Now Hear This Entertainment

GRAMMY-nominated and Juno Award-winning producer and composer with a diverse career spanning various genres. He has worked with renowned artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joel, Michael McDonald, Vince Gill, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, B.B. King, Gloria Estefan, Johnny Mathis, Dan Hill, and many more. In celebration of his 60th anniversary as a musician and nearly 50th anniversary in the music industry, he has just released a book titled, “Unplugged: Stories and Secrets from a Life Making Records, Scoring Film, and Working with the Legends of Music,” which is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and, of course, as an audiobook, with him doing the narration. His Disney album work as producer/artist in the children's music realm has reached sales of over three million units and he is Disney's most successful instrumental lullaby album artist. He was the guest on this show on both Episode 412 and 474.

Award-winning singer, songwriter, guitar player who released a new single at the beginning of this month. A song of hers that she released at the end of March is up for GRAMMY Consideration. She is a CMA member and has made multiple appearances at CMA Fest. She is based in Nashville, but earlier this month the Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards honored her with the title of Female Rising Star. She has performed at venues and events nationally and internationally, including a story she has about performing with Carrie Underwood. She has a combined social media following of approximately 100 thousand and her top five songs on Spotify alone have a combined total of approximately 300 thousand streams.

Singer, songwriter, guitar player who has had over 175 of his songs cut with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr., Randy Houser, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and more. He is releasing his first music project as an artist in 20 years, but his songwriting hits include #1 songs by Jon Pardi and by Gary Allan, while also garnering a CMA nomination for Song of the Year with a Randy Houser single. He is based in Nashville where he is signed to Sony Music Publishing. And, he is also the founder of The Back to Back Foundation, a nonprofit established to meet the needs of families in three Kentucky counties, primarily during the holiday season. Next month he will be performing at the FloraBama as part of the 41st annual Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival.

Los Angeles-based engineer, producer, and writer who has worked with top companies such as Atlantic Records, Sony Music, Interscope, and Spotify, as well as household names such as John Mayer and Gwen Stefani. She has done everything from play drums as she approached her teen years to, more recently, giveaways, raffles, seminars/workshops, and live stream reviews, and even sold her sound kits, and offer her services to help set up home studios, and she even offers remote video consultations.

Los Angeles-based writer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, and an RIAA Certified Platinum Producer. He is also one half of a record label called The Undefeated. He wrote & produced Charli D'Amelio’s debut single, “If You Ask Me To,” which landed national commercials and charted on Billboard Airplay and produced Kyle’s RIAA Certified Platinum “To The Moon.” He has produced and written for several hot 100 artists as well as helping run the studio where this interview was recorded. In addition, in early 2018 Gibson recognized his prowess with guitars and selected him as one of its brand ambassadors, as well as signing a deal with Native Instruments as one of their “Artists on the Rise.”

An Emmy Award-winning vocalist and composer and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) affiliated composer and orchestrator who, seven weeks ago, released an album that was recorded live at Abbey Road Studio 2. This new project is up for GRAMMY consideration for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. They have written more than a thousand works together for an enviable client list including BBC, HBO, Audio Network, ITV and Samuel Goldwin, among others. They have scored and composed for documentaries for film and TV, and their music has been used on every major network and streaming company around the globe. They most recently co-authored and mixed the score for Daughter Of The Bride with Academy award winner Marcia Gaye Harden and Aiden Quinn.

This interview was just recorded 13 days ago, and tragically, Brett James is now no longer with us, following a plane crash six days ago – exactly one week after he participated for this episode. He was a GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, guitar player, producer, and publisher who had written an astounding 27 number 1 songs. He had more than 800 of his songs recorded by some of the biggest artists in the world, with his songs having appeared on albums with combined sales of over 110 million copies. He was named ASCAP's country songwriter of the year in 2006 and 2010, and Music Row Magazine’s Songwriter of the Year in 2015. He received more than 40 ASCAP hit song awards in country, pop, Latin and Christian genres. In 2020 he was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. As a producer his credits included Taylor Swift, Jessica Simpson, Danielle Bradberry and Kip Moore. At the time of this interview, he had close to 19 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top five songs alone had combined for more than six million streams, and his official YouTube channel had over a half-a-million combined video views.

A super special edition to celebrate the one thousandth episode hosted of Bruce Wawrzyniak’s podcasting career. In this special release, there are excerpts from all of the shows he has hosted over the years: Now Hear This Entertainment, Catholic Sports Radio, TASCAM Talkback, Capture Your Art, and the PBLA Podcast. Below are links for easy access to go hear any one or more of either the specific interviews featured here or just the podcast(s) in general. It took over eleven-and-a-half years to get to this point, but this is indeed a truly special milestone worth commemorating in this way.

Multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, guitar and bass player. Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn as well as multiple bluegrass artists have brought his original songs to number 1. In addition, he has seen continued songwriting success with songs recorded by such artists as Wynona Judd, Jake Owen, Lee Ann Womack, Dan Seals, Don Williams and many others including three songs recorded on Chris Stapleton’s multi-platinum selling album “Traveller.” One single won the ACM award for “Song of the Year.” The album received the ACM and CMA award for “Album of the Year” as well as a Grammy award for “Country Album of the Year.” As an artist, the International Bluegrass Music Association has awarded him Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Gospel Performance and Recorded Event of the Year multiple times for each category. He’s also been awarded Songwriter of the Year from the association. As a vocalist, he has recorded with various artists including, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Ann Womack, Chris Stapleton, and John Fogerty, among others.

Singer, songwriter, guitar player who has been nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, a Golden Globe, and numerous other awards. Plus, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. She has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Her song “Independence Day,” recorded by Martina McBride, won a CMA Song of the Year award in 1995. As an artist, she even performed at Farm Aid in 1996, got radio airplay on the BBC, and performed three times at Glastonbury. She has over 2.2 million combined video views on her official YouTube channel and on Spotify – where she has over 116 thousand monthly listeners – her top five songs alone have gotten over 14.3 million streams on that platform alone.

Austin, Texas-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, model, actress, and even a painter and photographer! She is finishing up an album project while also navigating a Monday night open mic residency and numerous other initiatives. She is known for her performances with the Guy Forsyth Band, the Hot Nut Riveters, and the Honeysuckle Rage Riders. Among the various projects she’s involved with is the Harmony Sisters, which is a group for females that work within the Austin and surrounding areas music industry. She also serves as Community Leader for an organization called Austin Texas Musicians, consisting of musicians advocating for musicians on city, state, and federal policy and providing education and opportunities to improve their quality of life. She is also putting together Musician Market Days, which starts next month.

A "sampler platter," providing excerpts from 14 of the last hundred episodes of "Now Hear This Entertainment," giving a peak into just some of the many, many highlights from all the great guests who have been interviewed over that span.

Hollywood-based guitar player, award-winning film producer, and one of the founders of the revolutionary new music streaming service that just launched, called Coda Music, which combines full social with music streaming. He has a great story about auditioning for the guitar spot in Ozzy Osbourne’s band and has played countless shows in renowned venues such as Whisky-A-Go-Go, The Roxy, The Troubadour, and The Viper Room. Over the years he has been a prolific session musician and producer, additionally working as a "ghost player" for top charting rock and metal bands, and he has recorded sessions in top L.A. studios.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter who, in June, put out a new music video that was added to CMT Music’s rotation and got featured on their fan-voted 12 Pack Countdown. That same month she not only made her CMA Fest debut but opened for The Band Perry, adding to a growing list of high-profile support slots that includes Brad Paisley, Maddie & Tae, Lonestar, Clint Black, and more. She is working towards a new release and her original music has landed on the likes of Spotify’s New Music Nashville and Apple Music’s Country Risers. She has over 12 million career streams, almost 790 thousand TikTok followers, and she has a combined total of more than 3.4 million video views on her official YouTube channel.

Singer, songwriter, guitar player, and producer. Performing under the artist name Osmunda Music, she just released a new single less than three weeks ago, having put out three new songs since April 25th now, in the leadup to an August 15th EP. Her influences and the music she releases have been described as spanning numerous genres and her original music has been submitted for several GRAMMY nominations. She is also a founding member and the lead singer of the band Space Babies, and in 2010 opened Earthstar Creation Center, a recording studio in Venice, California. More recently, along with two other artists, she established the nonprofit Pandion Music Foundation in 2022, to help independent music creators further their careers with free weekly online music industry workshops and a monthly newsletter.

Percussionist, composer, producer and Grammy Award-winning artist, multiple Grammy nominee, and the founder of the indie rock band Run Downhill, whose newest album just came out last Friday, after they put out two new singles two weeks apart. Not only has he performed alongside the likes of Pete Townshend, Billy Idol, and numerous other notable names in music, but he has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals of traditional and contemporary music worldwide. When he’s not touring, recording, or performing live onstage, he conducts masterclasses, creates online performance video works, and his original compositions continue to gather international acclaim. He even presented classes and workshops to students worldwide and has developed musical curriculum concepts for school-age children for use in the United States and China.

L.A.-based alternative pop singer songwriter who just released a music video for her single that came out last December. She has close to 70 thousand followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, and her top five songs on Spotify alone have gotten more than 180 thousand streams. Originally from Minneapolis, where she recorded and released four albums, since moving to Los Angeles seven years ago she has performed at notable venues on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, the Whisky-A-Go-Go and The Rainbow. She is signed to Borderline Music and has more projects in the works, which she talks about during this interview.

Singer, songwriter, guitar player currently working towards her next single release. She is one of the busiest performers in this area, having averaged 334 bookings a year over 2021, 2022, and 2023. In the leadup to this interview she had back-to-back weeks of performing six out of seven days. She has performed at notable venues and events from the Hard Rock here in Tampa to The Bitter End in New York City to the House of Blues in Anaheim, California, where she also played at the massive NAMM Show. Plus, she has been featured at songwriters festivals along the way as well. Last September she started a “Songwriter Diaries” vlog series that she has been publishing on her YouTube channel and talks about during this interview. She was a guest on this show way back on Episode 279.

Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, guitar player, filmmaker, and author. He has written over a thousand songs and his first ever album reached best-seller status the first day it was released and reached No. 11 on Amazon's Top 100 list. In his early years, he and a friend performed their original folk rock songs on national TV on the 700 Club and in a CBS documentary. Their music was played on the radio, and they toured for several years. His 2021 film – based on a novel he wrote – made the finalized Oscar list for Best Picture, and five of his original songs were up for Best Song. His latest film has won 15 awards at film festivals and can be seen for free on Amazon. Some years ago, he also hosted a radio talk show.

San Diego area singer, songwriter, guitar player who is going into the studio in Los Angeles this coming weekend to record two new original songs. She performs regularly in southern California and has played at notable venues – such as The Belly Up – and events – such as the big music festival in San Diego called KABOO. She is a voting member of the Recording Academy and recorded multiple full-length albums in Nashville. She has been featured in Guitar Girl Magazine and her top five songs on Spotify alone – including a single that she released late last year – have a combined total of more than 130 thousand streams.