Frank Gallagher, host of the podcast Soundman Confidential, is on a mission to keep the magic of live music in the public’s imagination. He hosts conversations with some of the biggest players and artists in the music business, opening up about their careers performing live, and how they see the future of live music, post-pandemic.
Season One commenced on November 12, finding Gallagher (as he’s most commonly known) conversing with all four Talking Heads, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds and Kate Pierson of the B-52’s.
In 1977, Frank drove from London to Zurich in a truck filled with sound gear to meet up with two American bands flying in for a European tour – The Ramones and Talking Heads. Post-show, Frank went backstage and told Talking Heads he wanted to be their sound guy. The band gladly accepted his offer. In 1982, he met Scottish band, Simple Minds, rapidly becoming an important band in the UK’s post-punk scene. Frank encouraged the band to work hard, play each gig if it was to be their last, and to stay connected to their fans who showed up to see the shows.
Frank Gallagher was still touring in his seventies before COVID-19 pulled the plug on a B-52’s tour. The B-52’s are a part of the legacy act touring business, and Frank commands their iconic sound with his punchy, energetic mix, much to the delight of their legions of fans. Based in Arizona and California, Frank awaits the call to get back on the road with the band.
Update: On January 17 at 8PM ET, the fourth episode of It Was The Music will feature a special livestream event featuring Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams along with special guests Rosanne Cash, John Leventhal, and Buddy Miller. The livestream, available on FANS, will be hosted by David Keith.
It Was The Music, a film in 10 episodes chronicling the lives and love of musicians Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, will premiere on Sunday, December 13. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Mark Moskowitz, It Was the Music serves as both a musical odyssey and deeply personal love story of Campbell and Williams in search of their “music utopia.”
Having embarked on a joint musical career, It Was the Music sees the Woodstock couple packing their bags, guitars, amps, and 30-year marriage into their SUV and setting out across America to sing their own extraordinary songs along with riveting interpretations of beloved gospel, blues, country, and classic rock ‘n’ roll.
A three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer-songwriter, and bandleader from New York City, Campbell is a veteran musician hailed for his work with artists including as Levon Helm, Phil Lesh, Bob Dylan, The Black Crowes, among others.
Williams, an exceptional alto singer and actor known for her highly acclaimed roles as Sara Carter in Keep On The Sunny Side and the title role in Always….Patsy Cline, has also served as a vocalist for Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Phil Lesh and Friends and Peter Wolf, to name but a few.
Accompanying It Was the Music is a stellar soundtrack gathering previously unreleased music from Campbell and Williams, including new renditions of songs made famous by The Band, Grateful Dead,Little Feat, Buffalo Springfield, and more. The soundtrack features performances from Campbell and Williams who are joined by friends such as friends as Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Bill Payne, and the late Levon Helm’s world famous Midnight Ramble Band. The first track “It Ain’t Gonna Be A Good Night”has been released with the full soundtrack due out December 6. Pre-order and find more info about the film series here.
It Was the Music is first and foremost a love story, with Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams showing how love can create the music and how the music can bring us together. The film follows Campbell and Williams over 15 months on the road, starting point on a Friday afternoon at Williams’ seventh generation farm in Peckerwood Point, TN, traveling to Campbell’s native New York City and finally the couple’s home in Woodstock.
Along the way they stop at recording studios, clubs, and theatres across the country, with highlights including exclusive live performances from intimate venues and jam-packed music festivals. The finale of the film features parts of the star-studded “The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Celebration” presented by Lincoln Center at NYC’s Damrosch Park.
Along with the couple’s own personal story, It Was the Music includes exclusive interviews and never-before-seen performances from Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, William Bell, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Phil Lesh, Jerry Douglas, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Garland Jeffreys, Happy Traum, David Bromberg, and many more.
Director Mark Moskowitz says of It Was the Music:
It Was the Music is about what music means to us, the way my film, Stone Reader, is about what books means to us, and my upcoming film, Art Stops Here, is about what art means to us. In the end, these films are about us, how people respond to the arts. Not quite documentary, not quite reality, not quite memoir, not quite even story, It Was the Music is referential, memory-like. It’s allusive. Things touch other things…much like a song.”
It Was the Music premieres Sunday, December 13, with new episodes debuting every Sunday, except on January 3 – two episodes will be available on January 10.
Filmmaker Payne Lindsay and podcast company Tenderfoot TV have announced a new podcast called “Dead and Gone.” The true crime podcast’s first two episodes will debut October 15. It will be available on all podcast platforms in partnership with Cadence13.
Listeners will tune in as unsolved cases of fans of iconic jam band the Grateful Dead are investigated. Hosting the show will be Jake Brennan, who also hosts the podcast “Disgraceland.” Lindsay will handle much of the podcast’s behind-the-scenes work including research and is co-founder of Tenderfoot TV.
Lindsey and Brennan ran into few unsettling surprises while investigating the cold cases that span the course of five decades.
Filmaker Payne Lindsey said of the series:
“I knew we would encounter surprises throughout this investigation because of the strange coincidences, mysterious circumstances and rock and roll at the center of it all… but I never predicted to come across such a tragic case with so many unanswered questions. Many of these cases have not been thoroughly examined until now, and our goal is to uncover the truth about what really happened that night so justice is served.”
One such case is the murders of Mary Regina Gioia and Gregory Allen Kniffin, two Grateful Dead-obsessed Berkeley residents. The pair were found beaten and shot to death in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986.
At the time of the murders, a black man named Ralph International Thomas was found guilty and sentenced to death. After a A “mysterious tip from a fellow Dead Head” it allegedly could be a wrongful accusation. According to the press release “lack of evidence and conflicting witness testimonies” could prove Thomas’ innocence. Lindsey and Brennan credit this tip for the catalyst behind the podcast.
Beyond the double murder of Gioia and Kniffin, listeners will also dive into the darkness surrounding the band. Included will be tales of the band’s subversive past, the predators among the concert goers, and more.
“I’ve studied the history and culture of the band for years, and I think people will be surprised to find that there is a darkness at the core of the Grateful Dead’s music and that darkness is present throughout the band’s history. It has manifested in song and in real life and many of the band’s fans have fallen victim to it. This darkness and the violence and mystery it’s spawned runs contrary to the good intentions of the band and the Grateful Dead’s image of peace, love, good times and music, and that contrast makes for fascinating storytelling.”
Jake Brennan, Co-Found of Double Elvis Productions
Listen to the trailer here and be sure to catch new episodes weekly on all platforms. For more information subscribe here.
“Groove Therapy,” a new podcast combining live music with health and wellness, launched in late August. Produced by Osiris Media and available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify, “Groove Therapy” explores the effects music can have on our minds and bodies.
Founded by Dr. Leah Taylor and Taraleigh Weathers, “Groove Therapy” has two episodes out with a third coming on Friday, September 4. So far, the podcast has explored the idea of “conscious partying” and interviewed Joel Cummins of jam band Umphrey’s McGee. Each episode will have a different guest, either a musician or mental health professional. Listen to the trailer below:
“Groove Therapy” seeks to explore the collective joy of live music with an educational twist. While there’s a time and place for sex and drugs in rock and roll, “Groove Therapy” is about replicating that ectastic feeling when the lights go down at a concert in healthy and responsible ways throughout daily life. “The world needs this now more than ever. What we’re doing is really different: we’re talking about health, hugs, and rock and roll,” said Dr. Leah Taylor in the podcast’s first episode.
Together, Leah and her co-host Taraleigh have over 35 years of experience in health and wellness. Leah has an MA in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Mind-Body Medicine, while Taraleigh is the author of a book, How to Rock Your Life: Maintain the Magic of Live Music in Your Everyday Experience.
“Groove Therapy”’s September 4th episode is set to feature Zach Gill, of Animal Liberation Orchestra and Jack Johnson’s band. Leah and Taraleigh promise a “long list of fun people” in future episodes. For more information about the podcast, check out the Facebook community group.
Things have been interesting the past few months, between online streaming and socially distanced live shows being the only methods to get your live music fix. We’re hopeful that things will continue to improve in New York State and surrounding areas so we can get back to having the best live music offerings in the country.
To get an idea of where things are at in the Capital Region, catch up with a Who’s Who of the Albany music scene thanks to Albany EventsVideo Podcast series. You’ll find interviews and insight from Frankie Cavone at Mirth Films, Luke Malamood from Hartley’s Encore, Art Fredette of RadioRadioX, the team at The Spot 518, and staff from the Albany Events team. Between the 16 (and counting) episodes, you’ll get an idea of what the past few months have been like for musicians, videographers, publishers, photographers, event planners and more!
Marco Benevento joined RJ Bee on this week’s episode of the new podcast series Past, Present, Future, Live! brought to you by Osiris Media. Spanning almost an hour, in the episode we hear the virtuoso keyboardist discuss his life experiences and musical inspirations behind the 7 solo albums that have successfully blended indie pop, jazz, hard rock and improvisation into the smooth fun sound he is known for. The episode wraps with a special performance “Two of You,” “Dropkick,” and “In the Afternoon Tomorrow” right from Benevento’s studio home in Woodstock, NY
Marco Benevento went on to talk during the podcast about musical partnership that has spanned over twenty years with drummer Joe Russo, the other half of the Benevento/Russo Duo and mastermind behind Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. From bus tours to moving to the Hudson Valley of New York, Benevento’s life and career was impacted immensely leading up to the new artists who have inspired diverse sounds on Benevento’s new album Let it Slide.
“I literally am living the dream. I couldn’t even imagine being anywhere else right now,” said Marco Benevento.
Past, Present, Future, Live! is a weekly show that captures the musical journey of an artist in four parts. From early inspirations to the creative process to what drive’s future projects these stories provide a unique inside look. Hosted by RJ Bee, past episodes have included Grammy winning producer and musician Eric Krasno and the frontman for Old 47s Rhett Miller. Upcoming episodes of Past, Present, Future, Live! will include conversations with Ted Leo, Dani Markham, Maggie Rose, and more. Check out full audio episodes every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A video of each live performance will be available immediately following on the Osiris website and Youtube channel.
On the latest installment of Touchdowns All Day with Jon Barber, the guitartist for the Disco Biscuits sits down with bandmate Allen Aucoin. The drummer and Barber have an incredibly candid conversation that goes deep into Allen’s Cajun family life and growing up around the military with his father in the Special Forces.
Tune in to hear about his family’s crawfish boils in Germany, his healthy lifestyle, meditation and rudimentary drumming practices, influences, and more in this TDAD exclusive interview.
As Biscuits fans are aware, these two episodes (let alone one) have more Allen vocal mic input than the last 14 years of Disco Biscuits shows combined.
A sample exchange between the two bandmates includes:
Jon Barber: “The fans sent in a bunch of questions & they are all kind of scratching at the surface of: Are you a superhero?” And, it ends up you kinda are, in a weird way.”
Allen Aucoin: “Yeah, I had a keyboard player named Dr. Dan that I used to play with. He called me The Special Forces of Drums.”
The third ever Brooklyn Podcast Festival, produced by City Farm Presents, will be held next week, January 22-26, 2020 in Brooklyn. Featuring more than 15 podcasts over five days, the festival will be hosted between three venues – The Bell House, Union Hall, and BRIC House.
The 2020 Brooklyn Podcast Festival features established, as well as up-and-coming shows, including: An Evening With Osiris, Featuring Goose with hosts Phish songwriter, Tom Marshall and RJ Bee; The Bowery Boyshosted by Thomas Meyers and Gregory Young; The Bechdel Castwith Jamie Loftus & Caitlin Durante; Secret Keepers Club hosted by Girl Code’s Carly Aquilino and Netflix’s Emma Willmann; as well as NPR’s Ask Me Another with hosts Ophira Eisenberg and “in-house musician” Jonathan Coulton with their special guest, HBO’s Ben Sinclair.
