Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson – Details, episodes & analysis

Pedal steel guitarist Rich Hinman joins me on the show today. Rich is a really creative player who has definitely spent a great deal of time with the classic steel guitar cannon, but has very much branched out and developed his own style and voice on the instrument. He has a great flair for improvisation, and his tone and touch are really of the highest calibre. Rich is currently a teacher at Berklee College in Boston in the guitar Department, but continues his work in the studio and on the road. He has had recurring stints with artists like Sara Bareilles, Maren Morris, Molly Tuttle, KD Lang, Tanya Tucker, St. Vincent, Josh Ritter and many more. His current project is an amazing band with guitarist Adam Levy. The two of them go way back, and it shows, as their interplay and group improvisations are really incredible. The band is called Rich Hinman Vs Adam Levy and they have a brand new album out called “Fan Favorites” that you should check out. Rich also put out a solo album recently that is more on the ambient side, but full of inspired playing and compositions as well called “Memorial”. Rich is really active on social media which is how I first ran into his playing, and he also has a cool Patreon thing going on with weekly steel guitar lessons, so check out what he’s up to over in his world at richhinman.com and if you get a chance to see him and Adam Levy, who are out on tour as we speak, don’t miss them. Enjoy my conversation with Rich Hinman!

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On today’s show is Missy Raines, one of the great bluegrass bassists out there, not to mention a fabulous singer and songwriter. Bluegrass bass playing is a funny thing - on the surface it seems simple. But there’s a whole other level to it, and when you hear someone like Junior Huskey do it, or Mike Bub, or Dennis Crouch, or Missy Raines, they all play at that level. There’s a way the really good players place their notes, there’s the tone, and it all comes down to the bed that the bass players lay for the other players in the band to live in. And that’s the hard part. Once you get a chance to play with someone of that calibre it becomes much clearer what great bassist brings to the table, and Missy is one of the best. She’s been releasing albums under her own name since 1998, and her latest recording just came out a couple months ago - it’s called “Highlander” and it’s a killer record that features her band Allegheny as well as guests like Kathy Mattea, Michael Cleveland, Darol Anger, and Rob Ickes. Missy is from West Virginia, and she was lucky enough to grow up in an area that had a strong bluegrass scene that she got to experience first hand. She’s lived in Nashville for a long time now, and is on the road alot these days. She’s won multiple IBMA awards for Bass Player of the Year, and has performed with legends like Mac Wiseman, Peter Rowan and Josh Graves. Aside from her accomplishments in the bluegrass world, Missy swerved over into more experimental territory a few years back and had a band going called The New Hip, who made a couple of incredible records well worth checking out as well that feature her songwriting in a less traditional context. But these days she’s pretty focussed on traditional bluegrass and has one of the best bands on the scene, so make sure you go see them if they come through your area. You can get all the latest news and her tour dates over at missyraines.com - Enjoy my conversation with Missy Raines!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

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Tommy Emmanuel, the stellar Australian fingerstyle guitarist joins me on the show this week for the last episode of Season 7! I first saw Tommy play back in the early 90’s when he was relatively unknown and was blown away by his adventurous technique, style, and obvious dedication to his craft. Since then, Tommy has gone on to be one of the most well-known acoustic guitarists of our time and to create an incredible body of work, but he is still mostly known for his spellbinding solo shows. Tommy was a child prodigy, playing professionally since he was 6 years old. He and his brother, along with their dad, toured all over Australia and that lead to session work, and eventually pulled him to the US, where he landed in the 80’s and met his hero, Chet Atkins, in Nashville. Tommy received the coveted seal of approval from Chet, and is one of the few guitarists alive to have the official “CGP” title, given out only by Chet himself. Tommy has made tons of records, some solo, some duets and some with bands. The latest of these is the second in a series and it’s called “Accomplice Two”, a recording of collaborations with artists like Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Little Feat, Molly Tuttle, David Grisman and many more. Since we do talk about his meeting with Chet quite a bit, be sure to also check out “The Day Fingerpickers Took Over The World”, Tommy’s collaboration with Chet Atkins, and must be the last thing Chet ever recorded, from 1997. It was great to have Tommy on the show - we did get a chance to talk quite a bit about Chet, their meeting, and his influence, as well as Lenny Breau, some of Tommy’s stage gear, how he goes back and forth from thumbpicks to flatpicks, and how he approaches arranging tunes for solo fingerstyle guitar. He was also kind enough to grab his trusty Maton guitar and show me some of the things he was talking about as well.

You can get all the current info on Tommy and his very busy tour schedule at tommyemmanuel.com

Enjoy my conversation with Tommy Emmanuel!

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The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Your fearless host, Steve Dawson can be found at www.stevedawson.ca

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It’s the first Wednesday of the month, and as always we bring you a shiny new episode! This month’s guest is the phenomenal singer and guitar player, Alvin Youngblood Hart. I’ve known of Alvin since his debut record “Big Mama’s Door” came out in 1996, but got to know, play and tour with him a number of times since playing at a Mississippi Sheiks tribute show with him back in 2010. To me Alvin is totally unique as an interpreter of acoustic and country blues, but is also a killer rock guitarist, an amazing singer, and also gets into Merle Haggard songs like no one else. He has vast knowledge of rock, folk and blues music from the 20’s through the 70’s and plays it all. Alvin has an interesting history with making records, and while not overly interested in recording these days, has made a number of great records throughout his career, and is a Grammy Award winner. Alvin spent some time in the US Coast Guard, where he developed a love of electronics that continues to this day – working on amps, guitars, pickups and other components. He also has a knack for finding cheap guitars and turning them into screaming rock machines. We got to catch up a bit and discuss his history on stage and in the studio, his love of old gear, pawnshopping with Bo Diddley, and lots more. Enjoy my conversation with Alvin Youngblood Hart! Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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My guest this month is the stellar guitarist and blues interpreter, Rory Block.Block grew up in Manhattan, immersed in the culture of the folk and blues music that was so prevalent at the time. Her father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and the influence of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, including luminaries such as Peter Rowan, Maria Muldaur, and John Sebastian, tempted Block to study classical guitar. At the age of 14, she met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who introduced her to the music of Mississippi Delta blues guitarists - Fred McDowell, John Hurt, and The Reverend Gary Davis were huge for her. Block began listening to old albums, transcribing them, and learning to play the songs. At age 15, she left home to seek out the remaining blues giants and hone her craft in the traditional manner of blues musicians and ended up in Berkeley, California, where she played in clubs and coffeehouses.After retiring temporarily to raise a family, Block returned to the music industry in the 1970s and ultimately signing with Rounder Records in 1981, who encouraged her to return to her love for the classical blues form. Since then she has carved out her own niche, releasing numerous critically acclaimed albums of original and traditional songs. Block has won five W. C. Handy Awards, two for "Traditional Blues Female Artist" (1997, 1998) and three for "Acoustic Blues Album of the Year" (1996, 1999, 2007).I first heard Rory play on some of those early Rounder albums and was struck by her voice and guitar playing, and while different in style, like John Hammond, her right hand was a force to be reckoned with - driving the music with confidence and soul. I had a chance to speak with Rory a while back about her history, and find out about her process for making records, her guitar style, as well as going through her recent catalog which includes tributes to the music of artists like Son House, Skip James, and the latest release "A Woman's Soul" which is a tribute to Bessie Smith - enjoy my conversation with Rory Block, and please subscribe to the podcast for free on iTunes! Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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In honor of the great Hal Blaine, this is a re-release of my 2016 interview with the legendary studio drummer and key member of the Wrecking Crew. Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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Cobb first heard Chris Stapleton’s classic country delivery through the tinny speaker of an iPhone and was so taken he swore he’d someday work with the Kentucky-born singer. Eight years later they celebrated an all-genre Album of the Year nomination for “Traveller” at the 58th annual Grammy Awards. He also heard something special in Jason Isbell, Anderson East, and Brandi Carlisle. His work with all those distinct, genre-bending voices has earned him widespread critical acclaim and an additional nomination for Producer of the Year. Cobb has made some of the most respected and critically acclaimed albums to come out of Music City in recent years. He made Sturgill Simpson a reluctant star with “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music”. And Jason Isbell No. 1 in three genres with rock, country and folk chart-topper “Something More Than Free”. This year his work on Brandi Carlisle's recent album cleaned up at the Grammies. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dave Cobb at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville, which was built by Chet Atkins himself during the golden age of country music in Nashville. Dave has recently taken over the stewardship of that room and has created a string of incredible records while remaining humble and somewhat in awe of his surroundings. It was a pleasure to spend some time with him - enjoy my conversation with Dave Cobb, and please subscribe to the podcast for free on iTunes! Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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Debashish Bhattacharya is an Indian classical musician, singer, composer and instrument pioneer. Debashish has redefined Indian classical music over the last 25 years by performing on slide guitar, and through introducing new techniques, sounds and instruments to the music. He has taught more than a thousand students, created a new genre (Hindustani Slide Guitar), and performed in more than two thousand concerts and workshops, with Grammy nominations and several world music awards. He invented his own slide-guitars, unique to his compositions, which he calls the "Trinity of Guitars". These hollow neck instruments are the 24-string chaturangui, the 14 string gandharvi and the anandi, a 4-string lap steel ukulele. I first met Debashish at the Winnipeg Folk Festival through our mutual friend Bob Brozman, and then had the chance to work with him in a collaboration at the Vancouver Folk Festival the next year. He is an incredibly accomplished musician, and also an excellent fellow and a sheer joy to hang out with! Enjoy my conversation with Debashish Bhattacharya. Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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Please go and listen to part one of this episode first to get the full story! Kevin Breit is a humble Canadian treasure. And a hell of a unique guitar player. And a nice feller. I’ve known Kevin for about 20 years at this point, although I haven’t seen him much over the last 10, sadly. When I first got to know him, he was at the tail end of a run in Norah Jones’ live band, and had played on most of her recordings as well. He was bowing out of that gig to be able to spend some more time with his young family, but was already a seasoned vet in the studio, having played on records for folks like Rosanne Cash, k.d. Lang, Hugh Laurie, Cassandra Wilson, Holly Cole, Jane Siberry, Serena Ryder, Taj Mahal, Irma Thomas and countless others. As impressive as that list is, it was his quirkier solo records that I found most interesting. His guitar playing had a big influence on me, particularly his unusual voic eon slide guitar. His string of under-the-radar albums that he seemed to be churning out almost for his own amusement were some of the coolest music I knew of. From the slide guitar based “Empty” to the mandolin orchestra of “Maybelle” and the reckless abandon of “Folk Alarm”, not to mention the inventive “Supergenrous”, I loved all of it. Kevin is well known in his native Canada, but also well-respected internationally, as his session track record suggests. With multiple awards including a Maple Blues Award, Gemini Award, National Jazz Award, Canadian Folk Music Award and two Juno Awards for his recordings, as well as for his work on albums that have a collective 10 Grammy Awards, Breit’s unparalleled creativity is infinite. Breit’s latest release, the 11-track instrumental “Johnny Goldtooth and The Chevy Casanovas” features his interpretations of a mythical character in a twang world. Enjoy my conversation with Kevin Breit, and please subscribe to the podcast for free on iTunes! Get ad-free episodes and access to all early episodes by subscribing to Patreon.

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