PODCAST SHOW NOTES
God Gave Rock and Roll To You: The Clash of the CCM Historians w Dr. Leah Payne and JJT
Dr. Leah Payne, author of the new book God Gave Rock and Roll To You; A History of Contemporary Christian Music, joins historian John J. Thompson to talk about the roots – and fruits – of the contemporary Christian music subculture. From the Pentecostal and Holiness movements of a century ago to the January 6th riots, Payne and JJT wrangle with the odd and sometimes troubling history of the scene.
Rolling Lost Tape with Jim Goodwin of The Call
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Even with champions like Peter Gabriel, U2, Jim Kerr, and others singing their praises, and songs like “The Walls Came Down,” “I Still Believe,” and “Let The […]
9 New Microdose Episodes
This batch of NINE new MICRODOSE episodes of the True Tunes Podcasts offers short (5-minute or less) flashbacks to highlights from our first 100 episodes. This batch includes Propaganda, Terry […]
Microdose: Taylor Leonhardt
On this “impossibly short version of the ongoing conversation you’ll find at TrueTunes.com” we revisit our conversation with the always impressive and effervescent singer, songwriter, and producer, Taylor Leonhart. Taylor […]
Microdose: Michael Roe
We revisit a short bit of our chat with Michael Roe of The 77s and The Lost Dogs.
Microdose: Charlie Peacock
Welcome to the True Tunes Microdose, an impossibly short version of the ongoing conversation you’ll find at TrueTunes.com. As we look back on our first 100 episodes we have gathered some of these “greatest hits” – never more than 5 minutes long – to remind long-time listeners of where we’ve been and give new folks a chance to check us out.
Mylon LeFevre (In His Own Words)
Mylon LeFevre was an award-winning, genre-defining, trailblazing artist and songwriter who had a song cut by Elvis when he was just a teen, got kicked out of his family’s legendary […]
The Choir’s Classic LP ”Chase The Kangaroo”
The Choir‘s 1988 LP Chase The Kangaroo is a classic, and when we heard that they had launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds to remaster and re-release […]
John Pantano (of Pantano/Salsbury) Hits The Switch!
John Pantano’s rock and roll roots go back to the 1960s psychedelic rock scene and the very genesis of the Jesus Movement. He and his friend, the late Ron […]
Loving The Alien: JJT & Aguirre Talk Bowie
APPLE PODCASTS LINK On this episode we are joined by veteran artist and author Allan Aguirre (Scaterd Few, Spyglass Blue) to explore the artistic legacy of the late – and […]
Special Edition: Couples Skate (Jukebox Takeover)
APPLE PODCASTS LINK This special Couples Skate episode of the True Tunes Podcast started out as a normal Jukebox feature for the Wild Harbors In Paris episode. But as we […]
Wild Harbors in Paris: Safety Is Overrated
We often hear that being in a band is like being in a marriage. But what about when being in a marriage is like being in a band? What about those truly crazy people whose marriage IS a band? Chris and Jenna Badeker, aka Wild Harbors, have been carving out a functional and creatively exciting path as indie pop artists for several years. On this episode, they join us from Paris, where they were serving as Artists In Residence.
Did The Joshua Tree Fall on The 77s? (More Roe From The Cutting Room Floor)
On this special “From The Vault” episode of the podcast, we unveil previously unheard tape culled from frontman Michael Roe’s conversation with True Tunes and with The Electric Jesus Podcast to finally answer one of the most fascinating questions of all time: Did U2’s breakthrough album The Joshua Tree inadvertently KILL one of our other favorite LPs?
More ”Alternative” Than You’ll Ever Be (Randy Layton’s Long Strange Trip)
Randy Layton may not be a household name, but that’s not the point with people like him. Layton has been advocating for some of the most important – if […]
Charlie Peacock Revisited (From The Vault)
For this special “From The Vault” episode, we have found some previously unheard “tape” and framed it with some of Charlie Peacock’s recent jazz music to highlight even more of his important insights and observations.
@45RPM U2’s Achtung Baby Jukebox Rewind
APPLE PODCASTS LINK This 45RPM episode opens the True Tunes Vault and finds a conversation host John J. Thompson had with friend, fan, and artist manager Nick Barre about U2’s […]
Outsider Art w Finster & Yingst + Mountain Goats on The Jukebox
True Tunes host John J. Thompson recently traveled to Cleveland, TN, to speak at a festival in honor of Rev. Howard Finster – the enigmatic painter, pastor, and musician who first came to international prominence when his art was used on album covers by Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Adam Again, and is considered by some to be the father of contemporary folk art.
Tonio K. Walks On: Notes From A Lost World
It takes some special instruments and a unique perspective to appreciate the frustrating version of “success” that weaves in and through Tonio K.‘s long strange trip of a music […]
Drew Holcomb Comes To Class
On this extraordinary episode of the podcast, Drew Holcomb comes to class! Thompson is joined by nine students as guest interviewers, each bringing one excellent question, and Mr. Holcomb offers a world of wisdom, wit, humor, and inspiration. We hear about everything from his earliest days as a struggling artist to last fall’s disastrous Moon River rain-out. We hear about making music with a spouse, managing a band with friends, learning how (and when) to co-write, his biggest mistake, and much more. Throughout the conversation, we also hear clips from a slew of rare tracks by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors and other friends and comrades.
Calling Out The Ghosts: The Wayside + Producer Matt Goldman discuss new music
If you think True Tunes host and founder John J. Thompson is objective about music – merely a dispassionate observer or fact-gathering journalist… think again. “Before I wrote about […]
Prog Rock, Complex Art, & Cultivating a Discerning Ear: Neal Morse’s Epic Journey
John J. Thompson explores the legacy of PROG ROCK on the True Tunes Podcast with none other than the venerable Neal Morse as our guide. As a founding member of Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and his own Neal Morse Band, he has been setting the standard in modern prog rock for decades. He has also developed his own streaming app to deliver his entire catalog (over 80 albums!) and curates his own Morsefest – an annual gathering of progressive rock fans from around the world. His personal and musical journey is as inspiring as his epic music. We also ponder the backlash “prog” received in the punk / new wave movement of the 70s and what complex, intricate art might offer us as we strive to become deeper thinkers, better discerners, and more imaginative humans.
Nikki Lerner + The Music of Nowhere Else
APPLE PODCASTS LINK We knew that Over The Rhine’s Nowhere Else Festival was going to be something special. We’ve heard about the meals, the music, the songs being sung […]
David Bunker on Artist Care & Nurturing the Creative
APPLE PODCASTS LINK David Bunker, who currently serves as the chaplain of Judson University’s Music Business and Entrepreneurship program, and has a long history as both a music industry leader […]
Tyson Motsenbocker Loses His Milk Teeth
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Tyson Motsenbocker is quite an anomaly. He’s a young, hip songwriter/artist who crafts alternative, modern-sounding pop (in the tradition of Postal Service or Death Cab) with obvious […]
@45RPM What Good Is Music? (with Pastor Chris )
APPLE PODCASTS LINK What good is music, anyway? Is there something happening in the arrangement of certain melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and lyrics that might actually have a meaningful impact on […]
Creativity Will Save The World (w Tom Willett)
Tom Willett’s roots go back to the counterculture of the 60s. He played bass in one of the earliest “Gospel Rock” bands (Sons of Thunder) and worked alongside artists […]
Bill Mallonee: Love Vigilante for Life
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Bill Mallonee has been lauded as one of the 100 greatest living songwriters by Paste Magazine and honored by Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Billboard, and […]
Beatles & Outlaws: Ken Mansfield Comes Down From The Roof
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Ken Mansfield has been “in the room” for several major cultural watershed moments. After a meteoric rise through the ranks at Capitol Records in the 1960s, […]
Phil Cook’s Spiritual Helpline
After being affiliated with Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Megafaun – and releasing a series of his own acclaimed solo projects, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Phil Cook surprised many with the launch of his new roots gospel label, Spiritual Helpline, and producing a rousing new live roots Gospel album by North Carolina local legends, The Branchettes. He discusses his long and dynamic musical journey with True Tunes’ John J. Thompson on the True Tunes Podcast in this rare interview.
Love Is Underrated: Undercover
We are joined by keyboardist and songwriter Ojo Taylor, guitarist and writer Gym Nicholson, long-time lead vocalist Sim Wilson, and drummer Gary Olsen of the Orange County rock band Undercover for an expansive conversation recorded in front of a live audience at the Audiofeed Festival in Illinois.
David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand: Apocalypse Ain’t for the Faint of Heart
Few artists have committed to the ethic of apocalyptic – even gothic – Americana as completely as Colorado’s David Eugene Edwards. From his early work with The Denver Gentlemen and […]
Michael Bloodgood: A Long Obedience in a LOUD Direction
In memory of our friend Michael Bloodgood, we revisit a conversation we recorded with him for the Electric Jesus Podcast in 2021. With roots in the Jesus Movement, but a […]
@45RPM The Prayer Chain: Backstage in ’18
The Prayer Chain is the only band that ever appeared on the cover of the old print version of the True Tunes magazine twice! Though their original run lasted […]
Chagall Guevara: Revolutionary Art, Halcyon Days, & Long-Play Redemption
APPLE PODCASTS LINK The musical highways and byways of this great land are littered with the bedazzled corpses of countless, failed, one-shot rock bands. How many of them, though, would […]
The Cornerstone Festival: 10 Years Gone (and counting…)
SPOTIFY LINK APPLE PODCASTS LINK The original Woodstock Festival happened once. The Cornerstone Festival, however, gathered an unlikely and diverse group of rock and rollers from around the world to […]
Walking St. Paul’s Blvd with Michael McDermott (+ Peter Himmelman on the Jukebox)
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Not everyone walking St. Paul’s Boulevard makes it out alive. No one survives it unchanged. This mythological road plays home to a haunting cast of characters, and […]
@45RPM – New Tunes From Rich’s House (An Early Listen to a New Tribute)
True Tunes is excited to come alongside our friends at Old Bear Records and UTR Media as they pay loving homage to the songs of Rich Mullins with a brand new, analog recording made in a house Rich owned outside of Nashville. On this special 45RPM episode of the podcast, we check in with Old Bear owner and member of The Brothers McClurg, Chris Hoisington, who – along with others – conceived of this special conceptual tribute album. Chris also got us some rare audio so that we could offer you, our listeners, an early glimpse at this very special project.
Michael Roe Did It For Love (Pt.2)
APPLE PODCASTS LINK In the conclusion of our conversation with Michael Roe we talk about one of JJT’s favorite 77s songs in great detail, along with the birth, evolution, survival, […]
@45RPM – Character Witnesses for Michael Roe
Apple Podcasts Link On this special @45RPM episode we continue our exploration of the life, music, and legacy of Michael Roe by checking in with some of his […]
Michael Roe Did It For Love (Pt. 1)
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Very few artists have accomplished what Michael Roe has over the last forty years. Between his work with the seminal rock “laboratory” (The 77s,) his membership in […]
@45RPM – Listening Carefully w Buddy Miller & Ian Fitchuk
On this special “from the archives” edition of our @45RPM podcast, we re-visit excerpts from two episodes from 2020 that had a profound impact on the direction of the show. Artist, songwriter, producer, and Americana legend Buddy Miller, and Ian Fitchuk (who won Producer of the Year that year for his work with Kacey Musgraves) both talk about how important it is to listen carefully – and how listening skills impact both their work as artists and their relationships. For more information visit the Show Notes page at TrueTunes.com/45-Listening.
Coffee w Propaganda: World Building, Critical Thinking, & History Healing (+ Midnight Oil on the Jukebox!)
Aside from being one of the most exciting indie hip-hop artists around, Jason “Propaganda” Petty is an academic, an author, a poet, and a lover of great coffee. Join us as we talk through his idea of “Terraforming” – making space for life to thrive in hostile environments. And speaking of hostile environments, it has been said that every animal in Australia wants to kill us. On this episode’s Jukebox feature we listen carefully to the passionate and socially engaged alternative rock that Down Under’s Midnight Oil has been crafting for fifty years. No, they don’t want to kill us – far from it. It’s all about music that moves more than our butts on this episode of the True Tunes Podcast! Find the full music notes and links on the SHOW NOTES page for this episode or by hitting up TrueTunes.com/propaganda.
@45RPM – Steve Scott & The Gospel of John as Creative Cultural Critique (pt 2)
In this second installment of our conversation with poet, author, teacher, and pastor, Steve Scott, we listen in on a conversation he hosted in JJT’s home a few years back. […]
Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper) + Sacred Psychedelia on the Jukebox (w David Bunker)
Blitzen Trapper has been making some of the most interesting and compelling experimental folk/rock/alt-country/progressive music since The Flying Burrito Brothers, and their frontman, main songwriter, producer, and musician, Eric Early joins us on the podcast to talk about the whole story. From his own roots as a musically adventurous kid to the band’s most recent album, Holy Smokes Future Jokes, to “cosmic humility” and his work with homeless veterans in the Portland area, Earley is a fount of mystical, meaningful, art.
David Bunker and JJT at some point in the past
We also crank up the Jukebox for a deep dive into the seemingly unlikely world of “sacred psychedelia,” and check in with poet, teacher, and music industry veteran, David Bunker for some much-appreciated perspective. It’s a wild trip, but the thread between Hendrix, “Jesus Psych,” and contemporary artists like Blitzen Trapper, Natalie Bergman, Daniel Amos, and Sufjan Stevens is strong.
Audiofeed Festival 2022 Lineup Revealed
Audiofeed happens June 30 through July 3 and is one of the funkiest, grittiest, and most unique festivals in the country. Rock, metal, rap, alternative, spoken word, Americana, and some just plain weird stuff, all flow together with conversations, food, and friends. True Tunes is proud to be in the house for the 8th annual Audiofeed Festival featuring live performances by one of the most eclectic line-ups in rock. (Full lineup below.)
Ronnie Martin (+ Steve Fairnie / The Technos on the Jukebox)
Songwriter, artist, and analog synth advocate Ronnie Martin (Joy Electric, Brothers Martin, Dancehouse Children, Morella’s Forest, etc) has been crafting catchy, devotional pop music with analog synthesizers for over 30 years. We catch up with Martin to talk about his latest project, From The Womb of the Morning The Dew of Your Youth Will Be Yours, his current life as a pastor, and more. Plus Randy Layton (Alternative Records) and poet/theologian Steve Scott join us at the Jukebox to revisit a tragically overlooked 70s and 80s era synth pop entourage known alternately as Writz, The Famous Names, or The Technos. That group’s founder, the late Steve Fairnie, had a major impact despite his relative obscurity.
Steve Scott: Missional Purpose of Art (pt 1)
APPLE PODCASTS LINK Artist, author, poet, and pastor, Steve Scott, delivers a critical challenge to the question: “Why should art matter to everyone?” Scott has been producing rich, soulful […]
Meet Doe! (+ ”A-Train” on Stevie Wonder on the Jukebox)
On this episode of the True Tunes Podcast, we spend some quality time with one of the most exciting and fresh contemporary Gospel artists to emerge in years. DOE, (aka Dominique Jones) first came to our attention as a member of Forever Jones – an eclectic Gospel group that included her parents and siblings. With her solo debut LP Clarity, released on Jonathan McReynolds’ new label with RCA Inspiration, (and including contributions by Israel Houghton, Matt Maher, McReynolds, and more,) DOE demonstrates talent, wisdom, and vision beyond her age. Her self-assured style, which includes elements of Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill, challenges conventions – even as it has already scored a #1 Hit on Gospel Radio.
On the Jukebox, we are joined by our good friend Aaron “A-Train” Smith to listen deeply to Stevie Wonder’s world-changing music in the 1970s. Between ’72 and ’76 Wonder released five albums, four of which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. He dominated the R&B and Pop charts and plowed his own lane – setting standards and influencing artists for generations to come. A-Train was drumming for The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, and other Motown bands during those years. He gives us an insider’s remembrance of Wonder, his music, and his legacy.
@45RPM – ROEMER on Knowing Our Role (Pt. 2)
On this second installment of our conversation with singer-songwriter ROEMER, (aka Ben Seidl,) we explore how his experience hosting an open mic night in Berlin, combined with his careful […]