Behind the Setlist

Alter Bridge tour history at Setlist.fm

Billboard podcasts

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Myles Kennedy & Mark Tremonti (of Alter Bridge) Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

Myles Kennedy & Mark Tremonti are one half of the rock group Alter Bridge. The band is currently on tour in Europe in support of its seventh studio album, Pawns & Kings, released on Oct. 14 via Napalm Records. The well-reviewed album reached No. 35 on the Billboard 200 U.S. album chart, No. 2 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Austria, No. 6 in the U.K., No. 7 in Germany and No. 15 in the Netherlands. The band wraps up its European tour on Dec. 12 at the O2 Arena in London. A U.S. tour starts on Jan. 25, 2023 in Tampa, FL, and extends to an April 1 show in Highland, CA.

Tremonti's career started with the band Creed with Alter Bridge bandmates Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums). That trio and Kennedy co-founded Alter Bridge in 2004. Kennedy was previously in the rock band Mayfield Four. Kennedy has recorded and toured with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash since his 2010 solo album. Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators released their latest album, 4, in Feb. 2022.

Links:

Alter Bridge's home page

Soccer Mommy at Setlist.fm

Billboard podcasts

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Soccer Mommy Oct 23, 2022

Show notes

As Soccer Mommy, Sophie Allison released her third studio album, Sometimes, Forever, in June of 2022 on the Loma Vista Recordings label. The album has received widespread acclaim. Paste magazine gave it 8.5 out of 10. Pitchfork’s review, an 8 out of 10, noting Allison’s "characteristic humor and wit amidst bitterness and melancholy." The Guardian’s four-out-of-five star review called it "warm, toothsome pop with icy blasts of angst."

Soccer Mommy had a busy 2022 on the road. Allison and her band spent the spring touring North America and played the Governors Ball festival in New York in June before heading to Europe for festival and club dates through the end of September. Back in the U.S. Soccer Mommy performed at the Pavement museum in New York City on Oct. 1 — covering three Pavement songs. Sophie talks a bit about Pavement and ‘90s indie rock, a few other bands she covers, how she approaches building a setlist, writing songs on the road and much more.

Links:

Soccer Mommy's home page

Billboard podcasts

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Nick Hexum and Chad Sexton (of 311) Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

Nick Hexum and Chad Sexton are from the rock band 311. Hexum, lead singer and guitarist, and Sexton, drummer, helped form the band in Omaha, Nebraska in 1988. The group's third album, 311 (the blue album) from 1995, made them famous on radio and MTV success of the songs "Down" and "All Mixed Up." The follow-up, Transistor from 1997, reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced three tracks that charted on various radio charts, the title track, "Prisoner" and "Beautiful Disaster."

Over the decades, 311 has made a name for themselves through their energetic live shows that showcase the band's mix of rock, metal, funk and reggae. With 13 studio albums in its catalog, and the ability to bust out a cover song such as The Cure's "Love Song" or Human Rights' "Who's Got the Herb?," the number of songs they might play in a given year has crossed 100, Hexum tells Behind the Setlist. In 2022, 311 is performing six albums in their entity on stage. The first two performances were the albums Music and Grassroots in New York City on Oct. 1 and 2. In Chicago on Oct. 22 and 23, the band will play Blue and Transistor. In Los Angeles on Nov. 11 and 12, they will perform Sound System and From Chaos. Each show will be live-streamed. Go to 311streamsystem.com for information about purchasing streams and merchandise packages.

Links:

311 concert history at Setlist.fm

311's official website

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Gavin Rossdale (of Bush) Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Gavin Rossdale is the co-founder and frontman for the rock band Bush. The Art of Survival, Bush's ninth studio album, is out Oct. 7. Its first single, the politically minded "More Than Machines," has been a mainstay on the band's set on tour with Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin. About half the set is sourced from the 2020 album The Kingdom. The group's smash 1994 debut album, Sixteen Stone, which is certified six-times platinum in the U.S., is also well represented in recent concerts.

Gavin, who joined Behind the Setlist from somewhere in Michigan, talks about the financial difficulties of touring in 2022, playing the role of a "baby band" as the tour's opening act, addressing political and social issues in song lyrics, the joys of playing cover songs and the much more.

Links

Bush concert data at Setlist.fm

Bush's official website

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Lee Loughnane (of Chicago) Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

Lee Loughnane is one of the founders of the long-running band Chicago. He is joined by Peter Pardini, director of the new documentary on the band, The Last Band On Stage (out Sept. 30) as well as a 2017 documentary about Chicago, Now More Than Ever, that captures the band as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the band's non-stop touring schedule.

Lee talks about being off the road, what it was like returning to the stage in Sept. 2021, performing with the Beach Boys in 2022, the band's new album, Born For This Moment (released in July 2022) and much more. Pardini provides insights into the making of the films and, as the band's videographer, seeing the band perform countless times.

Chicago has released 26 studio albums since its 1969 debut, Chicago Transit Authority, that featured such classic songs such as "Questions 67 and 68" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" That album went on to double-platinum status in the U.S. after exceeding sales of two million units, according to the RIAA. Gold and platinum albums continued over the years, peaking with the 1984 album, Chicago 17, which is certified six-times platinum in the U.S. and spawned the hits "Hard Habit to Break" and "You're the Inspiration." Among the band's many live albums and greatest hits, both Chicago IV-Chicago's Greatest Hits from 1975 and Greatest Hits 1982-1989 from 1989 are certified five-times platinum.

Chicago was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Links:

Chicago's official website

Chicago at Setlist.fm

Peter Pardini's official website

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Michael Sweet (of Stryper) Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

Michael Sweet is a founding member of the heavy metal band Stryper. The band was formed in 1983 and released a six-song EP, The Yellow and Black Attack, in 1984 on Enigma Records. That was followed by a string of successful albums in the '80s: Soldiers Under Commend from 1985 and In God We Trust from 1988 are certified gold in the U.S. To Hell With the Devil from 1986 went platinum in the U.S. Against the Law in 1990 would be the band's latest album until Reborn in 2005. The band's latest studio album, Even the Devil Believes, came out in 2020. Their newest album, the 11-track The Final Battle, will be released in October.

As Michael puts its, Stryper was a band in the early '80s Hollywood scene that became Christians, not Christians who formed a heavy metal band. "I think that kind of sums it up right there," he says. "There's a big difference in the way we think, the way we write, the way we produce, the way we sound, the way we perform, who we perform with -- everything we do."

In 2022, Stryper played across the U.S., most recently at the Monsters on the Mountain festival in Gatlinburg, TN in August alongside veteran rock and metal bands such as Extreme, Night Ranger, Queensryche and Yngwie Malmsteen. They're back on the road on Sept. 25 in Witchita, KS, starting a string of U.S. dates before heading to Latin America (Costa Rica on Oct. 8 and Colombia on Oct. 10). Then it's back to the U.S. for the Kiss Kruise XI from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3, a few Southern California dates in early November, and the Hell and Heaven Metal Fest in Toluca, Mexico on Dec. 4.

Links:

Stryper concert list at Setlist.fm

Stryper's website

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Brett James Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

You may not know his name, but you know his songwriting. Nashville songwriter Brett James has more than 25 No. 1 songs to his credit and a 2006 Grammy for co-writing the Carrie Underwood hit "Jesus, Take the Wheel."

Brett joined Behind the Setlist at his office in Nashville to talk about co-writing "Out Last Night" with Kenny Chesney on a Caribbean island, how "Jesus, Take the Wheel" came together and impacted his career, what it's like to co-write songs with Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley, the work ethic of Nashville songwriters, and much more.

He launched his career as a solo artist with an album for Career Records, an Arista Nashville imprint, in 1995 and released his latest solo album, True Believer, in 2020. Brett has had more than 500 of his songs recorded by some of the biggest artists in the world, such as Underwood, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Bon Jovie, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, Faith Hill, Dierks Bentley, Backstreet Boys, will.i.am, Martina McBride and many others. In all, his songs have appeared on albums that have combined sales of over 110 million copies.

Links:

Brett James' Wikipedia page

Brett James' Instagram page

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John Waite Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

If you were listening to pop and rock music from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s, you undoubtedly heard John Waite. He hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1984 with “Missing You” behind massive radio play and a boost from heavy MTV rotation. He also reached No. 1 in 1989 as a member of rock supergroup Bad English with the song “When I See You Smile” (penned by legendary songwriter Dianne Warren). John was making great music in the ‘70s with the rock band The Babys, known best for their albums Head First (1979) and Union Jack (1980).

John is the seventh Behind the Setlist episode released but was the first to record an interview (as a pilot in 2021 to test our idea of having a podcast). When Jay introduced John as “vaccinated and caffeinated,” he was speaking at a time when vaccinations were new and the pandemic was still raging. You'll also hear some musical interludes that we don't usually insert into interview segments. We eventually got Behind the Setlist off the ground and are thrilled to release this incredible conversation with this accomplished and (arguably) under-appreciated storyteller, songwriter and singer.

In 2022, John is touring with the U.S. with Rick Springfield and Men at Work through Sept. 3rd before a run of dates in the Netherlands in the second half of September. He returns to the U.S. with dates in Edwardsville, IL on Nov. 3rd and 4th and runs through the Northeast before ending up in Cincinnati on Nov. 20th.

Links:

John Waite's page at setlist.fm

John Waite's home page

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Josh Groban Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

Josh Groban should have his own podcast. What a story teller! The incredible singer was kind enough to join Billboard's Behind the Setlist podcast from Northern California during his U.S. tour that concluded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on August 2. Josh talked about his affinity for British pop and rock music, his friendship with composer Stephen Sondheim and songs from his set lists that borrow heavily from his 2020 album Harmony (such as Frank Sinatra's "The World We Knew (Over and Over)," Robbie William's "Angels," Sting's "Shape of My Heart" and Charles Aznavour's "She").

Josh is a multi-platinum recording artist with nine studio albums dating back to his 2001 self-titled debut. He has also released five live albums, including 2004's Live at the Greek, which is certified gold in the U.S., and 2019's Bridges Live: Madison Square Garden. People also know Josh from his televised concerts, such as "Josh Groban in Concert," which aired on PBS in 2002, and his appearances on the television comedies. He sang a duet of Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" in The Office's 2011 episode "Garden Party" (but has not played the song at his concerts, he says). Among his other acting credits, Josh played himself in the shows It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (in 2013), American Dad! (in 2014), Parks and Recreation (in 2015) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (in 2020).

Thanks for joining us, Josh, and thank you for listening to Behind the Setlist.

Links: