News/Thoughts

Tag Archives: Dan Walsh

Telling Powerful Stories

After 25 years in Austin, Texas, working as a psychotherapist who played music on the side, eleven years ago John McDonough “took a break” from his therapy practice to recharge from burnout and allow his musical side to grow. That break has topped a decade, so John considers himself a retired psychotherapist and full-time musician. About a year ago, John ...

Read More »

Transcending the Suffering

Coming out of the original late seventies “punk” scene in Pittsburgh, PA, with his band No Shelter (known for the song “Brooks Robinson’s Camp”) at a certain point Robert Wagner realized his songwriting muse was looking for a more direct outlet to listeners’ ears, minds and hearts. The band was part of Western PA punk’s “first wave,” which Robert describes ...

Read More »

Restless Muse

Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Lewitt recalls a mixture of the usual motivations and an unusual limitation combining to launch him toward a career in music. “As a teenager in the eighties,” he recounts in a biographical sketch on his website, “I dreamed about being the next Bruce Springsteen or Bryan Adams. I would enthusiastically sing along to all of ...

Read More »

Durango McMurphy’s Troubadour Journey

Durango McMurphy began his troubadour journey in his twenties, when he put down his trumpet and picked up a guitar to liberate his voice to sing. Originally immersed in the soul music that horns are such a key part of, he was drawn to the other American types of music. “If I’ve gotta put myself into a bag, it would ...

Read More »

Inspired By A One String Guitar

Ben Hemming had reached a crossroads in his life, and felt a need to take some time to sort things out. The Englishman’s growing appreciation of American blues helped him chart a course across the Atlantic to embark on a true pilgrimage, to Memphis, New Orleans and other places important to the blues. Along the way he picked up an ...

Read More »

Overcoming Fear and Sharing Truth

Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, Paul Adams remembers his first encounter with the magic of music hearing and playing the trumpet as a child. Later he majored in ethnomusicology, and began building instruments and recording. He also spent time working in the realm of community mental health. Until he embarked on his current project, This Curious Wonder, Paul worked in multiple ...

Read More »

It Happened At The Gravel Yard

Originating in the Mountainview, Arkansas area (the self-styled “folk music capital of the world”), the band actually started in a gravel yard, one of many venues in the town’s lively bluegrass scene. As Aaron Farris, the band’s cofounder and upright bass player, explains, “The cool thing about it is, you can come from anywhere, bring your acoustic instrument, and on ...

Read More »

Better Late Than Never

The All Canadian Soundclash is a recording/performing project from Ottawan singer and songwriter Andrew Michelin, spotlighting original indie folk and alternative rock through well-crafted songs and exciting live performances. Michelin tries to take a less-is-more philosophy when it comes to creating his music, which features accessible, hook-laden melodies, a la The Beatles. In the early 1990s, while still in high ...

Read More »

Straying From The Mainstream

While the three members of the Nashvillains—Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyett—are each accomplished Music City veterans, with many song credits for major artists (Keith Urban, The Chicks, James Taylor, Lauren Alaina, among many more) and media placements (Friday Night Lights, Everybody Loves Raymond) in their individual resumes, they have come together to create a record that defies the ...

Read More »

Kevin Slick; Coming Home

Coming Home, the new album by Kevin Slick, which was recorded over several years, is a collection of songs drawing from the folk, singer-songwriter and Americana traditions. The title arose as the artist began performing solo once again after a ten-year stretch of playing primarily in bluegrass bands on Colorado’s Front Range. The songs on this recording, whether original or ...

Read More »