Podcast
Tell You What! the Podcast
Hosted by tell you what studios · EN
Welcome to Tell You What! the Podcast. We have conversations with musicians about songwriting and the creative process. Check out all our episodes and hear some great stories and songwriting insights.
Music is the best.
Drop us a line at tellyouwhatpodcast@gmail.com
18episodes
Episodes
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Episode 69: Jason Narducy
May 800:56:51Tap to summarizeJason Narducy is quite a busy fellow . He graciously made the time to talk about his musical work and his new book, Mostly the Van, a wonderfully entertaining collection of stories woven from his fascinating life. A man of many projects, Jason is currently spending time touring with Chicago actor Michael Shannon on their highly acclaimed live project playing the music of R.E.M. Jason has been a member of Bob Mould’s band for several decades, plays bass on tour with the indie band Superchunk, and recently toured playing guitar and singing backup vocals for the emo band Sunny Day Real Estate. His solo project, Split Single has released three albums featuring contributions from the likes of Spoon’s Britt Daniel, John Stirratt of Wilco, and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills. We discuss how nice it is to live in our shared hometown of Evanston, how Jason wrote the songs for a staged musical based on his ten year old self’s punk band Verboten, playing a show (and sleeping) in Bill Berry’s childhood home, and Michael Shannon’s podcast hosting skills. You can order a copy of Mostly the Van at Porchlight Books, free shipping available; it’s a fun and compelling read and a “Tell You What!” book club featured selection.
Transcribe →Episode 68: Chicago Farmer
Mar 1900:57:00Tap to summarizeCody Diekhoff is the person behind the musical moniker Chicago Farmer; he has been performing under that name both as a solo act and as a band for over two decades. Chicago Farmer’s recently released album, “Homeaid” is an excellent collection of songs; Cody and his band the Field Notes deliver his stories of rural life, family, and midwestern history with passion and integrity. In our conversation Cody discusses his life journeys and musical arc as he travelled from his small farm town in Illinois across the highways of America on tours, his time living in Chicago, and back down to the Illinois heartland again, all the while penning his working class folk songs. We hear about what he learned from his friendship with the late Todd Snider, the use of humor and storytelling in his songcraft and performances, and losing a talent show to farmers shooting marshmallows out of their noses.
Transcribe →Episode 67: Soren Staff (Them Coulee Boys)
Jan 1800:51:45Tap to summarizeI had a great chat with Soren Staff from the Eau Claire, Wisconsin based band Them Coulee Boys. The band released their fifth full length album last year, “No Fun in the Chrysalis”, it’s an excellent record on which Soren really displays his songwriting skills. We discuss the creative environment that is Eau Claire, and how Them Coulee Boys, who are known for their raucous, fun and emotionally charged shows, work to involve their audiences in the live experience. We spend some time digging in the songwriting weeds - there is talk of complicated rhyme schemes (what rhymes with toothbrush?) and unresolved choruses. Enjoy this conversation and then spend some time with “No Fun in the Chrysalis”, both great listens.
Transcribe →Episode 66: Rob Miller
Dec 400:50:06Tap to summarizeI sat down with Rob Miller to discuss his new book “The Hours are Long but the Pay is Low; a Curious Life in Independent Music”. Rob was co-founder of the Bloodshot Records label here in Chicago, which featured independent artists that blended the spirit of punk and country music. Although Bloodshot nurtured unknown artists into grammy winners and sellers of hundreds of thousands of albums, Miller and the label remained fiercely independent for more than 25 years, helping build the music community in Chicago and prioritizing off-the-beaten-path showcases, indie record stores, and music venues like the ones Miller worked at in his boyhood city of Detroit as a stage manager, roadie, and end-of the-night custodian. It’s a great book that weaves a funny and compelling underdog story of the championing of music and musicians that would have otherwise likely fallen through the cracks of the corporate music complex; Rob was a fun guest with a fascinating tale to spin.
Transcribe →Episode 65: Tami Neilson
Sep 100:53:54Tap to summarizeBorn and raised in Toronto, Tami Neilson eventually made her home in Auckland, New Zealand, where she has become one of her adopted home country’s most beloved artists, with multiple chart topping/award winning albums to her credit. She has been making a bit of a stir here in North America as well, collaborating, touring, and hanging with Willie Nelson, and debuting on the Grand Old Opry in 2024. Tami’s new album, Neon Cowgirl, is an absolute blast of a record, showcasing not only Tami’s powerhouse vocals but also her deft songwriting skills that blend multiple genres seamlessly. A great conversation, we hear about songwriting superstar Ashley McBryde making her own custom Tami Neilson merch, how Tami naturally inhabited the role of Sandy Cheeks when writing songs for the Sponge Bob movies, using Legos and a stick as percussion, and how Vince Gill brought Tami a song in a dream.
Transcribe →Episode 64: Steve Poltz
Jul 2600:52:51Tap to summarizeI sat down with Steve Poltz at DelFest Bluegrass Festival in Cumberland Maryland, after his set on the main stage there, which was, according to Steve, the greatest show he had ever played. The next day I saw him play a completely different set at the festival, which was, according to Steve, even greater, making that the best show of his life. In between these great sets we had a wide (wide) ranging conversation. Steve told some tales, he talked about the art of telling tales, he broke down some Neil Young and Roger Miller songs to demonstrate their songwriting brilliance, ate some cookies, and talked about his upcoming Steve Poltz Song Factory songwriting workshop in August in New York State. We heard about the sound of breaking glass, how an overdose of weed brownies changed his career (for the better), and how he discovered a love for the Grateful Dead after successfully recovering from an on-stage stroke. Did I mention it was wide ranging? One of my most enjoyable conversations on the podcast ever.
Transcribe →Episode 63: Elizabeth Moen
Jun 1200:55:05Tap to summarizeI had a blast talking with Chicago based musician and songwriter Elizabeth Moen, she is funny, thoughtful, honest, and has an absolute overflowing reservoir of musical talent. As you will hear, Elizabeth was born and raised in Iowa but has made Chicago her musical home for a number of years. She has a few albums under her belt including 2022’s excellent "Wherever You Aren’t". She has been working on her highly anticipated next record with producer Spencer Tweedy, another member of the Chicago music scene; aside from his producing work Spencer is also the drummer for the music project Waxahatchee. Elizabeth’s talents have allowed her to write and perform songs that cross musical boundaries: folk, rock, blues, jazz and so on; her voice is a true instrument. You can hear some of the diverse nature of her work in just the few clips of the songs we discuss. But we hear about how her work with producing partner Spencer on the upcoming record has allowed Elizabeth to realize perhaps the true expression of her vocal talents. Also discussed: covering CeeLo Green in a high school talent show, finding the perfect chord with an accidental pinky, and Elizabeth’s tortured journey from mathlete to calculus cheater.
Transcribe →Episode 62: Mel Parsons
Mar 15, 202500:43:30Tap to summarizeWe sat down with New Zealand artist Mel Parsons at the 2025 Fok Alliance International Conference in Montreal in February. Mel is a deft and powerful songwriter, her lyrics are put together with wit and wisdom, and she plays a powerful guitar amid excellent arragements. Her latest album, Sabotage, is a real gem. We had a lovely chat, talked about not talking about songs, and creating from the unconscious. We also learned about the Time Ball in her current home town of Lyttleton, NZ, and how it might be the secret to that town’s artistic magnetism.
Transcribe →Episode 61: Twisted Pine
Dec 6, 202400:55:59Tap to summarizeTwisted Pine is a boundary jumping string band; although based in bluegrass their music defies categorization in a joyous and exhilarating fashion. We sat down with Kathleen Parks, Dan Bui, Anh Phung and Chris Sartori at the Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots Festival in Vermont. Topics include their wonderful new record “Love Your Mind”, late night bluegrass festival doings, shifting musical roles within songs, Tom Petty vocal influences, and much more.
Transcribe →Episode 60: Bob Sumner
Oct 22, 202401:01:58Tap to summarizeWe sat down with Canadian musician Bob Sumner at AmericanaFest in Nashville; we discuss his recent record "Some Place to Rest Easy", which has become one of my favorite releases of 2024. The musical vibes are lovely, echoing the sounds of my favorite Randy Travis records of the 90’s, but Bob also hits us with gut punch lyricism that brings to mind Townes van Zandt and Steve Earle. Bob is a wonderful conversationalist, there is a lot of great stuff in this one. We hear about how one positive comment from a high school teacher may have been a life changer, how he made a listener cry at his first open mic performance, what he learned from making music with his big brother for 20 years as part of The Sumner Brothers, and playing guitar and writing songs while (literally) driving his car as a food delivery person. Together we come to the realization that not only is Bob a great writer himself, but he has a gift for recognizing the perfect lines written by others (I look forward to discovering something witty I said to Bob appearing in one of his future songs). Check out the video for Bob’s song "Motel Room", he has some killer dance moves, and the song and video display the way Bob worked with both joy and sadness while putting this record together. This was one of my favorite discussions on the podcast, and I thank Bob for being so generous with his thoughts and for being such a great listener.
Transcribe →