A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a young singer songwriter based out of Nashville, whose upcoming debut record I am quite fond of. Hannah Aldridge was nice to enough to stop in my hometown on her way to a show and record the podcast with me. We sat down for about an hour and discussed her upcoming record, Razor Wire, how she ended up writing songs, her side job of writing for horror movies and many other things. I had a really good time recording this one and I’m pretty sure that the Americana world is going to be hearing a lot more from Hannah in the future.

I hope you enjoy the episode and look for a review of Razor Wire soon, get more info on Hannah at Hannah-Aldridge.com

Tell your friends, share the link, leave comments and if you feel so inclined hit the donate button to the right.

Last month I got to sit down with my old friends, Peter Cooper and Eric Brace and they brought along, guitarist, Thomm Jutz. We talked for a little while prior to their show at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music in Columbus, Ohio. Peter and Eric are our first repeat guests on the podcast and a lot had gone on with them since the last time they were on. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing Thomm play and I was greatly impressed with his playing on stage, I now know why he is such a sought after guitarist.

The four of us chatted about Peter and Eric’s new duo record, Peter’s solo record, recording with Tom T. Hall, Thomm’s Civil War songs project and many other things in the short time we had before they had to go on stage. There was not enough time to play any songs live so I have included a couple selections off of Peter and Eric’s The Comeback Album to start and finish the show.

I hope you enjoy the podcast, as always tell a friend, share the link and if you feel so inclined drop a few bucks in our tip jar. Until next time enjoy:

Learn more about Peter and Eric here: www.RedBeetRecords.com and Thomm Jutz here: www.ThommJutz.com

Another quick shout out I believe the photo I used was taken by Van DeLisle of  The Black Dog House Concert series in Chicago.

A couple weeks ago at Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music, one of my favorite singer/ songwriters ever made an appearance. Slaid has been a mainstay in my musical rotation for quite a few years, so I was thrilled to finally see him live.

His 2 hour show at Natalie’s eclipsed even my expectations, as he and guitarist Scrappy Jud Newcomb ran through songs that spanned Slaid’s entire career. The show rightfully sold out and hopefully that will mean more Slaid shows in Columbus in the near future.

Prior to the show Slaid and I sat down and discussed his newest record, Still fighting the War, co-writing with a dead hero, and learning to yodel properly from a living hero among many other things. While Slaid did not have the time to play any songs live, he did give me permission to include some studio songs, so you will hear a couple tracks from that new record as well as a classic Slaid track at the end.

As always share the link, tell your friends, leave a comment or review on iTunes and most importantly enjoy the show.

Find Slaid online here

A couple of weeks ago, my friends, Dennis and Jennie hosted a house concert with headliner, John Moreland. If you follow me on Facebook, or read my review of John’s record, In The Throes, then you know that I have been completely ate up with this guy’s music all year.

The show was opened by one of my favorite local (that’s right Iowa, I’m officially claiming her) Bejae Fleming and Jackie Blount on bass. They played a great set as always, highlighted by my favorite of Fleming’s song, one that has yet to make it on a record, “Hot Wired”.

After Fleming and Blount, Moreland sat down at the front of the living room and delivered what can only be described as an hour plus of amazing and beautifully dark songs, to a crowd of around 40 who would have stayed all night to listen to what he was laying out there. Unfortunately for us and more so for John, he was extremely under the weather and after giving us everything that his failing voice could possibly give he left the room to a standing ovation. While Moreland repeatedly apologized for his cough and the “poor” quality of his singing, I for one was blown away by his show and cannot wait to see him live as soon as possible.

Despite the cold, John was nice enough to sit down after the show to record this podcast, and to let me use songs from his records in lieu of live performances. I hope you enjoy and if you do please share the link and tell your friends.

Find out all you need to know about John at www.JohnMoreland.net

And Bejae Fleming at www.BejaeFleming.com

After a month long absence the podcast series is back. I have overcome the great cold of 2013 and exited the other side of the tunnel with this show which I am really excited to post.

Last Friday I headed to Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music to catch up with Scott Miller and was introduced to his musical partner, fiddle player, Rayna Gellert. Prior to the show they were both nice of to have a little conversation with me and play a couple of phenomenal tunes for all of us.

When we were doing the show out of Matt’s home studio a few years ago, Scott came down and recorded a show with us. Unfortunately that was lost to a bad hard drive and never saw the light of day again….but, now we have this show to replace it.

Scott just released an excellent record, Big Big World,  last week and we talk about it, he and Rayna meeting, and most importantly, cattle farming.

A couple quick notes about the show at Natalie’s. The duo played for nearly 2 hours to a capacity crowd, and touched on just about every album Scott has ever released. Their on stage chemistry was perfect and Rayna’s fiddle playing and harmony vocals added elements to the songs that exceeded even my expectations. While I have never seen Scott with any other backing musicians, I have to imagine that any configuration would be hard pressed to surpass what he and Gellert delivered that night.  Highlights for me were a great version of “8 Miles a Gallon” from Citation, and “How Am I Gonna Be Me” from the new record.

As always if you like what you hear, tell a friend, leave a comment here or on iTunes, share the link and if you feel so kind drop a donation on the side of the page.

You can find out more about Scott at www.TheScottMiller.com and Rayna at www.RaynaGellert.com

Thank you and enjoy:

A few weeks ago our good friend George Douglas had a chance to sit down with Australian born singer/ songwriter Audrey Auld before a show. George talks to Audrey about her brand new release, Tonk, moving to East Nashville, playing with Fred Eaglesmith among other things.

As always if you like what you hear, tell someone about the site/ show and if you feel frisky leave a comment or a review on iTunes and if you really feel froggy drop a few dollars in the tip jar at the side of the page.

Learn more about Audrey here.

A few weeks ago I went to Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music to check out Southern Blues based singer/ songwriter Seth Walker. Prior to scheduling the podcast I wasn’t really familiar with Walker’s music, but I quickly became enamored with his latest release, Time Can Change, so I was very much looking forward to seeing what his live show was like.

Walker took the stage solo and ran through nearly 2 hours of material spanning his entire career and a few choice covers. His music was definitely blues influenced but, to call him a blues musician would be entirely too generic. He draws influence from country music, swing music and a little R&B and his stage presence was amazing. Many times he sang parts of a song from away from the mic with a very loud and clear voice, with no guitar to help draw the crowd’s attention back to the stage.

While the turnout was a little light I would say the people in the audience got more than they paid for, as Walker was absolutely on that night. I  was very impressed with the songwriting, guitar playing and the demeanor with which they were delivered. Anytime Walker is in the vicinity from this point forward, I will be in the crowd.

Before the show we went into the basement of Natalie’s and recorded this podcast. Seth discusses his need to move, writing his new album, and his past in a Grateful Dead cover band among other things. We are treated to three tunes, one of which has yet to be released. Learn more about Seth on his website and do your selves a favor a get a copy of Time Can Change.

As always, please share the link, leave a comment here or a review on iTunes and if you feel so obliged drop a few bucks in the tip jar on the right hand side of the page. Also check out the “My Taste is Better Than Yours” t-shirts while you’re here. Thanks and enjoy

A little over a week ago, I got the pleasure of catching Grayson Capps and The Lost Cause Minstrels for the first ever show as a band in Columbus, Ohio. I’ve had this one on my calendar for quite some time, as Grayson has long been one of my favorite songwriters.

The band exceeded expectations as they rolled their way through cuts from all of Grayson’s catalog. The night began as a more laid back acoustic based  show but as the night rolled on, the tempo picked up more and more until it was a balls to wall Rock n Roll show, which was exactly what I needed.

The Lost Cause Minstrels played perfectly behind Grayson especially guitar player Corky Hughes who not only played some mind blowing solos but has mastered the art of knowing when not to overplay. Highlights of the show included, a crowd sing along of “Poison”, “Washboard Lisa” and “Coconut Moonshine” among others.

Prior to the show Gayson and I had a chance to sit down and talk about his moving back to his home state of Alabama, the recording of the Willie Sugarcapps album (which was released today) and a bunch of other things.

Please share the link with all of your friends, leave a comment or review on iTunes and check out the tip jar to the right of this article.

 

A few links I’d like to draw your attention to:

Grayson’s website: www.GraysonCapps.com

Willie Sugarcapps Website: www.WillieSugarcapps.com

Our sponsor for the show : www.GrahamsCornerStore.com : www.King-Norman.com

and thanks to Chad Edwards of MCE Photography for the great photos from the show.

Enjoy the show

In late June I had a chance to sit down with Ohio native, Tim Easton outside of the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, Ohio .I’ve always been a big fan of Tim’s and was really grateful that he took the time to record this show with me.

Tim has a new record coming out next week and it is already one of my favorites of the year. I will be reviewing it next week.

Tim and I discussed the new album along with quite a few other things. Including, busking in Europe, being a father and he played a couple songs off the new record for us.

I hope as always you enjoy what you hear. If you do please leave a comment here or on iTunes, share the link with your friends and if you’d so like drop a few dollars in the tip jar to the right.

Learn more about Tim and go order this record here.

Enjoy:

This past Friday I went to the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, Ohio to record a podcast with Joe Fletcher. Prior to scheduling the podcast I knew little about this Rhode Island based musician.

Man, was I blown away. Although, Fletcher only played for around 50 minutes, his set was a revelation. With a voice that was a little bit blues and a little bit punk and guitar skills that showed he is definitely influenced by the former, he ran through songs from both of his releases with his band The Wrong Reasons as well as an upcoming solo release. And as if he were playing to impress this concert goer, he ended his set with a great cover of Waits’ “Bottom of the World”.

I left the show convinced of a few things. One, I needed to own everything Joe Fletcher has released. Two, it’s damn embarrassing that I am just now getting on this train. Three, the press he is currently getting is well deserved. And finally, a Joe Fletcher headlining set is something that I need to see soon.

Before the show, Joe was kind enough to sit down with me outside of the club to record this podcast. We discuss his decision to make the next record a solo one, his Newport Folk Festival showcase, Nashville to Newport and a few other things. He also shared three songs including a couple that will appear on the aforementioned solo record, You’ve Got the Wrong Man. Find out more on Joe Fletcher here.

As always, share the link, tell your friends, leave a comment and if you’d like drop a few dollars in the tip jar at the side of this page.