Love That Album Podcast Episode 119 - XTC "English Settlement"

When the late 70s arrived, many musicians wanted to sweep away the “dinosaurs” of rock (imagine that in 2018). Punk was about to sweeping away the complexities (among other things) and getting back to raw honest energy. Many musos liked the rawness and energy of punk but felt they had stronger musical chops that they wanted to apply to that realm, as well as explore other stylistic avenues. 1977 saw the release of the debut album of one such band from Swindon, XTC.

Welcome to episode 119 of Love That Album – the second episode for November 2018.

Like The Beatles before them, the back catalogue of XTC shows a development where the band that released their final album scarcely sound like the band that released their first. By 1982, they were only five years into their recording career, but the album of that year, English Settlement bore little resemblance to White Music released only a few years prior.

For this episode of the podcast, I welcome guitarist and first-time guest, Geoff Pearlman, as well as the return of Sydney guitarist Shane Pacey to focus on English Settlement as well as the development of the band that reached that point. The discussion is wide and varied covering the musicianship of the band and the different songwriting approaches of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding. We also discuss how the songs on the album covered social issues like domestic violence, gun ownership, and the fragility of modern existence. We had a wonderful time and I thank Shane and Geoff for working their senses overtime for the show. I even found an excuse to do my Tom Waits impersonation.

You can download the podcast from Spotify, iTunes (search for “Love That Album podcast”) or from the website at http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com.

You can follow Shane at http://shanepaceytrio.com.au/ and https://bondicigars.com/

Geoff’s musical activities can be found at https://www.geoffpearlmanmusic.com/

Both can be found on the usual social media platforms (Facebook, twitter etc)

Both of these gents make terrific music in their own right, so check them out and give them your support.

Send the show feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum.

If you’d consider writing an iTunes review or recommending the show to a friend, I’d be immensely grateful.

Right click to download episode 119 here.

Love That Album podcast Episode 118 - Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues Interview Special

I love a music festival. It had been a long while since I last went to one, so a few months back I decided to book a weekend away at the Victorian rural town of Wangaratta and attend their annual Festival of Jazz And Blues. I’d promised myself that I’d attend the fest years ago…this year I finally did it.

“But hey”, I thought to myself, “why not incorporate the podcast into the weekend????” With the approval of the festival PR, I was granted media access and was allowed to approach musicians for interviews.

Welcome to episode 118 of Love That Album podcast.

The beauty of a festival is you can wander from stage to stage and take risks with seeing performers you’d never heard before as well as long time favourites. So it is for the show, I approached 4 musicians - two drummers I’d long been a fan of and two guitarists I only became aware of as a result of the festival. All were wonderful musically and as interview subjects.

Drummers Anthony Shortte (formerly of Collard Greens and Gravy, currently of Opelousas), and David Jones (Pyramid, Atmasphere, Peter Cupples Band, Third Ear and many others) are very different stylistically, but I’m a huge fan of them both and they told great stories of their passion for their music and how they approach their playing.

Guitarists Alex Stuart and Ben Hauptmann were new to me. Both graduated from ANU in Canberra, but both take a different approach to their composition and arrangement. In each case though, their music tells stories of their experiences and responses to those experiences. Their recorded work and their live performances were highlights of the festival.

Regardless of whether you know these musicians or their work (or even care for jazz and blues music), if you like hearing about creativity and how life inspires one's art, you’ll (hopefully) enjoy these discussions. I feel privileged to have been a part of them.

You can download the podcast from Spotify, iTunes (search for “Love That Album podcast”) or from the website at http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com.

You can follow the artists via these means:

Opelousas: https://www.facebook.com/Opelousas-Band-428336044323888/

Alex Stuart: http://www.alex-stuart.com/

Ben Hauptmann: http://benhauptmann.com/

David Jones: https://davidjonesdrums.com/

Send the show feedback at rrrkitchen@yahoo.com.au (written or mp3 voicemail) or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum.

If you’d consider writing an iTunes review or recommending the show to a friend, I’d be immensely grateful.

Right click to download episode 118 here.