Gaucho Amigos – Details, episodes & analysis

Sound engineer Dinky Dawson joins the podcast to discuss his experiences live mixing, recording and spending time with Steely Dan on their 1974 tour, which would end up being their final tour for almost 20 years. Dinky also shares some news about the potential release of a newly discovered 1974 show.

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Don Breithaupt, who wrote the 33 1/3 series book on Aja, joins the podcast to talk about his lifelong relationship to Steely Dan's music as a writer, singer-songwriter, and fan. Don passes on some of the musical wisdom he received from interviewing Donald Fagen for his Aja book, and discusses the influence of Steely Dan on his long-running musical band and project Monkey House.

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Writer Jazmine Hughes joins the podcast to share her "Steely Dan testimony," explaining how she discovered their work through hip-hop samples, and later developed a newfound appreciation of their witty, off-kilter lyrics.  Also, I talk to Helen Newby about her superb cello cover of "Peg."

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Drummer Rick Marotta, the session specialist who played on classic Steely Dan songs like "Peg," "Hey Nineteen," "Time Out of Mind," and others, joins the podcast to share his experiences recording with Donald and Walter in the late 70's.

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Graphic designer/artist Anna Martinez (better known as "Jive Miguel" on Twitter) joins the podcast to talk about how connecting with other Steely Dan fans was like "finding her people." Anna also shares her thoughts on some of the catalogue's puzzling artwork choices, and explains why she's taken on learning the melodica as an homage to Donald.

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Writer and film composer Paul Grimstad (The Sweet East) joins the podcast to discuss the particulars of Steely Dan's studio recording process and their mastery of arranging for rock music. Paul also shares how a piece on Gaucho he wrote for The Paris Review led to a correspondence and eventual interview with Donald himself.

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New Zealand-based computer musician Luke Rowell joins the podcast to discuss how a surging interest in Steely Dan has influenced his vaporwave music project Eyeliner, whether it be from Donald's piano tutorials or a shared love of "fake fake jazz".

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Vibraphonist Bill Ware (currently Home at Last) joins the podcast to talk about his experiences as a band member of Steely Dan from 1993-95. Bill shares some "behind the scenes" tour stories, and explains how Donald's creative process and compositional techniques became an important influence his own work.

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Singer-songwriter F.J. McMahon joins the podcast to tell the story behind his 1969 folk-rock masterpiece Spirit of the Golden Juice, and shares how his experiences in Vietnam and living in San Francisco during the 60's informed the songs on the only album he's ever released. Also, F.J. discusses his love of Steely Dan and explains why they were his favorite band throughout the 1970's.

Writer Jack Hamilton (author of Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination) joins the podcast to discuss Steely Dan's relationship to R&B and Motown, and how Donald and Walter's reclusiveness and decision to forgo touring helped create a cult following that endures today.