Interview: Chris Stein

The band Blondie got its start in the fertile mid-to-late 70’s New York City punk rock / New Wave scene, and went on to mainstream success with hits like “Heart of Glass”, “Rapture”, “Call Me”, “The Tide Is High”, “One Way or Another”, and “Dreaming”. They recently released their 11th album called Pollinator.

Along with singer Debbie Harry and drummer Clem Burke, guitarist Chris Stein has been with the band since the early days. He co-wrote some of the band’s best-loved songs including the aforementioned “Heart of Glass”, “Rapture”, and “Dreaming”, plus “In The Flesh”, “Rip Her To Shreds”, and “Fade Away and Radiate”.

This interview was for noozhawk.com for the 7/7/17 Blondie concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl, with co-headlining alt-rockers Garbage, and openers John Doe and Exene Cervenka from the band X. It was done by phone on 6/9/17. (Alexander Thompson photo)

Interview: Eric Andersen

Singer-songwriter Eric Andersen got his start over 50 years ago as a folk musician performing in the legendary venues of Greenwich Village and writing classic songs like “Thirsty Boots”, “Violets of Dawn”, and “Close the Door Lightly When You Go”. Since then his style evolved in various interesting directions, and many of his albums are highly acclaimed, including his 1972 album Blue River which is a somewhat hidden gem of the singer-songwriter genre.

Andersen has also intersected with many notable musicians and artists over the years, including Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Phil Ochs, and Townes Van Zandt. Aesop told us that “a man is known by the company he keeps,” and by that measure singer-songwriter Eric Andersen is clearly one cool dude!

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for Andersen’s concert at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on 4/22/17, as part of the Sings Like Hell concert series. It was done by phone on 4/7/17. (Paolo Brillo photo)

Concert Review: “13 Most Beautiful…” (Andy Warhol)

Review of “13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests” on 10/10/09 at Campbell Hall, UCSB

Concert Preview: “13 Most Beautiful…” (Andy Warhol)

Preview of “13 Most Beautiful … Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests” on 10/10/09