In this January 2018 interview, the late Justin Townes Earle talked about his unique approach to songwriting and the release of what would prove to be his final album. – Ken Paulson
Category: Interviews
Show 48 The Reverend Shawn Amos’ new “Blue Sky”
Just out is the Reverend Shawn Amos’ new album “Blue Sky” with his band the Brotherhood. We had the pleasure of talking with Shawn about this new release a while back at the 30A Music Festival. He was excited – and we now know why.
Shawn is a dynamic artist and so is the album. Learn how Blue Sky came together and what he has in common with the Who on this edition of the Americana One Podcast.
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Bill Lloyd on his new live album 2GTRSBSDRMS
The prolific Bill Lloyd talks about his new live album cryptically called “2GTRSBSDRMS.” It’s full-throttle back-to-basics rock.
Show 47 Paul Thorn on songwriting
We’ve had the chance to see Paul Thorn perform twice in the past few months, first at John Prine’s All the Best Festival in the Dominican Republic and then at the 30A Songwriters Festival in January. The latter seemed a particularly apt location to talk with Paul about his approach (and tips on) songwriting. Insights abound on this edition of the Americana One podcast.
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Show 40 Tami Neilson’s explosive “Chickaboom!”
Tami Neilson is a dynamic artist on stage, but the challenge is to capture that excitement in the recording studio. In this edition of Americana One, Tami talks about her new album Chickaboom! in a highly entertaining conversation at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville.
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Interview: Aubrie Sellers on WMOT’s Americana One
Aubrie Sellers talks about her musical roots and how her music continues to evolve in this Americana One interview on WMOT Roots Radio. (Available for a limited time.)
Show 37 Jason Ringenberg Stands Tall
Jason Ringenberg is spending his September touring Europe with Dan Baird and the Kentucky Headhunters (now that’s a show), but we caught up with him recently at the 895 Fest.
Jason Ringenberg © Gregg Roth.
His latest album Stand Tall is outstanding and we have a special fondness for “God Bless the Ramones.” Jason’s still a punk after all these years. Here’s our conversation with the Scorchers frontman.
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New Steve Poltz video: “Ballin’ On a Wednesday”
Steve Poltz has a new video taken from his current album Shine On and it’s unsurprisingly goofy. Best of all, he recreates the incident that inspired the song, a tale he shared in his Americana One podcast interview.
Americana One #36 Aaron Lee Tasjan
Aaron Lee Tasjan’s “Karma for Cheap” is one of our favorite albums of the past year. It’s adventurous, engaging and draws on the musical influence of a multitude of great artists. We wanted to talk to Aaron largely to figure out what’s in his record collection.
He gave us those details and also regaled us with his adventures as a member of the New York Dolls in this episode of Americana One, available wherever fine podcasts are distributed.
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Americana One #33 Steve Poltz Shines On
We met Steve Poltz in Nashville on July 4th, 2017 when he happened to walk into a local club where we were holding one of our free speech in music nights. He wasn’t on the bill, but about two minutes into his visit, he committed to performing.
That spontaneity and commitment show up big time on his just-released album “Shine On” on Compass Records. We had the chance to visit with Steve a few weeks ago at the 30A Songwriters Festival. Among the topics: our shared respect for his producer Will Kimbrough and a night two decades ago when he opened for Lisa Loeb in Nashville.
This week’s show:
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Interview: Sarah Potenza and her “Road to Rome”
Paul T. Mueller talks with Sarah Potenza about her new album “Road to Rome” before she takes the stage at the Mucky Duck in Houston.
Americana One #32 Michael McDermott embraces his “Orphans”
In this week’s Americana One podcast, Michael McDermott talks about his rich career, his personal struggles and his new “Orphans” album, an engaging collection of songs that didn’t quite fit elsewhere.
Americana One is a weekly radio show on the 100,000-watt WMOT Roots Radio station heard throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee and streamed to a national audience via the Roots Radio App. The show is also a podcast available on iTunes, Google Play and all the leading podcast providers. Subscribe now.
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The Strategic Songwriting of Justin Townes Earle
Justin Townes Earle knows how to pace himself. In a wide-ranging conversation at the 30A Songwriters Festival, Justin told us how he writes a new album: 12 songs written over the span of a year and astonishingly, in the exact order they show up on the finished collection. In this excerpt, he talks about how it all comes together.
The full interview will be available soon on the Americana Music News Podcast (find it on iTunes) and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio.
Michael McDermott on writing the truth
We visited with Michael McDermott about his new collection “Orphans” at the 30A Songwriters Festival, but also spoke about his truthful songwriting and his penchant for performing the National Anthem. Here’s an excerpt:
The full interview will be available soon on the Americana Music News Podcast (find it on iTunes) and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio.
Steve Poltz at the 30A Songwriters Festival
Steve Poltz has something that most of the artists at the 30A Songwriters Festival can only dream of – an honest to goodness hit song. But his “You Were Meant For Me,” co-written and recorded by Jewel in the mid-’90s, was actually a bit of an impediment as Poltz tried to develop his own solo career. In this interview excerpt with Americana Music News, Poltz explains how all of that changed when he moved to Nashville. His new album “Shine On,” produced by Will Kimbrough, is due March 1.
The full interview will be available soon on the Americana Music News Podcast (find it on iTunes) and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio.
Aaron Lee Tasjan, New York Doll
We all know of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s success as an Americana music artist fresh off his success with “Karma for Cheap” and “Silver Tears,” but few know that he played guitar with the legendary New York Dolls. We caught up with Aaron Lee at the 30A Songwriters Festival to talk about his music and career, but couldn’t resist asking about this unique chapter.
The full interview will be available soon on the Americana Music News Podcast (find it on iTunes) and broadcast on WMOT Roots Radio.
Clare Dunn’s surprising path to success
Clare Dunn is a country artist and songwriter with a bright future and we spent some time with her at the 30A Songwriters Festival. We took for granted that like so many young singer-songwriters her path began playing acoustic guitar in her bedroom and singing for high school friends, but she quickly set us straight:
Clare Dunn may have had a late start, but you wouldn’t know it from her performances. Here she tackles Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”
Show #8: Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane; Kyle Frederick
Jorma Kaukonen has had a rich career as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, and as an accomplished solo artist. He’s ready to tell his life story in a new memoir called “Been So Long.” We had a sneak preview of the book in our conversation with Jorma at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City.
Also in this edition of the Americana Music News Podcast: A “First Person” account of Kyle Frederick’s new release Already November.
About Americana Music News: We’re in our seventh year covering Americana, roots, country and folk music from our base in Nashville. We’ve just launched a new Americana Music News podcast, available free of charge through all the leading podcast providers, including iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play Music. And please join our 23,000 Twitter followers to continue the conversation.
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Show #5 Ashley Cleveland’s “One More Song”
Ashley Cleveland, a 3-time Grammy winner for rock gospel, has just released ‘One More Song,” a powerful and personal album that mirrors the honesty of her memoir “Little Black Sheep.” She talks about her once-tumultuous life and music in this episode of the Americana Music Podcast.
About Americana News: We’re in our seventh year covering Americana, roots, country and folk music from our base in Nashville. We’ve just launched a new Americana Music News podcast, available free of charge through all the leading podcast providers, including iTunes. And please join our 23,000 Twitter followers to continue the conversation.
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Show #3 Chip Taylor and his new release “Fix Your Words”
There’s a good case to make that Chip Taylor is a godfather of Americana music. His ’70 albums – particularly “Chip Taylor’s Last Chance” – foreshadowed the genre to come. Chip has had an astonishing career as a Hall of Fame songwriter (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”), as a partner with Carrie Rodriguez and as a solo artist of great integrity. In this conversation on Grammys weekend in New York, Chip tells us about his latest album “Fix Your Words.”
About Americana News: We’re in our seventh year covering Americana, roots, country and folk music from our base in Nashville. We’ve just launched a new Americana Music News podcast, available free of charge through all the leading podcast providers, including iTunes. And please join our 23,000 Twitter followers to continue the conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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