Highlights from the Spring Strawberry Breakfast Club 2008: Michael Gaither and Friends and Jim Dyar and Friends. And a chance to win a Tshirt from Grateful Dread Radio. Listen to this episode for details. I'll randomly pull a name at the end of the month and notify the lucky winner.

"I don't want to paint with just one color". That's how Cillette Swann describes the Americana genre's ability to let artists mix Celtic, folk, and even country influences on the same album. Cilette, along with husband Roman Morykit, are better known as "Gypsy Soul", a duo who call southern Oregon their home, have been recording together since 1995. Listen to this podcast for info on how to enter this month's drawing.

Since this is my 30th "Songs and Stories" podcast, I thought I'd flip things around and have *me* interviewed for a change. This episode is a replay of a recent appearance on KVMR radio in Nevada City, CA. I was a guest on Wesley Robert's "Rockin' and Stompin'" show and played solo versions of "Broke", "Spotted Mule", "Jack of All Trades" from my "Spotted Mule and Other Tales" CD. Wesley has been listening to "Songs and Stories", so we also talked a lot about this little show, the recent interviews, and how's it's grown into a big part of the web site. Listen to this podcast for info on how to enter this month's drawing.

In the first half of this chat with Santa Cruz songwriter Keith Greeninger, he how he gravited towards music in a family where no one else played and about his collaborative efforts with other musicians such as Dayan Kai. Want to win an authographed copy of Keith Greeninger's latest CD, "Glorious Peasant"? Listen to this show for details.

In the second half of this interview, Keith plays two personal favorites of mine, "Ruby and Rosie" and "Arsenal of Doves" and explains the stories behind those songs. Want to win an authographed copy of Keith Greeninger's latest CD, "Glorious Peasant"? Listen to this show for details.

Another "kitchen table" interview, this time with singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Dayan Kai, along with bass player Steve Uccello. Want to win an authographed copy of Keith Greeninger's latest CD, "Glorious Peasant"? Listen to this show for details.

The rest of my talk with Dayan Kai and Steve Uccello. This time we dicuss the pros and cons of independent music in the age of Myspace and the world wide web. Want to win an authographed copy of Keith Greeninger's latest CD, "Glorious Peasant"? Listen to this show for details.

A chat about the balancing act between the "art" and "business" halves of music with Americana duo Rick Di Dia and Aireene Espiritu. Want to win a DVD and autographed CD from Rick and Aireene? Listen to this show or go to www.michaelgaither.com for details...

Lacy J. Dalton was a huge part of the Santa Cruz music scene in through the '60s and '70s. She moved to Nashville in the late '70s, and after a string of charting hits - including "Takin' It Easy", "Crazy Blue Eyes", and "Sixteenth Avenue" - she gave into being "homesick for the west" and headed back this way. In this first of a two-part interview, Lacy J. Dalton describes her moves east and west and talks about the plans for her next two CDs. Read the show notes and listen to more episodes like this one at http://www.michaelgaither.com.

In part two of my interview with Lacy J. Dalton, she talks about the epiphany of discovering Nevada's wild horses, the formation of Let 'em Run, and the story behind the song "She Could Run" (which you'll hear in this episode). Read the show notes and listen to more episodes like this one at http://www.michaelgaither.com.