38 Special Co-Founders Don Barnes & Donnie Van Zant Continue Rockin’ Into the Night, Onstage and Off

BY MIKE METTLER — MAY 19, 2016

Rock is rock, no matter where it comes from and who’s playing it. Sure, certain sounds and styles will always get some kind of genre label attached to them, but it all really boils down to one thing: Does the music move you? “Obviously, we’re from the South […]

By |May 19th, 2016|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on 38 Special Co-Founders Don Barnes & Donnie Van Zant Continue Rockin’ Into the Night, Onstage and Off

Robert Cray on How He Goes Up the Mountain to Get the Richness of His Live Sound on Record

BY MIKE METTLER — AUGUST 26, 2015

It’s hard to believe, but the eternally youthful blues maestro Robert Cray is celebrating five decades of plying his craft with the imminent release of 4 Nights of 40 Years Live (Provogue) in various formats, including Blu-ray + 2 CDs, DVD + 2 CDs, and LP + digital […]

By |August 26th, 2015|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on Robert Cray on How He Goes Up the Mountain to Get the Richness of His Live Sound on Record

Pyromania Blues: Going Delta Deep With Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen

BY MIKE METTLER — JULY 29, 2015

Dave Grohl is often acknowledged as being the nicest, coolest/cheeriest guy in rock & roll, and while I can indeed confirm Messr. Grohl is (to use a technical term) an absolute mensch amongst mensches, I also happen to think Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen could give Dave a run for […]

By |July 29th, 2015|The SoundBard Interview|Comments Off on Pyromania Blues: Going Delta Deep With Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen

Mono a Mano: Retro King Nick Waterhouse on His Love of Vintage Vinyl & Mastering in Mono

BY MIKE METTLER

Call him The King of Retro Cool. You may have seen Nick Waterhouse wondering “where you think you’re gonna go/when your time’s all gone?” in the current Lexus CT Hybrid “Live a Full Life” commercial campaign, but his super-snazzy brand of modern jazzabilly rock extends well beyond that 30-second snippet. His second full-length […]

Tiers of Actual Sighs: Richard X. Heyman Puts The X in Songwriting & Pop Rocking Excellence

BY MIKE METTLER

Richard X. Heyman is a rock & roll lifer. I first became exposed to his indelible brand of garage pop on his 1990 solo album Living Room!! (Cypress), instantly falling for the hooks of “Union County Line” and “Local Paper.” (And, yes, I do have it on vinyl, folks.) Soon thereafter, I learned […]

Go Ahead and Spin It to Me: Benmont Tench Breaks Down Why He Loves Lucky on Vinyl

BY MIKE METTLER — MARCH 26, 2014

“I don’t want to stop anyone from getting the CD, but vinyl is the truest way to hear this record,” says Benmont Tench about his new solo album, You Should Be So Lucky (Blue Note). “When you have Glyn Johns [The Rolling Stones, Eagles, The Who] recording something […]