The Hustle

You might consider South London's Kitchens of Distinction forebears of the shoegazer genre that defined alternative rock in the UK in the early 90s. Fronted by bassist Patrick Fitzgerald, the Kitchens perfected the art of layering swirling guitars into infinity creating some of the most gorgeous noise ever recorded. But, after four albums in 6 years without a major breakthrough, the band called it quits in the mid-90s. Since then Patrick has had numerous side projects including Fruit, Lost Girls, Oskar's Drum, and his solo work under the name Stephen Hero. Oh, and he also became a doctor. Patrick and I discuss the legacy of KOD, the challenges of being an out and proud gay man in those days, the nature of his work in medicine, the new album he's completing, and a disastrous tour they did with Suzanne Vega back in the day.  He's just about the sweetest man you'll ever know. And here's a link to the last Oskar's Drum album, 2018's Degenerate Art, which is fantastic. Enjoy! 

https://oskarsdrum.bandcamp.com/album/degenerate-art?fbclid=IwAR1-MQ1dkWfKAo-NfvS2d_Hzjbs5iBKI50RaqKWh7xjzBEnULrndy5KocOE

In 1986 David Bowie did his buddy Iggy Pop a solid offering to help produce a new album and bring him the commercial success he so richly deserved. Bowie threw together a crack team including guitarist Kevin Armstrong and recorded Blah Blah Blah. The album featured the hit “Real Wild Child” and brought Iggy some mass success. But was it art? Kevin returns (ep 187) to go deep on the recording process. We also chat about his new excellent solo album Run. Enjoy!

Whether you know the name or not, chances are you've rocked out to scores of songs produced by the legendary Ron Nevison. Can you believe he first got his feet wet engineering The Who's Quadrophenia? And then Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti? From there he applied his genius to albums by the likes of Bad Company, Thin Lizzy, UFO and the Babys. And that was just the 70s! In the 80s he produced the finest pop rock available, guiding smash hits by the likes of Heart, Jefferson Starship, Survivor, Europe, Eddie Money, Chicago, Ozzy and, of course, Kiss. The 90s featured quality work by Meat Loaf, Vince Neil, Bad English and Damn Yankees. We get into ALL of them! Ron's in the process of writing a book, so the stories come fast and loose. If you like rock and roll, you will love this conversation with a true icon. 

If you looked up New Wave or Power Pop in the dictionary, one of the skinny-tied artists you'd see next to The Knack would be the great Greg Kihn. He's practically the poster boy for that unmistakable sound bubbling up in the late 70s when long-haired rockers were cutting their hair and their songs shorter and embracing the new wave. This transition scored him some huge hits like "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)", "Jeopardy" and "Reunited", but then he sort of disappeared. What happened was a temporary stop doing morning radio turned into a couple decade long new career. In 2017 he released his first album in many years, Rekihndled, and now he's back on the road playing the hits. It's been quite a ride! 

www.gregkihn.com

After breaking out as a member of Rick Springfield's band in the early 80s, guitarist Tim Pierce went on to become one of the most sought after session guys in the business. He has literally played on over 1000 recordings in his long career. Some of the big collaborations that we talk about in here are Bon Jovi, John Waite, Crowded House, Michael Jackson, Kenny Loggins, Bruce Springsteen, Seal, Roger Waters, Meat Loaf, and Rod Stewart. But, what's more interesting is the online guitar instruction business he's built for himself as the music industry has dried up. Through his site www.timpierceguitar.com he has posted hundreds of videos educating guitarists on the secrets of the trade. Tim may have created the best second music career for himself of anyone we've ever had on the show! It's fascinating to learn all about it. Enjoy! 

We're turning four this week! And to celebrate we present this very rare interview with one of our most requested guests, Sandi Saraya! Saraya were an excellent, but short-lived hard rock band that only released two albums - the self-titled in 1989 featuring the mild hit "Love Has Taken Its Toll" and the much heavier and darker follow up, When The Blackbird Sings in 1991 - before mysteriously disappearing. Fans have wondered for years where Sandi went and why. We answer those questions here which includes finding God, getting remarried, and raising five kids. Believe it or not, the band is currently working on new music for the first time in almost 30 years! Enjoy and Happy Birthday to us! 

Oscar-winner Franke Previte basically won the lottery in 1987. He first rose to mild fame fronting the early 80s melodic rock band Franke and the Knockouts where he recorded three great albums and scored three top 40 hits you may remember like "Sweetheart" and "You're My Girl." While their "Foreginer by way of Jersey" sound was solid, it wasn't taking over the world. And then everything changed. Franke was asked to contribute a couple songs to a movie called Dirty Dancing (he worried it was a porn) a friend was involved with. He wrote and recorded "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes" and then sat back and watched as the movie and his songs became a cultural phenomenon that has never gone away. Here we talk about how it all came to be, what it has freed him up to focus on, and the recent release of a killer Knockouts boxset called The Complete Collection that tells the band's entire story. It's a tale unlike any other! 

The release of Dare by the newly reconstituted Human League in 1981 changed everything. Suddenly, synthesizers weren't just these cold machines producing frosty sounds from the back of the room. Phil Oakey and company showed how they could be used to create pop songs with hooks and choruses that sounded great on the radio, something no one else had done as well to that point. In this month's Deep Dive, Human Leaguer and former guest Ian Burden (ep 194) returns to talk about the creation and recording of that album, the invaluable work of producer Martin Rushent, and it's lasting legacy. Please enjoy! 

Remember that 2002 movie starring Hugh Grant called About A Boy? You know, the one where he plays a bachelor able to live comfortably on royalties he receives from a single Christmas song? Just wait till you hear the story on "Christmas Wrapping"!   

Meet Chris Butler, guitarist and primary songwriter for The Waitresses.  Chris is just your run-of-the-mill artist who…wrote his biggest hits from a woman’s perspective, records music without the benefit of electricity and lives in a serial killer’s house.  If that’s not enough, he also grew up in Ohio in that late 70’s music scene that gave us Chrissie Hynde, DEVO et al. And while attending college at Kent State, he took part in that infamous Vietnam War protest that resulted in the death of a close friend.

I hope you’ll find this emotional roller coaster episode with the witty Chris Butler as fascinating to listen to as I did to record.  

The 90s were good to Royston Langdon. His band hit it big in 1996 with their #1 smash "In The Meantime" off their debut album Resident Alien. He also married actress Liv Tyler. But after two more Spacehog albums, the band came apart and was never the same. Over the years there have been a couple reunions, but today Royston is focusing on his solo career and released his first solo album Everything's Dandy under the moniker LEEDS (the album we be re-released under his own name soon). And, congratulations are in order as he was recently selected as the opening act for the Psychedelic Furs on their upcoming US tour! Here we talk about what rock stardom really means, the influence of Bowie on Spacehog's music, and how he almost replaced Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver. It gets deep! 

https://www.roystonlangdon.com/