Where The Living Room Used To Be

For this episode, I catch up with the executive director of Blackstone River Theatre, Russ Gusetti. In our conversation we talk about his unfortunate introduction to playing guitar that ended up being an overall benefit in his life, we also discuss how his small theatre came together and got to be known all around the world, what it was like being in the band Pendragon for 34 years, and of course, we get into what you can expect from their 10th annual Summer Solstice Festival that's taking place at Diamond Hill State Park on June 18th. Speaking of that... head on over to Instagram or Facebook to follow Where The Living Room Used To Be and find out how you could WIN 2 tickets to this year's festival!!! Interlude song order: "Restless Waters" by Pendragon from their album Live at Blackstone River Theatre (originally written by Jon Campbell) The Vox Hunters with Torrin Ryan live at BRT Summer Solstice Festival in 2015 "Humours of Tulla / Star of Munster" by Pendragon from their album Live at Blackstone River Th

Five shares some of his favorite things from Rhode Island... including a couple of cool beach spots, a nostalgic pizza place and where to get it these days, and a century-old tradition that happens each summer in Cranston! At the end of the episode check out a couple of Five's favorite tracks from his new project, Long Time Coming Volume 1! Enjoy "R.E.S.P.E.C.T feat. Wardo" followed by "Lace Em Up feat. Vendetta" // Interview recorded May 16th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On this mini-episode, Five passes along a holistic view to music, what believing in yourself really means as an artist, and one of the core reasons he continues to push himself to create. At the end of the episode, you'll hear a posse track Five did entitled "Summer Freestyle" that was produced by 8th Wundah and features Raise, the late Hammer Beanz, and Milez Grimez. // Interview recorded May 16th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On this episode, I speak with hip hop artist, Five, where he shares what goes into his complex writing process, the experiences he's had winning several bars challenges, working with many other great artists from Rhode Island, and what he's looking to achieve with the release of his latest project, "Long Time Coming Volume 1" Interlude song order: "I'm Back" Five's verse from "The Story of Jacob pt. 2 (Cypher)" by Joe Bruce & Clarkwork "Franchise Report Freestyle (feat. DJ Franchise)" from Long Time Coming Volume 1 "If I Could" from Long Time Coming Volume 1 // Interview recorded May 16th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Christian Caldarone shares his experience record shopping on Thayer St., tells the story of a chance encounter with Buddy Cianci, and passes along creative ways to catch a show.    The end of the episode features one of my favorite Steadystate songs "Two Moons So Low In The Sky"   // Interview recorded March 17th, 2022 at Christian's home in Lincoln, RI // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey //   /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

In this mini-episode, Christian Caldarone shares his perspective of success, the level of love he has for the Rhode Island music community, and the ways he gets through writer's block. Plus, you can find out why I included "Figure 8" from High Planes' new album Ghost Town at the end of the episode.  // Interview recorded March 17th, 2022 at Christian's home in Lincoln, RI // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

I recently sat down with my friend and bandmate, Christian Caldarone, to talk about his 30+ years as an active musician, his experience working as a soundperson at The Met and The Century Lounge back in the day, what it was like starting LibertyFest, and how a young kid on Smith Hill may have helped influence a line of Eastman Guitars. We also take a deeper look at our band High Planes new album - Ghost Town - which is available on latch cut vinyl, cd and streaming everywhere on April 15th! Stick around to the end of this episode to hear the premiere of a brand new song from Ghost Town!!! Interlude song order: "Losing You (and My Hair)" by The Noodles (from their EP Al Dente) Vile Reign live at LibertyFest 2012 (audio credit: floatingeyecorpse) "Diamond Smile" by Maria Monk (from their split EP with Garage Sale Picasso) "Bedroom Eyes" by The Lincoln Tunnel (from their album Phone This One In) "Radiation" by Steadystate (from their EP Two Moons) "The Fool" by High Planes (from their album Mayday) "Season For T

On this episode, Mopes shares the spots he's gone digging for records over the years, the beauty of Rhode Island party pizza, and I introduce to him the rivalry between Del's Lemonade and Mr. Lemon!  At the end of the episode I've included his song "One Vs. Many" from one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time, DNGRFLD   // Interview recorded February 28th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On this episode you'll hear Mopes pass along some advice on how to be a better performer, why he thinks there's a need for experimentation with your own sound, and what his creative process is with writing lyrics and beat making! One of the songs Mopes references with regard to this is "A Parting Gift" from his latest album "Unwound"... and you'll hear this at the end of the episode. strangefamousrecords.com // Interview recorded February 28th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///  

In this episode, I sit down with one of my favorite rappers, Mopes... who some of you may know from his previous name Prolyphic. Through our conversation we get into the reason why he started making beats, the concepts behind his albums, and how growing up in a working middle-class family influenced his lyrics. We also get a little deeper into the breaks he's taken from music and his recent reintroduction.  Speaking of that, Mopes fantastic new album "Unwound" came out in February on Strange Famous Records. You can pick this up on limited edition cassette, lathe cut 7", as a special t-shirt bundle, and digital download or stream wherever you get music. Interlude song order: "Iron Maiden" by Prolyphic (from his album An Alarm Clock Set to 9:01) "The Ugly Truth" by Prolyphic (from his album The Ugly Truth) "Bad Influence" by Prolyphic (from his album Working Man) "Pale Blue Spot" by Prolyphic (from his album DNGRFLD) "You Ging Rich" by Mopes (from his ep Mopes) "Home Is Like A Tough Leather Jacket" by M

My wife and I (James) recently had our 3rd child and while we were in the hospital we played UNO to help pass some time. From that, it made me think about a previously unreleased piece from the conversation I had with Lewis Morris back in Oct of 2020 and how we took a bit of a tangent talking about this card game. In this mini-episode, you'll learn more about why we did that and why UNO means so much to us as well as the steps we take to try to harness our impulses for constant creation. Since Lewis and I had our chat about 16 months ago he has put out 4 beat tapes, half a dozen singles - some of which are part of a very cool project idea called The Warpath, and a brand new mixtape that dropped last month entitled "Valedictorian" which you'll hear the track "Pipebomb" from this release at the end of the episode. I highly recommend you check out his incredible catalog of music and you can do that by visiting LewisMorris.me // Interview recorded October 12th, 2020 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted

Ben Shaw and I talk about his favorite things in Rhode Island... and we get even more hyper-local on this episode as Ben shares what all 37.8 square miles of Aquidneck Island has to offer from his view. We cover past record stores, where he hung out to eat pizza, and the music festivals that mean so much to him! And, tune in to hear Mr. Shaw break the code on RI's best drink!!!  I ended the episode with one of my favorite songs by Ben Shaw. The song is "Modal Interchange" from Ben's self-titled jazz album released in 2020. As you may have heard, this album was recently re-released as a limited edition song book that you can pick up at benjaminshawmusic.com or my site livingroomutb.com   // Interview recorded January 15th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On this mini-episode Ben Shaw shares his thoughts about practice routines, as well as building confidence, trusting your taste and persevering as a musician!  At the end of the episode, you'll hear Ben's song "Somewhere in Rhode Island" that he performed live at AS220 on December 2nd, 2021. I highly recommend you visit their YouTube channel - TV220- for almost 100 live stream performances from Rhode Island artists including a good handful from Ben and they're definitely worth checking out.  // Interview recorded January 15th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

During my interview with Ben Shaw we took a bit of a detour and started to talk more deeply about mental health as musicians. As you'll hear, both he and I have had to work on our mental state and seek outside help. This is a very important issue in the arts community so I wanted to pull this out from our full conversation to give it more attention and reach people about this specific issue. If you're having trouble with your mental health please talk to a friend or reach out to a professional to get some help. You are not alone and trust us... it will make a difference.  The end of this mini-episode includes Ben's song "Between The Leather And The Headlights" // Interview recorded January 15th, 2022 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On this episode, I welcome multi-instrumentalist, Ben Shaw. Not only does Ben play several instruments he also writes and performs many different styles of music - from folk and jazz to classical and hip hop. In our conversation we cover his journey of being musician that was barely accepted into the band at his middle school to becoming a nominated composer in international classical music competitions. Along the way Ben has written several albums and accompanied artists such as Math The Band, The Dear Hunter, Mau, and Chrissy Stewart... to name a few.   In our conversation, we discuss the release of his new songbook for his jazz album. I'm grateful to have been a part of Ben Shaw: The Charts coming together and you can all pick up a copy starting on February 6th at The Parlour jazz jam or by visiting benjaminshawmusic.com or my website livingroomutb.com shortly after that   Interlude song order: Mau - live on AS220 Sessions June 2021 "Contiguous" by Milkbread "String Quartet no. 1- I. Aggressive" by

I connect with Sage Francis to talk about his label - Strange Famous Records - and releasing music over the last 25 years, what local radio stations meant for his career, how giving it all as an artist can take its toll both mentally and physically, and some of the exciting things he's working toward in the near future.    If you enjoy the episode please check out some previous interviews I've done with Strange Famous artists B. Dolan and Jesse The Tree.  Interlude song order: "Narcissist - Live on WRIU (1999)" by Sage Francis (from his mixtape Sick Of Waiting Tables) "Five Hearts" by Epic Beard Men  "Dream School feat. Sage Francis, Buck 65" by ALXNDRBRWN (from his album Glow Kid) "Cheat Code" by Sage Francis (from his album Copper Gone) "Broken Wings" by Sage Francis (from his album Personal Journals) // Interview recorded December 3rd, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now

Salsa music star, EhShawnee, shares some of the places she likes to hang out and dine at in The Ocean State.  Plus, we cover some of her favorite Rhode Island events! At the end of the episode, I've included EhShawnee's hit song "Snake" for you to hear... but also make sure to check out the hilarious video she created for the song on her YouTube channel!    // Interview recorded November 8th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

On the bonus episode, EhShawnee discusses how education and preparation can lead to new opportunities, plus she gives some examples of overcoming challenges with her music career.  I also included the song "Titanic" that she did with fellow superstars, Revolución Salsera. As we discussed in the full episode, the video for this was done in the Dominican Republic during the pandemic and definitely showed some dedication to what they do! Enjoy the song and make sure to check out the video on EhShawnee's YouTube channel!    // Interview recorded November 8th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

EhShawnee is a renowned salsa star and in our conversation, we talk about how growing up in both the Dominican Republic and Rhode Island has informed her music, the feeling of having a #1 song in her home country, how she stays motivated to create, and what it's like for her to promote during Covid times!  Interlude song order: "La Vida Es Muy Shula" "Mas Mala Que Tu" "Ana Gabriel (Medley)" // Interview recorded November 8th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///  

I caught up with Nick Ryder and Christopher Roy from the heavy blues/rock duo, Adapter Adapter on Instagram Live to talk about their latest release, "No Comfort". We get into how Nick and Chris started playing together, the emotion that went into this album, recording at Galilee Productions, and how the artwork came together in a very serendipitous way! Check out the record on their Bandcamp page now and pre-order the cool random colored vinyl they're making for this!!!  Interlude song order: "No Comfort" by Adapter Adapter (from their album No Comfort) "Lizzy's Revenge" by Adapter Adapter (from their album No Comfort) // Interview recorded November 15th, 2021 via Instagram Live // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///