Frets with DJ Fey

In June of 2024, I talked with Peter Holsapple about the reissues of two classic albums by the dB’s – “Stands for Decibels” and “Repercussion”. I had the pleasure of talking to Peter again recently, this time about his soon to be released solo album, The Face of 68. The song you’re hearing, “Larger than Life” , is the first single from that album. It was great to catch up with Peter to hear about his very busy 2024, the recording o...

Paul Rappaport is an accomplished guitarist who first heard guitar when he was a kid in California, watching a live local TV show featuring country guitar players…a show that was broadcast from a huge L.A. car lot. He learned to play, fell in love with the instrument and by high school was playing in bands. While attending college at UCLA, Paul got a job offer. A very appealing offer from Columbia Records. The position sounded good...

Steve Wynn has released well over 30 albums during the last 25 years, with his bands The Dream Syndicate, Danny & Dusty, Gutterball, The Miracle 3, The Baseball Project and more with quite a few solo records in the mix.

He’s played over 2,000 shows in more than 25 countries and his songs have been recorded and/or performed by R.E.M., Luna, Concrete Blonde, The Black Crowes, Yo La Tengo and Eleventh Dream Day, among oth...

When Chuck Mead was a young boy, he and his sister moved with their parents to Lawrence, Kansas. He got a drum kit as a gift when he was 12, and soon after started playing in the family’s band. It was made up of his mom, his dad, his grandparents and uncles who played country and western, and Chuck would also sing songs by Carl Perkins and Elvis.

An uncle taught Chuck how to play guitar and by high school, he was playing ...

It was a wonderful experience talking with someone I've admired for so long. I love her songs, I love her voice. And she’s just incredibly cool. In additional to her solo work, there’s such a long list of great bands and artists she’s performed with.

A list that includes – Pat Benatar, The dB’s, The Del-Lords, Dave Alvin, The Golden Palominos, Marshall Crenshaw, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Wilco, Richard Thompson and many mor...

While growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a young Beth Bombara took piano lessons in grade school. By the time she was entering high school, she had  become interested in another instrument: her Mom’s electric guitar. She formed a punk band, Green Means Go, wrote some songs with her bandmates, and before long was playing for local audiences and gaining a loyal following. After attending college in both Michigan and Illinois, Beth...

The dB’s debut album Stands for Decibels was released in 1981, the album was praised by critics and over time, came to be loved by many fans who consider it a landmark power pop jangle classic. Stands for Decibels has now been reissued through Propeller Sound Recordings digitally and on CD, but also for the first time in the US on vinyl. My guest today on Frets is singer-songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist – t...

Brinsley Schwarz met Nick Lowe at school  in the 1960s. They played in various bands with different group names and different members. In 1969, the band took the name of their lead guitarist, Brinsley Schwarz. On their studio albums, all from the 1970s, the band was made up of Brinsley along with Bob Andrews, Nick Lowe and Billy Rankin, with the addition of Ian Gomm on guitar and vocals, starting with their third LP, Silver Pistol....

In 1968, St. Louis band The Aerovons were getting noticed in clubs around town. Still in high school, their leader and singer, Tom Hartman, was composing their songs. The band was being managed by Tom’s mother, Maurine. She was determined to see her son and his bandmates make it big. Tom was 16 years old when he, his band and his manager mom made their first pilgrimage to England with demos in search of a record deal. They signed w...

Rick Holmstrom has played guitar in and with many bands over the years, backing West Coast blues and soul bands including William Clarke, Smokey Wilson, Johnny Dyer and Booker T.  – He’s also enjoyed a very long run with the great Mavis Staples, who he’s touring with again this year. An amazing guitarist. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to talk with Rick.

Photo by Greg Vorobiov. Greg is also a guitarist and his pho...

You might know her from some of the bands she’s been in or collaborated with, Pink Slip Daddy,  The Friggs, Bubble Gun, Palmyra Delran and the Doppel Gang, The Coolies and more as well as her solo songs and albums. You also know her from her very fun and fantastic radio show Trash Pop Treasures on Little Steven’s Underground Garage. On the show today – the one and only Palmyra Delran.

Photo by Albert Mitchell

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A founding member of the profoundly influential band Television, Richard Lloyd has led a fascinating life. He covers a lot of that life in his book Everything Is Combustible: Television, CBGB’s and Five Decades of Rock and Roll: The Memoirs of an Alchemical Guitarist. In addition to his time with Television, he played on albums by Matthew Sweet and John Doe and has produced many albums. It was great, and a great honor to talk with ...

Tyler Armstrong grew up in Springfield, Illinois and as a young kid, started banging on pots and pans, developing a love for percussion. Through his parents, he was exposed to both Contemporary Christian music and also secular music. Through his older sister, he also heard a great mix of pop and punk. Tyler appreciated good music, no matter what the genre. His dad was into classic rock, which opened another musical window. He got a...

In the early 1980s, Rick Miller formed the first lineup of Southern Culture on the Skids. Rick had grown up dividing time between his father’s home in North Carolina and his mother’s home in California. Mary Huff, from Roanoke, Virginia was a cello major who also played bass guitar. Upon hearing that Rick’s band was looking for a replacement bass player, Mary joined and also recruited her long time friend Dave Hartman on drums. The...

Obeid Khan, founder of Khan Audio, has been building high quality recording audio devices since 1991. He’s the man behind St. Louis Music’s Ampeg revival and Vintage Club series,  Reason Amplifiers and the highly successful Magnatone revival. Throughout the years of his career as a guitar amplifier designer, Obeid has always had an appreciation for the recording medium and its tools. His love for music and the finest audio reproduc...

If you’ve either listened to, or experienced live performances by Midwest area bands including Stillwater, Waterloo, Magnolia Summer, Rough Shop and Cave States, you’ve heard music by Chris Grabau. Chris has composed songs and provided guitar work and vocals for all of those groups and his band Cave States is now in its tenth year of recording and performing. There’s also a long list of bands that he’s shared the stage with and als...

Before her family moved from the Philippines to California, a teenage June Millington heard a girl playing guitar at school. Soon after, June and her sister Jean were playing acoustic guitars and ukuleles at variety shows. Before long, they were playing in bands, now with electric guitars. After several personnel changes and band names, The Svelts and Wild Honey, they landed a recording contract.
They changed the band name to ...

After moving from the Chicago suburbs to St. Louis in the late ’80s, Adam Reichmann met Todd Schnitzer at Washington University. Both were wanting to form a band. They did just that, and the two became an early version of what would become Nadine, a group that would not only get a lot of attention in the Midwest, but in Europe as well. Nadine received critical acclaim from major music publications after releasing some very fine rec...

Over the last couple decades, Sarah Borges has built a loyal following, playing live shows and releasing several albums. Her first record, Silver City, was praised by NPR’s David Dye for showcasing “an unusual knack for mixing alternative rock with country” She stays very busy writing, recording and touring – but in early 2020, Sarah, like many musicians, became isolated from concert halls and even recording studios. Missing that a...