We often hear that being in a band is like being in a marriage. But what about when being in a marriage is like being in a band? What about those truly crazy people whose marriage IS a band? Chris and Jenna Badeker, aka Wild Harbors, have been carving out a functional and creatively exciting path as indie pop artists for several years. On this episode, they join us from Paris, where they were serving as Artists In Residence. We hear about their uniquely risky career choices, the path that led them overseas, and the cultural differences between faith-formed music in the US and Europe. We actually hear the streets of France as we catch this young couple in the midst of their most recent adventure, and we ponder the role risk plays in our creative, spiritual, and relational formation.

And along these same lines, on our next episode (coming very soon,) we'll push the Jukebox right out into the middle of the rink for a long-form “Couples Skate” as we listen to more than essential artists who chased their creative dreams from within the bond of marriage, so stay tuned…

For full SHOW NOTES and music list, visit TrueTunes.com/WildHarbors. You can also find our corresponding Spotify "A Band Is Like A Marriage" playlist (with over 100 songs and counting" on that Show Notes page or by clicking HERE. 

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The 77s' 1987 self-titled album was not only that band's first real shot at the "big-time" success their fans knew they deserved. It was also the climax of a creative explosion from a unique Sacramento community that had been cooking up spiritually driven, culturally engaged, artistically excellent music for about a decade. On this special "From The Vault" episode of the podcast, we unveil previously unheard tape culled from frontman Michael Roe's conversation with True Tunes and with The Electric Jesus Podcast to finally answer one of the most fascinating questions of all time: Did U2's breakthrough album The Joshua Tree inadvertently KILL one of our other favorite LPs? 

If you dig this, don't miss our previous 2-part deep dive with Michael Roe, our recent @45RPM reflection on U2's Achtung Baby, our conversation with 77s and Exit Records advocate Randy Layton, or our discussions in the vault with fellow Exit artists Steve Scott, Jimmy Abegg, and Charlie Peacock. 

For this show's FULL SHOW NOTES - including a list of ALL the music used in this episode and more - visit TrueTunes.com/RoeRedux.

If you want to support the show, please join our Patreon community or drop us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

Randy Layton may not be a household name, but that's not the point with people like him. Layton has been advocating for some of the most important - if not famous and successful - artists of the last forty years through his label Alternative Records and his previous work with the enormously influential Sacramento label Exit Records. He was all about the "Alternative" back when that word meant something. Layton has helped release projects by The 77s, Vector, Steve Scott, 2 Pound Planet, Robert Vaughn and the Shadows, and many others. Although we have heard pieces of this conversation here and there on previous episodes of the show, we finally unspool the whole enchilada and get the full story of Layton's formative years in the 70s, his early years as an importer of rare music from the UK and Europe, his work with some of our favorite artists, and some recent reissues as well. Along the way, we catch a glimpse of the power behind his story, and our own. Spoiler alert - it's about a lot more than music.

We have also featured many of the beneficiaries of Layton's largesse on previous episodes, including Michael Roe, Charlie Peacock, Steve Scott, and Jimmy Abegg

For full SHOW NOTES and music list visit TrueTunes.com/LaytonAlternative

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The very first episode of this podcast - which premiered back in 2019 - featured a conversation with award-winning producer, songwriter, and artist Charlie Peacock. Charlie, one of the artists who inspired the launch of the original True Tunes in the 80s with his progressive, genre-bending, standard-setting music, was later associated with artists like Switchfoot, Civil Wars, and others. He is currently experiencing one of his most prolific phases as both a musical artist and as a visual artist. 

When we first launched this show, we didn't know exactly what the format would be. As a result, a lot of this fantastic conversation got left on the cutting room floor. So for this special "From The Vault" episode, we have found some previously unheard "tape" and framed it with some of Charlie's recent jazz music to highlight even more of his important insights and observations. 

Full Show Notes available at TrueTunes.com/CPVault

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This 45RPM episode opens the True Tunes Vault and finds a conversation host John J. Thompson had with friend, fan, and artist manager Nick Barre about U2's initially shocking album, Achtung Baby, 30 years after its original release. With the band back in the news - both for Bono's stunning new memoir Surrender and their corresponding collection of reimagined older songs - and the announcement of their Las Vegas homage to their 30-year-old re-birth - it seemed a good time to revisit this reflection. 

Full Show Notes available at TrueTunes.com/Achtung

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True Tunes host John J. Thompson recently traveled to Cleveland, TN, to speak at a festival in honor of Rev. Howard Finster – the enigmatic painter, pastor, and musician who first came to international prominence when his art was used on album covers by Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Adam Again, and is considered by some to be the father of contemporary folk art. Painter and woodcut printmaker Kreg Yingst, whose art has graced recent album projects by Vigilantes of Love and others, presented at the festival as well and joined John for a conversation. Plus, we crank up the Jukebox to check out one of the most prolific and accomplished outsider musicians of the last three decades; John Darnielle and his band, The Mountain Goats.

The full music list, our special Spotify Mix and more for this episode are available on the SHOW NOTES page at TrueTunes.com/Outsiders2

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

It takes some special instruments and a unique perspective to appreciate the frustrating version of "success" that weaves in and through Tonio K.'s long strange trip of a music career. He should have been one of those critical reference points of the heady '70s and '80s, right up there with Warren Zevon and Joe Jackson. He had the wit, the sneer, the shades, and the major label hookups. But even with the odds in his favor, a hall-of-fame roster of supporting band members, and people like T Bone Burnett supporting him, it wasn't until he started putting his pen to work for other artists that his path emerged. On this episode, we visit with the elusive, and in some ways illusory, artist and songwriter for a rare exploration of his entire career. We'll examine his earliest days in the trippy psychedelic art rock scene, his stint with the late Buddy Holly's “Crickets,” his serious run at a solo artist career, and his late renaissance as the crafter of smash hits for an impossibly diverse list of artists that includes both a member of The Sex Pistols and Burt Bacharach. Tonio K. tells us the whole amazing story – and with the help of some friends, we have peppered the show with some extremely rare Tonio K. recordings and a brace of tunes that made him a darling of both the Christian and mainstream underground. And, as if THAT wasn't enough, Tom Willett – who signed K. to WHAT? Records in the '80s and worked alongside T Bone and others – joins us for the conversation as well.

The full music list, our special Spotify Mix, and more for this episode are available on the SHOW NOTES page at TrueTunes.com/Tonio1. 

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

Drew Holcomb is one of the most successful – and innovative – independent singer-songwriters working today. His rootsy, unadorned style has filled theaters and halls around the country, driven several singles up the Americana chart, seen some major placements in prominent films, television shows, and ad campaigns, and earned him a devoted fan base. Moon River, the festival he originally founded in Memphis, now draws tens of thousands of fans to Chattanooga, Tennessee, each September and has hosted Brandi Carlile, The National, Wilco, Dawes, Leon Bridges, Lord Huron, Allison Russell, Jason Isbell, The Avett Brothers, and so many more. So when True Tunes’ John J. Thompson was trying to choose a special guest to speak to the final gathering of his first class as a teacher at Lipscomb University's School of Music, he thought of Drew. Fortunately for him, his co-teacher (and boss) Platinum selling and Grammy Award-winning producer Brown Bannister happens to be Drew's father-in-law.

On this extraordinary episode of the podcast, Drew Holcomb comes to class! JJT is joined by eight students as guest interviewers, each bringing one excellent question, and Mr. Holcomb offers a world of wisdom, wit, humor, and inspiration. We hear about everything from his earliest days as a struggling artist to last fall's disastrous Moon River rain-out. We hear about making music with a spouse, managing a band with friends, learning how (and when) to co-write, his biggest mistake, and much more. Throughout the conversation, we also hear clips from a slew of rare tracks by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, and other friends and comrades.

Says the host: "I am thrilled to be kicking off my new position as the Director of Music Industry Studies at Lipscomb University's College of Entertainment and the Arts with this special glimpse into the creative and strategic conversations we are having with the next generation of artists, songwriters, and industry leaders. Drew was an amazing guest; this show is a gold mine of artist development wisdom. Thanks, Drew - and Brown - and to the students for bringing such excellent questions!" (JJT) 

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

If you think True Tunes host and founder John J. Thompson is objective about music - merely a dispassionate observer or fact-gathering journalist... think again. "Before I wrote about music," he admits, "before I worked in the industry at all - before I promoted concerts or started True Tunes back in the 80s - I was a kid with a guitar, bad hair, and way more confidence than talent. Inspired by heroes like T Bone Burnett, Steve Taylor, Bob Dylan, Bono, Mark Heard, Bruce Cockburn, The 77s, and all of the bands Terry Scott Taylor was in, I knew I had to make music. Everything I have done since then has flowed from this original inspiration. I am definitely biased about this stuff." 

And despite how busy he has been helping other people with their projects, It's been a long time since Thompson has released new music of his own. With the release of a new double single: "Ghost In The Needle" / "Not OK At All"  that time has come and he is ready to show his hand. In this special "extended" 45RPM episode, JJT is joined by his wife - and longsuffering Wayside bandmate - Michelle Lynn Thompson to discuss their new songs in particular and their somewhat complicated creative relationship in general. Elsewhere in the show, he sits down with producer Matt Goldman, famous for his work with Underoath, The Chariot, Luxury, and others, to talk about the production process. 

Full Show Notes are available at TrueTunes.com/Wayside45 and all of the band's available music can be found at TheWaysideStore.com. 

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

We finally scale the misty mountain of PROG ROCK on the True Tunes Podcast - with none other than the venerable Neal Morse as our guide! As a founding member of Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and his own Neal Morse Band, he has been setting the standard in modern prog rock for decades. He has also developed his own streaming app to deliver his entire catalog (over 80 albums!) and curates his own Morsefest - an annual gathering of progressive rock fans from around the world. His personal and musical journey is as inspiring as his epic music.

We also ponder the backlash "prog" received in the punk / new wave movement of the 70s and what complex, intricate art might offer us as we strive to become deeper thinkers, better discerners, and more imaginative humans. Break out the capes! 

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our Patreon community or dropping us a one-time tip and check out our NEW MERCH!

For more info, including a full music list, visit the SHOW NOTES page at TrueTunes.com/Morse.