Caropop

More than a half century after co-founding the classic power-pop band Shoes, guitarist-singer-songwriter Gary Klebe is releasing his first solo album, Out Loud, though he was reluctant to do so. He explains why here and digs into Shoes’ unlikely, inspiring career—how he and brothers Jeff and John Murphy (a previous Caropop guest) formed the band in Zion, Ill., before any of them could play instruments. Little did they know that all three would become masters of crafting and singing perfect guitar-pop songs—and would release their first acclaimed album before they’d played a live gig. What went right and wrong in the band’s career, particularly its three albums on Elektra? Did Klebe start writing the Out Loud songs for a potential Shoes album? Will he and the Murphy brothers ever reboot the band? The self-effacing Klebe also tells whether the band’s name was inspired by the Beatles, and he recalls the one time he played on stage with anyone other than Shoes.

Ronnie Barnett was a rock journalist in Houston when he met Kim Shattuck, then bassist for the Los Angeles band the Pandoras, and their fates intertwined. Soon Barnett was living in L.A. and playing bass in the Muffs, Shattuck’s new pop-punk band in which she played guitar and applied her impassioned vocals to her tight, tuneful songs. The band had a strong three-album run with Warner Bros., though its most famous song became its punked-up cover of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” that played over the opening credits of 1995’s Clueless yet never was released as a single. Amid more acclaimed albums, Shattuck took a brief detour as the Pixies’ bassist. Sixteen days before the October 2019 release of the Muffs’ final studio album, No Holiday, Shattuck died at age 56 from complications of ALS, news that shocked and devastated the many who loved her and her music. Barnett takes us through the thrills and heartbreak of his life with Shattuck and the Muffs—and offers some record-collecting notes because he’s that kind of guy. (Photo by Tommi Cahill)

Vince Wilburn Jr. was growing up on Chicago’s South Side when his mother would get him all dressed up because his Uncle Miles Davis was coming to town. Sometimes they'd see the brilliant trumpeter perform, including at the tiny Plugged Nickel club in Old Town. By the 1980s, Wilburn was playing drums in Davis’ band and helping produce his albums. Wilburn now performs in Miles Electric Band (MEB) and co-manages Davis' estate, which is overseeing the Miles Davis 100 campaign to mark his uncle's 100th birthday. One major release is The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, a 10-LP/eight-CD box set covering a legendary live engagement by Davis and his “second great quintet” (drummer Tony Williams, pianist Herbie Hancock, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and bassist Ron Carter). Wilburn reflects on the band’s wildly experimental approach those nights, as well as what it was like to be Davis’ nephew and how he’s keeping his uncle’s legacy alive.

Len Kasper is starting his sixth season as the Chicago White Sox’s radio play-by-play announcer after 16 years as the Cubs’ TV play-by-play guy, but he’s got another passion: playing bass and writing songs for his band Sonic45. This Chicago all-star five-piece, which features recent Caropop guest Dag Juhlin on guitar, made its debut performance after my 2019 “Talking in Space” conversation with Kasper. Since then, the band, which has had a name change that he explains, has released two albums: Space and Time (2021) and SuperSonic (2024). The sound is muscular and swirling while Kasper’s lyrics are vulnerable and revealing. Kasper is open here as well as he discusses whether he dreamt more of being a baseball announcer, player or musician; how the Cubs’ “Hot Stove Cool Music” charity concerts fueled his music career; whether he considered singing in Sonic45; and whether it was coincidental that he took the White Sox radio job weeks after Theo Epstein left the Cubs. (Photo by Katrina Vlasich)

Any author would dream of the kind of acclaim and attention that Christine Sneed has received, including a front-page Sunday New York Times Book Review rave of her 2013 novel Little Known Facts. The accolades continued for subsequent novels and short-story collections, yet getting her work published has become harder than ever. Sneed launched a Substack called Bookish that offers tips, reflections, interviews, agent lists and more to fellow writers and interested readers. Here she addresses: How much energy does she spend writing vs. trying to get her work out into the world? Does a writer need a so-called platform? Why can't more agents and editors respond to writers in a timely manner? How much of a problem is the shuttering of so many book sections? Sneed and I often swap tales of publishing misadventures, and now you can enjoy her hard-earned wisdom as well. (Photo by Adam Tinkham)

Musicians are said to have a lifetime to create their first album and six months to make the follow-up. That was literally the case with Graham Parker, whose landmark debut album, Howlin’ Wind, came out in April 1976, followed that October by the acclaimed Heat Treatment. Parker, the subject of Jay Nachman’s excellent new book Graham Parker’s Howlin’ Wind, tells his fascinating origin story here. He worked in factories and at a gas station, tried on almost every ‘60s/’70s musical style and wrote, wrote and wrote. How many songs had he written before he came up with one that made the cut for Howlin’ Wind? How did he get connected to his ace backing band, the Rumour, and did he start writing with them in mind? The still-active, feisty Parker presents a vivid portrait of the artist as a young man--and conveys his current feelings about how the system is rigged against musicians trying to make a living. (Photo by Steve Goulding)

Michael Blair had much training in percussion, including a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, by the time he pulled out the marimba, congas, drums and other instruments for Tom Waits’ landmark 1985 album Rain Dogs. As was the case with recent Caropop guest Mark Ribot, Rain Dogs propelled Blair to more work with Waits (including the album and Steppenwolf Theatre performances of Franks Wild Years) and projects with Elvis Costello and producers T Bone Burnett and Hal Willner. That’s Blair delivering the “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” riff on marimba on Costello’s cover of the song and playing a wild array of percussion instruments on Costello’s Spike. Blair tells how he landed the drumming gig on Lou Reed’s Magic and Loss and the unusual way that album's drums were recorded. He also relates how he wound up on the Replacements’ All Shook Down and why he has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, for many years. (Photo by Cato Lein.)

I saw bassist Victor Krummenacher, one of my favorite music people, perform twice within three weeks last fall: with Camper Van Beethoven to end perhaps their last-ever tour in Washington, D.C.; and with the Third Mind, the improvisatory band also featuring Dave Alvin, in Milwaukee. Both shows were fantastic. Now Krummenacher has a new album, the cinematic Block Out the Sun, and is reflecting on the inevitable artistic collision between one’s personal life and what’s happening in the outside world. He also discusses an upcoming album collaboration between most of the Third Mind and former Fairport Convention singer (and Caropop guest) Iain Matthews; the recently announced Record Store Day release of Camper Van Beethoven’s version of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk; Krummenacher’s vision of a possible Camper future; and that David Lowery song that quotes something hostile that Krummenacher allegedly said to the Camper frontman when the band was first breaking up. (Photo by Jesse Sykes.)