Shows / Caropop
Caropop
There may be nothing more inspiring and entertaining than relaxed, candid conversations among creative people. Mark Caro, a relentlessly curious journalist and on-stage interviewer, loves digging into the creative process with artists and drawing out surprising stories that illuminate the work that has become part of our lives. The Caropopcast is for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the music, movies, food and culture that they love.
Episodes
CaropopGrant Achatz
I spoke with Grant Achatz, one of the world's most talented, creative and thoughtful chefs, as his 50th birthday and his Chicago restaurant Alinea's 19th…
CaropopMadeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux started her career busking on the streets of Paris and earned comparisons to such heroes as Billie Holliday and Bessie Smith as she broke…
CaropopBruce Botnick (The Doors)
Bruce Botnick engineered the first five Doors studio albums and produced the last one that featured Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. He also co-produced Forever…
CaropopNiko Kapetan (Friko)
Many Caropop guests are looking back on amazing careers, but Niko Kapetan of Friko is on the cusp of one. His Chicago-based band’s debut album, Where we’ve…
CaropopBruce Sudano (Donna Summer)
Bruce Sudano had co-written the Tommy James & the Shondells 1969 hit “Ball of Fire” and played keyboards in the bands Alive ‘N Kickin’ and Brooklyn Dreams by…
CaropopCicely Balston
Cicely Balston won the 2023 Music Producer’s Guild’s Mastering Engineer of the Year Award, and when you hear the music she has mastered—and the smart…
CaropopGreg Calbi
If you love music, you have loved recordings mastered by Greg Calbi. Ever hear that Bruce Springsteen album Born To Run? He mastered that and has thoughts…
CaropopSlim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats)
Slim Jim Phantom is the Stray Cats’ drummer, host of “Slim Jim’s Rockabilly Raveup” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage and a cool-cat storyteller. He takes…
CaropopVictor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes)
That tap-tap, tap-tap at the beginning of “Blister in the Sun” may be one of rock’s most air-drummed fills, and former Violent Femmes drummer Victor DeLorenzo…
CaropopPatrick Milligan (Rhino Records)
As Rhino Records’ senior director for A&R, Patrick Milligan oversees ambitious packages such as the Joni Mitchell archival series; deluxe releases from Warner…
CaropopRichard Lloyd (Television)
If you ranked rock's great two-guitar tandems, Television's Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine would be at or near the top. Verlaine was the poetic songwriter…
CaropopGeorge Wendt
Cheers ended its 11-year TV run in 1993, yet on the Emmy Awards in January, George Wendt showed up as his old character, Norm, and drew laughs and, yes…
CaropopBrendan Canty (Fugazi, Messthetics)
Brendan Canty’s work in Fugazi established him as one of rock’s great drummers, but this thoughtful, multitalented artist has done much more than that. Rooted…
CaropopColin Mouldng, Pt. 2
Our Colin Moulding conversation picks up with XTC working in Woodstock, N.Y., on what would become one of their most beloved albums, Skylarking. Moulding…
CaropopColin Moulding, Pt. 1
Bassist Colin Moulding wrote, played on and sang some of the XTC’s greatest songs, including the breakthrough singles “Life Begins at the Hop” and “Making…
CaropopKevin Gray 2024
It's time for our third early-year check-in with renowned mastering engineer Kevin Gray. In 2023 he was more in demand than ever; your jaw may drop when he…
CaropopJanet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater)
Janet Beveridge Bean drums, sings and writes in the great, muscular Chicago guitar band Eleventh Dream Day, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year…
CaropopJoe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa, who opened for B.B. King at age 12, was a cocky 26-year-old blues-rock guitar virtuoso when he made his breakthrough third album, Blues Deluxe…
CaropopAndrew Sandoval
Andrew Sandoval is a musician, producer, author, publisher, reissue compiler, liner notes writer, video director, fanzine creator, record collector…
CaropopPaul Williams
Maybe you know Paul Williams for hits he co-wrote for the Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays”) and Three Dog Night (“An Old Fashioned…
CaropopBill Payne (Little Feat)
Brilliant pianist Bill Payne, who founded Little Feat in 1969 in Los Angeles with singer-songwriter-guitarist Lowell George, takes us on this great American…
CaropopAndrew Winistorfer (Vinyl Me, Please)
The Vinyl Me, Please record club marked its 10th anniversary this year and now boasts more than 30,000 members. As senior director of music and editorial…
CaropopJustin Hayward (Moody Blues)
Justin Hayward joined the Moody Blues in 1966 and wrote and sang most of the band’s singles from “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon” through such…
CaropopCaropop Happy Thanksgiving 2023
Happy Thanksgiving! We're hitting the pause button on Caropop this week to say thank you and to give you a chance to catch up on some of the great…
CaropopDave Wakeling (The English Beat)
The English Beat—or, if you live in England, the Beat—was one of the key bands of the late ‘70s/ early ‘80s British ska-punk scene. Guitarist/songwriter Dave…
CaropopKenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a blues-rock guitarist and songwriter with one foot in the future and one foot in the past. Honoring the past is something blues…
CaropopEd Stasium, Pt. 2 (Replacements, Ramones, Smithereens)
It's time to hear about producer Ed Stasium’s acclaimed new remix of the Replacements’ album Tim, as well as his work with the Ramones, Talking Heads and the…
CaropopEd Stasium, Pt. 1
Before Ed Stasium made his name as a producer/engineer of the Ramones, Talking Heads, Living Colour and the Smithereens—and before his muscular remix of the…
CaropopDennis Diken (The Smithereens)
Drummer Dennis Diken and New Jersey friends Jim Babjak (guitar) and Mike Mesaros (bass) bonded over their love of British Invasion music and found the perfect…
CaropopJudith Owen
On stage and on her album Come On & Get It, Judith Owen has stepped out from behind the piano to sing sexually charged jazz and blues songs performed by women…
CaropopPeter Frampton
Peter Frampton played guitar, wrote and sang on four Humble Pie studio albums and a live album that outsold them all. Then he made four solo albums and a live…
CaropopPatrice Rushen
There’s much more to the fiercely intelligent, multitalented singer-songwriter-keyboardist Patrice Rushen than “Forget Me Nots,” though that song, with its…
CaropopLeo Nocentelli (The Meters)
As guitarist for the impossibly funky New Orleans band the Meters, Leo Nocentelli wrote an array of indelible riffs and songs; you’ve likely heard “Cissy…
CaropopJane Lynch
The first time I saw Jane Lynch, she was playing Carol Brady on stage in Chicago in Real Live Brady Bunch, but you’re more likely to know her from Glee or The…
CaropopJohnny Hickman (Cracker)
Johnny Hickman has provided “bonehead guitar riffs,” memorable songs and a spark-plug energy to Cracker since the band debuted more than 30 years ago. Hickman…
CaropopSally Potter
You may know Sally Potter as the groundbreaking English director of such films as Orlando, The Tango Lesson and Yes, but now she also is a recording artist. At…
CaropopMichael Shannon, Live at Space
Michael Shannon is an Oscar-, Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor who, the night before this conversation, sang R.E.M. songs at the Chicago club Metro. He’s…
CaropopSteve Berlin (Los Lobos), Pt. 2
Los Lobos was doing its label a favor when it played on what turned out to be a big album: Paul Simon’s Graceland. Why did the band wind up feeling burned? Los…
CaropopSteve Berlin (Los Lobos, The Blasters), Pt. 1
Saxophonist/keyboard player/producer Steve Berlin played with the Blasters before joining Los Lobos, and he noticed a stark contrast between how those two L.A…
CaropopSteve Cropper
Booker T. and the M.G.’s were an all-time great band on their own and while playing with such Stax acts as Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Albert King and Otis…
CaropopPeter Zaremba (The Fleshtones)
It's no wonder that Peter Zaremba was the star of the recent Lenny Kaye-hosted Nuggets all-star concert in Los Angeles: He has been keeping ‘60s psychedelic…
CaropopMike Peters (The Alarm)
With Mike Peters belting out anthemic songs such as “Sixty Eight Guns” and “Spirit of ’76,” the Alarm could rouse an audience no matter the size—and it often…
CaropopSuzzy Roche (The Roches)
When you want to add joy and beauty to your life, listen to the Roches. There’s magic in these three sisters’ harmonies and good humor and heartbreak in their…
CaropopJohnny Echols (Love)
The Los Angeles-based Love had one of the rock’s great first-three-album progressions, culminating in the 1967 masterwork Forever Changes, before leader Arthur…
CaropopEddie "King' Roeser (Urge Overkill)
The Urge Overkill singer/songwriter/bassist/guitarist spoke with Caropop on the 30th anniversary of the swaggering Chicago alt-rock band’s breakthrough album…
CaropopDave Robinson (Stiff Records)
Even if you don’t recognize his name, you should know the music Dave Robinson has brought into the world. As co-founder of Britain’s Stiff Records, Robinson…
CaropopMichael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies)
Few bands have maintained such consistent vision, quality and stability as Cowboy Junkies. The same people who made the 1986 debut album Whites Off Earth Now!!…
CaropopIn the Green Room with Robbie Fulks
In this change-of-pace Caropop episode, we're hanging out in the green room with singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks before his recent concert at the club Space in…
CaropopBob Mothersbaugh (Devo)
Inventive Devo guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh belongs to one of the band’s two sets of brothers and one set of Bobs. His older brother is Mark Mothersbaugh, and he…
CaropopDavid Lowery
After his on-the-rise cult band Camper Van Beethoven imploded, singer-songwriter David Lowery formed Cracker, which delivered smart, tuneful, sharp-witted…
CaropopIvan Neville
Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Ivan Neville has carved out an impressive career of his own, and he has memories: of being a 7-year-old when his…
CaropopLenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye has secured his place in rock history as the Patti Smith Group’s longtime guitarist, but he also helped define rock history with one of the most…
CaropopBrad Wood, Pt, 2
In the second half of this free-flowing conversation with producer Brad Wood, he digs into the recording of Whip-Smart, Liz Phair’s follow-up to her…
CaropopBrad Wood, Pt. 1
Brad Wood was a trained jazz saxophonist who didn’t like how rock music was sounding in the late ’80s, so he became a producer in Chicago’s Wicker Park…
CaropopMichael McDermott
Singer-songwriter Michael McDermott is in a good place now, but what he went through to get there could fill a book and did. His early ‘90s emergence was met…
CaropopMarshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is a master of smart, instantly indelible guitar-pop-rock songs, starting with his outstanding 1982 self-titled debut album (“Someday…
CaropopGraham Parker, Pt. 2
The second half of this lively conversation with the great Graham Parker covers his classic run of ‘70s and ’80s albums, including the first five with the…
CaropopGraham Parker, Pt. 1
From his 1976 debut album with the Rumour, Howlin’ Wind, through the all-time classic Squeezing Out Sparks through his 1980s commercial peaks and much…
CaropopJennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan is a rare novelist whose work is innovative, fiercely intelligent, emotionally potent and fun to read—and she’s equally thoughtful and…