Music, Etc

Hey, hey, it’s Micky Dolenz, looking back on 50-plus years as a Monkee, recording with the legendary Wrecking Crew and more.

Jacques Sonyieux talks with songwriter Albert Hammond (“It Never Rains in Southern California,” “The Air That I Breathe”) about staying true to yourself, working with the Wrecking Crew, and releasing a new symphonic album.

Jacques Sonyieux talks with former Go-Between Robert Forster about minimalist production, sequencing an album and his band’s unfinished business.

Jacques Sonyieux talks with Kasey Chambers about nitpicking vocals, microphone choices and what it’s like having her dad playing in her band.

Jaques Sonyieux talks with singer/songwriter Adam Hood about keeping it raw, being true to working-class roots and the pleasure of stepping away from overproduction.

"Captain Kirk" himself talks about recording his new Christmas album, hanging out on Brad Paisley's tour bus, and what the recent Mars landing might mean for our future.

By Jaques Sonyieux. Tim Booth, leader of legendary Britpop pioneers James, discusses generational shifts, old-school jams and Living in Extraordinary Times.

Chuck Leavell talks about one rockin’ night in Germany, the genius of Ray Charles and what it’s like to have Clapton and Gilmour ask you to join their bands.

Jacques Sonyieux speaks with Mikaela Davis about her latest album, selecting a producer, and where the harp sits in modern music.

Jacques Sonyieux talks with Matt Rollings, producer of Blues Traveler's 13th album, about finding the right studio, being open-minded during recording and, most of all, staying focused.

Jacques Sonyieux talks with Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen about black mold, why the best vocal take is always among the first three, and why the danger of covering one’s own songs is overstated.

By Jacques Sonyieux. The Record Company talks about its sophomore album, surpassing expectations, and how a Fleetwood Mac song got the band out of the living room and into a commercial studio.

By Jacques Sonyieux. "Hell-On" is Neko Case's first album in five years, which she completed after finishing up projects with The New Pornographers and her female Canadian supergroup case/lang/veirs.

By Jaques Sonyieux. Each an acclaimed artist in his own right, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin deliver their first duo album, 30 years in the making.

By Jacques Sonyieux. In 2014, the band got back together to play a handful of gigs, which quickly turned to sold-out festivals and then a self-titled brand new album that has since won critical acclaim all around the world.

Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson of The Radio Dept. discuss their latest album, 'Running Out of Love.'

By Jacques Sonyieux. Transatlantic act The Luxembourg Signal spill what it was like recording their latest album across the ocean.

Portugal. The Man (“Feel It Still”) keyboardist Kyle O'Quin talks studio life, staying relevant and becoming overnight sensations after playing almost 4,000 shows over the last 13 years.

At age 76, David Crosby’s work has spanned multiple generations—notably as a founding member of quintessential rock acts The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young—whose music has permeated the very fabric of American culture.

After a decade of playing lead guitar in one of the world’s top rock brands—er, bands on the planet, Andy Summers of The Police could have signed up for early retirement in Tahiti many years ago.

By Jaques Sonyieux. From a music business perspective, 18-year old Declan McKenna has already achieved much more than most aspiring professional musicians can ever hope for in a career.

With a vast catalog of albums already in hand and having achieved the commercial success that most bands can only dream of, Styx could have called it a day decades ago with classic albums like The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight, indelibly fused into our collective prog-rock radio psyche.

This spring, The Raveonettes released Atomized—the band’s ‘anti-album’ that consisted of 12 songs recorded and released each month over the course of 2016.

74-year old Don Bryant is a soul legend, having been a powerhouse writing force behind the likes of Solomon Burke, Etta James, Albert King and many others.

With a new record, The Madness, released in March, hard rock ‘supergroup’ Art of Anarchy embarks on a new road chock full of tour dates, fresh material and a new lead singer.

For many, Memphis’ Ardent Studios is revered as the cradle of soul music, with a discography that is both awe-inspiring and boundless in its influence.

With today’s recording technology, intercontinental collaboration has become more accessible to musicians than ever.

In its most elemental state, music has the power to transcend the present and carry emotional depth across the boundaries of time and space.

Despite having formed less than three years ago, Ultimate Painting just released its third album this past November.

It is no surprise that many of the best albums ever recorded have their roots in human challenges that are difficult to overcome: heartbreak, pain and loss.

Sometimes an artist must step outside of himself or herself to find the path forward.

Minneapolis, MN-based Pert Near Sandstone calls itself a 'modern American string band', yet appeals to the broader fan base of traditional bluegrass music all across the nation. Taking the string band tradition of old-time music into the future, the band recently completed its latest album Discovery of Honey with Trampled By Turtles member Ryan Young at the helm. Pro Sound News chatted with banjo player Kevin Kneibel about new discoveries unveiled and recording with old friends.

Mark Loughman's Bleedin' Aura, released on Spitfire Music this year, hinges on his English indie-rock roots, demanding an active listening experience as each of its nine songs shimmer with gritty authenticity. On the record, Loughman—who co-produced the album himself with Warren Huart [Aerosmith, The Fray]—is joined by many of his talented friends, including Kenny Aronoff (drums), Steve Stevens (guitar) and Billy Morrison (guitar). Pro Sound News caught up with the ex-Mancurian—now the L.A.-based owner of BAE Audio—as he was working on demos for his next release.

As we move well into the summer season, sometimes we look for personal ‘soundtracks’ to usher us through the more temperate months and welcome change in season—much like we do with summer reading.

Following nearly five years since its last album, Portland, OR-based Blind Pilot releases And Then Like Lions this month.

For many of us, Def Leppard represents the mass onset of '80s 'anthem rock'—but beyond this stereotypical persona is a tight knit, sharp-edged band that has worked and toured relentlessly since its debut album On Through The Night—which hit the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene in the U.K. and the U.S. more than 35 years ago. Now, after almost non-stop touring and a nearly 10-year drought between studio records, the band has re-emerged to release Def Leppard. So what can possibly be new? For one thing, they were free of record company pressures and were able to build the album solely 'for the love of music'. Pro Sound News caught up with co-lead guitarist Phil Collen as he was catching his breath in between shows.

Some music evokes open spaces, removing boundaries of thought and liberating the senses.

Herb Alpert’s rich musical life speaks volumes of his passion.

The Vaccines are on a roll. Having released their critically acclaimed English Graffiti album in May (their third album in four years), the band has already toured the world, opening for The Rolling Stones, Muse and others while selling out mid-sized halls around the U.S. Produced by Dave Fridmann and Cole M. Greif-Neill and recorded at Fridmann’s studio in upstate New York, English Graffiti is a refined and polished recording.

A major recording/production facility in North Hollywood, Calif., that formerly housed LA Sound Gallery and most recently Legends Studios, is being auctioned after Chapter 11 bankruptcy transitioned into a Chapter 7 foreclosure.

A legendary studio by any measure, New York’s Avatar Studios has gone up for sale.

Brian Eno once said that everyone who bought a copy of the Velvet Underground’s debut album went on to start a band of their own.

Gingger Shankar burst onto the international music scene in2004, with her emotionally compelling performances and collaborative work on the film score for The Passion of the Christ, which received an Oscar nomination.

Having built a successful career as a record producer since the late 1980s, California-based Michael James has gone on to become one of the music industry’s most prolific producer/mix engineers.

Jon Regen’s Stop Time was sparked at a London party where the singer/songwriter found himself jamming with actor Jeremy Irons—Regen on piano and Irons on cello—in a distinctly New Orleansy kind of vibe.

This month, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams issue their self-titled debut album on Red House Records.

Six-time Aria-Award nominated San Cisco just released its second full-length album last month, entitled Gracetown.

Justin Townes Earle just released his new album Absent Fathers in January as a companion piece to Single Mothers, which was released last year to critical acclaim.

by Jaques Sonyieux. Country artist Ryan Bingham recently released Fear and Saturday Night, written and conceived in an Airstream in the mountains of Socal.

This month, two-time Juno award winner Dan Mangan + Blacksmith release their new album, Club Meds.