JJ Slater gives listeners the “Silver Key”, a new song cycle album release.

JJ Slater spent ten weeks in Taos NM creating this new batch of songs. He took the opportunity of a Residency at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation where the artists live in an adobe casita working on their craft. The foundation has welcomed visual artists, literary artists and musical composers to Taos since 1954. The results of this stay are a compelling argument for “getting away” from your comfort zone and your day to day routines.

JJ starts the segment off with an in-studio version of “One More Ride” which happens to be the first song composed for this collection. The album is a new approach by Slater to create a narrative song cycle rather than distinct songs. The songs are playful and catchy yet a soft and smoky vibe dominates throughout. That vibe is established in the first album cut which we hear in the segment called “In the Cool Salida Breeze”. The song chronicles the themes that the song cycle ties together. The fictional character leaves home and heads to a Colorado motel and undergoes a creative awakening. As the narrative progresses, the musical mood changes over the nine tracks. JJ Slater has chosen the “motel metaphor” partly because of his experience as a touring musician. The motel has different occupants with different story lines every night. His characters throughout use the hotel as a recurring vacation destination or a place of refuge or even a short term living space.

The resulting songs from the Taos retreat were recorded in part through a Mass Cultural Council grant in 2023. The album was recorded in Northampton at SideTrack Studios with JJ Slater on vocals and guitar. He is joined by Dan Bisson on bass and Kevin Mason on drums with additional contributions from Tobey Sol La Roche and Lexi Weege.

We finish the segment with “The Time is Finally Right” which coincidentally concludes ‘The Silver Key’.

JJ Slater is also a member of Signature Dish with his partner Lexi Weege. They tour widely throughout the US and are releasing new songs under that duo. JJ is currently writing a new song cycle album, some of which may be heard at live gigs. JJ Slater and Lexi Weege as Signature Dish will be playing on May 9 at Easthampton’s New City Brewery. The event will be a fundraiser for touring transportation!

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Dear Ella preview their upcoming IMA show on 3/29 with an In-Studio NineVoltHeart visit.

The harmony-driven trio, Dear Ella, joined me on NineVoltHeart to showcase their distinctive sound and to help promote their upcoming show at The Institute for Musical Arts on 3/29 in Goshen,MA. We begin our segment with Mary Witt’s song dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald (“Dear Ella”) that became the project’s namesake. Mary Witt and Annie Patterson have long and varied musical careers which we explored in the segment. Annie Patterson co-created the world renowned song book, “Rise Up Singing” and has led communal singing for decades. She sings with the swingband “Girls From Mars” and sits in with “Big Yellow Taxi” as well. Mary Witt is the longtime bass player, songwriter and singer for The O-Tones. Ann Percival, third member of Dear Ella, could not make the show but has been active in the dance community as a member of “Wild Asparagus”.

I was also fortunate to have Ann Hackler, co-creator of the Institute for Musical Arts along with June Millington, in studio as well. The duo version of Dear Ella sang “Lonesome Valley” followed up by “Swing, Brother, Swing” from Patterson’s ‘Girls From Mars’ project. The conversation covered a lot of topics including Ann Hackler’s story of the IMA’s beginning and their mission of training women and girls in the musical industry! We talk about the women visionaries that Dear Ella are inspired by and the social justice messaging in their repetoire. We hear “Song For Peace” a Witt original and a duet with Jim Henry from the O-Tones’ ‘Groove Duets’ called “The Walk”.

The idea of multi-generational influences in both music and social justice work is explored with Mary’s parents stressing the importance of giving to their community. We also discuss the role of other art forms such as visual art to all the musicians. The segment concludes with The O-Tones’ “No Soap No Hope Blues”, Ella Fitzgerald’s take on “Begin the Beguine”, Dear Ella’s version of “C C Rider”.

IMA.org for information on the 3/29 show in Goshen and the OTones.com for info on Dear Ella.

Max Wareham visits NineVoltHeart to chat about”Daggomit!” and Whately Town Hall show 4/6.

Max Wareham has just released an amazingly self assured “debut” full length, “Doggomit!” and will feature this material at Whately Town Hall on 4/5. Max sat down with me to chat about the recording which highlights an all-star band including Peter Rowan, Chris Eldridge, David Grier, Chris Henry, Laura Orshaw, Mike Bub, and Larry Atamanuik.! Pretty heady company for a debut album! Our conversation touches on Wareham’s beginnings as a jazz guitarist, his discovery of the banjo and his “bluegrass sabbatical” with family member Peter Rowan in California.

We talk about the writing of this batch of songs, Max’s love of bluegrass history, and the book he’s currently working on with Banjo legend Butch Robins. Max talks about bluegrass almost like a team sport and incorporates this theme into his tribute to the Boston Bruins called “The Black & Gold” which is included in the segment. The album includes several bluegrass classics but features mostly Wareham’s original songs and tunes. Peter Rowan sings a few and cowrites as well on “Daggomit!”. We finish our segment with Max’s intro to “Gone, Baby, Gone” which Peter Rowan sings and improvises in the studio. It’s an instant classic in the vein of “Ruben” meets “500 Miles”. First take magic! We finish with “Bar Blues” an instrumental which features all the wonderful players on this most refreshing disc.

Find out about the artist at MaxWareham.com as well as the show at WatermelonWednesdays.com

Nine Volt Heart showcases Louise Coombe’s incredible new work. A conversation about Creativity and “Paris”.

Louise Coombe’s visit to NineVoltHeart was a revelation. Such amazing songs along with really insightful commentary. It is one of my favorite segments. Louise previews four new songs from her not yet released album, “Paris”. We hear “October”, “Maybe California”, “Nameless Lady” and the title cut in our segment. Along the way, Louise talks extensively and insightfully about the nature of creativity, the role of song contests, the value of co-writing (Ray Kennedy to Tom Paxton) and the historical narrative style song.

The “magic” of song-writing is evident in Louise’s art but so is the “work”; some songs having dozens of versions over as long as a decade! It’s clear that she values and respects the craft of songwriting and the songs shine in their stripped-down versions here on the radio. I’m so honored to present them to my listeners in advance of the album’s release. Details of upcoming shows and releases can be found at LouiseCoombe.com

Daring Coyotes visits NineVoltHeart!

David Clark Carroll’s musical project is known as Daring Coyotes. David is a well known and respected mandolin player in our area. A regular at jam sessions as well as open mics in the Valley, this in-studio session explains why. He is a well spoken advocate for bluegrass music as well as great guitarist too.

Our session includes four live songs; two on mandolin and two on guitar. We begin with a live mando tune called “Cider Donuts’ originally released on his “Apple Cider Sessions” album. Our conversation follows chronologically from his early days in the Boston area playing in punk bands through his discovery of the masters of acoustic music; Doc Watson, David Grisman and Sam Bush. David moved to California for his early formative years in acoustic and bluegrass. He eventually was the center of a major jam session scene in Nevada County, CA. He became the regional director of the well respected California Bluegrass Association. While a variety of concerns brought him back East, we’re lucky he’s continued to play and write music. We hear two cuts from his Cider LP called “Manham Mesmerizer” and “Nice Day”. Live cuts included two new songs “All We Can Do” and “Fading Memories” which include David on his Martin guitar and singing. We finish with a fabulous mando original “Sanderson Breakdown”.

All throughout David advocates for playing this music live among peers. We discuss the various jam sessions happening in the area including one he leads himself; CitySide Bluegrass Jam held the first Saturday of the month in Easthampton. Info on Daring Coyotes can be found at DaringCoyotes.com

Heather Maloney releases “Exploding Star” and sells out three local shows! NineVoltHeart interview.

Heather Maloney joined me for an in-depth discussion of her carreer and her latest album, “Exploding Star”; the local writer’s ninth release. She has two sold out shows at the Iron Horse on Feb 7&8th to begin a full tour featuring her most personal album yet. We begin and end the interview with the capstones of her album; “Labyrinth in the Weeds” and “Leave It To Them”. In between, our conversation touches on many topics including making Western Massachusetts her home base, her song writing approach to this new material as well as her visual artistry (creating linocuts for each song). We chat about the incredibly difficult chapter of losing her Dad to Parkinsons in 2021. She went to her childhood home to find it vacant of residents but not of ghosts and nostalgia among many emotions. Two of her new songs ended up being recorded at the home; literally using the walls and floors percussively! We chatted about the intensity of this formative experience to the process. The results are astoundingly touching, emotionally complicated and starkly beautiful! Heather talks about lessons she learned about grief and loss among these songs which weren’t originally scheduled for an album release at all. They were simply a creative artist working through issues. We are collectively glad that she reconsidered that decision.

Check out more about the album, the tour and all things Heather at HeatherMaloney.com

High Tea and Wallace Field preview their Iron Horse show 1/31; In studio on NineVoltHeart

I had the pleasure to host two fine young bands on the show in advance of their Iron Horse Music Hall show on January 31. High Tea (Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot) along with Wallace Field entertained us with conversation and song for the hour. We heard four live in-studio songs (most of which were new and unreleased) from the pair of indy-folk Valley favorites. High Tea performed “Whole Lotta Lovin'” and “Paper Mache” while Wallace performed “The Common” and “Lighthouse Man’. We also played “The Tale of Billy and the Void” and “Tender Heart Attack” from High Tea’s recordings. We also heard “Stranger” from Wallace Field’s latest record.

Both bands are clearly excited about their Iron Horse premieres having both sold-out Parlor Room gigs in the past. They will be welcoming full band versions of these songs at the Iron Horse. We chatted about each of their musical journeys and their song-writing styles. We also discussed our Connecticut Valley music scene and it’s viability along with it’s emphasis on collaboration and community building. Both bands have new material they’re working on with upcoming recording sessions scheduled. High Tea is also touring this month with Heather Maloney as part of her band (also playing the Iron Horse Feb 7&8)

Info on the bands can be found at WallaceField Music.com and HighTeaBand.com

Info on the venue and tickets can be found at IronHorse.org

The Secret Chord channels Leonard Cohen on NineVoltHeart.

Three members of The Secret Chord joined me in-studio in advance of their local show in Amherst Massachusetts on Feb 7. Gordon Kramer, Ruth Critcher and Jody Spitz performed four Leonard Cohen songs and discussed his music and influence during our lively discussion. In concert, the trio are usually joined by Ray Gregonis (bass), Jess Sproule (keys), and Patrick Kelley (drums). Their local show will be help at the Cherry Hill Cohousing Commons at 120 Pilpit Hill Road in North Amherst. Doors at 6:30 for their 7:00 concert.

Leonard Cohen had a long and interesting musical career from poet/songwriter to the leader of a large choir/ensemble. He wrote three novels, thirteen books of poetry and released fifteen albums of his own original music during a fifty year span. He started later than some at age thirty-two (debuting at Newport!) and had his career derailed by difficult producer Phil Spector, a stint on a Greek island, five years in a zen monastery in California, as well as having his manager embezzle all his earnings and his sell copywritten songs! Despite these setbacks, Cohen perservered and became a beloved artist to many culminating in a Canadian Hall of Fame honor and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The Secret Chord has learned dozens of Cohen’s songs and performed “The Window”, “First We Take Manhattan”,”If It Be Your Will” and “Tower Of Song”. Along the way we heard Cohen recite Joni Mitchell’s “The Jungle Line” with Herbie Hancock on piano.

Our discussion entails several other musical projects from our members beyond Cohen’s music as well as a discussion of Leonard’s spiritual messages and musical impact. Give the segment a listen and head to Amherst on February 7 to hear the full band treatment of this amazing catalog of songs. More info on the band can be found at The Secret Chord.band

Eric Phelps talks songwriting and upcoming show; Luthiers on 1/25.

Eric Phelps works hard at his craft. He visited NineVoltHeart to play a handful of new songs that will be premiered at Luthiers in Easthampton on 1/25. We start with one of the fifty-five “new’ songs he’s written this year called “Never Had a Doubt in You”. We talk about the song writing process, his sources of inspiration as well as the impact workshops have had on his craft. Eric released an exceptional batch of songs in 2022 called “Let It Rain”. Since then he’s released a batch of singles and we heard both “Glad That I’m with You” and “Letter To Myself”. We also got another premiere live in-studio with “That’s Why They Call it a Crush”. We talk about his stellar band which performed on “Let It Rain” most of whom will join him on January 25. That show is free to the public! We finish our segment with “Unchanged” a rocking song from “Rain” to finish an excellent discussion on songwriting with the songs to prove that Eric is a real master craftsman.

Stephen Kellogg previews his Shea Theater all-request show on Nine Volt Heart.

Stephen Kellogg appears for the first time at Turners Fall’s Shea Theater on December 19. He was kind enough to join me on NineVoltHeart to talk about his career and this unique show. We began with his song, “If Anyone is Listening”, from his most recent release “Keep It Up, Kid”. Our conversation touched on a wide variety of topics including his early start in our Valley at both U Mass and as an intern at the Iron Horse Music Hall. We talked about his ability to learn from these early experiences and see the ecosystem of music as a possible career. We also touched on the importance of his family life (he has four daughters!) and how he’s been able to create a better work/life balance over the years.

We also talked about some of his most recent albums which lean towards “concept” albums such as his “South West North East” which was recorded in four different studios across the US with different producers, different bands and different musical vibes! His newest work, “To You, Old Friend”, not yet released features the concept of friendship from different angles.

Stephen Kellogg is not afraid to take calculated risks. He explored Job satisfaction in a TEDX talk, he wrote a book on his perspectives on life and family based on his album, “Objects in The Mirror”. He’s been a stand up comedian, a storyteller in addition to being a musical troubadour. His latest approach will be debuted at the Shea, Stephen is doing an all-request show! Fans write down their favorites and he picks from a hat to determine the setlist. That’s a considerable challenge considering his 17 album catalog plus random requests for covers? Should make for a fun night for his fans (and Kellogg, I hope).

We finish the segment with the song Kellogg had finished his shows with….”See You Later, See You Soon”.

Tickets and information at Sheatheater.com or Stephen Kellogg.com

December 19th, Shea Theater, Turners Falls, MA