Brennen Leigh is an American songwriter, guitar player, mandolin player and singer whose to-the-point storytelling style has elevated her to cult status around the world. On this episode, she joins Rhett to talk about her new album, Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet, being an artist in the age of digital, and the sacrifices that touring musicians make. Brennen explains how she gained confidence as an artist, and shares insight into her songwriting process, including how she determines whether a song is good enough for people to hear.

Brenne Leigh’s songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Rodney Crowell, Sunny Sweeney, Charley Crockett, and many others. As renowned for her musicianship as for her writing, it’s easy to see how Leigh caught the ear of greats like Guy Clark and David Olney. Awash in full-throttle fiddle, weeping steel guitar, a sprinkling of heavenly backing vocals, and anchored by her warm, expressive vocals, her latest album is an emotion-packed revelation. 

Brennen Leigh website

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review.

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Mike Gordon, bassist and co-founder of the seminal improvisational rock band Phish, joins Rhett to talk about his solo album Flying Games and the long, adventurous process of finishing the record. Mike and Rhett discuss grappling with creative roadblocks, what the “Ten-Thousand-Hour” rule really means, and the role that mindfulness and meditation play in songwriting. Mike reflects on the early days of Phish and explains how he transfers the creative flow he feels while performing with the band to other projects. It’s a jam-packed episode full of great stories and useful insight on the songwriting process and living a creative life.

Flying Games is Gordon's sixth solo album. It was self-produced and recorded by longtime collaborator Jared Slomoff, and mixed by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs). You can buy or stream it here.

Mike Gordon website 

Follow Mike Gordon on IG @mike_gordon

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After telling the story of the musicians who shaped his Oklahoma roots in his 2020 book Red Dirt, journalist and author Josh Crutchmer saw an opportunity to dig deeper into the artists that shaped independent roots music. His second book, The Motel Cowboy Show, is about the Americana music in the American West that began with cowboy poetry and lives on today in artists like Reckless Kelly, Micky and the Motorcars, and Ned LeDoux. A New York Times editor by day, Crutchmer also spent three years chronicling the return of the Turnpike Troubadours to the stage and studio for Rolling Stone, as well as the final concert for Robert Earl Keen.

In this episode, he joins Rhett to talk about the path that led him to writing, how he approaches his role as a storyteller, and the personal obstacle he uncovered while working on his latest book.

The Motel Cowboy Show and Red Dirt are available here.

Josh Crutchmer's website

Follow Josh on IG @jscrutchmer

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it.  Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and musician Grace Potter joins Rhett on this episode to talk about her latest release, Mother Road, and the journey that inspired the music. Grace tells Rhett about finding her voice at a young age, building characters and worlds around her songs, and why she’s more driven now than she ever was.

Back in summer 2021, Grace Potter took off on a solo cross-country road trip that would soon bring a life-saving reconnection with her most unbridled self. Heading out on Route 66 from her home in Topanga Canyon, the Vermont-born artist spent the coming weeks crashing in roadside motels and taking time each night to deliriously transcribe the song ideas she’d dreamed up behind the wheel, often scrawling those notes onto the backs of postcards and motel notepads. The result is Mother Road, an album that marks the start of a thrilling new era of Grace’s career.

Mother Road is available here.

Grace Potter website

Follow Grace on IG @graciepotter

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stewart Copeland is perhaps best known as the drummer for The Police, but he’s also had a successful solo career as a composer, authoring a prolific series of film and television scores, video game soundtracks, opera, and ballet. His latest project is Police Beyond Borders, a reinterpretation of the seminal 80s band’s classic songs with diverse interpretations and artist representation from South Africa, India, Japan, China, Canada, the U.K., and more. Stewart joins Rhett from his studio in Los Angeles to talk about working in service of art, his career with The Police, and what it feels like to ride the top of the wave. Stewart and Rhett talk about life as a working musician in the age of AI, and why selling out isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Police Beyond Borders will be released on August 18. Pre-save the album here.

Stewart Copeland

Follow Stewart on IG @stewart_copeland

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it.  Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Paul is an author, journalist and musician. His fourth book, BROTHERS AND SISTERS: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the 70s, out today, is a deep dive into the time before and after the 1973 album. Alan joins Rhett to talk about his career as a music journalist and unexpected turn as a touring musician. Alan shares the lessons he learned while playing in a band in China, and why it’s important to “know your helpers” when you’re living a creative life.

Paul’s last two books have been instant New York Times bestsellers: Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan and One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. His first book, Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues and Becoming a Star in Beijing is about his experiences raising three American children in Beijing and Paul’s unlikely journey to becoming a Chinese music star, fronting the blues band Woodie Alan.

Alan Paul website

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. 

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it.  Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, singer songwriter Brian Dunne joins Rhett from Brooklyn. He talks to Rhett about his newly released album Loser On The Ropes, his songwriting process, and what success as an artist means to him. Brian and Rhett also bust a few rock and roll myths, and talk about why being a working musician doesn’t have an expiration date.

Loser On The Ropes, Dunne’s entrancing new album and debut release for the storied Kill Rock Stars label was recorded in Athens, GA, with producer Drew Vandenberg.

Brian Dunne website

Follow Brian on IG @briandunnemusic

Rhett Miller website

Follow Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media. 

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it.  Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Harper is a 3x Grammy winner who has amassed international praise for his genre-traversing body of work. He joins Rhett on this episode to talk about his life as a young musician, the creative projects he’s currently working on, and shares the advice he would give his 21-year old self. The two dive into the craft of songwriting and Ben tells Rhett about the time that Leonard Cohen visited his family’s music store. 

Ben Harper has produced albums by Mavis Staples, Rickie Lee Jones, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Maines, Ziggy Marley, and others. An inveterate collaborator, Harper has also recorded with a diverse span of artists ranging from John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, to Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and, most recently, Harry Styles, to contribute his signature guitar work to the superstar’s chart-topping album, HARRY’S HOUSE. Harper joined Styles for an astounding 12 nights of performances at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles this past fall. 

His critically acclaimed album, WIDE OPEN LIGHT, is out now.

Ben Harper website

Ben Harper on IG @benharper

Rhett Miller website

Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Distributed in partnership with Osiris Media.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, The Milk Carton Kids, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Founded in 2011, indie-folk duo The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. On this episode, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, the musicians behind the Grammy-nominated band, join Rhett to talk about their personal creative journeys as well as their collective journey, and the months-long project that resulted in their newest release, I Only See The Moon. Kenneth and Joey share some of the wisdom they’ve collected over the years, and explain why staying true to oneself is the most important thing an artist can do.

Listen to their new release, I Only See The Moon, here.

Milk Carton Kids website: https://themilkcartonkids.komi.io/

The Milk Carton Kids on IG @themilkcartonkids

Rhett Miller website: Rhettmiller.com

Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Co-produced by Kirsten Cluthe. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. 

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more. Find Rhett's podcast #WheelsOff and other music-powered shows on @Osirispod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacqueline Holland’s first novel, The God Of Endings, weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman. In this episode, Jacqueline joins Rhett to talk about the new books she’s working on, how she found her voice as a novelist, and she offers some valuable advice on the process of writing. The two dive into the impact that ChatGPT could have on creativity, and Jacqueline explains why a little bit of hubris can be a useful tool when you’re first starting out.

More about The God Of Endings

JacquelineHolland.com

Rhettmiller.com

Rhett on IG @rhettmiller

Wheels Off is brought to you by Osiris Media. Hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Co-produced by Kirsten Cluthe in partnership with Nick Ruffini. Editing by Matt Dwyer. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils and Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. 

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more. Find Rhett's podcast #WheelsOff and other music-powered shows on @Osirispod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices