While suffering from a broken foot, Paul checks in with his old friend Ryan Brown - drummer extraordinaire and current skin beater for Dweezil Zappa's band (the name of which we're not actually printing here because there's some controversy about it - check out the WTF episode with Dweezil for details). It's a pretty long episode because they had a lot to catch up on, but well worth it!

ABOUT RYAN BROWN

Ryan Brown is a professional drummer and percussionist in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his gig as the drummer for Zappa Plays _______ he plays with Los Angeles-based bands Black Belt Karate, SexTapes, AM/FM, The Fuxedos and Madras, and in the bands of artists Arrica Rose, Karem Malicki-Sanchez, Colin Armstrong, Josh Canova, Space Oddity and rapper J Naugh-T.

He has toured with Taiwanese pop star Chyi-Chin and L.A. bands OWL and Ultraviolet, performed on “Last Call with Carson Daly” with Ingrid Michaelson and played the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland with R&B artist Niki Haris. He has recorded tracks and albums with producers Marti Frederiksen, Mark Hudson, Mikal Reid, Russ Irwin, Rob Seals, Glen Laughlin, Rob Shrock, Brian Dobbs, Klaus Derendorf, Brian Paturalski, Billy Morrison, Larry Crane and David Weisberg, including the hit single “The Real Thing” from Bo Bice.

Ryan can also be heard on releases by Foreigner, Circus Diablo, Hannah Montana, Clay Aiken, Cassie Davis, Nick Lachey, Jesse McCartney, Heather Graham, Suzie McNeil (Rock Star INXS) and Stephanie McIntosh, as well as on the movie soundtracks for Kung Fu Panda (Hans Zimmer and John Powell) and The Dark Knight (Hans Zimmer). He’s performed on recordings with Alex Lifeson, Earl Slick, Elliot Easton and Rudy Sarzo.

Ryan has also appeared as a sideline musician in numerous TV shows and movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End, Desperate Housewives, Jag and Samantha Who?. He plays all styles of music, including rock, R&B, jazz, ska, funk, blues, folk and country. He is on the drum faculty at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, Calif., and teaches private lessons as well. A native of Denver, Colorado, he has played drums and percussion since he was 11 years old. Ryan graduated from Indiana University with a degree in jazz studies and percussion.

Paul talks to guitar legend Chris Masuak (all the way from Spain!) about his long and amazing musical history, overcoming language differences through rock n roll, his loathing for "junkie chic," and much, much more.

About Chris (by Barman)

Chris “Klondike” Masuak's musical history reads like a muscle car ride through the mean streets of Australia’s rock and roll underground.

The Canadian-born prodigy achieved teenage notoriety as guitarist for legendary Radio Birdman and then waged a War Against The Jive with Australia's hardest working rock and roll band, The Hitmen.

Next came a stint with the original (and defining) line-up of The New Christs, followed by international prominence with the chart busting Screaming Tribesmen.

Klondike has never stood still, exploring his country roots with Chris Boy King and the Kamloops Swing, swinging down Texas blues side roads with The Juke Savages, and getting tubular with The Raouls.

In 2007, Chris was inducted, with Radio Birdman, into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame.

Klondike came into his own with Klondike's North 40 and an acclaimed debut album “The Straight Path” on I-94 Bar Records. The follow up release, "Workhorse," continued the tradition of unfashionably loud guitar rock and roll with tough tones and terrific tunes.

Now based in Galicia in northern Spain, Klondike has been recording, touring, and capturing national attention with his hit single Another Lost Weekend/Animal, on New H Records. His latest project is Chris Masuak & The Viveiro Wave Riders, whose new album "Brujita" has just been released on I-94 Bar Records.

This week on the show Paul sits down for a chat with Brooklyn-bred blues chanteuse Ida Blue, followed by a phenomenal, intimate performance by her band. If you're a fan of early blues, this is the episode for you! Recorded on location at Freddy's Bar & Backroom in Brooklyn, NY.

"Born and bred deep in Mill Basin, Brooklyn...long and lanky, with gold nameplates and brass knuckles, she proves day-in and day-out that swagger is the name of the game. Ida makes a sweet song sassy, a bitter song rawkus, and a love song raunchy. Her performances are in a class of their own, and Blue is timeless; working as a conduit to give that same quality to the music she shares.

Ida Blue is a female-led Bodega Blues group, with its core emanating from the rich and roaring voice of Brooklyn born Ida herself. With support from members of 'Leon Redbone' and HBO's Grammy winning Boardwalk Empire Orchestra, you'll hear blues as a thunderous stomp that permeates your ears with satiating, sweet coos and a sassy temperament that makes you stand up and applause."

Steve Rosenthal opened The Magic Shop recording studio in NYC’s Soho neighborhood in 1988. In 2014, he won his fourth Best Historical GRAMMY for his work on The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Is My Darling. He has produced, mixed and restored archival projects for Woody Guthrie, Alan Lomax, Jelly Roll Morton, Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, and many others. He has also produced and engineered new music for Lou Reed, Natalie Merchant, Suzanne Vega, Dave Van Ronk, Laura Nyro, Charles Brown and Ollabelle. Steve and his wife Jennifer Gilson also owned and operated The Living Room, New York’s iconic singer-songwriter venue.

The Magic Shop is featured on an episode of Dave Grohl's Sonic Highways, and may be best known today for being David Bowie's studio of choice for his last two albums, The Next Day and Blackstar. Unfortunately, both the Magic Shop and The Living Room were priced out of Manhattan by increasing rents and a considerably changed music business. The Magic Shop's last day of operation was March 16, 2016, but Steve will continue his important archiving and restoration work at another location. We wish him all the best and thank him profusely for spending his time with us! The studio will be sorely missed.

Karina Deniké is a vocalist and songwriter from the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Cambridge, England to Czech dissident artists, Deniké spent her early years performing street theatre throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and India. Upon settling in Oakland, California at age 12, she immersed herself in the vibrant local arts and music scenes of the area, soaking in everything from punk shows at the legendary 924 Gilman to the talents of jazz/soul greats Jon Hendricks, Fred Marshall (Vince Guaraldi, Chet Baker), and Sugar Pie Desanto. At age 18 she released her first album with the dual female fronted Dance Hall Crashers, and at 22 she was signed to major labels MCA and Warner/Discovery. Deniké has made a lifelong study of the finer nuances of vocals, harmony, and performance, moving fluidly from intimate torch song chanteuse to soul singer to punk powerhouse. From pop music to jazz to modern composers' works, she has lent her voice, arrangements, and compositions to more than 30 records, soundtracks, and countless national and international performances, and is an active member of the Bay Area music scenes.

After extensive and fruitful collaborative work, Karina Deniké is excited to present the first album entirely focused on her unique compositional voice. "The writing for this album, Under Glass, began when I fell in love with a beautiful Farfisa chord organ. A charming, quirky wooden toy whose big reedy sound fully transported me to another time. I immediately wrote the song 'Musee Mecanique', a 1930’s inspired love ditty with a nod to my dear San Francisco and her stunning shores."

Under Glass was released April 14, 2015 and features Deniké's six piece band and an impressive list of additional talent. Centered around power vocal performances and ornamented with an unusually rich collection of vintage sounds — including the chord organ, bass clarinet, Fender VI baritone guitar, vibraphone, and celeste — Under Glass features some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians and composers: Aaron Novik (Tzadik Records, PortoFranco Records), Michael McIntosh (Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project, the Cottontails), James Frazier, Eric Garland (Mads Tolling, Donavon), and Lily Taylor (Pour Le Corps Records). The album also highlights guests Deston Berry and Alex Dessert (Hepcat), Ralph Carney (Tom Waits, B-52's), Brigid Dawson (Thee Oh Sees), Ara Anderson (Tin Hat, OK GO), and Meric Long (The Dodos).

With nods to doo wop drama, crackly records, Motown beats, girl group harmonies, 60's soundtracks, and Eastern European Lullabies, Under Glass is both strikingly original and warmly nostalgic. Its 12 reflective songs are filled with tales of female aviators, love, memory, and personal and regional history, firmly rooted in the musical worlds and seaside city Karina Denike calls home.

Deniké has recorded with Dance Hall Crashers (MCA), NOFX (Epitaph), Tony Sly/No Use for a Name (Fat Wreck Chords), Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project (Smog Veil), and Hepcat (Hellcat), among others. She has shared bills with artists including The Pretenders, Fiona Apple, Beck, The Ramones, Thee Oh Sees, and Aimee Mann and performed at prestigious venues and events around the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), the Reading Festival (UK), the Warped tour, and the Fillmore. Recently, she contributed the acclaimed opening track to The Songs of Tony Sly; A Tribute (Fat Wreck Chords), was the guest music director for the SF Bay Area's Undercover Presents Series tribute to Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited (hosted by The Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco), contributed lead vocals and vocal production to the album Home Street Home: The sHit Musical (written by Fat Mike of NOFX, and Tony Award winner/Avenue Q co-writer Jeff Marx), contributed a song to the 20th Century Fox film This Means War featuring Reese Witherspoon, and performed at the opening party for the world renowned art festival dOCUMENTA 2012, in Kassel, Germany.

Celebrated for his innovative programming and exciting performances, conductor David Leibowitz has achieved international acclaim for his work on the concert, opera, and ballet stage.

Mr. Leibowitz is the Music Director/Conductor and founder of the award-winning New York Repertory Orchestra. Some recent highlights of his tenure there have been a fully staged production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio and a landmark performance of Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 3. As an avid fan and champion of today’s music he has commissioned, worked with, and performed local and world premieres by some of today’s most important composers; such as Paul Moravec, Lowell Liebermann, Harold Farberman, Stephen Dembski, John Schwabe, Salvador Brotons, Michael Shapiro, and Steven Rosenhaus.

From 2003-2013, Mr. Leibowitz held the post of Principal Conductor with the Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra and has recently been guest conductor of the New York Opera Exchange, conducting performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, and Verdi’s La Traviata. He is currently on the conducting faculty of the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute and the International Opera Institute at the Maud Powell Music Festival.

For many years, Mr. Leibowitz was on the conducting staff of the Rome Festival Opera (Italy), leading opera, ballet, and concert performances, and was the Orchestra Director of the Siena (Italy) Summer Music Festival. in 2012 he led the Weill Cornell Music and Medicine Orchestra and Chorus in a critically acclaimed performance of the Mozart Requiem.

Throughout the United States and Europe, he has directed such ensembles as the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), the Orchester Pro Arte (Vienna), Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Festival Orchestra (Princeton, NJ), and the University of Wyoming (Laramie) Symphony Orchestra.

In the New York City area, he has conducted the Astoria Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Greenwich Village Orchestra, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Centre Symphony Orchestra, New York Festival Singers, Litha Orchestra, and the Music at St. Paul’s Series at Columbia University. He has also worked with the Dance Theater of Harlem.

A dedicated music educator, Mr. Leibowitz conducted the Third Street Philharmonia at the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City from 2003-2006 and from 2009-2012 he was the Orchestra Director at the City College of New York. He has worked as a conductor and coach with many other student and youth orchestras, including the the orchestras of Brooklyn College, the InterSchools Orchestra of New York, and the Gemini Youth Orchestra.

In 2011, Mr. Leibowitz was an award-winner of the American Prize in Orchestral Conducting and the American Prize in Orchestral Programming. He was given the “Gift to New York City” award from the Omega Ensemble of New York for his ongoing contributions to the musical life of New York City and is on the Board of Directors of the Conductors Guild, an international service organization of over 2,000 members, devoted to the advancement of the art of conducting and to serving the artistic and professional needs of conductors.

Mr. Leibowitz received his Master of Arts degree in Performance Practice, Summa Cum Laude, from the City University of New York’s Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. His main studies were in performance, musicology, and composition. He was awarded a teaching fellowship and was named a Presidential Scholar of the University.

OUTRO MUSIC: Dimitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 10, mvt. 2, performed by the New York Repertory Orchestra, conducted by David Leibowitz, Oct. 18, 2014

Paul has a fun, in-depth conversation with another Stripminer, and also Zappa Records recording artist, Holland Greco.

Holland is a Los Angeles vocalist, songwriter, performer, and musician. She released her debut album, Volume One, on Zappa Records in June of 2014. It is two contrasting E.P.s showcasing the light and dark sides of her personality and musicality.

Side A: Tunnel Vision, reflects her first-loves of poetry, radio hits of the 70’s, 80’s, & 90’s, and uniquely stylish audio/visual presentation. The chic instrumentation combines ukulele, dance beats, upright bass, beautiful keyboards, and a horn section to cook up a world of sophisticated pop confection.

Side B: Murdergram: Songs of the Misfits. It’s an homage to the horror punk songwriting of Glenn Danzig with new arrangements inspired by the cinema of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and rumbling electric guitar pioneer, Link Wray.

Holland’s first major musical project, The Peak Show, was signed to Atlantic Records. They had numerous licenses to major motion pictures, network & cable television, and continue to be heard and placed in those outlets today. Their debut album was produced by Mario Caldato, Jr. (Beastie Boys, Beck) & Front Row (Guadaloop, Mama Stud). It was mixed by 5 time Grammy Award winning mixer, Serban Ghenea.

Holland has been a lead & featured vocalist in 2 widely seen and loved cartoons: Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Vampire with “Getaway, Yeah”, and a Merrie Melody on The Looney Tunes Show “Yellow Bird”.

Holland Greco also works as a background singer, side musician, and hired gun for bands such as The Stripminers, Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown, The Quick Hellos, Scrote, Roxy King, David Bowling, Casino Royale, and the Hearts & Stars band.

Paul sits down for a long, fascinating conversation with his band mate and partner-in-crime Brett Anderson, lead singer for The Donnas and co-founder of The Stripminers with Paul.

Outro music - "Admission Theme" by The Stripminers

This week Paul sits down with his old friend Steve W. Lauden, a rock drummer turned crime fiction writer. Steve was signed A&M Records in 1998 with his band Ridel High, for the album Emotional Rollercoaster. He was then signed to Hollywood Records with his band Tsar, whose eponymous debut came out in 2000. Tsar's sophomore release, Band Girls Money, was recorded while they were on Hollywood, and was later released on TVT Records in 2005, after Lauden had left the band. Tsar reformed in 2010 to release the Dark Stuff EP, featuring the original lineup. Steve continues to play and record with Tsar and a number of other musical projects.

Most recently, Lauden began writing crime fiction. His debut novel "Bad Citizen Corporation" will be published by Rare Bird Books in October, 2015. His novella "Crosswise" will be released in 2016 by Down & Out Books.

Paul sat down with Steve after his reading at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles to talk about rock, drumming, dead bodies, screenplays, and other awesome subjects.

Episode 2 of Make It Big! is the second part of Paul's in-depth interview with legendary drummer D.J. Bonebrake of X, The Knitters, The Stripminers, and more. Learn why your band probably isn't going to work unless you pluck it.