Living On Music with Steve Houk – Details, episodes & analysis

G.E.Smith is a deeply respected and admired American guitarist and musical staple over the last 45 years, he was the lead guitarist for Hall & Oates during the band's heyday from 1979 to 1985 playing on several albums and five of their number one singles. When Hall & Oates took a hiatus in 1985, Smith joined Saturday Night Live serving as bandleader and co-musical director of the Saturday Night Live Band. Smith has recorded and performed with many acclaimed artists, including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Tina Turner, Tracy Chapman, Tom Waits and Dan Hartman. He was the initial lead guitarist in Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour band from 1988 to 1990 and also served as musical director and a guitarist of Dylan's The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1992. From 2010 to 2013, Smith was the rhythm, lead and bass guitarist in Roger Waters' The Wall Live tour, one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time.  He received a Grammy Award nomination along with Buddy Guy in 1997 for the album Live! The Real Deal along with the Saturday Night Live Band as well as an Emmy award for the Saturday Night Live: The 25th Anniversary Special in 2000. His albums as a solo artist include In the World (1981), Get a Little (with the Saturday Night Live Band, 1993), Incense, Herbs and Oils (1998) and Stony Hill (2020) with Leroy Bell.

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Renowned ʻukulele virtuoso’ Jake Shimabukuro has teamed up with drumming legend and Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood to announce the release of their forthcoming album, Blues Experience, due October 18th via Forty Below Records. Blues Experience promises to be a landmark release; it combines the formidable talents of Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood with fresh, innovative interpretations of blues classics. Fans can expect a bold and forward-looking album deeply rooted in tradition. This groundbreaking project sees Shimabukuro and Fleetwood breathe new life into classic blues tunes, resulting in an exhilarating and unique reinterpretation of some of the genre’s greatest hits. The album also features a new song written by Jake, “Kula Blues,” which is about the area of Maui where Mick lives.

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Stacy Widelitz is a composer, songwriter, arranger, musician and photographer who most notably co-wrote "She's Like The Wind" with longtime friend Patrick Swayze, a song that has been played on US radio over four million times and was part of the multi-platinum soundtrack from "Dirty Dancing." He also composed the theme song for the first Richard Simmons TV series, has done many other film and TV music scoring, and most recently, began a surging black-and-white photography aspect of his career that has had him snapping stellar photos in Italy, Cuba, Washington DC, New Orleans, New York, London, Berlin and elsewhere, and has led to him getting a show and artist representation at The Arts Company, now re-branded as Chauvet Arts, on 5th Ave in Nashville, winning photography awards and also having his work displayed at Nashville International Airport. Stacy has also served four years as Commissioner in the City of Oak Hill, Tennessee, as well as as board president of Nashville Film Festival, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Leadership Music, and Nashville Opera. He is currently the president of Nashville Opera Guild.

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DEAN ROLAND, an American musician and songwriter, is best known for being the rhythm guitarist of the band COLLECTIVE SOUL, an alternative rock band fronted by his brother Ed, plus Dean is also part of the rock duo Magnets & Ghosts alongside Ryan Potesta. 2024 is going to be a busy year for these multi-platinum rockers who will be celebrating their 30th anniversary with various projects throughout the year, first up will be their highly anticipated 12th studio release, HERE TO ETERNITY, due out May 17, as well as an extensive US tour.

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ANNIE RAY currently serves as both the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Chair at Annandale High School (AHS) in the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system; "Music itself is not the universal language," she says, "but the ACT OF MAKING MUSIC is.” Annie is an advocate for providing universal access to quality music education and is known for founding and developing creative opportunities to make music accessible to students of all demographics. Her additional creation of the FCPS Parent Orchestra teaches just under 200 caregivers annually to learn to play their student’s instrument and provides mentorship to upcoming music teachers. She created the Crescendo Orchestra program to make Orchestra curriculum accessible to students with significant developmental or intellectual disabilities, in January 2022 this program was featured and acclaimed on the cover of and with an article in the Metro section of The Washington Post. In 2023, she was named the FCPS Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year for her work on equity in education, and in 2024, Annie was named the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award recipient. About her winning the Grammy: “Most of all I want to thank my students to whom this award actually belongs, the love of making music has been our unity and community. Thank you all for allowing me to guide you in this, I am humbled to accept this award for you all.” Annie currently resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband IRVING and their girls ELOISE and MILLIE.

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John DeNicola is an American songwriter and producer best known for co-writing the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" for which he won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as receiving a Grammy nomination in 1988. In 1989 he was the co-winner of ASCAP Awards' "Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures" for "Time of My Life" as well as for "Hungry Eyes", another song from the film. In addition to Dirty Dancing hits for Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes and Eric Carmen, he has also written songs with and for Eddie Money, John Waite, Kristine W, Steve Holy, Jeannie Kendall, Sugar Jones, Annie Haslam, Bernie Worrell, The Sighs and Martin Briley, and has recently released his own two solo albums. 

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This wonderful longtime Connecticut-born/Virginia-based singer/songwriter/guitarist and storyteller's latest solo project "Treasures in My Chest" is a profound album and book about his singular experiences deeply exploring his family history. Hailing from the historic village of Lincoln, Virginia, Andrew has had a long musical life with numerous albums, several band collaborations and more, he also teaches guitar and songwriting, offers a variety of programs and workshops for students and adult learners, and is a consultant for people learning to use DNA for genealogy and family history research. His music is in several documentaries and podcasts, and he has written songs with both kindergarteners as well as one on one with veterans to help healing their PTSD. His ambitious plans for 2024, in addition to writing songs for the next album, are as diverse as his interests: he is featured in and helped produce two music mini-documentaries for release this year, he is also helping his cousin, singer and actress Suzanne Lukather, developing her one-woman stage show Little Blue Suitcase, and he is launching a new service, interviewing revered family elders on video telling their stories in their own words to future generations. And while development was stalled by the pandemic, he is now finishing work on his inspirational keynote program, “The Gifts in Our Genes.”

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The world's most revered and adored ukelele player/songwriter JAKE SHIMABUKURO joins Living On Music for the third time, here talking about his most recent album 'Grateful' and how he collaborated on the record with a real treasure trove of the best Hawaiian musicians anywhere, some that influenced and mentored him and halped start his career, some he collaborated and bonded with, and some he just wanted to perform alongside with. Jake also talks about his upcoming Japanese tour, which for his first time ever will be with a foursome, and he also touches on how he became influenced to play ukelele.

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Born in Bogota, Colombia, Andrés Cepeda is a platinum-selling producer, singer and songwriter with a unique career that has allowed him to tour the world, be on the cover of multiple magazines, newspapers and playlists on major music platforms, he has been a coach on talent shows, including 12 seasons of La Voz (The Voice) in his hometown of Colombia, also achieving top of radio charts with countless singles. With over 12 million followers on social media platforms, Andrés has received fifteen nominations and has won four Latin Grammy Awards, plus multiple diamond, platinum and gold records, and has shared unparalleled experiences with his fans. His style has become iconic because his personal signature has allowed him to blend different genres always rescuing romantic lyrics. All this has made Andrés Cepeda become one of the most respected and beloved artists in Latin America.

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Back in the late 80's when the legendary club Palomino in LA was a seminal spot for the post-cowpunk California country scene, The Mustangs were a young, all-girl band who were "long on chops and strong on harmonies." After a successful few years of touring and performing, members of the group parted ways in the mid-90s to pursue other musical interests, but in 2017, The Mustangs began their renewal remembering how strong their sound was. The three original members of the group -- Suzanna Spring, Holly Montgomery and Sherry Rayn Barnett -- reconnected with a new name, Mustangs Of The West, added two dynamic new players to complete the line-up: Canadian drummer Suzanne Morissette and violinist/vocalist Aubrey Richmond, and after hearing the band rehearse at Clear Lake Audio, Los Angeles label Blue Élan Records offered the band a deal on the spot, resulting in their 2020 album release called "TIME," produced by Mark Howard (Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, U2) and received acclaim from the San Francisco Chronicle, Americana Highways, Goldmine Magazine, No Depression, Pulse, Guitar Girl Magazine, renowned Nashville journalist Holly Gleason, and many other music writers. As the music business slowly recovered from COVID shutdowns, Mustangs Of The West joined a new label, and the result was “SEA OF HEARTBREAK" and "DOWN AT THE PALOMINO," released in July 2023.

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