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Stay up to date on the latest in music with SoundUp with Mark Goodman and Alan Light. Join the SoundUp Pod Squad simply by liking our Facebook, following us on X and signing up for our weekly newsletter at SoundUpPod.com. This is SoundUp with Mark Goodman and Alan Light, the only music podcast that matters. Hey, I'm Mark Goodman. And I'm Alan Light. This week on SoundUp, Soul Asylum's Dave Purner joins us to talk about the band's new album, Slowly But Shirley. In music news, Garth Brooks is in trouble, Fleetwood Max producer sues Broadway's most acclaimed new play. Gaga plays a secret show and Taylor Swift officially becomes the world's richest female musician. All this, plus our new music picks of the week. But before we get into all of that on the show, the clock is ticking down to our first in person, podcast taping. SoundUp is headed to Cleveland for a live podcast taping from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Saturday, October 19th, the day of the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Join us, won't you, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from 10 a.m. to noon as we tape a special Rock Hall episode of SoundUp with special guests, maybe some Hall of Famers and with you, the SoundUp Pod Squad. Dozens of you have already connected with us to let us know that you're gonna be there. We hope to hear from more of you. - Gotta be nuts, SoundUp live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Saturday, October 19th, 10 a.m. Eastern. We hope to see you there. Email us and let us know if you're gonna come. Connect at sounduppod.com. All right, so we have a bunch of music news standing by, but we also, before we get into that, have a couple of concert reviews. I got to see for the first time, I'm continuing my, didn't get to see them back in the day concert series. - Making up for lost time tour. - That's what you gotta do. I never thought I was gonna be able to do this one, but amazing, and what is it about us that we had Soul Asylum, we got Soul Asylum, and I went to see Soul coughing together for their first shows, the original four guys, first shows in 25 years. They did several shows in Brooklyn, and they did one show in Manhattan, and that's the shortest tour I've ever heard of. I thought that there was going to be more dates elsewhere, but Mike Dody from stage last night said that that was the last show. Now, what's next? We do not know. We do know that the guys got together. They were happy to do so. They're all still friends. - Well, they have hated each other in the past. - They have, they have. So beyond these shows, no word of anything else. They all seemed, and from what I've heard from Mike Dody, just thrilled to be able to get up there and do this again, and to get back with these guys. And yes, there was some nasty moments in their history, but none of that was visible on stage. I always wondered what these guys would be like live, and I was not disappointed. The original band, and the fact that the original bass player doing an upright bass through the whole thing was so badass, and if you're a fan, you know that the bass is integral to every song. So each of the guys was focused, each of the guys got shouted out and had their moment, but just a great rock and roll show. There was, you know, 25 years since they were last playing together, I forgot a bunch of songs. But when they came up, I was like, "Oh man, and I forgot that one, that's a really cool one." And the matter of fact, "Bust to be Elzebub," which is what they opened with, I was like, "Oh damn, right, that's one of their biggest songs." And something I'll just mention because all of us here on the show are friends with Matt Pinfield. I called every friend that I had to get somebody to go with me to this show, nobody. I couldn't find anybody. I went to the show alone, but I texted Pinfield and said, "Damn it, if you were here, I know you would have gone." And he texted me right back. It was like, "Of course." - But was it, was it full up? - It was, I'd say, seven-eighths. The floor in this hall, it was Terminal 5, one of my least favorite venues on earth. - I hope I won't go to. - I know, and I, you know, there was two, it was P.J. Harvey just played there. And I wasn't able to make that show, but I would have. And this is another one is like, "Ah crap, okay, I'm gonna go." But yeah, it was just a great show. And the set list was everything that I could have hoped for. I did notice too, because I was looking at some of the other gigs. They usually wrapped the regular set with circles and then screenwriters blues among their biggest songs. But before that, they have a song called Janine. And for Janine, they brought out this woman, and of course I'm blanking on her name, but it's Mike Doherty's old girlfriend who was actually on the track on the album. And she was here for all of the New York shows to do her, you know, sort of a duet on that song. They did that one, and after that song, Mike Doherty comes up to the mic and he goes, "Okay, look, let's be honest here. "I'm just gonna tell you what's going on. "This what we're about to do here. "This is the song before the fake last song." And then we're gonna play that, and we're gonna intro the band, then we're gonna play the last song, and then we're gonna make like relieving. And you're going to invite us back, and we're gonna play two more songs. So just like putting it all out there on the table, and they did exactly that. I thought they were at least gonna, you know, feign walking off stage. But they just stayed there, they turned them, they're like tuning and talking to each other while everybody's applauding and everything. But it was great, and then they came back, and I know that they hadn't done this on a couple of nights in this area, and if there was one song that I wanted to see these guys do, it was Super Bon Bon, which thank God they did last night. They haven't done it every night. - And it's at the other shows, eh, it's interesting. - Yeah, I was surprised too. I mean, that's I think probably their best-known song. And at Pinfield and I were talking, we were both pissed that the radio play that these guys got was the propeller heads mix of that song, which was great, but the album version of Super Bon Bon is so good. And I think the band got kind of shafted on that. They missed out on the attention that they would have gotten. But I'd love to say, so check your local listings or go to the website, but it's all over. - Well, let's see. I mean, that had to be an experiment. - One would assume. - It's so long, and I think so long since they've been in a room together that. - Yeah, one would assume. But wouldn't you think, especially at the last night that he would say, well, God, this has been great. I wonder if we'll ever be able to do this again, or gee whiz, you know, wanna meet in the studio in a week? Something, but none of that happened, but you're right. I hope that this was an experiment that was successful. Love them, soul coughing, great. - So real quick, I went to check out a band that I think I've played, talked about, played maybe for some new music here, but had not seen before a group called the Red Clay Strays, big deal in the Americana community right now, who sold out a show at the Brooklyn Paramount last week, which is about 2700, about the size of the beacon, and a pretty impressive showing for these guys. You know, it's an interesting band. They've got three guitar players out front. So when they turn it on, they can do the skinner thing and go for the big rock thing. But I think the more interesting part of what they do is this kind of emo country. You know, it's a very old school, it's very throwback, but there's a different sort of vibe. You know, there's a lot of stuff they do that's like, yeah, you know, Whalen Jennings could do a song like that. And then they have a big song that's called, "I Just Wanna Be Loved." Like, yeah, Whalen's not singing that. Like, that's just not the thing. And so you get a really, it's, first of all, that they can draw as much as they, that it's as big, that stuff like this is as big as it is. And second of all, that the audience is as young as it is, is really interesting to me. I know I talked about this when I saw Zach Bryan. You don't think of music that sounds like that historically as young people's music, especially young people's music, like in New York City. But, you know, there were a lot of like groups of bro dudes with their arms around each other, like singing along and feeling it, which, you know, you haven't really seen since like prime springsteen shows. Like, it's got that kind of a thing to it. Singer's really interesting. It's sometimes evokes the sort of Chris Stapleton, like that sort of high, but Bronny sort of a vocal. He's got a little bit of an Elvis thing going. They did a, pulled off a pretty decent version of Ray Charles Drownen in my tears. Drowned in my own tears. Not an easy thing to take on and execute. So it's a, you know, they don't have a lot of material. It's two albums. It gets a little samey over the course of an evening. But there's a lot going on with these guys. And I think in that pocket of the Zack Brian and Chris Stapleton, and you know, that world, these are guys, if I mentioned from Mobile, Alabama, who I think will continue to grow. They had an opening slot on one of the nights of the Stones tour. And when they get out in front of people, I think we'll, you know, there's still space to go for them. But mostly I was struck by the audience and sort of what's happening within that space and that music in a playlist universe. And, you know, in a place where different feelings are coming across in those kinds of songs that just something's shifting in that world that I'm intrigued by. - All right. - I took a daughter of a friend of mine who's 24 and she wanted to go. Like, okay, that's, I mean, I wanted to go, but I thought, hey, let me see it. And she was like, oh yeah, dying to go, of course. There's a new live album that's out. There's a live at the Rhymon album that just came out. So it's not that long since the last of the studio albums, but that's what's going on for now. - All right. Hey, Mark, I just checked Soul Coughing's website, which is soulcoughingband.com. And it says to the 25,000 plus fans who came to the first Soul Coughing tour in 25 years, thank you. And then on a little video screen, it shows the crowd. And then the words see you soon. Question Mark, come up. - Oh, they're messing with us. Okay, all righty, there you go. So you might get that chance to see them again. - All right, I should have checked the website. Good job. All right, so some great shows in town. We also have a fast look at some big stories and music news. You're ready to leap headlong. - All kind of stuff. I'll start with disturbing news that came out late last week. A makeup artist sued Garth Brooks last Thursday, alleging that the country star raped her in a hotel room. Subjected her to unwanted sexual conduct on other occasions, including sending her lewd text messages and groping her. The woman identified as Jane Rowe in the lawsuit, alleges that the trauma from the rape was so severe that she contemplated suicide. Brooks posted a full statement, refuting the allegations several hours after the suit was made public. And accusing the plaintiff of demanding many millions of dollars in hush money. I don't really know what we say. According to the complaint, Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit last month against the woman in federal court in Mississippi. I know that a lot of the Nashville community obviously is shocked. - Got a great reputation, yeah. - Certainly known as one of the good guys, certainly very ego driven, results driven, wants to break every record, like has his super competitive side, but also the activist side and the very empathetic person that he's put forward. I have learned long ago you don't ever speculate about anything that's what's going on with somebody off stage and what their own thing is. On either side, there is no way to know where we'll see how it plays out. A lot of people jumping up to say, I don't believe that this could never happen. Anything can ever happen always. And at the same time, who the hell knows? But it's a shocking, serious allegation against one of the biggest stars, not just in country music, but in pop music history. - When we were speculating as the Diddy case broke, is music finally gonna have their #MeToo moment? That guy is not anyone who I would ever imagine would be swept up in something like this. I'll be curious to see what the truth is. - And the woman is represented by the attorney who has filed numerous #MeToo lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and other powerful figures. So yes, does tie back to bigger ongoing questions and concerns throughout the entertainment world, and we will watch it as it shakes out, but disturbing just to read it. - It is. - And yet, in a series of disturbing things that have been to read over recent years. - Also in music news, this is a wild story. We've been hearing about this huge play, a musical on Broadway called Stereophonic. There have been a lot of stories about how surprisingly close this seems to the story of the making of Fleetwood Mac's rumors. And now, former sound engineer who co-authored a 2012 memoir about working on that album, rumors has filed a lawsuit along with his co-author of the book Making Rumors Against the Makers of this smash hit play Stereophonic, alleging that the playwright, David Ajimi, relied on portions of Making Rumors in the creation of the similar themed Broadway play. So the thing about Stereophonic, and I'm really excited because I am gonna get to see this in just a couple of nights. The thing about the show, I've heard from many, and maybe you've been reading about it, is it bears this strange kind of exact resemblance to the making of Fleetwood Mac's rumors. Now, what's happening with this musical is that the band members are never referred to, like there's not a Mick, there's not a John or a Lindsey or a Stevie. There are band members and, but there is, the drummer and the bass player founded the band. And the bass player and the keyboard player were married, but now they're having an affair. And the lead vocalist and the other lead guitarist, they're fighting and they broke, you know, all of the stories are exactly the same as the crap that went down during the making of rumors. And it's Ken Kelle, who wrote this memoir. And one of the things that he's nervous about, it seems, is that with the success of Stereophonic, he was looking to license his book to make a movie. And now he's nervous that the musical will usurp his chances for that. And since the story is so close, we'll have to see what winds up happening, but the story is quite close. The courts, I guess, are gonna have to decide on what's what. I mean, this is theoretically fiction and his memoir is not. So we're not sure exactly where this is gonna wind up going. The lawsuit filed yesterday in United States Southern District Court says that in his memoir that he has used, that the playwright has used elements particular to their book that ended up in this play without their permission and perhaps most notably the inclusion of a sound engineer character who provides the play with the perspective from outside the band proper. That could be the nail in the coffin. - So, look, I gotta limit myself 'cause I could do the next hour talking about this play and this lawsuit. I think we've talked about on this show. I am working on a book about the rumors album right now. In the middle of researching this book, I saw Stereophonic twice. I saw it off Broadway and I saw it on Broadway. And I think we talked about it when it won the Tony Award for best play. I mean, this is not just any play. This is the most acclaimed, most honored play of the year. I will say the performances are great. The staging is, I mean, I'm dying for you to see it and tell me what you think. The staging is really the atmosphere of the studio and all that stuff is really, really well done. But it is so distracting because it is so precisely the rumor's story. And from walking out the first time I saw it, it's clear how much Ken Kalei's book was source material for this story that it's not just, I mean, what you were saying, there's the generic, it's two couples and there's the American couple and the British couple and the divorced and the drummer. And he's the manager of the band, like all of that is bad enough. But there are details and stories and anecdotes that are so precisely taken from his account in the book from the perspective of the producer. He's a co-producer on the album. The Lindsay character telling him, "I don't like that take tape over it." And then when he tapes over it, then Lindsay's like, "No, use the other one." And when he says, "I taped over it, Lindsay runs in the studio and strangles him." That word for word happens in the play. So it was obvious from the beginning that that, and this playwright, he's been sued before. He did a play that was based on three's company called 3C that the three's company team sued him for the same thing. He won that case, that it was commentary satire. This play, you'll see. I mean, it is not commentary. You'll judge for yourself what you think is going on. But there's no argument that this is a satire. And he's been very, he said, "Well, it's based on bands in the 70s." And I thought about this story when I was listening to a Zeppelin record. And yeah, there's Fleetwood Mac, but there's all those bands, it's just not. I mean, it's just, it is rumors. That is what this play is, whether that is enough, you know, what happens and whether that's enough to slap, you know, an injunction or a penalty or a, you know, demand a credit on it, we'll find out. But we've all sort of been waiting for a suit to happen. - The playwright says there's the skeleton and superficial details that I put in and blended with stuff in order to build my own world. But I think, you know, the superficial details are only like a fraction of what it is. A small fraction, but apparently not that small. - To their credit, this started the New Yorker magazine, took Ken Kelly to go see the play. He had heard about it, his daughter Colby had told him, you should kind of see this. He went with a writer and the, and then the piece that came out last week said, I feel like I'm been ripped off. And then the day after the piece came out, they announced the filing of the lawsuit. So we'll be, you know, there was talk about a stereophonic movie. It's been such a hit, it's been such a success. And in the meantime, we've always said, if you can do a jagged little pill musical, a rumors musical is sitting there to be done that this really does put a roadblock in front of, to say, well, that story's now been done on Broadway to great acclaim. That, you know, much like Colby saying, I was gonna see if I could do some deal for my book, like it becomes sort of restraint at a certain point. So not a big surprise, we'll be fascinating to watch. - I'm seeing it just a couple of nights off. So next week, I'm gonna be reviewing that. - Very eager for your thoughts. - Me too, I can't wait. - Real quick, big take, I can't get through a week without Taylor Swift News. - Woo hoo. - After reportedly becoming a billionaire last year, thanks to her juggernaut era's tour, Taylor Swift is breaking away from the other music moguls. According to Forbes Magazine, Swift has surpassed Rihanna to become the world's richest female musician with a net worth currently estimated at $1.6 billion. Among her estimated assets are $600 million from touring and royalties, 600 million from her catalog, 125 million in real estate holdings, which by the way, only puts her at number 2,117 on the Forbes list of the world billionaires. - She's got a lot more to go then, to really be rich. - She's only 34, she's got nothing but time. She is number two on the list of richest musicians, Jay Z, still coming in at $2.5 billion. - I don't even know what to make of that. It's just so mind-boggling that it's like out of control. Does she deserve it? Of course, we love her. - I don't know what you make of numbers like that. Just Taylor, pay your taxes. - Indeed, I'm sure she is, I'm sure she is. All right, so we got one more that we gotta cover. Lady Gaga, who has been, I gotta say, if you've been paying attention, she's been kind of suffering some slings and arrows. - Well, she's been, she's been not getting off the luckiest out of the Joker team. People are saying she may still be looking at an Oscar nomination out of this train wreck. - For the probably idea, it's true that the movie has been ripped to shreds, but Gaga and her performance has been getting some pretty solid reviews. Can I set a show tunes and a great American songbook of standards rendered with a healthy measure of respect and virtuosity? Also be like a punk rock show, or at least something that kind of sort of feels like it. This is about this post-midnight performance that Gaga did in Downtown LA at the Balasco. The Balasco Theater, beautiful theater in Downtown LA. Are there surely a few performers out there who have a feel for both the classics of the Broadway movie musical era and raw power rock and roll? They just don't exist at anywhere near the superstar level and even in a more niche world. They probably know better than to try and combine these extremely different ethos. Lady Gaga went at it and from all reports was quite successful. You did a show on Monday night. This is all from an account from our friend Chris Wilman at Variety, who they said, no phones, no notes. They didn't. They locked up the phones, right? Locked up everything for a very secret performance. He believes, I'm happy to report that she is the woman who can marry the controlled genius of Tin Pan Alley and the wildly performative id of punk's chaotic spirit if only for one extremely memorable late night or early morning performance. This was basically her performance of the album, of the soundtrack to the film. - Yeah, this was night of opening and I guess sort of a release event. Sounds like it was probably filmed from what Chris is saying, but I will be very interested to see if there's follow up promo given the absolute disaster that this movie was in its opening week box office came in under half of what the take for the previous Joker film was and terrible reviews and terrible rotten tomatoes and everything else. So we'll see if they're gonna continue to push on this one. - Probably this did wonders for the soundtrack though. And like I've said so many times living through the 80s, here's another movie where the soundtrack is better than the movie. - I guess. I mean, do people really wanna hear sort of twisted show tunes without having the context of the film? Like, I tried to listen to the album. It's like, I don't know what the character is. I don't know, like clearly this is her in character doing them as like the backstory and transformation of the Harley Quinn. Like, I don't, if I don't care about that, why do I wanna listen to this? - Fair enough. And especially if people hate the movie, uh-oh. But I mean, you know, Gaga, we already know Gaga doing standards is a force, you know? She's, she can really pull that off. I would love to see some footage of this 'cause I can't quite picture what was actually, you know, Gaga, well, we've seen her lately. She has that short haircut, her has red hair now. She's looking a little more severe right now. - Yeah, but I think this was in the smeared makeup and the-- - Yes, yeah, it was, right, it was her character while she was doing this, her Harley Quinn character. - As great as it is to hear her saying whatever. I just don't know if everybody, if nobody's interested in the movie or the character, go listen to a Gaga album, but we'll see. - So Chris Wilman says at the very end of his review, I'm here to tell you her Velasco performance was utterly bonkers, but also one of the best things she's ever done. - Good for her if she can salvage something from this experience. - Fair enough. So all right, let's look at some music news. That wraps it up as promised. Soul Asylum's Dave Pernor, joining us next to talk about their new album. - In Colorado, our freedoms are everything. Gabe Evans would rip them away. Just like Lauren Boebert, he'd ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest and overturn the right to marry for same-sex couples. Don't let him take our freedoms. Paid for by DCCC, www.dccc.org, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. ♪ Down the river ♪ - The Eagles, live at Sphere Las Vegas. Due to overwhelming demand, four new weekend shows added. February 14th, 15th, 21st, and 22nd. Tickets are on sale Friday, October 11th. Go to Eagles.com now for pre-sale sign up and to access ticket hotel packages. The Eagles, live at Sphere Las Vegas. - All right, we are back, as promised, a very special guest. Soul Asylum has returned with their first album of new music since 2020. Slowly, but surely. Yes, surely. This is their 13th album and it sees the band reunited with Steve Jordan, who produced their 1990 album and the horse they wrote in on. Jordan has brought the band back to their roots, playing together live in studio during the recording process, through lineup changes, changing, tasting music, and a pandemic. Dave Purner has kept Soul Asylum a going concern. Band set out on a tour in support of Slowly But Surely. I don't take them to cities across the U.S. through this month, rapping with a couple of Canadian dates in November. Talk about this latest chapter in Soul Asylum history. Who better than Dave Purner? Welcome. - Hi, Mark, it's good to see you, man. - Indeed, it's been a couple of years. This new album has only been, hasn't been all that long. You've taken longer time between records, a new set of songs, and you're back with Steve Jordan producing, which I thought was kind of cool. Why was now the right time for you guys to work with Steve? - I should say, after 30 plus years to get back in with him. - Yeah, he wasn't on the last record or the last bunch. - I believe that was 1990 that we did. The horse they rode in on had records. And I met Nico Bolas on that record, and I called him about this record because I had a really good feeling about Nico. And Nico's been Neil Young's recording engineer for years. And Nico mixed a song, and then I got a call that Steve Jordan was interested in producing the record. And I called my drummer Michael Bland, and I was like, guess who's wants to produce that record? - Well, he must have been thrilled. - Yeah. - With the drummer producer. - Absolutely. - Like what? - So what, what is it, what, why now? And what is it about Steve? What does he bring to this project that you guys are looking for? - Well, for me, I think the last two or three records were very pro tools oriented in a way that you can sort of do anything you want. And then he can bring it to your home studio and it gets kind of, kind of parted out. I mean, for one song, I would play the acoustic guitar to a click, and then Michael would add drums when he could hear the whole song. And it just got really conceptual. And I thought, well, it's time to make a record. I got this great band and it's time to make a record, which is just the band playing. And that's what I decided to do. And that's why I call it Nico. And Steve was the perfect guy because I have done that very thing with Steve before. And a lot of people tell me that the words they wrote in on is their favorite record from "Soul Style". And I says, that's so I says. - I says to him, I says. (laughs) - I wonder why not is Steve and he goes, because they can tell that it's all live. And it's plausible. I mean, I think that's true. The people that sort of say that to me seem to be reacting to something slightly more organic, if you will. Steve's the perfect guy for that kind of thing. He's a real players producer kind of guy. And he really got so off their asses too. 'Cause we were still kind of a punk band when we first worked with him. And we didn't know what we were doing. I mean, and he's dressed to the playing. 'Cause he's a player and he's a drummer and he understands how it builds from the foundation up, I suppose. - But that's gotta be fascinating to pick back up with somebody 30, whatever years later, obviously everybody in a different place in their life and a different place in their career. You made that record, that's before it's the record that then gets you off to Grave Dancers Union coming next. What does it bring up in you to fall back into it with him after all that time? - It's like a really, really comfortable, warm pair of jeans, a warm pair of jeans, whatever that means. But yeah, it's just a place that he comes from and he takes me and I know what he's expecting. And I'll be damned if I'm not gonna give it to him the first time around. I didn't really, like I said, we didn't know what we were doing. So we started in that sort of where we left off, but with all those years of learning between those two points. So yeah, you know, it's fun. It's fun and I think that that's really what he stresses in a way that you're going to get this spontaneity and a band having fun playing and it's gonna translate to the vinyl. And hopefully we have done that. - It seems as you listen through, there's a lot of different styles on there. It seems to me a pretty diverse record. And I wondered if, is there something, is there a difference in your process? Like the way that you think about songs and writing songs? Is there a difference in your process now? And even maybe the things that you write about as opposed to the 90s? - Or as opposed to the last album? I mean, yeah, but I just, I don't imagine four years that much change, but yeah, sure. It is kind of a learning process. And you know, I have learned from my mistakes and I've learned from sort of how to get to the good parts and throw out the shit that's not working and kind of focus in on it in a way that, you know, I've been doing it since I was 17, I think. And yeah, I mean, you can't help but get better at the same time, you can't just write about the same thing all the time. So I mean, all the years that you've just been living kind of in form, what you're gonna make a song about. - Has the way that you do it changed? Is there a different process? There are different disciplines to it? Or, you know, you do what you do? - Well, the only sort of radical change in the environment was the computer thing with the pro to those things and seeing that I can play me now efficiently, not great, but I play the drums in the bass and the piano and guitar and assemble a song and then play it for the band in a way that, you know, that wasn't really possible before you could just cut your arrangement together and play everything yourself. And it works out for me. I built a studio in New Orleans and I built a studio in a basement in Minneapolis. And it's just a way to move things forward to let the band hear what's going on in my head a little more accurately. Other songs are just an acoustic guitar and that is usually less complicated. You know, the process has always been, sometimes it's a melody and I'm walking around and going doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. And it's it works too or another time. So I'm just filling up notebooks with sort of random couplets and other times I'll write a whole sort of a narrative story and then kind of figure out how the music accompanies that. So it is different really from song to song, you know, and I could come into the practice place with something very simple and we can play it and it'll kind of sound like, oh, we don't, we don't really need to mess with that too much. And I think that's a big part of Steve Jordan's aesthetic is like, let's catch it while it's fresh. And before y'all start overthinking it and trying to add noodles and weird flourishes that you probably don't even need. - So he's not doing 14, 15, 30 takes instead of-- - No, that was the biggest difference between this record and that record. There was songs he would make us do 40 or 50 takes or some and the band was killing it. I mean, most of the songs are maybe third take, fourth take most, yeah. Again, a lot of different styles. It feels like you said some, there's some acoustic stuff on there and there's a number of tracks that I love. So I'm randomly just gonna ask you about a couple. If you don't freak accident jumped out at me, I freaking love that song. Where did that come in the writing process? What, where did it come from? - Well, that's actually the oldest song on the record. We had played that live before and almost put it on a record and it where we were sort of had an acoustic approach to it. And as we were talking about what songs to put on the record, I think we were on a Zoom call with Steve Jordan and he said, well, now what's the song that is a fan favorite and everybody but mean, the three other people in the band all went freak accident. He's like, okay, we're gonna record that one. I mean, I think he'd heard it at that point. - You've been playing it for a while. I mean, it was established as a live thing. - Yeah, it just never made it onto a record and well, the last record, I suppose. And you know, Steve was pretty adamant about me playing electric guitar and everything, which was great for me because it's just, it's more fun. If you're gonna track within acoustic guitar, you have to be in an isolated room and all this. So I played electric guitar the whole record really. And so we just, we sped it up a little bit and we changed the middle eight and I played electric and it kind of came together and we're like, okay, now, it's ready to see the light of day. - Gotta ask because we know there's, you know, because we know there's the story, it's not the usual, hey, tell me about the album title. In this case, we gotta ask, tell me about the album title. As Mark said, slowly but surely that's surely as in the name and it's not any name, it's a specific surely. So tell us what that's about. - Well, I did the mixing in the vocals at the Electric Lady in New York and there was a stationery store right next door. And for some reason, me and Steve were both like, oh, that's a great, that's a great story. You can buy something for your friends or you can, so we got our little notebooks and our different colored pens and stuff and we're taking different scripts and little designs and the set and the other thing. There's a placard in there that was like a silk screen and it said slowly but surely S-U-R-E-L-Y and it was like 12-inch square. So I just looked at it and I went, "Hmm, no, there's something in there." And then my brain sort of went, "Surely, but name, the female name, temple, no, not temple." (laughing) - First of mine, yeah. - So yeah, I mean, She, Shirley Mulldowney was a big hero of mine as a kid and she represents a lot, I think, as far as, look, we have a-- - Who is Shirley Mulldowney, for those who don't know? - Shirley Mulldowney is the first woman of drag racing and she was the first person that was not a man to enter into that world and start beating these guys. I mean, I, you know, as a fan of-- - Big Daddy Don Garlet's-- - Yeah. The ground pounding fuel dragster. - There you go. (laughing) A macho element to it and then she came along and had a pink car and just took them all on. And to me, that shows a great amount of audacity and gumption and just a lot of, a lot of balls from, you know, a woman, I guess. (laughing) - We should say, she made it to the cover of the record. We should point that out. And at the same time, there was another tribute going on there with the cover. Was that an Elvis tribute or was that a clash tribute or I don't know. - Yeah, the lettering on London calling the clash record goes down one side and across the bottom and that's taken from an Elvis record. So it just made sense. So I flipped the car. The car is actually going that way and I'm like, no, the car should be going this way. So the print fits up in the corner pretty nicely. And yeah, it is an homage, an homage or something to that type, that sort of thing where, you know, the clash ripped it off from Elvis, so. - Unabashedly. A fair game. (laughing) - It's a couple of years ago, but I gotta ask, 'cause we haven't seen you. We had you on our SiriusXM show once upon a time, but a couple of years ago, prints put out, the Princess State put out the Welcome to America album, which included the long rumored Dave Purner penned song Stand Up and Be Strong in Prince's recording of that song. Did you know that was coming? Did that get sprung on you? Again, it's something that's long sort of been whispered about as being in the vaults, but how did it unfold from your end that this thing came out? - The first I had heard of it, he cut the song with Michael Bland, our drummer, and Michael told me about it. And he said, "Prince, watch your blessing to cover Stand Up and Be Strong." And I was like, "This boy man, you know?" And, you know, I took it with a grain of salt. I was like, "Whatever, they're just messing around." So that, I mean, Michael was like, "Yeah, it got somewhere and it's in the vault." And I just kind of forgot about it. And then he, I guess, recut it with the different drummer. And yeah, the first time I heard it, I was in a car. And the first line is sang by a woman, and me and my tour manager at the time both went, "Wow, Prince's voice is really good." And then he comes in on the second line, but yeah, he, he, he, he princessifies it kind of in, and at first it was a little shocking, and Michael didn't like it. But then Michael did a Prince tribute thing at the uptown in Minneapolis, and he asked me, "Well, what do you want to do your version, or do you want to do Prince's version?" And I'm like, "I want to do Prince's version 'cause Prince tribute." So I had this girl come up and sing it with me, and it was really fun. And it's, it's just something sort of cool that, it's just a little bit of a nod, I think. - It's like the two Minneapolis sounds getting together. - Yeah. - You know, two sounds of, of that part of the country. It's great. - Yes. - It's an honor. - So I wanted to ask you, Dave, you guys have a big catalog now. And I've seen you pretty much every tour for the last five, six, seven tours. And it must get harder and harder every time you release a new record to incorporate the new stuff in, figure out what old stuff stays, goes, what rarities to play. But more so than any album I'd say in the last three or four, this one almost feels like it begs to be played live. So are you leaning into this album a little more in this current tour? - Yeah, we are. I think five or six songs from the new record. - Wow. - They pretty much fit in there. I mean, last night that we got a surprising reaction to one of the songs and we're just like, "Wow, people really like that song." So yeah, I mean, it's an old showbiz trick. You put a couple new ones in there and follow it with the song everybody knows. And that keeps people's attention. But yeah, I mean, it is. It's really fun to play. And it's fun to see people's reaction. There is a bit of a trepidation where you're like, oh, we're gonna play a new song and everyone's gonna go to the bar or something. But that's standard procedure, isn't it? A concert, new song, bar. - Yeah. - Does it ever not get weird? I mean, do you get used to every time with a new album that it's like, you know, it's this thing, you've got it, it's your songs, you guys did it together. Then there's that day when it's just out in the world and you start seeing what people make of it or you start seeing how it works on stage. How do you, do you get used to that? Or every time around, is that like, well, let's see what's gonna happen now? - It's pretty much the latter. - Yeah. - We gotta kind of take it as it comes and let the music sort of guide you. And it was Keith Richards that said to me, it never gets any less fun and it never gets any less weird. And I took that as sage wisdom, but yeah, I mean, it's a process that involves a credo for me where I just have no expectations and I don't think about it. So somebody's like, well, how are our ticket sales going or something like that? I don't know, like how much money I have, how much money, how much what, how much this, how much that? I just don't think about it. And I don't, you know, I don't expect anything. So that way, if it's not going very good, which is a lot of the time that's I'm used to it. And something great happens, which is not very often. But it's a surprise, you know. - Well, that's really funny, Dave. With that in mind, I mean, well, it's 40 years since your very first album, okay? That sort of puts the perspective on it. And if you think about what has happened, not only musically, like you even have talked about the fact like as grunge sort of started to fade, you know, that affected you, your band quite a bit. But there's 14 other styles and trends and the technology has gone crazy. And the way that people discover music, everything is different. How do you look at your job now? And you said it's still fun, but what's different about the way that you do this today as opposed to 40 years ago? Well, this is different. - That's true. - I don't know what you guys are looking at while I'm talking, that's different. As I was talking about the whole digital recording thing and pro tools and all that. And that can even take you down the wrong path. I mean, I got really into it and it can get really distracting because if you can fix everything and you can change everything and you just start fixing and changing and then time starts going by and then you're kind of, you're lost in this world of fixing and changing. - But now you can fix and change while the album is out. - Yeah. - You don't have to wait. - But yeah, I mean, you're right. I mean, right down to doing stuff like this and just seeing how the whole technology was applied during the COVID thing and just sort of how people hear about shows and how people listen to radio and somehow that some people, I don't even know what they do. They stream and they listen to radio. - Nobody knows what they do. - Nobody knows. (laughing) - You got to vinyl people out there still, right? You know, I still listen to records. I'm like, I get out the couch, get up and turn it over. - Is that true? You still listen to vinyl? - Exclusively, I mean, just because I think I was very resistant to CDs. I was like, ahh, I already got all these records then I catch on and this is just a trend. And then I developed variant CD collection, which is now-- - Useless? - Useless, exactly. - Yeah, so, you know, what's next and the vinyl record is something it is just, it's a stable situation. - Where? - You can't really out update it, except I'm currently trying to find a needle for my turntable. (laughing) - I got to keep it all in shape. Well, I was going to ask you a difference. Maybe it's the same question. We were just talking about this the other day. I feel like this week, everybody was kind of freaking out with the news that Courtney Love is a grandmother. You know, Courtney Love and Tony Hawk have a share of grandchild. - I know that. - Yes. Francis, Francis Bean had a-- - Francis had a kid. - Had a kid. - No kidding. - With Tony Hawk's son. - With Tony Hawk's son, who's her husband, which is the most like 90s said, if you go in the 90s way back machine and you say Kurt and Tony Hawk are going to share a grandchild. But like, I think that threw a lot of people were like, wow, that really was a long time ago, wasn't it? When you think about, I mean, as part of sort of that generation who came up, does that feel like, yeah, it was a long time ago? Does that feel like, no, we were just doing that? How does that sort of track for you? - It's really strange because I think to some degree everybody has a selective memory. And you know, you do try to remember the good things and you try to forget about the stuff that you really don't want to think about. In the meantime, there's things that seem to me like just happened recently that were, yeah, years and years and years ago. So, I mean, it's interesting. But the time thing doesn't always make sense to me. The time space compendium, I think, is what they call it. - All right. Like dates and things like that and go, oh yeah. That memorized when we worked with Steve. And luckily it was 1990. - Easy to remember, yeah. - Redidget room number for a hotel, I can do that. And now we don't have to number phone numbers anymore. We don't have to remember a lot of lyrics. So that takes up a lot of gigabytes up here. And yeah, yeah, I mean, I still run into people. And that's kinda cool. I mean, that's news to me. - So before we wrap up here, I'm wondering where you come down and if you got any new songs out of the fact that your governor is the vice presidential candidate. I mean, it's a big deal. I know for people from that state. - Maybe now. And I just flipped off a bunch of people at a football game and I was like, okay. But yeah, I mean, I called my manager and I couldn't watch the debates. But he was watching them and I was like, how's it going? And yes, I feel sick to my stomach and I'm like, oh no. So my impression was that walls did not turn in a great performance, but I don't know. I mean, I watched a couple of highlights and it really highlights if you can call them highlights. I think that was the MSNBC and I'm sure you could see it completely differently on a different network or something. But it only added to the, I think Kamala is great. And even when I was kind of telling people, 'cause you know, you wear vote shirts, I wear a vote shirt from my work. I think we're like, oh, vote, vote, vote, vote. And I'm kind of tired of that because I was just like, if people are gonna vote for Trump, I want them to not vote. So, I just started saying vote for Joe Biden, what's the worst thing that can happen? He'll die and Kamala Harris will be president. - I'm feeling, there's a song in there somewhere. Isn't there? I mean, you wanna come out, if they get in, you're gonna wanna play the inauguration. I mean, you got experience, so. - And just putting that Minnesota nice thing out and the cosmos, right? - I know, I can't figure out if he makes Minnesotans look great or make some like, look like the stereotype, like they're all in the movie Fargo or something. - He does feel like, coach, he does. - What's the wrong with that? - Nothing wrong. Dave Purner, it's great to talk to you. I'm really happy to hear this record. It could be among my faves from you. Maybe, I don't know, maybe it's the return of Steve Jordan, maybe it's your state of mind today. I don't know, but what a great record, and thanks for carving out some time for us. - Hi, I'm Dalvet Quince. One way to help manage type two diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing butt sugar also takes the right. - Diet, hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you want to learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. - H5N1 bird flu is spreading in some animals. If you work with poultry, dairy cows, wild animals, or with raw, unpasteurized milk, wear protective gear, and take precautions, cdc.gov/birdflu. A message from CDC. - All right, welcome back to SoundUp. Each and every week, we ask you the SoundUp pod squad to send us your questions, concert reviews, album reviews, whatever is on your mind. To get involved, join our Facebook page at sounduppod.com and stay connected to everything SoundUp related, including future live shows like the one coming up at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. - Send in your comments or reviews as text or audio messages to connect@sounduppod.com and become part of the podcast. We have received an email from our friend Ted. Jump right into this, hello Roger and team. Wanted to share with you my story. I discovered the volume channel on SiriusXM and started listening right after debatable premiered. That was mine and Alan's old show for those who aren't aware. I was fascinated by the premise of the channel and how it resembled the hours and years I spent with avid music obsessed friends listening to and talking about music. Listening to debatable became part of my daily routine while driving home from my day shift at the hospital where I had been an RN for 30 years. When COVID and the lockdown hit and the lockdown happened, the ongoing broadcasting of live volume shows and comforting presence of hosts and production staff became a source of sanity and relief. I'd become an addicted and active tweeter. And when Alan started reading my tweets during debatable shows, I was ecstatic as my wife shook her head amused by my joy. I never did call in during those live shows. Then volume ended. As you all know the story, the demise of the channel served to solidify the fortitude of the Volumaniac community as the Facebook site became our meeting place. When Alan and Mark came back into our lives on sound up, it was more than we could have wished for. My wife, Kathy and I are driving to Cleveland for the Rockefeller Hall of Fame induction weekend. This will be the first meetup that I've had with friends in the Volumaniac community who have become near and dear to me. I'm still ecstatic and my lovely wife is still amused by my joy. It's Ted Neha, Neja. - Neja. - Neja. - Neja. - Yeah. - It's gonna be joining us in Cleveland. - First time for a Volumaniac meetup, Ted, it will be fun. - It's gonna change your life. - It's gonna change your life. - It's a blessing. - It's a blessing. - You're not ready for what's coming at you. We're the onslaught that's coming at you with these people. - So, I mean, I know it was long, but a really beautiful letter and much appreciated. We thank you. I know that when we were doing that stuff during lockdown, we were kind of dumbfounded at the formation of the Volumaniacs as well, and we'll be looking for you guys in Cleveland. - We also got an audio review, something I'm very curious to see. I know it just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, our friend Mike and Michigan weighing in on the new tragically hip documentary. - Hey guys, long time listener, first time caller. This is Mike from MidMichigan, also known as Milo 1992 on Twitter. I just wanted to file a review, not of a live show, but of a documentary that I watched. So I caught the new four part docu series about the tragically hip called No Dress Rehearsal. It's on Amazon Prime, and I thought it was just amazing. I mean, I loved it. I should say for the record that although I am a fan of this band, I'm not a hardcore hip fan. So going in, I really didn't know their story, other than the fact that they were this great Canadian band that were huge in Canada, but never quite crossed over to the United States. And that their lead singer, Gord Downey, passed away in 2017 of brain cancer. As I said, the documentary is in four parts. Each part is about an hour each. It was directed by Gord Downey's brother, Mike Downey. And it tells their story pretty much chronologically using brilliant new interviews with the four surviving members of the band, managers, producers, family, friends, and some celebrity fans. It also uses old interviews with Gord Downey and what looked to be just a ton of archival footage. It covered their formation from high school and university kids in Kingston, Ontario, their rise to fame, going through their great albums of the '90s. It focused on just how Canadian this band was. They weren't just a band from Canada. They were Canada to the bone. And it did touch on the fact that they were incredibly popular in Canada, but not so much in the United States. And at least they attempt to answer why. And then, of course, the last episode gets very emotional as it deals with Gord Downey's diagnosis of incurable brain cancer. And then the band's decision to go out onto her and their emotional final concert in 2016. And ultimately, Gord's death in 2017. Like I said, going in, I didn't even know the other band members' names. But now I know their names, their faces, their voices, and most importantly, their story. And to paraphrase Gord Downey, I'm richer for having seen it. And I think you will be too. - All right, Mike, well done. Thank you very much for that. Time for our new music picks of the week. You wanna start off, Alan? What do you got? - I can start us off. So we haven't talked at all, first of all, just we haven't talked at all about what's been going on in the Southern States and the hurricane disaster and what's coming to Florida, you know, doesn't stop. And so people are starting to jump into action and respond to Hurricane Helene. And Eric Church, a very Carolina identified, had an album called Carolina, has done a really an interesting thing, which is he released a new song called "Darkest Hour." And he has written over the rights to the song and all the publishing to the state of North Carolina. - Wow. - He has just handed over this song and its proceeds to the start, I don't know if it's earmarked for specifically for disaster relief or whatever, but he has just made this a donation to the state. And this song is really, really interesting. I mean, Eric, people know previously, I'm a big fan, big supporter for a long, long time. He continues to explore and experiment. He did a very divisive performance at stagecoach festival, did a lot of new arrangements, didn't play a lot of hits. He did a similar thing at the CMA Fest, last year or year before. And this song sounds nothing like an Eric Church song. It's a sort of symphonic arrangement, gospel singers. He sings the full song, pretty much the full song in a falsetto. Like it started and I'm like, well, when's Eric gonna sing? Oh, guess that's Eric. I mean, he's gone into that voice, but he's never done a song just in his falsetto through the song. So really powerful, really fascinating song, nothing that's gonna go to country radio, I don't think in any way. But he has more than hinted. He's gonna be going in some very different directions. And this certainly indicates a very different direction. Meantime, he just announced also that Saturday, October 26th at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium. Eric has helped put together a show with Luke Combs, Billy Strings and James Taylor, with more to be announced. That will be a hurricane relief benefit. I imagine there will be more forthcoming with that sort of the first big show that's been announced. So that's coming at the end of the month. And wanna shout out, not just the efforts that Eric is making, but also a really cool song. So that is song number one for me. And the other one I wanna mention is another artist I like a lot, young singer named Lizzie McAlpine, very singer songwriter, very girl and guitar singer songwriter. She did an expanded version last week. Her last album was called Older. She added, I think four songs to the Older and Wiser edition of the album and a song called Spring Into Summer, which is a funny song to put out in October, but that's what you got. That's actually a surprising, though it starts seeming like it might be another sad girl song, actually turns out to be a happy girl song, actually turns out to be a kind of, I can't believe that I'm getting this relationship that I want kind of a song, but a really lovely, very, starts very folky, just her acoustic guitar flushes out a little bit as it goes. I think a really very, very fine songwriter and interesting singer. And one of these girls who found this viral following and all of a sudden was selling out two nights at Radio City Music Hall that most of you have never heard of. We did have her back in the volume days come up and sing for us and I was very taken with her then. So Spring Into Summer, just in time for fall from Lizzie McAlpine. - Great, love that. I wanna just for a half a second, you were talking about what Eric Church is doing in North Carolina. And we were talking just moments before that about the Volumaniacs and their formation and those who we heard from while we were doing debatable. And one of our big Volumaniacs was a friend of ours from Asheville, North Carolina. And I have friends who have a place down there. I've been in touch with them. And there's a bunch, we had a bunch of people who were club involved with clubs down there. I know the Orange Peel, which was the one that we were most familiar with just from our phone calls is okay. It's in a different part of Asheville. As I come to understand it and my friend had been telling me that the River Arts area is the one that's been hit the hardest. There are a bunch of volunteers down there and contrary to what you may have been hearing, there are power trucks there, homeland security is there. FEMA is everywhere. My friend talked to a FEMA guy today and he said that they're still doing what they called recovery missions. - But I have been thinking we heard a lot from people in and around Asheville in our volume days and the music community there, obviously the arts community there has been growing and thriving and thinking about all of that these last few days. - So I just wanted to mention that and hope that our friends and our acquaintances are doing well and the music community is thriving there. All right, my picks, I'm going with the live track from the warning that was just released. I know that we've talked about the warning. In fact, I want to encourage you if you're like, who's the warning? Just go back to our homepage, go to our website and find that episode where those women joined us. The warning has put out the live version of Kamas Kiérez, it rocks. What else can I say? The newest album is Keep Me Fed and definitely check into our conversation with the warning if you're wondering. If you listen to that and you go, "Kamas Kiérez rocks, what are these girls all about?" You'll find out. So next, I got this group. All I could tell you about this group is they're British. They're called Man Woman Chainsaw. Band Woman Chainsaw. The lead vocalist, and there's mostly women in the band, but the lead vocalist, Billy Ward, talks about this band. He's saying that they all met in secondary school and they started messing around in bedrooms during lockdown. Been lots of people who have come in and out of this band and we used to just ask our mates who played piano or whatever to come in for a few gigs, but they just added Emmy and Cleo, who are violin and piano respectively, which is really up the ante on these guys, about the new EP, which is called Easy Peasy, the product of a year of messing around and writing. And Billy says, now that we're thinking about things as more of a body of work, we like to write to play live. If we like the songs live and they sounded good, we kept them. Otherwise, we'd drop them. This EP is the ones we didn't drop. Check it out. Just go and listen. Man/woman/chain saw. And then let's talk next week. - Okay, I got nothing. I got not one thing. - I was just going through, oh, what's this? Oh, and this, I was looking for stuff. You know, last week I did sort of dance-oriented stuff and I'm been looking for some harder rock and stuff 'cause I know I always do the Americano or the, you know, sort of softer stuff, but this stuff rocks, so check it. Those are our new music picks and I think that pretty much wraps it up for this edition of Sound Up. Don't forget to check us out on socials and YouTube for exclusive content, full video episodes and more, all at Sound Up Pod. - Remember to give us a five-star review, those things matter, like our Facebook page, subscribe to our YouTube page and email us at connect@sounduppod.com. - Thank you for listening and supporting us here on Sound Up with Mark Goodman and Alan Light. Catch you next time. - Sound Up is hosted by Mark Goodman and Alan Light, produced by Roger Kaletti for Roger That Media and distributed by Revolver Podcasts. Be music from Smile from Tokyo. For more information, go to sounduppod.com. - Roger that. - Dave's your supply chain wizard. He also has diabetes. Maybe it's time for a group dental plan with support for chronic conditions. Grin from within, United Concordia Dental. Learn more at grin with ucd.com products under written by United Concordia Insurance Company. - H5N1 bird flu is spreading in some animals. If you work with poultry, dairy cows, wild animals, or with raw, unpasteurized milk, wear protective gear and take precautions, cdc.gov/birdflu, a message from CDC. [BLANK_AUDIO]
On episode #62 of “Sound Up!,” Mark and Alan welcome Dave Pirner to discuss writing and recording Soul Asylum’s new album “Slowly But Shirley,” reuniting the band with producer Steve Jordan. Mark reviews Soul Coughing live in New York, while a Pod Squad member reviews the new Tragically Hip Documentary: No Dress Rehearsal. In music news, we discuss Garth Brooks being accused of sexual assult, Taylor Swift's money milestone, Lady Gaga's LA secret show, and the controversy surrounding the hit Broadway play Stereophonic. Our new music picks this week feature tracks from The Warning, Lizzy McAlpine, Eric Church, and Man/Woman/Chainsaw.
