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In between seasons, Kirk re-ran a bunch of old episodes and prefaced each one with a new music recommendation. He's taking those down recasts in preparation for season seven, but it seemed like a good idea to put all the music recommendations in one place. So that's what this episode is!DISCUSSED AND RECOMMENDED:"The Meadow" by Nickel Creek from Celebrants, 2023"Chip Monkey" by Kick the Cat from Weirdo, 2002"Fade to Black" by Howard Levy and Chris Siebold from Art + Adrenaline, 2018"Disco Snails" and "Hit the Target" by Vulfmon and Theo Katz from Dot, 2024Various tracks from Delicious in Dungeon, composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and Shunsuke Tsuchiya"Party" by Ryokushoku Shakai from Party! EP, 2024Sumika - "Unmei" from Unmei EP, 2024"Duck Ankles" by David Sanborn from Taking Off, 1975"Young Americans' by David Bowie (feat. Sanborn) from Young Americans, 1975"The Night Owl" by Anat Cohen from Quartetinho: Bloom, 2024"Stranded" by Sierra Hull from Weighted Mind, 2016"Samba Party" and "Drop D" by Matteo Mancuso from The Journey, 2023"Nite Crawler" by Larry Carlton from Larry Carlton, 1978----LINKS-----SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!Paypal | Patreon.com/StrongsongsMERCH STOREstore.strongsongspodcast.comSOCIAL MEDIAInsta: @Kirk_Hamilton | Bluesky: @Kirkhamilton.comNEWSLETTERnewsletter.kirkhamilton.comJOIN THE DISCORDhttps://discord.gg/GCvKqAM8SmSTRONG SONGS PLAYLISTSSpotify | Apple Music | YouTube MusicSHOW ARTTom Deja, Bossman GraphicsJANUARY 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONSElizabeth CulverMeryl AllisonRobyn MetcalfeCesarCorpus FriskyBen BarronCatherine WarnerDamon WhiteJay SwartzRushDaniel Hannon-BarryChristopher MillerJamie WhiteChristopher McConnellDavid MascettiJoe LaskaKen HirshMelanie AndrichJenness GardnerNathaniel BauernfeindPaul DelaneyDave SharpeSami SamhuriJeremy DawsonAccessViolationDave FloreyJANUARY 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONSWiggy HashWhit SidenerJulie KellmanSimon HellmanClaudia CartyDaniGlenn JacksonChristopher Selby SpinkPhilip KellyDaniel NervoKevin StaffordLawrenceSy JacobsirritableIan PiddAndrew HoferJordan GatenbyMelissa KuhnsAshleySeattleTransAndNonbinary ChoralEnsembleKevin MarceloSamantha CoatesJamesMark NadasdiJeffDan CutterJoseph RomeroOl ParkerJohn BerryDanielle KrizClint McElroyMordok's Vape PenInmar GivoniMichael SingerMerv AdrianJoe GalloLauren KnottsDave KolasHenry MindlinMonica St. AngeloStephen WolkwitzRand LeShayMaxeric spMatthew JonesAnthony MentzJames McMurryEthan LaserBrian John PeterChris RemoMatt SchoenthalAaron WilsonDent EarlCarlos LernerMisty HaisfieldAbraham BenrubiLee R.Chris KotarbaCallum WebbLynda MacNeilDick MorganBen SteinGrettir AsmundarsonSean MurphyRandal VegterKaya WoodallRobert Granatdave malloyTim RosenwongAlan MaassNick GallowayHeather Jjohn halpinPeter HardingDavidJohn BaumanMartín SalíasStu BakerSteve MartinoDr Arthur A GrayCarolinaGary PierceMatt BaxterLuigi BocciaE Margaret WartonCharles McGeeCatherine ClauseEthan BaumanKenIsWearingAHatJordan BlockAaron WadeJeff UlmDavid FutterJamieDeebsPortland Eye CareRichard SneddonJanice BerryDoreen CarlsonDavid McDarbyWendy GilchristLisa TurnerPaul WayperMiles FormanBruno GaetaKenneth JungZak RemerRishi SahayJeffrey BeanJason ReitmanAilie FraserRob TsukNATALIE MISTILISJosh SingerAmy Lynn ThornsenAdam WKelli BrockingtonVictoria Yumino caposselaSteve PaquinDavid JoskeBernard KhooRobert HeuerDavid NoahGeraldine ButlerMadeleine MaderJason PrattAbbie BergDoug BelewDermot CrowleyAchint SrivastavaRyan RairighMichael BermanLinda DuffyLiz SegerEoin de BurcaKevin PotterM Shane BordersDallas HockleyJason GerryNell MorseNathan GouwensLauren ReayEric PrestemoncbalmainAngela LivingstoneDiane HughesMichael CasnerLowell MeyerStephen TsoneffJoshua HillGeoff GoldenPascal RuegerRandy SouzaClare HolbertonDiane TurnerTom ColemanDhu WikMelmaniacEric HelmJonathan DanielsCaro FieldNaomi WatsonDavidAlexanderChris KGavin DoigSam FennTanner MortonAJ SchusterJennifer BushDavid StroudBrad CallahanAmanda FurlottiAndrew BakerAndrew FairL.B. MorseBill ThorntonBrian AmoebasBrett DouvilleJeffrey OlsonMatt BetzelNate from KalamazooMelanie StiversRichard TollerAlexander PolsonJustin McElroyArjun SharmaJames JohnsonKevin MorrellColin Hodo
It takes an extremely strong song to top the charts three separate times in three separate decades, but "I Will Always Love You" is just such a song.Written and recorded (twice) by Dolly Parton and then re-recorded in show-stopping fashion by Whitney Houston, the ballad has morphed from a fond farewell to a former mentor, to a theatrical goodbye to a lover, to a soaring ode to the very notions of love and loss. We follow that journey from the beginning, with all the vocal tricks, dramatic line-readings, and epic key changes that were added along the way.Band/Artist: Dolly Parton & Whitney HoustonAlbums: Jolene (1974), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and The Bodyguard soundtrack (1992)Composed by: Dolly PartonListen/Buy (Jolene): Apple Music | Amazon | SpotifyListen/Buy (TBLWIT): Apple Music | Amazon | SpotifyListen/Buy (The Bodyguard): Apple Music | Amazon | Spotify------ALSO DISCUSSED/FEATURED:The sensational new WNYC podcast Dolly Parton's America"The Last Thing On My Mind" by Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner"Applejack" by Dolly Parton from New Harvest...First Gathering, 1977"Let It Go" from Frozen performed by Idina Menzel------OUTRO SOLOIST: Dan NervoMr. Dan Nervo has the tiller for this episode's outro solo. Dan plays guitar all around the San Francisco Bay Area in bands like Neon Velvet, and also teaches private guitar lessons. Hit him up if you want to get really good at guitar: https://www.facebook.com/DanNervoGuitarLessons/----LINKS-----RECAST RECOMMENDATION: "Stranded" by Sierra Hull from Weighted Mind, 2016SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!Paypal | Patreon.com/StrongsongsMERCH STOREstore.strongsongspodcast.comSOCIAL MEDIAIG: @Kirk_Hamilton | Threads: @Kirk_HamiltonNEWSLETTERnewsletter.kirkhamilton.comJOIN THE DISCORDhttps://discord.gg/GCvKqAM8SmSTRONG SONGS PLAYLISTSSpotify | Apple Music | YouTube MusicSHOW ARTTom Deja, Bossman Graphics--------------------NOVEMBER 2024 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONSElizabeth CulverMeryl AllisonRobyn MetcalfeBrian TempletCesarBob TuckerCorpus FriskyBen BarronCatherine WarnerDamon WhiteKaya WoodallJay SwartzRushDaniel Hannon-BarryChristopher MillerJamie WhiteChristopher McConnellDavid MascettiJoe LaskaKen HirshMelanie AndrichJenness GardnerNathaniel BauernfeindPaul DelaneyDave SharpeSami SamhuriJeremy DawsonAccessViolationDave FloreyNOVEMBER 2024 HALF-NOTE PATRONSKevin StaffordLawrenceSy JacobsirritableIan PiddAndrew HoferJordan GatenbyMelissa KuhnsAshleySeattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral EnsembleKevin MarceloSamantha CoatesJamesMark NadasdiJeffDan CutterJoseph RomeroOl ParkerJohn BerryDanielle KrizClint McElroyMordok's Vape PenInmar GivoniMichael SingerMerv AdrianJoe GalloLauren KnottsDave KolasHenry MindlinMonica St. AngeloStephen WolkwitzSuzanneRand LeShayMaxeric spMatthew JonesThomasAnthony MentzJames McMurryEthan LaserBrian John PeterAaron WilsonDent EarlCarlos LernerMisty HaisfieldAbraham BenrubiLee R.Chris KotarbaCallum WebbLynda MacNeilDick MorganBen SteinSusan GreenGrettir AsmundarsonSean MurphyRandal VegterRobert Granatdave malloyTim RosenwongAlan MaassNick GallowayHeather Jjohn halpinPeter HardingDavidJohn BaumanMartín SalíasStu BakerSteve MartinoDr Arthur A GrayCarolinaGary PierceMatt BaxterLuigi BocciaE Margaret WartonCharles McGeeCatherine ClauseEthan BaumanKenIsWearingAHatJordan BlockAaron WadeJeff UlmDavid FutterJamieDeebsPortland Eye CareRichard SneddonJanice BerryDoreen CarlsonDavid McDarbyWendy GilchristElliot RosenLisa TurnerPaul WayperMiles FormanBruno GaetaKenneth JungZak RemerRishi SahayJeffrey BeanJason ReitmanAilie FraserRob TsukNATALIE MISTILISJosh SingerAmy Lynn ThornsenAdam WKelli BrockingtonVictoria Yumino caposselaSteve PaquinDavid JoskeBernard KhooRobert HeuerDavid NoahGeraldine ButlerMadeleine MaderJason PrattAbbie BergDoug BelewDermot CrowleyAchint SrivastavaRyan RairighMichael BermanLinda DuffyBonnie PrinsenLiz SegerEoin de BurcaKevin PotterM Shane BordersDallas HockleyJason GerryNell MorseNathan GouwensLauren ReayEric PrestemonCookies250Angela LivingstoneDiane HughesMichael CasnerLowell MeyerStephen TsoneffJoshua HillGeoff GoldenPascal RuegerRandy SouzaClare HolbertonDiane TurnerTom ColemanDhu WikMelmaniacEric HelmJonathan DanielsCaro FieldNaomi WatsonDavid CushmanAlexanderChris KGavin DoigSam FennTanner MortonAJ SchusterJennifer BushDavid StroudBrad CallahanAmanda FurlottiAndrew BakerAndrew FairL.B. MorseBill ThorntonBrian AmoebasBrett DouvilleJeffrey OlsonMatt BetzelNate from KalamazooMelanie StiversRichard TollerAlexander PolsonJustin McElroyArjun SharmaJames JohnsonKevin MorrellColin Hodo
In her first 25 years alone, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull hit more milestones than many musicians accomplish in a lifetime. After making her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, the Tennessee-bred virtuoso mandolinist played Carnegie Hall at age 12, then landed a deal with Rounder Records just a year later. Now 28-years-old, Hull is set to deliver her fourth full-length for Rounder: an elegantly inventive and endlessly captivating album called 25 Trips. Revealing her profound warmth as a storyteller, 25 Trips finds Hull shedding light on the beauty and chaos and sometimes sorrow of growing up and getting older. To that end, the album’s title nods to a particularly momentous year of her life, including her marriage to fellow bluegrass musician Justin Moses and the release of her widely acclaimed album Weighted Mind—a Béla Fleck- produced effort nominated for Best Folk Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards.
It's hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn't actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt’s hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn’t actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt’s hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn’t actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt’s hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn’t actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt’s hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn’t actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt’s hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn’t actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt's hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn't actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
by Kim Ruehl (@kimruehl), Folk AlleyIt's hard not to throw around words like “prodigious” when talking about someone like Sierra Hull. At just 28 years old, she has already released five albums, worked with many of the biggest names in Nashville, taken home a half-dozen IBMA awards, and earned a Grammy nomination for her sparsely arranged mandolin-and-bass 2017 singer-songwriter album Weighted Mind. So, when one hears her sing about wanting to slow down for a bit after “25 trips around the sun” on the title track of her new album, 25 Trips, one might understand the impulse. Lucky for fans, the new album doesn't actually slow the gifted mandolinist and songwriter down a bit. During a Folk Alley Session at the 30A Songwriters Festival, we sat down with Hull for a conversation about all of this and more.
Ethan Jodziewicz has carved out a remarkable career for himself in the world of acoustic music. He plays bass for Sierra Hull and was featured on her GRAMMY-nominated album Weighted Mind. A former student of Edgar Meyer, Hal Robinson, and Nicholas Walker, Ethan is forging his own path through the music world in a fascinating way. We dig into a ton of topics, like: living a balanced and fulfilling life the concept of how you practicing being more important than quantity of practice time what it was like growing up in Washington state what Ethan learned from watching Tommy Jarrell play fiddle what Edgar Meyer was like as a teacher how to stay sane, energetic, and productive on the road …and much more. Enjoy this spirited conversation with a truly fascinating artist! Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Robertson & Sons Violins For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow. Upton Bass String Instrument Company Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players. D'Addario Strings This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Contrabass Conversations production team: Jason Heath, host Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing Mitch Moehring, audio engineer Trevor Jones, publication and promotion Krista Kopper, cataloging and archiving Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!
Songwriter, singer and mandolin virtuoso Sierra Hull was born in Byrdstown, TN in 1991. Halfway between Nashville and the Smoky Mountains, it was an advantageous place to study bluegrass music, which she decided was her life's calling at about age eight. Less than a decade after releasing her debut album on Rounder Records at age 16, Hull was named IBMA Mandolin player of the year two years running, the first woman to win the prize. She also, at age 26, recently married longtime music community friend and collaborator Justin Moses, an in-demand multi-instrumentalist studio and sideman. Hull has even been something of a musical diplomat, tapped for a US State Department American Music Abroad tour that took her to the island state of Micronesia and the occupied Israeli West Bank. Her most recent album was 2016's Weighted Mind, a hard earned departure from her straight-ahead bluegrass sound. In this hour we talk about working on that project with Bela Fleck producing. But mostly it's a talk about origins and influences and growing up in the Tennessee bluegrass culture. Also, the curious case of Kurt Bardella. He's a Washington DC political operative and pundit. You may well have seen him on CNN or MSNBC. And he's also the creator and sole author of the most read daily morning tip sheet in the country music business. And we'll hear his take on music and politics from the Country Radio Seminar, which just took place in Nashville.
Tuesday’s show was bound to sell out because Berklee forces arrived with a couple hundred students, faculty and alumni and because their very distinguished alums Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings asked if their performance and award presentation could be nested in a special Roots show. That means a lot to us, and both parties pulled out the stops to create one of the finest and most meaningful shows we’ve ever put on. Liz Longley has a song with a chorus that starts “You’ve got that way…” and wow, so does she. Armed with an acoustic guitar and her cool, smoky and nimble voice, she took the stage for our first set. The songs have become hits for me from repeated listening to her debut album. “Memphis” and “Bad Habit” are new soul folk standards. “Skin And Bones” has a darker Appalachian edge. Then it was on to a very different voice in Sierra Hull, with her musically entwined new string trio and songs from her fascinating new Weighted Mind album. After the title track we heard the baroque and intricate composed interplay of “Queen of Hearts/Royal Tea” (thank you Berklee training) and the silk pillow of a song that is “Lullaby.” We were only one song into Maureen Murphy’s set when Photographer Tony whispered to me that we were experiencing the finest singer in the show’s history. There’s a case to be made. I’ve rarely seen so much refinement and technique mingled with so much power and passion. Murphy delivered four very different songs with a rocking, versatile quartet, but the capstone was her ode to her singing idol Lisa Fisher “How Can I Ease The Pain.” The song’s free form gave Maureen ample ways to shape and craft and massage and emote. It was simply breathtaking in its range of textures, from delicate to forceful. And she got to hit a classic money note in Martin Sexton’s “Smoke.” It would have been difficult to pack more musical range or magic into 20 minutes. I’ve been watching Gillian and Dave perform for twenty years, and it’s always riveting. Certainly, seeing the MCR logo behind them was extra inspiring and gratifying. They opened with spectral unison singing on “The Way It Will Be,” making the harmonies of “The Way It Goes” and “Miss Ohio” all the more bloom-like. When Berklee President Roger Brown presented the school’s American Master Awards to them (as individuals by the way not a group), he cited Dave’s harmonically rich and inventive guitar playing. And yes, that’s one thing I’ve always loved about it – close, dissonant intervals delivered with bebop command and a staccato attack, like Bill Monroe downstrokes on Eddie Lang’s guitar. And on this night I got to be about 20 feet from his shredding solo on “Red Clay Halo,” one of my favorite Gill and Dave songs. Their final number “Everything Is Free” includes the line “we’re gonna do it anyway, even if it doesn’t pay,” and that’s how GW and DR always sounded to me. Their old friend T Bone Burnett, who collected the night’s other Master Award, played amiable electric guitar strokes and sang a bit on that final tune before adding a whole new verse about a certain orange presidential candidate in the rollicking Nashville Jam on “I’ll Fly Away.”
Sierra Hull rejoins the show, this time to discuss the making of Weighted Mind and the tour associated with the release. She shares insights on the recording process and weighs in on the Season 2 Finale of Better Caul Saul.