Danny O'Keefe

I finally got to do an in-person interview with bassist John Pierce of Toto. We discussed:
- How learning to play the drums has influenced his bass playing
- Playing with Toto drummer Shannon Forrest
- His quest to play less and make each note more meaningful
- Sessions with Huey Lewis, Mick Jagger, and Tom Petty
- Toto's "With A Little Help From My Friends" album
- And more

I interviewed Cassius King of Cassius King and The Downtown Rulers. We discussed:
- Their album "Last Call For The Blues"
- A dream 25 years in the making
- "A giving musician is always trying to make the song better without necessarily standing out."
- The wonderfully gritty song "Bettern Man Blues"
- How his offstage, behind-the-scenes work influences his on stage performance
- And more

Drummer Mike Portnoy likes that they did not road test the new The Winery Dogs songs before recording them.

Cris Cohen interviews Will McBride of the Will McBride Group. They discuss:

• The new single, "Hit Song".
• Embracing irony in songwriting
• “I’m not a love song writer.”
• Opening for Styx
• The influence of Elvis Costello
• How he prefers a guitar tone that sings rather than growls
• And more

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Cris Cohen interviews John McCutcheon. They discussed:

• His new album with Tom Paxton, "Together"
• Co-writing songs via Zoom
• Intertwining hope and heartbreak in the song "Ukrainian Now"
• Writing lighter tunes like "Same Old Crap"
• And more

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Cris Cohen interviews ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. They discuss:

• His new album, "Grateful"
• Playing rock songs on the ukulele versus playing songs written for ukulele
• "Embrace being a lifelong learner"
• His cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"
• The challenge of creating loops live during the concert
• And more

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Cris Cohen interviews percussionist Daniel de los Reyes of the Zac Brown Band. They discuss:

• The album "The Comeback"
• The song "Don't Let Your Heart"
• Meshing with drummer Chris Fryar
• Percussion instruments that resonate even when they play baseball stadiums
• And more

Recorded January 27, 2023

Cris Cohen interviews singer-songwriter Danny O'Keefe. They discuss:

• Having his songs recorded by artists such as Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Jackson Browne, and Alison Krauss
• How he can "feel sad songs coming before they even get to be songs."
• His new album, "Circular Turns"
• And more

Danny O'Keefe's website: https://dannyokeefe.com/
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I interviewed bassist Jett Beres of Sister Hazel. We discussed:

• The 20th anniversary of the album "Chasing Daylight"
• Why this is his favorite Sister Hazel album
• The song written in a hot tub
• How the role of the bass in a song mirrors his role in the band
• What he learned from getting a degree in Architecture that applies to his work as a musician
• And more

Recorded February 10, 2023

Cris Cohen interviews bassist Billy Sheehan. They discuss:

• The new Talas album, "1985"
• With live performing, "If you think, you stink."
• "Chaos on a leash"
• The two songs that made him pull his car to the side of road so he could listen more intently
• And more

Recorded October 2022

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