tales from the subterranean playground

A break from our usual format... If you ever had one of those "101 Electronic Experiments" sets as a kid, you may very well relate to this episode; we hear how our host, Mark Alan Jay came to know electronics, first around the age of 5 and then into his teens and adult life. He talks about a few key experiences involving radio - first with a crystal radio set given as a gift which he then built wi...

Our post-summer hiatus episode... Episode 9 picks up where episode 8 left off. That is, in episode 8 we met Dr. Mark French, University Professor and Luthier, and Michael Harrington , professional musician / session guitarist / pedal steel guitar player. Episode 8 was really focused on Dr. French and his skills building guitars over the past three decades. In this episode, we get a sort of Reader'...

Do you like guitars ? Have you ever thought about building a guitar , or playing one? Maybe you've thought about both? Do you think you know the sound of a great guitar when you hear it? Do you think you know what makes a guitar sound great? In this episode we discuss the practical and philosophical elements of luthiery with Dr. Mark French , a Professor at Purdue University's School of Engineerin...

Steve Osburn , Oz’s Music, Know Obstacles , and The Music Environment. Episode 7 deals with a very talented and giving person, Mr. Steve Osburn. Steve is a highly skilled musician who attended Interlochen Academy three times in pursuit of further training in classical guitar. He’s also master of many instruments, including keyboard, bass, and the Chapman Stick (which is a cross between guitar, bas...

Jesse Thomas Morgan is a board-certified Music Therapist presently working at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on the Pediatric Cardio-thoracic Unit (PCTU) and Sophie's Place (a recording studio within the hospital) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He provides therapy-based treatment to young people within the hospital who are there for treatment of life-threatening heart conditions; he also works with infant...

WARNING: After the 24:40 mark, the podcast contains a discussion about suicidal ideation. If you believe that this will be a trigger for you, stop listening at the 24:40 mark. Episode 5 starts off with a short excerpt from Episode 4 in which John Churchville paraphrases an element of his teaching philosophy: “ just listen to everything ” as a sort of reminder of where we left off in Part 1 of our...

Musician, composer, educator, and producer, John Churchville and I discuss his discovery and use of the music recording, production, and collaboration program “ Soundtrap ” to teach his students how to record, mix, and produce music. John currently teaches in the Ann Arbor Public Schools . At its heart Soundtrap is effectively a digital audio workstation (a “ DAW ”, i.e. Pro Tools, CuBase, Reaper,...

Ken Kozora : Journeyman and classically trained musician, instructor, artist, photographer, and arguably a philanthropist is my guest. In this episode, we discuss "Horns For the Holidays" , a program targeting underprivileged children in which used musical instruments are refurbished and redistributed to school children in the southeastern Michigan area, free of charge, and for them to keep. Ken s...

Part two of a conversation with Mark Jewett about the making of his CD "The Lucky One (the album)" recorded at Big Sky Recording, Ann Arbor Michigan. This segment also features Billy Harrington, Michael Harrington, and Amy Petty, all of whom performed on the record. In this episode Michael Harrington continues the tale of his meeting with Drew Howard and how that chance encounter pointed him in a...

Part one of a conversation with Mark Jewett about the making of his CD "The Lucky One (the album)" recorded at Big Sky Recording, Ann Arbor Michigan. This segment also features Billy Harrington, Mike Harrington, and Amy Petty, all of whom performed on the record. Excerpts from “Voices” and “The Lucky One” used by permission. This episode was hosted by Mark Alan Jay. Album credits: All songs writte...