She's a violin virtuoso, singer and songwriter, and she hails from Russia originally. She grew up in New York City and now she's living and making music in Los Angeles. Ada and I chat about her early life playing violin, the magic moment when she wrote her very first song, how she survived the pandemic, and new music she's working on these days.

Jay and I have a great chat about the theme music he contributed to my show, life growing up in the Philippines, not having a Plan B, his band South Border's enormous success with a quadruple platinum album, their interesting experiences breaking into the American music scene, and much more. Oh, and I complain about my toothache.

Steve and I talk about his intellectual and philosophical development as a drummer long before he ever played a drumset, we take a deep dive into the musical evolution of The Black Crowes’ discography, and he shares about the conflicts the eventually led to the band’s 2015 breakup. Steve has also written an incredible book called “Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of The Black Crowes,” he's playing and making records with his latest project Trigger Hippy, and is also the host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Steve Gorman Rocks!”

Ashley and I share a bit about growing up in the same area of upstate New York, how her issues with chronic illness shaped her life and her music, her unwavering and courageous commitment to remaining true to her art even when enormous opportunities for commercial success were being offered to her, what the dark side of the Nashville music industry looks like from the inside, and we also brainstorm on and share some laughs about a few genius ideas for A Little Bit Famous with Ted Marotta merchandise! 

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Aaron and I nerd out about drums for a bit and then chat about his career with the Spin Doctors, how the band remained faithful to their sound and their art when some in the music business were suggesting otherwise, their remarkable success with the multi-platinum album Pocketful of Kryptonite, band tensions, living through the challenge of seeing their successes begin to fade, and how the original lineup of the band is back together and doing great, writing music for a new record, and touring again.

Al Schnier, guitarist, singer, and founding member of the great American jam band moe., and I offer up a true master class on what it takes to survive the grueling schedule and daily indignities that come with life as part of a touring band.  We share some laughs and horror stories from the road, and we also take some time to have a serious discussion about the band's bass player Rob Derhak and his cancer diagnosis, and how that terrifying ordeal brought the band to a whole new level of brotherhood and commitment to the music they create. I share a similar experience about someone very close to me who has cancer and what that does to our perspective and how it gives us a profound new appreciation of, and gratitude for, life in general.

Shihori has Asperger Syndrome and she's deaf in one ear, but don't think for a second that it defines or limits her. She's an enormously gifted singer and songwriter and has found tremendous success in her native country of Japan as an Anime music star and songwriter for other artists.  She's made her way to New York City, she's releasing a brand new album in August, and she has a deep and admirable commitment to creating music and art that inspires people to be better and to make the world a better place for us and for future generations.  

We discuss her life growing up in Japan, her songwriting approach, creative and business challenges, and we fist bump for world peace!

Dave and I catch up a bit and I quickly realize how much I didn't know about him.  He's brilliant, he's insanely talented, he's funny, he's toured the world and played with everyone from Coldplay to Beyoncé to James Taylor to Paul Simon to Bon Jovi, and countless others.  Dave shares some incredible pearls of wisdom about creativity, how to survive and thrive in a career in music, and he also shares details about the "missing shoe" incident...