The Hustle

What can you say about the great Thomas Dolby that hasn't already been said? We know about the hits (like "Science" and "Hyperactive"), we know about the innovation and the tech businesses he's started, and we know about Live Aid. In this conversation we set out to fill in some of the gaps like how did he get Jerry Garcia and Eddie Van Halen to play guitar with him? Did he ever meet Prince, who he is so similar to creatively? We know Howard the Duck didn't work, but what about his incredible soundtrack? What happened when he produced Joni Mitchell? It might be a slightly different conversation than you're used to. All of this is to promote his North American tour which kicks off on the east coast this week. Hope you enjoy hearing from the master! 

ThomasDolby.com

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Richie Zito checks a lot of boxes for the Hustle. For one, he was a noted session guitarist in the 70s for artists like Neil Sedaka, Hellen Reddy, Leif Garrett, and Elton John. Then he eventually became one of the most successful producers of the next decade working with people like Eddie Money ("Take Me Home Tonight"), Cheap Trick ("The Flame"), Bad English ("When I See You Smile"), the Cult, Heart, and Poison. In between, he hooked up with Giorgio Moroder and played on everything he did for a while including "Danger Zone", Berlin, Donna Summer and tons more. There is a mountain of gold to cover in this one and I have a feeling we just scratched the surface. Enjoy! 

Jon Dawson has been keeping Third of Never going for almost 20 years now and on their latest album, Damage the Pearl (Original Soundtrack), he has enlisted former guest and Connells frontman Doug MacMillian as his musical partner. Jon and Doug have written some primo songs and released one of the best albums of the year. We discuss the logistics of how this project works, what attracted them to each other, and what exactly this album is a soundtrack for. And we have a vinyl of the album to give away. Enjoy! 

Everything seemed possible in hip-hop in 1992. Creativity was abundant and groups like P.M. Dawn, Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Arrested Development could all flourish. This led to AD's debut album becoming a watershed moment in music, selling millions, having hits and winning Grammys. Unfortunately, once gangster rap got its hooks in everyone, it devoured everything else and has remained largely that way ever since. Despite this, AD have been releasing excellent albums in their unique style consistently since reforming and have a new one called Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop that is one of their best. Frontman Speech joins us this week to give his thoughts on where rap is today, straightening out their bumpy career, and where they go from here. It's a hugely inspiring conversation. Enjoy! 

First time author Jay Nachman has accomplished something special. His new book, Graham Parker's Howlin' Wind tells the origin story of how the great Graham Parker came to be the songwriter we know him to be and how that first album with the Rumour came to be. Starting from his pre-fame days in the town of Deepcut, we learn of Graham's blue-collar upbringing and how the fates of him and the band Brinsley Schwarz came together to form a perfect team. Jay's been good to the Hustle over the years as a PR rep for many prior guests, but this time he brings on Graham himself to discuss the book. Enjoy! 

Graham Parker's Howlin' Wind: Nachman, Jay: 9798299219296: Amazon.com: Books

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It's pretty much a fact that if you appeared on a Steely Dan album, you're a made man. Especially on the big ones like Aja and Gaucho. For acclaimed drummer Rick Marotta that's only one chapter of his long, amazing career. His resume also includes Aretha, Donny Hathaway, John Lennon, Jim Croce, Hall & Oates, the Jacksons, Bryan Ferry, and Paul Simon. We discuss all of these and many more. Rick is one of the best storytellers we've ever featured on the show. You'll love every second of this one! 

Throughout the 80s and 90s, filmmaker Arlene Sidaris and her late husband, director Andy Sidaris, released a dozen movies under the philosophy of the three Bs - Bullets, Bombs and Babes. Films like Malibu Express, Savage Beach, and the immortal Hard Ticket to Hawaii showed the Sidaris's combining sexy playmates with huge explosions and tropical locations for some of the most enjoyable movie watching experiences around. These were the glory days of USA Up All Night and hundreds of B movies at the video rental store. Arlene tells us how the movies were made, behind the scenes stories, their current upgrade to 4K, and tons more. There's never been anything like a Sidaris movie. That era is long gone, but it was sure fun while it lasted! 

I'll bet you don't have 8 Grammy's. Very few people do. Our guest this week is one of the chosen few. Producer Kevin Killen has been one of the best in his field since first coming up under the tutelage of Steve Lillywhite on U2's War album. From there the list of collaborators includes David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, Howard Jones, Lindsey Buckingham, Kate Bush, Shawn Colvin, Tori Amos, Mr. Mister and many more. One year he won Grammys for working with David Bowie, Shakira and Yo-Yo Ma. Talk about diversity! We're so fortunate he gave us some of his time this week! 

Madness has become their own institution in the UK. There's an entire culture built around their every move, like a ska version of Jimmy Buffett. Sometimes even legends need a break and to just "make music with their friends" and that's what bassist Mark Bedford has done. "Bedders" has paired up again with mates Simon Charterton and Terry Edwards of 2-Tone band the Higsons to release a new album, Tritone, under their side project The Near Jazz Experience. The NJE's music is an instrumental blend of jazz and funk and makes for easy on the ears listening. Bedders joins us this week to discuss how this band satisfies his creative urges and the state of the mighty Madness. Enjoy! 

Our latest Book Club is a blast. Music writers David Goggin and Martin Porter have collaborated on a fascinating new book, Buzz Me In, detailing the history of the Record Plant studios. The story begins with business partners Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone but includes the juicy in-studio stories of Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, the Eagles, Stevie Wonder and John Lennon and what it takes to extract as much money as possible from artists like these. Sex, drugs and rock and roll are in abundance. You won't want to miss this great book!  

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