Storyophonic

As a songwriter, producer, artist and musician, Chris Price explores sonic landscapes of vintage instruments and real songs. In 2017, his collection Stop Talking made many year-end favorite lists, and now with his latest full-length,  Dalmatian, he reveals a new 13-song journey. A notable producer and musician, whether he is behind the board recording the works of overlooked geniuses or orchestrating his own artistry, Chris reveals a potent creative sensibility that is smart and soulful.  

With a Grammy nomination, and the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year honors, Janiva Magness connects to a broad base of devoted fans at concerts, festivals and club dates. Now, with her latest release, Love is an Army, she blends Americana influences into fiery proclamations that are both personal and political. Explore the deep roots and inspiring story of an American original and her musical mission on this episode of Storyophonic.

Julia Michels is one of the most sought-after music supervisors in Hollywood. She began her career as a music executive for Twentieth Century Fox.  She left Fox to run the soundtrack department across all labels in the EMI Records’ family and then went on to oversee music for MGM Pictures. Recently awarded Top Honors from the Guild of Music Supervisors, among her latest projects is A Star is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. 

A preeminent music clearance specialist whose client list includes Fox Broadcasting Co, Warner Bros Entertainment, Refinery 29 and Funny Or Die as well as indie filmmakers and producers, Suzanne Coffman oversees the complex process of clearing music through her company, MUSIC RIGHTZ. Film, television, promos, marketing, trailers and all visual formats – explore the labyrinth mechanisms of pairing music to visual mediums with a Hollywood music insider in this enlightening and educating episode.   

He’s retro, he’s contemporary – he is Scott Bradlee, the creator of Post Modern Jukebox, a celebrated series of current songs recast in historic styles as loved by an immense online audience. With his just released book, Outside the Jukebox: How I Turned My Vintage Obsession Into My Dream Gig, and in this conversation, he reveals how creating YouTube Videos in a basement apartment led to performances at Radio City Music Hall and prestigious venues worldwide.

If there were a Mount Rushmore for bass players, the magnificently bearded face of Leland Sklar would certainly be carved into it. Sklar’s bass lines have framed the sounds of classic singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Jackson Browne, underscored the vocals of Linda Ronstadt and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and built the musical firmament for everyone from Dolly Parton to Diana Ross. Estimating that he has played on over 2,000 sessions, he continues to tour the world with Phil Collins and Judith Owen. Meet the man behind the bass in this career encompassing conversation.

She is a composer of otherworldly music: Turkish-born Los Angeles based composer Pinar Toprak creates music for feature films, videogames – including the massively popular Fortnite --and now the SYFY series Krypton.Born in Istanbul, Pinar earned a degree in classical guitar, a degree in film scoring from Boston’s Berklee School of Music, and then a masters in classical composition. She spent a year interning, then programming, at Hans Zimmer’s studio and assisted composer William Ross before landing a videogame, Ninety-nine Nights, and a direct-to-video film, Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil. Creating additional music for Justice League, at Warner Bros., helped put her in the Krypton producers’ sights. There was a time when most producers didn’t believe that a woman could write an aggressive action score. Times have changed. Meet a very composed Pinar Toprak.  

She's a Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Webby award-winning and nominated songwriter, performer, visual artist, director, collector, social artist, and party thrower. Her hits-including Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" and "Boogie Wonderland," The Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance," and The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There For You (Theme From Friends)" have sold more than 60 million records. She was recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Willis also co-authored the Oprah Winfrey-produced Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway musical The Color Purple. Meet a fierce goddess who is always into the future.

12-time Grammy-winner, producer/mixer/engineer Rafa Sardina has been behind the hits for Stevie Wonder, Alejandro Sanz and Josh Groban among so many others. In the world of films, soundtracks and movie scores, he has given voice to features with Tyler Perry, and Johnny Depp. Helping others realize their vision is his creed - find out the secrets behind the sounds with this acclaimed recording luminary.

As one of pop music’s most distinguished songwriters, Billy Steinberg has collaborated on such career-defining songs like “True Colors” (Cyndi Lauper);  “Eternal Flame” (The Bangles), “Like a Virgin” (Madonna), “I’ll Stand By You” (The Pretenders) and “Falling Into You” (Celine Dion). Meet this Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree as Billy recounts his history of growing up in Palm Springs, CA, an education at Bard College, and his unsuccessful career with the band Billy Thermal where he realized that writing songs for other artists would be his destiny.

35 million records, sold out arenas worldwide, enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: Nancy Wilson is by any measure, rock and roll royalty. A guitar virtuoso from the age of 10, Wilson and her sister Ann led the multi-platinum rock group Heart, for whom she co-wrote classic songs including “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” “Barracuda,” and “Straight On.” As a film composer, Nancy’s credits include Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Say Anything, Elizabethtown and Vanilla Sky. Always moving forward, she is now recording and touring with her new band, Roadcase Royale, and is the Executive Music Producer for Muscle Shoals, a limited music-intensive drama series. Nancy lights up in this vivacious conversation that extends from historical milestones to her newest endeavors.

Season Two of Storyophonic will launch on Monday, April 30th.We’re excited to be bringing you interviews with rock stars, composers, engineers, record producers, hall of fame song writers and music supervisors.Our special guests include Nancy Wilson Of Heart, Leland Sklar, acclaimed bassist for James Taylor, Jackson Brown and Phil Collins.  Platinum producer and President of Blue Note Records, Don Was and the creator of Post Modern Jukebox, Scott Bradlee.  We’ll introduce you to Emmy winning Television composer, Snuffy Walden,  Grammy & Tony winning Songwriters Hall Of Fame Inductee, Allee Willis, Billy Steinberg, the co-writer of True Colors and Like A Virgin, and many more. Tune in as we roll out twenty two new episodes of our podcast!You can help support our podcast by becoming a monthly Patron at patreon.com/storyophonic  Subscribers will automatically be entered in a contest to win a beautiful Fender guitar signed by our guests, as well as cool Storyophonic swag.  Tune in to Storyophonic on your favo

A prodigiously talented composer, pianist and arranger, in 2018 Los Angeles native Billy Childs was honored at the 60thAnnual Grammy awards for Best Jazz Instrumental album for his solo project Rebirth. Billy works in diverse musical mediums, spanning classical music and jazz, and his ever-expanding spectrum of projects includes classical commissions, spoken word and music fusions, and worldwide tours as a headliner at concerts and festivals. We visit Billy in his writing room as he reveals the roots of his musical diversity on Storyophonic.  

Harvey Mason Jr. has not only penned and produced songs for industry legends like Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Elton John, but also for modern superstars including Jennifer Hudson, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears. Simultaneously, He has been instrumental in producing memorable music for many of the biggest musical films from the past decade: Dreamgirls, Pitch Perfect, Sing and Straight Outta Compton. In this episode, Harvey reveals untold stories behind his best-known projects.

From his emergence with the rock en espanol legends Heros del Silencio through his celebrated career as a solo artist, Enrique Bunbury is recognized as an ever changing and enigmatic rock legend, whose distinctive baritone voice is instantly recognizable by his legions of fans worldwide. He talks about life, creativity and the inspiration that drives him.

Known for hit songs like “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and “Midnight Blue,” decades into a storied career, Grammy winning singer-songwriter and actress Melissa Manchester continues to enthrall audiences with sterling song-craft and impassioned performances. Join a legendary artist always moving in new creative dimensions. 

Meet the experts who breathes life into recorded sound: Gavin Lurssen has won four Grammys including two for Album Of The Year for Raising Sand, performed by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and produced by T Bone Burnett, and another for the soundtrack of O Brother Where Art Thou? His counterpart, Reuben Cohen, is a Latin Grammy winner and the winner of a TEC award for his work on “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

With Twenty Two Grammy awards, 160 Gold and Platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, the term "legendary" doesn't begin to describe the career of Al Schmitt.  He has recorded, mixed and produced the most notable artists of the 20th and 21st Centuries - from Sinatra to Neil Young to Michael Buble and beyond. Join Al as he tells the tales of the hit-makers and their times.

California-born, British-educated Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy-winning composer whose music has been performed and premiered in many of the world's most prestigious venues. From feature films to concerts to video games - Christopher introduces new perspectives in the creation of compelling music across an eclectic spectrum of visual mediums.

Two time Grammy nominated Mindi Abair has toured with Aerosmith, played with Springsteen, sat in on The Late Show and the Tonight Show and appeared for two Seasons on American Idol all while recording a string of top charting Billboard solo albums. Mindi goes for the high notes as she recounts her journey on this episode.