There's just something about the Detroit music scene that strikes a chord with Neil Nathan.

It's not just one genre or era, either: Nathan, a New York-based singer/guitarist, digs Detroit rock, pop, R&B and soul from various decades. And his list of favorite acts includes legends (The Stooges, Alice Cooper) and contemporary names (Brendan Benson, The Go), plus artists who might not immediately come to mind when thinking about the Motor City’s music scene (such as Glenn Frey and Marshall Crenshaw).

Looking for a little "Midwest working-class grit and purity of soul without pretense," Nathan recorded nearly all of The Distance Calls, his debut album (which follows a series of EPs), at Tempermill in Ferndale, Mich. Joining Nathan at the studio, which is about 12 miles from Detroit, was a cast of Motor City-area musicians recruited by producer Bobby Harlow of The Go.

"We're the f---ing Stooges," Iggy Pop (above) announced after this evening's first two songs, and his choice of words was noteworthy. No, not due to the gratuitous F-bomb, but because technically this was a performance not by "The Stooges" — the name under which Pop's group released two grimy slabs of proto-punk (1969's self-titled debut and 1970's Fun House) — but instead a concert by "Iggy and the Stooges," as the reshuffled band was billed later.

Singer/songwriter Joe Firstman has done a lot in his almost 10-year career in music. He's had a much buzzed about major label debut album, 2003's The War of Women. He’s been the opening act for such heavyweight headliners as Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow, and he even had a stint as a late night bandleader for Last Call With Carson Daly.

With a new live-in-the-studio album, Live at the Treehouse, out now and a solo acoustic tour in progress, what does the California-based tunesmith have to say about these and other topics? Firstman checked in from a tour stop in Oxford, Miss., to provide the lowdown.

Unlike the band's own series of understandably self-serving concert videos over the years or, on entirely the other hand, Oliver Stone's utterly cataclysmic 1991 biopic The Doors, Tom DiCillo's When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors (freshly available on DVD and Blu-ray from Eagle Rock Entertainment) perhaps comes closest to finally presenting, as no less an authority as Ray Manzarek has long promised, "the true story of The Doors."

Turning 40 has not mellowed Richard Patrick. The Filter leader comes out swinging on the band's latest album, The Trouble With Angels, which he's proud to say echoes elements of Short Bus, Title of Record and Amalgamut.

Patrick recently checked in to discuss Angels, which is due Aug. 17 on Rocket Science Ventures.

Recording music is all about capturing ideas, feelings and moments. And these days, there’s really no need to panic if inspiration strikes outside of the studio.

The members of Great Big Sea, like other artists, have regularly used laptops for demo purposes. But the Canadian roots-rock band recently took things one step further, recording straight to singer/guitarist Alan Doyle's laptop and including those tracks on Great Big Sea's latest album, Safe Upon the Shore.

* Los Lobos -- Tin Can Trust (Shout! Factory)

The final line in "27 Spanishes," the last song on Tin Can Trust (out now), pretty much sums up Los Lobos' approach to their new album: "Now they all hang out together and play guitars for kicks." For its first Shout! Factory release, the band keeps its collection of eclectic instruments on the shelf and focuses on guitars instead. Extended solos highlight two of the best tracks, "All My Bridges Burning" and a cover of the Grateful Dead's "West L.A. Fadeaway." The band really fires on all cylinders during "Do the Murray," a lively, bluesy instrumental.

Sting’s quest to reinvent himself reached new heights in an invigorating concert July 30 at Bethel Woods. Backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, he presented a 24-song set in a relaxed and balmy open-air concert that was both intimate and compelling.

The drummer stool for Counting Crows has seen its share of players, while second guitarists have come and gone for The Black Crowes.

Sister Sin can relate to that kind of turnover: The Swedish hard-rock act just can't seem to put its "bassist wanted" sign away for very long.

Debauchery, drugs and drinking went hand in hand with hair metal throughout the 1980s. And whether by design or accident, with tremendous pride or with great shame, evidence of the artists’ real or fabricated rock 'n' roll behavior reached the public during those years.

Bon Jovi pretty much avoided having anything of that sort connected to the band's image — until now.

Former Bon Jovi tour manager Rich Bozzett has written a book about the band's early days and its ascent to superstardom called Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi.

As Bozzett says in his book (which includes some rather racy photos involving singer Jon Bon Jovi), a series of recent, independent Bon Jovi-related events led him to write Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi, which was released July 26 through Blumberg Corporate Services. The following day, Bozzett checked in with Medleyville.us to talk about his book.

For an album that received such a lukewarm-at-best reception upon its initial release (even the almighty Rolling Stone magazine used the words "overdone blues cliché" whilst making snide comparisons to Tommy James), the lone double-studio album produced by The Rolling Stones has certainly enjoyed a critical reappraisal (and then some) over the ensuing 38 years.

Talk about good timing. Chicago-based AM Taxi's debut album, We Don’t Stand a Chance (Virgin), was released June 8—just a few weeks before the pop-punk quintet joined Motion City Soundtrack, The All-American Rejects and others for the start of this year's Warped Tour.

Singer/guitarist Adam Krier checked in from the road to talk about AM Taxi's origins, recording the band's full-length disc in Texas and his thoughts on the Warped Tour so far.

* Mark Olson -- Many Colored Kite (Rykodisc)

Jayhawks founder Mark Olson is in a mellow mood throughout his latest solo album, Many Colored Kite (due July 27). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the stripped-down disc eventually falls into a sleepy rut. Kite does have its standout moments, though, most notably "Little Bird of Freedom" and "Scholastica."

Babysitting Rex Ryan, meeting Bob Dylan, opening for Joan Rivers: These are just a few of the memories folk singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, best known for her work with the Four Bitchin’ Babes, covers in her new book, Cold Pizza for Breakfast: A Mem-Wha?? (Tell Me).

Lavin recently talked about her approach to writing Cold Pizza, her thoughts on the head coach of the New York Jets and her latest music project.

During the last 30-plus years, guitarist David Rhodes has built himself quite a resume.

He's successfully collaborated with Peter Gabriel, both in the studio and as part of his touring band; helmed a group called Random Hold, which has garnered a cult following; and has worked and recorded with such artists as Paul McCartney, Akira Inoue and Roy Orbison, among others.

Rhodes, who will be touring this summer in support of Bittersweet, recently checked in to talk about his new album, his style and select moments from his career.