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An interview with and the music of guitarist Jon Butcher will be featured on the Sept. 19 edition of Greasy Tracks.

The program airs 2:30-5:30 p.m. Click here to listen live.

Butcher, as part of Guitar Monsters, visits Infinity Hall in Hartford on Sept. 26. Joining him are six-string foils Johnny A and Dave Amato.

There will be tickets given away to the show. Net proceeds from the concert will benefit the Community Renewal Team in Hartford.

Heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, Butcher is known for his energetic playing, tracing his roots to the Boston rock scene where he honed his skills in the 1970s, before gaining international exposure as the focal point of a power trio, The Jon Butcher Axis.

The band released its self-titled debut album in 1983 and since that time put out numerous studio and live sides. The group has had a handful of reunion periods, following their initial break-up in 1991, but after 47 years, they will officially call time as a band on Nov. 21 at The Center for Arts in Natick, Mass.

Throughout his career, Butcher has worked across rock, blues and contemporary music, while maintaining his identity as a guitarist and performer. He combines a tasteful, blues-based phrasing and rock power with melodic songwriting.

In 1994, he formed Barefoot Servants which signed to Epic Records. The band included Leland Sklar (bass), Ben Schultz (guitar) and Ray Brinker (drums). The released two albums, a self-titled debut (1994) and Barefoot Servants 2 (1995).

Butcher went solo after the 1991 breakup of The Jon Butcher Axis. His most recent release, Nuthin’ but Soul, came out last year.

He has contributed material and scored music for numerous television programs, film productions and video games. His work has appeared on such series as Shameless, Ugly Betty, Star Trek: Next Generation, The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, Law & Order and The X-Files, to name but a few.

Singer/songwriter Della (Natalie Schroeder) was an in-studio guest on the Aug. 24 edition of The Devo Rock Show.

If you missed it, here’s the archive and the playlist is here.

In addition to Della performing a few of her tracks, Devo played her latest single, “Take A Picture” as well as music from her debut EP, Playing Pretend.

Della started making music at age 15 and has placed in the top seven teen songwriters in the International Songwriting Competition. Her music incorporates many different styles and shows a maturity that defies her age.

She’s currently a student at NYU and is working on her first full-length album.

The Aug. 22 edition of Greasy Tracks features an interview with Russ Anixter who discussed What Next?, the just-released album by The Hippie Big Band, his 11-piece ensemble.

f you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Recorded during a two-day session this past February at The Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, NY., Anixter and his cohorts’ nine-track effort serves as an impressive follow-up to their 2025 debut, What Is?

The digital version of the new album includes a bonus cut — Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”

The project continues Anixter’s distinctive blend of big-band jazz, rock, funk and blues with an emphasis on heavy improvisation.

As with What Is?, Anixter transforms familiar material — this time from The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield, Grateful Dead, Eugene McDaniels and Miles Davis — into expansive arrangements marked by colorful horn writing and adventurous solos.

On Sept. 16, ace guitarist Oz Noy and his rhythm section will be joined by members of the Hippie Big Band (brass, saxes and vibes) at the Bitter End in New York City. Showtime is 9:30 p.m.

The July 19 edition of Strictly Roots featured an in-studio interview with members of the New Haven-based punk/reggae band Solgyres.

Formed in 2020, the now 10-piece band released their self-titled debut album in 2024. The 14-track effort included an appearance by G. Love of G. Love & Special Sauce who added vocals to “Immortal.”

On July 24, Solgyres will appear with the Quasi Kings at Hop Culture Brewery in Colchester. On July 25, they’ll play the 420 Community Fest in Holy Ghost Park in Shelton. Each concert will feature DJ Patrick the Sunday Selector spinning tunes in between bands.

Dean Farrell recently did a two-part chronology of vintage rhythm and blues, the music that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll.

The timeline begins in 1945 and ends in the early 1960s.

If you missed it, click here to listen to Part 1, while Part 2 is here.

Remember when the “M” in MTV stood for “music” and not “morons?”

A special edition of the Soul Express with Dean Farrell on June 3 featured nothing but 1980s New Wave jams.

If you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

When it comes to these tunes, Dean admittedly just can’t get enough. So put on your narrow tie, dye your hair a luminous color, sharpen your caustic wit and prepare to Safety Dance!

The May 30 edition of Greasy Tracks featured the second of a two-part spotlight on Spirit.

If you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

There was an interview with Mick Skidmore who is trustee of the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust and has overseen the release of numerous Spirit- and Randy California-related albums, in many cases remastering archival nuggets buried in the Spirit audio vault.

To check out the first part of the special, click here.

Wolfe, best known as Randy California, one of the founders of Spirit, was an innovative guitarist who had earlier played with Jimi Hendrix in his band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. It was Hendrix who gave him the name “California” to differentiate him from bassist Randy Palmer whom he nicknamed “Randy Texas.”

He formed the group with bassist Mark Andes and vocalist/keyboardist Jay Ferguson in 1967. The pair had played with him in the Red Roosters. They brought in Wolfe’s stepfather, drummer Ed Cassidy and keyboardist John Locke who were also heavily into jazz, compared to Andes and Ferguson who were, according to Andes, “valley boys who were into surf and rock music.”

Best known for their 1968 single “I Got A Line On You” which went to No. 25 in the U.S. charts, the band merged rock, jazz and psychedelia — essentially progressive rock before the genre gained popularity in the early 1970s.

Between 1968-70, the band released four albums, including their self-titled debut, The Family That Plays Together, Clear and The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus — which would be their only gold album.

The music for the two-part feature will be from the post-Dr. Sardonicus era when Spirit would go through a number of personnel changes as California and Cassidy remained the only holdovers from the original line-up.

We’ll be going deep into the Spirit catalog from the mid-1970s through California’s final studio effort, California Blues in 1996.

There will be an interesting mix of studio material, culled from such albums as Spirit of ’76, Son of America, Sea Dream, The Euro-American Years and Tent of Miracles and live offerings from Two Sides of a Rainbow – Live at the Rainbow, London 1978; Live at the Ash Grove 1967; and Live At Mile Square Park.

There would be a handful of half-hearted Spirit reunions over the years and the California-Cassidy band would continue to record and tour until California’s tragic death at the age of 45 in 1997 when he drowned while saving his son, Quinn, from a riptide off of Molokai, Hawaii.

Devo debuted the new single by guitarist Steve Oliver, featuring multi-instrumentalist Peter White, as he guest-hosted Day Break Jazz on May 18.

If you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

He also included an interview he did May 1 with Oliver at the “Smooth Jazz for Scholars” benefit in Milford, Conn. Oliver discussed his forthcoming album, Inner Fire, which comes out June 12. Devo also plans to air tracks from Unified (Shanachie), Oliver’s collaboration with pianist Brian Simpson as well as material from his 2023 release, A New Light (Wide Sky Records).

Heavily influenced by Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery, Oliver got his start in the late 1990s and has since had multiple No. 1 hits and dozens of Top 10 singles on the Billboard jazz chart.

He’s performed at many jazz festivals around the country and is currently based in California. As a writer, producer and performer he has collaborated with a long list of artists and has had his work featured in feature films and television.

If you’ve ever been buffaloed in Buffalo, entertained in Houston and know when it comes to New York, New York, you have to choose one, then the Little Feat spotlight on the May 9 edition of Greasy Tracks made complete sense.

If you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

In addition to music from across the catalog of the group, drummer Tony Leone and guitarist Scott Sharrard were interviewed.

Little Feat is currently on its “Last Farewell Tour” and plays College Street Music Hall in New Haven on May 29 with Molly Tuttle supporting.

The band — blending rock, blues, funk and New Orleans influences — formed in 1969, founded by guitarist Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne, drummer Richie Hayward and bassist Roy Estrada. George and Estrada had been members of The Mothers of Invention.

Following Estrada’s exit, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist Paul Barrère and percussionist Sam Clayton joined to round out the “classic” Feat lineup that recorded Dixie Chicken which was released in 1973.

Their early albums, including Sailin’ Shoes (1972) and Dixie Chicken, earned critical acclaim and a dedicated following, although commercial success came gradually.

The band has always been renowned for their tight live performances as evidenced by the classic 1978 album Waiting for Columbus which is often considered one of rock’s finest live recordings — albeit with some studio touchups akin to most “live” releases.

Following George’s death in 1979, Little Feat disbanded, but re-formed in 1987 with Payne, Gradney, Barrere and Clayton, adding ex-Pure Prairie League guitarist/vocalist Craig Lee Fuller and guitarist Fred Tackett who had played on a number of sessions in the past with the band.

The rejuvenated band released the FM-friendly Let It Roll (1988) and Representing the Mambo (1990) and were back on the road continuing their storied live performances.

Over time, further changes occurred: Fuller left, replaced by singer Shaun Murphy; Hayward died in 2010 and Barrere passed away in 2019.

In addition to Payne, Clayton, Gradney and Tackett, the current line-up features Sharrard and Leone, a native of Newington, Conn.

A year ago, the band released the well-received Strike Up The Band, which followed Sam’s Place (2024). The latter was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album that year.

While the current tour may not be the last live appearances Feat will make, according to Sharrard, it does mark the end of extended road work. The guitarist says the latest outing, which runs through the fall, will feature some deep dives into the band’s catalog.

The April 25 edition of Greasy Tracks featured vocalists from the United Kingdom with an emphasis on the career of Paul Rodgers. Mambo Sons guitarist Tom Guerra co-hosted the program.

f you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

U.K. rock and blues vocalists of the 1960s and 1970s were deeply shaped by American blues traditions, drawing inspiration from artists like Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf, very similar to how such guitarists as the “Three Kings” — Albert King, Freddie King and B.B. King — influenced scores of guitarists across Europe, especially Great Britain.

Singers such as Eric Burdon, Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and Rod Stewart studied these styles closely, adopting the raw emotion, phrasing, and vocal grit that defined blues music and many U.K. bands covered material by U.S blues players. Then there were cases of outright thievery going on by outfits like Led Zeppelin who often didn’t give credit for the material they “made their own.”

Rodgers is a powerful blues-rock vocalist and songwriter, best known for his work in Free, Bad Company, solo projects and even a stint in Queen.

Often, U.K. groups blended these influences with British sensibilities, creating a distinct sound that fueled the British Invasion. This transatlantic exchange not only revived interest in American blues but also transformed it, as UK vocalists reinterpreted its themes for new audiences and helped popularize the genre worldwide.

Guerra is a blues-rock guitarist and writer whose work has appeared in Vintage Guitar magazine and other publications. He’s made numerous appearances on Greasy Tracks, the last one being on a program spotlighting Rory Gallagher in 2024.