The Unstarving Musician

In 2011 Sommer Sharon started a Facebook page and Twitter account for a music promotions project. It was a project born of sheer interest, but things got interesting when Joe Satriani followed her Twitter account. Satriani was her 4th follower. Her interest suddenly became a business. Musicians and music industry pros started to take notice of her work, leading to the development of a great music network that included bands, solo artists, publicists, magazine publishers, radio hosts, and promoters.

Following a big life change, Stephanie Tice found happiness at San Jose blues venues Little Lou’s and Poor House Bistro. It was during this time that she met Norwegian born Kid Andersen of Greaseland Studios. Greaseland lead her to a treasure trove of special recordings and to a gig as Executive Producer for Howlin' at Greaseland, at tribute to the music of Howlin' Wolff. Nominated for Traditional Blues Album of the year, Howlin' at Greaseland features 25 artists including Taildragger, Aki Kumar, and more

Los Angeles based guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and host of The Iconoclast Music Podcast, Greg Marra started playing guitar at age 6, but didn't have his first guitar lesson until he was about 17. We talk about Dave Navarro’s podcast, the return of Greg’s own Iconoclast Music Podcast, songwriting, the early years and the anatomy of his career, how some equipment companies (like some people) don’t seem to understand “relationship first marketing”, music education, YouTube, G4, NAMM and more.

San Francisco Bay Area blues-rocker Mike Osborn joins me to answer listener questions. The topics we cover include the increasing demand for tribute bands, proper etiquette for jams, approaching organizers of municipal events & festivals, backing tracks at live gigs, gear checklists for gigs, and more. Learn more about Mike Osborn and his music at MichaelOsbornMusic.net and @MikeOsbornBand on Facebook.

Lisa Leuschner Andersen is the Queen of Greaseland Studios, a vocal instructor, singer with Foreverland (San Francisco's tribute to the music of Michael Jackson), Alumni of American Idol seasons 2 & 3, and Showtime at The Apollo alumni. She’s also a dancer, Bitstrips enthusiast, and a really enjoyable storyteller. She comes from a musical family and has been gigging professionally since age 7. She's also a major voice at Greaseland, having contributed vocals on just about every album ever recorded there.

My very first interview for this podcast was a wheels-off train wreck. It was recorded a little over eight months ago. My guest was Rex Brown, best known as a member of metal pioneers Pantera. When we spoke, Rex was exuberant about the upcoming launch of his first solo album, Smoke on This. The timing was perfect and preceded the promotional activity that he was about to immerse himself in. He was in great spirits as Smoke on This was already looking and sounding like it was going to be a big success.

Rockin’ Johnny Burgin is incredibly passionate a about performing. He resides in the San Francisco Bay area, but came up as a blues player performing in the west side Chicago blues scene. In his early 20's, he was played west side black clubs where he says watching bands was like watching a boxing match, a place where musical phrasing came to life. We talk about his latest album Neoprene Fedora, his 8 year hiatus, why the stage is so important to him, and why musicians shouldn't have cell phones on stage.

Mark Wenner and his band The Nighthawks have been performing and recording for over 40 years. He came up as a young man when rock & roll was perceived by many adults as the devil’s music. At a time when Elvis was in the army, Jerry Lee Lewis was banned, and both Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran had died, radio was giving him Fabian. His response? Venturing out to DC's Howard Theater to see The Motown Review, Otis Redding, and James Brown. Learning to play harp and forming the Nighthawks soon followed.

David has an in-depth understanding of music theory, but he's predominately self-taught. Working as a pro musician has clearly given him the gift of expanded music vocabulary. Yet he says it's important to stay humble, suggesting there's always someone from whom we can learn. In this interview, David also shares his thoughts on endorsements, the record label model, where the music industry might be headed, and working with a clear mind.

David has made his living as a professional harmonica player and is one of the most widely respected educators of the instrument. He's largely responsible for taking the harmonica from novelty instrument to highly coveted art form. He's published 70 book/CD sets and over 4000 educational videos, all of BluesHarmonica.com. In 2002 David opened School of the Blues, which is dedicated to the study of blues. In this conversation we discuss the evolution of his educational programs, community, and more.

Lannie has been awarded 'Record of the Year', 'Rock Artist of the Year', 'Breakthrough Video of the Year', and 'Social Media Artist of the Year’ by the LA Music Awards. We began our interview with Lannie's ties to the power pop and his thoughts on the state of the genre. It was his album The Same Old Story that power pop fans first bought. Today his career is a blend of songwriting, musicianship, and studio engineering. Hear his thoughts on the accidental nature of his success and how music transcends all

Terry LaPorta says her daughter's singing started out as a hobby, but that by age 11 she was performing in Nashville honky-tonks. Her now 16-year old daughter Samantha has since become a Disney Radio artist, and is showing little sign of slowing down. In this interview, Terry shares stories of her daughter's journey and what it's like to be her parent and career manager. She also shares useful tips for other parents whose children have Samantha's level of talent and potential.

Mike Dawson is one of the coolest people I've met in the last year.  He's a great drummer, a podcast host, and Managing Editor at Modern Drummer Magazine. Most of all, he's generous and humble.  I believe it's these two qualities that brought him back to the podcast to help me celebrate milestone episode 25.  He was my very first guest (ep1).  I had two primary interests for this episode. One, find out Mike's secret for success on Instagram & Facebook; and 2, talk details of his home studio setup.

Samantha LaPorta is the youngest guest I’ve had on the podcast. Our conversation took place on the same day that her single “It’s a Girl Thing” was released. She's a Disney Radio artist, something she always wanted to be, and she's has acquired a number of awards and accolades, including social site Sweety High's Best Holiday Songs of 2016, and NCMA's 2015 New Teen Artist. Musically she's described as a mix of Ariana Grande & Tori Kelly. She's mega talented, and will likely go far. Look out p

Aki Kumar fell in love with the blues and blues harmonica, but Bollywood pop is part of his music memory. This memory is creating what's likely to become a bonafide genre–Bollywood Blues. You can hear this on his latest album "Aki Goes to Bollywood." Although Aki is of Indian decent, his bold move to mix the blues and Bollywood pop from his childhood started with his love of the Chicago blues sound. Although the final tracks of his first album Don’t Hold Back were perhaps a foreshadowing of things to