In this episode, I am joined by writer, journalist and bass player for the Chicago Quartet, Ratboys, Sean Neumann. 

I’m very pleased to welcome Sean on the podcast. Sean is a member of a rock band that I have been gripped by for the past 6 months. I’m relatively new to their music, but in the past 6 months, I have certainly gotten up to speed with their wide music catalog. 

Ratboys are a energetic, enthusiastic, well conceived rock band that has toured the world. Sean and the band recently finished a tour supporting their 2023 album release, The Window. 

In this episode, Sean and I talk about what it’s like to be a touring musician with the popular band, Ratboys. We also talk about Sean’s journalism career. When he’s not touring, Sean is also a writer and journalist for People Magazine. Before joining PEOPLE, Sean worked as a freelance reporter for a number of publications, including Rolling Stone, VICE, ESPN, The New York Times, and more. 

No need to sit back during this episode folks. Sit straight up, as you are going to want to pay attention and listen to this conversation. SO without further adieu…please enjoy this conversation with Ratboys bassist, Sean Neumann. 

Episode #78 - This is a conversation with music clips included. In this episode Greg talks with a musician and the drummer from The Aura & Ovation, Christopher Thiel. Greg met in San Diego, CA four weeks ago. While stopping off quickly at a grocery store, this guest saw Greg's ALBUMREVIEW shirt and asked if he would take a listen to his band. What a treat!

"I was delighted by his courage, and indeed I did take a listen. For the remainder of my weeklong trip through San Diego and Los Angeles, this person’s band was the soundtrack of my trip.

So today’s episode in many ways is special. It’s special because I got to meet Christopher Thiel. Chris is young man, musician, father, hard worker, lover of the California beach and an exceptional drummer. Chris’ band, The Aura and Ovation, or AO as he called it a few times, is a band from San Diego that you must hear. 

I know you will enjoy this conversation, as Chris is an incredibly honest, thoughtful, and talented musician, and a part of getting together with him was to talk about his desire to rekindle that fire he had with his band. Aura and Ovation have not recorded or played together in several years. And it’s my intention to help Chris by helping him to tell his story to the masses. And one day soon, perhaps be able to witness an Aura and Ovation reunion show. After hearing their music, I think many of you will agree". 
-Greg Potters from ALBUMREVIEW.NET

In this episode, we are going back to 1993. The Seattle grunge scene was in full swing. Most bands of that era were releasing their 2nd and 3rd albums. But in this mix, was a quartet from Chicago, Illinois who fit in somewhat with the early 90s grunge scene, although they were based out of a different city. A city, mind you, that has birthed SEVERAL amazing musicians and bands such as “Chicago”, Wilco, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Ministry, Earth Wind & Fire, Freddy Jones Band, Veruca Salt and many more. 

But unlike these groups I just mentioned, this band was different. And on July 27th 1993 Smashing Pumpkins released their 2nd studio album, one that I consider a masterpiece and today, Siamese Dream. I’m going to take you back to remind you just how masterful this album was, or still is!

I’m going to take you beyond the hits which were Cherub Rock, Today, and Disarm, and give you the full experience of what the back half of this classic record was like. 

So grab your favorite libation, sit back or enjoy your drive or walk right now and check out my review of Smashing Pumpkins 1993 release, Siamese Dream. Grip it and rip it..

Listen to more episodes at https://www.albumreview.net/podcast

For this episode, #76, I am pleased to welcome back, Ivan "Funkboy" Bodley to the podcast. Ivan was a guest back on Episode #20 where we talked a lot about his book, “Am I Famous Yet? Memoir of a Working-Class Rock Star”. If you want to hear a deeper dive into the book – go back to Episode #20 and check it out. 

In this episode Ivan and I talk about his recent performance with none other than Sir Paul McCartney. Plus, we talk about his friendship and jam sessions with Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, G.E. Smith, Andrew Watt, Chris Robinson, Jimmy Fallon, and many more!

Originally from Chattanooga, TN, Ivan has lived in: New Orleans, Los Angeles, London, Boston, and is now based in New York City. Ivan has a BA in Psychology from Tulane University, where he was Musical Director of college radio station WTUL, New Orleans. He was also a publicist with Epic Records/Sony Music.

Ivan, is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music and inductee into the NY Blues Hall of Fame. He has traveled to over 30 countries and played to audiences of up to 82,000 people in performance settings ranging from jazz duos to 150-member symphony orchestras. He also recently finished up a multi month performance as the bass player in the band for "Tommy", the Broadway Rock Opera originally written and performed by The Who.

But over the last 25+ years, Ivan has been a “Working Class Rock Star” as is the name of his book, “Am I Famous Yet? Memoir of a Working-Class Rock Star”, and I am so grateful to have him back on the show. 

Ivan and I also discuss his upcoming gig with Wayne Newton, tips on how he stays healthy and in shape with his rigorous touring schedule, and life on the road as a working class musician. 

For more go to https://www.albumreview.net/

The world is so huge you’re constantly stepping on new bands every week! When I heard the band name, Ratboys, I immediately thought it was an underground 70s punk band out of either New York or London that I’d never heard of. But with a touch of a smart phone generated icon, the track, Black Earth, WI, played through the car stereo, and that was all I needed. I proceeded to go back the next morning and listen to the Ratboys album, The Window in its entirety. To say I am in deep infatuation with this record, would be an understatement.

The band you’ve likely never heard of, Ratboys was formed in 2010 by lead singer and guitarist Julia Steiner along with lead guitarist Dave Sagan. Steiner and Sagan were attending Notre Dame University when they met. After the realization that they liked a lot of the same music, they formed a duo, playing together on acoustic guitars. After a few years writing and recording with an initial drummer and bass player, current bassist, Sean Neumann joined them in 2016. Marcus Nuccio joined them a year later in 2017 on drums. Originally, Steiner and Sagan named themselves Ratboy. The name originated from a nickname lead singer Julia Steiner was given in high school. To this day, she is not sure why or where the name came from. A group of her friends were giving each other nicknames, and Julia’s seemed to be the only one that stuck. 

In 2011, the band would change the name to Ratboys, plural, after stating they were getting strange, threatening emails from an artist in upstate New York, claiming to own the band name “Ratboy”. Rather than ignore or fight, they added the “s” and carried on. 

12 years after releasing their first piece of music as a two piece, an EP titled, Ratboy EP, the quartet released their fifth studio album, The Window on August 25th, 2023. The album was produced by Death Cab for Cutie band member, Chris Walla, in Seattle, Washington at Chris’ studio, Hall of Justice. This was the first album the group would record completely on analog tape, as opposed to digital…..the OLD SCHOOL WAY! 

Kind of Blue was released on August 17th 1959. I wrote a review of this album back in 2020. For this episode, we will give you a deeper dive into the album along with adding some atmosphere and musical clips. 

Some of you may notice ALBUMREVIEW.NET is collection of reviews from different genres. In addition to the collection we have presented, we also admire the Jazz music genre very much. 

Produced by Irving Townsend, and featuring saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb, Kind of Blue holds up 65 years later as the most influential jazz album in the genre's history.

Ranked number 12 out of 500 albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, this is a review of what I think is the greatest, and I mean GREATEST Jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

For this episode, I welcome a very special guest to the podcast. Los Angeles based guitar virtuoso, Angela Petrilli. 

I met Angela while attending a Zepparella show. Zepparrella is a California based female Led Zeppelin tribute project. Angela was filling in at the particular gig for guitarist Gretchen Menn and I was lucky enough to watch her shred on her guitar and give her best Jimmy Page performance that night. 

But when she’s not touring the country with Zepparella, Angela has a band of her own, Angela Petrilli and The Players. Formerly a member of the band, Roses and Cigarettes, Angela also is the spokesperson for Fishman Guitar Products, she has over 120K subscribers to her YouTube page. 

Featured in Guitar Player Magazine July 2023 (issue with Dave Gilmour on the cover mind you!), Rolling Stone Magazine and the CBS Morning News, Angela is a dynamic guitar player. And she’s here to talk with me today in this episode about a lot of things. Touring with her band Angela Petrilli and the Players, their most recent 5 song EP, “The Voices”, losing her former bandmate to a horrible disease and how she dealt with all that. PLUS, in typical Angela style, you will hear her talk positively about how she values her friends, her family and her time here on earth. Her positive vibes are definitely contagious. 

So sit back and relax or stand up and SHOUT and enjoy, with music tracks included, my interview with Musician Angela Petrilli

Dark Matter is Pearl Jam’s twelfth studio album. Released on April 19, 2024, it was produced by Andrew Watt through Pearl Jam’s own private record label Monkeywrench Records with help from major label, Republic Records.  Andrew Watt was a completely different producer than who Pearl Jam was used to. Watt helped the band focus on the music more, and less of the production. He was also much younger than the band members at age 33, and the first producer since recording their first album, Ten, to really challenge them.

Listening to this album over and over and over has brought me so much joy. It has made me want to be a hard-core Pearl Jam fan again. 

Dark Matter is the strongest Pearl Jam album since 1994’s Vitalogy. 

Listen and find out for yourself. 

Listen to more episodes at https://www.albumreview.net/podcast 

Joining Greg on episode #71 are Hakon and Reuben from the Norwegian band, On the Edge of Leaving. Hakon and Reuben released their 2nd piece of music, an EP, titled, “Respite” in February 2024. After hearing the first song on the record, 1992, I was hooked and had to have them on the show. 

And what drew me to these guys were many things, one in particular is the fact they were previously a “black metal band” called Draug. But in the summer of 2023, they locked themselves in a studio in Drammen, Norway and recorded Respite as a new band called On the Edge of Leaving. And to say this music would be a complete left turn from their metal past, would be a drastic understatement. But their music spoke to me. Its acoustic foundation relaxed me, and it also made me want to listen to the lyrics and ask what the meaning behind all of it is. 

And so for today’s episode we are going to find out. 

Never mind the Bollocks is the only studio album ever released by the Sex Pistols. Recorded from early to late 1977 in London, England with producer, Chris Thomas. Thomas’ additional fame includes mixing duties on Pink Floyd’s, Dark Side of The Moon and an instrumental role on The Beatles, White Album. 

I can remember being a thirteen-year old walking through Cambridge and Boston. Moving from Record store to Record store, I was obsessed with discovering new music. In those days, I was most attracted to album covers. The artwork played a crucial part in my decision-making process whether I would buy the album or not. Most thirteen-year old kids do not have a lot of money to their name. Therefore, I had to be careful with my choices. I picked this album out of a bin at a small, underground record store in Harvard Square, asked the store owner if it was any good (he just nodded) and that was all I needed.