PODCAST · music
For Songs
by Rob Thormeyer
This podcast is for those who love music but can't write a tune to save their lives. We talk with singer/songwriters of all stripes, professional touring musicians to those who can't quite catch a break. Maybe you'll hear something you'll like. Maybe not. But you will come away with a greater appreciation for the gift of songwriting, and how hard it really is. Now sponsored by @thepugdc!
Episodes
-
Episode 84: For Songs Singles! Dreaming Dangerous by Sons of Silver
It’s no secret that streaming has upended the music industry. As chronicled numerous times on this show, independent artists these days are throwing whatever they can at the wall in hopes that something—anything—sticks. In this episode, recurring guest Peter Argyropoulos of the LA-based hard-rock...
-
Episode 83: For Songs Singles! Reckoning by the Sweet Lizzy Project
I’ve been doing this long enough to say that it’s kind of a big deal to hear a song that stops you dead in your tracks. A song so urgent, fresh and timely that you remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard it. Well, Reckoning by the Havana-by-way-of-Nashville based…
more -
Episode 82: For Songs Singles! Like a Simile, Scott Miller
Can you believe it! Six years ago I started this podcast at the height of COVID on a complete whim. Never thought I’d be doing this for more than a few weeks let alone six freaking years! And what a way to celebrate by bringing back my first-ever guest, Staunton, Va.-based singer-songwriter Scott...
-
Episode 81: A Return Conversation with James Fearnley of the Pogues, Walker Roaders
“What’s missing…is Shane.” Buckle up for a special episode of For Songs Singles! In this episode, James Fearnley, original accordion player for the legendary Irish/English punk band the Pogues, returns to talk about the band’s recent run of reunion shows celebrating the 40th anniversaries of…
more -
Episode 80: A Fourth Conversation with Dom Flemons
There are folk records, and then there is the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ debut album Genuine Negro Jig. Released in 2010, Genuine Negro Jig not only blew peoples’ minds, it also laid waste one of the oldest myths in music—that bluegrass and folk were largely played and created by white musicians.…
more -
Episode 79: A Conversation with Corey Ledet
Live albums can be a tough lot. Too much crowd noise can block out the best parts of your favorite songs. A rough mix can dilute the sound. Slick production can make it seem like the crowd isn’t even there. On so on and so forth. But when you get it right, you’ll never put it down. As is the case...
-
Episode 78: A Conversation with Adam Levy of the Honeydogs
You know that feeling when you rediscover something—a sound, a feeling—that makes you feel young again? Takes you back 25-plus years? Just hits you right between the eyes? I do, because it happened the second I heard the opening riff of “Irish Goodbye,” the first single from latest album by the...
-
Episode 77: A Return Conversation with Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers
Sit down everyone as school is back in session. Your teacher for this episode is one of America’s best storytellers, Louisiana-based singer/songwriter/fiddler/guitarist Louis Michot. Louis is truly a national treasure, a student as much as he is teacher. In his "day job" he fronts the multiple...
-
Episode 76: A Return Conversation with Lisset Diaz of the Sweet Lizzy Project
Every album is important to every band, but some have greater impact than others. Look no further than the [Sweet Lizzy Project](www.sweetlizzyproject.com). The now Nashville-based band’s first album Heaven, was released 10 years ago this year and literally changed their lives. Recorded in a…
more -
Episode 75: A Fourth Conversation with Dan Murphy
If nothing else, music is healing. Look no further than my guest on this episode—Dan Murphy, former lead guitarist from the 80s-90s cowpunk band Soul Asylum and the alt.country super group Golden Smog. The Minneapolis-based Murphy, who thought he had quit the music biz for good roughly 13 years...
-
Episode 74: Live! In the Studio! A Conversation with Kevin & Jarrett from Franklin Gotham
It’s a For Songs first! Join me in the studio for this fabulous conversation with Kevin and Jarrett from the rock/pop/indie rock trio Franklin Gotham. This interview was recorded at Jarrett’s Mixtape Studios in Alexandria, Va. We talk about the band’s latest EP Good Times, Bad Times, and three...
-
Episode 73: A Return Conversation with Yasmin Williams
Prepare to be transported. Destination? Who knows, somewhere peaceful no doubt. Just get ready and enjoy the ride. My guest for this episode is making her fifth appearance on the show—[Yasmin Williams](www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com), one of the most innovative and talented musicians I’ve ever…
more -
Episode 72: A Return Conversation with Peter Argyropoulos of Sons of Silver
If you are looking for an album so definitive of our times—an album that exquisitely captures the chaos, the churn, the despair, and ultimately the hope of our world—look no further: LA-based Sons of Silver’s newest release Runaway Emotions is absolutely the one. Lead singer/songwriter Peter...
-
Episode 71: For Songs Singles! Tales of Never-ending Rage and a Beautiful Disaster, Sweet Lizzy Project
Happy Halloween! Here’s a special edition of For Songs Singles! This time we bring back old friend Lisset Diaz, singer/songwriter for the Havana-by-Nashville-based Sweet Lizzy Project, probably one of the hardest rocking and hardest working bands around. Lisset joins me to talk about the band’s...
-
Episode 70: For Songs Singles! Speedway, The Scarlet Goodbye
Buckle up everyone—it’s milestone time! This episode of For Songs is the nice, big, round number of 70! That’s right, 7-0! And helping me celebrate is the most popular guest I’ve had—Minneapolis singer/songwriter/guitarist Dan Murphy. A co-founding member of one of Minnesota’s biggest rock band...
-
Episode 69: For Songs Singles! Beware, the Mighty Joshua
Sometimes the simplest words say the most. For proof, look no further than my next guest, Richmond, Va.-based singer/songwriter [Mighty Joshua](www.mightyjoshua.com). Mighty Joshua is one of the hottest, sought after reggae acts along the East Coast, and his new album Dreaducation demonstrates…
more -
Episode 68: A Conversation with Ian Hunter
Every now and again I pinch myself when doing this show. It’s been four years and I’ve had some amazing guests. Yet this one—with all due respect to everyone who’s been on—this one has been more than 30 years in the making. Because my guest is Ian Hunter, hands down my favorite singer-songwriter…
more -
Episode 67: For Songs Singles! Find Your Way, Tim Easton
Some folks are just a natural for this show. Nashville-based veteran singer/songwriter Tim Easton certainly fits the bill. A renowned tunesmith, Easton has lived a quintessential troubadour life—busking in Europe and living in L.A., New York, and many places in between. Now calling Nashville…
more -
Episode 66: For Songs Singles! Tell Me This, Sons of Silver
If there’s one lesson songwriters learn over and over again, it’s that sometimes you just gotta let go. Sometimes you just gotta let the song work its way out on its own schedule. Just let it go. That’s the trick my next guest leaned on for his band’s latest single. Peter Argyropolous, lead…
more -
Episode 65: For Songs Singles! I Can't Seem to Drink Her Off My Mind, Ian Jones
If there’s been one constant chronicled on this podcast, it’s that no one knows the future of the music industry. Hell, no one even knows what the next few days are going to be like in the industry. Certainly my next guest, Seattle-based singer/songwriter Ian Jones, is doing all he can to crack…
more -
Episode 64: Celebrating the Life of Barry Lynch: A Conversation with Hannah Lynch
Lest anyone doubt the power of music, I give you the life of Barry Lynch. I met Barry while on vacation in May 2012 at a small pub in the small town of Moy, Northern Ireland, after he led a brilliant Irish session in which he sang and played just about every stringed instrument known to man. I...
-
Episode 63: For Songs Singles! Dawning, Yasmin Williams
When we last caught up with Yasmin Williams, her life was just about to change. It was February 2021, the pandemic was slowly but surely starting to ease, and the DC-based acoustic guitar maestro released her groundbreaking album Urban Driftwood. Full of spellbinding, mesmerizing, uplifting...
-
Episode 62: A Conversation with James Fearnley
Thirty years ago, I popped in If I Should Fall From Grace with God by the London-Irish punk band the Pogues, and my life changed forever. I was 17, socially awkward, and a bit of a loner, but discovering the Pogues opened a whole world for me. Finding their brand of traditional Irish music…
more -
Episode 61: For Songs Singles! Somebody Wake Me When Its Over, Sweet Lizzy Project
If you’ve ever felt like there’s just not enough time in the day, that the world is crashing down and you’re feeling more pressure than you can handle, have I got the song for you. In this episode of For Songs Singles, I welcome back Lisset Diaz of the Havana-by-way-of-Nashville-based [Sweet…
more -
Episode 60: A Third Conversation with Louis Michot
Sometimes life comes full circle. In this episode of For Songs, I welcome back Louisiana-based singer/songwriter Louis Michot of the traditional Cajun band the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Louis first appeared on the show in Fall 2020, at the height of the pandemic. He didn’t know it at the time but he…
more -
Episode 59: A Return Conversation with Dom Flemons
The sun is out, life is returning to normal and our favorite bands are back on tour. Not even two years ago this seemed like an impossible dream, as I’ve chronicled on this show. But here we are, in Summer 2023, and things seem, well, pretty good. A new day is dawning. Just ask acclaimed...
-
Episode 58: A Second Conversation with Ian Jones
Music, not unlike life, is about the journey rather than the destination. And perhaps no artist I’ve interviewed knows that better than Seattle-based singer/songwriter Ian Jones. A true song craftsman, Ian knows that getting your big break in the music industry is about luck and being in the…
more -
Episode 57: For Songs Singles! Break Down the Walls, Emma Noble
The best thing about music is no matter how old you are, no matter how long you’ve been listening and loving music, you can still hear something that will stop you in your tracks. Which is what happened to me a few months ago when London-based singer/songwriter Emma Noble’s latest single Break…
more -
Episode 56: A Return Conversation with Dan Murphy of the Scarlet Goodbye
Join me as former Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy makes his long-awaited return not only to this show but to the music industry as a whole! In this episode, Dan talks about his new band the Scarlet Goodbye and its brand-spanking new debut album Hope’s Eternal. The band is a duo, with Dan being...
-
Episode 55: A Fourth Conversation with Paleface!
Remember last fall? When indie-rock legend Paleface and his partner/drummer Monica “Mo” Samalot came onto the show to discuss their crowdfunding campaign for their new album? Well you should! And guess what? The campaign was a success and the new album is out! Beyond the Bells was released in...
-
Episode 54: A Conversation with Mark Bingham
From New Orleans to “Fakersfield,” Mark Bingham has seen it all. The sought-after producer, songwriter, guitarist, arranger, etc., has literally rubbed elbows with music royalty. Bands like REM, artists like Dr. John, Marianne Faithfull have all called on Mark to produce, arrange, you name it.…
more -
Episode 53: A Return Conversation with Lisset Diaz of the Sweet Lizzy Project
If you love music, if music changed your life, if music made you feel things you’ve never felt before, then this is the interview for you. Joining me once again is Lisset Diaz of the Cuban-by-way-of-Nashville-based Sweet Lizzy Project. We discuss the band’s newest and long-awaited album Pirate...
-
Episode 52: A Conversation with Nora O'Connor
There’s a moment in singer/songwriter Nora O’Connor’s new album My Heart when you realize just how special her talent is. By admission, the Chicago-based musician is more comfortable in the background, singing backup and playing various instruments with such Americana luminaries like Neko Case…
more -
Episode 51: A Conversation with John McCutcheon
You think you’ve been productive during COVID? Maybe so, but did you write, record, and release three (that’s right, THREE!!!) albums in two-plus years? No? Well, my next guest did. In fact, folk singer John McCutcheon’s latest album Leap, released in September 2022, is not only his third album...
-
Episode 50: Another Conversation with Paleface
As you’ve no doubt heard in listening to this podcast, the music industry is not for the faint of heart. You need nerves of steel, patience, determination, and, at times, a devil-may-care attitude. You also need support, and lots of it, if you hope to make just enough to get by. In this special...
-
Episode 49: A Conversation with Barry Lynch
For me, this episode is 11 years in the making. For my guest Barry Lynch and his group the Armagh Rhymers? We’re talking 30 years. The Armagh Rhymers, a traditional Irish mummers band from Northern Ireland, released their first album in 1992. So now 30 years later, “Vol. 2” is on the streets and,...
-
Episode 48: Another Conversation with Peter Argyropoulos of Sons of Silver
Peter Argyropoulos has a way with words. The lead singer/songwriter of the LA-based hard-rock band Sons of Silver has his finger on the pulse on what’s happening across the country and, indeed, the world. On his band’s debut EP Doomsday Noises, he presaged the pandemic, the social unrest, and the...
-
Episode 47: A Conversation with Ben Vaughn
There’s something about simplicity and subtlety that sets the best songwriters apart. The simplicity in using the exact, perfect word—and only that word—to describe a feeling in a way that everyone can relate. And the subtlety of taking the listener on an emotional journey with a song that only...
-
Episode 46: A Conversation with the Waymores
Funny how the world works, at least in the world of music. This is the story of Kira Annelise and her husband Willie Heath Neal, who together make up the country duo The Waymores. When they met, Willie was a seasoned songwriter about to hang it up. He was still singing in bands when Kira saw him...
-
Episode 45: For Songs Singles! Restless Companion, Michael Patrick F. Smith
It’s been a little more than since my next guest first joined me on For Songs. Michael Patrick F. Smith and I go way back. Way way back. To elementary school, middle school, high school, and even church. Michael returns to the show for the first time since January 2021, a few weeks before his…
more -
Episode 44: Another Conversation with The Pug--Talking the Clash, Joe Strummer, Big Audio Dynamite & Much More!
It’s been a rough two years, to say the least. Music is one of the few things keeping us together, and for some of us, The Clash have been doing the heavy lifting. In this unique episode, Tony from the Pug joins me for an enthralling conversation about music, the Clash, and so much more. The...
-
Episode 43: A Conversation with Emily Capell
Question for you: If you had the chance to spend an hour in the car with one of your musical heroes—you are driving—what music would you play? Believe it or not, this is a difficult, stressful decision. And my next guest, northwest London-based Emily Capell, faced this very dilemma. Emily, who...
-
Episode 42: A Conversation with the Whitmore Sisters
It is a cliché that blood is thicker than water, but its also true. And my next guests are living proof. Bonnie and Eleanor Whitmore of the Whitmore Sisters have just released their first album as a duo. Ghost Stories is an emotional powerhouse. And it is full of inspiration. Eleanor and Bonnie...
-
Episode 41: A Conversation with Ian Jones
So if there’s one theme in most all these interviews I’ve conducted the last nearly two years, it’s that the music biz is a tough one, even in the best of times. When you think about it, it’s almost impossible to make money—spotify, pandora, and the Internet have seen to that. And my next guest,...
-
Episode 40: For Songs Singles! Keeping On, Franklin Gotham
Here we go—nearing Year Three of this pandemic. Not to mention the coldest days of the year, hazardous weather, you name it. Days like these, you gotta dig deep to keep going. If you are struggling to trudge ahead as the news seemingly gets worse every day, have I got a song for you. Joining me…
more -
Episode 39: A Conversation with Nicole Atkins
It is Christmas time, and while this isn’t a Christmas episode per se, it is the gift that keeps on giving. If you’ve ever heard Nicole Atkins sing, you know there’s something eerie, calm, haunting yet beautiful about her voice. There’s a sense of mystery, a compelling sound that keeps you coming...
-
Episode 38: For Songs Singles! Dreaming of a Revolution, by the Sweet Lizzy Project
The spark of freedom can be seen anywhere if you look for it. In this episode of For Songs-Singles, we bring back Lisset Diaz of the Sweet Lizzy Project (www.sweetlizzyproject.com) to discuss her band’s latest single, Dreaming of a Revolution/Otra Revolucion. The song is inspired by the…
more -
Episode 37: A Conversation with the Mighty Joshua
Never doubt it—music can change lives. My next guest is living proof. Renowned reggae singer The Mighty Joshua certainly had no intentions of singing and playing in front of thousands. In fact he started his musical career in Richmond, Va., as a percussionist in a few reggae bands, content…
more -
Episode 36: A Second Conversation with Louis Michot
With Hurricane Ida bearing down on his home state of Louisiana, musician Louis Michot felt helpless. After a quick jaunt for his band’s—Grammy winning Lost Bayou Ramblers—first gig outside Louisiana in nearly two years, Michot and his crew raced home to be with their family as the storm…
more -
Episode 35: A Conversation with Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers
It sounds like a cliché, but sometimes when you expect the unexpected, you might just get exactly what you need. That’s what happened to then-California-based singer/songwriters Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers after a chance meeting in 2019. Jackson and Sellers, both accomplished artists on...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
This podcast is for those who love music but can't write a tune to save their lives. We talk with singer/songwriters of all stripes, professional touring musicians to those who can't quite catch a break. Maybe you'll hear something you'll like. Maybe not. But you will come away with a greater appreciation for the gift of songwriting, and how hard it really is. Now sponsored by @thepugdc!
HOSTED BY
Rob Thormeyer
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does For Songs have?
For Songs currently has 84 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is For Songs about?
This podcast is for those who love music but can't write a tune to save their lives. We talk with singer/songwriters of all stripes, professional touring musicians to those who can't quite catch a break. Maybe you'll hear something you'll like. Maybe not. But you will come away with a greater...
How often does For Songs release new episodes?
For Songs has 84 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to For Songs?
You can listen to For Songs on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts For Songs?
For Songs is created and hosted by Rob Thormeyer.
URL copied to clipboard!