Middle Class Rock Star Andy Sydow

This week, I spoke with Christian drag queen singer-songwriter, Flamy Grant. We first met as Kerrville Finalists back in May of this year, where Flamy ended up being one of the winners. In July, their album, "Bible Belt Baby" and single, "Good Day" went to number 1 on the iTunes Christian charts on the same day. They've also been the feature of two articles in Rolling Stone in the latter half of this year. Flamy is a wonderful artist, songwriter, and singer and I enjoyed getting to chat with them about their story and music.

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: https://www.flamygrant.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flamygrant?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

If you liked this episode, consider listening to one of these next:
119. Katie Boeck
106. The Accidentals

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com

This weeks episode is a conversation with Schyler Allyn and Mitch Lagge of Big Sky Bonus Tracks. BSBT (based in Red Lodge, MT) films artists singing songs and telling their stories. It's all very high quality, from the filming locations, to the mastered audio, to the video cameras. Since 2022, they've been curating great music from Montana and Wyoming and abroad to build a community out of what they love to do.

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: http://www.bigskybonustracks.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BigSkyBonusTracks/videos

If you liked this episode, consider listening to one of these next:
112. Jackson Emmer
108. Kalyn Beasley

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com

My guest this week is keyboardist, Bill McKay. It's impossible not to hear Bill's name when you're a musician in the Denver area. He's everywhere and plays with everyone! McKay first moved to Colorado for college in 1987, and immediately started playing in bands while working on his degree at Colorado College.

He toured with "soul 'n roll" outfit, Band Du Jour from 1990-1995 right out of college, then moved to Atlanta to join The Derek Trucks Band as the lead singer and keyboarding from 1995-2000. Moving back to Colorado, McKay spent the next decade as a member of Leftover Salmon. Bill has also played with Coral Creek, Steely Dead, The Other Brothers, and Bill McKay Band.

Towards the end of our conversation, Bill talks about his past struggles with addiction, and getting sober 12 years ago. He invites anyone who is in need of a friend or someone to talk to, to reach out on his website: www.billmckaymusic.com.

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: http://www.billmckaymusic.com

If you liked this episode, consider listening to one of these next:
73. Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon)
74. Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon)
80. Todd Smallie (Derek Trucks, JJ Grey & Mofro)

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com

Katie Boeck is this weeks guest and yet another artist I met through the Kerrville Folk Festival. We were both finalists in the 2023 New Folk Songwriter Competition (Katie was a winner!).

Boeck's story is a page turner... she studied theater at UCLA, spent years in her early 20s immersed in the rich Laurel Canyon music scene, toured India, and played the lead in the musical "Spring Awakening" on Broadway in New York. This was all before moving to Nashville to study the craft of songwriting. Katie spent 2022 touring the country performing Joni Mitchell's legendary album, "Blue" in it's entirety. In April of 2023, she released a full length album of original material called, "Calico."

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: http://www.katieboeckmusic.com

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com

I first met Jordan at the Durango Songwriters Expo about 10 years ago. We've stayed in touch through the years and even jammed together at the Casio booth at The NAMM Show in Anaheim this past February.

During the pandemic, Jordan started calling himself "Piano Jordan" on TikTok. He used the platform to play his favorite songs and invite others to sing with him. This grew him a following of over 600K on on the platform.

During our conversation, we chat about Jordan's songwriting process, his career as a broadway actor, and being drawn to music because it's a way that he can make other people happy.

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: https://jordansiwekmusic.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pianojordan?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pianojordan/?hl=en

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow
"Lover and a Giver" by Jordan Siwek
"Two Roads" by Jordan Siwek

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com

After a moving hiatus, Middle Class Rock Star is back this week with Erik Stucky. We're both Colorado boys that are currently calling the greater Nashville area home. Erik came over to the new home studio to record this episode live. I don't get to do them live very often these days!

(from Erik's website bio):
"Growing up in the rugged mountains of western Colorado, Erik Stucky picked up his first mandolin at the age of 8. Following the release of his debut album Stray Clouds in 2017, Stucky packed up his instruments and a single suitcase and pointed his pickup for Nashville.

Influenced heavily by New Grass Revival and Lyle Lovett, the Americana artist proved his ability to cross genres from Country, to Soul, to Jazz, all the while maintaining an unmistakable writing style and voice with his sophomore album, Good Vibrations (2021). Performing on the mandolin and guitar, Stucky combines his passion for lyric writing, folk instrumentation, and big band arrangements."

If you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe, or write a review!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! Please note: new Patreon members get to pick a cover song for me to record especially for them! www.patreon.com/andysydow

Guest Links:
Website: https://www.erikstucky.com

Episode Music:
Original music by Andy Sydow

Sponsors:
A huge thanks to our sponsor, Narrator Music.
For any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com

narratormusic.com