Podcast appearances and mentions of Patrick F Smith

Celebrate Women's History month with legendary folk artist Judy Collins and singer-songwriter Dawn Landes, who is releasing a reimagining of "The Liberated Women's Songbook from 1971" later this month. Plus, author and former North Dakota oil worker Micahel Patrick F. Smith reads from his New York Times Op-Ed, an appreciation of the late Toby Keith and shares an original song. And Tom performs a new tune inspired by the Magic City. — The Great American Folk Show is written, recorded, and hosted by folksinger and songwriter Tom Brosseau and produced by Erik Deatherage at Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, North Dakota. Podcast artwork design by DLT. Find Prairie Public (@prairiepublic) and The Great American Folk Show (@greatamericanfolkshow) on Facebook and Instagram.

It's been a little more than since my next guest first joined me on For Songs. Michael Patrick F. Smith and I go way back. Way way back. To elementary school, middle school, high school, and even church. Michael returns to the show for the first time since January 2021, a few weeks before his book The Good Hand was published. The Good Hand (https://www.thegoodhand.org/) is a blistering read, telling the tale of his journey to North Dakota at the height of the shale-gas revolution that turned parts of the state into a latter-day gold rush. With the paperback version having just been released, Michael joined me to discuss a new song called Restless Companion. Restless Companion was one of a few new songs accompanying the audiobook of The Good Hand. It is a breezy tune that would fit right at home on Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne, or Son Volt's Trace. The song itself is an ode to The Good Hand and all the literal blood, sweat, and tears that went into it. So sit down, grab a beer, and welcome back Michael Patrick F. Smith to For Songs.

The boys checked in on another Friday night to recap Nate's first pandemic vacation, the experience of bar-going in this current era of guarded optimism, and the "Sunday Morning Coming Down" vintage photography of Patrick F. Smith. Go read The Oregonian article highlighting Patrick's rediscovered work from the 1970s or join his Facebook group "Through My Portland Lens." PLUS, Alfredo is fired up after finally watching the movie Cocktail from start to finish! Go watch it yourself for free on Amazon Prime before the end of the month because our next episode will be a special "HBTG Rewatchable" breaking down this venerable '80s ode to flair bartending and toxic masculinity! Through My Portland Lens Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760291797474818/ Oregon Live's Article about Patrick F. Smith: https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2021/03/rediscovered-images-of-1970s-old-town-capture-long-gone-era-in-portland-power-photographers-social-media-fandom.html  

The nature of work in America has changed. Good paying jobs in the manufacturing sector have been diluted, the service sector has exploded, and the gig economy is not just about Uber and Postmates. Today, even hard, brutal work in the oil fields has been gigafide. For the men caught up in this change the price is high, but so are the lessons and yes, even the rewards. Michael Patrick F. Smith is a folk singer and playwright who made the dramatic move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to the booming oil fields of Williston North Dakota in order to participate in what he thought would be a modern day gold rush. What he learned tells us a lot about work, men, and America today. He writes about it in The Good Hand: A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown      My conversation with Michael Patrick F. Smith:

Michael Patrick F. Smith is a musician, playwright, former oilfield hand, and author of a new memoir documenting his experience in the North Dakota oil patch. He and Braver Angels host Alma Cook—a fellow musician with experience in the same oil patch Michael writes about in his book—traded stories about life in North Dakota and chatted about the global petroleum dependency, the dignity of blue collar trades, and music's role in the political space.  Read Michael's front-page New York Times feature, "The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem,” here. Learn more about Michael's music, writing, and more: www.thegoodhand.org Twitter: @braverangels, @MPFSmith, @HearAlma

In this episode of Watching America, Dr. Alan Campbell talks with Michael Patrick Smith, a musician, playwright, and author of The Good Hand: A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown. Kirkus reviews calls Smith’s debut “a white-hot, fiercely argued case for working rural people in the face of their economically brutal lives.” After working countless “in-between” jobs as a stage actor, bartender, junk-hauler, waiter, security guard, legal assistant, and more, Michael Patrick Smith chose to pick up the role of an oil-field hand in Williamston, North Dakota. He had one main goal – to get his share of the oil boom’s money. He recorded his trip in a notebook, lived and worked side-by-side with an array of hard-working individuals from all corners of life, and came back with new-found reverence and insight of what it meant to be a “good hand.” Hear Smith recount what drove him out to the oil fields of North Dakota, who he met, what he learned, and what he carries with him today.

Eddie is quarantined in his bunker, and he is bringing you with him! Today's guest: MICHAEL PATRICK F. SMITH! You can catch the bunker LIVE on Instagram with @EddiePep every Tuesday at 4:00 PST! Audio comes out the following morning. Keep this going and DONATE to Eddie: https://ko-fi.com/eddiepepitone See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode Matt Crawford speaks with author Michael Patrick F. Smith about his memoir The Good Hand. This is Michael's story which centers around him heading out west to North Dakota during the oil boom, searching for work. While Michael describes that search and the work that follows he also opens a door to his past and shares the most intimate of memories with us. A book about searching, loss, friendship and honesty this is a book that all can relate to.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - For a lot of people, North Dakota’s last oil boom became a beckoning call of the wild. Mostly men from around the country, even the world, flocked to The Bakken to make fast money from the mineral-rich earth. But our guest today was seeking something more. Singer-songwriter, playwright and author Michael Patrick F. Smith is out with his debut book today, on Penguin Random House. It’s called “The Good Hand: a Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown.” Prairie Public's Erik Deatherage, who knows the author from their days in Maryland, hosts this conversation.

Have you noticed how petroleum products are everywhere you look? Our everyday lives are completely enmeshed , from our modes of transportation to the aspirin we take to alleviate our headaches.   In this opinion piece printed on February 5, 2021 in the New York Times, Michael Patrick F. Smith uses his first hand knowledge as an oil rig swamper to illustrate how pervasive our oil addiction is, why our dependence will not disappear soon and  and suggest  ways we can better support the men and women in the oil industry as we make the transition away from fossil fuels. *Read with permission of author*

Have you noticed how petroleum products are everywhere you look? Our everyday lives are completely enmeshed , from our modes of transportation to the aspirin we take to alleviate our headaches.   In this opinion piece printed on February 5, 2021 in the New York Times, Michael Patrick F. Smith uses his first hand knowledge as an oil rig swamper to illustrate how pervasive our oil addiction is, why our dependence will not disappear soon and  and suggest  ways we can better support the men and women in the oil industry as we make the transition away from fossil fuels. *Read with permission of author*

Lots of really bad things have come about because of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one good thing is catching up with friends you haven't seen or heard from in decades. In this episode of For Songs, I speak with singer/songwriter/playwright/author Michael Patrick F. Smith. Michael and I went to elementary school together in the small town of Ijamsville, Md. Not a streetlight or traffic light when we grew up there, but it was home. We went our separate ways after high school--he ventured out to Baltimore and eventually New York to write music and much more. He's shared the stage with legends like Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Paleface. Michael is a true renaissance man, as his first book comes out next month about his time in the oil/gas fields of North Dakota. In this episode, we talk about four songs from his most recent album The Great Away, available on Spotify. Listen in as we catch up, chat about life, music, and much more! You can find out more about Michael here: www.thegoodhand.org!