Interviews

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and arranger Roger Joseph Manning Jr. will have to add ‘Guru’ to his list of titles.  While discussing the release of his latest album, Catnip Dynamite (Oglio), Manning waxes philosophical on the virtues of self-reliance and individuality, themes that have more or less defined his career and have equipped him with a razor-sharp focus in articulating his profound musical message time and again.

Who is Mandy Moore the musician? Is she the teen who sang silly and sweet pop tunes 10 years ago?  Is she a secret fan of Werewolph and death metal? Or, is she the artist who is credited as a co-writer for all of the songs on Amanda Leigh, an album she recorded with Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle using vintage equipment?  Glide recently had a chance to talk with Moore about the making of Amanda Leigh, her influences, and expectations.

Brian Robbins spoke with Bennett in late 2008 for a Glide feature that talked of Bennett's most recent creative endeavors.  Robbins last heard from Bennett around May 6th, just after news of the lawsuit broke.   He had been corresponding to Robbins about the hip procedure and was as Robbins states "in good spirits and sweet as ever."

Arkells' debut record, Jackson Square, a homage to their blue-collar hometown of Hamilton, Ontario has been garnering raves reviews with college radio and major press alike. Jackson Square is a wash of covertly optimistic lyrics and groovy, punch-drunk hooks.

Following a blockbuster Spring Tour that saw The Disco Biscuits in the midst of their best year of shows in a decade, the band looks forward to a summer of confirmed festival appearances and side project dates. Marc and Aron return with DJ Omen and Conspirator on June 16th at the Orpheum Theater in St. […]

It should come as no surprise that, in conversation as in his playing, John Medeski is quick to respond and makes his points emphatically though never heavy handedly. As one third of Medeski Martin & Wood, the keyboardist has played an integral role in exploratory work that has rendered jazz ultra-contemporary while never losing sight (or grasp) of the genre’s roots. Like his two musical partners, Medeski has made the time to contribute to any number of side-projects over the years as both musician and producer, collaborating with The Word, The Campbell Brothers and The Will Bernard Group.

The John Paul Jones-produced album, Watkins’ first as a solo artist, doesn’t lack in any area; instead, it soars with the star power that surrounds every note. Besides the aforementioned Jones, Watkins has help from Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas, to name just a few. After a couple listens, it will be evident that, although you might still wish for Nickel Creek to reform someday, you’ll also realize you have something sparkling and special in Sara Watkins all by herself.

One day two winters ago, 14 musicians decided to leave their hectic lives for a little while and go to ‘Gilligans Island’ – only this island was Maui, Hawaii and instead of sleeping on hammocks beneath the palm trees they slept 500 feet above sea level in a compound of treehouses.  Together they lived a minimalistic existence …no electricity, no running water, hardly a road to drive on and barely a roof over their heads.  Yet, it was 30 blissful days of swimming, surfing, singing on the beach…inspiring and experimenting and most importantly, recording some very amazing music.  The end result is Operation Aloha, a collection of songs that captures the tranquility, freedom and spirit of Hawaii – and it will be self-released on May 12th, 2009.  It may sound like a great reality TV show, but it’s far from reality… about 2,500 miles (Los Angeles) to be exact…

Yamagata's latest  double disc set: Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart was produced largely by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Faint), and also John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Happenstance), Elephants is darker and more vulnerable while the more guitar-driven Teeth Sinking Into Heart is grittier and more defiantly cynical.  With a double disc on her mind, Rachael had a lot of other stuff to let loose with Glide…

Last week, Ticketmaster took some major heat for an unplanned and accidental presale for tickets for Phish’s four performances at Red Rocks this summer. Fans that thought they had stumbled onto a surprise jackpot had their orders canceled and received an email from David Butler, President of Ticketmaster North America, explaining why.

As John Scofield’s career has evolved, he has turned into almost as much of a musicologist as a musician. The transformation has occurred, however, without slighting the latter most and significant role: “Sco” remains one of contemporary jazz’s most distinctive guitar players.

With the recent boom of female singer-songwriters in the past few years, there is reason to believe that there is room for all the talent in the world, even if you’re not the second coming of Lucinda Williams—you don’t have to write the next Car Wheels on a Gravel Road to make a decent living. But, the truth is simple for McCarley: if her first offering, Love, Save the Empty, gives us any hint about what is to come, it’s that her musical pulse is not to be denied.

In September 2008, Saadiq released his third album, The Way I See It, which landed him the #1 position on iTunes Top Albums of the Year, a spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album's of 2008 and three more Grammy nominations.

Recently, Broken Social Scene began the Broken Social Scene Presents series of albums, where one member takes the reins, starting with front man Kevin Drew’s Spirit If. . .  And more recently, bass player Brendan Canning released the next album in the series, Something for All of Us. . .   The album has all the telltale marks of BSS – the multi-layered sound, the unbridled genre-hopping, the rough edges and spontaneous moments – but also lets Canning step into the spotlight.

In a recent interview with Hidden Track, Allman Brothers Band founding member and drummer Butch Trucks touched on a number of topics, including such hot potatoes over whether this is the start of an Allman Brothers Band scale-back (yes and no), some hints on what’s to come at the Beacon, and of course, Moogis – a brand new piece of the Beacon experience that will bring streaming, near-high-definition video to Web subscribers to capture each night of the run live.

Joshua Redman returned to the acoustic realm of modern jazz in 2007 with Back East where his playing carried a definite sense of breaking free from preconceptions, self-imposed and otherwise. The saxophonist’s new album Compass extends that sensation of abandon in no uncertain terms.

Saying you’re from Wasilla, Alaska these days is like painting a giant bulls-eye across your face – you’re going to get stuff flying at you from every direction. For Portugal. The Man, the up-and-coming band from—you guessed it—Wasilla, this can be a wondrous thing. Take their latest album, Censored Colors, as an example. Around its release, lead singer John Baldwin Gourley posted this blog to the band’s MySpace page, which centered around Wasilla’s most famous figure—you guessed it (again)—Sarah Palin.   

Crazy Engine is one of Kimock's most curious lineups yet: his old pal and legendary Hammond B3 player Melvin Seals, his son, John Morgan Kimock, on drums, the sturdy Janis Wallin from Family Groove Company holding things down on bass, and a vocals section consisting of Cheryl Rucker and Shirley Starks, affectionately dubbed "The Girls."

At this very moment, in every college town, in every city, in every state, there is at least one functioning rock band with a lead singer/pianist.  Blame Ben Folds.  Like Elton John before him, Folds has redefined the piano as a lead instrument.

It’s hard to fathom that back in the ‘90’s Snow Patrol, a student band from Scotland, was teetering on thin ice.  So thin that frontman Gary Lightbody had to sell his record collection to meet his monthly nut.  Yet in the next 14 years, they not only reached land, but crossed over the universe…a story that unfolds through their albums, particularly the last three