Velvet Blue Music Podcast

Things started to get interesting when Gary discovered a local music store called “The Mad Hatter”. He would constantly rummage through bargain CDs and tapes discovering cool bands like Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Sonic Youth,  and The Red House Painters (to name a few). He was intrigued by the noisy guitar layers, which really spoke to him and they were breath of fresh air compared to the mainstream music played on the radio at that time. With his new musical influences, he knew that sitting at home with an old acoustic guitar just wasn’t enough now. He made some local musician friends and soon, he would begin to contribute his new-found guitar skills with a  local band noise/punk called “Vacuum Star”.

We all know Gary Murray as a writer of some of the most somber, melancholy music on VBM, and “Vacuum Star” was far from that. Funny enough, some members would eventually become long-term contributors to his music in the future.  It was while participating in this band Gary gained experience playing side by side with other musicians, keeping his guitar tuned throughout an entire set, and enjoying the energy of  a crowd for the first time.

After playing for a few years in the band, he would occasionally collaborate with Vacuum Star guitarist Torey Freeman, drummer Nathan Abel and bassist Denny Kopp to focus solely on songwriting. One memorable night happened at a party in Bellevue, where they would write a full album’s worth of songs in a single evening. I guess you could say Gary was being prepared to become the future frontman of one of VBM’s much loved bands.

Velvet Blue Music Podcast is produced by Joey and Kirsty Esquibel

VBM Podcast theme song written by Josh Dooley

Song list:

• Pale Light , Pale Eyes - LN
• Raspberry Beret - Prince
• Billy In The Low Ground - Stanly Brothers
• Theme from Love Story - Frances Lai
• Hoovering Around Your Room - LN
• The Translator - Starflyer 59
• Kisses - LN
• Ride That Pony Down - LN
• California - LN
• Minotaur - Gary Murray & LN
• Stars Did Shine - LN
• Niagara - LN

He didn’t have a ton of musical influence growing up as a child, but he became interested in music after attending a last-minute ski trip in Big Bear, California in the late 1980s.  He would soon fall in love with the guest band performing at the resort that weekend, setting his sights on becoming a professional musician. For almost 3 decades, he has been a fan favorite, capturing the attention of major record labels and being featured in popular music magazines. He has co-written songs for the veteran VBM band “Lassie Foundation” and the much loved “Prayer Chain”.  He would soon be the prominent songwriter for VBM’s own “Charity Empressa'', and is currently a partial owner of Northern Records. You can also hear his music on popular tv shows like “Buffy  the Vampire Slayer”.  Nowadays you'll be able to catch him on stage with his current band “Stranger Kings”. Let’s give a big warm welcome to Eric Campuzano! A true legend of 90’s indie music, and an original of the VBM family.

Let’s listen to Joey and Eric chat about the beginnings of Lassie Foundation and the current projects he’s working on.

Song list:

1. Bumpers - I can be her man, Lassie Foundation
2. I'm stealing to be your one in a million, Lassie Foundation
3. Dive Bomber, Lassie Foundation
4. Golden Gate, Charity Empressa
5. Let your boy come back, Lassie Foundation
6. Don't stop your heart, Lassie Foundation
7. Jetstreams, Lassie Foundation
8. All of Everything, Stranger Kings

ad music: You won't be coming home, Air Review

Growing up, spending many hours at his favorite indie record store in Riverside, CA, Jeff developed a love for music that was above and beyond the standard mainstream fare. His dream of one day owning a record label would finally come true in the mid 1990s. Little did he know that one day he would sell thousands of records and have songs featured on popular TV shows such as Homeland, Boston Legal, American Idol and American Horror Story and also work with organizations such as Apple, Pacifico Beer, Nike and Disney. As other record labels dropped like flies around him, Jeff continued  to invest in top-shelf musicians and release new music for over 25 years!

Music

Puppy hearts and phone calls - Pony Express

We'll last so long - Rainbow Rider

Transparent with Blue Eyes - Pony Express

Be what I need - Bon Voyage

John the Madman - Jupiter James

Support

We’re very honored to introduce this month’s guest.  Everybody knows him as the legendary drummer of rock band Fold Zandura, and you might also know of his contributions to The Lassie Foundation, Headphones, and Starflyer 59. Later in his career, He would help break “The Weepies”, bringing world-wide commercial success including 2 songs high on billboard 200! Let’s not forget his critically acclaimed solo projects which would grab the attention of The Huffington Post, New York Times, This American Life, and Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Did I mention he has written original scores for popular documentaries?

Let’s give a nice warm welcome to Frank Lenz...drummer extraordinaire, producer, songwriter, and a personal hero of Joey.

Joey had the pleasure of digging deep into Frank’s music and analyzing his motivations and inspiration throughout his VBM releases.  Let’s listen to Frank and Joey discuss all things Frank Lenz!