Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"A Boot And A Shoe" The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Sam Phillips has had quite a career. The Glendale-born musician has almost fifteen albums under her musical belt, including The Indescribable Wow, Cruel Inventions, Martinis and Bikinis, Cold Dark Nights and the newly reissued version of A Boot And A Shoe. We'll get to that in a minute, but before we do, let me give you a partial list of folks she's collaborated with over the years: R.EM., Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, Van Dyke Parks, Marc Ribot, Jim Keltner, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Other career highlights; she's composed scores for Gilmore Girls, Bunheads and the Marvelous Ms. Maisel, she appeared in Die Hard With A Vengeance and Wim Wenders' The End Of Violence (the throat cutting I referenced comes in the former) and her handmade collages on repurposed vintage album sleeves that were found at flea markets.were exhibited at the Gertrude Contemporary in Australia. But back to a Boot and A Shoe. The 2004 album has been given a proper reissue by Omnivore to commemorate its 20th anniversary. Available on CD and on vinyl for the very first time along with new liner notes penned by Phillips, the thirteen track album has never sounded better. Thanks to Phillips' lyrical dexterity and elegant phrasing and featuring numbers like "Reflecting Light," "If I Could Write," "Hole In My Pocket" and "One Day Late," A Boot And A Shoe" remains a timeless classic. www.samphillips.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter (what's left of it): @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"It's Only Rock and Roll" There's a lot to tell about Michael Des Barres, but let's start with the music. In the early '70s, the Sussex-born singer/songwriter fronted the glam rock band Silverhead, who were signed to Deep Purple's label. He decided to try his luck on the West Coast, moving to L.A. and fronting the rock/soul outfit, who were signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records. In '82, Des Barres formed the hard rock band Chequered Past with Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols and Clem Burke of Blondie. That band opened for folks like INXS and Duran Duran and that Duran Duran association proved auspicious as Des Barres was invited by Andy Taylor to replace Robert Palmer as the singer of The Power Station. I know I said Des Barres was a rock and roll chameleon, but at this point he sounds more like a rock and roll shark, doesn't he? He never stops moving. Des Barres fronted The Power Station at Live Aid and along the way he co-wrote "Obsession" with Holly Knight, which became a global hit for Animotion, he put out fabulous solo records, fronted another band called The Mistakes and in 2013 he joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of 200 Motels: The Suites, by Frank Zappa in which he appeared as Rance, the narrator. We'll get to his new album in a second, but let's talk about his acting first. Des Barres has so many IMDB credits, it's dizzying. Getting his start at age eight, he's appeared in over 100 television shows and close to fifty movies. Let me run through a few because it's nuts: All you '80s kids might remember him in The Ghoulies, but he was in To Sir With Love, Under Siege, and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and on television he was on Roseanne, Just Shoot Me, Frasier, Seinfeld, St. Elsewhere and MacGyver. Des Barres is a true rock and roll chameleon, because, like a chameleon, he's able to effortlessly change from situation to situation. That subtle shapeshifting quality makes folks like Des Barres able to basically do whatever he wants because he has massive range and can move through the cultural space with otherworldly ease. Des Barres' new album It's Only Rock and Roll is an affectionate tipping of the hat to the songs of the '70s that he loves. From Roxy Music's Love Is The Drug to Sweet's Fox On The Run to the Faces' Stay With Me, this is a scorcher of a record that features Des Barres sounding better than ever--his delivery still has the same muscular pounce and raw elegance and the 12 songs here are delivered with equal parts affection, admiration and grace. And this interview? An absolute blast. www.michaeldebarres.com (http://www.michaeldebarres.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"Photograph" Born in Honduras during a military coup, Lily Vakili has had quite a life. Raised on military bases in Thailand, Florida, Puerto Rico and Iowa, Vakili's musical worldview has been formed by the fact that she's been all over the world. Over the course of her fascinating life, she's been a waitress, a dancer, an actress, a filmmaker, a choreographer, a stage director, a human rights researcher, a Harvard-trained biotech lawyer. I mean, those are pretty much all the things. But there's more. A mother and a ferocious advocate for disability rights, Vakili is the real deal; a passionate person who believes in authenticity and truth, Vakili's music is redolent with those very same qualities. A blistering blend of streetsmart punk, smoldering poetry and big rock and roll hooks, The Vakili Band bring to mind the Velvet Underground, The Pretenders and Jimmy Gnecco of Ours. The music is as driving as it is sensual; it's rich, it's textured and it's wonderful. From the Tannersville EP to albums like Honey or Walking Sideways, The Vakili Band's discography is one that's moving from strength to strength. Lily is doing a solo tour with John Douglas of the Trashcan Sinatras www.vakiliband.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"Between Time" When it comes to a life in rock and roll, South African singer/songwriter Steve Louw has had three of them. The inductee to the South African Rock Hall of Fame fronted the band All Night Radio in the '80s and their two albums The Heart's The Best Part and The Killing Floor remain undisputed classics. From there, Louw formed Big Sky and they hit the ground running in 1990, putting out five winning albums like Waiting For The Dawn, Horizon and Going Down With Mr. Green. The song Waiting For The Dawn, by the way, is considered by many to be one of the most important songs in the history of South African music. As a solo artist, Louw has released three albums, including his new one Between Time. A rousing blast of rootsy rock and roll , Between Time has as much muscle as it does finesse and it's one of our favorite albums of 2024. Louw has collaborate Brian May of Queen and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, he's toured with Rodriguez, had hit singles all over the radio and he sells out wherever he plays. He's a fabulous guy and a global treasure and we're lucky to have him on the show. www.stevelouw.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Dreamweaver" With just under ten albums under their musical belts, the Danish darkwave outfit Trentemøller are one of the most inventive bands around. Led by the Grammy-nominated braintrust Anders Trentemøller, their music is a thoughtful blend of swirling electronica, lashing techno, sweeping synthpop and cinematic ambient soundscapes. Albums like The Last Resort and Obverse were instant classics and their new one Dreamweaver might be their best one yet. The ethereal vocals on this record bring to mind everyone from Mazzy Starr to the Cocteau Twins and the accompanying arrangements are moody, thoughtful, dramatic and arresting. Anders is one of alternative music's great sonic architects, and he's remixed so many people's music, we'd be here all day if I named them all, so keep in mind this is a partial list: Pet Shop Boys, Robyn, Franz Ferdinand and Depeche Mode. Not only is he the High King of Darkwave, he's a super nice guy and this is a fabulous chat! www.trentemoller.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"The Quiver" A poet, a radio host on WPKN and a memoirist, the New Haven based psychotherapist Binnie Klein is also a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale. Her 2010 memoir, by the way, Blows To The Head, How Boxing Changed My Mind, is a revelation, But let's get back to the poetry. Klein started the indie music collective In These Trees back in 2019 and her friendship with Australian singer/songwriter Tartie that resulted in an exchange of poetry, augmented that collective's strength with a ten-song album of heart-stopping beauty that is some of the most compelling and sonorous music of the year. Stereo Embers' Dave Cantrell describes the album as burning with aching, perseverant grace and goes on to say that when hearing it, he collapse every time, dropping into that kind of breath-caught, near-tears surrender that amounts to what I can only think to call ‘the innate emotional wow of recognition. Yes, he likes it. And I do too. A lot. www.inthesetrees.bandcamp.com (http://www.inthesetrees.bandcamp.com) www.binnieklein.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.ccom) Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"All You Need To Know" The Vancouver outfit Mossy Ledge got started in the early '90s and by 2001 they had put in the reps, touring across Canada and putting out two excellent albums and two fabulous EPs. With seven years or so under their rock and roll belts, the band was poised to take the next step in their career. Their sonorous blast of soaring indie pop brought to mind a perfect blend of The Watchmen and Catherine Wheel and with a solid live following and hooks galore, that next step seemed decidedly inevitable. So inevitable, in fact, they decided not to take it. The story of Mossy Ledge is the story of a band whose story should be more familiar, but at the height of their powers, the Canadian outfit opted for curtain number two, which sits in close proximity to curtain number one. The latter is the tantalizing and promising rock and roll dream, while behind the former is the logical and sensible domestic life that holds just as much promise. Behind both curtains are two different kinds of riches and a cool head knows that number two probably makes the most sense in the long run, but number one is a seductive character and behind it danger and desire eye each other carefully. Well, long story short, danger and desire weren't seductive enough and the members of Mossy Ledge stepped away to live their lives. What could have been is a thought exercise that would keep anyone up at night--and let's face it, we all have our own version of that. And look, the Mossy Ledge guys didn't have a bust-up or any severed alliance--they just made a decision and went their separate ways. Until now. Breaking a nearly twenty-five year absence, the band is back and ready to pick up where they left off. This is such a cool story and James Milligan, who sings for the band, is such a cool guy and when he tells the story, you'll totally get it. So let's let him do just that: here's me and James of Mossy Ledge having a chat, right here on Stereo Embers The Podcast. Mossy Ledge: https://linktr.ee/mossyledge www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Hang In There With Me" If you're an artist, you either move West or you move East. In the case of the Pennsylvania-born Amy Rigby, she went east. Landing in New York in the late seventies, Rigby absorbed the music of the city and took assiduous notes about punk rock, indie scenesters and the rhythms of the age. I'm zipping through time here, but if you want to know about Rigby's New York years, read her fabulous memoir Girl To City, which I think is one of the best books about music ever written. She later married Will Rigby of The DB's and played in bands like The Shams and Last Roundup, but it wasn't until the mid-'90s with her solo debut Diary Of A Mod Housewife that she began to flex her songwriting muscle. Hilarious, heartfelt and in many ways conversational, Rigby's work is intimate and familiar and over the course of her winning discography which includes albums like The Sugar Tree, Little Fugitive and her brilliant new one Hang In There With Me, Rigby has proven herself to be one of the most tunefully engaging songwriters on the planet. Her songs have been covered by everyone from Ronnie Spector to John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, she's been praised by everyone from Mojo Magzine to Steve Earle and along with her husband Wreckless Eric, she's made a handful of flawless records. Hang In There With Me is a sterling set of more Rigby classics and frankly, she's never sounded better; nobody writes with such a perfect balance of candor and finesse. www.amyrigby.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Once Was Gleaming" The California-born Tanner Porter is a composer, arranger, performer, vocalist and songwriter. Her voice is otherwordly and wonderful, and set against her complex orchestral arrangements, it evokes everyone from Kate Bush to Tori Amos. Her debut album The Summer Sinks was a stone cold stunner and her new album Once Was Gleaming picks up where Summer left off, offering a stirring and moving song-cycle that's filled with breathtaking musical finesse, and almost cinematic compositional scope. Tanner’s orchestral music has been commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony, and Nu Deco Ensemble, among others. She's collaborated on ballets that were premiered by the Boston Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet, had short operas commisioned by Barnard College and Columbia University’s New Opera Workshop and she's been busy on Broadway in ILLINOISE, with music by Sufjan Stevens as a vocal/guitar understudy for two roles. Tanner has been a composer-in-residence with the Louisville Orchestra's 2023-2024 Creators Corps, a fellow of the Aspen Music Festival,and her works have been presented at Carnegie Hall, the New World Symphony’s New World Center, and the Prototype Festival. She was a 2019 recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Scholarship. Tanner holds degrees in composition from the University of Michigan and the Yale School of Music. Once Was Gleaming is as sweeping as it is dramatic, punctuated by strings and electronica and a voice that soars through it all with inexplicable beauty. It's revelatory work. www.tannerporter.com (http://www.tannerporter.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast

"Top Of The World" The Emmy Award-nominated Mark Bacino is more than just a craftsman of pure pop magic--he's a producer, composer, educator and journalist. I first got on board with Mark's music in 2003 for his brilliant album Million Dollar Milkshake, which was the follow-up to his equally brilliant debut, Pop Job. Since then, he's put out Queens English in 2010 and fifteen years later he's backed that up with his brand new album Top Of The World. A sterling ten-song set, Top Of The World is filled with hooks galore, but it's also Bacino's most observational and philosophical work yet. Filled with tracks like the thrilling percussive stomp of Not That Guy to the horny swagger of Flop Of The World, Bacino has never sounded more assured. Falling somewhere between Marshall Crenshaw and Mike Viola, Bacino's music is a refreshing and charming streetsmart pop. I call him the Cole Porter of Queens because his lyrics are clever, his timing impeccable and his humor and wisdom always on full display. Bacino is the owner of The Queens English Recording Co., a boutique studio-music production house where he produces fellow artists and composes for TV/advertising. He currently serves as Producer of New Media and Audio Content for Queens Public Television in New York City where he’s earned those two Emmy nominations for his audio engineering work and he hosts both the “Queens Creative” and “Queens County USA” podcasts. He also writes for Guitar World, SonicScoop and Songwriter’s Market. www.markbacino.com (http://www.markbacino.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast