Music In The Minor League (Brightwire)

Welcome to Episode 35 of Music in the Minor League! This week we are joined by the artist, poet and musician: Vanessa Jean Speckman. She has created zines, her clothing been seen on musicians of all genres, she's created album covers for numerous bands and puts on thunderous performances with her band, Call Me Rita.

We have been huge fans of Vanessa for many years and were grateful to sit down for a conversation about what made her fall in love with music, how the messy world of today drives her creative endeavors and just life in general.

Keep up with Vanessa online at:

https://www.facebook.com/VanessaJeanSpeckmanArt - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/vanessajeanspeckman/ - Instagram

https://www.etsy.com/shop/vanessajeanspeckman/ - VJS Etsy Shop

https://www.instagram.com/call.me.rita.the.band/ - Call Me Rita Instagram

https://callmerita.bandcamp.com/track/this-is-a-stick-up - Call Me Rita Bandcamp

This week, we sat down with Brent McLennan of The Broken Spokes to discuss what led him to playing music, how The Broken Spokes got their start and various other topics that came up throughout the evening. A lot of topics came up, so many that we're splitting this into two one-hour episodes! Just like Gabe, when you get those Aggies pontificating on things, they just keep going.

We had a lot of fun and know y'all will to. To find more info on Brent and The Broken Spokes, check out these spots:

Official Website: https://brokenspokesmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrokenspokes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebrokenspokes

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wrncTu4Tbm7X5Zqgl8MRf

Now that we've been introduced, let's get to meeting some bands! This week we are joined by our good friends, John & Rebecca Stoll from Grifters & Shills. We’ve known them for many years, have toured extensively with them and have even been in their band for a couple of shows…but you’ll hear more about that in the episode...

What's up everyone? We're back again with a new episode of Music in the Minor League! This week we're joined by Johnny Lawhorn of The Pentagram String Band. When we were on tour last week, we sat down with Johnny at his dining table and talked about The Pentagram String Band's new album, his path to Kansas City and a lot about pizza. It was a damn good time. Later that night, we headed over to the Brick in Kansas City to play a show with him and enjoy the interesting angle he takes on bluegrass. This is a fun one!

On this episode, we were joined by Tara Miller and Alex Schultz of Rock Bottom String Band! We love this band's music and the folks that make that music. They're kind folks and jaw-dropping musicians to top it all off. It's almost unfair.

Rock Bottom String Band plays music inspired by bluegrass, punk, country, roots, and rock at breakneck speeds with a whole lot of fun.

Born in 2013 from backyard jams in the town of San Marcos, TX, we've become an internationally touring presence in the alternative Americana community.

The goal of every show is to enjoy life with good times and new friends.

Rock Bottom brings that energy to each performance to guarantee an engaging and immersive experience for the audience.

https://www.rockbottomstringband.com/ - Website

https://www.facebook.com/rockbottomstringband - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/rockbottomstringband - Instagram

Bevin Luna's website describes her as "Based out of Fort Collins, CO with roots in Memphis, TN and Dominican Republic. Bevin Luna’s guitar- and gut-driven songs package sly intelligence inside a rough-and-rugged sound." And we have to agree with that. A few weeks before heading out on our mid-October tour, we checked out her music due to sharing a bill with her (and others) at the Choice City Stomp Fall Fling. Upon the first listen of her latest EP, Madison and Angelus, we were in love with her tunes. It touches on garage rock, melodic rock, punk rock...anything that has ROCK in it, that's the best way to describe Bevin's songwriting and sound. We caught up with Bevin in her home studio to discuss music, growing up in a musical family, recording, the Fort Collins music scene and more. We discussed touring and how she needs to get on the road so maybe we could see her down here! Bevin was very hospitable, so much so she kept asking us questions during our visit. We did our best to keep it focused on her, though. Y'all need to know about her and this interview is a great introduction to her...now go follow her on her socials and learn more! Find Bevin online at: https://www.bevinluna.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bevinlunamusic/ https://www.facebook.com/bevinlunamusic

This week on Music in the Minor League, we were joined by Todd Farrell, Jr.! We first became aware of Todd's music way back in like 2013 when he posted some awesome videos on YouTube for the annual CXCW (Couch by Couchwest) Online Music Festival. Dude did Run to the Hills acoustically!

Over the years, our paths crossed many times and we continued to be fans of his music. Todd has played with so many bands including ⁠Benchmarks⁠, Todd Farrell Jr and the Dirty Birds, ⁠Two Cow Garage⁠, ⁠Electric Python⁠ and many more! From blazing metal solos to dreamy pedal steel to being a front man, Todd can do it all!

We recorded the episode Monday night, so this one is FRESH! We're grateful to Todd for taking the time to talk to us. We got into baseball, why folksy singers like metal, why metal folks like folksy bands, being a touring musician with a family and a job and so much more. It was informative and fun.

Find Todd online at:

https://toddfarrelljr.bandcamp.com/ - Bandcamp

https://www.facebook.com/ToddFarrellJr - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/toddfarrelljr/ - Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/benchmarksmusic/ - Benchmarks Instragram

https://www.instagram.com/electricpythonband/ - Electric Python Instagram

We've been fans of Trish Cramblet for quite a while now, so when we booked a show with her at the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe, we knew it would be a great opportunity to talk to her. She's got one of the best voices we've heard and writes clever songs that suit it perfectly. We covered a lot of topics in our conversation and had a blast getting to know her better. This one took place in the green room at the Old Quarter during quite the rain storm, so there's lots of ambience. We know you'll dig it!

Find Trish online at:

https://trishcrambletmusic.com/ - Official Website

https://www.instagram.com/trishcramblet/ - Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/trishcrambletbadhabits - Facebook

https://trishcramblet.bandcamp.com/music - Bandcamp

This week we are joined by our friend, Cheryl Cawood! Cheryl got her start playing bands in Kentucky and around the Cincinnati area. A little over a decade ago, she moved down to Galveston, TX. In that time, she’s become a fixture in our music community and someone we always see around town. She’s also the first person to listen to our intro and hit us up about being on the show! Follow her example and let us know if you’d like to be a guest!

For more information on Cheryl and her music, visit: https://cherylcawood.com/

Shane Sweeney is nothing short of a renaissance man. He's been the bassist/vocalist for Two Cow Garage over 20 years, he's release multiple solo albums/EPs, he's sold hundreds of drawings/paintings and has many other projects going at various times. It was a treat to talk to Shane from his basement in Columbus, OH and discuss how Two Cow Garage was born from a chance meeting at a BW3s, among other things. We hope you enjoy it!

Where to find Shane Sweeney online:

Shane Sweeney's Merch/Music: https://shanesweeney1.bandcamp.com/music

Two Cow Garage: https://www.instagram.com/twocowgarage1/

Two Cow Garage Music/Merch: https://twocowgarage1.bandcamp.com/music

Shane's Morning Song Drawings: https://www.instagram.com/morningsongdrawings/

Chris Edwards, simply put, is a singer-songwriter rooted in the deep Pineywoods of East Texas. With a suitcase full of influences ranging from the old-time folk and country he grew up with (thanks to his grandparents' record collection) to more recent Texas troubadours like Robert Earl Keen into rockier territory like the Old 97's, Chris Edwards' blend of catchy melodies and literate lyrics prove that he is a songwriter, first and foremost, focusing on "just writing good songs."

We enjoyed getting to sit down and have a conversation with Chris via Zoom. We learned a lot about his music, his approach to songwriting, what he loves about music and his new album, Homebrew, which is coming out on June 28th.

To find more info on Chris, visit on the web at:

https://chrisedwardsmusic.com/ - Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/ChrisEdwardsMusic/ - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/chrisedwardsmusic - Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisEdwardsTX - YouTube

"Raised in east Texas, Gabe Wootton split the pine curtain as quickly as possible. He started writing songs to remind himself of the things he wanted to forget, but the whole deal slipped his mind." That's Gabe's Spotify bio and it pretty much sums up the humor and wit in Wootton's songwriting and how tight he usually is with his story. Well, we got a few pieces of his history at a time between discussions of the various facets of music from all angles, be it listener, performer or anywhere between.

We did the interview in our living room so there was beer and a smoke break in there for Gabe so the conversation naturally split into two episodes. This week, we bring you the first half of the conversation and we'll return next week with the second half! Have a great week and we'll see you next time with part two.

Gabe's Links:

Website: https://www.gabewootton.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabewootton/

We did it! We made it to episode 10! That's a big one, right? 90% of new podcasts would already have given up, but we're too dumb to quit so here we are! To celebrate that milestone, we brought in our art director, spiritual advisor and friend, Daniel Torres, to discuss graphic art's importance in music, his time as a tour manager and the albums that made us fall in love with music. It's a good one and we hope you enjoy it!

Our new album Here, But Gone heads out into the world this Friday (March 8th), so we sat down with Daniel Torres. Dan created the artwork for the album and named of the album. This episode sees us discussing the pitfalls of getting your album pressed, artwork creation and a countdown of album cover art that led to us checking out an album.

We hope you enjoy the conversation and countdown. We sure had a lot of fun making this episode.

Be sure to follow Dan on Instagram at:

https://www.instagram.com/ninedt/

Alright, y'all! We did it! We made it through an entire season of Music in the Minor League. We're pretty excited to have made it this far. We're also really grateful to everyone who took the time to be a part of the podcast and especially those who gave these episodes a listen!

This week, we recapped some of our favorite moments from this season, talked about the new album, updated everyone on our touring and just had a nice conversation about the podcast. It was a lot of fun.

We also included a quick mix/master version of our cover of Josh Ritter's Girl in the War, which will be included on our new album that will come out in March 2024. We're getting close to being done with it!

See you all later this fall with season two!

The week, we were joined by Steve Tagliere and Jason Bonilla of Junebird! We've known Steve for many years now as we used to play with him as a solo artist and the duo he had with his wife: Steve + Mel. Steve is a really talented songwriter and musician and we are big fans, so when he had a new project, we were sure to check it out. That's when we met Jason, who as friendly as he is energetic on stage. The other members of the band are Earl Bounsall on bass and Dusty B. on drums. 

Due to their residences being in out past Katy, which we already call "East San Antonio," we did this one via Zoom. It still sounds really good and we were stoked to talk to them! Helf ended up having some family responsibilities come up so it was just Kim and I, but we did okay without him. We know you'll enjoy the episode, so where you're done, go check out Junebird!

Visit Junebird on the web at:

Website: https://www.junebirdmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junebirdmusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077102363413

Afton Wolfe's bio on his website opens with a quote from Americana Highways: "If you’re tired of wimpy mainstream vocals of pimply vocalists who haven’t lived yet — this is the cure. Wolfe sings with authority, experience & realism. He pours it dramatically but never artificially."

It definitely encapsulates the vibe of Afton's music. When he reached out about being on the podcast and mentioned Nashville, some understandable apprehension hit us, but his Mississippi roots shine through and Music Row is nowhere to be found. Great songwriting, textured sounds and a voice that has been lived in for a while. All great pieces.

Few interviews have been a seamless and easy as our conversation with Afton. We had never spoken before and barely emailed, but within a few seconds, we were talking, laughing and complaining about the world like old friends. We think it really shows in the interview.

Check out Afton on the internet at:

https://aftonwolfe.com/ - Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/aftonwolfemusic/ - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/aftonwolfe - Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/aftonwolfe - YouTube

Lauren Eddy does it all. She is the vocalist/guitarist for El Lago, vocalist/bassist for Texas Skeksis, Vocalist/Keyboardist for Raudiver and bassist for Young Mammals. She puts on show with Third Eyeland Party and she runs a music zine called Wake the Zine. She's also assisting the the La Izquierda Surf Festival in Galveston. She really does it all.

We'd known her for a few years via email booking, but never made the connection that she was the same Lauren from all these other ventures. Once we connected all the dots, we really wanted to talk to her and she was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to talk with us! We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Visit Lauren's bands and ventures via the following links:

El Lago: https://www.ellagoband.com/

Texas Skeksis: https://www.instagram.com/texasskeksis/

Raudiver: https://www.instagram.com/raudiver/

Third Eyeland Party: https://www.instagram.com/thirdeyelandparty/

Wake The Zine: https://www.instagram.com/wakethezine/

La Izquierda Fest: https://www.instagram.com/laizquierdafest/ (Use code MIML10 for 10% off your tickets!!)

Lauren's photo by Sungsoo Lee

Elaine Holmes is a force in the independent music world. We've heard her name mentioned by bands from coast to coast when the Denver/Fort Collins music scene comes up. She currently runs the Choice City Stomp festival and all iterations of it. It is not rare to see her front stage in the Denver area or anywhere else in the country when it comes to the bands she loves the most. Elaine Holmes is a force in the independent music scene, a true scene leader and a nurturer of all the bands lucky enough to be in her orbit.

https://www.instagram.com/straykitten88/ - Elaine's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/choicecitystomp/ - Choice City Stomp Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/ChoiceCityStomp - Choice City Stomp Facebook

https://youtu.be/X2hR2fPLjFQ?si=fnxwEvPrNwJe-XDY - Rock Bottom String Band's "Tend" video featuring Jeannie Holmes

Oh man...where to start on Charles Bryant? If you think putting off the start of your musical performance career until you're 50 means a person wasn't ready to blow minds, you're wrong. And not in that feral, unpolished way of blowing minds. We're talking well-thought-out songwriting, solid finger picking and, well, some energy that only comes from decades of preparation to hit the stage. We've known Charles from pretty much right when he started venturing out into the music landscape here in the Houston area. He's gave us a place to play when Brightwire first started out as a band, we opened for him, he's opened for us and we've been influential to each other. Most importantly, we've been friends though it all. Charles is one of our favorite songwriters and performers PERIOD. We hope you enjoy this episode, it's a good one. 

Here we are with our 5th episode! It's a small landmark but it's also our first one, so we're stoked to have made it to this one. We have lots more coming so we're looking forward to hitting more! This week, we are joined by Scotti Fraser of The Scotti Fraser Band. Scotti has been hitting it hard in recent times spreading his songs of facing adversity and overcoming it. He's a confident performer, catchy songwriter and all around good dude. We're really grateful to know him and hope you enjoy this episode! 

Check out his music at https://www.scottifraser.com and wherever you stream music! 

We made it to 25 episodes! We're glad this little experiment is remaining fun and informative. We're also grateful for all the folks who take the time to listen! However, the thing we're most grateful for is the time we get to spend talking about music with our friends and peers throughout this process. It's been pretty amazing.

On this episode, we're talking to the amazingly talented Jordan Joyes. You may know her from her previous band, Gallows Bound, or from her solo works that are starting to come out! She's also a skilled tattoo artist that currently works at Anchors Aweigh Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ. She's really one of our favorite songwriters and voices in music today.

Helf was out of town when we recorded this, so while his quips are missing, we feel Jordan definitely picked up the slack and made this episode a lot of fun.

Find Jordan online at:

https://www.jordanjoyes.com

https://www.instagram.com/jordanjoyes

https://www.facebook.com/jordanjoyes

And we're back! Season 3 of Music in the Minor League has officially started! To kick things off, we had a conversation with Liz Sloan McGovern of Urban Pioneers and Mack Dart of Rock Bottom String Band! They discussed the upcoming Walk This Earth Music Festival that they're putting on, how they got into music, tour life, fiddle life and much, much more!

We hope y'all enjoy this week's episode! We'll return in 2 weeks with Matt and Matt from the Bar Rats!

On Memorial Day, we were lucky enough to sit down for a conversation with Chris Barnes. He's been holding down bass duties for bands like Blackgrass Gospel, Christopher Seymore & the Western Cosplay, Johnny Hootrock, The Broken Spokes and more over the years!

He's also part of the Houston Horni Tonk Society! The Horni Tonk Society has really done a lot for traditional country in the Houston area and really created quite the scene around town.

He's done a lot, seen the world and we haven't even gotten started on his time on the guitar with AM Prowlers and more!

Find him on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/bass_slapping_barnes/

Here's the second part of our interview with Brent McLennan of The Broken Spokes! If you haven't checked out the first half, go do that now so you'll know what's going down. Or, if you're adventurous, jump right in and work your way backwards. We hope you dig this episode!

We had a lot of fun and know y'all will to. To find more info on Brent and The Broken Spokes, check out these spots:

Official Website: https://brokenspokesmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrokenspokes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebrokenspokes

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wrncTu4Tbm7X5Zqgl8MRf

We're back with a new episode of Music in the Minor League!

Our guest this episode is Carter Felker! Carter was an absolute blast to talk to. He's one of those people you meet and within 5 minutes, it's like you're best friends. His new album entitled Loser is out on Friday! Be sure to check it out!

Carter hails from Calgary, AB! He's our second international guest and our second from Canada. It's also worth noting that he came recommended by our first Canadian guest, Sean Burns! If Sean recommends someone, we're going to give them a listen and, of course, he didn't let us down with this recommendation! Find Carter Felker Online:

https://www.instagram.com/carterefelker - Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/carterfelkermusic/ - Facebook

https://carterfelker.bandcamp.com/ - Bandcamp

We could try to introduce Stefan Prigmore to you, but we think his description on his own website works best. Usually words from the source do that. Stefan says, "I make music because it helps me to process difficult and complex ideas, in a way that others also understand and can relate to. There’s a catharsis that happens when I see my understanding reflected back in another person when they hear one of my songs, that gives us both some comfort. It also helps me to lift up the beauty I see in this world, and has become a lens for seeing and understanding the world and my feelings. It generally all comes down to love, that I have and find when birthing a song, and that is reflected back when I share these songs with you."

If you've listened to the show, you know that is pretty much our mission statement. It's about sharing our situation in hopes of showing others they are not alone. It really is the best thing about sharing songs with the world.

For more info on Stefan Prigmore:

https://www.stefanprigmore.net/ - Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/StefanPrigmoreMusic - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/stefanprigmore/ - Instagram

https://stefanprigmore.bandcamp.com/music - Bandcamp Store

https://www.youtube.com/user/jazzolife - YouTube

Welcome to episode 55 of Music in the Minor League. AKA Episode 4 of season 3! For this episode, we had the privilege of talking with Jewelz Melody! You may recognize her from Shame On Me where she blows minds and melts hearts with season 2 guest Mel Gutierrez. She also is known to sit in with folks like Dem Roots Music and Opie Hendrix. Oh, and she's also working on solo material, some of which she performed on a recent episode of Long River Sessions.

Jewelz's has a rather unique relationship with music and language that makes her path to music one of the most captivating stories we've heard on the podcast thus far. She hears songs, sees them, feels them and can interpret them in many ways. It is truly impressive.

We hope you'll give this one a listen. It's so good!

Also, a special thanks for Masaya Tamegai for sharing a song from Jewelz's Long River Session with us.

Find Jewelz online at:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JewelzMelody

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JewelzMelody

• Other: https://linktr.ee/jewelzmelody

• Jewelz Melody - Long River Session: https://youtu.be/VFcRA5Eu3Wk?si=Pp6Cqk_QVc8gNVMc

• Also visit Shame on Me at:

• Website: https://shameonmetx.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shame_on_me_tx/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shame.on.me.mtsp

• Shame On Me - Long River Session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cstZyZdB4Bw

We made it to the end of our second season of Music in the Minor League! It's wild that we're 2 years into this since it feels like we just got started. There's no music for this episode, no intro or outro. It's just us discussing this last year, car theft, our best shows of the year and what we were trying to accomplish with this season. We also spend the first 15 minutes talking about pizza and other food we came across on our Northeastern tour that just ended.

We hope you enjoy the episode! Be sure to share the show with friends you think might be interested, help support the bands who have appeared and just keep caring about independent music. See y'all in January for the start of season 3!

This week we had our first international guest, Sean Burns. Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sean fronts his band Sean Burns and Lost Country, hosts his podcast The Northern Report, hosted the radio show Boots & Saddles on CKUW 95.9 FM for years and also holds down bass duties for Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans!

To say Sean is well-rounded is an understatement. If you check out his website, there is even a Honky-Tonkumentary on his band and the recording of their album, We Gotta Lotta Truckin' To Do. He does it all, really.

We enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk shop with him. We covered playing music, finding those old gems in the record bins, travelling, how cold cold can get and how Sweetwater music really works!

Check out Sean online:

https://www.seanburns.ca - Official Website

https://seanburns.bandcamp.com/music - Bandcamp

https://www.instagram.com/seanburnsmusic/ - Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/seanburnsmusic - Facebook

Our buddy Masaya Tamagai from The Houston Collective gave us the tip to check out Bar Rats. We checked them out online, dug their music and after some back and forth, we got them scheduled. The conversation flowed, we had a great time talking to them and we're pretty sure you'll be entertained by the banter as much as their music! Be sure to check them out online at: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebarrats/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barratstx/

Welcome to the 54th episode of Music in the Minor League! This week, we'll be venturing out to Colorado to talk with singer-songwriter Ben Garcia! After some time away from music, Ben is back at it with a string of new singles.

We made it to 20 episodes, y'all! We're so grateful that so many people have taken the time to give the show a listen and support the bands we've been fortunate enough to talk to. As we did with the 10th episode, we decided to have a discussion about influential albums in our lives.
This time, we chose songs/albums that led us to pick up an instrument, made us decide to start a band and/or led us to where we are today as musicians and songwriters. And, because we get lonely, we decided to have our friends in Grifters & Shills come along for the ride.
They have a new album called Fireball coming out on June 17th and we're premiering two songs from the album! The first, Live On Purpose, features our very own Kim Barker on harmony vocals!
Also, it is worth noting that when Kim says she enjoyed the F/X soundtrack, she is actually referring to the song Axel F from Beverly Hills Cop. She didn't realize which song it was until after the recording. Oops.
If you want to check out the songs we chose, here's the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gjmxX0vJBWNZBpIPfArRF?si=5a962321450c44e6

Today we are joined by Bart Roberts, who, as he says, is the Chief Vinyl Officer at Sweet Spot Audio and Records in Webster, TX. Bart came from a background in network television and dove right into another dying industry: physical media! We're joking, of course. Vinyl sales have continually grown over the recent years as people look for something tangible for their musical needs. Plus, variants of releases get the collectors excited to gather each version of selected releases.

One of the really important things for independent artists is finding ways to get your music out, be it Bandcamp, online retailers, streaming networks or social media. It is also great to have independent, local record stores that will carry records from local bands on their shelves. For a lot of people, they will take a chance on an album that is sitting on the shelf in front of them before they will via mail order.

We caught up with Bart the same week as Record Store Day, so that was a topic of discussion, we talked about great record store finds, what led Bart to taking over Sweet Spot and all the drama that goes into having your record pressed as an independent artist. There's a lot of great info in this episode and a lot of fun conversation. We hope you dig it! Visit Sweet Spot Audio and Records at:

https://www.sweetspotaudiorecords.com/ - Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/sweetspotaudiorecords - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/sweetspotaudiorecords/ - Instagram

When we were on the road last summer, we got the opportunity to play the Choice City Stomp in Fort Collins, CO. One of the folks we met was Brian Johanson. His band wasn't playing that day, but he told us about them and we exchanged Instagram handles. Now, he's our first remote guest and, man, did we have a time talking about music and various other oddball subjects with him. We highly recommend checking out his band, Sugar Britches. Their latest album, No One Cares That It's Your Birthday, is so much fun and will have you moving your feet. We hope you enjoy the conversation! 

 Check them out online at: https://www.sugarbritchesmusic.com/

On this episode, we hooked up with Jeff Perales of Mind Mine, Do It for Chico Records, Sunflower Syndicate, etc to discuss his path to music, his prolific musical career, fun tour stories and much, much more.

We knew Jeff from Mind Mine and his previous band The Daphne Three, but were blown away by the breadth of influences, projects and future musical plans he has going on. It left us genuinely intrigued and awestruck.

For more information on Jeff and his music projects, find him online at:

https://www.mindminetx.com/ - Mind Mine

https://www.doitforchicorecords.com/ - Do It For Chico Records

https://www.instagram.com/mindminetx - Mind Mine Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/mindminetx - Mind Mine Facebook

Welcome to episode 49 of Music in the Minor League! This week, our guest is Ryan Doyon, who hosts the Music Savage show on WMFO 91.5FM in Boston, MA. The show is also available online at https://musicsavage.com and via Soundcloud

We first became aware of his show back in 2022, when he featured one of our songs on his Summer Roadtrip, which sees one segment per show dedicated to bands along the route from Boston to the west coast and back over the summer. Since then, we've become big fans of the show and have found numerous artists that we enjoy from the show.

Ryan was kind enough to sit down with us to discuss what led to him to being a radio DJ, what planted the seed of love for music inside of him, how important networking is, favorite concerts and how much amazing new music there is out in the world.

To listen to the show and learn more about Ryan, visit these links:

Official Website: https://www.musicsavage.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicsavage

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicsavage/

This week we are joined by Jared Putnam of The March Divide! For those old school folks from Texas and beyond, you may recognize the name from his old bands: Level and The Conversation. We crossed paths with Jared many years ago and have remained friends ever since. We've had sleepovers, we've shared bills, Kim has appeared on his recordings, we've set up shows for each other and had a lot of fun over the years together. It was great to sit down with him to get his long history in music down on tape. We hope you all dig it. We sure did.

We'll be playing with him THIS FRIDAY at Shoeshine Charlie's Big Top Lounge! Two-Fifths will also be playing. It'll be a hoot!

For more info on The March Divide, check him out at these links:

Official Website - https://www.themarchdivide.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/themarchdivide

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/themarchdivide

Bandcamp - https://themarchdivide.bandcamp.com/

Before joining Brightwire, Helf was in The Grizzly Band, so we sat down with frontman of that band, Chad Lyles, to talk about what led him to music, what he's been up to since The Grizzly Band ended and what he's working on for the future. We had a real good time hanging out and catching up with our buddy. We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did! 

For this episode, we got to sit down with Joel Mora. If you're from around the Houston area, you most likely know him as the longtime drummer of punk rock stalwarts, The Hates. If you're from around the Galveston area, you know him from Blunderbuss, Red Cap and Worthless Cause. If you're from anywhere in the country, you know him as the owner of the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe, which he and his wife Angela took over in 2018 from the original owner, Rex Bell. Did we mention he started up Old Quarter Records, as well? 

Joel has been on all sides of the musical landscape and we were happy to sit down with him to discuss life in the independent music world as a musician, fan, label owner and venue owner. This is our longest episode yet, but there was a lot to cover and we're really excited with how it came out! We hope you dig it!

Check out upcoming shows at the Old Quarter on their website: https://oldquarteracousticcafe.com/

This week we sat down with our good friends in Little Outfit to discuss their debut album, the long history of the band, the near collapse that ultimately led to finally recording and the bright road ahead. We're real grateful to know these folks and know you'll have fun getting to know them on this episode!

Their new album drops on July 25, 2023! Go check out the two singles already released from it and be ready to listen to the whole thing!

Visit them online at:

https://www.littleoutfit.net - Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/Littleoutfit - Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/littleoutfit/ - Instagram

This week we are joined by our friend, Tucker Hart! Tucker is a singer-songwriter and the founder of the League City Folk Association. He and his wife, Rachel, put it together to build a music community in their area. It has grown to be an event that attracts large audiences and sees the list full within minutes of it being posted. It was a bit of rocky path that led Tucker to performing, so get ready for that story. 

Check him out online and be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@tuckerhartmusic

A couple of weeks ago, folks started posting an article from The Guardian about the difficulties of touring for mid-level and lower-level indie bands. It covered how much money folks can LOSE while out on tour and how the bands are coping with it. It also covers venue difficulties, etc. The situation definitely parallels what is happening in the United States.

While not being experts on the situation, we have toured rather extensively in our time as a band, as well as our time in other bands. So, we all read the article and had a discussion on the difficulties of touring, the costs, how we do it and various other side conversations that are almost relevant.

This is definitely a look into how every practice starts and why 90 minutes of playing turns into 3 hours of practice with Brightwire. We hope you enjoy!

Check out the article here; https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/25/shocking-truth-money-bands-make-on-tour-taylor-swift

Jenna comes to us from way up in Litchfield, MN! She spent years running merch out at Weber's Deck where she got to know many musicians and singer-songwriters. After years of slinging merch, attending shows and supporting independent music, Jenna made the decisions to try her hand at playing music for folks.

Beginning with a one-off gig many years ago, Jenna recently started playing shows and working on doing some recordings outside of the demos she currently has available. We had fun discussing what led her to take this jump into performing, what speedbumps she's hit along the way, how she's working on getting more comfortable performing in public and where she hopes the future takes her.

We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! We're really looking forward to seeing where this path takes her and how these future recordings turn out! Be sure to follow Jenna on her journey via the following links:

https://www.instagram.com/jennagmusic1/ - Instagram

https://jennagohman.bandcamp.com/ - Bandcamp

Our guest this week for our 30th episode is Eric Pearce, who you may know from his radio show Mixed Media Radio on KTRU 96.1 FM, as a member of Burning Bones Press and/or his time as an art teacher! Eric is a very well-rounded individual who has been a part of various music scenes for years as an artist and, for a short stint, as a musician. He's provided album artwork, flyer art, t-shirt art and more to various bands over the years. His show, Mixed Media Radio, touches on the place where visual art and music merge. His guests are artist, musicians or sometimes someone who creates in both realms. Music and graphic art go hand in hand so it was a treat to sit down with Eric. We hope you enjoy the interview.

For more info on Eric and his art, visit:

https://www.instagram.com/mixedmediaradio/ - Mixed Media Radio Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/uneasyhouston/ - Eric's Art Instagram

https://www.burningbonespress.com/ - Burning Bones Press

https://ktru.org/ - KTRU 96.1 FM

Pull on some board shorts with a tank top and your finest shades, then hit the pool with us as we talk to Ned Gayle of Swimwear Department! Swimwear Department brings the party everywhere they go and Ned definitely brought a fun conversation with him on this episode.

Ned has also been involved with various improv comedy groups, hosted a few podcasts like Honey, I Shrunk The Binge and was also one of Helf's art students many years ago.

For more information on Ned and Swimwear Department, visit the following spots:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swimweardepartment

Instagram (Swimwear Department): https://www.instagram.com/swimweardepartment

Instagram (Ned's Personal IG): https://www.instagram.com/nedofthedead/

Swimwear Department's Website: https://www.swimweardepartment.band/

Swimwear Department's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/swimweardepartment

On this week's episode, we are joined by Micah Schnabel! Micah started his musical career with the band Two Cow Garage, which is still performing after over 20 years as a band. He's a guitarist in Call Me Rita. And, he's a rather prolific solo artist with numerous releases under his belt and a new one on the way. When he's not making music, he's writing books. His second novel, The Clown Watches the Clock, was released earlier this year and is currently on sale via his Bandcamp and other retailers. We were grateful to sit down with Micah to discuss his path in music, songwriting, creating novels and how absurd out world can be at times. We hope you have as much fun with this one as we did. It's a good one! Find Micah Online at: https://micahschnabel.com/ - Official Website https://www.facebook.com/Micahschnabelmusic - Facebook https://www.instagram.com/micahschnabel/ - Instagram https://micahschnabel.bandcamp.com/ - Bandcamp https://www.facebook.com/twocowgarage - Two Cow Garage Facebook https://www.instagram.com/twocowgarage1/ - Two Cow Garage Instagram https://twocowgarage1.bandcamp.com/ - Two Cow Garage Bandcamp

This week, we're joined by Arta Salehi of Quinn the Brain! We were really stoked when Arta said she would be down to do an episode, as Quinn the Brain is a local band we absolutely love and were on our initial list of guests we wanted to have on. Their website describes them as "Dark Alt-Rock • Grunge-Punk" and we agree with that and would agree with so many other descriptions. The main descriptor of the band and their music would be GOOD! They completely rock! We hope y'all dig the episode and we'll be back next week with another one! 

Check out Quinn the Brain at: https://quinnthebrain.com/ 

Follow them everywhere you can! You don't want to miss that EP that is dropping later this year! 

Welcome to our new podcast called Music in the Minor League where we talk to bands who are still grinding it out in the minor league of music. What is the minor league of music? Well, we’re talking about those bands still out playing dive bars, farmer’s markets, breweries and the like while living out of their vans, as opposed to those riding buses and playing your local arenas or sheds.

This is part two of the conversation, so if you're starting here, go back to episode 13 to hear the whole thing!!!

"Raised in east Texas, Gabe Wootton split the pine curtain as quickly as possible. He started writing songs to remind himself of the things he wanted to forget, but the whole deal slipped his mind."

That's Gabe's Spotify bio and it pretty much sums up the humor and wit in Wootton's songwriting and how tight he usually is with his story. Well, we got a few pieces of his history at a time between discussions of the various facets of music from all angles, be it listener, performer or anywhere between.

Gabe's Links:

Website: https://www.gabewootton.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabewootton/

We finally found a functional Xfinity hot spot and uploaded this week's episode of Music in the Minor League! This week, we were joined by Masaya Tamegai of Long River Sessions, Visuals by Masaya, Houston Collective and KPFT Sessions. Masaya has become an integral part of documenting the Houston music scene and we were thrilled to get to talk to him. The conversion was full of great information, lots of new bands to check out and lots of laughs. We know y'all will really enjoy this one. The episode kicks off with Shame On Me's Lucky, which Masaya shot a video for. Check out the song in the episode, then go watch the video! Check out Masaya's projects below! https://www.facebook.com/VisualsByMasaya - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/longriversessions - Long River Sessions Facebook https://youtube.com/@longriversessions - Long River Sessions YouTube https://www.instagram.com/long_river_sessions/ - Long River Sessions Instagram https://youtu.be/eHcFB5O9sak?si=h5A-ZuMjuCz8bqHE - "Lucky" by Shame on Me

Episode 50 of Music in the Minor League is here with Jessica Murillo of Cactus Flowers! That's right! 50 episodes of the podcast! We really didn't know how far it would go and if people would be interested

Jessica has been on our list of folks we wanted to interview since we started the podcast and we finally got to catch up with her.

Jessica's path to and through music saw a Shania Twain appearance, time working for Daisy Rock Girl guitars, living all over the southwestern US and absolutely rocking stages everywhere Cactus Flowers sets up.

For more info on Jessica and her projects, visit the following links:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cactusflowersband

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cactusflowersband/

Bandcamp - https://cactusflowers.bandcamp.com/

The beauty of music is that you can reach the same level of excitement decades into loving it as you did when you were young. Shame On Me is a band that absolutely blows us away and left us absolutely smitten after playing with them in August. Watching their Long River Session had some of us a little intimidated, but the show came and it was a beautiful night of music that left us filled with excitement! Since then, we knew we wanted them to be a guest on the podcast!

We sat down with the Mel Gutierrez (Vocals/Bass) to discuss the band, the music scene around Houston, songwriting, fashion, mixtapes and so much more. Mel is one of those people that make you feel like you've known them forever and keeps the conversation flowing. Some of you may recognize her from her old band, 13 Black Coffins, while some of you may be hearing her music for the first time. If you're anything like us, you'll be grateful you found it, because it is so good! The entire band brings in their influences to make something that covers the breadth of sounds that make Houston's music scene so intriguing.

We know you're going to enjoy the episode!

Visit Shame on Me on the web at:

Website: https://shameonmetx.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shame_on_me_tx/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shame.on.me.mtsp

Shame On Me - Long River Session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cstZyZdB4Bw

Katherine Paterson is a singer/songwriter based in McKinney, TX. She writes indie-folk music to keep you company. Her debut album, Wake, is available on all streaming platforms.

Paterson started writing songs as gifts. She wrote one of her first songs from the journal entries of a cross-country road trip with a friend. Out of this song grew a passion for writing songs for far-flung companions. This transformed into writing songs as companions for all kinds of life moments.

After moving to Dallas in 2020, Paterson began performing solo and with her bands Doggerland and very good friends.

Paterson released her debut album, Wake, on January 14, 2024. The album lives in the complexity of feeling love, loss, joy, and grief all at the same time. Described as "quite the folksy feat," track four on the album, "Bloom," ventures through reconciliation and arrives at a celebration of how we got where we are.  Find Katherine online at:

https://katherinepatersonmusic.com/ - Website

https://www.instagram.com/kpatmusic - Instagram

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553503261016 - Facebook

https://katherinepaterson.bandcamp.com/ - Bandcamp

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DhB8IZiTwv6mH8aX2VrCL?si=EC6t6nItS7iSBakBmAx0bw- Spotify

This week, we sat down with Connecticut-based folks musician Matt Nilsen. As the story goes with many folks in our orbit, Matt started out as a guitarist in various rock and punk bands before picking up an acoustic and writing his own songs.

His songs have a dreamy vibe to them and will really resonate with folks who like Elliot Smith, early Songs: Ohia and similar artists.

We enjoyed getting to catch up with Matt and learning quite a bit about him before we share a bill with him in New Haven later this month. We hope you dig it!

For more info on Matt, visit him on the web at:

Website: https://mattwesnilsen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattnilsen8/

X: https://twitter.com/mattnilsen8

Bandcamp: https://mattnilsen.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-breeze

This week, we have reached the milestone of 40 episodes and to celebrate, we brought in our friend, Jeff Appleby, to discuss how we can use music to discuss how music an be used to serve your community and the common good.

While Jeff is not a musician, he what we'd call a "Scene Leader". He puts on shows, connects bands with one another and has his finger on the pulse of everything going down on the southside of Houston.

Each year, he throws a huge birthday party at Ronnie's Hog Heaven and, for the past four years, has used it to raise money for Texas EquuSearch. We've played it every year he's done the benefit and really enjoyed seeing the community come together to support a great organization like Texas Equusearch.

Jeff runs Pretty OK BBQ, which cooks up some of the best BBQ you'll ever have. He was also a co-host of the Two Sheet Cookers podcast!

We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation with Jeff as much as we enjoyed recording it!

Visit the Texas Equusearch website to learn more and/or make a donation at: https://texasequusearch.org/