Have Guitar Will Travel

012 - Ken Emerson In this episode of Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast James speaks with Ken Emerson. Ken Emerson is one of the world's most highly regarded traditional Hawaiian slack key & steel guitarists living today. He is an excellent player of both and he switches easily between them during his performances. We speak about his connection and playing beside the core of traditional Hawaiian music: Sol K. Bright, Gabby Pahinui, Genoa Keawe, Raymond Kane, Moe Keale and Auntie Alice. And his diverse guitar playing his playing has been featured on Donald Fagen's (Steely Dan) Grammy Award winning Morph the Cat. He has many additional touring/recording credits that we speak about including Todd Rundgren, Jackson Brown, Boz Scaggs, Charlie Musselwhite, Taj Mahal, and Elvin Bishop. Download Link

011 - Shannon and the Clams In episode 11 James speaks with Cody Blanchard (guitar and vocals), Nate Mahan (drummer and aspiring luthier) of Shannon and the Clams. Over the last decade, Shannon and her chief collaborator guitarist Cody Blanchard have released four albums of 60s-inspired pop on indie labels, toured tirelessly and have gradually solidified a lineup of devoted Bay Area musicians. In this current iteration, Shannon and the Clams, consisting of Shannon Shaw on bass and vocals, Cody Blanchard on guitar and vocals, Nate Mahan on drums, and Will Sprott on keyboards, have developed notoriety for lively and genuine stage performances and a zealous following that craves their particular authenticity and innovation on classic sounds. Their latest album Onion, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Nashville studio, finds a finely tuned and tour-tested band stretching out from the 60s-inspired, surf inflected rock that has defined their previous releases, and delves int...