Our special guest this month is the delightful country singer and songwriter Kandace Fredrick. We talk about songwriting, family, and our shared love of music.  For videos of her songs and performance dates and locations, check out her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kandace.fredrick ..read more

Mike Gentry is an accomplished songwriter, performer, and local producer around Southeast Michigan. In this episode of "Making it Small", he shares stories from his musical journey with Mike and Chris and doles out wise advice on writing and performing. We are excited to share this with all of our amateur musician friends, and anyone else who would like to listen.  For more information about Mike Gentry and his music, his website is a good place to start https://mikegentrymusic.com ..read more

In our second practice podcast, Barker interviews Broski who shares his musical story starting when he was 8 years old all the way to the current day. I think we are starting to get the hang of this. Maybe we'll even have You can hear Chris's music at the Barker & Broski project on Spotify and on the Barker & Broski You Tube channel ..read more

We had a great conversation with Stuart Benbow about participating in songwriting events, the Michigan State Fair Superstar contest, the first Funky Rivertown Fest, and the many challenges and rewards of the small musician. To find out more about Stuart, check out stuartbenbowmusic.com ..read more

Mike and Chris sit down with Linden Thoburn and have a delightful chat about topics musical topics such as the art of giving (and receiving) criticism, the joys of a musical community, and the songwriting process. To find Linden's music and gig information, check out https://lindenthoburnmusic.com ..read more

The time is finally here to converse with the inimitable Vernon Tonges, known in Indiana and other exotic locales as Spoo Willoughby. We speak of things old and new: how he learned guitar while grounded for shoplifting a George Harrison album, the history of the annual Hoedown and Corn Boil, and the stresses of band merchandise. Hear his music and learn more about the man, the legend at https://spoowilloughby.com ..read more

This month Barker & Broski talk with Lenawee county, Michigan local music professional (and Mike's guitar teacher) Andy Schiller. Andy shares lots of tips on how to make money as a musician including music lessons, self-publishing books, performing at weddings and local venues, YouTube videos, 3D printing miniature figures and more! He also extols the benefits of working positively with others for collaboration and constructive criticism. Learn more about Andy and even schedule a remote guitar lesson at https://andyschiller.com ..read more

Chris and Mike sit down with long time friend and collaborator Dan Cowan, and even let him talk a little! We ramble about all things small in music, including the open mic scene, songwriting, how hard it is to play guitar, the differences between solo acts and playing with a band, and why cats are better than dogs. To hear of some Dan's music, check out his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/yeahsonicyeah ..read more

Billy Joe Hunt takes some time to talk to us about the pros and cons of being a musician and truck driver, his musical performance history, and writing original songs. More more information about Bill and his music, check him out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BJH61MUSIC/ and his Spotify artist page https://open.spotify.com/artist/0fwYm0ImEft1kcNkaToMr6 ..read more

This month Mike and Chris talk with Phil Maq, host of “Theme Attic,” a radio show on Wednesdays from 12PM-4PM ET. It can be heard at WHFR, 89.3 FM in the Dearborn-Metro Detroit area, or streamed in the rest of the world https://www.whfr.fm/streamer/. We learn about Phil's lifelong love of music, radio, and songs—both appreciating others as well as making his own. We also ponder other musical conundrums: How long should songs be?, Are there correct chord progressions?, Are drummers actually musicians? Those are just a few of the fun loving stories you'll hear on this episode! For more about Phi ..read more