Mike Mettler

No other artist in the rock era has followed his own muse as deliberately and as singularly as Bob Dylan has. Right from the dawning of his career at the outset of the 1960s, Dylan has chosen his own lane and then merged into it full-on, regardless of any external pressures or expectations. Whether the message is parlayed with his voice backed only by an acoustic guitar or translated with full band accompaniment, the foremost poet of our times has known exactly what information he wants to share with us every step of the way, critics and cognoscenti be damned.

British blues-rock pioneers Savoy Brown continue to fly the flag quite mightily on their current album, Witchy Feelin’. Kim Simmonds, their bandleader/guitarist/vocalist for over 52 years and counting, got on the line to discuss the importance of incorporating hooks and riffs together in songs, what he specifically listens for in order to garner creative inspiration, and why he can never relax as an artist.

The five men in the fine Atlanta-bred alt-rock collective known as Collective Soul had a very specific mixing rule for Collective Soul – Live: “There are no overdubs here,” confirms Collective Soul frontman, vocalist/guitarist Ed Roland. To further delve into the sheer liveness of Live, Roland and I got on the line to discuss the balance of dynamics in the band’s live mixes, why their biggest hit “Shine” comes across so well in a live setting, and which classic live albums they referred to as inspirations.

I hate to admit it, but I didn’t “get” Marillion when I saw them open for Rush at the Rosemont Horizon just outside of Chicago on March 21, 1986, playing their 1985 breakthrough album Misplaced Childhood in its entirety. While I was properly enamored with the uplifting performance of their touchingly seductive FM hit “Kayleigh,” I just wasn’t able to connect with the rest of the set for some reason. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in that feeling, since I also heard a good bit of the crowd boo/catcall Marillion throughout their performance, the first time I had heard such a thing occur at a live show.