Show Notes
Dirty Vegas were shot out of a cannon in 2002 when their song "Days Go By" was selected by Mitsubishi to soundtrack their new ad campaign. The song was everywhere and suddenly there was a culture shift with artists and their music as it relates to advertising. This gave Steve Smith from the band a career that's taken some unexpected turns, but has never let up. Dirty Vegas released a couple albums, then he went solo, and for the last several years he's been a member of Squeeze and is featured on their new album, Trixies, and on their current world tour. Dirty Vegas is still at it too, releasing new music in 2024. Steve lays out this journey for us this week. Enjoy! www.stevesmithmusic.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
More from The Hustle
We have a twofer this week for the deepest of music lovers. First up is Danny Klein, bassist for the incredible J. Geils Band. Legend is they were one of the greatest live bands of all time and were finally starting to have huge hits in the early 80s when lead singer Peter Wolf left for a solo career. Danny tells us about the band's history and what he's up to these days. Then things get interesting. In the early 80s there was a great (though largely unknown) post-punk band out of Rochester New York called New Math. They released a couple albums, but then they decided to completely change their sound, which led to a name change. Now known as the Jet Black Berries, the band had more in common with groups like Social Distortion and Jason and Scorchers. Unfortunately, as great as both bands were, neither lit up the charts and the group faded away. Thanks to a remastering and re release campaign by Propeller Sound Recordings, the band is seeing some new interest. Guitarist Gary Trainer and drummer Roy Stein tell us all about it this week. Enjoy!
Out of the gate, De La Soul changed the rules of hip-hop with their revolutionary debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising. The D.A.I.S.Y. Age was just starting to blossom when Trugoy, Posdnuos, and Mace (with the help of producer Prince Paul), began deconstructing the movement they had just started. Although they released several incredible rap albums after that, they never stayed in one place for long and continue to push the limits of what hip-hop can be, but never as much as those early days. Were they "bullied" into going in different directions? Were they not adequately displaying "black masculinity"? Author Austin McCoy's new book dissects their career, what it's meant in the black community, and how it influenced him to become who he is. If you were impacted by De La Soul back in 1989, this book might tell part of your story too. Enjoy! www.austincmccoy.com www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Austin-McCoy/212730757 www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Colin Moulding's contributions to the great XTC were crucial to making that band what they were. Andy Partridge's leadership, personality and songwriting was the main driver, but Colin had a bigger pop sensibility and is responsible for some of the band's most enduring radio songs like "Making Plans for Nigel," "King for a Day," and "General and Majors". Colin has stayed largely out of the spotlight since the band ended in the 90s and has been happy working with friends on various projects here and there. He recently released a new single called "Want It Bad (The Pep Talks of Playing Fields of Old England)" which was inspired by a chat he had with a grandchild. Colin joins us this week to discuss the new song and why he's comfortable exactly where he in his in career right now. His answers might surprise you. Enjoy! www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
Musician David Gamson was just a guy who really liked r&b. His love for the genre compelled him to write songs, produce artists, and make music that pushed the boundaries of what it could be. Nowhere is this more obvious than when he worked with Green Gartside on Scritti Politti's second album, Cupid & Psyche 85, one of the greatest albums of the decade. Their partnership carried over to the less successful follow up, Provision, and the 1999's Anomie & Bonhomie. But, the success of C+P made David in demand with artists like Al Jarreau, Sheila E., Donny Osmond, Michal McDonald, Angie Stone, Chaka Khan and - the biggest successes of his career - Kesha and Kelly Clarkson who recorded "Stronger" and changed his life. In this very loose and fun conversation, we discuss how these each happened, his feelings about his older material, the new Deluxe Edition of C+P, and his long partnership with Meshell Ndegeocello, including her new album, Synonym. Enjoy! www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod
When you're given the chance to talk with Joey Tempest for a few minutes you take it! Europe just released another strong album last week called Come This Madness and are about to hit the road (mainly in Europe at first) so he chats with us briefly about it all. Then, we settle in with Kevin Martin of Candlebox who are also on tour right now and hitting the states with some of their fellow 90s friends (Local H, Sponge, etc). Kevin talks about the evolution of the band from multi-platinum grunge guys, so solid AOR rock lifers. If you stopped paying attention to Candlebox after the first couple albums, it's time to fix that. They've been on a roll for a while. www.europetheband.com www.candleboxrocks.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod