The Vinyl District's Radar with Evan Toth
Hosted by Evan Toth, The Vinyl District: Radar features exclusive interviews with creators.
Rebecca Pidgeon and Her Latest Album, "Songs of LA"
There’s a unique quality that actors and actresses bring to songwriting and musicianship. Oftentimes, they create works that lean heavily on the idea that the singer - or narrator - is a character. Of course, all musicians and songwriters do this to some extent, but there’s another level of commitment when it’s done by a musician who also happens to be an actor.
Rebecca Pigeon is well-known in both worlds, as an actress and as a musician and songwriter. This year she’s released her 11th full-length album titled, Songs of LA which explores the City of...
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams and Their Latest, "All This Time"
It’s no secret that marriage is hard work. It requires heavy lifting by both partners to keep the boat afloat. It’s labor, but of course, it’s a labor of love; that’s what it’s all about. However, if you take the marriage and relationship deal and split it with a job in the entertainment business for both parties involved, well, now you’ve really got a challenging situation with which to build a successful marriage.
Larry Campell and his wife Teresa Williams are no strangers to...
Paula Cole and Her Latest Album, "Lo"
Maybe I’m a little guilty of nostalgia on this one, but aren’t we all from time-to-time? When I look into the past with my rose-colored glasses on, they take me to that time of life when most people find themselves experiencing glowy memories of the past: high school. In my case, it was high school in the early to mid 1990s. As is true of every generation, there were certain songs that were inescapable during that time, some music that was simply a part of the cultural wallpaper.
Music that is ingrained to that exte...
Lau Noah and Her Latest Duets Album, "A Dos"
Often on this program, I interact with artists and creators, who do their best work when they are by themselves. It’s in solitude that a musician often finds the freedom and flexibility to create just what it is they want to develop. However, there is surely something to be said about the chemistry between two people, two artists. When two musicians sit before one another and unite for the good of performing or recording one song, the tension can be palpable. Such a situation can reach Olympic level heights when the musical duel is between two experts in their fi...
Sam Nelson Harris From X Ambassadors Aquaman 2 Music and New Album, "Townie"
What does it take to be epic? Many filmmakers and creators struggle to construct breathtaking spectacles for audiences that will allow them to escape into a transformative world that depicts events that would not normally be seen with human eyes. But what about the music? Once they’ve created the visual component, how do they find the right music to both compliment and even elevate the towering images that appear on your local IMAX theater’s screens?
For many years, the industry has called upon Sam Nelson Harris and his band - X Ambassadors
Narada Michael Walden and His New Album, "Euphoria"
It’s always a pleasure to speak with musicians who seem to appreciate and absorb music on another level. Folks like this often see music in a way that regular music consumers might take for granted. After all, there is a real power in music, a force and strength that can alter our emotions in any which direction. Sometimes we forget this, and we just let the sounds that we’re listening to wash over us without thinking of the other dimensions that we might be missing. The last time I spoke with someone who had a great deal of inte...
Avram Brown and The Wheel and His Self-Titled Debut
How do you feel about karma? Do you think what goes around comes around? Is that really the way of the world, or does it just seem that way? Perhaps we’re getting a start that’s a bit too deep, but the natural order of things has a way of following a mysterious pattern. You might see some of these things in your day-to-day activities, but sometimes a story invites you to consider how the design of our lives can be investigated, every so often, it arrives musically.
Avram Brown is the key composer and perf...
Dustin Blocker and the Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA)
It’s one thing to love vinyl records and to enjoy listening to them, most people stop there. But, you might even go a step further and truly embrace vinyl culture and become a serious collector, there are plenty of those folks, too. But it’s a whole other ball of wax to learn the ins and outs of actually creating discs and becoming involved in the manufacturing process. That’s just what Dustin Blocker has done.
Originally, Dustin was a musician who soon turned his attention to the record label industry by founding North Texas-based artist...
Jesse Colin Young and the 50th Anniversary Reissue of His "Song for Juli" Album
What happened to that 1960s optimism, the peace, the love and the understanding? Unfortunately, the sentiment hasn’t endured socially in the mainstream dialogue over the last few decades. But - as Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello are aware - there’s nothing funny about those ideas. It may not be fashionable, but a focus on spreading peace and love and trying to understand those who are different from you are incredibly important tasks; ones that must be seriously explored if we hope to keep this world spinning for a few thousand more years.
It was Jess...
Graham Wallace and His New Record Label: Continued Sounds
A quick internet search will yield several results about accomplishments and successes that have taken place in the great Garden State of New Jersey, but its musical roots are particularly strong. You’ve heard about that crooner, Sinatra, who came from Hoboken and - of course - there were those Jersey Boys, Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi and no conversation about New Jersey music would be complete without the Boss.
However, there’s a hidden history, too. A deep dive into the milk crates and cardboard boxes of NJ’s garage and estate sales reveals some fabulous music that didn’t...
