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Welcome to Front row Backstage, the show that takes you behind the velvet ropes of the media world. I'm LCC student Greg Trimmer and each week we'll explore the stars you see on screen, stage and radio, and the tech and talent making the magic happen behind it. From unsung heroes to spotlight sensations, we've got the stories you won't hear anywhere else. So grab your popcorn and let's dive in. Welcome, guys. Today I am here to introduce you to Cloverbeard and Crew, a three piece band from central Michigan. Their mix of traditional Irish and modern music brings life to Renaissance fairs, pubs and wherever else you might see them playing. Welcome, guys. Go ahead and introduce yourself, each of you.

Hello, I'm Cloverbeard, AKA Sean Garrix. I suppose I should have said I'm Sean, AKA Cloverbeard, but hey, man, that's

how you see yourself. It's fine, it's fine.

That's what I'm here to talk about. And I have been Cloverbeard for about 11 years and I'm glad to have picked up these two to be crew.

Well, I am Aaron Greenwood. I am go by Flute Man Greenwood at Renaissance Fairs. Been part with Cloverbeard for a couple years now and it's a fun ride.

My name is Katherine Arquette, depending on how much energy you want to put into it. And I'm Crimson Freebooter, the drummer. And I've been a part of it four, three, four years now around there. I can't quite remember now, but yeah, it's been very interesting ride so far.

So like you guys just touched on it. Each of you has a stage name. Katherine is Crimson. What?

Freebooter.

Freebooter and the lead singer, Sean is Cloverbeard. And then we have flute man Greenwood. Who's Aaron. Each of you kind of go around and talk about Aaron's is kind of obvious but like where did those names come from? What sparked that idea? Sean, you've been Cloverbeard for 11 years, you said. I guess starting with you, what was the inclination when you were first diving into trying to put a name to your artistry? What made that come to be?

So at first I wasn't doing it for artistry. I was told I was Cloverbeard by a girl who I don't particularly remember because it was a long time ago. I was at the fountain at the castle at Ren Faire and she put shamrocks into my beard and said, you're Cloverbeard. And I was like, oh my God. And I remember that more than I remember her

shout out Mysterious girl.

So I'd been with Boca Musica for a little bit, and at the time, I was Peter Longfellow, if I was going by a character name, because Boca does naughty humor, and they required that you made, like, a character biography.

Oh, okay.

So I went from being Peter Longfellow to Cloverbeard.

Cloverbeard just has more of a gravity.

Oh, yeah. It's like Blackbeard, but it's Cloverbeard. Yeah, the Irish pirate. It worked because I played maritime and Irishy music, or I used to mostly just do that. Now we play everything.

Everything.

Do you guys have a. What's that one? There's a cover you guys do that's like a metal band or something.

Toxicity. System of a Down.

Yeah, yeah. They do a cover of Toxicity by System of a Down. That is so good. It's like a. I don't know what you call folk cover or something.

I think it would count as a folk cover.

Something. Something to the. I don't know. It's its own thing.

No one expects to hear it either.

Everybody stops and stares when they hear it.

Yes.

Hilarious to watch.

Like, you guys were at Mulligan's Pub, and I'd heard it before because I'd heard you guys performing at Ren Fairs and stuff, but there was a bunch of people that had never listened to you guys before in the room. And I saw a couple guys, and they were like, is this System of a Down? What is it?

Especially when you start with, like, old Irish tunes and you She's a Body Lass and oh, My Irish Eyes and all that kind of dumb stuff, and then play the metal. Well, Legend of Zelda first lead into it. People recognize that when they're like, oh, cool, you know, whatever piracy adventure plays it. Ren Fairs. Zelda makes sense.

And then get drawn in with Zelda and stay for the System of the Down.

Yeah, I mostly play music based on what I think people want to hear. Honestly, I just started with, like, a lot of the old traditional stuff because that's what I learned from the musicians I listened to at fair and the crowds that I would go be a part of. So I just try to learn my favorites of those.

So that's a good segue. First, what are some of the songs? They're like staples. Like what? Like, you play them every single set.

Like the Star of the County Down. So, like, it's like my favorite one. These guys are getting sick of it,

but I'm like, hey, it's only when it's at Michigan Renaissance Festival, when We play it four times.

I'm just so proud of you guys. It sounded so good.

Hey, you know, I love the song too.

I'm messing around with, like, the effects. Putting on that snapback reverb and then

hitting distortion on the flute.

Oh, it sounds so majestic.

Yeah.

It's coming in over the hills.

Battle flute. Go.

The Pirates who Don't do Anything is a good common encore. We play the Pokemon theme in the middle of that because we know our millennial audience.

Wait, you do?

Yeah, yeah.

No, he didn't prepare us for it at all.

No. The first time he did it.

No. No preparedness at all. He just went straight into it on stage.

I don't think I've ever put like super. So noticed it.

We didn't start doing this until Mission Renaissance. Yeah, it started at Murph, but I

saw you guys a couple times at Murph, at the Red Lion.

I don't know.

I don't know.

It was started near the. Yeah. Thirds of the way through the year.

That's great.

It went through a few iterations before locking in.

We.

We know how we do it now. We're always flying by the seat of our pants.

Hey, that's sometimes that's the best.

It's how we were trained.

Yeah, it's how we were trained.

That's how we were trained.

We play a mix of old traditional music as well as original stuff that I wrote that I'm also really proud of.

Yeah.

Especially the Bard and Jack of All Trades.

Those. Jack of All Trades is a great song.

Yeah. Like, I'm really proud of my chord progressions in there. They're a little non standard for parts of it.

Hey, Non standard chord progressions.

We take that anytime we get.

So that it's not just the same four chords of like every song ever.

It's a. It's a fun one. I like that. I've got a friend who. We were talking about the music I play and he's. We were talking about the old traditional songs. Nevada, who also drummed for me at one point. You might have seen him on stream on one of the lives that we did as Patch Hatter. Although his name's changed a few times too, but we were talking about the traditional songs. He's like, yeah. You know, like Whiskey in the Jar and Jack of All Trades. And I was like, jack of All Trades is mine. I wrote that. And he's like, you wrote that? Yeah. He's like, I thought that was one of the old ones.

That's one of huge Compliment. If it sounds like. If he thinks it sounds like a

traditional song and people have said it. Oh, I haven't heard that one since I was a boy. And I'm like, impossible.

Impossible. We kind of touched on this a little bit already, obviously. Within this. What do you guys think your favorite song to perform is? And I want each of you to answer.

Let's start with Crimson.

Now I'm thinking go first. I'm literally thinking, go first.

Let's start with Greenwood. We have a lot of fun.

There's so many.

He's calling everybody out except himself.

We're all. We have a lot of stuff that's just so fun to play.

Oh, yeah.

Fujifuji. Fuji is a really good one. When you get the crowd involved. Involved.

That one is one of the best ones. Or if we go with. Oh, I can't remember it right now either.

I can't remember. But I love it.

It's my favorite. What's it called again?

They're the obvious ones. You know, like, getting to play Health to the Company at the end of the day is always.

Yeah.

Such a good song.

And I'm proud of the way my vocals go. Actually, no, my favorite favorite song to perform is that I do the COVID of Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah. Well, Leonard Collins. But I do it like Rufus, Especially going into. And then I lead into.

It's Leonard Cohen's song, but I do it like Rufus.

Yeah. But I lead into House of the Rising Sun. But I sing Amazing Grace for the first verse because you can.

If it's so.

Well, rocks with it. I'm proud of it.

Okay.

Even though it, like, kills me a lot of the time afterward. I love performing Black and tans. Yeah, that's one where I can just kind of.

What is that?

Go and go.

I don't know if I recognize the name.

Oh, yeah.

That was the first song I did where I made myself come up with a different drum beat for the chorus and the rest of the song. I can't do the whole thing the same again. I have to evolve a little bit.

She knows when to stop.

I think that one.

That's funny. So do you guys have any favorite experiences from past fairs or shows that like specific experiences that you remember?

Drawing in crowds would be one of the ones, especially at Redland Tavern. Especially for me. The first year joining with Cloverbeard, we ended the last day at the Michigan Renaissance Festival with our last set. We drew in the biggest crowd that season. Packed full. We started off with Toxicity System down. And at that time, you know, since the last day, last set. We ended with health to the company.

Yeah.

And the amount of people that were still there singing along as well. It was very moving, I think, about the.

What was it? 46 seconds straight of screaming that too.

What?

Yeah, like the audience cheered.

Oh.

During that moment.

Yeah.

So there's a. On the back of our stage, which is a. Decorated with chalk everywhere. I have written fantastic shows, and I invite up an audience member at the end of every show to mark the wall, because you have to have an. An. Have an audience member come up here and you know you can't do it yourself or else that's narcissistic. But an audience member could say that it's fantastic if they had the benefit of raucous applause. And it works.

That works.

It works.

Screamed for it was. We had it on record. Was it like 46 seconds or something like that? Just straight.

Was just past year. That was

incredibly touching because, like, you'll see a bunch of people throughout the year, but then that last day when everybody's there and you're like, whoa. It's overwhelming.

It is.

Any other specific moments that you guys can think of

when we troll the audience without them realizing it for a while?

Question mark.

We play in the castle at Renaissance Faire, too. And as people are walking in, they're just hearing instrumentals, not thinking anything of it. And it's the slow dawning about maybe a minute in, they're like, is this the Macarena? And then it just. The awareness spreads throughout the room and you can see it, and it's hilarious.

Sean and Aaron have thoroughly proved that you can mocarena to any song. So, I mean, especially with one hand.

We do weddings and birthday parties, and if they want us to be pirates, we'll be pirates as well. We actually just did one a couple days ago. And I'm known for doing a lot of improvised stuff, too, where I'll ask the audience for some words and make up a song on the spot. So I improvised a song, and then partway through, they started doing a conga line, so I started playing conga music. Then they got back towards the dance floor, so I started transitioning into the Macarena.

It was so glorious. It was hilarious.

Nobody expects to hear, especially, you know, okay, it's a pirate band. So, like, the pirate stuff we've expected, you know, like, it's nice to have some curveballs to throw at people. Like, all right, now I'm gonna play some kesha for you. It's a really good cover though. Your love is my drug.

Tick tock.

Or just go right into a Rick roll.

Yeah.

Which we did that too many times.

We're. We're nothing if not fun. If we're. When we're good, we're awesome and when we're not good, we're fun.

But then that makes you good.

Yeah.

Like when you're fun, it makes you good. Because it's just a different dynamic.

Right.

For sure.

I think something that was a big moment at fair for me that isn't necessarily whole band related, but I was knighted by the king. I was his first stag.

That's so cool.

So it's like how like the queen had her hounds which were like, you know, the people who they. She knighted. They're the trusted individuals and whatever. And I was the first one knighted by the king. Lord Fandon Chattington.

Nice.

Much appreciation to Joel.

Yeah, that's so cool. So you guys have talked a lot about this. Like you've talked about engaging people and being really like about bringing the audience into things that shows and I know you've mentioned a couple things, but what are just some specific things that you guys do to try to bring those people in and engage them?

My drummer's kind of. Kind of hot.

Well, thank you for reference. Sean and Catherine are married.

Yes.

This is not just random.

When she joined the band, tips skyrocketed. It went from being either me or me and another dude to. To look at that girl bent over the drum. She plays a cajon, which is a box that you sit on and lean forward. So visually it's just a very appealing drum to play for.

I have to wear a corset. It's a renaissance fair.

Yeah. Let's be real. That kind of thing just. It's a good attention grabber. So.

And we will genuine.

I mean that and the fact that. That and the fact that your tip box is a mimic, you know, that's

also a big draw. That's.

Which.

That's an incredible gift from a couple of fans who. My former box was one that was made by my father and had googly eyes stuck on.

Was that an Aaron doing?

And I was like, no, it's a mimic.

It's current. Aaron likes to. To put googly eyes on random people and also things. Go give them random uno cards and say he's giving them his number or hula hoops.

He puts googly eyes on hula hoops and wears them in the guise of a biblically accurate angel. But yeah. So the former box Was made by my dad, but fallen apart and practically broken.

It looked like it was kind of screaming.

Yeah, and not in a good way. But some fans saw it and said, we would you want a new box? And I was like, oh, well, you know, like, I don't really have the money to spend on something like that right now or anything. And they're like, no, we just kind of want to make one. And I was like, well, sure, whatever. They sent me a picture of it on Facebook for, like, their rough idea of a design. And I was like, that looks more elaborate than what, you know. But I'm sure it'll just be like, you know, maybe like a plywood frame or whatever. No, this is a heavy duty box with hydraulics. They have to like, keep it latched shut so when you open it, it opens up. It's got a tongue with a pearl tongue piercing because it's dope like that

mimic with a tongue piercing.

It's got a baby mimic inside of it. Very don't talk to me. Really?

I don't think I've ever noticed.

That's cool. It's got very don't talk to me or my son ever again energy. We keep smaller trinkets and treasures in there for sure.

For sure.

And yeah, we do a lot of audience engagement.

We do a lot of requests. If you can give us the chords, we will try to figure it out. It might not be great, but you'll laugh.

Give me the time to look up the chords. If it's a, you know.

Yeah.

The last set of the day is the experimental set. I mean, we had.

They got us to do Hot To Go.

Yeah.

So, I mean, we did Hot to Go.

Apparently we've never done it before.

Apparently. That's on after Pride Month. And how many people requested it? That's on Jacques the Whippers banned list.

Now it's on everyone's banned list of the take requests, unfortunately. I think they'll play Hot Go. Dude, this is Cloverbeard.

There's a few Tiktoks of that somewhere.

That was funny for about three weeks. And then it got so oversaturated that I could not go on TikTok for like a week.

I liked it when it was improbable.

That's fair.

It stopped being improbable after a bit.

Granted, I did thoroughly enjoy that. Couple of fans from Michigan Renaissance Festival got us doing Pirates who Don't Do Anything and did the exact same gimmick and tagged us.

That's great. That's wonderful. Like, for people that don't know people that have never been to a Renaissance fair. What's it like performing at a Renaissance fair and just really being there in general?

Performing and being there, I feel like two very different things.

Okay, well, just performing,

it can be exhausting. But I don't get much more fulfillment in life when I go there. It's nice to go somewhere where everyone knows you.

Yeah, well, once you build yourself up, at least.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Everyone knows me there now, though. Like, it's cool.

Depending on your crowd, it could feel amazing. Or like dog. Like, sometimes they'll engage with you. They'll laugh, they'll have a great time.

Sorry.

I don't know. We'll find out if Dillion cuts it out in post.

Sorry. Yeah, you have to feed off the energy of the crowd a lot. That helps you get through a lot of it, I think.

Or you have to give that audience energy, and if they're not taking it, then you're like, these punks.

You do yell at people in the crowd.

Yeah.

Why aren't you in the.

Especially in Missouri.

Like, are you not. Are you not entertained? Why did you come sit down and stare at me silently? I'll be like, ready now clap. And they're like, just nothing.

Just blanket stare.

You got her for drums. What do you need me to clap for? Play your music. You want a dollar?

Yes.

And then they still tip even though they have a blanket stare.

Yeah, sometimes.

Yeah.

Or you get the audience members who sit down with their back facing you. Oh, we don't get that as much anymore.

Because you yell at them.

Yeah. I tell them, you gotta turn around or you gotta dance. Yeah. Oh, turn around or dance. Those are your options. We'll play dance in music. If you don't. What, you want some fast music? We'll gather up your pots in the old tin can. Shake your

ass.

I'm gonna say it. She said the other word.

This episode just might not air on the actual radio. It'll just get posted on, you know, Apple podcasts and everything of the such.

Shake your derriere.

Derriere. Shake your derriere.

Just cut that small segment.

Just put this, the calm derriere clip in that.

It's a lot of fun, though. I think a lot of people assume that you're there to get drunk all day, but really kind of can't do that. If you want to put on a good show for people, good performing ethic, it's maybe nice to. If somebody buys you a cider, I'LL drink that. But I'm not there to get toasted.

Because we want still to function.

Yeah, still need to function. We got a lot going on.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're usually doing five shows a day.

If you include King's Ale.

King's Ale. And then I'll be running from King's Ale to. If we can make it to question Mark pub sing. And if not, then can I make it to Front Gate and then we go back to our own stage and quietly play health to the company before we tear down.

Yeah. As far as Murph is concerned, the grounds are just so big. It's like getting from one area to the other is sometimes a chore.

It's a trek.

Take it in stride.

And there's, you know, a lot of people as well. Especially at the end of the day when everybody's trying to bulldoze their way to pub sing. So you guys also travel a little bit? Cause you went to the. Is it the St. Louis.

Yeah, St. Louis.

St. Louis. Renfair.

So any funny or wild travel stories on the road?

Glove compartment burrito.

Yeah, Glove compartment burrito is about the only boys trip.

It was the one weekend burrito.

It was the one weekend I didn't

go and it was me and Aaron and Nevada who I mentioned earlier and there was a burrito left in the. She left a.

No, I.

Sorry, it was not mine.

No, that was your.

No, it was not her burrito. Because you asked me to go and

find a burrito that you stashed it in the coffee. Didn't you put it in there for me? And then I think I just forgot that it was so. I don't recall putting it after it

was left in there for however long.

It wasn't terribly long. It was only like. I think it was earlier that day. It was before.

It was probably like two hours.

Yeah.

It wasn't like some reason I was imagining this thing was in there for just like three weeks.

No idea it was in there. So when they said that to me, I'm like, this is horrifying. They took my carrier that I don't

even remember being there. It was perfect. It was exactly sustaining.

That's so funny.

Clove compartment burrito.

Exactly sustaining.

So

I got a. I got a really big TikTok out there.

Yeah.

I was in. None of the ones that we post get big like that one. But somebody recorded me in the distance playing Toxicity and It got like 960,000 views.

Holy mother.

Yeah.

Really pleased about that. Like woo.

That's. That's insane.

Can't go woo right now.

My voice is Clover people, the viral Irish pirate. We're running out of time a little bit here guys. But if you guys could just let everybody know where to find you as far as social media, streaming platforms and

such, you'll be able to find us on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram will keep updated on that. Those platforms at least Facebook and Instagram. On our upcoming shows we're on Spotify,

YouTube, you can find a lot of our stuff that's been uploaded and or my first album which was recorded, I

looked you up earlier and there was a ton of videos by some dude that's not you guys grilling Pirate Pete?

Yeah, I think so.

He's the bomb.

He goes to a bunch of performers and he just records, records, records and uploads. I'm super grateful. Oh yeah, and super cool. But then my first album was recorded in my parents attic and it was just me and then my dad features on one of the songs. But baby Sean, it's baby.

Listen, if AJR can end up on an arena tour after recording an album in the living room of their tiny New York apartment, they know a bit more. Cloverbeard can record an album in his mother's attic.

Now we're, we're looking for a good recording artist right now because, because we have a lot of stuff we need to get recorded.

Well, thank you guys for joining. It's been a blast. And thank you guys for tuning in to listen to Front Row Backstage and listen to Cloverbeard and crew. Thanks for tuning in to Front Row Backstage. We hope you enjoyed this week behind the curtains of the media world. Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for more information. And join us next week for more stories from the front lines of entertainment. Until then, stay tuned because whether it's on stage, behind the scenes or over the airwaves, the real action is everywhere.

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Thank you for listening to LCC Connect. I'm Paul Schwartz and I host a show called the Safety Plan. The Safety Plan is about the latest cyber scams and how to avoid them. You can catch the Safety Plan here on LCC Connect or listen anytime@lccconnect.org far

from the city where the Lorax roams free it's the home of a magical Truffula trees. They grow happy and healthy and thick as you please Just waiting for visits from yous and from me In a place you will love with things you'll adore us. It's a magical spot. We call it the Forest. Look, everyone here needs the trees.

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this is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. It was called the Rainbow Inn. Located on the southern edge of Petoskey, it was Northern Michigan's only African American resort hotel and restaurant. Its clientele included people of all races, colors and creeds. The Rainbow inn opened in 1950 and was the brainchild of William Thomas West, African American porter and chef on the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad. The railroad provided passenger service to Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Mackinaw City during the mid 20th century. West, a 25 year veteran of the rail company, lived in northern Michigan during the summer season. He knew firsthand that many hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the north were just as segregated as their Southern counterparts. In 1949, west bought a three story boarding house and carriage house near the railroad tracks in Petoskey. The boarding house was originally built in the 1880s as a mansion for Frederick Bowerly, a wealthy wooden ware manufacturer. It was located in what people called Hungry Hollow, where many Native Americans lived. West took his retirement savings and bought the building on a land contract. He and his wife Gail spent the next year remodeling it and in the spring of 1950 opened their restaurant and hotel as the Rainbow Inn. The name signified that they welcomed customers of any color. The couple placed advertisements for their hotel and restaurant in African American newspapers, publicizing the Rainbow Inn as a Northern Michigan destination for people of color. The inn also became a favorite place for African American domestic servants who spent summers in the area with their employers, the Rainbow Inn continued to prosper, but years of protests began to change America's political landscape. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964. No longer could businesses refuse service because of race, color, religion or national origin. The Civil Rights act also meant that America's black resorts, such as Idyllwild in western Michigan, were no longer necessary. But it was an accidental fire, not the Civil Rights act, that ended the Rainbow Inn. On March 8, 1965, the Rainbow Inn burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt. William west died in 1970, and his wife, Gail passed the following spring. Now the Rainbow Inn is only a memory of an inclusive place that served travelers of all colors. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.

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this is the story of a very special woman. In a matter of seconds, she turned herself into a great mathematician or an entrepreneur. Her knowledge was limitless, and still is. She could also make monsters disappear, especially those that lurked in the shadows under the bed. Once this woman put back together a teenage girl's broken heart, which had been shattered in a thousand pieces just by giving her a bear hug. She masqueraded as a regular person at work, but as a superhero at home. Everyone knows her as Gabriella. I still call her Mom.

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this is Time Signatures with Jim Irvin, a podcast and radio program presented by the Capital Area Blues Society in Lansing, Michigan. Most any contemporary musical style can trace its roots back to the blues. Time Signatures explores the blues and its musical connections with captivating interviews, lively discussions and news from the world of the blues. And now here he is, your host, Jim Irvin.

Well, hi there and welcome to Time Signatures. I'm your host, Jim Irvin and I'm truly excited to welcome today's guest to the show. If you haven't been fortunate enough to catch her on the road, maybe you might have caught her set at the Chicago Blues Fest. A killer set, I might add. But if you missed that, I need to add a link to the episode because you've got to see it. She flat out owned the stage that day. Not bad considering it was her first Chicago Blues Fest either. She's a 12 time BMA nominee, a four time winner in 2019, 2020 and 24 for Horn Player of the Year and 2022 for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year, but also a Blues Blast Award winner for the Horn Player of the year as well. And listen, there's more in the offing, I, I can assure you of that. It's my great honor to welcome this sexy powerhouse, Vanessa Collier. Welcome to Time Signatures. How are you?

I am great. Thank you so much for having me.

Well, it's a pleasure to have you. I have to start with a little bit of background, Vanessa, because I'm relatively new to your music. As I explained to you before we started recording, how and where did you get your start in the blues?

I mean if you want to go to the very beginning, it was like sixth grade jazz band is like playing a 12 bar blues at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. Like that is really how I started, started and I fell in love with that. You know, just understanding that you can play out your emotions without having to sing words or anything like that. You can sort of connect to everything going on in your life and express your own self. Right, right. So it definitely started there. And then I kind of. Because you play saxophone, you get shoved in a bunch of different directions because saxophone just belongs everywhere. That's my own opinion. But you know, you get, you get put in the jazz world and, and I was there for a little bit and then really came back to the blues when I started playing with Joe Lewis Walker, which was going into, it was like the summer before my senior year of college. Nice. And so I met him and sat in with him in Philly and then he was like, hey, you want to go on the road? And so of course I said yes. And, and so he's really what brought me back to the Blues, you know, I was kind of not. I knew I wanted to play music, but I knew like jazz wasn't quite my thing. Like, I love listening to it, but in terms of just self expression, it's not right. I don't connect to it that way. So playing with Joe sort of reconnected me to everything that I love, you know. So Joe is so great at mixing genres. Yes. He has the blues thing. He can play it acoustic, electric, however you like it. Chicago, you know, like any style. He's like pretty great at it. But he's also throwing gospel and funk and rock and just, just everything in there. And so he's really how it all got started and how I got my, you know, dip my toes in the water and was just kind of like, yeah, this is for me. I gotta get on the road, you know. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, Vanessa, talk about the influences on your musical growth as you were coming up. Who were your, some of your, your big artists that you really enjoyed?

Yeah, so I mean, early on, again, being, being put into the jazz world, like saxophone wise. My, my, like all time was Cannonball Adderley, who's more of a jazz guy, but he's also playing blues over everything.

Okay.

He's one of those guys that's just heavily influenced by the blues. So he was one of my favorites on saxophone. My, my professor, like my, my teacher, my mentor is still one of my favorites. His name is Chris Vidala. So he played with chuckman, Juni for 20 plus years and oh, wow. Was the first call in the D.C. metro area. So like when Aretha rolled into town, when B.B. king rolled into town, like literally everybody whoever rolled into town, he was the woodwind artist call. And so I studied with him for seven years and just like loved. He just had this such a joyful way of playing that it gave me a lot of joy and love of playing this instrument without getting lost in the, in the technicality of learning how to play it, if that makes sense. And then, you know, of course, like we listened to a lot in my house. There was the Eagles and Toto and, you know, Aretha Franklin, B.B. king, Ray Charles, all that growing up.

What a nice eclectic mix, huh?

Yeah, I mean, throw in some country from, you know, our Texas days, like there's just a little bit of everything in there.

Sure.

So I was, I kind of got turned on to Nora Jones and Bonnie Raitt sort of late into that, like going into college and they became two of my big influences as well. So. Yeah, lots from all over.

Very cool at what point in your life did you figure out that you were going to be involved in music professionally?

So, I mean, I. I knew that I wanted to do it, you know, in some capacity. I was a basketball player, and I love food, and so at one point I was like, I'm gonna be a restaurateur, a basketball player and a saxophone player. And I have no idea how, but sure, why not? Yeah, like, sure, you have all the time in the world to do all three of those things. But really, like, I had made the decision, like, I think it was sophomore year that I was. I was going to leave basketball and. And focus on the music. It didn't quite turn out that way because my coach begged me to come back. But 10th grade is sort of my decision to. To pursue this fully. And that was again, thanks to Chris Vanalla, because I had no idea you could have music as a career, you know?

Yeah.

I want to talk about Chicago for a minute, because, girl, you were on top of your game. And I'm not just blowing wind here. I'm not just making things up. I watched that entire performance, and I gotta be honest, of everything that I saw from that weekend, that was one of my favorite sets. And this was your first time there. So I want you to talk about that experience and how well you were received.

Oh, yeah. I mean, Chicago Blues Fest was like, bucket list item for me. Yeah, it had been that way for five years, actually. When I. When I signed on with my former booking agent, I was. He asked me, like, what are the top five festivals you won? Chicago was like, number one for me. And so to. To have that opportunity come up, I mean, I know it popped on our schedule and I was like, yes, I don't care about the money. Yes, I want to play it. And it was. I was so excited for that event, coming up to it. I mean, I had just recorded a new record. I was still working on the record, and just like, I don't know, it just seemed like a couple dreams were coming true all at once. You know, this new record is great. And then, you know, to get to the opportunity to play this.

Sure.

Which, of course it did rain. But, like, for us, like, three of us, I think it was our first time ever playing that festival and we all had wanted to play it. So we all went in with this idea of, like, this is totally a dream come true. We're just going to have fun. And so we had a lot of. I mean, you know, the Chicago crowd is, like, undeterred. So, you know, you're just huddled under the part that was covered during the rain and just like, gave us all the energy in the world. And it was. Shemeka Copeland was sitting with her family off to the side n. You know, just like, this is cool. This is surreal, you know? Yeah, it was. It was great. And the reception was great. So I've had a lot of people actually come up to me and say, talk about this show being like. Just like, oh, my gosh.

Oh, yeah.

And you.

And you had a incredible band back in. You too. You talk about them for a minute.

Totally, yeah. So it's kind of what I call the dream team. So I had Laura Chop on guitar and Scott Sutherland on bass, and then Byron Cage on drums and. And vocals. And, you know, it's just. It's funny that this band, like, it's kind of the band I've always wanted, and now every time we sort of play together, it just falls into place. It doesn't. Like, we just made this record eight songs, and we recorded nine, but we made it in, like, I don't know, maybe 15 hours. Like, cranked them out, you know, just because they're. They're so great, so easy to work with. They just want the music to be good and. Sure, that's, you know, working with them. There's no ego from anybody. They just want the music to be great and. And that just makes my job very easy, you know?

Yeah, well. And it was. It was so seamless. It was so seamless watching them play it. I mean, Laura, forget about it. She was crazy good. But I gotta admit, I was kind of caught off guard because I. I've only known you as a sax player, but there you were on stage in Chicago, wailing away on a telly, and I. You get. You got some mad talents here, but you have any other instruments that you play in your arsenal too, or. No?

Yeah, I mean, so I've been on and off taking piano lessons since high school, so, like.

Oh, cool.

Like a pig is something I write on. On piano and I play when we're not on stage. But. Yeah, so I play a lot of the woodwinds. I just put flute on the new record. And then I. I've picked up sort of bass and drums along the way and just constantly trying to search for new ways to write, new ways to hear the music, you know, because the bass player from a different perspective than I would as the front person, you know, so it's just. I like to learn all the. All the different parts and, you know, I just I love good music and figuring out how. What makes it great and what makes it feel good. So.

Yeah, well, I want to turn the page here and talk about the new album called Do It My Way. And you truly are doing things your own way on this one, aren't you?

Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's eight originals, so there's not a cover on it from start, you know, produce the whole thing. Put flute, alto saxes, play a little resonator and then a little bit of slide guitar as well on the, on the telly, on the Mule, Mule, Caster and. Yeah. So it's just, again, I, I like to make record that, that represent me. This one's a little bit more soulful, Funky rain that I, I haven't really. I've dipped my toes in, but I haven't really made a full record, you know, with that intention of, of sort of crossing into that world. So I, I've enjoyed this record from start to finish. Is just kind of like, yeah, here it is. Like, I, I, I, you know, people can love it, people can hate it, but, like, if I love it, that's kind of what matters to me, you know?

So, yeah, well, it, it kind of caught me off guard, I'll be honest with you, because I had just gotten done listening to your live album and I was like, oh, my God, I gotta hear more. And then I heard, then I heard the album was being released, and I. And I talked to Nick, I think it was. And yeah, I'm like, dude, you gotta send it to me. And I listened to it and I went, well, this is different. Then I started going back and listening to your other stuff, and I believe it was a hard on the line album.

Kind of reminded me a little bit

of that album because, yeah, I guess it's safe to say that you prefer a more soulful flavor in your blues. Would that be safe?

Yeah, I mean, I think. I think it kind of just depends. I kind of write what the song wants to be. So, you know, like, to me, when it don't Come easy is. Is not necessarily soulful. It's more of a Southern blues kind of thing. But I love, you know, the Etta James blues and funk and all that kind of Darren Jones, all that, all that stuff. And so it's. It's kind of. It's just me as a songwriter, it's me as a player, it's. It's me as a person that I, I kind of can't choose one particular path and just go down it. I am just varied in all of my tastes, so. Yeah, well, and.

And let me say, I don't mind that some people, they want a cookie cutter blues or this or that or the other thing. I like a little bit of everything. And I always refer to the blues as a buffet. You take a little bit. You take a little of that to your liking, you know, you don't have to have everything the way I like it. That's the thing that I like about the blues. But now I wanted to. I noticed a recurring theme that was woven throughout this album. And I don't normally pick out particular songs, but the one that caught my eye was Rosetta. And I'd like you to talk about that song for just a minute. That's got quite a message in it. Yes, totally.

Yeah. So, you know, I can't remember when, but I learned about Sister Rosetta Tharp a few years ago and. And then just kind of like learning, like, you know, of course I love her music. She is someone who. When you watch her, the recordings, the few recordings we have of her performing, if you watch her perform, she is such a great entertainer, but other than that, she is pushing at that point, pushing the guitar into this realm that everyone kind of picked up on. Elvis Presley is someone who picked up on it and turned it into his own thing, you know, so she's such an inspiration, and yet no one knows her name. And yet, like, she sat. Her grave sat unmarked, I think, until 2013 in Philly. And so it's just like she has been such a backbone of where blues music has gone, of where R and B music has gone. And yet we don't really celebrate her. And so, you know, I just wanted to. She's one of my heroes, for sure. I mean, just. Just wailing on a guitar and all. All the things that she had achieved were unheard of for a woman, let alone a black woman in that time. Yeah, and she's selling out. She sold out, like, huge stadiums, you know, and went to Europe and all these things. I think she's. Anyway, her wedding still has, like, one of the highest attendees, I'm pretty sure. But anyway, besides. Besides that, I just wanted to wr something that celebrates her, that lifts her achievements into the light and, you know, whoever hears the record will hopefully go dig into her stuff. And, you know, Laura's. That's one of the first things that we. We kind of bonded over was doing sort of something Rosetta style. And so, yeah, this one is just. It was great to have her on it and, you know, just celebrate Sister Rosetta Tharp.

Very cool. And I want to ask you about this because a lot of the females that are in the blues don't seem to get the regard that a lot of the males do. And I know that you addressed a lot of that. You actually, I think that's why I talk about. The theme that was woven throughout the album was a decidedly female type of a theme through it. And I really. I liked it, you know, because it. It was. It was recurring and there were different songs that. That spoke about the strength of women and talk about that for just a minute.

Yeah, I mean, again, I think historically women have kind of been underestimated, and definitely I have. I have felt that I kind of graduated from college thinking, like, the music industry can't be what it was. You know, like when the major labels said, you have to look like this, you have to do this, you have to do this to. To kind of make it. And then I kind of. I made a record with an independent record label, and it was sort of the same thing of like, oh, no, we can't sell. We can't sell records without, you know, with a woman looking serious on the COVID Like, what. What are you talking about? It's a serious record. Why. Why do I have to be smiling and looking. You know what I mean? So I think the industry is very much. It's very antiquated still to this day, and not to say that there aren't people fighting and aren't people changing it and paying attention, but on the whole, there is still this inequity that's going on. And so it's been my experience. I've been in the industry now for 10 years under my own name. And you still experience that, whether it's the pay gap or whether it's just generic, generically, how people may treat you at a festival or ask things of you that they're not going to ask, you know, my male counterparts on the scene, you know, so it's. It definitely is. It's just my truth right now. It's. I'm not complaining about it, but it does take a lot of strength to. To be a woman and to be a woman in this industry and. And to survive and to do it in the way. And dictate terms rather than can have these things put on you. So that is definitely, you know, do it my own way. That is absolutely. Like, I'm here, I'm doing it the way that I want to. And if you don't like it, that's kind of your. Your problem. Not mine. You know what I mean?

Right.

Well, you know, I, I interviewed Joanna Connor and the women of Chicago Blues in. In as they were getting ready to do their program just before Chicago Blues Fest kicked off.

Yeah.

And that was one of the things that she mentioned is there's been a lot of inequity involved in the music world and I've always had an open door policy for blues musicians. I don't care if you're male, female. Don't matter to me if I, if I catch your music and it. And I dig it. I want to hear more about it, you know?

Absolutely.

And you know, so I'll say, I'll say the same thing to you. The door is always open, you know, whenever you need to promote something. But yeah, I, and I like to see the things that you are doing, the things that Joe Bonamassa is doing to change that, that culture so that people don't have to believe that they have to have a big record label behind them. Labels are good. Labels are good.

Yeah.

You don't have to, you can do it your own way if you want to.

Right. Absolutely. Yeah.

I'm going to turn the page once again here. The Keep It Sexy tour is. It kicked off on September 6th. It's coming to a city near you soon. Sadly, those of us in Michigan are going to have to wait until early 2025. But trust me when I tell you we will be there rooting for you at the Token Lounge in Westland. What I want you to talk about the, the tour for a minute and what fans can expect from your show.

Yeah, I, I think honestly I'm still in the process of figuring out how to change the show. I mean, you mentioned the Live of the Lives record that I put out in 2022, two years ago and, and that was sort of a staple of like who I have become over the last nine, 10 years. And now I'm sort of at this point where I'm sort of changing direction. I'm going to definitely play the stuff that people love, but I'm also going to play a lot, you know, I'm playing a lot from the new record and so figuring out what fits where and you know, how to, how to design a new set and, and that's always take some trial and error. So that's what we're doing is just trying some different stuff every night, trying a few different things from the new record and then keeping the, the staples. But always, you know, my intention is always about connection. So one thing I feel like we we don't have in the world, largely because we're on screens and we're on social media. We're all these things which are great. But the downside is that when we're face to face, we're not in the present moment and we're not connecting, you know, And I feel like that is important. So my whole point is to tell stories and connect with people and hopefully that whatever the story is, it's going to connect to something in your life and. And hopefully uplift you. That is the whole thing. We want to leave you dancing and smiling and feeling better than you did before. So high energy stuff, but definitely thinking about, you know, what. What can I give to the audience? What. What. What can I leave them with? And hopefully, you know, it's just kindness, dignity, respect, like those three things are staples in my. In my show. So that's my plan.

There you go. Well, there's, you know, there's a great deal of talk about keeping the blues alive. Vanessa. There appears to be a nice crop of younger musicians coming to the fore these days, yourself included. It's been. It's been said that to keep the blues alive, you have to be willing to take it a little further down the road, but there's no instruction manual for this change. What keeps the blues alive? What does that mean to you?

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great question. I am not. Not a stickler, I would say, in. In. In deciding, you know, this has the blues has to stay like this or blues has to be this. I think for me, keeping the blues alive is keeping the spirit alive. And. And what I love about blues music is it is very improvisational. It's very like, directing to the point. It's very much about life and so keeping that spirit alive. You know, R.L. burnside wrote some great stories. You know, it's just whatever speaks to your soul to me is what the blues is, you know, and if it's. It happens in A minor, 12 bars, great, you know, or if it's inspired by those. Those 12 bars, then even better. So I think it's just. It is about connection. It's about pizzazz. It's about, you know, just putting your own little stamp on something. You know, whether you're playing with a butter knife, you're playing with your fingers, or, you know, whatever. It's just. It's very much got to be you at all times.

Absolutely. Vanessa, where can people go to purchase your music, buy some merch, maybe even book you for a show?

Absolutely. So I the website is definitely the central hub for everything. Vanessacollyer.com C O L L I E R is the last name. And then you know, of course we're up on all the street streaming sites, all the music up there. But if you want a T shirt shirt or anything you can buy directly from me at the website and I usually hand pack them and ship them out as well so. Oh wow. Directly coming from me.

Okay.

Yeah.

Well Vanessa Collier, my sincere thanks and appreciation for taking some time out of your day to talk with us. I appreciate it. Certainly an exciting thing to watch this new album come out. I wish you much success on that and look forward to seeing you in February.

Yes, I can't wait. Thank you so much for having me on Jim. I really appreciate it.

Well, that wraps up this edition of Time Signatures with Jim Urban. Once again, my deepest appreciation to Vanessa Collier for being with us today. But more importantly, I appreciate all of you for taking time to check us out. After all, wasn't for you guys, none of this would be possible. Jim Irvin reminding you that keeping the blues alive is everyone's responsibility, but preserving the history of the blues one story at a time is my mission. Until next time. So long

this has been Time Signatures with Jim Irvin presented by the Capital Area Blues society in Lansing, Michigan. For more information on CABS, visit capitalareablues.org you can find this episode and past episodes@lccconnect.org the Time Signature's theme song, Michigan Roads is used by permission and was written by Root Doctor featuring Freddie Cunningham. Until next time, Keep on Keeping the Blues alive.

This has been a presentation of LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the voices, vibes and vision of Lansing Community College. All shows featured on LCC Connect are recorded at the WLNZ studio located on LCC's downtown campus. Each program is podcast based and can be heard anytime@lccconnect.org if you or someone you know would like to be a guest on one of our shows, connect with us by emailing LCC ConnectCC.edu.