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Kevin Bivona ’ s ear has grown so highly attuned to the classic Leslie ‘ King ’ Kong approach that he produced the generous 14-track set himself in The Interrupters ’ private studio . He wasn ’ t planning on making a musical backdrop for his wife ’ s cathartic confessional during a pandemic . But as he recollects , he just didn ’ t have much of a choice .
“ When we were in lockdown , and these songs started materializing , we kind of realized that we didn ’ t know when the world was gonna open back up again ,” says Bivona . “ And Aimee and I live together , and my brothers , the twins , live together on the same property , and we have this studio on our property that was our practice room , but we converted it into a recording studio , and we got right to work . And out of necessity , I became the producer because I was the one who built the studio .” He first began cutting records for musicians at 14 , he says . Like most punk rockers worth their ska-smart salt , he first got into reggae via the definitive soundtrack to Roger Corman ’ s classic Jamaican blaxploitation flick The Harder They Come ( wherein the ‘ Yeah , mon ’ patois was so dense , it required North American subtitles ), which introduced countless young rockers to artists like Jimmy Cliff , The Melodians , and the late Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals . “ So I ’ ve always listened to music with an extra third ear , listening to the recording itself and the production , and then finding out what gear they used or why I loved this certain sound . So when it came to incorporating dub into our music , I kind of already had the toolbox . And the Jimmy Cliff record that Tim Armstrong produced ? I mixed that , and it was a spiritual experience every day of that recording process . Just being able to spend time with Jimmy Cliff — one of my heroes — and Tim Armstrong , another one of my heroes , and then watching him produce Jimmy , who was also one of his heroes , was amazing and an incredible learning experience .”
“ And I sang on it , as well — background vocals — which was one of the greatest honors of my life ,” his wife pipes in proudly . And it ’ s no mean feat to harmonize with Cliff , who — ever since his breakthrough ‘ 60s smash " Hurricane " – has been one of reggae ’ s most remarkable , soul-stirring voices , the Sam Cooke of the bustling ska set . But Interrupter ’ s whiskey-tough warble has become a hurricane-velocity force of its own In the Wild , owing in part to the new diary-direct honesty that her new post-TMS two score has allowed into her formerly tumultuous existence , which she likens to the hardscrabble existence of a feral child in the chugging rocker “ Raised By Wolves .” (“ I was the youngest of four , my mom was a single mother , and it definitely felt like I raised myself — I didn ’ t have any stable
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parental figures ,” she explains .) But tapping into that new vulnerability made all the difference , her spouse reckons . To sonically couch her catharsis , The Interrupters recorded days , nights , lay afternoons — any time she felt a reminiscence beaming through , however painful it might be . “ And we have a studio in our backyard , so if that happened to be at 3:00 in the morning , well , guess what ? I ’ m making a pot of coffee at 2:00 a . m ., and we ’ re recording at 3:00 a . m .! If we weren ’ t feeling it , we weren ’ t feeling it . But if Aimee said , ‘ I really feel like doing this song now , we were able to do it .”
Interrupter is lyrically fearless now . On bravely confronts death — of various friends and family members over the years on “ Love Never Dies ,” admits that she herself is the ‘ Alien ’ in the symphonic ballad of the same name , and subliminally inserts a lot of her personal philosophy within zen-like koans such as “ Let ‘ Em Go , “ “ The Hard Way , “ and “ Kiss the Ground ,” until she ’ s confident enough to dismiss a detractor with a snide-snarling “ You ’ re just another raindrop in the puddle of my pain ” descriptor . How does she stay hovering at a calm , collected two , even on a Covid-era tour ? Wearing her Interrupters bandanna onstage helps , she admits . “ It keeps my hair in place when I ’ m running and jumping and sweating ,” she laughs . “ But I love that it ’ s also a tip of the hat to Rosie the Riveter , too . But I do a lot for my depression , a lot of spiritual , physical , and mental work because I put mental health as my top priority in my life — brain health . I make sure that I pick the right vitamins and food for my brain . And I make sure if I ’ m feeling panic attacks coming on or any anxiety , that I do breathing exercises or I pray , or I ’ ll go for a walk . There are a lot of things in my tool kit , things that I do . But I just try and manage it the best that I can .”
The artist isn ’ t recommending any one religion over another . She ’ s far more spiritual , she explains . “ So whatever you think makes the sun rise every day , whatever that source is for you — that ’ s what we ’ re trying to tap into .” Does Interrupter believe that she ’ s lived before ? Experienced a past life or two , perhaps ? She considers this for a minute .” I would like to think I was Joan of Arc ,” she decides . “ I went to a psychic one time when I was about 19 , and the psychic said , ‘ you were Joan of Arc in a past life .’ So I ’ m gonna go with it .”
“ I definitely feel like I knew Aimee in the past — we have a real soul connection ,” Bivona adds , with aw-shucks warmth . And he hails from a famous entertainment family — his father was a trumpet player and a fellow recording engineer , and his grandfather was a big-band musician who backed everyone from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald and even the fabled MGM orchestra .
“ Yeah , we probably did have a connection ,” his wife responds with a wry , warmth-canceling cackle . “ I was Joan of Arc , and you were one of my soldiers !”
Where ’ s a drummer when you need one ?
G
arry Meier ’ s podcast is now in its seventh season , and it ’ s fair to say it has found an audience . According to the podcast , monitoring / rating service , Listen Notes , the Garry Meier show is in the top 1.5 % of podcasts worldwide .
So what does he talk about on the show ? “ I ’ m going to quote a listener who texted me ; he said , ‘ you deal with all the nonsensical bullshit sans politics .’ I think that ’ s a pretty good description . I don ’ t do politics and never have . It ’ s not my wheelhouse . It ’ s a tire flattener . I love these odd stories that I can have fun with it .” In other words , it ’ s very similar to his former drive-time show on WGN Radio . Meier explains
Garry Meier there is one notable difference .
“ The flow is different because you don ’ t have to stop every seven minutes for commercials . It ’ s really important when you ’ re doing an interview . It ’ s so much more fun .” When Garry ’ s not interviewing a guest , he ’ s riffing with his co-host and former radio colleague , Leslie Keiling . Meier says she is a key ingredient to the show .
“ When you ’ re in a room talking to yourself , it gets very problematic . After a while , you start feeling like a mental patient . You can ’ t access telephone calls like a talk radio station . You need someone to work off of — and I ’ ve always liked Leslie and what she brought to the table . We ’ re having a conversation instead of me just talking to myself . Having worked with Leslie before , she knows my rhythm and sense of humor .”
Obviously , Garry has also worked with other famous co-hosts before , most memorably with Steve Dahl and Roe Conn . Both of those situations ended badly , and his solo-stints at WCKG and WGN didn ’ t last as long as he would have hoped , but after years of not publicly commenting , he is willing to engage when asked . “ I look fondly on all of them ,” he says . “ They may have ended badly , but I ’ ve taken all the good parts , and remember those . I can ’ t control everything .”
His thoughts on his Steve & Garry years : “ I see these wedding announcements and the officiator has a Universal Life Church certificate , and I remember that we were doing that 40 + years ago at our ( Steve & Garry ) Breakfast Clubs . Broadcasting from the Princess cruises is commonplace now , but we were the first to do it . We were live from the red carpet at the Academy Awards . The Rose Bowl parade . Those great trips to Hawaii . Those are some of the things that stand out to me .”
His takeaway from his time at WLS : “ I did two tours of duty ( first with Steve , then with Roe ), and I think I read somewhere that I was the only person who was # 1 at a station , left and returned years later to become # 1 again .”
His time at WCKG : “ Just as I was seeing some i i i WCKG h d id d
By Rick Kaempfer
GARRY MEIER : HALL OF FAMER
told they were changing formats . They put on a music format that I picture being played in gay pet shops .”
His last gig at WGN Radio : “ Kevin Metheny was the program director at WGN when I was hired there . ( He was portrayed as Pig Vomit in the Howard Stern movie ). We got along really well , believe it or not . He would bring me Arnold Palmers during the show . I had the office next to his and heard him screaming at other people , so I did see that side of his personality , but he never turned on me . I really enjoyed my time at WGN . It was the place that I had always made fun of , and people were surprised I assimilated with the
culture , but I decided I would just do what I do and hope it brings in an audience . And it did .”
And now Garry is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame . “ I ’ m still trying to digest it ,” he admits . “ When I was on the stage being inducted into the Hall of Fame , it was almost an out of body experience . I never thought it would come to this . I just liked doing it . I thought it was a fun way to make a living . It ’ s weird that I ended up with this access to people I never would have dreamed of meeting .”
On the other hand , the Radio Hall of Famer has some thoughts about the current state of radio . “ It seems to have lost all its direction . Don ’ t take my word for it . Listen today , and then listen to what it was like 20 years ago and tell me there ’ s a remote similarity there . I don ’ t want to wake up and listen to what the CDC is saying about COVID or monkeypox , or what ’ s happening in the war in Ukraine at six in the morning ! Not that those aren ’ t relative topics , but fuck , every day , all the time ? Those are just show topics , not entertainment .”
Garry has now done over two thousand podcasts since his last regular radio gig . He posts a new podcast five days a week . “ Monday through Thursday , we tape in the morning , and then Friday ’ s cocktail show is live .”
Why does he call it the cocktail show ? “ Because we drink ,” he answers . “ It ’ s not a bit . We ’ re actually drinking and enjoying it .”
For more information about Garry and his podcast , go t i