Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Angles And Ordinary Men" Back in the late '90s Wendy Lands' debut album Angels and Ordinary Men landed on my desk in the form a package from Canada and I dove right in. Falling somewhere between Beth Orton's Trailer Park and Sade's Stronger Than Pride, the album was a revelation. It was soulful, it was atmospheric, it was melodic, it was rich, and it was filled with musical finesse and jazzy textures that made repeat listens more and more rewarding. So who is Wendy Lands and what in the devil has she been up to since her marvelous debut album? She's going to fill you in far better than I ever could, but let me give you some quick details: In the early '90s the Montreal-born, Toronto-raised Wendy Lands cut her musical teeth doing theatre adn playing in a pop band called Double Dare. Her debut album spawned two top 40 hits and landed her a Juno nomination for Best New Solo artist in 1997. She toured with Jann Arden, grabbed two Canadian Radio Music Award nominations and as a side hustle, she recorded a series of commercial voice overs. Remember that last bit...She moved to LA to be a songwriter, writing numbers with Paul Williams and Melissa Manchester, then moved back to Canada where she released two more fabulous albums Mumble and Altitude. This is a partial list, Wendy is going to fill in the blanks, but her main gig now is being a widely respected voice actor. Is there new music simmering? Of course there is, but I'll defer to her on that one, too. Look, Wendy Lands is wonderful. Her voice is smooth and stunning, her vocal poise is otherworldly and aside from her gifts behind the mic, she's one of the nicest people ever. www.wendylands.com (http://www.wendylands.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alegreenbooks.com) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Boom Boom Boom Bingo" Scruffy The Cat dominated the College Rock scene of the late '80s with a run of fabulous albums like Tiny Days and Moons of Jupiter, plus two stellar EPs High Octane Revival and Boom Boom Boom Bingo. If you don't have these four releases-get them. They're the most perfect blasts of rootsy indie pop you'll ever hear. The six member Boston outfit, which formed in '83 lasted just under a decade, breaking up in 1990. Over the course of their career they went Top 5 on the CMJ College Radio Charts, were played on MTV's 120 minutes, were critically lauded by pretty much everyone, including the Village Voice and The Chicago Tribune, cracked the Billboard Top 200 and toured with Los Lobos, The Replacements and Yo La Tengo. The six member Scruffy personnel consisted of Charlie Chesterman, Stephen Fredette, MacPaul Stanfield, Randall Lee Gibson IV, Stona Fitch and Burns Stanfield. Omnivore put out two great anthologies that celebrate the band's legacy and as far as alums go, Scruffy is down two men with the deaths of Chesterman and Gibson, but the music remains and it sounds as fresh as ever. As for Stephen Fredette, he's a marvelous and accomplished artist who did all the Scruffy covers, and he just had his first gallery show in the Boston area. And he's been working on some songs.... www.scruffythecat.com (http://www.scruffythecat.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"Chaos And Wonder" Donnette Thayer went west for college and when the Colorado-born Thayer arrived at UC Davis with veterinary aspirations she found a thriving arts community that she fell right into. She'd played classical music growing up, but suddenly found herself fronting alternative bands like X-Men, The Veil and No Matter What. She guested on Game Theory's Blaze of Glory and then joined the band full-time in 1986. She was in the band for the Lolita Nation and Two Steps From The Middle Ages albums before she left in 1988. That same year she formed Hex with Steve Kilbey of The Church and put out two marvelous albums--the self-titled debut and the swooning follow up Vast Halos. Thayer put out a solo album called Chaos and Wonder and then what? Well, I'll have her fill in the gaps and bring you up to date. But let me say this about Donnette--her voice is a breathtaking blend of beauty and finesse and it swirls through the compositions with a beguiling and airy command. She's a marvelous musician and an absolutely lovely person. www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com www.embersarts.com Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"A Family Album" The California-born and Washington-raised Holly Palmer has had quite a career. Signed to Reprise in the mid-nineties, Palmer garnered well-deserved critical-acclaim and toured with the likes of Paula Cole, k.d. Lang and Shawn Colvin. David Bowie asked her to sing background vocals on his Hours album and then he asked her to join his 1999 world tour as a singer/percussionist. Some career highlights: she joined Gnarls Barkley on their World Tour, recorded a duet with Michael Buble', sang background and played acoustic guitar on Idina Menzel's I Stand Tour, wrote the theme to the television show Mob City, and formed the musical duo Bubbles and Cheesecake with Ailee Willis who wrote September and Boogie Wonderland with Earth, Wind & Fire. She's worked with Jellyfish's Roger Manning Jr, Dr. Dre, Don Was and Dave Navarro--how's that for range? She can do anything. Holly Palmer has put out five perfect solo albums including her 1996 self-titled debut, 2007's Songs For Tuesday and 2017's A Family Album. A graduate of the Berkelee College Of Music Palmer has since gone on to explore the nuances of voice and music composition. Her phrasing, her timing and her beautiful timbre make her one of the greats. She's a mom, a wife, an artist and a student all at once and she just keeps crushing it.  www.hollypalmerlife.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Movement" There’s nothing about Peter Hook that I can tell you you don’t already know, so let’s just do a refresher run through his musical CV. In the late '70s Hook formed Joy Division with childhood pal Bernard Sumner after the two friends saw the Sex Pistols play in Manchester. The band only put out two albums and one of those albums, the legendary Closer was put out two months after the band had ceased to b,e due to the suicide of singer Ian Curtis on the eve of Joy Division’s debut US/Canada tour. Rechristened New Order and consisting of the remaining members of Joy Division plus keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, New Order blended jittery post-punk rhythms with dance music. The result? Well, you know the result. They were one of the biggest bands of the '80s, spawning hits like True Faith, The Perfect Kiss, Subculture and Blue Monday, which was the biggest selling 12-inch of all time. It might still be. New Order dominated the '80s, but the '90s weren’t too shabby—they had a #1 UK hit with World In Motion in 1990 and they had their biggest US hit with “Regret” in 1993. They kept crushing it, putting out Get Ready in 2001 and collaborating with Billy Corgan and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream. They were given the Godlike Genius award at the 2005 NME awards and got nominated for a Grammy in 2006 for Guilt Is a Useless Emotion. Then things got a bit sour, with Hook leaving the band in 2007 and forming his own outfit Peter Hook and the Light, a band that featured his son Jack and much to his fans delight, revisited the Joy Division and New Order songbooks. Over the course of his career Hook has worked with The Stone Roses, and Perry Farrell, he toured with the Durutti Column, put out albums with Revenge and Monaco and wrote one of the best music books ever: Substance; Inside New Order. This is a partial list, btw. Almost a partial partial list because when it comes to Peter Hook, there’s a lot of ground to cover. But these are the basics. Do a deeper dive after you hear the show—the guy is a titan. As for his split with New Order and his boyhood pal Bernard, we don’t have time to go over the legal end of that dissolution, so let’s just say this. If you’re hoping for a reunion you’re wasting your good hope energy. Not going to happen. As a bassist, he plays with an authoritative blend of prowl and sting and not only is he one of the all time greats, he also happens to be a nice guy. This chat covers his fractured friendship with Sumner, why the New Order/Joy Division songbooks appeal to fans across generations and what Hooky has learned from his old material. www.peterhookandthelight.live www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Forwards” For more than 40 years the Welsh band the Alarm have been one of the most consistent acts on the planet, playing songs with conviction, heart and belief. With almost 20 studio albums under their belts, along with a discography that includes live albums, box sets and EPs, The Alarm are one of those bands where you pretty much want everything they put out. From albums like Declaration to Strength to their brand new one Forwards, The Alarm are a completist’s band. Speaking of Forwards, it’s a remarkable record—singer/songwriter Mike Peters has never sounded better, his voice alive with muscle and belief. The Welsh band have had a remarkable career that’s filled with endless highlights-- they toured with U2 and Bob Dylan, played at Queen’s Live at Wembley concert in 1986, been on IRS’s the Cutting Edge and American Bandstand, had hit singles all over the world even cracking the Billboard Top 50 here in the States, and wrote a song that became the official Welsh anthem for Euro 2020. This is a band that’s all about community, support and they remain as vital as ever. www.thealarm.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com www.embersarts.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Everything On Memory" The Fresno-born, Modesto-raised Jim Fairchild got his start on guitar as a teenager and in the mid-nineties became the lead guitar player for the indie rock outfit Grandaddy. That would be enough to make a resume’ shimmer, but Fairchild was just getting started. He was the touring guitar player for Giant Sand, he worked with everyone from Hawaii to Dappled Cities and he took over for Johnny Marr in Modest Mouse in 2009 and played lead guitar for them until 2021. Fairchild fronted the band All Smiles, he was selected to lead a project at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2010 and started a new project called Grace Meridian in 2020. But that’s not all—Fairchild currently is the Director of A&R for Dangerbird Records and he’s scoring films like the documentary Common Ground and Bee The Change, which is narrated by Ellie Goulding. And we haven’t even talked about Small Isles yet. Their new EP Everything On Memory has been described by Fairchild as, "written as the imagined score to a Christopher Nolan-directed movie I dreamt about in which Donald and Steven Glover wrote a script in response to Modest Mouse's "Third Planet”. To my ears, Small Isles’ new release is a moody blend of spellbinding cinemascapes, arching crescendos, soaring distant melodies and futuristic percussion, all of which adds up to one of the most spellbinding releases of the year. Fairchild recently scored the documentary film Common Ground (Donald Glover, Laura Dern, Woody Harrelson, Rosario Dawson, Ian Somerhalder) which won the Tribeca Film Festival “Human/Nature” award. He is currently working on the follow up, Bee The Change narrated by Ellie Goulding, which will premiere at COP 28 (United Nations Climate Change Conference). Small Isles on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallislespicturemusic Bandcamp: https://smallislesmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-valley-the-mountains-the-sea www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.embersarts.com www.alexgreenbooks.com www.bombshellradio.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Silent Highway" Formed out of the ashes of the post-punk outfit Finger Printz, the Silencers' core was comprised of two members of that band--guitarist Cha Burns and singer Jimme O'Neill. The Silencers quickly signed to RCA and hit the ground running, putting out three brilliant albums in under five years. They toured with Squeeze, The Pretenders, The Alarm and at one point, when opening for Simple Minds at Wembley, they played in front of 80,000 people. And they crushed it. O'Neill is one of those frontmen you can't take your eyes off--he's a dynamic performer who's loaded with energy and charisma, making every second of a Silencers gig a thrilling experience. The Silencers have put out nearly fifteen albums, including A Letter From St. Paul, A Blues For Buddah, A Night Of Electric Silence and their latest effort Silent Highway, which marks their first album in fifteen years. And they haven't lost a step--O'Neill remains one of the most thoughtful songwriters around and Silent Highway is a thrilling return to form. Although Burns passed away in 2007, O'Neill is carrying the torch proudly along with a crack band that includes two of his kids, Aura and James O'Neill. This is an expurgated history of a brilliant band, but Jimme will fill in the gaps and then some--he's got some amazing stories and profound insights. This guy is the real deal. www.thesilencersmusic.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.embersarts.com (http://www.embersarts.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.c) Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com)

"Follow The Leader" So, Rain Phoenix first was on my radar back in 1991 when she and her brother River had a band called Aleka's Attic. They had a marvelous song called Across The Way on this compilation Tame Yourself, which also featured The Pretenders, Michael Stipe, the Indigo Girls and K.D. Lang. The Texas-born Phoenix acted in TV shows like Family Ties and Amazing Stories and in movies like Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and Hitch. She fronted Papercranes, who put out three really great albums and she was in the Galactic Country band Venus and the Moon with Chris Stills. She also put out a really stunning solo album called River, which was named after her late brother, in 2019. A native of Southern California, Kirk Hellie is like a music archeologist because he knows how to dig sounds out of the deepest of grounds. A lover and studier of Avant Garde music, was in bands like Hellie Siblings, Death Loop Detonator and Pink Noise Test. Hellie played with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, and toured with The Cramps and Iggy Pop.Together, Phoenix and Hellie are Escape Artist Lovers, who play a dizzying blend of sonorous and scruffy indie rock that sounds something like Beth Orton fronting the Jesus and Mary Chain. The interplay between these two musicians is pure magic and the songs, whether they're stripped back or coated in layers of fuzz and groove, are delicious slices of melodic bliss.   https://escapeartistlovers.bandcamp.com/ www.launchleft.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

"Breathwork" The Hawaii-born, New York raised and London Royal Academy of Music-educated Lara Somogyi is one of the most gifted harpists on the planet. A traditionalist and a modernist, Somogyi is an inventive instrumentalist who isn't afraid of exploring new creative possibilities for her instrument. As a composer, Somogyi has experimented with blending electronica and pedal effects and the results have yielded the boldest and most dynamic sonic leaps in the history of the harp. She has single-handedly recontextualized an instrument whose last great leap forward was probably during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when its popularity led it to evolve into different iterations. Somogyi has emerged in recent years as the most in-demand session harpist around--she's not only recorded for movies like The Lion King and Coming To America 2 and television shows like Bridgerton and Little Fires Everywhere, she's played with John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Josh Groban and Rufus Wainwright. Awarded as an honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for her contributions to her field, her latest effort is an expanded edition of her exclamation mark album. That's right, it's just a single blast of punctuation, which is perfect, because it's a very singular album. Redolent with thrilling textures and virtuoso playing, ! is a stirring blend of sweeping soundscapes, moving crescendos and poetic subtlety. It's just gorgeous work. Lara is a thoughtful and fascinating musical practitioner, and she also happens to be an incredibly nice person. www.larasomogyi.com www.bombshellradio.com www.embersarts.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Twitter: @emberseditor IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com