ALL Interviews Episodes

Rayland Baxter will be releasing a new EP called Good mmornin’ due out July 26th, which is a series of covers of Mac Miller’s work. If you’re unfamiliar with Miller, he was a hip hop artist who past last September at the age of 26. He was prolific during his short life, but demons, including depression and drug abuse caught up to him. The juxtaposition of Rayland’s spirit and Miller’s work was kind of initially difficult to get my head around, but having heard the EP now several times, I’m not only a fan of what Rayland has created but now I want to explore even more of Mac Miller’s work. I can tell you the sincerity with which Rayland speaks about this project is undeniable on the work itself. Good mmornin’ is a very solid listen, and an absolute stunning tribute to Mac Miller. Though the EP is only out at the end of the month you can catch Rayland on the road where he may be performing some of these or other Mac Miller songs. For all the details or to order the EP visit raylandbaxte…

I spent the last few days in Boston, MA, catching the pair of Phish shows at Fenway Park, and those were awesome. Luckily for me, Spafford, a band that we've featured on the show a couple of times and on LiveFive numerous times were also in town playing two after Phish shows at the Sinclair in Cambridge, MA, and third show Sunday at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, MA. Having never seen the band live, I was pretty psyched to take in all the sights and sounds and get a feel for what I imagined in my head would be a pretty great experience. I can tell you first hand now, that Spafford is a band that needs to be seen live, and at the very least, their performances need to be heard via nugs.net if you can't make a show. I've traded notes with Brian specifically quite a bit over the last two years, but getting to hang with him in person, and talk to the rest of the band was quite a treat. They don't have an album immediately coming out, or any big announcement, because they are done…

Tides of A Teardrop is Mandolin Orange's latest release, and we only recently had the opportunity to sit down with them. Their last record, 2016's Blindfaller garnered wild acclaim, and I can tell you that Tides of a Teardrop should eclipse that. It's a deeply personal record, written primarily by Andrew Marlin, with some input from Emily Frantz. Together, the duo make absolutely incredible roots music, beyond the bluegrass label they've been tagged with. This interview is an intimate one with Andrew Marlin. A very intimate behind the scenes conversation with Andrew Marlin. His comments regarding Jeff Austin were so poignant and beautiful too. You can catch Mandolin Orange at several festivals and solo dates throughout the summer. For those details visit mandolinorgange.com.

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for at least a year, you’ll know that we’re big fans of both Devon Allman and Duane Betts, and both have been on the show separately and together since we began. Last summer Duane joined Devon on the road, supporting the Devon Allman project. Things went well, and they collaborated on writing some tunes, recorded them, and got a band together in time for a tour, and today on June 28th, the Allman Betts Band has released their debut album, Down to the River. For more on the Allman Betts Band, visit allmanbettsband.com. 

Reckless Heart is Joanne Taylor Shaw's 6th in just a few years of recording and was produced in Detroit, Michigan a bit of a haul from Black Country in England where she grew up and indeed fell in love with the very native blues of that area, and of course soul music. So it should come as no surprise that this latest release is packed full of great blues licks, but absolutely soulful vocals which pop out of your headphones or speakers as you listen. We recently caught up with Joanne, as she gets set to do a heavy dose of the festival circuit both here and abroad. Our conversation started when I asked Joanne about her inspiration to pick up and play a guitar, let alone have a career in music.

Next week the band will be releasing their highly anticipated Bring on the Music live at the Capitol Theatre package in various CD and DVD packages. You can check out all the configurations at mule.net. Aside from front man and guitar wizard Warren Haynes, Gov’t Mule is made up of 3 other extremely talented musicians including founding member Matt Abts on drums, Jorgensen Carlsson on bass, and keyboard and frankly multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis. Together this quartet makes genre and mind bending music rooted in blues, hard rock and Americana. Our affinity for this band has been well documented, and we’ve been on the Mule train since day one. So with the release of Bring On the Music forthcoming we thought it would be fun to talk to Danny Louis about not just this awesome musical package, but also about life in Gov’t Mule more generally and indeed the intangible ingredients he brings to the table.

If you are initially shocked that this hip-hop producer has the chops to pull off a record called Hippieland, give your head a shake and think again. Adler's father, Lou Adler produced some of the greatest musicians we know of including The Mamas and The Papas and Carole King. In fact, this laid back, chill vibe, this very genuine hippie thing that Adler has re-discovered in his latest record is part of his DNA. Sure he's collaborated and won Grammy's for his day time gig but one spin of Hippieland and you'll get that this is exactly where the dude should be, naked, wearing just boots and a cowboy hat. For more stuff, including some great videos visit ciscoadler.org. 

To describe Lettuce, in any specific genre would in itself be as silly as their name. They are a genre-busting six-member funk/jazz/soul/jam/psychedelic/hip-hop/art rock/ambient/avant-garde/experimental collective formed in 1992 by four alumni of the prestigious Berklee College of Music. But you probably knew that already. They've released a series of a records, but it's been a while since 2017's Witch's Stew a tribute to Miles Davis came out. They are constantly on the road, trying out new jams, and even played some Jerry Garcia Band tunes at Lockin' festival last summer. So with all that in mind, we wanted to catch up with Ryan Zoidis the sax wielding maniac of the band, to get some insight into Elevate and more. Elevate is going to blow the roof off your car, home, or frankly your noggin' once you hear it. I can tell you, first hand, it's a burner, and you'll love it all. Good thing it's out June 14th. For more on Lettuce and their tour schedule visit lettucefunk.com. 

We've long admired Keb' Mo'. He is a crafty guitar playing bluesman, who is equally adept at both acoustic and electric blues guitar, but his real appeal is in his songwriting and storytelling. Oklahoma marks his 18th album, and it is likely his best yet, which is saying something given that he has won multiple Grammys and most recently released an album with roots-music icon Taj Mahal. So you can imagine, my absolute thrill to get the opportunity to chat with Keb. Our discussion while mostly focused on Oklahoma due out June 14th, did bounce around from politics, to the environment and much more. A lot, I'd say, like the themes of Oklahoma which are deeply personal but certainly shareable moments. For more on Keb you can visit his website at kebmo.com

Keller Williams will release yet another record, "Add" due out May 31st. Keller is just about as prolific a singer-songwriter that there is in our scene these days. As you'll soon hear, Keller is always thinking about expanding his craft, and is constantly thinking about not only how he writes and performs his music, but also how it will be received. We shared a few laughs in this one, and I can tell you first hand, Keller is a super good guy, that is always super accommodating when we reach out. So given that he is such a prolific writer, I wondered how the songs came together for Add, and thats where our conversation started. For more on Keller including tour dates and other neat stuff visit kellerwilliams.net.

Tal Wilkenfeld's sophomore record Love Remains has been out since mid March, and shame on you if you haven't heard it. Even more shameful probably is, is if you've never heard of this absolute prodigious woman who has played bass for the likes of Herbie Hancock and Jeff Beck. Her career has already been a fairy tale for anyone into classic rock, and music more generally. She counts people like Jackson Browne, Benmont Tench, as friends, which in and of itself is so random. She has also sat in with the Allman Brothers (which we'll get to when we chat with with Tal), and Bob Weir and Wolf Brothers and so many others. But what makes her even more outstanding, then just her talent at bass is her ability as a songwriter and singer. We've been trying to get in touch with Tal for quite some time, because we are intrigued by her story and talent. You can learn more about Tal Wilkenfeld talwilkenfeld.com but seriously, take the time to do a search on youtube for some unreal performances. 

The record, the Memphis outfit's sophomore release is filled with great R&B, Blues, and Funk sounds, tightly wound in a great little package. There are outstanding vocal performances from lead singer Tierrini Jackson, not to mention awesome outstanding musicianship from the rest of the band including guitar prodigy Ori Naftaly. We've been fans of this band since their debut, because, well to put it succinctly, nobody else sounds like Southern Avenue, and that is a good thing. We caught up with Ori, at his home in Memphis ahead of a grueling tour schedule that sees the band heading over to Europe and then back here for most of the summer. For more on the Southern Avenue's tour schedule and lots of great performance videos, visit southernavanuemusic.com.

It's been a decade since Perpetual Groove put out a record, and in that time, they've had some line-up juggling, a tour year performance hiatus, and well just general music industry malaise and stuff. But they are back, and their self titled record due out May 17th is everything you'd expect from the guys. We recently caught up with Matt McDonald to talk about the new record, and the bands plans moving forward. For more on Perpetual Groove visit pgroove.net.

As we gear up for this summer’s 10th edition of the the Werkout Festival, being held back in Thornville, Ohio August 1st through 3rd 2019, we wanted to hear more about what the Werks are all about and indeed what they are up to for this event and overall. So we tracked down drummer Rob Chafin and our conversation started when I asked how while they fly below the jamband radar, they still have a huge fan base, and a successful career to this point. Based on what we’ve heard from the Sonder (Encounters) EP we can’t wait for new music from The Werks as well. Their terrific blend of rock, livetronica and funk give us cause to get up and boogie to psychedelic dance music. For more on the Werkout Festival visit werkoutfestival.com and for more on the band check out the werksmusic.com.

Andy Thorn is set to release a new solo record, Frontiers Like These, and I can tell you its pretty amazing. In case you aren't familiar with Andy's name or work, he is the banjo player for Leftover Salmon, after joining the Emmit-Nershi band in Colorado back in 2008. This transplanted North Carolinian, is massive talent, who plays banjo like few others, and his finger picking is superb. We caught up with Andy on a break from the heavy touring that he does, back home in Colorado, high atop the sea, like 7300 feet in fact. If you're looking for that cool video for Blazing New Frontiers, click here. For more on Andy Thorn, and to pre-order the record visit andythornmusic.com. 

When you first hear Trout Steak Revival, you'll quickly fall in love with their terrific song writing, and beautiful vocal arrangements, to say nothing of their fantastic playing. They are, for all intents and purposes a Colorado Bluegrass band, but that classic sound doesn't do them justice. Trout Steak Revival are a band bigger than any specific genres, blending folk, americana, and yes bluegrass, mostly of course due to their configuration without a drummer, and the instruments they do play. We've been on their trail for a while, since our friend Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters produced their last two records. Aside from their sound, the other thing that hits you, is their name. Oh no, not another acoustic band named for fish... actually, when we sat down with Steve Foltz of Trout Steak Revival, I asked why there are so many bluegrass bands with fishy names, and thats where our conversation started. For more on Trout Steak Revival visit troutsteak.com.   

Anders Osborne has been a long time favorite of ours, not only because he is an extremely talented writer and musician, but because of his wonderful spirit. This is a guy, who moved to the United States at a young age, and not only adopted New Orleans, Louisiana as his home, but became one with its music community and indeed the larger NOLA environment. So with The New Orleans Jazz Festival upon us, and with the release of Buddha and the Blues, his 14th solo record, it just felt right to check in and talk about his latest release, and indeed a lot more. In fact, with almost 3 years since the release of his last record, Flower Box, we wondered, what took so long for a new record, in fact, thats where our conversation started. For more on Buddha and the Blues and indeed tour dates and much more visit andersosborne.com.

It's an interesting time for Dopapod after a year long hiatus. They are set to get back at it, publicly, and on stage April 27th at the Capitol Theatre. We've been following them quite closely and are a fan of their electronic-ish, progrock-ish, jamband sound, so we were excited to hear that the boys were getting back together to make it work once again. I caught up with Rob and Eli a few weeks back, and at the time, the focus was on the April 27th show, and we didn't even know Emit Time was coming out, even though, as you'll soon hear, we poked and prodded for any information. For more info drop in to dopapod.com. 

For those that don't know, or remember, Percy Hill were a band out of New Hampshire who met in 1991 at University studying jazz. They would in fact become part of that neo-jamband 2.0 scene of the 90s, and continued to tour through the oughts. They sort of fell out of the scene for a bit, but came back with some appearances in 2016 and have recently recorded at least one new song Great White Shark, which we totally dig. They do have plans to record more and tour a bit. We sat down with three members of Percy Hill recently, Aaron Katz, Yahuba Garcia and Joe Farrell. Our conversation started when I asked what prompted getting back in the studio to record "Great White Shark". You can follow their story at percyhillmusic.com a site which is being renovated. You can also follow them on Facebook for more up to date information.

It's an interesting concept album for Luther, well regarded as one of the loudest contemporary Mississippi blues and slide guitar players out there. You know him for sure, from his work with brother Cody in North Mississippi All-Stars, but this project, is completely different, softer, gentler, but equally strong in performance, production and complexity.  Luther has been a favorite of ours dating back to Shake Hands with Shorty and we've watched his career blossom since. So imagine my absolutely amazement when I received an email directly from him, a few weeks back at brunch with my family. Well, we had to get him on the show to talk about Solstice, and other things he is working on, and indeed an update on what the North Mississippi All-Stars are up to. We can't wait to get back in touch when that North Mississippi All-Star record is ready to talk about. For more on Luther Dickinson and his solo projects visit lutherdickinson.com. To keep updated on the North Mississippi all-stars v…

First Song: 00:55 - Rise Sun

Jackie has been long one of our favorites, because he represents a kind of songwriting and storytelling we appreciate and his talent as a singer and player are significant. Lots has changed in his life since his appearance on our show back in October of 2017, he’s mostly moved back west and is now a father. He's also released a second installment of The Modern Lives EP and Live from Town Hall which was recorded back in October 2018 with a very hot band aptly named The Modern Lives Band. So it only made sense to catch up with Jackie Greene now. For more on Jackie, including tour dates and some cool videos, visit jackiegreene.com.

Like you, I am always intrigued by cover songs. Truthfully, I'm even more interested in knowing what went into the band selecting the songs they want to play, and how they come up with the arrangements for these songs. Now, when you combine those two questions, and realize that Yonder, like other newgrass bands of a propensity to play covers likely never imagined for the instruments or audience they play these songs for, well, thats just a fascinating discussion.  So we sat down with Dave Johnston's Yonder Mountain String Bands banjo player, to fill us in on the mystery surrounding cover songs and talked about their free for streaming compilation "Hine's Finds Volume Three" Available now, on the band's SoundCloud page, full of great covers.

For the unaware, Frasco is a lifetime music industry type who began as a promoter and talent booker in LA at the age of 16. Through a series of circumstances, Frasco decided to try his own hand at being a performer, and in 2014 released his first record Half a Man. Some 5 years later, this latest record, sees Frasco pour out a cathartic series of well written songs at a time when the serial party boy needed a literal change of pace both personally and indeed professionally.  As you’ll soon hear this podcaster, performer, and pontificator is as real as they come, and Change of Pace will be your favorite record this year. It’s mine already. For more on Andy Frasco & The UN visit andyfrasco.com where you can also check out his podcast.