The Hobart Brothers and ‘Lil Sis Hobart, made up of songwriters Freedy Johnston, Jon Dee Graham, and Susan Cowsill, first came together during the annual SXSW Music Festival in Austin, and found that they each shared a common history of working in the kitchens of numerous restaurants in their younger days (Hobart is a reference to the most famous industrial dishwasher). After recording demos last year, the band launched a successful Kickstarter program that helped fund At Least We’ve Got Each Other, the band’s debut album. Icon Fetch talks with Freedy Johnston about how they put this unique band together, and how they used modern technology to help collaborate from long distance. He also talks about his forthcoming solo album and his breakthrough hit, 1995’s “Bad Reputation.”
Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dwight Twilley teamed with Phil Seymour in the Dwight Twilley Band, hitting gold with their very first single, 1975’s “I’m On Fire” – lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “The best debut single by an American rock band ever.” But, a combination of dumb label decisions and bad luck prevented the band’s career from properly taking off.
That didn’t stop Twilley – he’s into his fifth decade of making melodic rock n’ roll – and he’s just released a brand new record called Soundtrack. Inspired by a movie that’s currently in production about his life, Twilley turned inward to write 12 new songs about his long journey and ups & downs in the music business. Icon Fetch talks with the “father of power pop” about his band’s experience playing on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, the personal nature of these new songs, and the passing of longtime friend and guitarist Bill Pitcock,IV.
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