Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“Pull It Out Of The Bag” So, Salt Ashes has been on the show before and I asked her to come back because I love talking to her. She’s charming, witty, honest and she’s one of those people that just feels familiar to me. And I think it won’t be long before her music is familiar to a very big audience. The London-based singers' work is inventive, artistic, bold, and thrilling. A ravishing blend of synth pop and electro bliss with overtones that range from goth to new wave, the music of Salt Ashes is riveting and alive. In this illuminating conversation, Salt Ashes talks about her frustrations with social media, how she handles bumps in the road and why in the music business the music is always second. Her new single is "Too Many Times" and she’s got an album coming out this Fall. So get ready. www.saltashes.com www.instagram.com/saltashes www.facebook.com/SaltAshes www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers The Podcast: Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast

“American Canyon” The Jenny Thing are back. Although it’s been 20+ years since the Bay Area band have put out a record, they have returned more potent than ever. Formed on the campus of U.C. Berkeley, The Jenny Thing’s brand of catchy New Wave and carefully crafted indie rock made them fan favorites in the Bay Area in the early ‘90s. The band’s original lineup finds them on their brand new fourth album American Canyon, playing with muscle and heart. The hooks are big, the bass is funky and the synths are popping and as a result, American Canyon brings to mind U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind and Rubyhorse’s Rise. Singer Matt Easton talks to Alex about being a fellow Bay Area native, why the album sounds like wide open spaces and how all those years ago he managed to be in a band and in college at the same time…. The Jenny Thing: Matt Easton, vocals Shyam Rao, guitars Ehren Becker, bass Mike Phillips, drums www.thejennything.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Alex on Twitter: @emberseditor Alex on Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Motherhood, Butterflies And American Quilt" We're so happy to welcome back Paula Cole to the podcast. The Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter is one of our favorite guests and in this chat she talks about maternal responsibility, baby butterflies and her fabulous new album American Quilt. The Grammy Award-winning musician is about to head back on the road to support American Quilt and she discusses what that experience feels like as we crawl slowly out of pandemic restrictions. A singer of tremendous muscle and grace, Cole is a riveting and stirring performer and she talks about what it means to hit the road at this stage of her 30+year career. A conversation about nurturing, Joni Mitchell and aging parents, Paula Cole's return to Stereo Embers The Podcast is thoughtful, funny and deeply moving. www.paulacole.com www.alexgreenonline.com www.bombshellradio.com Alex on Twitter: @emberseditor Alex on Instagram: @emberspodcast Alex's email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Beast Of Eden” Our guest today on the program is a real artist. The Jersey born J Hacha De Zola is hard to categorize—he’s wholly original and unlike anything out there today. A feral blend of David Johansen, Screaming Lord Sutch and Nick Cave,over the course of his five album career, J Hacha Zola has delivered some of the most captivating, fascinating and utterly infectious music around. Like a junkyard DaVinci, Hacha De Zola has demonstrated that he knows how to take rusty horns, scrap metal saxophones, guttered guitars and battered drums and turn them into pure gold. And that gold not only sparkles under the moonlight, it was spun by a dark figure lurking in the alley and prowling through the abandoned avenues of a city that everyone knows but is too afraid to name. Filled with ragged melodies, rabid rhythms and corruptive carnival stomp, the music of J Hacha De Zola is the real deal. It’s spellbindingly brilliant in every turn. The enigmatic singer’s new album East Of Eden is a startling departure from his previous work. East of Eden is an aching collection of dark and dreamy doo-wop, street soul and urban R&B. It’s J Hacha De Zola in his most unvarnished and purest iteration. Or is it? Yes, it is, but this guy is a moving artistic target—you never know where he’s going to go next. In this conversation Hacha and Alex talk about having an alter ego, keeping his artistic identity a secret from his family and what it’s like being in touch with his shadow self... www.jhachadezola.bandcamp.com www.fanaticpromotion.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com

“Reason To Live” Well, if you're looking for the kings of the indie rock grand slam, it’s a short list. But Lou Barlow is on it. The Ohio-born Barlow has Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, the folk Implosion and his solo career on his CV and that’s only a partial list that doesn’t include Sentridoh and Deep Wound. Yes, Lou Barlow has been a major part of major bands that were all groundbreaking and game changers in terms of sound, recording approach and aesthetic. He’s been on legendary labels like SST, Homestead , Sub Pop, Merge and Domino and he’s one of the most recognizable and adored indie rock dudes of all time. So yes, Barlow is a founding member of three groundbreaking indie rock outfits and his solo career has yielded several remarkable albums, including his fabulous new one Reason To Live. A songwriter of startling depth, introspection and pinpoint emotional accuracy, Lou Barlow is, to put it simply, one of the best we’ve got. Over the course of his career, he’s collaborated with Mike Watt, Stephen Merritt, Dale Crover of the Melvins and Belgian musician Rudy Trouve’ He’s both vulnerable and brave his work redolent with intimacy, observational wisdom and longing. Reason To Live might very well be his best work yet. Managing to be both layered and spare, this album is filled with breezy acoustic numbers, rolling pop jangles and textured indie rock that’s catchy, memorable and moving. In this conversation Lou talks to Alex about eating dinner with strangers, walking the financial tightrope, writing again with John Davis of The Folk Implosion and why it was so hard to ask J. Mascis for a drumbeat….

"There’s Room On The Street For More Than One Restaurant" James Mastro’s musical CV is a string of highlights—over the course of his career, he’s worked with Patti Smith, John Cale, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate, Phoebe Snow, Richard Lloyd of Television, and The Jayhawks. In between all that, he formed the Health and Happiness Show who put out two fabulous albums on Bar None and for almost twenty years he’s been playing guitar, mandolin and sax for Ian Hunter’s band. He also owns and operates the Guitar Bar in Hoboken and he’s readying his debut solo album for a Fall release. His new single is "My God,” a moving ballad that was produced by Tony Shanahan who plays in the Patti Smith band. The song is reflective, honest, deeply moving and decidedly melodic. As a guitar player he’s got the perfect blend of muscle and grace and as a singer songwriter he’s deft and intuitive. In this conversation, James talks to Alex about his friendship with Ian Hunter, the guitar playing of Brian Setzer and playing softball with Yo La Tengo. He also talks about the impetus behind his new single, whether or not there will be a new Bongos record and his admiration of Jesse Malin. www.jamesmastro.bandcamp.com www.guitarbar.com www.velvetelkrecords.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com

“Fatal Mistakes” In this special mini-episode, Alex reviews the new album from Del Amitri. Titled Fatal Mistakes, the album marks the first new effort from the legendary Scottish band in almost 20 years. Singer Justin Currie will be on the podcast in a few weeks, so in the meantime, Alex breaks down Fatal Mistakes and plays two songs from the album. His verdict? "Fatal Mistakes is as searing as it is soothing—it's a thrilling battlecry from true pop warriors who are free from the past, crushing the present and riding fearlessly into the future." www.delamitri.info www.cookingvinyl.com

“Silent Dreams” When the Victims were an active proposition back in the ‘80s, hard rock and hair metal were running the show, so a few dudes dressed like new romantics or goths playing the kind of new wave that fell somewhere between OMD and the Cars, probably weren’t an easy sell in their small town of La Crosse, Wisconsin. But they did get out there and play and before too long, they had a devoted fanbase and seemed poised to break and break big. The trio was comprised of Steve Harm and his brother Jeff on drums and Jeff Rinartz on guitar. Their lone album Silent Dreams, on the strength of catchy numbers like "Let Her Go" and "Whispering Walls" should have been huge. And it almost was. There was label interest, there was a night out drinking with the Cure in Chicago, there was a little blast of daylight that could have been burst through, but it just didn’t happen. Why? We'll let Steve tell you, but in the meantime, the digital remastered version all these years later should finally get this album into the hands of everyone who should have had it in the firsts place. This is one of those stories where the band members are finished with the unfinished business they started all those years ago. The postscript is Silent Dreams and the story really does end there. But it’s an interesting tale of how we got from 1986 to 2021 and Steve is here to fill in the details; he’s a great guy and this is one of those stories in the lore of musical history about what could have been, what actually was and why that’s totally okay. victimsog.bandcamp.com/album/silent-dreams-2021-reissue www.WarehouseRocks.com www. WHrocks.com www.warehousealliance.org

“Introspection and Awareness" The French born drummer Greg Gilmore landed in Seattle as a young man and what better way to punctuate those formative teenage years than with a punk band? Joining forces with John Conte, Todd Fleishman, and Duff McKagan Gilmore and his pals played speedbag punk that fell somewhere between the Clash and The Germs. They became local favorites, opened for DOA in Vancouver and Seattle and thanks to a quick studio session, recorded seven tracks which are now seeing the light of day for the first time. Released on Loosegroove Records which is owned by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and Regan Hagar of Satchel and Brad, the band’s set is called The Living 1982 and of the document, Gossard says, is "a reminder that the Living are ground zero for the Seattle sound.” The songs are fast and dynamic and played with a frenzied punk spirit and youthful momentum. The idea to put these songs out came from Gilmore, who actually unearthed the recordings. He says: “The Living was the beginning of all things Seattle for me --a turning point in my life. I joined a band and a community. These guys are still my brothers. I've cherished these recordings since the days we made them. This record is a fantastic document of a loaded moment. I love it.” Well, in music years, The Living really were only around in music years for about a moment. After the band, broke up, Duff and Gilmore landed in Ten Minute Warning, then the two pals went to LA. McKagan ended up joining Guns N’ Roses and Gilmore headed back to Seattle where he played briefly with Skin Yard before co-founded Mother Love Bone. After the death of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, Gilmore went on to collaborate with Seattle producing legend Jack Endino for a series of albums. He also played with Land, Doghead, and Steve Fisk. As a drummer, Gilmore plays with thoughtful muscle. He’s an introspective guy and his playing has the perfect blend of cerebral athleticism. We talk about that introspection here among a lot of other things: travel, friendships, self-awareness, intellectualizing ourselves in and out of enjoyment and the ins and outs of being social. https://www.instagram.com/loosegrooverecords linktr.ee/loosegroove www.alexgreenonline.com Instagram: @emberseditor Twitter: @emberspodcast

"Blood" The Maine born, Massachusetts-raised Julian Hatfield studied at both Boston University and the Berklee College of Music. Along with John Strohm and Freda Love she founded the Blake Babies, who put out five fabulous, critically-acclaimed albums.One of the most potent artists out there, Hatfield has put out nearly 20 solo albums, including Hey Babe, Become What You Are and Whatever, My Love. She’s also put out full length albums of covers by Olivia Newton John and the Police. She’s been in the Juliana Hatfield 3, Minor Alps with Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, the I Don’t Cares with Paul Westerberg of The Replacements and Some Girls with Freda Love and Heidi Gluck. She’s also had stints in the Lemonheads, recording and touring with Evan Dando’s outfit. Her resume just never stops, so here’s more highlights, but keep in mind, this is a partial list. She’s contributed vocals to tracks by Belly, Aimee Mann and Susanna Hoffs, she started her own label called Ye Olde Records, she played Conan and Letterman, appeared on the "Adventures of Pete and Pete,” “My So-Called Life", and "Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” and her book When I Grow Up is one of the best memoirs you’ll ever read. Which brings us to her new album Blood. A truly riveting affair, it’s one of the best albums of 2021—open-wounded pop that’s as sweet as it is raw. From the delicious distortion of the murderous "Had A Dream," to the percussive blast of “Chunks," to the dark '60s pop of "Mouthful of Blood,” the album is stirring, it’s feral and it’s undeniably and deliciously melodic. Hatfield is one of the sharpest writers around—she’s funny, smart, caustic, observant and deeply, deeply wise. In this conversation Juliana talks to Alex about being in a post-love state of mind, if she gets recognized at the gym and the reverse of seasonal affective disorder. They also talk about cupcakes and muffins…. www.julianahatfieild.com www.alr-music.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com