My Top Five Records

PAULA NELSON: GET TO KNOW HERE AND HER TOP FIVE RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
Join me as I speak with Paula Nelson and take a peek behind her curtain.

KELLEY MICKWEE: GET TO KNOW HER AND HER TOP FIVE RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
As season two continues, I am thrilled to have Kelley Mickwee on the show today.  Kelley is a fellow Cherokee who moved to Austin from Memphis and joined up with a killer four piece called the Trishas.  She was Shiny Soul Sister in Kevin Russell’s Shinyribs.  She’s a founding member of Red River Songwriters along with Drew Kennedy, Josh Grider, Walt Wilkins, Susan Gibson and Brandy Zdan.  She's also the voice of Sun Radio here in Austin
We talked about her love of said show and how the theme of the often has her diving into deep artist listening.  Much like my passion for doing this podcast.   Cleaning also comes into our conversation about her records. 
 
www.kelleymickwee.com
www.thetrishas.com
www.redriversongs.com
www.sunradio.com
www.shinyribs.org
 
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https://www.facebook.com/thebiggunshowband/
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JOHN SPONG: GET TO KNOW HIM AND HIS TOP THREE WILLIE NELSON RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
As season two continues, I am stoked to have John Spong on the show today.  He was nominated for a National Magazine Award in 2009 and twice won the Texas Institute of Letters’ O. Henry Award for Magazine Journalism. He is the author of A Book on the Making of Lonesome Dove and his stories have been collected in Best Food Writing and The Best American Sports Writing.  He’s got two boys named Willie Mo and Leon.
Spong is a native Austinite and in my opinion, a walking Willie Nelson encyclopedia.  I say this not only because he pretty much invented the Texas Monthly issue on Willie but also I have listened to every episode of his podcast called One By Willie where he has a notable Willie fan talk about their favorite Willie song.  Check it out, it is WILLIE cool.  My favorite episode is season two’s podcast with Don Was.  Another one of my heroes.
And because he knows so much about Willie, today’s podcast we each picked our favorite three Willie records and discussed them.

MITCH BALLARD: GET TO KNOW HIM AND HIS TOP FIVE RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
Season two of the My Top Records podcast starts today.  We've got Mitch Ballard for your listening pleasure.  Mitch moved from Nashville to Austin a couple few years ago to start the BMI office.  This office reminds me why Austin is Austin.  Organizations like HAAM and SIMS.  No other city has such a focus on their artistic integrity.  Makes me proud to be a 7th generation Texan. 
Before Mitch opened the BMI office here in Austin, he’d been called the Swiss Army Knife of the country music business.  He started off by turning down a music scholarship to North Texas because he didn’t really want to play the trumpet anymore.  He was a tour manager for BJ Thomas for 8 years.  He owned a website building company for musicians and then an LED concert company.  Yeah, he knows the music biz.  I love podcasts like this on because I don’t really have to talk.  I threatened to trash my Encyclopedia of Country music.  What would I need that for when I can just call Mitch?
 
https://www.instagram.com/mitch_ballard/
https://www.facebook.com/mitchballard

WELDON HENSON: GET TO KNOW HIM AND HIS TOP FIVE RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
Today’s guest is Weldon Henson.  He might have the best honky tonk voice that Austin can call it’s own.  I’d describe it as a mix between Merle Haggard and Ray Benson  He plays the honky tonks in and around Austin.  In particular, a weekly gig at the Broken Spoke and monthly at Ginny’s.  When you hear him talk about his top five records, I believe that it is clear where his influences lie.    
 
http://weldonhenson.com/music/
https://www.facebook.com/weldonhensonmusic
https://www.instagram.com/weldonhenson/
https://twitter.com/weldonhenson
 

HARMONI KELLEY: GET TO KNOW HERE AND HER TOP FIVE RECORDS

Want to understand your musical heroes better?  Search no more. This is the place!
Today’s guest is Harmoni Kelley.  She spells her name H A R M O N I and we had a full on blast talking about her top five records.  Much like many of my other podcastees, Harmoni had a terrible time choosing what records we were going to talk about but we had a killer time. 
Harmoni has only played bass and she has played with the likes of Bob Schneider, Fastball and now tours stadiums with Kenny Chesney.  In our talk, she mentions how she ended up picking her top five like the way that she approaches music.  It’s so awesome when a podcastee comes to some sort of revelation.  Truly awesome. 
 
https://harmonikelley.com/
https://www.facebook.com/harmonikelleymusic
https://www.instagram.com/harmonikelley/

MIKE STINSON TOP FIVE RECORDS

If you're digging on what we're laying down, please give us a review on iTunes.  You can find My Top Five Records pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts but a star for each one of your top five records on iTunes (that's five stars!) would be super appreciated!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-top-five-records/id1494022573
 
It is another honor and privilege to have today’s guest on My Top Five Records podcast.  Mike Stinson.  He’s one of my hero honky tonk songwriters.  If you’ve never heard his music, please check him out.  He’s incredible.  If you can see him live, even better.  He is up east right now and his new single called Close Enough For Government Work.  Check it out
 
Today we talked about how when he was 15 in a record store and when he heard Bob Dylan’s, Infidels, he asked who it was and then had to buy the record.  He told me that Peter Wolf of the J Geils Band was picking the walk on and off music for the Stones.
 
One of my favorite things about Mike is that he was a drummer first.  It is my belief that drummers make the best songwriters.  Think about Dave Grohl.  I feel they understand, like Mike says, the math behind the song.
 
https://mikestinsonmusic.com/bio
https://www.facebook.com/mike.stinson.50
https://www.instagram.com/stinsoncountry/
 
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https://www.facebook.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.instagram.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.youtube.com/thebiggunshowband

CHRIS "THE WHIPPER" LAYTON TOP FIVE RECORDS

It is another honor and privilege to have today’s guest on My Top Five Records podcast.  Chris “the Whipper” Layton was one half of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Rhythm section Double trouble.  The way he picked his top five records was super cool.  Not only did he play with Stevie but he and Double Trouble also joined forces with The Arc Angels and Storyville.
 
If you're digging on what we're laying down, please give us a review on iTunes.  A star for each one of your top five records (that's five stars!) would be super appreciated!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-top-five-records/id1494022573
 
https://www.facebook.com/chriswhipperlayton
https://www.instagram.com/whiptale/
 
www.thebiggunshow.com
https://xtwww.facebook.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.instagram.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.youtube.com/thebiggunshowband

MIKE FLANIGIN TOP FIVE RECORDS

It is an honor and privilege to have today’s guest on My Top Five Records podcast.  Mike Flanigin is in my humble opinion the best B3 player around.  He playing consistently at CBoys with Jimmie Vaughn, at least when that Covid dude isn’t wreaking havoc on us.  Come on Covid.  Can’t you leave us alone?
 
So yeah, he plays with Jimmie.  He is also buds with Billy Gibbons and has performed with ZZ Top, Steve Miller, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Charlie Sexton, Doyle 2 and Bonnie Raitt to name a few.  I actually opened up for him once at our mutual friend, Tom Amiss’, annual party
 
One of my favorite stories is how he used to tour as a guitarist with a LA band and returned to Austin to join the Antone’s Nightclub house band.  That’s when he decided to change instruments and start playing the B3.  He hooked up with organ legend Big John Patton to learn the craft.  And guess what, Big John has a record in Mike’s top five.
 
In 2015 he released his debut record called The Drifter.  Rolling Stone said, “The Drifter is a road trip-worthy record that veers from punk rock to desert pop to Bible Belt Blues, it’s disparate parts glued together with the swirl and swoon of B3 organ.  This is day-driving mood music, with Flanigin creating his own version of atmospheric Americana.” 
 
And just this year, he dropped a brand new record called West Texas Blues and born out of his and Sue Foley’s Texas Blues Party that they streamed live on Facebook.  They went into the studio as a three piece.  Just Sue, Mike and Chris “Whipper” Layton of Double Trouble. 
 
I quote Flanigin saying about the record, “As much as I labored over ​The Drifter​ album, which took me three years to make, and I had a lot of different types of genres, and people, and guests, this was the exact opposite.” Flanigin said. “This was ‘Let’s go in and let’s do what we do,’ and we play the blues. That’s what we’ve been doing our whole lives.”
 
I was driving back from Houston yesterday and thought I would put it on.  Well I did and I could not turn it off for the entire ride home.  If you like the blues, you’ve got to check it out.  An All Star cast of blues legends kicking out an homage to some Texas Blues music.
 
So PLEASE people go out there and support music.  Support the artists that make you groove.  Allow those who create to keep creating.  Get out there or go online and buy Mike Flanigin’s new record.  While you’re at it, I’d recommend you pick up The Drifter as well.
 
We talked about how he knew Lazy Lester and how Texas music is for dancers.  We talked about how Billy Gibbons plays on 7 strings and how that shows in his touch AND how he knows professional card tricks.  It was like a history lesson. 
 
We had a slight technical difficulty and about 10 mintues got cut from our conversation.  It was primarily about Billy Gibbons.  We talked about Dusty has motorboat fingers and that is what makes ZZ Top ultimately unique.  He also talks about how he likes to record live in the studio and how he started singing again because Jimmie Vaughn pretty much made him when they were on tour. 
 
What also got cut was where you can find him online.  You spell Mike’s last name F L A N I G I N.  As he says, with two N’s and two I’s
 
http://www.mikeflanigin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikeflaniginofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/mikeflanigin/
 
If you’ve got the gumption, head over to THE BIG GUN SHOW DOT COM and check out what my band is up to these days.  You can also catch us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube with a handle of thebiggunshowband.  Go to our website and sign up for our email newsletter so that you can get updates about our coming record called Honky Rock.
 
www.thebiggunshow.com
www.facebook.com/thebiggunshowband
www.instagram.com/thebiggunshowband
www.youtube.com/thebiggunshowband

WAYNE SUTTON TOP FIVE RECORDS

Today I’m talking to Wayne Sutton.  I used to go see him rock it something like twice a week with Little Sister back in the day at the Black Cat.  Free hot dogs and 1 dollar Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys.  Then they changed their name to Sister 7 and Darrel Phillips joined the band and they just kept rocking.  I told him the story when I saw Darrell in Wichita at Barleycorns.
 
We talked about his new record called The Blue Worm and how a Blue Worm is a Pilipino knife fighting move.  He said that all the records he picked are driving records and laughed as he said how blown away how Joni Michell wrote all the songs wacked out on blow.  No pun intended.
 
If you’ve got the gumption, head over to www.thebiggunshow.com and check out what my band is up to these days.  You can also catch us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube with a handle of thebiggunshowband.  And when Covid leaves us alone, our most consistent gig is our monthly residency at The Little Longhorn Saloon here in Austin.  Home of Chicken Shit Bingo.  We play the happy hour on the first Friday of every month.  Bring Grandma.  She’ll have a blast.
 
https://www.facebook.com/donkey44
https://www.instagram.com/waynesutton27/
 
www.thebiggunshow.com
https://www.facebook.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.instagram.com/thebiggunshowband/
https://www.youtube.com/thebiggunshowband