2012 Shows
All of our great music interviews from 2012. You can find our entire collection of shows here.
Lukas Nelson, the son of country music legend Willie Nelson, is stepping out of the shadow of his famous father, due in large part to his energetic live shows. His band, Promise of the Real, rocked over 200 dates in 2011 alone. They've shared the stage with the likes of Dave Matthews and B.B. King. Despite the incessant touring, Nelson found time to write and record the band's second full-length, Wasted. Icon Fetch talks with Lukas Nelson about getting inspiration from both Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix for the new record, and helping his dad record his new CD, called Heroes.
Cassidy led the all-female band Antigone Rising for eight years, receiving critical acclaim and developing a rabid fanbase. But, she left the band after their major label debut. Now, she’s returned with a new name - Boheme - and a brand new album, Follow the Freedom, which showcases her soulful vocals and melodic songwriting. She’s also got help on one of the tracks from none other than the reclusive ex-frontman from Journey, Steve Perry. Icon Fetch talks with Cassidy about why she's titled her new CD Boheme, why she left Antigone, and the strange circumstances that brought she and Steve Perry together in the studio.
Bassist Mike Watt stormed out of San Pedro, California in the early 1980's with the influential punk power trio the Minutemen; blending elements of funk, jazz and classic rock into the hardcore scene. The tragic death of his close friend and bandmate, D. Boon, put an end to that great band and sent Watt into depression. Eventually, he re-emerged with the help of Sonic Youth, playing on several of their recordings before forming another trio, firehose, and the all-bass duo called Dos. Watt has released several solo albums, written operas, and played on other peoples' albums too numerous to mention. Now comes Mike Watt - On and Off Bass - a collection of his (surprisingly good) photography, which also includes excerpts from his tour diary. Icon Fetch talks with Mike Watt about the origins of the new book, his recent spoken-word collaboration with rock critic Richard Meltzer, and how a day doesn't go by without him thinking of his late friend, D. Boon.
Scissormen take blues back to its raw basics: guitar and drums. Yet, it's amazing how much intensity the band brings in its live show. It doesn't hurt that singer Ted Drozdowski is one hell of a fantastic slide guitarist, who's been known to stroll whatever room will have them, standing on tables to reel off another searing solo. The band has just issued a CD / DVD combo called Big Shoes: Walking and Talking the Blues. The set contains a documentary film directed by famed filmmaker Robert Mugge, who followed Scissormen through a tour of the wintery Midwest, with stops in Red Key, Indiana, the Gennett Records Museum in Richmond, and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. All along the way, the band manages to unearth interesting stories, showing that traces of the blues can be found everywhere. Icon Fetch talks with Drozdowski about making the film, some of the legendary bluesmen that influenced him, and the oddest item he's picked up to play slide guitar with.
Richard Meltzer was one of the first rock critics, penning the first full-length book on the subject, "The Aesthetics of Rock," in 1970, while reveling in much of he excesses of the day. He wrote for many of the seminal magazines, including the Village Voice, Crawdaddy, Creem and Rolling Stone. He also had a long association with Blue Oyster Cult, co-writing several songs, including "Burning For You," "Stairway to the Stars," and "Death Valley Nights." He's also hosted a radio show and fronted a punk band called VOM. Meltzer's latest project has been in the works for over 25 years - Spielgusher teams his spoken-word pieces with instrumental backing courtesy of legendary Minutemen & firehose bassist Mike Watt, along with some Japanese session musicians. The result is a dizzying collection of 63 tracks - some abrasive, some laugh-out-loud funny, but all delivered in Meltzer's dry affectation. Icon Fetch talks with the infamous writer about the origins of the album, being pigeonholed as a music journalist, and how he left the original Woodstock in disgust after only one day.
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