Episodes

When the Plimsouls song “Million Miles Away” was featured on the Valley Girl movie soundtrack, it brought the band national attention with a song that helps define a generation. Peter Case, one of the founding members of the Plimsouls, continued to write great songs and developed a solo career marked with great story telling, honesty, and a no-frills approach to music. Peter has a BRAND NEW live album out "Live at McCabe's" and it is incredible! We spennd much our talking about the album but ven...

Grant Batson is a true artist. He is a musician, songwriter, carpenter, farmer and gifted pipe maker. In a deviation from my typical purely musical guest, Grant and I sat down on a recent afternoon to talk about the art and process of making a smoking pipe by hand. Over our respective favorite tobaccos, Grant and I discussed the ins and out of pipe making, and ventured into other topics like fatherhood, slowing down, pipe culture, and a couple of mutual friends in Phil Keaggy and Malcolm Guite. ...

On a beautiful Spring afternoon, Andrew Peterson hopped of his riding mower, took a break from tending to his homestead in Nashville, and sat down with me for a wonderful conversation about life and songs, Christ and gardening, novels and Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Rabbit Room and Wendell Berry, clarity and mystery in music, and many other topics. Andrew is a multi-faceted artist who is a singer-songwriter, author, and founder of The Rabbit Room, a ministry that fosters the creative arts within ...

The End of America is an incredibly talented trio who No Depression Magazine says is making the best 3-part harmony since Crosby, Still & Nash. These three artists make music individually under their own names, but something magical happens when they weave their voices together in rich and mesmerizing harmony. With a name derived from a Jack Kerouak poem which means going to the edge, to the end of something, Brendon, James and Trevor are proving that indie bands are making some of the best and ...

Hunter James of Hunter James and the Titanic and I had a wonderful conversation of his musical journey, along with his band that is creating some of the best indie music today. The band has captured the sound and soul of Laural Canyon where arguably the richest music in American music history was created. Not only do we dig into song discussion and writing, we listen to some of the great music Hunter and his band is making. A big thank you to Hunter for granting permission to include some music...

Petra is BACK and so is John Schlitt! John sits down with Journey to the Stage to chat about Petra's BRAND NEW album "Hope," their first in over 20 years. John shares about how the idea of the album came about and how it was shaped in the studio. We discuss specific songs and John shares which is his favorite. The reception and Billboard charting, along with the bands plans were among the many other topics we dug into. This is a great chat that end with a game that challenges John's memory of Pe...

And we're BACK! After a bit of a break I am extatic to be back hosting the podcast that I love! I cannot imagine a better interview to kick things off with again than with this really great chat that I had with Josh Havens, vocalist and songwriter for The Afters. Two friends met while working as baristas in a Starbucks. They soon discovered some great commonalities- faith, a love for music, and a desire to make music. Soon thereafter, The Afters were born. Since that time, the band has written ...

Sean McConnell is a wonderfully gifted artist. His songs have been sung by artists like Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Miller, Rascal Flatts, Plain White T's, Brad Paisley, and others. Behind the songs recorded by these artists, is an songcrafter who is deeply thoughtful and introspective. Combined with his talents, these traits create songs that resonate to the heart and soul, and bring about great interviews. Sean and I discuss his brilliant new album, "Skin," and so m...

In this second and final segment of my interview with White Heart vocalist, Rick, Ric, Rikk, Riq, Ricke, Rhic, Rikcq, Ricque Florian we dig into how the band would painstakingly polish their songs before heading to the studio, and the time Rick didn't want to sing a line from a huge White Heart song. Rick and I talked about how he went from driving a truck for a Michael W. Smith tour to trying out for the band, aided by his friendship with his college buddy, Geoff Moore. We covered other topics ...

I began listening to White Heart in about 1986, nearly 40 years ago. There is much to love about them. As a fan of well written songs, White Heart has always been in the upper echelon for me. Add top notch musicianship, arranging and production, lyrics that truly touched my soul—add the voice of my guest today, and it’s easy to see why this band meant and means so much to me and so many others. Rick Florian was the lead vocalist for White Heart for 12 years, 8 albums, helped the band reach thei...

For decades Fernando Ortega has written and recorded songs and hymns that are filled with profound spiritual truths, great doctrine, that are arranged in beauty and sung with authenticity. I had the pleasure of chatting with Fernando on a Spring afternoon to talk about his latest EP, "For All the Saints," which is a collection of wonderful songs that are congregational in composition and arrangement. What I most loved about my time in conversation with Fernando, was getting to know him. I found...

Pure Prairie League, along with bands like The Eagles, helped create the Country/Rock blend that launched in the early 1970s. Along with the genre defining hit, "Aimee," Pure Prairie League has cemented its legacy by creating a catalogue of music that has stood the test of time and has built an immensely loyal fan base. PPL is back with its first new album in 20 years with "Back on Track," and it is one heck of an album. It was a real pleasure to sit down with Pure Prairie League's, Mike Reilly...

Jesse Terry is one of those artists that stopped me in my tracks. From the first time I played his new album, "Arcadia," I knew I had stumbled upon a very special artist. Jesse's songwriting is simply incredible- both melodically and lyrically. Add to those things a voice that is beautiful, and you have truly found something special. It was a pleasure to chat one lovely afternoon with Jesse as we talked about his journey as an artist and family man. During our chat we play a wonderful song from...

There are interviews, and there are interviews. This is a conversation that I will never forget. In this concluding portion of my chat with Russ Taff, we pick up where we left off in part one, where I asked Russ if his 1987 self-titled album was a cry for help. These two episodes with Russ will go down as one of the most impactful interviews I've ever done. I am thankful for Russ' authenticity and fearlessness. It is a brave man who can open himself up to the world, but Russ' desire to help oth...

No one in the world has a voice like Russ Taff. With 6 Grammys to his name and more Dove Awards than one could count, Russ has nothing left to prove in the world of music. With all of that success to stand on, Russ has recorded an album that is as real as it gets. "Cover Story" is raw, beautiful and powerful. Russ and I chatted for almost two hours late Fall 2024 as he began the final stages of producing his new album. What transpired was a conversation that was brutally honest, filled with sto...

Burn the Jukebox have been burning up the internet for the last few years and have made a name for themselves by playing some of the best Rock and Pop songs of the past few decades. This group of highschoolers caught the attention of music lovers by rocking songs from everyone from Hendrix, to Journey to Lady Gaga. As now-seasoned musicians and artists, Burn the Jukebox is writing their own powerhouse and catchy songs that prove they are much more than a "cover band." In this fun interview, I s...

I had the pleasure of sitting with Phil Keaggy and Malcolm Guite and discuss their brand new collaborative album, Songs and Sonnets. This special album is filled with the masterful poetry of Malcolm Guite, whose recitations add life to the the words he penned. The beautiful music Phil Keaggy created for each poem doesn't act as a mere backdrop for the poem, but it helps to create the atmosphere for the spoken words and enhances the listener's experience. Songs and Sonnets is precisely the album...

Bob Hartman is one of my heroes and it was a tremendous honor to conduct such an extensive interview with him. We begin part two of this interview talking about how Bob tracked down John Schlitt, which would lead to John joining the band. Bob and I discuss a wide variety of topics including songwriting, the very precarious early Schlitt years, the impact of Petra's ministry and so much more. The apex of the 90 minute interview comes near the end, where there is some breaking news in the Petra Wo...

In part one of this in-depth conversation with Petra founder, Bob Hartman, we talk about Bob's early influences and the guitarists that captured his attention as a young musician. Bob talks about his faith journey and the bands he played in before founding Petra. As we work our way through Petra's style adaptation, we dig into the challenges of writing for a new audience. Bob share some of the major struggles Petra endured over the years and how the band almost hung up their instruments at the e...

The dB's may not be a household name in the mainstream of Rock, but for those that enjoy the alleyways and cul-de-sacs of popular music, The dB's stand with a handful of other bands that unintentionally helped start a new genre of music. In this conversation, I speak with Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby about their music journey, the re-release of their album 'Repercussion', and their experiences in the music industry over the decades. We discuss their unique sound, influences, connections with ...

As the oldest daughter of Country superstar Glen Campbell, Debbie Campbell had a special insight into her father's life and journey in a way that no one else did. In this insightful conversation, Debbie talks about her life with her dad that included many days on tour. She helps us to see Glen when he was off stage, away from fans and away from the spotlight. We spend time chatting about how her dad would unwind, what he liked to do for fun, and how many of her favorite memories with Glen are th...

James Horner composed music for over 160 films during the course of his remarkable career. Among his many works are music scores for some of the biggest films in Hollywood history, like Avatar and Titanic, and epic films such as Braveheart and Glory. But beyond all of the big movies; beyond the multiple Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes and countless other awards, was a quiet and private man who was quirky and complex. No one knew James better than his wife, Sara Horner. In this exclusive intervie...

In this final segment of my extensive interview with Grammy Award winning vocalist and songwriter, we wade into some deep waters. Bryan shares his thoughts as he looks back at the time when he was in the upper echelon of the CCM world. We discuss how Bryan felt like an outsider amongst most of his pears; there is a surprise guest appearance by the legendary Phil Keaggy that made both of us Bryans laugh, and much more. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed this chat with Bryan, please ...

Grammy Award winning songwriter and vocalist Bryan Duncan has had a 50+ year career that began in the Jesus Movement. His seminole group, The Sweet Comfort Band, helped launch modern CCM. After going solo in the mid 1980s, Bryan's soulful vocals, songwriting skills and fun personality, helped him to reach the upper echelon in the CCM world. In this in-depth two-part conversation, Bryan and I cover the earliest of days inside the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa tent, all the way through to what he's do...