The Sharp Notes with Evan Toth

Drew Ryder Smith: The Long Road to The Deep End

Drew Ryder Smith has been around music for a long time, even if you’re only hearing his name now. He grew up between Middle Tennessee and Muscle Shoals, got into radio w

Benny Sings on "22 Durnham Dew", Family, and the Beauty of Being “Boring”

Benny Sings has spent more than two decades refining one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary pop music. The Dutch singer, songwriter, and producer has a knack

Eddie Brigati of The Rascals: Live at The Sharp Notes

On this episode of The Sharp Notes, we’re doing something a little different. We recently welcomed Eddie Brigati of the Rascals to The Sharp Notes at Garden State Plaza

Peter M. Bernstein: Ghostbusters, Elmer Bernstein, and the Art of Film Music

There are certain film scores that become so closely associated with the movies they accompany that it’s hard to imagine one without the other. Elmer Bernstein’s music fo

Tiny Vinyl, Big Idea: Neil Kohler and Jesse Mann on the 4-Inch Record

Record collectors have never exactly demanded convenience. We like shelves, sleeves, turntables, careful handling, and we have the occasional mild panic over a fingerprin

Henry Rollins on The Cramps, Gravest Gravy and Why Records Still Matter

There are records that disappear because nobody wanted them, and then there are records that somehow manage to wait nearly 50 years for the right moment to arrive. Grave

Anthony Mason on Alchemy and the Art of the Interview

There are interviewers who ask questions, and then there are interviewers who understand that the question is only a doorway to something bigger. Anthony Mason has spent

Soft Palms Interview: IN ECHO, Black Glitter Vinyl, and the DIY Music Business

There’s a particular kind of band that doesn’t just make records; they build a whole working language around the survival of their career including community, self-relian

Live and In the Sharp Notes Shop | Nabil Ayers: Sunshine, Sound, and the Stories We Inherit

Tonight we’re very pleased to welcome Nabil Ayers: a writer, podcaster, record store co-founder, label executive, musician and someone whose life and work sit directly at

Richard Foos on Rhino Records, Reissue Culture, and the Record Store That Started It All

Rhino Records began the way so many great record stories begin: with a little bit of money, a lot of taste, and a store full of people who believe that - above it all - i

Arturo Sandoval on Sangú, Freedom, and the Sound of Home

Arturo Sandoval has lived several musical lives: Cuban-born trumpet virtuoso, Afro-Cuban jazz pioneer, Dizzy Gillespie protégé, composer, bandleader, and one of the most

Grover Biery on The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the Search for Three-Dimensional Mono

Today, we return to one of the most discussed albums in pop history: The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Nearly 60 years after Brian Wilson assembled its world of harmonies, lon

Alan Braufman on Anthem for Peace and the Legacy of Valley of Search

What does it mean for a musician to be free? Not free as a slogan, or a genre label, but truly free: free to search, free to return, free to follow a sound across a life

Just Let It: Jarrod Lawson on Growth, Groove, and Evolution

Jarrod Lawson returns at an interesting moment in his career. With Just Let It, his third studio album, he’s not simply refining the sound that first brought him attentio

Mikaela Davis Maps the Terrain of Graceland Way

Mikaela Davis makes music that feels grounded, but never predictable. She has built a singular voice around the harp, and she uses it as a real expressive force, not as a

SPIN’s Bet on Physical Media and Building a Modern Music Company: Jimmy Hutcheson, CEO of SPIN

There’s a version of Spin Magazine that most people remember. The 1990s disruptor. Irreverent, artist-driven, willing to challenge the norms of mainstream music coverage

Frank Hannon Unplugged: Guitar, Tesla, and the Bay Area Sound

There’s a version of Frank Hannon most listeners think they know. As co-founder and lead guitarist of Tesla, his playing helped define a more grounded, blues-informed alt

Larry Jaffee on Record Store Day, the Vinyl Revival, and the Future of Plant-Based Records

Welcome to The Sharp Notes Podcast. I’m Evan Toth, and this episode was recorded live in front of an audience at The Sharp Notes record store inside the Garden State Plaz

Jude Warne Returns: America Paperback Release and the Story Behind Lowdown

We welcome back a familiar and always thoughtful voice in music criticism and biography, Jude Warne. With the recent paperback release of her acclaimed authorized biograp

Alan Light on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and His New Book "Don’t Stop" (Live at The Sharp Notes)

This episode is a little different, because what you’re about to hear was recorded live, in front of an audience, right here inside The Sharp Notes record store at the Ga