Pantheon - Podcasts for Music Lovers

Steve Kilbey, the long-time lead singer, bassist & lead songwriter for The Church has had a career that spans half a century. As he has just taken the band around Australia on their The Singles Tour and prepare to hit the US with it this summer, we checked in with our entertaining friend for the first time since ep 200 of The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast.

Though we start out as we do with all First Concert Memories episodes - by reliving a special moment in our guest's live that revolved around a live rock show - we veered to take a holistic look at his career rather than rehashing a night from long ago. Steve saw The Easybeats - Australia's answer to The Beatles - in short pants at age 11 and had to fight off teenage girls for drum sticks and from there he knew playing music live was something he could and would do.

Steve regales us with stories of growing up in Oz, importing UK & US rock magazines so he'd be ahead of the curve and how his father, a musician that moved his family from the UK in search of a better life, was a huge supporter of his once he found his passion. Kilbey also talks about being disappointed in seeing his favorite bands live (T. Rex, Roxy Music did not give fantastic live performances when he saw them) and how that affects his approach to live music today. He navigated the cover and blues bands to find his sound and testifies that learning how to use a 4 track TEAC recorder gave him the confidence not to back down to the engineers and producers once he started to work in studios.

He also is a bit regretful of how he treated his bandmates in the early days when it came to playing on his songs. However, he and The Church would figure a way to work together and produce some of the best guitar music of the 80s and beyond. The band in its current configuration seem to be humming on all cylinders and are ready to take on the USA again.

We found Steve to be honest, reflective, and funny. Not necessarily regretful but aware of who he is and how he has gotten to where he is. In 6 years, this was instantly one of our very favorite conversations with a man who has written thousands of songs and isn't stopping anytime soon.

Check out US tour dates for The Church: ⁠thechurchband.com⁠

Check out our new website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ugly American Werewolf in London Website⁠⁠

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Danny Goldberg has a career that reminds us of why we wanted to be a part of the music business. His career started at Billboard, where he convinced the higher-ups he needed to go to the Woodstock Music Festival. He did PR for Led Zeppelin, managed the careers of Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Sonic Youth, the Allman Brothers Band, and Nirvana. In the 90s, he headed three different record labels: Atlantic, Mercury and Warner Bros. He ran his own independent label, Artemis, and since 2010, he’s focused his attention on his management company, Gold Village. 

Danny joins the podcast to share how he helped his artists reach such incredible heights, and also to discuss the reissue of his sixth book, Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside Rock 'N' Roll.
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In Episode 353 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin moves through prog, metal, and rock, examining how artists from Rush to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin have inspired waves of soundalike acts. These bands are sometimes criticized and sometimes celebrated for keeping beloved styles alive.

Crown Lands – “Context: Fearless Pt. 1”

Primal Fear – “Chainbreaker”

Four Horsemen – “Nobody Said It Was Easy”

Enuff Znuff – “New Thing”

Galactic Cowboys – “My School”

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Epysode 77: Renaissance, by Renaissance.

Guest: Renaissance bassist Louis Cennamo.

Additional commentary by the Psychedelic Wizard, Uncle Herff.

This week we step into the mesmerizing world of 1969's Renaissance, the debut album from the pioneering British band Renaissance. Far ahead of its time, this record blends progressive rock, psychedelic textures, and classical influences to create a soundscape that remains unique in the late 60s British rock scene. With their melodic arrangements, this album set a template for many of the prog bands that followed.

With help from Louis Cennamo, we'll dive into the tracks and the stories of this truly groundbreaking LP.

Perfect for crate-diggers, vinyl enthusiasts, and fans of early progressive rock, this epysode offers a deep dive into a hidden gem of British rock history. Discover the stories behind the compositions and why this debut album remains a standout for collectors.

I hope you dig Renaissance as much as I do.

- Farmer John

===CONNECT & SUPPORT===

Transport yourself into the realm of grooviness by supporting us on Patreon for as little as $2/month using this link -->

patreon.com/FarmerJohnMusic

Use this link to follow us on Facebook --> https://www.facebook.com/farmerjohnmusic/

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And find us on X @VinylRelicsPod

Email me @ ⁠[email protected]⁠

===LINKS===

Keith Relf’s interview from 1969:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NX8FgVrg-c⁠

Buy Louis' book "Awake In The Dream" here:

https://www.amazon.com/Awake-Dream-Spiritual-Diary-Rockstar/dp/1917056737

 

===THE MUSIC===

Songs used in this Epysode, in order of appearance. Here's a link to a Spotify playlist for all the tracks featured.

*denotes track is not available on Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0FOK2hB8hVRpgUaZI4DqBZ?si=5f1f284554144298

THE YARDBIRDS "What Do You Want"

TOGETHER “Henry’s Coming Home” 

TOGETHER “Love Mum And Dad”

THE NASHVILLE TEENS “Tobacco Road”

DJANGO REINHARDT “Minor Swing”

JOHN LEE HOOKER “Dimples”

CHUCK BERRY “Night Beat”

*JIMMY POWELL & THE FIVE DIMENSIONS “That’s Alright”

THE HERD “So Much In Love”

THE HERD “I Can Fly”

JAMES TAYLOR “Something In The Way She Moves”

JAMES TAYLOR “Carolina In My Mind”

RENAISSANCE "Kings & Queens"

RENAISSANCE "Innocence"

RENAISSANCE "Island"

RENAISSANCE "Wanderer"

RENAISSANCE "Bullet"

RENAISSANCE “Love Is All”

RENAISSANCE “Carpet Of The Sun”

*ILLUSION “Isadora”

ILLUSION “Louis’ Theme”

??MYSTERY ARTIST?? Tune in to next week's show to find out...

NEWPORT ELECTRIC "If Wishes Were Horses"

^^ That's my band. This is shameless self-promotion!! Check out our music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5y6kGmYnS4SWvqAfijhDdp?si=dCVg_wePQDuPtPEN-YwUdQ
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In Episode 352 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores the “curse” of second live albums, arguing that follow-ups by bands like The Who, Motörhead and Metallica often disappoint due to poor timing, diminished excitement, or messy circumstances compared to their first live releases.

The Who – “Who Are You”

Motörhead – “Eat the Rich”

Metallica – “Fuel”

Foghat – “Drivin’ Wheel”

Judas Priest – “Love Bites”

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