Derek Frank is a bass player who has toured and recorded with artists such as Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani, Shakira, Brian Auger, Air Supply, and many more. He has been a staple of the Los Angeles music scene for decades now and has one of the best reputations of any musician in the city. He's the consummate professional who shows up to gigs with detailed charts, immaculate gear, but simultaneously plays with a raw energy that is rare amongst hired gun session and touring players. 

In this episode we discuss where/when we met, and how a last minute gig in which Derek subbed on bass, led to his recommendation for an upcoming Shania Twain audition. Unsurprisingly he nailed the audition and has now been a member of her band since 2015. We also discuss Derek's time spent at University of Miami and how it helped shape the musician that he is today and subsequently led to his interest in vastly different styles than he had been interested in before attending. Of course, we get into the nitty gritty of what makes these two albums so incredible and why he chose 2 live albums over studio recordings. Luckily for us, both of his choices came along with a video recording as well, so, for those of you who want to see these shows in action, Derek and I both highly recommend checking those out as well. 

Thank you and please enjoy this weeks episode of, Album Impact With Joshua Ray Gooch

Whynot Jansveld is a bass player/composer/mastering engineer who has recorded and/or toured with artists such as Richard Marx, Linda Perry, Butch Walker, Gavin DeGraw, The Weepies, Wayne Krantz and many more. Not only is Whynot an incredible musician, he's also an excellent person who has a lot to say about music and what makes it great. Hailing from the Netherlands he is my first international guest, and I think this difference in perspective brought a lot of very interesting conversation out of both of us.

In this episode we discuss one of the most popular records of the 80's, Tears For Fears "Songs From The Big Chair," which I must admit I hadn't heard with exception of the huge radio hits that it contains. The music here was so meticulously crafted that it left both Whynot and myself with endless topics of discussion, ranging from the songwriting to production techniques to session musicians.

The second record that Whynot chose is a much lesser known work by a American band from Georgia, Mother's Finest. They are the perfect example of a band whose dynamite live performances earned them the finest opening band slots in the world, touring with legends like The Who, AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith. Although they had some American radio success, their straddling of rock and funk left them in a genre of their own, making it quite difficult to get radio play. But in Europe, they garnered a cult like following from Europeans hungry for both rock and funk music, and Whynot is the perfect example of this. We talk about how this record influenced him and when it became a part of his life, as well as the various genre bending influences of Mother's Finest. This live album, According to Whynot and many of their fans, is the band at the pinnacle of their powers.

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Brian Green is a guitarist, producer, and music director who has toured/recorded with artists such as John Legend, Michael Buble, Rufus Wainwright, and Andrea Bocelli. He is also regularly featured as a producer and guitar player for the online collectives: Pomplamoose and Scary Pockets. Brian also studied jazz guitar at USC, and while still in college he was picked up by Michael Buble. Brian subsequently toured and recorded with him for several years, working with industry staples such as famed producer, David Foster, and drum legend, Vinnie Colaiuta. In addition, Brian is also an incredible solo artist, his most recent release “Impressions For Headphones” is one of my favorite instrumental records in recent memory, mixing his knowledge of jazz harmony with ambient Brian Eno-esque textures and Bill Frisell tinged loops.

In this episode we discuss Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges revolutionary Brazilian recording, Clube De Esquina. This was an album I had never heard before and I’m incredibly grateful to Brian for introducing me to it. We dive deep into what particularly sets this album apart from the many other great Milton Nascimento records that have been released over the past 5 decades, which there are many. We also chat about the specific qualities of Brazilian music that were combined with American pop influences to create the iconic amalgam that is “Clube De Esquina.” 

With his second album choice, we delve into Brian’s jazz roots with a historic set of recordings by Bird himself, "Charlie Parker With Strings.” Brian and I talk about how this is an excellent record along with Miles Davis’ “Kind Of Blue” and Wes Montgomery’s “Boss Guitar” is great to start off any non-jazzer who wants to dip their toes into the jazz world; As well as the shifting of public opinion in regards to this album since its release. 

Thanks again for checking out, Album Impact w/ Joshua Ray Gooch