Episodes
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Impex Records has been releasing stellar audiophile recordings since Abey Fonn founded the small label in 2009. Impexâs offerings have included 33 and 45 rpm LPs (including Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco De LucĂaâs Friday Night in San Francisco and Saturday Night in San Francisco) as well as deluxe 1Step releases such as Getz/Gilberto, Patricia Barber's Companion and, coming June 14, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. Here Fonn pulls back the curtain on how Impex chooses and makes deals for its titles, what the competition is like with the larger audiophile labels, how Impex decides which format is best for an album, whether original master tapes have become harder to obtain, whether a one-to-one analog transfer is superior to a high-res digital copy, which act has been Fonnâs white whale and which one she was happiest to land.
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After co-producing R.E.M.'s Murmur and Reckoning, Don Dixon got calls from other bands, often southern and jangly, seeking his services. He produced three albums by Guadalcanal Diary, another Georgia band, but it was his work with New Jersey's the Smithereens that took him to another level. It also prompted Nirvana to ask him about producing Nevermind. Dixon was pursuing his own career as well while thinking U.S. labels had slighted his previous band, Arrogance. What happened when the head of Enigma Records approached him in a European airport about releasing the song "Praying Mantis"? What unorthodox scheme did Dixon propose to the label in lieu of releasing albums? Why does he, of all people, think recording ruined music? Dixon has enough great stories and insights to fill two episodes. This is the second.
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Episodes manquant?
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Don Dixon already had spent 13 years playing, singing and writing with the North Carolina indie band Arrogance when he joined Mitch Easter to co-produce R.E.M.âs trailblazing first two albums, Murmur and Reckoning. He went on to produce the first two crunchy-and-sweet Smithereens albums plus music from Guadalcanal Diary, Matthew Sweet, Marshall Crenshaw and Marti Jones, to whom he remains married. His own infectious âPraying Mantisâ got him some airplay as well. Did he see himself more as a soul singer, a songwriter, a bassist or producer? What are the secrets to being a strong producer? What happened when Nirvana asked him about producing Nevermind? Dixon has enough great stories and insights to fill two episodes. This is the first.
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William Bell is a soul legend who scored an early hit for Memphisâs Stax Records with 1961âs âYou Donât Miss Your Waterâ and wrote and sang such much-covered classics as âI Forgot To Be Your Lover,â âEverybody Loves a Winnerâ and âEvery Day Will Be Like a Holiday.â He and Booker T. Jones co-wrote Albert Kingâs âBorn Under a Bad Sign,â and Bell vividly recalls the story behind that one. He also recounts his friendship with Otis Redding and how Reddingâs death, followed by Martin Luther King, Jr.âs assassination, affected him, Memphis and beyond. At age 84, Bell continues to make music, releasing the Grammy-winning album This Is Where I Live in 2017 and One Day Closer to Home last year. His voice and writingâas well as his wit and memoryâremain impressively strong.
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We were devastated to hear of Steve Albiniâs death at age 61 of a heart attack. He was a titanic figure in the music world and a mensch among musicians who were not well known yet were able to book time with one of the industryâs most supportive, talented engineer/producers. Albini spoke with us for back-to-back Caropop episodes posted in January 2022. The first took place in his Electrical Audio studio on Chicagoâs North Side and dug into analog vs. digital technology and preservation. The second was conducted over Zoom and zoomed in on his work with Nirvana and his refusal to take artist royalties. Weâre combining these two conversations into a supersized episode so we can revisit his fierce intelligence and stubborn integrity. We wish we could hear more from him.
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I spoke with Grant Achatz, one of the world's most talented, creative and thoughtful chefs, as his 50th birthday and his Chicago restaurant Alinea's 19th anniversary approached. He has received just about every possible accolade for a chef, including multiple James Beard awards, Alinea being named the country's best restaurant, and three Michelin stars being awarded to Alinea every year since 2011. Early in this spectacular run, he successfully fought stage 4 cancer of the tongue through innovative treatments at the University of Chicago. Yet despite all he has accomplished and been through, including the pandemic-time transition of Alinea to a carryout restaurant, he keeps restlessly pushing forward. What might the next culinary revolution look like, and how can he be at its forefront? Why does he wish Alinea were more like a rock band?
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Madeleine Peyroux started her career busking on the streets of Paris and earned comparisons to such heroes as Billie Holliday and Bessie Smith as she broke through with the 2004 album Careless Love. Twenty years later, she is soon to release her ninth studio album, Letâs Walk, for which she, for the first time, co-wrote all of the songs. In this no-holding-back conversation, she reflects on her beginnings (the 1939 movie musical Gulliverâs Travels plays a role), her creative growth and her struggles to process the current state of our world artistically and otherwise. How does she feel about the only job she's ever had? Is she cool with turning 50 this month? How does she co-write? Does she feel compelled to communicate empathy now? Is she part of the problem or solution?
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Bruce Botnick engineered the first five Doors studio albums and produced the last one that featured Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. He also co-produced Forever Changes, the brilliant 1967 album from Doorsâ L.A. contemporaries Love, and engineered some of the Beach Boysâ Pet Sounds. Botnick continues working on Doors releases, including Rhinoâs new Record Store Day entry Live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, September 20, 1968. He tells of how these performances, which feature the Doors at peak power, were recorded and recently discovered. He also reflects on the bandâs dynamic, the reason the album version of "Light My Fire" is slow and flat, what prompted producer Paul Rothchild to leave the L.A. Woman sessions and the contrasting approach that Botnick took on the project. What was it like working with such unpredictable geniuses as Morrison, Arthur Lee (Love) and Brian Wilson?
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Many Caropop guests are looking back on amazing careers, but Niko Kapetan of Friko is on the cusp of one. His Chicago-based bandâs debut album, Where weâve been, Where we go from here, has been garnering raves and airplay while its live shows wow audiences with their intense energy and dynamism. Kapetanâs voice and songsâand the band, anchored by his Evanston high school classmate Bailey Minzenberger on drumsâcover a broad musical and emotional range: delicate and fragile one moment, fierce and roaring the next. Having returned from a whirlwind South by Southwest trip (with Lollapalooza to follow this summer), Kapetan recalls how he started learning instruments, forming bands and developing his unique approach to songwriting before a major indie label, ATO, liked what it heard and signed Friko. He's got a lot going on. Where do they go from here?
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Bruce Sudano had co-written the Tommy James & the Shondells 1969 hit âBall of Fireâ and played keyboards in the bands Alive âN Kickinâ and Brooklyn Dreams by the time he met Donna Summer. The two of them clicked professionally and personally and soon were co-writing the smash title track and other songs for Summerâs blockbuster 1979 album, Bad Girls. They also co-wrote Dolly Partonâs #1 country hit âStarting Over Again,â based on his parents, and continued collaborating throughout a marriage that lasted until her 2012 death from lung cancer. Since then, he has rebooted his own career, recording several albums, including the new Talkinâ Ugly Truth, Tellinâ Pretty Lies. Sudano takes us from his mentorship with Tommy James through his life with arguably the disco eraâs greatest artist, for whom he and his daughters recently accepted a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. Toot-toot! Beep-beep! (Photo by Amy Waters)
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Cicely Balston won the 2023 Music Producerâs Guildâs Mastering Engineer of the Year Award, and when you hear the music she has masteredâand the smart, easygoing way she discusses itâyou understand why. Working out of AIR Studios in London, Balston has applied her talents to the doom-punk band Witch Fever and David Bowieâs back catalog, as well as some dynamite-sounding hip-hop reissues for the Vinyl Me, Please record club, including Eric B. & Rakimâs Donât Sweat the Technique, Gravediggazâs 6 Feet Deep, and Madlibâs Shades of Blue. How did this young British woman become an ace hip-hop masterer, and do those albums require a specific skill set? Are people too fixated on analog vs. digital? How did she become a mastering engineer anyway, and what's the most commonly misunderstood aspect of what she does? (Photo by Silvia Gin.)
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If you love music, you have loved recordings mastered by Greg Calbi. Ever hear that Bruce Springsteen album Born To Run? He mastered that and has thoughts about how it turned out. He also tells of working with, among others, John Lennon, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson and Todd Rundgren. This legendary engineer has mastered classic albums by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Talking Heads, Supertramp, R.E.M., Paul Simon and the Strokes. More recently he won a Grammy for his work with Kacey Musgraves and mastered new albums by the Smile and MGMT. He shares decadesâ worth of insights into how he makes great music sound even better. Whatâs his mastering philosophy? How does he give digital recordings the warmth of analog? And when did he get chills upon realizing he was one of the first people to hear a classic album? (Photo by Andrew Lipovsky.)
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Slim Jim Phantom is the Stray Catsâ drummer, host of âSlim Jimâs Rockabilly Raveupâ on Little Stevenâs Underground Garage and a cool-cat storyteller. He takes us through the Stray Catsâ formation, with bassist and elementary school classmate Lee Rocker and singer-guitarist Brian Setzer, and their early days as a ârockabilly bar bandâ playing New York clubs like CBGB before they relocated to London. The band had recorded two British albums by the time a U.S. label released the compilation Built for Speed, which, powered by the hit singles âRock This Townâ and âStray Cat Strut,â turned the Stray Cats into unlikely early â80s stars. Why did the band split after the follow-up albumâand reunite after solo projects? Whatâs happening with the Stray Cats now? And who is on Phantomâs rockabilly Mount Rushmore?
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That tap-tap, tap-tap at the beginning of âBlister in the Sunâ may be one of rockâs most air-drummed fills, and former Violent Femmes drummer Victor DeLorenzo explains how the song's indelible intro came to be. He shares many more stories about this Milwaukee band, including the nameâs origin, the invention of his tranceaphone and the jaw-dropping tale of how the Pretenders discovered Violent Femmes busking outside the theater and invited the trio to open for them that night. Violent Femmesâ instant-classic self-titled debut sounded like nothing else, the third album was produced by Talking Headsâ Jerry Harrison, and after five studio albums, DeLorenzo had had enough. He tells of his ongoing acting career that included a tryout for Brian De Palmaâs The Untouchables, his reaction to the "Blister" Wendy's ad and his up-and-down relationship with his former bandmates.
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As Rhino Recordsâ senior director for A&R, Patrick Milligan oversees ambitious packages such as the Joni Mitchell archival series; deluxe releases from Warner Music Group artists such as the Ramones, the Doors and Crosby, Stills & Nash; and the recently launched, limited-edition High Fidelity vinyl series. That last one, which features audiophile pressings mastered by recurrent Caropop guest Kevin Gray, has included acclaimed versions of the Carsâ debut album, which sold out, and Televisionâs Marquee Moon, which Television guitarist Richard Lloyd discussed here last week. Milligan shares his reaction to the praise and pushback these releases receive, explains the selection process of the High Fidelity titles, previews upcoming albums, and tells of how the company and business have changed during his two stints at Rhino. Is his job a crate-diggersâ dream?
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If you ranked rock's great two-guitar tandems, Television's Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine would be at or near the top. Verlaine was the poetic songwriter, idiosyncratic singer and improvisatory guitarist, but Television would not have been Television without Lloydâs dazzling counterpunches and composed solos that take melodic leaps no one could anticipate. Television launched the mid-1970s art-punk scene at the grungy East Village club CBGB and produced arguably the greatest album from that era, Marquee Moon. How did the band capture such combustible magic in songs like âSee No Evilâ and the epic title track? Why did Television make only two more studio albums, and why was Lloyd dissatisfied with each? Why did Jimi Hendrix punch out a teenage Lloyd? What impact did drugs and alcohol have on Lloydâ? How did he wind up making more great music with Matthew Sweet? And how did he feel when Television moved on without him? Was he in touch with Verlaine before the Television leader died a year ago?
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Cheers ended its 11-year TV run in 1993, yet on the Emmy Awards in January, George Wendt showed up as his old character, Norm, and drew laughs and, yes, cheers. Even 31 years later, everybody knows his name. Wendt discusses his beginnings at Chicagoâs Second City, including his firing and rehiring there. How did that ensemble work prepare him for Cheers? How did the seriesâ energy change when Kirstie Alley replaced Shelley Long? Was the Saturday Night Live episode he co-hosted with Francis Ford Coppola the weirdest one ever? How did he wind up in those âDa Bearsâ sketches and in Michael Jacksonâs âBlack or Whiteâ video? How did he enjoy his roast hosted by his nephew, Jason Sudeikis? Pull up a stool and grab a beer, because Wendt has stories to tell.
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Brendan Cantyâs work in Fugazi established him as one of rockâs great drummers, but this thoughtful, multitalented artist has done much more than that. Rooted in Washington, D.C., Canty played with the hardcore bands Deadline, Rites of Spring, Happy Go Licky and One Last Wish before Fugazi, Deathfix afterward, and he currently is stretching out his jazz-punk chops in the instrumental trio Messthetics. Heâs also a soundtrack composer and filmmaker, having directed documentaries featuring Eddie Vedder, Wilco and others. Here Canty takes us deep into the music, where exploration and improvisation bang up against structure. He tells the story of Fugazi, from the breakout song âWaiting Roomâ and intense touring through the bandâs 2003 âindefinite hiatus.â And he explains how a big reunion wouldâor would notâjibe with Fugaziâs values.
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Our Colin Moulding conversation picks up with XTC working in Woodstock, N.Y., on what would become one of their most beloved albums, Skylarking. Moulding appreciated that producer Todd Rundgren chose to include five of his songs, though the recording experience was a bit of a minefield. XTC built on its newfound momentum with Oranges & Lemons, a bright, lively album that features Mouldingâs hit single âKing for a Day.â Moulding continued to be a keen observer of everyday life, but financial issues plagued the making of Apple Venus Volume 1 and Wasp Star and precipitated Dave Gregoryâs departure. Moulding reveals what prompted his final split from singer-songwriter Andy Partridge as well. Moulding has since reunited, briefly, with original XTC drummer Terry Chambers as TC&I, and he continues to make music in the bandâs collective hometown of Swindon, England. Might the four of them ever share a stage, a studio or just a night out again?
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Bassist Colin Moulding wrote, played on and sang some of the XTCâs greatest songs, including the breakthrough singles âLife Begins at the Hopâ and âMaking Plans for Nigelâ plus âTen Feet Tall,â âGenerals and Majors,â âRunaways,â âBall and Chain,â âWonderlandâ ⊠and those are just in the period covered in Pt. 1 of this fun, insightful conversation. Speaking from his home outside Swindon, England, Moulding tells of his musical beginnings; his and the bandâs evolutionary leap when guitarist Dave Gregory joined for Drums and Wires; the weird vibes as Moulding, and not primary singer-songwriter Andy Partridge, was writing the bandâs early hits; his reaction to the abrupt end of XTCâs touring days; the jaw-dropping moment when drummer Terry Chambers quit; the joyous psychedelic side project, the Dukes of Stratosphear; and that time David Gilmour asked him to replace Roger Waters in Pink Floyd.
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