Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"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

"Reverb & Seduction" The Portland outfit Federale have been one of the most fascinating and inventive bands of the last twenty years. Led by Collin Hegna, Federale have put out a handful of albums whose affecting instrumental cinemascapes, dark country ballads and psych rock excursions bring to mind a version of and the Dirty Three had they hailed from the verdant and moody Pacific Northwest. The band's new album and sixth overall, Reverb & Seduction is an ambitious and wicked blend of dusty pedal steel, high desert reverb and ominous strings that all add up to a deliciously dark and foreboding feeling that something's going to happen and not only is not going to be good, there's nothing you can do to stop it. With a lineup that boasts members of The Shivas, Roselit Bone, Dandy Warhols, and Rogue Wave, plus a guest appearance by Alex Maas of The Black Angels, Reverb & Seduction is one of the year's very best. As for Hegna, he's a busy fellow--not only does he front Federale, he's been in the Brian Jonestown Massacre for the past two decades, which also makes him the longest serving member of that band, he's a recording engineer and owner of Revolver Studios in Portland where he's produced records by everyone from Roselit Bone to David J. www.collinghegna.com www.federalemusic.bandcamp.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradiocom) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG; @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Everlasting Love" Plenty of people have gone it alone in music--blues and folk musicians are well-acquainted with being on stage with just a handful of songs and acoustic guitar. But for a new wave artist back in the early '80s, it wasn't a common thing to be a one man band. And Howard Jones was exactly that. In an age where multiple-membered outfits like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode graced the stage, Jones took the old blues and folk formula and gave it a synthy twist. It was a huge gamble and it paid off rather well. Over the course of his winning career, the Southampton-born Jones has stacked his CV with highlight after highlight: from '83-'92 he crushed it, with 15 top 40 singles around the world. He's put out nearly twenty albums that have sold close to ten million copies, he played Live Aid, Amnesty International's Festival of Youth, and The Grammys. What else did Howard Jones do? Tons: he's played with Mark Knopfler, Mark King of Level 42, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock, toured as a member of Ringo Starr's All Starr Band, toured with OMD, the Barenaked Ladies and Eurythmics, had his music appear in Party of Five and movies like Better Off Dead and he joined the board of directors for the Featured Artists Coalition which was founded in 2009. Howard is touring with ABC and Haircut 100 now and he's busy, but he made time for us and we certainly appreciate it. www.howardjones.com (http://www.howardjones.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"One Hand Up" Karen Haglof has had many lives--and she's lived them with creative poise and artistic grace. The Minnesota-born musician put herself on the musical map with Steve Almaas in the band The Crackers before joining the indie rock orchestra Rhys Chatham’s Ensemble. From there, and by the way, this is a clumsy expurgate list of Hagloff's accomplishments, she joined the Band of Susans with some of the Chatham’s crew. After that, she became chef of the East Village's beloved The Great Jones Cafe' where she created their famous brunch menu and then she went to medical school, knocked out her medical degree and then joined the hematology / oncology department of New York University Hospital from which she retired in May 2023. If this is making you feel like an underachiever, I get it. We're all feeling that way. The fact is, Karen Hagloff is extraordinary. Her fourth solo album One Hand Up is the winning continuation of a music career she put on hold until 2014. Along with guitarist Mario Viele and CP Roth on drums, it's a startling and bold entry into her fabulous discography. As Stereo Embers Dave Cantrell writes: From the beguiling, personal, damn near avant country romp of the opening title track, rich with sublty applied effects to the snaky phat throb of instrumental “Rte 66 Revisited” that closes this record thirteen tracks later like some kind of funk demon prowling out the door, One Hand Up is an enticement, a gambol, a salmagundi of enchantments mixed with sure-handed production and flat-out ace musicianship. It is, in short, a veritable soundtrack to the love story between joy and intensity." www.karenhagloff.com (http://www.karenhagloff.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Whitelined" Formed in Barnum, Colorado in the early oughts by pals Ryan Policky and Erik Jeffries, A Shoreline Dream wasted no time in establishing themselves as a band to be reckoned with. No scruffy apprentice years here--albums like Avoiding The Consequences and Losing Them All To This Time were fully formed blasts of bruising guitars drenched in pure sonic muscle. Not only that, but lurking behind the sheets of fuzz was an undeniable pop center that, nearly twenty years later has never sounded more assured. The follow-up to their brilliant 2022 Loveblind album is called Whitelined and not only is it a masterpiece of musical architecture, and swerving beauty, it's got a little backstory. The fellas in A Shoreline Dream happened to meet Ride's Mark Gardener at a Denver gig and a friendship turned into a working relationship as well and the ideas started whipping back and forth and this album is a perfect blend of their musical union. A Shoreline Dream have opened for Chapterhouse, played South By Southwest, covered Fleetwood Mac and had their music used in a British GQ ad. www.ashorelinedream.bandcamp.com www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"The Morrison Project" The London-born guitarist and singer/songwriter Billy Morrison has two main components to his life and for the purposes of this introduction, I'm going to tell you about the musical one. The other one I'll let him tell you about because he'll tell it far better than I can. So: the musical one. After playing in bands like Into A Circle and Stimulator, Morrison was recruited to play bass with The Cult for their opening slot with Aerosmith in the U.S., Japan and Europe. After his stint with The Cult, Morrison formed Camp Freddy with Dave Navarro, Donovan Leitch, Scott Ford and The Cult's Matt Sorum. You'll find the through-line in Morrison's life has a lot to do with The Cult. In 2006 Morrison teamed up with Fuel's Brett Scallions, Ricky Warwick of The Almighty, Slunt's Charles Ruggiero, Korn's Rob Patterson and, you guessed it, The Cult's Billy Duffy for the band Circus Diablo. In 2010 he joined Billy Idol's band and he's been with him ever since, playing stadium shows across the world. Camp Freddy morphed into Royal Machines adding Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Josh Freese to the lineup. Morrison's new album is called The Morrison Project and it's got a murderer's row of guests including Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Steve Stevens, Darryl DMC McDaniels of Run DMC, Ozzy Osbourne and Corey Taylor of Slipknot, among others. The album is a big crunchy blast of hard rock bliss with careening guitar riffs and hooks galore. It's not only one of the most satisfying and energizing albums of the year, it's landed Morrison his first number one. Well-deserved. Morrison has acted in movies, become a notable art collector and artist and he co-hosts a show with Ozzy on Sirius. Busy fellow. Billy is the real deal and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. www.billymorrison.com (http://www.billymorrison.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com 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 www.bombshellradio.com Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Fantastic Day" Formed in 1980 in London, the new wave funk outfit Haircut 100 are one of those bands that tore right out of the gates. A top four single Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) before even having a record out was a pretty propelling start. That record came in the form of 1982's platinum seller Pelican West, which not only went to #2 on the UK albums chart, it spawned more Top 10 singles like Love Plus One, Fantastic Day and Nobody's Fool. Singer Nick Heyward, left the band after their debut and embarked on a brilliant solo career, which yielded hit singles like Whistle Down The Wind and Blue Hat For A Blue Day, along with flawless albums like North Of A Miracle, From Monday To Sunday and The Apple Bed. And now Haircut 100 are back, playing shows across the U.K. including Glastonbury and North America in August and you should see them if you can because they've never sounded better. And I believe new music is on the way, which is very exciting. For my money, Nick Heyward is one of the most brilliant songwriters of all time. It's hard to think of someone who writes with such elegance, finesse and melodic muscle. He's a master craftsman, a writer with poetic poise and harmonic genius. I think this guy's practically peerless and his work has meant so much to me for a very long time. www.haircut100.com (http://www.haircut100.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com