Pro Tips for Musicians Podcast

w/ Mary Witt. Mary is a singer and bassist and a long-time band leader of regional faves The O-Tones. We had a great talk about what it means to herd cats, what happens when you give drugs to spiders, and how to speak German. A fun time for sure.

01/21/20 Episode #21 Surprise Guest! by Jim Henry

w/ Guy DeVito. What do you say about a guy who's been everywhere and done everything? Guy brings vast experience to every musical situation which is why he always gets the call. Plus his gig bag has everything you might need for any emergency that might arise.

w/ Peter Lehndorff. Peter is a great songwriter but is also a graphic designer. We have a fun talk about what goes in to putting together a CD package and about some do's and don'ts in terms a of layout. Plus there's a little video that accompanies the podcast. Go to patreon.com/jimhenry to check it out.

w/ Lorne Entress. Lorne is a drummer, producer, engineer, and singer who also plays a variety of different instruments. We talk about his approach to producing and recording. Plus, we do a real time comparison of different types of vocal microphones. I learned a lot. I bet you will too.

w/ Lisa Bastoni. Lisa is the well-deserved 2019 winner of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Songwriting contest. We have a great chat about the specifics of the contest, about her grandmother's guitar, and about performing. Plus we have some great laughs and even shed a few tears.

w/ Kevin Barry. Let's just get this get of the way...I love Kevin Barry. He's my favorite guitar hero, a brother-from-another-mother. and the sweetest guy around. He's such a great player with a deep knowledge of groove and tone with chops to match. We had a fun conversation about lots of stuff and discuss briefly how "C" is a cooperative key.

w/ Craig Eastman. Craig is a multi-instrumentalist who started out in the hill towns of western MA and ended up an A-list session player in LA. He has scored major motion pictures, hung out with Billy Bob Thorton and Johnny Depp, recorded with Ray Charles and Elton John and managed to stop by Rubytone Studio for an interview. Great stories in this episode.

w/ Trevor Healy. A gentle and inventive luthier, Trevor and I explore the ins an outs of all things guitar...repairs, set-ups, frets, humidity, fret board maintenance, bridge pins and general cleaning. If you own a guitar do yourself a favor and give a listen to Trevor. You'll be glad you did.

w/ The Boxcar Lilies. Stephanie Marshall and Jenny Goodspeed know harmony singing. We have a great chat about how to raise the goose bump factor of your song using harmonies. They also unravel some of the harmony's mystery and offer practical advice on how to keep from singing some one else's part.

w/ Doug Plavin and J.J. O'Connell. We talk at length about rhythm and groove and play lots of examples of the various sounds available. This was super fun to record and especially informative. Enjoy!

W/ Jim Olsen. Jim runs a record company, a venue, a festival and a weekly radio show. He's been in the business a long time and shared lots of valuable advice about how to get your music heard. Listen up.

W/ Abbie Gardner. This was a fun show to do. Abbie gets down to the nitty-gritty about practicing, playing in time, and just generally how to be an awesome player.

W/ Susan Cattaneo. A must hear interview with an honest-to-goodness professor of songwriting. Susan breaks down songs, songwriting, and song structure in a way that's easy to understand. I definitely learned a few things.

W/ Cliff Eberhardt. A fun and freewheelin' conversation. We talk about opening act etiquette, movie stars, Donald Trump, Bob Dylan, songwriting, and projectile crying.

W/ Chris Ferrari. Tour manager is arguably the most important role aside from the "star". Sometimes it involves sending people home who aren't up to the task. And sometimes it means finding chocolate cake in the middle of the night.

W/ Don Dixon. Dixon has a lot to say about recording, touring, popular music, beauty queens, and sheet music. He also really, really doesn't like click tracks.

W/ Dave Chalfant. Jim and Dave discuss the difference between a producer and an engineer. Defining the roles, and understanding what's expected from each, helps keep your interactions professional and gets you a better recording in the end.

W/ Brooks Williams. Brooks and Jim discuss how to prepare for the "gig", whether it's the stage, the studio, or the road. Taking care of yourself and the folks who take care of you is the key to longevity in the music business.

W/ Paul Kochanski. A fun conversation in which we discuss several of the pro tips. Paul talks about a code all touring musicians should live by and tells us why bass is how the song goes.

W/ Mark Erelli. In depth conversation about how paying respect to your musical influences makes you a better player and a better person. It has the added benefit of helping your heroes feel good about what they've accomplished. Plus Mark and Jim have a brief "Spinal-Tap-at-Elvis'-Grave" moment trying to sing a Neil Young song.

W/ Tracy Grammer. How every link in the musical chain helps to tell the story.