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Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan, and Jim Pons (of The Turtles) were with Frank Zappa'a Mothers of Invention for only around two years, though the amount of recordings released would make you think it was MUCH longer. Their time with Zappa ended MUCH earlier than intended as well.I was fortunate to speak with Volman several years ago as he was getting ready to perform in the "Happy Together Tour" in this region. We spoke about working with students and becoming a professor (after taking 32 years between starting and finishing his bachelor's), his time with Zappa, and touching briefly on Flo and Eddie, which came about because they weren't allowed to use their own names. Yeah. They signed THAT kind of contract.Revisiting my conversation with Mark Volman, who passed away September 5th at the age of 78.

David Fleming speaks with Kenneth Bank, formerly of The Five Sharks, an early to mid-sixties acapella group from the Bronx. Bank is also one of the founding members of The Dukes of Doo Wop, a Southern California group keeping doo wop - and acapella - alive in this region and beyond.

David Fleming speaks with Benjamin S. Stewart about "Crossroads," a collaboration with Benjiphonik. We'll hear about how the song came together, how Ben Stewart was able to have tow of his personas collaborating with each other, and a bit about the video for Crossroads - which was released at the end of the initial broadcast of this episode.

David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli once again about the 2025 tour for Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. This is also the 25th anniversary Beethoven's Last Night, so a bit here as well. We'll also touch briefly on Savatage, the group from which TSO sprang. They (finally) started touring again!

Becky Harlan is a visual and engagement editor for NPR's Life Kit.

Mikhail Zinshteyn reports on higher education for CalMatters. His coverage tackles state legislation, financial aid, labor issues, student demands, campus housing and college affordability.

Sami Yenigun is the Executive Producer of NPR's All Things Considered and the Consider This podcast. Yenigun works with hosts, editors, and producers to plan and execute the editorial vision of NPR's flagship afternoon newsmagazine and evening podcast. He comes to this role after serving as a Supervising Editor on All Things Considered, where he helped launch Consider This and oversaw the growth of the newsmagazine on new platforms.

Philip Reeves is an award-winning international correspondent covering South America. Previously, he served as NPR's correspondent covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India.