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
- 756
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Bonus - The Songwriting and Collaboration Panel from the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo
Jon was honored to host this panel at the Rock n Pod Expo with four amazing songwriters. Former guests Walter Egan (ep 23) and Robert White Johnson (ep 27), joined future guests Gunnar Nelson and Ant…
Episode 122 - Oleta Adams
The story on Oleta Adams is that she was discovered playing piano in a Kansas City hotel bar by the guys from Tears For Fears, who then brought her in to sing on their 1989 album The Seeds of Love, t…
Bonus - The (Notorious) Expo Retro
Now that the smoke has cleared and most people were fine with what I said, I'll go ahead and put this out even though most of you have heard it by this point. This is the original version, maybe slig…
Episode 121 - Russ Ballard
Russ Ballard is one of the most successful songwriters of the rock era. Artists from Ace Frehley to America have scored with tunes written by the man. Russ has also shepherded a successful solo caree…
Bonus - Gary Corbett Live From the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo
These days, Gary Corbett may be best known for his time in Cinderella and as the touring keyboard player with Kiss. What everyone may not know is that he actually comes from a pop background. He star…
Episode 120 - John Parr
John Parr was one of the most promising artists of the 80s. He broke out in 1984 with the decent-sized hit "Naughty Naughty" (#23), but then he hit the jackpot when his theme for the movie St. Elmo's…
Episode 119 - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Senior Pop Editor at Allmusic
We go in a slightly different direction with this week's guest, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Senior Pop Editor at Allmusic! "Tom" has been with the publication since the beginning making him one of the m…
Episode 118 - Steve "Eddie" Rice of Eddie and the Tide
Eddie and the Tide were a great Bay Area rock band of the early 80s that mixed heartland rock with some new wave flair, much like contemporaries Huey Lewis and the News and Greg Kihn. Over the course…
Episode 117 - Trevor Steel of The Escape Club
The Escape Club had one of the biggest and most inescapable hits of the 80s with their 1988 number one blockbuster "Wild Wild West". Contrary to popular belief, they are not one-hit-wonders, and crac…
Episode 116 - Froilan Sosa of Nuclear Valdez
Nuclear Valdez were an excellent and highly buzzed about alternative rock band out of Miami in the late 80s. A lot of the hype centered around what shouldn't be that unique of a thing, but is, the fa…
Bonus - The Hustle vs. Suburban Underground: 4 Songs That Shoulda Been Hits
Jon was invited on Suburban Underground this week, one of his favorite radio programs (Bedford 105 in New Hampshire). Hosts Drew and Steve challenged all of us to bring a song from the 70s, 80s, 90s …
Episode 115 - Dave Gregory of XTC/Big Big Train
XTC were one of the most beloved bands of the burgeoning alternative rock era. Armed with catchy and witty songs that leaned to the quirkier side of pop music, they produced a steady stream of excell…
Episode 114 - Gilson Lavis of Squeeze
Squeeze were one of the most beloved bands of the modern rock era and sitting at the center of the band was drummer Gilson Lavis. Always looking like a man out of time, looking smart and gentlemanly …
Bonus - Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull
This is a busy year for Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. For starters, there's a new String Quartet album of JT classics performed by the Carducci Quartet. In addition, this year marks the 40th anniversar…
Episode 113 - Lee Greenwood
Today is Independence Day in America and who better to celebrate with than Lee Greenwood! By now, his "God Bless the USA" has basically become another unofficial national anthem. He's performed the s…
Episode 112 - Don McLean
Believe it or not, Don McLean has always felt like a second-class citizen in the music business. Despite over 45 years of success, and the credit of writing one of the most important songs in the his…
Episode 111 - John Hall of Orleans / Solo
Orleans were another beloved soft-rock band of the 70s scoring two giant hits with "Dance With Me" and the ever-present "Still The One", which remains one of those great tunes that never completely g…
Episode 110 - David Muse and Rick Roberts of Firefall
When you think about it, Firefall were one of the original super groups. With members hailing from legendary acts like the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, and Spirt, success must have seemed immi…
Episode 109 - Hirsh Gardner of New England
New England were another one of those great rock bands of the late 70s/early 80s that deserved more. So many things were in place to make them successful - they were managed by Kiss's manager Bill Au…
Episode 108 - Tracey and Melissa Belland of Voice Of The Beehive
Sisters Tracey and Melissa Belland grew up loving the alternative music coming out of Britain in the 80s. So, instead of sitting idly, they decided to move to the UK and start a band like their heroe…