The Sound Podcast with Ira Haberman

Amy Helm's sophomore release, This Too Shall LIght is a gorgeous record, that taps into Amy's wonderful spirit, her undeniable voice and a selection of songs that are both personal and important. Though this is only her second solo record, she has an extensive recording background having recorded with her father Levon Helm, and so many other incredibly talented musicians. For her sophomore release she pegged Joe Henry as the producer, which ultimately meant she would have to travel away from the studio and barn her family built in Woodstock, New York to LA to record with Henry. The harmonies, the lyrics, and indeed the stories behind the songs are all so brilliant and intertwined. Amy is carrying on the massive musical tradition laid by her father and his bandmates in a very earnest way, and for that we are grateful. You can catch Amy on the road, or at "The Barn" in Woodstock, New York, for details visit Amyhelm.com

We've had so many talented people on the show since we began in January 2017, but few have had the recording, producing and touring career Doyle Bramhall II has had. Since he arrived on the scene back in 1992 with the Arc Angels, Doyle's discography looks like an exhibit at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Thats no coincidence either given his lineage but make no mistake about it, he is an extremely talented guitar player, singer, songwriter and as you'll soon here a hell of a guy. His new album Shades comes out out October 5th, and aside from standout performances of his own, he is joined on the record by Eric Clapton, Norah Jones and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. We were absolutely thrilled to catch up with Doyle to talk about the new record, and the conversation took so many fun twists and turns. Shades like his previous solo records is an absolute gem, one I recommend you check out when its out October 5th. For more on Doyle visit db2music.com.

Though not a household name to many, decker. has been toiling as a singer songwriter for just under a decade in Sedona, Arizona. It's from that vibrant landscape that his words and playing are fused into a sort of alt.country/country/rock hybrid on acid. Those aren't my words, as you soon will hear, those are his. His latest effort Born to Wake Up combines the aesthetic for which he is known with a much more personal approach to the themes of his music this go around. For more on decker. visit deckermusic.com.

In 1972, Ray Charles released "A Message for the People", a record, that combined his soul and R&B style with some distinctly country nuance. The album, now out of print is filled with really important, socially conscious songs delivered in a way only Ray could. Almost 50 years later, the stories of these songs still resonate, so much so, that the Band of Heathens decided to cover the album in its entirety, of course putting their own more modern, classic rock and country spin on it. We recently sad down with Ed Jurdi, to talk about A Message for the People - Revisited and its relevance today. Both A Message for the People and A Message for the People Revisited are two incredible albums you should check out. The former, the original from Ray Charles may be harder to find, but the Revisited record is available on all your favorite streaming services and of course to purchase at bandofheathens.com. Band of Heathens continues to be one of my favorite bands out their on the road, and they are definitely worth checking out.

If you’ve part of the jam band scene for a while, you’ve no doubt heard the name Erik Deutsch. He’s been somewhat of a fixture dating back to his days with Fat Mama, solo pursuits and now part of Leftover Salmon. He is an extremely talented keyboard player and lends his talents to a multitude of projects. We recently caught up with Erik to talk about his solo record Falling Flowers.

Since Gregg Allman's unfortunate passing, Scott Sharrard has found himself at a crossroads between hanging on to his love and work with Gregg, and getting on with his own career. Luckily for us, he will be releasing his first solo record in quite some time but his fifth thus far, September 21st, Saving Grace, and I can tell you its a gorgeous blues, soul and R&B record with standout slide guitar playing and passionate vocals. For more on Scott's work visit scottsharrard.com and make sure you get your ears on Saving Grace and see Scott at one of his various dates.

Attempting to define the kind of music Ghost Note plays, would be near impossible. They are a jazz hybrid that play funk, r&b, soul, hip-hop and yes, they rock. Started by Snarky Puppy’s drummer Robert “Sput” Searight and percussionist Nate Werth. Rather than just telling you about this band that has complete blown my mind, we got in touch with Sput to talk about the Ghost Note Project. For more on Ghost Note check out Ghost-Note-Official.com.

Color Wheel is Aqueous' first length album since 2014s Cycles, and though the band has released a few EPS, Live compilations and regularly release their live shows we haven’t had new studio music from them in quite some time. Actually the album is being released in waves with three tracks of ten each week. We recently caught up with Mike and Dave to talk about Color Wheel, touring and much more. We’re excited to hear more from Color Wheel and catch them live on the road during their fall tour. For more on Aqueous visit Aqueousband.com. You should also check out the podcast “All in With Aqueous” from our Osirispod pal Myke “Memo” Menio.

Magic in the Other is the brainchild of drummer Ezra Lipp, who's name may be familiar from the San Francisco Jam Band scene. He's toiled with Phil Lesh and Friends, often hangs at Terrapin Crossroads and plays with ALO as well. Actually ALO bassist Steve Adams is also in the band, as well as guitar wizard Roger Reidlbauer. It's an interesting project, blending solid instrumentals, with thought provoking songs. For more on release information, tour dates, and some cool videos, check out magicintheother.net.

MMW's forthcoming release Omnisphere featuring Alarm Will Sound, is something definitely a little different for our audience and those that love Medeski Martin and Wood, but certainly not for guys themselves. Both John Medeski and Billy Martin are classically trained musicians who while dabbling in the jazz music we’ve been accustomed to hearing from them, always have sought opportunities to work on more complex arrangements. Alarm Will Sound is a chamber orchestra that focuses on contemporary pieces. Since I’m not even close to an expert on Classical music, we asked Billy Martin to come on the show and talk about the project since we’re big MMW fans, and give us an update on other MMW goings on. For more information on MMW visit medeskimartinandwood.com. You can also check our our MMW playlist at tsp.show/ECMMW or our MMW playlist on youtube at youtube.com/thesoundpodcast.

The Lockn' Festival in Arrington Virginia has wrapped up, and we have some audio goodness for you to enjoy, as a recap of the festival. Episode 131 part 2 features more great performances from the festival including songs from Southern Avenue, Turkuaz, Spafford, Umphrey's McGee, and Widespread Panic featuring Margo Price.

The Lockn' Festival in Arington Virginia has wrapped up, and we have some audio goodness for you to enjoy, as a recap of the festival. Episode 131 is our first ever two-parter, and in part one you'll hear music from Lettuce, Ghost Light, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Foundation of Funk (with Zig Modeleste and George Porter Jr.) and Joe Russo's Almost Dead as we wrap up this summer's last great music festival!

Though the record won't be out until September 28th, I did have a chance to sample it, and have to tell, you it might be their best to date. You can tell that the band, fronted by Dave Brandwein has really coming together and matured on this record. As you'll soon hear, this record was more collaborative then past efforts, and sonically you can tell that this band is hitting their studio stride. Long known for awesome live performances, I suspect Turkuaz will take another giant leap forward with their brand of funk, R&B, rock, and psychedelia. We chatted with Dave Brandwein about recording the new record, the song writing process and some other cool things. You should definitely check out turkuazband.com for tour dates, to pre-order Life in the City and much more.

Fruition dropped the EP filled with four songs a day before they were set to play Red Rocks opening for Railroad Earth. We caught up with Jay Cobb Anderson, settled and home after another amazing weekend for the band at that fabled venue. You should definitely listen to Dirty Thieves and New Colussus as money will go to both the Community Housing Project and the National Immigration Law Centre. For more on Fruition visit fruitionband.com. You can also listen to our Essential Collection of Fruition songs at tsp.show/ECFRUITION.

We first heard about Liz Cooper and The Stampede from our pal Steve. He sent us a link to an AudioTree Live session, and we liked it and so too did over 220,000 people. We've been jonesing to get her on the show ever since, and luckily with the release of her record "Window Flowers" we indeed got a chance to chat. Given her life on the road, the talented people she hangs with, and the songs she writes and performs, I suspect we will be hearing a lot more from Liz. She has an absolutely unmistakeable sound, and her guitar playing along with the talent of the stampede will take her even further. For tour dates, album info and more visit lizcooperandthestampede.com.