A blue-collar cowboy who spent a decade and his own money to earn a debut called 15 Seconds of Fame

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Matthias Lamparter took ten self-funded years to make his debut album, "15 Seconds of Fame," recorded with top players and Grammy-winning engineers. He talks about the failed early attempts, refusing to release work he didn't believe in, and funding it all through long cover sets and private gigs. He makes the case that fans get built on stage, not on social media, and gets into the single "Concrete Cowboy" and the past trouble that taught him discipline. What does a decade of paying your own way buy you?

🎵 Matthias Lamparter's latest: 15 Seconds of Fame

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Long-Set Reality Check
2:15 A Ten-Year Journey
3:40 Early Recording Attempts
6:32 Why "15 Seconds of Fame"
9:55 The "Why Not Me" Mindset
11:29 Superfans and a Live-First Strategy
17:24 The Bar and Fair Circuit
23:13 "Concrete Cowboy"
26:04 Getting Jammed Up and Rebuilding
28:35 Where He Is Now
30:39 60 Seconds of Curiosity
32:24 Closing

📊 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 plane-crash survivor on loving something that hurts, and keeping AI out of his lyrics

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Barrett Baber built the album "Crittenden County" out of his upbringing near West Memphis, Arkansas, where Memphis soul and '90s rock both soaked in. He talks about "Clown in a Barrel" and loving something that keeps hurting you, often the music business itself, and why he keeps showing up against the math of streaming. He gets into co-writing as something close to holy, surviving a 1999 plane crash, and drawing a hard line against AI writing lyrics. What makes you keep loving the thing that keeps breaking your heart?

🎵 Barrett Baber's latest: Crittenden County

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Chasing the Dream
5:03 Crittenden County Roots
10:33 River Delta Inspiration
13:35 Grown-Up Album Themes
16:27 "Clown in a Barrel"
18:52 Showing Up Anyway
24:11 Indie Release Strategy
29:33 The Magic of the Writing Room
35:51 "West of Memphis"
49:23 American Idol vs. The Voice
53:35 Surviving a Plane Crash
59:53 AI vs. Human Art
1:09:37 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

Four friends from Mississippi State on the brink of going all-in on the band

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Certainly So, Colby, Tanner, Zach, and Chase, came together through Mississippi State and local jam sessions, and they are right on the edge of going full-time. They talk about the slow grind of independent music, the Southern and church-band roots in their sound, and prepping for a big slot at Bourbon & Beyond. Vulnerability, they have learned, makes their best songs. They close with "Alabama Blues" and "Foreign Ties." What does it take to finally jump from side jobs to all-in?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Chasing the Magic
1:52 Meet Certainly So
4:51 Bourbon & Beyond Prep
7:35 How the Band Formed
10:07 Southern Roots and Church Gigs
12:10 Songwriting and the Next Release
17:07 Going Full-Time
21:11 Dating on the Road
25:07 60 Seconds of Curiosity
29:22 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

She lost a major label deal twenty years ago after being outed. She stayed in the queue

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Shelly Fairchild lost a major-label deal two decades ago after being outed, and she has built an independent career on the mantras "stay in the queue" and "buy the tree." She talks about why her new album took ten years and a Kickstarter, and why she recorded it at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals with Gary Nichols and Greg Beek. She gets into "End Up in Austin," "Missin' Mississippi," and "Struggle," plus a side life writing high-volume sync music for TV and film. What keeps you in line for a dream that already turned you away once?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Stay in the Queue
1:51 The Water-Filter Cold Open
3:34 Ten Years Between Albums
5:16 Why FAME and Muscle Shoals
10:26 The Magic of Muscle Shoals
12:45 Themes and Storytelling
17:22 "End Up in Austin"
20:00 "Struggle"
23:11 Musical Theater Origins
38:08 Making Money with Sync
44:44 AI and Demo Shortcuts
47:52 Losing the Deal
56:06 60 Seconds of Curiosity
59:49 Closing

📊 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 Ugandan singer who learned English from songs, played cruise ships, and landed in Austin by chance

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Jon Muq grew up in Uganda learning English through singing, first to homeless kids, then as a cruise-ship performer with a 250-song repertoire. "We Are the World" first told him his voice could fit in a tune. He talks about landing in Austin almost by accident during SXSW, the culture shock, and his debut album "Flying Away," including writing "Butterflies." He is building an Afrobeats project called Shake It Africa. He closes with "Runaway." What does it take to make joyful music after a journey like that?

🎵 Jon Muq's latest: Flying Away

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 A Wild Austin First Date
3:10 30A Festival Vibes
5:15 Back to Uganda
7:02 Music as Language Training
8:04 Singing for Street Kids
9:25 The "We Are the World" Spark
11:48 Cruise Ship Bootcamp
13:23 Landing in Austin by Chance
17:26 Dating Culture Shock
20:24 Flying Away
21:45 "Butterflies"
30:34 Shake It Africa
32:07 60 Seconds of Curiosity
34:01 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 Halloween blackout she can't remember became the bottom that turned her life around

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Caitlynne Curtis talks about her album "You Need Jesus," a mix of country and gospel, and stepping back from leaning on TikTok to promote it. She is open about how alcohol once helped her play the life of the party until a Halloween 2024 blackout became a rock-bottom moment that led to sobriety and church. She gets into "Devil You Made," "Amen," and "Life of the Party," her son Jonah's one-take freestyle on "Survivor," and what The X Factor taught her about showing up. What does it take to stop being the life of the party and start being yourself?

🎵 Caitlynne Curtis' latest: You Need Jesus

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Party Persona Trap
1:52 Meet Caitlynne Curtis
3:25 Album Release Check-In
4:57 Promotion and TikTok
7:51 Tour Plans and CDs
10:57 The Meaning of "You Need Jesus"
12:33 Halloween Rock Bottom
14:09 Sobriety and Fan Connection
16:29 Jonah on "Survivor"
20:41 X Factor Resilience
25:59 "Life of the Party"
30:34 60 Seconds of Curiosity
33:50 Closing

📊 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 almost refused to write "We Belong." At 72, his whole philosophy is just say yes

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Dan Navarro nearly turned down writing "We Belong" during a feud, then co-wrote the Pat Benatar hit in 90 minutes, and it still pays the bills decades later. At 30A, he talks about a "say yes" philosophy that built a 40-year career across songwriting and voice work in Coco, Encanto, and Family Guy. He gets into the album "Horizon Line," a Spanish-language record on the way, and the reality of streaming economics. He closes with a performance. What doors open when your default answer is yes?

🎵 Dan Navarro's latest: Horizon Line

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The "Say Yes" Turning Point
2:34 30A Festival Vibes
3:39 Touring After COVID
5:52 The "We Belong" Bar Story
6:57 From Feud to Hit Song
10:24 Royalties and Mailbox Money
12:40 Touring as Control
15:05 The Voiceover Breakthrough
18:18 Staying Positive in Your 70s
20:11 Horizon Line
23:42 A Spanish Album Next
27:44 60 Seconds of Curiosity
30:25 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

The Grammy-winning engineer behind "Golden Hour" on vintage gear, fear in the studio, and AI

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Craig Alvin is the Grammy-winning engineer behind Kacey Musgraves' "Golden Hour," and from his Noble Steed Studios in the Shoals he makes the case for character over perfection. He talks about vintage gear, the move to digital mixing, the magic of Muscle Shoals, and why fear holds so many artists back in the studio. He is clear-eyed about AI and about embracing imperfection in a recording. What does an engineer hear that the rest of us miss?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Artistic Dysmorphia
2:46 Meeting Craig Alvin
5:01 AI in Music Production
8:45 Vintage Gear and Character
13:26 The Move to Digital Mixing
14:56 Building Noble Steed Studios
19:13 The Muscle Shoals Magic
21:24 The Grammy-Winning "Golden Hour"
24:06 Music Business and Monetization
35:58 Understanding Studio Fear
42:18 Embracing Imperfection
50:20 Philosophy and Musical Insight
54:02 Closing

📊 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

Teen siblings who played Red Rocks with Gregory Alan Isakov, thanks to Aunt Brandi

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Caroline and JayJ Carlile are teenage siblings making music together, and at AmericanaFest they played their first official showcase. They talk about touring as siblings, staying grounded, and JayJ getting pulled onstage at Red Rocks with Gregory Alan Isakov in front of 10,000 people, courtesy of their aunt Brandi Carlile. Their self-titled EP is a time capsule of songs written at 12 and 13. They close with "Tyra's On Your Side." What is it like to grow up inside a family band with the bar set that high?

🎵 The Carlile Family Band's latest: The Carlile Family Band

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 An Early-Songs Time Capsule
0:06 Meet the Carlile Siblings
2:50 AmericanaFest Firsts
5:41 Family and Business Balance
9:16 What They Admire Most
11:26 The Gregory Alan Isakov Story
13:49 Playing Red Rocks
15:36 Aunt Brandi and Big Moments
20:20 Why the EP Now
22:14 "Dream Again"
23:03 "Leftover Sentences"
32:31 60 Seconds of Curiosity
34:02 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

She calls her sound "existential indie folk," and her own worst gaslighter her muse

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Recorded at 30A before her run on The Voice, Abigayle Oakley talks about building a life in music while still figuring out who she is. She calls her sound "existential indie folk," writes about the gap between ambition and presence, and wrote 100 songs in a year to stop being precious about it. Julia Cameron, co-writing, and a love song about a thrifted Patagonia fleece all come up. She closes with "Hazel Eyed Lover in Patagonia" and "Press Three." What do you write about when you don't have the answers yet?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold Open
1:11 Guest Introduction
4:58 Touring and Venues
7:00 New Music and EP
7:35 100 Songs a Year
8:41 Existential Indie Folk
9:37 Her Own Worst Gaslighter
11:36 Social Media and Anxiety
14:03 Co-Writing and Process
16:04 The Artist's Way
20:16 The "Hazel Eyed Lover in Patagonia" Story
21:53 60 Seconds of Curiosity
24:44 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