Katherine Yeske Taylor

3 weeks ago | americansongwriter.com | Katherine Yeske Taylor

Some people exude such innate charisma that others seem inexorably drawn to them—and Peter Wolf certainly seems to have that particular gift, as evidenced by his remarkable memoir, Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses (out March 11 via Little, Brown and Company). Long before he became acclaimed as the frontman for the J.

4 weeks ago | americansongwriter.com | Katherine Yeske Taylor

“I don’t really know how else to regard it, except that some energy force in the universe pulled the four of us together to write pop music for the particular moment that we were there doing it,” says vocalist/lyricist Michael Stipe, reflecting on his time with the alternative rock band R.E.M. “We had our day in the sun, and it was amazing.”During a three-decade run, R.E.M. became one of the world’s best-selling bands.

2 months ago | americansongwriter.com | Katherine Yeske Taylor

On a sunny afternoon in April, renowned alt-folk singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco is sitting at a table in the front window of Westville, a popular restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, eating a cup of chicken noodle soup. This sparse meal is necessary because, in just a couple hours, she was set to be onstage in the hit Broadway show Hadestown, in which she starred as Persephone.

2 months ago | americansongwriter.com | Katherine Yeske Taylor

“Most of the time, I’d like to be working on new stuff—but occasionally, it’s good to take stock of what you have done and put it all in order,” says Bryan Ferry, referring to Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023, the 81-song overview of his solo career. During a video call from Ferry’s London recording studio, he looks debonair in a crisp olive green button-down shirt, his salt-and-pepper hair elegantly swept back. He smiles easily and often, seeming utterly at ease. And why not?

Jan 2, 2025 | americansongwriter.com | Katherine Yeske Taylor

Relaxing in a velvet armchair in the living room of a villa on the grounds of the luxurious Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood, California, Ringo Starr’s laid-back friendliness makes him the personification of the “peace and love” mantra that he frequently professes. Ever since a meteoric rise to stardom in the 1960s as a member of the Beatles, Starr has been the most famous drummer the world has ever known, which makes it a bit daunting to interview him.