Zig At The Gig podcast

Paul Reed Smith

Interview with internationally-known guitar maker and musician Paul Reed Smith. 2024

 

Paul Reed Smith - Eightlock is a band of high-level musicians who are friends and have “locked” together recording and performing a new kind of groove with its roots in Baltimore funk, DC go-go and New Orleans swing. The band’s sound is a heady brew of blues, soul, rock, funk and other roots sounds, all stirred-up into a groove-alicious gumbo. The line-up is three drummers, a bass player, a female singer and three guitar players, and the excitement around their three drummer groove is infectious. The band’s three drummers are: Dennis Chambers (John Scofield, George Duke, Brecker Brothers, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin) who was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2001; Gregory Grainger (Whitney Houston, Acoustic Alchemy); and Ju Ju House the legendary DC Go-Go drummer (Roberta Flack, Trevor Horn and The Chuck Brown Band). Bassist Gary Grainger has performed with John Scofield, Nancy Wilson, George Duke and Bill Evans. Vocalist Mia Samone Davis has a beautiful multifaceted voice that got its start in gospel music at a very young age. Guitarist Mike Ault regularly performs with high caliber artists including Rachelle Ferrell David Grissom, and Davy Knowles. Guitarist Bill Nelson is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center where he was introduced and invited to join the band in their efforts to raise money for cancer patients and families. “This group of highly respected and world-renowned musicians have a lot to say musically and spiritually,” Paul Reed Smith says. “It’s been an absolute joy to be the catalyst for their gifts resulting in the music found in Lions Roaring in Quicksand.” Added guitarist/vocalist Dr. Bill Nelson: “The musicianship in Eightlock is extraordinary, but what amazes me most is that the music - both the recordings and live performances - just keep getting better and better. Locking into an Eightlock groove is a dream." And dynamic lead singer Mia Samone summed it up by saying, "Creating this CD reminded me that, ‘Peace is the price when the mind is at war’......inner peace is priceless."

 

In addition to performing and recording with his own band, Paul Reed Smith has played with artists such as Santana, Alter Bridge and the Doobie Brothers. He was honored by Vintage Guitar Magazine as a Hall of Fame inductee in 2011. Paul has countless industry connections through all of the artists that endorse his guitars, plus invaluable marketing opportunities through his guitar company and all of the music stores around the world that sell his guitars. Grammy-award winning Mexican rock band Manaì had him open their residency at the LA Forum this year, John Mayer and Santana have taken him on tour. In addition to 10 powerful original songs on Lions Roaring in Quicksand, the new album features a cover of a Manaì song in English, “Ay, Doctor,” that the band has agreed to share on their social media to their millions of fans, as well as scintillating versions of the Al Green soul classic, “Love and Happiness,” the legendary Edwin Starr song, “War,” and “99,” a chart hit for the original version in France.

 

Paul Reed Smith Eightlock Social Media

Links: https://eightlockband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063641798882

https://twitter.com/PEightlock

https://www.instagram.com/eightlockband_official/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv-7c7kNFEo0nfpvsim2Gsg

 

Benjamin Jayne Part 2

Broken is the latest release from ‘Benjamin Jayne,’ a project that is
sustained by Benjamin Wright out of Brattleboro, Vermont. The album was
recorded in Wright’s home studio, produced by him and Drew Skinner. It’s
being released by WhatAboutMusic as a digital download and via
streaming platforms on October 13.
Benjamin Jayne’s music has been compared to such acts as The National,
Nick Drake, as well as Beck, and his baritone vocals have been compared
to Leonard Cohen. However, his new record reveals an entirely new vocal
range. The music tends to be on the darker side, melancholic and
reflective, and is typically considered folk rock. Though he does use
interesting electronic elements and at times gets a little too heavy to be
called folk.
The latest album continues in the realm of melancholia. It primarily deals
with people trying to reconcile who they are now compared to who they
remember themselves to be before the current of time got a hold of them. It
is about seeing our reflection and being unrecognizable to ourselves and
then facing the challenge of unraveling all of the elements we have
wrapped ourselves in that don’t feel genuine. The album is seeking truth
and rebirth.
His work under Benjamin Jayne is a solo venture, but he does enjoy the
input and occasional song from his sister Amanda Jayne who is an artist
based out of Barcelona. He also consistently enlists Drew Skinner for
engineering and production, though Benjamin co-produces on all of the
albums.
Benjamin practices psychiatry by day at the country’s smallest hospital,
where he is the Director of Psychiatry. He also has a background in
performance and songwriting, having studied film scoring and jazz
performance at Berklee College of Music. He played in multiple bands over
the last two decades and worked as a professional multi-instrumentalist in
Los Angeles for a while before changing fields from music to psychiatry.

 

 

 

Benjamin's info
https://www.benjaminjayne.com/#home-s...

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fKjh...

https://www.tiktok.com/@benjaminjaynemusic

https://www.instagram.com/benjaminjay...

 

Raymond Anderson of Nation of No One

Interview with Raymond Anderson of Nation of No One

https://nationofnoone.bandcamp.com

https://soundcloud.com/raynon?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

 

Ramona Jan

Interview with Ramona Jan of The Comateens  Part 2

The Comateens were one of NYC’s earliest synth-punk bands, along with Suicide and Kraftwerk one of the few live bands to perform with a drum machine. Jan and North formed the band in 1978, bonding over their shared love of merely playing music together and the punk rock scene taking shape in downtown NYC. Singer and synth player Lyn Byrd and drummer Harry Viderci joined shortly afterwards. Both cuts were recorded at Mediasound in 1979 with Jan on guitar, North on bass, Byrd on synths and Viderci playing drums. Don Wersheba and Harvey J. Goldberg engineered; Ray Janos was the mastering engineer. The Comateens’ Ramona Jan and Nicholas “Nic North” Dembling had just gotten started when they recorded “Danger Zone,” a sneering, blaring punk song spit-sung by Nicholas with Ramona Jan’s untutored guitars sounding like an electric razor, a catchy chorus floating in from Jan’s love of Motown. “Elizabeth’s Lover” leans toward 60’s girl-group with a gleeful chorus as taunting and addictive as “My Boyfriend’s Back.” The song marks Jan’s turn from punk rock to new wave. “Danger Zone” was originally backed with “Cool Chick,” recorded during the same session and released independently on Teenmaster Records. Jan left the band shortly after recording these songs due to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, so this version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” was never released. Jan recorded it again, later, with Dizzy and the Romilars. Left for Dead’s James Reynolds considered releasing the original “Danger Zone” single on his Jimboco Records, however he put out Dizzy and the Romilars’ version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” in 1980 instead, followed by the Ramona Jan-produced NastyFacts single “Drive My Car” in ‘81. The band was able to record at Mediasound because Jan was an audio engineer there, one of only a handful of women engineers in the world. On the then-gritty Upper West Side, Jan lived cheaply at the bohemian Bretton Hall on the corner of Broadway and 86th Street, dodging pimps and prostitutes on the elevator to her apartment. The building’s low rent also attracted other types of artists, though, and a neighbor heard her singing, knocked on the door and asked her if she’d want to record. The neighbor worked at Mediasound Studio in Midtown. Jan took one look around and realized she just had to work there. She told the boss she’d wanted to be a recording engineer all her life—a lie—and that her mother was an electrician, her father a piano tuner, another falsehood. She was hired on the spot and thrived, kicking off a lifelong career in engineering and production that led to work with Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Ramones (who wrote “Ramona” about her.) and more. Comateens continued after Jan left the band, recording three full lengths and building a dedicated following in France before breaking up in the mid-1980s. Their biggest hit was a cover of the “Munster’s Theme Song,” recorded in 1981. Ramona Jan has also had an active career in music since, performing with Dizzy and the Romilars and more recently Northeast Regional Folk Alliance award winners, JANTURAN. She was a founding member Venus Fly Trap, an all-female vocal group, whose members Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell now tour with Bruce Springsteen. Venus Fly Trap sang with David Johansen’s Buster Poindexter act and won the 1984 Village Voice Award Best Street Performer. Jan is also a writer, the author of the first biography of Jon Bon Jovi, published by Sony. She recently received the 2023 Upper Delaware Council Cultural Award as well as a 2023 Congressional Award for her work as Director of Yarnslingers, a true storytelling group based in the Catskills. She is currently the Tuesday columnist for the award-winning Sullivan County Democrat with her column, Ramona’s Ramblings.

https://www.leftfordeadrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291

https://www.instagram.com/leftfordeadrecs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens,

https://comateens.com/

 

Nicholas West ( Nic North) & Ramona Jan of The Comateens

Interview with Nicholas West ( Nic North) & Ramona Jan of The Comateens.

The Comateens were one of NYC’s earliest synth-punk bands, along with Suicide and Kraftwerk one of the few live bands to perform with a drum machine. Jan and North formed the band in 1978, bonding over their shared love of merely playing music together and the punk rock scene taking shape in downtown NYC. Singer and synth player Lyn Byrd and drummer Harry Viderci joined shortly afterwards. Both cuts were recorded at Mediasound in 1979 with Jan on guitar, North on bass, Byrd on synths and Viderci playing drums. Don Wersheba and Harvey J. Goldberg engineered; Ray Janos was the mastering engineer. The Comateens’ Ramona Jan and Nicholas “Nic North” Dembling had just gotten started when they recorded “Danger Zone,” a sneering, blaring punk song spit-sung by Nicholas with Ramona Jan’s untutored guitars sounding like an electric razor, a catchy chorus floating in from Jan’s love of Motown. “Elizabeth’s Lover” leans toward 60’s girl-group with a gleeful chorus as taunting and addictive as “My Boyfriend’s Back.” The song marks Jan’s turn from punk rock to new wave. “Danger Zone” was originally backed with “Cool Chick,” recorded during the same session and released independently on Teenmaster Records. Jan left the band shortly after recording these songs due to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, so this version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” was never released. Jan recorded it again, later, with Dizzy and the Romilars. Left for Dead’s James Reynolds considered releasing the original “Danger Zone” single on his Jimboco Records, however he put out Dizzy and the Romilars’ version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” in 1980 instead, followed by the Ramona Jan-produced NastyFacts single “Drive My Car” in ‘81. The band was able to record at Mediasound because Jan was an audio engineer there, one of only a handful of women engineers in the world. On the then-gritty Upper West Side, Jan lived cheaply at the bohemian Bretton Hall on the corner of Broadway and 86th Street, dodging pimps and prostitutes on the elevator to her apartment. The building’s low rent also attracted other types of artists, though, and a neighbor heard her singing, knocked on the door and asked her if she’d want to record. The neighbor worked at Mediasound Studio in Midtown. Jan took one look around and realized she just had to work there. She told the boss she’d wanted to be a recording engineer all her life—a lie—and that her mother was an electrician, her father a piano tuner, another falsehood. She was hired on the spot and thrived, kicking off a lifelong career in engineering and production that led to work with Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Ramones (who wrote “Ramona” about her.) and more. Comateens continued after Jan left the band, recording three full lengths and building a dedicated following in France before breaking up in the mid-1980s. Their biggest hit was a cover of the “Munster’s Theme Song,” recorded in 1981. Ramona Jan has also had an active career in music since, performing with Dizzy and the Romilars and more recently Northeast Regional Folk Alliance award winners, JANTURAN. She was a founding member Venus Fly Trap, an all-female vocal group, whose members Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell now tour with Bruce Springsteen. Venus Fly Trap sang with David Johansen’s Buster Poindexter act and won the 1984 Village Voice Award Best Street Performer. Jan is also a writer, the author of the first biography of Jon Bon Jovi, published by Sony. She recently received the 2023 Upper Delaware Council Cultural Award as well as a 2023 Congressional Award for her work as Director of Yarnslingers, a true storytelling group based in the Catskills. She is currently the Tuesday columnist for the award-winning Sullivan County Democrat with her column, Ramona’s Ramblings.

https://www.leftfordeadrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291

https://www.instagram.com/leftfordeadrecs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens,

https://comateens.com/

 

Catbells

Interview with Catbells on their full-length debut Partly Cloudy. 

All the meticulously crafted material on Partly Cloudy was composed by Catbells, and features
her soft, hypnotic vocals, dreamy melodies and, haunting lyrics. These are blended with
electronic elements and other instrumental seasoning provided by Billy Mohler to produce a
sonic landscape that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking. With influences ranging from 60’s
icons like Nico and Donovan to seminal 90’s Dream-pop artists ala Mazzy Star, Catbells has
created a vein of Lofi " sad girl" bedroom-pop all her own melodies that captures her deep, heartfelt emotions with the deepest intimacy. With each track, she invites her audience on a journey through her innermost thoughts and experiences.
Catbells burst onto the indie music scene in 2021with her debut single “Fade (Rainy Day
Demo)” which has racked up 1.3 million views to date. She followed that release with an EP
titled Wilderness that testified to her blossoming skill as a songwriter and the emotional potency of her performing and garnered a dedicated fanbase who found connection and solace in the midst of their own struggles and triumphs. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began playing piano at age five, and by 7 th grade was playing guitar and writing songs about middle school heartbreaks. After performing in several bands she decided to focus on her own music. The name “Catbells” comes from a popular hiking spot described in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter. Raised in New England, Catbells’ music continues to draw on childhood memories of the natural world: seasons changing, swimming in the Eastern lakes, canoeing and working on the family farm. As her journey unfolds, Catbells continues to intrigue and captivate. With her soul-stirring compositions, and a voice that echoes through the depths of the heart, Catbells is an artist who embraces the beauty of the unknown. 

 

 Catbells's info
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/catbellsmusic

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/catbellsmusic

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/catbells

 

Paul Chastain of The Small Square, & Velvet Crush

 Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Paul Chastain co-founded Velvet Crush rock group. Signed by Alan McGee to his mythic British indie label Creation Records who gave the band’s first and second albums, the latter, the seminal “Teenage Symphonies To God”, worldwide release. Paul’s musical arc also includes path crossings with a handful of top-notch talent. He has been playing and singing alongside pal Matthew Sweet from the pre-”Girlfriend” days onward. Run-ins along the way with such pop music icons and ne’er-do-wells as Roger McGuinn, Mitch Easter, Susanna Hoffs, Stephen Duffy, Tommy Keene, Ami Onuki (Puffy Ami/Yumi).

Drummer/producer John Louis Richardson has similar roots, brushes with greatness and dubious associations. Among them, Joey Molland’s Badfinger, Tommy Keene, Gin Blossoms, Keene Brothers, Jay Bennett, Will Hoge. He still plays live and records with DIY power pop pioneers and long time friends, Shoes. John runs his Drum Farm Studio in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

A major through-line for the album Ours & amp; Life-events shaped others due to the passing of longtime mutual friend and bandmate Tommy Keene. As an inspirational figure who opened for The Matthew Sweet band, toured with Velvet Crush, and played in Richardson’s band, the impact of his loss was significant. This led to the inclusion of Keene’s song “Baby Face” on the album, as well as aiding in the completion of the track “Can’t Let Go (Oh Tommy)”.

 

Paul's Info

https://www.instagram.com/smallish.square/

https://www.facebook.com/TheSmallSquare

https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmallSquareGroup

https://www.smallsquaremusic.com/

https://farmtolabelrecords.com/artists/the-small-square/

 

J. Wilms

Interview with J. Wilms.

J. Wilms is a multi-instrumentalist and singer /songwriter. Who has a new album out called The Fighter.

Jeremy “J” Wilms has had a long and varied career. He received his Bachelor of Music from
Georgia State University and his Master of Music from CUNY Queens College, NYC.
Jeremy’s jammed with Ornette Coleman at his loft and played Broadway revues at retirement
communities in New Jersey (sometimes over the same weekend!) He was briefly in Chico
Hamilton’s band playing guitar and played bass on Broadway in the musical Fela! During the
tour for Fela! Wilms performed with Patti LaBelle and played with Fela Kuti’s son Femi at
venues around the world including the Shrine in Lagos. He’s recorded with artists as diverse as
Bebel Gilberto, Beyoncé, TV On The Radio, and many others.
Wilms has been a guitarist in the orchestra for MacArthur Fellowship winner Taylor Mac’s 24
Decade History Of Popular Music as well as the bassist on ABC Network’s The Gong Show. He
was the arranger and musical director for The Heathens and other acts based at the fabled
McKittrick Hotel in Manhattan, home of “Sleep No More” immersive show. Wilms arranged
strings and brass for songs on Run the Jewels’ RTJ 4 and Tim Fojahn’s I Dreamed a Dream.
Jeremy is still busy working as a sideman in both NYC and ATL, scoring for film and other
media, and teaching. Wilms also releases instrumental music as Jeremy Wilms and is the leader
of the metal/prog band NOMOTO.

 

 

Jeremy's Info

www.jeremywilms.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1blyz61f1zZ726LOVfGedp?si=kDNRCKTgToKMmMaFGlQAj
Q
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5cKrwyPCGHf8ewXhG9RRnW?si=1saWA20uRQeaFy7LoViDZ
A
https://www.instagram.com/jere_wilms/
https://www.facebook.com/J.WilmsMusic/

Aaron Lange

Aaron Lange Co-founder of Stone Church Press, author of Ain't It Fun and Peppermint Werewolf.

 

n the 1970s, Peter Laughner was a founding figure in a primordial ooze of what would come to be called punk rock, in the somewhat unlikely, somewhat necessary place of Cleveland, Ohio. Bands like Pere Ubu, the electric eels, Rocket From the Tombs, the Dead Boys, Devo, and the Pagans all intermingled in this psychosphere; Laughner touched them all. In 1977 at the age of 24 he became punk rock’s first casualty. While his short life ended more than a half a century ago, his legacy continues to resonate; Henry Rollins and Guns N’ Roses have covered his songs, while Wilco and the Mountain Goats drop references to him in their lyrics.

Underground comix stalwart Aaron Lange makes his much-anticipated graphic novel debut with this deeply researched biography. Through extensive interviews with the people who were there, Ain’t It Fun charts the cultural, environmental, and societal factors that shaped both Laughner and the Midwestern proto-punk subculture he championed. Ain’t it fun when you know that you’re gonna die young?

“Grounded in real crime, with blazing and withering faces looking into their precious moments and looking back at what’s left, this is a mystic story of a city wrapped around the life and death of a musician whose talent, on certain nights, on certain records, was otherworldly. A sense of disbelief churns through the intricate, exploding pages. It seems a wonder there’s anyone left to tell the tale.”

Get Ain't It Fun Here:

aint-it-fun-peter-laughner-aaron-lange

Aaron's Info

https://stonechurchpress.com/product-category/aaron-lange/

stonechurchpress

aaron.lange

 

Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard

Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard, based in Hampshire in the UK, is an English musician, songwriter, and music producer at his own studio, Sunshine Corner Studios. 

He’s best known for being a drummer, having toured and played livefor ROBBIE WILLIAMS, JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS, GLENN GREGORY with TONY VISCONTI (HOLY HOLY), THE ALARM, GENE LOVES JEZEBEL, ARCHIVE, and many more. 

In the studio, he’s played drums for, among others, the following artists; THE MOCK TURTLES, HARD-FI, NEWTON FAULKNER, LILY ALLEN, THE CHARLATANS, BILLY BRAGG, REPUBLICA, and TERRY HALL. 

In his own studio, he’s produced a raft of artists, and has also released eight albums of his own songs, playing most of the instruments himself, but including contributions from many guest musicians such as BRUCE FOXTON (The Jam), STEVE NORMAN (Spandau Ballet), RICHARD ARCHER (Hard-Fi), IAN McNABB (The Icicle Works), MATTHEW ROUND (James Morrison), PAUL CUDDEFORD (The Boomtown Rats), and JAMES STEVENSON (The Alarm), to name but a few! 

 

Steve's Info 

https://smileysfriends.co.uk/home