The Hustle

Thanks to the effective and entertaining documentary from 2020, the Go-Go's are enjoying a much-deserved resurgence. The revolutionary group of gals even made it into the Rock Hall last year, finally! Drummer Gina Schock released the beautiful coffee table picture book/memoir called Made In Hollywood last year. With all that's going on, it's time for Gina to tell her story. In this chat we expand on stories from the book, get a feel for the band dynamic, and go deep on her musical contribution to the band, as well as her solo career and singer like Miley and Selena who have sung her songs. She's a straight shooter, it's what we love about her! 

If all you know about Men Without Hats is their eternal hit "Safety Dance" you're missing out. The Canadian synthpop outfit tried other styles and broadened their sound (1987's Pop Goes The Worldbeing a high point), including a grunge album few have heard, but it's been "Safety Dance '' that has never gone away and for good reason, it's still as fresh as it was in '82. Frontman Ivan Doroschuk has been at the helm the whole time and talks candidly about some of his struggles, but, ultimately, his gratitude for what has turned out to be a wonderful career. We also get into his punk and prog roots and his new music including last year's covers EP Again, Pt.1 (Again, Pt. 2 comes out next month and includes all new songs). Ivan deserves all the success he gets! 

First time author Bradley Morgan felt compelled to compare the political world that encircled U2's creation of the iconic Joshua Tree album with the state of the country today. Bradley dissects the album track by track, retelling the inspiration behind each song, and paints a vivid picture of what inspired four Irish punks to make a definitive statement of Reagan's America. Additionally, how does it stand up today and have "the two Americas" become more unified? We're joined this week by co-host Karli Anderson to hear what inspired Bradley to write the book, his own personal story of discovery, and how the world has changed and not for the better. It's great book about a legendary moment in time. 

No Rock Doc is complete without an appearance from esteemed British rock writer Mick Wall. Mick's career goes way back to the 70s working promotion and PR for many of the great New Wave bands, but he quickly realized the real action was in Heavy Metal. This led to gigs writing for Kerrang! and Classic Rock magazines (among many others) and penning books on Zeppelin, GnR, Meat Loaf, Ozzy, Maiden, Sabbath, Lemmy and many more. Mick recently started the Mick Wall Podcast which is a load of fun. Mick shares stories about life in the trenches, fellow writers, and his encounters with everyone from Zeppelin to Bowie, to Iggy to Queen. This is a blast and Mick's seen it all! 

Here's my conversation with label honcho, political blogger, gay activist and more Howie Klein. In the 70s Howie was a DJ and concert promoter in San Francisco when he started 415 Records. That story was told brilliantly in Bill Kopp's new book Disturbing the Peace that we showcased last week. When 415 was sold to Columbia, it kicked off Howie's long career as a mover and shaker in the music biz. In here we talk a lot about his time at Sire and Warner Bros. where he worked closely with Depeche Mode, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, Ice T, Morrissey, the Ocean Blue, Seal, Barenaked Ladies and Wilco (he was featured in their documentary). He's now involved in politics and blogs about it on his website Down With Tyranny (he tells a great story about the Clintons in here). Hear his recollections on it all! 

One could argue that producer Beau Hill is the architect of the sound of 80s Hair Metal. Just as his nascent producing career is getting started, Ratt hit the jackpot with Out of the Cellar and "Round and Round" and from there he (along with Bob Rock and Ron Nevison) becomes THE go-to-guy for that sound. That leads to huge commercial success with bands like Warrant, Winger, Twisted Sister, Europe and Alice Cooper (not to mention fantastic bands that didn't take off like Airrace, Sandy Stewart, Streets, Fiona, and Fast Forward). We hear about all of it including the stories behind "Cherry Pie" and "Seventeen" and how they affected Jani and Kip, his early career bands like Shanghai and Airborne, and what he does today. It's a huge honor to hear from one of the biggest producers of all time! 

Author Bill Kopp has gifted music lovers with a fantastic piece of history. In his new book, Disturbing The Peace, Bill tells the story of San Francisco's influential 415 Record label started by Howie Klein and Chris Knabb. The story recounts how this upstart label even got off the ground, the key venues that built the scene, and, of course, the many excellent bands, many of which have been lost to history. Eventually, when 415 artists like Romeo Void, Translator, Wire Train and Red Rockers started having success, Klein sold the label to Columbia, which turned out to be the deathell. This fantastic history book includes loads of rare pictures, flyers, and stories that deserve to be told, but haven't been till now. 

Rocker Mark Seymour is one of Australia's greatest gifts to music. From his many years fronting the mighty Hunters & Collectors to his last couple decades putting out quality solo work, Mark has fought the good fight and inspired millions of others to do the same. In our conversation we discuss the difficulty of being the main songwriter for a large band with strong opinions as well as their change in sound over time, why they never quite took off in the States while compadres like Midnight Oil, INXS and Crowded House (featuring his little brother Nick) did, why H&C's album Under One Roof might be the greatest live album of all time, his latest album Slow Dawn from 2020, and the stories behind several of his classic tunes like the immortal  "Throw Your Arms Around Me". And, of course, we get hear more "Only in Utah" stores. Rediscover Australian royalty! 

Jon and Jan look back at 2021, discuss life without their dads, the state of the world and more. We also recap the last three month's worth of episodes with any behind the scenes stories, and countdown our Top 10 eps of the year, as well as the listener picks. And lastly, we answer some listener questions (hope we got most of them). Thanks for sticking with us! 

Where to start with Jacknife Lee? He's been one of the most successful and in demand producers of the last 20 years for a start. A short list of people he's worked with include the Killers, Weezer, Modest Mouse, James, Neil DIamond, One Direction, Taylor Swift, REM, Snow Patrol, the Hives, Bloc Party and the Cars, and he won a Grammy for U2's Atomic Bomb album. Then there's his solo work, which always includes incredible artists like Beth Ditto, Sneaks, and Open Mike Eagle to create forward-thinking dance music. And then there are his many collaborations like his current one, Telefis with fellow Irishman Cathal Coughlan. This one's a doozy as Jacknife explains these pairings as well as many many others, how he got sick of himself and changed his way of producing, and the music that inspires him every day. There's a lot here, sit back and enjoy!