bartlespeaks2

David Laflamme is best known as the violinist and front man for the band, It's A Beautiful Day. We talk about how the band got its name and how its signature song, White Bird came about. Turns out LaFlamme is also an inventor. He designed a radically-improved electric violin, which we talk about in addition to his band's history, and his plans for the future.

Dum Dum Girls (named, yes, for Iggy Pop's "Dum Dum Boys") began as a bedroom recording project for their front woman, Dee Dee Penny. In this interview, I talk about the band's beginning, Penny's spiritual relationships with poet Patti Smith and the late Lou Reed and the band's upcoming tour and new album.

Heather Dunbar, my collaborator on this interview and a long-time fan described Ms. DeMent's music thusly: "Country music could be more like this if it wanted to be.... What I like best is its true. pure emotion. She is best enjoyed live, but her albums are dynamite!" Although her 2012 album, Sing The Delta is the first album of original music she's released in 16 years, that doesn't mean this sweet-voiced alt-country icon hasn't been busy. In this interview, we discuss her gospel-influenced musical background, her creative process, and side projects like her duet with John Prine. She's currently touring the United States.

You're probably familiar with his 1976 signature song, Dream Weaver. But did you know that Gary Wright was a close friend of former Beatle, George Harrison, and played on a lot of his albums? Did you also know that he began his career in show business at age 9, or that he had his own band, Spooky Tooth in the mid-seventies? Today I talk about those things and more, including his autobiography, which is now in stores.