I recently spoke with Cynthia Sley, the iconic frontwoman of Bush Tetras, the legendary NYC art-punk band that helped define the downtown underground scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Cynthia’s distinct image and half-spoken, sharp delivery have undeniably influenced current artists like Florence Shaw of Dry Cleaning. The band’s overall sound—…

On this episode of Radar I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arakestra. Marshall was born on May 25th 1924 and is coming up on his 101st birthday. He is a multi-instrumentalist and the most revered & distinctive free jazz, avant-garde alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and the EVI.…

I sat down recently my friend Ryan Lee Crosby who is a Rhode Island based musician, songwriter, producer and teacher most known for his uncanny ability to channel 1930's Mississippi blues as if he arrived to us through a portal. He combines Hill Country and Bentonia style blues with sounds from India and Africa and as such, is expanding the traditi…

Parthenon Huxley is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer largely known for his work with the band ELO Part II (later The Orchestra). He spent time in the 1970's as a staff writer for MCA in New York, released his first solo album on Columbia, spent many years in LA working with a wide range of artists as a producer & guitarists, …

On this episode of Radar I spoke with Oliver Ackermann who is the founder & creator of the Brooklyn-based effects pedal company Death By Audio and is guitarist and lead singer of New York based punk, noise, shoe-gaze band A Place to Bury Strangers. They have released seven LP’s, fourteen EP's, a live album and more singles than I can count. They ar…

Best known for their 1980 hit “Turning Japanese” The Vapors are a band that formed in 1979, Guildford UK, which is also home to The Stranglers. They were brought to a larger UK audience with a support slot on The Jam’s iconic 1979 “Setting Sons”tour, and were by then managed by The Jam’s Bruce Foxton and Paul Weller’s father John. Their debut album…

Julia Gorton started her career as the photographer, creative director + publisher of the No Wave fanzine Beat It!, which offered an insiders view of the downtown New York music scene, 1976-1980. She recently published a compilation of issues and her book, Nowhere New York offers a visceral view of the scene through her photographs, writing and gue…