Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

Welcome back, music nerds! My guest this week is Tristen, an incredible songwriter and performer from right here in Nashville. She released one of my favorite albums during the pandemic called “Aquatic Flowers” and I was excited to get a chance to meet with her to talk about the making of that album, as well as how she approaches songwriting, lyrics, and how melodies flow so easily for her. She ha...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Welcome back, music nerds! My guest this week is the phenomenal guitarist, producer and sideman, Duke Robillard. Duke is a fountain of knowldege about blues, swing, jump and R&B and has been touring and recording in those fields since the early 70’s. His early successes wit...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Welcome back to Season 6! This week I’m joined by the amazing songwriter, singer, and guitarist Aoife O’Donovan. We get into all kinds of things about her spectacular new record “Age of Apathy” - how she approached songwriting and layering guitar parts, working with producer Jo...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers It’s our first show of Season 6 and we're thrilled to bring you this interview with the incredibly unique singer/songwriter, guitarist and all-around hilarious fellow, Steve Poltz. Steve just put out a new record called “Stardust and Satellites” that I love, and we got into tha...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Enjoy, share and please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Your fearless host, Steve Dawson can be found at: https://www.stevedawson.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers It’s our last show of the season and we’re thrilled to bring you this conversation with Rob Baker! Rob is a guitarist and songwriter from one of the most iconic Canadian bands of all time, The Tragically Hip. Growing up in Kingston, Ontario, the Hip became friends in high schoo...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Vancouver guitarist, songwriter, composer and all around hilarious fellow Craig Northey joins me on the show this week. I’ve known Craig for quite a while, but it was great to delve into some of his early experiences with his band “Odds”, coming up in the 90’s indie rock scene,...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Legendary recording engineer and record producer Bill Schnee joins me on the show this week. Bill lives here in Nashville now, but spent the bulk of his career in LA. He has amazing tales of getting going in the studio scene there and learning the ropes. He seems to have had a...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers This is part 2 of my conversation with guitarist and producer Colin Cripps. If you haven't listened to Part 1, go and do that first! Enjoy, share the episode, and don’t forget to leave us a review, and subscribe to the show. Colin’s website and social links are at: http://www.c...

You can support the show with monthly contributions through our Patreon site at: https://www.patreon.com/MakersAndShakers Colin Cripps joins me on the show this month. Colin is a phenomenal guitarist who doesn’t really appear under his own name very often. He prefers to play the sideguy role and has graced albums for years as musician and producer for Blue Rodeo, Kathleen Edwards and many more. Co...

Rose Cousins joins me on the show this month to talk about her stellar recent album “Bravado”, her writing and recording process and the nurturing music scenes she came up in - both in her hometown of Halifax, and her adopted hometown of Boston and the scene at Club Passim. Enjoy, share the episode, and don’t forget to leave us a review, and subscribe to the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

Viktor Krauss joins me on the show this week. Viktor has been in Nashville for many years, but originally hails from Illinois. Viktor is one of the most recognizable players of the upright bass around and has developed a signature sound that is both massive and somehow understated at the same time. I first came to be aware of Viktor through an incredible string of albums with Bill Frisell, startin...

Will Kimbrough joins me on the show this week. Will considers himself a songwriter first and foremost, but he’s a killer guitar player as well who has earned his keep as sideman both live and in the studio for many years. He has played with and/or produced albums for Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider, Steve Poltz, Kim Richey, and has even written songs for Jimmy Buffett and Little Feat....

Ariel Posen joins me on the show this month to talk about his new album Headway, as well as his relatively young career growing up and cutting his teeth in the clubs of Winnipeg. From there, Ariel went on to tour the world with the Bros Landreth before setting out on his own as a solo performer and songwriter. Ariel is an incredible guitarist and we get into his technique and style, his recording...

Matt Ross-Spang joins me on the show this month from Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, where he has set up shop as an engineer and producer over the last number of years. Matt cut his teeth as the house engineer at the historic Sun Studios before moving into Sam’s old digs and working on records for artists like John Prine, Margo Price, Jason Isbell, The Allman Betts Band, and Al Green. M...

Robert Finley’s new album “Sharecropper’s Son” is a powerhouse soul album that draws on Delta Blues, R&B and greasy funk. Working again in the studio with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the singer, who’s debut came out at the age of 62, delves into his story growing up as a young sharecropper in Louisianna. Robert’s path included stints in the army, leading gospel groups, becoming a carpenter, losi...

I’ve known Allison Russell for over 20 years now through first crossing paths in the Vancouver music scene. She is a remarkable person in every way - an incredibly gifted singer, empathetic human, and is extremely kind and generous. She is a pleasure to work with, and I should know as I spent the better part of the last 3 years out on tour with her in Birds of Chicago. Allison has just released he...

Part 2 of my conversation with Bill Payne of Little Feat. Be sure to listen to Episode 1 from last week if you haven’t already! Enjoy… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Little Feat founding member Bill Payne joins me on the show this month for a 2-part interview. Not only is Bill a core member of one of my all-time favorite bands, he has also had a stellar career as a session musician, playing on countless recordings for artists like Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Stevie Nicks, The Doobie Brothers and many more. From his almost random first...

New Orleans funk legend, bass player, bandleader and founding member of The Meters, George Porter Jr. joins me on the show this month. George has such a rich history that goes deep into the history of funk and rock music. From their humble beginnings as a cover band on Bourbon Street in the early 60’s, to being top call session players for Allen Toussaint and playing on albums for Dr. John, Paul M...

Part 2 of my conversation with Peter Rowan. Be sure to listen to Episode 1 from last week if you haven’t already! Enjoy… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bluegrass and roots music legend Peter Rowan joins me on the show this week to officially kick off Season 5. Peter has been involved in so many stellar projects over the decades, and is one of our last true and active links to the first generation of bluegrass, having spent a number of years touring and recording with Bill Monroe. After his stint in the Bluegrass Boys, Rowan went on to work with D...

Welcome to Season 5, music nerds! I hope you’ve all been keeping well. This quick episode is just a bit of an update on the schedule and what’s been happening the last few months. The Season will officially kick off next week and will continue with new episodes on the first Wednesday of every month. Thanks for tuning in, don’t forget to subscribe to the show, and we’ll see you next week. Hosted on...

Well we made it to our 100th episode! Singer, songwriter and member of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, John Oates joins me on the show this week. John is widely known for his work with Hall & Oates, topping the charts and selling over 40 million records - that ain’t too shabby. John’s been in Nashville now for quite a few years and has established himself on the local scene here, playing with the cr...

Guitarist Keith Scott joins me on the podcast this week. Keith is a fellow Vancouverite (although he lives in California now) and for almost 40 years, he has been the guitarist for Bryan Adams. He has played on countless hits, and some of the biggest selling records of all time. Its been quite a ride for him, and while his hooks and solos on Adams’ songs are incredibly crafted gems, it was a night...