Episodes

  • Episode 61: Twisted Pine

    Episode 61: Twisted Pine
    Dec 6 2024
    Twisted Pine is a boundary jumping string band; although based in bluegrass their music defies categorization in a joyous and exhilarating fashion. We sat down with Kathleen Parks, Dan Bui, Anh Phung and Chris Sartori at the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival in Vermont. Topics include their wonderful new record “Love Your Mind”, late night bluegrass festival doings, shifting musical roles within songs, Tom Petty vocal influences, and much more.
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    56 mins
  • Episode 60: Bob Sumner

    Episode 60: Bob Sumner
    Oct 22 2024
    We sat down with Canadian musician Bob Sumner at AmericanaFest in Nashville; we discuss his recent record "Some Place to Rest Easy", which has become one of my favorite releases of 2024. The musical vibes are lovely, echoing the sounds of my favorite Randy Travis records of the 90’s, but Bob also hits us with gut punch lyricism that brings to mind Townes van Zandt and Steve Earle. Bob is a wonderful conversationalist, there is a lot of great stuff in this one. We hear about how one positive comment from a high school teacher may have been a life changer, how he made a listener cry at his first open mic performance, what he learned from making music with his big brother for 20 years as part of The Sumner Brothers, and playing guitar and writing songs while (literally) driving his car as a food delivery person. Together we come to the realization that not only is Bob a great writer himself, but he has a gift for recognizing the perfect lines written by others (I look forward to discovering something witty I said to Bob appearing in one of his future songs). Check out the video for Bob’s song "Motel Room", he has some killer dance moves, and the song and video display the way Bob worked with both joy and sadness while putting this record together. This was one of my favorite discussions on the podcast, and I thank Bob for being so generous with his thoughts and for being such a great listener.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Episode 59: Field Guide

    Episode 59: Field Guide
    Sep 9 2024
    Dylan MacDonald is the artist who creates under the name Field Guide. He sat down with me at the fabulous Mile of Music Festival in Appleton Wisconsin, we talked about Field Guide’s latest, most excellent record Rootin’ For Ya. It turns out that Dylan was in a band for many years with my previous guest Boy Golden (Liam Duncan), they were high school associates. We spend some time talking about the contrast between making music by yourself vs. working with others; and performing solo vs. with a band. Also covered- classical guitar lessons, how Sweet Home Alabama changed his life, and does the cuckoo clock know what time it is? Be sure to check out Field Guide’s album Rootin’ For Ya, it is one of my favorites of the year.
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    49 mins
  • Episode 58: JigJam

    Episode 58: JigJam
    Jul 23 2024
    Jamie McKeogh plays guitar and sings lead vocals for the Irish band JigJam. We sat down at the DelFest music festival in Cumberland Maryland where JigJam had played two fiery sets to a legion of newly won-over fans. We discuss JigJam's recent excellent album Across the Pond, and how their music is a fascinating blend of the traditional Irish music the band grew up playing and the American bluegrass they discovered along the way. Throw in some excellent songwriting and you have a powerful mix. We hear about playing with two banjos, the Wild Rover Tik Tok incident, and how you can bus tour through Ireland with the band.
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    47 mins
  • Episode 57: Jeffrey Martin

    Episode 57: Jeffrey Martin
    Jun 6 2024
    Our guest for episode number 57 is Portland based musician and songwriter Jeffrey Martin; we discuss his most excellent 2023 album, Thank God We Left the Garden. Recorded in an 8 x 10 shed he built in his backyard, these songs explore religious/spiritual/existential questions, contradictions, mysteries and paradoxes. Jeffrey tells us about making the difficult decision to leave his position teaching high school English to pursue music full time, the fascinating way these songs came together as he wrestled lyrics from melodies, and interesting reactions the songs have gotten as he plays them on the road. We also make plans for our spin-off podcast, in which Jeffrey and I will break down the classic song, “That’s the Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”-stay tuned!
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    1 hr
  • Episode 56: Abe Partridge

    Episode 56: Abe Partridge
    Apr 27 2024
    Abe Partridge is a talented songwriter/musician, visual artist, podcast star, former preacher, Air Force veteran, and so on. Hear Abe tell his own long and winding story; it is a fascinating tale told with honesty, incredible insight, and good humor. This conversation was one of my favorites of all time. Check out all things Abe at abepartridge.com including his latest record, Love in the Dark, and the excellent podcast Alabama Astronaut.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Episode 55: Willy Tea Taylor

    Episode 55: Willy Tea Taylor
    Jan 22 2024
    Willy Tea Taylor is a gifted songwriter: a storyteller, a truth teller. His recent record, The Great Western Hangover, features an all-star cast of musicians who bring rock and roll energy to Willy’s superbly crafted songs. Willy sat down with us at Tell You What! Studios for a wide ranging, highly entertaining, and insightful conversation. We hear about Willy’s early years writing poetry and fronting high school rock bands, then learning mandolin and banjo on a winding and adventurous path that eventually led Willy to his instrument of destiny: the four-string tenor guitar. Willy discusses how important connecting with people is to him, how music done right can be physically healing, and the unorthodox ways he comes up with his songs. Also covered: heroic doses of LSD, dashboard percussion, barstool wisdom, taxidermy.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Episode 54: Gabe Lee

    Episode 54: Gabe Lee
    Dec 10 2023
    Gabe Lee, Nashville born and raised, joins us to talk about his latest record, the excellent Drink the River. His fourth album, Gabe chose a more stripped down sound, and assembled a killer set of musicians to create beautiful soundscapes for the story songs he wrote. We discuss Gabe's training as a classical pianist and his resulting love affair with melody, and how he thinks about perspective in his writing. Also covered: avoiding an Ed Hardy future, and learning the Smoke on the Water riff. Also: new podcast theme song! Composed and arranged by Shane McLaughlin of Buffalo Rose. Reach out to Shane for more at shanemclaughlinmusic.com
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    51 mins