Backstage Chats with Women In Music
This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself. Please donate today!
In this episode, BlueSkye covers:
— The origin of her unique name.
— Her not-so-lucky Lucky Penny
— The story of her song "America’s Middle Class"
— What it's like to audition for the NBC television show The Voice.
Visit https://herizonmusic.org/blueskye for full Show Notes, videos, social links, and videos!
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself. Please donate today!
In this episode, Katie covers:
— What does the TV show producer do behind the scenes?
— The most memorable thing a celebrity showed her on AXS TV series “Rock & Tell."
— How she snagged a job from another host.
— A valuable lesson her billionaire boss Mark Cuban taught her (and why you may not want to be his landlord).
Visit https://herizonmusic.org/katie-daryl for full Show Notes, videos, social links, and videos!
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
This is Part II of Thea Wood’s chat with Donna Jean Godchaux McKay. In this episode, the Alabama native leaves a promising musical career in Muscle Shoals for uncharted waters in California. She got more than she bargained for!
This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself. Please donate today!
In this episode, Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay covers:
— Why she left a lucrative music career in Muscle Shoals
— Her life-changing decision to join the Grateful Dead
— Forming female friendships while on the road
— Regrouping after tragedy strikes
— Why she re-recorded “Shelter” and its importance in today’s world
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
In this chat, Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay covers:
- Meeting and working with a young Cher in the studio
- The homemade “instrument" her mother came up with so she could make music as a child
- How Muscle Shoals became a safe haven for musicians amidst societal turmoil
- How Elvis treated her in the studio and his last words to her before his death
- What surprising outfit teen Donna Jean wore to the recording studio -- they still talk about today!
- Cultivating lifelong friendships through music
Credits:
Song "Shelter" courtesy of Donna Jean & The Tricksters
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Full show notes along with links to guest sites, social, and more are at BackstageChats.com.
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
When you hear our next guest’s last name, you most likely think of her larger-than-life big brother David Lee Roth — lead singer of Van Halen. But did you know that musical prowess ran in the family?
Driven to turn her love of music into a gift that mothers and babies could enjoy together, Lisa Roth conceived an album series called Rockabye Baby, which transforms pop and rock hits into instrumental lullabies. Acts like Metallica, Lady Gaga, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, and (of course) Van Halen have never sounded so sweet.
With over 100 albums released and billions of streams under her belt, she’s proven to be an exceptional entrepreneur, record label executive and creative director.
In this episode, Lisa covers:
- Life as a kid in the Roth household
- How the ‘60s and ‘70s school integration and women’s lib movements shaped her journey
- Transforming a rock anthem into a soothing lullaby (it ain’t easy!)
- Which skillset gives her an advantage as an entrepreneur
Plus, Lisa’s answers to The Shakedown!
See full show notes, links, and videos at backstagechats.com/lisa-roth
Terri Nunn is the lead singer of Berlin, which many remember from the height of MTV music video days as the sexy trio who brought us “The Metro,” “Sex,” and their runaway Top Gun soundtrack anthem “Take My Breath Away.” The track earned them an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
Here we are 40 years and 8 albums later, and the band introduced their newest album titled “Strings Attached” featuring the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra re-visiting the band’s most iconic tunes. In early 2021, host Thea Wood conducted this remote interview with Terri Nunn.
In This Episode
Terri shares
— The change in mindset that set her free to be happier and take more risks
— Getting the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to sex it up a bit (tell us if you think it worked)
— Recording a video in an active dungeon with a “big reveal” at the end
— Discussing the sexual nature of her art with her kids
— The most memorable words her mother shared before passing on from cancer
— Her life-long fear of people and fear of “losing it all”
Credits
Guest: Terri Nunn of Berlin
Host: Thea Wood
Engineering/Production: Shea Carothers
Photo credit: Marc Green
Song: “Now It’s My Turn” from album “Strings Attached” featuring the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Written by John Buckner Crawford
This is a Herizon Music Foundation production. 2021 ©. Special thanks to RAS Associates and Gibson Brands for supporting Herizon Music’s education, experience, and role-modeling programs. Contact info@herizonmusic.org if you’d like to join our cause.
You may be asking: “What more does Kalie Shorr have to say?” As it turns out, a lot! If you missed the first episode titled "Kalie Shorr: How She Became An Open Book," listen here.
In the conclusive deep dive chat with Kalie, she covers:
— Discovering discrimination in the Nashville music scene
— Using age as a power play
— Putting sisters before misters
— What feminists DON'T do to each other
— The smart way to write a song about someone who has wronged you
See full show notes and Kalie's new music videos (released after this chat was recorded) at BackstageChats.com.
BCWIM is produced by Herizon Music Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit in Austin, TX. We depend on music fans like you to help keep this program and our other education and experience projects going so we can uplift the next gen of womxn in music. Learn more about our work. Thank you for your support!
SHOW CREDITS
Guest: Kalie Shorr
Host: Thea Wood
Photo: Catherine Powell
Production/Audio engineer: Thea Wood
Intern: Alyssa Viernes
Song: "Escape" written by Kalie Shorr and Candi Carpenter, from the album Open Book
Theme Music provider: Pond 5
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
Recorded in February 2021 via Zoom, Country music sensation Kalie Shorr shares her journey to voicing taboo topics in the first of a two-part podcast series. Her debut album “Open Book” was listed at #7 on the New York Times Best Albums of 2019, named one of CMT’s Next Women of Country, The New Nashville by Teen Vogue, a Top 10 Country Artists to Watch in 2019 by Huffington Post.
In this Part 1 episode, Kalie Shorr covers:
— Her tumultuous childhood growing up the youngest of 7 half siblings
— The tragic loss that opened her up to voicing taboo topics in her songwriting
— Teen eating disorders based on her personal struggle with anorexia and the road toward healing
— Answers to the Shakedown questions, including the Pearl Jam song that shook her world
Credits:
Guest: Kalie Shorr
Host: Thea Wood
Photo: Catherine Powell
Production/Audio engineer: John Neff
Intern: Claudia Dortman
Theme Music provider: Pond 5
Visit https://backstagechats.com/kalie-shorr-part-1
for expanded show notes, including artist music videos and social media links.
Ep 28: Blanca Cecilia Gonzalez is the epitome of realizing the American Dream. Her tale of immigrating from Columbia to the United States and rising to become the concert master multiple times at Carnegie Hall will warm your heart.
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In this episode, Blanca covers:
— What it was like adapting to her new life in New York at the tender age of four.
— The “Suzuki Method” of learning to play an instruments
— Playing Carnegie Hall for the first time
— Why she was told not to wear shoes to a blind audition
— Playing with the all-female, GRAMMY winning mariachi band Flor de Toloache
— The advantages of collaborating and touring with her husband and their project “1 in 2.”
Plus her answers to The Shakedown questions!
Donate to our nonprofit Herizon Music Foundation TODAY and help us uplift the next generation of women in music by supporting this podcast!
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
Kelley Glover is an ethnomusicologist, teacher, and entrepreneur who created, composed, and produced the music education game app and cartoon UBetterSing! One of her goals is to educate music lovers about systematic racism, colonization practices, and how they affect music academia. Kelley’s research and stories stem from her personal experiences and research at Howard University and public education music programs as both a student and teacher. This episode contains frank and sometimes difficult topics that we need to understand so we can all create and enjoy music that we believe in, relate to, and love.
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In this episode, Kelley covers:
- Her relation to famous musical celebrities (Danny Glover isn’t one of them!).
- Defining ethnomusicology, music appropriation in the classroom, and the white washing of blackface minstrel songs.
- Mandated classical-European musical instruction and its limitations on diverse music genres in academia.
- Research projects with Texas State University and HeartMath on the relation between stress, music, and meditation.
- Her music education program UBetterSing! and its goal to educate the next generation of music in a modern, diverse, and entertaining way.
And, of course, Kelley’s answers to The Shakedown! See guest links and videos here.
Donate to our nonprofit Herizon Music Foundation TODAY and help us uplift the next generation of women in music by supporting this podcast!
Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
Maggie Szabo is a Canadian immigrant who's tackling feminine stereotypes, social injustice, and cellulite with lipstick in hand. Her pop music sensibilities poke fun at pop culture while redefining it for the next generation. We think she’s spot on… and 100% “worth the weight!”
In this episode, Maggie Szabo covers:
Making the music video “I Don’t Need You” during COVID (and who is the hot guy who wants his lipstick back?)
Landing a promo song for BET series Tyler Perry’s Sistas and Jennifer Hudson choosing her song “Love Is Free” for The Voice contestant Kennedy Holmes.
Her path to championing transgender youth
Body shaming and facing the loaded question: “Is pop music ready for STRONG to be the new SEXY?”
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Disclaimer: Opinions of show guests are not necessarily those of Herizon Music Foundation, Inc. or its employees, volunteers, officers/directors, or contractors.
Ava Paige is country music’s 16-year-old rising star who is wise beyond her years. A cancer diagnosis opened her young eyes to hardship, the importance of family (including those you choose), and the power of hope. In this episode, Ava covers:
— How her single “Hope Comes In” took on a surprise meaning
— The influence cancer has had on her relationship with music and songwriting
— Appearing on “The Talk” with Marie Osmond and what they have in common
— Her favorite cosmic obsession
— The one life goal she’d like to achieve — and it’s a winner!
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