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Australian born Katie Cole is a Nashville based singer/songwriter who currently just wrapped up playing keyboards and backing vocals for the Smashing Pumpkins US/UK tour. Her story of coming to LA from Melbourne is like no other and her determination to navigate the ins and outs of the music industry is a lesson in perseverance, savvy DIY marketing and seizing opportunities when they come. Her easy going demeanor and sheer musical talent just adds to her appeal among her ever-growing fan base.

Steve Fekete is another Berklee School of Music graduate who made the journey out west and found success playing for the likes of Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Don Felder, Vertical Horizon and many others. The multi-instrumentalist is currently playing guitar and keys for America and when he finds himself in LA on the last Wednesday of each month he's playing in the house band for Soundcheck Live alongside such past guests as Nuno Bettencourt, Jackson Browne and Tom Morello. 

Drummer Brad Hargreaves has been with Third Eye Blind since they broke out of the Bay Area in 1997 with their self-titled platinum selling album that spawned the now classic single Semi-Charmed Life. Since then they've released 4 full-length LP's with a 5th called Screamer due on October 18th. Brad has also kept busy on the side playing in the power-trio Year Long Disaster and has performed DJ sets combined with drumming under the moniker Just Brad.

Ra Ra Riot formed in 2006 at Syracuse University and has just released their 5th full-length album called Superbloom last week on August 9th.  The band, consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard, recently wrapped up supporting Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind on the Summer Gods Tour.  Wes, Mathieu, Milo and Kenny sat down with the Rockonomics podcast and touched upon a wide array of topics that covered their decade-plus touring, recording and making music for a living.

New Jersey bred singer, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist Jim McGorman has played with a who's who in the music world including the New Radicals, Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, Cher, Paul Stanley and Weezer to name a few. The Berklee College of Music graduate is currently enjoying his second stint with the Goo Goo Dolls.

Train drummer Matt Musty, Goo Goo Dolls drummer Craig Macintyre and Allen Stone drummer Griffin Wright share the similarities and differences of their individual experiences playing drums for a living.  All are on tour together this summer and belong to a growing close-knit community of pro drummers who share a mutual respect for one another. 

Tiffany struck it big with her #1 cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” which occupied the Billboard top ten singles chart for two weeks in November of 1987 alongside the likes of Springsteen, Madonna and the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson. Her star gradually dimmed as 90’s tastes changed but she never went away and kept busy writing, recording, touring and appearing on TV. 2019 finds her on the successful Mixtape tour alongside fellow 80's stalwarts New Kids on the Block, Salt-n-Pepa, Naughty by Nature and Debbie Gibson while promoting her latest release Pieces of Me.

Cheap Trick drummer Daxx Nielsen has been manning the kit for the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Famers for 10 years now. Before that he was paying his dues playing 1000's of gigs, touring in vans and drumming for the likes of surf-rock legend Dick Dale and recent Grammy winner Brandi Carlile before back issues forced original Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos to summons Daxx to fill in for a few encores, which turned into a few shows, which turned into a full time gig. 

Guitarist Sean Hurwitz's two most well-known gigs could not be any more different. One has him playing stadiums and arenas around the world with Enrique Iglesias and the other has him rocking clubs, theaters and sheds with Smash Mouth. Listen to how this Israeli-raised musician took a leap off faith by going to LA to make a living playing music and subsequently succeeding.

Michael Devin is a New England bred, self-taught musician who’s played with the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepard, Lynch Mob and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. Since 2010 Michael has been the bassist for the band Whitesnake who are currently on their Flesh and Blood World tour.

Brandon Hinson has worn many hats in his 20 years in and around music. Starting out as a musician he went on to found his own management company, worked as a production manager for Clear Channel Concerts, served as tour manager for Smash Mouth and currently oversees clubs and theaters for Live Nation in Charlotte, NC.

Drew Fortune returns to the podcast to talk about his upcoming book No Encore: Musicians Reveal Their Weirdest, Wildest, Most Embarrassing Gigs which is available now for pre-order and hits the shelves on July 16th featuring recollections from dozens of artists including Alice Cooper, Peter Frampton, Shirley Manson, Sammy Hagar and many more. Hear Drew read a jaw-dropping excerpt from Dave Navarro recounting one of his drug-fueled exploits backstage at the 1997 KROQ acoustic xmas show.

Eva Gardner's professional career began shortly after graduating UCLA with honors when she toured and recorded as the original bassist in The Mars Volta. Since then she’s played with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Moby, Cher, Veruca Salt and has spent the last 12 years touring the world with Pink.

Mark Schulman is an in-demand drummer who’s played for Richard Marx, Simple Minds, Billy Idol, Pink and many others. But it was a blown audition for the band Bad English that left a profound effect and led him to dedicate himself to conquering anxiety and become the consummate professional musician, author and corporate speaker that he is today.

Most of us know Fred Armisen from his decade on Saturday Night Live, 8 seasons on Portlandia and countless other TV shows and movie cameos. But before comedy became the driving force in Fred's career he was a young struggling musician playing drums for the post-hardcore Chicago based band Trenchmouth. On this week's podcast we zero in on Fred's musical past that has always informed so much of his comedy.

Jesse Valenzuela has been with the Gin Blossoms from their humble beginnings back in Tempe, Arizona before their regional success garnered the attention of the major labels and eventually resulted in getting signed by A&M. Their first full length album New Miserable Experence was a multi-platinum success that paved the way for them to become one of the 90’s most successful alternative rock acts.

Brendan B. Brown is the mastermind behind the band Wheatus who most of us know for their 2000 hit Teenage Dirtbag and cover of Erasure's A Little Respect. It's been a long, strange trip since then but some 19 years later Wheatus are still at it having become a fairly well-oiled DIY machine that continues to record and tour the US and abroad regularly.

Joel Hoekstra is easily one of the busiest musicians out there today. He currently juggles performing in three extremely successful global acts: Cher, Whitesnake and the Trans Siberian Orchestra. In between those commitments he’s appearing at the Monsters of Rock cruise, playing gigs with the Rock of Ages band and contributing to various sessions, collaborations and solo projects.

Ashley Reeve is a California born and bred bassist who's played with Cee-Lo Green, Adam Lambert, Ed Harcourt, Money Mark and Filter to name a few. Drummer Jason Sutter is a fellow upstate New Yorker who's resume includes the late great Chris Cornell, Marilyn Manson, Foreigner, and The New York Dolls among others. The two are currently the rhythm section for Cher on her Here We Go Again tour.

Ethan Thompson and Pete Nappi make up 2/3 of the band Ocean Park Standoff. Formed in 2016, along with musician/DJ Samantha Ronson, Ocean Park Standoff hit the ground running with the breakout single “Good News” and a 2017 Summer tour supporting Third Eye Blind and The Silversun Pickups. They've continued their ascent in 2018 with more touring and charting another hit with “If You Were Mine” which reached #15 on Billboard Adult Pop chart.