13th Floor Top 10 Interviews Of 2023 (Marty’s Picks)

Out of the hundreds of people we spoke to this past year, here are the Top 10 interviews we think are the most memorable, entertaining, informative, profound or just plain fun.

Note: Many of the Kiwi artists we spoke to are contained in our Video Sessions so they may look to be under represented here. With that in mind, here are The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda’s Top 10 Interviews of 2023.

10. Low Cut Connie: Our friend from Philly, Adam Weiner, aka Low Cut Connie, returned with what is arguably, his best album, Art Dealers. Adam was candid, charming, witty and (for what we can tell) honest about his life, his music and had plenty to say about Lou Reed, Grace Jones, Ronnie Spector and…himself!

9. Carla Olson: The former Textone released Have Harmony Will Travel 3 so we spoke to Carla about collaborating with ex-Hollie Allan Clarke, guitarist Eric Johnson and B.J. Thomas on his final session. Carla gives us a great overview of her career beginning in the late 70’s when she and Kathy Valentine moved west from Austin, Texas and settled in LA to form The Textones and then The Go-Gos.

8. Barbara Manning – We met Barbara and we met her pet tortoise! Barbara had just released Charm Of Yesterday…Convenience Of Tomorrow, her first album in 20 years. But she was also keen to talking about her time spent in New Zealand in 1997 collaborating with the likes of Chris Knox, David Kilgour, Graeme  Downes and Calexico.

7. Vera Ellen – Vera talked to us about her new album, Ideal Home Noise on Flying Nun Records. I spoke to Vera as she was waiting for a ferry to take her and her band to the South Island to perform in Dunedin. Vera opens up about these very personal songs.

6. Graham Parker – Graham’s newest album, Last Chance To Learn The Twist is one of my favourites of the year. I spoke to Graham about the making music at age 72, Brexit, Drug Law Reform, the Right Wing Gutter Press and…Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Taylor Swift.

5. Rickie Lee Jones – I talked to “The Duchess Of Cool” about her latest album, Pieces Of Treasure, reuniting with her old friend, producer Russ Titelman to make a jazz record like no other.

4. Romeo Void’s Debora Iyall – Crikey, we spoke to some cool female musicians, but none cooler that Romeo Void’s Debora Iyall. The band released a vintage performance from 1980 for Record Store Day. I spoke to Debora about her time with Romeo Void, her struggles with her record label and that time she occupied Alcatraz.

3. Mick Harvey & Amanda Acevedo – The former Bad Seed teams with a Mexican songstress to produce one of the year’s finest records titled Phantasmagoria In Blue, a collection of covers and originals they describe as “slow and depressing”. Be sure to catch them when they tour New Zealand in January/February.

2. Chris Shiflett – The Foo Fighters guitarist proves to be a fun and feisty interview subject, dishing the dirt on his new solo album, Lost At Sea, his very popular podcast Shred With Shifty and we find out who his favourite guitarists are. Catch him at Whammy January 21st.

1. Calexico’s Joey Burns – I spoke to Joey just after the news of Shane MacGowan’s death broke. Joey opened up with a touching and most eloquent tribute to the former Pogue. And he reminisces about the time he toured and recorded in New Zealand with Barbara Manning. Do catch Calexico when they tour NZ in February performing their classic album, Feast Of Wire!