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I had a great chat with Soren Staff from the Eau Claire, Wisconsin based band Them Coulee Boys. The band released their fifth full length album last year, “No Fun in the Chrysalis”, it’s an excellent record on which Soren really displays his songwriting skills. We discuss the creative environment that is Eau Claire, and how Them Coulee Boys, who are known for their raucous, fun and emotionally charged shows, work to involve their audiences in the live experience. We spend some time digging in the songwriting weeds - there is talk of complicated rhyme schemes (what rhymes with toothbrush?) and unresolved choruses. Enjoy this conversation and then spend some time with “No Fun in the Chrysalis”, both great listens.

I sat down with Rob Miller to discuss his new book “The Hours are Long but the Pay is Low; a Curious Life in Independent Music”. Rob was co-founder of the Bloodshot Records label here in Chicago, which featured independent artists that blended the spirit of punk and country music. Although Bloodshot nurtured unknown artists into grammy winners and sellers of hundreds of thousands of albums, Miller and the label remained fiercely independent for more than 25 years, helping build the music community in Chicago and prioritizing off-the-beaten-path showcases, indie record stores, and music venues like the ones Miller worked at in his boyhood city of Detroit as a stage manager, roadie, and end-of the-night custodian. It’s a great book that weaves a funny and compelling underdog story of the championing of music and musicians that would have otherwise likely fallen through the cracks of the corporate music complex; Rob was a fun guest with a fascinating tale to spin.

Born and raised in Toronto, Tami Neilson eventually made her home in Auckland, New Zealand, where she has become one of her adopted home country’s most beloved artists, with multiple chart topping/award winning albums to her credit. She has been making a bit of a stir here in North America as well, collaborating, touring, and hanging with Willie Nelson, and debuting on the Grand Old Opry in 2024. Tami’s new album, Neon Cowgirl, is an absolute blast of a record, showcasing not only Tami’s powerhouse vocals but also her deft songwriting skills that blend multiple genres seamlessly. A great conversation, we hear about songwriting superstar Ashley McBryde making her own custom Tami Neilson merch, how Tami naturally inhabited the role of Sandy Cheeks when writing songs for the Sponge Bob movies, using Legos and a stick as percussion, and how Vince Gill brought Tami a song in a dream.

I sat down with Steve Poltz at DelFest Bluegrass Festival in Cumberland Maryland, after his set on the main stage there, which was, according to Steve, the greatest show he had ever played. The next day I saw him play a completely different set at the festival, which was, according to Steve, even greater, making that the best show of his life. In between these great sets we had a wide (wide) ranging conversation. Steve told some tales, he talked about the art of telling tales, he broke down some Neil Young and Roger Miller songs to demonstrate their songwriting brilliance, ate some cookies, and talked about his upcoming Steve Poltz Song Factory songwriting workshop in August in New York State. We heard about the sound of breaking glass, how an overdose of weed brownies changed his career (for the better), and how he discovered a love for the Grateful Dead after successfully recovering from an on-stage stroke. Did I mention it was wide ranging? One of my most enjoyable conversations on the podcast ever.

I had a blast talking with Chicago based musician and songwriter Elizabeth Moen, she is funny, thoughtful, honest, and has an absolute overflowing reservoir of musical talent. As you will hear, Elizabeth was born and raised in Iowa but has made Chicago her musical home for a number of years. She has a few albums under her belt including 2022’s excellent "Wherever You Aren’t". She has been working on her highly anticipated next record with producer Spencer Tweedy, another member of the Chicago music scene; aside from his producing work Spencer is also the drummer for the music project Waxahatchee. Elizabeth’s talents have allowed her to write and perform songs that cross musical boundaries: folk, rock, blues, jazz and so on; her voice is a true instrument. You can hear some of the diverse nature of her work in just the few clips of the songs we discuss. But we hear about how her work with producing partner Spencer on the upcoming record has allowed Elizabeth to realize perhaps the true expression of her vocal talents. Also discussed: covering CeeLo Green in a high school talent show, finding the perfect chord with an accidental pinky, and Elizabeth’s tortured journey from mathlete to calculus cheater.

We sat down with New Zealand artist Mel Parsons at the 2025 Fok Alliance International Conference in Montreal in February. Mel is a deft and powerful songwriter, her lyrics are put together with wit and wisdom, and she plays a powerful guitar amid excellent arragements. Her latest album, Sabotage, is a real gem. We had a lovely chat, talked about not talking about songs, and creating from the unconscious. We also learned about the Time Ball in her current home town of Lyttleton, NZ, and how it might be the secret to that town’s artistic magnetism.

Twisted Pine is a boundary jumping string band; although based in bluegrass their music defies categorization in a joyous and exhilarating fashion. We sat down with Kathleen Parks, Dan Bui, Anh Phung and Chris Sartori at the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival in Vermont. Topics include their wonderful new record “Love Your Mind”, late night bluegrass festival doings, shifting musical roles within songs, Tom Petty vocal influences, and much more.

We sat down with Canadian musician Bob Sumner at AmericanaFest in Nashville; we discuss his recent record "Some Place to Rest Easy", which has become one of my favorite releases of 2024. The musical vibes are lovely, echoing the sounds of my favorite Randy Travis records of the 90’s, but Bob also hits us with gut punch lyricism that brings to mind Townes van Zandt and Steve Earle. Bob is a wonderful conversationalist, there is a lot of great stuff in this one. We hear about how one positive comment from a high school teacher may have been a life changer, how he made a listener cry at his first open mic performance, what he learned from making music with his big brother for 20 years as part of The Sumner Brothers, and playing guitar and writing songs while (literally) driving his car as a food delivery person. Together we come to the realization that not only is Bob a great writer himself, but he has a gift for recognizing the perfect lines written by others (I look forward to discovering something witty I said to Bob appearing in one of his future songs). Check out the video for Bob’s song "Motel Room", he has some killer dance moves, and the song and video display the way Bob worked with both joy and sadness while putting this record together. This was one of my favorite discussions on the podcast, and I thank Bob for being so generous with his thoughts and for being such a great listener.

Dylan MacDonald is the artist who creates under the name Field Guide. He sat down with me at the fabulous Mile of Music Festival in Appleton Wisconsin, we talked about Field Guide’s latest, most excellent record Rootin’ For Ya. It turns out that Dylan was in a band for many years with my previous guest Boy Golden (Liam Duncan), they were high school associates. We spend some time talking about the contrast between making music by yourself vs. working with others; and performing solo vs. with a band. Also covered- classical guitar lessons, how Sweet Home Alabama changed his life, and does the cuckoo clock know what time it is? Be sure to check out Field Guide’s album Rootin’ For Ya, it is one of my favorites of the year.

Jamie McKeogh plays guitar and sings lead vocals for the Irish band JigJam. We sat down at the DelFest music festival in Cumberland Maryland where JigJam had played two fiery sets to a legion of newly won-over fans. We discuss JigJam's recent excellent album Across the Pond, and how their music is a fascinating blend of the traditional Irish music the band grew up playing and the American bluegrass they discovered along the way. Throw in some excellent songwriting and you have a powerful mix. We hear about playing with two banjos, the Wild Rover Tik Tok incident, and how you can bus tour through Ireland with the band.

Our guest for episode number 57 is Portland based musician and songwriter Jeffrey Martin; we discuss his most excellent 2023 album, Thank God We Left the Garden. Recorded in an 8 x 10 shed he built in his backyard, these songs explore religious/spiritual/existential questions, contradictions, mysteries and paradoxes. Jeffrey tells us about making the difficult decision to leave his position teaching high school English to pursue music full time, the fascinating way these songs came together as he wrestled lyrics from melodies, and interesting reactions the songs have gotten as he plays them on the road. We also make plans for our spin-off podcast, in which Jeffrey and I will break down the classic song, “That’s the Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”-stay tuned!

Abe Partridge is a talented songwriter/musician, visual artist, podcast star, former preacher, Air Force veteran, and so on. Hear Abe tell his own long and winding story; it is a fascinating tale told with honesty, incredible insight, and good humor. This conversation was one of my favorites of all time. Check out all things Abe at abepartridge.com including his latest record, Love in the Dark, and the excellent podcast Alabama Astronaut.

Willy Tea Taylor is a gifted songwriter: a storyteller, a truth teller. His recent record, The Great Western Hangover, features an all-star cast of musicians who bring rock and roll energy to Willy’s superbly crafted songs. Willy sat down with us at Tell You What! Studios for a wide ranging, highly entertaining, and insightful conversation. We hear about Willy’s early years writing poetry and fronting high school rock bands, then learning mandolin and banjo on a winding and adventurous path that eventually led Willy to his instrument of destiny: the four-string tenor guitar. Willy discusses how important connecting with people is to him, how music done right can be physically healing, and the unorthodox ways he comes up with his songs. Also covered: heroic doses of LSD, dashboard percussion, barstool wisdom, taxidermy.

Gabe Lee, Nashville born and raised, joins us to talk about his latest record, the excellent Drink the River. His fourth album, Gabe chose a more stripped down sound, and assembled a killer set of musicians to create beautiful soundscapes for the story songs he wrote. We discuss Gabe's training as a classical pianist and his resulting love affair with melody, and how he thinks about perspective in his writing. Also covered: avoiding an Ed Hardy future, and learning the Smoke on the Water riff. Also: new podcast theme song! Composed and arranged by Shane McLaughlin of Buffalo Rose. Reach out to Shane for more at shanemclaughlinmusic.com

Siri Undlin is the musician who records and performs as Humbird. I sat down with Siri (and a mysterious cat) at the most excellent Mile of Music festival in Appleton Wisconsin. We take a trip through Humbird’s varied song catalog as a way of learning about Siri’s creative journey, which included time spent on a post-grad fellowship studying folklore in northern Europe. Siri tells us about the place of story in her songwriting and her other creative pursuits, working with bad ideas, and how an excruciating decision in the recording studio led to Humbird’s first breakout hit song. Also covered: ice hockey leads to Irish trad music, and how it sucks to pretend.