Season 2 - Episode 3 :: "Me and Mr. Jeff Jones!"

Season 2 - Episode 3 :: "Me and Mr. Jeff Jones!"

Author: The Self Portrait Gospel January 21, 2026 Duration: 1:29:21

Jeff Jones's all-around philosophy of music would forever change once he relocated to Arizona to attend ASU in the late 1970s. Coming from a more traditional atmosphere that approached music parallel to its time, Jones began to infiltrate the local scene in search of like-minded people to connect with. Not only would he be creatively challenged, but his spiritual senses would be harmoniously heightened when he first met the late great Charlie Gocher after an epic duo set of drums and saxophone, which, to this day, you have to imagine the extraterrestrial energy in that room as a freakish fly that has landed on a slice of stale pizza.

Eventually, the Sun City Girls' infamous short-lived quintet era was born, which featured multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Linda Cushma, Joe "Stage" Musico on drums (later replaced by Gocher), and Jones on sax. What would become the band's first-ever vinyl appearance on the legendary compilation "Ominous Clouds: Produced For Citizens For A Non-Nuclear Future," which also featured local legends Clarke Rigsby, and Hans Olson, who founded the influential Sun Club in Tempe, the group would later slim down to its mind-altering trio, and the rest is history!


It’s a strange and wonderful thing when a band becomes more than just music-a kind of shared language for those who find it. The Burning Nerve Ending Magic Podcast :: A Sun City Girls Story is an attempt to speak that language, to trace the contours of a group that defied easy categorization. Created by The Self Portrait Gospel, this series isn't a standard biography. Instead, it unfolds as a series of conversations and deep dives into the atmospheric alchemy of the Sun City Girls, treating their work as the spiritual institution of sound it truly is. You'll hear from those who knew them, played with them, or were forever changed by their records. Each episode leans into the poetic and the specific, celebrating the band's relentless creativity and the boundaries they pushed, not just in music, but in thought and performance. This podcast provides that consistent platform, a space where the band's peculiar magic isn't just explained, but felt. It’s for anyone who believes that certain art requires going all the way, and that the story of such a phenomenon is best told through many voices, all trying to capture something that, at its heart, remains beautifully indescribable.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 22

The Burning Nerve Ending Magic Podcast :: A Sun City Girls Story
Podcast Episodes
Episode 5 Marc Masters :: "On Tour w/ The Girls" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:21
Arizona-based music journalist Marc Masters has contributed to several notable platforms over the years, like Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, The Wire, and NPR Music, and has even published his own books, "No Wave," and, most…
Episode 4 Sam Shalabi :: "Dawn of the Dwarfs" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:52
Hailing from The Great White North, Sam Shalabi is one of those rare talents that effortlessly bridges the global gaps, both musically and politically, in a familiar way that echoes the essence of society and culture at…