April 8th, 2021
Charlie Marie and I talk RI drinks, RI pizza, RI places... so give a listen to find out her favorite places to hang out, dine, and play shows in The Ocean State
Includes my favorite song by Charlie, which is "Shot In The Dark" from her live-take album Chucktown Takes: Live from St. Philip
// Interview recorded March 5th, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
April 1st, 2021
Charlie Marie shares some insight she learned at music camp while in high school, and what she feels you need to do to be able to give and share with others. She also tells a fun story about what it was like for her growing up in the woods of Burrillville.
I also share a live song of Charlie's recorded at her cd release show at Askew in May of 2019 for her latest self-titled EP. The song is "Countryside" (audio credit: john doherty) and I recommend listening to the lyrics on this one. It's a great song that speaks to the reality of Rhode Island County music. Enjoy!
// Interview recorded March 5th, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
March 26th, 2021
For this episode I got to chat with RI country artist, Charlie Marie, about her new album, Ramble On, which is coming out on May 7th but is available now for pre-order! We talked about the making of this record, how fellow Rhode Islander Tyler-James Kelly of The Silks came to be involved with it. Plus, we discuss her overall songwriting process, how a couple of her recent music videos were made, and her experience playing with Brian McKinnon. We even go all the way back to Charlie's early vocal lessons and some of the first places she's performed.
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded March 5th, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
March 19th, 2021
John Difruscio tells us about how great a certain record & tape store used to be, some of the cool things they do at the bar at Askew, where he hangs out when he's not at the clubs he owns, and reflects back on some of the more memorable shows he's booked throughout his career.
Also included at the end are a couple of live songs from one of my personal favorite bands, Verse, recorded at their 5th Anniversary show at Club Hell back in 2008!! (audio credit: cocolash)
// Interview recorded March 1st, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
March 12th, 2021
John Difruscio shares some advice he's picked up throughout his decades-long career in the music industry, what's needed to have longevity in this business, and with this once again... it's hard to escape the impact that Randy Hein from The Living Room had on our Rhode Island music scene. John also shares a fun story of one of the earliest parties he ever put together!
This episode ends with a piece from The Autocrats set live at Askew back in November of 2019! (Hope this stellar funk band gets back to their weekly shows every Tuesday night once it's safe.)
// Interview recorded March 1st, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
March 5th, 2021
John Difruscio has been a nightclub and concert promoter in Providence since the early 80s. Starting as a radio DJ at Rhode Island College he's gone on to book shows at The Living Room and Confetti. He's also run venues such as Club Hell and Firehouse 13. In our interview we talk about the ups and downs of the music business from his experience and what he has planned in the future for the Askew and Alchemy... two clubs he co-owns with his wife Windsong Hadley.
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded February 15th, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 26th, 2021
Duke Robillard takes us through a bit of the history of Providence's record stores, plus a tip of the hat to the drinks of RI and his experience at The Guild, where he gets his pizza these days, and more about the overall love he has for his home state!
I do have to say that in my opinion this was probably Duke's favorite part of the interview. I'm so happy we got to reminisce about some of this stuff and I hope you enjoy!
Also included is a song from Duke's 2019 album Ear Worms. It's a cover of the Bob Dylan song "I Am A Lonesome Hobo" that features fellow Rhode Island Music Hall Of Famer, Mark Culter.
If you dig it, Ear Worms is available on both CD and blue vinyl on Duke's website!
// Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 19th, 2021
On this bonus episode, Duke Robillard talks about the value of a good music education, what you need as the core motivation to be a person in the arts, and a possible reason why playing guitar came to him so easily that's quite interesting!
Also, as you heard in Episode #29, Duke shared that the first release Roomful Of Blues ever did was a song of his called "Don't You Want To Roll With Me". They put this out as a 7" on their own label Room-Tone Records. It sold quite well and helped to further put the band on the map, so I wanted to share the song for you at the end of the episode. Enjoy
// Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 12th, 2021
Duke Robillard is literally one of the best blues guitarists in the world! (I'm not just saying that... he's got the awards to prove it)
In our interview he takes us back to the first time he heard music, how he taught himself to play guitar, plus the start of his many bands such as Roomful Of Blues and The Pleasure Kings, and all the way up to the records he's working on right now which is about 6 decades later.
Along the way, Duke has left his mark on what's coming close to 100 albums, been nominated for a couple of Grammys, and played with iconic musicians across many different genres including Big Joe Turner, Herb Ellis, Muddy Waters, Jay McShann, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits to name some for you... which we get into as well!
It was an honor to get to speak with Duke about his legendary career and I hope you enjoy the episode. Please make sure to pick up his latest album, "Blues Bash", which is available now as well as his extensive back catalog.
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded January 23rd, 2021 via phone call over Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
February 2nd, 2021
You may know Mike Jencks and Dan Pomfret as the frontmen for Toad and the Stooligans but with their new duo project, Ronald Raygun, they went with a different approach to writing and took a little inspiration from a 90s hip hop mixtape feel with the production. We dive into all of this in our interview, as well as learn more about both of their prolific solo careers.
Ronald Raygun's debut album comes out on all streaming platforms on Feb. 12th!!! You can pre-save it here and make sure to listen til the end of the episode to hear a premiere of their song "Anomaly"
Interlude song order:
// Interview recorded January 22nd, 2021 via Zoom
// Intro music by Cedros
// Hosted by James Toomey //
/// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///
