Off the beaten track interview archive coming soon: original music VT book Of Days

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The Archive of Off The Beaten Track® Interviews More coming soon:

Suzanne Vega

Julia Fordham

Paul McCartney

Johnny Clegg Juluka & Savuka

Listen to interviews posted below:

The Archive of Off The Beaten Track® Interviews More coming soon:

Suzanne Vega

Julia Fordham

Paul McCartney

Johnny Clegg Juluka & Savuka

Listen to interviews posted below:

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: John Mayall - 1988

This interview was conducted and recorded by Michael Thurston for his syndicated radio program Off The Beaten Track on November 2, 1988 at Nightstage in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The interview coincided with the release of Chicago Line by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. The interview was coordinated by the publicity staff at Island Records in New York, which included Kathy Kenyon and Stephanie Seymour. The band that night featured the incredible guitarist, Coco Montoya.

A trained and gainfully employed graphic designer, John Mayall introduced the world to many fine musicians via their various tenures in The Bluesbreakers, his "hobby" band, including the likes of John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green (the seedlings of Fleetwood Mac) Mick Taylor, Keef Hartley, Aynsley Dunbar, and interestingly, The Bluesbreakers provided the initial meeting place for Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce who would later team up with Ginger Baker to form Cream. After a year, Mayall ditched the day job and pursued the blues full time, at the ripe old age of 30.

John Mayall passed away on July 22, 2024 at the age of 90. He leaves a legacy and love for the blues that went to his core. He is often referred to as "The Godfather of British Blues".

Many consider Chicago Line his return to prime form in the late 1980s, as he gathered some old mates together to put The Bluesbreakers on the road again. Please enjoy this conversation as John Mayall tells the tale.

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Mojo Nixon - 1987

Mojo Nixon with his buddy Skid Roper was the undisputed King Of Psychobilly ( a hybrid of Rockabilly and Punk) during the late 1980s. Best known, perhaps, for Elvis Is Everywhere, Mojo carved a unique career path in popular music, with an emphasis on novelty. Mojo Nixon, born Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, became the persona by which he achieved fame, fulfilling and at times surpassing all the excesses of a crazed white boy from rural America on his run out of town! While Elvis Is Everywhere was a favorite MTV Alternative track, Stuffin' Martha's Muffin, not so much, as it was Mojo's love ballad, sort of, to MTV VJ, Martha Quinn. Such musical milestones as Debbie Gibson is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child and Don Henley Must Die would soon follow.

Mojo was tightly wound and ready to bust loose on this hot August night in 1987, when he sat down (most of the time) with Michael Thurston to be interviewed for Off The Beaten Track. Ilene Barg from Enigma Records coordinated the interview who basically said, if you show up, he should be there! It was green room time as Mojo got ready to play a club in Binghamton, New York.

Mojo talks at length about his quest to get out of town, the things that drove him crazy, and why his musical approach to life suits him so well. He was out on the road promoting his album Bo-Day-Shus!!! which had been released just days before, and is widely considered to be his signature album. The single Elvis Is Everywhere was largely responsible for putting this album (and Mojo) on the map.

In later years, Mojo Nixon would migrate to some film work and find a new career at SirusXM, hosting programs on their Outlaw Country channel. In fact, it was on an Outlaw Country cruise, performing and carrying on to excess in his Mojo Nixon way, that his heart gave out and he died in his sleep at 66 years of age. The date was February 7, 2024.

Mojo Nixon was all about the celebration of life and the outrageousness of it all. Enjoy the conversation as Mojo outlines his particular view of the universe...and oh yeah, hang on tight!

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Prefab Sprout - 1988

Paddy McAloon teamed up with his brother Martin and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Wendy Smith with Michael Salmon on drums to form Prefab Sprout, a lush, pop, innovative band in 1978...Wendy Smith did not join until 1982, Neil Conti replaced Michael Salmon in 1983. They released several critically acclaimed albums during the 1980s, including Swoon, Two Wheels Good (also known as Steve McQueen in all countries other than North America), From Langley Park To Memphis and Jordan: The Comeback among them. From Langley Park To Memphis yielded Prefab Sprout their biggest hit, The King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Razor sharp production, an affinity for melody, unusual song structure and a refreshing sense of humor were the hallmarks of Prefab Sprout. They were fans of all things musical, had a gift for arrangement, and were fans whose tastes ran the gamut from Elvis to Doo-Wop, The Beatles to T. Rex and beyond.

Paddy McAloon sat down with Michael Thurston in 1988 for an Off The Beaten Track interview that coincided with the release of From Langley Park To Memphis. Almost immediately, the two hit a groove, realizing they shared a very common affinity for popular music. At the time of the interview, Michael was 34, from a very small rural town in Vermont, Paddy was 31, from a very small rural town in England, and they discovered their shared life soundtracks were very similar. Take a listen as the two share their enthusiasm for contemporary popular music and personalities and explore the formative forces that helped shape the fabric of Prefab Sprout.

This profile will be updated with additional information.

Off The Beaten Track Interviews:

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: James Montgomery - 1983

James Montgomery is one of the first artists to appear on Off The Beaten Track, initially appearing shortly after the show's inception in 1975. The very first interview Michael Thurston conducted with James and his band was in 1973 when the band played Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont and Michael interviewed them for the campus newspaper, The Critic. Theirs has been a lifelong friendship which continues to this day.

James Montgomery is a Detroit boy who migrated to Boston to go to college (BU), finding himself smack dab in the middle of a heathy and diverse music scene. Boston was home base for The James Montgomery Band for a long time. For the past couple of decades, James has called Newport, Rhode Island his home.

This interview was conducted for Off The Beaten Track to coincide with the release of Live Trax, James Montgomery's live album from 1983, which features Barbara Holiday, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Bobby Chouinard of Billy Squier's band, The Uptown Horns and the late T.J. Tindall, the producer who helped pioneer the Gamble-Huff Studio sound. The album was recorded live at Trax in New York City.

To put this interview in context, James Montgomery was 13 years into his career, and this was his first live album. It was James' opportunity to present a few new tunes and provide live versions of fan favorites from his previous albums and long touring career.

This interview was one of the few interviews recorded in Michael's home studio in Barre, Vermont, rather than out on the road.

James is still touring and recording today. His projects now also include documentary film. James was instrumental in fundraising and development, production and promotion of "Bonnie Blue: James Cotton's Life In The Blues", a biopic tribute to one of Montgomery's mentors, blues legend James Cotton. Cotton, who got his start with Muddy Waters, became a key influence for Montgomery, and the two performed many shows together.

(The picture in the upper left captures James and James in such a show. This image appears on The James Montgomery website. James Cotton also sat for an interview with Off The Beaten Track and we will try to make that available at a future date.)

"America You Kill Me" is a documentary about James Montgomery's youngest brother Jeff, who can best be described as a LGBTQ warrior. Jeff Montgomery, who died in 2016 at age 63, fought valiantly for personal rights in his native Detroit, and his groundbreaking work resonated far beyond The Motor City. James Montgomery is the Executive Producer of this film, while John Montgomery, Jeff's other older brother is the Producer. Suffice it to say, this film is a labor of love.

The other older brother, John Montgomery spent many years as a record promotion man, including National Promotion Director for FM Radio at Warner Brothers in the mid 1970s, and then Vice President of Sales and Promotion at Sire Records from the late 1970s into the early 1980s. John is also a restaurateur and has spearheaded Woodhull Freedom Foundation for the last 20 years. Woodhull Freedom Foundation is an advocacy group that fights censorship, promotes personal sexual freedoms and advocates for privacy protections. John Montgomery was also instrumental in getting Jeff to open up and tell his personal story, and that narrative became the centerpiece for "America You Kill Me." As it turns out, all three Montgomery brothers, James, John and Jeff are legendary.

Enjoy this engaging and entertaining piece of 1983 history as James Montgomery tells the story of how Live Trax came into being...and don't be alarmed, there might be an expletive or two, and a good laugh along the way.

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Pere Ubu (Dave Thomas) - 1988

The Pere Ubu story is long and convoluted. Certainly longer than space here allows.

In a nutshell, the only constant from the late 1970s through 2025 has been Dave Thomas. He was prone to take on projects, side projects, solo projects, crazy instrumentation projects...well, you get the idea. Pere Ubu came, and went, came back, and went, and came back...

Dave is a Cleveland Ohio boy, spent some time living in London, never found an instrument or sound he didn't like. Tried them all. Dave Thomas has an innovative vocal style, given to yelping on occasion if it felt and sounded good. There were few boundaries.

Pere Ubu invented the phrase Avant Garage and influenced a whole bunch of people. Just ask Joy Division, or R.E.M., or Husker Du, or The Pixies, or Thomas Dolby, or Henry Rollins, or Sisters of Mercy, or Julian Cope, or Mission of Burma...the list of bands and artists that cite Pere Ubu as an influence is nothing short of incredible. Artistic freedom and pushing the envelope was central to the influence of Pere Ubu. Thomas taught fellow musicians “Oh! You Can Do That!”

Off The Beaten Track caught up with Dave Thomas at New York's New Music Seminar in the summer of 1988. Hundreds of bands, hundreds of press people, hundreds of label and publicity executives gaming the crowd for maximum exposure. Three days to get it done!

Tenement Year had just been released and Enigma was anxious for Dave to do as much press as possible. The LP was, after all, the first Pere Ubu album since getting back together. Pere Ubu had broken up in 1982. Dave Thomas had moved to London, was involved in as many projects as ever, but Pere Ubu had been silent for six long years...an eternity in popular music.

Michael Thurston's conversation with Dave Thomas mimicked the no holds barred approach of Pere Ubu's music. Nothing was off the table, resulting in a fun conversation.

Imagine music that sounds like it could fly apart at any moment. Imagine musicians doing what they love and Dave Thomas holding it all together...just barely. Not quite rock, not quite jazz, not quite world, not quite like anything else you've ever heard or likely to hear again. Avant Garage.

Dave Thomas left us on April 23, 2025. His is a most colorful and imaginative legacy. Of all the Off The Beaten Track interviews, and there are hundreds, this one was one of the most challenging. Dave Thomas had a thought process like no other. One would expect no less from the chief architect of Pere Ubu.

The Archive of Off The Beaten Track® Interviews More coming soon:

The Archive of Off The Beaten Track® Interviews More coming soon:

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: John Mayall - 1988

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Mojo Nixon - 1987

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Prefab Sprout - 1988

Off The Beaten Track Interviews:

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: James Montgomery - 1983

Off The Beaten Track Interviews

Off The Beaten Track Interviews: Pere Ubu (Dave Thomas) - 1988

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Michael D. Thurston