12-Bar Talk: A Blues Podcast

Dr. Chelsea Adams sits down with Sarah Rucker to discuss the life and legacy of Clifford Antone--the legendary owner of Antone's in Austin, TX--in his later years. Rucker was Antone's personal assistant from 2004 until his death. They also discuss how Rucker is continuing his legacy of advocacy for musicians and folk music in Texas and throughout the USA. 

 

Guest: Sarah Rucker

Sarah Rucker is an event producer and independent folklorist with specialties in traditional and popular American musical and dance genres. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts with a focus in dance and a Certificate in Business Foundations from the University of Texas at Austin. Her expertise in American blues and early rock began as research and teaching assistant to Clifford Antone (founder of Antone’s Night Club, Records, and Record Shop) in 2004. Antone lectured on these topics at the University of Texas and Texas State University until his death in 2006. She then helped direct programming for Texas' folk arts agency, Texas Folklife, for 8 years where she directed Barbara Lynn & Friends at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the annual Accordion Kings & Queens concert and the Big Squeeze accordion contest. She founded Full Gallop in 2015 to help bridge cultures and connect communities through creative events and public programs.

Upcoming events include the 2nd Annual Louisiana in Texas on April 4 in Houston. More info at: http://fullgalloparts.com/events or http://facebook.com/fullgalloparts and instagram.com/fullgalloparts

 

Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

How do you map dances across space and time, especially when doing so requires dealing with forced migration and slavery? Dr. Chelsea Adams and Deirdre Molloy discuss dance, the African Diaspora, and Molloy's ambitious Doctoral project of mapping dance from Africa to the Caribbean and Americas in her interactive Unity Atlantic Map (link below). 

Guest: Deirdre Molloy

Website to the Unity Atlantic Map: https://unityatlantic.org/ 

A Note on the Map from Deirdre Molloy: I designed the Map to be iterative – to grow deeper as a research notebook and public Afrofuturist digital heritage resource. The Map is a collective art-research work that touches many communities, and comments, feedback, and contributions are welcome!    Molloy's Research:   Molloy, D. C. (2024). Black Atlantic Space-Time Portfolio by Unity (V.1). Nakala (Huma-Num - CNRS). Available online https://doi.org/10.34847/NKL.FCF71S7D    Molloy, D. C. (2024). Black Atlantic Space-Time Teaser by Unity (V. 1). Nakala (Huma-Num - CNRS). Available online https://doi.org/10.34847/NKL.5C091TX1   Molloy, D. C. (2021/2024). From Blues Dance to African Diaspora Identity : Diaries, Dialogues, Dreams of Unity (V.1) Nakala (Huma-Num - CNRS). Available online https://doi.org/10.34847/NKL.EFB8NLDA       Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In today's world of social media, much of what was once accessible through online events is no longer easy to access. Josh Davis, board member on the Blues Association of Austin, discusses what we might do to help make events work for more people, and how we can get more of the community involved. 

Guest: Josh Davis

Website: joshdavis.contact

  Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Writer, Instructor, and Lecturer Grey Armstrong and Dr. Chelsea Adams get personal about community, why people are leaving social dance, and what we can do about it. 

 

Guest: Grey Armstrong

Video Referenced: Why Is Everyone Leaving Social Dance?

Websites: https://obsidiantea.com/, https://greyarmstrong.com/

  Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams sits down with local Utah musician Columbia Jones to discuss blues, genre, competitions, and building a career as a musician. Jones’ songs are earnest reflections of the everyday American experience paired with a sound that blends the best elements of Americana, Folk, Country, and Blues. His versatility as a musician is evident in the wide range of instruments and musical styles covered in his studio recordings, as well as onstage his on-stage performance, where gentle acoustic ballads can easily shift to a lively on-stage folk frenzy. Spectators of the his One Man Band can expect to see him perform on guitar while kicking a bass drum, foot tambourine, and some live looping. With the band, they serve up originals and covers peppered with lots of improvisation.

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Columbia Jones Website: Columbia Jones Music: Columbia Jones - Music   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with blues musician and dance instructor Charlley Ward about the power of sharing information across generations, an act called generativity. They discuss the power of both listening to elders and respecting culture, but also the importance of pushing genre and culture forward through innovation in both the music and dance communities. Charlley also shares some of his favorite stories and his belief in the power of storytelling to inspire generations and preserve legacy and culture.  

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Charlley Ward   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams interviews a premier musician from the Macon Music scene, Angel “Cash” Ocasio, Jr., founder of the band Cash's Juke Joint. They talk about the origins of the band, Angel's family upbringing and the importance of church in his life to shape his musical sound, and the power of the blues for the current generation of musicians to shape the future of the blues. You can find Cash's music on all platforms, and learn more at his website. The link to his newest music video is below.   Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Angel "Cash" Ocasio, Jr.
https://www.cashsjukejoint.com/ Early in the Morning Official Video   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

We often talk about the blues in vague and general terms: a feeling that you know when you have, a sound that a musician either has or doesn't. But what actually makes up this genre of music? In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams shares some of her scholarly research in a condensed format to help people reach a general shared understanding of a definition of the genre, with the hopes of working from that base to ultimately build a better definition with future podcast episodes.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Dr. Chelsea Adams and Philly organizer and dancer Genevieve Senechal discuss Powerhouse Blues and Blues Muse, how to build community, and how to evolve events to fit community needs after a pandemic. This interview is from June 2023, and has been edited to reflect the delay in release.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Genevieve Senechal www.bluesmuse.dance/ www.powerhousebluesphilly.com/     Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Award-winning musician Erica Brown talks with Dr. Adams about the power of community to lift up talent, how that influenced her career, and the importance of mentorship to continue to build and innovate in blues music.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Erica Brown
https://www.ericabrownentertainment.com/   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Chelsea Adams gives a brief historical spotlight of famed, but often forgotten or marginalized blues singer and performer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, utilizing information from archives and a variety of sources, including the one official biography of Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey, written by Sandra Lieb. 

 

Link to Biography

 

Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In our first episode of 2024, Dr. Chelsea Adams and musician Brother Yusef discuss blues, history, black experience in the United States, and why race is inextricable from the music, culture, and conversation surrounding blues and other forms of black music. 

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Brother Yusef 
http://www.brotheryusef.com/   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In our final episode of 2023, Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with Grand Rapids, MI organizer Andi Hansen about what it was like restarting a dance community post-pandemic, what the differences are between a dance scene and a dance community, and why that matters for community building, sustainability, and a sense of belonging both locally and regionally. 

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Andi Hansen   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

Anyone who loves music can likely tell you who their favorite DJ is, whether that's a radio DJ, club DJ, or dance DJ. In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams and DJ Steven Watkins discuss the art of DJing, what it takes to teach it, and how we evolve our understanding of what a DJ is and does for a dance floor in comparison to the choices we make when we DJ in other situations. 

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: DJ Steven Watkins   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

The pandemic killed off many national events and intensive learning experiences offered across dance styles. In this episode, we discuss a unique, week-long intensive event called The Experiment, which has revived post-pandemic. Hear from the founders of The Blues Experiment and learn what it's all about and what it's offering, and why it's important to have spaces to explore what it means to be a dancer in many different contexts.   Link to Learn More about the Experiment: www.thebluesexperiment.com/ and www.thebalboaexperiment.com/    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guests: David Rehm and Mike "The Girl" Legenthal   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In this episode, Vicci Moore and Adamo Ciarallo discuss building up blues instruction, and blues festivals, in Europe. We talk about the importance of music and history, but also the importance of creating ways for small communities with fewer resources to have access to quality information and teaching and learning materials about the blues. You can find out more about their online platform, The Blues Room, and their other events in the links below that Adamo and Vicci have provided for this podcast:    The Blues Room thebluesroom.com Why do I exist? To make blues dancing accessible to everyone world wide! You can learn from a range of teachers from the comfort of your own home without needing the time or finances to travel to an event.   Bluesology thebluesroom.com/bluesology Why do I exist? For teachers (of any level of experience) to learn and improve their pedagogy skills, be inspired, inspire others, connect and support each other. Building a dance community can be hard, but at Bluesology you'll realise you're not alone.   The Jump thebluesroom.com/the-jump Why do I exist? To help you bridge the gap between where you are with your dancing and where you want to be. Dance events can often feel like a selection of taster classes and it's rare to have the time to dig deep into technique and body awareness. The Jump will give you the time to do just that!   ESpanish Blues Festival (Spring and Winter editions) espanishblues.com Why do I exist? As a space for you to celebrate the full spectrum of blues music and blues dance. No frills. No competitions. No interruptions. Just high quality classes and many, many hours of partying to incredible live blues music.   Good Time Blues Fest www.goodtimebluesfest.com This event is is run by Adamo in his hometown. It exists to combine blues with the tradition of the village. During the day there are not only blues dance classes but also cultural activities such as pasta making, bread making, piazza making etc.. At night you dance to the best live music from international artists.  Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guests: Adamo Ciarallo and Vicci Moore   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

When we think of the blues in Europe, one of the first places our minds wander are the famous blues festivals in Great Britain that brought international attention to blues greats like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. But there is more to the story than the festivals. Dr. Roberta Schwartz, Director of the Musicology Division of the University of Kansas and the advising director of the KU Archive of Recorded Sound joins us to give us some of the backstory and the behind-the-scenes of the music scene in the UK as we discuss her book How Britain Got the Blues: the Transmission and Reception of American Blues Styles to the British Isles (Ashgate, 2007), which won the 2008 Association of Recorded Sound Collections award for best historical writing on the blues. We also discuss her current project about the Chicago or “hokum” blues of the 1930s. 

 

Link to Purchase How Britain Got the Blues: https://www.amazon.com/How-Britain-Got-Blues-Transmission/dp/0754655806

 

Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Dr. Roberta Freund Schwartz   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.    Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of, and struggles that come with, restarting local dance scenes. In an interview with Chicago blues dance organizer Tom DeGroh, Dr. Adams discusses how to navigate restarting, struggles in creating community in a post-covid world, the necessity of activism in dance communities that teach black dances and dance to blues music, and why it is important to rebuild a team rather than focus on singular organizers to do the work of community building. 

  Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Tom DeGroh   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area. 

Learn more about the blues and the people who listen to it in this new podcast with a focus on the evolution of blues music and the dances done to this uniquely American art form. 

Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.

12-Bar Talk: A Blues Podcast, is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC.