What Goes On...

To round off a very strange year we have the wonderful @blackhamimages in for a chat. I totally forgot about it and got to the meeting late because I was trying to teach my 5yo who was on his third 2 week self-iso of the 12 week term... Sigh. Anyway, Rob is a dear friend, great guitarist, and killer photographer. All of that and humble to a fault. We spoke about being in a band, producing The Cooper Temple Clause, and Slash turning up to a photo shoot without THE HAT. Merry Christmas, please stay safe and enjoy!

Mike @vennart is known to be brutally honest about pretty much everything. He did not disappoint in our chat with him. We cover early musical influences, feeling like an outsider, the unconcious evolution of Oceansize, and all that has come after. Thanks so much Mikey!

Getting to chat with @calculizer #ChrisWalla this week was a truly joyful experience. The @dcfc founder and producer talks us through his (rather traumatic) early music life and just how Death Cab began in a basement with a 4 track, grew into the multiplatinum giant it became, and some reasons why he decided to step away. Enjoy.

.@misterbenellis was a stalwart on the 90s Glasgow rock scene. Mogwai supported his band. We talk through beginnings, diversification, navigating the labyrinthine world of touring and playing for Iggy... Enjoy..

This week @noelhogan from @thecranberries shares the rollercoaster of careening from critics' darlings to believing their record had flopped, to dominating US college radio, all within a few months, everything which followed from that, and coping with the loss of Dolores. Thanks, Noel!!

Bill Rahmy @manager_of_champions is a legend in every sense. Production manager for so many huge and influential acts, and we went deep quickly. Enjoy.

This week, for your listening pleasure, we present Ross MacDonald from The 1975 @rass1975. We discuss early life in the band, coping with tourlife and how un-rock'n'roll life seems to be these days. Enjoy.

This Dan Coggins interview was a big deal for me. Dan designed all the Lovetone pedals. Over Christmas '97, Flood leant me his Lovetone Big Cheese, and that act of kindness coupled with that example of sonic wizardry had a huge formative effect on me, ultimately driving me to make guitar fx and amps. Enjoy.

@coggins_audio_ltd

You'll have seen or heard Yul Vazquez in movies (The Mambo Kings, Runaway Bride, American Gangster), TV (Seinfeld, Sex and the City, The Sopranos) and theatre, but what you may not know is that he also has a long history of being a musician which led to becoming a member of bands Urgent and Diving For Pearls during the 1980s. We hit the ground running on this one - no intro - and dug into early life as the son of an actor mother who took up the drums aged 7, onto guitarist in a Miami Beach-based 5-sets-per-night metal covers band, hanging out with Judas Priest and his eventual move to New York. Enjoy.

Instagram - @yuluminati

Since the late 70s, Dave Gregory, along with Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding as the classic XTC line-up, has influenced countless other musicians. Dave graciously spent time with us talking about early piano lessons, saving up for his first guitar, school bands, prog rock,focusing on the art rather than the tools early on, delivery driving and then how he finally landed the XTC gig. Following that we spoke about life on the road and in the studio with XTC, Andy's struggle with stage performance and tour-life, and the eventual disintegration of the band in that form. Enjoy.