Curious Goldfish Podcast

A SteelDrivers Grammy, then addiction nearly took everything, then the way back

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Gary Nichols won a Grammy with the SteelDrivers, the band he joined after Chris Stapleton left, and then addiction nearly ended everything. He's open about hitting bottom more than once, the moment in jail that turned him toward recovery, and how songwriting kept him moving through it and after. He talks about Muscle Shoals, fatherhood, and what redemption actually feels like day to day. What does it take to decide to live?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Depths of Addiction
2:44 From Grammy Glory to Survival
6:16 Muscle Shoals
15:14 The Fall and the Turn
32:36 A Life-Changing Moment in Jail
34:52 A Second Chance
36:28 Redemption Through Music
47:17 Love and Life After Recovery
1:02:00 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Part two: how one piece of odd feedback led him to write his saddest song.

Get the stories behind the episodes → Subscribe to Chords of Curiosity

Part two with Mike Kinnebrew gets into sentiment, the thing a lot of writers run from. He talks about how a strange bit of feedback pushed him to write his saddest song, why reflection matters in a fast-scrolling world, and the narrative depth of his upcoming album. There's a lakeside performance with an uninvited choir of geese. What does a songwriter gain by leaning into sentiment instead of avoiding it?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Positivity in Songwriting
1:20 Sentiment and Songwriting
2:19 Country Music and Reflection
3:27 Emotion, Authenticity, Connection
8:51 The Creative Process
17:05 Covering Classics and Permissions
19:32 60 Seconds of Curiosity
21:33 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. Get the State of Music survey summary free → State of Music summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode: the moments that didn't make the clips, what I'm learning running this show, and one curiosity prompt every issue → Subscribe free

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com · 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts · 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A songwriter on quitting drinking, and the song he wrote two months later

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Mike Kinnebrew uses songwriting to face the things he'd rather not. In part one he talks about deciding to quit drinking and what sobriety has meant for his family, his creativity, and his daily life. He traces a childhood spent moving for his father's ministry, the role of faith, and the Nashville community he found. He closes with "What's Left of Me," a single written two months after he quit. What changes in the work when you stop numbing the hard parts?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Vulnerability in Music
1:40 Meet Mike Kinnebrew
2:17 Songwriting as a Way Through
5:43 Faith and Family
11:53 From Church Camp to Music
17:33 Balancing Family, Faith, Career
22:56 Roots to Nashville
30:39 Choosing Sobriety
39:26 Songwriting Through Struggle
44:05 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Part two: a tribute to Rich Mullins and the faith we both had to question

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Part two with Jacob Furr turns into a tribute to Rich Mullins, the Christian songwriter whose depth and honesty cut against the genre's polish. Jacob and I trade stories about Mullins' influence, our own conservative-Christian upbringings, and what it means to keep questioning a faith you were handed. He also previews a project rooted in his family's history on an Arkansas poor farm. What stays with you from the music that shaped your faith, even after the faith changes?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Musical Influences
1:42 Jacob's Spiritual Turn
2:06 A Tribute to Rich Mullins
5:53 A Conservative Christian Camp
7:29 Family History in Song
11:12 The Art of Storytelling
17:31 Rich Mullins' Legacy
23:01 Deconstructing a Faith
26:40 A Beacon for the Questioning
32:24 Future Projects
33:24 Closing Thoughts

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

He lost his wife to brain cancer in his twenties, then kept writing through it

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Jacob Furr, a singer-songwriter out of Fort Worth, lost his wife to brain cancer in his twenties, and he's spent years writing through it. In part one he talks about his album "Turning," a record about hope after grief, the Fort Worth scene he's fighting to put on the map, and the Townes Van Zandt lineage he writes within. He's honest about the hustle of staying independent. How does grief change shape when you keep writing through it?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Grief and Life's Freshness
1:45 Meet Jacob Furr
2:36 The Fort Worth Music Scene
4:59 The Legacy of Townes Van Zandt
8:15 The Independent Artist's Life
12:53 Turning: Grief, Growth, New Beginnings
17:44 Songwriting as Therapy
23:47 Finding Love After Loss
27:15 Teaching and the Hustle
32:05 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Part two: writing songs that hold sweetness and bluntness in the same breath

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Part two with Eliot Bronson digs into how he keeps a song honest without losing the melody. He talks through tracks from "Talking to Myself" like "Are You Still Mean?" and "From Rabun Gap," the tension between chasing success and protecting the work, and why naming contradictory feelings is its own kind of relief. He closes with a performance. How do you write something blunt and tender at the same time?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Emotional Spectrum in Music
2:16 The Ted Lasso Connection
4:21 Life's Emotional Extremes
5:30 Balancing Opposites in a Song
6:37 Personal Growth and Expression
14:55 Success, Struggle, Authenticity
21:55 Influences and What's Next
25:25 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A songwriter who says his own songs teach him who he is

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Eliot Bronson writes songs that he says end up teaching him about himself. In part one, he talks about his religious upbringing and how it shows up in his music, the surprising upside of livestreaming during the pandemic, and the making of his album "Talking to Myself." He gets into the power of simple lyrics and ends on the last track, "What I've Done With My Life," with an acoustic performance. What can a song show you about yourself that you couldn't see on your own?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
1:39 Eliot Bronson, Master of Covers
3:54 Songwriting as a Mirror
4:33 The Album, Talking to Myself
6:57 A Religious Upbringing
8:24 The Songwriting Process
14:05 Performing and Connecting
15:48 60 Seconds of Curiosity
20:55 The Beauty of Simplicity
25:26 Music in the Pandemic
27:08 Covering Favorite Artists
35:26 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Part two: grief, a song called "The West," and a global following built by accident

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

In part two with We Are All Fossils, Deist goes deeper into the loss of his mother and how grief reshaped his writing. He talks about gaining a worldwide following organically, the pull of Sufjan Stevens, and where he wants to take the project next. He performs "The West." How does grief change what a songwriter is able to make?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
1:28 Continuing with Deist
2:13 The Story of "The West"
4:07 A Growing Listener Base
5:32 International Collaborations
8:33 The Music Industry
12:00 The Influence of Sufjan Stevens
17:40 Future Projects
23:17 Live Performance
26:07 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A South African musician who turns strangers' stories into songs, now in Britain

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

We Are All Fossils is the project of Deist, a South African musician now based in Britain. In part one, he talks about the Ubuntu idea that music is something we achieve together, his "Songs for Strangers" project that turns listeners' stories into original songs, and the artists who shaped him: Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, Gregory Alan Isakov. He closes with a performance of "Mountains." What happens when you let strangers hand you the material for your songs?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Competitive Nature of Music
1:43 Music as Shared Connection
2:15 We Are All Fossils
4:27 Meeting Deist
5:47 From South Africa to Britain
7:01 The Meaning Behind the Name
9:31 Influences: Sufjan, Damien Rice, Isakov
11:59 Songs for Strangers
24:49 New Releases
28:10 The Story Behind "Mountains"
31:43 Live Performance
34:35 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

From beauty pageants to a soul record about vanity and the labels put on women

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Cyrena Wages took the long way from beauty pageants to a solo career rooted in Memphis. Before a tour kickoff at Eddie's Attic, she talks about her album "The Vanity Project," the stereotypes she's fought as a woman in music, and how the rivers and culture of her hometown run through her sound. Curiosity, she says, is part of how she stays free. She closes with "Carried Away" and "Robin Hood." What does it take to shed the labels other people hand you?

🎵 Cyrena Wages' latest: The Vanity Project (2024)

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Childhood Memories
1:44 Introducing Cyrena Wages
2:22 Her Love for Memphis
3:40 The Start of the Tour
4:02 The Solo Career Journey
9:21 The Vanity Project
19:01 Family Background
23:33 60 Seconds of Curiosity
39:31 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast