James Smitty Smith Jr

Jake talks with Tracy Lane, co-owner and producer of the Treeline Music Fest (f/k/a Roots N Blues), about her love of music and the serious challenges women face working in the music industry.  After heading to LA straight outta her rural Missouri high school, she eventually made her way back to Columbia where she worked for Richard King at the Blue Note.  After a stint in Oklahoma City, she returned to work for True False and the Roots N Blues Festival.  Tracy and co-owner Shay Jasper eventually purchased Roots N Blues and, after a challenging delay due to the COVID pandemic, they put on an historic female led lineup at Roots N Blues in 2021.  Check out Tracy Lane's inspiring story and get ready for the amazingly diverse lineup of artists at Treeline Music Fest 2023!

Jake talks to Dr. Adam Beckett, a physician in Emergency Medicine and creator of Global First Reponder, which provides crucial aid throughout the world.  Adam graduated from MU before spending four years in the Marines.  He then attended medical school in Kansas City.  After a residency in Chicago, he returned to Columbia where he works for the University of Missouri Hospital and the Truman VA Hospital.

In 2011 Adam organized Global First Responder and in 2014 created the Global First Responder Foundation.  Global First Responder advocates for global healthcare equality and partners with communities to complete joint sustainability projects.  

More information about Global First Responder can be found at https://globalfirstresponder.org

Jake interviews his friend Lenore Danziger about her adventurous life meeting Jimi Hendrix, living in California and Mexico and her association with amazing structures of poet and surrealist Edward James near Xilitla, Mexico.  Avery Danziger's documentary, "Edward James: Builder or Dreams," can be found at https/vimeo.com/164786264.  Check it all out!

SlackChat is honored to get to interview the godfather of the Columbia, Missouri music scene, Richard King!  Hear about how he came to Columbia and his establishment of the "old" Blue Note, the move to the "new" Blue Note, acquiring Mojo's and selling it all and taking over Cooper's Landing.  We all owe Richard King and his long time partner in crime, Phil Costello, a debt of gratitude for all a great music we've been able to experience in Columbia.  Do not miss this one. Check it out!

Part III of the Chump Change trilogy (listen to James "Smitty" Smith and Kenneth Brantley for Parts I and II).  Jake talks to Pete Szkolka about his time playing in Chump Change and other bands in Columbia, Missouri, his recording studio, his education in music and growing up on the south side of Chicago.  Please excuse the cat created minor recording issues for about ten minutes near the beginning of the interview.  

Part II of the Chump Change trilogy (or more), Kenneth Brantley takes us through an enthusiastic, and, at times, surreal portrait of growing up in St. Louis, moving to Columbia, and the music scene throughout the midwest. Buckle in for this roller coaster ride through a bizarro funhouse.  More great history of St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City from the 50s through the present that shouldn't be missed.

Gary Pinkel was head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015. Coach Pinkel has the most wins of any head coach in the history of both the University of Toledo football program and the University of Missouri football program.  Coach Pinkel led the 1995 Toledo team to a Mid-American Conference championship. Gary Pinkel was inducted into Toledo’s athletic hall of fame in February 2009.  Pinkel led Missouri to three Big XII North Division championships and two SEC East Division championships.  Pinkel released his autobiography "The 100-Yard Journey: A Life in Coaching and Battling for the Win" (Triumph Books) in September 2017.  In 2022 Coach Pinkel was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jake interviews Myron Wang about succeeding his father at the helm of Alaskan Fur Company, a family retail fur fashion business founded in 1926.  Myron is also a scuba diver and world class underwater photographer who has met Jacques Cousteau and whose photos have appeared in Cousteau's books.  His amazing photos have been sold all over the world.  Check out his fascinating decades-long journey in business and life!

Longtime bass player for the legendary Columbia, Missouri based Chump Change Band, James "Smitty" Smith, Jr., lays down the knowledge about Babe Martin and the numerous blues legends the Chump Change band played with all over the Midwest and beyond.  Smitty has lived his whole life in Columbia, so he's a treasure trove of Columbia history, too. We changed our music for this one to feature Chump Change, so sit back and soak it all in thanks to Smitty!

Jake saw Xavier Charles carrying his skateboard on the MKT Trail in Columbia, Missouri, and convinced him to sit down with Jake at Three Story Coffee and tell his story.  This one was recorded outside on the upper deck of Three Story, so please excuse the noise.