Live Lunch

BOA on WFPKs Live Lunch 10/4/19 by WFPK

Rebecca Rego & The Trainmen on WFPKs Live Lunch 6/14/19 by WFPK

Houndmouth on WFPK's Live Lunch 7/13/18 by WFPK

San Fermin on WFPK's Live Lunch 6-2-17 by WFPK

Jake Clemons on WFPK's Live Lunch 5-26-17 by WFPK

Cat Casual on WFPK's Live Lunch 4/21/17 by WFPK

The boys are back together and still up to no good.

Dylan Leblanc Live in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

WFPK's Waterfront Wednesday 2017 Season Overview by WFPK

HBO's latest Sunday night soap opera is slick and tantalizes.

Adam Driver is splendid as a bus driver poet.

Interview conducted in March of 2017.

A marvelous, provocative documentary, focusing on race relations in America.

Jericho Woods on WFPK's Live Lunch - 2/24/17 by WFPK

Boyfriend discovers his GF's parents aren't as friendly as they appear.

I’m a huge Elbow fan. Love every record they’ve put out. Guy Garvey’s voice, the cinematic quality of their songs, lyrics, and movements, it all hits me in just the right way. Their new album Little Fictions has all of those qualities and comes at a time when people might need it most. It’s an album of aural optimism in a time of arguments and challenges. But still, it’s even more than that, as you’ll hear in my conversation with Guy.

A great documentary about an improbable basketball championship. How cool is that?

Fitz & The Tantrums may have arrived as a pop throwback for the next generation, but they didn’t stay in that box for long. They were quick to move into 80s sound experiments with 2013’s More Than Just A Dream, and a present sound all their own in last year’s self-titled effort. That direction progression was accompanied lifestyle and location changes for the band members, too, which is where my conversation starts with co-founder Noelle Scaggs.

Saying that I dare you not to at least bob your head along with Saint Motel’s “Move” isn’t really a fair challenge. It’s near impossible as long as you're not immobile in a neck brace. And maybe even then your body would find a way to hit the groove. It was the lead-off single to their newest record, Saintmotelevision, which announced that they weren’t just any pop rock band, but finely tuned craftsmen.

Batman, with help, saves his city yet again from the Joker.

River Whyless Live in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

If it comes down to one man to save rock and roll, my money's on Chuck Prophet. His most recent run of albums harkens back to the purest form of the genre, with feet in both 60s garage and 70s riff-rock. His most recent LP, Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins, also looks at the legends we’ve lost, and on a wider scale, our troubling surroundings. It’s a statement from an artist who’s finding a new stride to hit 30 some odd years into his career.

Before Josh Ritter heads back into the studio to start recording his next album, he’s road testing new material in front of a fanbase always eager for his next pieces. It’s not something most artists can get away with, but then again, Josh Ritter isn’t most artists.

Dark Side of The Wall on WFPK's Live Lunch - 2/10/17 by WFPK

Young man finds his way back home from Tasmania to India.

It’s been six years since power pop god Matthew Sweet released an album of original music, but brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that there is a light at the end of that tunnel. Sweet has completed what is essentially a double album, though being released as a single disc and a separate bonus collection that’s due out this year. So I thought I’d give him a call to get the details.

If you were a 120 Minutes on MTV obsessive like I was, you’ll remember the band Velvet Crush. Their 1994 breakthrough, Teenage Symphonies To God, featured the song “Hold Me Up,” which got some great buzz bin play on the channel. These days, the duo spend their time backing Matthew Sweet in his band, but with 2016 marking their 25th anniversary, they gave their landmark album the deluxe treatment with a standalone disc of demos, lost takes, and live cuts called Pre-Teen Symphonies. I gave Ric Menck a call to get all of the details, and a little reminiscing.

Was there really gold in them there Indonesian hills?

It isn’t as easy to find great rock and roll as it use to be. Something solid, loud, fast, and most importantly, fun. But if The Struts have anything to say about that, we won’t have that problem any longer. The new gods of glam came roaring out of the gate with fist pumping, shout-out-loud choruses that keep you on your feet, and inspire you to be a better person. Let me introduce you to their lead singer, Luke Spiller.

The Bottle Rockets Live in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

Marshall Crenshaw Live in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the "founder" of McDonalds.

Growing up in Cali in the late 70s.

After two decades in NYC, Mike Doughty made a big lifestyle change recently by moving to Memphis. While the change of scenery isn’t exactly evident in his songwriting, you can definitely sense a man inspired when you talk with him. Not that he seems to ever have a lack of creativity, regardless of where he’s living now. Doughty is a man who, ultimately, doesn’t stop or sit still, something that’s always been great for us fans.

Jimmy Eat World released their 8th album, Integrity Blues, last year in what some called a return to form of their earlier works. But that’s not exactly true. Sure, the top songwriting hallmarks are all there, as Jim Adkins is a master at melody and storytelling, but the LP also has more than it’s fair share of surprises, proving that this is still a band with forward momentum.

Police and FBI track down the brothers responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.

Ryley Walker Live in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

Maggie Rogers in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

My Morning Jacket may be between albums right now, but that hasn’t slowed any of the members down. Most of the guys ended up backing Ray Lamontagne as his backing band last year, and there were a couple of solo records, too. One of those came from guitarist Carl Broemel, who hadn’t taken a solo outing since 2010’s All Birds Say. Whatever the reasons for taking the time, it’s made for a great collection called 4th of July.

As the story goes, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James had been working on scoring a soundtrack when the studio fired him for being too weird. The jams wouldn’t go completely unheard though thanks to some unfortunately inspiration due to the political climate and world happenings. Still, the resulting solo album, Eternally Even, isn’t a completely dark record, thanks to an unflinching optimism in humanity that Jim carries.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis star in this stage play brought to the big screen

The Louisville Improvisers in the WFPK Studio by WFPK

The heretofore untold tale of how three African-American women helped put astronaut John Glenn into orbit and back safely.

The four years spent between Regina Spektor’s 2012 LP, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, and the new Remember Us To Life, was spent taking care of a couple of major events; a new marriage and then in 2014, the birth of their first child. So obviously, there are some bigger themes on her mind, including parenthood, love, and time. It was that last theme that she and I fell upon during a recent call.

I first discovered Beth Orton on the 2002 Daybreaker record, unaware at the moment that she had been making music for several years before. But from that day on, I was a fan and always rush to hear anything that she releases. Her 2016 album Kidsticks ranks up there at the top and finds her in the electronic world again, but pairing it her style of songwriting that has graced her last few discs. It’s a perfect marriage.

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are the only two humans alive on a spaceship.

Natalie Portman portrays Jackie Kennedy.

Did you know that The Verve Pipe celebrated the 20th anniversary of the multi-platinum Villains in 2016? Since that time, the band went on to release a pair of other discs before writing music for kids, which ended up being just as a successful venture. They’re now back with music for the rest of it. All that and more in my conversation with lead singer Brian Vander Ark.

Surely, when I say Crash Test Dummies, you’re instantly transported back to a time, probably the 90s. The band continued to release albums for the decade, but only occasionally these days. I tracked down Brad Roberts to get the scoop on a mysterious new single and ended up getting one of my favorite conversations of the year.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling sing and dance their way around Hollywoodland.