Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“Strip" The daughter of the late critically-acclaimed poet Robert Sward, Hannah Sward grew up surrounded by literature. Her unconventional childhood of the 70s found her moving around with her dad and eating tofu and brown rice and having gurus visit the house. But Sward’s memoir Strip isn’t just about an eccentric childhood. It’s a far darker affair than that. Kidnapped in the park as a child by a stranger in a van and sexually assaulted by him, Sward chronicles her young life in unflinching detail. And she doesn’t stop there—she candidly describes working as an escort and a stripper and bravely documents her addiction to meth and alcohol and the great pains she took to keep her work and her additjioncts secrets from everyone. Strip is a raw and feral memoir that’s punctuated by streetwise poetry, achingly precise descriptions and a collage of memories that float together to form a complete picture of the lived life. Harrowing, moving and written with authorial finesse and undeniable narrative velocity, Strip is one of the best books of the year. Yes, the content is painful and tough, but Sward navigates the darkness by infusing it with her own brand of light. She’s a knockout writer of tremendous talent. www.hannahsward.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com IG: @emberspodcast

“Still Comes The Night" Raised by a drama teacher mother and an acting coach father, the arts were coursing mightily through the Sudol house. A lover of literature and music, the Seattle-born Alison Sudol started crafting her path at a young age. In her teens, the self-taught pianist created a persona that operated under the A Fine Frenzy sobriquet, releasing a power trio of albums, including 2007’s A Cell In The Sea, 2009’s Bomb In the Birdcage and 2012’s Pines. A Fine Frenzy played SXSW, toured Europe, opened for everyone from the Stooges to Rufus Wainwright and had international hits in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. But by 2011, she announced A Fine Frenzy had been summarily put to bed. Focusing on her acting, Alison joined the cast of Transparent and later the program Dig and in 2016 she got cast as Queen Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. She went on to star in the subsequent two Fantastic Beasts movies—The Crimes Of Grindelwald, and the Secrets of Dumbledore. Retuning to music in 2018, Alison put out two marvelous EPS—Moon and Moonlite—and in September, she put out Still Comes The Night, her first album under her own name. Spellbinding, captivating and utterly riveting, Still Comes The Night is redolent with loss, grief, dreams, magic, introspection and love. It’s an album that’s filled with poetic finesse, a quiet velocity and devastating melodic beauty. www.alisonsudol.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Instagram: @emberspodcast editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“The Story Of My Life” Based out of Brooklyn, Holy Hive are a truly singular band. Formed in 2015’s Holy Hive’s innovative brand of neo-folk is both spare and rich, incorporating elements of Turkish Funk, Chicano soul, low-fi pop and traditional American roots music. Singer Paul Spring’s falsetto floats with the kind of effortless finesse that falls somewhere between Brian Wilson and Shuggie Otis. Meanwhile, drummer Homer Steinweiss, who has sat behind the kit for Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, Adele and Bruno Mars, plays so deep in the pocket the groove it yields is sheer percussive bliss. He’s an extraordinarily player whose instincts and inventions make him one of the best drummers around. Their debut album Float Back To You cashed in on the promise of their Harping EP—and their self titled second album was a quiet and stirring revelation. They also released an instrumental version of the album, which is an equally stirring companion. www.holyhivemusic.bandcamp.com www.bigcrownrecords.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com Instagram: @emberspodcast editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Things Will Be Different” The Little Murders formed out of the ashes of the punk outfit The Fiction. The Melbourne band first fired things up in 1979 and they’ve been crushing it ever since. Led by the British born Rob Griffiths, The Little Murders are one of those rare bands where every song is a winner. Seriously. Every single one. Their songs are hook-filled blasts of melodic pop that rips the cover off the ball every single time. Griffiths is a commanding frontman who just radiates charisma. Over the course of their brilliant career, the Murders have put out classic albums like First Light, We Should Be Home By Now, Dromona Rama and Dig For Plenty and to say they’re still going strong would be an absurd understatement. They’ve never been better. They have a new EP out called Wait 'Til The Summer Comes, a new album on the way and a tribute album just landed called Things Will Be Different: A Tribute To The little Murders. www.littlemurders.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com

“Memories To Burn” The Williams Brothers come from a rich musical lineage that goes all the way back to the late ‘30s, when Williams Brothers Andy, Dick, Bob and Don started their singing quartet that took them all the way from their home state of Iowa to sunny Los Angeles, where they appeared in movies and were under contract with MGM Films. The second iteration of The Williams Brothers featured Don’s sons Andrew and David, who put out two albums in 1973. As teen idols they had a hit with “What's Your Name" and even made an appearance on The Partridge Family. They resurfaced again in the late ‘80s, putting out a trio of fabulous albums for Warner Brothers, their last being 1993’s Harmony Hotel. Along the way they backed up Brian Setzer, Joe Ely and The Cruzados, sang back up on the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away" and were part of T-Bone Burnett’s band for a tour of Europe. They had a hit with "Can’t Cry Enough" in '92, appeared as an Everly Brothers duo in Alison Anders' Grace Of My Heart and after that…..well, after that, they stepped away and lived their lives. 28 years later we have Memories To Burn. This album gets done in 30 minutes what most bands try to do their entire careers. The harmonies are lustrous and elegant and the phrasing is delivered with finesse and grace. The two brothers’ vocal interplay is effortless, organic and soul-affirming. Featuring covers by Robbie Fulks and Iris DeMent and with a band that features the marvelous Marvin Etzioni and Greg Liesz, Memories To Burn is one of 2022’s very best. Good to have these guys back. Keep up with The Williams Brothers: www.sixdegreesrecords.com/regional-records-label www.regionalrecords.com www.facebook.com/regionalrecords Bombshell Radio: www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com

"Dan McCafferty Remembered" Okay, to be fair Dan McCafferty left the legendary Scottish band back in 2013 but worthy replacements aside, he will always be the voice of Nazareth. After 45 years fronting the internationally acclaimed outfit, McCafferty stepped aside due to health reasons. Recharged, revitalized and sounding better than ever, McCafferty roared back with The Last Testament, his third solo album--and first since 1987. In this conversation he chats with Alex about his collaboration with the Czech instrumentalist Karel Marik, why he's never planned anything in his life and why the easiest people to talk to are fishermen.

“It’s Alright Now” Nora O’Connor is nothing short of a musical force. The Illinois-born singer/songwriter’s new album My Heart completes the hat trick that was started by her 1996 debut Cerulean Blue and continued by 2004’s 'Til The Dawn. So you’re probably wondering about the gaps in between—8 years, 18 years—it’s a fair questions, so we're going to give you a fair answer. Nora O’Connor is busy. Like, really busy. An in-demand singer who has toured and recorded with Neko Case, the Decembrists, Iron and Wine, Mavis Staples and the New Pornographers, O’Connor’s voice is one that everyone wants. So she’ll head out on the road with the Decembrists or Mavis Staples and when fully immersed in that work, it’s not so easy to concentrate on her own work. COVID hit the pause button on touring so at home with her family and an acoustic guitar, the demos started to come. And how’d they work out? Well, put it this way--My Heart is a stone cold killer—a truly riveting collection of affecting folk, rolling Americana and devastating piano pop. Our personal favorite is the aching album closer Fare Thee Well—gentle and woebegone country stomp at its very best. A marvelous chat with a lovely person! https://www.noraoconnormusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/nora.oconnorkean https://twitter.com/NoraOConnorKean https://www.instagram.com/noraoconnorkean/?hl=en www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Celebrating Our 300th Episode With Rebecca Pidgeon!" Born in the U.S. to British parents when her dad was a visiting professor at MIT, Rebecca Pidgeon’s family soon moved to Scotland where she immersed herself in the Arts. While at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London she fronted the folk pop outfit Ruby Blue who put out a couple of great records before PIdgeon left the band and Europe to pursue a career in acting. In the US she hit the stage and the screen, appearing onstage in numerous plays and on the screen in films like The Dawning, The Spanish Prisoner, Heist and State and Main. In spite of her busy acting schedule, Pidgeon put out ten perfect albums starting with her marvelous 1994 debut The Raven. That was followed by albums like Tough On Crime, Behind The Velvet Curtain, Bad Poetry and her brand new one Parts Of Speech, Pieces Of Sound. Filled with sweeping melodies, lush vocals and poetic finesse, Pidgeon’s new one is one of 2022’s best albums,Informed by her yoga practice, the songs on Parts of Speech, Pieces Of Sound are focused, still and rich, Pidgeon’s voice a sweeping and dreamy instrument of true hypnotic beauty. Instagram: @rebeccapidgeon www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Honeymoon Suite” Hailing from Leeds, Katie Harkin was the co-founder of the band Sky Larkin—an outfit she put together with her childhood pal Nestor Matthews while they were attending university. They signed to the London indie Wichita Recordings, which was home to The Cribs, Bloc Party, Best Coast and My Morning Jacket and put out three great albums, including the 2009 classic The Golden Spike. That band lasted almost ten years and while they were at it, Harkin started to get recruited for other projects, like touring with Wild Beasts in 2011 for their Smother record. Post Sky Larkin she became a touring member of Sleater-Kinney—you can hear her on the Live in Paris album— and she went on to also be a touring member of Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile’s band when they toured the Lotta Sea Lice record. She toured again with Barnett a year later and soon after she put out her first solo album under the name Harkin. She put out her second Harkin effort this summer—titled Honeymoon Suite, it’s dreamy, ethereal and decidedly catchy. The compositions are textured and nuanced, the instrumentation is layered and rich and Harkin’s vocals float with precision and finesse. Harkin is never not busy—she’s worked with everyone from Waxahatchee to comic Josie Long to Turner Prize-winning filmmaker Helen Martin We got her in between all the business and she was just lovely. www.handmirror.bandcamp.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Blackout For The Bloodsuckers” There’s something that’s always churning behind the sound of The Battles Of Winter. The London band’s music is powered by a steady and dark engine which hums along like a wicked propellor, conjuring a geometric dream city filled with square avenues, rectangular boulevards and angular streets that tilt and bend and twist, but never break. The sidewalks may lift and fall, but the inhabitants of this box-like world continue on, marching mysteriously along through the darkness in black suits and black hats with matching black hearts and blank expressions that suggest a menace that’s a decimal away from detonation. And at the edge of this city, pirate ships ease in and out of the hexagon shaped harbor with uncertain purpose and the suggestion of treachery. The Battles Of Winter’s songs have the post-punk sting of Wire, the groove of Gang of Four and the melodic delivery of everyone from Editors to Interpol. They’re a little bit of an elusive outfit—part of the tis due to the impracticality of being in a band and having a family and a job—but whenever their sail surfaces on the harbor, it surfaces with lashing exactitude and palpable mystery. They’ve surfaced for this conversation, so let’s get to it…. www.instagram.com/thebattlesofwinter www.thebattlesofwinter.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com