Icon Fetch

Gary Lucas wrote songs for Jeff Buckley and played guitar with Captain Beefheart. His latest project is a pairing with acclaimed vocalist Jann Klose for a stripped-down, acoustic-based album called Stereopticon. Lucas tells us how he got hooked up with Klose and the stories behind several songs on the new record. He also talks about meeting Buckley for the first time and writing songs for the Grace album.

Carlos Calvo is known as "Hollywood's Guitar Teacher."  He's taught Maroon 5's Adam Levine, and actors David Duchovny (X-Files, Californication) and Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure) how to play.  Plus, he's worked as a guitar coach, teaching actors how to portray musicians on the big screen. Calvo also writes and records his own music and has just released his first new album in 15 years called Further Down the Line.

Craig Chaquico was the guitarist for Jefferson Starship during their Seventies’ heyday, providing solos on such hits as “Count on Me,” “Miracles” and “Find Your Way Back.” He’s now trying to recover a guitar that he used to record many of those hit songs. Originally thought to be lost during a riot in Germany in 1978, Chaquico’s prized guitar was recently discovered in the hands of a collector. We talk to him about this ongoing battle, as well as how he got involved with Jefferson Starship, and the passing of bandmate Paul Kantner.

Resonance Records has just issued a pair of archival releases from legendary saxophonist Stan Getz, recorded at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco.  The first, Getz/Gilberto ’76, captures a rare performance between two giants of bossa nova, Getz and vocalist Joao Gilberto.  The second, Moments in Time, features Getz with a phenomenal trio of musicians.  We chat with label Vice President Zev Feldman, who also produced these two sets, on how he tracked down these hallowed recordings.  Plus, he discussed the recent Wes Montgomery treasures that the label issued.

David Lanz is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum artist, who’s been a frequent guest on our show.  Recently his career has taken a different path, collaborating with vocalist Kristin Amarie.  Their latest project is called Silhouettes of Love, and it sees the pair adding elements of classical, soul and smooth jazz for a uniquely romantic album.

Author Robert Rodriguez returns to the show to discuss Beatles 1 Plus…a repackaging of the best-selling Fab Four hits collection, featuring all 27 of the Beatles #1 hits, accompanied by a DVD of those same songs in video form (read our review of the set here).

We talk about the origins of many of the video clips, the improved audio quality, and what things were omitted.  Rodriguez has written several books on the Beatles, including Fab Four FAQ which began a series of FAQ books that’s still going strong years later.  His latest book is called Solo in the Seventies.

Geoff Tate fronted Queensryche for 30 years, selling millions of albums, including the multi-platinum smash Empire. He also set the standard for concept albums with 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. After an acrimonious split with his former members, Tate has emerged with a new project and a familiar name – Operation Mindcrime.

The first new release is called The Key, and it’s part one of an ambitious trilogy of albums which Tate has planned over the next few years.

How many #1 hits did the Beatles have? How long did Thriller stay on the album charts? Did Milli Vanilli really have that many charting singles? These are all questions that have been answered thanks to the staff of Record Research. Joel Whitburn began compiling the chart data of Billboard magazine back in the early Seventies.

Since then, his company has released hundreds of books, covering the pop, soul, and country charts, even delving into the Big Band era. But, their latest book is a real find – it’s called The Comparison Book, and for the first time, the chart data from the top three music magazines – Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World, have been compiled in one handy reference book. We talk to one of the men who helped put this together – from Record Research, Paul Haney.

Peter Case has had a long and diverse career, which began in the mid Seventies with his first band the Nerves. They didn’t sell a lot of records, but ended up being very influential on many bands that came after. Case fronted the Plimsouls through the mid-Eighties, scoring an MTV hit with “A Million Miles Away.” After his band broke up, and right in the middle of the BIG Eighties, he embarked on an acoustic solo career – embracing roots music, and garnering several Grammy nominations.

Now Case is back with his first new album in five years called Hwy 62, and in a way he’s come full circle, with this new record once again embracing acoustic roots music. We talk the five-year gap in between studio albums; how he got hooked up with Ben Harper, who plays great guitar on the record; and the crowd funding campaign he’s running to fund his upcoming tour.

2Ton Bridge is Alexander Wright, a hands-on troubadour with a voice of reason, digging deep into rich musical soil. We reviewed the new music and said it has the ability to “take you out of your current surroundings.” Wright sings, and plays acoustic guitar & banjo, and he’s backed by a crack band of seasoned veterans. Wright recently released a Digital 45 of two songs – “Pennies on the Shore” and “I’m a Hoot Owl” – a pair of samples of full length album promised in early 2016. Both songs were produced by roots master and former member of Lone Justice Marvin Etzioni.