PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR AN IMPRACTICAL BUSINESS. This series of podcasts features candid conversations with professionals from every aspect of the music business. They offer advice, anecdotes and hard won-wisdom that's sure to be enlightening for a beginner, and hopefully entertaining for music industry veterans as well as just regular old music fans. Conversations are based on the forth-coming "50 Pro Tips for Musicians: Practical Advice for an Impractical Business."
Latest episodes
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49 min
03/01/20 Episode #22 "Being a band leader is like trying to herd cats."
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 gi…
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1 h 13
01/21/20 Episode #21 Surprise Guest!
01/21/20 Episode #21 Surprise Guest! by Jim Henry
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54 min
11/20/19 Episode #20 "Matt Guitar Murphy taught me humility."
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. Pl…
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10/5/19 Episode #19 "Some things design themselves."
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't…
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08/14/19 Episode #18 "My job is to accentuate the artists strengths and shore up their weaknesses."
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,…
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07/12/19 Episode #17 "Any show I play, I'm just happy to be in the room."
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…
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06/03/19 Episode #16 "The first thing is to get a great sound with your guitar, a cable and an amp."
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…
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05/01/19 Episode #15 "Philosophically the idea of music is sharing."
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,…
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03/31/19 Episode #14 "It was instantaneous...I wanna go make instruments."
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…
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02/26/19 Episode #13 "We want people to experience emotions."
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…
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01/19/19- Episode #12 "Isn't that great about the drums...so many options."
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…
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12/15/18- Episode #11 "We haven't run out of great musicians to present."
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…
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11/16/18 Episode #10 "I don't want to just be good...I want to be awesome!"
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.
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10/14/18 Episode #9 "Co-writing is like dating-sometimes it's a love connection..."
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 under…
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09/12/18 Episode #8 "I'm not as smart as the guy who writes my songs."
W/ Cliff Eberhardt. A fun and freewheelin' conversation. We talk about opening act etiquette, movie stars, Donald Trump, Bob Dylan, songwriting, and projectile crying.
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08/12/18 Episode #7 "The only reason we're all here is to do a show."
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 mean…
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07/08/18 Episode #6 "Being on the road is like being a prisoner of war."
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.
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06/10/18 Episode #5 "When in doubt, cut to the car chase."
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 interacti…
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05/12/18 Episode #4- "Know when the story starts and when it's done."
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…
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04/16/17 Episode #3- "To serve the song, you gotta know the song."
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 son…