Roadie Free Radio

My guest this week is friend and filmmaker Bob Sarles of Ravin’ Films. Editor, producer, and rock music historian with some incredible credits to his name, Bob and his business partner Christina Keating, work on a variety of unique projects throughout the year and I am humbled that he took time out from his busy schedule to share his journey with me and impart some of his wisdom with us.

30 years as a live sound technician. 25 years as Pearl Jam’s dedicated Monitor Engineer. Several years teaching, mentoring, and empowering the next generation of women in audio. Tune in and found out how Karrie Keyes turned a teenage love of Southern California’s Punk Rock scene into a lifelong career of touring with some of the industry’s biggest bands including Soundgarden, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, and Neil Young.

If you know what you want to do, and you get bitten by the bug of your chosen field, nothing can stop you. Even though bassist Tanya O’Callaghan was bitten late, she made up for lost time by hustling and working constantly to master her instrument. Several short years later, Tanya has carved an incredible international career for herself as an in-demand artist in the studio and on the road. These are just a few of the amazing artists she’s played with: Maynard James Keenan, Joshua Eustis, Orianthi, Ronnie Wood, and The Coors.

Our trip to Miami may have been cancelled due to the recent snowstorm in the Northeast, but that didn't stop me from getting my interview with Grammy-winning mixer Tom Lord-Alge. Between Tom and his older brother and record producer Chris, they have a staggering number of credits in the record business in careers that span roughly 35 years, and includes artists such as Live, Santana, U2, The Rolling Stones, P!nk, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne, Steve Winwood, and Peter Gabriel. Join me on this wild ride with one the industry's best.

No guest this week, but join me as I wax nostalgic about Marc Ford and the Magpie Salute, updates about our Indie Go Go campaign, the GroundUp Music Festival, Plato, and future guests. If you get a chance, check out my new series, The Machine, co-hosted with my good friend Adam Lerner: www.brooklynphotoworks.com.

Becky Pell is one of the lucky people who is able to follow two of her passions and turn them into thriving careers. As a monitor mixer she has worked with an incredible range of artist’s including the Black Crowes, A-ha, Anastacia, Take That, Westlife, Kylie, Muse, and Natalie Imbruglia. As a yoga and meditation instructor she contributes to several magazines and blogs including Yoga International, Om magazine, and Adventureyogi. She is also a member of Soundgirls.org, where she lends her voice to help empower and educate young women interested in learning about the industry. Add in the fact that she’s English and you’ve got one bad-ass roadie!

Passion. Heartbreak. Angels. Devils. Duende, And of course, Jazz. These are the things that keep guitarist Anthony Purrone driving and striving for the truth in his playing and just a few of the things that we mined through during our time together. One of the great improvisational guitarist’s, Tony has played with an incredible range of people including Jimmy heath and the Heath Brothers Band, Winton Marsalis, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, and on and on. Do yourself a favor, grab one of Tony’s albums, and prepare to have your mind blown.

My guests today are songwriting and performing duo Lucinda Rowe and Michael Connelly. Based in the idyllic hills of Sherman, CT and forged out of the iconic rock sounds of the ‘70’s, these two have paid their dues and then some. They’ve performed or opened for some of the industry’s biggest names including: Pat Benatar, Eddie Money, Patty Smythe and Scandal, Tony Bennett, KC and The Sunshine Band, Stevie Nicks, The Guess Who, The Monkees, The Georgia Satellites, and Sophie B. Hawkins. Check out their latest release, No Boundries.

When I think of Jazz, the violin is not usually the first instrument that comes to mind, but today’s guest has set me straight. Zach Brock is the real deal and I’m so glad we found a break in his schedule to have him on the show. He’s been a member of Snarky Puppy going back to the early days of the band and has played with the likes of Matt Ulery, Bill Laurence, Wycliffe Gordon, Stanley Clarke, Phil Markowitz and Dave Liebman.

To kick-off 2017 with style and grace my first guest in the studio is the smart and talented Fawn Segerson, otherwise known as Lullaby Girl. We talk about growing up in small town Connecticut, touring Paris, and her love of Elvis and Dolly Parton. Her new album Vis-à-vis dropped last week at The Bitter End in NYC, and she’s already breaking hearts on her current European tour.

If we’re being honest, and I usually am, I was a big fan of a lot of the music that came out of the early 90’s New York scene. While Hip-Hop was growing fast and the raw sounds of the Seattle scene were exploding across the country, there was another faction starting to pop on the lower east side of NY. Bands like the The Worm’s, the Spin Doctor’s, Blues Traveler, and God Street Wine would eventually go on to be household names thanks to pop-friendly hooks and serious MTV airplay, but in the beginning, they were just clawing out a living at places like Dan Lynch’s and Nightingales. Jono Manson was at the center of the scene as both a fellow musician and a mentor to those looking to break-in. A Manhattan native, Manson knew from the tender age of seven that music was his calling, and the guitar would be his weapon of choice. I read a short profile about Jono in Mix magazine and knew when I booked my trip to Santa Fe, NM that I had to meet him and have him on the show. After nestling into the Santa Fe landscape

Roadies, in this episode I am humbled to have had the privilege to sit down with prolific author, Howard Massey. With 16 books to his name, Howard is a man of many talents; engineer, producer, songwriter, and musician. Howard's deep knowledge and love of the business is rivaled only by the incredible respect his peers have for him. Not only was he ahead of the curve with his early titles breaking down the features of the Yamaha DX 7, but any student of the recording industry would be remiss not having well worn copies of Great British Recording Studios or both volumes of Behind the Glass on their shelves. Much of our focus was centered on his most recent effort and first novel, Roadie. Loosely based on Rolling Stones founding member Ian Stewart, Roadie paints a vivid picture of the less glamorous side of the music industry using many stories rooted in first hand experience that will keep you hooked until the end. Howard and I recorded this interview in a Ramada Inn ballroom where he proceeded to give me the l

For this weeks episode I had the pleasure of sitting down via Skype with Mike Bloomfield historian, David Dann. We recently spent time together up in Portland, Maine for a screening of the film that I co-produced called Sweet Blues: A Film About Michael Bloomfield, where Dann served as a moderator for the panel discussion. His passion for Bloomfield’s playing and legacy has manifested into the creation of a website called MikeBloomfieldAmericanMusic.com which has given fans backstage level access into the life and career of the virtuoso. In this episode we touch on everything from the trials of sifting through fact and fiction when compiling first hand accounts, to how Dann became so interested in Mike in the first place. So strap in and enjoy our latest installment of Roadie Free Radio and be sure to keep an eye out for David’s book on Bloomfield that hopefully will be on shelves in a year’s time.

For this week’s interview I travelled up to Portland, Maine for a conversation with my old schoolmate and friend, Jason Spooner. Equipped with a DIY mentality, Jason has gained acclaim throughout the United States for his soulful blues-rock sound. Growing up, Jason was influenced greatly by the singer-songwriter LP’s and 8-tracks of the 70’s in his dad’s collection. With inspiration from the likes of Paul Simon, Jim Croce, and Stevie Wonder, he began playing guitar and writing songs. Once he hit college, Jason was able to spend some time studying in Europe where he would busk on the streets of London, and perform in folk and blues clubs around Spain. Some time later, he would go on to form The Jason Spooner Trio and together they would record his debut album, Lost Houses. Four albums later, Jason is constantly on the move playing shows either on the festival circuit, with the likes of Michael Franti, or at local venues with his travelling band. Jason continues to work diligently as an independent artist creat

With a passion for both tinkering and music, Matt Umanov opened up his first guitar store in 1963 and has not stopped since. I had the privilege of sitting down with Mr. Bleecker Street himself, and we covered topics ranging from Marijuana use to Buck Owens, to Jazz. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, it was clear from a very young age that Matt had a talent for understanding the inner mechanics of things, as well as the passion to explore any musical genre that came his way. His curiosity would drive him to pursue a future as a guitar maker and repairman. During his teenage years, Matt worked doing final setups at the Guild Factory in Hoboken while taking notes from master luthier John D’Angelico. At the age of 18 he was already a well-established guitar repairman having gained a reputation admired enough to have clients such as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton seek out his talents. Some decades later Matt is still known to be one of the best in the business. His Greenwich Village shop has become an iconic New

You guys are in for a treat with this week’s episode. I had the privilege of sitting down and interviewing my long time family friend, Mark Snow. As a career television and film composer, Mark has lent his talent to some of the industries biggest hits. A Brooklyn native, Mark developed an affinity for music during his time at The High School for Music and Art where he gained acceptance as an oboe player. Upon graduation Mark moved on to Julliard where he would meet and become roommates with fellow future composer Michael Kamen. Based on a mutual love for contemporary music, the pair would go on to form the band the New York Rock N’ Roll Ensemble in the late 60's. Blending elements of both rock and classical music, the band gained success rapidly and were signed to Atlantic Records by non-other than Ahmet Ertegun himself. After five albums together, the band split-up, and following the advice of his high school sweetheart and wife, Glynn Daly, Mark moved his family out to California with only $1000 between the

How does one go from folding airbags for Honda and deboning chickens in South Carolina, to being Christian McBrides FOH audio engineer? To answer that question you are going to have to check out today’s interview featuring Fela Davis. At a young age Fela knew she wanted to be involved in creating great sounding music. A career placement test in the 8th grade fortified her dream of pursuing a future as an audio engineer. After graduating high school, Fela went on to graduate with an Associates degree from Full Sail University. The long journey that followed would go on to include, working as a stage hand for House of Blues, production manager for South Florida Jazz Series, Assistant Fleet Manager for Bandago and technician for Clair Wireless and Intercom. In between those gigs are thousands of miles of desire to keep growing and learning. Fela now how has her own media production company with business partner Denis Orynbekov called 23db Productions. The company is based in New York City and specializes in “mak

What’s up roadies? This week’s cure for your case of the Monday blues is brought to you by monitor engineer to the stars, Steve Walsh. A 20-year industry veteran, Walsh has worked with some of rocks biggest names including but not limited to; +44, Blink-182, The Foo Fighters, Tommy Lee, and Maroon 5. Thanks to a little white lie nearly 20 years ago, Steve landed his first gig as a monitor engineer for Moby. After a few years on the road with Moby, Steve packed up, headed west to Los Angeles, and linked up with none other than Tommy Lee for Never a Dull Moment. Steve has since gone on to work with many other big name bands including one of Roadie Free Radio’s all-time favorites, The Black Crowes. Nowadays, you can find Steve on tour as monitor engineer for Rob Zombie. Walsh certainly has a knack for combining the artist’s ideal sound with what ultimately is best to come out of the speakers during the show. It's the combination of a great ear and some kick ass people skills that have given him such a respected

This installment of Roadie Free Radio is coming to you straight from the sound studio of long time Rock 'n Roll veteran, Charlie Karp. A man who has been through it all, Charlie landed his first big gig at the tender age of 16, thanks to a chance encounter at the Filmore East. That fateful night would introduce Karp to Buddy Miles. Charlie would go on to tour, write, and record for Miles over a period of two years. Did we mention all of this happened before his 20th birthday? After leaving Miles, Karp went on to form White Chocolate with longtime friend David Hull on the bass. It was after the band reformed under the name The Dirty Angels and gained greater success with Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye that they were able to play with Aerosmith on the Double Live Bootleg Tour. The decades that followed would bring countless other projects his way. He has written songs for the likes of Joan Jett and Joe Perry, and also has the credit of producing one of Rocks great bands, Ram Jam, of Black Betty fame . Additionally Karp

Musician. Entrepreneur. Hustler. I think those are three good words to describe David Koltai. And just so we’re clear, I mean hustler in the best sense of the word. When I arrived at the Pigtronix/Supro office in Port Jefferson, NY, David was juggling several calls, pausing shortly in between to confer with any of his staff who poked their head in for a quick word. You don’t get to be the head of not one, but two burgeoning companies by resting on your laurels or resting at all for that matter. Spending time at the office you definitely get the sense that a new idea could be around the next corner and you won’t want to miss it. Before my interview with David I’d never played a Supro amplifier, and frankly, I knew even less about them. I’d seen some around, and started hearing about them from friends of mine, but the history, tone, and legend, was honestly totally lost on me. I had a chance to spend some time with the Black Magick and I’m totally hooked. It was like a Fender, but not. I can’t quite describe it