Local Spins on WYCE: Public Access in-studio, plus new tracks by The Lippies, Alexander Lynch, Stovepipe Stover

For Episode No. 77 of Local Spins on WYCE, members of super-group Public Access chatted about their new album and tour, plus new tracks from Alexander Lynch, The Lippies, Stovepipe Stover and others.

 

When a band’s live shows involve nine musicians, a mountain of equipment and a video backdrop, pulling off a brief in-studio radio appearance doesn’t provide the best setting to reflect the group’s ambitious concert experience.

So, Public Access guitarist Steve Leaf, bassist Ben Zito, drummer Dan Rickabus and guest guitarist Nick Young chose instead to play a couple of tracks from the Michigan super-group’s brand new, self-titled album during Local Spins on WYCE and chat about the process that brought them together to create this all-instrumental project with songs names after NPR announcers.

“When we recorded it last year at Ben Zito’s, it kind of took a life of its own,” said Leaf, who came up with the idea for the project, with the band already playing album-release shows Wednesday at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids and Thursday at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo.

“We had guitar after guitar after guitar added on top of each other. So, when we thought about doing it live, we knew we’d have to come guns blazing, so I called up a lot of guitar players and asked them to bring their amps and everything. It was pretty fun. It’s a little bit of a jam-band vibe, but it’s pretty orchestrated so it’s not just six people noodling.”

Listen to the entire interview with band members — including their descriptions of songs that reflect their love of NPR announcers — in the Local Spins on WYCE podcast here. (And read the Local Spins Artist Spotlight feature on the band online here.)

PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE with Public Access

The band featuring Seth Bernard and members from Steve Leaf & The Ex Pats and The Crane Wives hopes to return to Zito’s Grand Rapids recording studio later this year to record a follow-up album with hopes of playing some summer festival, too. Before that, however, they’ll continue their Michigan album-release tour with shows at 8 p.m. Saturday at InsideOut Gallery in Traverse City and 7 p.m. Sunday at The Avenue Cafe in Lansing (with The Crane Wives opening that concert). Check out the Local Spins review of the new album here.

The Feb. 26 edition of Local Spins on WYCE also featured the debut of new tracks from The Lippies (whose new album gets released March 5) and Alexander Lynch, plus music from Justin “Stovepipe” Stover, Big Dudee Roo, Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe, Connell-Brewer Jazz Band and Thirsty Perch Blues Band.

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