The Third Story with Leo Sidran

How Minneapolis influenced Prince, and how Prince reframed Minneapolis. Paul Peterson (The Time, The Family), Ricky Peterson (Paisley Park producer) and Monte Moir (The Time) tell of their time in the Prince camp. 

For this 50th Episode special, bassist and composer Michael Thurber turns the tables on Third Story host Leo Sidran. They explore Leo's musical career (which includes writing songs for the Steve Miller Band as a teenager, co-producing an Oscar winning song, and surviving in the jingle jungle of commercial music), the Third Story podcast, and finding his own path.

Before director Marc Webb was handed the keys to the Spider Man franchise (he directed both Amazing Spider Man movies), he made the 500 Days Of Summer – a film that wove music and image together in a deeply compelling way.  Before he made his first feature film, he directed nearly 150 music videos.  And before he did any of that, he went to high school with Third Story host Leo Sidran in Madison, Wisconsin. Here he tells the story of how a theater kid from the Midwest went on to make his mark on music videos, and then on the big screen, how he handles the expectations of the job, stays in touch with his creative instincts, and what makes a good director.

As a young girl living in Mexico City, Gabriela Quintero dreamed of living by the beach, playing guitar and taking responsibility for herself.  Many years, albums, concerts and collaborations have happened since then, and her band Rodrigo y Gabriela is one of the most highly regarded projects to emerge out of Mexico in the recent past. Her unique guitar technique has inspired guitarists around the world.  But for Gabriela the biggest success is the fact that she lived by the beach and plays guitar. Here she tells the story, explains the power of fearlessness and the importance of community. 

How did it feel to produce one of the biggest records of all time (Nirvana's Nevermind)? What is the key to great production? How does he listen to new music and what is he looking for in a band? How much of his job is in the interpersonal interactions with people? How much is technical? How did computers change the way he makes records? How has being in a band impacted the way he works with other bands?

Composer Maria Schneider, Arranger Rob Mounsey, Producer Michael Leonhart, Engineer Al Schmitt, Drummer Bill Stewart, Organist Larry Goldings, Engineer James Farber, and Singer Alex Cuba - all Grammy nominated in 2016 - on the intersection between music and life. 

What did it feel like in Paris on the night of Friday, November 13th?   From my point of view, it started with a lot of positive energy. I walked into the Sunset jazz club in the Chatelet area, where I was performing with my dad’s quartet, and said hello to some friends who had come to see the show. It was a good crowd, a full house on a Friday night and people were out to have a good time.   We played the first set and took our first break. One audience member said something to me about an event that had happened in a soccer stadium in Paris. I didn’t think too much about it.   We played the second set. When we finished it was around 11:30pm. My cell phone was starting to fill up with text messages from abroad – something was happening in Paris. I looked at the audience and noticed that everyone was glued to their cell phones, following the news. We still had one more set of music to play.   Finally we saw a news alert that some shootings were happening not far from us. I felt an intense need to get out of there. I felt a strong awareness of my own mortality and a feeling of vulnerability that I don’t think I ever felt before.   Within a short time, we all came to the conclusion that it would be better to end early than to play the third set.   The streets of Paris had already started to clear out. An eerie stillness came over the city, and there was nothing but the sound of sirens in the distance, all night long.   This is my conversation with my father, Ben, about our impressions of that night.

Singer-songwriter Becca Stevens has been making music since she was a little girl, singing in her family band, the Tune Mammals. Since moving to New York city for college over a decade ago, she has been a fixture on the jazz and singer-songwriter scenes, working with her own band as well as with some of the most talented and exciting new jazz artists today, including Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jose James, Billy Childs, Taylor Eigsti, Gretchen Parlato & Rebecca Martin. (Stevens, Parlato and Martin have a band together called Tillery.) In 2015 Becca released her third solo album, “Perfect Animal”.  We spent a lovely evening at her kitchen table, sharing a bottle of wine and getting to know one another. We talked about how important it is to allow yourself to stay creatively vulnerable and take chances, how to overcome writers block, and the benefits of lack of time when it comes to creative process.