The Show On The Road with Z. Lupetin

What if you said the darkest thing you ever thought…or actually sang it out loud in a packed room of cheerful many-tattooed like-minded fans? You might find yourself at an Amigo The Devil concert - an experience that longtime self-professed “murder-folk” master Danny Kiranos has dutifully worked on for a decade and a half - bringing the banjo and acoustic guitar into a world once only populated by hardcore or death metal listeners. Murder ballads were first documented in 1840s Scandinavia, England, Ireland and Scotland - but what Amigo The Devil has done with a squirmy, personal new LP Yours Until The War Is Over is to take them to a new level - probing with his deft fingerpicking and at turns tender and then ferocious vocals - his own sicknesses, his own dark family secrets and our national plunge into addiction, murder and hate. And yet, it’s still fun to listen to? Quite a balancing act. Why does it feel so good to shout “I Hope Your Husband Dies!” in a packed auditorium - or to discover our own “Cannibal Within”? There must a reason why true crime podcasts and novels and horror films continue to obsesses us. Danny takes these obsessions a step further of course - he collects skulls, serial killer art, letters from jail from men who have done the unspeakable…and yet, after hearing him talk on his songwriting process, you see he is among the most thoughtful and underrated writers and performers on the road today. To see the whole uncut nearly two hour talk - go to the Show On The Road Youtube channel!

This week we dive into the many lives and evolving music of much-respected singer and troubadour Peter One. Coming from humble beginnings in his native Ivory Coast, One became a folk hero for creating a new type of African roots music that was the backdrop for Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid and gained him a following around the globe. His partnership with longtime friend Jess Sah Bi created the 1985 classic (and newly reissued) Our Garden Needs Its Flowers and at their height, saw them playing stadiums across West Africa. The two mates from Abidjan were equally inspired by Ivorian village songs as Simon and Garfunkel, Dolly Parton and American soul titans like Otis Redding - creating a unique fusion while singing in French, English and Gouro (a Mande language). Escaping the unrest of his home country where he was a history teacher, One finally came to the United States and worked as a nurse for years before diving back into his original passion for music. At the age of 67, last year One put out his heralded return LP Come Back To Me on Verve Forecast, featuring the golden-voiced harmonies and Ivorian country-folk songs he does best, with new forays into blues, French love songs and more - featuring his old partner Jess Sah Bi and new collaborators like Allison Russell. Co-produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine) with contributions from members of Wilco and Calexico, the record shows that even as he nears seventy, One is only just getting started. Last year he even made his debut at the Grand Ole’ Opry.

We’re back for season six with a special conversation with a true blues and world music legend, Taj Mahal. Touring in his seventh decade behind nearly fifty albums and counting (including fourteen Grammy nominations) we dive into his new LP Swingin’ Live At The Church In Tulsa, how he toured with the Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus in the 1970s, and how classics like “Statesboro Blues” from his iconic 1968 self-titled record inspired groups like the Allman Brothers to bring the blues to a new generation of listeners. Born Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr to a renown jazz arranger and gospel singer, Taj Mahal is one of the first mainstream artists to champion world music - sharing his passion for the music of Mali, Jamaica and especially Hawaii with his rowdy audiences around the world.

Remember when Easy Listening became the Smooth Jazz section of pop and rock n’ roll? But maybe we could use things a little easier these days. In the second part of my epic talk with Bahamas from his cozy cottage in Nova Scotia - we lean into embracing that softer side of ourselves as songwriters, fathers and edgy citizens just trying to make sense of a changing world. Afie Jervanen isn't shy about it: he would LOVE his records to be in the Easy Listening section of your local record store. While Afie’s newest record Bootcut may seem like a warm country-tinted collection that you can safely put on in the background at a dinner party with everyone wearing turtlenecks and sweatpants - underneath, there are needles and shards of memory glass sticking up through the softness. Look no further than “Sports Car” maybe about his absent father who would have preferred a fast muscle car to a new kid in the house - or “Gone Girl Gone” the banger of the LP which takes a squinting look at what that crazy (but exciting) ex is up to now (yes he references Only Fans). Wonder how that one went over at his Opry debut a few months back? Feel free to dive into the first part of our conversation to jump into more songs from Bootcut or stay right here as Afie and I discuss how travel, social media and the tricky financial realities of being a touring musician and dad mess with our sense of self as partners, fathers and creators - and how the music can always be there like a magic potion - no matter who you choose to be in the future.

What’s the first thing you think about a mustachioed songwriter who enjoys rocking wind-breaker sweat suits and lives and creates on the edge of icy Nova Scotia? That he’s going to write maybe the best old-school Nashville country record of the year, of course. Maybe the warm, slightly humorous diversion is right in his tropical name. But with his newest LP Bootcut, beloved Canadian singer-songwriter and ace guitarist Afie Jurvanen AKA Bahamas might have thrown some long-time listeners (like this podcaster) for a loop by channeling his inner Alan Jackson and George Strait, but in a nice, warm way. I’ll admit I was concerned at first. Must everyone go country? Sliding steel guitars, twangy solos, his signature low-drawl and gorgeous lady-led harmonies? You bet. But it feels serenely natural on him. And yes, Bahamas did make his Opry debut a few months back so he is fully diving in and it shows. In this first part of our dive into Bootcut and beyond - we hear how Bahamas brings his daughters into his songwriting, how he’s had to let go of his younger “hunk” guitarist roots and how he’s connected being a songwriter and a quirky online “content-creator” into his art. In these fractious times, especially as the seasons get darkest - maybe we all need a new LP that doesn’t try and reinvent every sonic wheel or show off with shredding guitar histrionics (he used to tour with Feist) and rapid-fire poetic gymnastics. Is Bootcut like a warm hug reaching out from your car speakers? Maybe. Try listening to the heartfelt, soft opener “Just A Song” and the yearning piano-ballad closer “Nothing Blows My Mind” - to hear how he’s trying to be at peace with the chaos and mystery of being a father, a son and a citizen who is just doing his damn best. With his second time here on our show, it’s easy to hear how comfortable Afie has gotten in his skin. Thankfully, his music has never been better.

Putting on a new record can feel like an instant sonic vacation for your mind - or maybe it’s the best type of time travel? This week we take a trip to the teaming clubs of Bogotá and Cali Colombia (or shall we say, Colombia came to a movie studio conference room here in LA) to talk to multi-lingual lead singer Catalina García who for the last fourteen years has led adored jazzy roots-pop icons Monsieur Periné along with master instrumentalist Santiago Prieto. It’s heady times for the band: their newest LP Bolero Apocalíptico was just crowned best alternative music album at the Latin Grammys and I was able to catch up with Catalina the night before her performance at Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel. While her infectious laugh and the band’s often nostalgic and cheerful sounds may lean one way - listen closer and the new LP dives into some serious subjects that hit close to home for Catalina - like the desperation of climate change, government sponsored violence and poverty. Harnessing her love of cumbia, swing, bossa nova, and folk styles from across Latin American, Catalina sings in Spanish, French, Portuguese and English depending on the mood and with her work in Monsieur Periné, she’s been able to collaborate with some of the brightest lights in Latin music such as Ana Tijoux, Vanesa Martin, Vicente Garcia and more. Take a listen to “Cumbia Valiante” featuring Tijoux which touches on the massive protests against corruption that she and her family have participated in in her native Colombia. While the world was shut down over the pandemic - an unexpected surprise happened for the band. An older jazzy song of theirs "Nuestra Canción” (a fan favorite) from their 2015 record Caja De Música somehow became a Tik-Tok sensation, rising to the top of the music chart and was then streamed over 150 million times. If you’re in a bad mood? Put that one on ASAP. Indeed, the group rarely comes to California - but when asked about her favorite all time show - Garcia mentions playing at sunset at the Santa Monica pier many years before. Truly the amount of travel she and her bandmates have undertaken across three continents is staggering - and there are many more stories to come.

What if you sang before you spoke? When you come from a vibrant San Juan musical family like iLe (the creative persona of Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar), it all makes sense. Singing has been in iLe’s bloodstream from day one: from listening to her actress mother and singer-composer grandmother, to joining school choir and then stealing the show as a teenager in her stepbrothers’ superstar Puerto Rican alternative hip-hop collective Calle 13. She made her critically-adored solo debut iLevitable in 2015 and has become a master at gathering some of the leading Latin-music luminaries (from Natalia Lafourcade to Ivy Queen) and speaking truth to power through her music, celebrating and challenging Puerto Rico and its rich traditions. During the fiery Telegramgate protests, she collaborated her stepbrother Residente and Bad Bunny on “Sharpening The Knives” which focused on the unheard voices of local Puerto Ricans still suffering after Hurricane Maria. It can be hard to describe ILe’s sound. She mentions that a little dose of feminism may be what dreamy boleros, Caribbean folk music and cheerful salsa of her childhood needs - after all, even the female-sung classics were often written by men. ILe isn’t afraid to upend classic genres by using hip-hop, trap beats and synth-psychedelia alongside ringing acoustic instruments and old-school Caribbean percussion to create a bigger technicolor soundscape. The more personal LP Almadura followed in 2019 and in this taping, we sit down to discuss her lushly cinematic and unapologetically political 2022 LP Nacarile.

What do legends like Bob Seger, The Doobie Brothers, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt and Pink Floyd all have in common? They’ve all tapped pianist and master keyboardist Bill Payne - one of the co-founders of folky-funk cult favorites Little Feat to lend his special sauce to their records or touring bands. Stories? Yeah, Bill’s got a few to tell us. In this second part of our epic talk - we go back through Bill’s life from his first piano lesson to playing with the Greatful Dead in stadiums - and keeping the spirit of his lifelong project with the late Lowell George - Little Feat going fifty years and counting. How do you create that adrenaline of a life show in the hush of the studio? Bill’s idea: create your own audience in your head. Check out the beautiful deluxe reissues of Sailin’ Shoes and Dixie Chicken which feature never-before-heard songs and demos.

Most bands who started in the tumultuous year of 1969 like Little Feat never make it out of that creative cauldron. How many heroes faded away or flamed out and can only be found now on classic rock radio or in dusty record bins? Little Feat is still here. And while the group lost talented but tempestuous lead singer and guitarist Lowell George along the way - as we learned in the first part of our wide-ranging conversation with renown keyboardist, songwriter, photographer and band co-founder Bill Payne, this ever-evolving collective of artists was able to keep the dream alive, delighting devoted fans with seminal live records like Waiting For Columbus and showing off their signature harmony-rich folk and brassy funk with a new tour while reissuing their beloved records Dixie Chicken and Sailin’ Shoes with never-before-heard material. The more you look, the more you see that Little Feat is like a fifty year old best kept secret - the genre-bending band that many masters like Elton John and Robert Plant and even The Rolling Stones love to see live - with songs like “Willin’” being covered by everyone from Linda Ronstsadt to Gregg Allman to The Byrds. Meanwhile Payne has had an epic career playing keys in bands like The Doobie Brothers and expanding his creativity into fine art and authorship. Little Feat has always been that special group that, while never achieving world-wide fame, is always waiting to be discovered anew.

Think you know renegade roots songwriter icon Ani DiFranco? Think again! We are happy to bring you this special rebroadcast as Ani celebrates the 25th anniversary reissues of legendary albums Living In Clip and Little Plastic Castles which we dive into in this talk. Ani is more than a songwriter and singer of course. Call her an activist, author, and free-spirited feminist folk leader - who recently released her lushly orchestrated twenty-second album: Revolutionary Love. Many things have been said about the music Ani DiFranco has created for the last thirty years since she burst on the scene with her fiery self-titled LP in 1990. With her shaved head on the cover, fearlessly bisexual love songs, dexterous guitar work and hold-no-prisoners lyrics sparing no one from her poetic magnifying glass, DiFranco’s persona became almost synonymous with a rejuvenated women’s movement that blossomed in the late-1990’s Lilith Fair moment. And yet she was always a bit more committed to the cause than some of her more pop-leaning contemporaries, who faded away as soon as their hits subsided. Framing herself somewhere between the rebellious folk-singing teacher Pete Seeger and the gender-fluid show-stopping rock spirit in Prince, (who she recorded with after he became a fan,) DiFranco was always just as passionate about raising awareness for abortion rights, ensuring safety for gay and trans youth and bringing music to prisons, as she was promoting her latest musical experiment. She began playing publicly around age ten, and as a nineteen-year-old runaway from Buffalo, NY, she started her own label, Righteous Babe Records, that allowed her to operate free of corporate (and overwhelmingly male) oversight. Indeed, despite gaining a wide international fanbase she has released every album herself since the beginning — as well as championing genre-defying songwriters like Andrew Bird, Anaïs Mitchell, Utah Philips, and others. It was DiFranco’s encouragement that helped Mitchell’s opus Hadestown become a Tony-winning Broadway smash. DiFranco may have been deemed a bit too left-of-center for pop radio, but her beloved 1997 live record Living In Clip went gold. Let’s get something out of the way real quick: was this male podcast host initially a bit intimidated to dive into her encyclopedic album collection after admiring her work from afar and believing the songs were not meant for his ears? Indeed. I grew up with girlfriends and fellow musicians who rocked Ani’s Righteous Babe pins and patches on their jean jackets like they were religious ornaments. What I found during this mind-bending conversation, and after listening to her polished and mystical newest record especially, was that DiFranco has never tried to push away people that don’t look or talk like her — or tried to mock or belittle conservative movements she doesn’t agree with or understand. There is a deep kindness and empathy in her songwriting that I never expected and in her 2019 autobiography, No Walls And The Recurring Dream, she acknowledges how lonely and exhausting it can be trying to fight against a societal tide that doesn’t want to stop and give you space to be who you are. What became increasingly clear during our conversation was that DiFranco wants to make music for everyone. She prides herself on her quirky, multi-generational fanbase — with grandparents and kids, dads and sons, daughters and aunties alike singing along to favorites like “Both Hands,” “Untouchable Face,” and covers like Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” at packed shows across three continents.

We are in the most anxious time in human history - yet how do we still create compelling, joyful art and be a sane human being at the same time? We're back with the second part of our talk with rising singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza who is celebrating the release of her striking new LP Hold That Spirit. We talk about her mother’s trying immigrant story told through her song “Change Your Name” and trying to forget all your internal and external haters in “Joy Revolution” and best of all - we feature an exclusive acoustic performance of her track “Garden” which has not left this podcasters head for the last month straight.

Raye is about to have the craziest year of her life. Not only did she just get cast playing an iconic indigenous character in the national tour of a reimagined Peter Pan (Broadway bound?) but is also taking off from her Long Beach, CA home on her first headlining tour supporting her new LP Hold That Spirit. In this first chapter of our conversation, I was able to catch up with Raye before she hit the road to talk about her unique childhood in New York City - where her dad was also on Broadway, her struggles with body acceptance and overcoming toxic relationships, processing trauma in her records, and how her ancestors spoke to her through emotional new songs like “Still Here”.

What if you started a band with your best friend in high school - and the first song you put out went straight to the top of the charts? Sure, the journey singer/guitarist Clemons Rehbein and drummer/bassist Philipp Dausch have been on after meeting up in Kassel Germany isn't that simple...but it is remarkable that a decade after "Stolen Dance" and the blockbuster album behind it Sadnecessary changed their lives - their friendship and deeply-intiuative sonic connection have never been stronger. I was able to call into their tour bus to talk about their humble start to headlining Red Rocks and touring four continents behind their lush new record Living In A Haze. More than ever, the new LP mixes their roving love of jazz, electronic dance music, reggae and folk forms into a sound that is wholly their own. Standout international collabs with Charlotte Cardin (Quebec) and Fatoumata Diawara (Mali) create a gorgeous aural tapestry that is still danceable but shares more raw emotion than previous releases. Both Clemons and Philipp are dads now, so a three month tour is a big family affair - with their band, there are seven kiddos on the bus. Throughout our talk, it was stirring to hear how they've kept the creative fires burning while balancing new pressures like family and relative fame while keeping their own ever-evolving friendship growing. Also, they let us know exactly what a "disco boy" is...and why dancing the night away is still the best medicine if you're feeling lost.

How does a hit song stay beloved thirty years later? Sure, Smash Mouth's oddball blend of vintage rock, ska and unabashed 90s pop isn't for everyone - but they've weathered a generation of changing tastes and tens of thousands still go nuts every time they show up at a festival or concert anywhere in the world. Trust me, if you sang "All Star" anywhere on earth, people would be singing along, whether you dig it or not. There's just something special there. In the second part of my backyard conversation with Zach Goode, the new frontman of Smash Mouth - we dive into his long journey playing in groups that inspired many early 90s hard rock luminaries but never quite rose to the top, and making the most of this strange and life-changing opportunity to be in the spotlight at last - and the tough sacrifices in his personal life that came from this new fame.

Ok, you know "All Star". But on Part 1 of my chat with new frontman Zach Goode, we learn about how Smash Mouth's underrated ear worm hits like "Walking On The Sun" and radio (and Shrek soundtrack) smash covers like "I'm A Believer" came to be, how the band began in San Jose steeped in the ska world, and Zach's whirlwind journey playing in rock bands in relative obscurity to playing in front of 75,000 hysterical fans in his first gig in Mexico.

We’re back with David Shaw of the New Orleans soul-rockers The Revivalists to dive into what happens after the band really takes off - how being the conductor of a massive machine that plays before thousands every night and is faced with trying to top their radio hit, can mess with your head - if you let it. We dive more into the making of their powerful new LP Pour It Into The Night, how new babies in the band raised the stakes, how they love covering Dr. Dre, and David finally introduces us to each member of the band - and their oddball superpowers.

We dialed into New Orleans to chat with the tireless and talented lead singer- songwriter of beloved soulful rock n’ rollers The Revivalists. We dive into their bold fifth studio LP Pour It Out Into The Night, how their big-hearted hit "Wish I Knew You” changed everything and sent them around the world - and how David went from being a lonesome Ohio transplant laying pipe on a construction crew in a Katrina-ravaged crescent city to sleeping on floors and playing tiny bars across the gulf coast to selling out Red Rocks and creating a loving community that keeps him inspired to keep hitting the road. Make sure to listen to their new AAA radio staple “Kid” which could be David talking to himself in the past - or sending good vibes to his not-yet-here child in the future.

This week, we bring back an old friend of the show, Fort Worth-based trickster singer/multi-instrumentalist Robert Ellis. We last spoke in 2018 while we were were both criss-crossing the Netherlands. Then he was in full character as the Texas Piano Man, jumping across the stage between keyboards and guitars with cheeky ear worms like “Topo Chico” and searing Harry Neilsen-esque ballads like “Fucking Crazy,” whipping appreciative crowds into a frenzy. After a long pandemic hiatus, he’s back without his lion tamer white tux, stripping things way back to bring us an achingly intimate trance-lullaby of a new record called Yesterday’s News. With no jaunty piano to speak of, the new LP uses his tender nylon string guitar and voice as the main storytellers (with upright bass and assorted hand percussion lifting up the songs saturated in delicious tape hiss), diving into the delirium and beauty of being a dad, a husband and an artist who maybe has finally let go of his ravenous ambitions to find a sort of uneasy peace. As a fellow sleep-deprived songwriter dad myself, the quiet rage and bleary-eyed hope in “Close Your Eyes,” about the long nights spent with a newborn, hit very close to home. Ditto the opener “Gene,” which could be seen as both a moonlit conversation with his young son, but also a fantasy talk with his younger self who maybe didn’t have enough encouragement to just be his oddball self and live his truth. How does he put himself to sleep these days, you ask? He listens to old X-Files episodes… in audio form. While many things have changed since our first episode with Robert (he now owns and runs a bar-music-venue-studio and is touring much less) his mischievous streak remains (you’ll hear his cackle of laugh pop the mic many times) making us wonder if the lovely title track to Yesterday’s News is both a clear signal of defeat (the relentless capitalist album cycle push is so last century!) and a quiet reminder that Ellis still has so many sharp stories to tell. And this time, you’ll have to lean in close to hear them. He will be making some appearances at listening rooms and jazz clubs this summer, and I for one am really looking forward to seeing and hearing this new side of Robert’s shapeshifting songwriting in person. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we dive into the revelatory first solo record from rising Louisiana-born roots-soul singer-songwriter Durand Jones. Wait Til I Get Over is years in the making. While nearly giving up on his dream to be a singer several times, Jones was diligently collecting songs about his upbringing living in his father’s trailer in the tiny Mississippi River town of Hillaryville, his grandmother giving him the confidence to sing (and also dragging him to church), escaping broken relationships and infidelity, his yearning for a connection to a higher power, and how betting on the music and himself was a jubilant radical act that just may be finally paying off. The lush strings and almost Broadway-ready power of his voice on the opener “Gerri Marie” harken back to a time when artists like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin were creating cutting edge pop and soul music that could at once get you to hit the streets to protest injustice and woo your new love with total abandon. Most folks may know Jones as one of the co-lead singers with falsetto-master (and drummer) Adam Frazer of the Bloomington, IN-based throwback "sweet soul” group Durand Jones & The Indications, a project he began out of graduate school (he also plays the saxophone) at The University of Indiana. Starting with their hard-hitting 2018 self-titled record and the follow ups American Love Call (2019) and Private Space (2021), they became a coveted national act and AAA radio favorite, with this writer seeing their biggest show yet, last summer at the Hollywood Bowl in LA. You would be forgiven if you thought the club-ready romantic earworm “Witchoo” dropped in 1971 not in the height of the pandemic - but the unrestrained Chaka Khan-esque vibes are hard to deny. As I told Jones, that tune got me through a very hard time. While Jones admits he likes to play a certain version of himself on stage - flamboyant outfits and soaring vocal runs are what keep audiences coming back - at home, he’s a much more introspective character who is a big fan of journaling. It’s the quieter, more vulnerable sides of his story (being queer in the Deep South for one,) and the complicated figures like “Sadie" (not her real name) that he renders in full cinematic detail that point to a powerful solo career ahead if he wants it. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we call into Nashville to speak to one of the preeminent and most prolific singer-songwriters of our time, Courtney Marie Andrews. Born in Arizona, Andrews first started singing at Phoenix-area karaoke bars with her mom before setting out to see the country in Greyhound busses as a teenager, finding a place in bands like Jimmy Eat World with her signature high-aching voice and talent on guitar and piano. Writing in fiery spurts (she mentions on the taping that thirty new songs emerged just last month), Andrews has put out eight records and counting, beginning with 2008’s Urban Myths and culminating in 2022’s lush and cautiously hopeful Loose Future. “These Are The Good Old Days” finds her trying to be present in a world of relentless distraction and hidden pain – and while the chord changes and harmonies harken back to 1950s girl group vibes, there is always a searching, aching energy roiling underneath. If you feel like you missed out seeing touchstone genre-defying singers like Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in their 1970s roots-pop primes, fear not: it can be argued that Andrews is leading the newest wave of honey-voiced performers who just happen to be writing the most honest, heart-stopping work in the expanding Americana universe. Many first heard her with the acclaimed, gorgeously direct Honest Life in 2016 which helped develop her following, especially in Europe, and the mournful and cathartic Old Flowers which earned her a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. We all go through painful breakups and have to learn how to process the fallout. But what Andrews can do with the thorny moments most of us would want to forget, may be her superpower. “I’m not used to feeling good,” Courtney Marie Andrews sings with a weary smile on “Change My Mind” towards the finale of Loose Future. And yet, as she penned many of these timeless tunes in a small cabin on Cape Cod during the height of the lockdowns, sometimes realizing that you can be happy after all is that big first step that can get your future to start opening up. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-show-on-the-road-with-z-lupetin1106/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy