Artist Spotlight Podcast Series

James and Beth Riley recently spoke with Nicole Damoff from The Surfrajettes! They talk about her influences, the members of The Surfrajettes, recent tour (and trying to pack for all seasons), headlining vs being an opener, looking to bands like The Ventures as inspiration, record store finds, cover tunes, writing originals, being on a couple of The Beach Boys cruises (and what they learn from playing with icons like that), working on their new album, requests for our radio shows, desert island discs, our time machine question of what time period she would like to go back to...Oh, and they also chat about Jim Babjak of The Smithereens who had commented "Cool" on a Facebook video that Beth shared of The Surfrajettes live. All of that and so much more!

Beth Riley chats with guitarist Jim Suhler on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They chat about his influences, bands he is a part of (Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, George Thorogood & The Destroyers and Texas Scratch), having Billy F Gibbons play a big role in his 2002 wedding and meeting some of his idols. They also chat about Jackson Browne and his music, as well as The Kentucky Headhunters. Of course, the infamous time machine and desert island disc picks are talked about. They chat about Jim Suhler's band Texas Scratch's debut album from 2009 finally being released 14 years later, as well as his thoughts on his bandmates, Buddy Whittington, Vince Converse, Jeff Simon and Jim talks about the loss of Nathaniel Peterson. Not a dull moment on this episode and there are so many good stories. If you ever wondered what Jim would pick between "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" (the song pre dated his time in The Destroyers but it had to be asked), his answer might surprise you. All of that and so much more!

Beth Riley chats with guitarist Bryan Bassett on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They chat about his influences, various bands he's been in (including Molly Hatchet and Wild Cherry). They talk about how he joined Foghat and their new album "Sonic Mojo"that was released on November 10, 2023. Bryan picks his favorite track off of the album and his favorite from his entire career. He also talks about the late Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown and his influence on Foghat and him personally. Of course, Beth had to talk about Jackson Browne and Bryan talks about his love of Jackson's songwriting. Bryan tells his favorite memories from each band he has been a part of, as well as talking about his time teaching in college and how difficult it was to answer to Professor Bassett. Current influences and bands that Bryan listens to are also on this episode. Beth mentions a surf band called Froghat and Bryan talks about a piece of Foghat merch that was a frog head made for babies to wear as a hat...making it a frog-hat. Lots of laughs on this one, and, as always, there's the time machine question and Bryan's desert island disc picks....all of that and so much more.

Beth Riley chats with Todd Bradley on this episode of the Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. Join the conversation as they chat about Todd's beginning stages of music, his short time at Berklee College of Music, bands he has been in including Delroy Rebop, Indirect Object, The Essentials, The Salamanders and of course, his current band: The Hi-Risers. They also talk about his friends and bandmates (both past and current) including: Jason Smay, Greg Townson, Trevor Lake, Eddie Angel, Jim Symonds and others. The Bossa Nova Bradley Brothers (that Todd does with his brothers Mark and Scott) is talked about too... including upcoming shows for them. Todd speaks highly of his wife of nearly 3 decades and their 2 wonderful kids and he also speaks highly of Lou Whitney and D.Clinton Thompson of The Skeletons/The Morrells....as well as the owners of Hi-Tide Recordings: Vincent and Magdalena Minervino. We didn't forget about the famous desert island disc question either....find out which albums Todd picked! All that and so much more!

Beth Riley chats with legendary guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Mark Farner on this episode. They chat about his influences, various bands he's been in (including Grand Funk Railroad and Ringo Starr's & His All Starr Band), a new project in the works, their shared admiration of Thomas Jefferson, our military and veterans, his parents, the secret to a long lasting marriage (since he and his wife Leisa have been married for over 4 decades). Of course, they had to talk about Jackson Browne and what song Mark inspired of his. They also chat about his love of The Beach Boys harmonies, as well as The Ventures impact on music. As always, there's the time machine question and Mark's desert island disc picks....all of that and so much more.

Beth Riley chats with Andrew Himmler of The Delta Bombers on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They chat about The Delta Bombers upcoming album "Neon Sounds", due to be released on April 2. They chat about working with producer Mark Neill and a well kept secret of his. They also chat about the history of the band, influences, their style, Jim Morrison and Jackson Browne, being away from family and places they have seen Delta Bombers merch. Let's not forget about the time machine question, which includes Andrew's love of history and Beth's fascination with Thomas Jefferson. All of that and so much more!

Beth Riley chats with singer/songwriter Bryan James on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They chat about his influences, family life, lyrics from his songs, a fun story about Ben Haggard (son of Merle Haggard), his buddies T.J. Hernandez, Jeb Brown and Dallas Moore, the potential of working with Lyman Ellerman, recording and touring. Bryan also talks about his desert island disc choices, favorite time period and a lot more!

Beth Riley chats with Deven Berryhill of The Surfaris and The Tourmaliners on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They talk about Deven growing up with his Dad, Bob Berryhill of the legendary surf band The Surfaris, playing music with his Dad, Mom and brother, as well as his own kids and how music has been passed down to them too! Also, there is talk of The Tourmaliners brand new album "Surfidia" released on December 20, 2022! Several cool guest artists on there including a Riley household favorite: Eddie Angel of Los Straitjackets! More topics discussed include the influence of Bono from U2, desert island discs, influences, members of The Tourmaliners and how they met, how he feels to be a part of The Surfaris with his Dad and maybe he'll answer the difficult question that Beth asked him: The Surfaris or The Tourmaliners....which is the better band? Spoiler alert: he doesn't really say one is better than the other, but, he does talk about how they are different. All that and so much more in this fun episode. Grab your surfboard and don't "Wipe Out"....we're gonna get a little "Swanky"!

Beth Riley chats with Chris Impellitteri of the metal band, Impellitteri on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They talk about Chris losing his parents at a young age, being raised by his grandparents (and ultimately naming the band as a tribute to them), an AC/DC tribute band Chris was in called QT Hush, Deep Purple, Kiss, desert island discs, his daughters, his lovely wife of 31 years, Roni, skipping ahead to the future and lots more. Oh, and of course Impellitteri's new Anthology "Wake The Beast" that was released on September 30! Lots of laughs, good stories and some serious moments in this conversation too!

Beth Riley chats with Abbey of the Australian folk rock band, Little Quirks on this episode of Artist Spotlight Podcast Series. They talk about influences of the band, cover songs, the Little Quirks new single, "The Rain", time travel, desert island discs and what's next for her and Little Quirks.