Monique DeBose is a singer songwriter, playwright, political activist, and podcaster, from Los Angeles, California. With BA in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Spiritual Psychology, she brings a unique creative sensibility to her songwriting and artwork. She honed her singing chops at Billy Higgin’s World Stage Jazz Club in Leimert Park, at the epicenter of the African American cultural community of Los Angeles. Enormously talented at jazz vocal improvisation, she has performed internationally in India, China, and Europe. She received rave reviews for her one-woman show “Mulatto Math: Summing Up The Race Equation In America” which won the Producer’s Encore Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. She has been a TEDx performer of her song “Rally Call” which has struck a chord with people worldwide about human rights and the fight against racial prejudice. The video for Rally Call has been played at the United Nations. Her new third album, You Are The Sovereign One, has just been released.

Lisa Crawley is a major theatre star in her home country of New Zealand having been nominated four times for the equivalent Tony Award in New Zealand called the APRA Silver Scroll Award. She is a multi-talented actress, playwright, multi-instrumentalist, singer and, on this show, a songwriter. She has completed two songwriter residences at the prestigious Banff Centre and she has been the opening act for Suzanne Vega, John Mayer, Jools Holland, Paul Weller and Simply Red. She has recently teamed up with Grammy nominated songwriter Rob Kleiner to create an EP called Looking For Love (In A Major). She joins us on Backstory Song to discuss works from this new album and her previous singles. In this episode she discusses “Baby It’s Fine,” “Clear History,” “Birds,” “Elizabeth,” “Best Thing In The Room,” “Wedding Band” and “The Right Thing To Do.”

Chandler Stephens grew up in a family of 16 children in the heartland of Florida in a town called Lake Mary including 14 adopted siblings. Coming from a large family provided her with a unique perspective on life and instilled in her the importance of love, family, and unity. After her first semester in college in Florida, she decided to follow her heart’s calling and headed off to Nashville to try to break into the music scene. Since moving from Florida to Nashville to pursue her dream, Chandler’s songs have achieved over 6 million streams. In this episode, she discusses “Can’t Stop Love,” “Bet On You,” “Would Have Gone Home,” “Sunshine State,” “Raised By A Working Man” and “Sugar High.”

Keeton Coffman grew up in Bryan-College Station, Texas and after finding an old Alvarez guitar in his mother’s closet, his mom taught him a handful of chords and he found his passion. His first album in 2016 Killers Eyes focused on the beauty found in the grit of hard work and it received strong trade press reviews. It was then that Keeton suffered a mental setback. He had been diagnosed with Bipolar II and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in high school, and the diseases re-emerged and set him back. He sought treatment and openly talks about his road to recovery and he kept writing songs. It is these personal songs from the heartland rocker that formed his new album Hard Times. The rocking songs from the album are rooted in his childhood experiences growing up in Bryan and College Station. In this episode, Keeton discusses “Wounded Heart,” “Magician,” “Let Her Go,” “Killer Eyes,” “Make It Look Easy,” and “Hurricane.”

Mike Skill is a founding lead guitarist and major songwriter for the garage rock, new wave and power pop band, The Romantics.  The Romantics were formed in 1977 in Mike’s hometown area of Detroit.  The Romantics’ songs have become Classic Rock staples.  Inspired by the 60s British Invasion, Motown, R&B, and the legendary activist punk attack of Detroit based MC5, The Romantics first show opened for the New MC5 in 1977 and led to an extensive worldwide touring schedule.  The Romantics appeared at some legendary venues in their heyday like New York’s CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, Boston’s Rathskeller, and Cleveland’s Agora.  Mike is here on Backstory Song to share with us stories from those days and new work that he is releasing including his songs “What I Like About You,” “Talking In Your Sleep,” “One In A Million,” “Not My Business,” and “67 Riot.”

Trapper Schoepp is a singer-songwriter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He has performed solo, or with his eponymous band, or with a sideband called Shades with both bands featuring his brother, Tanner Schoepp on bass guitar.  Born in Red Wing, Minnesota which is on the Wisconsin border, Trapper assembled his first band at Ellsworth High School in Wisconsin.  The Schoepp brothers migrated east to Milwaukee where Trapper attended the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and released Lived and Moved in 2009.  He followed that up with Run, Engine, Run with the Shades in 2012, Rangers and Valentines in 2016, and Bay Beach Amusement Park in 2017.  In 2018 Trapper completed an unfinished Bob Dylan song from 1961 called “On, Wisconsin” and Bob awarded him a co-write.  In this episode, Trapper discusses his songs “May Day,” “Hotel Astor,” “ On, Wisconsin,””Paris Syndrome,” “Olgallala,” Ballad of Olof Johnson,” and “Twenty Odd Years.” 

Jessica Vaughn began her career as a teenager under her maiden name Jessica Poland and she came to fame as the singer-songwriter under her stage name, Charlotte Sometimes.  Her debut album on Geffen Records, Waves and the Both of Us received critical acclaim including Number 3 on the Billboard Heatseeker charts.  She later became a contestant during Season 2 of The Voice and received a four chair turn during the blind audition round.  She “retired” the Charlotte Sometimes stage name and began recording under her new sobriquet, Laces.   In this episode of Backstory Song, Jessica shares her insights on her songs “They Say,” “The End,” “Breaking My Heart,” “Losing Sleep,” “Worship,” “Moved,” “Paint The Sky,” and “Someday Is Not Tonight.”

Born and raised near Lubbock, Texas, Ross Cooper began his adulthood as a professional rodeo rider before a knee injury ended his career. He drew upon these experiences of life in Lubbock and on the rodeo circuit in crafting his third studio album, Chasing Old Highs, as a follow-up to his albums I Rode The Wild Horses and I Give It Time. Named by Rolling Stone one of the 10 New Country Artists you should know, Ross combines classic western themes with a modern alternative indie sound to create ear pleasing songs. A rising star on the Nashville Songwriting scene, his songs have been cut by rising stars Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen and William Clark Green. In the episode, Ross shares his backstory on “Freewheelin Feelin,” “Chasing Old Highs,” “Forever To Get There,” “South of the Angels,” “Hello Sunshine,” “11 Miles,” and “New Orleans.”

Bobby Rush is an actively performing bluesman and American and International treasure who began his musical career in 1947 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas playing in the local juke joints and honky tonks. He grew up playing with legendary blues and rock and roll artists including Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Etta James, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Chuck Berry and others. In the early 1970s he had his first chart topping song, “Chicken Heads” which was certified gold. He has released 22 studio albums and He was inducted in 2006 into the Blues Hall of Fame and won his first Grammy at the age of 83 in 2017 for his album Porcupine Meat in the category Best Traditional Blues Album. He has won 17 Blues Music Awards and nominated for many more. His albums Down In Louisiana and Decisions featuring Blinddog Smokin’ and Dr. John both received Grammy nominations.

Ed Hill grew up on a cotton farm in the San Joaquin Valley of California between Bakersfield and Fresno. He became the house piano player and backing band at both the legendary Blackboard Café in Bakersfield and the Palimino Club in North Hollywood. In those clubs, he backed legendary artists like Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Marty Robbins and Willie Nelson before becoming part of the Grammy Nominated Mickey Gilleys Urban Cowboy Band. He moved to Nashville and made the career switch to full time songwriter and never looked back. He was BMI Songwriter of the Year in 2006 and has had 13 Top Ten Billboard songs and four Number Ones. Probably for Ed, the most meaningful recognition has come from his peers at the Nashville Songwriters Association who have awarded him four times the “Songs I Wish I Had Written” Award for “It Matters To Me,” “Georgia Rain,” “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” and “Just Fishin.”

Blue Water Highway is an alternative indie rock band from the Texas Gulf Coast. The band is releasing its third album Paper Airplanes following the critically acclaimed releases of Things We Carry and Heartbreak City. The founders Zack Kibodeaux and Greg Essington met in high school where they became accomplished musicians. Zack who was studying to become an opera singer recruited fellow opera singer, Catherine Clarke to fill out the three part harmonies. They added Kyle James Smith on bass and the ensemble has worked together since 2013. For the new album Paper Airplanes, they have enlisted Nashville producer Cason Cooley to guide the new album who has produced Ingrid Michaelson, American Authors and Ben Rector. Together they have created a unique sonic soundscapes of acoustic and electric guitars, synthesizers and powerful lead vocals layered with elegant harmonies.

Mark Cawley has had a multi-decade career writing songs in London, Los Angeles and Nashville.  He has had songs recorded by artists like Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Joe Cocker, Taylor Dayne, Chaka Kahn, and British superstars Billie Piper and The Spice Girls.  He has global experience having worked for songwriting publishing houses in Los Angeles, London and Nashville.  His songs are on over 16 million records sold.  He began his career as part of the Faith Band in the late 70s with three albums and a hit “Dancin’ Shoes” and the band “Blinding Tears.”  He made the career transition to full-time songwriting in the 80s and has never looked back. In this episode, Mark discusses “Dancing In My Dreams,” “Wayward Soul,” “Day And Night,” “Dance With A Stranger,” “You Should Be With Me,” '“What Would Lennon Do,” and “This Father’s Prayer.”

Aja Volkman-Reynolds and Dan Epand spent more than ten years playing anthemic alt rock together as two-thirds of Nico Vega, and over that decade of tours, recording sessions, and label deals, they forged an artistic partnership that endures. After announcing Nico Vega’s hiatus but they’re back as a duo, simply named TWO. Their debut record Pull The Knife Out heralds the confident start of their new era. Sparked by Volkman’s since-revoked separation from her husband (Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons) the writing process dredged up seven tracks worth of meditations on pain, reconciliation, and maybe most centrally, womanhood. It’s something Volkman has grappled with as a mother of four in the midst of the #MeToo movement. In this episode, they discuss “Beast,” “Iron Man,” “Gravity,” '“In This Rough,” “Cage Fighter” and “Live Forever More.”

Mike McFadden leads the indie rock band Animal Years as its singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player. Born and raised in the Baltimore area where he began writing songs that garnered local play on the Baltimore NPR station. He moved to Brooklyn, New York where he assembled the band Animal Years and began generating a local following at the vibrant Brooklyn music scene based on his anthemic, fist pumping songs. They began to tour the country where their song “Caroline” began generating a large amount of attention on Spotify. They are releasing their an album this year entitled This Is An Album Called Animal Years and Mike joins us to discuss Caroline and other songs from the Animal Years repetoire.

Gary Nicholson is a two-time Grammy winning producer and member of the Texas Heritage Songwriter Hall of Fame. He has had more than 500 recordings of his songs released. His songs span multiple genres including Country, Rock, blues, folk, bluegrass and pop. His songs have been recorded by an insanely long list of artists which includes Garth Brooks, BB King, John Prine, Ringo Star, Waylon Jennings, EmmyLou Harris, Vince Gill, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Willie Nelson, George Straig, Kenny Chesney, Robert Plant, Reba McEntire and a list that goes on. His 50 year friendship and collaboration with Delbert McClinton produced over 50 recorded songs and several award winning records. An amazingly kind and humble man who is overflowing with talent, you may not know Gary Nicholson but you have heard his songs.

With vocal comparisons to Janis Joplin and Grace Slick and guitar work likened to Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour, Jocelyn & Chris and their band have charted three consecutive radio singles in the Billboard AAA Top 40, taken two records to #1 on the Jambands Top 30 Album Chart, and appeared nationally on NBC’s Today Show. The siblings, both recent graduates of Harvard University, have balanced college with performances coast to coast and recordings featuring special guests Cory Wong of Vulfpeck, G. Love, and Gov’t Mule’s Danny Louis. They’ve been featured at Sundance, Summerfest, SXSW, and on the main stage at Mountain Jam Music Festival. On this episode, they discuss “Outta My Head,” “Footprints On The Moon,” “Weatherman,” “Kill In The Cure,” and “Mercy Me.”

Bo Armstrong is a Dallas-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter who pairs hardened lyrics with a heartfelt voice to deliver honest, Texas-inspired Americana songs.  He has just released his first full album called Chasing Ballads following up his 2018 EP Where We Are.   The album was produced by up and coming Austin producer Brian Douglas Phillips at Brian’s hot recording studio Rattle Trap Audio.  Brian contributes acoustic guitar, banjo, bass guitar, mellotron, vocals and some co-writes and they create a fusion of folk, rock and country sounds and strong storytelling on Chasing Ballads.  Chasing Ballads tells stories about human relationships including finding and falling in love, marriage, parenting, loneliness and vulnerability and other timeless musical themes. Bo shares the backstory on “Meet Me In Memphis,” “Here’s Looking At You Kid,” “Mama Sway,” “Wearing Out These Wings,” and “Dance With Me.”

2019 Hall of Fame Songwriter Jack Tempchin is recognized as an architect of the Southern California Sound, an amalgamation of rock, country, folk and blues. His breakout song “Peaceful Easy Feeling" was The Eagles first single and was quickly followed by “Already Gone” and both appear on EAGLES Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 which is the Best Selling U.S. Album of the 20th Century. His co-writes with Glenn Frey produced a non-stop string of hit songs in the 1980s and Jack continues to write and release great songs. On this episode of Backstory Song, Jack discusses “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Already Gone,” “Slow Dancing (Swaying To The Music),” “The One You Love,” “True Love,” “You Belong To The City,” “Never Had A Chance To Say Goodbye,” “White Shoes,” “Your Tattoo,” “Fifteen Days Under The Hood,” and “One More Time With Feeling.”

Robert Landau grew up in Montreal, Canada and has lived in the Northern Canadian Mining towns, the deep south of panhandle Florida, and western states including Portland, Oregon where he currently lives. With four released albums of solo acoustic guitar driven songs, he has led the troubadour’s life playing in crowded saloons, vibrant music festivals, honky tonks and coffee houses across North America for over 20 years. On this episode, Robert shares his backstory on “Montreal Tonight,” “Tallahassee",” “Landmark Saloon,” “I Don’t Know You Yet",” “Sunday Morning," “Shelter In Place” and “The Flu: A Folk Song.”

Allen Reynolds has had a legendary career as a performer, songwriter, and producer of songs over six decades. A member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Allen began his career in the legendary Sun Studios of Sam Phillips in Memphis where he and Dickey Lee wrote Memphis Beat for Jerry Lee Lewis. He went on to write 17 Top 40 hits. His collaborations as both writer and producer of Don Williams and Crystal Gayle transformed their careers and catapulted them to stardom. His magic in the production room led to him becoming the go to producer for Garth Brooks, Emmy Lou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Chris LeDoux, Hal Ketchum and many others. Allen Reynolds artistic contributions to the American musical lexicon are vast and expansive and it is a thrill to have him on Backstory Song.

Nashville Songwriter Hall of Famer and three time BMI Songwriter of the Year, Kye Fleming has written 42 BMI Award winning songs including seven #1 songs. She later teamed with legendary songwriter Janis Ian and crossed over to more mainstream pop songs recorded by legends like Tina Turner, Bette Midler and Willie Nelson. In this episode, Kye discusses her songs “Falling Galling Gone” which played on the Sonny & Cher show in 1972, “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed,” “Crackers,” “Years,” “The Prayers of My Grandmother” (unreleased), “Missin’ You,” “Roll On Mississippi,” “Nobody,” “Smokey Mountain Rain,” “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World,” “Cross My Broken Heart,” “Some People’s Lives,” “Give Me Wings,” and “Sometimes She Remembers” (unreleased)

Rob Duquette is a multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter and head of the eponymously named band Duquette. A long time sideman during the 1990s on drums, xylophone, guitar and vocals for Jonathan Edwards of the Lovin Spoonful’s touring band, and one half of the critically acclaimed jazz folk pop duo Cactus Highway during the 2000s, Rob discusses his songs “Movin On,” “See Me,” “You Be The Tree,” “Light House” and “Trying Hard.”

Brennen Leigh is an American triple threat songwriter, guitar and mandolin player, and singer. She has just released her sixth solo album Prairie Love Letter produced by Grammy nominated Robbie Fulks and is an ode to her birthplace on the state line between Minnesota and North Dakota. Brennen began touring around the United States at the age of fourteen with her brother Seth Hulbert and is the two-time Texas Music Awards Best Female Vocalist and the 2018 Ameripolitan Music Honky Tonk Award winner.  Twenty years later, Prairie Love Letter, reflects an immense evolution as an artist.  On this episode, Brennen discusses “Prairie Funeral,” “North Dakota Cowboy,” “The John Deere H,” “Outside The Jurisdiction of Man,” and “Billy & Beau.”