Dave Lawrence Interviews

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence welcomes back Soul Asylum singer and guitarist Dave Pirner, as his '90s alternative rock band returns with a new album, "Slowly but Shirley," which for car enthusiasts, has a very special connection. Plus we get into fun stories about Dave's son Eli, Ivan and Art Neville, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and much more!

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence got a special surprise visit in the studio from recent guest, original Foghat drummer Roger Earl, who dropped by ahead of their shows tonight at the Blue Note Hawaii at 6:30 & 9 p.m.! The band is also playing Kauaʻi's Anaina Hou Park in Kīlauea Saturday at 6:30 p.m.! Since Roger dropped by, we grabbed a chat in our Atherton Performing Arts Studio, which we'll air in December as a full end-of-year storytelling session!

For the fifth time since July, HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence remembers a guest - this time Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, who a week ago it was announced had died at 84. Phil was a guest twice over the years relatively early in Dave's career: 2001 in Boston and 2005 here in Honolulu. Topics included Phil's philanthropic side; the 1978 Grateful Dead concerts in Egypt at the pyramids; the historic camping and vending scene that dead fans created and its conclusion in 1989; and Phil's own connection to the value of music education in schools.

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence welcomes musician Matisyahu back to the show ahead of his dates in Honolulu on Jan. 25 and 26, at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. each night. We learn about his large family that joins him on tour, including some young children! Also, we get into his fascinating story of how he discovered his musical passions via a Phish concert, which would lead to him playing with them and you'll be impressed how he continues his fandom - or should we say, Phishdom! His connections to the Marley family and why some folks in Israel might not know what a knish is, help make this a fun and wide-ranging chat.

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence welcomes back original Foghat drummer Roger Earl ahead of the band's first show in the islands since 1977! They play the Blue Note Hawaii Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.; it comes as their latest album, Sonic Mojo, has spent over 30 weeks on the Billboard Blues Album chart since its release last year. As we'll hear, the record has also been submitted for a Grammy award, plus he shares some incredible stories in a classic concert poster storytelling session, with tales of Chuck Berry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and others! We also hear a new song from their Sonic Mojo album!

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence is joined by veteran comedian Kathy Griffin, who is bringing her new standup tour, My Life On The PTSD List, to the Hawaii Theatre on Oct. 18.

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence remembers entertainment legend and Valley Isle resident Kris Kristofferson, who recently died at 88. Kris joined Dave for a chat in 2011 ahead of a benefit show he was doing for Maui's Lokelani ʻOhana nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence offers up our third remembrance of recent passings. Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musical pioneer, has died, after months of battling long COVID, at 83 years old. After his death was announced Friday, we examined the 2018 and 2020 interviews with Mendes, and opted to recut a special version of the 2018 interview.

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence welcomes back rock legend Dave Mason as he offers up a new book, "Only You Know and I Know," filled with incredible stories, from jumping onstage to play with the Spencer Davis Group, to a wild time performing on, and then trashing, The Who's gear! There are many more fun tales and some connecting to his sometime life here in Hawaiʻi!

HPR All Things Considered host Dave Lawrence offers up a remembrance of musician Jack Russell, vocalist in the band Great White, who died last week at 63 of Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy. While Jack and the band had a few memorable radio hits, Great White is best known as the band whose concert went awry in 2003 in Rhode Island, when pyrotechnics set off a massive fire at the venue, killing 100 people, including the band’s guitarist. That event is among topics we discussed in 2017 when a new album, "He Saw It Coming," brought him to us, and as you’ll hear, that album title factors into some early childhood experiences that shaped the career of Great White’s Jack Russell.