13th Floor MusicTalk

Sparks is coming to New Zealand for the first time in their 55+ year career...how and why have the Mael Brothers covered so much musical territory and managed to remain vital? Ron Mael tells all.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda has been a fan of Sparks since he saw them in concert in 1975. So he had a lot of questions for older Mael brother Ron. At age 80, and with no sign of slowing down, Ron fields questions about aging, seeing The Beatles (twice), working with Georgio Moroder and admiring Muhammad Ali.

With The Waterboys slated to start touring in May with dates throughout New Zealand and Australia, we figured it was time to catch up with head Waterboy Mike Scott.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda found Scott in Dublin where he had plenty to say….about Dennis Hopper, Steve Earle, Fisherman’s Blues and trolling through 80 reels of tape. Be sure to catch the band on tour…they are on fire!

Are you ready for Mogan David and The Winos? The band was formed in LA over 50 years ago by a group of University students who would become movers and shakers and the music biz. Now, their own music is available on Liberation Hall and its called, Savage Young Winos.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Harold Bronson who, in addition to being a founding member of the Winos, co-founded Rhino Records with Richard Foos…another Wino…and has also become a respected music journalist. Other members of the band have gone on to become bigwigs at Columbia and Warner Brothers Records, while another is a New York Times best-selling author. So, how did this scuffy group of underachievers get started? Here is Harold Bronson with their story.

Coromandel-based electronic artist Matt Sephton has just released a new album titled, Vā, 11 tracks made from field recordings, found sounds, hydrophone experiments, collaborations with the land and people and bass heavy electronic production.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda found Matt at home on the eve of release day and talked to him about how he has become a “sound weaver”.

Veteran Dunedin artist J Callander (Jeremy to his friends) has just released Shadows In The Shade, an impressive collection of original music he calls, "Outlaw Space Rock".

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Jeremy in his music room in Dunedin ready to talk about writing and recording Shadows In The Shade and how he turned Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel into Outlaw Space Rock.

Texas-based band Voxtrot is back with their second album in just two decades. What have they been doing all that time? Bandleader Ramesh Srivastava is here to explain all.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Ramesh just as the new album, Dreamers In Exile, was due to be "dropped". Ramesh was home in Lockhart, Texas, the self-proclaimed "BBQ Capital Of Texas", where he opens up about how this long-awaited second album finally came to be.

Veteran Americana band The Long Ryders have just released their new studio album, High Noon Hymns.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to founding member Sid Griffin about a range of subjects…everything from politics to mortality to rock & roll cliches to becoming Vanilla Ice.

Em Beihold is finally about to release her debut album, Tales Of A Failed Shapeshifter, nine long years her debut EP. Along the way there have been some ups and downs.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Em a few days before Tales Of A Failed Shsapeshifter was about to drop. Here she is explaing why the process took so long, how she dealt with writer's block and why she enjoys a bit of monobob.

Iron & Wine are about to release a new album titled Hen’s Teeth and play dates in Australia and New Zealand.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Sam Beam about making Hen’s Teeth simultaneously with his previous album, about writing Grace Notes and what we can look forward to when the live show comes down under.

Ex-pat Kiwi singer/songwriter Hemi Hemingway has just released his second album, Wings Of Desire, and moved back to New Zealand after an extended stay in London.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Hemi on release day and asked what brought him back, what inspired his musical evolution and what he plans next.