For Songs

Let me be clear: this is the most important interview I’ve ever done. It is my humbling honor to welcome the amazing singer/songwriter Lisset Diaz of the [Sweet Lizzy Project](www.sweetlizzyproject.com) back to For Songs. Lisset and her bandmates emigrated from Havana, Cuba, to Nashville, TN, in 2017 to record their second full-length album Technicolor. Lisset is a frequent guest of the show, but this interview is different. If you’ve been watching the news, you know there is a once-in-a-generation protest movement in Cuba. Cubans are putting their lives on the line to bring an end to the authoritative regime.

For Lisset, watching this from afar is both painful and inspirational. Painful because she doesn’t know if her friends and family are safe, but inspirational because of the incredible courage her fellow Cubans are showing by taking to the streets. In this interview, Lisset talks about her hopes and her fears for her country. While she faces no repercussions in the US for speaking out, she knows there’s a chance she may never be able to return to Cuba as long as the current regime is in power. And because Lisset is taking such a huge risk, we owe it to her to listen. Please, if you care about what’s happening in Cuba, share this episode with a friend or family member. Make sure the world knows what is happening right now. Thank you and please welcome Lisset Diaz back to For Songs.

I’m sure we all want to give up our day job for our dream job. As tempting as it sounds, it’s fraught with risk. On this episode of For Songs, California-based 3 Pairs of Boots, featuring the real-life married couple Laura Arias and Andrew Stern, talk about how they did just that. After years of balancing work and family life with the arts, Andrew and Laura reached a point where they needed to give music their undivided attention. And we’re all better off for it. As 3 Pairs of Boots, Laura and Andrew perform California-tinged Americana music—imagine if Stacey and Steve Earle grew up in LA instead of the Midwest. The duo’s newest album Long Rider comes out on Jan. 29. Learn more about their journey together and how the adventures of another free spirit inspires their songwriting. Listen in!

If you're like me, you've probably seen a band or heard a song and thought, man this group is gonna make it! You might follow their career, see them live, and if you happen to write for an online music magazine, you might even feature them on numerous occassions. And then you might scratch your head when this band doesn't get it's break. Because you know they are incredibly talented and perhaps the best band onstage at that festival you attended, way better than some of the headliners. And you wonder, what happened? Are they still at it? In this episode of For Songs, we speak with Kevin Adkins, former co-frontman of the New York Irish rock band Icewagon Flu. The Flu nearly gravitated to the top of the Manhattan scene, getting recurring gigs at some of the most well-known Irish pubs. But it didn't work out. Kevin now co-leads Franklin Gotham, a songwriting duo with no intentions of making it big. Rather, Kevin just wants to write top-quality songs. And he does. This is his story.

With Hurricane Ida bearing down on his home state of Louisiana, musician Louis Michot felt helpless. After a quick jaunt for his band’s—Grammy winning Lost Bayou Ramblers—first gig outside Louisiana in nearly two years, Michot and his crew raced home to be with their family as the storm approached. An unlucky break during the show led to a short COVID scare, but even more frightening were the cries for help he saw online as Ida pummeled New Orleans and other areas, knocking out power for weeks. Once he felt safe and healthy—he never did get sick, thankfully—Michot and his band raced into action, setting up gofundme campaigns to bring goods and services to those areas devastated by the storm. His band raised tens of thousands of dollars for supplies like food, gas, and everyday needs. Once the immediate crisis ended, he started thinking bigger. He launched the Louisiana Solar Fund to bring portable solar generators into indigenous areas wrecked by the storm. In this special episode of For Songs, Louis talks about this work, the state of the power grid, and why it is so important to bring resilient forms of energy to all corners of the country.

Oh yeah, we also talk about music and his latest EP, the five-song live recording Tiny Island. Tiny Island was recorded by his second band Michot’s Melody Makers outdoors on his property. The Melody Makers are joined by the incredible and versatile singer/songwriter/cellist Leyla McCalla. We talk about three songs from the EP, how the band maintains its tight sound without rehearsing, and how cool it is when the bugs and frogs living on Louis’s property accompany the band. Please join me in welcoming Louis Michot back to For Songs.

If you’ve ever felt like there’s just not enough time in the day, that the world is crashing down and you’re feeling more pressure than you can handle, have I got the song for you. In this episode of For Songs Singles, I welcome back Lisset Diaz of the Havana-by-way-of-Nashville-based [Sweet Lizzy Project](www.sweetlizzyproject.com). Lisset discusses the band’s dynamite new single, Somebody Wake Me When It’s Over. The song is a musical tour-de-force, a blistering rock opera that jumps out of your speakers right into your heart. Lyrically, the song addresses anxiety and the fear that there’s just not enough time to accomplish your dreams. This is a true rock masterpiece and if there’s any justice in the world, the band’s guitarist and producer Miguel Comas will be the most sought after producer in the country after this single. So sit band and enjoy as Lisset Diaz returns to For Songs.