ASTRAL WEEKS with Ryan H Walsh

Please enjoy this continuation of my conversation with Van Trumpeter/Musical Director Matt Holland. Next episode coming soon, exploring Tupelo Honey!

It was a great pleasure to talk with trumpet player/musical director, Matt Holland. Matt has played with a laundry list of legendary artists and  served as Van's  go-to trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist  for many years (primarily from the mid-90s to the 2010s and beyond). Enjoy part one of our conversation. 

...And we're back! Another content packed episode is here to promenade with. Enjoy this two and a half hour exegesis of His Band And The Street Choir. Next episode will be another incredibly special interview with a Van alumni.

Enjoy part two of my conversation with John, where we go through the rest of the catalog he was a part of, as well as some behind the scenes insights and what he's up to these days.

In the first diversion from the discography theme of the show, I sit down with longtime Van guitarist, John Platania. Van met him in Woodstock and has utilized his talents (off and on) throughout the years ever since. With an instantly recognizable acoustic and electric touch on guitar, John has contributed some of the most memorable riffs in Van's catalog. 

Music journalist, author and publisher, Alan Light joins the show to wax elagaic about the stone classic album, Moondance. Van took the wheel, aka producer's chair, and released an album that both saved, and in many ways defined his career. Alan has interviewed the Man and lived to tell the tale. He has a deep and insightful relationship with Van's music and is one of the mot articulate guests one could hope for. Enjoy!

This was an intimidating one. How do you put words to what a work of art this deep, healing and transformative? Well, thankfully I've got good company to help me with that this episode, author Ryan Walsh. His book "Astral Weeks : A Secret History Of 1968" is a must-read, for both fans of Van the Man, but also anyone interested in the raw, weird times of the 60s. There's many easter eggs this episode. If, like me, you thought you knew all there is to know about Astral Weeks, think again! I had my mind blown a couple times on this episode. Hopefully, your will be too (and no, that was not a reference to the last album,..).

This episode we get to the beginning of Van's solo career proper, with Blowin' Your Mind ( a title Van had no control of, by the way - which is a running theme of this album). My guest for the episode is Matt Farley, who is a bit of a DIY renaissance man, writing and recording thousands of songs, directing dozens of movies and one of my favorite podcast guests. Having heard him on another pod and knowing he has a deep love for a chunk of Morrison's catalog, I knew I had to get him on the show. This seemed like a perfect record to discuss with him, as he is both highly insightful and also funny as hell. Hopefully this episode gets you to listen to some of the wildly creative and personal deep cuts from this record. Find Matt via Motern Media on all the socials and as a website hub for all of his activities!

With the second episode, Ken Samuels and I discuss Van's last stand with Them. It's a record littered with both landmines and precious gems. Is it worth the journey? Listen to us blather on and decide for yourself. 

Welcome to the long overdue first podcast focused on the music and life of Van Morrison. Being the first episode, there's room to grow, but having vainly searched for Van-centric podcasts for years, it became clear I was going to have to be the one to do it. Hope you enjoy. And being my first episode, there's the prerequisite factual errors already, While editing the show, I realized I had been mysteriously and obliviously calling Bert Berns "Bob" the whole episode. Whoops. Let me know what you think and what you'd like to hear more of.