12-Bar Talk: A Blues Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The podcast travels to Denver, CO for the first Mile High Blues since the pandemic to interview the Colorado blues greats at the event. Dr. Adams started the weekend off with a live-audience interview with Maynard Mills and John Long.

 

Guests: Maynard Mills and John Long Websites: https://maynardmills.com/ ; https://www.johnlongblues.com/ 

Article on Maynard Mills

 

Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry

 

12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/. 

  Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Adams sits down with Lady A to discuss her music, but overall, this is an episode about getting to know your neighbors, about lifting each other up, and about speaking up for those who may not have opportunities to succeed if you don’t.

 

Guest: Lady A Website: https://www.ladyababyblues.com/

Info for One Seattle Soul: https://therhapsodyproject.org/one-seattle-soul/

 

Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry

 

12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/. 

  Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with blues musician and dance instructor Charlley Ward about the power of sharing information across generations, an act called generativity. They discuss the power of both listening to elders and respecting culture, but also the importance of pushing genre and culture forward through innovation in both the music and dance communities. Charlley also shares some of his favorite stories and his belief in the power of storytelling to inspire generations and preserve legacy and culture.  

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Charlley Ward   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams interviews a premier musician from the Macon Music scene, Angel “Cash” Ocasio, Jr., founder of the band Cash's Juke Joint. They talk about the origins of the band, Angel's family upbringing and the importance of church in his life to shape his musical sound, and the power of the blues for the current generation of musicians to shape the future of the blues. You can find Cash's music on all platforms, and learn more at his website. The link to his newest music video is below.   Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Angel "Cash" Ocasio, Jr. https://www.cashsjukejoint.com/ Early in the Morning Official Video   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

We often talk about the blues in vague and general terms: a feeling that you know when you have, a sound that a musician either has or doesn't. But what actually makes up this genre of music? In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams shares some of her scholarly research in a condensed format to help people reach a general shared understanding of a definition of the genre, with the hopes of working from that base to ultimately build a better definition with future podcast episodes.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams and Philly organizer and dancer Genevieve Senechal discuss Powerhouse Blues and Blues Muse, how to build community, and how to evolve events to fit community needs after a pandemic. This interview is from June 2023, and has been edited to reflect the delay in release.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Genevieve Senechal www.bluesmuse.dance/ www.powerhousebluesphilly.com/     Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Award-winning musician Erica Brown talks with Dr. Adams about the power of community to lift up talent, how that influenced her career, and the importance of mentorship to continue to build and innovate in blues music.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Erica Brown https://www.ericabrownentertainment.com/   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Chelsea Adams gives a brief historical spotlight of famed, but often forgotten or marginalized blues singer and performer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, utilizing information from archives and a variety of sources, including the one official biography of Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey, written by Sandra Lieb. 

 

Link to Biography

 

Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In our first episode of 2024, Dr. Chelsea Adams and musician Brother Yusef discuss blues, history, black experience in the United States, and why race is inextricable from the music, culture, and conversation surrounding blues and other forms of black music. 

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Brother Yusef  http://www.brotheryusef.com/   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In our final episode of 2023, Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with Grand Rapids, MI organizer Andi Hansen about what it was like restarting a dance community post-pandemic, what the differences are between a dance scene and a dance community, and why that matters for community building, sustainability, and a sense of belonging both locally and regionally. 

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Andi Hansen   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.