The Sound Podcast with Ira Haberman

The thing about being a talented musician is that you are often are in demand to play with many different people, and doing so, you aren't necessarily afforded the time to work on your own projects. Such is the case for keyboard wiz, Robert Walter. He's been touring extensively and making records with Mike Gordon, and is always is ready to jam with whomever asks. So when I heard that he had a new project inspired by space, comic books and science fiction I was psyched to check out. Robert and the 20th Congress will be playing a select number of dates around Spacesuit's release, and to learn more visit robertwalter.com.

Living in the shadow of a family member is nothing anyone truly wants to deal with. Particularly, when your parent, is a musician in a world famous band who is adored by millions of people. Following in their footsteps, can be, and likely is a daunting task, but being able to carve out a niche for yourself with the rich history of a last name, can and is brave and noble. Such is the case for Devon Allman who has trudged through the music industry for some twenty years, and Duane Betts who has done the same, for quite some time. Needless to say, both thrive on their father's legacies and talent but more to the point have become great musicians in their own right. We have spoken to both individually, but recently got the chance to catch up with them both on tour as part of the Devon Allman Project. You can learn more about the Devon Allman Project at devonallmanproject.com. Check out the new Duane Betts EP Sketches of American Music wherever you listen to music or at duanebetts.com.

Truth be told, when the latest album from Circles Around the Sun showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago, I was psyched to check it out. Circles or CATS is undoubtedly one of my favorite acts going right now. They are a four piece instrumental jam band. On the surface, knowing that Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall, Dan Horne and Mark Levy are the players in the band, you are likely to think this is some hippie outfit performing jams straight out of a Dead show. Truth is, while those sorts of sonic landscapes are very much part of their sound, this record, Let it Wander is filled with all kinds of jams from all sorts of different genres. We recently sat down with Adam MacDougall the keyboard player in the group, who also performs with Neal Casal in Chris Robinson's Brotherhood to talk about Let it Wander, and making a go of CATS. For tour dates and to get Let it Wander, you'll want to check out their website at circlesaroundthesun.com. You may also be intrigued to check out our youtube channel at youtube.com/thesoundpodcast for a special TSP CATS live performance playlist that we've assembled.

I have long been fascinated by the emergence of the live EDM/Prog rock thing and it’s place within the Jam Band scene. That conversation has to involve Papadasio a five piece originally from Athens, Ohio who now call the hot bed of southern music Asheville, North Carolina home. We recently sat down with brothers Billy and Sam Brouse along with Anthony Thogmartin to get the lowdown on their genre-less sonic tour de force. Papadosio will be on the road quite a bit over the next little bit. You can get all the details at papadosio.com . We’ve also created a YouTube and Spotify playlists, and those details are available on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.

The emergence of Grateful Dead tribute bands, both locally and nationally, indeed internationally is at an all time high. Between members of the Dead playing the repertoire they made famous, to acts like DSO, JRAD, and others more locally like Mars Hotel and Barely Dead. The music lives on and has never stopped. Back a few months ago, we had Sam and Clay and Mapache on the show. A listener who heard the show, alerted us to the fact that this duo were part of yet another Dead tribute outfit Grateful Shred. Since then, we’ve heard several performances, and tracked their trajectory. We recently sat down with Dan Horne, who holds down the Phil Lesh role with the band, playing bass. You can check out Grateful Shred’s tour schedule at gratefulshredmusic.com or check out our Grateful Shred playlist on youtube at youtube.com/thesoundpodcast.

After talking to Grahame and Elliott of Midnight North about that record, I decided to check out where they were playing after Peach Festival. Turned out that they would be only 4 hours away in Canandaigua, New York, so technical producer Adam Karch and I hopped in a car and drove out to one of my favorite venues in North America. We indeed booked an opportunity to talk with members of Midnight North, and to our great amazement members of Twiddle. So picture it, me, Adam, and a roundtable that included Grahame, Ellliott of Midnight North, and Mihali, Gubb and Ryan of Twiddle. A few others interjected, but you get the basic idea. Our conversation started when I asked Mihali about hooking up with Midnight North a few years ago. For more midnight north info and dates visit midnightnorth.com, and for more Twiddle info visit twiddlemusic.com

Just over a year ago, we chatted with Grahame Lesh about the release of Midnight North’s record “Under the Lights”. Since that time, Midnight North has been reasonably busy, playing tour dates, festivals, and making various media appearances. With news that Midnight North was releasing a live record, “Selections from the Great American Hall”, we reached out to not only get Grahame on the show, but also Elliott Peck who shares lead vocal, songwriting and harmonies with Grahame. For more on “Midnight North Selections from the Great American Music Hall” visit midnightnorth.bandcamp.com.

We're big fans of Hot Buttered Rum, a west coast mainly bluegrass outfit for quite some time and are really impressed with their latest effort which continues to be an eclectic blend of bluegrass, americana and rock n roll. Recently we caught up with multi-instrumentalist, and one of the two voices in the band Erik Yates to learn more about their latest release, their 6th, Lonesome Panoramic and about the inner workings of "Butter". To learn more about HBR visit hotbutteredrum.net

We're big fans of all of Cory's projects including his work with Vulfpeck, and had no idea until recently the physical and indeed mental crossroad he faced when he was just sixteen. Almost two decades ago, Cory suffered a concussive head injury which created a scenario where his right arm kept going numb. Unsure of what exactly was causing the numbness, doctors suggested that it was a blood clot that could potentially reach his brain, and ultimately kill him. His diagnosis was an ominous one, either he would die in a short amount of time or he would be fine. Luckily, his own gumption and perseverance guided him, and eventually the numbness and any thought of a blood clot faded. To learn more about The Optimist, and Cory's upcoming tour schedule visit corywongmusic.com.

The Magpie Salute is somewhat of a supergroup fronted by Rich Robinson once of the Black Crowes along with former Crowes Marc Ford and Sven Pipien, John Hogg who played in Robinson's Brown Hookah and Matt Slocum and Joe Migestro who have played on several of Rich's solo projects. The band's birth came accidentally, after a show in Woodstock, and has grown organically since. It's a great record with familiar sounds and some new ones. They've been touring consistently since 2016, playing all kinds of music on the road. Though the record isn't out for a bit, you will be able to catch The Magpie Salute on a series of dates through out the summer. You can check if they're coming to your town at themagpiesalute.com. You can also purchase some of The Magpie Salute's live performances at nugs.net.

On August 9th, 1995 the world learned that Jerry Garcia, the once jovial, uber talented leader of the Grateful Dead had passed. Following that was a performance of the Walkin' Blues, the second song of the set that night. What unfolded for the 20 or so years following that night, has long been the stuff of gossip, rumour and innuendo. To suggest that anyone was completely aware of what went on behind the vaulted doors of the Grateful Dead and its various business tentacles would be folly, since for the most part collecting all the various stories, and connecting all of the dots would be a fairly time consuming but mostly a contentious endeavour. Publishing those findings, and providing a narrative for what could only be described as a complete and utter melt down of what was once a mighty musical industry powerhouse seems on the surface to be a completely impossible task. So while the rumours, gossip, and tall tales persisted, noted music journalist and San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Joel Selvin decided to tidy up some of the loose ends and broken telephone for a book. "Fare the Well: The Final Chapter, The Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip" was published mid June of 2018, and the narrative reads and feels like a profoundly sad tale that for the most part concluded at the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2015.

I've been following Rayland Baxter's career ever since his debut Feathers and FishHooks, an album I wore out, if you could do such a thing to a CD or digital files. What I appreciate most about Rayland is his attention to detail in his writing regarding the human condition. His thoughts, are your thoughts, and while he is serious about his personal craft, he isn't disjointed from the reality we all live in. I sat down with Rayland to unpack this new record, one I think you should listen to. "Wide Awake" is definitely one of my favorite records of the year thus far. The outstanding song writing is matched by the absolute magical production value and playing by the entire cast. For more on Rayland visit raylandbaxter.com.

Ben Caplan recently released "Old Stock" a collection of songs that he wrote with fellow collaborators for a musical called "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story". As you heard, this baritone voiced artist is a songwriter, performer and wild entertainer. His infectious stage presence and ability to get everyone standing is always something to behold. We caught up with Ben, on the road, to talk about "Old Stock" and literally everything and anything he is up to. For tour dates and much more about Ben Caplan visit bencaplan.ca.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Five Alarm Funk has just one thing on their mind, creating music that makes you get up and dance, and SWEAT a lot. With a wide variety of influences from Antibalas to Zappa, this organically shaped funk outfit brings more than just the traditional sounds of James Brown and Tower of Power to the party. We caught up with drummer, vocalist and original member Tayo Branston to get the low down on the band, and their various collaborations. There is no disputing that Five Alarm brings the funk, and they do it all over the continent. Their shows are a party, one, you don't want to miss. For more on Five Alarm Funk visit fivealarmfunk.com

You wouldn’t think that great bluegrass music would come out of Austin, Texas, but as it turns out, Wood & Wire though not originally from the area, do call it home. They’re a four piece, who make great music, inspired by both jambands and country music. Like most acts these days they make a name for themselves at festivals and grinding it on the road. For more on Wood & Wire visit woodandwireband.com.