Powerpopaholic interviews Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

Wow. A dream of mine since I started this blog was to interview Roger. As a founding member of power pop gods Jellyfish, Roger explains his musical process, his approach to songwriting and some of his attitude toward other musicians who are Jellyfish influenced. I made a big effort not to fawn and ask questions that fans would like to know. He also tells the story about a time touring with Beck that was unforgettable. This is a 30 minute interview, and it’s worth listening to.

Listen to The Roger Joseph Manning Jr. Interview

FYI: I bookended the interview with some of Roger’s best work, opening up with about 45 seconds of The Jellyfish track “The King Is Half Undressed” and closing with a sample of Catnip Dynamite’s “Down In Front.”

Get Catnip Dynamite at Not Lame .

Powerpopaholic interviews Brian Kassan


I was very pleased to interview Brian Kassan of Chewy Marble recently. I ask him about his tenure on The Wondermints and a bunch of other issues. Check the interviews section on the right or click here to read the Brian Kassan Interview.

Willie Wisely interviews Roger Joseph Manning Jr.


The highly anticipated Roger Joseph Manning Jr. album “Catnip Dynamite” is expected to release Feb. 3 from Oglio Records. Those critics who heard the Japanese version last year added it to their 2008 “best of” list. If it’s half as good as I think it is, it will make my 2009 list easily. Here Willie Wisely (no slouch in the music dept.) interviews fellow artist Roger Manning (Part 1 of a 14 part series on YouTube).

Matthew Sweet Interview by Jeff Shelton

Power pop legend Matthew Sweet has been interviewed by Jeff Shelton from the Power Pop Show on KSCU 103.3fm – Santa Clara, CA, you can get more info at www.myspace.com/powerpopshow

Just listen to the Matthew Sweet Interview

Cool stuff. They even talk “guitar geek” during the interview and about Sweet’s newest “Sunshine Lies” which is a pretty damn good major label release.

Adam Marsland interviewed for Powerpopaholic

Recently described in SPIN magazine as “a high-energy cross between Brian Wilson, Paul Stanley, and Elton John,” Adam Marsland has had one of the more prolific and intriguing music careers of the last 10 years. He’s shared studio space with Weezer, and performed with legendary bands, The Wondermints and The Negro Problem. Most power pop fans are familar with his first band, Cockeyed Ghost and more recently Adam Marsland’s Chaos Band. I was pleased to get a long interview with him. Check out the interview here or click on the Artist Interviews button on the right.