Since February 6, 2024, Austin has been completing his general exam for his Ph.D. He finished the exam on March 4th, and this episode is largely a debrief/R&R session following the exam. We also discuss the upcoming round of the Calf Fry Battle of the Bands that we'll be competing in.

In this episode Shawn and Austin discuss the Oppenheimer movie, hold an "Ask Austin" segment, Austin possibly sending a single to radio, potentially playing the 2024 Calf Fry Battle of the Bands, and some stories from the road among other things!

Bart Weilburg is a musician and guitar player from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bart grew up in New England where he made his first foray as a professional musician with a local band at the age of 14. He would later make his way to Nashville, Tennessee where he spent the better part of 20 years before moving to Oklahoma. Over the years he has been a part of several different acts and has produced and/or recorded on dozens of records. In recent time he has played with Jeremey Studdard as well as Austin Dixon. His experience encompasses more than can be written in a short summary, but you will get to hear a good chunk of it on this episode!

In this episode we discuss some of our favorite music from different eras and cultures, tangents abound. We also preview some new material that we've been working on!

In this episode we discuss a wide range of what some would consider sensitive subjects, with the primary of those being our personal experiences with mental health issues. We also discuss religion, theoretical physics, meteorology, and more. And of course music!

Cj Stayton is a singer/songwriter from Wann, Oklahoma and the lead singer for the band Riders Ford. He is also a former Air Traffic Controller for the U.S. Air Force and a current civilian ATC for Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK.

Before you write this episode off, Shawn and I are both heavy skeptics of the existence of Bigfoot. However, our guest on this episode gives some of the most compelling evidence you may ever hear.

Brian Hulan is a Bigfoot investigator from Oklahoma and has become one of the foremost figures in the Bigfoot community in the region. He is the head of the Southern Bigfoot Alliance and his work has been featured across several different major media outlets. He is also the host of his own podcast called The Cryptoholics that you can find on YouTube and Facebook.

Life as a musician can be difficult at times as it is, but it becomes even more complex when trying to balance a family at the same time. In this episode, Shawn and Austin sit down with their wives to get their perspectives on what it is like being married to a professional musician.

In this inaugural episode of The Dirt Merchant, we sit down with the man responsible for getting us together. That man would be the one and only Jeremy Studdard. Jeremy is originally from Ravia, Oklahoma and now lives in OKC. He has a hell of a country music story that he is often reluctant to share, but we did our best to pry it out of him. In the early days of his career, he spent several years in Nashville where you could often find him spending time with names lilke Jerrod Nieman and Kid Rock. He has since had several Top40 hits on Texas Regional and CDX Nashville Radio charts. He has one of the most effortless country voices you will ever hear and is a hell of a good time to hang out with. We were happy to have him featured on our first show!