The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Detroit-based guitarist Nick Shillace joins us this week to talk about discovering the music of John Fahey, running a successful music school, and his excellent new album, A Rich Boy’s Measured Blues.

Nick is one of dozens of musicians and luthiers attending our 2024 Fretboard Summit, taking place August 23-25, 2024 at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. https://fretboardsummit.org

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:
https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com
(Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Collings Guitars: https://www.collingsguitars.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com
(Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

Two of Nashville’s finest guitarists – Tom Bukovac and Guthrie Trapp – join us this week to talk about their new album, IN STEREO. We chat about what brought them to Nashville way back when, the making of the album, the gear they used on it, tube amps, and so much more.

Order IN STEREO: https://bakedalaskarecords.com

Our 2024 Fretboard Summit takes place August 23-25, 2024 at Chicago's Old Town School. This year's Summit features 80 luthiers and exhibitors. Performers include Adam Levy, Colin Hay, Blake Mills, Joel Paterson, Jake Eddy, Jordan Tice, Valerie June, and Joe Henry. Register to attend this unforgettable guitar weekend: https://fretboardsummit.org

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:
https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com
(Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar: https://mmguitarbar.com

Collings Guitars: https://www.collingsguitars.com

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com
(Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

 

Guitarist Ethan Sherman returns to the Fretboard Journal Podcast to talk about his new acoustic album, 'Passages.' This contemporary bluegrass-inspired record features Ethan alongside Wes Corbett (banjo), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Thomas Cassell (mandolin), Avery Merritt (fiddle) and Ethan Jodziewicz (bass). 

During our chat, Ethan explains why banjo recordings like Bela Fleck's 'Drive' were the unlikely inspiration to the album and its arrangements; talks to us about the gear that he used; gives us a follow-up on his 'String Theories' project with Adam Levy; and shares some insights from touring with Michael Bublé. 

Check out Passages here:
https://ethansherman.bandcamp.com/album/passages

Fretboard Summit 2024 Registration: 
https://fretboardsummit.org

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal print edition and reserve your copy of Fretboard Journal 54:  https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/products/fretboard-journal-annual-subscription

This week's show is sponsored by:
StewMac: https://stewmac.sjv.io/R5jvRR (Affiliate link)

Collings Guitars: https://www.collingsguitars.com
(Look at their pau ferro offerings: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6_kzwmroYI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

Izotope: https://www.izotope.com (Use the code FRET10 to save 10%)

Stringjoy Strings: https://stringjoy.com (Use the code FRETBOARD to save 10% off your first order)

Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

Love the podcast and want to support it? We have a Patreon page just for Fretboard Journal fans and loaded with bonus content. https://www.patreon.com/Fretboard_Journal

On today's Fretboard Journal Podcast, we talk to Geoff Farina of the band Karate.

In the mid-'90s, the Boston-based group earned a cult following with their indie rock-meets-jazz sound. Geoff recounts the band's early days, when he was working part-time for Bill Finnegan assembling Klon Centaurs. He talks about life on the road, the group's breakup, and how they eventually were able to reissue their out-of-print albums on the Numero Group.

Most importantly, Geoff is just a rabid guitar nut: He's currently a music educator in Chicago, where he spends his free time buying and selling guitars (acoustic and electric) and building tube amplifiers.

July 2022: Karate is currently reunited and back on the road. Follow their tour dates here:
https://karateallston.bandcamp.com

To order the Numero Group's Karate reissues, click here. 

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Izotope (use the coupon code FRET10 to save 10% off their plug-ins); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

To purchase our magazine or learn about the 2022 Fretboard Summit, visit us at www.fretboardjournal.com. 

On today's Fretboard Journal Podcast, we talk to Andrew Enns, Senior Acoustic Guitar Builder at Yamaha. In case you didn't know, Yamaha has a workshop in Southern California, where Andrew and a small team are building the next generation of Yamaha's high-end acoustic guitars.

This is a fascinating chat on so many levels: Andrew is a largely self-taught guitarmaker and recounts how he started out building electric guitars on his apartment patio with the information he gleaned from the early days of the internet (including Ed Roman's legendary rants) and Stew-Mac catalogs. He then went on to work for Michael Kelly and Cordoba, where he immersed himself in classical guitar construction.

At Yamaha, Andrew's job is not only to make a great acoustic, but to constantly adjust, test, and refine his creations. Known for their high tolerances, the brand has Andrew go through dozens of prototypes for each guitar model he builds, often with the tiniest of differences. He shares some of the discoveries he's made over the years about top thickness, woods, neck joints, and more. We also talk about the new high-end dreadnought has Andrew designed for Yamaha, out sometime in 2023. 

https://yamahaguitardevelopment.com

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/guitars_basses/index.html

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Izotope (use the coupon code FRET10 to save 10% off their plug-ins); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

To purchase our magazine or learn about the 2022 Fretboard Summit, visit us at www.fretboardjournal.com. 

On this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast, we're talking to Pharis and Jason Romero. 2022 is shaping up to a big year for the Romeros: This week, the duo will release 'Tell 'Em You Were Gold,' their seventh album, and their first project on Smithsonian Folkways. As if that weren't enough, at some point soon, Jason will be putting the finishing touches on their 500th banjo creation.

During our chat, we talk about how they balance their lives between instrument making, touring, recording, and family duties. We also talk about the secret tuning that Jason discovers with each of his banjos, how he builds his instruments, the making of their new record, and more.

Check out a behind-the-scenes mini doc on the making of the album here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9cHx2ReaHA&ab_channel=SmithsonianFolkways

And check out the documentary we shot nearly a decade ago here: https://www.fretboardjournal.com/video/fretboard-films-trip-romero-banjos/

The banjo playlist that Jason curated can be found here: https://folkways.si.edu/playlist/the-brain-on-banjos-pharis-jason-romero

Order 'Tell 'Em You Were Gold' here: https://orcd.co/pharis-jason-romero

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

www.fretboardjournal.com

 

Imagine growing up without a father, but knowing he was alive, somewhere. Now imagine that same scenario but knowing that your dad is also a famous musician. That's the reality for Nabil Ayers - a drummer turned record label executive - whose father is legendary jazz musician Roy Ayers.

In his new book, 'My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family,' Nabil describes his unique upbringing, the amazing job his mother did at raising her son, and the profound impact that music continues to make on his life. He also opens up about what it's like to be the only person of color in a mostly-white indie-rock scene, his few attempts to connect with Roy Ayers, and much more.

Order the book here.

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

Jazz musician Snoozer Quinn (1907 - 1949) is one of the guitar world’s great enigmas. In his prime, he performed alongside Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, the Dorsey Brothers, Louis Armstrong, and others; lore has it that even Les Paul even learned how to hammer-on and pull-off from Snoozer.

But today Snoozer is largely forgotten because his only attempt at solo studio recordings completely disappeared and he died young after a long battle with tuberculosis. To add insult to injury, the only surviving film footage of Snoozer playing guitar has no audio and the only solo recordings we have of him were literally taped from his deathbed.

On this week’s Fretboard Journal Podcast, we take a look at Snoozer’s life and legacy with Katy Hobgood Ray and Dan Sumner, who just co-authored a book entitled Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer (Out of the Past Music). Half of the book features Katy’s exhaustive biography on Quinn (one of her distant relatives) with rare photos, while the other half features Dan’s transcriptions of eight Snoozer Quinn arrangements.

Over the course of our interview, we learn about Snoozer’s troubled life, how he got his name, his reputation among his peers, his Gibson instruments, and more. Then Dan sheds light on the Herculean task of transcribing the complex work of Snoozer from the available fragments and breadcrumbs, the guitarist’s unique technique and tunings, and a lot more.

Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer is available here. 

The Fretboard Journal is a reader-supported magazine. If you'd like to subscribe, support what we do, and get our 50th issue (now mailing), simply click here.

We're throwing a 2022 Fretboard Summit in Chicago, where for three days you can attend workshops, panel discussions, live podcast tapings, and try out rare and priceless guitars with the staff of the FJ. Click here for ticket information. 

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

"Every guitar has some secret little thing it's going to tell you." -Bill Frisell

Guitarist Bill Frisell and the Fretboard Journal go way back. For this week's podcast, we catch up with Bill and learn about the exhaustive new biography on him, 'Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music.' Bill also hints at his forthcoming album, discusses his composing routine, and talks about the guitars that kept him going through the pandemic.

We just posted a pair of videos from the same day this conversation took place:
"All the Things You Are"
"My Man's Gone Now"

Order the new biography on Bill here. And don't forget to check out his new album with Tim O'Brien and Dale Bruning (link). 

Bill will also be featured in our 50th edition, mailing next week. Subscribe now and get your copy. Click here. 

Want to attend the 2022 Fretboard Summit in Chicago? Click here. 

This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

Musician Tray Wellington has a truly one-of-a-kind story: As a teenager trying to learn rock riffs on the electric guitar, he stumbled upon the music of Doc Watson. Soon after that, he heard the five-string banjo. 

For the last decade, Tray has devoted himself to that instrument, attending festivals, entering banjo contests, and even majoring in Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music studies at East Tennessee State University. He recently released his debut full-length album, 'Black Banjo.' It's a project where he gets to explore his passion for bluegrass, newgrass and beyond. He also reveals some not-so-traditional music influences, including interpretations of John Coltrane and Roy Hargrove compositions. 

On this week's podcast, we talk to Tray about the record, what it's like to be one of the few people of color in bluegrass, and how he hopes to inspire the next generation of musicians.   https://traywellington.com
This episode is sponsored by Peghead Nation (use the promo code FRETBOARD and get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription); Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Izotope (use the discount code FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope purchase); and Calton Cases.

Subscribe to the Fretboard Journal magazine and reserve your copy of our keepsake 50th issue, out soon. https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/collections/all/products/fretboard-journal-subscription-no-auto-renew.