11 Things with Leigh Jones

Derek Clatterbuck (who performs and releases music under the moniker Oil Derek) is a native of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Listen in as Derek talks about his family's deep musical roots (his grandma was best buds with June Carter and his great-uncle wrote the "Tennessee Waltz"), his attraction to the cowboy lifestyle, becoming friends with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and his involvement with the artists collective on wheels, Splendor All Around. www.oilderek.bandcamp.com

Making up one-half of the banjo-driven folk duo The Lowest Pair, Kendl Winter calls Olympia, Washington home, but spends most of her days on the road. Listen in as Kendl shares her thoughts on what it's like to be a perpetually traveling musician, her love of running, and the many pet turtles she had as an 11-year-old. www.thelowestpair.com

Lech Wierzynski is the Polish-born frontman and bandleader of The California Honeydrops. An internationally touring band, the Honeydrops draw upon elements of R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line to create an infectious sound and an energetic, undeniable live show experience. Listen in as Lech discusses his personal musical journey, collaborating with bandmates and pulling from everyone's respective influences to form the Honeydrops' sound, and how he feels about his time at Burning Man last year. www.cahoneydrops.com

Chris, Ellen, Asarr, Sam, and Anthony are collectively, Chamber Band. Based in Brooklyn, they play music about love, heartbreak, and dragons. They recently released their second full-length album, Careers. Listen in as they discuss how the band came together, their wide array of backgrounds and influences, and their decision and process of using the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and The Hunger Games to frame and examine real-world issues. www.chamberband.com

Brad Parsons is a Portland, OR based songwriter and purveyor of rock and roll music. You can catch him performing around town often, both solo and with his band Brad Parsons and the Local Talent. He is also part of the nationally touring Portland-based folk-rock band, Horse Feathers. Listen in as Brad discusses his Idaho upbringing, shares a few defining moments in his musical career, and tells us how he really feels about is 6th grade teacher. www.facebook.com/BradParsonsMusic

Benjamin Scheuer is a New York City based songwriter and playwright. His award-winning one-man autobiographical musical play, The Lion, was originally mounted at Manhattan Theatre Club in the summer of 2014. Since then, Benjamin has been performing the show in various cities to wide acclaim. Listen in as he talks about his unique artistic path, the journey of creating and performing The Lion, and weathering some of life's more extreme hardships. www.benjaminscheuer.com

Moorea Masa is a Portland, OR based singer-songwriter, with distict soul/pop influences. Formerly of the Ruby Pines, and currently a singer with Ural Thomas and the Pain, Moorea has been cultivating her solo career in recent years and just released her debut EP, Oh Mother. www.mooreamasa.bandcamp.com

Ben Darwish is a Portland, OR-based pianist, composer and songwriter. His collaborative project with Shook Twins is called Morning Ritual, and he also plays keys in the soul band, Ural Thomas and the Pain. Listen in as Ben discusses his least important fingers, how being a weirdo actually helped him as an 11-year-old, and how 80s teen idol Tiffany is his cousin. www.bendarwish.com

Thanksgiving is the best holiday! Some of my guests from the previous year share a musical artist for whom they are epecially thankful.

Sam Chase is the valiant leader of SF bay area band, The Sam Chase. With his band, Sam has released two studio albums, "The Sam Chase Will Never Die" and "The Sam Chase Will Lead Us To Victory". As albums, they are triumphant, and as statements, they are true. Listen in as Sam discusses his dream of being a ninja turtle, refraining from throwing his underwear at Bruce Springsteen, and playing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival for the first time. www.thesamchase.com