The Human Beinz emerged from Youngstown, Ohio in 1968 scoring a #8 hit with their cover of the Isley Brothers’ song “Nobody But Me.” Ting Markulin, the band’s rhythm guitarist, is the only remaining original member. In part one of our interview, Markulin talks about the band’s early days, including the unlikely story of how they got signed to Capitol Records, and how “Nobody” happened by accident.
Guitarist Makana plays in an interesting style native to his home of Hawaii – slack key guitar. It’s a dazzling method that sounds like 3 guitars are all playing at once: the bass, rhythm and melody. He’s performed on three Grammy-nominated albums, including the soundtrack to the Descendants, starring George Clooney.
He’s received acclaim from contemporaries like Joe Satriani and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. He’s done albums devoted to native Hawaiian music, he’s covered classic rock songs, and he’s done protest songs. He’s currently on the opening slot of the Joe Walsh/Bad Company tour. He also tells us how he played a gig for President Obama. SOME MATERIAL NSFW.
BJ Thomas is a 5-time Grammy winner who’s sold over 70 million records worldwide. His hits endure to this day – songs like “Hooked on a Feeling,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Another Done Somebody Wrong Song,” and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” He remains active, still recording and playing shows to this day. Thomas tells us the stories behind some of his biggest songs, and about touring with James Brown early in his career
Gary Lucas wrote songs for Jeff Buckley and played guitar with Captain Beefheart. His latest project is a pairing with acclaimed vocalist Jann Klose for a stripped-down, acoustic-based album called Stereopticon. Lucas tells us how he got hooked up with Klose and the stories behind several songs on the new record. He also talks about meeting Buckley for the first time and writing songs for the Grace album.
Carlos Calvo is known as “Hollywood’s Guitar Teacher.” He’s taught Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, and actors David Duchovny (X-Files, Californication) and Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure) how to play. Plus, he’s worked as a guitar coach, teaching actors how to portray musicians on the big screen. Calvo also writes and records his own music and has just released his first new album in 15 years called Further Down the Line.
Craig Chaquico was the guitarist for Jefferson Starship during their Seventies’ heyday, providing solos on such hits as “Count on Me,” “Miracles” and “Find Your Way Back.” He’s now trying to recover a guitar that he used to record many of those hit songs. Originally thought to be lost during a riot in Germany in 1978, Chaquico’s prized guitar was recently discovered in the hands of a collector. We talk to him about this ongoing battle, as well as how he got involved with Jefferson Starship, and the passing of bandmate Paul Kantner.
Resonance Records has just issued a pair of archival releases from legendary saxophonist Stan Getz, recorded at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. The first, Getz/Gilberto ’76, captures a rare performance between two giants of bossa nova, Getz and vocalist Joao Gilberto. The second, Moments in Time, features Getz with a phenomenal trio of musicians. We chat with label Vice President Zev Feldman, who also produced these two sets, on how he tracked down these hallowed recordings. Plus, he discussed the recent Wes Montgomery treasures that the label issued.
David Lanz is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum artist, who’s been a frequent guest on our show. Recently his career has taken a different path, collaborating with vocalist Kristin Amarie. Their latest project is called Silhouettes of Love, and it sees the pair adding elements of classical, soul and smooth jazz for a uniquely romantic album.
Author Robert Rodriguez returns to the show to discuss Beatles 1 Plus…a repackaging of the best-selling Fab Four hits collection, featuring all 27 of the Beatles #1 hits, accompanied by a DVD of those same songs in video form (read our review of the set here).
We talk about the origins of many of the video clips, the improved audio quality, and what things were omitted. Rodriguez has written several books on the Beatles, including Fab Four FAQ which began a series of FAQ books that’s still going strong years later. His latest book is called Solo in the Seventies.
Geoff Tate fronted Queensryche for 30 years, selling millions of albums, including the multi-platinum smash Empire. He also set the standard for concept albums with 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. After an acrimonious split with his former members, Tate has emerged with a new project and a familiar name – Operation Mindcrime.
The first new release is called The Key, and it’s part one of an ambitious trilogy of albums which Tate has planned over the next few years.