Rex-A-Vision:The Podcast

After a torturous couple years, the show...like the music scene itself...is back! And we aren't gonna waste anytime!  Paul Janeway is the gospel tinged lead singer of the southern Gothic soul funk band St. Paul & The Broken Bones, stops in for an extended chat about the band's epic fourth album The Alien Coast! It's a fun look into a dark psychedelic direction that sees the band stretching to new, incredible dynamics.  For the second half of the show we talk with Andrew O'Brien from Live For Live Music about the hard work it takes keeping a music site going in the midst of a world wide music shut down and how happy he is that, once again, the music he lives for is playing!

The living spirit of the music festival world Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon drops by the first episode of season 4 of the podcast to talk about making music in Covid times, living in the bubble, couch fires and more. 

We welcome the esteemed Mayor of moe.down Frank Robbins (Guitar tech for moe. & Hall & Oates) back to the podcast for a little advice on surviving the pandemic lock down, how he's staying productive, what it was like seeing moe. his night off and much much more! We tried to have us a lil fun as we are trapped in our houses scrolling through our NetFlix choices. Dig it!

Our hosts Freekbass & Rex-A-Vision talk about the state of super-hero movies, get hyped for The Batman and the lack of hype for the recent Birds Of Prey flick. They also talk a bit about the realities of the global interruption in the production process and the fun still yet to come. Dig it!

For our "Season 3" debut bassist Ben Kaufmann of Yonder Mountain String Band and I celebrate our tenth interview over the last decade with a wide ranging discussion covering everything from new mandolin player Nick Piccininni, (Formerly of Floodwood) The role of musicians and live music events in politics, the upcoming gathering of stars at the always gorgeous Northwest String Summit and the perils of hundred year old sewage drains. And I say some goofy stuff because that is what I do! So glad to be back!

This week our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision run through the impressive slate of DC films scheduled over the next three years. From Birds Of Prey to Wonder Woman, The Batman, Suicide Squad 2, Black Adam, Shazam 2 and The Flash we'll talk about the excellent live action agenda they have put together, as well as some of their animated offerings. Dig it!

This week our hosts dive deep into the trio of awesome trailers that dropped for Gal Gadot's incredible looking Wonder Woman 1984, Amazon Prime's returning series of super hero scumbaggery The Boys and a creepy looking return for the Ghostbusters franchise with the always likable Paul Rudd! Our resident comic geek Rex-A-Vision breaks down who some of the characters in the WW trailer are, with some predictions on story direction. Freekbass gives well earned props to Todd Phillips and the Joker movie Golden Globes nods. All that and a discussion of whether we are in a golden age of story telling (Spoiler alert: We are!) Dig it!

This week our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision deep dive into the new Marvel Cinematic Universe Scarlett Johansson Black Widow trailer as Rex goes full comic geek to discuss some potential plot points suggested by the characters in the clip, they discuss the Watchmen HBO show's controversial episode from Sunday, laugh at Robert Pattinson's thoughts on whether Batman is a super hero, Henry Cavill's Superman future and more! Dig it!

This week we look at the launch of Disney+, the new Star Wars universe based series The Mandalorian, The Rock announcing the new Black Adam movie and their hopes for that franchise, Henry Caville saying he has more Superman left in him and more!

Today's guest is the inspiring Hilary Gleason! She and the other co-founders of Backline decided to take her sadness from recent tragedies in the music scene and channel it into Backline.cares. Backline is an initiative aimed at helping touring musicians, road crews, tour managers and their respective families deal with the stress of life on the road while dealing with mental health issues. Joined by co-founders Kendall Deflin Corso and Tory Pitarelli she called together an all-star team of music industry workers to act as a brain trust in launching this new initiative. It was my distinct pleasure to talk with her about Backline and I hope you find our chat as inspiring as I did!You can reach Backline at their site, https://backline.care/Please...if you are having trouble dealing with any issues and are fighting despair reach out to them or any of the public health lines like the Suicide Prevention Hotline. You are loved and needed.Call 1-800-273-8255Available 24 hours everyday

This week our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision look at The Batman casting announcements and rumors, the just announced Green Lantern and Adam Strange/Strange Adventures shows on the way on HBO Max, Marvel's ramping up of their movie release schedule, the start of Falcon and Winter Soldier filming, Rex gets grumpy about Martin Scorsese getting grumpy and much much more! Dig it!

Keller Williams is the festival scene's Renaissance man and court jester rolled into one smiling package! As a multi-instrumentalist of the highest order he is equally at home on the guitar, bass, sequencing pedals and the always entertaining "Making horn noises with your mouth" thing. When you factor those skills in with his ability to effortlessly leapfrog from genre to genre Keller Williams is the perfect act to play at any festival. Whether with his funk band More Than A Little, his bluegrass partnership with recent Rex-A-Vision guests Larry & Jenny Keel, his willingness to work with anyone named Andy to occasionally fronting the entirety of the String Cheese Incident Keller Williams is a Swiss Army knife of awesome! On a personal note, Keller is one of the original reasons I fell into the Jam scene and my love for his quirky personality and positive energy knows no bounds! This is, to date, my favorite chat just out of sheer love for the subject! Enjoy! Nov. 2 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Stone Pony (solo) Nov. 4 – Broomfield, CO – 1st Bank Center (Jeff Austin Benefit) Nov. 7 – Edmonds, WA – Edmonds Center for the Arts (solo and PettyGrass ft. the Hillbenders) Nov. 8 – Bremerton, WA – Admiral Theatre (PettyGrass ft. the Hillbenders) Nov. 9 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom (PettyGrass ft. the Hillbenders) Nov. 10 – Bend, OR – Tower Theatre (PettyGrass ft. the Hillbenders) Nov. 14 – Pawtucket, RI – The Met (solo) Nov. 15 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom (solo) Nov. 16 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club (solo) Nov. 22 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf (solo) Nov. 23 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre (Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass) Nov. 29 – Richmond, VA – The National (Thanksforgrassgiving ft. Keller & the Keels) Nov. 30 – Washington, DC – The Hamilton (Thanksforgrassgiving ft. Keller & the Keels) Dec. 5 – Brevard, NC – 185 King Street (Keller Williams Trio ft. Jeff Sipe and Gibb Droll) Dec. 6 – Carrboro, NC – The Arts Center (solo) Dec. 7 – Lynchburg, VA – Joy & Lynch Christian Warehouse Theatre (solo) Dec. 13 – Keystone, CO – Warren Station (“rock it” w/Keith Moseley, Gibb Droll & Jeff Sipe) Dec. 14 – Keystone, CO – Warren Station (“funk it” w/More Than A Little) Dec. 17 – Savannah, GA – Southbound Brewing (solo) Dec. 28 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West (solo) Dec. 30 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House (Keller & the Keels) Dec. 30 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House (Grateful Grass)  

On today's episode our hots Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision talk about The Batman castings, Kevin Feige taking over the world and Joker box office! There's some fun theories and lil nugs of info sprinkled throughout along with the usual geek love! Dig it!

Larry & Jenny Keel have been on my guest wish list since before I even started the podcast and this fun and funny episode shows why I knew they would be awesome guests! They're a fiercely talented husband and wife jamgrass team that has left music fans shell shocked for more than a decade and there is no stopping them. Their new album, One, is a truly impressive disc and we have the title track embedded in the episode so you can see why you should buy it right now! Larry is one of the finest flat pickers alive and Jenny literally beams loving energy as she play and it is a true pleasure for them to stop by for a short chat on their way to my home, the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park for a weekend of musical insanity at the Suwannee Roots Revival!

Joker was finally released to a psychotic clown starved audience and our hosts (Especially Freekbass!) couldn't be more excited to go all in with a SPOILER filled review. To help our hosts break down this amazing film the recruited Zaki Hasan, noted film reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle, member of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle and co-host of the exception MovieFilm podcast to give them a lil boost of their bonafides! Joaquin Phoenix  gives an award worthy performance as the fabled title character and that, plus the rest of this challenging, gorgeously shot film, is given a thorough dissection in this excellent new episode! Dig it!

We return from hiatus with a returning guest, Andrew McConathy of The Drunken Hearts, as well as promoter of the awesome Yarmony Music Festival! Since we last spoke with him this years festival kicked all the ass and his band's new record, Wheels Of The City, is all ready to drop on October 18th worldwide on LoHi Records. We even have a track, "Unrest," for you to check out and a really uplifting story in the outro to boot! Dig it!  

This episode ours hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision react to the news the Disney and Sony fixed their Spider-Man sharing issues, the new Birds of Prey trailer that dropped, look at the news and rumors on the upcoming Marvel and DC movies and Rex shares a few thoughts on the series finale of Preacher. Dig it! 

Today Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision go through the casting and plot rumors around the upcoming Matt Reeves directed Robert Pattinson starring Batman movie before going on a deep dive into the Disney + Marvel live action shows like Falcon & The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, She Hulk, Moon Knight and more! Lots of fun theories and hopes for the future of this bold step in the MCU! Dig it!

In this issue our fearless hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision talk some of the Marvel rumors like Robert Downey Jr. maybe not being done as Tony Stark & the Silver Surfer movie, the cast of the James Gunn written and directed Suicide Squad sequel and more before diving into the mess between Disney & Sony over Spider-Man and the social media blow back on the much anticipated Joker film! 

Today we're gonna talk with Dr. Charlie Kautz, a guy who specializes in keeping touring musicians and crew healthy and functional. Playing instruments and lifting gear, combined with all the perils of travel like cramped conditions, poor food choices and the ever present lack of water can wear the body down and make these folks waaaay more subject to stress and injuries so his work is ever so important. We chat about his move and new shingle in Nashville, his best tips for good health and the ever popular question for me..."How did we meet?" Dig it!  

Today's guest, guitar playing living lightning bolt Jon Stickley leads the bluegrass/jazz/rock improvisational band The Jon Stickley Trio along with previous guest and fiddler extraordinaire Lyndsay Pruett and beat master Hunter Deacon through a wild array of songs and styles as they tour the country. We chatted about the power of trios, the definition of flat picking, his love for Suwannee and even manage to slip his band's latest single, Animate Object, into the episode! Dig it!  

Our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision pop of the week long hiatus for a special emergency podcast to discuss the just released epic Joaquin Phoenix Joker trailer! The guys go deep as they breakdown almost every scene, chat about the Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron and the living legend Robert Deniro character reveals from the new clip. Check out the discussion as Freek finally gets the epic trailer he has been dying for and Rex delights in Thomas Wayne finally manning up! Dig it! 

Our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision are back to wrap up their look at The Boys, Amazon Prime's stellar adaptation of the Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson comic series. There's lots of blood and gore and dark takes on superhero mythos to get to but the guys manage to squeeze in a bit of their reaction to the Spider-Man tug of war going on between Disney and Sony for good measure! Dig it!

Tim Carbone approaches everything he does, from playing fiddle & guitar for Railroad Earth and The Contribution to producing records for dozens of bands for dozens of years, with an eye on making sure he always gives his best. I had a fun and wide ranging chat about his producing and playing philosophy, his history, the upcoming LoHi Records releases and his thoughts on the state of the scene! Dig it!

Today our hosts Freekbass & Rex-A-Vision do a deep dive into Amazon Prime's stellar adaptation of Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson's insane comic book series The Boys. From Karl Urban's rock solid performance as Butcher to Anthony Starr's...uhm...starr making turn as Homelander the show features top notch performances from a pitch perfect cast and the most shocking violence from a super hero show ever! They break down the first half of season one and get themselves worked up for the second half and beyond! Dig it!

Thunderous drummer Nikki Glaspie does everything with a bit of funk, a bit of soul and a tremendous amount of AUTHORITY! I chatted with her about the legendary formation of The Nth Power, her gospel roots and the craziest interview I can never share! Dig it!

Anne & Derek Bedarf are a husband and wife team working to make the festival world a cleaner, greener place for us all! Partnering with festivals like FloydFest and events across the country they lead work shops on recycling, reducing and reusing, help with carbon footprint reduction strategies and generally try and make us see the world for the precious gift it is! Dig it!

Drew Emmitt is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Leftover Salmon this New Year's Eve with fellow founder Vince Herman, Andy Thorn and company but first he stopped by the show to share his love of playing, his thoughts on turning thirty again, our late friend Jeff Austin and much more. It was my pleasure to have this legit music legend and I'm so excited to share this episode with you fine folks! Dig it!

Returning guest Jeffrey Dupuis is a noted music photographer, Medication Assisted Recovery Center administrator and stellar citizen of the city of New Orleans! Super happy to welcome him back to the show to talk about his new travel based counseling program and the work he does helping folks face their fears and break their terrible cycles. I personally love this guy and I know for a fact you folks will too! Dig it!

Our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision have a special treat for everyone today in the form of our most excellent guest, singer Sammi Garett of The Bump Assembly! The trio talk comic book movies like the X-Men films, finding similarities in mutant powers and artistic talent, Joaquin Phoenix and the upcoming Joker film and their amazing rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" last night for the home town Cincinnati Reds baseball game! Enjoy!

Brett Bass and Melted Plectrum pop by (Well...just Brett) to talk about all things bluegrass, his decision to refocus his musical identity after years as the driving creative force behind beloved Spirit of the Suwannee regulars Grandpa's Cough Medicine and his stellar new  album Lost In The Fog. His guitar picking is on point, his voice is as emotive as always and on the debut disc for the new band Brett's lyrical sense is truly impressive. I even talked him into sharing the first track in the episode, a song called "There Could Come A Time." Brett's an awesome guy and he always makes magic here in the park! Dig it!

Adam Rugo stops by today to talk about his work as a music therapist and the joy it gives him and others. Music can heal as easily as it can elevate and this was one of my favorite chats yet for the series.

Our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision dissect Marvel's stunning San Diego Comicon announcements of 11 different Movie and TV projects set in the blockbuster Cinematic Universe the company has created. Loki, Thor, The Eternals, Dr.Strange, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, the Scarlet Witch & Vision, Shang Chi, What if? and more all get a lil insight and the anticipation starts to build! Marvel can apparently do no wrong and this slate of projects is stunning in it's breadth and ambition! Dig it!

Violinist Bridget Law of Elephant Revival and The Tierro Band  wrings almost infinite emotion and energy out of her instrument while holding an almost impossibly sublime expression. Law's mastery of the dichotomy of lush fills and fiery bursts has a near hypnotic effect on anyone within earshot. The music she and her Elephant Revival bandmates created has become a touchstone in the lives of so many of their fans including me. Super delighted to have her on to touch on the past, present and the world yet to come! Dig it! 

Multi-talented songbird Jennifer Hartswick has a voice so powerful and full of passion that when she sings it is impossible to not be moved to your very core. Though her work on vocals and trumpet from Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio's eponymous band and his newest side project, Ghosts Of The Forest, are where a lot of folks first encounter her she has put out an amazing body of work with her own band, her partner in crime Nick Cassarino (The Nth Power)and superjams and one off shows galore. She's constantly sought out to provide a slice of soul to more shows and studio gigs than you could possibly imagine she graciously took a lil time out to come join in my lil dog and pony circus, so YAY! Dig it!

Today's guest is the amazingly talented sound engineer Andy Lytle! He's the man who makes the music loud enough for everyone to hear but clean enough for the magic to come through loud and clear! He serves as the sound wizard for the mighty Billy Strings (Who we have had on ze show!) and picks up festival gigs at the Spirit Of The Suwannee whenever he can. Beyond all that he helps put on the Orange Blossom Jamboree Festival in Florida and sports some seriously cool hair! A regular Renaissance man! Dig it!

This week our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision take a look at the seemingly infinite rumors swirling around the superhero movie scene leading up to the San Diego Comicon. They touch on The Eternals, Joker and Batman features, geek out on the possibility of Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise signing up and what fun could be coming in Hall H and the big presentations! All this and Batman casting news and more! Dig it!

Barnett English, founder of the twice a year Joshua Tree Music Festival in Joshua Tree, California, has worked tirelessly to bring his singular vision of a festival to life. The goal, as Barnett sees it, is to aim for as wide a range of genres and artists as possible with quality as the main deciding factor. While you will see festival stalwarts such as the North Mississippi All-Stars and Dumpstaphunk you will also be exposed to band from around the world. Afrobeat flows into aboriginal folks into Americana into straight old fashioned rock and roll and around again. I got to talk to him about the history of what he is building, the method to his madness and his thoughts on the future. Dig it!

SPOILER ALERTz! Spider-man: Far From Home came out Tuesday and our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision go for a deep, DEEP dive into every aspect of the closing chapter in the first ten year story cycle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From Tom Holland's pitch perfect performance as Spidey to Jake Gyllenhaal's maniacal Mysterio, Samuel L. Jackson's latest turn as Nick Fury and more. They discus their love of the film, where it places in the ranks of the Spider-man film pantheon and where it looks like Marvel is heading in the future thanks to the post credit scenes! Dig it!

Today's guest, Pete Mason, is the kind of music fan the world needs more of, honestly. His dedication and service to the music scene can be seen in so many different ways from his work with the NYS Music website to his signature creation, PhanArt.  Through PhanArt Mason works to celebrate the immense, thriving community of artists who celebrate the music of Phish with their craft and their many varied creations. Pete will be hosting art shows just outside of Fenway Parkduring Phish's upcoming shows on July 5th and 6th with exclusive prints and work by many luminaries in the field and the upcoming cruise which will feature art and live music! Tickets for the cruise can be found HERE.  We chatted about our passions, music journalism, the importance of originality and more! Dig it!

In this pulse pounding issue of The Backstage Supercast our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision delve into a few of the rumors swirling around the upcoming Marvel and DC movies like James Wan's The Trench and James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Spider-Man:Far From Home. Then the guys use the 30th anniversary of the release of Tim Burton's runaway smash 1989 hit Batman to deep dive into that film and the subsequent sequels, even the notorious Batman and Robin! It's fun on a bun! Dig it!

It's been too long since the right Reverend Jeff Mosier stopped by to preachify & testify about the banjo, life and the universe so I'm very pleased to welcome him back. My conversations over the years with Rev. Mosier have always been uplifting and he is the first guest I openly wish could just stay on and co-host each episode. We chat about everything from his great friend, the late Col. Bruce Hampton, his love of the Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park and he even had a bit of a sermon prepared and shared with us on the importance of listening in all facets of life! Hot damn it was cool! Dig it!

Our guest today is keyboardist Todd Stoops! He's a member of RAQ...he knows Kung Fu, Hell...he's even helping resurrect one of the world's greatest composers with Electric Beethoven. Even he isn't sure how many bands he's in. On top of all that he is one of the scene's "Go To" players for any tribute or superjam looking for a badass. We have a fun time going through his history in the scene and his view of the history OF the scene, his newest recordings with the Color Red label and lots more! Dig it!

Today's guest, JamBase editor Scott Bernstein, is one of the leading lights of online music journalism and a true friend to the music scene. More than just a talented writer and critic he is a diehard fan of bands like moe. and his love of Phish goes so deep he started the immensely informative and entertaining YEM Blog. In our fun and free ranging chat we discuss the ins and outs of the 24 hour news cycle and the pressure to get the story out quickly AND accurately, using the recent passing of Dr.John as our object Lessons. We speak on the difficulties in writing for rabid fanbases and even some of the best ways to break into the biz! It's my favorite kind of episode because it's not only informative and fun but it gives me a chance to showcase someone who truly loves the magic world of music and all it entails as much as I do! Dig it!

Founding member of The Werks, drummer Rob Chafin, pops by to talk about "Werkin For a Livin." (Sorry...just had too....) ANYWHOOOO...we had a great chat about life, liberty and the pursuit of jaminess, the band's upcoming signature event THE WERK OUT (Tickets available HERE) and more! Dig it!

This week on The Backstage Supercast our brave hosts Freekbass & Rex-A-Vision discuss the crash and burn fate of the latest X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, and why Fox Studios keeps butchering this beloved tale. Then our heroes sort through a whole host of cool comic movie rumors for films like the Fantastic Four and castings for future Marvel and DC projects, the last few upcoming features like New Mutants, Morbius and more from both companies they didn't make it to last episode. It's the only rock and roll podcast about the comics movie industry and we like it that way! Enjoy!

Jarred Michael Trantham of Lost Sailor Designs is a fourth generation leather artist and on of the tops among the awesome people I know in the art & vending world. His designs have been worn by members of bands like The Disco Biscuits to thousands of folks out in the audience and beyond. His Etsy, Instagram and Facebook page are chock full of stellar images, testimonials from delighted customers and a sense of loving craftsmanship that is readily apparent. If it's a Lost Sailor Design you know it's gonna look cool, last a long ass time and be made by an artist dedicated to their work above all else! It's a fun chat with a good friend and stellar talent! Enjoy!

Guitar wizard and keyboard warrior Luke Miller of the amazing band Lotus stops by for a spirited and fun chat about all things Lotus, his song writing thoughts, their festival headlining slots at Summerdance Music Festival and much more! As an added bonus, he recorded his own side of the conversation and I spent a solid three hours splicing the two together so this will be EASILY the best sounding and most technically complex episode yet. Don't worry though...I still ask silly questions and babble plenty! Dig it!

Singer Josh Hoyer and his band, Soul Colossal, make music that speaks to the very core of human emotions. Between Super Colossal's insanely deep jams and Hoyer's earth moving vocals their shows leave fans shell shocked and ready for more! The band has new music on the way and Color Red Records has a cool new session with the singer they are sharing with the world so the future is pretty damn bright for this stellar artist and his band from Lincoln! Dig it!

This week on The Backstage Supercast our hosts Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision get inspired by the recent confirmation of Robert Pattison's taking on the role of Batman to look at the future of the Marvel & DC cinematic universes. From Harley Quinn to Black Widow and beyond they discuss what they are eager for, where the franchises appear to be headed and even manage to agree on what they both wanna see from the upcoming film announcements! Dig it!(Oh, and click the link in Freekbass's name above to check out his brand new album, ALL THE WAY THIS. ALL THE WAY THAT! You'll be glad you did!)

On today's episode Freekbass and Rex-A-Vision discuss the differing strategies and results of the Marvel approach to making movies as opposed to the path taken DC, before touching on some news of the day such as Robert Pattison casting and the charges filed against the late Stan Lee's manager. Dig it!