Ep011: Dweezil Zappa 1994

In the story I wrote in 1994 based on this interview with Dweezil Zappa, the lead paragraph summed up the conversation pretty well: “His father treated life as if it were a wave of stupidity he could somehow contain. Dweezil Zappa prefers to smirk and ride the tide.” “There’s not much use in being negative 24 […]

Ep009: Bill Maher 1994

Bill Maher is a huge part of the comedy and talk-show landscape, thanks to his HBO show Real Time, which is now in its 17th season. But in 1994, when this interview was recorded, Maher, then 38, really was just taking off. His Comedy Central show “Politically Incorrect” was about to start its third season, […]

Ep004: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull 1993

I was a devoted Jethro Tull fan growing up, so I relished every chance I had to speak to founder and leader Ian Anderson. In this conversation, which took place during the 1993 tour celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary, Anderson, then 46 years old, talked about Tull’s legacy (“almost an important band”), the best Tull […]

Ep003: Trey Anastasio 1993

I have a long, strange history with Phish. I’m an admirer—nobody dares do what Phish does routinely, which is to play a completely different show and challenge its audience—and a skeptic, because sometimes, they step on their dicks. In 1997, after the August 10 Phish concert at Deer Creek Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, I […]

Ep002: Billy Joel 1994

I don’t own any Billy Joel records, but I’m a huge fan of the man—especially his work ethic. Whether or not you like his music, there’s a good reason why he has continued to sell out Madison Square Garden every month for more than five years—he leaves it all onstage. At the time of this […]