Inside MusiCast

Lee Ritenour's career has been nothing short of extraordinary. Not only has he released over 50 albums, but he’s also performed on over 3,500 other projects as a studio musician.  On October 23, he’ll release a new, live album that was amassed from a series of eight live shows at Ronnie Scott’s in London.  Backed by a young and extremely talented group of musicians, which includes his son Wes on drums, this live album covers a variety of compositions from Lee's vast catalog, including fresh arrangements for many of them such as “Is It You”, “Captain Fingers”, and “Rio Funk”. He’s been on our radar for quite some time, and it’s our honor to finally welcome him to the show.  Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Lee Ritenour. 

You know the incredible voice of Paul Carrack. From the Ace hit "How Long", to "Tempted", by Squeeze, to several hits with Mike + The Mechanics and his solo projects. But Paul's love for music goes deeper than pop. He's always had a penchant for traditional country artists, such as George Jones, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, and many others, and through a chance connection with Nashville country artist and producer, Steven Wood, the idea for a pair of country albums was born. On this new episode of Inside MusiCast, we chat with Paul about the creation of the albums, his approach to country music, and the deep respect he has for the country classics he recreated, along with a few original songs. And of course, we won’t miss the chance to discuss some of his classic pop projects, too.  Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Paul Carrack. 

Music runs deep with Bonnie Hayes. Growing up, her home was filled with music, and two of her brothers also traveled down a musical path: Her brother Chris was lead guitarist for Huey Lewis & The News, and brother Kevin was the drummer for the Robert Cray Band. As a young musician, Bonnie's focus was jazz, and one of her first jobs was teaching music at the Blue Bear School of Music in the Bay area. From there, she sidetracked into punk and new wave and started The Punts in San Francisco, which later became Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo. If you've seen the 1983 movie "Valley Girl", you'll hear the song "Girls Like Me" at the start of the film, along with "Shelley's Boyfriend." However, songwriting and education became Bonnie's focus, both for herself and for other musicians. Many of her songs were picked-up and recorded by a variety of artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Cher, David Crosby, Natalie Cole, Adam Ant, Huey Lewis, Bette Midler and many others. In 2013, Hayes became chair of the songwriting department at Berklee in Boston. In 2022, she returned to the Bay Area to found a youth All Star Songwriting Program at Blue Bear School of Music. To talk more about her extensive career in the music business, Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Bonnie Hayes. 

Steve Farris is a man of a thousand...acres.  After an incredibly successful music career, Steve turned his focus to his second love: Land. He's shaped thousands of acres of land into a fish and wildlife service where he worked in several states developing, designing, and building habitat and wetlands restoration. He's even been hired by the Fish and Wildlife Service, along with Ducks Unlimited, to lend his expertise to their organizations. And while he's officially retired from music, he still employs lessons he's learned from music into this second career.  On this episode of Inside MusiCast, Steve reminisces about his path through the music business, the connections he made along the way, and that fateful audition that landed him the gig in Mr. Mister.  Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Steve Farris.

Drummer, vocalist, and one of the founding members of The Blackbyrds, Keith Killgo has had music running through his veins since he was four-years-old. By the time he turned 11 he had already played drums with such greats as Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz, Miles Davis, Woody Shaw, Bill Hardman, Art Blakey's Band and Eddie Harris.  His piano teacher?  None other than Roberta Flack.  Music was Keith’s destiny, and this path led him to meet Donald Byrd and the formation of The Blackbyrds in 1973.  With a fusion of R&B, blues, and jazz, the band had several notable songs, including “Do It Fluid”, “Happy Music”, “Rock Creek Park”, and their Top 10 hit “Walking In Rhythm”.  Here to chat about his amazing career in music, as well as his role as an educator, is Keith Killgo.

Rob Arthur’s career in music has taken him from his roots in Minnesota, to the coasts, and with a variety of connections and collaborations.  But in 2001, Rob made a connection with Peter Frampton that has lasted for a quarter century, and continues to grow.  Rob has been a part of Peter’s touring band as a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, and has served as his music director.  But Rob’s talents go beyond music, and it was his interest in telling stories, combined with his passion for videography, that led to the production of a documentary about Peter Frampton’s life.  Rob began filming footage of Peter’s Finale tour in 2019, but soon realized that a deeper story could be told.  The result is a nearly 100-minute documentary about the life of one of the most prolific rock stars, and debuts on June 4 at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Rob Arthur. 

Robert Margouleff is a man of many talents with a vast career in the music and entertainment industries.  The Grammy Award-winning engineer/producer, studio owner, and filmmaker is also an early synthesizer pioneer, and was a customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music instrument pioneer, Robert Moog.  From there, he met bassist Malcolm Cecil, and the two developed the first, and still the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world, TONTO.  With this experience and pioneering reputation, Margouleff played a key role with synthesizer programming for Stevie Wonder's "classic period" in the early ‘70s, as well as the 1980 album "Freedom Of Choice” by Devo, including its hit song “Whip It.”  Robert has chronicled his vast career with a new book titled “Shaping Sounds”, which is due to be released on May 19, both in print from Jawbone and on audio from Pushkin.  Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Robert Margouleff. 

On this episode of Inside MusiCast, we turn the microphones over to our friends in Paris: Jean-Luc Raymond of West Coast Rendez-Vous, and Inside MusiCast Correspondent Arnaud Leger, as they sit down for a chat with legendary songwriter Bill LaBounty and his wife, Beckie Foster.  The conversation took place in Paris, with Jean-Luc and Arnaud focusing on Bill’s newly released solo album Love At The End of the World.  The guys also discuss a variety of topics with Bill and Beckie, including memories of Jeff Porcaro, Michael Johnson, Steve Wariner, and Bob Dylan, as well as their thoughts on how AI is shaping the music industry.  You’ll love this candid chat with Bill LaBounty and Beckie Foster.

In the early '80s, Thomas Dolby  burst onto the pop music scene with his worldwide hit, She Blinded Me With Science.  The song hailed from his debut album , The Golden Age of Wireless, and not only was it both musically and lyrically a brilliant pop song, the entire album was a masterful orchestration of synth programming that resulted in layered, lush soundscapes.  Dolby masterfully shifted synth-pop from cold, mechanical textures to a warm, emotional, and highly narrative form, blending pioneering studio production with retro-futurist themes. On this new episode of Inside MusiCast, we chat with Dolby not only about his '80s album successes, but we'll discuss his thoughts about AI and its use in the music industry, his role as the creator and Director of the Music for New Media program at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, as well as his upcoming tours, including his Iconic ‘80s Recollections tour in the US and the UK, his Totally Tubular Festival that will feature his band The Lost Toy People and several other iconic '80s artists, as well as a surprise announcement about a future tour he's developing.  We're truly honored to welcome one of the most innovative musicians and technologists over the past 40+ years, Thomas Dolby.  On this new episode of Inside MusiCast, we chat with Dolby not only about his '80s album successes, but we'll discuss his thoughts about AI and its use in the music industry, his role as the creator and Director of the Music for New Media program at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, as well as his upcoming tours, including his Iconic ‘80s Recollections tour in the US and the UK, his Totally Tubular Festival that will feature his band The Lost Toy People and several other iconic '80s artists, as well as a surprise announcement about a future tour he's developing. We're truly honored to welcome one of the most innovative musicians and technologists over the past 40+ years, Thomas Dolby.

For Ed Toth, music isn’t just his career, but it’s been an integral part of his entire life. His father was a working musician and an audiophile, so he was always surrounded by great music.  In fact, he was only 13 years-old when he joined his Dad’s Top 40 band as the drummer.  From there, he’s been blessed with some amazing connections and gigs, including a nine-year stint in the band Vertical Horizon, where he played on the band’s two biggest albums, including their #1 hit “Everything You Want.”  He eventually landed a drumming chair with The Doobie Brothers, and has been touring with the band for 21 years.  Here to chat with us today about these experiences and some other great projects he’s involved with is none other than Ed Toth.