Where The Living Room Used To Be

In this interview, Bill Bartholomew illuminates the life of a full-time artist, how being a podcaster has informed his music and tells the story from one of the most important days in his career. We also chat about his new EP "Bats" which came out digitally on June 11th and got to discuss how this particular record was made and what he's striving for with the release. Interlude song order: "I'm Losing You" by Commas from their Six Other Songs EP "Treasure Map" by Bill Bartholomew "Burning Planet" by Silverteeth from their self-titled EP "(A Lot To Be) Free For" by Bill Bartholomew from his Bats EP // Interview recorded May 31st, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Chrissy Stewart shares some of her Rhode Island faves in this mini-episode including where she shops for records, her special spot to hang in the Ocean State, and a favorite benefit show she does with PVDlive! I've included one of my favorite songs by Chrissy, which is "Dissolve" (as you may have guessed if you heard the full episode) from her album House of Christina ! // Interview recorded May 13th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Chrissy Stewart shares some music advice that gets to the core of humility and trust... as well as the often unspoken rewards of booking shows and festivals. Episode includes a live song from Chrissy's performance at The Columbus Theatre on March 30th, 2018 (audio credit: Eddy Bills). The song is "Truth Of Your Love" from her album House of Christina and I love that this is an alternate version to what you hear in the record! // Interview recorded May 13th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///  

Chrissy Stewart is a gifted musician and the owner of PVDlive. In our interview we talk about how she got into booking shows, what she's looking to create with her production company, Zydeco dancing at Rhythm & Roots Music Festival, how she created her record House Of Christina and the more than serendipitous way that title came to her. Make sure to check out PVDlive's Roller Disco Concert Series at The Providence Rink that starts the beginning of June and runs all summer long!   Interlude song order: "Swingin' at the Haven" by Ellis Marsalis performed by Cameron MacIntosh as part of PVDlive's "An Artist's Relief" virtual series "Preacher's Daughter" by Chrissy Stewart from her album House of Christina "All We've Got (is now)" by Chrissy Stewart from her album House of Christina   // Interview recorded May 13th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Leland Baker shares why Newport Jazz Fest is so special, he shouts a great local music store that's helping to keep the scene alive, and we talk seafood* in the ocean state! (*he's not a fan of pizza... can you believe that? Maybe he's a robot and that's why he's so good at playing the sax?

Acclaimed jazz saxophonist and music educator, Leland Baker, shares some wisdom he's learned along the way from his mentors, how he's found a way to keep moving to stay in the game, and the spirit that drives his inspiration.    Includes his original piece "Black Lives Maintain" (audio credit: Vertygo) that he wrote last year to bring attention to the ongoing and absolutely unnecessary tragedies surround police brutality and the loss of way too many blacks lives because of it.     // Interview recorded April 12th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

My guest on this episode is saxophonist, Leland Baker! In our interview, we cover so much from his career including his time studying music in New Orleans and at the University of Rhode Island... connecting with Quarter Water in New York City, how he founded his teaching program Bridging Gaps, and of course all the jazz projects he's working on! Interlude song order: "I Wish" by Quarter Water from their EP, Flavors segment from "Pass Me Not | Remaking the Real" (Leland Baker and tap dancer Orlando Hernandez collaboration) "Mr. LC" by Leland Baker Group performed at Level Exchange in Pawtucket // Interview recorded April 12th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe, and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Providence rapper and beatmaker, ToadStool has a new solo album entitled "eARTh 1" coming out this week... so on this episode, we have a track by track discussion across the entire album, as well as talk about how this multiple piece concept project has evolved over time. Plus, we get into how the artwork for the cover and individual songs was created, and you'll even find out what my walk-up song would be if I was a professional baseball player! It's always fun to talk with Toad and he's a super talented artist! Make sure to check out his new album when is drops digitally on April 23rd or pick up one of the limited edition marbelized cassettes he and I teamed up on that comes out a day earlier on Earth Day itself!  And, if you're not too familiar with Toadstool check out some previous episodes we've done with Toad & the Stooligans and Ronald Raygun to learn a little more about this story in music  Interlude song order: "Couch" from ToadStool's album eARTh 1 "Choppin'" from ToadStool's album eARTh 1

On this special edition episode, I catch up with the esteemed bass player, Joe Potenza to talk about Evening Sky's new album "One Mic, Two Weekends". This is an interesting album as it was literally recorded using a single mic that - as you'll hear us get into - taps into both one of the earliest ways of recording... all the way to some of the most modern technology utilizing a high definition audio format. So we'll take a deep dive into the recording process for this new record, as well as talk about the start of the band and many of the other things they are up to! Interlude song order: "Can't Find My Way Home" from their album Guest Stars "Slip n Slide" from their album One Mic, Two Weekends "For Those We Lost" from their album One Mic, Two Weekends "Snake Oil" from their album One Mic, Two Weekends   // Interview recorded April 5th, 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!

Charlie Marie and I talk RI drinks, RI pizza, RI places... so give a listen to find out her favorite places to hang out, dine, and play shows in The Ocean State Includes my favorite song by Charlie, which is "Shot In The Dark" from her live-take album Chucktown Takes: Live from St. Philip // Interview recorded March 5th, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

Charlie Marie shares some insight she learned at music camp while in high school, and what she feels you need to do to be able to give and share with others. She also tells a fun story about what it was like for her growing up in the woods of Burrillville.  I also share a live song of Charlie's recorded at her cd release show at Askew in May of 2019 for her latest self-titled EP. The song is "Countryside" (audio credit: john doherty) and I recommend listening to the lyrics on this one. It's a great song that speaks to the reality of Rhode Island County music. Enjoy!  // Interview recorded March 5th, 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! ///

For this episode I got to chat with RI country artist, Charlie Marie, about her new album, Ramble On, which is coming out on May 7th but is available now for pre-order! We talked about the making of this record, how fellow Rhode Islander Tyler-James Kelly of The Silks came to be involved with it. Plus, we discuss her overall songwriting process, how a couple of her recent music videos were made, and her experience playing with Brian McKinnon. We even go all the way back to Charlie's early vocal lessons and some of the first places she's performed.  Interlude song order: "40 Miles To Memphis" from her EP Charlie Marie (2015) "Rhinestones" from her EP Charlie Marie (2019) "El Paso" from her album Ramble On "Heard It Through The Red Wine" from her album Ramble On // Interview recorded March 5th, 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! ///

John Difruscio tells us about how great a certain record & tape store used to be, some of the cool things they do at the bar at Askew, where he hangs out when he's not at the clubs he owns, and reflects back on some of the more memorable shows he's booked throughout his career.  Also included at the end are a couple of live songs from one of my personal favorite bands, Verse, recorded at their 5th Anniversary show at Club Hell back in 2008!! (audio credit: cocolash)   // Interview recorded March 1st, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///

John Difruscio shares some advice he's picked up throughout his decades-long career in the music industry, what's needed to have longevity in this business, and with this once again... it's hard to escape the impact that Randy Hein from The Living Room had on our Rhode Island music scene. John also shares a fun story of one of the earliest parties he ever put together! This episode ends with a piece from The Autocrats set live at Askew back in November of 2019! (Hope this stellar funk band gets back to their weekly shows every Tuesday night once it's safe.) // Interview recorded March 1st, 2021 via Zoom // Intro music by Cedros // Hosted by James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please subscribe and leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///  

John Difruscio has been a nightclub and concert promoter in Providence since the early 80s. Starting as a radio DJ at Rhode Island College he's gone on to book shows at The Living Room and Confetti. He's also run venues such as Club Hell and Firehouse 13. In our interview we talk about the ups and downs of the music business from his experience and what he has planned in the future for the Askew and Alchemy... two clubs he co-owns with his wife Windsong Hadley. Interlude song order: "Puppet Regime" by Tipper Gore LIVE AT CONFETTI (audio credit: Todd Carey) "Who's Laughing Now?" by The McGunks LIVE AT FETE (audio credit: ivorytower99) "Holes" by Eric and The Nothing LIVE AT ASKEW (audio credit: Jackie Frances) // Interview recorded February 15th, 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! ///

Duke Robillard takes us through a bit of the history of Providence's record stores, plus a tip of the hat to the drinks of RI and his experience at The Guild, where he gets his pizza these days, and more about the overall love he has for his home state!  I do have to say that in my opinion this was probably Duke's favorite part of the interview. I'm so happy we got to reminisce about some of this stuff and I hope you enjoy! Also included is a song from Duke's 2019 album Ear Worms. It's a cover of the Bob Dylan song "I Am A Lonesome Hobo" that features fellow Rhode Island Music Hall Of Famer, Mark Culter.  If you dig it, Ear Worms is available on both CD and blue vinyl on Duke's website! // Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over 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 bonus episode, Duke Robillard talks about the value of a good music education, what you need as the core motivation to be a person in the arts, and a possible reason why playing guitar came to him so easily that's quite interesting! Also, as you heard in Episode #29, Duke shared that the first release Roomful Of Blues ever did was a song of his called "Don't You Want To Roll With Me". They put this out as a 7" on their own label Room-Tone Records. It sold quite well and helped to further put the band on the map, so I wanted to share the song for you at the end of the episode. Enjoy   // Interview recorded January 30th, 2021 via phone call over 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! ///  

Duke Robillard is literally one of the best blues guitarists in the world! (I'm not just saying that... he's got the awards to prove it) In our interview he takes us back to the first time he heard music, how he taught himself to play guitar, plus the start of his many bands such as Roomful Of Blues and The Pleasure Kings, and all the way up to the records he's working on right now which is about 6 decades later. Along the way, Duke has left his mark on what's coming close to 100 albums, been nominated for a couple of Grammys, and played with iconic musicians across many different genres including Big Joe Turner, Herb Ellis, Muddy Waters, Jay McShann, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits to name some for you... which we get into as well! It was an honor to get to speak with Duke about his legendary career and I hope you enjoy the episode. Please make sure to pick up his latest album, "Blues Bash", which is available now as well as his extensive back catalog. Interlude song order: "That's My Life" by Roomful Of Blues (from

You may know Mike Jencks and Dan Pomfret as the frontmen for Toad and the Stooligans but with their new duo project, Ronald Raygun, they went with a different approach to writing and took a little inspiration from a 90s hip hop mixtape feel with the production. We dive into all of this in our interview, as well as learn more about both of their prolific solo careers. Ronald Raygun's debut album comes out on all streaming platforms on Feb. 12th!!! You can pre-save it here and make sure to listen til the end of the episode to hear a premiere of their song "Anomaly" Interlude song order: "Cactus Jack" by ToadStool "Have Mercy" by Dan Pomfret "Closer I Get" by Ronald Raygun "Anomaly" by Ronald Raygun // Interview recorded January 22nd, 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! ///

For those of you that may not be familiar with Blitzen... they are a band of reindeer that seem to magically appear every holiday season to play the Wayward Christmas event at The Parlour. In our conversation we cover some of their inspirations, the charity they're involved in and some of the others bands they've played in such as Reindeer Tick (their members have also been in Deers For Fears, Infectious Hooves and What Deer? Brigade) Also included is the song "Christmas Eve" by Blitzen This bonus episode was originally part of the Wayward Christmas 2020 virtual event to help raise funds to Save The Parlour. Please consider making a donation HERE   Watch the video version of this interview HERE   // Interview recorded December 12th, 2020 via Zoom// Intro music by Cedros// Hosted by James Toomey // Edited by Mark Lambert & James Toomey // /// If you enjoy the episode please leave a rating or review wherever you're listening right now! ///