Soul Strings

Guitar virtuoso Andy Summers takes us on a captivating journey through his remarkable musical life, from his early days performing alongside The Police to his current artistic evolution combining photography with live music performances. Summers reflects on the 1980s as a golden era for music, describing it as "the culmination of the sixties" when countless influential bands emerged from...

The first thing you notice isn’t the melody—it’s the feeling. Kenny G joins us to pull back the curtain on how a saxophone became a voice that people recognize in a heartbeat, and why he never writes to chase an audience. He learned in a world without tutorials or feeds, which forced a kind of musical solitude that sharpened tone, taste, and endurance. That isolation became an advantage, turning b...

A yard sale purchase gave a five-year-old Dave Glover a Beatles record, and he still talks about that needle drop like it rewired his whole nervous system. You may know Dave as the unfiltered voice behind The Dave Glover Show on KMOX and a staple of St. Louis radio, but we go past the persona and into the parts that shaped him: a complicated childhood, a lifelong creative drive, and the strange mi...

A Freddie Mercury tribute can’t survive on a costume and a few big notes. It takes nerve, stamina, and a real understanding of why Queen still matters and Gary Mullen has spent 26 years proving it on stages around the world. We talk with Gary about the unlikely chain of events that took him from being a lifelong Queen fan in Glasgow to winning Stars in Their Eyes with a record vote, then turning t...

A teenage athlete in St. Louis puts on glasses and gets told he looks like the biggest star on TV. That small twist becomes a calling. We sit down with Rick Shuler to explore how resemblance opened a door to craft, faith, and a tribute that feels startlingly alive—without losing his own voice. From the first time he saw John Denver perform with his mom to the day the phone rang when Denver died, R...

A Superman shirt, a Beatles jolt on TV, and a lifetime of songs that refuse to be one thing—Soup Gronda takes us inside the Ozark Mountain Daredevils with stories that feel like morning coffee on a back porch. We talk about how a group of songwriters built a band by honoring difference instead of forcing sameness, letting each track get the arrangement it deserved. That choice gave us the staying...

What if the clearest path to connection is refusing to chase it? We sit with Kenny G to explore how a sound born before the internet’s noise can still cut through, why three hours of focused practice beats hacks and shortcuts, and how a meticulous ear turns a pop track into the perfect canvas for a sax line. He shares how learning in isolation sharpened his instincts, how circular breathing became...

Music lovers rejoice! On this episode of Soul Strings, we dive deep with veteran musician Ed Callison who shares the remarkable story behind Pink Houses USA, his seven-piece John Mellencamp tribute band that's capturing the heartland rock experience across the Midwest. Ed reveals the fascinating process of assembling the perfect lineup for Pink Houses USA, including the search for violinists...

When a legendary musician reflects on their journey, what emerges isn't just a story of fame, but the deeper currents that shaped their soul. Pat Liston—the voice behind Mama's Pride and a fixture in Missouri's music landscape—opens up about the remarkable path that took him from teenage performances at the Chase Park Plaza to recording at Criteria Studios alongside icons like Eric...