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Soundcheck

Friday, July 21, 2006
  • Ewa Podles, contralto
    Ewa Podles, contralto, as "Rinaldo" (Metropolitan Opera)

    Rollin' with the Entourage

    Legions of HBO viewers know that every performer comes with an entourage. Whether you're a rap star or an opera diva, you're likely to be accompanied by a throng of agents, attorneys, stylists, publicists, girlfriends, and unemployed relatives who provide support and otherwise stroke egos. Today, three industry insiders talk about the machinery of an entourage. Also on the show: Polish contralto Ewa Podles. She has one of the most distinctive voices of any opera singer today and has long been an object of cult devotion. She talks about what inspires this devotion, and reveals why New Yorkers will soon be hearing much more of her. Finally, a look at the hotels where rock bands stay.

Rock 'n' Roll Hotels for a New Generation

"Rock bands and hotels have a long and checkered history, one that has tended to involve property damage," New York Times reporter Steven Kurutz recently wrote. Today he talks about hotels around the world where rockers stay.
» Rock 'n' Roll Hotels for a New Generation

Inside the Entourage

Moses Avalon, author of "Confessions of a Record Producer;" Fred Plotkin, author of "Opera 101" and a former manager at the Metropolitan Opera; and Kenn Hicks, an opera singer and vocal coach to several major pop artists; talk about the makings of an entourage.
» Moses Avalon's Web site
» Kenn Hicks's Web site

Ewa Podles

Polish contralto Ewa Podles joins us in advance of her performance at the Caramoor Festival in Westchester County.
» Ewa Podles at Caramoor

Irma Thomas

Soundcheck

August 22, 2008
New Orleans singer Irma Thomas has survived 50 years in the music business - and at least two hurricanes. She joins us to talk about her record, Simply Grand.

Bon Iver

Soundcheck

July 30, 2008
Singer-songwriter Justin Vernon spent a winter holed up in his father's hunting cabin in remote Wisconsin, recording songs about solitude that would be released under the name Bon Iver. He joins us to play some of them live.

Who's On Top and Who Should Be?

Soundcheck

August 14, 2008
Soundcheck looks at the artists who are reigning atop the Billboard albums chart -- and what their rankings tell us about the state of pop music.

The Next Big Things

Soundcheck

Paste magazine editor-in-chief Josh Jackson joins us to talk about Johnny Flynn, Janelle Monae, Bon Iver, Amy MacDonald and other must-hear artists who made Paste’s list of "The Best of What’s Next: 26 Emerging Artists You Should Know."