If there was one thread I can find across all of my music, it is the deep love of storytelling...

Michelle Rhea Goddard is a Nashville-based songwriter who is originally from California.  Here album Breaking Bread: Songs of Reconciliation is arranged like a play, with an introduction, three acts, and an intermission. What is her writing process like? How did she come up with the idea to structure an album this way?  What did her childhood smell like?  You'll get the answers to all of these questions in…

Three At Home is a band from the greater Boston area. I met two of them in Austin a few months ago while we were attending the CD Baby DIY Musician Conference. All three of them join me for this conversation.  They have an interesting dynamic, with two songwriters and two lead vocalists. Listen to this episode to learn what they remember as the first song they ever heard and what their childhoods smelled like.

LINKS

Three At Home official website

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

This is about to be you and I on an adventure that may sometimes appear to be a little bit more rough and unrefined than what you may be accustomed to, but it is genuine

You might remember talented Dayton-based rapper TINO from a previous appearance on my blog.  He's on the podcast today, because today is Bandcamp Friday when they waive their cut of artist payments, and he has a new album over there right now.  Midwest Sorrow covers different sonic and emotional ground than TINO's other work.

How did…

I loved parker ben parker right from the first song the first time I heard them way back in the 1990s.  My guest on this episode, Marc Aiello, played guitar in that band. Those of you around the Dayton music scene will especially appreciate this episode. If you're any sort of music fan, you'll probably like this as well, as it's simply two music enthusiasts talking about the thing they love.

LINKS

five seven five music - Marc's publishing company

parker ben parker

The Durable Fiction

It's emotion, right?  That's music. We're connecting with people on an emotional level...that's ultimately at the end of the day what it's all about, just connecting with other people.

Sometimes things happen in life that seem like an implausible story from a movie.  I have one of those to tell, and the stars of this story are Brittany Bliss and Reid Givens of Brittany and the Blisstones.  Brittany and the Blisstones is an indie band from Chico, California. Their sound draws from influences as diverse as…

I love rock and roll and I love writing rock and roll songs

Brandon Semler lives in Austin, but originally hails from Greene County, right here in Ohio.  We met in 2019 at the CD Baby DIY Musician Conference.  We'll be headed back there again this weekend, and in fact, this episode is being posted on the morning of the conference's first day.  What kind of things is Brandon up to musically with his band, Westerly Station?  What's his new business all about?  What's the first song he can remember ever…

Photo by Harish Pathak

I definitely was not thinking about writing a book for people who teach music lessons, but it's funny how these weird little intentions... if we keep following the thread, we can get to it...

Lesley Barth is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, musician, author, teacher, and mom who is currently based in Nashville. She released her second full-length album, called Big Time Baby, in May 2020. We talk about the album and some of the songs on it.  (Many of them have music…

It's really all about me exposing myself honestly... exposing my heart, exposing real life experiences and challenges that I've gone through... exposing lessons from those challenges... 

This episode keeps us in the Gem City.  Mariah J is my guest.  She's a singer/songwriter, poet, dancer, artist disruptor, cultural strategist and overall creative being who has just released an album titled Unfolding.  How did Mariah learn how to sing? How long did it take her to make this album?  How does she know…

Voilà ça c'est vraiment ce que savent faire les américains, écrire une chanson très très emotionnel sur un souvenir...

Franz Robert Wild is a songwriter, musician, vocal coach, and all-around music industry professional from Toulouse, France.  We had this conversation in French. For you English-speakers, we'll have another chat in English later.

Franz Robert Wild est auteur, compositeur, musicien, coach vocal et professionel de musique qui vient de Toulouse. Quand est-ce qu'il a commencé à jouer la…

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

…

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…