Thom Bresh | Finger-Picking Guitarist and Entertainer

October 3, 2009 | Comments Off

Interview with Thom Bresh [17:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From Wikipedia:

Thom Bresh, the son of Country Music Hall of Fame great Merle Travis, is a successful musical performer in his own right. Bresh did not begin his music career until his adult years. From age 3 to age 17, he worked as an actor and stuntman at Corriganville, where [he appeared in] such programs as The Lone Ranger and the Billy the Kid trilogy. Finger-picking in the style made famous by his father, he brings his father’s legacy to new audiences. Bresh is a singer, songwriter, impressionist, and instrumentalist, whose instrument of choice is his custom-made two-sided Langejans SuperDualette, which he calls “my band.” He has appeared alongside performers ranging from Bob Hope to Chet Atkins to Gordon Lightfoot.

Posted by jamie | Filed Under Concerts in Your Home, Bluegrass, Folk, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW, PODCAST

Peter Siegel | Radical Roots Music

October 2, 2009 | Comments Off

Dr. Kent: My next guest on the show is kind of hand-in-glove with similar kind of music: Peter Siegel has an incredible brand of music that he calls ‘Radical Roots’ music. Welcome to the show, Peter Siegel.

Peter Siegel: Thank you very much.

Dr. Kent: Good to talk to you again. I love your music. Give me a nutshell of how you came into this radical roots.

Peter Siegel: [Laughs] I kind of have some radical roots; I’ve got communist grandparents, and socialist uncles, and all sorts of stuff like that. I grew up in New York City area. My parents were very active in the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which kind of put me in touch with people like Pete Seeger and all the folk singers that hang around the old sloop on the Hudson River. So that was kind of my childhood. Although my grandfather was a radical, he was a classical violinist, and he wasn’t too fond of the fact that I was playing folk music, but [laughs], it was his radicalism, and his music sort of manifested itself in my folk music later on.

Dr. Kent: The only words more hated among conservatives than ‘liberal’ are of course ‘communist’ and ’socialist.’ We’re going into every realm on this show so far. What do you think about this madness happening these days?

Peter Siegel: [Laughs] Which madness? There’s so much madness.

Dr. Kent: The healthcare madness. It’s insane. My first guest, Roy Zimmerman, mentioned the fellow who was hanged with the ‘feds’ on his chest. It’s madness!

Peter Siegel: I know, it is madness. It’s just, I don’t know, there’s just so much rhetoric out there. I just feel like there’s so much of a lack of information that the powers that be are capitalizing on, or the right wing is capitalizing on. The one thing the left has never really done in this country is capitalize on ignorance the way that I think the right does right now. I think my personal way of dealing with that is to, not so much ‘tune out,’ but sort of bring it home a little bit more, and not think about what’s going on in the national and international level, but just sort of focus more on staying local, and just trying to sow as many seeds as I can as close to home as I can, which is probably one of the most radical ideas you can possibly have, is to stay home [laughs].

Dr. Kent: Absolutely. So I’m going to start off here, let’s talk about your song, ‘Boxed Up.’ Give me an intro for that.

Peter Siegel: Well, I wrote the song on the plane ride home from Chicago, and it was sort of a song originally just about my own feeling about being boxed in by my economic situation. Actually, my wife, who’s a writer, did a blog entry recently that - what did she say? - her entry was ‘Not Poor Enough.’ I feel like that’s been my position through most of my life. I’m a member of the middle class, but I’m not poor enough to sort of be eligible for any kind of health, and I’m not rich enough to really feel like I can do anything, but I’m sort of boxed in by the way society’s constructed right now. So that kind of led to writing this song.

Dr. Kent: Perfect song for this healthcare situation.

Peter Siegel: Exactly. It’s the perfect thing. The idea kind of expanded to how we’re boxed in by all of our own notions of ourselves. There’s just so many ways you can take a song that I feel like I need to write another song in the same theme, but just expand on it even more. The song was partially written by my wife as well. When I got home from that plane ride (she’s also an English teacher), she saw my laptop and when I wasn’t looking edited the song, so now she’s got credit for half the song as well. There it is: ‘Boxed In.’

Dr. Kent: Very nice. So let’s listen to ‘Boxed Up’ by Peter Siegel.

[Music]

Dr. Kent: Great tune from Peter Siegel, called ‘Boxed Up.’ Beautiful song, great sound to it. Thanks so much for that. What album’s that off of?

Peter Siegel: That’s off of an album called ‘Living in Rome.’ It just came out last year. ‘Living in Rome’s’ sort of the reference to the Empire, our own empire.

Dr. Kent: Indeed. Are you stewing in a whole new set of songs with all these new things happening?

Peter Siegel: I am, and I’m not. I’ve been steering away from a lot of the same direct political commentary that I used to write. I used to sort of furiously write down songs as I’d bubble over looking at the state of the world. These days, I take a little bit of time to sort of reflect on it, and maybe think of stories that just bring out the emotions of the moment instead of stating the way things are. I think, ‘Boxed Up’ is sort of a step in that direction. But I tend to sort of look at the people around me and write songs about what their stories are, and how that is a reflection of the way that things are in the world. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘easy,’ but I could probably sit down and write down a nice little protest song about our healthcare debacle for a protest happening tomorrow if I wanted to. I’ve actually come up with a couple of those here and there, but whenever I do that, I don’t feel like they’re worth recording. I feel like, that’s a nice little song for the moment, and we’ll just let that take it’s course and fade away with the moment.

Dr. Kent: So on that note, I do want to talk to you again in the future. I love your music, I love the concepts. As we wrap up here, I’m going to listen to ‘Polka Dot Bathing Suit.’ And of course we can check out Peter Siegel’s music on PeterSiegel.com, and there’s some great photos up there, and music and all the rest of that info. So tell me about that song, and then we’ll talk to you next time.

Peter Siegel: It’s my one attempt at a pop song. That’s all I can say. There’s nothing to it. I wrote it about my wife in her polka dot bathing suit next to our house and the green river where we often skinny dip. You know you need to write a song like that, and I did.

Dr. Kent: Awesome. ‘Polka Dot Bathing Suit,’ Peter Siegel. Thanks so much for being on the show.

Peter Siegel: Thanks so much for having me, I appreciate it.

Dr. Kent: We’ll talk to you the next time. Here we go: ‘Polka Dot Bathing Suit’ by Peter Siegel.

[Music]

Dr. Kent: That was a great tune by Peter Siegel. He told us that that was his attempt at writing a pop song. A great little tune, ‘Polka Dot Bathing Suit.’ He wrote about his wife’s bathing suit. Very touching and sweet.

Posted by jamie | Filed Under Pop, Concerts in Your Home, Bluegrass, TRANSCRIPTS, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW, Folk, PODCAST

Beaucoup Blue | Americana Father and Son Duo

October 2, 2009 | Comments Off

Interview with Beaucoup Blue [16:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From their website:

Beaucoup Blue is the Americana Philadelphia based duo of David and Adrian Mowry. Father and son have been performing their roots-based music nationally and internationally as a duo, quartet and, on occasion, quintet. Bridging many gaps in American music, their soulful traditional and contemporary styles mesh into an innovative and authentic sound. Although blues is a staple in their repertoire, they base their love in music from Folk, Soul, R&B, Jazz, Country and Bluegrass. All these interests and influences come out in their original songwriting in a unique way. A handsome range of instruments like six and twelve string guitars, slide guitar, round neck resonator guitar, combined with two soulful voices, encompasses a rich and honest feel, noticeably influenced by familial ties.

Beaucoup Blue had previously released two albums: Out Of The Woodwork (2003), and Hearts At Home (2005). The long awaited third album, Free To Fall, is produced by Grammy nominated Jim Salamone. The project features a world class rhythm section including Jeff Sheard on drums, Bill Zinno on acoustic upright bass as well as the extraordinary talents of a few friends. A guest appearance by Universal recording artist Melody Gardot, and the Americana Angels of Red Molly contributed their voices to this important work in classic proportion.

Posted by jamie | Filed Under Concerts in Your Home, Bluegrass, Folk, Jazz, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW

Roy Zimmerman | Satirical Singer and Songwriter

October 1, 2009 | Comments Off

Dr. Kent: Hello, everyone. It’s a beautiful day here in New York. I’m excited about this show’s new format. Every week’s going to be a little bit different. This week, I’m excited because there’s five music guests and one author. Authors of sound are featured on today’s show, and we always feature sound authors and authors of sound. My first guest on the show is Roy Zimmerman, and he’s going to tell us what’s so funny about war, poverty, ignorance, bigotry, neo-conservatism, homophobia, greed and fear. I’m excited about it. Welcome to the show, Roy.

Roy Zimmerman: Thanks very much, Kent.

Dr. Kent: Tell me about comedy and music, do they fit together?

Roy Zimmerman: Certainly not [laughs]. Man, if they don’t, I’m out of a career. I think I’m just sort of wired to equate the two.

Dr. Kent: So are you out of material during this new Obama administration, or are you just fueling off of all this craziness surrounding healthcare and all that?

Roy Zimmerman: Well, I wondered when Obama was elected, and nothing went wrong ever again, what I would write about. But, obviously there’s quite a bit to write about. Census workers being hanged, and, you know, right? There’s stuff that I can write about, definitely.

Dr. Kent: The comedy, the satire for you really does come out of these serious things. Imagine how awful it is in the country today that something like that could happen. He survived cancer too, right, and had a kid?

Roy Zimmerman: Oh yeah, he was apparently a model employee and so forth. It is amazing: this rise of this, if I may be so bold, sort of idiot nation, this kind of notion of America as a lot of lone individualists with no social connection whatsoever. So I’m putting together a new record called ‘Real America,’ where I talk a lot about what it is to be a real American.

Dr. Kent: Wow. Yes, it’s kind of a co-opted term, isn’t it, “American,” at some point?

Roy Zimmerman: That’s right. If you look at human history, you’ll realize that the first real Americans were actually Russians because there were people who migrated across the Bering Straight and came down. After they were Russians, they were Indians, quote, unquote [laughs]. So it wasn’t until Europeans arrived here that the real Americans started.

Dr. Kent: Have you written a song about ‘you lie’ yet?

Roy Zimmerman: About which now?

Dr. Kent: ‘You lie,’ that call out.

Roy Zimmerman: Yes, yes. Not about that incident in particular. That incident is indicative of a whole kind of mind set. Congress I think has become another Civil War reenactment.

Dr. Kent: It’s amazing.

Roy Zimmerman: Yes, I think some of those congressmen and senators are saving their confederate money.

Dr. Kent: Yes [laughs]. Well, it’s a pleasure chatting with Roy Zimmerman. He’s got a great website: RoyZimmerman.com. There’s some good comedic pictures on there, but there’s some real content as well. We’ve got a couple songs here, I’d like to play one that we’ve got. ‘Creation Science’ and ‘To Be a Liberal.’ Which one should we start with here?

Roy Zimmerman: Start with ‘Creation Science.’ This is a song that I’ve got up on You Tube, and it’s made something of a splash there.

Dr. Kent: Here we go, ‘Creation Science 101′ by Roy Zimmerman. Let’s listen to it, here we go. Yes, we’re having some technical difficulties. We’re not able to actually play that track. So, let me talk again to Roy while we’re trying to figure out what’s going on. Tell me what’s on that track; we’re having some technical difficulties playing it.

Roy Zimmerman: This song is about creationism, and teaching that in the public schools, which is what they want to do. I say, teach that. Teach that and the Norse-Odin myth, and the Karmic Wheel, and Scientologist version which states that the world was created on a bet between God and L. Ron Hubbard. Teach it all.

Dr. Kent: Creation and science are so often thought of as contradictions in terms, right? So creation science 101 [laughs].

Roy Zimmerman: Sure. You know the thing is that I wrote that song and then I come to find out there’s a guy named Kent Hovind down in Florida who actually teaches a class called Creation Science 101. That’s an example of humor that isn’t necessarily intentional.

Dr. Kent: Exactly. So let’s listen to the track, ‘Creation Science 101.’

[Music]

Dr. Kent: Well amen to that. That’s a great tune from Roy Zimmerman called ‘Creation Science 101.’ Great tune!

Roy Zimmerman: Thank you! An onslaught, isn’t it?

Dr. Kent: [Laughs] So, it’s been an honor chatting with Roy Zimmerman. We’re going to have to go, but on the way out, I want to play another song. Tell us about this song, ‘To Be a Liberal.’

Roy Zimmerman: ‘To Be a Liberal.’ I come from Marin County, which is sort of the bluest county in the bluest state of the Union, and it’s a lovely place to be, and we just pat each other on the back, and untie those macramé things that people did in the 70s, it’s wonderful. But I did want to get out across the country and bring a message of hope from the great Bay Area.

Dr. Kent: All right, well, it’s been an honor, and we hope to talk to you again.

Roy Zimmerman: Thanks, Dr. Kent!

Dr. Kent: All right, let’s listen to ‘To Be a Liberal,’ by Roy Zimmerman. Here we go.

[Music]

Dr. Kent: That was a great tune from Roy Zimmerman. Hysterical, for sure!

Posted by jamie | Filed Under Comedy, Concerts in Your Home, TRANSCRIPTS, Folk, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW, PODCAST

Rosi Golan | Singer and Songwriter

October 1, 2009 | Comments Off

Interview with Rosi Golan [11:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

From her website:

Rosi Golan is an Israeli born singer songwriter who has made many stops in her travels, including Germany, Paris, and finally ending up in Los Angeles at the age of nine, where she grew up. During her travels, she not only managed to hone her infectiously melodic songwriting, but also learned to speak three languages fluently: French, Hebrew and English.

Rosi is indeed a long way from home, but certainly in the right place to showcase her unique talent for rich, dark melodies and a voice that not only draws you in, but still haunts you the next day. While living in Los Angeles, Rosi was inundated with creative lessons from violin, to voice, to acting. At 19, she decided to focus on singing and picked up her first guitar, teaching herself to play and write songs. Six weeks later, she was performing at her first open microphone. Since then, Rosi has played the Acoustic Playhouse, Molly Malones, The Whiskey and Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles, and The Bitter End, The Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall and CBs Gallery in New York City.

In the past few years, Rosi has worked with a number of acclaimed writers and producers from all over the world, including Jeff Cohen, Boots, Richard Cuason, Nate Campany, Tim Gordine, Richard Lobb, Pete Gordeno, Marc Swersky, Robert Conley, etc.

But it’s her continuing collaboration with singer/songwriter Jamie Hartman (Ben’s Brother) that has yielded numerous songs, including the single “Let Me Out,” from Ben’s Brother debut CD (Relentless/EMI/Virgin). The song was recently featured on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Rosi was recently mentioned in Billboard Magazine. She was the winner of the first ASCAP Robert Allen Award for songwriting excellence, for which she performed at Lincoln Center. Finally settled in New York, Rosi has already kick-started the momentum that launches careers.

Posted by jamie | Filed Under Concerts in Your Home, Pop, Folk, MUSICIAN INTERVIEW, PODCAST

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