Neworleansmusicians.com Podcast

David Trahan

Join us as we take a look behind the scenes with the independent musicians of New Orleans and surrounding areas in Louisiana. Learn about upcoming projects before they drop. Experience the rich heritage of iconic venues and get first had accounts of exclusive events. Musicians are remarkable people. Get to know them, their struggles, and the inspiration for their art. Neworleansmusicians.com is dedicated to uplifting the artists and providing them with the tools necessary to elevate their craft. We shine a spotlight on them, as well as highlight the music scene and educate everyone with our interviews, album reviews, and music scene news.

  1. #93 Producer/ Engineer Chris Finney

    3d ago

    #93 Producer/ Engineer Chris Finney

    For this episode, I sat down with Producer, Engineer, and Mixer Chris Finney of Sound From Space Studio in New Orleans. In the past, Chris has worked at HOB and Jimmy’s Music Club, as well as owned and worked for several studios including Studio in the Country and The Music Shed. He’s a Grammy winner, and a Disney sound score producer and engineer. He’s worked at WYES television station filming Jazz Fest and Bonaroo, and made an impact filming and producing musician sets during the pandemic. We start by examining the experiences that lead him to a now 35 years in the music business.  While he had interest in guitar, keys and drums, and played all of them, car stereos, believe it or not, started him on a pursuit of the elements of sound like clarity and phase. We discuss how a fortuitous turn of events landed him on the road with Cowboy Mouth when he first turned 18 back in ’93. He shares with me a moment when Ellis Marsales gave him a bit of tough love, dissuading his pursuit of musicianship and steering him toward sound engineering. We recognize the role engineering played in the age of shredding. Together, we also recollect the moment when hair metal succumbed to grunge, and the Alt-rock tsunami that followed. He talks about the time Aerosmith dropped in to HOB unexpected and what the performance was like from the mixing board. Chris has worked with artists like BB King, Eric Clapton, NIN, Johnny Guitar Watson, Earl King, Neville Brothers, Allman Bros, Gov’t Mule, Trombone Shorty, and The Revivalists. Navigating this stratosphere, we discuss how not to be starstruck and why such a concept makes sense. We delve into the hot button topic of analog vs digital and how the reluctance to commute was part of what cost him a studio. There’s a diff between being part of a performance and creating content. Chris opens these partitions through stories of large corporations and local mediums.  We also look into the delicate line walked between a producer, an engineer, and a band in sessions and on stage.  And we mull over how to insert a value proposition into a creative endeavor. It’s ok that money be exchanged in the midst of music. I think you will find that Chris has played this and other hands well. There are going to be a few links in the description for this show. They’ll connect you with chris as well as link you with ways to support this show. It would mean so much if you would hit the subscribe button to help me take these personal moments further. Chris at Sound From Space Studio - https://www.soundfrom.space/ Neworleansmusicians.com - Networking and Promoting Bands For Free Elevate your health and well-being. Shop Realmushrooms.com and support this show! Here’s 20% off just for our listeners.  https://shop.realmushrooms.com?ref=1494 Donate to this show: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=83ZWJWHNRAYNU

    2h 20m
  2. #91 Vocalist/ Guitarist Theophile Bourgeois

    May 8

    #91 Vocalist/ Guitarist Theophile Bourgeois

    Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining me today on another musical journey. I went out to Lafitte, Louisiana for this episode and sat down with guitarist and vocalist Theophile Bourgeois who founded and currently plays in Them Ol Ghosts. They’re a four piece, melodic, southern rock band with a catalog to which you can slow dance as well as rock out.  Theophile began early in music, starting out on drums around 8 yrs old, but quickly moved onto guitar two years later. And it’s where he’s stayed ever since. Heavy metal consumed him early on, and it became the voice of an angst-filled teen throughout high school. We talk the facets and factors of his transition from there which included trading screaming for harmony and airing out frustrations for depth of meaning in lyricism. He pays much respect to his hometown, citing the mysterious charm of the swamp and historical prominence as the old stomping grounds for infamous pirate Jean Laffite.  We also discuss the inspiration he drew from artists like Dax Riggs, whose ability to bring haunting, melodic imagery to Acid Bath’s thrash metal struck Theophile as admirable and dynamic.  I found Theophile to be enthusiastic and forthcoming about his personal life. And I believe it’s what made this episode such a great one. We were able to parse through the impact becoming a father, family death, and a pandemic had on his music career; which, incidentally, almost ceased due to these factors. But hearing him describe how he waded back into those waters once again will definitely help some of our musician listeners out there that currently find themselves at a crossroads.  But hey I don’t want to give everything away. So, stick around because there’s something for everyone in this episode. I’ve got Them Ol Ghosts site link in the show notes if you want to learn more, as well as ways to support this show. You can shop with realmushrooms.com for health and wellness. And if you use our code you will take advantage of 20% off your purchase! We do accept donations through Paypay. That link is also in the show notes. And hey, if neither of these is a fit, you can always just subscribe to this show because that helps us get this content out to more listeners like you. This is all part of a larger network I built, Neworleansmusicians.com, where I promote Louisiana musicians for free. So, anything is everything when it comes to support. I welcome your support in any form.  Ok! Well that’s it for all the hubbub. Let’s get right into it. Here’s Theophile Bourgois of Them Ol Ghosts. Enjoy! https://www.themolghosts.com/ Elevate your health and well-being. Shop Realmushrooms.com and support this show! Here’s 20% off just for our listeners.  https://shop.realmushrooms.com?ref=1494 Donate to this show: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=83ZWJWHNRAYNU

    1h 18m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Join us as we take a look behind the scenes with the independent musicians of New Orleans and surrounding areas in Louisiana. Learn about upcoming projects before they drop. Experience the rich heritage of iconic venues and get first had accounts of exclusive events. Musicians are remarkable people. Get to know them, their struggles, and the inspiration for their art. Neworleansmusicians.com is dedicated to uplifting the artists and providing them with the tools necessary to elevate their craft. We shine a spotlight on them, as well as highlight the music scene and educate everyone with our interviews, album reviews, and music scene news.