Chase Akers Presents: Mr. Encyclopedia

Daniel Ian Jones is a prominent Nashville drummer and DJ with a lengthy pedigree of musical directorships, DJ headlining spots, and record credits.

He's also one of my favorite people, and extremely knowledgable on our topic at hand: new jack swing. I love talking about new jack because it's the intersection of all of my influences: R&B, hip hop, and jazz. 

Daniel and I dive deep into some historical theory surrounding Teddy Riley, Prince, and groups like BBD and New Edition. 

Tune in here at Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear our chat.

Subscribe to Mr. Encyclopedia so you'll know when we drop the next episode.

@chaseakers

@danielianjones

Multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and creative Renaissance man Matthew Maglione (aka Brer Sunshine) comes on to talk all things creative philosophy. 

We dive into some war stories of terrible DJ nights, how to approach building your brand, and what makes for good mental health as a musician. 

Matthew is multi-faceted in his approach to creating Brer Sunshine: soul-laden re-edits of current hip hop tunes, crate digging disco remixes, and vibey originals. 

You can find Brer Sunshine's music on Bandcamp, and see him DJ at the Virgin Hotel, Old Glory, and RBQ here in Nashville.

This episode of Mr. Encyclopedia is so special! My friend Cat McDonald and I sat down to talk all things house music, specifically where house music intersects with jazz in a really cool way: electro-swing. 

We dive deep into Parisian/French electronic history, as well as some nomenclature and terminology around the many sub-genres of dance music past and present. Some history includes Frankie Knuckles, Daft Punk, Justice, Mr. Oizo, and others - true giants of house. 

Cat and I also discuss the makings of a great club banger, and how the psychology of the dance floor has changed due to Covid.

Tune in now to hear me and Cat get real nerdy.

Cat: @FretlessFeline

Chase: @chaseakers

On today's episode of Mr. Encyclopedia, I'm joined by one of my favorite collaborators, musicians, and all-around creative Renaissance men: Garrett Williamson.

Garrett and I sat down to talk about the sheer expansive nature of Michael Jackson, and how MJ's music influences both on levels deeper than just songwriting or production. 

We've collaborated together on various projects, and I always love working with Garrett with his incredible work ethic and attention to detail. His creativity is off the charts, and we have a killer time exploring sound design and arrangement together. 

We dive into what makes us tick as musicians, how to find your sound, and some of Quincy's production tricks.

You can find Garrett on all social platforms @GWillyMusic

Check out his recently released album "Middle of Somewhere", on which I had the pleasure of playing rhythm guitars. 

In part 2 of his interview, Chase talks with Joey Richey on his biggest career moves, and how Nashville's small but thriving R&B scene built him to become the powerhouse he is today. 

This episode dives deep into some of the defining characteristics of pop music today, and how it draws continual influence from rap and hip hop. Joey gives us insight on some of the "old school Nashville" players that gave him his shot, some of whom he still works with today: people like Toya Haynes, Tyrus Sass, Jason Eskridge, and Michael B. Hicks are just a few named.

Chase also draws comparison between Stevie Wonder's ability to raise up the people around him with success, similar to the approach of the Nashville soul scene. 

Part 2 completes the Mr. Encyclopedia conversation with Joey Richey.

In the pilot episode of Mr. Encyclopedia, host Chase Akers dives deep with Nashville-based vocalist and band leader Joey Richey to discuss the illuminating career of Stevie Wonder. 

Joey is currently the lead singer and frontman for Tim Akers & The Smoking Section, and works as a session singer in town. He's a founding member of the group NuImage, and has worked for artists such as Keith Urban, Jonny Lang, Victor Wooten, Charlie Peacock, and countless others. 

We dive in to how the music of Stevie Wonder has influenced Joey's music and career, and what qualities of Stevie's music play out in Joey's approach to vocal performance and arranging. 

Joey and I jump into his musical history - and how he developed himself to be a musical jack-of-all trades.

In part 2 of Joey's episode, we'll talk about the current Nashville R&B scene and where it's headed. 

Follow Chase @chaseakers

Follow Joey @thejoeyrichey

You can find music discussed in this episode on the Mr. Encyclopedia spotify playlist series.