201. Interview with Maggie Delaney-Potthoff, Madison, Wisconsin (05:43)

Date:
2020-09-02
Main contributors:
Maggie Delaney-Potthoff
Summary:
Maggie Delaney-Potthoff (Madison, Wisconsin) Founding member of Harmonious Wail, Maggie Delaney-Potthoff is a vocalist extraordinaire whose percussive instrument of choice is a cardboard box (but who can also rock almost any household object). Harmonious Wail plays Americana-infused Gypsy Jazz. Along with her illustrious yet humble artist bandmates, she vows that every performance is played from the heart and infused with a perfect balance of inspiration, emotion, wit, and storytelling. Presently, the group celebrates ten recordings and over thirty years of existence. Their music has been played in films and they have received the 2017 Musicnotes Outstanding Musical Career Achievement. Award and the 2020 18th Annual Independent Music Awards Acoustic Song category for “Move.” Maggie’s captivating voice captured voters’ hearts and made her the 2020 AARP Superstar recipient. She also teaches voice. In this interview you will hear her talking about her teaching. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/02/2020.

202. Interview with Mercedes Mendive, Elko, Nevada (06:14)

Date:
2020-10-07
Main contributors:
Mercedes Mendive
Summary:
Mercedes Mendive (Elko, Nevada) Accordionist Mercedes Mendive is the daughter of Joe and Veronica Mendive. She attended schools in Elko and has lived in Reno, as well as eleven years in Miami, Florida. Her father was one of her greatest influences beginning at a very young age, when the sound of the accordion was constantly present in her world. Mercedes' musical journey has taken her to prestigious accordion festivals in Texas, Orlando, Florida, Miami, as well as festivals in California, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and all over the state of Nevada. Mercedes was invited to perform in July 2016 for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival while accompanying the Elko Ariñak Basque Dancers (Basque Dancers of the Great Basin). One of Mercedes' latest endeavors is the Ariñak Project that she co-founded during the summer of 2016 with lifelong friend and fellow dancer/musician Janet Iribarne. Their focus is to elaborate on the Basque culture not only with traditional dances, but with new dances, new music, instruments, language, and songs. Most recently, Mercedes was a featured performing artist with her band, Melodikoa, who performed throughout the prestigious 2018 National Cowboy Gathering in late January/early February in Elko, Nevada, titled Basques and Buckaroos.  Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/07/2020.

203. Interview with Mary Flower, Portland, Oregon (05:04)

Date:
2020-10-12
Main contributors:
Mary Flower
Summary:
Mary Flower (Portland, Oregon) An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter, and teacher, the Midwest native relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon, music scene in 2004. She continues to please crowds and critics at folk festivals, teaching seminars and concert stages domestically and abroad, that include Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion, and the Vancouver Folk Festival, among many. A finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Finger Picking Guitar Championship; a nominee in 2008, 2012, and 2016 for a Blues Foundation Blues Music Award; and many times a Cascade Blues Assn. Muddy Award winner, Flower embodies a luscious and lusty mix of rootsy, acoustic blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms – from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz. Flower’s twelve recordings, including her four for Memphis’ famed Yellow Dog Records—Bywater Dance, Instrumental Breakdown, Bridges and Misery Loves Company—show a deep command of and love for folk and blues string music. For Flower, it’s never about re-creation. Her dedication to the art form is a vital contribution to America’s music. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/12/2020.

204. Interview with Luis Herrera, Fillmore, California (06:12)

Date:
2020-09-08
Main contributors:
Luis Herrera
Summary:
Luis Herrera (Fillmore, California) Luis Herrera is brother number two in his family band, Hermanos Herrera, a musical group consisting of five brothers and their younger sister. The group plays various styles of traditional Mexican music such as son huasteco, son jarocho, and norteña music. They have shared their music with a wide audience, performing throughout the U.S. and Mexico at world-renowned venues, and shared the stage with Los Tigres del Norte, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Intocable, Julieta Venegas, and Banda el Recodo, to name a few. In 2015, Hermanos Herrera joined the nationwide campaign to encourage Latinos in the United States to attend and graduate from college. Through their music they have raised over $100,000 for the community and have assisted in countless fundraising and community service events, educating children and assisting those in need. Hermanos Herrera continue to promote cultural awareness and appreciation of their Mexican heritage with musical presentations and workshops at both the elementary school and collegiate levels. They released their ninth recording, Ayer, Hoy y Para Siempre in April 2020. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/08/2020.

205. Interview with Queen Quet, Georgia Sea Islands (05:52)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
Queen Quet
Summary:
Queen Quet (Georgia Sea Islands) Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine is a singer/vocalist, author, computer scientist, lecturer, and cultural historian. She is the founder of the premiere advocacy organization for the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. Queen Quet was the first Gullah/Geechee person to speak on behalf of her people before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and was also one of the first of seven inductees in the Gullah/Geechee Nation Hall of Fame. In 2008, she was recorded at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, at a United Nations Conference in order to have the human rights story of the Gullah/Geechee people archived for the United Nations. She worked with US Congressman James Clyburn to ensure that the United States Congress would work to assist the Gullah/Geechees. Queen Quet then acted as the community leader to work with the United States National Park Service to conduct several meetings throughout the Gullah/Geechee Nation for the Special Resource Study of Lowcountry Gullah Culture. Due to the fact that Gullah/Geechees worked to become recognized as one people, Queen Quet wanted to ensure that the future congressional act would reflect this in its name and form. As a result in 2006 the “Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act” was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by the president. Queen Quet has appeared in numerous documentaries and films, and in print and other media. She uses her voice and vocal performances as healing arts. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/14/2020.

206. Interview with Rachel Reynolds, Fox, Arkansas (05:54)

Date:
2020-09-11
Main contributors:
Rachel Reynolds
Summary:
Rachel Reynolds (Fox, Arkansas) Rachel is an artist and folklorist with a background in art and cultural policy and arts-focused grassroots organizing in underserved communities. Reynolds received a B.A. in American studies from the University of Arkansas and M.A. degrees in public history and heritage studies from Arkansas State University. She received a fellowship from the Southern Foodways Alliance to document Arkansas barbecue and was in the first cohort of Creative Community Fellows through National Arts Strategies. Her arts- and food-focused project, the Oregon County Food Producers and Artisans Co-Op, has been featured in Mother Earth News, Rural Missouri, Acres U.S.A. and others. In 2015, she founded the #NotMyOzarks campaign to counter anti-racial sentiment in the Ozarks region. Rachel is the Head Project Steward of Meadowcreek, Inc., a land- and art-based incubator in the Arkansas Ozarks, co-founder of the People's Library Project, and the Executive Director of the Arkansas Craft School. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/11/2020.

207. Interview with Randy Sabien, St. Paul, Minnesota (05:53)

Date:
2020-09-27
Main contributors:
Randy Sabien
Summary:
Randy Sabien (St. Paul, Minnesota) Randy Sabien has over forty years of performing experience as a contemporary violinist. He also has extensive touring and guesting experience, having toured as singer/songwriter Jim Post’s sideman, doing recordings with Greg Brown, appearing on Austin City Limits with Kate Wolf, guesting on Prairie Home Companion, and doing shows with Corky Siegel. Over the years, he has led his own bands as well, often featuring triple fiddles. Randy founded the string department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1978, and then thirty years later, headed the string department at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. He is the author of the ground-breaking jazz method for strings, Jazz Philharmonic, published by Alfred Music. He has recorded a dozen albums to date. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/27/2020.

208. Interview with Rickie Monie, New Orleans, Louisiana (05:54)

Date:
2020-09-24
Main contributors:
Rickie Monie
Summary:
Rickie Monie (New Orleans, Louisiana) Preservation Hall pianist Rickie Monie was raised in New Orleans’s Ninth Ward. Monie’s parents played piano in church, and at home they would spin records by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Teddy Wilson, and other pianists. Monie’s father began teaching him at the age of eight, and he eventually played piano and organ in church. In 1982, Rickie Monie began to perform at Preservation Hall, where he has remained since. In addition to piano, Monie is also an accomplished clarinetist and regularly plays the organ in churches around New Orleans. As an ambassador of music for New Orleans and the United States, Rickie continues to share his love of music with students of all ages. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/24/2020.

209. Interview with Paul Anastasio, Richard, Louisiana (05:53)

Date:
2020-09-04
Main contributors:
Paul Anastasio
Summary:
Paul Anastasio (Richard, Louisiana) Paul Anastasio began studying violin at age nine and soon gravitated to popular and folk music. By his mid-twenties, he had studied with jazz violin pioneer Joe Venuti and had begun performing in Merle Haggard’s band, the Strangers. Later he served four years in the western swing band Asleep at the Wheel and worked for three years with Larry Gatlin and two years with Loretta Lynn. From 1997 to 2006, he traveled to Mexico to study and archived the folk fiddling of southwestern Mexico’s Tierra Caliente, transcribing over 1,000 tunes, which became an ongoing project. Paul has been teaching vintage jazz, swing, western swing, improvisation, traditional country, and Mexican fiddling annually at music camps and workshops across the U.S. He is a musician in Lafayette, Louisiana-based bands including Stop the Clock Western Swing and Runaway Fiddle. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/04/2020.

210. Interview with Arturo Rodriguez, Seattle, Washington (05:59)

Date:
2020-10-06
Main contributors:
Arturo Rodriguez
Summary:
Arturo Rodriguez (Seattle, Washington) An accomplished musician, author, teacher, and DJ, Arturo Rodriguez has performed worldwide, sharing the stage with such music legends as Tito Puente; Dave Valentin; Paul Horn; Pete Escovedo; Brandi Carlile; Crosby, Stills and Nash, and many more. Never one to stand still for very long, Arturo is both a familiar face and a powerful force on the local Seattle music scene. While moving through the musical boundaries of salsa, rumba, jazz, pop, rock, and even Afro Cuban ritual music, Arturo has an amazing talent for bringing people together. He currently performs with the Rumba Kings and is working on a new album with his new trio, Weave Poetic, a phenomenal performance group fusing Latin and jazz music together with incredible vocal harmonies. All members in the group sing and write original music. Arturo teaches Latin percussion and drum set and helps salsa dancers with their musicality both virtually and live. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/06/2020.

211. Interview with Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler, Silver City, New Mexico (09:42)

Date:
2020-09-22
Main contributors:
Jeanie McLerie
Summary:
Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler (Silver City, New Mexico) Bayou Seco plays music from the Southwest. Jeanie and Ken have collected music from older traditional American musicians for most of their lives and have learned to play many of their tunes and songs. They especially focus on Cajun music in southwestern Louisiana and, since 1980, have learned from traditional Hispanic, Cowboy, and Tohono O’odham musicians in New Mexico and Arizona. Both of them play fiddle and guitar and sing. Ken also plays one- and three-row diatonic accordions, five-string banjo (fretless), harmonica, and mandolin. They play at concerts, dances (where they can teach Spanish colonial dances from New Mexico and other dances), art centers, schools, museums, folk clubs, weddings, wakes, state fairs, and other types of events. They help run the radio station Gila Mimbres Community Radio (GMCR.org) in Silver City and their radio show, Roots and Branches, airs on Saturday (8-10 a.m. MST) with a jam-along with Ken and Jeanie from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020.

212. Interview with Belén Escobedo, San Antonio, Texas (06:06)

Date:
2020-09-16
Main contributors:
Belén Escobedo
Summary:
Belén Escobedo (San Antonio, Texas) Belén Escobedo plays rare and beautiful fiddle tunes in the South Texas-Mexican grass roots Tejano Conjunto tradition. Growing up on the south side of San Antonio and working as a professional fiddler since she was a teenager, Belén has preserved a unique style of fiddling that has all but disappeared from the Texas borderlands. Belén has a vast and unique repertoire, including tunes she learned from her grandfather’s whistling and a huge range of borderlands tunes from both sides of the border. The name of her trio, Panfilo’s Güera, honors her grandfather’s influence on her, the grandchild he called his güera, or “blondie.” Panfilo’s Güera is Belén, her husband Ramón Gutierrez (tololoche or double bass), and Stevie R. Vaveges (bajo sexto). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/16/2020.

213. Interview with Bertram Levy, Port Townsend, Washington (05:47)

Date:
2020-10-23
Main contributors:
Bertram Levy
Summary:
Bertram Levy (Port Townsend, Washington) Bertram Levy is one of the few accomplished bandoneonistas in North America. In 1989, Bertram first heard the instrument played live by Astor Piazzolla. He was so moved by Piazzolla’s music that he abandoned all his other musical endeavors to pursue the bandoneón. At that time Bertram was in his late forties and had achieved an international reputation as a banjo and concertina virtuoso. He had been featured on more than a dozen albums, including the Smithsonian CD compilation American Folk Music. He had also authored the definitive concertina tutor The Concertina Demystified, was chosen as banjo player of the year by Frets magazine, and was highlighted in several national broadcasts of The Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. In addition, he created and directed the most prestigious instrumental folk music festival in the United States: the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Bertram’s first bandoneón lessons were with Miguel Varvello in Buenos Aires in 1991 and later in Paris with Cesar Stroscio. In 2005, Bertram enrolled in the Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires to study classical bandoneon with the great Rodolfo Daluisio. He founded Tangoheart in 1999 to introduce Pacific Northwest audiences to authentic Argentine tango. He currently lives both in Washington State and in Buenos Aires, where he continues his studies with Rodolfo Daluisio. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/23/2020.

214. Interview with Bethany Highley, Bonners Ferry, Idaho (05:38)

Date:
2020-10-05
Main contributors:
Bethany Highley
Summary:
Bethany Highley (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) Bethany is a professional recording artist and session vocalist with classical vocal training, choir, musical theater, and worship leading experience. She can also dance, play piano/keyboard, and write song lyrics. Bethany just finished co-writing and recording vocals for a chill but dark electronic album written and produced by Yuri Kryzhanivskyy. She defines herself as pretty trance, chill, alternative, alt/dream pop/rock/punk-oriented, but has dynamic singing style abilities. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/5/2020.

215. Interview with Carla Sciaky, Lakewood, Colorado (06:39)

Date:
2020-10-12
Main contributors:
Carla Sciaky
Summary:
Carla Sciaky (Lakewood, Colorado) Carla Sciaky is a multi-instrumentalist and folk singer-songwriter based in Lakewood, Colorado. As a soloist, she toured the US and Europe throughout the 1980s and 90s, recording first on her own Propinquity Records and later on Green Linnet and Alacazam Records. Her songwriting won her awards and/or recognition in such arenas as the Kerrville New Song Competition, the Louisville (Kentucky) songwriting competition, the Colorado Arts and Humanities Fellowship for Composition, the Billboard Songwriting Competition, and the Colorado, Utah, and Kansas Artist in Residence programs. As a member of the long-standing infamous Denver-area group the Mother Folkers, Carla was recently inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, and her solo Zoom series, Concept Concerts, has soothed fans worldwide during the sheltering time of COVID. In the classical/early music world, Carla performs on baroque violin with Sémplice, a Denver quartet specializing in baroque music on period/replica instruments, as well as being a member of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado since their first season. Carla is also active in the holistic and energy healing world, helping people find greater well-being through her practice Doorway to Healing, and is working on two book projects. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/12/2020.

216. Interview with Brian Walther, Bismarck, North Dakota (05:59)

Date:
2020-10-05
Main contributors:
Brian Walther
Summary:
Brian Walther (Bismarck, North Dakota) Brian Walther’s career in music goes all the way back to 1982 and he has played countless styles of music. Whether it be as a polka drummer, a bass player in a country punk band, a keyboard player in a blues rock outfit, or an acoustic solo artist, Brian has a lifetime of experience in the music industry. Brian has recorded two solo albums that are currently available and was a founding member of the seminal 1980s cult country punk band Eddie & The Shitheads. The Shitheads were at the forefront of the DIY independent music movement selling several thousand copies of their classic record Ignorant Prix. Brian is the lead vocalist and guitar player for the American Storytellers. He has also produced multiple independent artists and worked as a live sound engineer for many years. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/05/2020.

217. Interview with Brian Marshall, Humble, Texas (05:38)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Brian Marshall
Summary:
Brian Marshall (Humble, Texas) Brian Marshall is considered one of the keepers of the unique Texas Polish fiddle tradition. Performers like Brian Marshall have been responsible for a recent revitalization of the rich tradition of Polish fiddling from Texas that declined into obscurity until recent years. In the nineteenth century, Polish bands used fiddles to create a distinctly Texan sound. Brian and His Tex-Slavik Playboys bring back the old Polish Texan sound. A Houston native with Bremond roots, Marshall has a fiddle style redolent of the Old Country while containing elements of Western swing as well. Brian and his band have recorded several CDs including Texas Kapela and Texas Lowlands. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/14/2020.

218. Interview with César "Jarochelo" Castro, Los Angeles, California (06:29)

Date:
2020-09-15
Main contributors:
César "Jarochelo" Castro
Summary:
César “Jarochelo” Castro (Los Angeles, California) A professional son jarocho musician, luthier, and instructor, César Castro has been an active liaison between communities in the US and Veracruz, Mexico, for over fifteen years through Radio Jarochelo, a community-based podcast series he started in 2010, as well as various cultural projects, artist residencies with musicians from Veracruz, and cultural events in local communities, cultural centers, schools, universities, and California state prisons. He is very active as a community activist working to promote community building through music and participatory projects, particularly traditional Mexican son jarocho music. He conveys vast knowledge and experience in son jarocho/fandango musical practices and engages disenfranchised communities in building self-sustaining projects that tap into and build upon cultural knowledge, embodied experience, and memory. He plays requinto, jarana, improvises lyrics, and dance son jarocho. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/15/2020.

219. Interview with Dave Robinson, Phoenix, Arizona (05:20)

Date:
2020-10-21
Main contributors:
Dave Robinson
Summary:
Dave Robinson (Phoenix, Arizona) Dave Robinson is a Phoenix-based classical musician and jazz guitarist who plays everything from classical to contemporary music. He has performed with Stevie Nicks, the Four Tops, Sam Moore, Joni Sledge, the Phoenix Symphony, and many others. He is a National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient and is in demand as a studio and performing guitarist. He has recorded with the Four Tops and appeared with Sam “Soul Man” Moore on the Motown Live TV show. He studied classical guitar and harmony at Arizona State University, as well as getting private instruction from Ted Greene, Joe Diorio, and Chuck Marohnic. He has also produced recordings for the Multimedia Library in NYC. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/21/2020.

220. Interview with David García, San Antonio del Guache, New Mexico (05:39)

Date:
2020-09-21
Main contributors:
David García
Summary:
David García (San Antonio del Guache, New Mexico) Lifelong musician and cultural anthropologist David García works at the Center for Regional Studies-University of New Mexico. He calls himself a community musician since he is a multi-instrumentalist who plays in different community settings and in various community ensembles as well as professional ones. He plays violin for the Danza de Matachines, a dance that takes place during a particular festivity on December 27 in northern New Mexico. He plays also in religious settings and funerals. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/21/2020.

221. Interview with Daniel Ho, Los Angeles, California/Honolulu, Hawaii (06:34)

Date:
2020-09-24
Main contributors:
Daniel Ho
Summary:
Daniel Ho (Los Angeles, California/Honolulu, Hawaii) Daniel Ho is an ‘ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. Daniel’s collaborations transcend genres, from Hawaiian regional roots to world music with Mongolian nomads, to duets with Pepe Romero, the maestro of classical guitar, to jazz and rock with Tak Matsumoto of the Japanese supergroup, B’z. Daniel is a six-time GRAMMY Award winner, eleven-time GRAMMY Award nominee, six-time Taiwanese Golden Melody Award winner, and recipient of multiple Hawaiian Music awards. Always on the move, Daniel is an American cultural ambassador, with tours completed to Japan, Thailand, Brunei, and Australia. In infinite pursuit of new musical adventures, he is also the designer of the Romero Creations Tiny Tenor ‘ukulele, Ohana Bongolele, and Shakerlele. His custom-designed six-string ‘ukulele is on exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/24/2020.

222. Interview with Dan Ansotegui, Boise, Idaho (06:06)

Date:
2020-06-10
Main contributors:
Dan Ansotegui
Summary:
Dan Ansotegui (Boise, Idaho) Dan Ansotegui was raised by the scents and tastes of his mother’s cooking and the sound of his father’s music. The music came from the accordion and the aromas that filled the house were brought to this country by his grandmother Epi. His exposure to the traditions of the Basque Country prepared him for a life of immersive study, commitment to preservation, and a talent for performance. Through his role as master, mentor, and entrepreneur, Dan is a bearer of Basque music, dance, and foodways traditions that contribute to the creative growth and sustainability of his cultural community. Dan is a National Heritage Award recipient (2019), performs traditional Basque dance music, and plays in a fusion Basque pop band called Amuma Says No. He is also one of the primary teachers in the Boise trikitixa and pandero teaching program, training new players of Basque music on diatonic accordion and tambourine. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 06/10/2020.

223. Interview with Dewa Berata, Los Angeles, California (05:57)

Date:
2020-10-23
Main contributors:
Dewa Berata
Summary:
Dewa Berata (Los Angeles, California) Bapak I Dewa Putu Berata is an internationally acclaimed Balinese musician, teacher, and composer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area and Pengosekan, Bali. A graduate of STSI Denpasar (Bali’s National Academy of the Arts), he has been an artistic collaborator with dance troupes, theater companies, and music ensembles in multiple countries. He has served as Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s Guest Music Director many times since his first residency in 1994. Berata is the founder and director of Çudamani, one of Bali’s most innovative and acclaimed gamelan ensembles that has toured extensively including appearances at the Cultural Olympiade (Greece), EXPO (Japan), Tong Tong Festival (Holland), and Lincoln Center & Zellerbach Hall (USA). Çudamani has become one of the most vibrant centers of artistic activity in Bali, endeavoring to study rare classic forms of Balinese arts. Berata’s life’s work has been dedicated not only to the arts, but to creating community by providing opportunities for active arts engagement to children, youth, women, and elders. He is also the musical director for Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering artistic exchange between Bali and the United States and to sharing the excitement of this exchange with diverse audiences in California, the US, and abroad. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/23/2020.

224. Interview with David Romtvedt, Buffalo, Wyoming (06:19)

Date:
2020-09-10
Main contributors:
David Romtvedt
Summary:
David Romtvedt (Buffalo, Wyoming) David Romtvedt was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in southern Arizona. He is a writer and a musician. A recipient of two NEA fellowships, the Pushcart Prize, and the Wyoming Governor's Arts Award, David served as the poet laureate of the state of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011, his work has appeared in numerous magazines, and he has published books of fiction, poetry, and essays including Gernikako Arbola, translations of the nineteenth century songwriter and poet Joxe Mari Iparragirre, and the 2021 poetry collection No Way, an American Tao Te Ching. He is a multi-instrumentalist and for many years played dance music of the Americas with the Wyoming-based band the Fireants. He is an ambassador of Basque culture and plays trikitixa, a two-row accordion designed specifically for Basque music. Romtvedt served as the program manager for the Centrum Foundation's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and International Folk Dance and Music Festival and continues to work with the Children's Band Lab program at Fiddle Tunes. He lives in Buffalo, Wyoming, with his wife, the potter Margo Brown. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/10/2020.

225. Interview with David Reihs, Portland, Oregon (05:40)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
David Reihs
Summary:
David Reihs (Portland, Oregon) Playing Arabic keyboard and accordion, Middle Eastern percussion, ud, and elektro-saz, David Reihs is a multi-instrumentalist turned producer and educator who currently focuses on music of Turkish and Arabic cultures. He has been studying a wide variety of Middle Eastern genres and instruments since 2001, including four years living in Istanbul, Turkey, where he learned and spent time with many of the country’s finest musicians. Aside from his work with Ritim Egzotik, David’s company produces concerts, workshops and instructional DVDs for Middle Eastern music and dance. He is the artistic director for Ritim Egzotik, a modern Turkish and Arabic music ensemble that respectfully plays classic and popular Arabic and Turkish compositions and tosses in prog rock and psychedelic spices to add their own twist and modernize the songs they love. Added to this feast of sounds are Greek and Turkish Roman favorites. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/14/2020.

226. Interview with Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti, Bay Area, California (06:15)

Date:
2020-10-31
Main contributors:
Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti
Summary:
Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti (Bay Area, California) Dewa Ayu Larassanti is a Balinese dancer, musician, and vocalist who regularly teaches at Sanggar Çudamani, a Balinese performing arts school founded by her parents in Pengosekan, Bali. With Çudamani, she has toured Greece, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Ayu grew up both in the Bay Area and in Bali, experiencing the challenges and the beauty of two worlds. She loves to study different forms of music and dance, including choral music, jazz dance, and hip hop. She is a student at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/31/2020.

227. Interview with Eddie Parente, Portland, Oregon (05:07)

Date:
2020-08-31
Main contributors:
Eddie Parente
Summary:
Eddie Parente (Portland, Oregon) Originally from Jersey City, NJ, Eddie Parente studied violin and four-part harmony at Jersey City State College and played in string orchestra while studying jazz with saxophonist Emile DeCosmo. Eddie also studied with violinist Julie Lyonn Lieberman in NYC and credits trumpeter Ted Curson, who held jam sessions in Hoboken and encouraged Eddie to play jazz in those formative years. In the early 1980s, Eddie lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he played in a Mexican mariachi band while studying classical Indian music with tabla, attending Irish traditional music sessions, and playing in an international folk dance band. Upon moving to Portland in 1985, Eddie participated in Ron Steen's jam sessions and studied and played with the great jazz violinist/bassist Rob Thomas. Since then, Eddie has played and recorded with a wide variety of musical groups. These days, Eddie is leading his own jazz quartet and plays in Mariachi Viva Mexico, a successful working mariachi group in the large and growing Latino community in the Pacific Northwest. Eddie has a CD of his original jazz and Latin compositions entitled Touraco and a CD entitled Quartet Jazz. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 08/31/2020.

228. Interview with Del Rey, Seattle, Washington (06:36)

Date:
2020-09-22
Main contributors:
Del Rey
Summary:
Del Rey (Seattle, Washington) Del Rey started playing guitar when she was four years old. At thirteen, she was immersed in the world of folk music via the San Diego Folk Festival. She has tried to get a whole band onto her solo instrument from the beginning. This gives her music an interesting complexity, especially when applied to the ukulele. Rags, blues, and tunes of the early twentieth century are her specialty, even as she writes new music to add to the tradition. Del Rey also has fashion sense that would make Minnie Pearl smile. Del Rey has taught and played all over the world and brings her distinctive finger-style approach to guitar and ukulele to her teaching. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020

229. Interview with Erin Heist, Juneau, Alaska (05:57)

Date:
2020-09-23
Main contributors:
Erin Heist
Summary:
Erin Heist (Juneau, Alaska) Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, Erin Heist plays guitar and sings bluegrass, old-time, Cajun, and country music. She performs in a duo with her husband and in a honky-tonk, old-time band that plays at bars, festivals, or local events. She works for the State of Alaska and considers music a very important part of her life. She is very involved in Juneau’s folk music scene and praises the sense of community music brings to the city, particularly through the Alaska Folk Festival. Interview by Raquel Paraíso, 09/23/2020.

230. Interview with Gao Hong, Northfield, Minnesota (06:08)

Date:
2020-10-21
Main contributors:
Gao Hong
Summary:
Gao Hong (Northfield, Minnesota) Gao Hong, a Chinese pipa player and composer, began her career as a professional musician at age twelve. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with pipa master Lin Shicheng. She has received numerous awards and honors. In 2019, Gao Hong became the only musician in any genre to win five McKnight Artist Fellowships for Performing Musicians. In 2018, she became the first Chinese musician to win a Sally Award from the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. She has performed throughout Europe, Australia, Argentina, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the United States, and has world premiered numerous pipa concerti with important orchestras. She has been featured as both pipa player and composer in important festivals in the U.S. Her composition for solo pipa, “Flying Dragon,” won the 2012 Global Music Award of Excellence-Solo Instrumental (Gold Medal). Since her arrival in the U.S. in 1994, Gao Hong has presented hundreds of educational workshops for elementary through college-age students and has been on the faculty of Metropolitan State University and MacPhail Center for the Arts. Currently, she teaches at Carleton College in Minnesota. During the COVID pandemic, Gao Hong released two CDs, Hunting Eagles Catching Swans (Chinese Pudong pipa music featuring Gao Hong and her master, Lin Shichen) and From Our World to Yours (ARC Music in U.K.). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/21/2020.

231. Interview with Fred Riedel, Gresham, Oregon (04:16)

Date:
2020-10-06
Main contributors:
Fred Riedel
Summary:
Fred Riedel (Gresham, Oregon) A retired schoolteacher, Fred Riedel is the bandleader, guitar player, and singer for the blues band—swing style—Blues Battalion. The group plays cover tunes as well as original tunes mostly written by Fred. Blues Battalion is John Johnston (keyboard), John McKenney (bass), Shelley Lenz (vocals), Cardo Bonjourno (drums), and Fred Riedel (guitar & vocals). Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/06/2020.

232. Interview with Jessica Pacheco, Los Angeles, California (06:08)

Date:
2020-10-15
Main contributors:
Jessica Pacheco
Summary:
Jessica Pacheco (Los Angeles, California) Jessica was born and raised in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents Miriam and Jose Pacheco. Growing up, Jessica partook in numerous extracurricular activities, such as ballet, piano, art, music, drama, and classical Spanish dance/flamenco. Dancing highlights include performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England during the Monkees’ 2011 World Tour, performing with the Florida Grand Opera in Carmen, Turandot, and La Traviata, as well as the Los Angeles Opera in Carmen and El Gato Montés. Jessica’s dance company, Flamenco Tropical, combines classical Spanish, traditional flamenco, and modern rumba into one high energy show. Some of her theater credits include playing Celeste Finley in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth, Adela in Federico García Lorcas’ La casa de Bernarda Alba, and María in Daimary Sánchez Morenos’ Are You Bringing Something From Mexico? Jessica has been cast in several Telemundo telenovelas. Since moving to L.A., she has appeared on the TV shows General Hospital, To Tell The Truth, and Superstore, to name a few. She is also very proud to have been part of Pixar’s animated feature, Coco. Currently, she has just finished producing, directing, and starring in a comedic web series she wrote called Cuban Tales. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/15/2020.

233. Interview with Isaac Callender, Sand Coulee, Montana (06:06)

Date:
2020-09-22
Main contributors:
Isaac Callender
Summary:
Isaac Callender (Sand Coulee, Montana) Isaac has been a regular in the North American folk music scene for the last twenty years. He has performed with such notable acts as Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, the April Verch Band, Bobby Hicks, John Reischman, Tony Trischka, Tommy Emmanuel, and Peter Rowan, to name a few. Isaac's versatility as a musician has garnered him accolades on fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and bass. He plays mostly bluegrass and Cajun music. Isaac has performed and taught at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes; the Port Fairy Folk Festival; the Australian National Folk Festival; the International Bluegrass Music Association Festival; the National Old-Time Fiddlers Contest in Weiser, Idaho; the Grand Masters Fiddle Contest in Nashville, Tennessee; and on Irish (RTE), Australian (ABC), Canadian (CBC), and US (NPR) National Radio. Isaac’s current endeavors include playing with duos, trios, and bands throughout North America and Europe, teaching at camps and workshops, building and repairing instruments, recording, and publishing tune books with his wife Louise. He is the president of the Montana Old-Time Fiddlers. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020.

234. Interview with Nat Hulskamp, Portland, Oregon (06:00)

Date:
2020-10-20
Main contributors:
Nat Hulskamp
Summary:
Nat Hulskamp (Portland, Oregon) Born in Portland, OR, Nat Hulskamp began studying guitar with guitarist/composer Paul Chasman at age seventeen. He was soon introduced to flamenco guitar by José Solano. His interest in the influence of Arabic music on flamenco led him to study oud in Morocco. After returning to the U.S., he moved to Seattle to study ethnomusicology at the University of Washington. In 2000, he co-founded the Vancouver, BC, based Arabic/flamenco group Aire. In 2004, he moved to Portland and formed the group Shabava with kamancheh/sehtar/violinist and singer Bobak Salehi. In 2010, he formed the trio Caminhos Cruzados with master jazz guitarist Dan Balmer and Ghanaian percussion virtuoso Israel Annoh. Nat has studied with the top flamenco guitarists of today, including Diego del Morao, Manuel Parrilla, Pepe del Morao, Dani de Morón, and Antonio Rey, among others. He has recorded in Spain with Diego del Morao, La Macanita, Luís de Perikín, and LaBejazz, and has performed with José Antonio Rodríguez, Santiago Lara and Antonio Rey during their US tours. He now resides in Portland, composing and performing with Shabava, Caminhos Cruzados, and Seffarine. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/20/2020.

235. Interview with Nathaniel Kuster, Albuquerque, New Mexico (06:00)

Date:
2020-10-01
Main contributors:
Nathaniel Kuster
Summary:
Nathaniel Kuster (Albuquerque, New Mexico) Known as a “virtuoso de la quena,” Nathaniel Kuster (whose stage name for many years was Chichí Pérez) plays wind instruments from the Andes Mountains, including the quena, the quenacho, and the zampoña or siku. Nathaniel first heard the music of the Andes Mountains as a child in Peru. When he was an adolescent, he realized that it was the music he wanted to play. He soon mastered the quena and the zampoña with the help and support of many friends who encouraged him and accompanied him on the journey. He subsequently learned to play many other Andean wind instruments. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he works as the principal of Coronado Elementary School. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/1/2020.

236. Interview with Kozue Matzumoto, Los Angeles, California (06:00)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
Kozue Matzumoto
Summary:
Kozue Matzumoto (Los Angeles, California) Born and raised in the Tohoku (東北) area in Japan and having lived in Tokyo as well, Kozue is now based in the Los Angeles area. She has played the koto since she was three years old under Ikuta-ryu (生田流) Miyagi-kai (宮城会) and holds a semi-master title (準師範). She has also played the shamisen and the shinobue since she was very young. In North America, she has been collaborating with various musicians and movement, visual, installation, and other types of artists. Not only does she play traditional, contemporary, and experimental music, she also improvises, composes, and creates mixed media arts. She has contributed her koto sounds to 2020 Tokyo Olympics (postponed) as well as Ghost of Tsushima, a PS4 game released in 2020. She has participated in various projects and performances including at Center for World Music (San Diego, CA), SASSAS (Los Angeles, CA), Washington Street Art Center (Boston, MA), and Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble (Vancouver, Canada), to name a few. A Japanese music ensemble instructor at California Institute of the Arts, she has been invited as a guest lecturer by schools in California and also travels throughout the U.S. for lectures, master classes, and workshops. She studied improvisation, composition, and music technology, and graduated with a Performer-Composer MFA from California Institute of the Arts. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/14/2020.

237. Interview with LaRhonda Steele, Portland, Oregon (06:16)

Date:
2020-10-26
Main contributors:
LaRhonda Steele
Summary:
LaRhonda Steele (Portland, Oregon) Gospel, jazz, and blues singer LaRhonda Steele began her musical journey in Jones, Oklahoma, at age 13 singing her first solo in church. Her journey continued to Portland, Oregon and beyond culminating into a powerful legacy of musical experiences. Throughout her musical career, she has enjoyed working with local, national, and international artists including Gino Vannelli, Curtis Salgado, Norman Sylvester, Janice Marie Scroggins, and Tharp Memory. She is the 2017–2019 Muddy Award winner for Best Female Vocalist presented by the Cascade Blues Association and is a member of the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. Performing in Porretta, Italy, at the 30th annual Porretta Soul Festival honoring American Soul Music; Lincoln Center with Obo Addy in 2005; and her yearly appearances at the Waterfront Blues Festivals are just a few of the many highlights of her career. LaRhonda currently enjoys directing the nonprofit Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir, serving as music director of the Portland Center for Spiritual Living, performing with her own LaRhonda Steele Band, vocal coaching, and songwriting. LaRhonda will be inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2021 since the 2020 inductees have to wait a year due to COVID. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/26/2020.

238. Interview with Lawrence F. Archambault, Fort Yates, North Dakota (05:38)

Date:
2020-10-12
Main contributors:
Lawrence F. Archambault
Summary:
Lawrence F. Archambault (Fort Yates, North Dakota) Lawrence (Larz) Archambault, a Hunkpapa Lakota from the Standing Rock Sioux Nation of North and South Dakota, is the drummer for the recording group Stones of Red. Fans describe their music as a mix of Lenny Kravitz, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, and Delbert McClinton, which Stones of Red finds humbling as all have been their influences. Since regrouping the band in 2016, Stones of Red has progressed at an astonishingly quick rate to emerge on the music scene as a budding young, high-energy group coupled with the group’s hauntingly soulful vocals and musicianship. Stones of Red is backed by seasoned musicians, playing original music and a variety of cover music during their live shows. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/12/2020.

239. Interview with Kevin LaMarr Jones, Richmond, Virginia (05:50)

Date:
2020-09-25
Main contributors:
Kevin LaMarr Jones
Summary:
Kevin LaMarr Jones (Richmond, Virginia) Kevin LaMarr Jones is a dance artist, choreographer, and performer. He is the artistic director of the community-based dance company and academy called Claves Unidos (translated United Rhythms), a collective of independent artists that celebrates the multiple Afro descendent roots—dances from different parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and the Americas. Kevin believes that beyond the barriers of race, age, gender, religion and geography, it is the African presence in the arts that unites the world. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/25/2020.

240. Interview with Luc Reynaud, Winthrop, Washington (06:08)

Date:
2020-09-02
Main contributors:
Luc Reynaud
Summary:
Luc Reynaud (Winthrop, Washington) Luc Reynaud is a musician, producer, and humanitarian who lives by the code that anything is possible if we do not limit ourselves. Along with his band Luc and the Lovingtons, a globetrotting world-soul-reggae band, he co-founded the Goodness Tour, a nonprofit organization that brings music and art experiences to people facing adversity all over the world. The tour travels to refugee camps, disaster zones, homeless shelters, hospitals, and anywhere that humans are in need of a positive outlet for expression. In 2005, Luc co-wrote a song with a group of kids in an evacuation shelter after Hurricane Katrina called “The Freedom Song,” which Grammy Award-winning artist Jason Mraz would cover on his Love Is a Four Letter Word album. In 2016, Luc and the band released a music video called "Welcome to My House," which was filmed in a Syrian refugee camp in northern Jordan and in the northwestern United States. The song and video paired Syrian and American youth together singing “You’re welcome to my house” in Arabic and English. In 2017 and 2018, Luc directed a project through the Goodness Tour that brought over a hundred Puerto Ricans together to write and sing a song in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In 2019, Luc began co-writing a musical with Bahamian evacuees living in disaster shelters in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. Luc continues to respond to his calling with a dedication to serve humanity through music. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/02/2020.

241. Interview with Giani Martinez, Tampa, Florida (06:06)

Date:
2020-10-03
Main contributors:
Giani Martinez
Summary:
Giani Martinez (Tampa, Florida) Metal/heavy metal musician Gianfranco Martinez De La Torre lives in Tampa, Florida, where he was born and raised. He does promotions and booking for a DIY venue located in a basement called “The Millhaus.” In recent years, he has played in local bands called Spit and Invade as well as filling in for the bands Poster and Bad Human. Most recently, he has been working with local producer Eric Dina on his first demo. The project is planned as a solo four-song self-titled demo tape.  Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/03/2020.

242. 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.

244. 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.

245. 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.

246. 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.

247. 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.

248. 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.

249. 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

250. 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.

251. 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.

252. 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.

253. 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.

254. 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.

255. 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.

256. 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.

257. 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.

258. 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.

259. 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.

260. 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.

261. 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.

262. Interview with Miera Kim, Iowa City, Iowa (05:54)

Date:
2020-10-02
Main contributors:
Miera Kim
Summary:
Miera Kim (Iowa City, Iowa) Classical violinist Miera Kim is based in Iowa City, Iowa, where she runs the Red Cedar Chamber Music group alongside her husband. Red Cedar Chamber Music brings innovative and entertaining concert projects and residency programs to broad and diverse audiences. Miera has extensive orchestral and chamber music experience. She was named a member of the core ensemble and Executive Director of Red Cedar Chamber Music in 2016. Her extensive orchestral experience is reflected in her work as a professional violinist since the age of 16 with Orchestra Iowa. Miera has appeared frequently with the Quad-Cities Symphony String Quartet and the Maia Quartet. She studied with Jascha Brodsky at the Curtis Institute, Allen Ohmes at the University of Iowa and Doris Preucil at the Preucil School of Music. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/02/2020.

263. Interview with Monty Lane Allen, Nashville, Tennessee (06:23)

Date:
2020-10-15
Main contributors:
Monty Lane Allen
Summary:
Monty Lane Allen (Nashville, Tennessee) Monty Lane Allen, a multi-talented artist from South Carolina, is based in Nashville, Tennessee and is a well-known guitarist in the modern country music scene. After the release of his debut album Great Big World in 2008, several of his music videos aired on CMT and GAC and the song “Falling Water” eventually earned him a Telly Award for Best Music Video. Apart from his solo career, Monty Lane has toured as a member of Alan Jackson's backing group, The Strayhorns, for many years. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/15/2020.

264. Interview with Natasha O'Neill, Indianapolis, Indiana (05:49)

Date:
2020-09-26
Main contributors:
Natasha O'Neill
Summary:
Natasha O’Neill (Indianapolis, Indiana) Natasha O’Neill is one third of the Indianapolis, Indiana-based outfit Wife Patrol. Alongside bandmates Nicole (bass/vocals) and Greg (guitar/vocals), Natasha, who plays drums and sings vocals, defines their sound as “sifting through ‘90s grunge and alt-rock, ‘80s pop and new wave, and ‘70s punk.” Formed in 2015, the band self-released their 2016 EP, Electric Blizzard. Following the release of that record, they embarked on a tour of the Midwest, including shows at LadyFest Cincinnati (2017) and the MidWay Music Festival (2017, 2019) in Bloomington, Indiana. Wife Patrol released their debut full-length album, Too Prickly For this World, in 2020. The band recorded and mixed the eleven-track album with their producer, P. David Hazel (The Lemonheads, Extra Blue Kind) throughout 2019, and the output is a punk/pop/metal mashup with vocal harmonies throughout. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/26/2020.

265. Interview with Nesby Phips, New Orleans, Louisiana (05:59)

Date:
2020-09-14
Main contributors:
Nesby Phips
Summary:
Nesby Phips (New Orleans, Louisiana) The grand-nephew of Mahalia Jackson, New Orleans-native Courtney Nero, better known by his stage name, Nesby Phips, is a multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and producer who is known for his soulful approach to production. He has produced songs for Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, Curren$y, Juvenile, and countless more, and due to his incorporation of many different genres of music-making into his production, co-headlined a sold-out performance at New Orleans’ famed jazz venue Preservation Hall, marking one of the first shows at the Hall headlined by a New Orleans rap artist. Nesby Phips has also worked as a cultural liaison for many writers, filmmakers, and journalists documenting New Orleans music and culture, including ESPN, Converse, VICE, Complex, VIBE, The New York Times, and more. His 2017 album, Black Man 4 Sale, was co-produced by Atlanta/LA-based producer, DJ Fu. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/14/2020.

266. Interview with Oscar Rios Pohirieth, Lincoln, Nebraska (05:53)

Date:
2020-09-30
Main contributors:
Oscar Rios Pohirieth
Summary:
Oscar Rios Pohirieth (Lincoln, Nebraska) A first-generation Mexican immigrant who came to Nebraska at a young age, Oscar Rios Pohirieth is a performer of traditional musics of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. He performs often on the panpipes, quena, and charango and is also a teacher who helps his students better understand Andean music and culture through song. As a Nebraska Arts Council artist, Pohirieth teaches students and community members through storytelling and songs sung in both Spanish and Quechua. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/30/2020.

267. Life in Language with Douglas Hofstadter, A (24:14)

Date:
2020-12-23
Main contributors:
Hofstadter, Douglas, Shanahan, James, Monaghan, Elaine, Baron, Violet
Summary:
Dr. Douglas Hofstadter has researched, written, discovered and created many things - his expertise runs from cognitive science to literature, to language, and to art. His 1979 book Goedel, Escher, Bach became a classic in the popular understanding of the workings of our brain. Professor Hofstadter has since written many things - some playful inquiries, some piercing meditations, some all at once. Since 1977, he has held a professorship at IU that started in computer science and has spanned many departments. Dean Shanahan, Professor Elaine Monaghan and Producer Violet Baron sat down with Professor Hofstadter to hear his take on his writings, and on using musings on language to take on life.

268. COVID and Quarantine with Lexi Haskell (24:34)

Date:
2020-11-29
Main contributors:
Haskell, Lexi, Monaghan, Elaine, Baron, Violet
Summary:
When IDS reporter Lexi Haskell came back to campus after a summer of strict quarantine with her family, she knew there was some level of risk. But when she caught COVID and quarantined in her dorm, she got to thinking: am I just another dumb college kid who got infected, or is there something more going on here? This question was at the heart of her popular column for the IDS this fall, and it got a lot of buzz around IU and beyond it. Elaine Monaghan and Violet Baron speak with Lexi about the column, her experience, and her feelings now that she’s on the other side.

269. Bonus Episode: Distinguished Alumnus Bob Shanks (30:29)

Date:
2020-10-27
Main contributors:
Shanks, Bob, Shanahan, James
Summary:
IU alumnus Bob Shanks made his name as a New York television producer, helping to launch shows like “Good Morning America” and “20/20.” He passed away this month, and in his honor we bring you a conversation from 2016, when Shanks returned to the Media School to accept a Distinguished Alumni Award. Host Jim Shanahan talked with Shanks about his path to New York from Lebanon, Indiana. We hear how he parlayed proximity into a seat at the table, moving from waiting on executives to calling the shots at some of New York’s most well-known shows. This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

270. Bonus Episode: Distinguished Alumnus Bob Shanks - Part 2 (28:13)

Date:
2020-11-15
Main contributors:
Shanks, Bob, Shanahan, James
Summary:
IU alumnus Bob Shanks passed away last month, and in his honor we bring you Part 2 to a conversation from 2016, when Shanks returned to the Media School to accept a Distinguished Alumni Award. Host Jim Shanahan talked with Shanks about his triumphs and tragedies in the pressure-cooker comedy scene in New York, and what it was like to produce the classic prank show "Candid Camera." We also hear about the decision to pause entertainment during national emergencies like the Kennedy assassination, and when the show must go on. This is the second in a two-part series.

271. Center for Human Growth with Lynn Gilman and Lauren Adams, The (24:57)

Date:
2020-10-15
Main contributors:
Gilman, Lynn, Adams, Lauren, Monaghan, Elaine
Summary:
With the world changing by the minute, mental health support is more important than ever... but the way counseling happens is changing too. Elaine Monaghan and Violet Baron talk to the Center for Human Growth's Director Lynn Gilman and Co-Assistant Director Lauren Adams about its unique model as a counseling center fully staffed by graduate students. They also talk about how the counseling center is navigating the pandemic, and what might carry over even once we return to "normal."

272. Jordan Hall Greenhouse (05:01)

Date:
2020-02-07
Main contributors:
Spence, Kat
Summary:
The Sample: Surviving an Indiana winter is tough enough but it can seem especially brutal when all the greenery on campus is gone. In this episode of The Sample, take a visit to the Jordan Hall Greenhouse as producer Kat Spence explores what this staple of IU has to offer during the cold Hoosier winter.

273. 2020 Census at Indiana University, The (17:31)

Date:
2020-02-28
Main contributors:
Groobert, Dave, Donald, Adara, Bainbridge, Abigail, Monaghan, Elaine
Summary:
The Bateman Case Study Competition is a public relations competition for students nationwide to gain experience in public relations. IU has its own class devoted to this competition in which 4 students and a faculty advisor work together to implement a campaign for the chosen client. This year's client: The 2020 US Census. In this week's episode you'll hear from faculty advisor Dave Groobert and students Adara Donald and Abigail Bainbridge about what it's like to work on this case study and what exactly the US Census is.

274. Tiny Dorm Concert (05:43)

Date:
2020-03-06
Main contributors:
Holt, Linnea, Almanza, Natalie, Ashby, Eric
Summary:
The Sample: This week, Tiny Dorm Concert directors Linnea Holt, Natalie Almanza, and Eric Ashby chat about the start of the brand, all the work that goes into their videos, and the skills they've learned along the way. Check out one of TDC's nearly 20 videos at www.youtube.com/channel/UCda2MNtPEquk1KRZ4ZlZ6Fg Special thanks to Matixando for letting us record their warmup and pre-show conversation--stay tuned for their Tiny Dorm Concert!

275. Lunar New Year (05:27)

Date:
2020-01-24
Main contributors:
Spence, Kat, Fan, Kelly, Lee, Elise
Summary:
The Sample: Lunar New Year is a time to gather with friends and family to wish each other well in the new year. This week, producer Kat Spence sat down with students Kelly Fan and Elise Lee at the Asian Culture Center to find out more about the traditions surrounding this holiday as well as what the holiday means to them and their families.

276. Remembering Without Seeing with Maria Hamilton Abegunde (15:04)

Date:
2020-02-21
Main contributors:
Abegunde, Maria Hamilton
Summary:
The Sample: In celebration of Black History Month, Through the Gates' shorts, The Sample, sat down with Maria Hamilton Abegunde to discuss how the intersections of past and present, trauma and healing, influence the ways we, "witness and testify to lived experiences..." Among a wide array of accomplishments and experiences, Dr. Abegunde is an award-winning poet, the founding director of The Graduate Mentoring Center, and a visiting faculty member in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies. She is a memory keeper, and author of one collection of poetry and two poetry chapbooks.

277. Advocates And Allies (14:53)

Date:
2020-03-12
Main contributors:
Monaghan, Elaine, James, Tom
Summary:
In this episode, host Elaine Monaghan sits down with Indiana University professor of psychology Tom James. James is one of the founders of "Advocates and Allies for Equity", which runs auxiliary to the Center of Excellence for Women and Technology. Advocates and Allies focuses their work on educating themselves, and other men, about gender equity through workshops dedicated to removing unconscious bias and promoting awareness of gender discrimination. James' background in psychology gives him unique insight into these biases, and he discusses how, even beyond gender discrimination, we all carry these biases with us and how we can work to be better.

278. Emergence of Illiberalism with Michael Weinman, The (25:16)

Date:
2020-10-09
Main contributors:
Weinman, Michael, shanahan, James, monaghan, Elaine
Summary:
As we head into the election in a rapidly changing country, we can see the ways that liberal politics are giving way to more radical policies around the world. Dean Shanahan and Professor of Practice Elaine Monaghan speak with Michael Weinman, Professor of Philosophy at Bard College Berlin, about his new coedited volume, “The Emergence of Illiberalism: Understanding a Global Phenomenon.” The trio discuss how we can understand trends away from liberal policies and politics, and what we might expect to replace them.

279. Election 2020: Tracking Social Media with Harry Yan and Christopher Torres-Lugo (22:36)

Date:
2020-11-05
Main contributors:
Shanahan, James, Yan, Harry, Torres-Lugo, Christopher
Summary:
The 2020 election will likely be on our minds for some time. But how did we get here? Dean Shanahan speaks with Harry Yan and Christopher Torres-Lugo, two graduate students who are researching election interference. Yan and Lugo work at IU’s Observatory on Social Media, known familiarly as OSoMe, or “awesome.” The three discuss detecting bots, online election narratives, how the field is becoming more polarized— and what we might learn from it all.

280. Hidden Liberalism with Hussein Banai (24:46)

Date:
2020-09-16
Main contributors:
Banai, Hussein, Shanahan, James
Summary:
In our first episode of Season 6, The Media School's Dean Jim Shanahan sits down with Hussein Banai, assistant professor at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Banai's new book, "Hidden Liberalism Burdened Visions of Progress in Modern Iran," describes the ways that liberal political ideals appear in the country, and what their influence might mean for Iran's future. The two discuss the book, modern Iran's political sphere, and how it may affect international relations in the future.

281. Interview with Andre Johnson, Washington, District of Columbia (06:05)

Date:
2020-11-02
Main contributors:
Andre Johnson
Summary:
Andre Johnson (Washington, D.C.) Andre “Whiteboy” Johnson is a singer and guitarist based in Washington, D.C. Johnson is the lead guitarist and founding member of D.C. go-go band Rare Essence. In 1976, Johnson co-founded Rare Essence with friends in elementary school. Originally the Young Dynamos, they later changed their name and expanded their lineup, becoming one of the city’s premiere go-go institutions, putting on marathon shows that ran until 5 a.m. and performing regularly six to seven nights a week. Since the 1980s, the band has released dozens of studio albums, mixtape albums, live albums, compilations, and singles. They have performed with Run DMC, Wale, DJ Kool, LL Cool J, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Ice Cube, Heavy D and the Boyz, Wu Tang Clan, Redman and Method Man, French Montana, Scarface, TLC, Eric B and Rakim, YoYo, Shabba Ranks, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Thievery Corporation, KRS-1, and go-go icons Chuck Brown, Trouble Funk, The Junk Yard Band, and EU. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 11/02/2020.

282. Interview with Doris "Lady D" Fields, Beckley, West Virginia (06:16)

Date:
2020-10-22
Main contributors:
Doris "Lady D" Fields
Summary:
Doris "Lady D" Fields (Beckley, West Virginia) Doris Fields, aka “Lady D,” is a singer, bandleader, actress and visual artist based in Beckley, West Virginia. Known as West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul, Lady D has opened for the O’Jays at Charleston’s FestivALL (2007), as well as performed for The HistoryMakers: An Evening With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in Charleston (2010). Along with her band MI$$ION, she performed her original song “Go Higher,” chosen as the best Obama Inaugural Song, at the Obama for Change Inaugural Ball in 2009. Lady D received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the All Black Schools Sports & Academic Hall of Fame (2014) and has won the DC Blues Society Blues Challenge (2017). As an actress, Lady D has toured with her one-woman show The Lady and the Empress, a musical stage play based on the life and music of Bessie Smith. She has also acted with West Virginia productions of Honey in the Rock, Hatfields, McCoys and various other shows. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/22/2020.

283. Interview with Jesús "Chuy" Guzmán (Mariachi Los Camperos), Los Angeles, California (05:50)

Date:
2020-09-09
Main contributors:
Jesús "Chuy" Guzmán
Summary:
Jesús "Chuy" Guzmán (Los Angeles, California) Originally from San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, México, Jesús (Chuy) Guzmán is the musical director of the acclaimed Los Angeles-based Mariachi Los Camperos. Born in 1964 and passionate about playing violin since age six, Jesús, known by the nickname “Chuy,” moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s determined to be part of Los Camperos, a mariachi group he had admired since he was a little boy. Former Los Camperos musical director Nati Cano invited Chuy to join the group in 1988 and has been the musical director of the group since 1992. Los Camperos’ abundant accolades, including multiple Grammy awards and nominations and highly praised performances on premier concert stages such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Getty Center, can easily obscure the fact that its leaders come from humble roots, deep within a mariachi tradition shaped by family and community. In 2018, they provided the musical accompaniment for the New York debut of the world’s first mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (“To Cross the Face of the Moon”) by the New York City Opera. In 2019, Smithsonian Folkways released De Ayer para Siempre. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/09/2020.

284. Interview with John Moschioni, Houston, Texas (05:58)

Date:
2020-09-18
Main contributors:
John Moschioni
Summary:
John Moschioni (Houston, Texas) Born in the United States Air Force in 1954, John Moschioni spent seventeen years growing up in the military. He lived in various places in the United States and Germany. He is a self-taught musician and comments that culturally, he identified with blues, soul, and R&B music. John Moschioni, “Texas Johnny Boy,” has been playing blues for over forty years. He knows how to command a stage and his specialty is “old-school” R&B and traditional blues. He plays in live settings and is a one-man band. Besides primarily being a lead singer and frontman, he also plays diatonic and chromatic harmonica, flute, and saxophone. He makes half of his living playing music, doing art of all sorts, and buying/selling antique documents on eBay. [Texas Johnny Boy, an authentic Houston bluesician often playing with guitar player Milton Hopkins, passed away on November 27, 2020, after a short battle with cancer. “His relentless passion of da blues filled his life with enough music to bluesify the heavens into eternity,” his baby brother (ninth of ten) says. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/18/2020.

285. Interview with Montanette "Mooody" Miller, Washington, District of Columbia (05:44)

Date:
2020-10-31
Main contributors:
Montanette "Mooody" Miller
Summary:
Montanette “Mooody” Miller (Washington, D.C.) Montanette “Mooody” Miller is a singer based in Washington, D.C. In addition to her solo musical projects, she is a singer in the go-go band Suttle Squad. Forming as Suttle Thoughts in 1994, the band later became known as Suttle, Suttle Squad, or Squad Suttle. Suttle has opened for national recording artists such as The Isley Brothers, Jay Holiday, and Anthony David. The band has held weekly performances every Friday night at the Historical Takoma Station, one of the longest running Friday night happy hours for any go-go band. The Squad has also performed for local events and community rallies such as the Safeway Barbecue Battle, the Howard Theater, A Tribute to the Legendary Father of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, MPD Beat the Streets Annual Event, Six Annual Chuck Brown Day Virtual Party, and Bethesda Blues & Jazz. In addition to performing locally, Suttle Squad has toured as far as Cancun, Puerto Rico, Dallas, and Miami. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 10/31/2020.

286. Interview with Thanu Yakupitiyage, New York City, New York (05:50)

Date:
2020-09-25
Main contributors:
Thanu Yakupitiyage
Summary:
Thanu Yakupitiyage (New York City, New York) Thanushka (Thanu) Yakupitiyage is a Sri Lankan born, Thailand raised activist, cultural organizer, and DJ under the artist moniker “Ushka.” She deejays from the perspective of a dancer, blending a wide range of club music from soca to dancehall, hip hop to South Asian rhythms, Baltimore/Jersey club to baile funk, vogue cuts to kuduro, azonto to Afrobeat and more. Ushka is also a political and cultural organizer. She has performed at venues such as the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA PS1, American Museum of Natural History, Rubin Museum, and has put out mixes and done live shows with Discwoman, The Fader, and Boiler Room. She was the NYU Asian/Pacific/American Institute 2018-19 artist-in-residence and was selected to be one of fifty-two artists to produce new work for The Shed Open Call in 2019. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/25/2020.

287. Interview with Danielle "Sug" Johnson, Wilmington, Delaware (05:56)

Date:
2020-09-15
Main contributors:
Danielle "Sug" Johnson
Summary:
Danielle “Sug” Johnson (Wilmington, Delaware) Danielle “Sug” Johnson is a singer and bandleader based in Wilmington, Delaware. She is the frontwoman of the Wilmington based funk-soul-blues band Hoochi Coochi. With Hoochi Coochi, Johnson has performed locally at venues ranging from the Gild Hall show, The Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach, and the Delaware Music Festival. Beyond Delaware, the band has toured in venues and festivals across the Mid-Atlantic Region. Hoochi Coochi has also produced music videos which have received critical acclaim, including the song “Walkin,’” which features Wilmington Black-owned businesses, and addresses the Black Lives Matter Movement in relation to legacies of Black liberation struggles. Johnson is also a published writer, photographer, and guitar player. Interviewed by Tamar Sella, 09/15/2020.

288. Interview with John Santos, Oakland, California (06:09)

Date:
2020-09-25
Main contributors:
John Santos
Summary:
John Santos (Oakland, California) Born in San Francisco, CA, John Santos was raised in the Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean traditions of his family, surrounded by music. The fertile musical environment of the San Francisco Bay Area shaped his career in a unique way. His studies of Afro-Latin music have included several trips to New York, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, and Colombia. He is known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music and has earned much respect and recognition as a prolific performer, composer, teacher, writer, radio programmer, and record/event producer whose career has spanned four decades. John has performed and/or recorded with acknowledged multi-generational masters such as Cachao, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Bebo Valdés, Eddie Palmieri, and Jerry Gonzalez, to name a few. John is widely respected as one of the top writers, teachers, and historians in the field and was a member of the Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution. He is currently part of the faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory (Berkeley, CA), San Francisco State University, Jazz Camp West (since 1986), and the College of San Mateo (CA). His fourteenth recording, Art of the Descarga, was just released (June 2020) on the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/25/2020.

289. Interview with John Dell, Austin, Texas (06:24)

Date:
2020-09-09
Main contributors:
John Dell
Summary:
John Dell (Austin, Texas) Guitarist and singer for El Tule, John Dell grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved to Austin, Texas, where he founded the group in 2004. Playing original music, having fun, and making people dance, El Tule has been honing its unique sound, combining influences of cumbia, merengue, salsa, reggae and Latin jam in Austin, TX. Their original music is about history, art, and culture, often focusing on legends and tales of the mystical. The sound that El Tule brings to each performance naturally transcends all cultural and social backgrounds. Their high-energy live show has brought them to festivals and venues across the country, including SXSW, Tropical Heatwave, Viva Big Bend!, First Night Austin, Old Settlers Music Festival, Pachanga Fest, Pecan Street Festival, Austin Reggae Festival, Xemumba World Music Fest, Texas Salsa Fiesta, Festival De Cumbia En La Capital, and Austin City Limits Music Festival 2015 in front of an estimated 70,000 people. El Tule released its latest single Mil Mascaras on Cinco de Mayo, 2020. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/09/2020.

290. Interview with Jon Dee Graham, Austin, Texas (06:11)

Date:
2020-09-25
Main contributors:
Jon Dee Graham
Summary:
Jon Dee Graham (Austin, Texas) Jon Dee Graham was born in 1959 in the Texas Panhandle and grew up on the Texas/Mexico border. For over forty years, he has been a working musician with eleven albums and an artist specializing in bears, having sold over 300 paintings and drawings. He lives with his wife, son, two dogs, and two cats south of the river in Austin, TX. He plays regularly at the Continental with his rock band when he is not touring solo with his guitar—which he does 150 days out of the year—or with his band. His live shows and his Americana/rock music feed off of live audiences’ rapport. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/25/2020.

291. Interview with Kalyn Heffernan, Denver, Colorado (06:24)

Date:
2020-10-14
Main contributors:
Kalyn Heffernan
Summary:
Kalyn Heffernan (Denver, Colorado) Combining humor, playfulness, radical political perspectives, compassion, and undeniable musical chops, Wheelchair Sports Camp is Denver's biggest smallest band. Fronted by the wheelchair-using, rap-heavy, beat-making, freedom-fighting producer, educator, and foul-mouthed rebel rouser Kalyn, the band is a combination of live and electronic instruments with a more noisy, jazzy, and experimental combination for the traditional hip hop group. Raised by the DIY (Do It Yourself) spirit of experimental independence, the band has stretched itself into theatre, performance art, public television, politics, prison tours, permanent installations, and more to come. Kalyn led Denver's first disabled and queer artist campaign for the mayor’s seat in 2019. The tiny, happy mayor has long been advocating for herself and other marginalized communities through music, direct action, education, and art. Commonly known for fighting for access to human rights and calling out those in power who protect capital interests over the future, Kalyn makes herself heard with a very loud, distinct, and high-pitched sense of humor. The band unknowingly started the summer of 1997, when Kalyn moved back from California to her hometown. The band tours the States and beyond from their home in Denver. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/14/2020.

292. Interview with Kai Lyons, San Francisco, California (06:20)

Date:
2020-09-08
Main contributors:
Kai Lyons
Summary:
Kai Lyons (San Francisco, California) Kai Lyons is a twenty-five-year-old jazz guitarist. Growing up in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, he was surrounded by music and community from an early age. He completed his studies at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in 2012 as the first to graduate from the acclaimed Classical Guitar Program. From 2012-2014, on full scholarship, Kai attended the prestigious jazz program at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He studied with Vincent Herring, Gene Bertoncini, Harold Mabern, Rich Perry, and Hal Galper. Kai received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from San Francisco State University, where he studied with Andrew Speight, Michael Zisman, and Hafez Modirzadeh. Ever since returning to the Bay Area in 2015, he has freelanced extensively and also traveled frequently to New York City, New Orleans, and the Caribbean on music trips. Besides working with his own trio, Kai has performed with Mike Clark and Donald Harrison of Herbie Hancock’s Original Headhunters, Louis Romero, award-winning organist Wil Blades, Larry Vuckovich, Sueños, and Illy Bogart. He plays Cuban music and bossa nova music as well and is passionate about music playing. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/08/2020.

293. Interview with Karen Celia Heil, San Francisco, California (06:02)

Date:
2020-09-01
Main contributors:
Karen Celia Heil
Summary:
Karen Celia Heil (San Francisco, California) Karen Celia Heil, a longtime resident of San Francisco, has a thriving practice playing and teaching American old-time music on fiddle and guitar and performing locally, nationally, and internationally with bands such as the Bucking Mules, KC & the Moonshine Band, Plaid Strangers, and many other luminaries of old-time music. She has won awards for her playing at Clifftop with the Bucking Mules (First, First, Second and Fourth) and for her fiddling (Second), as well as at the Santa Barbara Fiddler's Festival (First and First). Karen is a skillful, fun, and enthusiastic teacher and teaches at camps and festivals, holds classes locally, and teaches private lessons. Her performing experience includes being cast in an award-winning production of the musical Fire On the Mountain (2015) and the Kate Weare Dance Company production and recording of Brightlands (2011). A natural live wire, she brings lots of spark and current to her teaching practice and to old-time music at large. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 9/1/2020.

294. Interview with Ken Allen, Reno, Nevada (05:58)

Date:
2020-09-30
Main contributors:
Ken Allen
Summary:
Ken Allen (Reno, Nevada) Ken Allen, DJ and founder of Amplified Entertainment has pushed the limits of nightlife entertainment throughout northern Nevada. Many will tell you that Amplified has grown to be one of the most versatile entertainment companies to date, reaching many genres: country, EDM, Latin, hip hop, top 40, pop, and reggae. With Ken Allen leading the way for over eighteen years, Amplified has reached places that were once thought to be unreachable. Self-taught, Allen is a sought-after DJ for his ability to mix any genres of music together. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/30/2020.

295. Interview with Kevin Locke, Wakpala, South Dakota (05:57)

Date:
2020-09-18
Main contributors:
Kevin Locke
Summary:
Kevin Locke (Wakpala, South Dakota) Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin in Lakota, translated as “First to Rise”) is a world famous visionary Hoop Dancer, preeminent player of the Indigenous Northern Plains flute, traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist, and educator. Kevin is Lakota and Anishinaabe. With nearly forty years of performing to hundreds of thousands of people in over ninety countries, Kevin’s concerts and presentations at performing art centers, festivals, schools, universities, conferences, state and national parks, monuments and historic sites, powwows, and reservations number in the hundreds annually. Eighty percent of Kevin’s presentations are performed through the educational system and shared with children of all ages in schools, community centers, and festivals internationally. As a folk artist, he uses his talents to teach others about his specific tribal background. His special joy is working with children on the reservations to ensure the survival and growth of indigenous culture. Kevin’s goal is to empower today’s youth in culture and “raise awareness of the Oneness we share as human beings.” His belief in the unity of humankind is expressed dramatically in the traditional Hoop Dance, which illustrates “the roles and responsibilities that all human beings have within the hoops (circles) of life.” Kevin Locke dedicates his life’s work to Baha’u’llah. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/18/2020

296. Interview with Kenny Endo, Honolulu, Hawaii (05:21)

Date:
2020-09-22
Main contributors:
Kenny Endo
Summary:
Kenny Endo (Honolulu, Hawaii) Kenny Endo is a vanguard of the taiko genre, continually paving new paths for this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko with numerous awards and accolades, Kenny Endo is a consummate artist, blending Japanese taiko with rhythms from around the world into original melodies and improvisation. Originally trained as a jazz musician in the Asian American cultural renaissance of 1970s California, in 1980, Endo embarked on a decade-long odyssey in his ancestral Japan, studying and performing with the masters of classical drumming, traditional Tokyo festival music, and ensemble drumming. In the greater musical world, “Kenny Endo” has become synonymous with “taiko.” He is arguably one of the most versatile musicians in the genre, crossing easily between the classical Japanese style and his own neo-traditional, globally-inspired variety. Endo has performed to critical acclaim with numerous musicians, comfortable collaborating with artists of all genres. He continues to tread new ground for this ancient instrument, inspiring all with his creativity, technique, and infectious groove; has recorded numerous CDs of original taiko compositions; and has traveled across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, the former Soviet Union, Australia, and the Americas in his effort to share taiko with the world. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/22/2020.

297. Interview with Karen A. Smith, Oakland, California (05:54)

Date:
2020-10-26
Main contributors:
Karen A. Smith
Summary:
Karen A. Smith (Oakland, California) Karen A. Smith is a vocalist, sound healer, dancer, and eternal student of music and dance from around the world. She adores and sings music from a wide variety of genres in a wide variety of settings, including, but not limited to, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian Yoruba chants and songs, Sanskrit mantras, Hawaiian oli and mele, Haitian Creole songs, R&B, and inspirational music. She studies and performs with numerous cultural organizations in the Bay Area including Arenas Dance Company, Na Lei Hulu I Ka Weiku, Brasarte, Cuba Caribe, Alafia Dance Ensemble, Las Que Son Son, and many others. She conducts sacred sound and movement workshops in local spiritual communities. When she is not singing or dancing, she is teaching, making jewelry, or baking delicious pies. A New York native of Jamaican, American-Indian, and African ancestry, Karen feels honored and grateful for the opportunity to share her vocal gifts as a part of the Loco Bloco Ensemble. Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 10/26/2020.

298. Interview with Gaelynn Lea, Duluth, Minnesota (06:45)

Date:
2020-10-19
Main contributors:
Gaelynn Lea
Summary:
Gaelynn Lea (Duluth, Minnesota) Musician Gaelynn Lea won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, and not long after she hit the road with her husband Paul. So far she has toured in forty-five states and nine countries, performing original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. Gaelynn Lea has appeared in several major festivals over the years, including SXSW, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and the Reykjavik Arts Festival. She has also opened for well-known bands such as Wilco, the Decemberists, LOW, the Jayhawks, and the industrial rock supergroup Pigface. In addition to performing and recording, Gaelynn also does speaking engagements about Disability Rights and accessibility in the arts. She uses her music as a platform to advocate for disabled people and to promote positive social change. In recent years, she has shared her perspective on PBS News Hour, The Moth Radio Hour, The Science of Happiness Podcast, and through two widely-viewed TEDx Talks. Gaelynn Lea is currently working on a memoir about her touring adventures and disability advocacy. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/19/2020.

299. Interview with Germán Marcano, Miami, Florida (06:01)

Date:
2020-10-07
Main contributors:
Germán Marcano
Summary:
Germán Marcano (Miami, Florida) Venezuelan cellist Germán Marcano lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife. Marcano has had many roles over the years, including as principal cello with the Simón Bolívar Symphony. He was also a regular guest soloist and conductor with Venezuela’s main orchestras. Marcano has held teaching positions at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory (El Sistema), Emil Friedman School, the Simón Bolívar University, and the Mozarteum School in Caracas. He has given masterclasses at Grand Valley State, Andrews University, the San Diego Youth Orchestra, the University of Iowa, Louisiana State University and the Madison Cello Institute in Wisconsin, Colombia, and Ecuador. He has premiered works from renowned Latin American composers. Among his publications we can count editions of important Venezuelan cello works and three commercial recordings, two of them devoted to folk Venezuelan music. Marcano holds degrees from the University of Surrey and the Guildhall School of Music (England), and a master’s and DMA from the UW-Madison. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 10/07/2020.

300. Interview with Gerardo Meza, Lincoln, Nebraska (05:59)

Date:
2020-09-29
Main contributors:
Gerardo Meza
Summary:
Gerardo Meza (Lincoln, Nebraska) Gerardo Meza is a first-generation Mexican American, the son of immigrants who settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1960. He has been creating art since childhood and has worked professionally as an artist for most of his adult life. As a songwriter and musician, he has performed with his band the Mezcal Brothers for the past twenty-two years as the primary songwriter, lead singer, and rhythm guitarist. In 2016, the Mezcal Brothers were inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame. He has toured extensively in the U.S. as well as parts of Europe since 2000 with the Mezcal Brothers. For the past ten years, Gerardo Meza has taught art at Lincoln Public Schools’ Arts & Humanities Focus Program High School. Interviewed by Holly Hobbs, 09/29/2020.