Business

The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt

Nude & Ginger

Fascinating folks of note, from writers and musicians/artists to business and tech leaders, are interviewed by well-known LA radio DJ Nic Harcourt about the songs, bands, and concerts that h...

Episodes

20 of 81 episodes

Teenaged John Roderick rode box car trains across the U.S; Aged 30 he walked from Hook of Holland to Istanbul. He was surprised to find he liked Coldplay & If he could only listen to one song for the rest of his life he'd pick Elliot Smith's Waltz #2

Nic's guest on this episode is musician, singer, songwriter, podcaster, John Roderick. John is the lead singer and guitarist of the Seattle...

117:31Mar 27, 2025

On Gail Ann Dorsey's ninth birthday, her godmother and neighbor Edith gave her a Kay parlor guitar. The first album she bought was 'Slayed' by Slade, and Isaac Hayes was the first artist she saw live in concert.

Accomplished songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and one of the most highly regarded bass guitar players working today, Gail Ann Dor...

79:45Dec 18, 2024

The Spice Girls loom large in Lauren Mayberry's musical DNA & she thinks that Missy Elliott has made some of the best music videos of all time. George Michael or Whitney Houston will get her dancing & maybe, there's a Broadway musical in her future.

Lauren Mayberry is the lead singer of the Scottish band Chvrches. She has played the piano since she was a child and drums since she was a t...

45:25Dec 3, 2024

B-52's founding member Kate Pierson's first music purchase was Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater", her first concert? The Doors (Jim Morrison dropped his pants) in Chicago, and the music of Neil Diamond is a guilty pleasure.

Kate Pierson's band the B-52s, who formed in Athens Georgia in 1976, have a long list of bona fide hits, including "Rock Lobster" "Planet Cl...

40:45Sep 18, 2024

Thurston Moore wrang glorious sounds from his electric guitar through his work with Sonic Youth, who in 1981 emerged from the experimental No Wave art & music scene in New York before evolving into arguably the most influential independent band ever

Nic is joined on this episode by guitarist, singer, songwriter and author Thurston Moore, who is probably best known as a member of the grou...

61:31Sep 11, 2024

Musician. curator and composer Camilo Lara grew up in the Mexico City neighborhood where Trotsky lived. His earliest musical memory is XTC's album 'English Settlement', his first concert, The Cure In San Diego on their 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' tour.

Camilo Lara is perhaps best known for music that he releases under the name Mexican Institute of Sound, with six full-length albums released...

36:59Jun 14, 2024

Neil Finn's first musical memory is of his mother singing while washing dishes. The first album he bought was Donovan's 'Fairy Tale', his first live show was Elton John at Western Springs in Auckland & he's a fan of ethnomusicologist David Fanshawe.

Neil Finn is best known for being in two of the most important bands to come out of his homeland of New Zealand. Split Enz , a band in which...

34:30May 22, 2024

Stuart Murdoch is the lead singer and songwriter of the band Belle and Sebastian which began as a project at the University of Glasgow. His early music purchases included albums by Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder and the Welsh metal band Budgie.

Musician, writer and filmmaker Stuart Murdoch is the lead singer and songwriter for the Scottish band Belle and Sebastian. The group's first...

38:22Apr 18, 2024

Jason Schwartzman's earliest musical memories are his mom playing the tape of the musical 'Into the Woods' in the car, and listening to Michael Jackson's thriller on his Boombox; the first album he bought with his own $ was Nirvana's 'Nevermind'.

Actor, writer, and musician, Jason Schwartzman began his acting career in 1998 when, at the age of 18, he starred in Wes Anderson’s 'Rushmor...

50:36Dec 20, 2023

Alexi Lalas played hockey before soccer. His love of music came from his mom, who was in a group of madrigal singers, and sent him to piano lessons and taught him basic guitar chords. His first live music experience? Pat Benatar.

Former USMNT soccer star, Alexi Lalas exploded onto the international stage during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a summer in which Americans embr...

47:00Dec 7, 2023

Grace Potter's first instrument was piano (her mom taught piano). Before she made money from her music she installed sheet rock and painted houses. Ace of Base are her musical guilty pleasure and Esquivel's Mucha Muchacha is her dance jam.

Beginning with her debut album 'Red Shoe Rebel' in 2002, Singer-songwriter and musician Grace Potter has released 5 albums under her own nam...

53:02Nov 16, 2023

Johnny Marr's first musical memory is of his mum and aunt playing and dancing to 'Walk Right Back' by The Everly Brothers. His first music purchase was 'Jeepster' by T.Rex and his first concert was Slaughter & the Dogs at the Manchester Forum in 1976

Musician, songwriter, and singer Johnny Marr was the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths (from 1982 thru 1987). He has at one time or...

39:11Nov 1, 2023

Ghanaian/Australian musician Genesis Owusu's earliest musical memories are the Kriss Kross song 'Jump' & watching the Michael Jackson 'HIStory' DVD and trying to learn the dance moves to the 'Thriller' video with his cousins. His first concert? Kanye

When he was just two years old musician, Kofi Owusu-Ansah (known professionally as Genesis Owusu) and his family emigrated from Ghana in Wes...

37:57Oct 18, 2023

Emily Haines is the lead singer, keyboardist & songwriter of the band Metric, and a member of the musical collective Broken Social Scene. Her first concert was seeing Corey Hart & her favorite video is The Strokes' 'Ode To The Mets' (Dir. Warren Fu)

It was perhaps inevitable that Emily Haines would become a writer/lyricist and musician; her dad (Paul Haynes), was a revered Avant Garde po...

56:00Oct 5, 2023

14 year old Natalie Merchant spent her babysitting money on 8 track cartridges of 'cut out' albums by Brian Eno, Roxy Music and David Bowie from her local drugstore and her first live show was seeing the Styx Grand Illusion tour at Buffalo Auditorium

Singer, songwriter and composer Natalie Merchant got her start when she joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 at age 17, becoming the lead...

30:09Sep 14, 2023

Roger Bennett's first musical purchase was Simon & Garfunkel's 'Sounds of Silence', his first live show was Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark at the Liverpool Empire and his favorite video is for the Talking Heads song 'Once in a Lifetime'.

Liverpool born, Manhattan based broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker Roger Bennett hosts multiple podcasts and TV shows focussing on soccer...

50:05Aug 31, 2023

Lyle Lovett thinks The Milk Carton Kids are a modern day Smothers Brothers, his first musical memory is seeing Nat King Cole on TV, his first album was 'The Monkees' and he found his first backing band in Luxembourg!

Lyle Lovett began performing by playing acoustic sets at bars just off of the Texas A&M University campus, while studying for bachelor degre...

60:19Jul 20, 2023

Noel Gallagher's first musical memory is Elvis' death. His first show? the Damned at Manchester Apollo in 1980; 88-90 Acid House is his dance jam, he digs U2's 'Joshua Tree' videos and he likes routine!

This week's guest is songwriter, producer, (and let’s just say it) rockstar, Noel Gallager. Noel was the main songwriter, lead guitarist and...

21:27Jul 5, 2023

Portugal The Man's John Gourley grew up in the Alaskan wilderness listening to his parents' Motown records. His first musical memory is hearing The Beatles 'Here Comes The Sun', The Aphex Twin will get him dancing & his favorite live band is Pantera.

John Gourley is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the band Portugal. The Man , a group who after five independently released albums an...

57:41Jun 21, 2023

Lucinda Williams talks about her memoir 'Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You', and shares the music that inspired her. From Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan & Joan Baez to John Coltrane, James Brown & Prince.

Lucinda Williams is one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of her generation. Her first two albums ' Ramblin' on My Mind' and ' Happy...

43:51Jun 8, 2023