Tell You What! the Podcast

We talk with Joe Bordenaro and Max Loebman from the Chicago band ROOKIE. Their self titled debut, just out on legendary Chicago label Bloodshot, is a wonderfully full throated blast of rock music; influenced by classic guitar bands of the last century but with their own distinctive and energetic twists. We talk about the making of the record, touring with Cheap Trick, covering Tears for Fears, und...

The three members of The Ballroom Thieves, Callie Peters, Martin Early, and Devin Mauch, have been making music together for a while, and they have recently released their third full length album, Unlovely. The record is a collection of songs that are mostly a reaction to events in our world and country of the last few years, and it is a wonderfully diverse swirl of folk influenced rock sounds. Th...

Nashville based musician and songwriter Katie Pruitt possesses a powerful voice and an equally powerful and brave spirit. Her debut album, just out on Rounder Records, “Expectations”, is a wonderful collection of songs addressing difficult personal topics: mental health, toxic relationships, and her personal journey as a gay woman growing up in a southern Christian family. Katie is generous and th...

Jason Hawk Harris released his debut album in 2019 on Bloodshot Records, the critically acclaimed “Love and the Dark”. Rolling Stone named “Phantom Limb” one of the 25 Best Country and Americana songs of the year. Though he currently resides in Los Angeles, Jason was born and raised in Houston, where he heard a lot of country music in his home. However the music of Queen led him to pursue training...

A life long native of the Pacific Northwest, Anna Tivel currently makes her home in Portland. Anna released her fourth full length album earlier in 2019, The Question, which NPR Music called “one of the most ambitious folk records of 2019”. She was also the recipient of No Depression’s singer songwriter award for 2019. Anna has a remarkably poetic lyrical style; we discuss her deft use of concrete...

Our guest is Swedish musician, songwriter, and one person band Bror Gunnar Jansson. How did a Swedish born and bred musician find his way to becoming an authentic interpreter and creator of songs steeped in the traditions of the American blues, channeling legends such as John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters? In addition, Gunnar has written a series of songs revolving around the lives o...

Adam and David Moss are identical twin brothers who create music as The Brother Brothers. They put out an excellent album in 2018 called Some People I Know; and are headed toward the studio soon to record its follow up. We cover their early years training as classical musicians, how they found their way individually to different parts of the country and through different types of music and eventua...

David Wax and his wife, Suz Slezak, form the core of the band David Wax Museum. Their new album, Line of Light, features songs that are reflections on and reactions to events of the past few years: family life, the tragic events of 2017 in their hometown of Charlottesville, and in the country and world at large. While thematically consistent, the varied production of the cuts on the album (produce...

Heather Maloney is a writer song-singer based in western Massachusetts. She has recently released her fourth full length album, the beautiful and expressive “Soil in the Sky”. We talk with Heather about her collaborations on the album with Lake Street Dive's Rachel Price and Taylor Goldsmith from Dawes, how her years spent living at a meditation center helped her find songwriting, and the misquoti...

Logan Ledger grew up on the west coast, went to school on the east coast, and currently makes his musical home in Nashville. His music made its way to the ears of T Bone Burnett, who quickly recognized Logan’s incredible talents and signed on to produce his first full length album, which will be released early next year on Rounder Records. We discuss the impact his study of the history of country...

We talk with young Nashville guitar whiz Daniel Donato, who is now writing, playing, and singing his own songs. We talk about his recently released songs, the influence Jerry Garcia's musicianship has had on him, and does he really get up that early every morning?

We chat with Nashville based singer/songwriter Caroline Spence. Topics include her wonderful new album Mint Condition, how Emmylou Harris makes a guest appearance on the record, and why everyone should sing in the shower forever.

We talk with Northern Irish experimental folk songwriter and producer Joshua Burnside. Joshua’s 2017 album Ephrata won the Northern Ireland Music Prize, and he has followed that up with two EP’s: All Round the Light Said, and the more recent Wear Bluebells in Your Hat If You’re Goin’ That Way. We talk about dreams, how writing songs is like building tables, and yoga music. Also, one of us may have...

We talk in this episode with Mali Obomsawin and Eleanor Buckland, who, along with Isa Burke, make up the group Lula Wiles. The three attended fiddle camp as youngsters in Maine, and eventually formed Lula Wiles as classmates at Berklee College of Music. They have recently released their second album (and first on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings), What Will We Do. We discuss their collaborative pro...

Chris West and Deni Hlavinka make up the duo The Western Den. They have been making music together since 2011 when they met as first year students at Berklee College of Music. They have recently released their first full length album, the gorgeous "A Light Left On". We talk about the making of the record, the academic approach to songwriting, Bermuda, Catch Phrase Junior, and how most of us are "j...

Izaak is a talented young singer/songwriter hailing from Montana. We talk about Warren Zevon, ghosts in the amplifiers, the pros and cons of an itinerant lifestyle, and making things out of leather. Izaak has an interesting backstory: born and raised in Montana, for nearly 10 years he spent 5 months of extended summers working on trail crews in the back country of Glacier National Park, and the re...

Carson McHone is a tremendously talented singer-songwriter; she recently released a great new album "Carousel". We talk growing up in Austin, performing in the bars and honky-tonks there as a teenager, and postcards from the road. I also reveal my fear of horses.

In episode four we talk with Joe Firstman and Lucca Soria, two of the primary songwriters for Nashville based band Cordovas. We discuss Mexico, scientology, dropping pennies from the 151st floor penthouse of Tell You What! Towers, and lots and lots of music stuff.

In Episode Three, we sit down with Brian Powers, one half of the musical duo Frances Luke Accord. We discuss their project with a children's choir in Uganda, sketch comedy, and sensory deprivation, all while a lovely chorus of birds sings outside the Tell You What recording studios.

In this episode, we talk with Phil and Aaron Reed, of the southern Oregon folk duo The Brothers Reed. We cover their brotherly history, pushing the edges of comedy, long distance running, bloody angels, and Home Alone. And also songwriting and live music performance.

In our first episode, we chat with Shane McLaughlin and Lucy Clabby, songwriters for the Pittsburgh band Buffalo Rose. We discuss inventory management, trippy psych freakouts, and poetry, and Lucy never once refers to me as "Dad".