Icon Fetch

Solomon Burke was one of the greatest soul singers of all time. Sadly, he passed away in 2010 at the age of 70. Icon Fetch had a chance to talk with Solomon earlier in 2010 about his latest CD, “Nothing’s Impossible,” which was helmed by legendary producer Willie Mitchell. We hear some of that chat, along with artists paying tribute to the "King of Rock n' Soul."

Paying respects are music journalist and musician Ted Drowzdowski, blues musicians Teeny Tucker and Peter Parcek, rocker Peter Case, and author Elijah Wald.

The Gin Blossoms had one of the biggest albums of the Nineties in New Miserable Experience, which yielded the hits “Hey Jealousy,” and “Found Out About You.”

The band has just put the finishing touches on their fourth full-length, No Chocolate Cake, which is full of the jangly, melodic pop that helped them sell over five million records to date. Icon Fetch talks with guitarist and founding member Jesse Valenzuela about the recording process, how Badfinger helped influence one of the songs, and how he’ll NEVER play “Mustang Sally,” no matter how many requests he gets for it.

The Gin Blossoms had one of the biggest albums of the Nineties in New Miserable Experience, which yielded the hits “Hey Jealousy,” and “Found Out About You.” The band has just put the finishing touches on their fourth full-length, No Chocolate Cake, which is full of the jangly, melodic pop that helped them sell over five million records to date. 

Icon Fetch talks with guitarist and founding member Jesse Valenzuela about the recording process, how Badfinger helped influence one of the songs, and how he’ll NEVER play “Mustang Sally,” no matter how many requests he gets for it.

The Doobie Brothers have their first new release in ten years, World Gone Crazy, out now The album reunites them with longtime producer Ted Templeman, who was behind the console for all their blockbuster albums of the seventies. The disc’s first single, “Nobody,” is a re-recording of their first-ever 45 from back in 1971.

Amazingly, this new version blows away the one from 40 years earlier. The band has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, and is currently on tour in support of the new release. Icon Fetch talks with lead singer / guitarist / songwriter Tom Johnston about the great care that went into assembling this new record. He also speaks candidly about him having to leave the band in 1974 due to health issues and being replaced by Michael McDonald.

The Doobie Brothers have their first new release in ten years, World Gone Crazy, out now  The album reunites them with longtime producer Ted Templeman, who was behind the console for all their blockbuster albums of the seventies.  The disc’s first single, “Nobody,” is a re-recording of their first-ever 45 from back in 1971.  Amazingly, this new version blows away the one from 40 years earlier. 

The band has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, and is currently on tour in support of the new release.  Icon Fetch talks with lead singer / guitarist / songwriter Tom Johnston about the great care that went into assembling this new record.  He also speaks candidly about him having to leave the band in 1974 due to health issues and being replaced by Michael McDonald.

The local music shops are a dying breed, but they used to be a part of our everyday life. Record Store Days: From Vinyl to Digital and Back Again is a new book that serves as both a history of retail music and an homage to the mighty few independent stores who are still fighting the good fight. The book is packed full of great photos and testimonials from a wide range of artists, all championing the local vinyl dealer. Icon Fetch talks with one of the authors, Gary Calamar, about putting this labor of love together.

Squeeze has made some of the greatest pop music of the last 30 years, with gems like “Another Nail in My Heart,” “Tempted,” and “Black Coffee in Bed.” These days, there’s a great deal of money in song placement in commercials and films.

Problem is, with the lousy contract the boys signed in their teens, they have no say in the placement of old songs, nor do they receive any money for them. Here comes Spot the Difference to the rescue; 14 of Squeeze’s best-known classics meticulously re-recorded to painstaking detail…so much so, that they dare you to Spot the Difference.

The Toadies had a monster hit in 1995 with “Possum Kingdom.” The parent album, Rubberneck, sold a million copies…then the band disappeared. Actually, they recorded a follow up, Feeler, which the record company rejected, killing the band’s momentum and sending them back to the drawing board. They eventually broke up in 2001. After a successful reunion album, No Deliverance, in 2006, they’ve decided to revisit the old songs from 13 years ago; the songs that were inexplicably seen unfit to release.

Singer/songwriter Jim Wolf’s debut, Sleeping With Strangers, is a concept album of sorts; it chronicles a relationship, start to finish, from the budding romance, commitment, and finally, breakup and recovery. Wolf used a total of seven different studios in the process, taking several years to complete. The Connecticut native talks with Icon Fetch about the girl behind the songs, the experience of moving to NYC, and shrugging off the comparisons to John Mayer, who is from the same hometown, and who also played in a high school band with Wolf’s older brother.

It’s been 20 years since the release of Pantera’s landmark “Cowboys From Hell.” To celebrate, they’ve put together a deluxe 3-disc collection, featuring the entire album remastered, a disc of demos and a third disc of live material, recorded during the ensuing tour. But, the real treat of the collection is an unreleased Pantera song called “The Will To Survive.” Icon Fetch catches up with former Pantera bassist Rex Brown and gets his thoughts on the new set, and it’s place in metal history. He also gives his reflections on the loss of bandmate “Dimebag” Darrell, and updates us on his new project, Arms of the Sun.