13th Floor MusicTalk

The Half-Cubes are one half of veteran power-pop band The Flashcubes who formed in Syracuse, NY way back in 1977. The original band is still going strong while drummer Tommy Allen and bassist Gary Frenay have split off to crank out another 24 power-pop classics as The Half-Cubes on their new album titled Pop Treasures.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Gary and Tommy about making Pop Treasures with the help of fellow power-pop legends such as members of The Sighs, The Sinceros, The Rubinoos and The Hudson Brothers.

Los Bitchos have released their second album, titled Talkie Talkie, and here is guitarist Serra Petale to tell us how the band has evolved since their acclaimed debut disc.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Serra, the Australian member of the quartet, who is in London to reveal how she and her bandmates added a new, “sparkly edge” to this collection of exotic instrumentals.

Shihad frontman Jon Toogood is just days away from releasing his first solo album, Last Of The Lonely Gods. Jon visited The 13th Floor and shared his thoughts and  insights on making this very personal record.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Jon about the 'personal carnage' that motivated the songwriting behind this record

Its been a dozen years or so since Nashville-based singer/songwriter Mindy Smith has released a new album. But now we have Quiet Town, 12 new songs that she calls "a meditation on overcoming adversity".

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Mindy about making Quiet Town, a record that was informed by her meeting of her birth family and discovering her Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountain roots. 

Modern English formed in 1977, signed to 4AD and hit it big in 1982 with I Melt With You. The original band is back together and they’ve done just about everything over the past 40 years except perform in New Zealand.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Modern English front man Robbie Grey about what we can expect when the band finally gets here for three shows in November, opening for The Buzzcocks.

Blues belter Shemekia Copeland is back with Blame It On Eve an album she calls, "a vacation from all the heaviness" of the trilogy of records that preceded it.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Shemekia somewhere in California where she was quite happy to talk about working with Will Kimbrough, Luther Dickinson and Alejandro Escovedo.

The Bug Club are a three-piece band from Wales who have been described as sounding like the Modern Lovers meet Nuggets-style garage rock. We think they just rock and so do the good folks at Sub Pop who have just released their new album titled, On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Sam Willmett and Tilly Harris in South Wales and talked to them about James Bond, long lunches and war movies.

Kiwi singer-songwriter Molly Payton is now living in London where we found her after coming off a European tour promoting her debut album, YOYOTTA, or You're On Your Own This Time, Again.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Molly who was up early...7am with a cup of tea... with plenty to talk about including how she rebounded after being dropped by her manager and label and why she's obsessed with Neil Young

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Randall Bramblett has just released his latest collection of original songs titled Paradise Breakdown.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Randall in his home studio in Athens, Georgia and talked to him about songwriting, aging, politics and anything else that came to mind. With a 50 + year career in music playing and writing for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman Steve Winwood and Bettye LaVette, along with his own impressive solo career, Randall's earned the right to speak his mind. 

Ash is coming back! The Northern Irish trio finally played New Zealand last year after a 20-year hiatus. Now they are coming back with The Singles Tour and a few tunes from their latest album as well.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Ash front man Tim Wheeler about the band's favourite singles...both their own and by others....and how the band Garbage took them under their wing when Ash were getting their own Teenage Kicks.