Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Together Again"

When it comes to the Wisconsin-born John McCutcheon and the Chicago-born Tom Paxton, there's no way to condense their amazing careers into a three-minute introduction, but that's the challenge I have before me, so I'm going to do the best I can. Putting it simply, McCutcheon and Paxton are two of the most towering figures in the history of folk music. Let's start with McCutcheon. He's recorded close to fifty albums, he's got six Grammy nominations, he's written three children's books and he's played shows all over the world. McCutcheon is a master of the hammered dulcimer and he also plays banjo, jaw harp, and the fiddle. As for Mr. Paxton, he's recorded close to seventy albums, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, authored close to 20 books, had one of his songs used in a Monty Python episode and toured around the world. He even played a show with Black Sabbath. More on that in a minute. McCutcheon and Paxton's friendship is a glorious thing and their musical partnership has yielded two albums, including their latest effort, the absolutely marvelous Together Again. I think of Paxton and McCutcheon as the Steve Martin and Martin Short of folk music and here's why. Their creative partnership has ignited them both in new and rejuvenating ways. And Together Again offers great evidence of this--filled with lyrical economy and precision as well as musical finesse played with dexterity and grace, this is an album of tremendous depth and sensitivity. And this conversation is one of my recent favorites--it goes everywhere and yet it comes right back. This was so much fun-

www.tompaxton.com (http://www.tompaxton.com)
https://tompaxton.bandcamp.com/album/together-again
https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p492/Together_Again_-_Digital.html

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Homecoming"

Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “I regarded home as a place I left behind in order to come back to it afterward.” That is exactly the sentiment that has fueled Mark Crozer's marvelous new album Homecoming. The Oxford-bred Crozer left home as a young man and in many ways he never looked back because he was always moving forward. And that forward thing worked pretty well. The singer/songwriter and guitarist had been in several bands as a teenager, but his two solo albums 1999's Shining Down On Me and 2002's Unnatural World really put hin on the map. He joined the Jesus and Mary Chain back in 2007 and he's been a member of the band ever since. And he's quietly been packing his CV with other highlights like collaborating with Consequence, working with Mitch Easter playing in Mark Crozer and the Rels and the International Jetsetters with Loz Colbert of Ride and his song "Broken out in Love" was bought the WWE, renamed "Live In Fear" and used as an entrance theme. His new album, the aformentioned Homecoming, is a stirring and deeply atmospheric song cycle that confronts getting older, the quality of love, the devastation of loss and the definition of what home really is. Filled with undulating rhythms, sneaky grooves and ghostly jangle, Homecoming is a subtle and moving melodic wonder.

www.markcrozer.bandcamp.com

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"Illegal Hit"

The Swedish-born Björn Yttling is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and record label owner. And you thought you were busy. Yttling is the Björn in the indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John and his resume' is so vast when I give you just a partial glimpse of what he's done, you'll realize you really haven't been busy. At all. Among other instruments, Yttling plays electric bass, celeste, acoustic and electric guitar, mellotron, organ, percussion, piano, and synthesizer. He's produced and written songs with Robyn, The Pretenders, Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, Sparks, Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li, Sahara Hotnights, he's a member of the indie rock supergroup LIV, he's co-founder of the artist collective and record label INGRID and his other band, the free-form jazz combo Yttling Jazz is an ongoing proposition, with two albums under their belts, including their latest effort Illegal Hit. A schooled jazz musician, Yttling's music with Yttling Jazz is textured, atmospheric, dark and stirring. And this conversation begins by addressing that darkness and it ends with tennis. How about that for an arc?

IG: @yttlingjazz

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"Milestone"

It all started over 50 years ago in Florida and decades later with sales of close to 25 million albums under their musical belts, 38 Special remain one of the most enduring rock and roll bands of all time. Formed in the early '70s by the core unit of Don Barnes and Donny Van Zandt, 38 Special from the very beginning evinced a steely work ethic. It also demonstrated their versatility--although they were a hard playing southern rock band, they were able to shape shift perfectly and found themselves opening for everyone from Peter Frampton to Kiss and appearing on bills with everyone from Triumph to AC/DC to Motorhead. The '70s were a dogfight for the band who put out great albums like Special Delivery and Rockin' Into The Night, but they felt they were grinding out the yardage and just trying to survive. MTV hits in the '80s like "Caught Up In You" and "If I'd Been The One" changed everything and albums like Tour De Force and Special Forces changed everything and made them bona fide superstars. Although Barnes remains the only original member, the band has recently put out their first new album in 21 years called Milestone and they're playing 100 shows a year across the country. Barnes is a lovely guy and this is a great conversation about persistence and endurance. And his cat makes a special appearance, too.

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"Obviously Five Believers"

Formed in 1980 by the Kentucky-born former roadie for X, Top Jimmy, his band Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs were local L.A. heroes. Playing a wicked blend of American roots music and scrappy R&B, Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs were a band that sizzled with equal parts howl and groove. Top Jimmy was a wildly charismatic frontman once described as an unholy combination of Howlin' Wolf and Shakespeare's Falstaff and he was such a ubiquitous presence in L.A. his outfit was once dubbed the scene's punk house band. The live show, which was a sweaty, frenetic blast of sweaty, rootsy bliss, found everyone from Tom Waits to Stevie Ray Vaughn joining them onstage. By the way, if you're wondering if the Van Halen track "Top Jimmy" is about the Top Jimmy I'm speaking of, let me just say this: there could only be one Top Jimmy. So: yes. The band's only album Pigus Drunkus Maximus which came out in 1987 on Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate's Down There label, was just reissued for the first time ever on CD and on pig pink colored vinyl and it's an essential addition to your record collection. Top Jimmy sang with Maria McKee and Phil Alvin, was seen getting a tattoo from John Doe in the Decline of Western Civilization and hung out with David Lee Roth. The guy was everywhere and remains, to this day, one of the most charismatic characters in rock and roll history. As for his sax player Steve Berlin, well, Mr. Berlin after leaving the band, went on to become one of the greatest rock and roll sax players ever. The Philadelphia born Berlin is a full time member of Los Lobos, and the list of people he's played with and produced is just ridiculous. Let me give you a partial list: The Tragically Hip, R.E.M., Faith No More, the Go-Go's, Great Big Sea, The Replacements, Rickie Lee Jones and the Beat Farmers. And believe me, I could go on. An unbelievable player of steady finesse and power, Steve Berlin is an absolute legend and I wish this conversation could have gone on for hours.

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