Steve Vai returns for Part Two of this special conversation marking the 40th anniversary of Public Image Ltd’s Album.
Because we don’t have a licence to play the record in the episode itself, listeners are encouraged to line up their own copy of Album and press play at the countdowns as Steve and Fender listen through the tracks in real time.
Vai reflects on what he played, how the sessions unfolded from inside the control room, and why Album remains one of the most enjoyable and creatively free guest projects he ever jumped into - minimal direction, total space, and a sound that still feels unique forty years on.
Along the way, he recalls dinner with John Lydon, being asked about joining PiL, and the gear he used at the time:
Guitar: Charvel Custom (“The Green Meanie”) Amp: Carvin X100B (“ice pick” sharp tone) Delay: Roland SDE-3000 rack delay Setup: two SDE-3000s - one for mono delay, one used as chorus via chaining Overdrive: amp set with drive + a kick-in pedal for solos Sitar: Choral sitar (electric)
Play-along track cues and full notes are included below.
00:40 - Track 1: FFF (countdown and play) 06:15 - Track 2: Rise 12:20 - Track 3: Fishing 17:39 - Track 4: Round 28:40 - Side Two begins - Bags (countdown and play) 34:11 - Track 6: Home 40:03 - Track 7: Ease
Thanks / credit: Shout-out and thanks to Ned Evett for connecting the conversation and for the Galway link-up. Honourable mention to drummer, Colin McMahon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
205. Steve Vai: Guitarist - Part One
22.01.2026 | 26 min.
This episode forms part of a short series marking the 40th anniversary of Album by Public Image Ltd. Steve Vai’s contribution spans two episodes - this is Part 1.
Steve Vai - Part 1 In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Steve Vai talks about the musical influences and ideas that shaped him long before his career took form.
The discussion centres on Frank Zappa - how Vai first encountered his music, the discipline of transcribing it in detail, and what working with Zappa taught him about composition, attention, and intent. From there, he reflects more broadly on improvisation and artistic evolution, drawing parallels with musicians such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Jeff Beck.
Vai also discusses the pressures of virtuosity and self-criticism, and how his relationship with the guitar has changed over time, touching on his early career years and the gradual shift from pure intensity towards melody, phrasing, and expression. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
204. Jane O’Leary: Musician - Part 2
16.12.2025 | 47 min.
The concluding part of an interview with Jane O’Leary, her first since being honoured with the prestigious National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award.
For more than 50 years, Jane O’Leary has been breaking new musical ground in Ireland. We catch up with her to learn more about her life and musical style.
Conversation includes: setting up the Concorde Contemporary Music Group; punk music; the evolution of contemporary music since the the late 70s; composer Ed Bennett; Rick Beato; the simplification and lack of bridges of popular music today; Nick Cave; AI; composing with a pencil vs. composing with a mouse; receiving her Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Concert Hall; Triptych for string quartet and orchestra performed by the ConTempo Quartet and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (NSOI), conducted by Kensho Watanabe; working with Kensho; Hans Zimmer and Interstellar; Jane’s upcoming orchestral fanfare for RTÉ Concert Orchestra to celebrate the centenary of the RTÉ; Gladiator Soundtrack featuring Lisa Gerrard; Paul Muldoon; breadcrumbs and other topics.
Photo by Dara Mac Dónaill
Links https://janesoleary.com/
Additional Links https://musicforgalway.ie/ http://www.concorde.cmc.ie/ http://theirelandpodcast.com/latest-podcast/episode/6b2f8545/203-jane-oleary-musician-part-1 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0xwtb9A1rIER90qCAS6VHs?si=7b42b99a1e1943eb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
203. Jane O’Leary: Musician - Part 1
09.12.2025 | 47 min.
For more than 50 years, Jane O’Leary has been breaking new musical ground in Ireland. We catch up with her to learn more about her life and musical style.
Conversation includes: Jane the musician (listening, performing and composing); Milton Babbitt; early life in Connecticut; getting into music; studying in Vassar College, New York State; the importance of good teachers; being the second woman to get a Phd in composition from Princeton and being one of Ireland’s first female composers; meeting Patrick O’Leary in Princeton (where he was studying on a Fulbright grant); moving to Galway, Ireland; starting out as a music teacher including the art of listening; Titanic soundtrack; Music For Galway; Erica Casey; Angela O’Keefe; funding; teaching in Dublin College of Music (TU Dublin Conservatoire); National Symphony Orchestra Ireland; contemporary music; 12 tone method; classical music in the late 1970’s; Phil Coulter and ‘Scorn Not His Simplicity’; free flowing; patterns; nature; music as a journey on water; Niagara Falls, and other topics.
Photo by Dara Mac Dónaill.
Links https://janesoleary.com/
Additional Links https://musicforgalway.ie/ http://www.concorde.cmc.ie/ https://www.theirelandpodcast.com/latest-podcast/episode/57d8333d/204-jane-oleary-musician-part-2 Spotify Playlist for this Episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
202. Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart: Metal Box - Rebuilt In Dub
05.12.2025 | 42 min.
Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart chat with Fender Jackson after their gig in Róisín Dubh, Galway on Wed 3rd December 2025.
Conversation includes: interviews with the band; Keith Levene’s guitar and guitar playing; the Soundman; the complications of performing this album; Dave Kane; Ruby Wood; the evolution of the tracks; Siouxsie & The Banshees; making ‘Metal Box - Rebuilt In Dub'; Yamaha 2100 guitar; John McGeoch; Steve Jones & Johnny Thunders; New York Dolls; punk guitars and amps; this show vs. legacy tours; Paul Schütze; Fangoria; Ken Boothe; Horace Andy; Neville Murray; Nathan Maverick; ‘Trout Mask Replica’ by Captain Beefheart; Keith Levene’s metal Veleno guitar; Steve Howe; Liverpool FC; Henry Kelly; Going For Gold; Hans Zimmer; The Bill and other topics.
Special thanks to Martin Chung, Jon Klein, Marc Layton-Bennett & George King.
Additional Links https://www.instagram.com/chungulation/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/iamjonklein/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/marclaytonbennett/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/_georgekingmusic/?hl=en Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
About the PodcastThe Ireland Podcast is a long-form interview series creating space for unhurried conversation about life on the island of Ireland and beyond.The ConversationsHosted by Fender Jackson and produced by Salthill Media, the podcast centres on listening rather than argument. Each episode features a single guest and allows time for reflection, context, and experience to emerge naturally. Guests include artists, musicians, writers, athletes, broadcasters, historians, and cultural figures whose work or perspective offers insight into place, memory, and lived experience.There is no political or religious agenda. The podcast does not seek to persuade, promote, or argue a position. Instead, it exists as a space for careful dialogue, where complexity is allowed and difference is approached with curiosity rather than confrontation.The HostFender Jackson grew up in Ulster and later lived in England and China before returning to Ireland and settling in Galway, where most episodes are now recorded. These experiences inform a listening-led, exploratory approach shaped by distance as well as proximity, and by an awareness of how place, movement, and memory intersect.ApproachThe Ireland Podcast approaches the island as a shared, lived place - shaped by multiple histories, traditions, communities, and viewpoints. In a post-conflict society, conversation itself has value. The podcast recognises the role that respectful dialogue, storytelling, and careful questioning can play in fostering empathy and understanding.Over time, it becomes an informal record of conversations about the island and its many expressions, offered quietly and without prescription. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.