The Hustle

It's another Merry Chris-mas at the Hustle! This year we hear from indie legend Chris (get it?) Stamey! After forming the dbs in Chapel Hill 40 years ago with Peter Holsapple, Chris has carved his own unique and diverse solo path. To prove my point, this year he released a new album New Songs for the 20th Century that was heavily influenced by the likes of Cole Porter and Henry Mancini! I ask Chris why the change in style, but he doesn't see it that way. In fact, this interview goes a little sideways. You be the judge as to why. 

Forrmer guest Richard Bush (ep 69) returns to talk about the brand new album Social Studies by his current band The Peace Creeps. You may remember that 40 years ago, Richard fronted the wonderful Philly power-pop band The A's. The Peace Creeps brand of rock is more psychedelic, but no less effective. The first single, "Through Our Ruins" is getting some radio attention, thankfully, so we talk about how that feels at this stage in his career and what he hopes to accomplish with this new album. Check out Social Studies today! 

https://www.facebook.com/ThePeaceCreeps/

The Knack are the poster band for both extreme success and extreme flame out. They had the biggest hit of 1979 with their debut single "My Sharona", a song that remains as killer today as it was then. But, almost immediately the backlash came - they copy the Beatles too much, the lyrics are misogynistic, power pop is over, etc. Unfortunately, the band never really got over that despite staging many reunions and comebacks over the years. However, when frontman Doug Feiger died in 2010 that was all she wrote. Here, bassist Prescott Niles is eager to tell the real story of the Knack like why much of the criticism was unfair, what great musicians they were, and the story behind each album, including his favorites and least favorites. We also get into what he's doing now which includes playing with 80s favorites Missing Persons and Gary Myrick. Prescott is quite a character, but the story he tells is vital. Enjoy! 

Jon and the boys from Suburban Underground come together for another hour of music. This time the topic is "songs that move us." You'll notice when you listen to this that we each define "move" in different ways. Who do you identify with the most? Don't be shy! 

The 90s were a fickle time. Fads came and went, stars were made and just as quickly left behind. Austin's Fastball had what it took for the long haul, but it hasn't been easy. Lead by the dual songwriting chops of Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga, the band broke big on their second album with hits like "The Way," "Out of My Head," and "Fire Escape." But, as it often happens, by the time the follow up came out the crowd had moved on. They've never really gone away though and they even released a solid new album recently called The Help Machine. Drummer Joey Shuffield joins us to talk about how it all goes down and how they keep it together I especially wanted to hear about the incredible rock band he was involved in in the early 2000s called Young Heart Attack. If all you know is the hits, Fastball deserve a deeper listen. 

www.fastballtheband.com

Imagine this - one of the greatest rock singers in history decides to leave his hugely successful band and you've been selected to take his place. That's what happened with Johnny Edwards. Though it was the beginning of the 90s, Foreigner's Mick Jones felt that even though Lou Gramm was out of the band there was still enough gas in the tank to keep things going. He recruited Johnny and they recorded Unusual Heat, a solid rock album that never really stood a chance. This scenario wasn't entirely new to Johnny as he took over vocal duties on latter day versions of both Montrose and King Kobra (both stories are nuts!). Along the way he fronted many of his own bands, but none of them really took off and he eventually left music behind. Today he's a regular working man and sings in an excellent blues rock band called Bleu Phonque on the side. Nobody has a story quite like Johnny's, you're going to love this! 

www.bleuphonque.com

Walter Egan's 1978 smash "Magnet and Steel" will follow him around wherever he goes, deservedly so, but what gets lost sometimes is the absolutely stellar power pop album he made in 1983 called Wild Exhibitions. It featured his last hit "Fool Moon Fire", but didn't get the attention it deserved then, and still doesn't, so we attempt to right that wrong. In this Deep Dive, Walter and I shed light on this hidden gem, while also gliding over his entire career. We love Walter and hope that you will discover an album you must have in your collection. 

In a decade that churned through artists as tastes and fads changed weekly, Everclear managed a heckuva lot of hits. Storming the gates with the hyper-catchy "Santa Monica," the guys dropped radio staple after radio staple like "Everything to Everyone," "Father of Mine," "I Will Buy You a New Life" and the list goes on and on. By the 2000s, the wave was starting to die down, but the band never really went away, even if the players came and went. The mainstay has always been leader Art Alexakis, a one-of-a-kind rock personality. Art recently released the solo album he's been threatening to do for years with the all acoustic Sun Stories. In this conversation, Art is honest about the Everclear albums he isn't crazy about, the time he was on the "O'Reilly Factor", the Summerland Festival he heads, the great 2015 Everclear album Black is the New Black, and tons of other stuff. He's one of the great personalities in rock and we're lucky to hear from him! 

www.everclearmusic.com

Cinderella may have been put to bed years ago, but frontman Tom Keifer has been slowly building up his solo project for a while now and it just keeps getting bigger. The Tom Keifer Band recently released the new album Rise and completed a US tour (another leg is taking shape early next year). In this short conversation, we discuss the difference between his current band and his old one, how he views his legacy, the state of his health (he's undergone several throat surgeries over the years, but is back on the mend), his spiritual views, and his working dynamic with his wife, Savannah. Tom could be seen as a Maverick who's followed his muse from day one and produced a lot of killer rock and roll in the process. 

www.tomkeifer.com