All Your Days

Latest Episodes:

David Rovics (Part 1 of 2: Boxes and Crucibles) Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

Some songwriters, they yearn for a mantle — they strive for the political mark. David Rovics’ songs move musically in the way of the great protesters, singers and poets — the Seegers and the Guthries, Baez, early Dylan, the Anne Feenies and the Alix Olson. I’ve finally had a chance to talk with David. What I discovered, and what fills the next two episodes of this show, is an artist still at work on the specific and the topical and the positively protest-oriented, but I also found a person deeply embroiled in the new tides of the present. this is a story of protest, and of being protested, and it is a story of minds and souls that are searching for the paths that navigate both of those poles while staying in the light and, if were are lucky enough, offering some guiding point, some pinprick of illumination, to others.

Clips in this episode:

‘Church of the Kitchen Sink’ (2003–2023) Jun 06, 2023

Show notes

In the fall of 2002, I turned on a four-track and demo-ed the album I intended to record as a follow-up to my record 'Life Underwater.' A lot of things changed after that. The new season of ‘All Your Days’ starts with the story of lost work and how it was made between the events of September 11, 2001, and the day I switched on the recorder. A portrait of a year marked by fire and death, haunted spaces and creations, by the accidental making of a time capsule that would emerge 20 years later as a testament of sorts.

Clips in this episode:

Melissa Ferrick (Part 2 of 2: Avatars and Gratitude) Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

Part two of a stunning and wide-open conversation with Melissa Ferrick. From the Spotify class action suit to writer’s block to the revival and reinforcement of a practice to the transformation of a life into one that strives for balance between artist and academic, the podcast is joined again by this incredible voice, one that has been putting in the work since 1991. We pick up Melissa’s journey from where we left off in the heady early days, tracking days of triumph and troubles all the way to the present, where the artist — and the academic — are on the cusp of new and powerful moments. And we get a sneak peek at Melissa’s new single.

Clips in this episode:

Melissa Ferrick (Part 1 of 2: Tests and Invitations) Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

In 1991, nineteen-year-old Melissa Ferrick got a phone call. The caller told her that she was about to open for Morrissey. She had about an hour to get to the amphitheater. And the next day, they sent a car to take her away on tour with Moz. It has been a long time since I last spoke with Melissa. And never before have we spoken to each other about the stories and experiences and details that she shares. Part 1 of 2, this episode is such a generous conversation re: early days, transformations, triumphs, frustrations ... and "Drive." Our conversation floored me with its specificity and sometimes its vulnerability and always by how powerfully the way Melissa Ferrick describes her world resonates.

Clips in this episode:

Chris Chandler (Magic and Change) Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

Chris Chandler is a maker of new things out of two things, out of three things, out of four — one of the world’s consummate collaborators, sharing tracks with luminaries, fusing the verse he inhabits with the chords and choruses of artists such as Dan Bern, Jim Infantino, Peter Yarrow, Anne Feeney and Paul Benoit. I’ve known Chris a bit over the years, and years ago shared stages with him here and there, and I’ve always been moved and awed by what he manages to do with a pair of vocal cords and the truth. But I’ve never heard his full story or gotten under the hood with the head that makes it all work. Until this episode.

Clips in this episode:

Ted Drozdowski (Triumphs and Exorcisms) Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Ted Drozdowski penned what is probably the most important article about my musical work in the whole of my strange little start-and-stop songwriting career. But that's not what this episode is really about. Ted Drozdowski packed his bags and traveled the world and played the blues, and he gets to say that forever. That is part of what this episode is about, and that he is a believer in the power of the guitar, and that he is connected to some part of an older source, an older trunk line. This is his story, an artist's story. Ted Drozdowski is our guest on this episode of 'All Your Days.'

Clips in this episode:

John Sinclair (Freedoms and Imprisonments) Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

The sound of John Sinclair giving his poetry to a room is a deep motion, a rumble from some planetary layer. The sound of John Sinclair giving this interview is a hurricane motion, a gale force communication from a past and present that cannot be ignored. His is a story that includes great artists of our time, of his time — the 1960s especially — of a time that feels long ago until you hear the voices again ... huge, urgent, howling. Poet, activist, ally, cause celebre, White Panther, prisoner, a free man — and all the complications that come with all those things — this is John Sinclair on 'All Your Days.'

Clips in this episode:

Ed Bell (Memory and Names) Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Archaeologist and historian Edward L. Bell joins ‘All Your Days’ to talk about his recent book, a history — and a mystery (and he's come the furthest in solving it) — tied to stories of slaves in the Northeast U.S. and what we think we know about bastions of abolition. A lot. Heavy talk. Good talk. Needed talk. Ed and I go back as musical friends as well, and I learn a lot about this person I’ve known for many years, including his parents’ early days around Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, and our shared connection to Ferron’s incredible songwriting.

Clips in this episode:

Walter Geer III (Patience and Wake-Up Calls) Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

Walter Geer III is a creative director in the advertising world. In 2018, he approached me with this one specific story, and in this episode, we return to that moment, that project — one that is now ongoing, one that focuses on social justice, equality, ambition, expectations, repercussions, and perseverance. One that's changed Walt's life and changed the lives of people working with words and images and sound throughout his industry. And made some of them angry, too. This is a story of what it means to stand up, to take flak for standing up, and to keep standing up regardless. Walter Geer III is our guest on this episode of ‘All Your Days.’

Clips in this episode:

Dhani Jones (Persistence and Exhaustion) Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

His name is Dhani Jones. He was a middle linebacker in the NFL from 2000 to 2011, from the New York Giants to the Eagles to the Cincinnati Bengals. And that’s only part of the story. Dhani hosts TV shows on The Travel Channel and CNBC, publishes a book about his sport, starts companies and creative agencies and invests in visionary organizations that are shaping the future, all while working for equality in our schools and workplaces. He’s one of the most inspiring people I know, in a rare class of doers — the kind that talks the talk and walks the walk. In this episode of ‘All Your Days,’ Dhani Jones is my mind-blowingly passionate guest for a deep talk about persistence and recognition, passion, curiosity — and about exhaustion as a process rather than an obstacle. It’s a big one. This is Dhani Jones.

Clips in this episode:

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

All Your Days

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6