RadATL Podcasts & Interviews

Lenny Kaye discussing his new book, ‘Lightning Striking,’ on Wednesday, March 9

Lenny Kaye. Photo by Ulf Hoberg.

Over the years, A Cappella Books has been honored to bring Elvis Costello, Rush’s Geddy Lee, Rosanne Cash, Run DMC’s Rev. Run, John Doe of the band X, Kristin Hersh, Patti Smith, and more to Atlanta.

So we couldn’t be more delighted to extend our Zoom programming on Wednesday, March 9, for an exclusive virtual event with founding member of the Patti Smith Group, guitarist Lenny Kaye.

Kaye will be in conversation with yours truly, music writer Chad Radford, discussing his latest book, Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll. The book examines 10 critical flashpoints that have defined rock ‘n’ roll, spanning Elvis’s early days in Memphis in 1954 to the commercial rise of Seattle’s grunge scene in 1991 on the heels of Nirvana’s breakthrough, Nevermind.

As a musician, writer, and producer, Kaye has worked with several legendary artists, written extensively for publications such as Rolling Stone, Melody Maker, Creem, and Crawdaddy, and hosts “The Lenny Kaye Program” on Sirius XM’s “The Underground Garage.” And many of you music nerds are familiar with his seminal anthology of ‘60s garage and psychedelic rock, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, which is widely regarded as defining the genres.

Join us on Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. (Eastern time), for what promises to be an edifying conversation on music history.

It is free to sign in.

A Cappella has copies of Lightning Striking featuring a bookplate signed by Kaye available after the event, which you can pre-order here.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider making a donation to RadATL.

Donate with PayPal
Advertisement
RadATL Uncategorized

John Lurie on his new memoir, ‘The History of Bones’

A Cappella Books proudly welcomes the John Lurie in honor of his captivating new memoir, The History of Bones on Monday, September 27 at 8 p.m.

The pioneering artist, actor, musician, and composer will appear in conversation with host of A Cappella’s ongoing virtual music series, Rough Draft digital editor and journalist Chad Radford.

This event is free and open to the public. Capacity is limited. Register here to ensure your spot for this must-see book event.

In the tornado that was downtown New York in the 1980s, John Lurie stood at the vortex. After founding the band The Lounge Lizards with his brother, Evan, in 1979, Lurie quickly became a centrifugal figure in the world of outsider artists, cutting-edge filmmakers, and cultural rebels. Now Lurie vibrantly brings to life the whole wash of 1980s New York as he developed his artistic soul over the course of the decade and came into orbit with all the prominent artists of that time and place, including Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry, Boris Policeband, and, especially, Jean-Michel Basquiat, the enigmatic prodigy who spent a year sleeping on the floor of Lurie’s East Third Street apartment.

It may feel like Disney World now, but in The History of Bones, the East Village, through Lurie’s clear-eyed reminiscence, comes to teeming, gritty life. The book is full of grime and frank humor—Lurie holds nothing back in this journey to one of the most significant moments in our cultural history, one whose reverberations are still strongly felt today.

History may repeat itself, but the way downtown New York happened in the 1980s will never happen again. Luckily, through this beautiful memoir, we all have a front-row seat.

John Lurie. Photo by Eric Mockus

About the Author
John Lurie is a musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded The Lounge Lizards in 1979. In the decades since, he has released albums (including those by his alter ego Marvin Pontiac), acted in films, composed and performed music for television and film, exhibited his paintings throughout the world, and produced, directed, and starred in the “Fishing with John” television series. His most recent series, “Painting with John,” debuted on HBO in 2021.

If you have enjoyed reading this article, please consider making a donation to RadATL.

Donate with PayPal

RadATL Podcasts & Interviews

John Densmore of The Doors on ‘The Seekers’

It’s the people one encounters along the way that turns any trip into a journey.

On Wednesday, December 16, the iconic drummer John Densmore joined me for an A Cappella Books exclusive Zoom chat discussing his latest memoir, The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists).

Densmore is the former drummer for the late great Los Angeles psychedelic rock group the Doors. With The Seekers, he reflects on a lifetime spent crossing paths with greatness. From artists such as Elvin Jones to Joseph Campbell, Patti Smith, the Dalai Lama, Willie Nelson, and John Coltrane, his own mother, and more, The Seekers is a rumination on the knowledge that Densmore has gained through various remarkable encounters, and an exploration of his own relationship with art, music, and humankind.

Press play above.

Click here to read an interview with Densmore discussing his previous book, The Doors: Unhinged.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider making a donation to RadATL.

Donate with PayPal
RadATL Uncategorized

John Densmore of the Doors on ‘The Seekers’

John Densmore photo by Jeff Katz.


It’s the people one encounters along the way that turns any trip into a journey.

With his latest memoir, titled The Seekers: Meetings with Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists), John Densmore, the former drummer with the late great Los Angeles psychedelic rock group the Doors, reflects on a lifetime spent crossing paths with greatness. From Elvin Jones to Joseph Campbell, Patti Smith, the Dalai Lama, Willie Nelson, his own mother, and more, The Seeker is a rumination on the knowledge that Densmore has gained through various remarkable encounters, and an exploration of his own relationship with art, music, and humankind.

On Wednesday, December 16, at 7 p.m. Eastern, Densmore and I will talk via Zoom about playing drums in one of the greatest psychedelic rock bands of all time, and the characters with whom he has crossed paths.

A Cappella Books hosts our conversation. Tickets are limited to 100 guests. Head over to A Cappella’s website to pre-order a copy of “The Seekers,” which includes a bookplate signed by Densmore, along with your private invitation to sign in to our Zoom chat. Your access code will arrive via email from A Cappella Books a day ahead of the program.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider making a donation to RadATL.

Donate with PayPal
RadATL Podcasts & Interviews

INTERVIEW: Robert Gordon revisits ‘It Came From Memphis’

On Thursday, November 12, I spoke with Grammy and Emmy-winning author and filmmaker Robert Gordon about the updated 25th anniversary edition of his book It Came From Memphis (Third Man Books).

Originally published in 1995, It Came From Memphis tells the stories of bold and outlandish characters who brought life to the city’s cultural outer limits—characters that likely won’t won’t be found in other books. Yet each one embodies the indelible spirit of Memphis’ haunting beauty. From the 1950s through the early ’80s, DJ Dewey Phillips, professional wrestler Sputnik Monroe, and groundbreaking artists, musicians, and outsiders such as Alex Chilton, Furry Lewis, Tav Falco, Misty Lavender, Jim Dickinson, and more, are bound by an impressionistic thread, forever weaving them together in time and place. Gordon’s blend of interviews, spellbinding ruminations, and first-hand accounts come together in tales filled with gritty realism and spectral Southern ambiance.

A Cappella Books hosted our Zoom conversation. Press play above, and head over to A Cappella’s website for a copy of It Came From Memphis with a bookplate signed by the author.

If you have enjoyed this interview, please consider making a donation to RadATL.

Donate with PayPal
RadATL Uncategorized

It Came From Memphis: A conversation with author Robert Gordon Thurs., Nov. 12

A Cappella Books presents a virtual event with award-winning writer and documentarian Robert Gordon to celebrate the forthcoming 25th Anniversary Edition of his captivating deep-dive into the cultural underground of the 1950s Memphis arts and music scene.

Gordon will join Atlanta music writer and Smithsonian Folkways editor Chad Radford for a Zoom discussion of the updated and revised It Came from Memphis, published by Jack White’s Third Man Books. The interview will be followed by an online Q&A session, and is free and open to the public.

The updated and revised 25th Anniversary Edition of It Came From Memphis features more than 80 new photos, a new layout, an updated text featuring more voices, and forewords by Peter Guralnick and Hanif Abdurraqib.

A Cappella Books will have copies of It Came From Memphis featuring a bookplate signed by Gordon available after the event. Pre-order your copy and learn how to sign into the conversation at A Cappella Books.

Thursday, November 12. 7 p.m. Free to sign in to the Zoom chat.

RadATL Uncategorized

We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk rock, Ronald Reagan, and the real culture war of 1980s America

The specter of nuclear annihilation that hung over the Reagan era feels somewhat quaint now, in light of just how much President Trump’s draconian administration, the global pandemic, and the oppressive grind of social media have twisted up the American psyche circa 2020. Still, the 1980s were a fertile time for punk rock’s cultural growth on American soil.

In We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America, author and Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History at Ohio University Kevin Mattson delves into the golden era of hardcore, punk and DIY culture blooming in the shadow of the Gipper. Countering the oppressive forces of a conservative White House regime, a community bound by the music of groups such as the Dead Kennedys, the Dils, Minor Threat, the Avengers, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Black Flag, and more was compelled to enact empowering social change that still resonates around the planet.

On Tuesday, September 29, Mattson will join GSU history professor and author John McMillian (Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America, Beatles vs. Stones) and yours truly, music writer and editor Chad Radford, to discuss the book, the music, and more.

Tues., Sept. 29. 7 p.m. It’s free to sign in for our Zoom conversation. Head over to www.acappellabooks.com for details.

RadATL Uncategorized

Paul Gorman ‘The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren’ Q&A

Mark your calendars now, folks. On Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, I am talking with journalist, author, archivist, and commentator Paul Gorman about his epic new biography, The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren. It’s an 855-page book—I don’t know that I’ve ever read an 855-page book in its entirety (although Ulysses and Gravity’s Rainbow come close). McLaren carved a singular place for himself in history as a clothing designer, boutique shop owner, artist, and as a manager and promoter for both the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls. Alongside his partner Vivienne Westwood, McLaren was an early progenitor of the punk movement. He’s a fascinating, worthy, and misunderstood subject for such a hefty tome, and I cannot recommend this book enough.

Gorman is an excellent conversationalist as well. Our Zoom chat is hosted by A Cappella Books. Check out the shop’s website for details on how to sign in, and how you can get a signed copy of the book.

Thurs., Sept. 24. Free to sign in, 6 p.m. www.acappellabooks.com.

RadATL Uncategorized

Blake Butler discusses his latest book, ‘Alice Knott,’ and more Thursday, July 30

Photo by Molly Brodak

In the beginning, Blake Butler’s words hit the page the way Jackson Pollock thrust paint onto canvas. The Marietta-based author’s 2011 breakthrough novel, There Is No Year, unfurls in a multi-hued splatter of chaos in expansion, drawing comparisons to everyone from William S. Burroughs to Dennis Cooper.

Since then, Butler has continually honed his singularly baroque style and voice. His latest novel, Alice Knott (Riverhead Books), is a hypnotic and wildly inventive story about the destructive act of finding meaning in art, and navigating a world that grows more corrupt by the minute.

On Thursday, July 30, at 8 p.m. (EST), Butler will join Atlanta Music writer Chad Radford and A Cappella Books for a discussion of his acclaimed new novel and more.

The conversation is free to attend via Zoom. Click here to join the event.

RadATL Uncategorized

Talking Heads percussionist Chris Frántz on his new book, ‘Remain In Love’

REMAIN IN LOVE: Photo courtesy St. Martin’s Press.

Chris Frántz is best known as a songwriter, producer, and founding member of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. His sprawling and stylish drumming played a key role in pushing post-punk and new wave inflections beyond the commonly held notions of what constitutes rock ‘n’ roll, while always remaining at least three steps ahead of his contemporaries.

In a new memoir titled Remain In Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and Tina (St. Martin’s Press), Frántz offers a look inside his storied life, recalling tales of meeting Talking Heads singer and guitarist David Byrne while studying at Rhode Island School of Design in the ‘70s, and shaping new facets of creativity in popular music alongside his wife and bass player Tina Weymouth.

On Wednesday, July 22 at 8 p.m. (Eastern), A Cappella Books hosts Frántz in a Zoom conversation with yours truly. We’ll discuss everything from reconciling art and live music on stage and scoring hits with Talking Heads songs such as “Psycho Killer” and “Burning Down the House” and Tom Tom Club’s “Genius Of Love” and “Wordy Rappinghood” to life in the modern world.

Our interview will be followed by an online Q&A session with everyone who tunes in. Tickets are limited to 100 guests. Pre-order a signed copy of Remain in Love via A Cappella Books to receive your private invitation via email. Signed copies of the book will arrive via shipping or local delivery (where applicable) shortly after the interview.

Head over to A Cappella Books to pre-order Remain In Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina.

Chris Frántz. Photo by James Swaffiield.