It’s Always Roots Music 12 O’Clock With Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas was effusive and ebullient all afternoon. He and his band approached their soundcheck session with a mixture of patience, focus and glee; it was the warmup for their first performance in front of a live audience in over a year. After sitting out the pandemic for all that time, the main hurdle to their exercise in knocking the rust off seemed to be finding what gear was in which bin, serving only to slightly delay them in getting things back into fifth gear. Jerry’s energy and enthusiasm continued afterwards, when he spoke about everything from his latest album project with John Hiatt to his analogy of the cyclical nature of musical tastes, which gave us the title to this episode.

The Jerry Douglas Band performs at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre in Asheville, NC 06-03-21

Joe Kendrick and Jerry Douglas on stage at Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain, NC 08-25-18

Songs heard in this episode:

“From Ankara to Izmir” by The Jerry Douglas Band, performed live 06-03-21 at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, Asheville, NC

“All The Lilacs In Ohio” by John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band, from Leftover Feelings, excerpt

“Touch and Go” by Sean Jones from No Need For Words, excerpt

Thank you for stopping by. We hope you enjoyed the podcast, and might tell someone you know about it. You can follow the series on podcast platforms everywhere. Currently Southern Songs and Stories is ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts, which is great! But for this endeavor to be self-supporting, we ask that you follow the series and then give us a top rating and a review on your platform of choice. It is all free, and doing this will make all of the topics and artists covered on this series more likely to be found by more people just like you. 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. Thanks to Sean Rubin for recording and mixing The Jerry Douglas Band’s live performance of “From Ankara to Izmir”, and to Corrie Askew for producing the radio adaptations of this series on public radio WNCW, where we worked with Joshua Meng, who wrote and performed our theme songs. - Joe Kendrick

The Allman Betts Band: Where The Song Is The Boss

Because it is 2020, nothing is the same, and music is no exception -- podcasts like this one included. As we all find ourselves in the new reality that the coronavirus pandemic has thrown at us, however, the old mantra that “the show must go on” still holds true. And in our case, Southern Songs and Stories goes on in a new way with this episode. With this podcast on The Allman Betts Band, it is the first time that we have done a show with an interview from a video call. A side benefit with this is that we can also share the video of our conversation, which is worth watching just to see Devon Allman changing his background images throughout the interview, so his Iron Maiden reference makes more sense there, for starters. That video is posted below. 

Devon Allman and Duane Betts are well known as the sons of Greg Allman and Dickey Betts, respectively, and their partnership now seems like it was meant to be, especially now that The Allman Betts Band’s second album, Bless Your Heart, is well on its way to being a big hit. But their friendship and musical partnership did not happen right away after they first met some thirty years ago, as teenagers attending an Allman Brothers show. Listen in for that story, as well as the meaning of letting the song be the boss, the expansion of their band members’ and co-writers’ roles on this album, and much more.

Devon Allman and Duane Betts of The Allman Betts Band.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy our time with The Allman Betts Band. If you haven’t already done it, please tell someone you know about this series, and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. Bonus points if you give it a good rating and a review, which helps make Southern Songs and Stories and the artists it profiles more visible to more people just like you. Southern Songs and Stories is a part of the podcast lineup on both public radio WNCW and Osiris Media, with all of the Osiris shows available at https://www.osirispod.com/ . You can also hear new episodes of this podcast on Bluegrass Planet Radio at https://www.bluegrassplanetradio.com/. Thanks also to Sean Rubin at WNCW for engineering our interview session. - Joe Kendrick

Songs heard in this episode:

“Magnolia Road” from Bless Your Heart (excerpt)

“The Doctor’s Daughter” from Bless Your Heart (excerpt)

“Savannah’s Dream” from Bless Your Heart

When Music Is More Than Music, And Becomes A Family: Marcus King

Sometimes it is easy to say what type of music you are listening to, and to pick out what influences go into an artist’s music. But how many times have you heard someone say something like, ‘their sound is Muscle Shoals meets Philly soul’ or ‘this band is what would happen if the Allman Brothers and Janis Joplin had a baby’, and so on? So many times, these are lazy analogies, but even when they have merit, they might only scratch the surface of what informs that artist or band. And on first listen, you will probably quickly recognize some of the ingredients in the music of Marcus King. Blues, rock and soul jump out right away. And when you look at Marcus, it is easy to sum things up by saying that he is a young guitar phenomenon with a powerful voice and a super tight band. This is all true, but there is so much more to discover with Marcus King, and the deeper you go, the more you find out about how intricate his music can be.

After moving to Nashville, Marcus King brought in hit songwriter Paul Overstreet and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach to work with him on his album El Dorado

Even though Marcus King did not graduate from high school, he is widely read. Especially when it comes to music, he is a polymath. He enjoys learning guitar technique from vocalists, piano players, and saxophone players, and he knew to quit emulating other guitarists years ago. He can even draw a line from stand up comedy to the music he makes. Marcus is only 23, but his voice, his playing and his songwriting have matured greatly over the span of his five studio albums. With his latest, El Dorado, King brings in co-writers for the first time, along with new producer Dan Auerbach. In this episode, you will hear from Marcus King as well as fellow Greenville, SC based artist and frequent collaborator Charles Hedgepath, along with music from both of their newest records, and a live cover from when they were together on stage at the third annual Marcus King Band Family Reunion.

Marcus King Band live at WNCW 7-15-19. Photos: Kim Henson

Songs heard in this episode:

Marcus King: excerpt of “Wildflowers & Wine” from El Dorado

excerpts of Country Gentlemen, King Curtis, Janis Joplin, Margaret Glaspy and Sonny Rollins

Marcus King: “One Day She’s Here” from El Dorado

The Shady Recruits: excerpt of “Ghoraibi” from The Shady Recruits

Marcus King: excerpt of “Say You Will” from El Dorado

Marcus King Band with Charles Hedgepath: “Orange Blossom Special” live from the Marcus King Band Family Reunion 9-28-19

Southern Songs and Stories is produced in partnership with public radio station WNCW and the Osiris podcast network, and is available on podcast platforms everywhere. Would you help spread awareness of the artists featured here on Southern Songs and Stories, their music, and this series? Simply subscribe to the podcast and give it a good rating and a comment where you get your podcasts. For example, you can find us on Apple/iTunes here, on Stitcher here, and Spotify here. Our theme songs are by Joshua Meng, with a link to his music here. This is Southern Songs and Stories: the music of the South and the artists who make it. - Joe Kendrick