Music Life Radio

We speak to director and producer Corbett Redford of the documentary TURN IT AROUND: THE STORY OF EAST BAY PUNK which spans over 30 years of the California Bay Area’s punk music history with a central focus on the emergence of Berkeley’s inspiring 924 Gilman Street music collective. Narrated by Iggy Pop and executive produced by Green […]

Johnny Truant is the vocalist for the band The Truants, a self-described “SAN FRANCISCO BASED POST-PUNK/WEIRDO ROCK BAND. WE ARE QUEER, DARK AND CONFRONTATIONAL, YET MOTIVATED BY THE JOY OF ROCK N ROLL. WE WILL MAKE YOU DANCE. WE WILL MAKE YOU SWEAT. WE WILL MAKE YOU QUESTION YOUR SEXUALITY.” Johnny talks with MLR’s Erik Core about […]

Frank Castro spent time in prison where he helped start an inmate-run music program. The power of music helped to change his life around by giving him something to care about, and other positive events soon followed.  Soon after he gets clean, earns an AA degree, and becomes a drug and alcohol counsellor. Frank is […]

He Who Cannot Be Named has been playing punk rock for over 25 years, most of that time with the punk rock band “Dwarves”. An original member of this San Francisco based combo, he wrote or cowrote many of their songs, was voted guitarist of the year by Flipside Magazine in 1991, but he is […]

Tia Carroll is a singer from Richmond, California, and has been performing the blues, R&B, and soul music for many years. She has often been compared to legendary female singers Tina Turner, Koko Taylor, and Aretha Franklin but she still has her own unique style and sound. She can often be found playing festivals and […]

Chris Korp sits down with Music Life Radio’s Erik Core to discuss the “legend” of the band Slackbone. Slackbone was a Bay Area punk rock band formed by a group of baggage handlers, after purchasing instruments from their local music shop who was holding a going out of business sale. The first incarnation featured Wayner (lead vocals),  […]

Ben Bongers (an opera tenor featured in Opera Stories: Ben Bongers – MLR 051) returns to Music Life Radio and speaks with Erik Core about his adventures while performing in China. The winner of Chinese Idol (yes, the Chinese version of American Idol) had heard Ben singing in San Francisco and wanted him to come to […]

Timekode is the solo project of a maverick of a woman called DENI. Deni is a Producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, video artist, record company owner & author. Deni received a bass guitar from Marc Bolan (T.Rex) as a kid, and started off playing bass and singing in more traditional bands (Wildfire, the Lulu Boys, Mistress), […]

Stephen Carter-Hicks is a classically trained singer who found his calling in the world of cabaret.  Starting his career in show business through his talents as a wig and hair master, he worked on Broadway productions such as Tommy but soon found himself on the stage in performances like Cats.  He found his passion in cabaret performance […]

 Stephen Carter-Hicks is a classically trained singer who found his calling in the world of cabaret.  Starting his career in show business through his talents as a wig and hair master, he worked on Broadway productions such as Tommy but soon found himself on the stage in performances like Cats.  He found his passion in cabaret performance […]

David Denny is a guitar maestro, singer, songwriter and recording engineer.  He was a founding member of the 60’s psychedelic band Frumious Bandersnatch, went on to play guitar in the Steve Miller Band  on and off for several years (writing one of the band’s hit’s with the song “The Stake” (Nobody Loves You Like the […]

Kevin Allison is the host of RISK! – a live show and podcast “where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share”.  We found about this podcast and started binge listening to every episode. It’s a great mix of hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking stories that feature a range of people including famous comedians, to […]

Jem Godfrey is an Ivor Novello Award winning, BAFTA nominated musician and composer. He wrote and/or produced numerous top 10 hits with various pop acts during the 2000s and also scored four number 1 records across the world, spending a combined total of 8 weeks at the top of the UK charts alone. Most recently […]

Danny Lobell is a standup comedian, and host of Modern Day Philosophers podcast. He was the host and founder of the influential Comical Radio show, the first comedy podcast started in 2004 which interviewed hundreds of comedians. In 2012, Danny closed the doors on the program and moved to L.A to grow as a comedian. We […]

 “Disco” Donnie Lemmon, a veteran of the NW music scene, and founding member of “the Hardcount” “Guns of Nevada” and “Jack the Hotrod”. He is also in “Creedence Rising”, a tribute band to Creedence Clearwater Revival, and has branched out into a solo project called “LEMMON”.  MLR Producer Dan Sauter grew up in Kent WA […]

MLR talks to Singer/songwriter duo Mat Dauzat and Heather St. Marie, aka Dauzat St. Marie who have just released their debut EP “Falling Again”  We talk to the pair about growing up in Louisiana, forming their band Hydrovibe, the move to Los Angeles, and about the trials and tribulations of working musicians in this digital age. […]

Tracy Nelson is a singer who has a voice as deep as any mountain, and a soul as wide as any river. Most well known for her role in folk rock band Mother Earth from San Francisco, she harvests a rich history in rock, blues, and country, and is one of our treasured American assets. […]

Marco Thiede is the author of “Human Punk For Real”, the auto-biography about his discovery of punk rock music, and how it shaped his life.  Marco grew up in Germany and describes his experiences  from the late 1970’s until today, where he has relocated to from Germany to Vallejo, California. He continues to travel back to England, and his […]

 Speed Vincent from the modern rock band SilverTung is on the show. SilverTung have recently released a new version of their song “Never Too Late”, produced by David Ivory and mastered by Ted Jensen, and it just hit the Billboard mainstream rock charts!  We talk to Speed about how he got into music, how he […]

Ginger Coyote started the fanzine Punk Globe in July 1977, which started as photocopied pages but soon went to print media, and the magazine continues to this day in an online format.  She is also the singer in the punk band White Trash Debutantes which debuted in 1989. We talk to Ginger about her punk […]

Steve Ricablana is well known as the bass player for the seminal San Francisco punk band VKTMS. The band formed in 1978, and no other band played the fabulous Mabuhay Gardens more than the VKTMS, but after a stalled attempt to get on a record label in the early 80’s, the VKTMS split up and […]

An interview with Ryan Camarda (filmmaker) and Kevin MacLeod (composer) about the making film about a composer whose music has been used in many, many, many videos. Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod is a documentary about one composer and millions of videos. The film will discuss the vast reach of composer Kevin MacLeod and his […]

Come celebrate with co-producers Dan Sauter, Erik Core, and Josh Almond on 100 episodes of Music Life Radio. We talk about what inspired us to start the podcast, how we find people to interview, and tell lots of inside and behind-the-scenes stories about many of the episodes from our past. We talk with some old […]

  Al Lujan is a film-maker working on “CLN/SBR/PNX –True Stories of Chaos, Redemption, Hope and Punk Rock”, a documentary on sober punks, mostly musicians who share their experiences staying clean and sober in an environment that is not conducive to it. Erik Core talks to Al about his passion for punk rock, his road to recovery, and […]

Glen Harris is a radio producer and award winning broadcaster for 1340 AM KWLE (The Whale) in Anacortes, WA.  We talk to Glen about the art of radio production, engineering, and broadcasting, and his love for voice over work.  We also hear many stories from his bass playing days in bands such as Otis Elevator […]

Chris Wade is an author, songwriter, and primary architect of Dodson and Fogg, a progressive folk recording project featuring an impressive lineup of musicians that help showcase his songwriting talents. He is the author of several nonfiction books about the music of Black Sabbath, The Incredible String Band, and the Kinks among others, and several fiction […]

David Snowden of David Snowden Promotions, Inc. which does management and marketing of fan clubs, merchandise, license deals, and promotion of entertainment artists, including graphic design work is our guest today on Music Life Radio.  David has worked with many artists including Kiss, Joan Jett, Vinnie Vincent, White Lion, Nelson, Vixen, Britny Fox, LA Guns, Icehouse, Y&T, […]

CJ is the soon-to-be new owner and proprietor of Winter’s Tavern in Pacifica, CA.  Winter’s website tagline “No, Really, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC!” is no lie, they feature independent, original live music acts weekly. It’s the new happening spot in the Bay Area to catch some great live music, and kick back to some […]

Matt Stevens is a musician and composer from North London. An instrumental artist, he uses an acoustic guitar and sampler to create multi layered tracks live. This is often called Live Looping. His music has been described as “a guitar orchestra”. He plays live all over the UK and listens to Sonic Youth, Carcass, Nick […]

Ralph Spight is a master guitarist, singer-songwriter, and best known for his work in the band’s Victim’s Family, The Freak Accident, and Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. After taking a guitar lesson from Ralph, Erik Core interviews him about his bands, approach to music, working with Jello Biafra, stories from the road, […]

The band Gunpowder talks about their third album, Songs of the Resistance, out now and available for free on their website.  Music Life Radio’s own Dan Sauter and Erik Core, aka Doc Sauter (Guitar) and Major Erik Core (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar), along with Pancho Lamonte (Drums), and Al Yippikayda (Bass) sit down to a round […]

Carlos Daniel Ayala aka Carlos Guitarlos is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player extraordinaire. He picked up the guitar at age 10 back in 1960 and started writing songs, and has written over 7,000 and counting. He was the guitarist for Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, a well known L.A. scene club band back in the 80’s, […]

Carlos Daniel Ayala aka Carlos Guitarlos is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player extraordinaire. He picked up the guitar at age 10 back in 1960 and started writing songs, and has written over 7,000 and counting. He was the guitarist for Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, a well known L.A. scene club band back […]

Kyle and Carl are two aspiring artist from Phoenix Arizona looking to make a big impact on the music community. They are two cousins who have been working together on music for 5 years now devoting much time and effort into perfecting their craft and chasing their dreams. Taking pride in trying to spread a […]

Zen Tao-Journey Jimalric Stevensson-Zenith is a  musician, and guitar instructor from San Francisco. We talk to Zen about his upbringing in an “unschooled” household, his education at the Musician’s Institute, his musical career featuring his former band Please Do Not Fight, his work as a manager for the band Picture Atlantic, his podcasting work, and his […]

Greg Kihn is a rock and roll musician, author, radio personality, and podcast host. We chat with Greg about growing up in Baltimore, moving to the Bay Area and forming the Greg Kihn Band in the 70’s and how the band signed with Beserkley Records. We discuss his hits The Breakup Song, and Jeopardy, and how the music video for the […]

Clay Tarver is a guitarist, screenwriter, and author. We talk to Clay about his life, starting with both his bands Chavez and Bullet LaVolta, his work over at MTV, how he learned the art of screenwriting from J.J. Abrams and Mike Judge, about his love of working on smaller writing projects for newspapers, and about […]

 Thao P. Nguyen is a  Artist, Activist, and Academic. She just finished up a solo performance run of her show Fortunate Daughter at Berkeley’s Impact Theatre.  Erik Core talks to Thao about her training  in performance art and comedy, studying under comedy legend W. Kamau Bell, and winning his “W. Kamau Bell Solo Performance Black Belt,” a […]

 Zachary James is a songwriter and front man for the Zachary James and the All Seeing Eyes band. We talk with Zachary and fellow band and soul mate Alexandra Starlight.   Zachary James started his rock career in the Thunderboys with Gearhead Records, but quickly moved on to his current project. Zachary’s influences verge on his interstellar […]

James Tracy is an author, activist, community organizer, and former singer with the Bay Area band Space Masons.  MLR’s Erik Core talks with James about his musical past, his current organizing efforts, and his latest book (co-authored with Amy Sonnie) “Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times“. We also hear […]

Simon Godfrey is a prolific songwriter who has just released a solo album under the moniker Shineback entitled “Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed“, and is also known for his work in the band Tinyfish.  Simon ‘writes constantly to keep himself sane’, and is an accomplished studio engineer who has spent twenty years working around the […]

Thrash metal band Final Curse describes of their first tour, which turned out to be a spectacular disaster, but makes for a great story. Final Curse is Mike Plowman (vocals, guitar), Fernie ” Ferndog” Ortega (bass), Madison Stegall (lead guitar, vocals), and Brendon Blackwelder (drums). Final Curse is from Charlotte, NC. Formed in Summer 2006, and […]

Jerry Beisler is author of The Bandit of Kabul: Counterculture Adventures along the Hashish trail and beyond, a non-fiction, narrative history of the 1970s. Beisler also created and produced The Cutting Edge Television show from 1999-2006. The show won the Best Entertainment award for the Public Access Television in 2002, beating over 500 entries for the prize. Known as Jerry B in the […]

Update: 1/30/2015 – Eddie Bell aka Cookie Dough passed away on 1/29/2015 after a brief illness while getting ready to perform in Puerto Vallarta.  Read more about it here. Please visit the GoFundMe website to help raise money for medical, transportation, and funeral expenses.  You can see the amazing outpouring of love and comments on […]

Lynnee Breedlove (aka Lynn Breedlove) is a visionary who has long been shaping revolutionary art. Lynnee was the front-person of the first American out dyke punk band, Tribe 8, which promoted queer, transgender, multiracial, and working class visibility. Lynnee went on to become a notable solo performer, and toured the world with the one-person performance […]

Kyle Terrizzi is a San Francisco Bay Area singer songwriter who performs under the moniker The Plastic Arts. Kyle talks to Music Life Radio about his background, growing up in Tucson, AZ, his move to the Bay Area, and how he dealt with a serious bout of depression. We also discuss his musical achievements, including […]

Amy Rose, Doug Briney, and Josey Milner are all up and coming country music artists managed by Michael Stover of MTS Management group.  We listen to each artist tell their story in three separate mini profiles, and listen to songs from each one.   Amy Rose is a Canadian country powerhouse vocalist, who grew up in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, where she […]

Far I Shields is a singer, songwriter, artist, author, and green business entrepreneur.  Far I talks with Music Life Radio about his various bands including Sacred Journey, his current solo work, his Green Carpet cleaning business (BGreen4Life), and how he obtained his magical guitar for $5. We also listen to some live tracks performed at […]

Michael Starita is a lifelong musician with over 15 years of experience as an engineer and producer. He started his career at the famous Hyde Street Studios in the late 90s learning from many of the  Bay Area greats. Moving to EDNET, Starita had the pleasure of being the ISDN engineer for clients such as Rick Rubin, […]

Randy Walker is the vocalist for the band Carletta Sue Kay, where he takes on the persona of front woman Carletta, adopting the name of his cousin who served time for attempting to fire bomb her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. He has a four octave vocal range, and writes songs that are brilliantly moving, often humorous, and […]

Bucky Sinister is a poet, self-help author, and a comedian. He’s also a published journalist with focus on film reviews, and he’s written a few short stories. Erik Core interviews Bucky about his move from the mid-west to the Bay Area to hang out with the beat poets and punk rockers, his recovery from drugs and […]