Kurt Howell has been a keyboardist, lead vocalist, songwriter, recording artist, and producer. As you’re about to hear, I first met Kurt back in the mid ’70’s when we played in our high school stage band together. I played trumpet and he played piano and he really influenced me in terms of improvising and playing with emotion and feel. I also hired his amazing teenage cover band to perform for a couple events I was involved with. I later learned that he went on to perform with Southern...

This is the 3rd part in a series of interviews, done every couple of years, with Brent Birckhead, an award-winning artist who writes, composes, and performs on a variety of woodwinds, mostly alto saxophone. Educated at Howard University, Brent was named best blues/pop/rock soloist and outstanding instrumental jazz soloist by Downbeat Magazine as part of the annual Student Music Awards. Since then, he’s received various other awards. He’s also had the honor of performing and touring with...

I first interviewed Ina Forsman in September of 2020, the year after she had released an absolutely stellar album, Been Meaning To Tell You. We were five and a half months into the pandemic and public performances had temporarily come to a halt. We went through her journey including her process as a singer, songwriter, and performer as well as some of the songs on her last album. I highly recommend listening to that episode, which was #25. In today’s episode, we talk about what Ina’s been...

Bruce Watson is a lead guitarist best known for playing in the band Foreigner which had multiple hits in the 70’s and 80’s including Hot Blooded, Feels Like The First Time, Urgent, and I Want To Know What Love Is. He also sings, plays mandolin, bass guitar, and slide guitar. Bruce has toured and/or recorded with the likes of Elton John, Rod Stewart, Patti Smyth, B.B. King, and more. LINKS: WEBSITE foreigneronline.com INSTA brewswotsin FACEBOOK ...

Sean Miles, also known as "Smiles," is one of my favorite musicians who I’ve personally worked with for many years. He is a keyboardist, composer, producer, arranger, and music director. Hailing from the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, Smiles has landed on stages with amazing artists including David Foster, Kenny G, Ginuwine, Estelle, Mya, Angie Stone, Rachelle Ferrell, Biz Markie, Phil Lassiter, and many more. Music link: https://koji.to/smileslife

Benny Pough, CEO of D. Verse Media, is one of today’s successful and innovative business leaders and has helped shape the sound and culture of music worldwide, having been instrumental in delivering radio hits for superstar artists such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Travis Scott, DJ Khaled, Future, and 21 Savage. He held executive positions at powerhouse labels from Motown Records and Def Jam to Epic Records and Roc Nation Music. He has since formed D. Verse Media, a full service global...

As a grammy-award winning trumpet player, flugelhorn, french hornist, arranger, and keyboard player, CJ Camerieri has become an indispensable collaborator for numerous indie rock groups as a performer, arranger, improviser, and soloist and is a co-founder of the contemporary classical ensemble yMusic. He has toured and/or recorded with numerous major artists including Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon, Sufjan Stevens, The Plastic Ono Band, David Byrne, Indgrid Michaelson,...

Ryan Lerman has toured the world as a bassist for Ben Folds, guitarist for Michael Buble, and guitarist/string arranger/musical director for John Legend. He’s also toured with Vanessa Carlton, Joshua Radin, Tallest Man On Earth, and more as guitarist, bassist, singer, music director and arranger. As a songwriter, his compositions have been recorded by Vulfpeck, Buble, and others. He’s also one half of the creative team behind YouTube sensations Scary Pockets, with over 230 million views! He...

Today’s special guest is guitarist Andy Timmons. As guitarist for pop-metal band Danger Danger, he toured the world opening for Kiss and Alice Cooper, sold over a million records worldwide, and had two #1 videos on MTV, plus amassing a discography that includes 7 solo releases. As a session player, he’s been featured on recordings by drumming legend Simon Phillips, two internationally acclaimed CDs by Kip Winger, recording sessions for Paula Abdul, Paul Stanley, and countless radio and...

Today's episode is sponsored by the Academy of Country Music at www.acmcountry.com Brad Hill is a producer, engineer, composer, and musician based out of Nashville. He has a Grammy nomination for Country Album of the Year as well as CMA and Academy of Country Music nominations for Album of the Year, all for co-producing Maren Morris’s debut album, Hero. Brad has produced songs for numerous artists including Maren Morris, Kameron Marlowe, Brothers Osborne, Brett Young, Josh Gracin, and more. We

Trumpeter Brad Clements has recorded and/or performed with numerous major artists including Prince, Chuck Brown, Bootsy Collins, Aretha Franklin, Larry Graham, Kenny G, and Thievery Corporation. He also owns and runs B&B Music Lessons, which creates systems music teachers can use so they can focus on their craft and further hone their skills as well as help students find the best teachers...

Barry Dean is a hit country and pop songwriter with four #1 singles and various other cuts and/or hits recorded by Little Big Town, Michael Ray, Jon Pardi, Ingrid Michaelson, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, and many more. In addition to various songwriting awards, Barry earned a Grammy nomination for Tim McGraw’s “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools.” Links instagram is: @thebarrydean Mentioned Lori McKenna (#20) Beth Laird...

Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Canada, and is the other half of the writing/production team The Fourth Floor with singer, songwriter & recording artist Shobha. Rob has worked with Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Katharine McPhee, the Backstreet Boys, Nelly Furtado, Desmond Child, Cyndi Lauper, Corey Hart, & many others. His work has been featured in numerous films, television shows, commercials and video games...

Khaliq Glover, also known as Khaliq-O-Vision, is a grammy award winning recording engineer, mixing engineer, producer, and songwriter based in LA. Khaliq was 1st engineer on records by Jermaine Jackson, Donna Summer, Kenny Rogers, Jeffrey Osborne, and many more. He was also one of the engineers to work on the We Are The World project produced by Quincy Jones with an all star cast including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross,...

Sylver Logan Sharp was the former lead singer of the legendary group CHIC, w/Nile Rodgers & the late, Bernard Edwards for 20 years! She also recorded and/or performed with Kid Rock, Slash, Elton John, and numerous others. She also had a #1 hit with Jonathan Peters. Andy has seen Sylver perform numerous times and says she’s one of his favorite singers and performers…she’s a true dynamo! Sylver also has her own Jewelry line called Sylverwear with many celebrity...

Martin Sutton is a multi-platinum British songwriter, record producer, mixer, multi-instrumentalist, programmer, and songwriting coach and mentor living and working in the United Kingdom. He has worked with many major artists worldwide including LeAnn Rimes, Céline Dion, Backstreet Boys, Olivia Newton-John, Gary Barlow, Mike + The Mechanics, K-pop superstars Super Junior, The X Factor and American Idol winners, and more! He is also the founder of The Songwriting Academy with an incredible...

With over 2,000 recordings, Nathan East is considered one of the most recorded bass players in history! He is a founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated contemporary jazz band Fourplay and has recorded, performed, and/or co-written songs with a huge number of major artists including Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Whitney Houston, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Toto, Daft Punk, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, The Bee Gees, Steve Winwood, Elton...

Steve Ferrone has recorded and/or toured as a drummer with numerous high profile acts, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 until now, Average White Band for eight years, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, The Bee Gees, Johnny Cash, Bryan Ferry, Peter Frampton, Whitney Houston, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Steve Winwood, Paul Simon, and Jaco Pastorius – and that's just some of the acts he's been with! This was a blast of a conversation...

Joe Galante has held several executive roles at various companies including being the youngest person to run a major country record label, RCA’s Nashville division. He later became the chairman of BMG Music Group and later of Sony Music Group. He is noted for his role in developing the careers of Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Alabama, Martina McBride, Vince Gill, Clint Black, Miranda Lambert, the Judds and many, many more. He has spent a lifetime impacting the...

Kevin Antunes has served as musical director, designer, and keyboardist to some of the biggest artists and musical events in history, including Madonna, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, Brittney Spears, Shakira, Janet Jackson and N’Sync. He’s also performed at the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Super Bowl Half-Time Shows. Listen as he shares about his journey, inspiration, and experiences. Kevin grew up in a musically-minded family. In fact, both his father and brother were...

Victor Indrizzo is a prolific, L.A. based studio session drummer and touring musician. He has recorded and/or toured with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Avril Lavigne, Chris Cornell, Macy Gray, Lizzo, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Meatloaf, Rob Thomas, and many more. He’s also worked on film soundtracks including Spiderman, The Matrix Reloaded, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Charlie’s Angels, Get Him to the Greek, and more.

Shep Gordon is an icon in the music and film industry and a marketing mastermind for his clients. Some of his notable clients include Alice Cooper, Teddy Pendegrass, Luther Vandross, Kenny Loggins, Anne Murray, Emeril Lagasse, Roger Verge, Wolfgang Puck, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Groucho Marx. He’s also produced films like Kiss Of The Spiderwoman and Stop Making Sense. Shep has an autobiography called They Call Me Supermensch: A Backstage Pass ot the Amazing Worlds of Film, Food, and Rock ‘n Roll....

Born the daughter of legendary producer and arranger Don Costa, Nikka was destined to be an industry name to be reckoned with. She’s been a recording artist since she was five years old and created her debut album at the tender age of eight. As she grew into her interests and her voice, she knew that R&B, blues, and funk were her passions and she’s since merged them to create a unique sound and style all her own. Andy and Nikka are chatting all about how he found her and her work with...

Mark Wright has to his credit tens of millions of units in sales, if not more, and a huge number of number one singles that he wrote, published, or produced as well as several major awards. He grew up loving the business of music. Mark’s father was a music director for schools in his local area and he was a member of the All State Choir. He chose to continue studying music when he went to college and then went right into the industry immediately after graduation. He knew that his life was...