Sorry that there hasn’t been a new episode of Coffeshop Conversations at Artichoke Music for a few weeks. I’ve been looking at the four walls of a hospital room and then recovery at home, but most of that is behind me and here we go again, just in time for this year’s Montavilla Jazz Festival. With me is guitarist, composer, teacher and PJCE Records honcho Ryan Meagher, no stranger to this podcast. He’ll be performing at the festival but he’s much more than that these days. The festival runs from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1. This is what our conversation sounded like ..read more

I wonder if you know that Lee Dorsey, the great New Orleans Soul and R&B singer, famous for songs like Ya Ya, Workin In a Coal Mine, and many others, was also known as the best body and fender man in New Orleans. We have an equivalent in Oregon. Kenny Goldstein has been a part of the music scene in Oregon for decades, a bass player in multiple genres and an ace auto mechanic. He has helped keep my last four beaters on the road, to be transparent. But do they have anything to do with each other? He’s in the Artichoke café with me right now ..read more

Hi. Tom D’Antoni back in The Artichoke for another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation. Next time our guest will be Yvonne Lerch, director of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival which is coming up soon. Also upcoming right here will be bass player Kenny Goldstein, who is also an ace car mechanic. And you’ll be happy to hear that OMN National Editor Art Levine has completed his mammoth story, not for us…and it turns out his appearance on this podcast is a double- header, half on UFO’s and half on AI. Today, an old friend from our days and nights at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Amanda Gresham will introd ..read more

Hi. Tom D’Antoni back in The Artichoke for another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation. Next time our guest will be Yvonne Lerch, director of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival which is coming up soon. Also upcoming right here will be bass player Kenny Goldstein, who is also an ace car mechanic. And you’ll be happy to hear that OMN National Editor Art Levine has completed his mammoth story, not for us…and it turns out his appearance on this podcast is a double- header, half on UFO’s and half on AI. Today, an old friend from our days and nights at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Amanda Gresham will introd ..read more

In the coming weeks, Amanda Gresham of United By Music will be here. Yvonne Lerch will stop by to talk about curating the Cathedral Park Festival. Art Levine, our National Editor hasn’t finished his 5 thousand word piece yet…and it isn’t even for us. And you’ll meet Kenny Goldstein a bass player and mobile car mechanic. Today Tim DuRoche pays us another visit. He’s a great hang and a terribly smart guy, a musician and former Jazz journalist. There’s a new Battle Hymns and Gardens album with the two sax players from the Blue Cranes. Let’s find out about it and listen to a track at the end ..read more

Springtime at the Artichoke. Coming up soon on Coffeeshop Conversations…Yvonne Lerch will us about curating my favorite music festival of the summer…Cathedral Park. Also, an interesting person who combines the life of a Blues musician with a car mechanic. And I promise our National Editor, Art Levine will finish his five or six thousand word piece on UFO’s in time to make an appearance here. Today Amy Maxwell, founder of Ticket Tomato who is here to fill us in on the Live Nation situation, how we got here and what’s to come ..read more

Hi, Tom D’Antoni, as always, with another Coffeeshop Conversation from Artichoke Music. Coming up soon we’ll have OMN’s National Editor Art Levine with a conversation on UFO’s and music, not that they have anything to do with each other. Also upcoming, Ticket Tomato’s Amy Maxwell on the Live Nation controversy, Yvonne Lerch on booking the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival. A new episode every week. Today, Adam East is in the building. He’s been at the Alberta Rose Theatre since it opened in 2010 and has helped build their reputation as one of Portland’s best loved venues He’s their talent buyer. Yo ..read more

Back in the Artichoke today with singer/actor Lo Steele, daughter of Portland’s LaRhonda and Mark Steele. Coming up soon…trumpet genius David Monette with his new book on transcendence, our National Editor Art Levine on UFO’s and (maybe) music, plus Adam East the talent buyer from the Alberta Rose Theater. But right now Lo Steele is sitting across from me. We’re so lucky in Oregon to have musician families like this one. After you’ve listened to this one, Follow the link to a video episode with LaRhonda and Mark. Right now, meet Lo Steele ..read more

I hardly know what to say. Eddie Martinez, one of the best known session guitarists in history just left the Café at Artichoke Music after nearly an hour of inspired conversation. Now look. I don’t mean to disparage the over four hundred other guests we’ve had on in ten years of OMN’s Coffeeshop Conversations but this one is at or near the top. It’s the third time he’s been on the podcast. I asked him to join me because he has a gig at Jack London Revue on Friday May 3rd. He also has a new EP on the way. We find out about both but mostly we had a bracing conversation. I hope you enjoy It as mu ..read more

Every year at this time, we get together with Peter Dammann, Artistic Director of the Waterfront Blues Festival and ace guitar slinger to find out who’s in the festival lineup. He's joining me in the Artichoke Music Café. Next week Lo Steele will be here and coming up guitarist Eddie Martinez and also OMN’s National Editor Art Levine will be talking to us from Washington D.C. But now lets turn our attention to the fourth of July and the shores of the Willamette where tens of thousands of fans gather at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Here’s Peter Dammann to let you in on who’s playing this time ..read more