JOE CHICCARELLI Rock, pop, country or jazz, it’s all about serving the music       By Michael Gallant In more than three decades, Joe Chiccarelli has amassed an impressive roster of production and engineering credits—from Alanis Morissette, My Morning Jacket and the White Stripes to Jason Mraz, Elton John, Christina Perri and the Shins. But it all began humbly for the multiple Grammy winner. “I started in music as a bass player in rock bands,... 

LISA LOEB The ’90 chart-topper looks to the past to find new inspiration  Lisa Loeb has spent the last few years steeped in the world of children’s entertainment. She released children’s albums in 2008 and 2011. She wrote a children’s book, and has a new one coming out in April. She started the Camp Lisa Foundation to send underprivileged children to camp. And she had her second child in June 2012. So what coaxed her back to making pop... 

COHEED AND CAMBRIA    The eclectic rockers release the second half of an ambitious set   Claudio Sanchez is chilling in the Florida sunshine. The frontman for progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria is decompressing after spending the last two years writing and recording the group’s epic double-volume albums The Afterman: Ascension (October 2012) and the sequel released four months later, The Afterman: Descension. Like the band’s previous... 

EELS No plan is no problem for E and his band of indie rockers      Heading into the studio without a single song written could easily lead to chaos, but on the latest Eels album, Wonderful, Glorious, the casual approach was key to  bringing the band together. “Normally I have a concept or musical idea of what I want a record to sound like, but I went in with none of that,” says frontman Mark Everett (better known as “E”). Instead, E... 

TRISTAN PRETTYMAN An intensely personal album deepens her connection with fans Singer-songwriter Tristan Prettyman shares the difficult aftermath of her breakup with fellow artist Jason Mraz on her recently released third album, Cedar & Gold. At first reluctant to sing about the personal trauma, she eventually embraced the opportunity to connect more deeply with her audience. “I wondered if it was going to be too much information,” Prettyman... 

PUBLIC ENEMY For founder Chuck D, rap has always been much more than just rhymes Chuck D would be spending his time clinking champagne glasses now that Public Enemy is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the man who led the charge to revolutionize hip-hop has always been on a serious mission. Those who knew him as a student at Adelphi University recall his passionate debates about politics, philosophy and music, some of which... 

MACY GRAY Honoring a music legend with a cover of a classic album  Macy Gray was on a mission to honor her personal hero, Stevie Wonder, by covering his iconic album Talking Book. The new record—which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the original’s release—features Gray interpreting classics from “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” to “Superstition.” But don’t call it a tribute record. “It’s a love letter and a big thank... 

UNCLE KRACKER A pop-rock hit-maker brings his feel-good groove to country music   His 2001 breakout single, “Follow Me,” was a pop smash. But in recent years, Uncle Kracker, aka Matthew Shafer, has shifted from funky post-grunge rock to country, working with producer Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and signing with roots label Sugar Hill Records. What hasn’t changed is the Detroit native’s penchant for fun—a philosophy reflected... 

LINDSEY STIRLING HOMETOWN: Gilbert, Ariz. INFLUENCES: Bond, Vanessa-Mae, David Garrett ALBUM: Lindsey Stirling, out now WEBSITE: lindseystirlingviolin.com Lindsey Stirling is a fiddler who really could dance on a roof. The 26-year-old violinist, who was reared on masters like Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Mozart, has created her own style fusing classical with pop, house and hip-hop. Her spunky stage presence, top-notch technical chops and ninja-like... 

MICHELLE RENE HOMETOWN: Phoenix, Ariz. INFLUENCES: Fleetwood Mac, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline ALBUM: As yet untitled EP, out 2013 WEBSITE: michellerene.com As a teen, Michelle Rene performed at county fairs, music festivals and sports arenas in her hometown of Phoenix. She even hosted her own weekly live concert event, but a crowning moment came when she was named the best new act in country music’s largest talent competition, Country Showdown,... 

ERIN BOHEME HOMETOWN: Oshkosh, Wisc. INFLUENCES: Billie Holiday, Carly Simon, Dean Martin ALBUM: What a Life, out Feb. 5 WEBSITE: erinbohememusic.com Erin Boheme’s father introduced his daughter to the music of Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday, while her mom watched her sing to Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Earth, Wind & Fire. Erin soon followed her own passion for many styles, and began singing at weddings and private parties before landing... 

ZIGGY MARLEY Exploring the connection between his father’s legacy and his own artistry Although Ziggy Marley has won five Grammys and garnered widespread acclaim for his work as a humanitarian, author and producer, to many he will always be known as Bob Marley’s eldest son. Rather than distancing himself from his father’s legacy, Marley embraces the spirit and artistry of the legendary performer, who died in 1981. His new album, Ziggy Marley... 

NEAL SCHON With his solo efforts, the Journey ace guitarist explores many musical roads By Russell Hall  Neal Schon is not one to rest on his laurels. Despite selling upwards of 80 million albums with classic-rock behemoth Journey, the guitar virtuoso continues to be driven by a restless creative spirit. “In Journey I sort of ride with the flow,” he explains. “It seems to work better if I do most of the more experimental stuff on my own.... 

NAS   The enduring hip-hop storyteller’s latest title becomes his mantra    Several months after releasing his 10th studio album, Life Is Good, Nas is revisiting the title. “I was watching TV the other night and saw this woman had survived pancreatic cancer,” he says. “I was barely listening, because my mom passed from breast cancer, and sometimes it’s just too hard to watch. But I heard her say, ‘Life is good,’ and I thought, ‘If... 

MORGAN JAMES HOMETOWN: Modesto, Calif. INFLUENCES: Etta James, Donny Hathaway, Eva Cassidy ALBUM: Morgan James Live, out now WEBSITE: morganjamesonline.com Singer Morgan James entered the Juilliard School at age 18 as an opera student, but eventually abandoned that career path to pursue musical theater. “For a long time I wasn’t sure what to do with the fact that I’ve got this gigantic voice that doesn’t quite match how I look,” she says,... 

ALISHA ZALKIN HOMETOWN: San Diego, Calif. INFLUENCES: Carole King, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin ALBUM: March to a Different Beat EP, out now WEBSITE: alishazmusic.com  Singer-songwriter Alisha Zalkin’s love of music is deeply rooted in her Mexican and Jewish heritage. Her Jewish grandmother, a survivor of the Holocaust, was the youngest opera singer to be admitted into the Vienna Conservatory of Music before she was forced to flee Europe.... 

ZEISS HOMETOWN: Long Island, N.Y. INFLUENCES: Jerry Reed, Chuck Berry, Little Richard                                        ALBUM: Last Train to Rock n’ Roll, out now WEBSITE: zeissofficial.com Growing up on New York’s Long Island, musician and model Zeiss (born Matthew John Zeiss) was drawn to entertainment because of his parents’ obsession with Elvis Presley. As a kid, he’d scoured his father’s record collection... 

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION    Luminaries from the rock world find their own chemistry together   Black Country Communion’s latest record, Afterglow, wasn’t even out when reports began flying that tension between singer and bassist Glenn Hughes and guitarist Joe Bonamassa could mean the end of the hard-rock supergroup. But in no time the dustup was quelled. “We’re really good friends,” Hughes says. “It was just a small blip there for... 

KEYSHIA COLE The R&B singer-songwriter learns the value of collaboration Keyshia Cole is in her Manhattan hotel room, high above the city’s frenzied activity, talking about her fifth studio album, Woman to Woman. Myriad demands compete for her time—phones ring, her dog barks—but for now she’s in a different head space, back in the studios in New York, Los Angeles and Cleveland where she wrote and recorded most of the album’s 15 tracks... 

RYAN BINGHAM The roots rocker plugs in and discovers a new talent      Three years ago Ryan Bingham rocketed into the limelight with “The Weary Kind,” the Grammy-winning theme song he co-wrote and performed for the acclaimed film, Crazy Heart.  The L.A.-based singer-songwriter cherished the success, but the experience didn’t change him much. “Everything happened so fast,” he says. “I just tried to hang on for the ride while it lasted.... 

KYLIE MINOGUE Fresh arrangements give the global pop star’s biggest hits new life “If I turn up at the studio in heels or with my hair done, I probably just arrived from an event,” says Kylie Minogue with a laugh. “Other times my shoes are off, the makeup is off, I’m making a mess. I like to feel completely comfortable, and I am a complete clown in the studio.” It’s been 25 years since the Australian pop queen’s cover of Little Eva’s... 

PAUL KELLY America gets a chance to discover a revered artist from Down Under  It may seem Paul Kelly’s been especially prolific lately. Or it might seem the Australian singer-songwriter has simply been playing up his past. But in fact, it’s been a bit of both. Recently there’s been a deluge of all things Kelly—from the stateside release of two career-spanning compilations (Songs from the South Volumes 1 & 2 and The  A to Z Recordings,... 

AIMEE MANN Getting it right for her latest effort required a fresh start After nearly three decades in the music biz and Grammy and Oscar nods under her belt, Aimee Mann wanted a new approach for Charmer, her eighth solo album—so she tossed her original batch of tunes. “I had some songs and played them all back to back and was like, ‘I’m not crazy about these,’” says the 52-year-old singer-songwriter and actress. “They didn’t really... 

JOHN HIATT At 60, the master singer-songwriter still follows wherever the music leads After 40 years and 21 studio albums, John Hiatt knows a thing or two about songcraft. On his new album,  Mystic Pinball, he even manages to make a grocery list interesting, wrapping it up in the grisly story-song, “Wood Chipper.” “It’s a bit of an homage to the Coen Brothers and the wood-chipper scene in Fargo,” he explains. “I started playing the... 

LIFEHOUSE Inspiration and experimentation lead to a sound shake-up on their latest    Since their 2001 monster hit “Hanging by a Moment,” Lifehouse has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. But the big numbers are just a byproduct of the band’s vision. “We’ve been a pretty insulated group,” says lead singer Jason Wade. “We’re on the same label as these acts like Black Eyed Peas, U2 and Lady Gaga, but we do our own thing.”... 

SOUNDGARDEN The seminal grunge-rock band picks up right where it left off  Nearly 16 years after their breakup, iconic grunge rockers Soundgarden are back with King Animal, their first new music since 1996. The band—singer Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd—first formed in 1984, and blew up 10 years later with their smash Superunknown, only to call it quits in 1997. “We just got burned out,”... 

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT Family love and loss provides inspiration for her new album   Music has always been a family affair for Martha Wainwright. She’s the daughter of Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, niece of Anna McGarrigle, sister to Rufus Wainwright, and wife of bassist Brad Albetta, who plays in her band. It’s no surprise that family changes—the birth of her son, Arcangelo, followed months later by the death of her mother in early 2010—impacted... 

BENNY BLANCO A prodigious talent schools the music business in Hit-making 101         By Michael Gallant Benny Blanco has crafted pop magic in the studio for today’s biggest stars, including Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. He’s scored more than a dozen No. 1 hits and was named Songwriter of the Year at this year’s BMI Pop Awards. Oh, and he’s 24. That’s an impressive career at any age, but only more so considering its... 

PETER FRAMPTON  The master guitarist revisits the album that made him a rock icon By Eric R. Danton  Frampton Comes Alive! has defined Peter Frampton’s career. Only his perspective has shifted—from surprise and frustration to acceptance. The result is FCA! 35 Tour: An Evening With Peter Frampton, a two-DVD set that captures a tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of one of the most iconic live albums ever released. The double LP was Frampton’s... 

DONALD FAGEN The Steely Dan co-captain finds new freedom on his latest solo effort By Russell Hall  Two years ago Donald Fagen decided to wipe the slate clean. His first three solo albums—1982’s The Nightfly, 1993’s Kamakiriad and 2006’s Morph the Cat—had been tied together by unified themes, based on stages of Fagen’s life. For his new record, Sunken Condos, Fagen cast aside such constraints. “Those first three albums, which appeared... 

“Waterloo Sunset” THE KINKS WRITTEN BY: RAY DAVIES RECORDED: PYE RECORDS STUDIO, LONDON, MARCH 1967 PRODUCED BY: SHEL TALMY AND RAY DAVIES RAY DAVIES: VOCALS, ACOUSTIC GUITAR DAVE DAVIES: ELECTRIC GUITAR, BACKING VOCALS PETE QUAIFE: BASS, BACKING VOCALS MICK AVORY: DRUMS NICKY HOPKINS: PIANO, HARPSICHORD RASA DAVIES: BACKING VOCALS DAVID WHITAKER: STRINGS FROM THE ALBUM: SOMETHING ELSE (1967) One morning in February 1967, Ray Davies rolled out... 

PHOTOGRAPHER NORMAN SEEFF SHOT THIS SESSION for Blondie’s 1979 Eat to the Beat album at New York’s historic Chelsea Hotel, a famous haunt of the Manhattan arts crowd. “The band seemed to be part of that milieu,” says Seeff. “They were a quintessential New York group.” Singer Deborah Harry arrived late to the shoot and in a funk. “She walked away while we were shooting without explanation,” recalls Seeff. “We’re all standing... 

TAMAR KAPRELIAN HOMETOWN: Scottsdale, Ariz. INFLUENCES: Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty ALBUM: California EP, out now WEBSITE: facebook.com/TamarKaprelian Pop singer-songwriter Tamar Kaprelian, 25, moved around a lot as a kid—she was born in Scottsdale, Ariz., and raised in Georgia and California. After discovering Billy Joel and Paul McCartney in her father’s record collection at age 14, music became a constant in her life, and she... 

ANDERSON EAST HOMETOWN: Athens, Ala. INFLUENCES: Led Zeppelin, the Jackson 5, Otis Redding ALBUM: Flowers of the Broken Hearted, out now WEBSITE: andersoneast.com Folk-rock singer-songwriter Anderson East didn’t grow up in a musical household. “The only time I heard music in the house was Sunday morning before church, when my dad would listen to country music,” he says. His hometown of Athens, Ala., wasn’t exactly a hotbed of entertainment.... 

AMANDA MAIR HOMETOWN: Lidingö, Sweden INFLUENCES: ABBA, Ane Brun, Regina Spektor ALBUM: Amanda Mair, out now WEBSITE: amandamair.nu Singer and pianist Amanda Mair began playing music and taking voice lessons at age 8. Born in Sweden, she was discovered in 2008 when a friend played her three-song recording for Swedish-based Labrador Records. Mair, 18, has racked up accomplishments at a rapid clip since signing to the label. On the strength of her... 

SHELBY LYNNE — Pasadena, Calif., 2000 FOCAL POINTS Photographer James Minchin III illuminates the spirit of rock ’n’ roll “The images I like most are those where I’m able to just get out of the way,” says photographer James Minchin III. “I prefer to document what’s actually happening rather than trying to create something.” That unerring eye for capturing a revealing moment has earned the trust and admiration of a diverse array... 

RICHIE SAMBORA Life’s trials lead him beyond Bon Jovi to a very personal solo effort  By Russell Hall  Richie Sambora isn’t one to hold back. His new solo album is the best thing he’s done outside Bon Jovi, he insists, and he’s not going to rein in his enthusiasm with false modesty. “People have been very surprised by this record,” he says. “They’re surprised it’s me. I could take that as a bad thing, I suppose, but I think it’s... 

HEART These rock goddesses refuse to mellow or slow down one bit   Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson are on a tour bus somewhere outside Salt Lake City, heading for yet another concert on yet another stage. The duo expects to complete 55 dates this year; last year, they did 90—two a week, nearly every week. So much for taking it easy after 35 years in the business and 35 million albums sold. Rockers are supposed to mellow with age, but Ann, 62,... 

Stuart Mathis, Jack Irons, Jakob Dylan, Greg Richling, Rami Jaffee THE WALLFLOWERS Regrouped, refreshed and ready to prove that time off does a band good   Taking a break isn’t the same thing as breaking up, and the Wallflowers’ frontman Jakob Dylan reveals the band needed the former but never considered the latter. In the years since the group’s last album, 2005’s Rebel, Sweetheart, Dylan released a pair of solo albums in 2008 and 2010,... 

Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard ZZ TOP After 40 years of rock and the road, there’s still nothing they’d rather do    For their first full-length album in nearly a decade, veteran rockers ZZ Top decided to work with famed producer Rick Rubin. The Texas trio—frontman and guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard—recorded La Futura over a four-year period in Houston and Malibu. Rubin’s intense brand of perfectionism... 

Seth Lorinczi, Sara Lund, Corin Tucker, Mike Clark CORIN TUCKER BAND The indie rocker chooses musical democracy for her new album   After writing all the songs on her 2010 solo debut, 1,000 Years, Corin Tucker took a more collaborative approach on her latest. Kill My Blues was very much a team effort, as Tucker and her backing musicians jammed out the tunes in their rehearsal space. “We needed to open more doors for the band to evolve,” Tucker... 

SHEMEKIA COPELAND Belief in the power of song drives this vocalist’s musical mission Shemekia Copeland sits in her hotel room in Harlem, counting down the minutes until she begins a spate of interviews to discuss her new album, 33 1/3. Her husky voice betrays a bit of anxiety knowing that the public is about to hear her latest. “I’m sitting here thinking ‘Wow! My album is out today.’ And I’m in Harlem, my old stomping ground.” Since... 

DWIGHT YOAKAM  Country’s hippest cowboy offers of-the-moment insights in a fresh new set Most of the time, Dwight Yoakam lives in the moment. The 55-year-old Kentucky native prefers not to have any long-term goals aside from continuing to find joy in his work. It’s a strategy that’s served him well in his near three decade career as a singer-songwriter-actor. “When I started doing more film work, I began not waiting until I had time to... 

JEFF LYNNE The ELO mastermind releases two different—yet sonically linked—projects  In a 1974 radio interview, John Lennon said of Electric Light Orchestra, “I call them the Son of Beatles, but I’m sure they’re doing other things we never did.” It’s a compliment that Jeff Lynne recalls word for word, in Lennon’s Scouse accent, and treasures to this day. “That was a big moment for me,” Lynne recalls. “Almost a benediction.” Lennon’s... 

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN  At 70, the guitar virtuoso still revels in his dynamic musical journey By Jeff Tamarkin  John McLaughlin remembers some odd advice he once received from Miles Davis—cryptic words at the time, but later made perfect sense. It was 1969, and the young guitar master was working in the studio with the jazz titan when “Miles made this Zen statement,” recalls McLaughlin. “He told me, ‘Play like you don’t know how to play guitar.’”... 

RON ANIELLO  Doing whatever it takes to make the record great             By Michael Gallant When Ron Aniello was selected to produce Bruce Springsteen’s 2012 album Wrecking Ball, he faced a daunting challenge—how to offer constructive criticism to a personal hero. “Being in the studio, and hearing the voice of my childhood was the main thing I had to get over,” Aniello says with a laugh. “Telling an artist like Bruce that a certain... 

Brian May, John Deacon, Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury “Bohemian Rhapsody” QUEEN “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of rock’s most beloved hits—and yet for all its brilliance, the song is only more remarkable considering it breaks every rule. There is no chorus. The form is odd and asymmetrical. The title never once appears in the lyric. It’s more than six minutes long. And it has an opera section with mock Italian lyrics. That the disparate... 

Fleetwood Mac Photographer norman seeff rented a beautiful Malibu home overlooking the Pacific to shoot Fleetwood Mac for their 1979 album, Tusk. “They were like kids in a sandbox, having fun,” Seeff recalls. “But they also knew exactly what they were doing. They understood that by being spontaneous they would capture something they wouldn’t get if they were more controlled.” As the wine began to flow, the band became more rambunctious.... 

KISS For a long time, beginning in 1999, Paul Stanley wasn’t sure Kiss would make another studio album. Worse, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Ironically, it was the making of the previous year’s Psycho Circus—the much-ballyhooed record that featured original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley reunited with Kiss founders Stanley and Gene Simmons—that put Stanley in that frame of mind. As he tells it, Criss and Frehley were recalcitrant participants,... 

MATCHBOX TWENTY On the pop-rockers’ latest release, everyone gets a turn in the spotlight Matchbox Twenty’s new album, North, is the band’s first collection of all-new material in a decade. It’s also their first release to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. But what really sets the record apart is the group effort to make it. Rob Thomas has long been the frontman and songwriting engine driving the pop-rockers, scoring hits like...