241. Interview with Hal Ide, Iowa City, Iowa (05:32)

Date:
2020-09-22
Main contributors:
Hal Ide
Summary:
Hal Ide (Iowa City, Iowa) Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1954, flutist Hal Ide grew up in a northern suburb of Detroit. He completed an undergraduate degree in Music Theory and Composition at Central Michigan University as well as a Master in Composition and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration from the University of Iowa. Upon graduation, he served as Assistant Director of Operations for the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where he would continue to work during summers for the next two decades. During the academic year, he worked as an administrator at Hancher Auditorium on the University of Iowa campus. He has played with many local music groups over the years and has eight records of mostly original compositions.  Since retirement, Hal Ide has become a watercolor artist, and served as an Artist in Residence for the National Parks. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/22/2020.

243. Interview with J. Michael King, Greenville, South Carolina (06:01)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
J. Michael King
Summary:
J. Michael King (Greenville, South Carolina) J. Michael King is a composer, writer, and accomplished Piedmont blues musician. He plays in the time-honored style of bluesman Reverend Gary Davis, a Laurens County native who played throughout Greenville and Spartanburg counties during the 1930s and 40s. The guitar stylings of South Carolina bluesmen like Blind Willie Walker, Josh White, and Pink Anderson are central influences. He apprenticed under Ernie Hawkins, who studied with Gary Davis in the mid-1960s. King has composed and performed music for four documentaries by filmmaker Stan Woodward, including Puddin' Pot, a short film produced in 2002 exploring the community-based foodways tradition. He was instrumental in co-producing a recording of Piedmont blues classics entitled Blues Haiku. King also produced his own albums, Carolina Bar-B-Q and Meat and Three, two collections of Piedmont blues and string band music featuring tunes about South Carolina's distinctive cuisine. King plays frequently with fellow musicians and Folk Heritage Award recipients Steve McGaha and Freddie Vanderford and has presented the South Carolina blues story to thousands of students and tourists throughout the state. He conducts educational programs about South Carolina Piedmont blues for Southside High School and the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center in Pickens, and the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. King received the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award in 2018. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.

244. Interview with Hasan Khalil, Lincoln, Nebraska (05:47)

Date:
2020-09-30
Main contributors:
Hasan Khalil
Summary:
Hasan Khalil (Lincoln, Nebraska) Hasan Khalil is a Yazidi Syrian immigrant who spent years in a refugee camp in Syria before relocating to Lincoln, Nebraska’s sizeable Yazidi community. Hasan is a multi-instrumentalist who performs throughout the area with his band, the Golden Studio, which performs primarily Arabic, Turkish, and Armenian traditional musics. The Golden Studio are fluent in many styles, including Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Persian, and traditional Syrian music, and are much in demand for weddings and other community celebrations in and around Lincoln. Khalil is also the owner of the Lincoln-based barbershop, The Golden Scissor. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.

245. Interview with José Alfredo, Chicago, Illinois (05:59)

Date:
2020-09-23
Main contributors:
José Alfredo
Summary:
José Alfredo (Chicago, Illinois) José Alfredo Guerrero is an educator and musician who grew up in Chicago’s La Villita.  A graduate of DePaul University’s School of Music, he is a member of Madera Once, a band that pays tribute to Mexican-regional and traditional music with a contemporary spin. Madera Once's mission is to keep Mexican and Latin American music alive as it forges a new identity through the musicians’ and audience’s lived experiences within the U.S. Their debut EP, Amado, enjoyed regional success. José Alfredo has a natural teaching talent, whether it be as a schoolteacher (his day job) or as a representative and champion of traditional Mexican songs. He performs original content but also has an impressive knowledge of traditional Mexican songs and repertoire, understanding the importance of carrying these songs not only to new generations but to older generations in the United States who are missing their home country of Mexico. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/23/2020.

246. Interview with Gregory Hodges, Spartanburg, South Carolina (05:26)

Date:
2020-10-01
Main contributors:
Gregory Hodges
Summary:
Gregory Hodges (Spartanburg, South Carolina) South Carolina-based blues musician Gregory Hodges has spent years touring with and performing with a number of different acts, including Col. Bruce Hampton and the Code Talkers. He relocated to New Orleans for a number of years and got a chance to perform with a number of his musical heroes, including George Porter, Art Neville, Hubert Sumlin, Aaron Neville, Lenny Kravitz, Charlie Musselwhite, Dr. John, Tom Jones, and more. After more than half a decade in New Orleans, Hodges relocated back to South Carolina, where he is the front man for the Gregory Hodges Band, which features Tez Sherard on drums, Frank Willkie on bass, and Aaron Bowen on keys. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.

247. Interview with Javier Garcia, Miami, Florida (05:04)

Date:
2020-10-02
Main contributors:
Javier Garcia
Summary:
Javier Garcia (Miami, Florida) Born in Spain to a Cuban father and Irish mother, Javier Garcia is a composer, arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer who performs in the realms of funk, reggae, world, funk, and Cuban rhythms. Javier has achieved gold record sales in three countries and has toured Europe and North and South America. He co-produced a recent album with Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla. He has sung with Nelly Furtado and CeeLo Green, among others, and has written songs for Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio, and many more. Javier is currently working on his first English album. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/02/2020.

248. Interview with Jason Hedges, Gainesville, Florida (05:29)

Date:
2020-09-18
Main contributors:
Jason Hedges
Summary:
Jason Hedges (Gainesville, Florida) Jason grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and has been performing since childhood. He is a musician and actor and has been involved in the theater and music scene for many years. Jason has been a musician in residence at the local hospital’s Arts in Medicine program in recent years and has spent time in Haiti playing music for orphanages, as well as performing in nursing homes and hospitals for sick patients. He performs in a range of genres, including country/rock/folk, and is inspired by Elvis Costello and Tom Petty. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/18/2020

249. Interview with Jake Fussell, Durham, North Carolina (05:22)

Date:
2020-09-18
Main contributors:
Jake Fussell
Summary:
Jake Fussell (Durham, North Carolina) Originally from Georgia, Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer and guitarist who lives in Durham, North Carolina. He has toured extensively as a solo performer and as a guitarist for a number of acts, including The Como Mamas and Joan Shelley. Fussell has released three studio albums of traditional material. He hosts a weekly radio program, Fall Line Radio, which airs every Wednesday afternoon on WHUP FM, a community station in Hillsborough, North Carolina. A long-time folklorist, ethnographer, and student of old songs and traditional repertoire, Fussell brings old repertoire to new generations in his own thoughtful and innovative way, honoring what came before while offering his own unique take on the world through song. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/18/2020.

250. Interview with Jada M. Lark, U.S. Virgin Islands (06:13)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
Jada M. Lark
Summary:
Jada M. Lark (U.S. Virgin Islands) Originally from Chicago, Illinois, singer Jada M. Lark relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she met her husband and performs as a singer in the reggae band Inity Reggae Xplosion. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.

251. Interview with Johnny Rawls, Purvis, Mississippi (04:58)

Date:
2020-10-15
Main contributors:
Johnny Rawls
Summary:
Johnny Rawls (Purvis, Mississippi) With a career spanning more than 50 years, Johnny Rawls is an internationally recognized recording artist, music producer, and songwriter who tours extensively throughout North America and overseas. The Blues Music Awards, Blues Blast Awards, Living Blues Awards, and the W. C. Handy Awards have all acknowledged Johnny with multiple awards and nominations, including Soul Blues Album of the Year and Soul Blues Artist of the Year. Living Blues Magazine described him as a “soul-blues renaissance man” when he was featured on the cover in 2002.  Johnny is mentioned on two markers along the Mississippi Blues Trail: one in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, marking the Hi-Hat Club, and another in Rocklin, Maine, marking the migration of blues from Mississippi to Maine. Born in Columbia, Mississippi, in 1951, Johnny grew up in Purvis (near Hattiesburg) and Gulfport. At age fifteen, Johnny’s high school band teacher asked Rawls to join his band as a saxophone player. Well into his career, in the mid-1970s, Johnny became the band director for soul singer O.V. Wright, and toured with O.V. until his death in 1980. Wright’s band, under Johnny’s leadership, continued to perform as the Ace of Spades band for several years. Johnny then became the band director for Little Johnny Taylor and in 1985, began touring as a solo artist and made his first solo recording. Rawls has released more than fifteen albums, and to date, ten of Johnny’s albums have been nominated for Soul Blues Album of the Year, with I’m Still Around winning in 2019. Johnny tours extensively throughout the US and internationally, playing approximately 200 dates every year. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/15/2020.

252. Interview with Jay Burgess, Muscle Shoals, Alabama (05:15)

Date:
2020-09-25
Main contributors:
Jay Burgess
Summary:
Jay Burgess (Muscle Shoals, Alabama) Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Jay Burgess is part of a new generation of Muscle Shoals musicians continuing in the long tradition of the Muscle Shoals sound. Burgess is the founder and front man of the band the Pollies, known for their innovative and unique take on southern rock music. Jay got his start in a band called Sons of Roswell and toured the Southeastern U.S. before forming the Pollies. Together, they have released two albums: Where the Lies Begin on This Is American Music and Not Here on Single Lock Records. Individually, Jay has done session work, and together with the band, they have backed Browan Lollar on an EP as well as the late Chris Porter and currently serve as the backing band for Dylan LeBlanc. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/25/2020.

253. Interview with Joshua Asante, Little Rock, Arkansas (05:03)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Joshua Asante
Summary:
Joshua Asante (Little Rock, Arkansas) Joshua Asante is a musician, writer, and photographer. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist/keyboardist for the Little Rock, Arkansas-based indie bands Amasa Hines and Velvet Kente. Asante has also toured extensively as a solo performer, sharing what he calls “astral soul,” a blend of electronic and soul music. Onstage, Joshua sings lyrics inspired by travel through space, the paintings of Hughie Lee Smith, and the literary work of Black speculative fiction giants Henry Dumas and Octavia Butler. For his live iterations of these ideas, Asante positions himself alone surrounded by synthesizers, drum machines, guitars, and a saxophone. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.

254. Interview with Jimbo Hart, Nashville, Tennessee (05:58)

Date:
2020-10-03
Main contributors:
Jimbo Hart
Summary:
Jimbo Hart (Nashville, Tennessee) Bassist and Alabama native Jimbo Hart has been holding down Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's low end for over a decade, touring the world and earning a Grammy for the group’s 2017 album, The Nashville Sound. Recorded in his home studio, Jimbo articulates why geology plays a significant role in the music of Muscle Shoals, the joy he gets from recording others (like projects for Ross Adams and King Corduroy), and the importance of meaningful connection between musicians as well as a reverence for the past. As one of many musicians intertwined with the Muscle Shoals scene, Jimbo Hart has made his own name as a producer, bassist and writer. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/03/2020.

255. Interview with the McCrary Sisters, Nashville, Tennessee (10:24)

Date:
2020-10-19
Main contributors:
Alfreda McCrary
Summary:
The McCrary Sisters (Nashville, Tennessee) The McCrary Sisters sing a unique style of gospel and inspirational music. Influenced by classic soul, Americana, blues and rhythm n blues, these sisters bring their joy to singing with tight soulful harmonies. The McCrary Sisters (Ann, Deborah, Regina and Alfreda) are the daughters of the late Rev. Samuel McCrary, one of the original members of the legendary gospel quartet, the Fairfield Four. The daughters were raised singing at home and at their father’s church before embarking as solo artists who performed with a wide range of major artists, including Bob Dylan, Elvis, Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder and more. In 2011, the Sisters officially formed their own group, the McCrary Sisters, and have since recorded or performed with notable artists Delbert McClinton, Black Keys, Martina McBride, Eric Church, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Jonny Lang, Robert Randolph, the Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Rosanne Cash, Carrie Underwood, Hank Williams, Jr., Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Sheryl Crow, Maren Morris, Gregg Allman and many more. They have been featured on countless broadcasts, including BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel, TBN’s Jason Crabbe Show, PBS’s Rock My Soul w/ Fairfield Four, Lee Ann Womack, Buddy Miller, PBS’s Mountain Stage, CMT’s 2016 Fan Festival with Carrie Underwood, CMT’s 2015 Artists of the Year with Eric Church, ABC’s CMA Awards 2015 with Hank Williams, Jr., 2016’s Maren Morris special and more. Their annual Tennessee Christmas special is much beloved and widely watched. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/19/2020.

256. Interview with Kamalakiran Vinjamuri, Washington, District of Columbia (05:54)

Date:
2020-09-29
Main contributors:
Kamalakiran Vinjamuri
Summary:
Kamalakiran Vinjamuri (Washington, D.C.) Kamalakiran Vinjamuri started learning the Indian carnatic violin tradition from his grandfather, Sri. Parthasarathy Iyengar. He then received training from Smt. Malladi Vijayalakshmi. His father, Sri. Subhash Vinjamuri, started teaching him the violin at the age of seven and followed with a tutelage from Sangeethakalanidhi A. Kanyakumari. Kamalakiran has won several prizes in different music competitions, both in India as well as in the U.S. In December 2010 and 2013, Kamalakiran received the Best Performer Award from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai. Kamalakiran was also awarded the Lalgudi G. Jayaraman Award for Best Violinist in the 2014 Gokulashtami Series in Krishna Gana Sabha. Kamalakiran has been performing in major venues in India and the US since 2009, including the Kennedy Center. In the 2014 Spirit of Youth series, and the 2016 and 2017 Music Seasons, Kamalakiran was selected as Best Violinist in the prestigious Music Academy in Chennai. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/29/2020.

257. Interview with Kumera Zekarias, Washington, District of Columbia (05:14)

Date:
2020-10-01
Main contributors:
Kumera Zekarias
Summary:
Kumera Zekarias (Washington, D.C.) Kumera Zekarias is a multilingual singer-songwriter, producer, and the band leader of Kino Musica, a five-piece group based in Washington, D.C. Originally from Austin, Texas, Kumera’s diverse and reflective music is rooted in the soulful expression of blues and the bilingual traditions of the southwestern United States. Kumera founded Kino Musica in 2014 to explore his own East African musical heritage. Recently he conducted ethnomusicological research at the Library of Congress, exploring the relationship between music from the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and Afro-Colombian music from the Pacific coast, culminating in a concert at the 2019 Library of Congress Archive Challenge. He recorded an EP in Bogota, Colombia in late 2018 titled Biyya Chonta. Kumera has also worked as an educator in the Washington, D.C., area for twelve years, designing inclusive programs focused on supporting immigrant youth and their families. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/01/2020.

258. Interview with Kuki Tuaiasosopo, American Samoa (05:03)

Date:
2020-10-13
Main contributors:
Kuki Tuaiasosopo
Summary:
Kuki Tuaiasosopo (American Samoa) Kuki Tuaiasosopo is an ethnomusicologist, musician, vocalist, and church choir leader. He received his Masters of Music from the University of Hawaii in Manoa, where he completed a thesis on the sacred music of the Congregational Church of Jesus in Samoa. He is Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at American Samoa Community College, where he teaches Music, Drama, and Speech. He is a member of the ICTM Study Group for the Music and Dances of Oceania, ICTM Regional Liaison for American Samoa, and a Music Researcher for 20th Century Fox Movies. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/13/2020.

259. Interview with Marcella Simien, Memphis, Tennessee (05:31)

Date:
2020-10-06
Main contributors:
Marcella Simien
Summary:
Marcella Simien (Memphis, Tennessee) Born into one of the first Creole families to settle in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, Marcella René Simien took her South Louisiana heritage to Memphis, Tennessee, where she is based. Daughter of two-time Grammy Award-winning zydeco artist Terrance Simien, Marcella grew up immersed in sound and performance. A graduate of the prestigious Memphis College of Art, Simien is now the front woman for her band, Marcella and Her Lovers. Her music is a hybrid of classic Memphis soul and New Orleans funk performed with the help of Creole accordion. As one of only 500 artists in America nominated for a prestigious USA Artists Fellowship, in 2016 Marcella and Her Lovers were also featured on the nationally syndicated radio program Beale Street Caravan. She has been a featured performer on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise alongside greats such as Marcia Ball, Allen Toussaint, and Irma Thomas. She sang lead vocals on a track off her father’s album Dockside Sessions, which won a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Album of the Year (2014). Simien’s first full-length album, Got You Found, with Marcella and Her Lovers, was engineered and co-produced at American Recording Studio by Pete Matthews and Toby Vest. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/06/2020.

260. Interview with Melissa Carper, Bastrop, Texas (05:31)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Melissa Carper
Summary:
Melissa Carper (Bastrop, Texas) Melissa Carper grew up playing bass and singing in her family’s country band. She went on to study upright bass at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln before performing a repertoire of old-time country, Western swing, and bluegrass with multiple groups across the South, including the Austin, Texas-based band, The Carper Family, which won Best Country Album in 2011 at the Independent Music Awards and again in 2013 with their album, Old-Fashioned Gal. In 2013, the group also made an appearance on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion (this was the second time Melissa had been featured on A Prairie Home Companion). Carper has spent many years moving back and forth between her home base in Arkansas and now Texas, where she continues to perform with the Buffalo Gals Band, whose debut album, Brand New Old Time Songs, made it to Number 2 on the European Americana charts in 2018. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.