Connecticut Music Oral History Podcast Verso Studios at the Westport Library

This episode features, Karen Ponzio, arts and culture journalist for the New Haven Independent. Karen has shared her poems, displayed her artwork, and hosted a variety of live shows at venues throughout the New Haven area over the past ten years as well as the CygnusRadio.com show The Word According to KP which featured both poetry and music. Here’s our conversation…

https://www.karenponzio.com/

Welcome to another installment of the Connecticut Music Oral History Podcast. This episode features Westport’s own Barbara Reis, a musician, composer, and music therapist whose travels took her to Julliard, High School of Music and Arts, University of Michigan, Tanglewood, the Brill Building, Westport Country Playhouse and theater committee. Barbara’s story is truly inspirational and vital to anyone who considers themself an artist.

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The Connecticut Music Oral History Podcast returns with an interview conducted all the way back In February of this year (2023). It’s a complete deep dive with hip hop artist and documentary filmmaker, Jim Slice. From growing up in and around the advent of hip hop culture, performing all over the globe with New Haven’s Stezo, and now documenting Connecticut’s Skinny Boys and the legend of 70s funk band, Skull Snaps; Jim Slice’s story is integral to the foundation and evolution of hip hop. Enjoy the ride…

Buckle up for Gary of Gee’s Records wild ride through true hip-hop culture as a producer, promoter, and record dealer. From roller rink hip-hop shows, to house parties, to 1212 Studios with Paul C, to Jazzy Jay at Strong City, to producing tracks with Beatnuts, and Afrika Bambaataa, recording with Grandmaster Flash, and selling sought-after break-beat records to Q-Tip, Large Professor, and Questlove, Gary is an innovator and conduit.

Rob Fraboni is a renowned producer and engineer. Fraboni is well-known for his work with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Buckwheat Zydeco, Hubert Sumlin, John Martyn, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, and Melissa Ethridge, and served as VP of Island Records in its heyday.
Fraboni, leant his expertise to the Verso hybrid analog recording studio, having built Bob Dylan and the Band’s Shangri La Studios to their specifications in 1976. At the turn of the century, Fraboni built Keith Richards home studio just miles away from Verso Studios.

https://christineohlman.net/home.html
This queen of blue-eyed rock n’ soul, who grew up loving equally the sweetness of a Memphis horn line and the raunch of an electric guitar riff, whether played by Muddy Waters, Keith Richards, or Pop Staples, teased her blonde hair into a beehive in honor of Ronnie Spector and never looked back, picking up a guitar and forging a career as a songwriter in the process. She’s the current, long-time vocalist with the Saturday Night Live Band (SNL40’s anniversary post-show concert also featured her star turn onstage with Jimmy Fallon, Elvis Costello and the B-52s), whose latest CD, The Deep End, was honored on five national Top Ten lists and features special guests/duet partners Ian Hunter, Dion DiMucci, and Marshall Crenshaw, plus Levon Helm, GE Smith, Andy York, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, Catherine Russell, Big Al Anderson, and others. Ohlman topped the Alternate Root.com’s Readers’ Poll as top Americana vocalist, joining other winners Paul Thorn, The Mavericks and Rodney Crowell.