For Episode 33 of The Music Chat Podcast we are joined by Russ Tolman.  Russ has been involved in the music business going back to the early 1980s, when he was part of the bands Suspects and True West, and a movement that became known as the Paisley Underground.  

During our conversation, Russ talks about his new album Goodbye El Dorado, his taking a hiatus from the music business to explore "being an adult for awhile" as he describes it, and his eventual return to making music with some long-time collaborators.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

If you would like to learn more about Russ, please check out his website which is located at www.russtolmanmusic.com.  Also do check out his new album Goodbye El Dorado when you have a chance.

In light of the recent 50th Anniversary of The Allman Brothers Band, I have put together a tribute to Duane Allman.  This is the first episode of The Music Chat Podcast that has not included a guest.  While this was a new challenge, my love for Duane as a musician provided the motivation for me to compile this special episode.

During this episode, we discuss Duane's impressive catalog and his impact on music.  Duane put together an awesome list of musical accomplishments for a musician that was with us for such a short period of time.   I hope you all enjoy this episode, it was truly a labor of love for me.

As I mention towards the end of the discussion, this episode of The Music Chat Podcast is dedicated to the memory of Jenny Pagliaro of the band Roses and Cigarettes.  Jenny was a previous guest of the podcast, and recently passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.  She made an impact on many people with her music, and even though we only talked one time for the podcast, it was very clear to me how much she loved what she did as a vocalist and musician.  

For Episode 31 of The Music Chat Podcast, we are joined by Tulsa, Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay.   Kalyn recently released her second full-length album, entitled Good Company. During our conversation we talk about Kalyn’s songwriting process, her love for her local music community, and some of her musical influences as well.   

Kalyn’s music is authentic and heartfelt, which is truly the mark of an artist putting herself fully into her musical creations.  I really enjoyed talking with Kalyn about her music.

If you would like to learn more about Kalyn, you can check out her website www.kalynfay.com or find her on Instagram @kalynfay.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

For Episode 30, we are joined by multi-talented guitarist and composer Gretchen Menn.  Gretchen is the guitarist for Zepparella and has composed and created two albums of solo material (Hale Souls and Abandon All Hope) as well.  Additionally, she devotes time to producing educational material for guitar workshops, writing articles focused on the guitar, and creating coursework for music instruction platform Jamplay.

During this episode, Gretchen shares an abundance of stories from her background and helpful ideas as well for anyone pursuing a career in music (or really any self-directed profession).  She has a positive, optimistic, and driven approach to everything she does as you will hear from our conversation.

If you would like to learn more about Gretchen, you can check out her website www.gretchenmenn.com or find her on Instagram @gretchenmenn.

And if you enjoyed this episode of The Music Chat Podcast, please do leave a rating and review on iTunes or your preferred podcast platform.  

For Episode 29 author and musician Alan Paul joins us to discuss his writing career, his work as a musician, and the writing and correspondent assignments he has participated in throughout his career.  Many of you might know Alan as the author of the definitive Allman Brothers history, One Way Out. However, Alan had a long and distinguished career writing about music prior to the publishing of that book, going all the way back to his college days in Michigan.

During our conversation we cover a lot of ground, including: the challenges of completing a book for publishing; the defining characteristics of the enduring greatness of The Allman Brothers Band’s music; and Alan’s upcoming book (written with co-author Andy Aledort) Texas Flood, covering the music career and life of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

If you would like to learn more about Alan’s writing and work you can check out his website www.alanpaul.net or follow him on Instagram which is @alanpaul66. And be sure to check out Texas Flood when the book become available in August.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

For Episode 28 we are joined by Alice Wallace, whose fourth album Into the Blue debuted a few days ago.  Alice is an artist in the singer-songwriter tradition, and has developed her own take on the California Country sound partially inspired by her childhood idols Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.  Alice has a powerful voice of her own, and that comes through on the new album.

During our conversation Alice and I talk about her taking the leap to become a full-time, professional musician, her evolution as a songwriter, and the making of her new album, among other topics.   I enjoyed hearing Alice’s story, and have a ton of respect for her courage to follow her dreams.  

If you would like to learn more about Alice you can check out her website www.alicewallacemusic.com, follow her on Instagram @alicewallacemusic, and be sure to give her new album Into the Blue a listen as well.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

Welcome to the first episode of 2019 of The Music Chat Podcast. We have a special guest to kick off the New Year, the legendary A&R executive Michael Anthony Alago.  I discovered Michael’s story through the documentary on his life (currently on Netflix) entitled “Who the F**k is That Guy.”  I have watched his documentary 3 times myself, and it is an excellent film. I would highly recommend it to any music fan or anyone who has an interest in the music scene in New York City in the late 1970s/early 1980s.

Michael has worked with and/or discovered some of the most impactful musical artists of the past 30 years, including Metallica, Nina Simone, Cyndi Lauper, White Zombie, Tracy Chapman, John Lydon and many others.  He has led an extraordinary music life and is also an amazing storyteller. Listening to his experiences in the music business over the past few decades is like taking a backstage audio tour of the popular and hardcore music scenes over that time period.  In addition to his work in the music business, Michael has also published 3 books of his photography and is currently working on his memoir as well. I hope you all enjoy this episode, and I believe you will.

If you would like to learn more about Michael you can find him on social media - his Instagram page is @michaelanthonyalago and on Twitter he is @michaelalago1.  Also if you are a fan of music documentaries, be sure to check out “Who the F**k is That Guy”. 

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

Episode 26 of The Music Chat Podcast brings us an interview with Shawn Jones.  Shawn has had an amazing journey through the music industry, including playing Lollapalooza with Waylon Jennings, touring Europe multiple times, and releasing 5 studio albums. 

Shawn shares how important music has been throughout the various stages of his life during our talk, and I really enjoyed taking part in this conversation.  I hope you all enjoy the episode as well.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

For Episode 25 of The Music Chat Podcast, our guest is Seth Rosenbloom.  Seth is a Boston-area guitarist whose first full length album, Keep On Turning, will be debuting in a few short weeks (January 18, 2019).   

Seth grew up in a musical family, attended Berklee College of Music, and has been playing in front of audiences since his teenage years. We had a great conversation about musical inspirations, becoming a professional musician, and many other topics during our time together.  I hope you all enjoy the episode.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.

Our guest for Episode 24 of The Music Chat Podcast is Emilie Mover, a singer-songwriter who grew up with jazz music all around her.  She released her most recent full-length album, Night Owl, in 2018.

Even if you have not listened to her albums, you may have heard her music on commercials or other outlets due to her prolific writing and success in placing her songs with various projects, as we discuss during this episode.  I had a great time talking music with Emilie, so I hope you all enjoy the conversation.  If you would like to learn more about Emilie, you can check out her website at www.emiliemover.com or check out her Instagram profile which is @emiliemover.

As always please remember to subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a rating and review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear.