Have you ever thought about what motivated George Mallory, the early 20th century mountaineer? He was either the first or almost the first person to climb Mount Everest (he died up there, so we do not know), and is the person to answer to the question of why he wanted to do it with the famous reply, “Because it’s there”. Mallory is a real life example of a personality type shared with popular characters like The Mandalorian and Sherlock Holmes, both of whom despise being idle, and who regularly take on what may seem like impossible tasks. The answer to the question of the root of their motivation partly lies in the personality of our guest in this episode, Jeremy Pinnell. Like Mallory, Holmes and The Mandalorian, Pinnell needs a suitable challenge to get up out of bed every morning. Whether that is practicing mixed martial arts, being a husband and father or carving out a career in the unforgiving landscape of the modern music industry, he seems to find himself most comfortable in settings filled with high degrees of difficulty. Find out about his life story and his remarkable third album in this episode of Southern Songs and Stories.

Songs heard in this episode:

“Fightin’ Man” by Jeremy Pinnell, from Goodby L.A., excerpt

“Joey” by Jeremy Pinnell, excerpt

“Want To Do Something” by Jeremy Pinnell, from Goodbye L.A., excerpt

“Cryin’” by Jeremy Pinnell, from Goodbye L.A., excerpt

“Goodbye L.A.” by Jeremy Pinnell, from Goodbye L.A

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy this podcast. I also hope you might tell someone about Southern Songs and Stories directly or on social media. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere, where it helps more than you may realize when you give us a top rating and even more so with a good review, because the show’s visibility to everyone using those platforms depends largely on followers, ratings and reviews. Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup of both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available here. You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists that make it.

Artist stereotypes do not apply

How many times have parents cringed when their children fell in love with a musician? Let's be honest, the world has looked askance at artists of all stripes (with notable exceptions) for most of our history. Musicians tend to be thought of as people who may be great at their art but who are nonetheless pretty bad at life skills like paying bills, getting to work on time, and sticking with the missus.

Aaron turns all those stereotypes on their head; he is not only a fantastic songwriter and musician, but he also runs his own construction business and is a devoted family man living a stone's throw from where he grew up in the western NC mountains. He is as meticulous and intense about his guitar and ballads as he is about his green built homes and raising his two girls.

As you'll see in our pilot episode, Aaron does both life and art exceptionally well. The folks around him are a big part of that.