blues traveler

This week we pay homage to bands straddled the world of the 80s hard n’ heavy and the 90s alternative n’ grunge. These were bands that were somewhat outside of the status quo specifically in the hard rock and metal world that seemed to be playing music that was more genre and categorization-defying. Thus we created our own non-genre called; The Inbetweeners!

What’s this InObscuria thing? We’re a podcast that exhumes obscure Rock n' Punk n' Metal and puts them in one of 3 categories: the Lost, the Forgotten, or the Should Have Beens. This week we cover all 3 categories and even some bands that we played early on in the podcast. The transition from the hard rockin’ 80s to the punk-edged alternative of the 90s was a time like no other, and some bands simply got caught in the middle. Go and check out these songs and the albums that they come from and enjoy some music from The Inbetweeners! 

Songs this week include:

1. Naked Sun – “Psycho-Activate” from Naked Sun (1991)
2. Funhouse – “Y.R.S.” from Generation Generator (1990)
3. No Walls – “Naive” from No Wall (1992)
4. Animal Bag – “Missing Out” from Animal Bag (1992)
5. Red Sea – “Blood” from Blood (1994)
6. The Hatters – “Sacrifice” from The Madcap Adventures Of The Avocado Overlord (1994)
7. Loudhouse – “Faith Farm” from For Crying Out Loud (1991)

Please subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!

Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/

https://www.facebook.com/InObscuria

https://twitter.com/inobscuria

https://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/

Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=u

Check out Robert’s amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/

If you’d like to check out Kevin’s band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/

If you want to hear Robert and Kevin’s band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/

Blues Traveler is back with a second volume of classic songs played with the emotion the band can bring to them. Traveler's Soul is available now. We talked with guitarist Chan Kinchla about the song selection, tour dates and, the band's friendship with TLC. To pick up a copy of the record, to find show dates, or for even more, just check out the band's website. 

Weezer released their debut studio album in May of 1994, often known as the Blue Album due to its blue cover.  The band formed in Los Angeles in 1992 as grunge was on its ascendency.  Despite a sound that we identify with grunge today, singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson, guitarist Jason Cropper, and bassist Matt Sharp struggled to find an audience in the midst of the grunge movement.  They were signed to A&R after recording a demo late in 1992, and would find success in the alternate scene by the time their debut was released.  Cuomo had asthma when he was younger, and his dad jokingly called him “Weezer,” which became the name of the band.

Cars alumnus Ric Ocasek produced the album after Weezer had been persuaded not to self-produce.  While recording the album, guitarist Jason Cropper found out that his girlfriend was pregnant.  This led to difficulties and erratic  behavior that led to Cuomo firing him.  Guitarist Brian Bell was brought in as a replacement, and almost all of Croppers guitar parts were re-recorded after the album was already completed.  

It only took seven months for this album to be certified gold by the RIAA, and it was also a critical success.  Many consider the “Blue Album” to be one of the best albums of the 1990's.  You may call it grunge, or alternative, or even geek rock, but it is great music.

Founder Rivers Cuomo struggled with the fame of the group, and it took a long time for him to reconcile his antipathy toward the “rock lifestyle” with the success of the band and its music.

Rob features this quirky album for the podcast.

Undone - The Sweater Song
The first single was originally going to have a number of sound clips sampled into the song, but the group went a different direction after considering the licensing costs.  Although it was envisioned as a sad song, fans found it hilarious.  “The Sweater Song” was added to the title when fans began referring to it by that name. 

Buddy Holly
Many will recall this song from the iconic video involving the band being inserted into an episode of the 70's sitcom “Happy Days.”  It was released as the second single on September 7, 1994, which would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday.  It went to number 2 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.  Songwriter Rivers Cuomo didn't want to include this track on the album at first, thinking it was not representative of the Weezer sound.

In The Garage
This deeper cut has a deliberately fuzzy “garage” feel.  Rivers Cuomo and the band got its start in the garage, and the lyrics reflect time spent in the garage with nerd culture including Dungeons and Dragons, comics, and rock bands like Kiss.

Say It Ain't So
The third and final single from the album was inspired by an incident in high school where Cuomo found a bottle of beer in the refrigerator at his home.  He believed alcoholism had broken up his parents' marriage, and was afraid that the same would happen with his mother and step-father. 

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Bustin' Surfboards by The Tornadoes (from the motion picture “Pulp Fiction”)  
John Travolta showed us he still has the moves long after "Saturday Night Fever" in this Quentin Tarantino film.

STAFF PICKS:

Am I Wrong by Love Spit Love 
Bruce starts this week's staff picks with the Psychedelic Furs’ alumni Richard and Tim Butler in a new band.  Guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer completed the band.  The name comes from a 1991 performance art exhibit protesting government censorship.  The song itself is a bittersweet reflection on an ended relationship.

Wild Night by John Mellencamp  
Lynch brings us a fast-paced cover of Van Morrison's classic.  Mellencamp is joined on this piece by singer/songwriter, bassist, and rapper Meshell Ndegeocello, who contributed the female harmonies.  This single from his album “Dance Naked” would see Mellencamp reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tomorrow by Silverchair 
Wayne features a second wave grunge act.  The song is about a rich man who takes his easy life for granted until a streak of bad luck forces him to endure an overnight stay in a sketchy old hotel.  The lead singer of this group was 15 years old at the time that this Australian group hit the charts with this song. 

Get Over It by The Eagles
Rob finishes off the staff picks with the comeback hit from the Eagles.  After a 14-year hiatus, the group came back together to release the part-live, part-studio album Hell Freezes Over.  This song reflects the frustration of seeing so many people take a victim mentality. 

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly  by Blues Traveler 
We close out today's podcast with an instrumental number off the Blues Traveler album, "four."

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” 

NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.

Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock worthy memes we can share.

Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!

**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

At the suggestion of guest Colin Speir, I invited his sister Peggy on the show to share her career journey, which included years on the road living a rock-n-roll lifestyle.  Peggy talks about starting out in lower Manhattan where she housed and fed up-and-coming musicians from Blues Traveler and DMB, bands she would later cook for on tour.  Peggy also reveals which singer didn't live up to her teenage crush and the American Idol winner who won her over after she rooted against her. Originally from New York, she currently lives with her husband in Vancouver where she started an ice shave and small batch fruit syrup company.  

Thanks for listening! Please review and subscribe and check us out at jobsblowpodcast.com. You can also follow us on IG and Twitter @jobsblowpodcast.

If you saw the Netflix documentary, Trainwreck: Woodstock '99, you may recall Colin Speir as one of the more likable personalities involved with the festival. He joins the podcast to share additional insight into what led to the destruction of the three-day concert and to talk about how he ended up working the historic event.  Colin also discusses his long career with the band Blues Traveler and looks back on how the festival not only changed his perspective, but his work in music as well.

Thanks for listening! Please review and subscribe and check us out at jobsblowpodcast.com. You can also follow us on IG and Twitter @jobsblowpodcast.

Blues Traveler playing the blues... It makes all the sense in the world. So why did they wait until their 14th studio album to record it? We sat down with guitarist Chan Kinchla to talk about recording their new album, touring in a Covid-world and how you needed to have hits in the 90s if you want an ego wall filled with platinum albums.

Traveler's Blues is out now. And if you download the digital version, you can get an extra track. For more information, check out the band's website, as well their pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Blues Traveler formed as a high school garage band in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987, and their fourth studio album, aptly named four, was their true breakout album.

Blues Traveler is composed of guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, drummer Brendan Hill, and front man, harmonica player, and primary songwriter John Popper.  Sheehan would die in 1999 and be replaced by Tad Kinchla.  The group would add Ben Wilson on keyboards in 2000.  This group is hard to define from a genre standpoint, as they have a little prog rock, a little psychedelic, a little funk, and surprisingly for a band originating in New Jersey, a little Southern rock.  The name was inspired by a character from the movie "Ghostbusters."  They were called Blues Band at the time, and became Blues Traveler after getting the idea from Gozer the Traveler.

The group moved to New York where they shared an apartment with their high school friend Chris Barron.  Barron, Popper and Hill were briefly in a band called The Trucking Company.  After Popper and Hill left The Trucking Company to focus on Blues Traveler the group changed their name - to the Spin Doctors.

Like the Grateful Dead, Blues Traveler is known as a jam band, and they encourage fans to record their live performances.  They also started the H.O.R.D.E. festival (Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere).

The album four is a great showcase of the talents of this band, and there is a lot of variety in the tracks.  We think you'll be "hooked" on this funk/rock/psychedelic jam session.

Hook
This is the second single from the album, and it peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song is a tongue in cheek critique of the music industry.  A "hook" is a riff or phrase in music that becomes a sort of earworm in your mind.  The lyrics make the case that the artist can basically sing anything as long as the hook is good.  In fact, the chord progression is built on Pachelbel's Cannon in D, one of the oldest music hooks around. 

Stand
A funky deep cut, Stand is about making a decision to move forward despite obstacles.  Popper wrote this song shortly after a motorcycle accident had him on stage performing in a wheelchair with the band.  Despite the difficulty of both being overweight and recovering from injury, John Popper pressed on.  By the way, Paul Shaffer of David Letterman Show fame is playing keyboards on this piece.

Look Around
A softer deep cut, this track is about carrying on after setbacks and heartbreak, and not giving up.  "If you want peace then live alone.  If you want to hide then find a stage.  Each a brief but perfect home to accommodate your rage." 

Run-Around
This is the big hit from the album.  The song is about being stuck in the friend zone, and was inspired by a crush John Popper had on a female bass player who briefly worked with the band.  The video is a great parody of "The Wizard of Oz," where Blues Traveler is secretly playing a set behind a curtain while a more photogenic band is on stage.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Main Theme from the television series The Magic School Bus
The children's educational series featured teacher Ms. Frizzle (voiced by Lily Tomlin)

STAFF PICKS:

Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb
The movie Reality Bites had a killer soundtrack, and this may be the most famous song from the film.  Brian tells about how Lisa Loeb was brought to the film soundtrack by actor Ethan Hawke while she was unsigned to a recording contract. 

All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow
Rob's staff pick is from Crow's debut album, and this single was on the charts this month.  The lyrics originate from a poem called "Fun" by Wyn Cooper.  The lyrics chronicle what life might look like from a bar stool, sitting around drinking all day.  Sheryl Crow became a celebrity after the release of this album entitled "Tuesday Night Music Club."

Seether by Veruca Salt
Wayne takes the tempo up with this rocking staff pick.  Nina Gordon and Louise Post front this alternate rock band, and sing about rage and animalistic instincts that build up over time.  "Can't fight the seether, I can't see her till I'm foaming at the mouth."

Lucas With the Lid Off by Lucas
Bruce brings us a track from Danish rapper Lucas Secon built on a tune from Benny Goodman's "When Buddha Smiles," originally penned in 1935.  The video was a complex shot done in one continuous take with no edits, cuts, or enhancement.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

L.A. by Widespread Panic
Jam band Widespread Panic takes us out on this podcast with this instrumental track.

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” 

NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.

Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock worthy memes we can share.

Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!

**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

Here is this week's playlist. 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5RMPlBhvMnDkxKZT6Y2bUT

Diane and Sean discuss the Farrelly Bros' bowling movie, Kingpin. Episode music is "Bowling Song" (Almighty Malachi, Professional Bowling God) by Stephen Lynch, from his album, "Superhero". And "But Anyway" by Blues Traveler from the OST.