Melbournians are a resilient lot. We had some of the harshest lockdowns anywhere in the world during 2020 (very necessarily – I won't argue with anyone on that point). Most of us got through it with good humour, grace, and countless Zoom meetings. One song kept going through my head the whole time – it should have become the Victorian state anthem....that song was “Stuck In Melbourne” by The Warner Brothers.

Welcome to episode 145 of Love That Album.

Back in the mid 80s, musicians and songwriters, Dan Warner and James Stewart started performing around Melbourne as a duo before expanding to a full band lineup calling themselves The Warner Brothers, heavily influenced by rootsy / Americana styles. They played many many shows around town, and truly lived the rock and roll lifestyle. Under that name they independently released the excellent Talking In Your Sleep album (years before crowd-funding was an even an idea never mind a reality).

Who would have thought that a big international film and music conglomerate would threaten a small Melbourne band over their name??? They changed their name to Overnight Jones, recorded a couple of albums, then went their separate ways in the late 90s. All went on to other projects, before reforming annually for one-off shows to the faithful.

I'm thrilled to have Dan and James on the show to talk about their experiences with radio programmers, record producers, and band bookers. I found the conversation entertaining as hell...they are passionate about music.....and we discuss their back catalogue as well.

The WB / OJ albums are currently not in print, but listen for a great announcement late in the show for their forthcoming reissue. Meanwhile you can get Dan and James great solo albums from https://danwarner.bandcamp.com/ and https://jamesstewartcarcane.bandcamp.com/

Download this episode of LTA from Spotify, Stitcher or iTunes (search for “Love That Album podcast”).

Love That Album is proudly part of the Pantheon Podcast network. Go to http://pantheonpodcasts.com to check out all their great shows.

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