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We kick off the week with Episode 111 where I'm joined by singer-songwriter Ashley Ray. Ray is releasing Pauline, a tightknit 10-song collection of vignette-styled memories, warm introspection, and dynamic charmers about small-town life, nostalgia, memories, and family roots, on Friday, August 14. Much of Pauline's strengths stem from Ray's ability to draw from childhood memories and those deep family roots. Songs feel as though she's flipping through old photo albums. Ray points to family portraits and candids and begins painting the glowing world in which they lived in. At times, there's a haze that permeates the recollection, but it adds to the genuineness and emotional ties of the current day. During this interview, Ray and I discuss growing up in Kansas, moving to Nashville, the memory-filled songwriting of Pauline, and recording the album with friend and often collaborator, Sean McConnell.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol and The Blue Light Live.

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New Slang kicks off the week with Episode 112 where I'm by singer-songwriter Jesse Dayton. Dayton right off the heels of releasing Gulf Coast Sessions, an East Texas Rust meets Louisiana Bayou porch-picking party. Dayton presses pause during The Pandemic for some good, honest fun and gives us a second away from the doldrums of 2020. It's the perfect blend of Gulf Coast Blues and rock & roll for a summer swim, evening grill, or afternoon county road stroll. During this episode, Dayton and I talk growing up on Interstate 10 in Beaumont, Texas, recording music & hanging out with the likes of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, finishing up a book of memoirs, vinyl album collecting, and finding the proper running shoes.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol and The Blue Light Live.

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On Episode 110, I am joined by Texas singer-songwriter Jonathan Terrell. Terrell's upcoming album, the American West-influenced Westward (out August 21) dominates the conversation as Terrell and I discuss at length the writing, inspiration, recording, etc of the excellent album. Terrell blends a richness of soft hues and delicate, vibrant pastels of the desert floor and setting sun with the intensity, chill, and darkness of the open night sky. His vignettes are cinematic and come in like fever dreams as they warm themselves up by the campfire or stove. Terrell's rasp draws you in during these intimate stories where he explores rebirth, lonesomeness, heartache, and moving on. Still, he let's loose for open road freedom and bottles up that rush and rhythm of rubber meeting asphalt. Undoubtedly, Westward is one of the cherished gems of 2020.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol and The Blue Light Live.

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Singer-songwriter Ian Munsick joins me for Episode 109. I talk with the Wyoming native Munsick about his rich blend of Western & Frontier grit and clever & charming pop sense, splitting time between Wyoming & Nashville, navigating the co-writing world of country music, how he collects his songwriting ideas, coming from a family of musicians & songwriters, and what he has on the horizon and his forthcoming full-length album, Coyote Cry.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol and The Blue Light Live.

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On Episode 108, I am joined by Bobby Duncan and Donovan Dodd, co-hosts (and co-writers) of the music podcast, The Co-Write, for a two-part episode series. During this "home and away," Duncan, Dodd, and I talk about the general Texas music scene, the progress, growth, and shifts within the scene, being an artist and journalist in 2020, stories about Pat Green, Randy Rogers, The 806, etc and do a six-round Music Festival Fantasy draft. This is Part Two of the two-parter. Listen to Part One over on The Co-Write (and subscribe) by clicking here.

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live and Wicker's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Jelly.

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On Episode 107, I am joined by Kentucky singer-songwriter Brit Taylor. Taylor released the wistful, melancholy single "Waking Up Ain't Easy" in the early summer. With its traditional country roots with weeping pedal steel and Taylor's own restless vocals and lyrics, she captures a desolate and endless lonesomeness of post-breakup life. During this interview, we talk about being an early morning person, how impacts her songwriting, country music for adults, growing up in Kentucky (and the wealth of talented songwriters from the state), Zoom songwriting, and what she has planned for the rest of 2020.

In addition, Taylor is releasing another stellar song, "Wagon," from her forthcoming debut at the end of the week--Friday, July 31.

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live.

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On Episode 106, I am joined by singer-songwriter Garrett T. Capps. Capps, who released the (inter)stellar Space Country record All Right, All Night, embraces the sonic tones and textures of yesterday and tomorrow throughout his rich and diverse catalog. At times, he turns back the pages of Tex-Mex, honky-tonk, and the sweltering heat of South Texas. Other times, he ventures off into the vast unknown and lays down a dreamy foundation with the cosmic chill and awe of deep space adventures. During this conversation, we talk about those various directions in his songwriting and sound, growing up in San Antonio, touring Europe, recording albums with the likes of Adam Odor and Jerry David DeCicca, and hanging out with Texas legend Augie Meyers.

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live.

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On Episode 105, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Jenny Tolman. Tolman released her debut full-length album, the excellent and charming There Goes The Neighborhood just about a year ago. During this interview, we discuss the creation of Jennyville--the fictional picturesque town that's the focal point of Neighborhood--how and why she drifted towards this concept, growing up in Nashville, the Nashville songwriting machine and industry as a whole, and how she's stayed focused, grounded, and sane during the 2020 pandemic.

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live.

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On Episode 104, I'm joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Kalsey Kulyk. Kulyk released her impressive seven-song Kalsey Kulyk last August. Kulyk pulls from '90s Country icons like Shania Twain as well as Americana staples such as Patty Griffin to form an informative and highly emotional blend of pop smart country songs. Kulyk's crystalline vocals are versatile and strong. Throughout her S/T, Kulyk delivers stark, slow-burning ballads ("Roll With It"), sunny, chorus-laden charmers ("Bad Liar"), and swaying daydreamers ("Low Times in High Heels").

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live and Wicker's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Jelly.

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On Episode 103, I'm joined by Oklahoma singer-songwriter Samantha Crain. Crain is releasing A Small Death, her forthcoming album, Friday, July 17. Over the course of 11 tracks, Crain leads us on through a deeply personal collection of songs where she cries, mourns, confronts, perseveres, and presses on. For Crain, the last handful of years have been filled with setbacks and anguish as she battled depression, anxiety, and trauma as a result of a series of car wrecks. Tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome made playing guitar virtually impossible and left Crain questioning herself as an artist. Slowly but surely though, Crain has been able to adapt and begin anew--hence, A Small Death and rebirth for Crain. She captures flashes of previous misery and dread throughout with dark textures, droning effects, and a fever-dream haze. Still, Crain doesn't just float around in the darkest experiences without reason. Much of A Small Death sees her processing the doom and darkness and searching for the light. Speaking with Crain, it's that much more apparent. She's excited and optimistic as she's shedding the cocoon of the last few years.

This episode's presenting partner is  The Blue Light Live and Wicker's Mesquite Smoked Jalapeno Jelly.

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