Producer Mark Wallis began his career as the assistant to Steve Lillywhite on U2's War album. How about THAT being the first thing on your resume?! This launched a great career working some of the best pop acts of the era. He produced the Go-Between's perfect album 16 Lovers Lane, the debuts from the Primitives and the Silencers, and music from artists like Paul Kelly, the Mighty Lemon Drops, the Wildhearts, Icicle Works and more. He also engineered the Smiths' "How Soon is Now" and tells that story. He was a total sport for taking my nerdy questions. Enjoy!Â
Mark Wallis | Music Producer, Engineer & Mixer
The Hustle Podcast | creating podcasts | Patreon
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Episode 534 - Eric Ambel of the Del-Lords/Solo
Eric Ambel's career got its start in "the first punk band in Wyoming" in the 70s. Imagine trying to launch a music career from Laramie! He eventually becomes the guitarist in the Blackhearts with Joan Jett, but opts not to sign on (the job went to recent guest Ricky Byrd) and goes on to form the Del-Lords with former Dictator guitarist Scott Kempner. They released four albums in the late 80s (two of them produced by Neil Giraldo) before calling it quits. From there Eric focuses more on his solo career, touring with other acts, and production work which has him collaborating with people like Steve Earle, Mojo Nixon, Ellen Foley, Nils Lofgren and a bunch more. "Roscoe" is still at it too and has a story to tell. Enjoy!Â
Eric Ambel
The Hustle Podcast | creating podcasts | Patreon
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Episode 533 - Freedy Johnston
Steady Freedy. It doesn't rhyme, but it should because that's what singer/songwriter Freedy Johnston has been. Since the early 90s, Freedy has been releasing consistently wonderful music with his crystal clear voice - never phoning it in and never anything less than great. But, his career got off to a wobbly start and might not have happened at all. He sold part of his family farm in Kansas to finance his second album, Can You Fly, in 1992. Luckily, this move paid off and launched his career. That seminal album has just been remastered and re-released on vinyl and cd for the first time and shows the artist coming into his own. We discuss the album and how it sounds to him now as well as the rest of his career like his biggest hit "Bad Reputation", working with Butch Vig, and how that farm story ended. What you'll find is that while his music is calm and collected, Freedy the man has a very different personality. Enjoy!Â
www.freedyjohnston.com
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Episode 532 - Colin Hay
The narrative for Colin Hay's career goes like this - fronts huge pop band (Men at Work) who explode on the scene, win Grammys and a ton of hits in a short amount of time, goes solo, releases incredible album after incredible album to a small cult that love him but with no commercial success. That may be partially true, but that cult has gotten so big and the reputation so strong, is it even a secret anymore? He's about to take the current version of Men at Work on tour with friends Christopher Cross and Toto and he just released another perfect album (he has many) called Man @ Work 2 where he reimagines songs from his catalog again. We discuss this journey including his relationship with his old bandmates, his "underdog" status, Scrubs, songwriting, birthdays and more. He's a national treasure. Enjoy!Â
www.colinhay.com
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Episode 531 - Spider Stacy of the Pogues
The Pogues would be forgiven for thinking they shouldn't carry on after the death of frontman Shane MacGowan. It was his voice and songwriting that gave the band that extra special spark. Luckily, they won't be putting the band to bed just yet. Founding member Spider Stacy joins us this week to discuss their decision to get back out there in front of the fans on tour this fall, celebrate their legacy, and keep those incredible songs alive. We also get into the continuing impact of "Fairytale of New York", the period in the 90s when Shane left the band, and the stories behind several of their best songs. Along with the Chieftains, the Pogues have done more to keep traditional Irish folk music alive than just about anyone else and they remain one of Ireland's greatest musical exports. We're lucky to have them!Â
www.pogues.com
Australia