Songfacts Podcast

Ever wonder how those props, video monitors, vocal effects, light cues and other enhancements come together at a concert, all synched to the music? Laura Escudé has the answers. Escudé has done design, programming and playback for some very big names: Herbie Hancock, Garbage, Miguel, Demi Lovato. But one name stands out among her clients as an unpredictable genius with a keen eye for visual design...

What do you think of when you think of ska music? If you're like me, you've heard of it, know it's in the realm of reggae, but might not be 100% sure what the differences are and which bands are playing it! Well, if that's the case then this episode of the Songfacts Podcast is for you.  Today I speak with Marc Wasserman, a musician, fellow podcaster, and author of the book Skaboom! An American Ska...

What do you do if you're a producer and you run out of tracks to sample? If you're the guys behind Analog Players Society - Ben Rubin and Amon Drum - you gather a group of New York City's best musicians, put them in a room, and hit record. It is with this mentality that the record Soundtrack For A Nonexistent Film came to be. Released in October 2020 and based on four tracks recorded in April 2019...

Benedict Cork went the piano man route, much like Billy Joel. He hasn't written a hit song about the experience yet, but he has developed into an outstanding songwriter and performer, able to find beauty in the darker emotions. That kind of nuanced melancholy is his specialty, but he takes a different direction on his latest single, "Have A Good Life (See You Never)," which he breaks down and perf...

Aaron Lee Tasjan, who looks like a character from That '70s Show but sounds like Tom Petty (even Petty's drummer thinks so), makes a kind of unpredictable, mind-bending music that addresses concerns specific to his generation: digital overload, mental health, identity. But this isn't the confessional songwriting you're used to. It's presented with a nod and a wink to take the edge off. After bounc...

John Splithoff spent the first part of his career writing single after single. One of those, "Sing To You," broke through in 2016 and now has almost 45 million streams on Spotify. This allowed him to book some tours and festival gigs, and landed him a short stint with a major label. He has since gone back to his independent roots. In 2019 John unintentionally prepared himself for the quarantine of...

Pop Evil has been making pulse-pounding rock with a positive message for 20 years now, defying the long odds every step of the way. Bands aren't supposed to break out in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they're not supposed to pay their dues playing covers, but frontman Leigh Kakaty knew better than to head for a coast and abandon their support system, and those covers paid the bills. It was rough goin...

When you think of alternative, grunge or garage band, what do you think of? It takes me to a time in the early '90s that gave us a new sound and a bunch of great bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains.  I was taken to that time again when I was introduced to the female trio named Hello Mary. These three young ladies are combining their sound of fuzzy guitar riffs, big drum fills and uniquely d...

Donna Jean Godchaux is the only woman to ever be a member of the Grateful Dead. Along with her husband Keith, she was in the group from 1972-1979 as a singer and songwriter. She joined them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Pre-Dead, Godchaux sang backup in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, appearing on the Percy Sledge classic "When a Man Loves a Woman." She later sang back up on two of Elvis Pres...

DC Glenn is one half of the hip-hop group Tag Team, who wrote and recorded the smash hit, "Whoomp! There It Is," revived in a brilliant Geico commercial ("Scoop! There It Is") that exploded on social media. You may not know that there was a competing song called "Whoot, There It Is" that was released first in 1993. In this episode, DC talks about that rivalry and explains what inspired "Whoomp!" T...

Imagine writing a song, sending it off under a pseudonym, and having it picked up immediately with a nice paycheck sprinkled on top. This is the story of how Zayde Wolf began. Dustin Burnett has been writing and producing since he got his first drum machine, which he taught himself to use by re-creating "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. Since then he has made adrenaline-fueled music that has been featu...

At Berklee College of Music, Elizabeth Ziman was in a band with Esperanza Spalding and played shows with another classmate, Annie Clark. Ziman became Elizabeth And The Catapult; Clark became St. Vincent. Ziman is one of the more creative cats we've come across. Her sounds are organic - voice, guitar, piano, strings - but they take unexpected turns and unlock little boxes of musical delight along t...

Some of the best songwriters have very imperfect voices - Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen come to mind. We found another: Ben Cramer, who goes by the name Old Sea Brigade. Here's a lyric from his song "How It Works," which he performs on this episode: Now I can look at the scars And not think of the knife Spotify listeners know Ben from his 2015 song "Love Brought Weight," which made a bunch of their...

Sunny Sweeney chose a life in music for the most noble of reasons: She didn't want to get a real job. After graduating from Texas State University in 2001, she couldn't bear the thought of answering to a boss, so she became one, writing her own songs and leading her own band. Her breakthrough single, "From a Table Away," came in 2010. It's one of those songs that hits you in the heart, and it was...

We're not a true crime podcast, but we dip our toe into those waters in this episode, where our guest asks, "What really killed Bon Scott?" Jesse Fink is the author of The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC and Bon: The Last Highway. His extensive research has led him to conclude that Scott did not die from alcohol poisoning, as officially reported. He also thinks the Back In Black album, releas...

Can anybody sing? Doe Paoro thinks so. After years climbing the ladder as an indie-pop singer-songwriter on the LA scene, she's become interested in the voice as an instrument of healing. We caught up with her in Costa Rica, where she teaches a course on activating the voice. Her latest album, 432Hz Chakra Suite, Vol 1, is a collection of meditation music at the healing frequency for music. We dis...

Firefall didn't set their sights on soft-rock stardom, but they were stuck with it when "You Are The Woman," from their debut album, dug a trench on Adult Contemporary radio, enduring as a staple of at-work listening. On this episode of the Songfacts Podcast, we welcome founding members Jock Bartley and Mark Andes. Jock, on guitar, is Firefall's mainstay, part of every iteration. Mark, their bass...

"Amazed" was a #1 hit for Lonestar in 2000, but it's also Chris Lindsey's love story. "That's the exact feeling I had for her," he says of his wife Aimee, his co-writer on the track. Ever since "Amazed," Lindsey has been a top songwriter in Nashville, with hits for Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Keith Urban and many others. He's also host of the Pitch List podcast, now in its fourth season. It's a gre...

In the "bad bitch" community (think Cardi B), there's not much room for insecurity or empathy. That's why Bailey Bryan has branded herself a "sensitive bad bitch," creating a sub-genre that is confident, but also in tune with real emotions. Bryan is just 22 but has already ripened past her jaunty first single, "Own It," released in 2017 when she was 18. She's really on to something with this "sens...

This episode brings us to Toronto, where we catch up with talented and soulful Jesse Gold. Jesse has been honing his skills as a guitarist and songwriter from around the time he could walk. He polished his skills at Berklee College of Music and got some studio time with big names like Babyface and Craig David (Jesse proudly tells a story about Babyface tearing up his music - one of his many learni...

Before Adam Levine, Benny Blanco and Travie McCoy got to it, "Stereo Hearts" was an emo song Brandon Lowry co-wrote on a piano. Fed into the star-on machine (otherwise known as The Voice, where Levine promoted it), the song got swole, amassing half a billion streams on YouTube alone. Contrast that with Brandon's life as an independent artist. Recording under the alias Baby Fuzz, he makes music wit...

I'm really excited to bring you today's show because I've wanted to feature a hip-hop artist since we started the Songfacts Podcast. I hope this is the first of many! Jevon Alexander, from the Ann Arbor area of Michigan, has been producing beats for most of his life and in 2019 released his debut EP, Chasing Failure. 2020 saw his career jump to new heights as his tribute to Kobe Bryant, "Mamba Men...

Today on the Songfacts Podcast I am so pleased to have Caroline Brooks, who performs as BELLSAINT. Part of the LA music scene, her songs have appeared in numerous TV shows, including Riverdale and Shameless. Her music will give you a late 1960s California vibe. Caroline is joined on this episode by Kyle Moore, her husband and musical partner. They perform three songs on the show, including their l...

This episode starts off differently than most, with Asaf Avidan describing in harrowing detail how he was nearly killed by the wolf-dog hybrid he adopted. He survived the attack and recorded his latest album, Anagnorisis, with an eye on the big picture, questioning reality itself in very philosophical songs (perhaps we're just here as a point of reference for the gods, he wonders). Born and raised...

Jillette Johnson hails from New York City, but talks to us today from her home in Nashville, where she enjoys "being the weird one in town." Her new album, It's A Beautiful Day and I Love You, comes out Feb 12 and showcases four years of growth for this talented singer and songwriter. As someone who churns out songs to the tune of a couple hundred every year, you can rest easy knowing these are th...