The Hustle

Latest Episodes:

Episode 576 - Robert Margouleff May 27, 2026

Show notes

It's difficult to summarize Robert Margouleff's career in a nutshell. He's a musical innovator thanks to him and his musical partner Malcolm Cecil's invention of a sort of synthesizer they dubbed Tonto's Expanding Headband. Tonto caught the ear of Stevie Wonder, who brought the guy's onboard to engineer/produce him during that peak 70s period (Innervisions, Talking Book, etc). This lead to further jobs with other legends like Devo, Billy Preston and Richie Havens. Music might be most of the story, but not all. He's made movies, sang opera, sailed ships, sang opera, started businesses and tons more. He tells his story well in his newly published memoir, Shaping Sounds. Robert joins us this week to discuss it all. You won't want to miss our chat or the book! www.margouleff.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Bonus - Phil Collen and Simon Laffey of Manraze May 26, 2026

Show notes

In this fantastic Bonus episode, Phil Collen and Simon Laffey of Manraze join us to discuss their brand new career-spanning box set, Lock, Stock & Barrel. Phil and Simon's friendship goes back over 40 years to the glam rock band Girl. Then Def Leppard recruited Phil and you know how that went. About 20 years ago, Phil and Simon decided to make some music together and recruited Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook to join them. This box set includes both studio albums as well as instrumentals, a live show, remixes, and new songs. Check it out! www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 575 - Vaden Todd Lewis of Toadies May 20, 2026

Show notes

We've seen this movie before. Band comes out hot with their debut, have hits, sell millions of records, and then record a follow-up the label says isn't good enough so it gets shelved for a while and all that momentum stalls and never comes back. Fort Worth's Toadies lived it, After Rubberneck and the smash "Possum Kingdom" exploded, the label didn't hear a hit on the follow-up and told them to try again. Four years pass and when a new album does get completed, the label doesn't promote it. Though it was bumpy at first, Toadies carried on anyway and even have a new album called The Charmer and a huge North American tour kicking off any second. Front man Vaden Todd Lewis joins us this week to explain it all and share his stories. Enjoy!

www.thetoadies.com

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Book Club - Paul Rees author of Raised On Radio: The AOR Glory Years May 17, 2026

Show notes

Our Book Club this time features author Paul Rees who has recently written one of the most enjoyable rock books of recent memory - Raised on Radio: The AOR Glory Years. Even though he's a Brit, Paul was the perfect guy to author this oral history of one of America's most unique musical genres. All the major players - Steve Perry, Pat Benetar, Tom Scholz, Lou Gramm, Gary Richrath, Steve Lukather and scores of others - weigh in on where this genre came from, why it succeeded despite critic's hating it (of course), and why it ended. You'll love this conversation AND the book!

www.dacapopress.com/titles/paul-rees/raised-on-radio/9780306836046/

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 574 - Greg Norton of Husker Du/Ultrabomb May 13, 2026

Show notes

Bassist Greg Norton was the George Harrison of the mighty Husker Du. While alpha's Bob Mould and Grant Hart competed for album space and song excellence, Greg remained a loyal soldier in the background playing his part well. When the band broke up in the late 80s, he changed careers and became a chef for a while. Finally in the last few years, a musical project has come along that's deserving of his massive talent - the all-star punk band Ultrabomb. The supergroup (members of Social Distortion and Soul Asylum round it out) just released their third album, The Bridges That We Burn which easily rivals anything their original bands released. Greg discusses his post-Husker Du years and his thoughts on those years and the history of Ultrabomb. We're lucky to hear from him. Enjoy!

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

www.ultrabomb.bandcamp.com

Happy 11th Birthday to us with Todd Rundgren May 05, 2026

Show notes

We celebrate our 11th (!) birthday in usual fashion - by bringing on someone a little extra special. This year they're a lot extra special. This year we're featuring the great Todd Rundgren! Todd is about to go out on the Damned If I Do tour next month, hitting Europe in August. Todd and I discuss why some people love him religiously and some don't, whether he's ever had a bad idea, what makes his sound so singular and what we can expect from these shows. The man is one of a kind and we love him for it! Enjoy!

www.todd-rundgren.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 572 - Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

We've been featuring a lot of artists lately that earned their bona fides pushing the boundaries of what electronic music could do. Well, few did it as ruthlessly as Cabaret Voltaire. From their beginning in the late 70s making "music" that's more creative sounds than tuneful songs, to their evolution over the next several decades stretching genres to suit their muse, the "Cabs" never went pop or sought hits. Frontman (and last original member) Stephen "Mal" Mallinder, joins us this week to discuss the farewell tour they're about to embark on, the new live album, But What Time Is It Really they're leaving as a parting gift to their fans, and the journey they've been on for 50 years. Be sure to catch one of these last shows before they're done forever!

www.facebook.com/CabaretVoltaireOfficial/ www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 571 - Richard Barbieri of Japan/Porcupine Tree/Solo Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Richard Barbieri has been pushing the boundaries of synth-based music for almost 50 years. Japan may have originally been lumped in with the likes of Duran Duran and Ultravox, but they evolved in a way few bands outside of Talk Talk could even understand. After they ended and Richard evolved even further in groups like Dolphin Brothers and Rain Tree Crow, he was then snatched up by Steven Wilson and hopped on the Porcupine Tree train for a few more decades. He's continued to release music under various guises whenever he felt like it and he recently dropped a new solo album called Hauntings that shows him exploring even deeper. He joins us this week to explain it all and discuss how he got from point A to Z in a hugely diverse career. Enjoy!

www.kscopemusic.com/artists/richard-barbieri

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 570 - Gary Marks Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

How to describe Gary Marks? Deep vinyl junkies might know him for the three albums he released in the 70s that fused jazz and folk in a fresh way that no one had heard before or since. He quickly chose to move on and came back a few years later recording pop rock music very much like you would have heard on the radio in the 80s and 90s. Why this drastic change? Not to mention, he chose early on not to tour or promote himself, meaning he would remain a fiercely independent artist for the long haul. For Record Story Day this weekend, a sampler of his entire career called Crossroads will be released on vinyl for the first time. Gary explains his reasoning for these decisions, how he feels about those 70s albums fetching hundreds of dollars on the secondary market, the many novels he's written, and his love for pickleball. He's a wonderfully eccentric artist who happens to make wholly unique music that will blow your mind. Enjoy! www.garymarksmusic.com www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

Episode 569 - Colin Newman (Wire) and Malka Spiegel (Minimal Compact) of Immersion Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

Even though Wire are considered one of the most important post-punk bands ever, it's actually been a long time since they played in that genre. The band quickly evolved over a couple albums to incorporate more dance beats and front man Colin Newman has been in that groove ever since. In the 80s he was hired by Israel's Minimal Compact to produce an album, then he and Malka Spiegel fell in love and have been partnered in life and music ever since. Their main outlet is their electronic group Immersion who released a new album recently aptly titled WTF??. These two join us this week to explain how their worlds came together, their successful radio show Swimming in Sound came to be, the difficulty of maintaining the business of a music career, and they pull no punches with their thoughts on Elastica. It's a fascinating conversation with two vital artists. Enjoy!

www.immersionhq.uk

www.patreon.com/c/thehustlepod

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