The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Listen as Billy Bragg tells the story of growing up poor and rejecting his preordained future at Ford's to become a part of the political fabric of the U.K., all via music. Billy tells a great story, you'll become a fan even if you're unfamiliar with his music (and learn a lot about Brexit too!)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we shift our attention to Bob’s analysis of today’s music industry. Bob was invited to speak at Capitol Records’ Capitol Congress event at the ArcLight theater in Hollywood on the topic of “change”. He reminds a packed audience of music business professionals to look to the future because the past is never coming back. In today’s on-demand culture distribution is king and now is the time to focus on content.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Doobie Brothers frontman, Tom Johnston, joins Bob to talk about his early beginnings and being drawn to R&B artists like Little Richard. He played saxophone, clarinet and drums in his youth but ultimately fell in love with the guitar and taught himself how to play. Always inspired by soul and blues music, he played and sang in a variety of bands before and throughout college, where he studied graphic design. Those years ultimately led to the band that would become The Doobie Brothers and iconic songs like “Listen To The Music”, “China Grove” and “Long Train Runnin’”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music industry veteran, Danny Goldberg is the publicist, manager and record label exec who helped shape the careers of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers and many more. He sits down with Bob to talk music, politics, drugs and business. They discuss today’s political landscape before diving deep into Goldberg’s early years writing for Billboard and being recruited to run publicity for Led Zeppelin. He became a manager and led various record labels, signing icons like Stevie Nicks and Steve Earle. We cover pivotal moments in his career, like the day Kurt Cobain died and end with a discussion about the music industry today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive joins Bob to talk about his amazing career. He takes us all the way back to his childhood in Winnipeg where he played violin at family parties before discovering the guitar. A dynamic storyteller, Bachman shares captivating stories from his adventures on the road and in the studio including how he wrote “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and the surprising piano player featured on “Takin’ Care of Business”. We end with a conversation about his spiritual connection to George Harrison and his brand new album, By George - By Bachman.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legendary record label executive, Seymour Stein, is the ears behind countless amazing careers including The Talking Heads, Madonna and The Ramones. Stein shares stories from his early years helping to compile the Billboard charts in NYC and spending a summer in Cincinnati to learn the record business from Syd Nathan when he was only 15 years old. For Stein, the songs are what attracts him to a band, musicianship comes second. He is not only an great businessman but a true music fan and fountain of knowledge.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World-famous DJ, Kaskade talks about growing up outside of Chicago, attending the University of Utah and playing his first shows on Monday nights in a basement club in Salt Lake City. He packed the club, giving him the money to purchase his first studio equipment. He then followed his wife to San Francisco to find a city with a flourishing music scene where he began to make his mark and ultimately led the way to the top of the electronic dance movement

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim McCarthy is CEO and co-founder of Goldstar, an event discovery service that helps people stay informed of local live entertainment. The company launched on Valentine’s Day in 2002 boot-strapped and lean and without much in the bank. Today, Goldstar is available in 26 cities around the country and has over 8 million members. Jim shares his insights on how a service-oriented mentality has been at the core of his company’s success. We also delve deep into his early years as an english teacher in Japan and working for Noah’s Bagels in San Francisco. 00:30 - What is Goldstar? 26:45 - Attending Harvard 36:00 - Teaching English in Japan 44:45 - Noah's Bagels 56:45 - Founding Goldstar 1:14:45 - The business of live entertainment 1:21:15 - Being customer service forward

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1974, Jerry Greenberg was the youngest president of any major record company. At age 32, he took the reigns of Atlantic Records and went on to sign a myriad of legendary acts including ABBA, Foreigner, Genesis and The Blues Brothers. Jerry shares some amazing stories about his early years and about the artists he worked with such as the time he played congas for Led Zeppelin during an encore at Madison Square Garden. 1:00 - Michael Jackson 12:00 - His band was called The Passengers 17:00 - Percy Sledge, "When a Man Loves a Woman" 21:00 - Atlantic Records - Job offer, but he was on the way to Vietnam 35:00 - How Led Zeppelin came together 44:00 - Bad Company, Foreigner 1:06:00 - John Prine, Dr. John, Alice Cooper 1:16:00 - Best Drummers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waddy Wachtel was chosen by Keith Richards to play lead guitar for his side project The X-pensive Winos. That gig was the culmination of so many session gigs and performances for the guitar virtuoso whose list of credits spans rock & roll history as he supported the Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Iggy Pop, Adam Sandler, and Warren Zevon. 13:00 - Stevie Nicks 21:00 - Les Paul at Summer Camp 36:00 - Moved to LA 1:08:00 - The Rolling Stones 1:24:00 - Co-writing Werewolves of London 1:33:00 - Fleetwood Mac 1:41:00 - Working with Adam Sandler 1:56:00 - Greatest guitarists of all time

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.