Episodes
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Chris Spies: Mobile's Improvising Musical Innovator
For Chris Spies, making music has always meant figuring it out as he goes. From his first gig on the back of a trailer at a high school keg party to twenty years on the road with the Honey Island Swamp Band, Spies has built a career around improvisation, experimentation, and the search for new...
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Rick Hirsch Belongs on Mobile Music's Mount Rushmore
Mobile has always had great music, but few bands are bigger in the city’s musical history than Wet Willie. In this episode, Eric Erdman sits down with one of the band’s founding members to hear how an unexpected phone call helped launch a remarkable career. What was supposed to be a two-week gig…
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Jenna McClelland: Juggling Music and Babies
In this episode, Eric sits down with Jenna McClelland, a singer-songwriter who grew up with music in her family—her dad was a songwriter and session guitar player. Jenna’s childhood dream was to be a pop star, but she didn’t fully pursue performing until after college, where she earned a BFA in...
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Doug Previto: The Papa of Mobile Music
For some musicians, becoming part of Mobile’s music scene means getting your name on the marquee. Doug “Papa Veet” Previto got his face on a Mardi Gras float. In this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, Papa Veet looks back on a lifetime of playing music and the bar that became a home base for...
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Matt McCoy: Radio Chose Me
Matt McCoy is one of the most recognizable voices on Mobile radio, but he never chose this life. "Radio chose me." When a failed calculus class derailed his plans for medical school, a kid from Beaver, Pennsylvania, found an entirely unexpected path into radio. After stops in Tuscaloosa and...
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Jacob Brock: All Roads Lead Back Home
Jacob Brock grew up surrounded by music. His mom and dad met while his dad was playing in a local band, making him what he proudly calls a "band baby." From watching band rehearsals in the living room to listening to his dad's burned CD setlists filled with Stone Temple Pilots, Eve 6, and other...
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Kat Deal: Success is Paying the Bills by Playing Music
Before she became one of Mobile's busiest singer-songwriters, Kat Deal was a kid from Troy who begged her parents for guitar lessons, but had to wait until hunting season ended. She picked up the instrument at seven years old and never looked back. In this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound…
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Jack and Andy Bishop: Sharing a Passion for Music
Before they were selling out arenas and winning awards, the Red Clay Strays were just a group of South Alabama musicians trying to get anyone to pay attention. In this episode of Dealing The Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with Red Clay Strays bassist Andrew Bishop and his father, Jack...
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Hosea London: Learning the Excelsior Tradition by Being in the Band
In this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with Hosea London–one of Mobile's most respected musicians and cultural leaders. Hosea shares how a band director's decision in elementary school steered him from trombone to trumpet–a choice that shaped the rest of his life....
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Noell Broughton: The Creator of Good Times
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with Mobile music venue legend Noell Broughton — the man behind Monsoons, The Brickyard, and some of the most unforgettable nights in Gulf Coast music history. Noell reflects on his first concert — the night his dad’s band...
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Grayson Capps: A Bowl of Fresh Water and A Thorn in The Side
Eric joins singer-songwriter and Mobile music icon Grayson Capps. Grayson traces his path from studying theater at Tulane to fronting bands in New Orleans, landing a record deal at 21, and eventually making the leap to full-time musician after teaching John Travolta songs for the film *A Love…
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Ryan Balthrop: Leaving Songs Open for Interpretation
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with singer-songwriter Ryan Balthrop, whose music blends island rhythms with ’70s acoustic and Gulf Coast Soul. Ryan tells about his first gig at the Sundowner in 1994, the early days of his band Slow Moses, and coming up in...
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Johnny Hayes: Appreciating the Sun and Rain in Mobile
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with singer-songwriter Johnny Hayes. Johnny traces the moment he first “anted up” in music—from nervously asking to play a few songs during a bar break in Tuscaloosa to landing his first gig (it paid $50). Johnny shares…
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Molly Thomas: Composing Without A Map
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Molly Thomas. Molly talks about gigging in high school in a jazz quartet—learning to improvise and get paid—then moving through orchestra work, folk bands, and rock and roll....
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Phill Proctor and Stan Foster: The Godfathers of Mobile Music
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with Phil Proctor and Stan Foster — a duo whose music is at the heart of Callaghan’s Irish Social Club. Phil was the first musician to ever play Callaghan’s, starting out solo before years with Dog River Boys, Deluxe Trio…
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Emily Stuckey: The Dental Hygenist Who Broke Loose
On this episode of Dealing the Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with singer Emily Stuckey, whose path to the stage took time and courage. Emily shares how she didn’t begin performing until her mid-to-late twenties, held back for years by shyness and a fear of vulnerability. At the time…
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Garrett Howell Brings Listeners Into The Room
On this episode of Dealing the Sound of Mobile, host Eric Erdman sits down with songwriter Garrett Howell, who first picked up a guitar at 19 after returning home from seminary—a run that lasted about one gig. Years later, Garrett found his way back to music. Raised in Lucedale, Mississippi…
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Symone French Found Her Flow in Mobile
On this episode of Dealing The Mobile Sound, host Eric Erdman sits down with singer Symone French, whose musical story begins early and comes back around in its own time. She won a fourth-grade talent show singing a Destiny’s Child song with her best friend, formed a tiny band called Charmed, and...
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Abe Partridge: Being on This Side of the Curtain
In the first episode of “Dealing The Mobile Sound,” Abe Partridge talks about starting songwriting in his mid-twenties while pastoring a church, creating music for himself as a way through hard seasons. He shares why mystery matters in art and how painting and songwriting helped him navigate loss...
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Dealing The Mobile Sound Trailer
Dealing The Mobile Sound is a podcast about the songs and stories behind Mobile music. Hosted by Eric Erdman and recorded around a poker table in the back room at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club, the show brings together local musicians to talk about the music that shaped them — and the city that...
About this show
A podcast about the songs and stories behind Mobile music. From the back room at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club, Eric Erdman talks with local musicians about where the music comes from — and what keeps it alive.
Hosted by
Eric Erdman
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