Reading Is Funktamental - A Pod About Books About Music

• The Complicated Life of Skip Spence with Moby Grape's Don Stevenson & Author Cam Cobb

  Guests: Don Stevenson, drummer/songwriter of Moby Grape & Cam Cobb, author of Weighted Down: The Complicated Life of Skip Spence. He was one of the Holy Trinity of critically revered and maybe unjustly labeled “acid casualties” of late ‘60s/early ‘70s music. Along with Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett and the 13th Floor Elevators’ Roky Erickson, Skip Spence was a star-crossed figure idolized for his all-too-brief contributions to shaping psychedelia through his work with Moby Grape and his one incredibly stark and endlessly intriguing solo album, Oar. His briefly burning creativity and agonizingly slow decline are profiled in a wonderfully comprehensive new book, Weighted Down: The Complicated Life of Skip Spence (Omnibus Press). Author Cam Cobb spoke with a multitude of Skip’s family, friends, and bandmates to create the first authoritative chronicle of his artistic development and achievements and a sympathetic one of his long battle with mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. For this special edition of “Reading Is Funktamental,” we hear direct from one of the musicians who knew Spence best, Don Stevenson, the drummer and co-writer of many of Moby Grape’s most popular songs, including “Hey Grandma,” “8:05” and “Murder in My Heart for the Judge.” My written review of the book can be found here at PopMatters, https://www.popmatters.com/moby-grape-skip-pence-biography "Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it. "Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and other platforms. Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

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• Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus with author Aidan Levy

  Guest: Aidan Levy, Author of Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins. In his new book, Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins, author Aidan Levy has created a work nearly as sprawling and monumental as the seven decades of sounds crafted by a man widely considered “jazz’s greatest living improviser.”Levy devoted seven years to capturing Rollins – the musician, the myth, the civil rights activist, environmentalist, and wandering spiritualist – in a whopping 750 readable pages. The book is based on more than 200 interviews with Rollins, his family members, friends, and collaborators, as well as the artist’s archive of letters, journals, photos, and press clippings accrued over a career in which he has taken a few notable sabbaticals and sharp stylistic turns. It pretty much traces every recording session and gig in which the Saxophone Colossus participated. The depth of Levy’s astounding research is furthered by the more than 400 pages of footnotes available only online. You can read my earlier review of this book here: https://nysmusic.com/2023/05/09/author-aidan-levy-creates-a-new-jazz-standard-with-sonny-rollins-biography/"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it. "Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and other platforms.Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

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• The Life & Death of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler with author Richard Koloda

  Guest: Richard Koloda, Author of Holy Ghost: The Life and Death of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert AylerA lawyer by trade and a jazz musicologist by passion, Richard Koloda has spent over two decades creating the most authoritative look at the life and music of free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler. His book follows Albert's life from his childhood and apprenticeship in Cleveland to his glory days in France and Scandinavia to his mysterious end via a drowning/suicide (or murder?) in the East River. My earlier print review of this fascinating book can be found at https://nysmusic.com/2023/01/07/free-jazz-giant-albert-ayler-gets-definitive-biography-with-holy-ghost/"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it. "Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms.Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

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• Moon Zappa on her memoir, Earth to Moon

  Earth to Moon is the new critically acclaimed memoir of Moon Zappa, the eldest child of legendary rocker Frank Zappa and his wife, Gail. The book presents the often-disturbing realities of growing up in the shadow of her self-absorbed, workaholic dad (a man she idolized above all others) and her bossy mother, who vented at her eldest child due, to her father’s philandering ways. The book chronicles her childhood amongst the legendary musicians of Laurel Canyon, her stints as a VJ on MTV and VH-1, her acting and writing careers, and, of course, her star-turn on her dad’s biggest tune, “Valley Girl.” My print review of this book can be found here at https://nysmusic.com/2024/08/24/moon-zappa-pens-a-rock-n-roll-mommy-sorta-daddy-dearest/"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it. "Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and other platforms.Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the ambient guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo, Vapor Vespers, and the quartet, Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

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• Rocker Dave Mason on his memoir, Only You Know and I Know

  Only You Know and I Know is not only the name of one of his biggest hits but also the title of rocker Dave Mason’s new autobiography. It’s a freewheeling testament, providing that Dave was one of the most Zelig of rocker. He came to fame as a co-founder of the group Traffic and the writer of their biggest and most cover hit, “Feelin’ Alright.” He’s also contributed to defining tracks by pals like Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Derek & the Dominoes, Delaney & Bonnie, Fleetwood Mac, and more. Dave then went on to a fruitful solo career, which continues with his Traffic Jam tour. He will be joining us to discuss his life and new memoir. My print review can be found here at NYSMusic.com"Reading is Funktamental" is a monthly one-hour show about great books written about music and music-makers. In each episode, host Sal Cataldi speaks to the authors of some of the best reads about rock, jazz, punk, world, experimental music, and much more. From time to time, the host and authors will be joined by notable musicians, writers, and artists who are die-hard fans of the subject matter covered. Expect lively conversation and a playlist of great music to go with it. "Reading Is Funktamental" can be heard the second Wednesday of every month from 10 – 11 AM on Wave Farm: WGXC 90.7 FM and online at wavefarm.org. It can also be found as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms.Sal Cataldi is a musician and writer based in Saugerties. He is best known for his work with his genre-leaping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, and is also a member of the jazz/post-rock ensemble the Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, ambient guitar duo Guitars A Go Go, the poetry and music duo Vapor Vespers, and the quartet Spaceheater. His writing on music, books and film has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, PopMatters, Seattle Times, Huffington Post, Inside+Out Upstate NY, and NYSMusic.com, where he is the book reviewer.

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