Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Sheltering In Place With Bandits On The Run” So the Bandits on the Run aren’t on the run right now. Like everyone else on the planet, the NYC-based trio is grounded for now but they’re doing it together. The Quaran-team are hanging out in North Carolina working on new songs, making fancy drinks and hosting back porch concerts that are live streaming to their fans all over the world. The rootsy outfit are one of the most exciting live acts around, their shows a spirited collage of puppetry, costumes, bits and banter and great, great songs. A rousing blast of indie rock soul and wistful folk, Bandits On The Run are a testament to the idea that a creative life is one that sustains and enriches the spirit. In this chat the Bandits talk to Alex about love in the underground, life during a pandemic and growing up with creative fire. This conversation covers the members’ theatrical roots, their effortless collaborative process and how they make every live show a singular and unique experience that can’t be repeated. Bandits On The Run’s “Love In The Underground” is out now.

“Inside The Electric Moment” The electric moment is the one where Joan Wasser steps up to the plate in front of her fellow accomplished collaborators to show them what she’s got. And even after being in the music industry all these years, that moment is still one that she finds terrifying. Exciting, but terrifying. Wasser, who’s better known as Joan As Policewoman also happens to be terrifyingly talented and in this conversation she talks to Alex about creativity in the time of COVID-19, her lifelong friendship with Mary Timony and what it was like to see Siouxsie and the Banshees in the ‘80s. A discursive but also perfectly linear conversation, she also talks about why a violinist like her was attracted to Rites of Spring, how she’s staying sane while sheltering in place and why she has no regrets about the life she’s chosen. Joan As Policewoman’s Cover Two album is out now.

"Emergency Whiskey” While it might be true that a shot of whiskey might calm the nerves during an emergency, the wiser choice is probably music. As we wade our way through a global pandemic, actor/musician Ed Helms and The Bluegrass Situation have put together a four-episode variety series called The Whiskey Sour Happy Hour. A seamless blend of comedy and music, the show is a heartening reminder that laughter and art have powerful healing qualities. In this conversation with BGS Executive Director Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, the ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s impacted working musicians is discussed in great detail. Alex and Amy also chat about how musicians survive during times like these, how she and Helms built out the Whiskey Sour Happy Hour idea and what live music might look like in a post-pandemic world. Remember, all proceeds from the Whiskey Sour Happy Hour go to MusicCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund and Direct Relief, benefitting musicians and first line responders impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

“I Was So Sure Of Myself, I Put Myself In Danger” That’s how Phantom Planet frontman Alex Greenwald describes for Alex the downside of a little hubris during the creative process. He’s joking about being in danger, but he’s serious about feeling so self-assured about one’s work that it doesn’t allow creative input in from others. In this conversation, Greenwald talks to Green about silencing the critical voice, how he’s become better at collaboration and how his home state of California has influenced his work. He also talks about the 12 year gap between Phantom Planet albums, how he’s coping with Sheltering In Place and he found stillness by escaping from Hollywood...

“I Never Want To Leave This Space” That’s exactly what Hockey Dad singer/guitarist Zach Stephenson thought to himself as soon as he started his career in music. Being in the company of fellow musicians, playing live and writing songs with his longtime drummer pal Billy Fleming was the exact life he wanted for himself and since he’s gotten started, he’s never looked back. Sheltering in place in his native Australia, Stephenson talks to Alex about his love of Paul Kelly, his recent discovery of country music and how COVID-19 forced his band’s U.S. tour to be cancelled. They also chat about his jazz-playing grandparents, the creative process during a quarantine, and Hockey Dad’s new album Brain Candy.

"De-bubbling In London” Look, New Zealand is not a large country—everyone seems to know everyone else (or even dated them). Yumi Zouma singer Christie Simpson decided that the best thing for her to do is escape the bubble of her hometown of Christchurch and head for London. In this conversation Simpson talks about leaving her country behind, creative life amidst the Coronavirus and how an outsider becomes an individual. Simpson tells Alex about growing up loving Fleetwood Mac, how a band that’s not in the same locale stays together and how her parents recognized early on that she was headed towards a life in art. Yumi Zouma have just put out their third album Truth Or Consequences and it’s a spry and charming effort that’s lustrous, clever and catchy.

"Shake The Disease" When we last spoke to Owen Vyse we were told that by April 4th the Coronavirus would have all but vanished. Well, it didn't. In fact, it hasn't even flexed its full strength yet. In this engaging chat, the former Echo and the Bunnymen guitarist and Starclub frontman talks to Alex about what life is like amidst a global pandemic from where he lives in Thailand. The conversation veers from breaking curfews to the absence of gyms to life in Thailand vs. life in England, to how people will re-enter society and finally to just what we're doing on this planet in the first place.

“A Musical Shark Keeps Swimming” The San Diego-born musician Illan Rubin is one of those guys that’s been moving non-stop since he was nine and he’s not slowed down the pace one bit. The youngest performer to ever grace the stage at Woodstock (Rubin was 11!), Illan Rubin is very much like a musical shark—he never stands still. Over the course of his career the powerful and inventive drummer has played with Nine Inch Nails, Paramore and Angels & Airwaves, and his own band The New Regime just put a new record out a few weeks ago. Even the global pandemic hasn’t slowed him down—Rubin’s been spending his time reading, writing new music and learning the clarinet. Although his band’s tour with Silversun Pickups got cancelled, Rubin’s not one to get down about these things—he just keeps making music. In this conversation, Rubin talks to Alex about quarantine reading, his fascination with World War II, Trent Reznor’s perfect pitch and why it’s important for musicians to learn a new instrument.

"If It Doesn’t Make Sense I Just Don’t Do It” Makes sense, doesn’t it? Well, it sure does to John Dolmayan. The System of a Down drummer has reached a point in his life where if something seems pointless, he sees no reason to even bother. That said, when John Dolmayan does do something, he does it with 100% purpose, commitment and heart. His first solo album, which operates under the moniker These Grey Men, is a burning testament to his life’s mission statement. A muscular platter of covers of songs by Radiohead, the Talking Heads and David Bowie, Dolmayan gathered an all-star group of musicians to assist him on his album. From Tom Morello to Serj Tankian, Dolmayan’s murderers row of guests on this record really make it shine. In this honest and candid chat, Dolmayan talks to Alex about listening to Iron Maiden and Stan Getz, why he sees no point in practicing, and how when he was a kid, mix tapes were the keys to the world. He also talks about the power of SOD’s democracy, and why it’s okay to have disagreements with your brother-in-law.

“Why Would You Stop What Your Mission Is On This Earth?” Well, the answer is, you wouldn’t. Or, more specifically, you shouldn’t. For the New York-born Rachael Sage, the details of her earthy mission came to her quite young as she taught herself how to play piano while listening to Beatles albums. Sage knew she was destined for the arts and her CV certainly agrees. She spent her teenage years as a classically trained ballerina, her college years at Stanford found her finishing with a degree in drama and her Graduate work earned her an MFA in theatre from the Actor’s Studio in Manhattan. Yes, Sage was artsy. But once her formal education ended, she dove headfirst into music. For the better part of 25 years Sage has been putting out album after album of some of the finest indie pop you’ll ever hear. Her new album Character explores what comprises the nuances of someone’s personality and it’s a catchy, moving and stirring journey through what keeps us up at night as much as what helps us sleep. In this candid chat, Sage talks to Alex about recording the new album, her recovery from cancer and the complexities of persona.