Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"When It Comes To Love" The Massachusetts-born Michael Bluestein got a quick run out of the musical gates and started studying classical piano by age nine, so it's no surprise that the young prodigy's trajectory found him studying at Berklee College of Music. With his B.A. under his belt, Bluestein headed west and wound up in San Francisco, where he spent a decade putting out his own music and working as a venerated sideman and session player with Jon Evans, Will Bernard, Matt Chamberlain, Kitty Margolis, Kenny Washington and Mary Stallings. He has toured and recorded with Shelby Lynn, Boz Scaggs, Stevie Nicks, Burt Bacharach, Enrique Iglesias and Rodger Hodgson. He joined Foreigner in 2008 and that's where he's been ever since, but he's also putting out music under the Beat Glider moniker. Filled with undeniable groove and musical dexterity, Beat Glider is a careening and moving dose of chillwave. Michael talks to us about his San Francisco days and importance of putting oneself out there in the artistic community. www.foreigneronline.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: [email protected]

"Black Butterflies" The Vancouver-raised Rebecca Foon grew up with parents who were artists and activists, so it's no surprise that she became an artist and an activist herself. Let's start with the artist part. The Juno-award winning cellist, singer and composer Rebecca Foon has been in so many bands it's hard to keep track, so this is a partial list. No stranger to the post-rock and experimental world, Foon has been in Set Fire To Flames, Fifths Of Seven, A Silver Mt. Zion and the Gorecki Symphony Of Sorrow with Colin Stetson. She's also recorded under the Saltland moniker and she's the co-founder of the modern chamber ensemble Esmerine, whose 2013 Dalmak record won them a Juno. Under her own name Foon put out Waxing Moon in 2020 and the follow-up is the rather stunning new album Black Butterflies. Filled with sonorous vocals, inventive percussion and wondrous, sneaky rhythms, the reflective trip-hop groove of Black Butterflies summons the work of everyone from Massive Attack to Portishead. Redolent with rhythmic precision, musical dexterity and the kind of sonic architecture that builds worlds in the sky, Black Butterflies is a dose of real magic. Foon has collaborated with a list of luminaries like Laurie Anderson, Grant Hart, Nick Cave, British Sea Power, and Patrick Watson. As an activist and environmentalist, she's a member of the sustainability and climate change consulting cooperative Sustainability Solutions Group. A creative force powered by grace, Rebecca Foon is a real treasure. www.rebeccafoon.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers: IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: [email protected]

"The Things You Don't Know Yet" I seem to care more about the band Adult Leisure than my own adult leisure and there's a good reason for that. The Bristol outfit Adult Leisure are one of the most exciting indie pop bands around. Formed in 2020, Adult Leisure have put out a succession of catchy singles and EPs like The Weekend Ritual which have all led up to the release of their debut album, The Things You Don't Know Yet. Filled with infectious hooks, inventive arrangements and a singer in Neil Scott whose delivery is a mix of lippy confidence and pure pop grace, Adult Leisure are poised to be huge. They've got the songs, they've got the attitude and they've got the ambition. But they're also down to earth--in fact, Neil, who's a really nice guy, just got off work when this conversation took place. And he talks about the balance between civilian life and potential stardom with both wisdom and perspective. https://www.instagram.com/adultleisureband www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Stereo Embers The Podcast IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

"Love Rollercoaster" To say the Ohio Players are one of the greatest funk bands of all time kind of falls short of the mark. The Ohio Players are, quite simply, one of the greatest bands of all time. The Dayton R&B outfit got their start in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables and their leader Robert Ward was like a funk version of Jim Morrison--brilliant but unpredictable, Ward would walk offstage mid-gig and never come back. He was punk long before there was punk and he was a wild card for sure, but charisma can carry you pretty far in art. But, to be fair, it can't always carry you over the line and the Untouchables started swapping out personnel, Ward included, and they rebranded in the late '60s as the Ohio Players. A false start found them skidding to a halt in 1970, but then, things started to gel. A furious blend of funk and soul, The Ohio Players started racking up hits like Love Rollercoaster, Fire and Who'd She Coo? Albums like Skin Tight, Honey and Contradiction remain indisputable classics and the band is still at it, currently in the studio cooking something up. As for James Diamond Williams, he joined the band around '74 and he quickly asserted himself as one of the very best behind the kit. A muscular player with swagger and swing, Williams is one of those guys who makes it look easy--and if someone is great enough to make something difficult look easy, you can be assured it isn't. www.theofficialohioplayers.com www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenbooks.com Stereo Embers: IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast Email: [email protected]

"Forever Shining" In 1976 brothers Tony and Chip Kinman founded the legendary Carlsbad punk band The Dills, who in just four short years crammed their music CV with highlights. Before they disbanded in 1980, The Dils had recorded classics like "Class War" and Mr. Big" opened for the Clash and appeared in Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke. The Kinmans went on to form Rank and File, who are considered by many to be one of the first cowpunk bands around. Rank and FIle's rootsy stomp and melodic muscle powered them through three perfect albums--Sundown, Long Gone Dead and their self-titled 19897 swansong. The Kinmans had an uncanny ability to read the cultural room before anyone else--they were hardcore before it hit the suburbs and they were cowpunk before it was cool and with their next band Blackbird, they were techno metal before Korn and Linkin Park shirts at Hot Topic. The Kinmans went on to play in bands like Cowboy Nation and Ford Madox Ford and sadly, Tony Kinman died in 2018. Which brings us to KInman's self-titled Kinman's new album. A stirring song cycle filled with acoustic numbers, Tex-Mex techno, the undulating rhythms and "Me And Tony" a streetwise tribute to a life in music with his brother, Kinman's new record sounds like nobody else. It's filled with unexpected sonic flourishes, heartfelt emotional ruminations, great storytelling and devastating beauty. It's bold and brilliant work. https://intheredrecords.com/collections/chip-kinman/products/chip-kinman-s-t-lp www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast EMAIL: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])