You searched for 617 Q&A - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/ The proven voice in music since 2013 Fri, 12 Dec 2025 19:09:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://redefined.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/31135224/cropped-V-SOCIAL-2023-32x32.png You searched for 617 Q&A - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/ 32 32 Year in ReView: Vanyaland’s favorite 617 Q&A recommendations https://vanyaland.com/2025/12/11/year-in-review-vanyalands-favorite-617-qa-recommendations/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:32:24 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042795 One of the best parts of the 617 Q&A series (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings) is the one recommendation portion. Typically, if we haven’t flipped them already with our somewhat standard interview portion, it’s when the artist really comes alive and often provides some deeper insight into what they’re buzzing about off the stage as we ask them to tell us what they’ve been into recently that isn’t their current project. Over the years, we’ve had some doozies, from […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Colin Hay forever remains a storyteller at work https://vanyaland.com/2025/11/04/617-qa-colin-hay-forever-remains-a-storyteller-at-work/ Tue, 04 Nov 2025 19:50:49 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042598 One of the biggest acts of the initial MTV era, along with Duran Duran, Talking Heads, The Stray Cats, and Pat Benatar, was Men at Work. Led by the Scottish-born Colin Hay, the Australian exports were known for a series of video clips that aired around the clock, filled with peculiar imagery to match the equally idiosyncratic songs. It was almost like an introduction to another culture, “where women glow and men plunder,” as detailed in the chart-topping hit “Down […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Craig Wedren on the rise and resurgence of Shudder to Think (and all that time in between) https://vanyaland.com/2025/10/22/617-qa-craig-wedren-on-the-rise-and-resurgence-of-shudder-to-think-and-all-that-time-in-between/ Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:45:09 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042521 Out of all the bands that were part of the late-’80s/early-‘90s Dischord Records roster, Shudder to Think was one of the least likely to be thrust into the mainstream. But that’s what happened come 1994 when the Washington D.C.-based post-hardcore outfit found their fifth LP, Pony Express Record, released by Epic Records. Even for a label diverse enough to have Pearl Jam, Gloria Estefan, Michael Jackson, Sepultura, and Oasis under its umbrella, Pony Express Record was an outlier, what with […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Art Alexakis of Everclear has lived to tell his tales https://vanyaland.com/2025/10/20/617-qa-art-alexakis-of-everclear-has-lived-to-tell-his-tales/ Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:27:14 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042516 Art Alexakis hasn’t had the easiest life. But you don’t need us to tell you that; it’s all in the lyrics to some of the most popular songs by his alternative rock band Everclear. Growing up with an absentee dad? “Father of Mine.” Being a child of divorce? “Wonderful.” Brother succumbing to a heroin overdose and his girlfriend dying by suicide before he was even a teen? “Heroin Girl.” Relapsing after desperately trying to stay clean from the clutches of […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Ian Astbury on goth romanticism, enlightenment, and a Death Cult revival https://vanyaland.com/2025/10/10/617-qa-ian-astbury-on-goth-romanticism-enlightenment-and-a-death-cult-revival/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:50:42 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042466 Before there was The Cult, there was Death Cult, a darker, more gothic iteration of the group that would later become known for hits like “She Sells Sanctuary,” “Fire Woman,” and “Love Removal Machine.” And while a shadowy side existed to the modern version through the years, no matter what musical path they ventured down, it was still surprising when core members Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar) announced in 2023 that they would be doing a very limited […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Richard Blade on Depeche Mode, Brazilian jazz, and why the ’80s still resonate https://vanyaland.com/2025/07/30/617-qa-richard-blade-on-depeche-mode-brazilian-jazz-and-why-the-80s-still-resonate/ Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:26:16 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042098 “Nostalgia” is always a big buzzword, looking in the rearview when things were supposedly simpler – like right now with the ‘90s. It could manifest as a movie evocative of the decade or one that’s straight-up banking on the legacy of a franchise. Maybe it’s a Britpop band singlehandedly thrusting the genre back into the spotlight. Sometimes, albeit rarely, it’s an act who’ve decided to release an entire album of covers from the year they themselves peaked in popularity.     […]

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]]> V3 Weekend: Bush, Pixies, ‘Scum of the Earth’ https://vanyaland.com/2025/07/18/v3-weekend-bush-pixies-scum-of-the-earth/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:48:54 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042026 Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland‘s guide to help you sort out your weekend entertainment with curated selections and recommendations across our three pillars of Music, Comedy, and Film/TV. It’s what you should know about, where you need to be, and where you’ll be going, with us riding shotgun along the way. Music: Bush at TD Garden From senior writer Michael Christopher: Several months ago, we sat down with Gavin Rossdale for a Vanyaland 617 Q&A where we hit on a vast assortment of […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: The Kills talk favorite games, past injuries, and not having fun https://vanyaland.com/2025/06/10/617-qa-the-kills-talk-favorite-games-past-injuries-and-not-having-fun/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 08:31:27 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10041832 Maybe it’s pre-first-show-of-the-tour jitters and excitement, but Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, better known collectively as The Kills, are in a fantastic mood. They’ve spent the day wandering about in Portland, Maine, host to the kick-off of the garage rock duo’s U.S. tour. The bulk of the run will be as support for Queens of the Stone Age – including a pair of nights at MGM Music Hall at Fenway this evening (June 10) and tomorrow (June 11). As we […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: The Linda Lindas on life between the library and stadiums https://vanyaland.com/2025/04/22/617-qa-the-linda-lindas-on-life-between-the-library-and-stadiums/ Tue, 22 Apr 2025 09:08:18 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10041230 Evident in how rapidly their sound has grown between their 2022 debut album, Growing Up, and last October’s follow-up, No Obligation, The Linda Lindas stopped being just another punk rock band for pundits to proudly peg as the future of the genre. There’s still plenty of rapid-fire breakneck numbers like “Resolution/Revolution,” and “Don’t Think” among them, but an abundance of straight-up pop with “All in My Head” and the chugging tilt of “Too Many Things” proves the SoCal quartet is […]

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]]> 617 Q&A: Earl Slick on Bowie, Lennon, and teaching music to a new generation https://vanyaland.com/2025/04/14/617-qa-earl-slick-on-bowie-lennon-and-teaching-music-to-a-new-generation/ Mon, 14 Apr 2025 08:49:05 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10041183 The sidemen in rock and roll are often an under-appreciated lot, guns for hire that step into a situation at any given time, be it in the studio or on the stage for a marquee performer needing that extra juice, a musical shot in the arm to bring things alive. Usually nameless and faceless, there are the exceptions. Take Earl Slick, for example. The Brooklyn guitarist hooked up with David Bowie in the mid-’70s during the Diamond Dogs tour and […]

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