March 5th, 2021
John Difruscio has been a nightclub and concert promoter in Providence since the early 80s. Starting as a radio DJ at Rhode Island College he's gone on to book shows at The Living Room and Confetti. He's also run venues such as Club Hell and Firehouse 13. In our interview we talk about the ups and downs of the music business from his experience and what he has planned in the future for the Askew and Alchemy... two clubs he co-owns with his wife Windsong Hadley.
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded February 15th, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 26th, 2021
Duke Robillard takes us through a bit of the history of Providence's record stores, plus a tip of the hat to the drinks of RI and his experience at The Guild, where he gets his pizza these days, and more about the overall love he has for his home state!
I do have to say that in my opinion this was probably Duke's favorite part of the interview. I'm so happy we got to reminisce about some of this stuff and I hope you enjoy!
Also included is a song from Duke's 2019 album Ear Worms. It's a cover of the Bob Dylan song "I Am A Lonesome Hobo" that features fellow Rhode Island Music Hall Of Famer, Mark Culter.
If you dig it, Ear Worms is available on both CD and blue vinyl on Duke's website!
// Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 19th, 2021
On this bonus episode, Duke Robillard talks about the value of a good music education, what you need as the core motivation to be a person in the arts, and a possible reason why playing guitar came to him so easily that's quite interesting!
Also, as you heard in Episode #29, Duke shared that the first release Roomful Of Blues ever did was a song of his called "Don't You Want To Roll With Me". They put this out as a 7" on their own label Room-Tone Records. It sold quite well and helped to further put the band on the map, so I wanted to share the song for you at the end of the episode. Enjoy
// Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 12th, 2021
Duke Robillard is literally one of the best blues guitarists in the world! (I'm not just saying that... he's got the awards to prove it)
In our interview he takes us back to the first time he heard music, how he taught himself to play guitar, plus the start of his many bands such as Roomful Of Blues and The Pleasure Kings, and all the way up to the records he's working on right now which is about 6 decades later.
Along the way, Duke has left his mark on what's coming close to 100 albums, been nominated for a couple of Grammys, and played with iconic musicians across many different genres including Big Joe Turner, Herb Ellis, Muddy Waters, Jay McShann, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits to name some for you... which we get into as well!
It was an honor to get to speak with Duke about his legendary career and I hope you enjoy the episode. Please make sure to pick up his latest album, "Blues Bash", which is available now as well as his extensive back catalog.
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded January 23rd, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 2nd, 2021
You may know Mike Jencks and Dan Pomfret as the frontmen for Toad and the Stooligans but with their new duo project, Ronald Raygun, they went with a different approach to writing and took a little inspiration from a 90s hip hop mixtape feel with the production. We dive into all of this in our interview, as well as learn more about both of their prolific solo careers.
Ronald Raygun's debut album comes out on all streaming platforms on Feb. 12th!!! You can pre-save it here and make sure to listen til the end of the episode to hear a premiere of their song "Anomaly"
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded January 22nd, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
December 30th, 2020
For those of you that may not be familiar with Blitzen... they are a band of reindeer that seem to magically appear every holiday season to play the Wayward Christmas event at The Parlour. In our conversation we cover some of their inspirations, the charity they're involved in and some of the others bands they've played in such as Reindeer Tick (their members have also been in Deers For Fears, Infectious Hooves and What Deer? Brigade)
Also included is the song "Christmas Eve" by Blitzen
This bonus episode was originally part of the Wayward Christmas 2020 virtual event to help raise funds to Save The Parlour. Please consider making a donation HERE
Watch the video version of this interview HERE
// Interview recorded December 12th, 2020 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey
// Edited by Mark Lambert & James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
December 24th, 2020
Gail Greenwood and I chat about being intimidated by rockstars when buying records, how great a certain pizza establish is... especially when they catered Belly's listening party for Dove at POP a few years back, her place to connect with nature, and it's possible I may have helped name her new dog!!!
Included at the end of this bonus episode is Benny Sizzler's song "Shed" from their 2017 EP Inaction In Action II
// Interview recorded November 16th, 2020 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
December 17th, 2020
Gail Greenwood passes along a bass playing technique that she learned from record producer, Glyn Johns, that he originally learned from Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones... which I have to say is pretty cool and she also shares an often overlooked way to interact with the world.
Since Belly has done quite a few television performances over the years on shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conon O'Brien and The Jon Stewart Show... I wanted to include a song from one of these performances to share this part of their career. At end of this bonus episode is Belly's song "Red" recorded in June of 1995 on The Jon Stewart Show (video credit: What's for afters?) for you all to enjoy!
// Interview recorded November 16th, 2020 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
December 10th, 2020
In our interview Gail Greenwood discusses her start at some local clubs in Providence with her band The Dames, as well as the unique practice spot Boneyard had, the serendipitous way she joined Belly, some of the logistics of playing in L7, and why her latest band, Benny Sizzler, got it's start. We cover a lot of things like such writing, recording and touring with these bands, and the long list of incredible artists she has shared the stage with!
Interlude song order:
The Dames live at Rocket Feb. 7th, 1987 (audio credit: Dream Authority Music)
"Toys Are For Boys" by Boneyard
"King" by Belly
"Stick To The Plan" by L7
"Rhode Island Dead" by Benny Sizzler
"Shiny One" by Belly
// Interview recorded November 16th, 2020 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
December 3rd, 2020
Lewis Morris shouts out the underdogs, shares a place to clear your head and a spot to have your creativity fostered on this bonus episode!
I've also included the track "Get A Job (feat. Slitty Wrists)" from Lewis' latest album "Don't Be Nice" available now!!!
// Interview recorded October 12th, 2020 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
