The legacy that Prince brought to the world of music is ever-enduring, but he couldn’t do it alone. Matt Fink, or Dr. Fink as he is known by fans, was one of those who helped Prince bring his music to the masses. Listen as Andy and Matt chat about the Prince years and the impact they had on Matt’s career. Matt joined Prince’s band in 1978 and subsequently performed with him on world tours, recorded with him, and co-wrote some pivotal songs. He’s digging deep into his

Jeff Babko is an in-demand pianist and keyboardist who has spent his life learning his craft and contributing to the music industry. He’s toured the world, worked with huge artists, is a gifted recording artist, and is currently the music arranger, composer, and house band member on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Listen as he shares more about his journey and experiences in the music industry and his hopes for the future. It all started at a young age for Jeff. He remembers always being drawn to music...

How did people get started in the industry before platforms like The Voice and American Idol? For many, their breaks came by producing and circulating demos of the songs they’d written. The big goal? Become a recording artist. The short-term goal? Have someone else record their songs and start making a name for themselves. This is exactly what happened for hit country songwriter and recording artist Rhett Akins. After dropping out of college and spending time working at his father’s oil and...

With decades of experience working with some of the biggest names in music, LeRoy Bennett definitely knows his way around live concert production and lighting design. Andy digs deep in this conversation to find what makes LeRoy tick, where his inspiration comes from, and what it’s like working with a huge variety of superstar artists. For LeRoy, music has always been a visual process. He hears music and sees a kaleidoscope of colors and feels a strong emotion.

Jeff Victor has been playing and composing music since he was a toddler. He began playing the piano at a very early age and rather than learn to read music, developed his ear so that he could play just about anything. Listen as he shares more about his childhood, his work in the industry, and why he feels like he’s only just finding his stride and his passion. From being a near mute to truly flourishing in speech and music, Jeff has shown creative prowess since the earliest of years. Before...

Using music to tell a story over a series of songs takes time, skill, and dedication. The same concept applies when you’re trying to develop bright young talent into a force in the industry. Jeff Robinson has spent his career finding and developing raw talent and helping to grow artists musically and in the business. Jeff grew up listening to music from several different eras and genres and that holistic view of music shaped his storytelling abilities. In school he would create and sell...

At just 17 years old, Elyscia Jefferson is on her way to an amazing career in music. She’s already writing and performing original songs and is auditioning for American Idol. Listen as she shares more about her path to music and why she feels driven to create, entertain and inspire. Elyscia has been singing and harmonizing for as long as she can remember. It wasn’t until she was five or six that her keyboardist/producer father realized the talent that she held inside of her. From then on her...

Nick Gross is known as one of today’s most creative trailblazers in media and beyond. His career has spanned the industry in a way that very few have, combining music with business incubation to execute a multitude of passion-driven projects. Beginning with a hit show on MTV, Gross shared his raw talent as a musician and drummer with the world, catapulting him to secure deals with major labels and produce music for top artists such as Ariana Grande, Zendaya and Wiz Khalifa, to name a few. As...

Growing up in a small town in Georgia, Jeremy Stover had no clue his life would turn to music. What he knew was that the emotion he felt when he heard good music was transformative and later realized he wanted to be a part of the industry. Listen as he and Andy chat about his formative years, what drew him to Nashville, and why he’s now been drawn to developing artists and producing music. It wasn’t until Jeremy was in college that he realized how drawn to the music industry he truly was.

The music industry is not for the faint of heart. Jaime Zeluck-Hindlin knows this from personal experience and continues to rock the world with her amazing talent for finding major hit songwriters and producers. She’s been in and out of all aspects of music and is now the founder and owner of Nonstop Management. Jaime started her career in A&R and after having a true brush with death, she knew that she needed to build something of her own. She’d always equated success with building her own

If you missed Andy’s Part 1 interview of Peter Himmelman it was released just last week, as episode #27, and is well-worth checking out before tuning in to this Part 2 interview. Andy and Peter are back to discuss the intricacies of songwriting, Peter’s process, and his experiences outside of writing songs. Writing songs is truly an art and every single artist does it differently. Peter’s take on songwriting is so simple yet allows him to craft extremely emotional songs that touch his...

Some people’s decisions have led them to rather challenging places, but Andy’s friend and artist Peter Himmelman is truly living a dream. In this first part of a two-part interview, Andy and Peter dig deep into the past. Listen as they chat about their first meeting, the growth of Peter’s career, and why his faith became significantly more important. Peter recounts the moment that he was first moved by music and how deeply it moved him. His older sister had a turntable with internal speakers...

When you’ve spent almost all of your adult life in the music industry, and watching history being made, the stories you could tell are legion. Ed Stasium has that experience. He and Andy relive a good portion of the history of the music industry from the 1950s to today and how they both love and hate how it’s all changed. Ed’s parents loved to listen to music but neither of them were musicians. They spared no expense in letting him explore his musical nature and dig into every facet of the...

Finding a spot in the limelight at a young age can either be a great thing… or a truly terrible thing. Ina Forsman has owned her limelight and aspires to continue to learn and grow with her craft. Listen as Andy and Ina spend time discussing her start in music, how she’s grown, and what she’s looking forward to most. Ina has never known a time when music wasn’t supremely important. When she was younger, she would sing with her grandfather while he played guitar. She then spent the rest of...

Chuck Johnson knew since he was a child that he wanted to be a musician. After persistently nagging his father (who played music in a band during rowdy parties) to teach him how to play, he learned his first 3 chords at 6 years old. Chuck Johnson probably never imagined his early childhood fascination would turn into a successful career as a prominent member of 3 bands and internationally touring with a jazz legend. From the ins and outs of forming bands over his career to the way he balanced...

The changes in the music industry have been storied and Dave Hampton is one of the people at the forefront and is dedicated to preserving its history. He’s been in the trenches designing and restoring the recording studios that have created the sounds of our past and present. Listen as Andy and Dave chat about his work with various big names, how music has changed, and where he sees the industry going. Dave started his career in music at Oberheim Electronics where he worked in analog...

Is the musician's life different when you get to experience it within your own family? Andy had an opportunity to sit down with Greg and Gary Grainger to chat about the industry, their family, their influences, and their career. Both are highly respected musicians in the industry with Greg being a drummer and Gary being a bass player. Listen as the brothers share stories about their tours, their collaborations, and their thoughts on how the industry has changed. Gary and Greg grew up with a...

Music is the way to the soul and for many it is the balm needed to make it through rough times. For Katie Vinten, music helped her through the rough times and elevated the wonderful times. She has always been drawn to music and has since taken the music industry by storm. Katie always knew she needed a creative outlet which drove her to seek out NYU’s Tisch as her school of choice for college. Not wanting to stay too comfortable, she decided on a change of scenery after college and moved out...

The power of a good lyric is truly amazing. Thankfully, there are people like Lori McKenna in the world who can craft deeply emotional lyrics that inspire and motivate. She joins Andy today to chat about how she got into music, what it is like to write music with and without co-writers, and to talk about her recently released album, The Balladeer. Lori grew up with a love of music. She lost her mother at a young age and her four older brothers, older sister, and father found solace in the...

“I’ve traveled the world, and found that live music is the heartbeat that keeps us all in sync.”  - Scottie Baldwin Running sound for a live show is unlike any other experience in the music industry. The sound at a live show has a feeling, a color and it can be the difference between giving the audience the experience of a lifetime or an utter failure.  Scottie Baldwin has been running front of house sound for huge artists for over three decades and he’s here to share more about his experience a

Toni Menage has a career most aspiring singers envy. She’s toured the world with Lisa-Lisa Cult Jam, sang with and was produced by the legendary Stevie Wonder, and performed on legendary television shows including Soul Train, The Grammy’s The Arsenio Hall Show, and many others. But her path to get there was not as full of rainbows as you might think. Andy and Toni discuss what it’s like to grow up as an up and coming singer in the projects of Harlem, and how she first got noticed by a...

Imagine getting the opportunity to work with Steely Dan, George Benson, and Willie Nelson. Sometimes, our goals and dreams are just fun words that sound nice rolling off the tongue, yet have nothing to back them up. This is not the case with Dave Russell. Dave went from sweeping floors at a music studio to becoming a multi-Grammy Award Winning Recording Engineer. Join us today as Dave shares his experience of working in the music industry and advice he has to o

Not everyone in the music industry has known that’s where they wanted to be at an early age. In the case of Beth Laird, a forced internship with her childhood nanny, resulted in finding a life-long passion and drive for music and artists. Beth is the CEO and founder of Creative Nation Music and has been turning Nashville on its head for years. Her perspective on mindset and courage is truly amazing. It was her courage to make shifts and try new things that pushed her to greater and greater...

From harmonica to trombone, Greg Boyer has played it all. His natural talent and passion for music has seen him through decades in the music business playing with everyone from P-Funk to Maceo to Prince. Listen in as we chat about his perfect pitch, natural ear, and progression through several instruments until he landed on trombone. Greg started in music at a very early age. He recounts finding his father’s harmonica and being so jazzed to play it. The harmonica playing ended but his love...

The history of country music is long and storied and there are few alive today that can speak to it in the same way as iconic country music producer Tony Brown. From his beginnings in Southern Gospel music, through his time performing with Elvis, into producing hit records for huge country music stars, Tony has a lot to share. Tony grew up with an evangelist for a father. He and his family traveled around playing at different kinds of churches and his love for music blossomed. He was only...