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Out of the Main

Out of the Main

By Tom Nixon and John Nixon

“Out of the Main” is a podcast celebrating one of the most proficient and accomplished eras of musicianship and studio production, including yacht rock, west coast AOR, and related sophisticated music from the 1970s and 80s. “Out of the Main” was launched by two of the era's biggest fans—both musicians themselves—who, like a growing wave of aficionados all around the world, have been exploring the history, the enjoyment, and now the future potential of the West Coast sound, even as it continues to this day.

Join the revelry. Partake in the nostalgia. Tune in to artist interviews. Discover
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Currently playing episode

Episode 22.25: Viewer Mail

Out of the MainJul 07, 2022

00:00
43:11
S5.E8: Toto Invitational Tournament, Final Four!
Mar 28, 202450:41
S5.E7: Toto Invitational Tournament, Round 1
Mar 21, 202438:07
S5.E6: The Toto Invitational Tournament
Mar 14, 202438:60
S5.E5: Surprise! Surprise!
Mar 07, 202441:34
S5.E4: Who Is Bob Clearmountain?
Feb 29, 202443:14
S5.E3: Neil Stubenhaus, Part 2
Feb 22, 202444:13
S5.E2: Neil Stubenhaus Interview
Feb 15, 202445:03
S5.E1: Origin Stories, The Sequel
Feb 08, 202439:29
From the Vault: Tris Imboden

From the Vault: Tris Imboden

Our final intermission episode before next week's launch of Season 5 brings one of our all-time favorite guests: Tris Imboden. This first part of our two-part interview was the beginning of a wonderful relationship between Tom and John and one of music's true gems.

Part 2 is here.

Original show notes:

Legendary session and touring drummer Tris Imboden climbs aboard the yacht rock podcast, “Out of the Main,” to discuss the yacht rock years, what’s happened since, and—yes!—what’s happening now!

Things Discussed:

  • How Tris learned and taught himself to play
  • The Kenny Loggins Band years
  • The Chicago era
  • Other performances, sessions and tales from the road
  • Jeff Porcaro, master prankster
  • Breaking news!

The Lightning Round:

  • Does It Float Your Boat?
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map

References and Related:

Find and Follow:

Feb 01, 202446:32
From the Vault: Dane Donohue

From the Vault: Dane Donohue

Digging through the archives as we get ready to launch Season 5 in a couple weeks and found this buried treasure — our first interview with Dane Donohue!

The yacht rock legend joined the podcast to discuss life after rock and roll, his big break, the making of a masterpiece with hall of famers, and much, much more. Keith Barry, journalist with ⁠Narratively.com⁠, told the story we all needed to hear: whatever happened? Part one of a two-part interview with “the lost prince of yacht rock.”

Read the article to get the entire story: ⁠https://narratively.com/the-lost-prince-of-yacht-rock/⁠

Part 2 is here.

Things Discussed in Part One:

  • Dane’s big break
  • The first album you never got to hear
  • Keith’s impetus for telling this story, and how it’s influenced him.
  • Amazing stories during the making of the Dane Donohue record
  • The lost single from the lost prince: I’m Easy, by Dane Donohue
  • A short twitter thread full of factoids and narratives that didn’t make the final cut
  • Whatever happened…

The Lightning Round:

  • Does It Float Your Boat?
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map

References and Related:

Find and Follow:

Jan 24, 202446:34
From the Vault: Bill Champlin and Tamara Champlin

From the Vault: Bill Champlin and Tamara Champlin

Our tour of the archives continue, while we prepare for Season 5. Here is Part 1 of our chat with Tamara and Bill Champlin when we caught up to them backstage before a concert in Dayton Ohio in 2022.

Part 2 is here.

Listen in to clips from their conversation: everything from singing technique to songwriting to performing live and working in the studio. We covered a lot and learned a lot, and you will two. It’s not just The Champ...it’s The Co-Champs!

Keep tabs on Bill and Tamara and check out Bill’s new record, “Livin’ for Love,” at ⁠billchamplin.com⁠.

The Lightning Round:

  • Does It Float Your Boat?
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map

References and Related:

Find and Follow:

Jan 18, 202455:09
From the Vault: Jay Graydon

From the Vault: Jay Graydon

During the inter-season hiatus, we will continue to post interviews from the archives. Here is one of our all-time favorite guests: Jay Graydon!

We pick the conversation up with Part 2 of our three-part interview.

Part 1 is here.

Part 3 is here.

Highlights from Part 2:

All things Jay Graydon:

The Lightning Round:

  • Does It Float Your Boat?
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map (even more so!)

References and Related:

Find and Follow:

Jan 11, 202450:35
From the Vault: Kenny Loggins Interview
Jan 04, 202445:19
E23.48: Bonus Episode, "The Annual Christmas Special Rerun"

E23.48: Bonus Episode, "The Annual Christmas Special Rerun"

Our favorite convention from the late 70s and early 80s: Everything had a Christmas Special! And every year, they would rerun the same holiday special specials and we never got tired of them. It was tradition!

Our yacht rock podcast should be no different! John and Tom scour music-dom for the yachtiest yuletide merriment to bring your season glad “tide”-ings, including songs from the era and modern buried treasures from classic yacht rock artists.Who’s on your yachty list?

Tell us tunes, albums and compilations we missed on our Facebook page! ⁠facebook.com/yachtrockpodcast⁠

Also, you thought Tom was kidding about the ⁠Fat Albert Christmas Specia⁠l and the ⁠Star Wars Holiday Special⁠? Think again!


The Lightning Round (Christmas Edition):

  • Is it Yacht, or Is It Not?
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map


References and Related:


Find and Follow:

Dec 22, 202334:06
E23.47: Clearing the Decks (Various + Sundry)
Dec 21, 202337:52
E23.46: Monkey House’s Don Breithaupt
Dec 14, 202345:41
E23.45: Jerry Hey, Part 2
Dec 07, 202341:28
E23.44: Special Guest Jerry Hey
Nov 30, 202336:25
E23.43: Update: “Kite on a String”

E23.43: Update: “Kite on a String”

John Zaika, the filmmaker behind the forthcoming Bobby Kimball documentary “Kite on a String,” returns to the podcast to answer the most-asked question on our YouTube channel: “When is the Bobby Kimball story coming out?!” John provides updates, shares new stories, and reveals things we never knew about the living legend who once fronted Toto.


Lightning Round:

  • Found at Sea
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map


References and Related:


Find and Follow:

Nov 21, 202351:18
E23.42: Disco Demolicious, with DJ Alex Gutierrez
Nov 16, 202337:40
Episode 41: CCM Meets Yacht Rock?
Nov 09, 202333:22
E23.40: Who Wore It Best, 2023

E23.40: Who Wore It Best, 2023

Love is in the air this week on Out of the Main, as we return for another “Who Wore It Best” episode. (Spotify playlist link.)


Now entering the ring:


“Can’t Hide Love”

  • Earth, Wind & Fire
  • Jaye P. Morgan
  • Dionne Warwick


“It’s the Falling In Love”

  • Michael Jackson
  • Carole Bayer Sager
  • Dionne Warwick


“Love Never Felt So Good”

  • Johnny Mathis
  • Paul Anka
  • Michael Jackson
  • Michael Jackson
  • Michael Jackson
  • Reb Yamamoto


Listen and Subscribe:

Find the podcast platform of your choice here.


Lightning Round:

  • Found at Sea
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map


References and Related:


Find and Follow:

Nov 02, 202344:41
E23.39: Song Appreciation: “Spooky”
Oct 26, 202336:14
E23.38: Let’s Groove
Oct 19, 202345:12
E23.37: “Where Were They Then,” David Sanborn
Oct 12, 202343:56
E23.36: Compare and Contrast: Sophistipop
Oct 05, 202347:58
E23.35: Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em
Sep 28, 202340:52
E23.34: The Nightfly, Side 2
Sep 21, 202337:20
E23.33: Inside the Nightfly, Side 1
Sep 14, 202342:00
E23.32: Firefall, Friends and Family
Sep 07, 202355:22
E23.31: The Life and Times of a Session Cat, with Marty Walsh
Aug 31, 202342:44
E23.30: New Frontiers, Halfway There
Aug 24, 202345:38
E23.29: A Second Arrangement of Second Arrangement

E23.29: A Second Arrangement of Second Arrangement

Legendary engineer, producer and mix master Bill Schnee rejoins the podcast to discuss his involvement with the recent re-record of the noted Steely Dan buried treasure "The Second Arrangement."


As first discussed on the Inside Musicast podcast, Scott Sheriff assembled an all-star band to resurrect the lost classic, and tapped the talents of Bill Schnee to mix it and help create the sonic gem just released to YouTube.


Hear how it all went down. Learn the latest on a seemingly never-ending saga. Get a sample of the latest version. And tune in for many a surprise twist!


Lightning Round:

  • Found at Sea
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map


References and Related:


Find and Follow:

Aug 17, 202350:22
E23.28: Vernon Porter’s Favorite Bassists
Aug 10, 202357:51
E23.27: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Part II
Aug 03, 202342:14
E23.26: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
Jul 27, 202335:60
E23.25: The Recovery of “Second Arrangement,” with Cimcie Nichols
Jul 20, 202354:12
E23.24: Trapped in Isolation: “Peg”
Jul 13, 202342:18
E23.23: The Doobie Bounce
Jul 06, 202336:43
Episode 23.22: Tris’s Top Ten Tom-Tom Ticklers
Jun 29, 202356:40
Episode 23.21: Yacht on the Rocks, with Straight No Chaser

Episode 23.21: Yacht on the Rocks, with Straight No Chaser

Jasper and Jerome — 2/9ths of the a capella supergroup Straight No Chaser — join the podcast to discuss the motivation, the inspiration, and the process they went through to explore the harbors of yacht rock on their most recent record release, dropping June 21st. DYK: The album was by Nicholas Niespodziani of Yacht Rock Revue? It’s fantastic!


We ran the podcast off the clef, got into a little treble, and hit all the high notes. Climb aboard the yacht on the rocks, y’all!


And check out the extended, short-film video for Kenny Loggins’ “Heart to Heart!”


Lightning Round:

  • Found at Sea
  • Buried Treasures
  • Off the Map


References and Related:

Find and Follow:

Jun 22, 202346:38
Episode 23.20: Artist Exploration: Maxus
Jun 15, 202346:33
Episode 23.19: Marc Jordan, Waiting for the Sun to Rise
Jun 08, 202352:57
Episode 23.18: Where Were They Then, Paul Carrack
Jun 01, 202339:08
Episode 23.17: Lightning Strikes Twice
May 25, 202337:04
Episode 23.16: Emm Gryner, from "Summerlong" to "Summertime"
May 18, 202349:04
Episode 23.15: The Many Traveled Rhodes
May 11, 202338:22
Episode 23.14: Ole Borud and Lars-Erik Dahle
May 04, 202340:51
Episode 23.13: CoMFY: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Apr 27, 202343:04
Episode 23.12: Steve Porcaro Interview, Part 2
Apr 20, 202349:51