September 23rd, 2017

Rollo & Grady Interview with Charles Bradley (March 3, 2011)

Rollo & Grady Interview with Charles Bradley (March 3, 2011)

HEART OF GOLD

Look up soul in any dictionary: it means “strong positive feeling, as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor.” Charles Bradley is one of the best soul singers of our generation. His raspy vocals are reminiscent of the voices of Otis Redding, Al Green, and James Brown, whose music he was covering when he was discovered in Brooklyn by Daptone Records’ co-founder, Gabriel Roth. Roth took Bradley to meet Tommy Brenneck, who plays with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, and runs Dunham Records.

Rollo & Grady Interview with Charles Bradley (March 3, 2011)
Tommy Brenneck

Bradley’s brother had just been shot and killed, and Brenneck encouraged Bradley to open up about his life and put it on tape. Bradley’s life gave him a lot to sing about: fatherless since day one, homeless since 14, cooking in kitchens, reuniting with his family only to get terminally ill, getting better only to lose his brother. “Heartaches and Pain” is the song he wrote about the murder of his brother, and its title describes the whole of Bradley’s debut album, “No Time for Dreaming”, a heartwrenching glimpse of how to get through hard feelings and hard times with only your voice between you and giving up. Again: it’s great soul, and it gives our generation a sense of the greatness of that genre as it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Rollo & Grady Interview with Charles Bradley (March 3, 2011)



June 5th, 2012

Music Supervisor Profile :: Joe Rudge

Music Supervisor Profile :: Joe Rudge

Joe Rudge is an established music supervisor based in Brooklyn, NY. An experienced licensing professional and music fanatic, he works with film, TV, commercial, and multimedia directors to enhance the moving image with sound.

Joe started as production assistant at MTV & VH1, but soon found himself music supervising for The Disney Channel. 2006 was a breakthrough year for Joe, when he music-supervised the cult hit Brick, directed by Rian Johnson, for Focus Features.

Recent music supervision highlights include Blue Valentine (directed by Derek Cianfrance), Terri (directed by Aza Jacobs), Margin Call (directed by J.C Chandor), and the Martin Scorsese documentaries Public Speaking and George Harrison: Living In The Material World.

Upcoming is the much buzzed about Sundance award winner Beasts of the Southern Wild (directed by Benh Zeitlin), released by Fox Searchlight.
Music Supervisor Profile :: Joe Rudge



May 18th, 2012

Rollo & Grady Interview :: King Tuff

Rollo & Grady Interview :: King Tuff

Last year I rediscovered the 2008 King Tuff album Was Dead and it became my favorite album of the year, listening to it everyday for a four-month stretch. Also a member of the bands Witch, Feathers and Happy Birthday, Vermont-native Kyle Thomas continues to deliver quality material with the highly anticipated release of his upcoming self-titled album, out on May 29th via Sub Pop Records. I had the pleasure of chatting with Kyle Thomas about moving to Los Angeles, living in a cave and the proliferation of donut shops around the city.

Rollo & Grady Interview :: King Tuff



October 3rd, 2011

Rollo & Grady Interview :: Ian Rogers – Topspin Media

ian rogers profile

At first glance, Ian Rogers doesn’t look like the CEO of a cutting-edge music technology company. He has long blond hair and tattoos on his fingers, is an avid skateboarder, and loves hip-hop music. Rogers happens to be one of the music industry’s brightest visionaries and one of the most passionate people I’ve spoken to regarding the future of music and marketing.

He runs the Los Angeles based company Topspin Media, a direct-to-fan marketing and retail software company founded by Peter Gotcher and Shamal Ranasinghe in 2007. Rogers joined the company in 2008, the same year Topspin was named Indie Visionary of the Year by Billboard Magazine. Prior to working at Topspin, Rogers was the GM of Yahoo Music for five years. In the 90s he managed the Beastie Boys and eventually became the President of New Media for their label, Grand Royal.

Rollo & Grady Interview :: Ian Rogers   Topspin Media

Rogers practices what he preaches: the direct-to-fan CEO is also direct-to-critics. He is not afraid to defend his company on message boards, in person, and on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and blogs. He recently interrupted his family vacation in Hawaii to explain the company’s decision to shut down the San Francisco office.

I caught up with Rogers to discuss the Topspin platform and its popularity with over 4,000 artists, which includes diverse acts such as Odd Future, Drive-By Truckers, Paul McCartney, Blitzen Trapper, Neon Indian, Sigur Ros, Lil’ Wayne, and Gillian Welch, to name a few.

Rollo & Grady Interview :: Ian Rogers   Topspin Media



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October 3rd, 2011

Music Supervisor Profile :: Andrea von Foerster

von Foerster photo (2)

Music Supervisor Profile is a recurring feature on Rollo & Grady: we interview the top supervisors in the business to learn their secrets and get valuable advice on how to break into world of music supervision. Some of our previous interviews have been with such heavyweights as Thomas Golubic, Liza Richardson, Scott Vener, and Gary Calamar.

We recently interviewed the brilliant and insightful tastemaker Andrea von Foerster of Firestarter Music. Over the last decade, Andrea has handled music supervision responsibilities for both television and film. She was the music coordinator for hit television shows Grey’s Anatomy, The OC, Rescue Me, and Roswell. She is best known for supervising the Fox Searchlight film, 500 Days of Summer. The movie’s eclectic soundtrack included Black Lips, Doves, The Smiths, Feist, and Hall & Oates. During our conversation, she made a point to tell me that she feels blessed to have the best job in the world.
Music Supervisor Profile :: Andrea von Foerster



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September 8th, 2011

Music Supervisor Profile :: Liza Richardson

Music Supervisor Profile :: Liza Richardson

Music Supervisor Profile is a recurring feature on Rollo & Grady where we interview the top supervisors in the business to learn their secrets and get valuable advice on how to break into world of music supervision. Some of our previous interviews have been with such heavyweights as Thomas Golubic, Gary Calamar, and Scott Vener.

This month we interviewed the super talented Liza Richardson. Her resume boasts Hawaii Five-0 , Parenthood, and Friday Night Lights. Richardson selected over 600 songs in the 5-season run of Friday Night Lights. Some of the artists she included were Pearl Jam, Wilco, White Denim, Ryan Adams, TV On The Radio, Explosions In The Sky, Black Keys, and Bob Dylan. Her film work includes The Italian Job, Lords Of Dogtown, and Y Tu Mamá También, which was nominated for a Best Soundtrack Compilation Grammy.

In addition to her work in television and film, Richardson worked on an IPOD commercial. The Texas native has also DJ’d for Southern California radio station KCRW 89.9 FM since 1990 and she was tapped to be the first DJ to spin for the Academy Awards ceremony in 2007.
Music Supervisor Profile :: Liza Richardson



September 2nd, 2011

Rollo & Grady Interview :: Blake Anderson of Workaholics

Rollo & Grady Interview :: Blake Anderson of Workaholics
UNCLE BLAZER

Workaholics is one of the best comedies on television. The show revolves around three friends played by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, and Anders Holm, whose characters are roommates and recent college grads that work for a telemarketing company. They hatch elaborate schemes to fuck with one another, but ultimately, the show is about friends that don’t want to grow up and join the rat race. Blake plays the long-haired, pot-smoking, mushroom-eating, Renaissance Faire vet and loyal friend. Anderson is the funniest character on television since Charlie Day [Charlie Kelly] of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Workaholics is one of those rare comedies every episode of which is hilarious from start to finish. Workaholics completed its first season in early June and was renewed for another ten episodes starting in late September.
Rollo & Grady Interview :: Blake Anderson of Workaholics



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July 11th, 2011

Rollo & Grady Interview with King “Arish” Khan

Rollo & Grady Interview with King Arish Khan

Over the past year and a half, Arish A. Khan (a.k.a King “BlackSnake” Khan) has been to the depths of Hell and back. He was arrested twice while on tour, lost three of his best friends, parted ways with longtime collaborator and best friend, Mark “BBQ” Sultan, had a nervous breakdown, quit music, and considered becoming a Buddhist monk.

Naturally, Khan’s wife, family, and friends were worried about his well-being and encouraged him to check into a mental institution in Berlin. He agreed. At the hospital he was evaluated, prescribed “mind numbing” drugs, and monitored on an outpatient basis for a couple months.

Rollo & Grady Interview with King Arish Khan

When I caught up with Khan last month, he was no longer taking the meds and told me that this was the first month that he felt back in real life again. He is now channeling his spiritual awakening towards producing and recording on several projects: one is with Singer-songwriter Mary Ocher and another called KhanWood Clarke, which is his country music collaboration with Jeff Clarke from Demon’s Claws and Sean Wood from the Spits. He is also working on a new King Khan & The Shrines record.

Rollo & Grady Interview with King Arish Khan