Podcast appearances and mentions of robert sledge

"Face Of 68" The Connecticut-born Peter Holsapple isn't hiding his age--his new album Face Of 68 proudly blares it in its title and though the 68 is representative of his current chronology, like our old friend Billy Bragg, he knows that number is a temporary thing and another waits in front of it. So, to honor this moment in his life, Holsapple's third solo album is a celebration of a year in a man's life and it couldn't sound more life-affirming. The d.B.'s frontman, whose output with that beloved outfit include classics like Stand For Decibels and Like This remain timeless classics, is one of music's busiest characters. Here's a quick and partial glance at his rock and roll resume': In the late-'80s, he was a full-time fifth member of R.E.M., He was an auxillary member of Hootie and the Blowfish for nearly 30 years, he was in the indie pop supergroup the Continental Drifters with members of The Bangles, The Dream Syndicate and The Cowsills, and he's currently playing with The Paranoid Style, the reformed d.B.'s and solo shows on his own. Holsapple's Face Of 68 is one of 2025's very best; a smoldering batch of songs that are filled with jangle, shimmer and stomp, Holsapple and his power trio of Robert Sledge of the Ben Folds Five and Rob Ladd of The Connells, play with confidence and nerve. This is a dynamic album with heavy grooves, pop hooks and melodic muscle and the fact of the matter is The Face Of 68 has never sounded better. www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com) Stereo Embers: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com (mailto:editor@stereoembersmagazine.com) IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast

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 of the album, touring, his continued work as a member of The Paranoid Style, and some candid, honest talk reflecting on his lifestyle in the past and his outlook on life and love these days. Stay tuned for a second talk with the one and only Peter Holsapple.Photo by Bill Reeves.My first talk with Peter from June 2024 is also available here.Save on Certified Pre-Owned ElectronicsPlug has great prices on refurbished electronics. Up to 70% off with a 30-day money back guarantee!Find or Sell Guitars and Gear at ReverbFind great deals on guitars, amps, audio and recording gear. Or sell yours! Check out Reverb.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Thanks for listening to Frets with DJ Fey. You can follow or subscribe for FREE at most podcast platforms.And now, Frets is available on YouTube. There are a lot of fun extras like videos and shorts and audio of all episodes. Subscribing for FREE at YouTube helps support the show tremendously, so hit that subscribe button! https://www.youtube.com/@DJFey39 You can also find information about guitarists, bands and more at the Frets with DJ Fey Facebook page. Give it a like! And – stay tuned…

For Ben Folds, coming back on the scene with a new studio album feels like a breeze, literally:“I Feel like the expectations are lowered but I have the wind on my back”.In June 2023 Ben releases What Matters Most, his fifth studio album and his first in over six years, almost an ice age in today's breathless music biz. But part of the reason and the joy it has taken him so damn long to make, is a focus on the craft that is part of Folds' raison d'être as a musician some three decades into a professional career.“I have carried a tradition of craft, that is not easily come by, in an era when it was always going away, until now” It might sound cocky to say that this is a lesson in songwriting but I dunno, it is.”This is coming from someone who in the past decade has committed part of his career to promoting and campaigning for better music education. Come to think of it, a conversation with Ben Folds is a music education class in itself. His role as music scholar and teacher is now part of his legacy but his contribution to music is easily underestimated. For starters he sandblasted a music scene that in the mid-90s was dominated by grunge, Britpop and pretty soulless boy & girl band pop. And he did it with a fucking piano. Aided and abetted of course by belting bass (Robert Sledge) and drums (Darren Jessee) combo that made up Ben Folds Five - a refreshingly guitar-free rock band. After the trio disbanded following the usual music industry roller coaster ride (a familiar story beautifully told in Fold's 2019 book A Dream About Lightning Bugs) Folds went solo - sometimes quite literally. He made ‘sustainable touring' a thing, by going on the road with himself and a piano. That's something now essential for bands in the mid-tier - the so called “working class musician” - to tour with a minimalist set up. Fold's truly took to it - improvising and bantering with the audience - even creating a song (Bitches Ain't Shit) that became a sort of regrettable classic. He found the experience scary but took his inspiration from James Booker. “I was playing standing places - rock venues. I was shaking in my boots the first time I went out on tour like that, but I felt the need to do it”.Folds is a pioneering independent artist. He called the creative shots even when first signed to a major label imprint with Ben Folds Five. He paid for vinyl masters to some of his albums knowing full well it would come out of his royalty account. He was an early adopter of the direct to fan model with his Patreon site, recently expanded to include a private Discord channel. It's very much the modern fan-centred business model for up & coming artists these days. Through it all, Folds is one of those artists that can always rely on the ability to write a song. It's something that has seen him through the thick & thin years as he transitioned from a band to a solo career and then later as he expanded into soundtracks and orchestral works.That songcraft is firmly intact on What Matters Most on songs such as Back To Anonymous, Winslow Gardens and Kristine From the 7th Grade. But Folds can strategize the biz side too these days, and his plan is to make this new album an event. “I know we're making movies in a way when we make records but I wanted to make a record that you could date on all counts. The event is powerful, because you are either expressing an ideal, a design - or you are expressing an event”. Support the showGet more related content at: https://www.songsommelier.com/

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A visit to the hit-factory this week as Waits produces one of his most commercial and accessible tracks to date, picked over and compared to the documentaries of the 1930s by Heath and Robert Sledge (plus the usual two goons). Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Downtown Train, Rain Dogs, Tom Waits (1985) Night Mail, Poem from GPO Film Unit documentary “Night Mail”, W.H. Auden/Benjamin Britten (1936) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly.

Bill takes the weekend off, leaving the program in Brian's questionable hands. But he recruits solo artist, bandleader, and Yarnspinners Podcast maestro Brian Rothenbeck () to be the guest co-host. Together, the two Brians and special guest Jay Gogel (of The Adventuring Party) dig deep into Ben Folds Five's final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (1999, 550 Music). Brian recalls a sad breakup that echoes "Don't Change Your Plans," while Rothenbeck recounts his futile attempts to turn his old Sam Goody customers on to the music of The Promise Ring. Gogel breaks down the level of difficulty of some of Ben Folds' music while all three marvel at the writing contributions of drummer Darren Jessee and Moog-playing of bassist Robert Sledge. All this and more as we break this lost classic down track by track!

How could a band that came to be in the heart of the 1990s alt-rock spell find a footing adn a following without a guitar player? That's what Ben Folds Five did, and the band's reputation continues to remain in good standing despite just one album released from the group in the past 15 years. Folds himself has put out plenty of music, much of it esteemed. Chip Patterson, sportswriter at CBS Sports and a Ben Folds Five freak, joins host Matt Norlander to gab about a group that still clearly has plenty left to say. Darren Jessee, Robert Sledge and Ben. Let the trio play on. Ben Folds Five fans are proudly anti-emo but geeky in their own right at the same time. For those of y'all that wear fannypacks: come on. Give it a listen.

Ben Folds, Darren Jessee and Robert Sledge, known collectively as Ben Folds Five, sit down in person with Simon and Brian for a special edition of Sodajerker on Songwriting. In this audio version of the video podcast, the band talk about the writing of songs like 'Brick', 'Battle of Who Could Care Less', 'Philosophy', 'Steven's Last Night in Town' and songs from their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind, such as 'Do it Anyway', 'Sky High' and 'Michael Praytor, Five Years Later'.

Ben Folds, Darren Jessee and Robert Sledge, known collectively as Ben Folds Five, sit down in person with Simon and Brian for a special edition of Sodajerker on Songwriting. In this video podcast, the band talk about the writing of songs like 'Brick', 'Battle of Who Could Care Less', 'Philosophy', 'Steven's Last Night in Town' and songs from their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind, such as 'Do it Anyway', 'Sky High' and 'Michael Praytor, Five Years Later'.