A break from our usual format...

If you ever had one of those "101 Electronic Experiments" sets as a kid, you may very well relate to this episode; we hear how our host, Mark Alan Jay came to know electronics, first around the age of 5 and then into his teens and adult life.

He talks about a few key experiences involving radio - first with a crystal radio set given as a gift which he then built with his father's help, as well as a kit from Dynaco for an FM tuner for his stereo system as well as sound recording technology that changed how he saw the world around him and arguably pointed him toward electronics, audio, and ultimately, engineering. We also hear how his reading appetite led to him to pore over a series of do-it-yourself (DIY) construction projects found in a collection of books purchased by his father.

From crystal radios, to building his own loudspeakers and stereo components to a point where he decided to split his high school days between college preparatory classes in the morning, and studying electronics in the afternoon. He eventually went on to earn his degree in electrical engineering, launching him into a career in signal processing, recording, acoustics, noise, and vibration, and running the acoustics laboratory for a major automotive supply corporation before pursuing his own consultancy business.

One never knows where inspiration may strike, but in this episode he reflects upon those key experiences of building electronic kits, and how those helped to define a career path for him, and why giving kits (of any kind, really) to those with young, impressionable minds can help them flourish.

You can follow Mark's musings and efforts via his llc on instagram ( immersifi_recording_sevices ), as well as Facebook ( immersifi recording services LLC )

Our post-summer hiatus episode...Episode 9 picks up where episode 8 left off. That is, in episode 8 we met Dr. Mark French, University Professor and Luthier, and Michael Harrington, professional musician / session guitarist / pedal steel guitar player.

Episode 8 was really focused on Dr. French and his skills building guitars over the past three decades. In this episode, we get a sort of Reader's Digest version of just how the pedal steel guitar works. Michael Harrington has been playing said instrument for the past five years or so, and has really embraced the same.

In this episode, he explains the construction of the guitar, as well as gives some demonstrations. Moreover, he speaks a bit about its development and just how it came to be such a staple in Country and Western music (and of course, in pop music as well).T

here's also a brief revisit to the two guitars that were featured in Episode 8 in order to allow the listener to hear the guitars back-to-back. This was done because it allows the listener to much better discern the differences in timbre (pronounced "tamber") between the two guitars, because the comparison is immediate.

Do you like guitars? Have you ever thought about building a guitar, or playing one? Maybe you've thought about both? Do you think you know the sound of a great guitar when you hear it? Do you think you know what makes a guitar sound great?

In this episode we discuss the practical and philosophical elements of luthiery with Dr. Mark French, a Professor at Purdue University's School of Engineering Technology. You may know Dr. French from his YouTube channel, where he addresses a wide variety of engineering topics, or, perhaps you know him from his three published books on Acoustic Guitar: "Engineering the Guitar: Theory and Practice", "Acoustic Guitar Design", and "Technology of the Acoustic Guitar". He's also published more than 100 technical papers on noise and vibration, and several articles in various publications. He has also provided (and continues) technical consultancy services to some very well known guitar manufacturers.

If you know stringed instruments you probably know the names Bob Benedetto, Carleen Hutchins, Paco Chorobo, and Charles Fox. How do they feature in this podcast? Tune in to find out.

We also discuss the unusual career path to luthiery taken by Dr. French, as well as his educational background and related work experiences that give him some rather - for the lutherie community - most unusual insights and perspectives into building and testing acoustic guitars. We also discuss some elements of his employment history that, oddly enough, happen to cross paths with the podcast host, Mark Alan Jay.

Michael Harrington is a professional musician who hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's a 2016 graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he studied Classical Guitar; he's been playing guitar professionally since the age of 19. As a result of an independent study during his Senior year at Eastern, Michael also published an article in Just Jazz Guitar magazine on the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Mr. Harrington primarily freelances in - but not limited to - the southeast Michigan area performing on six-string guitar as well as pedal steel guitar for live performances and studio sessions. He's worked with musical acts Mark Jewett, Adam Plomaritas, Linen Ray, Rachel Brooke, Bovine, Royal Garden Trio, Fun on the Frets, and others. Apart from private teaching services for his guitar students, Michael has also performed as part of various musical theatre orchestras for live musical theater events in Michigan and elsewhere.

For this episode Michael agreed to sit-in in order to play two guitars built by Dr. French, as well as to discuss guitars in general. The two guitars were tracked in the recording space at immersifi recording services, llc and brief recordings of each are featured in this podcast (with minimal processing to preserve their true sonic characteristics). Episode 9, currently slated for publication on August 1, 2023, continues the discussion about what makes a bad, good, great, and legendary-sounding acoustic guitar, but also, takes an unusual turn in that the pedal steel guitar is featured; Mr. Harrington delves into some of the historical and practical elements of pedal steel, as well as provides us with some demonstrations on the same.

Steve Osburn, Oz’s Music, Know Obstacles, and The Music Environment.

Episode 7 deals with a very talented and giving person, Mr. Steve Osburn. Steve is a highly skilled musician who attended Interlochen Academy three times in pursuit of further training in classical guitar. He’s also master of many instruments, including keyboard, bass, and the Chapman Stick (which is a cross between guitar, bass and keyboard with 12 strings), his mastery of which led him to give instruction on the same at the prestigious National Guitar Summer Workshop in Connecticut.

Additionally, Steve is the organizer of the band “Know Obstacles”, which serves individuals on the spectrum, as well as those with physical disabilities. Steve seeks to enhance the lives of the band members through music in a role which he calls “Music Enrichment Specialist”. Ken Kozora (S1E3) also plays a role in the summer camps which in part help those in Know Obstacles get ready for the show that’s to be performed by them later in the summer.

In addition to Steve’s efforts with Know Obstacles, he also runs The Music Environment, which dates back to 1979. The Music Environment, is an unusual place that features a wide variety of musical instruments in a no-pressure environment; individuals interested in learning an instrument can come in and try them out to see what best suits their interest and ability. It’s located right next door to Oz’s Music, which is run by his wife Leslie Zager, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has been since 1990.

Additionally, Steve has studied classical guitar with Nelson Amos at Eastern Michigan University and has also performed for Master Classes with Michael Lorimer and Manuel Ramos.

Also, Allison (Alli) Doxie should be mentioned here in that a few years ago, she produced a short-form documentary on Steve and his work with the Know Obstacles Band. You can find that video by searching for it on Vimeo (hint: it’s definitely worth watching). Just look for "I'm With The Band: The Know Obstacles Story" on Vimeo.

Lastly, Steve also attended training at the New England Montessori Training Center – but not to become a teacher, rather, in order to understand how such an instructional ethos might be adapted to teaching young children music. He has taught within Montessori schools in the past but now focuses on musical tutelage and life enhancement outside of the school system.

Jesse Thomas Morgan is a board-certified Music Therapist presently working at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on the Pediatric Cardio-thoracic Unit (PCTU) and Sophie's Place (a recording studio within the hospital) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He provides therapy-based treatment to young people within the hospital who are there for treatment of life-threatening heart conditions; he also works with infants in a similar role. Additionally, for one hour each weekday, Jesse plays the baby grand piano that resides in the lobby of the hospital - performances which help to provide a therapeutic element for those waiting for consults, treatments, or other related functions.

As you will hear in this episode, his focus has pretty much always been on helping to improve the lives of others, but how this all played out is an interesting story of self-discovery and reserve in the face of adversity, leading to more than 30 years of helping families in oppressed communities.

In addition to his duties at C.S. Mott, Jesse is also a gigging musician who plays in the band "The Crossed Lines", and as a musician / pianist of 40 years' time he also performs Karaoke accompaniment at Sid Gold's in Detroit, Mi, as well as with his Karaoke company "Ear Candy".

He's worked as a high school English teacher, has been instrumental in helping homeless teens, and also formed and managed the community-focused youth-oriented non-profit Community Records Ypsilanti (CRY - a program to help young people learn how to make, record, and distribute music), which he managed for a period of six years - itself a manifestation of Jesse's desire to help build community and personal growth among under-resourced and / or oppressed communities.

A very uplifting story about a career and personal epiphanies for a man who's raison d'etre is to help improve the lives of his fellow humans.

WARNING: After the 24:40 mark, the podcast contains a discussion about suicidal ideation. If you believe that this will be a trigger for you, stop listening at the 24:40 mark.

Episode 5 starts off with a short excerpt from Episode 4 in which John Churchville paraphrases an element of his teaching philosophy: “just listen to everything” as a sort of reminder of where we left off in Part 1 of our discussion with John about Soundtrap, teaching, and fostering musical education in the Ann Arbor Public School system.

Part 2 picks up more of less where we left off, however in this episode there’s discussion alone, unlike episode four which featured actual music instruction. We discuss how music education also serves, oftentimes, to allow students to grow on a personal level; to address and possibly even confront issues, work through feelings by channeling those thoughts into a musical creation. We also circle back to the importance of Soundtrap in this instruction process.

John discusses a tenet attributed to John Dewey, namely “the ownership of the impulse to create” and discusses how difficult that can be as an instructor to convey, but how he sees it as central to the creative process (and how it can be a struggle – albeit in a good way – to impart such a concept).

Consistent with one of John Dewey’s tenets “arriving at one goal is the starting point to another” you’ll hear how John helps his students to connect the dots – to move forward from where they were to wherever it is they are going musically. Moreover, you’ll hear about how John allows his students to see “the kitchen” of the music creation process, and how he was able to leverage his own musical group’s musicianship (those in the “C.A.R.Ma. Quartet”) to help further the musical education of his students.

Musician, composer, educator, and producer, John Churchville and I discuss his discovery and use of the music recording, production, and collaboration program “Soundtrap” to teach his students how to record, mix, and produce music.

John currently teaches in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. At its heart Soundtrap is effectively a digital audio workstation (a “DAW”, i.e. Pro Tools, CuBase, Reaper, et al) but with enhancements that support collaboration between musicians around the globe.

In the front half of the episode (0:00:00 - 0:31:05) we discuss how John first became aware of Soundtrap, back in 2016 at an IMPACT Conference at the Music Experience Design Lab at New York University. John had just finished his presentation on how he and his students had been using technology to learn and record music over the past ten years at Go Like the Wind School, and how evolving technology had changed the processes and workflow for them. After the presentation John was approached by Frederik Posse and Ashkan Fardost (of Soundtrap) who were in the audience for John's presentation. At the time, Soundtrap was just “gaining traction” in the market, but Messrs. Posse and Ashkan enabled John and his students to almost immediately start using Soundtrap back at Go Like The Wind School in Ann Arbor, Mi., where John was then teaching. Soundtrap is now owned by Spotify.

The second half of this episode (0:31:05 - 0:48:05) features an instructional segment about the tabla and baya drums and how technically varied and challenging they can be; John’s been playing and teaching tabla for many years, to people of all ages. Also featured in the back half is a short improvised tabla performance by John, recorded in The Subterranean Playground.

Part 2 of this interview will post at a later date as there were simply too many great observations and insights made by John to fit into this episode. Keep your eyes open for that (date TBD).

Ken Kozora: Journeyman and classically trained musician, instructor, artist, photographer, and arguably a philanthropist is my guest.

In this episode, we discuss "Horns For the Holidays", a program targeting underprivileged children in which used musical instruments are refurbished and redistributed to school children in the southeastern Michigan area, free of charge, and for them to keep.

Ken started the program back in 1996 in a moment of inspiration, and since that time over 800 musical instruments have landed in the hands of school children wanting to grow in their musical knowledge; the instruments given to the children are theirs to keep.

Ken also offers insights into the importance such acts of kindness that were shown to him at a very young age and how this more than likely nudged him toward paying it forward.

If you live in southeastern Michigan and would like to see an old instrument of yours find its way to some deserving and willing child, just follow the steps as outlined in the introduction of the podcast.

In essence, this is a story of a man who not only loves, lives, and eats and breathes music, but also understands its importance in linking all of us on a specific and fundamental human level, He has gone out of his way over the past 26 years to help bring the joy of music to young children, and fortunately for Ken. has been able to partner with various organizations to make this lofty yet noble goal a reality.

He also makes it a point to help special needs children through his musical efforts..

Part two of a conversation with Mark Jewett about the making of his CD "The Lucky One (the album)" recorded at Big Sky Recording, Ann Arbor Michigan. This segment also features Billy Harrington, Michael Harrington, and Amy Petty, all of whom performed on the record. In this episode Michael Harrington continues the tale of his meeting with Drew Howard and how that chance encounter pointed him in a new musical direction; he also discusses the early days of pedal steel guitar and how Bud Isaacs pioneered its use in 1954. Mark talks about what drove him to write the song “Warren Zevon’s Birthday” and how the connections to his father were the catalyst for the song. Billy, Amy and the others discuss additional aspects of the CD’s production.

Excerpts from “Guilty” and “Warren Zevon’s Birthday” used by permission.

This episode was hosted by Mark Alan Jay, immersifi recording services, llc.

Album credits: All songs written by Mark Jewett (BMI) (c) 2021, except “Guilty”, co-written by Mark Jewett & Amy Petty (ASCAP) (c) 2020. Produced by Billy Harrington. Personnel: Billy Harrington (drums), Michael Harrington (pedal steel guitar, electric & acoustic guitar, electric bass). Ken Pesick (upright bass, electric upright bass, electric bass), Amy Petty (harmony & background vocals). Additional personnel: Dale Grisa (piano, organ, Wurlitzer piano), Sonia Lee (violin), Jason Dennie (mandolin). Recorded by Geoff Michael. Mixed by Geoff Michael, Billy Harrington, and Mark Jewett. Mastered by Jim Kissling.

Part one of a conversation with Mark Jewett about the making of his CD "The Lucky One (the album)" recorded at Big Sky Recording, Ann Arbor Michigan. This segment also features Billy Harrington, Mike Harrington, and Amy Petty, all of whom performed on the record. Excerpts from “Voices” and “The Lucky One” used by permission. This episode was hosted by Mark Alan Jay.

Album credits:

All songs written by Mark Jewett (BMI) (c) 2021, except “Guilty”, co-written by Mark Jewett & Amy Petty (ASCAP) (c) 2020. Produced by Billy Harrington.

Personnel: Billy Harrington (drums), Michael Harrington (pedal steel guitar, electric & acoustic guitar, electric bass). Ken Pesick (upright bass, electric upright bass, electric bass), Amy Petty (harmony & background vocals). Additional personnel: Dale Grisa (piano, organ, Wurlitzer piano), Sonia Lee (violin), Jason Dennie (mandolin). Recorded by Geoff Michael. Mixed by Geoff Michael, Billy Harrington, and Mark Jewett. Mastered by Jim Kissling.