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Growing up in England, Opal Louis Nations was passionate about soul music and followed his calling to perform it amid England’s soul and blues scene. In this interview Opal shares the roots of the painful history of gospel music and its evolution through decades of the 20th century to the 1960s. The episode includes rare music from his vast vinyl collection along with Opal's candid and brilliant humor in his short story, The Three Gospel Brushes. In addition to writing, producing, and being a dedicated musical historian, Opal shares his talents as a visual artist (you'll have the visit the web site to see those!). Opal's latest effort is co-producing the film How They Got Over, which is commanding new attention in 2021 for its historical portrayal about the rise of shout gospel.

Opal Louis Nations was born in Brighton, England. During the mid-sixties he worked as lead vocalist in London clubs with the late Alexis Korner’s Band and later his own group, The Frays. He helped popularize American soul-based R & B and gospel music in Great Britain. 

It was through his efforts that black American gospel artists visited England to perform in various major cities. He also became part of one of England’s first integrated gospel groups, The Ram John Holder Group. With The Frays and later as a soloist, he recorded for Decca Records in London. 

In 1968, he turned his back on singing and began a career as an experimental fiction writer of sometimes strange, sometimes humorous works that have appeared in over 600 small press magazines worldwide. 

Opal launched a literary magazine, Strange Faeces, which featured experimental poetry, fiction and art by fresh young poets and writers and was published by Opal from 1970-1981. Opal’s fiction has won him The Perpetua and Pushcart Prizes and some of his sound-poems have been included in the T.V. series “Man and His Music,” hosted by Yehudi Menuhin. 

Opal moved to San Francisco, California in 1973 and to Oakland, CA in 1981 after living in Canada and on the East Coast. He was a host of R&B / Gospel shows for KPFA Radio as well as the world music program, “Harmonia Mundi.” Opal is an avid collector of historical music and memorabilia. His vast record collection includes R&B, gospel, soul, rock & pop, world music and rockabilly music. He’s also an incredible artist!

More about Agile Vocalist, including artist biographies, liner notes and additional visual material for every episode can be found on the Agile Vocalist web site. 

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Agile Vocalist's inaugural compact audio memoir episode. This episode is a personal reflection on and for our world navigating Covid-19 and the treacherous realities of 2020. This compact audio memoir was created as an expression of gratitude for all the people who powered us through 2020:  healthcare workers, essential workers, all those whose work is “now seen.” I am so thankful for them and the perils they faced putting their lives at risk to simply “go to work.”

This audio memoir is also a tribute to those who are still here, those who lost their loved ones, those who are still home isolated and trying to protect their health as they await the vaccine. You may still want –very much– to scream. These 6 minutes are to say “I hear you!”

This episode was originally published in March 2021. More visuals, a transcript, and a link to the interactive "sounds of emotions" tool referenced in this episode (created by UC Berkeley researchers) can be found on the Agile Vocalist web site.

San Francisco jazz and blues vocalist, Pamela Rose has thrilled local and international audiences for decades with her swinging, soulful style. Rose has performed at clubs and jazz and blues festivals throughout the United States, Germany, and Denmark. She has six recordings to her name. In recent years, Rose has toured nationally with her critically acclaimed show Wild Women of Song: Great Gal Composers of the Jazz Era and her more recent Blues is a Woman, a collaborative show among five exceptional blues musicians  that tells the remarkable story of women and the blues. Originally published:  March 2021 as a celebration of International Women's Day. 

This episode is part 1 of a two-part series about Pamela.

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This continuing conversation with Indian classical music vocalist, Vidya Srinivasan gives us insights into how she balances a multi-dimensional life with music and how music is a tool as frequently used in her work life as it is in her personal life as a creator and performer.

Vidya Srinivasan was introduced to the world of music at age 2 by her parents. Enrolled in music school at age 3 to learn Carnatic music, she gave her first solo concert at age 5. She holds a degree in Carnatic music. Vidya has performed in 4 Indian TV shows in Tamil and Telugu and numerous stage shows. Her voice appeared in Sapthaswarangal and Ennodu Paatu Paadungal, both popular Tamil reality music TV shows.

Vidya sings in 4 different languages and likes to experiment across different music types to create hybrid mashups. Music is her favorite escape from her work in technology and Vidya often opens her tech talks with a song.

Vidya has been the General Chair of Grace Hopper conference since 2019. Her love of tinkering with tech and has won her awards at Hackathons and so far she has filed 21 patents for her work.

This episode is part 2 of a two-part series about Vidya.

More visual information, liner notes, and an episode transcript can be found for this (and every!) episode on Agile Vocalist.com

More about Agile Vocalist, including artist biographies, liner notes and additional visual material for every episode can be found on the Agile Vocalist web site. 

• Follow Agile Vocalist on IG 
• Subscribe to Agile Vocalist on YouTube
• Support Agile Vocalist, a privately funded labor of love dedicated to the arts! Leave a tip here.