Summary If you’re a movie buff, you’re going to love today’s guest. She’s a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music has appeared in over 30 motion pictures and soundtracks like Porno, This Is Jessica, and Lotte That Silhouette Girl. Not to mention over 100 song placements in Emmy and BAFTA award-winning shows like Ellen DeGeneres, The Young & The Restless, Skins, Teen Titans Go, and Dance Moms. All you gamers out there may even recognize her sounds in the Microsoft video game Project Spark. She also records and performs as White Widow and recently released a new album “So She Howls ..read more

Author and music journalist Erin Barnes, a.k.a. GoGo Germaine, shares the highs and lows of her girl gang days as a teen rebel. Her book Glory Guitars: Memoir of a ‘90s Teenage Punk Rock Grrrl chronicles Gogo’s questionable firsts at varying degrees of sobriety. There’s more than meets the eye to a woman who discovered she can see the true colors and healing power of music and words.    In This Episode * The story behind Erin’s nom de plume GoGo Germaine * Defining a riot grrrl from her own experience * Reliving hard memories like her jarring first kiss (trigger warning) * The anger ..read more

Todays’s guest is a singer-songwriter with an evolutionary heart. Her story shines light on the meandering path that many of us often travel before finally committing to pursuing our deepest passions. An accountant and social worker by training, she founded nonprofits and other businesses with her husband, Dan. While she couldn’t muster the courage to audition for a voice class in college, she had the experience and grit to take a leap of faith and commit to a singing career. In a music industry that ages women out of success by their 30th birthday, she took the challenge head on. Since then ..read more

Vanessa Lively walks the talk of a free-spirited soul who channels the healing power of music into uplifting the chronically unhoused in Austin, TX.  Her story as a creative and advocate is powerful and thought provoking. In this episode: Vanessa’s gypsy-esque musical roots and lifestyle that took her from Texas to Ecuador to Bolivia and Peru. The song contest hosted by Noel Paul Stooky of Peter Paul & Mary that jump started the nonprofit Home Street Music How Home Street’s music circle transforms people who are chronically unhoused, like musician Scott Osborne Listen to Vanessa’s or ..read more

Dr. Jennifer Whitehead is an associate professor of music at Ohio Wesleyan University. With a Doctorate of Musical Arts in voice and singing health, she's teaching the next generation the skills necessary to heighten and extend their singing careers. Anyone who speaks for a living can benefit from her wisdom. She frequently appears in both staged and concert works in central Ohio, where recent roles with Opera / Columbus include Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Guinevere in Camelot, Papagena in The Magic Flute, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Let's bust some myths and hit the high notes of vocal ..read more

Bassist Janis Wallin is the “Mistress of Groove” of the jam band scene. With decades of experience, she’s the bass teaching, vegetarian-eating,  Bootsy-loving trail blazer with an alter ego. In This Episode   - Why it took nine years for her band band Family Groove Company to finish their newest album titled “Through With Tomorrow”  - The story behind a personal invite to join legendary bassist Victor Wooten — with only 10 minutes to show time - How to prepare for playing in multiple bands who improvise on hundreds of songs - Her sidekick Bootsy and her rap-lovin’ alte ..read more

Cheryl B. Engelhardt received her first New Age Ambient or Chant Album GRAMMY Award nomination this year for her latest album “The Passenger.” Thea Wood spoke to her about the therapeutic story behind the album, which was written and recorded on a cross-country train trip and produced and mastered by an all-female team. In this episode, Cheryl covers: – How New Age/Ambient music is different than other genres – The challenges of writing/recording an album on a train  (with a few good travel tips thrown in!) – The influence that her best friend’s death had on this album, and the hidden me ..read more

BlueSkye is the teen sensation from Michigan who is taking her unique brand of songwriting to the top! As Herizon Music’s Tate-Makeba Rising Star award winner in 2022, she made the most of her year. In this chat, meet the teen who is taking the Midwest by storm— blue skies and all! In this episode, BlueSkye covers: — The origin of her unique name. — Her not-so-lucky Lucky Penny — The story of her song "America’s Middle Class" — What it's like to audition for the NBC television show The Voice. Visit https://herizonmusic.org/blueskye for full Show Notes, videos, social links, and ..read more

This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself.  Please donate today! In this episode, Katie covers: — What does the TV show producer do behind the scenes? — The most memorable thing a celebrity showed her on AXS TV series “Rock & Tell." — How she snagged a job from another host. — A valuable lesson her billionaire boss Mark Cuban taught her (and why you may not want to be his landlord).  Visit https://herizonmusic ..read more

This is Part II of Thea Wood’s chat with Donna Jean Godchaux McKay. In this episode, the Alabama native leaves a promising musical career in Muscle Shoals for uncharted waters in California. She got more than she bargained for!   This podcast is a production of Herizon Music Foundation, a nonprofit uplifting women in music through education, experience, and role-coding programs. It’s made possible thanks to fans like yourself.  Please donate today!   In this episode, Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay covers: — Why she left a lucrative music career in Muscle Shoals — Her life-changing d ..read more