Zig At The Gig podcast

Francie Moon

"Francie Moon is, at this point, a New Jersey institution, a force creating balls-out rock n roll that is at turns, psych, garage, and punk, imbuing it with urgency and confidence." -King Pizza Records

Interview with Melissa Lucciola singer-songwriter, Drummer! known as Francie Moon! Her new album What are we really even doing is out now on all streaming platforms!

Francie Moon's Info 

https://franciemoon.com/ 

franciemoonmusic

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PLszZzCRsnvLsiN3LiImR

https://franciemoon.bandcamp.com

 

The Trypes John, & Toni Baumgartner

The Trypes John, & Toni Baumgartner On Zig At The Gig

Pravda’s March 18 release of “Music for Neighbors” marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Trypes in the blue-collar New Jersey town of Haledon, NJ, which was the hometown of The Feelies and later spawned kindred bands Yung Wu, The Willies and Speed The Plough. How Haledon became an incubator for these bands, who went on to spread their sound far and wide, is a matter of speculation. Maybe it was just a place in time in the early 80s when anything seemed possible to a group of suburban friends “Music for Neighbors” brings together all of The Trypes studio recordings, along with many home and live recordings that explore the band’s quirkiest musical inclinations. It also includes three songs from the band’s 1984 showcase at the Bottom Line in New York, as well as two songs recorded by the original Trypes during a 2017 reunion. Gatefold vinyl coming later this year. Stay tuned! CD available now. Playing moody, psychedelic-influenced folk-rock with a distinctive instrumental pallete, the Trypes are often thought of as a side project of the Feelies, due to the participation of several key members of that band. However, the Trypes were a functioning unit before Feelies leaders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million joined the group, and the group's founders would enjoy a long and productive career after Mercer and Million began pursuing other projects. The Trypes were formed in 1982 by John Baumgartner on keyboards, Toni Paruta on woodwinds, Marc Francia on guitar, Brenda Sauter on bass, and Elbrus Kelemet on lead vocals. The Trypes hailed from Haledon, New Jersey, which was also home to Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, who had put the Feelies on hiatus after touring in support of their debut album. Mercer and Million championed the Trypes and began working with the band; they became a six piece with the addition of drummer Stanley Demeski and the departure of vocalist Kelemet. In 1984, the Trypes released a four-song EP, The Explorer's Hold, but later that year, Mercer and Million left the group to launch a new edition of the Feelies, with Demeski and Sauter becoming the band's new rhythm section. Baumgartner, Paruta, and Francia dissolved the Trypes, but then formed a new group, Speed the Plough, who released their debut album (produced by Bill Million) in 1989. In 2012, Acute Records released a Trypes collection, Music for Neighbors, which collected the material from The Explorer's Hold, a rare compilation track, and a number of unreleased demo recordings. https://www.facebook.com/TheTrypesofHaledon

Charming Disaster

Charming Disaster is a goth-folk musical duo based in Brooklyn, NY, formed in 2012 by Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris. Inspired by the macabre humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the murder ballads of the Americana tradition, and the dramatic flair of the cabaret, they write songs that tell stories about death, crime, myth, magic, folklore, science, and the occult. Their new album, the Marie Curie-inspired Our Lady of Radium, is out now on vinyl, CD, and all digital platforms.

Charming Disaster's Info

https://www.charmingdisaster.com

https://www.facebook.com/charmingdisa...

https://www.instagram.com/charmingdis...

https://www.youtube.com/user/Charming...

 

Kenny Dubman

Kenny was raised in a house where music played all the time, and it was his mom's Hendrix and Santana records that etched their way into his psyche...he had to know how to make those sounds. By age 9 he had started guitar lessons, and by 12, had begun to unravel the mysteries of real rock guitar playing on his own, courtesy of Ace Frehely on the first Kiss Alive album. Ace was playing the Jimmy Page licks...but he played them slowly and methodically enough for a kid to digest and be able to repeat them, albeit clumsily at first. Over time, the pentatonic scale layout of the neck revealed itself, and he was off to the races, never looking back.

By Kenny's senior year in high school, he had joined a newly minted band called Prophet with a bunch of Jersey guys several years his senior. They busted their asses learning progressive rock covers by Kansas, Yes, Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd....as well as hard rock like Scorpions, Van Halen, Sabbath and AC/DC. By 1982, Prophet was one of the kings of the NJ club band circuit, playing 5 nights per week to packed houses all over the tri state area. In 1985, Prophet would release the first of their 3 albums; the self-titled "Prophet" (1985), followed by "Cycle Of The Moon" (1988), and "Recycled" (1991). All records met with critical acclaim, yet Prophet would never rise above cult following status...a following which still remains today.
A few original music projects followed in the early 90's, but he was growing weary of the music business and all of it's fickle whims. He lost his passion for creating and trying to forge ahead, and channeled those passions elsewhere.

In 2013, Kenny found himself at an all-time low, having gone through quite a few years of real trauma in his personal life. He had finally shed all his baggage, and was slowly regaining himself and learning to stand again...gradually finding his footing. It was during this period that he stumbled on to an album that would set the course for a whole new musical re-birth for him..."The Whippoorwill" by Blackberry Smoke. Just happened to click on it by chance one day while looking for an album to play while at work. A year later, he was still listening to the whole record every day. A few months after that, song ideas that he thought were worth capturing started to appear for the first time in years. And on July 4th, 2016, Kenny released "Reckless Abandon", his very first 100% solo record. And THAT...is where this awesome journey started for the second time...and he'll never look back again.

 

 

Kenny's Info 

http://www.kennydubman.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ken.dubman

https://www.instagram.com/kennydubman/

 

 

Mike Najarian Of State Radio, Ratfynkt, and Remote Players Club

Mike Najarian Drummer of State Radio, Guitarist and singer-songwriter of Ratfynkt, and Remote Players Club.

 

Strange Perspectives is known for its witty and humorous short stories and observations. These memoirs cover many aspects of Mike Najarian's life including his adventures as the drummer of the politically conscious, socially aware, and internationally touring band State Radio. Volume 1 covers his dealings with Slash of Guns N' Roses, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band, Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction, Cam Neely of the Boston Bruins, and Wyc Grousbeck (the owner of the Boston Celtics) just to name a few. Although Strange Perspectives is light, fun, and easy to read it also digs deep into the human condition and displays a diversity of ideas and topics that make it a complete and well-rounded piece of writing. To stay up to date on the Strange Perspectives series and all of Mike's dealings please go to his Facebook page at

Mike's Info

www.facebook.com/mikenajarian

https://bandcamp.com/tag/mike-najarian

https://ratfynkt.bandcamp.com

https://remoteplayersclub.bandcamp.com/album/remote-players-club

https://www.facebook.com/remoteplayersclub/

Get Strange Perspectives Here : 

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Mike-Najarian-ebook/dp/B009ECESZS

 

 

Robben Ford

Robben Ford On Zig At The Gig

Robben Ford is one of the premier electric guitarists today, particularly known for his blues playing, as well as his ability to be comfortable in a variety of musical contexts. A five-time Grammy nominee, he has played with artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Witherspoon, Miles Davis, George Harrison, Phil Lesh, Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald, Bob Dylan, John Mayall, Greg Allman, John Scofield, Susan Tedeschi, Keb Mo, Larry Carlton, Mavis Staples, Brad Paisley, and many others!

An important and essential component of Robben’s career is his commitment to teaching and passing on what he’s learned over the past 40 years to current and future musicians. His instructional videos and clinics over this time have culminated in a collaboration with TrueFire and the birth of the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo. The wealth of his expertise and creativity is generously presented in these state-of-the-art productions, and will be, for years to come.

Robben's Info

https://www.robbenford.com

 

John Doe of X

John Doe: Punk rock pioneer with X, songwriter, poet, actor, solo artist, published author, folk musician.

John Doe, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist and bass player. Doe co-founded LA punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk, country, and folk music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of television appearances and several movies to his credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the television series Roswell 

 Fables in a Foreign Land, the debut release from The John Doe Folk Trio, his tales are now set in the pre-Industrial Era.“All of these songs take place in the 1890s. There’s a lot of sleeping on the ground, a lot of being hungry, a lot of isolation. All of that fits into the kind of isolation and lack of modern stimuli that I think people started rediscovering during the pandemic lockdown: realizing that as parts of your life start getting taken away, what’s important and what you live for becomes paramount.”And though many of the 13 songs were written over the last three years, the sound was born in loose weekly backyard jams on Kevin Smith’s patio. Doe called the Willie Nelson And Family upright bassist on Tax Day 2020, as the country legend’s seemingly endless tour schedule ground to a complete halt – probably for the first time ever-- due to the pandemic.“I called up Kevin and we just started playing on his patio on Tuesdays, just for something to do. And after about a month, we realized, ‘Holy shit! This is the first time we’ve been able to do this just for the hell of it! We’re not doing it for a tour, for a record, or a show.’ We’re doing it just to play. Then we invited our drummer pal Conrad Choucroun out, I wrote more songs, and eventually, the project became more focused. 

 

 

John's Info

http://www.theejohndoe.com/about

https://www.xtheband.com

John's Show June 21st at the music box in Cleveland OH

https://musicboxcle.com/event/john-doe-folk-trio-june21/\

X's Next show in Ohio with Psychedelic Furs

https://thepsychedelicfurs.com/#shows

 

 

 

Sweaty Lamarr

Sweaty Lamarr is the musical project of Tara Giancaspro (Jee-in-CASS-pro), a singer-songwriter who splits her time between Hoboken and Philadelphia. She began writing music and singing in March of 2020, taking voice lessons with the Matt Farnsworth Studio and opera singer Chelsea Friedlander, and watching an almost alarming number of "How to play Neko Case songs" guitar videos on YouTube. Her first single, "I Have Always Been in Love With You", premiered in October of 2021 and hit 5,000 streams within three months of release. Her newest single "Mysteries" (produced by Jacob Blizard, guitarist for Lucy Dacus, and engineered/mixed by Lovegrove Studios) was premiered by Magnet Magazine ahead of its release on February 14, 2022. "Mysteries" has been broadcast on numerous radio stations including Blow Up Radio, IndieCentric with Todd Livingston (Charlie Mason Radio), RTR 92.1 (Australia), and Beyond Radio in the UK. Her next release, an alternative country EP called A Little Bit Cuntry, A Little Bit Rock & Roll, is set to debut in 2022, and will feature "Abbey, I'm Sorry I Stole Your Man," a sequel to Dolly Parton's "Jolene" from Jolene's perspective. Tara is writing her first novel in between 3am songwriting sessions, being a corporate stooge, and cuddling her two cats Simone and Lugosi.

Sweaty Lamarr's Info

https://linktr.ee/sweatylamarr

https://sweatylamarrmusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SweatyLamarr/

https://www.instagram.com/sweatylamarr/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3evyp6n1s8WMRTssXlh0uO

 

Greg Franco of Man’s Body

Greg Franco of Man's Body on Zig At The Gig

Interview with Greg Franco about his career, writing habits, and Man's Body's new album Set Of Steak Knifes

Man's Body info

https://www.facebook.com/mansbodychicago/

https://mansbody.bandcamp.com/album/put-your-family-in-it

https://www.instagram.com/mansbodychicago/

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm-cQV1x-7AjmfksEGxA-uBx8jugKh-qA

 

Mark Stewart Of The Pop Group

Mark Stewart is an artist, vocalist, producer and songwriter from Bristol. As a founding member of The Pop Group and as a soloist, Stewart has remained an anarchic and pioneering figure since the punk era, a constant source of discordance amongst the frontiers of post-punk, dub, industrial and electronic music. In a body of work driven by an explosive form of lyricism and inspired by radical politics, protest movements, theory, philosophy, technology, art and poetry, Stewart has fearlessly cultivated a revelatory collision of ideas, ideals and influences throughout an indisputably ground-breaking and seditious career. Empowered by the DIY incentives of punk Stewart initiated The Pop Group in 1977, subsequently producing some of the most original and combative music of both the post-punk and contemporary era. From 1977 until 1980 Stewart led the charge in a group that completely eschewed punk’s formalism for something far greater. Producing epiphanic, irrepressible anthems, including She’s Beyond Good & Evil and We Are All Prostitutes, both in 1979, as well as masterful, seminal albums including Y in 1979 and For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? in 1980, The Pop Group ignited the revolutionary aesthetic potential of post-punk. The impact of this first incarnation left an immensely significant legacy ultimately leading to the group’s reformation in 2010. With 2015’s refined return Citizen Zombie and 2016’s audacious left-turn Honeymoon On Mars, the group emphatically renewed their relevance, proving as incendiary as ever. Stewart continues to operate as a crucial impetus in the bands ongoing mission. In 1980 Stewart embarked on his solo career inspired by the sounds he had heard during a visit to New York the same year. The virtuosic scratching and early hip hop propagated by Kiss FM’s Kool DJ Red Alert, coupled with the impact of a pile driver at a construction site Stewart happened to encounter there, was enough to encourage his visionary next step. In 1982 Stewart consolidated these encounters into coherent possibilities, forming a group called The Maffia and linking up with producer Adrian Sherwood and his cutting edge label On-U Sound. Alongside a rotating cast of session players, initially comprised of members of African Head Charge, Creation Rebel & Dub Syndicate, and later made up of Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc and Skip McDonald (the erstwhile rhythm section of The Sugarhill Gang) Stewart & The Maffia fashioned an abrasive confection of dub reggae, early hip hop and industrial noise that was shattering, seismic and completely ahead of its time. Headed by an iconic version of William Blake’s eponymous ancient poem, Stewart & The Maffia unveiled the Jerusalem EP in 1982, swiftly followed by their cult 1983 LP Learning To Cope With Cowardice. Stewart later moved to Mute Records in 1985 for the ferocious proto-industrial militancy of As The Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade and successive appearances on the label continued to break untold new ground, from 1987’s Mark Stewart to 1990’s Metatron and 1995’s Control Data. Stewart has continued to plot an utterly uncompromising and individual course into the 2000s, with a streak of solo material that has included Edit, The Politics of Envy, The Exorcism of Envy and Experiments. Preserving his vociferous energy and defiant stance whilst advancing, as always, into unfamiliar territories, this work bears all the traces of Stewart’s enduring severity and modernism, an exploratory power reinforced by a host of legendary collaborators and artistic descendants including the likes of Primal Scream, Keith Levene (Public Image Ltd / The Clash), Richard Hell, Kenneth Anger, Daddy G (Massive Attack), Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, The Bug, Kahn (Kahn & Neek, Young Echo) and Factory Floor. Stewart continues to exert an inestimable impact on a disparate range of ensuing artists and scenes. His work has been acknowledged and celebrated as a vital inspiration by the likes of Nick Cave, Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Tricky, Massive Attack, St Vincent and countless others, while his eye for unorthodox extremity has instigated myriad new evolutions, blueprinting industrial, trip-hop, noise-hop, dance-punk and many other subsequent conceptions. Through a staunch, unrelenting desire to confront, deconstruct and make anew, Stewart has become of the most influential and forward-looking luminaries of post-punk, or indeed, any other form of music. An artist often imitated but never bettered.

Mark's Info

https://www.markstewartmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/markstewartmusic