Stereo Embers: The Podcast

“The Ghosts” Kira Roessler, who was just known back in the '80s as KIRA, was the bassist for the legendary Black Flag from '84 to '86. A ferocious outfit that played a physical and fiery brand of blistering and punishing punk rock, Kira was no stranger to getting in the van and tearing from town to town with her bandmates. After leaving Black Flag, the UCLA educated Roessler who had also played with DC3, the Monsters, the Visitors and Twisted Roots, formed the bass-led duo Dos with her husband Mike Watt. Dos put out a couple of great albums and then Roessler retreated a bit from music and focused on her day job as dialog editor in the film industry. With a few Emmys under her belt and contributing to two Academy Award- winning films, Kira has done dialog editing on Game of Thrones, Joker, Mad Max Fury Road and A Star is Born. Her debut self-titled solo album is an intricate and instrumentally complex album. With vocals that bring to mind a blend of Kim Deal and Hope Sandoval and bass-fueled arrangements that provide a perfect foundation for the compositions, KIRA is a moving and stirring debut. In this chat, Kira talks to Alex about carving out time for the creative process, the power of musical minimalism and memories of d. Boon. https://kittenrobot.com/records www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com Stereo Embers Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Her Favourite Hitchcock Films” A native of Northern California, Jerry Vessel was the bassist for the beloved San Francisco outfit Red House Painters. The band, who formed in 1989, put out four albums on 4AD and toured all over North America and Europe before calling it a day in 2001. Post-Painters, Vessel played drums for the Muons and bass for Six Eye Columbia and he also put out two solo albums under the moniker Heirlooms of August. Heirlooms' sophomore album Down at the 5-Star found one of the songs featured in the TV series Parenthood. Vessel’s third effort is under his own name this time around and it really makes sense. A stripped down affair that’s stark, spare, personal and unflinchingly honest, Her Favorite Hitchcock Films was written about his relationship with fashion designer Alexis O’Connell and it not only details their time together, it also confronts dealing with her sudden loss. Punctuated by piano violins, cellos, and atmospheric production courtesy of American Music Club’s Bruce Kaphan, the compositions on Her Favorite Hitchcock Films are as poetic as they are conversational. Beautifully constructed, they’re parenthetical, interstitial, referential and emotional. Name-checking Darby Crash, David Lynch, aluminum boats, Thelonious Monk, druid forts and Townes Van Zandt, the songs that make up this album are filled with lyrical intensity in that they conjure the world Vessel and O’Connell built and occupied together. When you’re close with someone you construct universes that are made up of the things you mutually love and this is a stirring homage to those universes. Yes, there’s darkness and of course, there’s pain here, but every song is charged with love. It’s vulnerable but in that vulnerability there’s tremendous life-affirming strength. It’s quite an album. And this is quite a conversation—Vessel talks to Alex about grief, his friendships with his former Red House Painters bandmates, Townes Van Zandt, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jack London and why the piano was his go-to instrument this time around. www.jerryvesselmusic.bandcamp.com www.jerryvesselmusic.com www.bombshell radio.com www.alexgreenonline.com

“Starting Now” The Santa Barbara bred Toad The Wet Sprocket got their start in the late ‘80s when high school pals Glenn Phillips, Dean Dinning Randy Guss and Todd Nichols decided it was time to form a band. Cut to 1989 and the band’s demo Bread and Circus which came out on their own Abe’s Records label, was re-released by Columbia Records. From there, Toad pretty much owned the '90s, putting out albums like Pale, Fear, Dulcinea and Coil. They had massive hits with All I Want, Walk On The Ocean, Something’s Always Wrong and the Number One Modern Rock chart topper Fall Down. But as the story goes, owning the '90s was exhausting and citing creative differences, the band took a break from being a band for a long time. They played sporadic shows here and there, but for the most part, Toad The Wet Sprocket were kind of on ice. The band members went on to do different projects, Phillips had a busy solo carer and that was that. That ice melted in 2009 and the band reactivated themselves from hiatus, putting out their first new album since 1997. New Constellation was a blast of West Coast pop that reestablished Toad as a force to be reckoned with. Eight years later, we have Starting Now, the band’s 7th full length effort. A stirring platter that’s melodic, joyful and undeniably catchy, Starting Now is as rousing as it is hopeful. The band is down an original member—drummer Randy Guss left in 2020, but Josh Daubin is behind the kit now and he’s crushing it. In this conversation Phillips talks to Alex about his relationship to alcohol, vaccines and learning to not be so hard on himself….. www.toadthewetsprocket.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com STEREO EMBERS THE PODCAST Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“The Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers” Over the course of a 40-year career that started in 1982, the London born and Northampton raised and Oxford educated Pat Fish fronted the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy. The JBC was shortened to the Jazz Butcher and Fish, along with co-conspirator and guitarist Max Eider, had a rotating cast of characters in his band, varying from guys like David J of Bauhaus or Rolo from the Woodentops, The Jazz Butcher put out close to 15 studio albums, several live albums, a handful of compilations, box sets, singles—you get the idea. If you’re a collector—the Jazz Butcher is the band for you. They put our records on Big Time, Creation, Fire and Glass, and they played with R.E.M., Jonathan Richman and the list goes on and on. "She’s on Drugs" was the closest they came to a mainstream hit and by the late 90s, things had slowed down a bit for the band. Pat owned a bookshop, played locally a great deal, hosted the Masters of Budvar live series, and kind of just chilled out after nearly two decades of frantic touring, late night drinking, hotel staying and rock and roll mayhem. He was adored and never far from those who did all that adoring. He loved his cat, he loved to read, he loved to drink, he loved to smoke and he loved to play music. Recorded in 2009 as the Jazz Butcher’s The Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers album hit shelvers, this interview finds Fish in fine form, talking about the new record, Roddy Frame, The Blue Nile, his long-standing relationship with Eider and why it’s so hard to age in rock and roll…. www.thejazzbutcher.com www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers The Podcast: Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast

“I’ll Meet You Here” The New York-born Dar Williams has been crafting some of the most engaging music of the last 30 years. A graduate of Wesleyan, Williams got her start in the early '90s in Boston. She had moved there to pursue a career in theater, but inspired by contemporaries like Throwing Muses and Melissa Ferrick, Williams starting writing songs of her own and she hit the ground running, knocking out cassette-only efforts like I Have No History and All My Heroes Are Dead. Her proper full length debut The Honesty Room came out on her own label Burning Field Music and found her a fan in Joan Baez who not only later recorded some of Dar’s songs, she invited Williams to tour with her. With almost 20 albums under her belt, including The Green World, Mortal City, My Better Self and her new one I’ll Meet You Here, Williams has established herself as one of the most enduring and endearing songwriters out there. She’s toured with Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Ani Di Franco, recorded with everyone from John Prine to Clifff Eberhart and she formed the group Cry Cry Cry along with Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky as vehicle to honor their favorite folk numbers. An environmental activist, an educator and an author of several books ranging from YA to urban planning—her book The Tofu Tollbooth is an essential directory of natural food store-- Dar Williams kind of does it all. I’ll Meet You Here is her first new album in 6 years and it’s a refreshing blast of rootsy rock, introspective folk and horn-tinged Americana. This record is a melodic blast of utter musical joy. A playful lyricist who can also be so emotionally exact it’s like a direct sucker punch, Dar Williams is one of our very best.

“Really Great” Since 1984 The Connells have been crafting some of the most compelling, infectious and riveting pop music around. The North Carolina outfit have just put out their first new album in 20 years. Called Steadman’s Wake, the album is another winning entry into an already winning discography. The band sounds reinvigorated and the songs are brimming with intelligence, grace and some of the catchiest hooks of the year. Singer Doug MacMillan sounds as youthful as ever and he sings with some of the most inventive phrasing you’ll ever hear. The tracks jangle away mightily and the Connells are at the top of their game. In this chat, Doug talks to Alex about TVT Records, The Replacements, and how being a collegiate athlete informed his life in a rock and roll band. www.theconnells.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: The Podcast Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Precious Time" The Sheffield born Paul Carrack’s voice is one of the worlds great superpowers. Carrack got his start at 19 playing keyboards in Warm Dust for a handful of albums. From there, he formed ACE who had the massive international hit "How Long." After they broke up in 1977 he played with Frankie Miller and joined Roxy Music as their keyboardist. He put out a solo album in 1980, then joined Squeeze who had a rather massive hit with “Tempted" that featured Carrack on lead vocals. Around the same time he had a band called Noise to Go with Nick Lowe. That band became Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit who not only put out two albums, they were John Hiatt’s backing band for Side Two of his Riding With The King record. Carrack did session work for the Pretenders and The Smiths for their debut album then he joined Mike and the Mechanics, logged a few seismic hits with them—you know, "The Living Years" and "Silent Running." He became a member of Roger Waters’ touring band, put out another solo record, had a hit with "Don’t Shed A Tear"—then formed a band with Rupert Hine, rejoined Squeeze for the Some Fantastic Place record, had a song he co-wrote with Don Felder and Timothy B Schmitt of The Eagles covered by the Eagles and that track ended up being the most played song in the United States in 1995. Carrack kept up his solo career, but still had time to join Ringo Starr’s All Star Band, collaborate with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and join Eric Clapton’s band. Over the years he’s also played with Simply Red, BB King, Elton John and the list goes on and on. There’s actually a great BBCFour documentary about Paul called "The Man With The Golden Voice.” Paul’s new album One On One is his 18th solo album and it’s fabulous. A stirring collection that’s about as soulfully precise as it gets, Carrack’s voice is filled with a timeless blend of warmth and groove and this album proves that time can’t touch him. He sounds as effortless and as affecting as ever. It’s yet another winning entry into a pretty flawless discography. In this conversation, Carrack talks to Alex about staying creative during a pandemic, what he learned about leading his own band from watching Clapton, and why his son think he’s cool for playing on The Smiths’ debut. He also talks about his new album, wanting to make a country record, and how Elvis Costello had the idea for him to sing “Tempted.” www.paulcarrack.net www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Full Grown” The California-born singer/songwriter Gregory Ackerman’s marvelous new album Still Waiting Still is shimmering with delicacy and strength. Buoyed by shadowy backbeats, sneaky melodies and Ackerman’s inimitable and unforgettable delivery, sonically Still Waiting Still falls somewhere between the work of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. The album is as breezy as it is riveting–it’s a brilliant meditation on the quotidian life and its daily comforts and disruptions. Ackerman’s work is intimate and confiding and played with the kind of commanding interior strength that gives it an instantly timeless quality. It's a rich and seamless collection of woebegone West Coast loneliness that perfectly contrasts the sunrises and sunsets of Southern California with the corresponding highs and lows of the human heart. Woven through the waves of subtlety, the quietly rushing choruses and harmonic intricacy is a true sense of optimism—that things will get dark, sure, but that darkness will lift and let’s face it: we live for that lifting. In this conversation Gregory talks to Alex about handling self-doubt, transcending the fear of being judged and the never-ending pursuit of making art. www.gregoryackermanmusic.com Instagram: @ackermon www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“Tales From The Terramar” The San Diego born C. Gibbs sounds like the surf. But not the sunny part--the deep, dark part. The part that twists through fathoms and moves with a silent, but potent current under the waves. The singer-songwriter’s music is a dreamy blend of California darkness and coastal soul. With a delivery that falls somewhere between Nick Cave and Simon Aldred of Cherry Ghost, Gibbs is a mesmerizing talent. His CV has quietly gotten pretty crammed, playing with both Foetus and Modern English, fronting his own band the Morning Glories and forming the chamber rock outfit Lucinda Black Bear. Since the late 90s he’s put out close to 15 solo albums, all of them fantastic. From 29 Over Me to Sleep The Machines to He Arrived By Helicopter: The Shiny Hostel, Gibbs’ work is always compelling and marvelous. His new album falls perfectly into that category. Tales From The Terramar is one of 2021’s very best. A stirring collection that showcases Gibbs’ gifts as a songwriter, Tales From The Terramar is about the ocean, about going home, and it’s about the juxtaposition between the industrial and the natural world. Gibbs sings with precision and finesse and his compositions are the perfect example of how subtlety can be absolutely riveting. In this chat, Gibbs and Alex talk about his foray into the major label world, carving out time to be creative and what it was like to return to San Diego with a young family. C Gibbs On Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/c-gibbs/288726840 Bandcamp: https://cgibbs.bandcamp.com/track/tales-from-the-terramar www.bombshellradio.com www.alexgreenonline.com Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com

“We’re Trying Our Best” It’s hard for us to think of a more charming pop band than Sweet Nobody. The Long Beach quartet's new album We’re Trying our Best is the follow up to their debut Loud Songs For Quiet people and it’s a confident step forward that proves this is band to keep your eye on, Filled with infectious hooks, rushing, spry melodies, prowling bass lines, a touch of surf guitar and heartbeat perfect drum fills, the music of Sweet Nobody is at once familiar and intimate. So much so that when you hear their songs, you feel like you already know them. The key is the voice of Joy Deyo—her sonorous delivery is smooth and steady and she knows how to take the corners in a pop song and glide around them with dexterity and ease. Life has not been easy for Joy in the past few years and she talks about that at great length in this interview—the bliss of pop music and the physically taxing task of living with daily chronic pain are two dominating elements in her life and she speaks about that combination. We’re Trying Our Best is a stone cold pop wonder. It’s spry and fast and thoughtful and smart and the lyrics are diaristic and personal, but at the same time decidedly universal and inviting. Pain is personal, of course, but it’s also omnipresent and it includes every living person on this planet. And let’s face it—we’re all trying our best to get through it, aren’t we? In this chat, Deyo talks to Alex about living with Ehlers-Dalos Syndrome, what it’s like being in a band with ones’ spouse and how she made the move from Minnesota to California. https://sweet-nobody.bandcamp.com/track/five-star-diary https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/support-groups/ www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers: Twitter: @emberseditor Instagram: @emberspodcast EMAIL: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com