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On Episode 157, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Ben Nichols of the Memphis alt-country outfit Lucero. Lucero is releasing their latest efforts, the atmospheric adventure When You Found Me, this Friday, January 29.  It marks as the band's 10th studio album and finds Nichols and company further expanding their sonic and storytelling legs. Songs like "Coffin Nails" is one of Nichols' finest moments as he details the complex relationships between fathers & sons and the things we pass on from one generation to the next. The radiating "Have You Lost Your Way" and the piano-laden "When You Found Me" are perfect bookends that play off one another while the piercing "Outrun the Moon," rollicking "Back in Ohio," and "A City on Fire" are rich vignettes drenched in Southern Gothic tones and mood.

During this one, we talk about the rich storytelling and writing of When You Found Me, some inspirations behind the songs, recording the album during a pandemic, the various challenges, being a Memphis band with strong ties and identity, and some of our favorite Southern writers and TV shows.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 156, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Pony Bradshaw to discuss the writing, storytelling, and mythos of his new album, Calico Jim, which is due out Friday, January 29. Bradshaw's Calico Jim taps into the Northwest corner of Georgia--Bradshaw's rural Dade County--for intricate and detailed storytelling that feels familiar, yet just left of center enough that keep you off balance and engaged. The Southern Gothic-tinged narratives of down-trodden poor folks, drug smugglers, charismatic hillbillies, cops on the take, and the like all lay a claim to rural southern Appalachia. That's in part due to their storied histories feeling as old as the mountains themselves. 

During this conversation, Bradshaw and I discuss the rich storytelling of Calico Jim, recording the album in Little Rock, Ark. back in August, some of his favorite novelists, and regionalism in song and culture.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 155, I'm joined by Mason Server, the lead vocalist and chief lyricist of Mason & The Gin Line. Server and company released Caprock Composition, a five-song collection with West Texas & Panhandle touchpoints and is a throwback to the energy and feel of Texas country and songwriting of the late '90s and early '00s. At times, Caprock can feel like it was unearthed from a recently opened time capsule buried deep in the red dirt canyons or rolling plains of the Panhandle. There's an unpretentious nature to Server's storytelling that's earthy and earnest. The hardened grit of "Pipeliner" feels like a lost Charlie Robison storyteller while the haunting desert trekking "Ghosts" and "House of Gold & Diamonds" find Server offering something that's both familiar (there's a definite mid-'90s Pat Green tone to Server's delivery) and yet, is still left of center that feels new and different.

During this conversation, Server and I talk about those Lubbock and West Texas roots, plucking lines and dialogue from everyday life for songs, the hardened, real, and honest characters of Caprock Composition, how art imitates life & vice versa (Server is a shop foreman and welder), how Caprock Composition came to be, how Mason & The Gin Line have been able to make the best use of 2020, and how they're approaching music on their terms, and playing with "house money."

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 154, I am joined by Andrew Leahey. Leahey is a singer-songwriter--frontman of the open road highway rock band Andrew Leahey & The Homestead--lead guitarist for country artist Elizabeth Cook (among others), and a writer and music journalist. That's all helped Leahey become one of the most well-balanced and nuanced thinkers and writers in the "Americana" world. In many respects, having a variety of roles has made Leahey more informed when approaching the others. In other words, his songwriting has made him a better, more understanding journalist, and how being a journalist has made him a better writer in general. 

During this conversation, we discuss these various roles and them all in order, how he's blended his love for power-pop and the anthemic nature of Heartland Rock, how he's embraced the virtual show in 2020, and why playing upwards of 300 covers this past year has made him a better guitarist and solo artist, playing with Elizabeth Cook and recording her latest album, the excellent 2020 effort Aftermath, and how he approaches music journalism.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 153, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Ross Cooper. The Nashville by way of Lubbock songwriter is readying his latest batch of songs, the introspective Chasing Old Highs. Much like his breakout album, 2018's I Rode the Wild Horses, Cooper's tunes come with a worn-in and a weathered grit and seasoned moxie. And as a veteran songwriter and an ex-rodeo cowboy, he blends authenticity and genuineness with the best of them. This go-around, Cooper further ventures into uncharted pastures with a more daring sonic palette that goes further into garage-rock flare, way out Western openness, and just the right amount of pop-sense that swirls amongst the West Texas dust, dirt, and dry land.

During this conversation, we talk about the songs and themes of Chasing Old Highs, how Cooper's songwriting has changed over the year, tips & tricks, and some of our favorite indie-rock bands of the early and mid-2000s.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 152, I am joined by Oklahoma songwriter and musician John Calvin Abney. Abney's long been one of Oklahoma's best for his contributions as a solo artist and a side musician working with the likes of John Moreland, Samantha Crain, and several others. His latest album, November's Familiar Ground, finds the Oklahoman delivering some of his finest work to date. It was recorded remotely with friend and fellow songwriter, the aforementioned Moreland this past Spring and early Summer. Much like recent efforts, Coyote and Safe Passage, Familiar Ground has a wonderfully rich and dreamy soundscape that's as calm and soothing as it is robust with country field folk fragrances.

During this conversation, Abney and I talk about the writing and recording of Familiar Ground after a lengthy Moreland tour was canceled in March (for Moreland's LP5), working remotely, filling time in 2020, producing a new album for fellow Oklahoma songwriter Bryon White (The Damn Quails), the survival of the music industry, our favorite video game and film scores, and (re)discovering the great soft/indie/art rock albums of the late '70s and early 80s.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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We kick off 2021 and Episode 151 with singer-songwriter Molly Parden. Parden released her latest EP, the stunningly sublime Rosemary, this past Fall. Throughout the six-songs, she pairs her velvety vocals with a dreamy soundscape that's just right for her intimate and richly detailed folk songs. Standouts like the introspective "Kitchen Table" find Parden chronicling her day as she begins to fully recognize, rationalize, and break down a recent breakup. She pulls you in near to those ordinary routines and addresses the void that's now a part of her present and how she'll eventually be fine. Through that routine, there's fine detail, complexity, and a rush of varying emotions.

During this episode, we talk about releasing Rosemary, recording, songwriting, space, r&b albums, and much more.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On the final episode of the year, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Bella White. White released her debut album, the excellent and endearing Just Like Leaving this past September and is not only one of the best debuts of recent memory, Just Like Leaving is one of 2020's best moments overall. Even though she's a newcomer, White delivers like a seasoned artist on the bluegrass and Appalachian-tinged collection. There's a crisp warmth to the album that pairs nicely with White's crystalline vocals and songs about longing and leaving. Songs like "Just Like Leaving" feel as though she's on the cusp of teardrops as she attempts to rationalize the situation. She leaves you just as gutted on songs like the aching "The Hand of Your Raising," the warbling redemption of "Now She Knows What it Feels Like," or on the double-fiddled and yearning "Just Unwanted."

On this one, we talk about White's Canadian roots, recording & writing Just Like Leaving, various writing techniques, moving to Boston and Nashville, the distinctions between bluegrass and old-time and country and western, and much more.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 149, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Kree Harrison. Harrison released the wonderful Chosen Family Tree, her latest full-length album, this past August. Harrison seamlessly blends classic country, smart pop hooks, and a hearty southern soulfulness on Family Tree. Right from the opening notes of the first song, the crystalline "Nothing in This World," it's a remindful nod to those iconic country sounds of the past--straight from the George Jones or Tammy Wynette playbook. Standouts like the gorgeous warm sway of "That's How Hearts Get Broken," the toe-tapping pop punch of "I Love the Lie," or the dark swagger of "Get Away with Anything" show Harrison's stellar ability to morph into various states, moods, and tones as effortlessly as anyone.

During this one, we talk about recording Chosen Family Tree at Echo Mountain in Ashville, North Carolina, collecting and writing songs, country, soul, swamp-pop, Texas roots, navigating Nashville, and how one releases an album during 2020.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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On Episode 148, I'm joined by Southern Indiana singer-songwriter Nick Dittmeier. I was joined by Dittmeier a little before Christmas for a conversation about his Indiana meets Western Kentucky roots and how those blue-collar characters have long been a touchstone in his storytelling and songs. In the past few years, Dittmeier has released the alt-country rocking All Damn Day of 2018, the strong, introspective four-song  EP Companion, and the intimate live EP Alive from a Barbershop in Southern Indiana.

During this one, we talk about his songwriting catalog, creating during 2020, writing on the road and focusing on projects, Southern Indiana, Heartland vs Appalachia, college sports, Indiana coaching legend (and one time Texas Tech coach) Bob Knight, and what he has planned for 2021.

This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol. In addition, this episode is sponsored by The Blue Light Live and Hot Damn Coffee.

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