Gods rank among two of the most powerful albums of the last twenty years and Willson’s new one—his first in almost a decade—is called How To Love and it completes a rather stunning trilogy of records with clear shots of redemption, recovery and personal resurrection. How To Love almost didn’t happen. And we'll leave that story for Dan to tell, but in the meantime, let's just say this: we're so happy that it did. It’s one of the most joyful, painful, life-affirming and altogether reviving albums in recent memory. www.witheredhand.com www.witheredhand.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Never Say Never” Formed by classmates at the Art Institute in San Francisco at the sunset of the 70s, Romeo Void were one of the most dynamic, inventive and singular outfits around. Fronted by singer Debora Iyall, the classic Romeo Void lineup was Iyall on vocals, Peter Woods on guitar, bassist Frank Zincavage, saxophonist Benjamin Bossi and drummer Aaron Smith. They toured nationally, had fans that ranged from Ric Ocasek of the Cars to Ann Wilson of Heart and they signed to a major label. Things were happening. The band put out three perfect and critically acclaimed albums—It’s a Condition, Benefactor and Instincts--before calling it a day in 1984. A captivating singer, Iyall had the street mart snarl of Jim Carroll and the poetic finesse of Patti Smith and she inhabited each number with strength, vulnerably and wisdom. The songs were frank and honest and their post-punk purity and new wave muscle still sounds as vital today as it did back then. And if you want to check to see if I’m right—the band has just put out LIVE FROM MABUHAY GARDENS: NOVEMBER 14, 1980, THE BAND'S FIRST OFFICIAL LIVE ALBUM. This is a searing eleven song set that’s dynamic, urgent and rippling with power. www.romeovoid.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Andy Rourke Remembered” Well, he may have been in a band with the greats, but let’s face it, Andy Rourke was one of them as well. The Manchester born Rourke joined his childhood pal Johnny Marr’s band The Smiths in 1982 and he played with them until their demise in 1987. That’s Rourke you hear on every Smiths record, including The Queen Is Dead, Strangeways Here We Come and Louder Than Bombs. After the legendary band broke up, Rourke played with Sinead O’Connor, The Pretenders, Killing Joke, Badly Drawn Boy, Ian Brown of the Stone Roses and Morrissey. Rourke also teamed up with New Order’s Peter Hook and Mani of the Stone Roses and formed the band Freebass. He also played with Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries in the band D.A.R.K. and around the time I chatted with him, he had formed Blitz Vega with Kav Sandhu, a band that also featured Johnny Marr as a special guest. Rourke’s life was busy and exciting and this list doesn’t cover all he did, but it does serve as a reminder of how brilliant he was. A prowling blend of rockabilly, funk and post-punk, Rourke’s baselines were intricate, inventive and artful. Rourke died in Mid-May and the tributes that poured in were testament after testament that this man was loved. Perhaps it was Moz’s, however, that was the most on-point: "He will never die as long as his music is heard. He didn’t ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else. His distinction was so terrific and unconventional and he proved it could be done. He was also very, very funny and very happy, and post-Smiths, he kept a steady identity - never any manufactured moves. I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that.” www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Introducing Billy Bradley" A veteran of commercials, movies and television while still only in his 30s, Michael Charles Roman is one of those timeless actors. He’s got the punchline prowess of everyone from Michael J. Fox to Jason Bateman, the comedic instincts of Martin Short and the theatrical range that could find him doing period pieces to contemporary dramas. Roman was in films like Keeping The Faith with Ed Norton and Ben Stiller, Little Nicky with Adam Sandler and Rob Burnett’s We Made This Movie. When it comes to TV, you’ve seen him on Bones, The Good Wife,Veronica Mars, Ground Floor, 2 Broke Girls, Evil, Frequency, and most recently, NetFlix’s Grace and Frankie with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.The guy can do it all. And just to test that idea, he decided to do it all on his first short film Introducing Billy Bradley. The film is a semi-autobiographical short written, directed and produced by Roman, who also stars alongside his former Grace and Frankie scene partner Martin Sheen (The West Wing, Apocalypse Now). Introducing Billy Bradley follows a down-on-his-luck actor who finds himself at a critical crossroads: save his life or salvage what’s left of his floundering career. The movie also stars Alexandra Metz (CW’s Frequency), Arjay Smith (ABC’s The Rookie, TNT’s Perception) and Garrett Morris (CBS’s 2 Broke Girls, Saturday Night Live). Billy Bradley does what the best short films do—leave you both satisfied and wanting more. Not an easy balance, but in his directional debut, Roman does just that. It’s a brilliant film that in just 14 minutes, manages to do what some films take hours to attempt to do. Introducing Billy Bradley: https://vimeo.com/762362781 Michael Charles Roman on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738722/ www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Sea Swallow Me” In the dark, harrowing, and gripping memoir Sea Swallow Me, which details a drug addiction that almost killed her, the Bay Area author Suki Jones writes with a raw immediacy and refreshing candor about not only being dependent on drugs, but keeping that dependency a secret from her family and friends.Set against the backdrop of the Bay Area in the early '90s, Jones balances motherhood and modeling with deft precision, but behind the scenes she was falling apart and roaming the night with punk rockers, metalheads, and sometimes even strangers, just looking for her next fix. A ferocious memoir about broken family history, sexual abuse, and debilitating addiction, Sea, Swallow Me vividly wanders through the decade with a fiery resolve which ultimately reveals how Jones survived when she shouldn't have. Sea, Swallow Me is a powerful tale of resilience and redemption. Suki Jones on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suki_jones/ Sea, Swallow Me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Swallow-Me-Suki-Jones/dp/B0BWDZT7CW www.emberarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers Twitter:@emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com