Songwriter, blues guitarist and singer Chris Smither joins me on the show today. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris and playing with him this past summer at a festival, and he really was a force of nature. He had an incredible groove between his guitar lines and his powerful foot, all brought together with a voice that has developed so much character over the years it just oozes out of him. Chris grew up in New Orleans, but as you’ll hear, doesn’t totally identify musically with his hometown. He’s spent most of his career based out of the Massachusetts area, and developed his style and sound in the folk clubs of Boston and Cambridge. His songwriting style owes as much to others from that era and scene as it does to blues songwriters like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. He manages to pull something off which I think is difficult and very unique - he’s developed a style of songwriting that seems to be right out of that era of the classic folk/blues tradition, but without being even the slightest bit derivative of those artists that came before him. He wrote the songs “Love Me Like A Man” and “I Feel The Same” that became staples in Bonnie Raitt’s career and repertoire, not to mention Diana Krall also cutting “Love Me Like A Man”. His recording career began in 1971 with the album “I’m a Stranger, Too!” at which time he was label-mates with Townes Van Zandt. He’s been a prolific artist ever sonce then, with a few personal low times where he shied away from making new records. But since the 90’s he’s been extremely consistent with a new record every year or two. His latest is called “All About The Bones” and is one of his best. Chris is one of those rare artists that just seems to keep getting better, even into his 80’s. I had a great conversation with him from his home on a rare break from the road, and we had a chance to dig into all of his history and record-making process. You can keep up with Chris and all his latest news and extensive touring over at smither.com - please enjoy my conversation with Chris Smither!

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Legendary drummer Willie Cantu is on the show today, the sole surviving member of the ultimate lineup of one of the greatest ensembles of all time - Buck Owens’ Buckaroos. I’ve talked about the Buckaroos on this show a number of times - they keep coming up in discussions with various folks, and I’ll say it again that I think that mid to late 60’s lineup is as electrifying a band as any band of that era, no matter what genre. That lineup of Buck, Willie on drums, Don Rich on guitar, fiddle and vocals, Tom Brumley on steel and Doyle Holly on bass were like a finely tuned Ferrari in their heyday. They looked slick and they played and sang like no one else, anywhere. Songs like “Together Again”, “I Don’t Care”, “Open Up Your Heart”, “Sam’s Place” and so many classic albums defined the sound of Bakersfield country which was in stark contrast to the smooth sounds coming out of Nashville in those days. Their influence can be heard directly on everyone from the Beatles to CCR, Gram Parsons to Dwight Yoakam. Willie is an accomplished jazz drummer, and while he was in one of the great country bands of all time, it’s very evident that jazz is his real love. He’s from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the Buckaroos when he was 17 in 1964. We had an epic visit and I did have to edit it way down, even though this sucker still clocks in at about 2 hours. Maybe we’ll do a part 2 somewhere down the line! For some essential listening, be sure to check out the 2 Buck Owens live albums that feature Willie - The Carnegie Hall Concert and Live in Japan! They are both amazing documents of a band in their prime. After the Buckaroos, Willie has been involved in some very interesting jazz and improvisational music, which you can check out here. Willie doesn’t have a website and is being more selective about his gigs these days, but if you’re in Nashville, keep your ear to the ground and maybe you’ll catch him playing at a jazz club or Robert’s Western World. you never know! So now, please enjoy my conversation with Willie Cantu!

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Guitarist and session ace Richard Bennett joins me on the show this week. Originally from Phoenix, Richard spent the first big chunk of his career in the 70’s LA studio scene, before moving to Nashville in the 80’s where he’s been a mainstay in studios ever since. Richard is known as one of the ultimate sidemen and spent 17 years in Neil Diamond’s band, playing on all of his records and tours from ’71 to ’87. Richard has had another long-term sideman gig playing guitar in Mark Knopfler’s band since '94, and that continues to this day, touring in his band and playing on all of his records, including the latest “One Deep River” from this year. Aside from those impressive long-term gigs, Richard has played on countless sessions and gigs for artists like Roseanne Cash, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Iris Dement, and Waylon Jennings. He also loves to write and record his own music, and is constantly working on the next set of tunes to get into the studio to document. His latest is called “Talltale Tunes” and it’s a killer record of great playing, tone and creativity. Richard is also an in-demand producer and has helmed an impressive list of albums in the last few decades as well. He had a huge role in the Nashville session scene of the 80’s and 90’s that continues to thrive, and I loved getting a chance to hear about that era of Nashville. I’ve spent the last year playing in a band with Richard called The Volcano Brothers, playing all 1920’s and 30’s Hawaiian music, with Richard playing ukulele. While we just play tiny local gigs around Nashville with that band, I still get to see and hear Richard’s amazing touch on his instruments, and the dedication and the preparation that he puts into every show, no matter how small! He’s an incredible musician, an encouraging band-mate, and an inspiring person to be around, and we had a very enjoyable conversation about his history in music and the recording studio. You can get all the latest on Richard at richard-bennett.com - Enjoy my conversation with Richard Bennett!

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Jen Gunderman is one of the great keyboard players currently working out of Nashville. She is always busy in recording studios and venues around town with all kinds of bands, but is also on the road as a member of Sheryl Crow’s band, a gig she’s held for over 10 years now. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jen now and then over the past number of years, always in the studio, and she always shows up to a session with great ideas and energy, raring to go. Her path to this point in her career is a very interesting one, as she grew up playing piano in church, made her way through college and had a stint working for the last gasps of the late 80’s/early 90’s major label scene, working in the offices at Columbia/Sony Records in New York from 1992-1994. Jen jumped ship from that world and landed a gig as the keyboard player for The Jayhawks. She spent a couple of years in the band, touring and recording before eventually landing in Nashville with her husband, guitarist Audley Freed. Jen found her way into session work, landed a job treaching music history at Vanderbilt (which she continues with today) and when she’s not out with Sheryl Crow, she keeps very busy playing with local bands and artists all over Nashville. Jen is a killer piano player, but also knows how to lean into a B3 with the best of them. She plays a mean Wurlitzer, and can also come up with wildly creative soundscape parts as well. Jen’s studio career has brought her into the studio and on stage with artists like Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, The Dixie Chicks, St. Vincent, Emmylou Harris and many more. You can get all the latest info on Jen at jengunderman.com

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Singer, guitarist, jug-band pioneer and songster Jim Kweskin joins me on the show today. I can’t tell you how many times I heard Jim’s name before I ever heard his music. To the generation before me, he was a total legend, and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band was very influential to many musicians who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Jim came up in the Boston/Cambridge area and The Jug Band was legendary around those parts and eventually across America. Old blues, jug and string band music was considered old fashioned at that point in time, and Jim spearheaded its return and kicked off a musical revolution that inspried bands like the Lovon’ Spoonful and The Grateful Dead (don’t forget they started off as a jug band too). With bandmates like Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Bill Keith, Mel Lyman and Fritz Richmond, the Jug Band was signed to a major label, sold thousands of records and toured across the country tirelessly between 1963-1970. They turned countless young musicians on to the music of artists like Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Boy Fuller and the Mississippi Sheiks.

Jim has continued making records and performing under his own name and has just put out a rerally cool album called “Never Too Late”, which is mostly duets with some of his friends on vocals like Maria Muldaur, Meredith Axelrod and many more.

I won’t go too in depth on his bio here because in the interview, he actually had a bio preopared and read it to me, which you’ll hear on the show. It’s a first “written statement” for the podcast! I think you’ll dig that part of the conversation. You can get all the latest info on Jim at jimkweskin.com - Enjoy my conversation with Jim Kweskin!

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Banjo legend Tony Trischka joins me on the show this week. I first saw Tony playing with his band Psychograss back in the 90’s at a bluegrass festival in Vancouver, and have been following Tony’s music ever since. Tony is from Syracuse, and has spent most of his career in the New York area. His early bands included The Down City Ramblers, Country Cooking and Breakfast Special. He also started making really cool solo records in the early 70’s that are pretty out-there in the context of what was going on in those days in bluegrass. Those albums definitely nod to traditional bluegrass, but they are also very progressive and experimental. He did alot of touring and recording with his various projects and collaborations over the years, while continuing to teach and compose (he taught a young upstart named Bela Fleck a thing or two in some lessons). After working to progress the banjo and its role in music through his entire career, Tony suddenly has dropped this amazing new project on us that is as traditional as it gets, and has allowed him to mine the depths of the greatness of Earl Scruggs. The new record is called Earl Jam, and was made after he was given hours and hours of tapes of Earl and John Hartford jamming. Unheard stuff that is like a portal into the brain of the greatest banjo innovator of all time. Tony transcribed a hours of that playing, and those transcriptions are what you hear, along with guests like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings. So let’s dive into all this history and hear about the new record - you can get all the latest info on Tony and his upcoming gigs at tonytrischka.com - Enjoy my conversation with Tony Trischka!

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Pedal steel guitarist Rich Hinman joins me on the show today. Rich is a really creative player who has definitely spent a great deal of time with the classic steel guitar cannon, but has very much branched out and developed his own style and voice on the instrument. He has a great flair for improvisation, and his tone and touch are really of the highest calibre. Rich is currently a teacher at Berklee College in Boston in the guitar Department, but continues his work in the studio and on the road. He has had recurring stints with artists like Sara Bareilles, Maren Morris, Molly Tuttle, KD Lang, Tanya Tucker, St. Vincent, Josh Ritter and many more. His current project is an amazing band with guitarist Adam Levy. The two of them go way back, and it shows, as their interplay and group improvisations are really incredible. The band is called Rich Hinman Vs Adam Levy and they have a brand new album out called “Fan Favorites” that you should check out. Rich also put out a solo album recently that is more on the ambient side, but full of inspired playing and compositions as well called “Memorial”. Rich is really active on social media which is how I first ran into his playing, and he also has a cool Patreon thing going on with weekly steel guitar lessons, so check out what he’s up to over in his world at richhinman.com and if you get a chance to see him and Adam Levy, who are out on tour as we speak, don’t miss them. Enjoy my conversation with Rich Hinman!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

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On today’s show is Missy Raines, one of the great bluegrass bassists out there, not to mention a fabulous singer and songwriter. Bluegrass bass playing is a funny thing - on the surface it seems simple. But there’s a whole other level to it, and when you hear someone like Junior Huskey do it, or Mike Bub, or Dennis Crouch, or Missy Raines, they all play at that level. There’s a way the really good players place their notes, there’s the tone, and it all comes down to the bed that the bass players lay for the other players in the band to live in. And that’s the hard part. Once you get a chance to play with someone of that calibre it becomes much clearer what great bassist brings to the table, and Missy is one of the best. She’s been releasing albums under her own name since 1998, and her latest recording just came out a couple months ago - it’s called “Highlander” and it’s a killer record that features her band Allegheny as well as guests like Kathy Mattea, Michael Cleveland, Darol Anger, and Rob Ickes. Missy is from West Virginia, and she was lucky enough to grow up in an area that had a strong bluegrass scene that she got to experience first hand. She’s lived in Nashville for a long time now, and is on the road alot these days. She’s won multiple IBMA awards for Bass Player of the Year, and has performed with legends like Mac Wiseman, Peter Rowan and Josh Graves. Aside from her accomplishments in the bluegrass world, Missy swerved over into more experimental territory a few years back and had a band going called The New Hip, who made a couple of incredible records well worth checking out as well that feature her songwriting in a less traditional context. But these days she’s pretty focussed on traditional bluegrass and has one of the best bands on the scene, so make sure you go see them if they come through your area. You can get all the latest news and her tour dates over at missyraines.com - Enjoy my conversation with Missy Raines!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

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