"Measure Of A Man"
The North Carolina-born Clay Aiken rose to fame on the strength of his record breaking appearance on American Idol, but if you just think of him in terms of that show, you're not getting the full picture. At all. With seven albums under his belt, the golden-voiced Aiken has sold close to ten million albums worldwide, was the first artist whose first single hit #1, hosted two network television specials, toured with Kelly Clarkson, appeared on Broadway in Spamalot and for a Christmas show with Ruben Studdard, wrote a memoir, sang the National Anthem at the World Series, and appeared on Scrubs, SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, All My Children and Days Of Our Lives. Keep in mind this is a partial list. Outside of music, Aiken co-founded the National Inclusion Project which helps advocate for children with disabilities, he's a UNICEF ambassador and in 2014 he ran for congress. Partial list aside, I know as I was reading that all of you and me, by the way, were like, I haven't done enough with my life. Aiken is also a father and he decided to step away from music to raise his son without distraction. And so he did, but with college on the horizon for his son, Aiken has decided to re-enter the ring and this conversation is all about his return. And a bunch of other things, too. Talking to him felt familiar--like catching up with an old friend. You're going to love him.
www.clayaiken.com
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com)
www.alexgreenbooks.com
Stereo Embers The Podcast
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"Measure Of A Man"
The North Carolina-born Clay Aiken rose to fame on the strength of his record breaking appearance on American Idol, but if you just think of him in terms of that show, you're not getting the full picture. At all. With seven albums under his belt, the golden-voiced Aiken has sold close to ten million albums worldwide, was the first artist whose first single hit #1, hosted two network television specials, toured with Kelly Clarkson, appeared on Broadway in Spamalot and for a Christmas show with Ruben Studdard, wrote a memoir, sang the National Anthem at the World Series, and appeared on Scrubs, SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, All My Children and Days Of Our Lives. Keep in mind this is a partial list. Outside of music, Aiken co-founded the National Inclusion Project which helps advocate for children with disabilities, he's a UNICEF ambassador and in 2014 he ran for congress. Partial list aside, I know as I was reading that all of you and me, by the way, were like, I haven't done enough with my life. Aiken is also a father and he decided to step away from music to raise his son without distraction. And so he did, but with college on the horizon for his son, Aiken has decided to re-enter the ring and this conversation is all about his return. And a bunch of other things, too. Talking to him felt familiar--like catching up with an old friend. You're going to love him.
www.clayaiken.com
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com)
www.alexgreenbooks.com
Stereo Embers The Podcast
IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
Stereo Embers The Podcast 0461: Sandy Smallens (Too Much Joy, Surface Wound)
Stereo Embers: The Podcast
1 hour 12 minutes 31 seconds
3 months ago
Stereo Embers The Podcast 0461: Sandy Smallens (Too Much Joy, Surface Wound)
"Futility"
It's true--the last time I saw Sandy Smallens was in the spring of 1989 when his band Too Much Joy came to the campus radio station to play on my weekly show. The band were incredibly cool and I've never forgotten that they took the time to traipse into the East Bay hills to get to my school and how nice they were. They even played an unrehearsed acoustic version of Clowns at my request, which was awesome. I'd play it for you now, but guess what? After the band left, I took out the tape and found that I hadn't hit record. It's bothered me for years. At any rate, Too Much Joy and Wonderlick which is Tim and Jay from TMJ, have a lot of news coming out their camp, so they do come up a bit in this chat, but really, the focus here is on Sandy's other band Surface Wound. Informed by the undulating jagged basslines of bands like Gang Of Four and Wire, Surface Wound's new album Futility is a riveting blast of post-punk magic. The Scarsdale-raised, Yale-educated Smallens played football in high school and as a result his bass playing has a real athleticism to it and not only that, but his voice has never sounded better. Filled with prowling basslines and muscular hooks, Futility is filled with fight songs for desperate times. Sandy Smallens is a busy guy--he's in a bunch of bands, he hosts the Four Strings And The Truth podcast and as the guy who launched Spotify's original content department, he now runs the podcast company Audiation. Not only that, but he's a massive supporter of the arts . And, he's one of the nicest guys around.
www.surfacewound.bandcamp.com
Sandy Smallens' podcast: Four Chords And The Truth Podcast:
https://pod.link/1733284004
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com
www.alexgreenbooks.com
BLUESKY + IG: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
Stereo Embers: The Podcast
"Measure Of A Man"
The North Carolina-born Clay Aiken rose to fame on the strength of his record breaking appearance on American Idol, but if you just think of him in terms of that show, you're not getting the full picture. At all. With seven albums under his belt, the golden-voiced Aiken has sold close to ten million albums worldwide, was the first artist whose first single hit #1, hosted two network television specials, toured with Kelly Clarkson, appeared on Broadway in Spamalot and for a Christmas show with Ruben Studdard, wrote a memoir, sang the National Anthem at the World Series, and appeared on Scrubs, SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, All My Children and Days Of Our Lives. Keep in mind this is a partial list. Outside of music, Aiken co-founded the National Inclusion Project which helps advocate for children with disabilities, he's a UNICEF ambassador and in 2014 he ran for congress. Partial list aside, I know as I was reading that all of you and me, by the way, were like, I haven't done enough with my life. Aiken is also a father and he decided to step away from music to raise his son without distraction. And so he did, but with college on the horizon for his son, Aiken has decided to re-enter the ring and this conversation is all about his return. And a bunch of other things, too. Talking to him felt familiar--like catching up with an old friend. You're going to love him.
www.clayaiken.com
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com)
www.alexgreenbooks.com
Stereo Embers The Podcast
IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
