Episodes

For the uninitiated, The Garcia Project is the brainchild of Mik Bondy. The band, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary is a tribute to the Jerry Garcia Band and perform live versions of the JGB show from 1976 through 1995. They recently put out Spirit a collection of inspirational and spiritual songs the Jerry Garcia Band performed. We caught up with Mik to talk about the project and our conversation started when I asked what inspired the record and it’s packaging. For more visit thegarciaproject.com

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The forthcoming, Central City is John Papa Gros' third solo record after fronting Papa Grows Funk in the early part of the century. With some heavy hitters from the New Orleans scene joining him on the record, it's a conversation I have been looking forward to for quite a long time. John Papa Gros is amongst probably the next line of musicians coming out of New Orleans that really pay close attention to the heritage of New Orleans music scene. Like other musicians from that town, few hesitate to be ambassadors for the city. Our conversation started when I asked John what it is about New Orleans that makes everyone want to be an ambassador for the city. Sadly, with the Covid19 action hitting everyone, The New Orleans Jazz Festival has been rescheduled for the fall. The good news though, is that Central City is still scheduled for release April 17th, so you can listen to the record and soak up New Orleans then. For more info visit johnpapagros.com. 

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Carolina has always been home for Jim Lauderdale. While he makes his residency in Nashville, this prolific singer-songwriter who’s resume speaks for itself still has a vast network of friends and family back all over the Carolinas and more specifically in North Carolina. His latest release, When Carolina Comes Home Again, his 33rd, draws on songs, stories, and indeed musicians who are now part of the scene in Carolina, most notably Ashville, North Carolina. It’s a record chalk full of amazing songs and performances. Our conversation took many twists and turns, as we spoke about the new record, John Oates, Robert Hunter and much more. When Carolina Comes Home Again is due out March 27th on Yep Roc records, and you’ll want to listen to it, over and over again.  Heck, you may even want to move to North Carolina. For more on Jim a Lauderdale visit jimlauderdalemusic.com. 

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We were sent some new music from a publicist who is very supportive of our show and often connects with great bands so we can bring them to you. A few weeks ago, she sent along a link to check out Crowd Company's latest release "Lowdon". Initially heard this band was based in the UK. Having said that they are immensely talented and have some true funk chops but also a few friends who helped make this record. In fact, the record was produced by Alan Evans, a member of Soulive in his studio in the Boston area. Also, you may not instantly recognize the horns, but they are in fact, Lettuce's Ryan Zoidis and Eric "Benny" Bloom. They are absolutely outstanding. So obviously we wanted to learn more about this band and got in touch with Rob Fleming, the lead vocalist and guitar in the band and for all intents and purposes, the band's leader. You can learn more about Crowd Company by visiting crowdcompanyfunk.com. 

It’s an interesting time for Circles Around the Sun having tragically lost one of the founding members Neal Casal this past summer. I was curious how the band and long time friend Adam MacDougall was coping with what must be a series of emotions ahead of the release of this third record, which naturally has guitar player Casal’s work all over it. We caught up with Adam just before the Circles Around the Sun gig at the Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While our heart felt conversation covered several different topics including the release of this very peppy record, it started sadly with Casal’s passing. You can pre-order the record and check out more tour dates at circlesaroundthesun.com

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We've been big fans of Mapache since their debut record a few years back and have been excited to get our hands on "From Liberty Street", a new record due out March 20th. The duo, Sam Blassuci and Clay Finch as you'll soon hear, share a creative brain, and they deliver a beautifully crafted pan California sound, that will have you intrigued and wanting more.  Their sound is unique, as it blends inspiration from growing up in Southern California and spending time in Mexico. They say that it takes a lifetime to put out your first record and Mapache did that not too long ago, so I wondered what sparked From Liberty Street's birth so quickly...

The Green Leaf Rustlers are an all-star group of musicians fronted by Chris Robinson that includes Barry Sless on pedal steel, Greg Loiacono on guitar, Pete Sears on bass and John Molo on drums. These should all be household names and together in the Rustlers they make this hippified country music, that needs to be heard. Typically the band plays covers of outlaw and classic country plus music thats been influenced by that scene. With a double live record coming out March 6th, From within Marin, we wanted to catch up with someone involved in the project, and were giddy with anticipation when we heard we'd get to chat with Barry Sless. 

Antibalas has been making music now for some 20 years. Their Afrobeat sound, which has continuously expanded beyond its origin is influenced in large part by Fela Kuti, but that’s certainly not where their sound ends. On Fu Chronicles, the Antibalas ensemble explores even more sounds, with the aid of Amayo’s lyrical borage this album becomes an interesting melange or even more sounds and ideas. Martin Perna is the baritone sax player amongst on other instruments in Antibalas and is one of the band’s ring leaders with Amayo. We caught up with Martin who has been on tour with Antibalas. Our conversation started when I asked Martin about the unusual blending of Kung Fu and Afrobeat together to make this record. For more on Antibalas including tour dates visit Antibalas.com.

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We've been following the career of Trout Steak Revival for quite some time, and while they've gone through some personnel changes and the like, as all bands do, the band has matured a great deal through their five records. What has remained constant though for this string band is their insistence to keep true to the bluegrass tradition, while branching out into other similar genres like Americana and folk. The Light We Bring sparks a new set of circumstances for the band, and their sound is one I dig a lot. So we caught up with Casey Houlihan the bass player in the band to get his take on the new record and much more. For more on Trout Steak Revival including tour dates, visit troutsteakrevival.com.

I can't lie, I love the Wood Brothers. There is just something very comfortable and fun about this band. That isn't to say they aren't dangerous, cause they are and perform with high octane and excellent musicianship. For those who don't know, the three piece is made up of brothers Wood; Chris on bass and Oliver on guitar and Jano Rix on drums and percussion. We've been fortunate enough to catch these guys live on one of their early tours and more recently at Borderlands Music Festival and here in Toronto at a packed and sweaty Mod Club. This is a Folk/Americana trio that makes the kind of music you want to hear more of. We caught up with drummer Jano Rix, the non brother in the band, to get his take on being in a band with two brothers, the making of Kingdom in My Mind and as you'll hear, much more. For more, visit thewoodbros.com.  

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Silver Moon marks the 10th solo record for Jono Manson, and while you may not know exactly who he is, you should. In fact Jono should be credited with helping re-start the neo-jam band scene in New York. That is to say, his band The Worms, an eclectic dive bar rock band playing out of Nightingale’s in New York paved the way for bands like Blues Traveler, The Spin Doctors and Joan Osborne.  They were all big fans of his work, and continue to lend a hand today. So when we got the absolute privilege to talk with Jono, that’s where our conversation started when I asked if he thought his eclectic sonic pot pourri of sound was indeed responsible for the neo jam band movement of the early 90s and since.

Ripe is a fairly young pop funk rock seven piece outfit, but their sound is big and their chops are quite mature. So to is Ripe frontman Robbie Wulfsohn who was in town earlier this week with Ripe. We’ve chatted before, but what made this conversation so interesting is that we did it in a room Robbie had been in many times before as a fan. Make sure you follow Ripe on social media or check out their site at ripe.band.