Joe is from Richmond, Indiana, just a little bit West of Dayton on I-70. He is a singer-songwriter who performs as Achilles Tenderloin. In this episode, he becomes the first guest to play a song live on the podcast, an exclusive that you can't find recorded anywhere at the moment. You'll hear us talk about his songwriting process, building community around music and giving back.  You'll also learn about his two newest singles and plans for an upcoming album. He is a thoughtful lyricist, and that…

...I don't like to be labelled as one genre, because I love so many different genres of music...

The Kadence is a Dayton-based songwriter and artist. He is blessed with a gifted voice. In our conversation, you'll learn how he got started making music and get a look into his songwriting process. Have you ever wanted to drop everything and leave? If so, maybe you can live vicariously through The Kadence, as he is about to move into a Nissan Altima and drive to Los Angeles. Why is that happening? You'll…

I don't want watches, I just want more time

Alan "Corduroy" Brown is a musician from West Virginia.  I first met him through an article on the Columbus Music in Motion website, and was very glad to get a chance to get to know him better in our conversation. The debut album with his band as Corduroy Brown is called Let Me Know, and it was released in August 2021.  You'll find out how he got into music, what his influence are, what is the first thing he reaches for when it's time to write a song... but…

photo credit: Jon Estes

That's really what art is about, right?  Just connecting with people on an emotional level...

Greg Owens is handsome and bearded and from Nashville, Tennessee. He's an Americana artist, songwriter, recent father, and sipper of whiskey.  In this episode, we talk about his album Life, Love, and Southern Sadness and the stories he tells on it, his songwriting process, his love for 90s rock, grandmothers who are armed, Batman (?), and some other stuff. I like Greg's songs and…

My goal is always to get people to feel a little deeper, which I think is what the world needs.

Sara Jelley is a songwriter and musician currently based on Maui.  She is also a vocal coach.  What's the story behind her debut album, Holes?  What is her songwriting process like?  Who might benefit from taking voice lessons?  What kind of smell does Sara remember from her childhood?  You'll learn the answers to these questions, and possibly even more, from a careful listen to our conversation.

LINKS

I feel like when I first started playing... there was just really not a whole lot that was coming into my immediate system, and now I'm just flooded with... non male humans playing guitar and making music and being successful at this thing... it's really inspiring and really cool to watch that happen

Sarah Rudy joins me on this episode.  She is a songwriter and guitarist who leads Hello June.  What kind of work goes into marketing and promoting a show?  What is a simple thing that you can do on social…

If I can't think of anything, then I go on with my life.

Isaac Robledo now holds the distinction of being my youngest podcast guest.  I've known him more or less since he was born. Isaac is interested in all sorts of things: games, movies, music, video, and canines are among his interests.  What's his favorite movie in the Star Wars franchise?  What's his songwriting process like?  What two ways are acceptable pronunciations of his first name?  Does a video of someone playing video games quality as art…

Whatever you're thinking about when you hear my songs, that's what I want you to do, because I think that's what music has done for me.

Jill Dodson is a talented musician with a big voice who releases music under the sobriquet Abigail Moone.  She recently released an excellent debut EP, In Ruins. Where does her stage name come from? What is her songwriting process like? What are some of her influences?  You'll learn these things and more by listening to our conversation.

LINKS

Bandcamp

Facebook

Insta…

Taylor Ruckle is a freelance music journalist who has written for Post-Trash, Flood Magazine, and Merry Go Round, among others.  We had a lovely chat a couple of years ago when he was writing for The All Scene Eye, and if you wish to do so, you can still listen to that conversation here. For this conversation, well, one fourth of 2022 is already gone. Both Taylor and I put on our music fan hats and talk about our favorite albums of the year - so far.

LINKS

Taylor's interview with Elise from Oceanator

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Music has always helped us to feel our feelings and we want to be that for other people, we want to create music that helps people to feel their feelings and to make people feel a little less alone...

Jon Kresin and Amelie Eiding are a pop duo called 7000apart.  They are currently based in Wisconsin, but at the time of our conversation, they were in Stockholm, Sweden. The story of the beginning of their project is compelling, but it's one they have told many times, so I'll send you over to the Our…

Bux and I had this conversation back in December 2021.  We talk about Fountains Of Wayne, the brilliant self-titled debut album from one of our favorite bands. We talk about how these songs make us feel. We talk about the twinge of melancholy lurking just beneath the surface in insanely catchy power pop.

Adam Schlesinger, one of the two songwriters in Fountains Of Wayne, died two years ago today, on April 1, 2020.  (This was early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and sadly, millions of people have since died…

My process has been an organic kind of beast... I tend to write lyrics first. I have ideas and that side of it is probably partly a therapy to some degree...

We go international yet again on the podcast, as I have a chat with my dear friend Ruth.  Ruth is from Ipswich, England. We met in Paris. (The one in France, as opposed to the one in Kentucky or Texas.) Ruth has a dog named Lincoln, a husband named Paul, a knack for melody, and red hair. You'll hear us talk about music and about which character…

There's nobody getting your back in standup, like if you're failing, you are failing, and I know what it feels like because I have bombed hard many times at open mics...

Adam Edwards is originally from the Dayton area, and spent many years playing bass in Dayton bands. These days, he lives in Colorado. Our conversation contains a great deal of nostalgia and fond recollections of musicians and bands from Dayton's past. Adam also tells us about jumping into the art of stand up comedy.

Here are some…

I always promised myself... if podcasting feels like a chore, you should probably not do podcasting

The instant I started my podcast, I knew I wanted to get Terry "Izzy Rock" Martin as a guest. He was one of the hosts on the Gem City Podcast, a labor of love into which he poured countless hours and energy without being paid. Have you ever wondered how much work it takes to produce and edit a podcast? Izzy Rock will break it down for you from a position of authority on the subject, as he has produced and…

Just when you thought I might make it through an episode without talking about music, I am here to tell you that this is not that episode. Franklin Rabon is from Georgia. He used to write for a sabermetric baseball blog, and as you can see from the picture, he is also a fan of The Atlanta National League Baseball Club. (Note that we recorded this conversation before the baseball lockout ended.) Franklin is an intelligent and thoughtful individual with an impressive array of interesting life…

I love putting together videos to a rhythm and music videos are a great way to do that

In what may very well turn out to be a decision I live to regret, I present to you my conversation with Brandon Berry mostly unedited. We had this conversation on Wednesday, December 22nd of last year, after the shooting of the first music video for "Hold the Wick".  Brandon directed 7 of the 8 music videos that accompany the various versions of "Hold the Wick". I think the first one is a quality work of art, and I…

I want to make this thing that I created sound as good as it can be...

No $ Savant is a songwriter, engineer, producer, and artist from Enschede, Netherlands. That's his artist name, his actual name is Kes Maathuis. He was kind enough to collaborate with me by remixing my upcoming single "Hold the Wick".  You'll hear his remix on this podcast episode.  You'll also learn why Kes uses "$" in his artist name instead of "€", which is the currency used in his home country. How did he get started making music…

This was my first time producing, mixing, and mastering all on my own...

Rich Reuter becomes my first repeat guest on this episode, and with good reason.  He is a songwriter, musician, and recording artist from Dayton, Ohio, and has added engineering, mixing, mastering, and production to his skill set. Tomorrow, on Thursday 24th February, he releases a brand new EP, Endless Parade. Why might it be possible to consider this to be a concept EP? What inspired the creation of these songs? What kind of work…

Mayoritariamente a mi me gusta mucho soñar con la música... me gustaría pues, que la gente que escucha mi música tenga también la posibilidad de al esucharla irse... a otro mundo diferente a través de la música....

Esta conversación es la primera que grabé por mi podcast. Estoy charlando con Ana Barajas, escritora de canciones y artista colombiana quién vive ahora en Austin, Texas. ¿Cómo llegá a dónde está ahora de sus comienzos cantando música heavy metal? ¿Cuál es su instrumento principal? ¿Que es la…

I sound, if I'm doing it in my most natural form, I sound like rock.

Paul Levy is the lead singer of Sadbox, who you'll also see playing guitar. A Sadbox show consists of a bunch of dads on stage playing rock music, so one could certainly categorize them as "dad rock". He and his band were responsible for the single most joyful musical moment of 2021 for me. Paul is both ebullient and gregarious, and that'll come across loud and clear in our chat. How does Paul know when a song is finished? Why does he…

J'ai pas choisi en fait. Je dirais que c'est plutôt la musique qui m'a choisie moi...
because it's what's in my heart, it's what I love...

Becca is French, originally from Nantes. She has lived in the United States for a little over twelve years now. You'll see right away that she has a deep passion for music that comes spilling out of her. Becca radiates joy and enthusiasm. Since I happen to speak French, we meander between French and English during our chat. In fact we talked for over three hours…

"I would give a king's ransom to hear my music through somebody else's ears"

Tod Weidner is a grizzled veteran of the Dayton music scene.  He has been at the helm of Shrug since 1994.  These days, Tod lives in California, where he is embarking on new and interesting musical adventures. This is a gentleman for whom I have a great deal of respect due to his years of dedication to our music community, to songcraft, to his instrument, to playing shows like he means it, and to being a decent human being…

I don't know the future of my musical career but I think when I look back at my life, this is going to be some of my best work...

Texas based Marian Tirsa makes music under the name Runaway Horse. We get to learn about her songwriting process in this conversation, including the tool she starts with when she is writing, and how she knows when a song is done. How does a song grow from the time she writes it into what it becomes when it's being recorded in the studio?  What do her collaborations with…

"The bass is profoundly cool."

Meet fellow Midwesterner Gail Gallagher.  Gail is a singer-songwriter, composer, artist, and podcaster with a background in sketch comedy and improv. She released an album in 2020 called Power of the Unnamed Passion, which explores balancing dark emotions with joy. Her new single "Long Johns" is out today, 21st January 2022, on all streaming platforms. Gail is also a teacher, helping to bring the joy of music to the next generation.

Some highlights of our conversation:

1. …

"What I always think is that... my guitar is my thing"

Have you ever wondered how remixes are created? My first guest is Liam Morrison, a songwriter and musician from Canada.  He remixed one of my songs, and in our conversation, I ask him about his process.

We also discuss:

1. How does Liam start writing a song?  (10:48)
2. How does Liam feel about playing live?  (15:03)
3. A Baby Molly announcement, exclusive to the You Could Be My Aramis podcast!  (17:33)

Find Liam - Baby Molly - on the Internet at…