Nathans & Roncast

This week we introduce three songs from the Ronstadt Family vault, first featuring Michael’s dad’s long-time trio, the Ronstadt Cousins and their recording of Wild Mountain Thyme (live in Canelo). He also features his instrumental recording of the fiddle tune Arizona into Wayfaring Stranger from his 2020 instrumental album Nine Stories. It finishes with Ronstadt Generations’ recording of Papa Mike’s song, The Mill of Oracle. Enjoy!

For our third season premiere, we introduce several episodes we are calling the Ronstadt Radio Podcast, featuring music from the Ronstadt family vault! This one starts out with Petie Ronstadt’s instrumental banjo piece, Chicago Bar Stomp, performed by Ronstadt Generations. Next, enjoy The Ronstadt Cousin’s Solamente Una Vez, a group my dad had for years with two of his first cousins. Finally we finish with the song Run Run Run Away originally recorded by Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, but this one is Ronstadt Brothers live in Oxford, Ohio. Enjoy!

In our Season 2 finale, we speak with Professor Louie about his memories of working with The Band for over 16 years. He produced their three comeback CD’s in the 90’s: “Jericho,” “High On The Hog” and “Jubilation.” Louie played on and produced their hit song Atlantic City. He talks at length about his time working with the great Garth Hudson. He also talks about his recording engineer work with other clients.

In the saucy second half of our interview with Livingston Taylor, the legendary folk musician gets philosophical about life, electricity and fire, performing, teaching, and hope. Notably, he discusses why he doesn’t want to dwell too much on his past. He said he sees more patterns as he works with more students over time. “I learn from them what they learn from me.” And he takes out his guitar again to show us how standards inform his own creations.

We speak with the great Professor Louie of Professor Louie and the Crowmatix, taking a dive into his formative years and musical education. He spoke about how he found his voice in a tough business. “You’ve got to elevate yourself” and be happy for your friends when they are successful, he said, echoing one of the band’s new songs. He spoke about how he learned about healthy competition from gospel groups. The band, from Woodstock, New York, has been performing since the year 2000 at numerous festivals, theaters, clubs and art centers, averaging 150 shows a year. Their new album is “Crowin’ […]

We were honored to interview folk music legend Livingston Taylor, someone whose music has been in Aaron’s music collection for a very long time. In part one of our conversation with Liv, he talks about the importance of dressing for the occasion. We talk about how he worked with the BBC concert orchestra for his new album, including how he works with his friend, arranger Bill Elliott, for orchestral treatments.  He talks about how he does not write simple albums or songs, and how inspired he gets by songs from the great American songbook. And he takes out his guitar […]

Michael speaks with Z. Mulls, who has co-written elegant and offbeat songs with Michael (you may know their song “Me and My Purple Monkey.”) They released their collaborative album “Less Hospitable Terrain” earlier this year. In their conversation, Z. talks about the origins of “Rumpelstiltskin, Dead at 95,” which required him to go back and review the old story — and then flash forward 40 years.

Michael recently recorded an album, “Blue Bayou,” with Neysa Ricciardi, and in this week’s episode, he speaks with Neysa about her songwriting process, the value of musical schooling, and writing for others. They discuss the song “September Sad,” which reflects on the end of summer.

This week we’ve lost some important people in our world. Aaron lost his brother in law, David. And the music world lost songwriter and guitarist Christine Havrilla. So it’s no surprise that Aaron has memorial songs on the brain. It’s always tricky to find the right song to play at a memorial service. Maybe you pick something that tells you a little about the deceased, or perhaps you want the song to make a comment on how we’re all feeling at this low moment. That’s the topic he explores for this episode.

It’s one of the most delicate questions in songwriting. Do we add a bridge to our songs? Do they need that little bit of variation, those different chords, that rising melody? Michael takes a deep dive into the question of when a bridge is necessary; when it isn’t; and do they really have to sit two-thirds of the way through the song every time? He discusses a few of his songs and how he employed bridges in them, using them to transport the listener to somewhere new.