Bela Fleck – HuffPost 9.23.11

Mike Ragogna: Very nicely said. What advice do you have for new artists? Bela Fleck: One thing is that selling out rarely works, so you might as well do stuff that you’re very passionate about because that works better. That’s probably the best advice I can give people. Every time I’ve ever tried, it’s blown […]

Vince Giordano – HuffPost 9.23.11

Mike Ragogna: Vince, what is your advice for new artists? Vince Giordano: New artists, well… I’d say believe in what you’re doing. Get yourself organized. If you’re gonna be doing something with music that needs arrangements, make sure the arrangements are nice and clean and clear. Put them in little folders–I know this sounds like […]

A Conversation with The Jayhawks’ Mark Olson and Gary Louris – HuffPost 9.23.11

Mike Ragogna: Let’s talk about your new album, Mockingbird Time. You guys had last gotten together for the project Ready for the Flood, right? Mark Olson: That’s right, and we toured all around, and at a certain point, we touched base with the Jayhawk fan base, and they gave us a directive to come back with the […]

A Conversation with Motopony’s Daniel Blue and Buddy Ross – HuffPost 8.19.11

Mike Ragogna: Daniel and Buddy, how would you describe your group Motopony’s music? Daniel Blue: Smooth glitch psyche folk soul and roll. MR: (laughs) Daniel, how do you work your fashion talents into the group’s image and music? DB: I designed the symbols and the logo for the band as well as worked as an […]

A Conversation with Rob Wasserman – HuffPost 9.19.11

Mike Ragogna: Rob, thank you so much for joining me. What got you on board for the project Note of Hope: A Celebration of Woody Guthrie? RW: Woody’s daughter Nora Guthrie approached me when I was doing a Robert Johnson tribute concert at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. I was doing a solo bass […]

Rob Wasserman – HuffPost 9.19.11

Mike Ragogna: What advice would you give to new artists? Rob Wasserman: Just be true to music. In this case, it was starting with words. Think about the flow. I see a lot of musicians traveling that are more into presentation than the actual concert. Just focus on what you’re trying to say. In my […]

A Conversation with Dan Zanes – HuffPost 9.19.11

Mike Ragogna: Dan, how are you? Dan Zanes: Alright, glad to be here, Mike. MR: Dan, you work on various projects with different themes, but isn’t Little Nut Tree the first Dan Zanes and Friends album since 2007? DZ: Yeah, that’s right. We’ve done three records since then, but we haven’t done our classic “all ages” format […]

Mike Ragogna’s 2.0 – 20110914 – Suzy Bogguss