Acoustic Alternatives

Kora Feder is a well traveled singer songwriter with music in her blood now calling Detroit home. It was a chance meeting that brought me to her music and one song in particular that destroyed my heart in the way only songs can do. There are a few other interview with Kora out there and some of them really good and in-depth. I think I only scratched the surface. I was also distracted by issues I w...

Chicago area songwriter Joe Goodkin has, at the time of this posting, 14 records to his credit - some solo, some with his band Paper Arrows. Two of his projects are ambitious retellings of Homer's The Odyssey and The Illiad and he has toured these records in every state in the US and abroad as well. Get to know Joe and hear an as of yet unreleased song in this performance and conversation with a m...

Myron Elkins is from the small town Otsego, MI(About 17 miles north west of Kalamazoo). His friends from school probably didn't see him as the guy who would one day play shows with Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Marcus King and Kaleo, and have his second release produced by one of the most in demand producers in the Americana genre, Dave Cobb, but he did just that. With unique voice and a love of mu...

One of most prolific, gifted, kind hearted, and gentle people you'll ever meet - oh and she has an angelic voice, May Erlewine joined me at Grove Studios to talk about her career and newest album 'What It Takes.' I've been wanting to put her in the spotlight pretty much since I started doing the podcast back in 2020. I feel like there is more we could have done to show the uninitiated the wonderfu...

15 years after her debut EP, Ann Arbor, MI area musician Abigail Stauffer has finally released her 4th full length record. Delayed by a pandemic and the distance her collaborator Dave Haughey (aka Dave the Cellist), the newest release doesn't fit neatly into a musical category, but rather is an extension of the genre bending folk on her previous releases. Abigail opens up in this conversation abou...

Boston area singer/songwriter/storyteller/delightful human Hayley Reardon joined me for a conversation in Grove Studios on April 23, 2025. She's been on my radar for over a decade, but this was our first chance to meet and talk. Songs written by Hayley Reardon: Enough Is Everything Good News Bone Dance The Little Sadness More info on Hayley: https://www.hayleyreardon.com/ More info on Acoustic Alt...

Portland, OR based duo Fox & Bones joined me and gave me a peek into their world. They also played a couple new songs (including one, as of the time of publishing this, unreleased). Meet Scott Gilmore and Sarah Vitort on this episode of Acoustic Alternatives. Songs written by Scott Gilmore and Sarah Vitort "Ain't Giving Up Tonight" "Strange and Wonderous Place" "Long Time Honey" "The Borderlin...

It's been a decade since I last visited with this gifted vocalist. He's certainly had some great experiences since we last spoke. His voice and songwriting have only gotten better. Let me introduce you to, if you don't already know him, Greer , South Carolina's Noah Guthrie. Including performances of: Root Down (written by Noah Guthrie, Joy Williams and Bobby Hamrick) Only Light I Need (written by...

Kyle Joe has previously visited the podcast under the name Kyle Rasche of Chain of Lakes Kyle has been through some life changes and a name change since the last visit to Grove Studios. Learn more about what he's been up to and hear some music from his new release Take It Easy including the premiere of the extra verses for his song "Michigan Man" All songs written by Kyle Joe (Rasche) "Take It Eas...

Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe made his second visit to Grove Studios on 2-16-25. A new Verve Pipe album is ready for release and a lot has happened in his life since we last visited in October of 2021. One of my favorite songwriters has done it again with another collection of songs that utilize words that paint vivid pictures. Join us for a chat and learn more about the man behind the songs...

I really enjoyed this conversation and was really disappointed with myself for not double checking both of my audio recording sources. The first 4 minutes of audio you hear are being captured from the microphone on my laptop as opposed to the direct source I expected to use. The backup audio from the mixer in front of me....well, I failed to launch it at the beginning of the session, so it kicks i...

This singer songwriter originally from Long Island, NY first got attention with her cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Dolly herself appeared in the video and performed the song on television with her a few times. Her debut single "Come To Jesus" is a beauty of a song and a 10 on the John Bommarito 1-10 scale. Mindy stopped by Grove Studios in Ypsilanti on a night off to talk a bit about life and p...

Another emerging artist from the rich Michigan music scene is my guest on this episode of Acoustic Alternatives. 18 year old Kanin Wren has already captivated large audiences as a tribute artist. Now she's ready to start releasing more of her original music. It's good. It's really good. Meet Kanin Wren from Dewitt, MI on this episode of Acoustic Alternatives. Songs include: Hell or Minnesota (writ...

Steven Page is not just another great guest to me. He sings on one of my top 15 albums of all time, Gordon. He's a multiple Juno award winner and Grammy nominee with his former band Barenaked Ladies. As part of that group he's sold over 15 million albums and singles and is in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. There is so much more I could have talked about with this gifted singer and songwriter. So...

Jen Cass grew up in the Metro Detroit area and now calls Flushing, MI home. After three successful solo albums, she started a new project with her husband Eric Janetsky called The Lucky Nows. Their excellent second album is due out in June of 2024. Jen talks about her life and plays three emotionally charged songs from the new album and one from their first. All songs written by Jen Cass (except w...

It's been a long and varied journey for Dan Navarro. From co-writing one of the biggest hits of the 80s, to voice acting, to touring and releasing a plethora of material as part of Lowen and Navarro. If you only know his music, get ready to learn more about some of the other things he's been part of and is also known for. If you don't know him at all, get ready to hear what you've been missing. So...

Dearborn, MI's Jo Serrapere's first visit to the podcast happened as part of a live show at Trinity House in Livonia, MI in April of 2022. I encourage you to go back and listen to that one to learn more about this Michigan treasure. Jo is ambitiously releasing two albums at once this Spring and the second chat was based around celebrating that. Hear acoustic versions of some of the songs before th...

Here is the audio only visit with Australian born guitarist extraordinaire, Kyran Daniel. You may want to watch the video too in order to enjoy his guitar playing with your eyes. Tommy Emmanuel thought he was good enough to take him on tour when Kyran was just a teenager, so you know you are dealing with someone very talented, even if you haven't heard him before. Learn more about him and how to s...

Mike Vial is an Ann Arbor based singer/songwriter, teacher, father, and husband who is doing a 20 year celebration of playing gigs, teaching books, and ranting rants at The Ark in Ann Abor on May 23, 2024, opening for a mutual favorite (and previous podcast guest), Ari Hest. Vial is prepping a new release due out soon and he plays a couple of new ones and a couple of old ones and we both have a st...

Harmonica legend, Grammy winner, blues, folk, world music and rock musician not to mention all around beloved member of the Ann Arbor music scene, Peter Madcat Ruth joins me to celebrate 3/4 of a century of life and a life mostly spent playing music. His 75th birthday celebration takes place at The Ark in Ann Arbor on April 2, 2024. Songs include Jaw Harp Improvisation (Ruth) Pocket Full of Soul (...

Will Kimbrough plays rock, stripped down folk, Americana, and Country. He is an in demand guitar player, producer and songwriter. Oh and an author working on a book of the stories of his life. You'll hear tales of his adventures and collaborations with Jimmy Buffet, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider, and a young R.E.M. My relationship with his music started in 1989 with a self titled rec...

Back in 2016 I discovered a young singer by the name of Katie Pederson. By 2018 I was pretty invested in singing her praises while she continued to put out great music on albums like The Landing and Limitless. On our last visit in a studio together on the Acoustic Alternatives podcast, you may have learned more about her. This time I was very happy to welcome her new project with her friends Jilia...

I've been waiting years to present this episode. It's been ten years in between releases for Yspilanti, MI's, Adam Plomaritas. As soon as I started doing this podcast I told him "I want to do something when that next release is ready" It's been worth the wait. The EP, Old Time Love, is A+ excellent. It's got a full band and horns, unlike these stripped down performances, but you can hear the voice...

Raised in Manitowoc, WI, but now calling Ann Arbor, MI home, Judy Banker is set to release her fourth record, Bonafide, on November the 4th. Filled with deeply personal lyrics and backed by a great band, this new release, produced by her son Ben, is her best yet in my opinion. Learn more about the four sides of Judy (singer/songwriter, photographer, psychologist and non-profit founder) in this con...

Jeff Daniels has done many things on screens and stages in his career. One of the things he has done that hasn't gotten as much attention as his roles in The Newsroom, To Kill a Mockingbird or Dumb and Dumber is playing music on stages and studios. He's been putting out albums since 2004 and, on many occasions when I was a DJ at WHFR in Dearborn, I've played his music on my radio program. Take you...