WORLD-GO-ROUND: An EXCLUSIVE Q&A with FISCHER-Z’s John Watts John Watts is one of those rare gems in the music business – a singer/songwriter who continues to reinvent himself with each release and yet manages to retain his unique musical vision. Like any good art, his past releases still ‘feel’ contemporary even though they were created at another moment in time. Best of all, his musical output has continued to reach new heights with [...]
Nostalgic Intellect: An EXCLUSIVE Q&A with PETER BJÖRN AND JOHN’S Peter Morén Swedish trio Peter Björn and John have created a musical universe that is constantly evolving. However, they’ve managed to retain their unique charm that made them press darlings a decade ago with “Young Folks”. What many didn’t realize is that that hit’s parent album, Writer’s Block, was the trio’s third in a career that has seen them stretch the boundaries of Pop [...]
Favorite Shirts: HAIRCUT 100 Revisited Haircut 100’s debut album Pelican West remains one of the truly great albums of the ‘80s. Inspired by everything from Jazz and Latin music to ‘60s Pop and Post-Punk, the 1982 album was a breath of fresh air at a time when pretentious ‘Popstar’ posing was more important than making music. From Bob Sargent’s warm and crisp production and singer/guitarist Nick Heyward’s Pop smarts, to the inventive horn arrangements, Pelican [...]
THE BEAT GENERATION: An EXCLUSIVE Q&A with THE TRUTH’s Dennis Greaves The U.S. first caught wind of The Truth when I.R.S. Records released their debut album Playground in 1985. Their succulent blend of Mod, Psychedelia, Soul and Pop was a breath of fresh air compared to the dross that was filling the Top 40 at the time. With a batch of great tunes, a dynamic live show (that this writer was able to catch [...]
Brother Glasgow: An EXCLUSIVE interview with Alan Cumming Alan Cumming is truly a man for all seasons. Depending on whom you ask, this award-winning performer is best known as either a versatile actor (The Good Wife, Spy Kids, Goldeneye, The Smurfs, etc.) or an exceptional entertainer and vocalist (Cabaret, Bent, Macbeth on Broadway). If being beloved on stage and screen wasn’t enough, Cumming is also an author (Tommy’s Tale, Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir), [...]
THE MOTORS THE VIRGIN YEARS (4CD) “(INSERT NAME OF BAND HERE) remain one of the UK’s finest Pub, Pop and Rock bands of the late ‘70s and early 80s yet they are sorely overlooked by music fans today.” Any music connoisseur could easily fill in the blanks of that sentence with at least a dozen band names and they’d all be accurate. However, today we’ll be discussing The Motors, the British Rock ‘n’ Roll [...]
IT’S LIKE I TOLD YOU…: An EXCLUSIVE interview with The Motels’ MARTHA DAVIS Los Angeles in the late ‘70s was an exciting place. There were live venues all over town offering up a smorgasbord of music each and every night. Many great bands emerged from the ‘City of Angels’ during this fruitful period. A majority of them never rose above local phenomenon, while a lucky few went on to make their mark across the [...]
Time And A Few Words: An EXCLUSIVE interview with JON ANDERSON It has been a long time coming, but it is finally here. More than three decades after they first met, music icons Jon Anderson – formerly of Yes and Jon & Vangelis – and French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty have joined forces to create a new album that brings both of their talents to the fore. The music is fresh while still [...]
Fortune, Fame and Fizz: An EXCLUSIVE interview with Bucks Fizz’s CHERYL BAKER By Stephen SPAZ Schnee Nearly thirty five years ago, British Pop quartet Bucks Fizz wowed Europe with their performance on the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. The song they performed, “Making Your Mind Up,” was a slice of effervescent Pop with a slight hint of Glam in its percolating beat; however, the song was only half the story. The talented band members [...]
Peaceful Easy Tempchin: An EXCLUSIVE interview with Jack Tempchin. By Stephen SPAZ Schnee Jack Tempchin comes from an era when the ‘song’ meant more to a musician than fame and fortune. Sure, everybody wants to be successful, but there are those songwriters who are far more interested in creating art than decorating their mansions with it. During the Folk scene of the ‘60s, Jack wrote and played his songs to small crowds, [...]
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