Nathans & Roncast

If you were watching from above, what would your view of humanity be? Michael explores two songs that address this topic, one of which is Craig Bickhardt’s “Life With the Sound Turned Down,” which we play in its entirety. The other song? You’ll have to listen to find out.

A song should be a concise vehicle for getting your point across. And in a three to four minute song, there isn’t much room to belabor the point, or trod ground you’ve already covered. If you can find the spots where you’ve used filler words, Aaron suggests using them as opportunities to say something new, and moving the narrative forward. But there’s one word that is more abused than any other. L...

Michael talks about the songs that spoke to him as a kid. He highlights The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine,” as well as the song “Sandwiches” by Fred Penner. Michael’s father, Michael J. Ronstadt (a.k.a. “Mr. Ronstadt”), covered the song “Sandwiches,” and that version is included in its entirety in this episode. Both songs appealed to Michael, he says, because they were silly. “What my young kid self...

Aaron discusses what it was it was like to be a young songwriter at the Madison Songwriters Group 20 years ago, and how that experience informs his work co-leading the Philly Songwriters Circle. A song critique is a both a musical and social experience. We make good friends there. We learn about new acts. Collaborations are born over wine in the kitchen. It is also a democratic experience. This is...

Michael is on the road this week with Serenity Fisher, his partner in music and life. In this episode, Michael talks with Serenity about her work creating musicals. They include her indie play with music, “Sophie’s Dream,” which she wrote in collaboration with Robin O’Neal. The show was staged at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. She performs songs from the show in her band, Serenity Fisher and the...

We’re betting that if you love songwriting like we do, you’ve probably seen the Bob Dylan movie, “A Complete Unknown.” Aaron went out and saw it on Christmas Day, the first day it was open. And he really liked it, especially the acting, the music, and watching all those historical moments unfold right before his eyes.  But there’s one thing about this movie that bugged him. Because no matter how m...

In 1993, Linda Ronstadt included the song “Adónde voy” on her album “Winter Light.” It was a cover of the original by Tish Hinojosa, and in this episode, Tish tells us the story behind that experience. She was there in the studio when Linda recorded the song. Of course, Tish has long been a friend of the Ronstadt family. We include Tish’s version of the song in its entirety. You can hear Linda’s v...

In the second half of our conversation with Tish Hinojosa, we speak with her about her time living in Germany, then returning to Texas and having to reestablish her musical connections. She talks about her songs, including what inspired “Colton’s Perfect Heart,” a song about a heart transplant. And we feature “Canto De La Montaña (Song Of The Mountain),” a Spanish-language song inspired by local S...

Singer-Songwriter Leticia “Tish” Hinojosa is our guest this week. We have a lot in common, namely bringing our heritage into our music and stage shows. Tish was born on December 6, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas to Mexican immigrant parents, growing up with Mexican music playing in the kitchen. She released 16 albums between 1987 and 2024, in English and Spanish and in a variety of genres, including h...

Michael shines a light into the darkness, examining songs in which the characters make foolish choices, amid the backdrop of beautiful music. The incongruity, he says, can make for incredibly effective songs. He talks about two songs to make his point: Tom Petty’s jangly “To Find a Friend” off of his legendary “Wildflowers” album; and the acoustic trio Barnaby Bright‘s gorgeous murder ballad “Cast...

This is the second half of our interview with our friend, the great John Flynn. In this episode, we take a deep dive into his song “Prison Bible.” He talks about the meaning he derives from spending time with people who are, or who have been, in prison. We talk about how a prison bible functions as more than a book; how time in prison can serve as a period of self reflection and self discovery; an...

On today’s episode, we interview the great John Flynn. He’s a folk songwriter who sings about social justice, and then walks the walk. He’s worked against the death penalty, and In 2017, Flynn founded New Beginnings – Next Step, Incorporated. It’s a non-profit dedicated to helping incarcerated and returning citizens successfully transition to freedom. John laughed when Aaron said he has the voice...

Aaron didn’t think much of “Hey Jude” when he first heard it, but in this episode of the Nathans & Roncast, he looks at why this 56-year-old song is so relevant right now. His first impression of Paul McCartney’s masterwork was that it was… mushy. But something about this song has given it wings. The Beatles had a tremendous amount of top-shelf content, but Rolling Stone called this the sevent...

In this bonus episode, Craig Bickhardt tells the story behind his song “Men and Rivers,” which he wrote about a flood in Nashville. It’s a reflection on mankind’s relationship with nature, which makes the song even more relevant amid more recent high-profile floods. This recording is from his new solo acoustic album, “Soliloquy: Sixteen Solo Songs.” We recently released parts one and two of our in...

In this episode we talk with Craig Bickhardt about his poignant song “This Old House,” which he co-wrote with fellow Pennsylvanian and Hall of Fame songwriter Thom Schuyler. This is the second half of our conversation with Craig, during which we discuss the human relationships and deeper emotions behind our relationship with things, including cars and houses . “To be a songwriter,” he says, “you r...

We were fortunate to spend a morning sitting in front of microphones at the Pennsylvania home of Craig Bickhardt, one of our favorite songwriters, a good friend of ours, and a regular collaborator. You can hear Michael’s cello on many of Bickhardt’s recordings, and Michael often backs him up live. He is one of the finest song craftsmen we have ever had the pleasure to have known, and his songs sta...

Here’s one more single from our live recording of this podcast at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest conference in September. This song is “Blacksnake,” which she originally recorded with her band Weda Skirts. It’s a song about the Dakota Access Pipeline project, which threatens the water supply of Native American communities in South Dakota. To hear the entire live event, click on this link.

Here’s an outtake from our recent live podcast taping at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest conference, held last month outside of Chicago. It’s our regular set closer/encore song, Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” with hand percussion by Elexa Dawson. To hear our interview with Elexa, click here.

We’re presenting some single songs from our live taping of the Nathans & Roncast in Chicago at Folk Alliance Regional Midwest last month. In this episode, Kansas-based songwriter Elexa Dawson sings her song “Mother,” an ode to Mother Earth. Michael adds some tasteful cello to Elexa’s soulful vocals and guitar. She wrote the song in reaction to the Dakota Access Pipeline project. To hear the so...

We played a few songs before our live taping of our interview with Elexa Dawson at the Folk Alliance Region Midwest conference. Here’s one of them, “Old Joe’s Chair,” written by Aaron and Phil Henry. It’s their song about the relationship between a man and his barber. It’s always good to have someone to talk to, especially during hard times.

In our first Nathans & Roncast recording in front of a live audience, we speak with Kansas-based performing songwriter Elexa Dawson about two songs she wrote about the Dakota Access Pipeline project that threatens the water supply of Native American communities in South Dakota. The songs are “Mother” and “Blacksnake.” We spoke with Elexa at the Folk Alliance Regional Midwest conference in Lisl...

Richard Shindell is great story songwriter, and wow can he play guitar. Both of those skills — songwriting and guitar work — are on vivid display on one of his trademark songs, “You Stay Here,” off of his album “Somewhere Near Paterson” which was released in the year 2000. It’s a song about foraging and living off the land. At least that’s what we think it’s about.  There’s a vein of every man for...

In part two of our conversation with the founder of February Album Writing Month, Burr Settles discusses the wonderful and occasionally strange journeys taken by songs written for the challenge. And we take a listen to Burr’s song “Love Out Loud,” which he wrote from a “comments-first” challenge during one FAWM. He built the song entirely around hypothetical feedback left in the comments section o...

Aaron and Michael take you inside the process of making a set list just before a recent house concert. We write the set list in real time, trading songs back and forth and negotiating the pace of the show and making sure the duo’s songs are well balanced. We make it a tradition to build our setlist just beforehand, to keep things interesting, trading the pen back and forth, putting the songs here...

Tens of thousands of new songs, perhaps more, exist because Burr Settles founded February Album Writing Month in 2004. The annual monthlong challenge requires participants to write 14 songs in the 28 days of the month. People from around the world participate, sharing their new creations with each other and providing positive feedback, and building community. Burr also was among the early team tha...