The Hustle
Every artist has a story. Whether big or small, they‘ve all seen the ups and downs and worked hard to maintain careers in music. We chat with some of the most interesting legacy artists in pop music and go in depth on their careers, how they feel about them, what it‘s like being a ”rock star” and also hear their best stories. If you‘re a music junkie you will love these long form conversations with beloved figures from your life.
- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 85 minutes
- Episodes
- 757
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Episode 195 - Don Dixon
Despite being a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter in his own right, Don Dixon's legacy as an important figure in American rock was cemented when he co-produced the first two albums by R.E.M. (Mu…
Deep Dive - Matthew Seligman on Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth (1984)
In part one of our new series Deep Dive, we've invited back former guest, Matthew Seligman to discuss the recording of Thomas Dolby's underappreciated masterpiece, 1984's The Flat Earth. At a time wh…
Episode 194 - Ian Burden of the Human League
Ian Burden was a key member of the revolutionary new wave band the Human League during their imperial 80s period. Philip Oakey was desperate to find band members during the lead-up to the creation of…
Bonus - Top 10 80s Movie Soundtrack Songs on Reliving My Youth
Once again Jon teams up with Noel Fogelman from Reliving My Youth for another music-related topic close to his heart: Top 10 soundtrack songs from the 80s! We discuss our lists and defend our picks. …
Episode 193 - Brian Vander Ark of the Verve Pipe/Solo
After building a devoted fanbase in their native Michigan in the early 90s, the Verve Pipe struck gold in 1996 when a song they'd been playing for years called "The Freshman" totally changed the game…
Recap v.6: The Year In Review
Jon and Jan recap the episodes from November and December and countdown their top 10 episodes of the year, as well as the listener's top 5. We also answer some listener questions AND we announce a ne…
Episode 192 - Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel/The Slim Kings
It’s time to set the record straight. Liberty DeVitto is not merely the former drummer for Billy Joel. He is a collaborator in the sounds that shaped popular music in the latter 20th century. Here…
Episode 191 - Emilio Castillo of Tower of Power
Tower of Power have been one of the landmark r&b outfits for 50 years now. From humble beginnings in the East Bay of Northern California, co-founders and sax players Emilio Castillo and Doc Kupka sta…
Episode 190 - Chris Dunn of City Boy
City Boy was a band that was almost impossible to classify. Imagine if ELO, Queen and Yes got together and decided to get weird and you're in the ballpark. They did manage to hit the pop charts once …
Episode 189 - Derry Grehan of Honeymoon Suite
Canadian rockers Honeymoon Suite might be the most undervalued melodic rock band of the 80s. Though always maintaining a profile up north, the band deserved more attention in the states and around th…
Episode 188 - Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Osborne is one of the greatest balladeers in r&b history. Who can ever forget his amazing performance on 80s standards like "On the Wings of Love," "We're Going All the Way," and "You Should …
Episode 187 - Kevin Armstrong
Kevin Armstrong has been a go-to guitarist for some of the greatest artists of the last 35 years. After first tasting success playing with Thomas Dolby during the Golden Age of Wireless era, Kevin we…
Bonus - Chris White of the Zombies
In this special bonus episode we chat with Zombies bassist Chris White about the resurgence the band has enjoyed over the last 15 years or so leading to them being nominated for the Rock and Roll Hal…
Episode 186 - Brian James of The Damned/Lords of the New Church/Solo
Brian James doesn't like to sit in one spot for too long. In the mid-70s he joined up with Rat Scabies and the gang to form the pioneering punk band The Damned. That band holds many firsts - first pu…
Episode 185 - Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks/Solo
The Buzzcocks remain one of the greatest punk bands in history. Their mixture of punk's aggression with pop's hooks set them apart from their contemporaries with standards like "What Do I Get," "Auto…
Episode 184 - Steve Barton of Translator/Solo
Translator were one of those great polyglot bands of the early 80s - a little new wave, a little power pop and a lot of genres like "jangle pop" and "college rock" that hadn't even been invented yet.…
Recap v.5: September and October and Top 3 Songs that Should've Been #1s with Special Guest Sonny Pooni
Jon and Jan are happy to be joined by the great Sonny "Hollywood" Pooni of the Growin' Up Rock Podcast Rock City podcasts to recap the last couple months of episodes. We also discuss the Rock n Pod E…
Episode 183 - Lee Rocker of The Stray Cats/Solo
Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker is going to be busy for a while. Not only did his original band announce recently they were reuniting for a 40th anniversary tour in 2019 AND releasing their first album…
Episode 182 - Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors
In 1992 the Spin Doctors had an era-defining, cultural touchstone of an album on their hands when their debut, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, finally took off after months of release. It went on to sell …
Bonus - Joyce Hyser star of Just One of the Guys
In this fun bonus episode we chat with Joyce Hyser Robinson, star of the classic 1985 movie “Just One of the Guys”. She talks about her experience making the movie, who else was up for the part, her …