web02.fireside.fm Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:16:36 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) For Songs - Episodes Tagged with “#Folkrock” https://forsongs.fireside.fm/tags/%23folkrock Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:00:00 -0400 This podcast is for those who love music but can't write a tune to save their lives. We talk with singer/songwriters of all stripes, professional touring musicians to those who can't quite catch a break. Maybe you'll hear something you'll like. Maybe not. But you will come away with a greater appreciation for the gift of songwriting, and how hard it really is. Now sponsored by @thepugdc! en-us episodic A podcast for and about songs and songwriting Rob Thormeyer This podcast is for those who love music but can't write a tune to save their lives. We talk with singer/songwriters of all stripes, professional touring musicians to those who can't quite catch a break. Maybe you'll hear something you'll like. Maybe not. But you will come away with a greater appreciation for the gift of songwriting, and how hard it really is. Now sponsored by @thepugdc! yes songwriting, punk rock, guitar, music, folk, rock, singer/songwriter, podcast, songwriters Rob Thormeyer robthormeyer@yahoo.com Episode 25: A Conversation with Emily Brown https://forsongs.fireside.fm/25 7c4cf868-8129-4dcf-9bc1-3ad7f9284ae9 Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:00:00 -0400 Rob Thormeyer 25 A Conversation with Emily Brown full 1 Rob Thormeyer Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, made even more so by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs 41:26 yes Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, with musical nods to Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, and gorgeous musicals like The Sound of Music. The album is made even stronger by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. She credits her collaborators with the broad, bold sound, but her voice and spirit are at the album’s core. In a sense, A Fish of Earth is a brave album: it is a marked departure from her earlier work as she willingly relinquished much of the production to her collaborators. The resulting sound is broad, ornate, and rich, but also evocative and dynamic. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs Emily Brown, folk rock, Berkeley, songwriting, Glen Campbell, Wichita Lineman Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, with musical nods to Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, and gorgeous musicals like The Sound of Music. The album is made even stronger by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. She credits her collaborators with the broad, bold sound, but her voice and spirit are at the album’s core. In a sense, A Fish of Earth is a brave album: it is a marked departure from her earlier work as she willingly relinquished much of the production to her collaborators. The resulting sound is broad, ornate, and rich, but also evocative and dynamic. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs

]]> Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, with musical nods to Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, and gorgeous musicals like The Sound of Music. The album is made even stronger by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. She credits her collaborators with the broad, bold sound, but her voice and spirit are at the album’s core. In a sense, A Fish of Earth is a brave album: it is a marked departure from her earlier work as she willingly relinquished much of the production to her collaborators. The resulting sound is broad, ornate, and rich, but also evocative and dynamic. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs

]]> Episode 18: A Conversation with Michael Patrick F. Smith https://forsongs.fireside.fm/18 877690ab-3b53-43b6-94cc-8c3c9a7c6f87 Fri, 08 Jan 2021 16:00:00 -0500 Rob Thormeyer 18 A Conversation with Michael Patrick F. Smith full 1 Rob Thormeyer Join me as I catch up old friend Michael Patrick F. Smith about his latest album The Great Away. Michael & I go waaayy back, elementary school! We haven’t seen or talked to each other in 25-plus years. Over that time Michael has written plays, songs, and now a book, which comes out next month. He’s shared the stage with Ramblin’ Jake Elliot and #forsongs veteran @Palefaceonline. In this episode, we talk about his latest album The Great Away, which came out last fall. We talk about his influences, writing styles, and how he goes about his work. Its not everyday you chat w/ someone you haven’t seen in 25-plus years! 42:18 yes Lots of really bad things have come about because of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one good thing is catching up with friends you haven’t seen or heard from in decades. In this episode of For Songs, I speak with singer/songwriter/playwright/author Michael Patrick F. Smith. Michael and I went to elementary school together in the small town of Ijamsville, Md. Not a streetlight or traffic light when we grew up there, but it was home. We went our separate ways after high school--he ventured out to Baltimore and eventually New York to write music and much more. He’s shared the stage with legends like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Paleface. Michael is a true renaissance man, as his first book comes out next month about his time in the oil/gas fields of North Dakota. In this episode, we talk about four songs from his most recent album The Great Away, available on Spotify. Listen in as we catch up, chat about life, music, and much more! You can find out more about Michael here: www.thegoodhand.org! indie rock, folk, folk rock, MPFS, The Good Hand, Woody Guthrie Lots of really bad things have come about because of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one good thing is catching up with friends you haven’t seen or heard from in decades. In this episode of For Songs, I speak with singer/songwriter/playwright/author Michael Patrick F. Smith. Michael and I went to elementary school together in the small town of Ijamsville, Md. Not a streetlight or traffic light when we grew up there, but it was home. We went our separate ways after high school--he ventured out to Baltimore and eventually New York to write music and much more. He’s shared the stage with legends like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Paleface. Michael is a true renaissance man, as his first book comes out next month about his time in the oil/gas fields of North Dakota. In this episode, we talk about four songs from his most recent album The Great Away, available on Spotify. Listen in as we catch up, chat about life, music, and much more!

You can find out more about Michael here: www.thegoodhand.org!

]]> Lots of really bad things have come about because of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one good thing is catching up with friends you haven’t seen or heard from in decades. In this episode of For Songs, I speak with singer/songwriter/playwright/author Michael Patrick F. Smith. Michael and I went to elementary school together in the small town of Ijamsville, Md. Not a streetlight or traffic light when we grew up there, but it was home. We went our separate ways after high school--he ventured out to Baltimore and eventually New York to write music and much more. He’s shared the stage with legends like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Paleface. Michael is a true renaissance man, as his first book comes out next month about his time in the oil/gas fields of North Dakota. In this episode, we talk about four songs from his most recent album The Great Away, available on Spotify. Listen in as we catch up, chat about life, music, and much more!

You can find out more about Michael here: www.thegoodhand.org!

]]> Episode 12: Episode 12: A Conversation with Emily Barker https://forsongs.fireside.fm/12 45a1a3aa-5a6d-4ced-b8c4-24fecdd28dce Mon, 09 Nov 2020 10:00:00 -0500 Rob Thormeyer 12 Episode 12: A Conversation with Emily Barker full 1 Rob Thormeyer What’s the best way to get a critical message across to your listeners? For Emily Barker, the best way is to make it personal. On her latest album A Dark Murmuration of Words, Emily recounts her travels from her native Australia in her early 20s to England to become a singer/songwriter. She uses her personal experience missing home to make a direct plea in her music for combatting our world’s climate crisis. On this episode of For Songs, Emily talks her passion for the environment, how she drives the point home in her writing, and her musical inspirations. 38:50 yes What’s the best way to get a critical message across to your listeners? For Emily Barker, the best way is to make it personal. On her latest album A Dark Murmuration of Words, Emily recounts her travels from her native Australia in her early 20s to England to become a singer/songwriter. She uses her personal experience missing home to make a direct plea in her music for combatting our world’s climate crisis. On this episode of For Songs, Emily talks her passion for the environment, how she drives the point home in her writing, and her musical inspirations. We discuss four songs from the album--Return Me, Geography, The Woman Who Planted Trees, and Anymore Goodbyes. She also talks about her process for writing songs and what it's like being a musician with a new album and no way to bring it to the masses thanks to the pandemic. Emily Barker, climate change, folk rock, songwriting, Red Clay Halo, political music What’s the best way to get a critical message across to your listeners? For Emily Barker, the best way is to make it personal. On her latest album A Dark Murmuration of Words, Emily recounts her travels from her native Australia in her early 20s to England to become a singer/songwriter. She uses her personal experience missing home to make a direct plea in her music for combatting our world’s climate crisis. On this episode of For Songs, Emily talks her passion for the environment, how she drives the point home in her writing, and her musical inspirations. We discuss four songs from the album--Return Me, Geography, The Woman Who Planted Trees, and Anymore Goodbyes. She also talks about her process for writing songs and what it's like being a musician with a new album and no way to bring it to the masses thanks to the pandemic.

]]> What’s the best way to get a critical message across to your listeners? For Emily Barker, the best way is to make it personal. On her latest album A Dark Murmuration of Words, Emily recounts her travels from her native Australia in her early 20s to England to become a singer/songwriter. She uses her personal experience missing home to make a direct plea in her music for combatting our world’s climate crisis. On this episode of For Songs, Emily talks her passion for the environment, how she drives the point home in her writing, and her musical inspirations. We discuss four songs from the album--Return Me, Geography, The Woman Who Planted Trees, and Anymore Goodbyes. She also talks about her process for writing songs and what it's like being a musician with a new album and no way to bring it to the masses thanks to the pandemic.

]]> Episode 5: A Conversation with The Rails https://forsongs.fireside.fm/5 7ed220e4-1add-4e1b-ad35-1899f2886dea Mon, 20 Jul 2020 08:30:00 -0400 Rob Thormeyer 5 A Conversation with The Rails full 1 Rob Thormeyer Few people know how much blood, sweat, and tears go into songwriting than Kami Thompson and James Walbourne of the English rock duo the Rails. James has played with some of the songwriting greats of the last few decades, including Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Shane MacGowan (!). And Kami is the daughter of the renown English songwriting duo Linda and Richard Thompson. So songwriting is in her blood. Yet it can still be a challenge for them, and only recently have they found a strong way of working. How does it all come together? And how has it changed over the years? Listen in… 39:50 yes If you’ve ever wondered how much passion, dedication, patience, and determination goes into writing a great song, I give you the Rails. Consisting of James Walbourne and Kami Thompson, the Rails are an English rock duo with three albums to their name since 2014—each one written and recorded under vastly different circumstances. In this episode of For Songs, Kami and James dissect four of their tunes with disarming candor—Grace of God and Borstal from their 2014 debut Fair Warning, and Dictator and Ball and Chain from 2019’s Cancel the Sun. Listen in as they discuss how much they’ve learned from working with such legends as Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Shane MacGowan, Jay Farrar, and many others. Kami and James talk about how their writing style has evolved and and how they’ve come to find a strong place after making a critical lifestyle change. And stay until the end when we get into social media and receive a visit from one of their cats. So all the way from Camden Town in London, here are the Rails… Kami Thompson, James Walbourne, The Rails, The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde, Shane MacGowan, folk rock, songwriting, Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson If you’ve ever wondered how much passion, dedication, patience, and determination goes into writing a great song, I give you the Rails. Consisting of James Walbourne and Kami Thompson, the Rails are an English rock duo with three albums to their name since 2014—each one written and recorded under vastly different circumstances. In this episode of For Songs, Kami and James dissect four of their tunes with disarming candor—Grace of God and Borstal from their 2014 debut Fair Warning, and Dictator and Ball and Chain from 2019’s Cancel the Sun. Listen in as they discuss how much they’ve learned from working with such legends as Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Shane MacGowan, Jay Farrar, and many others. Kami and James talk about how their writing style has evolved and and how they’ve come to find a strong place after making a critical lifestyle change. And stay until the end when we get into social media and receive a visit from one of their cats. So all the way from Camden Town in London, here are the Rails…

]]> If you’ve ever wondered how much passion, dedication, patience, and determination goes into writing a great song, I give you the Rails. Consisting of James Walbourne and Kami Thompson, the Rails are an English rock duo with three albums to their name since 2014—each one written and recorded under vastly different circumstances. In this episode of For Songs, Kami and James dissect four of their tunes with disarming candor—Grace of God and Borstal from their 2014 debut Fair Warning, and Dictator and Ball and Chain from 2019’s Cancel the Sun. Listen in as they discuss how much they’ve learned from working with such legends as Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Shane MacGowan, Jay Farrar, and many others. Kami and James talk about how their writing style has evolved and and how they’ve come to find a strong place after making a critical lifestyle change. And stay until the end when we get into social media and receive a visit from one of their cats. So all the way from Camden Town in London, here are the Rails…

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