Steve Dawson hosts this long-form interview show with musicians and music producers involved in making great records. More of a conversation between two musicians than a traditional interview, Steve gets the guests to open up about their past, present and future of creating inspired music.
This week on the show is an incredible singer, songwriter and musician - Amy Helm. Amy has a sublime feel for music, and a really interesting story too. She grew up in New York, partly in the city and I think at various times with her dad in Woodstock - her dad, of course, being legendary Band drummer and singer, Levon Helm. She was around Levon’s barn an awful lot and has seen that place go from its humble beginnings to a mecca for roots music, hosting some of the greatest live shows of the early 2000’s onwards, known as the Midnight Ramble. Amy started a killer band in the early 2000’s called Ollabelle, and they did alot of touring and recording, and made some great records too. When Levon got really sick with cancer in the early 2000’s, Amy worked with him as he regained his speaking and eventually singing voice and she ended up producing the incredible Dirt Farmer album with Larry Campbell. Amy has put out 3 records under her own name, the most recent one we got to talk about quite a bit, and it’s called “What The Flood Leaves Behind”. It’s a masterful album, and she just keeps getting better. We talked about her recording and writing process and just had a great ol’ conversation. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Today I’m bringing you a conversation with one of the most recorded pedals steel players in modern times - Russ Pahl. Russ has played on all the great T-Bone Burnett records of the past bunch of years, and has also recorded for the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Norah Jones, Blake Shelton, Orville Peck, Marcus King, Ceelo Green, Yola, Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, and the list goes on. From his early days cutting his teeth in country bands around Minneapolis, to moving to Nashville in the 80’s, he has managed to hone his craft and develop a unique sound. He scored a cool gig with Dickey Betts in the late 80’s, and then Buddy Miller started calling him for his productions, and Vince Gill had him in his live band for about 5 years. It seems that after about 2000, the floodgates just opened and when someone wanted a steel player that didn’t play the same licks as everyone else and had a creative approach, Russ was the one to call. We had a great conversation and get into all that stuff, and more. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Welcome back, music nerds! My guest this week is Tristen, an incredible songwriter and performer from right here in Nashville. She released one of my favorite albums during the pandemic called “Aquatic Flowers” and I was excited to get a chance to meet with her to talk about the making of that album, as well as how she approaches songwriting, lyrics, and how melodies flow so easily for her. She has a unique style that seems so effortless, but the way she can craft a melody and instrumental parts is downright remarkable. I also wanted to discuss the pitfalls of being an indie artist in Nashville, and how she juggles her songwriting and performing career with her other business, which is a groovy vintage clothing store here in East Nashville called Anaconda Vintage. We had a great conversation and I think you’ll enjoy hearing about her life and career. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Welcome back, music nerds! My guest this week is the phenomenal guitarist, producer and sideman, Duke Robillard. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Welcome back to Season 6 and we're thrilled to bring you this interview with the spectacular singer and songwriter Aoife O'Donovan to talk about her new record "Age of Apathy". Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
It’s our first show of Season 6 and we're thrilled to bring you this interview with the incredibly unique singer/songwriter, guitarist and all-around hilarious fellow, Steve Poltz. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
A few updates on the new season, how it's going to be scheduled, and some updates on what I've been up to since we last spoke...
It’s our last show of the season and we’re thrilled to bring you this conversation with Rob Baker! Rob is a guitarist and songwriter from one of the most iconic Canadian bands of all time, The Tragically Hip. Growing up in Kingston, Ontario, the Hip became friends in high school, became a band, and aside from a sax player leaving in ‘86, never had a lineup change. They went on to release 15 albums over 33 years, most of which went multi-platinum, as they sold out the biggest stadiums across the country. All this while staying true to their Canadian identities and their musical path. When Gord Downie was diagnosed with brain cancer, they undertook their final tour in 2016, and the last show was broadcast from Kingston to a massive televised audience. Since then, Rob has taken some time to get back into creative mode, but has found inspiration again and just last year released a new album with Craig Northey as Stripper’s Union. It was great to speak with Rob about some of his many...
Vancouver guitarist, songwriter, composer and all around hilarious fellow Craig Northey joins me on the show this week. I’ve known Craig for quite a while, but it was great to delve into some of his early experiences with his band “Odds”, coming up in the 90’s indie rock scene, and how the success of that band has led him into writing music for other artists, producing, writing soundtracks for successful shows and movies, and being a side-guy to other artists. As Craig says, his career plan was just to say “yes” to everything that came along, and all these years later, Craig is a much-loved and respected member of the Canadian music scene and finds work in all those facets of it. Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Legendary recording engineer and record producer Bill Schnee joins me on the show this week. Bill lives here in Nashville now, but spent the bulk of his career in LA. He has amazing tales of getting going in the studio scene there and learning the ropes. He seems to have had a knack for hooking up with some great mentors and studio people, and before long, Bill was working for the likes of Barbara Streisand and Three Dog Night. Those early hits led to an incredible run of classic records with Ringo Starr, Marvin Gaye, The Pointer Sisters, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart, Steely Dan and so many more. Bill also did some really captivating live to disc recording with Thelma Houston, and mixed records for Miles Davis. Bill’s incredible stories are the subject of his new book “Chairman at the Board”. It was an honor to have Bill join me on the podcast. Enjoy, share the episode, and don’t forget to leave us a review, and subscribe to the show!