A Tell You What! Studios Newsletter

Welcome to issue no. 14 of “hey how’s it goin’?”
Podcast news, music related recommendations, and the scribblings of a mixed up music nerd.

“Some people say make America great again. I say America was great all along. Some of us just forgot why. It’s great because your grandfather and my grandfather and just about everybody’s damn grandfather or great grandfather crammed themselves, snuck, bought their way, or was dragged onto a boat and one way or another allowed themselves eventually to dream.
You can still. There’s still room. And in some places in America, apparently you are still welcome. Welcome, stranger. This land is your land”

-Anthony Bourdain

I realize it has been a bit since I have sent out a newsletter.

Frankly I have been wrestling with myself about what is important currently. Do my scribblings about music and creativity have the right to take up space in the general discourse when the stakes seem to be raised higher each day, as this 250-year-old audacious democratic experiment of ours is being put through a dangerous test?

But as I sit here on a rainy July 4th morning (appropriate?), I remember, again, the role of the arts in our society.

And I remember, again, how grateful I am to the musicians, artists, writers, etc. out there who keep at it, who keep questioning things, making things, who sacrifice and take personal risks to get their art out into the world. The musicians who tirelessly travel the roads to our towns so that we can have those moments of joy and transcendence, in community, that give us hope and the strength to not let the actions of those few with power keep the rest of us down for long.

So thank you to the musicians and artists out there, please keep making noise and creating things. And to the rest of us, keep singing, dancing, creating, and supporting the arts.

It matters.

I’ll see you out there.

And here’s a song written and recorded by the great Blaze Foley in the year 1980.

Here's a two part recommendation: the new Led Zeppelin documentary is pretty good, it has a lot of live concert footage, perhaps more than I usually go for in a music documentary.

But the movie, through present day interviews with the surviving members (and a great rare audio interview with the late John Bonham) does a good job of placing these live performances in the proper musical/historical context: we hear about how the band was formed, what previous music the members were making, what their intentions were when they got together, and then we see (and hear! very loudly!) them play some of those early shows.

The second part of the rec is this interview with Alison Krauss, the wonderful bluegrass vocalist who does such great work with Led Zeppelin’s own Robert Plant. Hearing Alison talk about how music sometimes consumes her, how she feels when she finds the right songs to record and sing, is a joyful listen.

And she does talk about getting together with Robert for the surprisingly amazing collaboration they have had over the years.

Here’s a book that might make for a good summer read.

Mary Gauthier is an acclaimed folk singer and songwriter; her songs have been recorded by a long list of country and americana artists.

She has had an interesting life; many of her songs reflect her experiences of adoption, addiction and recovery, and growing up gay in the deep south. Her book “Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting” is a quick and easy read, she has a sharp pen for sure.

The book appeals on two levels-the author talks us through the creation of several of her songs, so we see her creative process, which is interesting for the songwriting nerds out there. But she does so in a way that is seamlessly threaded into her personal story, so the book works well as a very compelling memoir of a highly creative person with great self-awareness who has definitely been some places and done some things in her life.

Check it out.

Podcast news oh yeah that-

Since we last spoke here in newsletter land I have released a couple of new episodes that span the globe. Episode 62 features New Zealand folk star Mel Parsons, which I recorded at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal, which is in Canada, our awesome neighbor and sovereign nation to the north.

Number 63 was recorded right here in Evanston at Tell You What HQ with Chicago musician Elizabeth Moen, a super talent who was very funny and engaging to chat with.

Thanks for reading this issue of hey how’s it goin? the newsletter. I encourage you to forward this along to anyone who might find it interesting. Was this forwarded to you? You can subscribe here.

Check out our spotify playlist Pork Chop Happy Hour, updated frequently with new music I come across that catches my attention.

Please drop me an email (just hit “reply”) with any thoughts, ideas, questions, complaints (not really). If you dare to include a mailing address, I will send along a fabulous Tell You What! sticker or two, no questions asked. Postcards always welcome (and encouraged as creative acts) at our address below.

music is the best!

Mike

Look in the paper, don’t blame me if the guy’s a nut.