The Sound Podcast with Ira Haberman

The Animal Liberation Orchestra is one of those bands that you listen to, and they just instantly make you happy. This quartet features Dan Lebowitz on guitar and vocals, and when he isn't playing with ALO he is quite busy in a whole host of projects. We caught up with Lebo as he's affectionately known to talk ALO, his gigging with Phil Lesh and lots more. Seriously, Lebo is one in a million. A very sweet guy who had so much to share, and would have talked for hours if we asked him to. We'll keep an eye out for new ALO music, and of course any projects Lebo comes in contact with. You'll be able to catch him at the High Sierra music festival this summer. For more on ALO visit alomusic.com and for more on Lebo visit lebomusic.com.

I’ve been listening to The Mother Hips out of the Bay area for almost as long as I can remember. Their studio albums particularly Pacific Dust where “One Way Out” comes from is amongst my favorites of all time. While they been at this music thing for about twenty five years, the last five or so years, since the release of the album Chronicle Man have been filled with personal challenges, and thus we haven’t heard much from the band. As you’ll soon hear from Tim, working on a new record was a cathartic way to deal with the curveballs he and his band mates faced. I’ve only heard bits and pieces of Chorus thus far, I can tell you I am eagerly awaiting its release, and you should be too! For more on the Mother Hips you can visit the.motherhips.com.

Hannah Wicklund is a 20 year old that brings a very mature sonic presence, and I think you'll agree both her playing and singing is solid for anyone of any age. Hannah wears her influences on her sleeve, and her 3rd record, this one self titled, will no doubt be her break through. We caught up with Hannah while she was on the road, and our conversations started when I asked just how young she was when she got started...

When we caught up with Devon Allman a few months back, he was all jazzed about his new project, and getting to share the stage with Duane Betts in the Devon Allman Project. We've been playing tag with Duane on Instagram ever since, and we finally had the chance to sit down and chat. Dude is busy with gigs on both American coasts. For those who don't know, Duane is quite an accomplished musician, having played and sat in with countless bands, and his own outfit The Pistoleers. He brings an eclectic rock n' roll sound that spans the genres, but there is absolutely no mistaking his guitar playing and now his singing. We spoke to Duane about carrying on his dad Dickie's legacy, making music with Devon Allman, and of course his own projects.

Jim Cuddy has been toiling in the music business for 35 years, for the most part as a key member of Canandian alt-country, country, folk-rock outfit Blue Rodeo. He has written and co-written some of the past few decades most loved and iconic songs, and brings a tenderness in both his words and performance that envelopes you and makes you feel right at home. He has been recognized by both peers and Canadians with several accolades and awards for his work. I'd suggest his true reward is continuing to work at an art he is so good at. He recently released his 4th solo record Costellations, his most eclectic effort yet, that continues his legacy of writing genuine and authentic songs that paint beautiful portraits of the human condition. I had the chance to catch up with Jim as he prepared to tour the record across Canada, and he was as warm and honest with me as he is in his work.

Fruition has gone through tremendous change since it’s early days as an acoustic based string outfit in 2008, to a full fledged rock band. Maybe that’s why they enlisted noted producer Tucker Martine to help their sonic shifting moods for their fifth release. We caught up with Kellen Asebroek while on tour, to talk about the band’s metamorphosis and what the future holds.

You may recognize Alex Koford's name, the front man of Colonel and The Mermaids,  because he spends most of his time as the drummer in Terrapin Family Band and Phil and Friends. Beyond those duties, he’s also the drummer at Terrapin Crossroads and plays in Cosmic Twang with friend of the show Ross James. We spoke to Alex just before two Phil shows in San Francisco. The conversation started when I asked him how he hooked up with Phil. 

The Wood Brothers 6th full length album One Drop of Truth, is already an early contender for one of my favorite records of 2018. One Drop of Truth is due out February 2nd. For those that don't already know the Woods brothers are a trio of made up of Oliver and Chris Wood and Jano Rix. I recently caught up with Oliver and our conversation started when I asked about the eclectic nature of this new record even though River Takes the Town is so much of their signature sound......

G.Love is actually Garrett Dutton, a Philadelphia native who toiled in clubs and bars playing his brand of hip hop blues before getting to Boston where he met the “special sauce” in 93. That connection propelled G. to his first record deal and 25 years later, the rest as they say is history. Our conversation started when I asked Garret how the 25th anniversary was going....

Something slightly different today. We’ve talked to members of bands like Pink Talking Fish, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and even Dark Stark Orchestra, who by all accounts are tribute or cover acts. In Toronto, there has been a ground swell of support over the years for the collective Dwayne Gretzky, an ensemble that features a wide variety of covers in their shows. With a few dates coming up stateside, we decided it would be timely to catch up with Tyler Kyte the frontman and brains behind Dwayne Gretzk

The Sheepdogs' sound is a familiar one, and this is a band that wears their influence on their sleeves, and don't care. I've been following the career of The Sheepdogs for quite some time and we've shared many laughs along the way. Thats why I was excited to get bassist Ryan Gullen on phone to talk about their 6th studio album, and everything going on with them.

When I sit down each week to compile The Sound Podcast's Weekly Mix-Tape playlist, the goal is always to find artists and songs that fit the general philosophy of music that we love. Obviously the playlist is compiled from songs and artists that we already know and love, but sometimes, I come across a new artist that is new to me, that may in fact may not be new to anyone else. So I was elated to sit down with Ed Jurdi to talk about his band, The Band of Heathens, to learn more about them.

I enjoy talking to solo performers, the singer-songwriter type, because there isn't anything more genuine, than a performer and their guitar. When you peel the layers of any song, ultimately it's that individuals ability to connect with their audience through their words, and the way they play their instrument that makes a lasting impact. So it was a treat to connect with Grayson Capps a man who you will soon hear doesn't take his craft too seriously, but is serious about what he does. 

Samantha Fish launched her career in 2009 and hasn't looked back. She has cemented her place amongst up and comers in the blues world, and has begun branching out, playing other genres quite capably. That's the thing these days, its hard to pigeon hole artists in one spot, and quite frankly as you'll soon hear, they don't necessarily want to placed in one specific bucket. She is a go getter, on the road, gigging and making a name for herself, as an original artist.

You've been listening to parts of Touch of Grey, Truckin', and Ripple taken from the musical Red Roses, Green Gold which features the music and lyrics of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. The musical has been getting rave reviews from both Deadheads and typical theatre goers alike, and so we thought, we'd sit down with Rachel Klein, the musical's director to get her take on the Michael Norman Mann book adaptation, the show, and how things are going down in New York.