So The Story Goes with Brian Chartrand

Pianist, composer, songwriter, producer Ioannis Goudelis stops by the crib (and brings wine and chocolate, because he is a gentleman) to discuss a number of things including his story growing up in Greece, how he came to the piano (it was the accordion first), the first time he traveled to the States, heading on the road with Dirks Bentley, what led him to LA, and his super vibey pandemic album "H...

Long Beach California's own Lee Perreira is many things: singer/songwriter, rock guitarist, owner of non-profit 16x16inc, booking agent, and marathon runner. He stops by the crib to share anecdotes of his early musical life, his relocation to Phoenix as a teenager, the numerous family tragedies he has had to overcome, how his stint in prison led to a creative songwriting surge and his now current...

Guitar wizard and in-demand videographer Adam Armijo finally shows up for his podcast interview. We briefly discuss his upbringing in Flagstaff, AZ and the moment he knew he would play guitar forever. His decision to pause his college career to tour around the country playing honky tonks. We take a deep dive into our shared love of Steely Dan. He shares his latest musical loves and we reminisce ab...

Garrison Jones, Phoenix native keys player, songwriter, producer, stops by for a little chat. He reveals that at first, he hated taking piano lessons. He explains what the hell "fruit wars" is. He discusses his work as faculty associate at ASU teaching Popular Music. He talks about how his band House of Stairs came to be and he shares his tune "You Think You Know" with us. You can find the video f...

Stanley Serrano, bass player, drummer, singer, guitar player, and vlogger stops by and talks about his early days in south central LA singing with his brother in churches, his journey from drummer to bass player, his touring life, and how he landed in Phoenix. We hatch a plan to start a Mexican schnitzel food truck and how his love of Sting's solo material led to the creation of The Desert Rose Pr...

Danny "Thunder God" Doyle, trumpet player based in Phoenix stops by for a chat. We talk about his rich viking history, the room in Vegas where he was conceived, his early intro into jazz, our shared love and disappointment of Game of Thrones, his lifelong work in autism, and we share our battle stories from working on cruise ships.

LA based Brian DeMarco, musician, singer/songwriter, visual artist, and actor lands at my kitchen table for a lively discussion on his early AZ days and obsession with skateboarding and snowboarding, how an accident on the ski hill brought him to the guitar and songwriting, his deep love and connection to the blues, and how he used his downtime during COVID to live his best, most prolific life. We...

Talented multi-instrumentalist, band leader, side man extraordinaire, pork butt smoker, and professor of hijinks and tom foolery Shea Marshall stops by the crib and shares some early musical memories back in Pittsburgh, PA, his experience at ASU and subsequent lengthy rap sheet, busts out a show and tell box of goodies, and shares his tune "Back Home Again." Find out more at http://www.mrsheamarsh...

Things get squirrelly when Joey Joyce stops by for a blind rye whiskey tasting. Joey, a seasoned professional in all things drinkable, shares his knowledge of rye, we recount (most times inaccurately) some of our favorite movie lines, and taste some rather delicious whiskey. It was a ball to say the least. Buckle up for this one. Find out more about Joey, his new bar in Seattle, and some of his de...

Chicago born saxophonist, guitar player, singer/songwriter Wes John Cichosz stops by and chats about his early influences, how Pachelbel's Canon started his sax career, his time harmonizing with broken bathroom fans, jamming with members of Smashing Pumpkins, his journey to Phoenix, and shares his tune "Everybody Says" which popularized the word "hey" in a song. And no, he can't have my cheese. ht...

Singer, songwriter Kyle Phelan graces us with his classic vocal sound check warm up, how his religious upbringing affected the albums that were spun in his home, the influence of growing up in San Diego, how the pandemic inspired him to move to Chattanooga, TN, and our collaboration on his tune "Puppet." If you are looking for fellowship, look no further. Glory. https://www.kylephelan.com/

Guitarist, beat maker, songwriter, singer and budding booking agent Steven Himmelstein stops by the crib. He shares the tale of the 15 year old rastafarian who learned a valuable lesson about playing grapefruit stick ball, his early ASU days and shared tales of the scene in downtown Phoenix in the early 2000's. He also shares his tune "I Don't Fool Myself" which is actually about HOW he fools hims...

Brian has a spirited discussion with singer/songwriter Chad Gregory; former oil rig worker from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, animal lover, mechanic, technician, scientist, philosopher, and builder. This renaissance man shares his early journey, we talk music shop, listen in on two cats reproducing, reminisce about Nickelodeon's "Double Dare," discuss his tune "Tough People Do" and share our mu...

Sean Brogan, bass guitar playing Arizona native, lover of black jack, exotic fishing trips and good tacos, calls me one day to meet him for lunch and the next thing he knows is he is sitting at my kitchen table and I hit record. He discusses his musical upbringing, his mom's influential record collection, his reaction to and the effects of Kind of Blue, and his journey to become one of the most so...

Colorado native, singer/songwriter, and all around "friendly friend" Jay Allan stops by and shares his cross country origin story, the difficulty of finding a good band name, his answer to the question "do you play bass?", how a random trip to Costa Rica jump started his singer/songwriter career, the serendipitous formation of several successful Phoenix based bands, and he talks about the inspirat...

First call keyboard player, session musician, writer, producer Lamar Gaines stops by the crib to discuss coming up in Cleveland, OH, his early musical influences and memories, his experience enlisting in the military, his brother and musical collaborator Will Gaines, how he got over covid, being a new dad, his new work creating music for television and he graciously shares an unreleased Gaines Bro...

Brian welcomes Arizona native singer/songwriter, violinist, band leader, mom, poet, entrepreneur and self described "love doctor" Kim Weston to the table where she recounts the music that inspired her growing up, her work in various show choirs in her early years, her dad's lost demo tapes (of which she shares one), auditioning for American Idol, balancing being a mother and an artist, the fateful...

Brian is joined by Miguel Melgoza, a Bay area transport who cut his teeth as a latin percussionist, who now splits his time as a singer/songwriter, guitar player, and session and live drummer. We talk about our mutual love of Steely Dan, Gene Simmons' nipples, and why he's terrified of Billy Bob Thornton. We also discuss and listen to his tune "I Found You" from his Fordham Road album. https://www...

Mario Mendivil, Phoenix born and bred, 1st call veteran bass player, stops by to chat about the albums he grew up listening to, the exact moment he knew he wanted to play the bass, his encounter with Jaco, how he hit on a beautiful woman at the bar only to find out it was Shiela E, and his quest to be grateful and humble. For more information about Mario's band Shining Star, please visit https://s...

Singer/Songwriter Obadiah Parker pops by for a coffee fueled afternoon hang to discuss the origins of his handle, his unassuming viral video of him performing an acoustic version of Outkast's "Hey Ya", shares some sweet camping tricks, and raps about his audition for the Voice. Don't forget to smile. For more information about Obadiah Parker, visit https://www.facebook.com/obadiahparker/

Brian sits down with Matthew Thornton, lead singer and songwriter for Vinyl Station. We dig into his songwriting process, his great FB live streamed shows "Matthew Tucks You In," chat about some of his earliest musical memories, his desire to eat a kangaroo, reluctance to fight a dear, and his dream of building a time machine to assassinate some very unlucky individuals. You know... the usual. Lea...