The Hustle

One could argue that the sound of American indie rock and power pop was shaped by Mitch Easter. Of course, he produced those early REM albums that are practically canon now, but his own music with Let's Active and his partnership with the likes of Scott Miller (Game Theory, Loud Family) and the db's have further cemented his legendary status. Recently, he's lent his talents to the Salt Collective, a fascinating project by French artist Stephane Schuck that has gathered a bunch of all-stars (Mitch, Matthew Caws, Andy Partridge, Peter Holsapple, Ken Stringfellow, Juliana Hatfield, Richard Lloyd, Susan Cowsill etc) to release a couple albums, the most recent being A Brief History of Blindness. Mitch and I get into how he signed on to this project and everything else he's done. Enjoy! 

www.thesaltcollective.propellersoundrecordings.com

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

We love the Tubes around here so we're breaking one of our rules of not dipping into bands we've already covered on the show. There's a very good reason for this. Drummer Prairie Prince is a lot more than the Tubes' drummer. His long and storied career includes Todd Rundgren, Chris Isaak, Brian Eno, Jefferson Starship, Journey, David Foster and tons more. Prairie just released his first solo album, Colors and Passions, which is more of an ambitious art project than a collection of songs. Inspired by a 1966 album by jazz/spoken word artist Ken Nordine, the album is poetry and spoken word pieces about colors put to music as only an artist like Prairie can do. He joins us this week to discuss the creation of the album and to share stories from his long and diverse career. He's one of a kind. Enjoy! 

www.prairieprince.com

www.label51recordings.com

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Helix front man Brian Vollmer has been bringing the rock for over 50 years. From humble Canadian beginnings, Helix have managed to keep the metal moving through trends, periods of indifference, super highs ("Rock You") and low lows (deaths). His commitment to rock has never wavered. Recently, the band released the aptly named Scrap Metal, a collection of new songs and reimagined classics that fans old and new will enjoy. What's great about this conversation with Brian is his openness to discussing the societal and financial challenges of keeping the band viable. He's been forced to learn the business side and it's helped immensely. Enjoy! 

www.planethelix.com

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

There have been few creative bursts of the modern era more epic than George Clinton's in the 70s. He had so many songs in his brain he had to keep creating bands or producing artists to get them all out. One of his key players during this furtive time was guitarist Michael Hampton. "The Kidd" joined George's team while still a teenager when Eddie Hazel started to do his own thing. From there, George used him in Parliament, Funkadelic, the Brides of Funkenstein, Parlay, and with artists like Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and Fred Wesley. Michael still plays with the P-Funk All-Stars to this day and has recently released a free EP called Into the Public Domain that shows he hasn't lost anything in terms of guitar playing. It was a heady time and Michael and I try to wrap our brains around it all, but it was a challenge. However, there's no mistaking that some of the greatest funk music ever made has Michael's stamp on it and we're grateful he's here this week to discuss it with us. Enjoy! 

www.michaelwhampton.com

www.patreon.com/thehustlepod

Former Boston Globe Music Critic and rock and roll lifer Jim Sullivan joins us this week to discuss his highly entertaining new books Backstage and Beyond. There are two volumes (or one "Complete" version that includes both and some extra chapters) that share his conversations with most of the major movers and shakers over the last 45 years in rock. There's everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to David Bowie to Ginger Baker to Enya to George Clinton. Jim and I discuss his long career with the Globe and what he does now, why most music critics all like the same music, his thoughts on rock stardom in general and a lot more. Enjoy, it's a blast! 

Backstage & Beyond Complete (eBook) — Trouser Press Books

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