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Our buddy Rob Smith likes to talk about albums that are "the one after the big one" and Lucinda Williams' 2001 album Essence is in that category. Both Jeff and Matt enjoyed diving into the record for the first time -- with special guest Mya Byrne.

If you're not familiar with Mya's music, you should be! Playing Americana steeped with potent branches of blues, rock, glam and country music, Byrne is every bit the voice of the outsider that built the foundation of the genre, where we behold stages beaming with the light of those who are so willing to stand tall and confident in the entirety of their truth. Here Byrne stands too. Americana has many champions, but there are scarce few like Byrne; a queer trans woman creating ripples that will find themselves born again and again as waves.

On Rhinestone Tomboy, Mya's newest album, we are treated to a portrait painted with shades of Byrne’s youth, one spent listening to stacks of her mama’s dusty 45s, and thrift store 8-tracks blasting from blown speakers out the window of an old Chevy. Songs that opened the trailhead to a lifelong journey that informed Byrne’s musical landscape.

Find all of the latest episodes of The Record Player wherever you get your podcasts -- and if you enjoy what we do here, we invite you to join our Patreon and become a member of the Record Club. You'll receive access to a ton of bonus content and interviews. We appreciate you support and your listening ears!

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The incredible Royston Langdon of Spacehog drops in on Matt for the latest Bonus Track. This time, they're talking about Royston's new album, President Alien, which will be released on July 14.

As one might gather from the title, President Alien is a unique return to Spacehog's 1995 debut album, Resident Alien. Nearly 30 years later, Langdon revisits each song from the original album in an acoustic format. He tells Matt how he arrived at the idea of doing the project -- while also sharing some great stories about the roots of the original recordings as well as the early days of Spacehog.

There's also some interesting Spacehog news + other topics to dig to. Our thanks to Royston for taking the time to chat. You can pre-order President Alien on CD, vinyl or digital right here.

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Nick Heyward's North of a Miracle is our featured album on this episode and it was a big thrill to welcome Steven Page, who shares what the album means to him. We also dig into a lot of other topics including some music nerd stuff like the cutout bin! Steven tells us what it meant to get the opportunity to open some shows for the Who last fall + we dig into some surprising Barenaked Ladies topics when it comes to his songwriting in that period.

Steven has been on an absolute tear creatively and released his latest solo album, Excelsior, which is available wherever you get your music. He also has fostered an incredible fan community through his website/Patreon and the ongoing Live From Home series, which he began during the pandemic and LFH recently celebrated its 105th episode.

Across more than 100 episodes, Steven has done a lot of really cool themed shows, including performing full albums from his BNL and solo catalog with a bevy of stories to go along with the music. More than that, he invited the LFH audience into his creative process for the Excelsior album, playing the songs live as he was in the midst of honing them. We discuss with Steven what that part of making this current album was like.

Find information on Live From Home, the latest album and all of Steven's current activities at his website. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

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It's been nearly 50 years since the Who released their epic Quadrophenia album. Mike Peters of the Alarm joins Matt and Jeff to share his memories of hearing the album for the first time and why it became such an important record for him personally.

Mike joins us also celebrating the arrival of a brand new Alarm album, Forwards, which is now available wherever you get your music. We dig into the story behind the album, Mike's health issues and how the experience influenced this new record. Mike also shares some classic Alarm tales. We had a great chat and as always, appreciate Mike's time and wisdom.

Visit the official Alarm website for more information regarding Forwards and all things Alarm-related.

Don't forget that we've got a Patreon! Join the Record Club for hours and hours of additional entertainment related to these episodes as well as bonus interviews and lots more. We appreciate your support!

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Joshua Radin joins Jeff and Matt to talk about his love for the classic 1968 Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks.

We also discuss Joshua's new EP, 'though the world will tell me so, volume 2,' which is out on June 23rd.

The follow up to ‘though the world will tell me so, volume 1,’ the breathtaking collection of songs featured on Radin’s upcoming EP were inspired by his time on the road in 2022. Rather than wait for inspiration to strike, Radin seeks it out wherever possible. To that end, in the fall of 2022, he left his material existence in the rearview, grabbed a backpack, packed his guitar, picked up a pen and a pad, and sought new stories to tell. “I felt like I was going to live the life of a kid on a gap year after high school,” he smiles. “However, it has helped my writing and my soul. I feel so much freer.”

It was a pleasure to get a chance to talk tunes with Joshua. Check out all of his latest info, including upcoming tour dates at his official website.

P.S. We mention David Wild's classic 1990 profile of Van for Rolling Stone. You can read that here. What an adventure!

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Mickey Hart is currently out with Dead & Company as they play what is being termed as their final run of tour dates under that banner. Fans have a unique opportunity to check out Mickey's art while he's on the road. He'll be making two special appearances (see details below) for exhibits that are being presented by the Wentworth Gallery.

Mickey joins Matt for the latest edition of the Bonus Track to discuss his art, the meaning of "vibrational expressionism" and he also digs into the process of how he creates his works.

We discuss numerous other topics, including what Mickey is doing with "Drums" and "Space" on this current run -- and some selected Grateful Dead memories, including a funny story about the "Touch of Grey" video. It was a lot of fun to speak with Mickey about his long career -- and why he still loves what he is doing so much!

Here are the exhibition details for Mickey's appearances on June 4 and June 23.

 ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“These visual representations from my sonic-driven world are snapshots into the music I am making. The basis of all life is vibratory, from the cosmos to human organism to the rhythms of nature and the music that come from what we make, from what we call culture. These are the worlds of rhythm that envelop us on a daily basis. Understanding these rhythms is essential in our daily lives. These works have been drummed, vibrated into existence. This technique is essential in the creation of my art.” – Mickey Hart
 

IN GALLERY APPEARANCES BY MICKEY HART
(artist will be in attendance at both showings - contact the Gallery for information on attending)

SUNDAY, JUNE 4  @ 2:00 PM
Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria
Address: 1807 Galleria at Tysons II, McLean, VA 22102
(703) 883-0111

FRIDAY, JUNE 23 @ 6:30 PM
Wentworth Gallery at Mall at Short Hills
Address:  1200 Morris Tpke, Short Hills, NJ 07078
(973) 564-9776

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Kansas hits the touring trail this week beginning on June 2 to begin their 50th anniversary tour. In advance of the trek, guitarist Rich Williams spoke with Matt to discuss moments from the band's history. He also details the group's new 50th anniversary compilation, Another Fork in the Road: 50 Years of Kansas.

Find the latest Kansas information including current tour dates at their official website.

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What a thrill it is to be able to share this chat with the legendary Ivan Neville.

Ivan joined Jeff and Matt for a lengthy conversation to discuss his new album, Touch My Soul. He was also quite generous about sharing stories from many different corners of his career.

Touch My Soul is an incredible musical journey featuring guest spots from Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald, Trombone Shorty -- and both Aaron and Cyril Neville. Music fans will dig this album, we guarantee that.

Our thanks to Ivan for taking the time to chat. You can find more information regarding Touch My Soul here at Ivan's official website.

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The Hooters have new music (!!) and will be on tour this summer with Rick Springfield, Paul Young and Tommy Tutone (and some other artists depending on the market). These events transpired after our conversation about the band's 1985 album Nervous Night.

We've long been fans of the legendary Philly group who notched a number of successful hit singles -- while also stepping outside of the Hooters camp to write additional smash hits for other artists. So it was a total delight when Jonathan Rundman approached us and asked if we'd be game to chatter about Nervous Night. Of course, we said yes nearly immediately.

We also dig into the details behind Jonathan's 25th anniversary reissue of his album, Recital and his memories of the time period. Jonathan has a busy 2023 currently in progress, including solo dates and additional performances with the Silos and the Rundman Family Band. In short, there was a lot to talk about. Our thanks to Jonathan for sharing his story and a lot of good laughs.

P.S. Matt is sorry for interrupting Jonathan more than any other guest in the history of this podcast ;-)

P.S.S. Jonathan did a great story about David Williams of the Williams Brothers and Marvin Etzioni which you can read right here.

Thanks as always for listening. Please rate and review this podcast wherever you're tuning in. We also have a Patreon, so if you'd like access to a wealth of additional content related to our podcast, check it out and become a member of our Record Club!

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Guitar fans, this one's for you! It's a big thrill to have Steve Morse back out on the road for his first Steve Morse Band tour in 10 years. The next round of tour dates kicks off with a weekend jaunt beginning May 25th in Homer, New York and wrapping up on May 28th in Cleveland, Ohio at the Music Box Supper Club.

Steve joins Matt as part of the latest Bonus Track to talk about his return to the road following his 2022 departure from Deep Purple. We dig through a lot of other topics including some great road war stories, a Miami Vice tale and what he thinks about today's generation of guitar players.

Visit Steve's official website for the latest dates and news regarding all of his upcoming activities.

If you enjoy these podcast episodes, consider joining our Record Club on Patreon for a wealth of additional bonus content. We appreciate your support!

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