I used to love making mixed tapes. It took hours to get the volume right, the segue perfect and have the tunes tell a story. It was the most intimate way to share thoughts and emotions with friends. It’s a fact no mixed tapes were ever shared with people you didn’t care about. With the impending death of the CD I’m up a creek. Sharing a playlist just doesn’t cut it.
The so-called death of physical media makes me miss going to record stores just to browse and converse with my fellow hunters. Record stores provided a social glue between friends and strangers who might soon be friends. We recognize there is a hole there and Rock Stamberg and I want to fill it for an hour or so on a regular basis.
I have interviewed hundreds of musicians for various magazines and Rock is also a magazine editor and a major music enthusiast. Together we are stocked with backroom stories about musicians and endless tunes that most people have heard about — or not — but may have never heard. In each episode of NHT we’ll wander into our own little record store, chat about music, and make you a mixed tape that will hopefully get you to where you’re going. Everyone’s invited.
And that’s what we’re talking about.
— John Stix
About Us
Rock Stamberg:
Rock Stamberg also worked at Cherry Lane Music in many different capacities over the years. Although they didn’t work together, he and John became fast friends bonding over their similar musical tastes and views. Rock was also the managing editor for AV Video Multimedia Producer magazine, was managing editor and investor at the White Plains Times weekly newspaper and, briefly, the editor-in-chief of Music Alive, a monthly music magazine used in schools. Thirty years after first meeting, Rock and John finally teamed up to bring you Now Hear This.
John Stix:
John Stix was the founding editor-in-chief of Guitar For the Practicing Musician magazine and a principal architect in the creation of Guitar World and Guitar One magazines. He started Guitar Recordings where he signed Blues Saraceno, Mike Keneally, Marc Bonilla, Randy Coven, and Brad Gillis. He also ran the print department at Cherry Lane Music. Currently he is the editor of Guitar Tricks Insider and recently released the eBook Guitar Chat: Randy Rhoads.