The Classic Rock Podcast

Welcome back to the show and kicking off 2025 we are joined by a drumming legend who shot to fame at Woodstock as the teenage drummer of Santana Michael Shrieve has long been associated with Santana playing on all the early albums up to 75 but since then he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry back in the late 70's he teamed up with Stephen Dees and they formed Novo Combo who looked primed for superstardom as the 80's turned .After lying dormant for over 4 decades the original quartet got back together and a new album has been released so the poerfect time to catch up with Michael and Stephen to find out whats going on , the new album and with their respective careers. Also we met up on the road with Meghan Parnell of Bywater Call to talk about the latest album Shepherd and the potential live album coming soon as well.

Welcome back to the new video edition of the show Where ever you look whoever you talk to when the name Steve Hill crops up superlatives follow..and conversation is flowing following on from the release of "Hanging on a String" the album recorded in Foo Fighters Studio 606 in LA raw power and energy seep from every track, so its a good time to talk to Steve who is resting up at home ahead of a hectic 2025 . So grab a brew sit back and enjoy our converation that covered pretty much everything from the first guitar to the man he would most like to jam with on stage, and don't forget he's shared a stage with everyone from BB King to ZZ Top

Welcome back to this video edition New to Steve Hill ? then this is a real treat he is a one man rock'n'blues phenomenon, he has played alongsiide and with some of the legends of the genre over the last 30 plus years sharing the bill with everyone from BB King, The Stones ZZ Top these days his one man show fills venues wherever he goes around the globe. This is a clip from the recent video we recorded with him and at the end watch as he rips through his latest track from the new album

On this edition of the show I am joined by Leslie Mandoki of Mandoki Soulmates a band who the late Greg Lake described as "the best band you will ever hear" over the years this "Supergroup" has boasted Jack Bruce, Clapton, Jon Lord, Manfed Mann, Peter Frampton, Eric Burdon,Roger Hodgson and Lou Gramm to name only a few of those who have contributed the the output and helped build the legacy. Leslie's story is not a traditional one of rags to riches rock star as you will hear the story begins with life behind the iron-curtain in communist controlled Hungary and builds to his eventual escape to Germany and the beginning of this 40 plus year prog rock, jazz fusion odyssey. Mandoki Soulmates – the international and inter-generational supergroup consisting of rock and fusion grandmasters surrounding founder and mastermind Leslie Mandoki – proudly announce their new album, A Memory Of Our Future, A Memory Of Our Future is Mandoki Soulmates’ latest work of art and nothing short of an instant prog-rock classic, bringing world-class musicianship and composition together with trenchant social and political messaging. The entire album was recorded and produced purely in the analog domain, from microphone to mixing and mastering, making A Memory Of Our Future a manifesto of precision and passion that is hard to find in today's music landscape. Recorded and mixed in Leslie Mandoki’s Red Rock Studios near Munich, mastered in the infamous Sterling Sound Studios in New York and cut in the Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin, the Soulmates are also making a statement as a kind of “revenge of the analog” in times of digital deception, scam bots, and internet trolls. The analog format is also an expression of their special appreciation and bond with the band’s audience, “like a love letter handwritten with a fountain pen”. Mandoki continues, “The hyper-emotionalization of news in social media delivers outrage instead of information, intentionally triggering waves of over-excitement and manufactured conflicts. Without fact-checking, where can we find the truth among all the ‘alternative facts,’ lies and AI-generated propaganda? This has yielded a deep crisis of trust that is being exploited by the populists and demagogues of the world. Despite their seemingly obvious fallacies and contradictions, the people in their bubbles actually believe them. Rational, civil discourse rarely takes place, and without the sensible exchange of ideas we are left with a festering breeding ground for insecurity, hate and division.” Reflecting with some chagrin, Mandoki states, “The dreams of my generation lie in ruins today. After 1989, we had such a wonderful, historic opportunity to create a mindful, humane, peaceful, and absolutely free world for future generations. But we blew it. Driven by egotism and greed, we have inadvertently enabled the creation of a world where money itself makes profit faster than human labor, no matter the value-added proposition. This devaluation and commodification of people’s work has also led to the disregard for sustainability, both economically and environmentally, yielding a climate of social imbalance, inequity, and unrest. This division and radicalization, as we have unfortunately and painfully learned, has even led to war. And so, I sing that there is ‘blood in the water.’ Far too much blood in the water.” Mandoki Soulmates are: #progrock Leslie Mandoki Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) Mike Stern Al di Meola Randy Brecker Till Brönner Bill Evans John Helliwell (Supertramp) Cory Henry Richard Bona Steve Bailey Simon Phillips (Toto) Tony Carey (Rainbow) Nick van Eede (Cutting Crew) Jesse Siebenberg (Supertramp) Mark Hart (Supertramp)