Look Who's Talking

One of the coolest things about writing songs and playing music is the people I’ve met along the way. Five years ago I started interviewing some of those particularly cool people and posting the recordings as “The Songs and Stories” podcast on my website (and up in iTunes). Not so surprisingly, the bulk of these interviews have a local tie to them.

The podcast has given me an ongoing chance to learn from others, make more than a few friends, and hopefully help promote a bit of what they do along the way. I went through last year’s web stats over the weekend to find out what and who was listened to the most in 2011.

Here’s the top 10, including links to the episodes themselves.

• #10 – Episode 108: Catching Up with Colin Gilmore (745 hits)

Colin is native of Lubbock Texas, and a songwriter just like his well-known father Jimmy Dale Gilmore (they both receive a lot of airplay locally on radio). This interview was recorded at Don Quixote’s in Felton.

•  #9 – Episode 78: Playing Local Benefits (with a live set from KSCO 1080 AM) (779 hits)

A recap of some local benefit shows our band has played, along with a live solo set from KSCO radio in Santa Cruz.

•  #8 – Episode 106: Greg Kitchel: Live from Baja (897 hits)

I met Greg at the Open Mic in Freedom. We became instant pals…even though he was so polished at the Nickel that I still don’t believe it was the first time he performed.

•  #7 – Episode 109: Annie Moscow on “Phoenix” (1025 hits)

Annie’s a classically trained pianist out of Arizona and has a “twisted Disney” approach to many of her songs. This interview took place around my kitchen table in Watsonville, when Annie was on tour.

•  #6 – Episode 112: The Coffis Brothers (1293 hits)

Jamie and Kellen Coffis were born and reside in Ben Lomond. They’re two extremely talented young guys who just released their first CD. They dropped by the house for this interview.

•  #5 – Episode 110: Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald (2389 hits)

Paul and Eleanore are longtime partners and collaborators based out of Nevada City, CA. I caught up with them at radio last summer.

•  #4 – Episode 111: The Band of Heathens (2753 hits)

An Austin trio of powerhouse songwriters. I caught up with the band during their dinner break at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz.

•  #3 – Episode 68: The John Cowan Interview (2868 hits)

Another KPIG favorite, John Cowan is legendary in modern bluegrass circles for his work with Newgrass Revival. This talk took place outside Don Quixote’s.

•  #2 – Episode 19: Colin Gilmore (2920 hits)

Yup, Colin’s popular. This interview dates back four years, and it’s still one of the most-downloaded from my web site.

And the number one episode of “Songs and Stories” from 2011 features a kitchen-table chat with Santa Cruz’s own Sharon Allen:

•  #1 – Episode 89: Sharon Allen “Along the Way” (Part One) (3139 hits!!!)

Sharon talks about her time with local blues band The Firebirds, working with local favorite Sherry Austin, and what finally led to her debut solo record.