So what’s this Matt ‘N’ Jeff Radio Hour thing all about anyway? If you follow Jeff Giles (@jefito) and Matt Wardlaw (@mwardlaw, @addictedtovinyl) on Twitter, you’ll be somewhat familiar with the musical discussions that go back and forth in 140 character bursts (and fast food related pontification as well). While there is quite a bit of division between the two of us on various musical topics relating to singer/songwriters (Tommy Shaw) and bands (too many to speak of!), we have a good amount of common ground on quite a few things, including Bruce Hornsby.

With a new live album going on sale from Mr. Hornsby, Jeff suggested that we should record a podcast about it. So wait a second, you guys are okay with spending at least 35 minutes talking about Bruce Hornsby in public?  Hell yes.

Bride of the Noisemakers is on sale starting today at Amazon.com, where it will be available exclusively for the entire month of May. To celebrate, you can purchase the 27 track Amazon MP3 download featuring two exclusive bonus tracks (“Mandolin Rain” and “The Way It Is”) TODAY ONLY (Monday, 5/2) for $3.99, which is quite a deal for close to three hours of live recordings from Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers.

So is it worth the four bucks?  You bet it is and we have a few words on the subject. Read on and download the podcast below.  Enjoy (maybe) and we’ll be back in a couple of weeks with another episode!

The Matt ‘N’ Jeff Radio Hour, Episode 1: Celebrating the release of Bride of the Noisemakers by Bruce Hornsby.

0:00 Discussing the origins of the podcast name is the lead-off moment for the opening of the show as we ponder, why are we here again

0:40 The first mention of Dave Lifton and yet there is no mention of Lifton’s mom.

1:20 Jeff and Matt talk about the recent Bruce Hornsby interview that they were both supposed to collaborate on together (which ultimately, Matt ended up doing alone) and Hornsby’s reaction to Jeff’s questions. Additional discussion follows about Matt’s 2009 interview with Hornsby and the impact of Bruce’s time with the Grateful Dead on his career and how that affected his subsequent musical output.  (The clip of that Grateful Dead discussion with Hornsby can be heard within this section.) Jeff and Matt briefly discuss Bruce’s evolution from his work with the Range to his initial solo effort Harbor Lights.

6:20 Jeff expresses his love for Bride of the Noisemakers and reveals his general hatred for live albums. The guys dissect the new live album, discuss how it stands up against Hornsby’s previous live album Here Come the Noisemakers and note the lack of hits on this new live album. Matt gives the first plug for the new live album which is on sale today (5/2)at Amazon for the special sale price of $3.99 as an MP3 download. Jeff also gives his thoughts on the live album and its release on 429 Records. Matt asks Jeff what his favorite tracks on this new live album are and the podcast begins a quick descent into total embarrassing Hornsby nerding out (although there are many who will say that we hit that point during the opening minute of this podcast).

[Clip of “Country Doctor” from Bride of the Noisemakers]

11:58 The guys discuss how much Hornsby and his band have gelled as a unit since the release of Here Come the Noisemakers. Jeff and Matt talk about how Hornsby and his band interact with each other in the live setting and also spend some time remembering the infamous Popdose Bruce Hornsby mixtape and ponder why it’s so uncool to be a Bruce Hornsby fan? Jeff dares to refer to Hornsby’s music as “mother-in-law music.”

18:26 Matt asks Jeff how he became a big Bruce Hornsby fan. The guys express their love for Hornsby’s Spirit Trail album. Jeff reflects on the Big Swing Face album and tells an interesting story about that album and a former roommate. The guys discuss Halcyon Days, Levitate and Jeff’s love for Elton John’s vocals on “Dreamland” (I’m being sarcastic about that last piece). In this section, Matt also tries to make a point. Jeff and Matt endorse the Three Nights on the Town live DVD by Bruce Hornsby and once again urge fans to spend $3.99 on the new Bride of the Noisemakers live album.

[Clip of “Dreamland” from Bride of the Noisemakers]

26:00 The guys discuss where Hornsby is at this point in his career and that leads into a discussion of the labels that have been behind Hornsby’s recent releases (Verve/Forecast, Sony, etc.). Matt tries to remember the name of the female artist on Verve/Forecast and fails miserably (it was Jessie Baylin, by the way).  During discussion of 429 Records (Hornsby’s current label), Jeff warns Matt not to mention the name of the artist he’s about to mention but unfortunately, Matt misses a prime opportunity because he doesn’t know who Jeff is alluding to. Matt and Jeff discuss a possible future show topic, “guys (artists) that suck in the opinion of other people.”

34:16 Jeff mentions Steve Miller and makes the first mother joke of the show (and perhaps sets a record in the process for the longest show discussion ever without a mother joke).

35:13 Wrapping up the podcast, the guys give one more plug to the new live album and talk about some of the older material on the album, including “Defenders of the Flag.” Matt and Jeff urge fans to not be cheap and indulge themselves by spending four dollars on the new live album. The guys also tease the next episode of the show.

[Clip of “Defenders of the Flag” from Bride of the Noisemakers]

That’s it! Thanks for listening!

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