The Unstarving Musician

Abe Partridge discovered music when he first heard Nirvana’s Nevermind. Life would take a few interesting turns before he would begin sharing his own music and art. He's served as a preacher as a member of the US Air Force. Life and a personal awakening forever changed his path, driving him to create art and music. He says he writes songs and paints for himself, but also to bring beauty into the world. He also creates as a means of countering parts of his life he views as hate filled and violent.

Lisa Sanders was once signed with an indie label, which gave her the gift of an indie mindset. Her latest release Shiver is her eighth CD. She's worked alongside The Truckee Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Rait, Al Green, BB King, and Babyface among others. Our conversation covers the San Diego music scene, touring, the thought process behind her career decisions, tips for fellow artists, her good friend and musical companion Brown Sugar, working to help the homeless, and more.

Chris Taylor creates music and art like a madman. He's a man of 100o faces in my eyes. Check out his website to see what I mean. In this episode we talk about why he creates so prolifically, how he's connecting with fans, his latest release, upcoming projects and much more. His latest album is an acoustic trip through his music catalogue, and a postcard of sorts to his fans. Then there's his artwork, which is as passion filled as his music.

Jace Everett's music career has span several albums and collaborations, the most recent of which is the 2017 release, Dust & Dirt. He’s the touring bassist for Tonic as of late, and he wrote Bad Things for HBO's True Blood. He says that Dust & Dirt was released to little or no fan fare, a statement telling of how he views today’s music business. In discussing the album, Jace reflects on signing with EMI Nashville in 2003, the Sony record deal that followed, and how the music business has changed.

Music marketing is synonymous with the name Mike Osborn. He’s still figuring it out like so many other indie music artists, but Mike has always been heavily invested in how he markets his music and brand. This hard working musician talks about his latest marketing endeavors, his forthcoming album, pickup bands in the blues community, and more.

I've had an increasing interest in house concerts, and in this episode I share what I've learned from guests and outside resources. You'll learn how to tap into the scene, about the audience growth opportunities, and how artists get paid. You’ll also get insights into the fan and host perspectives, an important aspect for artists to understand. There are also tips for aspiring hosts, and several resource mentions.

Dean Johanesen coined the genre label "circus swing." It's a genre he currently uses to identify his sound, but he may not keep that label indefinitely. In this interview, we discuss songwriter festivals, the progression of his songwriting process, the importance of open dialogue in bands, performing solo, changing his musical style, the full-time musician life, and he wants to exist doing what he loves. Hear his unreleased track Red Eyed, Red Light Hear at the end of this episode.

Amy S Kllingsworth founded and co-produces Amy & Gary's House Concerts of San Antonio Texas. She's hosting her 25th monthly concert in July of 2018. Our conversation touches on the host perspective, although here's also something here for music artists and fans. Topic highlights include challenges of hosting house concerts, advice to aspiring house concert hosts, advice to artists interested in performing house concerts, and more.

Life and songwriting on the road is the underscoring theme of this interview with Crystal & Pete Damore of Ordinary Elephant. Topics of discussion include growth of their Spotify audience, songwriting camps, the daily practice of object writing, music festival showcase gigs, and the importance of their fan newsletter. The Damores say that doing music full time was a calling that became clear once their new lifestyle began, and they sound as though they couldn’t be happier. Well, there is still one desire.

Singer Songwriter Roger Blevins Jr of Austin based Mingo Fishtrap grew up listening to R&B, soul, funk, metal, hip-hop, and a little rock, but his band is known for the sound of Texas soul. In this episode Roger and I discuss his songwriting accountability group, reflections on lessons learned in music school at the University of North Texas, where he sees so many artists struggle, immersion in the lucrative festival market, and how he's created a long running and sustainable band in Mingo Fishtrap.

Singer songwriter Jennifer Vazquez grew up in and around the Bronx of NY. She has spent a good deal of time in LA, but now calls Nashville home. She has a mindset built on giving and a belief in abundance. You’ll hear this in the stories she tells. Topics discussed include how a super fan helped her tour Sweden and England, how (and why) she killed and then revived her solo artist persona, what improving as a songwriter means to her, and what she learned at the recent Music Biz Conference 2018 in Nashvill

My guest Chase Anderson is lead singer and guitarist for the Austin band SHAPESCENES. Chase says when he was a kid listening to music, he could close his eyes and see notes, tones and chords as specific complex shape and color combinations. He referred to those visuals as shape scenes. Our conversation covers touring, PR, releasing new music, marketing, the evolution of SHAPESCENES, some of Chase’s favorite Austin venues, his life as a pro musician, and personal experience with mental health struggles.

Brian Wolff is lead singer and guitarist for Austin based rock band Fair City Fire. Our conversation covers Brian’s start in the music scene of Binghamton NY to his immersion in the Austin music scene. He shares lessons learned from touring, podcasting, college, business and marketing. His band’s latest release is Shake Your Bones. A highlight of our conversation is Brian’s take on marketing. I always expect guests to share a new marketing hack, but Brian offers insights on relationship marketing.

Singer songwriter Tom Meny considers himself an ambassador for house concerts. He says they’re his bread and butter these days. He’s so into them that he has a podcast episode devoted to the topic. Tom admits that it can be hard to get into the house concert scene, but offers a couple of important recommendations. He’s also quick to add that you should get familiar with house concert guidelines, and elaborates on why during our conversation. Plus hear a track from his latest release.

This best-of compilation episode features interview snippets from four previous episodes. Topics discussed include reputation marketing, the value of building a network, perseverance, focus, and how a back up plan can make all the difference. Featured conversations include musicians Chris Raspante, Paul Kent, Bill Lonero and Robert Berry. All four have achieved success by following straight forward sets of principles, all of which you can apply to your musician journey.