South of Scruffy with Ben Fields

You can't write a story about prolific music journalist without including Steve Wildsmith's name. Steve devoted his life to covering music acts for 2 reasons: 1. He's a totally curious music nerd; and 2. He wants to help unknown artists tell their stories. Steve and Ben dig into Steve's recovery journey, and how it led to him being one of the most important music journalists in recent history.

Listen to this announcement from Ben to hear about SOS' 1 month plan.

Editor-in-chief of Blank Newspaper, Rusty Odom, had a hankering to interview Ben for an episode of South of Scruffy. Over his 15 years at Blank Newspaper, Rusty has interviewed countless artists, entertainers, and ne'er-do-wells. Rusty gives Ben the night off and turns the microphone on him for "The Blankover" of S.O.S. Digging into Ben's path through his film and television career, Rusty gets som...

When it comes to getting into the mind of American consumers, Jonathan Kerr is the best there is. Mr. Kerr is an account director at the Tombras Group where he leverages his intuition to ideate media strategies for fortune 500 companies across the globe. Jonathan and Ben roll through their shared experiences in the media space while bringing to light some untold stories from their personal globetr...

Ross Bustin started his Photography and Cinematography wiazardry when a college football career came face to face with a creative yearning. A decade later, Ross finds himself lensing films and leading the visual voice for bands like Moon Taxi.

James Clawson is the Head of Marketing at Spyre Sports Group, a management company that manages college athletes. Thanks to a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, it is now admissable and legal for NCAA athletes to gain monetarty compensation for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). James' company, Spyre, works with those athletes to make sure they are capitalizing on their earning potent...

Virginia Moon is a Managing Editor at Warner Bros. Discovery. Virginia and Ben chat through their takes on working for one of the largest media conglomorates in the world, and how the changing multimedia landscape is heavily favoring quality content that is made efficiently.

Creative Director of Festivals at Loch and Key, Andy Vinson, stops by the shop to chat music festivals and filmmaking on a blazing hot night in the shop. Andy and Ben romp through Andy's career as a filmmaker and taste maker of 21st century music festival video production.

Grace Steele brings the same wisdom and wit to this interview that is on display weekly on her podcast, "The Beacon House". While her biggest passions lie with her animal friends, Grace's passion for clean living is inspiring and infectious.

Matt Honkonen has spent his life touring with great touring bands like Llama Train, Peak Physique, Tenderhooks, and Lil' Iffy. When the pandemic hit, Matt was able to focus on another one of his passions: composing and producing. Matt is one of the most prolific producers making music for television today. These days Matt's compositions are used in television shows on the Oprah Network, Magnolia N...

Ashley Capps was more than 20 years into his career when he conceived of an idea that would change live music forever: Bonnaroo. After the first Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Rolling Stone Magazine called the festival one of the "50 Moments that Changed Rock & Roll". Ashley and Ben geek out on the cultural importance of live music, how it can shape culture, and how it can make lasting impa...

While trying to unravel their intertwining past, Charles and Ben unlock some untold stories about the worldwide craft beer renaissance, and why Knoxville is a sleeper craft beer mecca.

They don't make singer songwriter duos like Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle anymore. Ben met Jeff & Sarah when the three of them were in a touring theatre production in 2004. From there they forged a friendship that has lasted nearly 2 decades. Jeff and Sarah have been through alot since they began gigging and courting simulteneously in the late 1990's. 25 years later, their music and their marri...

Didi Benami has had an exceptional singing voice her entire life. The word got about Didi's voice in 2010 when she placed 10th on the 9th season of American Idol. Since then Didi's solo music career has taken over and her work as a private vocal coach has gained her more national attention. Didi and Ben recount their intertwining paths from Knoxville to Los Angeles, and what the past 20 years in t...

Birthday Boy Dave Curry is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet. Dave has lived about 10 lives in his 50 years on this planet. Dave and Ben relive at least 7 of them during their chat. From Dave's sustainable practices in commercial food farming, to working the green room at Bonnaroo's main stage; Dave opens up about all of it. Dave's stories about catering to some of the world's most famou...

Josh Loebner has devoted his life and career to ensuring that people with disabilities are equitably represented in advertising. Josh has lived with a disability his entire life, but instead of letting his blindness define him negatively, he has spent his career in advertising advocating for marginalized groups, incuding those living with disabilities. Josh and Ben dig into the ways that the adver...

Cody Walters is an outdoor filmmaker and avid bow hunter. Cody combined his passions for narrative filmmaking and outdoor cinematography into a genre of outdoor filmmaking that takes him to all corners of the globe.

When Rob Trent relocated to Los Angeles, he didn't think he would find footing as a Director of Photography so quickly. While on a recent trip to Knoxville, Rob stopped by the SOS shop where he and Ben discussed the rigor of the Hollywood film industry, while comparing it to Knoxville's disproportionately dense filmmaking market.

Knox County District Attorney candidate Jackson Fenner stops by the shop to give a snapshot of the current state of the court, and how he plans to change it.

While in Knoxville for Big Ears Music Festival, Atlantic Record's double-platinum recording artist Wes Walker darkened the door of the SOS shop. Wes and Ben talk about Wes' meteoric rise to fame after his single "Jordan Belfort" dropped while he was still in college

After 2 years of pestering Ben and Producer Sam, Taylor Swift was finally able to work her way on to SOS. Taylor and Ben talk about how their breakup in 2010 was the catalyst for many of Taylor's hits.

The rapid advancement of filmmaking tools does not scare Edy Recendez one bit. As a film director, Edy has devoted his purpose to challenging the craft of filmmaking by leveraging all of the tools available to him. With Edy's film work, emotion from his actors is critical; but Edy and Ben chat about how LED video walls and advances in augmented reality tools have enabled filmmakers to tell impactf...

Ryan Levenson is a real estate guru that has made some very smart decisions in the housing market. Ryan fills Ben in on the anomalies of the current housing market and what we can expect to see with residential real estate as this manic housing market barrels toward the moon.

Scott West spent 4 years in federal prison after being convicted of money laundering via a marijuana trafficking conspiracy. As part of his conviction, Scott also had 8 million dollars worth of assets seized by the federal government. When Scott got out of prison, not many people gave him a chance of bouncing back; but according to Scott, the doubt of the public and his peers is what drove him to...

You can't tell the story of the film and television industry in Knoxville without getting Beth MacDonald's name involved at some point. A 40 year veteran in the film business, Beth fills Ben in on the framework that was laid by Ross Bagwell - which planted the seed allowing Knoxville to become the 5th largest T.V. production market in the United States.