Deeper Digs

This week Christian meets up with Prince Protege’ Liv Warfield to discuss her musical life, what it’s like leaving collegiate athletics to pursue music instead, working with mentors Prince and Nancy Wilson and charting her own destiny on becoming a big voice in today’s rock n soul world.

Liv was a member of Prince’s New Power Generation (NPG);  Prince was also her mentor for her solo career.  Liv had been in the midst of working on her third studio album when Prince passed away, so plans for her release came to a halt.  While working on new material with him, although the album wasn’t complete at the time, when Prince heard “Mantra,” it immediately caught his attention.  The album came to a halt after Prince’s passing but now, three years later, Warfield is releasing her new powerful single to fans.  “Mantra” was written by Warfield and guitarist Ryan Waters, backed by a 42-piece orchestra, with orchestral arrangements composed by Grammy-Award winning conductor Mateo Messina (for the film, “Juno”).

After a period of depression when Prince passed, Liv took a break, but then started playing shows again in 2016, perfecting her sound, which became a lifeline for both Liv and her musical partner guitarist Ryan Waters.  They began writing new music, and their creative energy caught the attention of Nancy Wilson of Heart in 2017.  It was then, that Warfield and Waters formed the group with Wilson, Roadcase Royale. Their lead single, “Get Loud,” was featured prominently in 2017’s Women’s March; and the band released their debut album, “First Things First,” later that year. Warfield and Waters spent the next year playing to sold-out arenas, opening for rock legend Bob Seger, and recorded a remake of the classic Heart song, “These Dreams,” which was featured in the biopic, “Molly’s Game.”Warfield’s style has been described as “alternative soul with a ‘lil bit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” With her self-released her debut album in 2006 titled “Embrace Me,” she caught the eye of Prince and joined his group, the “New Power Generation (NPG).”  In 2014, Liv released her sophomore album, Executive Co-Produced by Prince, titled “The Unexpected.”  She became a featured artist for VH1’s “You Oughta Know” campaign, which led to musical performances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Arsenio Hall Show.”  Additionally, Warfield received a 2014 Soul Train Music Award for “Best Contemporary Jazz Artist” with two additional Soul Train nominations (“Best New Artist” and “Best Independent R&B/Soul Performance”); and a BET “Best New Artist Award” nomination.  She also collaborated with Cindy Lauper and Nancy Wilson of Heart;  and opened for Lionel Richie at the Montreax Jazz Festival. That same year, Warfield’s performance, which closed out Essence Fest, was hailed as one of the most memorable after shows at the New Orleans House of Blues by fans and critics.

https://livwarfieldofficial.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1PvhwiNOSVtKIuuphyTZO2?si=y8ytVy2VTdGqZKR0x6mS6A

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode The Rock n Roll Archaeologist goes toe to toe with the Rock N Roll Criminologist! Join Christian as he welcomes guest Jake Brennan of the hit podcast Disgraceland.  Jake has a new book on the streets that takes the rock n roll crime drama podcast and puts it in writing this time! We go dig into the book and on Jake’s journey from born musician to podcast hero!

You may know Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen-year-old cousin but did you know he shot his bass player in the chest with a shotgun or that a couple of his wives died under extremely mysterious circumstances? Or that Sam Cooke was shot dead in a seedy motel after barging into the manager's office naked to attack her? Maybe not. Would it change your view of him if you knew that, or would your love for his music triumph?

Real rock stars do truly insane thing and invite truly insane things to happen to them; murder, drug trafficking, rape, cannibalism and the occult. We allow this behavior. We are complicit because a rock star behaving badly is what's expected. It's baked into the cake. Deep down, way down, past all of our self-righteous notions of justice and right and wrong, when it comes down to it, we want our rock stars to be bad. We know the music industry is full of demons, ones that drove Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Sid Vicious and that consumed the Norwegian Black Metal scene. We want to believe in the myths because they're so damn entertaining.

DISGRACELAND is a collection of the best of these stories about some of the music world's most beloved stars and their crimes. It will mix all-new, untold stories with expanded stories from the first two seasons of the Disgraceland podcast. Using figures we already recognize, DISGRACELAND shines a light into the dark corners of their fame revealing the fine line that separates heroes and villains as well as the danger Americans seek out in their news cycles, tabloids, reality shows and soap operas. At the center of this collection of stories is the ever-fascinating music industry--a glittery stage populated by gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, groupies with violence, scandal and pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll entertainment.

Jake Brennan is a Boston based musician who launched, Disgraceland, "a rock 'n' roll true crime podcast" in February 2018 to great acclaim. Jake grew up in music. He saw the Ramones play live when he was ten years old and began recording and touring at a young age, first with his band Cast Iron Hike and then with his bands the Confidence Men and Bodega Girls. His songs have been featured in film and television, however Jake thinks his coolest musical accomplishment was opening for Fugazi "back in the day." He lives in North Boston with his wife and two sons.

https://www.amazon.com/Disgraceland-Musicians-Getting-Murder-Behaving/dp/1538732149

https://www.disgracelandpod.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week the Rock N Roll Archaeologist discusses all things Lou Reed with biographer Howard Sounes who has written the new book, “The Life of Lou Reed: Notes from the Underground” on the Diversion book label.

As band leader of the Velvet Underground and later a successful solo artist, Reed was much more than what the general public came to know as the grumpy New Yorker in black who sang “Walk on the Wild Side.” To his dedicated admirers, he was one of the most innovative and intelligent songwriters of modern times―a natural outsider who lived a tumultuous and tortured life.

In the course of his deep research into Reed’s life, from a humble upbringing on Long Island to death from liver disease in 2013, Howard Sounes interviewed more than 140 people who knew the artist intimately―some of whom have not spoken publicly about him before.

With new revelations from former wives and lovers, family members, fellow band members and celebrities, and music industry figures, this book offers an updated, unfettered look at Reed’s creative process, his mental health problems, his bisexuality, his three marriages, and his addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Featuring previously unpublished photographs of some of Reed’s most private moments, this is the definitive account of one of rock ’n’ roll’s most complicated and brilliant prophets.

Howard Sounes is known for writing detailed and revelatory biographies of a wide range of extraordinary personalities, including the murderers Fred and Rosemary West (Fred & Rose), Charles Bukowski (Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life), and musicians Bob Dylan (Down the Highway) and Paul McCartney (Fab). Each book is based on extensive original research.

For more information visit www.howardsounes.com

Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Lou-Reed-Velvet-Underground/dp/1635766389/ref=sr_1_2?crid=30YGIDRJAG9S1&keywords=howard+sounes&qid=1570301990&sprefix=howard+soun%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-2

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode Christian has in studio Phil Baker, CEO of the Neil Young Archives and co-author with Neil of the new book, ‘To Feel the Music: A Songwriter's Mission to Save High-Quality Audio'. A deep dig into why consumers have to live with poor digital audio and how Neil’s crusade to change that is working!

Neil Young took on the music industry so that fans could hear his music - all music - the way it was meant to be heard.

Today, most of the music fans listen to is streamed via online services and highly compressed. It's convenient, but, frustratingly, this comes at the cost of quality. Gone are the days when it was technologically necessary to compress music into the smallest possible file size, yet this remains the industry standard.

The result is music that is robbed of its original quality - muddy and flat in sound compared to the rich, warm sound artists hear in the studio. It doesn't have to be this way, but the record and technology companies have incorrectly assumed that most listeners are satisfied with these low-quality tracks.

Neil Young is challenging the assault on audio quality - and working to free music lovers from the flat and lifeless status quo.

To Feel the Music is the true story of Neil's quest to bring high-quality audio back to music lovers - which he considers the most important undertaking of his career. Inside, follow Neil as he discovers the step by step deterioration of recorded sound as analog is methodically replaced by digital CDs, MP3s, and low-price, low-quality streaming; gathers others committed to his goal of delivering music the way artists intend for it to sound; and eventually develops the Neil Young Archives, a high-res streaming site that gives users unprecedented access to all of Neil's music - in the best quality their devices can handle - videos, photos, and more.

Neil's efforts to bring quality audio to his fans garnered media attention when his Kickstarter campaign for his Pono player - a revolutionary music player that would combine the highest quality possible with the portability, simplicity and affordability modern listeners crave - became the third-most successful Kickstarter campaign in the website's history. It had raised more than $6M in pledges in 40 days. Encouraged by the enthusiastic response, Neil still had a long road ahead, and his Pono music player would not have the commercial success he'd imagined. But he remained committed to his mission, and faced with the rise of streaming services that used even lower quality audio, he was determined to rise to the challenge.

An eye-opening listen for all fans of Neil Young and all fans of great music, as well as listeners interesting in going behind the scenes of product creation, To Feel the Music has an inspiring story at its heart: One determined artist with a groundbreaking vision and the absolute refusal to give up, despite setbacks, naysayers, and skeptics.

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Music-Songwriters-Mission-High-Quality/dp/B07WG3YNLX/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=phil+baker&qid=1569462908&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Check out the Neil Young Archives: https://neilyoungarchives.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rock N Roll Archaeologist digs deep with Engineer, mixer and producer, Toby Scott. Mostly notably as Bruce Springsteen’s main man on the mix board for almost 40 years, Toby worked hand in hand on over 15 albums by the Boss. Lots’ of amazing stories and a few helpful hints on what it takes to be a class A engineer for a legend. Kind makes him a legend too, eh?!

Toby Scott is a music recording engineer, mixer and record producer. Scott has worked extensively with Bruce Springsteen, recording and mixing albums for the singer since 1980. Scott has also worked with other prominent artists such as Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Tommy Tutone, Blue Öyster Cult, and The Replacements. He has recorded and mixed projects for commercials, movies, and television as primary engineer receiving nominations and awards from Grammy, Emmy and Oscar organizations.

http://tobyscottaudio.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Christian talks across the pond to Will Birch, author of the new book, ‘Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe from our friends at DaCapo Press.  The book comes out today!

The definitive biography of singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, best-known for "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding"

Described as "Britain's greatest living songwriter," Nick Lowe has made his mark as a pioneer of pub rock, power-pop, and punk rock and as a producer of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, the Damned, and the Pretenders. He has been a pop star with his bands Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile, a stepson-in-law to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and is the writer behind hits including "Cruel to Be Kind" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." In the past decades, however, he has distinguished himself as an artist who is equally acclaimed for the second act of his career as a tender yet sharp-tongued acoustic balladeer.

Biographer Will Birch, who in addition to being a music writer was a drummer and songwriter with The Records, has known Lowe for over forty years and melds Lowe's gift as a witty raconteur with his own authoritative analysis of Lowe's background and the cultural scenes he exemplifies. Lowe's parallel fame as one of the best interviews in the business will contribute to this first look into his life and work--and likely the closest thing fans will get to an autobiography by this notoriously charming cult figure.

This is not an authorized biography, but Lowe has given it his spiritual blessing and his management and label are fully on board. Cruel to Be Kind will be the colorful yet serious account of one of the world's most talented and admired musicians.

Will Birch is a former drummer and songwriter with the Kursaal Flyers ("Little Does She Know") and The Records ("Starry Eyes"). During the 1980s he moved into record production, working with such acts as Any Trouble, Dr Feelgood, Hollies, Billy Bremner (Rockpile) and the Long Ryders. Throughout the 1990s Will wrote many articles for MOJO and other music magazines. He is the author of No Sleep Till Canvey Island: The Great Pub Rock Revolution, and Ian Dury: The Definitive Biography. He lives near London.

https://www.amazon.com/Cruel-Be-Kind-Life-Music/dp/0306921952/ref=sr_1_1?crid=10TL5ABQ3MWDG&keywords=will+birch+nick+lowe&qid=1568071077&s=gateway&sprefix=will+birch%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Start Me Up! The Rock n Roll Archaeologist sits down with author Christopher McKittrick to discuss his new and very timely book, ‘Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City.

When the Rolling Stones first arrived at JFK Airport in June 1964, they hadn’t even had a hit record in America. By the end of the decade, they were mobbed by packed audiences at Madison Square Garden and were the toast of New York City’s media and celebrity scene.

More than fifty years later, the history of New York City and the Rolling Stones have entwined and paralleled, with the group playing in nearly all of the Big Apple’s legendary venues. Along the way Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and the rest of the Stones have left an impact on the culture of the city, from the turbulent “Fun City” of the 1960s and ’70s through the twenty-first century. The evolving career of the Stones has often reflected the cultural changes of the city, as the Stones and their music were the center of social and political controversies during the same era that New York faced similar challenges.

Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City explores the history of the group through the prism of New York. It is a highly detailed document of the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between the world’s most famous band and America’s most famous city as well as an absorbing chronicle of the remarkable impact the city has had on the band’s music and career.

Christopher McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and a contributor to entertainment websites. Christopher and his work have been quoted in in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Observer, Newsday, USAToday.com, CNBC.com, Time.com, RollingStone.com, and dozens of entertainment and news websites. He has also been interviewed on several radio shows, including WOR Tonight on WOR, The Lisa Show on BYU Radio and Warren in the Morning on WKNY.

https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Give-Away-Seventh-Avenue/dp/1642930393/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3O179MXZT305W&keywords=christopher+mckittrick&qid=1566409034&s=gateway&sprefix=christopher+mck%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-1

http://chrismckit.com

As live music fanatics like us, the folks atNugs.net are offering our listeners a free 30-day trial. Listen free for 30 days and cancel anytime. Visit nugs.net/deeperdigs to get started!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Christian opens the show with a public service announcement about his experience with the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting incident, where he and his band were playing when the killer began his rampage on their audience, he puts back on his Rock N Roll Archaeologist's hat and interviews the legendary manager and record executive, Danny Goldberg!

'Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain’ is Danny’s newest book and is his recollections and experiences managing the seminal Grunge band Nirvana.  After twenty-five years he journeys back to the four years working closely with the band and in particular Cobain while they navigate unexpected superstardom and the traps and travails of that rarified air where the end turns to ash and dust.  Told with the help of many others associated with the band at the time, Danny acts as narrator as he reflects and comes to terms with Cobain’s descent and horrible suicide.Danny Goldberg, President of Gold Village Entertainment, has worked in the music business as a personal manager, record company President, public relations man and journalist since the late 1960s. Gold Village Entertainment was formed in July 2007 and marks the return to artist management for Goldberg. A complete roster of artists can be found here. His latest book is “Serving The Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain” (Ecco, April 2019). Goldberg’s previous books include, “How The Left Lost Teen Spirit”, “Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside The Rock and Roll Business” and “In Search of The Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea”.

From 1983-1992, Goldberg was the founder and President of Gold Mountain Entertainment, an artist management firm whose clients included Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers, Rickie Lee Jones and more. Directly prior to the creation of Gold Village Entertainment, Goldberg had been the CEO of Air America Radio from 2005 until mid-2006. Goldberg formed the independent label Artemis Records in 1999 and ran the company until January of 2005.

Prior to forming Artemis and prior to the acquisition of Polygram by Universal in 1998, Goldberg was Chairman and CEO of the Mercury Records Group, which was the number one U.S. label group in terms of market share in 1998. The Mercury Records Group included music from virtually all major genres; pop, R&B, hip-hop, country, jazz and rock and roll via its labels Def Jam, Mercury, Mercury Nashville, Motown, Verve, and Deutsche Gramophone, all of which reported to and were supervised by Goldberg. Before joining Mercury, Goldberg was Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records in 1995, during which time Warner Bros. was the number one U.S. record label. In 1993-94, he was President of Atlantic Records, also a division of the Warner Music Group, which likewise attained the number one ranking among U.S. companies during Goldberg’s tenure.Earlier in his career, Goldberg formed and co-owned Modern Records, which released Stevie Nicks’ solo albums including her number one album “Bella Donna.” Prior to that, Goldberg was Vice-President of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records and worked with the band from 1973 through 1975. In 1980, Goldberg co-produced and co-directed the rock documentary feature, “No Nukes,” starring Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne, among others.

https://www.amazon.com/Serving-Servant-Remembering-Kurt-Cobain-ebook/dp/B07CRHW9XD/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18HY0T9RU1MGR&keywords=danny+goldberg&qid=1565631169&s=gateway&sprefix=danny+gold%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-2

http://goldve.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week The Rock N Roll Archaeologist gets a Masters education in gender politics of modern music by LMU Associate Professor Evelyn McDonnell.

Evelyn McDonnell is associate professor of English and director of journalism at Loyola Marymount University.

She has been writing about popular culture and society for more than 30 years. She is the author of four books: Queens of Noise: The Real Story of the Runaways, Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids and Rock 'n' Roll, Army of She: Icelandic, Iconoclastic, Irrepressible Bjork and Rent by Jonathan Larson. She coedited the anthologies Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap and Stars Don't Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth. Her latest book, Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyoncé. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl, was released October 9, 2018. She is also editor of the Music Matters series published by the University of Texas Press.

She has been the editorial director of www.MOLI.com, pop culture writer at The Miami Herald, senior editor at The Village Voice, and associate editor at SF Weekly. Her writing on music, poetry, theater, and culture has appeared in numerous publications and anthologies, including the Los Angeles Times, Ms., Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Spin, Travel & Leisure, Us, Billboard, Vibe, Interview, Black Book, and Option. She codirected the conference Stars Don't Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth at the Dia Center for the Arts in New York in 1998.

She has won several fellowships and awards, including an Annenberg Fellowship at USC and a fellowship to the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater. Her 2004 Herald expose of hip-hop cops was awarded first place for enterprise reporting by the South Florida Black Journalists Association and second place in the Society of Professional Journalists' Sunshine State Awards. She earned her Master's in Specialized Journalism, the Arts, from USC, where she was chosen for the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She earned her Bachelor's in American studies, graduating magna cum laude from Brown University.

https://admission.lmu.edu/about/facultyprofiles/evelynmcdonnell/

https://www.amazon.com/Evelyn-McDonnell/e/B000APS55C

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Christian and author/musician C.M. Kushins as they discuss his new biography of legendary singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. The bio spans his nomadic youth and early recording career to his substance abuse, final album, and posthumous Grammy Awards

As is the case with so many musicians, the life of Warren Zevon was blessed with talent and opportunity yet also beset by tragedy and setbacks. Raised mostly by his mother with an occasional cameo from his gangster father, Warren had an affinity and talent for music at an early age. Taking to the piano and guitar almost instantly, he began imitating and soon creating songs at every opportunity. After an impromptu performance in the right place at the right time, a record deal landed on the lap of a teenager who was eager to set out on his own and make a name for himself. But of course, where fame is concerned, things are never quite so simple.

Drawing on original interviews with those closest to Zevon, including Crystal Zevon, Jackson Browne, Mitch Albom, Danny Goldberg, Barney Hoskyns, and Merle Ginsberg, Nothing's Bad Luck tells the story of one of rock's greatest talents. Journalist C.M. Kushins not only examines Zevon's troubled personal life and sophisticated, ever-changing musical style, but emphasizes the moments in which the two are inseparable, and ultimately paints Zevon as a hot-headed, literary, compelling, musical genius worthy of the same tier as that of Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

In Nothing's Bad Luck, Kushins at last gives Warren Zevon the serious, in-depth biographical treatment he deserves, making the life of this complex subject accessible to fans old and new for the very first time.

We love Vermont CBD! They ship everywhere, and as huge music fans, they’re offering our listeners 15% off of all products. Go to CBDVermont.com and use the code: *ddir* at checkout to get 15% off!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices