The Hustle

It finally happened! When Jon started this podcast seven years ago, at or near the top of his dream guest wishlist was producer Steve Lillywhite, one of his absolute favorites. Steve was so cool and generous with his time that we're releasing this in two parts. In part one we get straight into it discussing Steve's work with Travis, Morrissey, the Killers, Marshall Crenshaw, Big Country, Simple Minds, U2, Peter Gabriel, the Pogues, the Rolling Stones and Johnny Thunders. There are also side conversations on the late, great Kirsty MacColl, the famous gated drum sound Steve had a hand in creating and much more. Stay tuned for part 2 which is equally as good and will be out later this week. It's a dream come true, enjoy!

What a strange trip it's been for John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. After a decade of playing every pier and boardwalk in the Northeast, they achieved "overnight success" when they were plucked to do the music for the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers. This brought them big hits like "On The Darkside" and "Tender Years" but because the popular video was taken from the movie, many listeners were confused where the movie ended and the band began. JCBBB continued to have hits on their next album like "C-I-T-Y" and "Tough All Over".but they could never quite convince everyone they weren't the guys in the movie. In '89 they did the soundtrack to the sequel that no one was asking for and that was it. However, the band never went away. They continue to play in some club or bar or theater almost every weekend and have done for 50 years. John Cafferty joins us to discuss this whole wild ride, as well as the Rocky 4 soundtrack, the band finally releasing a brand new Greatest Hits cd and much more. Enjoy!

Noted audio engineer/producer Susan Rogers began her unique career in the late 70s, but she really earned her bona fides when she moved to Minneapolis to assist Prince. She was right by his side during those peak Purple Rain to Sign O the Times years, helping him create, record, log, and document his every creative impulse (she created his famous "Vault"). She shares stories of her experiences that add invaluable color to who Prince was and what he was like to work with. After leaving Prince, she worked with rising indie rock acts like Michael Penn, Edie Brickel and New Bohemians, Public Image Ltd., Paul Westerberg, Geggy Tah, and Barenaked Ladies. For the last 20 years she's been teaching at the Berklee School of Music. Her encyclopedic memory of it all makes for one of the most fascinating conversations we've ever had on the show. Enjoy!

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Kaye does what he wants. As a founding member of Yes, he helped build the band into legends, but left after three albums when it stopped being fun. After spurts in bands like Detective and Badfinger and touring with Bowie, he came back to Yes for their 80s heyday, but eventually left again, when it stopped being fun. In fact, he's been known to leave music altogether to play tennis, sell t-shirts, whatever got him excited. Now, largely retired in Florida, he's created a totally unique work for his first solo album. End of Innocence is an album he composed about 9/11 illustrating the devastation of that day and its aftermath. Here we get into all of it and more. Emjoy!

DEVO are the template for New Wave. Mixing the DIY aggression of punk with the new technology of the late 70s is what they did better than anyone else. Over the years, the music could be up and down, but their vision of de-evolution has proven to be accurate. Co-founder Jerry Casale has also had a successful career as a director and has recently created one of his best videos yet to his new single "I'm Gonna Pay You Back". It's amazing. Here we discuss his entire career as well as a heavy dose of politics (of course). the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the mysterious death of his brother, Bob 2, his wine business, 80s movie soundtracks, and a bunch more. He's a legend!