The Cut Live Podcast

Luciano Messenjah captures the roots reggae vibe in his Conscious Reggae Music. Here he tells us about learning guitar on one his father made for him, working to get a break in the Jamaican music industry, his early experiences with record producers, and his philosophy that music is not a competition.

MUSIC:

Stay Away

Messenger

Sweep Over My Soul

Steve Sweeney has a new film that will be screening here at The Cut on January 16th. It's about his childhood growing up in Charlestown, and in this episode he talks about his voyage from there to his life now.

Johnny A has been establishing himself as one of the North Shore's outstanding guitar virtuosos, and his Jeff Beck tribute project, Beck-Ola, has been leaving crowds in heartfelt standing ovations. In this episode he talks about his beginnings, some of the stars he's played with, his recording technique, and his dedication to the art of groundbreaking rock musicianship.

MUSIC: 

Ghost

Morning Dew

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

Performing since he was in his mid-teens, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Zane Christopher has his musical roots in Americana, The Beatles,  and classic rock. Along with his lead guitarist Nick Fawza, Zane talks about his recording process, the many hats musicians have to wear today to get heard, and how coming back to The Cut rates out of all the music venues in New England.

MUSIC:

Road Song

Young

Gaslight

Founder and ex-Outlaw guitarist/vocalist Chris Anderson leads his new band Once an Outlaw and talks to us about his roots in the blues, playing with Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble as his backup band, rumors of the death of rock, AI in music today and the importance of the human element in all art, and songwriting vs. performing.

MUSIC:

Old Friend

Born to Be Bad

Once an Outlaw (The Outlaws)

Danielia talks about growing up in New Jersey in a "Small White Town," retreating into a room with a guitar as a child to teach herself how to play, the trap of social media for young people , country music's first black superstar, and advice she's received from the musicians she's shared a stage with.

MUSIC: 

It's Only Life

Good Day

So Afraid of Losing You

Talking with Mike Francis, lead vocal and guitar for Soul Rebel Project. Mike remembers some of the reggae legends SRP has shared the stage with, why reggae became his chosen path, the music industry's cycles and business advice for musicians.

YOU CAN HELP: The island of Jamaica is reeling from the devastating damage caused by hurricane Melissa. There are several relief agencies actively helping Jamaicans, one of them is  The American Friends of Jamaica based in NYC (theaft.org) With US international relief funds at an all-time low, the help is needed urgently.

MUSIC:

Spark

Pure Love

Mellow Down

Austin guitarist/songwriter Jackie Venson tells us about: surviving the pandemic just as her promotional tour was supposed to start, reveals her songwriting process, why she switched from classical piano to blues guitar, and why she doesn't tour in the winter.

MUSIC:

Keep On

Rollin on

Destruct

Growing up in a blues-heavy neighborhood in Chicago, Toronzo Cannon started out playing reggae ("Jamaican Blues" he calls it,) but quickly moved into the inspirational music of his local blues heroes. His song writing topics are drawn from street life and his time driving a city bus, always putting the emphasis on the story and the lyrics and the true roots of the original "message music," the blues.

MUSIC:

Can’t Fix the World

The Preacher the Politician or The Pimp

Shut Up and Play!

Black Uhuru founder Duckie Simpson has been in the pantheon of Reggae royalty since the 1970s, and he has seen a lot of life's joys and challenges. In this episode we hear about being brought up by Rastafarians as a child, finding his way in music, the brutal realities of the recording industry, and his positive way of seeing the future.

MUSIC:

Sinsemilla

What Is Life

New Day