Travel Pop musician Mike Mentz discusses drawing inspiration from his travels, his aggressive 21 roads project and a cappella groups on Roots Music Rambler

Welcome to Episode 4 of Roots Music Rambler! Join us – hosts Francesca Folinazzo, who Jason calls “Frank,” and Jason Falls, who goes by “Falls” most of the time, as we explore the real roots of the music we love.

On this episode, Francesca catches up with Jay Gonzalez of the Drive by Truckers. The multi-instrumentalist has a new side project coming out in December. He shares the story of finding and collaborating with lyricist Peter Smith to produce the new Gonzalez Smith album. The first single from the album, She’s My Girl, is out now.

Frank also explores Jay’s roots as a musician growing up in upstate New York, moving to the South and blending with the Drive by Truckers.

Frank & Falls also do a little check-in to see how the show is going so far, four episodes in. Francesca reveals she spent 20 years as a 9-1-1 dispatch operator. Jason muses on his next tattoo and hints that he’s working on an impersonation off Drive by Trucker co-founder Patterson Hood.

Since we’re all new to Roots Music Rambler, the show includes three main parts:

• Francesca and Falls open the show talking about a topic of the day in the music industry.
• Our guest then comes in as we explore their roots – of music and life.
• Then Francesca and Falls finish off the show with our Pickin’ The Grinnin’ segment. That’s where both pick what music, artists, events and more make them grin this week. They share whom they’ll see live, what new artists they’ve discovered and more.

Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It’s a new episode of Roots Music Rambler.

Some other notes and links:

• Happy Place Beer by Third Space Brewery
• Rosie’s in Bloomington, Illinois
• American Aquarium
• The Hu - Mongolian band Francesca mentioned
• Billy Joel’s Glass Houses - Gonzalez’s first album
• Shenorock, New York - Where Gonzalez grew up
• She’s My Girl - The first single from Gonzalez Smith’s new album
• The Manhattan Bar - Athens, Ga.
• Gary McFarland & Peter Smith’s 1971 album Butterscotch Rum on Spotify
• Waiting for the Fire by Marvelous Toy - Gonzalez’s Pickin’ the Grinnin’
• The Henry Clay People - Gonzalez’s friend Jordan Hudock’s other band

Pickin’ the Grinnin’ Recommendations

• Zack Bryan’s new album
• Sierra Ferrell
• 18 Wheels of Love - Video mentioned by Francesca
• Nathan Graham’s new single Right One
• Lovejoy’s new single Normal People Things
• Noah Kahan
• Cole Chaney
• Ella Webster (Cole Chaney’s fiddle player)
• Hillbilly Days - PIkeville, Kentucky’s spring festival

And be sure to get your MuskOx premium flannel shirts just in time for fall. Use the code RAMBLER on checkout for a discount!

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