Songwriters & Tour Riders
KOSU
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Songwriters & Tour Riders is an Oklahoma music podcast, giving you an inside look at musicians coming from Oklahoma and those just passing through. Join host Matthew Viriyapah as musicians tell stories of recording, touring and living as an artist.
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Jul 12, 2023
Skating Polly
This is Songwriters & Tour Riders, a music podcast from KOSU hosted by Matthew Viriyapah.
Punk band Skating Polly has released a double LP titled Chaos County Line. The band is made up of siblings, Kelli and Kurtis Mayo and Peyton Bighorse. After five years, Kelli Mayo said that they wanted to "walk to the separate corner of the map on all of our influences."
In this episode, hear Kelli talk about writing a double album, and how after years of being in a band with her siblings, they're getting more honest with their lyrics.
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Mar 28, 2023
Thunder Jackson
Kyle Bradley was raised in Piedmont, Oklahoma. But his alter-ego, Thunder Jackson, was born in Los Angeles, California, after years of playing in smoky bars and busking since he was a teenager.
He released his debut self-titled album in 2020, but after its release he said that music wasn't making sense to him anymore. It wasn't until he moved back to Oklahoma where he found the inspiration to create again.
He released an EP titled Take Me Back last fall and is working on new music while splitting his time between L.A. and Oklahoma.
In this episode, hear Thunder Jackson talk about how his father was an Elvis impersonator and got him a license to play in bars as a teenager, creating the moniker Thunder Jackson, and returning to Oklahoma.
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Feb 8, 2023
The Lone Bellow
The Lone Bellow's latest album is titled Love Songs for Losers and was recorded in Roy Orbison's former home. Matthew talked with singer Zach Williams just before they started their first tour of 2023, which fell right around the 10-year anniversary of the release of their debut album. In this episode, hear Williams talk about producing their own album, going back on tour, and what it was like recording in Roy Orbison's former home.
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Oct 26, 2022
Companion
Folk music duo Companion released their debut album Second Day of Spring in May 2022. Companion is made up of twins, Jo and Sophia Babb, who were raised in Oklahoma, and have been performing together since they were at least 15 years old. In Oklahoma, they performed primarily under the name The Annie Oakley but after moving to Colorado, they felt ready for a fresh start musically.
The title track draws from a feeling they both had to start anew. In a new place, they were surrounded by new people and the natural scenery of Colorado.
In this episode, hear them talk about drawing inspiration from their new surroundings and friends, changing their name, touring with Tori Amos, and their process of writing songs together.
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Aug 10, 2022
Sarah Shook
North Carolina country artist Sarah Shook & The Disarmers released their latest album, Nightroamer, in February. In this episode, hear Sarah talk about being LGTBQ in country music, getting sober, and the first time they met a non-binary person.
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Jul 13, 2022
Kaitlin Butts
Kaitlin Butts is a singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her latest album, What Else Can She Do, is a collage of different female characters who tackle that question and draw from parts of the country artist's own life.
The first track's title, "It Won't Always Be This Way" was a statement that she and her mother would repeat during a particularly rough period of their lives. And that statement has proven to be true. In just the last year or so, Kaitlin married fellow musician Cleto Cordero of Flatland Cavalry, moved to Nashville, and recorded this sophomore album.
Listen to hear Kaitlin talk about going through that time, what it's like being married to another musician, and being more weird in country music.
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May 12, 2022
Jason Scott and the High Heat
Jason Scott and the High Heat are an Oklahoma band fronted by singer-songwriter, Jason Scott. Jason grew up Pentecostal and was once a youth and worship pastor. Now as a musician, he is writing songs while his bandmates joke about him once never having heard songs like "Stairway to Heaven."
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Apr 27, 2022
Norman Music Festival
Norman Music Festival is returning this week after two years of a pandemic-spurred hiatus. The festival brings hundreds of musicians and thousands of fans to the city of Norman, Oklahoma.
Shari Jackson is the executive director of Norman Music Alliance, the organization that throws the free festival that Jackson calls the 'best annual party in the state.'
Listen to hear her talk about the festival's impact, what the last two years have been like, and how an all-volunteer board put together this year's festival in 90 days.
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Mar 17, 2022
Sun Deep
Sun Deep has only been making music for three years. But he has already produced songs for numerous hip hop artists in Oklahoma and is also part of the bilingual hip hop duo Finite Galaxy.
His upcoming release 'Will Rap For Change' is his first producer album where he got sixteen other artists to join him. It is set to come out on March 19th with an accompanying release show where the proceeds for the show and album will be going to charity.
Listen to hear Sun Deep talk about being a late-blooming artist and how his background affects his production and rap style.
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Feb 2, 2022
Black History Month: Oklahoma Musicians
For Black History Month, we are taking a look back at some Black musicians that have been on the show in the past. You’ll be hearing again from Dr. View, Bartees Strange, Original Flow, and Jabee. They all released really wonderful projects, and they shared some of their stories and experiences that went into their music.
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Jan 19, 2022
Wilderado
Max Rainer is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the singer for Wilderado.
Their self-titled debut album was largely written in an old church that was being sold at auction. After a couple of years of struggling with writing, Rainer wrote songs there dealing with his struggles balancing being a father and a touring musician.
Hear Max talk about writing in a church by himself, his fear of being an absent dad, and how he put those feelings into song.
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Dec 20, 2021
RC & the Ambers
RC Edwards is from Tahlequah Oklahoma and is probably best known as the bassist for the Turnpike Troubadours. However this year he put out a new album with long time friend Amber Watson and produced by fellow Troubadour, Hank Early.
The album, Big Country, is named after OSU basketball player, Big Country Bryant Reeves and puts together stories and players around Tahlequah and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. With a new band, he says it feels like reliving early days with the Troubadours.
Listen to hear RC talk about working with Amber, writing a folk song about Bryant Reeves, and how he thought about experimenting with a new group.
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Dec 6, 2021
Unwed Sailor
Unwed Sailor is an instrumental rock band based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but also has its roots in the 90s music scene of Seattle, Washington. Johnathon Ford is the bassist and songwriter and lived in the famous music scene with his former band, Roadside Monument.
Ford left his home in Tulsa looking for his 'Black Flag get in the van' experience, but he has since been back for about ten years. Now, in his late forties, he has continued to put out music with his band, Unwed Sailor. Their first album came out twenty years ago and has just been reissued. They have put out an album a year for the last three years, with another planned for next year.
In this episode, hear Ford's stories of early 90s Seattle and coming back to Tulsa, his approach to songwriting as a bassist and how he wrote and recorded their latest album, Truth or Consequences.
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Oct 27, 2021
Parker Millsap
Parker Millsap is a singer-songwriter from Purcell, Oklahoma. On his latest album Be Here Instead, he explored writing from a more vulnerable and personal point of view in a way that felt like he 'was sneaking up on himself. The album was produced by John Agnello, who had previously worked with bands like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Kurt Vile. Together, they recorded the album with a full live band, while also experimenting with different effects and tools.
In this episode, hear more about how Parker started writing more using an iPad and feeling more fearless in his approach to songwriting.
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Sep 29, 2021
Pisha
Madeline Kassen is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and releases music under the moniker Pisha. The recent Berklee College of Music grad put out her first album titled Threnody earlier this year. The title means 'a lament' and the album is her lamenting 'a past self,' and represents a turning of age period in more ways than one.
In this episode, hear more about why she took on a pseudonym as an artist and her advice for someone going into music school.
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Sep 9, 2021
Introducing Songwriters & Tour Riders
Hear a preview of Songwriters & Tour Riders, as we give you an inside look at musicians coming from Oklahoma and those just passing through. Hosted by Matthew Viriyapah, hear musicians tell stories of recording, touring and living as an artist.
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Jul 29, 2021
Josh Fudge
Josh Fudge was only 18 years old when he released his first album, Fun Times, at the beginning of this year. Juxtaposing sweet melodies with melancholic lyrics, the album captures his experience transitioning into adulthood.
In this episode, hear more about what it was like graduating in a pandemic, how Josh's plans for the future have changed because of it, and what it was like putting out his first studio album.
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Jun 23, 2021
Kitt Wakeley
A born and raised Oklahoman, Kitt Wakeley recorded his album remotely at the historic Abbey Road Studios in London, England. On it, he combines his love for rock drums and riffs, sweeping orchestral melodies and pulsing electronic beats. The album's title — Symphony of Sinners and Saints — is a reference to the combination of 'Sinners' in his rock band and the 'Saints' of the orchestra.
In this episode, Kitt talks about how he has navigated his career since his start in grunge cover bands and recording radio commercial music, earning his 'street cred' in the music industry and how he recently rediscovered his sister after forty years apart.
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Jun 3, 2021
Fire In Little Africa
During segregation, North Tulsa and Greenwood was primarily Black and was called Little Africa. But it was home to one of the most prosperous Black communities in history, Black Wall Street.
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob with the support of local law enforcement attacked, burning dozens of homes and buildings and killing an estimated 300 people.
Now 100 years later, a collective of Oklahoma hip-hop artists have released a commemorative project via Motown Records and Black Forum titled Fire in Little Africa.
Combining the talents of more than 40 different artists, rappers, poets, and singers, Fire in Little Africa hopes to shine on not just the Tulsa hip-hop scene, but also a part of history that for many of the artists was never really taught to them in school.
In this episode, hear more about how the album was recorded, the growing Tulsa and Oklahoma hip-hop community that it represents, and what it means to them.
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May 5, 2021
Matt Heckler
The pandemic was an unexpected blessing for North Carolina musician Matt Heckler. With the unexpected time and rest, he was able to record his latest album, Blood, Water, Coal, which debuted at number three on the Bluegrass Billboard chart. But what he plays isn't exactly what you would call bluegrass.
In this episode, Matt talks about his style of folk music which takes influence from places like Ireland, Appalachia, and Romania, and also about slowing down in the last year to self-record his latest album.
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Apr 14, 2021
LCG & the X
LCG & the X spent 18 months performing and working on their first album. But when they released their self-titled debut, it came out at the worst possible time — March 2020, right as the pandemic became a reality for many of us.
In this episode, Morgan Hartman, lead singer of the Oklahoma City rock band, talks about the album's release, writing a song based on A Tale of Two Cities and what it's like to listen to those songs now.
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Mar 17, 2021
Quese IMC
Quese IMC is a Native American hip hop artist and citizen of the Pawnee and Seminole Nations. He has been part of the hip hop scene in Oklahoma for many years and helped organize Culture Shock Camp, one of the early hip hop summits to help establish what Oklahoma and Native American hip hop looks like today.
In this episode, hear Quese IMC talk about his story in hip hop, the growth of Native hip hop as a genre, and his five year hiatus from making music.
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Feb 10, 2021
Chad Whitehead of Tower Theatre
Chad Whitehead is the operating partner for Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City, and for like many in the music business, the past year has caused heavily reduced revenue and numerous layoffs for his business. But for 2021, Chad gives a possible timeline for when live indoor concerts could truly return to Oklahoma.
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Dec 21, 2020
Mike McClure
Mike McClure is a pioneer of the Red Dirt music scene that began in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He was part of The Great Divide and produced numerous other records for acts like Cross Canadian Ragweed and Turnpike Troubadours.
With the pandemic giving many in the music industry a lot more time at home this year, Mike believes his latest solo record, Looking Up, is his most cohesive album yet. The album was written in the wake of close friends and mentors passing away, as well as him coming to grips with drinking.
Hear him talk about his decision to give up drinking, recalling those early Red Dirt days and advice for those going through tough times.
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Dec 2, 2020
Original Flow
Blackmankidboy, the latest album from Oklahoma City hip hop artist Original Flow, highlights his experience growing up and contrasted with today.
While making this record, he lost his mother due to cancer and then was on the verge of giving up music. It threw him into a depression, but out of that grief, came a project that he calls some of his best work.
In the episode, he talks about writing songs in his car and how he dealt with his mom's death.
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Nov 12, 2020
Daniel Donato
The debut record from 25-year-old Daniel Donato brings together jam band music and outlaw country.
It comes after about a decade of playing guitar professionally in Nashville. When he was 16, he was the youngest person to ever play with the Don Kelly Band at the historic Robert’s Western World and then toured with musicians like Paul Cauthen.
A Young Man's Country was produced by Robben Ford and draws from his inspirations, such as The Grateful Dead and Merle Haggard.
Hear how he tries to combine all of those into his banner of "cosmic country" and the story of how he got into the Grateful Dead thanks to his high school history teacher.
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Oct 21, 2020
Bartees Strange
One of Bartees Strange's fears is just being one thing.
Born in England, Bartees Cox Jr. grew up in a military family that bounced around from place to place until they settled down in Mustang, Oklahoma. His mother is an opera singer and he sang in church choirs and operettas, before taking up football.
He even planned to walk-on at the University of Oklahoma. Things changed, but for most of his life, he's felt like he has been forced to just do and be one thing at a time.
Now as a musician, he released his debut LP Live Forever, where he wants his songs to be able to continue the conversation started by artists like Tyler, The Creator.
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Oct 7, 2020
Tennessee Jet
Tennessee Jet, whose real name is TJ, grew up traveling with his parents on the rodeo circuit. And while in the truck, he listened to traditional country music on the radio.
His newest album, The Country, is an ode to country music. Each song represents a different style of the genre, from the ’50s to outlaw to alt-country. He even covered his dad’s favorite song, "Pancho and Lefty."
In this episode, TJ talks co-writing with Cody Jinks and recording with Dwight Yoakam's band. He also talks about why female artists are writing most of the great songs in country music today and explains the origin of his name.
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Sep 23, 2020
Kyle Nix
Kyle Nix is best known as the fiddle player for the Oklahoma country band Turnpike Troubadours. While that band has been on hiatus, Nix took that time to work on his solo debut, Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories.
The album is inspired by everything from Spaghetti Westerns and Ennio Morricone soundtracks, to short stories by Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King. And it features appearances from other members of the Troubadours and fiddle legend Byron Berline.
In this episode, Nix talks about what it was like working with his bandmates again, those inspirations, and what it was like to record and release his debut album.
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Sep 2, 2020
Jabee
Jabee says the idea of his latest album's title, This World Is So Fragile and Cruel I'm Glad I Got You, "kind of floats throughout the climate we are living in." It comes after a four year period of learning and community work. And while this pandemic has put a pause on most musicians' tours and shows, Jabee has been continually organizing.
He helped put together last weekend’s Oklahoma City march commemorating the March On Washington and organized a Juneteenth celebration earlier this summer. He also released a song with Julius Jones, a Black death row inmate whose petition for clemency has been taken up by Jabee, several professional athletes and others.
In the episode, he talks about meeting Julius Jones, Juneteenth, the album and more.
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Aug 19, 2020
PUP
Stefan Babcock is the singer and primary songwriter for the Canadian punk rock band, PUP. Their latest album, Morbid Stuff, was listed on NPR's list of The 15 Best Rock Albums Of 2019 and recently won a Juno award.
With songs drawn from his life about things like a camping disaster with his sister, the death of his pet chameleon and destroying his car, the punk rocker translates bad experiences into music. But he tries to be careful not to glorify the myth of the tortured artist.
In this episode, Babcock talks about his recent engagement and about that "fine line" in writing songs about mental health.
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Jul 22, 2020
Samantha Crain
Samantha Crain recently released her new album. It's an album she didn’t think she would ever going to make.
Following three car accidents in 2017, Crain was left with debilitating injuries to her hands. She had to cancel her entire U.S. tour and suffered from depression and anxiety as a result. That period is reflected in the album's title, A Small Death.
Crain talks about what it was like going through that period, the eventual making of this album, and her continued efforts to write music in the Choctaw language.
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Jun 17, 2020
Beau Jennings
A veteran musician and formerly of the band Cheyenne, Beau Jennings turned to a new chapter of his career when he returned to Oklahoma after eight years in New York City. Forming a new band called the Tigers, Jennings released the album The Thunderbird.
Jennings is also an architect and documentarian, having made a documentary (and accompanying album) titled The Veridigris about his relationship with Will Rogers.
In this episode, Jennings spoke about that documentary, The Thunderbird and its newly released acoustic sequel, Son of Thunderbird, and drawing songwriting inspiration from people he meets.
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May 27, 2020
Chat Pile
Oklahoma City noise rock band Chat Pile takes its name from the large piles of waste of early 20th century lead mining in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher, which has been called America's most toxic town.
The band released a noisy debut EP titled 'This Dungeon Earth' in May 2019, channeling what happened to Picher.
In this episode, Griff and Randy, who also go by stage names Luther and Raygun Busch, spoke about what Picher means to the band, the making of their debut EP, and bad movies.
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May 6, 2020
John Moreland
On his fifth album, LP5, Tulsa singer-songwriter John Moreland teamed up with producer Matt Pence and introduced new instruments into the studio like drum machines.
In this episode, Moreland talks about growing up in the Christian punk rock scene in Tulsa, the recording and songwriting process behind LP5 and relearning how to enjoy songwriting amidst new pressures and expectations.
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Feb 19, 2020
Johnny Manchild
Johnny Manchild is the lead singer, pianist and namesake for the seven-piece piano rock band Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards.
The Oklahoma City band spent all of 2019 releasing one song a month, which culminated in their latest LP, One Big Beautiful Sound.
In this episode, Johnny talks about the challenge the band set for themselves last year, plans for their next album, and how collaborating with a YouTuber helped them reach a whole new group of fans.
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Feb 5, 2020
Charley Crockett
Texas country and blues musician Charley Crockett has lived the life of a traveling musician, busking on the streets of New Orleans, Dallas, New York City and Paris.
He has been featured on NPR, Rolling Stone and Billboard and has played the Grand Ole Opry, Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival and several venues in Oklahoma.
In this episode, Charley talks about his recent open heart surgery, the relationship between blues and country, and his love for Oklahoma musicians and places.
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Jan 15, 2020
Husbands
Oklahoma City surf-pop band Husbands has been featured on NPR's Heavy Rotation and their song "Mexico" was named the number one song of 2019 by the Oklahoma Rock Show.
Drawing inspiration from Devo and Talking Heads, Husbands' new album, After The Gold Rush Party, is about trying to balance their jobs and families with their creative energy.
In this episode, Wil Norton and Danny Davis break down the album and explain how they went from a pool of seventy songs to just thirteen for the album.
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Jan 8, 2020
John Calvin Abney
Oklahoma folk / Americana singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney is everywhere. He's a sideman for folks like John Moreland and Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires and an acclaimed solo artist in his own right. Rolling Stone Country called him an 'Artist to Watch' and his music has been praised by Billboard, Paste Magazine, and No Depression.
No Cover host Matthew Viriyapah spoke with John on two different occasions: just as he was about to leave on tour in spring 2019 with Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires and again in fall 2019, before the release of his 2019 solo album, Safe Passage.
In the first half of this episode, Abney talks about how he found his own voice on his 2018 album, Coyote. He also explains his view on the craft of being a sideman and his wide range of influences, such as Japanese video game composers, The Beach Boys and those he calls his friends and peers. In the second half, Abney explores the origins and the making of his latest album, Safe Passage, and what his mom thin…
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