Herizon Music: The Podcast

Welcome to another episode of Herizon Music! Today’s guest comes to us from England! Her new book From Seattle To The System: Grunge As Political Expression is drawn from a thesis she completed at York St. John University where she is a PhD researcher in American History and Sociomusicology. She’s also a fan of film and photography with a short documentary interview series called Close Focus . She...

John Thomas: The Kalamazoo Gals’ Almost Forgotten Story This is an historic episode of Herizon Music. For the first time since launching in 2019, I am interviewing a MAN on the podcast. And I cannot think of any other man I would rather have than today’s guest. We met at an “off” SXSW event hosted by Texchromosome in 2022. He held a World War II era acoustic Gibson guitar and was talking about his...

Today’s guest is a DJ turned music executive and founder of JV Agency, a music marketing firm celebrating its 10 year anniversary. She has handled thousands of album launches throughout her career, including for acts like Fall Out Boy, Shawn Mendes, and the Killers. She specializes in digital marketing with a side passion for empowering women in the music industry. She pays it forward by bringing...

Radhika Vekaria: GRAMMY Nominee With A Healing Touch Today’s guest is on her way to the 2025 GRAMMYS with a nomination in the Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album category for her release “Warriors of Light.” Her Indian, East African and British roots inspire her chant-centric music composed with the purpose of spiritual, physical, and emotional healing. As she likes to say: “I don’t make music fo...

I met today’s guest through Chris Dalla Riva of Can’t Get Much Higher on Substack. She was offering a $10,000 grant opportunity for women who want to learn music production. That definitely caught my attention and the more I learned about her work, the more intrigued I became. She was born in India but moved to Australia where she writes and records music and founded online school Music Production...

Kaytee Long Becker Today’s guest is a seasoned public relations and communications expert based in Los Angeles. DIY Public Relations has secured over 3,000 press placements, four GRAMMY nominations, one GRAMMY win and generated more than one billion impressions for their creative clients. Her clients have been featured by Forbes, Billboard, GRAMMY.com, Variety, People, Harper’s Bazaar, USA Today,...

Queen Kwong I met today’s guest through Substack, where she is writing a collection of essays about personal life events and how they have shaped her philosophies on music, fame, and famous musicians. Her parents raised her in a Denver goth/punk nightclub and hotels. She met Trent Reznor and toured with him as a teenager, performing music that’s been compared to L7, Hole, Iggy Pop, and Patti Smith...

Mandy Mayhem Mandy Mayhem is a writer, actress, and single mom who took her karaoke rap alter ego public. Over 318,000 people now follow her Rated R rap videos on TikTok and Instagram. She wrote and starred in the TruTV musical comedy sketch series Mutha that appeared on Rachel Dratch’s Late Night Snack . The sketch’s raps eventually became her new EP of the same title, “MUTHA.” Songs like “Take M...

Lissa Schneckenburger: Fostering Fiddle Music For The Soul Lissa Schneckenburger is a fiddler, singer, and activist all rolled into one package. As a foster parent, she filled a void by creating music that specifically helps families find compassion, empathy and unity. Her latest album “Falling Forward” features a female cast of players and producer who brought her pandemic lockdown songs to life....

Can DJ Shotski Save Polka From Aging Out? I met DJ Shotski (Stacy Harbaugh) through her Substack home called Shotski’s Lodge . Her posts immediately attracted my attention because she does something that no one else I know does: She produces radio shows, videos, and articles featuring the glory of … polka! And not just any polka, Stacy specializes in Dutchmen-style polka from Wisconsin. Talk about...

Babilonia: The Many Voices of Celia Chavez Celia Chavez gave up a singing career for the financial security that everyone said would make her happy.  When she could no longer deny her passion or stay in an abusive marriage, her journey took her to New York and eventually to international stages as back up singer for Enrique Iglesias , P!NK , Burning Spear , Julia Fordham , and Melody Gardot . She...

Connie Reeves: Saved By The Light Taff Optical Pickups founder Connie Reeves could have missed her calling. Spending her young, formative years in war-torn Chile, Connie’s adulthood was plagued by depression and alcoholism. But one dark day, a small ray of light changed her life’s direction. With the spiritual green light from a 1960’s pioneer in sound technology, Connie went on to develop this mi...

Satori Shakoor: Detroit's Funkadelic Midwife of Stories Born Jeanette McGruder in 1954, Detroit native Satori Shakoor knew she wanted to be a star from a young age. Her wish was granted with an audition for George Clinton’s group, The Brides of Funkenstein, and later becoming backing singer for Parliament Funkadelic. Stardom takes on many forms, and hers led to an unexpected yet successful career...

Summary If you’re a movie buff, you’re going to love today’s guest. She’s a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music has appeared in over 30 motion pictures and soundtracks like Porno, This Is Jessica, and Lotte That Silhouette Girl. Not to mention over 100 song placements in Emmy and BAFTA award-winning shows like Ellen DeGeneres, The Young & The Restless, Skins, Teen Titans Go, and Dance M...

GoGo Germaine: A Riot Grrrl’s Fury Painted Black Author and music journalist Erin Barnes, a.k.a. GoGo Germaine, shares the highs and lows of her girl gang days as a teen rebel. Her book Glory Guitars: Memoir of a ‘90s Teenage Punk Rock Grrrl chronicles Gogo’s questionable firsts at varying degrees of sobriety. There’s more than meets the eye to a woman who discovered she can see the true colors an...

Todays’s guest is a singer-songwriter with an evolutionary heart. Her story shines light on the meandering path that many of us often travel before finally committing to pursuing our deepest passions. An accountant and social worker by training, she founded nonprofits and other businesses with her husband, Dan. While she couldn’t muster the courage to audition for a voice class in college, she had...

It’s my first podcast episode to launch on Substack!  Scroll to the bottom to hear more episodes— all are available for free. Herizon Music is funded by subscribers like yourself. If you like what you hear and see, pls upgrade to a paid subscription. Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars! — Thea 🎶 Upgrade now! Today’s guest is the first female chair of the Elect...

Vanessa Lively walks the talk of a free-spirited soul who channels the healing power of music into uplifting the chronically unhoused in Austin, TX.  Her story as a creative and advocate is powerful and thought provoking. In this episode: Vanessa’s gypsy-esque musical roots and lifestyle that took her from Texas to Ecuador to Bolivia and Peru. The song contest hosted by Noel Paul Stooky of Peter P...

Dr. Jennifer Whitehead is an associate professor of music at Ohio Wesleyan University. With a Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice and singing health, she's teaching the next generation the skills necessary to heighten and extend their singing careers. Anyone who speaks for a living can benefit from her wisdom. She frequently appears in both staged and concert works in central Ohio, where recent rol...

Bassist Janis Wallin is the “Mistress of Groove” of the jam band scene. With decades of experience, she’s the bass teaching, vegetarian-eating,  Bootsy-loving trail blazer with an alter ego. In This Episode   - Why it took nine years for her band band Family Groove Company to finish their newest album titled “Through With Tomorrow”  - The story behind a personal invite to join legendary bassist Vi...

Cheryl B. Engelhardt received her first New Age Ambient or Chant Album GRAMMY Award nomination this year for her latest album “The Passenger.” Thea Wood spoke to her about the therapeutic story behind the album, which was written and recorded on a cross-country train trip and produced and mastered by an all-female team. In this episode, Cheryl covers: – How New Age/Ambient music is different than...

BlueSkye is the teen sensation from Michigan who is taking her unique brand of songwriting to the top! As Herizon Music’s Tate-Makeba Rising Star award winner in 2022, she made the most of her year. In this chat, meet the teen who is taking the Midwest by storm— blue skies and all! In this episode, BlueSkye covers: — The origin of her unique name. — Her not-so-lucky Lucky Penny — The story of her...

This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself.  Please donate today ! In this episode, Katie covers: — What does the TV show producer do behind the scenes? — The most memorable thing a celebrity showed her on AXS TV series “Rock & Tell." — How sh...

This is Part II of Thea Wood’s chat with Donna Jean Godchaux McKay. In this episode, the Alabama native leaves a promising musical career in Muscle Shoals for uncharted waters in California. She got more than she bargained for!   This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible...

In this chat, Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay covers: Meeting and working with a young Cher in the studio The homemade “instrument" her mother came up with so she could make music as a child How Muscle Shoals became a safe haven for musicians amidst societal turmoil How Elvis treated her in the studio and his last words to her before his death What surprising outfit teen Donna Jean wore to the recordin...