CHIP CHATS

Nation of Language's debut album, Introduction, Presence, was released shortly after the world went into lockdown. At the time, with no end in sight (ie - no touring to promote the album), the trio - Ian Devaney, Aidan Noell, and Michael Sue-Poi - went to work recording a second album. Released in November 2021, A Way Forward, is a truer sound and reflective of what the band has been going through since 2020. While Ian has spoken extensively about the songwriting process and the songs, I decided to chat more about touring as Nation of Language will be spending quite a bit of time on the road in 2022.

Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens recently collaborated with The String Revolution to honor Randy Rhoads' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by covering the Ozzy Osbourne song, "Crazy Train." It's a unique twist on the heavy metal classic involving string players and Stevens' Flamenco guitar work.  In this conversation, Stevens shares how he got involved with the project, what the early '80s were like living and playing music in New York City, making new music with Billy Idol, working with Ozzy and Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath, who he considers to be today's guitar heroes, Billy Idol's tour with Journey and whether or not he'll be part of the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack.  Listen to The String Revolution featuring Steve Stevens cover of "Crazy Train":  https://orcd.co/tsrsscrazytrain Learn more about Steve Stevens: https://www.stevestevensguitar.com/ Learn more about The String Revolution: https://thestringrevolution.com/

We were all surprised to learn of the passing of Bob Saget on January 9, 2021. Bob played America's dad as Danny Tanner on Full House and was a well-respected comedian whose stand-up performances are legendary. In 2019, I started a podcast at my day job where I asked employees to share personal stories with me. One of my co-workers, Jeff D'Anza, came on my podcast to share a story about meeting Bob Saget at a college bar. It's really a great story and one that left Jeff with a great memory.

What more can you say about the guitar legend Zakk Wylde? Zakk got his start playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band in the late '80s before forming Black Label Society in 1998. BLS will be releasing their 11th studio album, Doom Crew Inc., on November 26. I had a chance to chat with Zakk about some of the new songs, touring, taking time off the road during the pandemic, making videos, meeting fans, New York Yankee great Thurman Munson and more. http://blacklabelsociety.net/

Always great to chat with Aaron Perrino (The Sheila Divine, Dear Leader) about what he's working on. Aaron teamed up with Steven Lord (The Dirty Bangs) on a new project called Aaron and the Lord. The duo, with help from Tanya Donelly (Belly), Mike Bethmann, and Paul Kolderie, released their debut, self-titled, album in October and it's available on all the streaming services.  In this chat, we talk about how the duo got together, what the guys listened to during the pandemic, what it was like working with Tanya and much, much more. https://aaronthelord.bandcamp.com/