Greg kicks things off this week with a recap of the The Loman Brothers show at Bossa Bistro this past weekend in a ’Tales from the Concert.’ Jay and Nick were in attendance and share their thoughts. If you missed it, it was an incredible show, but you can watch a solid recap of the performance over on Sandi Redman’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knKHDXUYzvE

Song: The Loman Brothers - “Actual Proof” (Herbie Hancock)

Jay watched the Yacht Rock Doc that Greg covered last week and he loved it. YouTube perrsonality, multi-instrumentalist and music educator Rick Beato watch it too, and he hated it. Jay takes us down to Hot Topical to discuss.

Song: Sam Fender - “People Watching”

The Drummers of Frank Zappa was a special released on Drum Channel over 16 years ago, but it’s new to Nick! He recaps the conversations had by Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, Chester Thompson, Ralph Humphrey and Ruth Underwood about their time playing with the legendary composer. You can watch it too on Drum Channel’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruB1JplOmTw

Song: Frank Zappa - “RDNZL” (from You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol 2)

Happy New Year! Nick kicks things off with Three For Thursday: 2024 Albums of the Year Edition. We’ve heard songs from these albums over the past year, but Nick believes they’re the cream of the crop in 2024.

Songs:

Ghost Note - “Where’s Danny?”

Vampire Weekend - “Mary Boone”

Plantoid - “Insomniac (Don’t Worry)”

Greg brings us up to speed on a documentary he’s recommending we all watch over the holiday break. Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary can be found on Max and recounts the rise in popularity of the, later dubbed, yacht rock genre that emerged from the west coast in the late 70s.

Song: Doobie Brothers - “What a Fool Believes”

Jay wraps the week (and the year) with a fantastic article in the Jan 2025 Harpers Magazine titled “The Ghosts in the Machine” [Harpers Magazine]. The article reports Spotify’s internal program aimed at filling ‘background music’ playlists with licensed sound-alike content that costs much less that the royalties paid to streaming artists. It re-raises a familiar question on the show, can the economics of the music industry ever result in a system that benefits and is fair to its artists.

Song: Frank Zappa - “Andy” (checkout Tyler Bartrem’s video about this song if you’re interested -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_Jq0DX0bfc )

Jay is out this week rehearsing with the Ken Demith Collection so friend of the show Keith Grasso is sitting in, and he’s bringing a substantial amount of, much needed, holiday cheer. Last year Keith decided to record his own rendition of “Blue Christmas” and he enjoyed the process so much that he’s done it again this year.

Songs:

Keith Grasso - “Christmastime is Here”

Keith Grasso & John Rossman - “Hard Candy Christmas”

In lieu of actual presents, Nick found some feel good news story to share via “News with Nick.” Notre Dame’s organist returns for the grand opening, Pearl Jam announces a tour, as does the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band.

Song: Barenaked Ladies - “Deck the Stills”

Greg wraps up our show this week with a Three for Thursday. New music from Opeth & Kelsey Shell, and a classic Christmas Carol by Bill Evans.

Songs:

Opeth - “§3”

Kelsey Shell (album - sleepwalker) - “When You’re Lying There”

Bill Evans - “Santa Clause is Coming to Town”

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone, thanks so much for listening!