The Jay Franze Show: Music - News | Reviews | Interviews

Epizódy

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  Trey Calloway - 7/20/26 27.07.2026 1h 1min

  You can hear it in Trey Calloway’s voice: the grind is still there, but something has shifted. The work feels more focused, the circle is tighter, and the next steps look a lot more like a real Nashville plan than a hopeful guess. Jay Franze sits down with Trey to talk through the behind-the-scenes moves that actually change a country artist’s trajectory: signing with manager Jerry Hines, learning how to lead with confidence, and building a team that believes in you when you are tempted to do...
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  David Chatfield, Founder and CEO of Harmony Records 20.07.2026 53min

  Streaming promised unlimited music, but it also trained us to treat songs like disposable wallpaper. We sit down with Harmony Records founder and CEO David Chatfield to talk about what that shift costs artists and listeners, and why he thinks the next wave is about bringing music back to being an experience you choose, not noise that happens to you. David walks us through building a record label from the ground up, from the early 1980s world of $125,000 recording budgets and indie dist...
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  Tropidelic 13.07.2026 53min

  A band that adopts a highway, cleans it with fans, then goes straight back to building a tightly synced live show is the kind of story we can’t stop talking about. I’m joined by Rex Larkman, drummer for Tropidelic, for a conversation that moves from Cleveland pride to the real mechanics of modern touring, with plenty of laughs and hard-earned lessons in between. We get into the Cleveland music scene and how a “Lake Erie ocean” mindset can fuel a band whose sound blends reggae rock, fun...
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  Kate Stanton - 7/6/26 06.07.2026 39min

  One email, a few MIDI files, and a shared obsession with atmosphere can turn into a finished single that sounds huge. We sit down with Ohio singer-songwriter Kate Stanton to talk about “Rise,” a track inspired by the Greek idea of mania, the kind of love that looks a lot like limerence and fixation. Kate walks us through how the song came together, from early synth sketches to deep vocal layering, and why making music that feels immersive sometimes matters more than showing off flashy parts. ...
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  New Tours Announced, Favorite Hair Metal Band, and Music News 01.07.2026 1h 13min

  Empty seats can cancel a tour faster than bad reviews, yet rock touring is still printing money. We start with a rapid-fire rundown of newly announced rock and metal tours and quickly end up doing what real fans do: clicking past the headline to check official artist sites, compare dates, and figure out whether these runs are truly “fall tours” or just a handful of shows with a catchy label. From there, we dig into the live music economy: major tour earners, the reality of Ticketmaster seat ...
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  Jerry Hines, Manager (Craig Morgan, Trey Calloway) 29.06.2026 57min

  You can learn signal flow in a classroom, but you only learn touring when the bus doors close and the clock never stops. We sit down with Jerry Hines, a Tennessee-based tour manager turned artist manager, to unpack the behind-the-scenes reality of building a career in live music production and artist development. Jerry shares how a single phone call in 2004 launched him from side jobs into the deep end as a monitor engineer, then into production, front of house, and eventually the high-accoun...
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  Paul Sidoti, Musician (Taylor Swift) 24.06.2026 1h 1min

  Rock mythology is fun, but what does a real working career look like after the posters come down? We’re joined by guitarist Paul Sidoti for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the exact moment KISS flipped a switch in his five-year-old brain and stretches all the way to the day he can email his heroes and actually get a reply. Along the way, Paul shares what those early influences gave him: the drive to learn parts by ear, the hunger for great sound, and the patience to keep getting ...
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  CMA Fest Recap 22.06.2026 1h 9min

  Nashville during CMA Fest is a choose-your-own-adventure where every decision has a cost: stand in a line, catch a set, make a meeting, or follow a last-minute invite that turns into the best story of the week. We take you with us from the “question of the day” energy to the real CMA Fest play-by-play, including what it’s like navigating Broadway crowds, building a schedule with the CMA Fest app, and still getting surprised by who walks into the room. We start strong with a private party at ...
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  The Dreamboats 15.06.2026 49min

  You can feel it when a band isn’t just playing songs, they’re building a world. Johnny from The Dreamboats joins us to explain how a modern rock and roll revival band takes 1950s and 1960s oldies covers and turns them into a full-throttle live performance people cannot stop filming. We talk about the real difference between touring Canada versus the United States, from endless drives between small markets to packed schedules across dense regions, and what it means to uproot your life and land...
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  Stephen Quinn 10.06.2026 46min

  Three hours. That’s the kind of clock Nashville can put on a recording session, and it forces you to learn fast or get left behind. We sit down with country music recording artist Stephen Quinn to unpack what it really felt like to walk into a Nashville studio for the first time to cut “Get It Girl” with seasoned session musicians and a producer who actually cared about getting it right. If you’ve ever wondered how professionals can hear a song once, chart it, and deliver a finished track at ...
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  Stephanie Rabus - 6/3/26 03.06.2026 56min

  A leaky heart valve. A brand-new piece of medical tech called a Harmony valve. And a country singer who’s back on Broadway faster than most of us would return to the gym. We’re joined by Tennessee recording artist Stephanie Rabus, and she tells the full story, from being born with a serious heart murmur and having open-heart surgery at 11 to facing pulmonary regurgitation decades later and choosing a transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement instead of another long recovery. From there, we zo...
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  ACM Award Recap, Bands That Had You From the Start, and Music News 25.05.2026 1h 4min

  Ella Langley didn’t just have a good ACM Awards night, she turned it into a full-on statement. We’re breaking down the 61st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards from Las Vegas with Shania Twain hosting, Cody Johnson grabbing Entertainer of the Year, and a wave of winners that makes you ask what country music is rewarding right now. We talk through the biggest moments, the funniest bits, and the kinds of wins that feel like the format finally caught up to the fans. Then we zoom out into the...
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  Karen Waldrup 20.05.2026 54min

  One great co-write can change a career, but only if you understand what actually happened in the room. We sit down with Louisiana country music recording artist Karen Waldrop to get specific about the songwriting process behind “Me Again,” including what it was like writing with hit writer Danny Wells, how the melody and structure came together, and why the best collaborators know when to lead and when to get out of the way. If you’re a songwriter, an indie artist, or just a listener who love...
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  Albums That Used to Be Considered Metal, Opening Acts That Stole the Show, and Music News 18.05.2026 1h 16min

  You know that feeling when the “opening act” walks onstage and suddenly the headliner has a problem? We chase that exact moment from every angle, starting with a listener question that turns into a pile of concert stories, strong opinions, and a few names that surprised us. If you’ve ever left a show talking more about the first band than the main one, you’re going to have a list by the time we’re done. We also rewind the genre clock with a fun argument about 1970s rock albums that used to b...
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  Nearly Perfect 80s Rock Albums, Most Unique 70s and 80s Sound, and Music News 11.05.2026 1h 11min

  Nearly perfect albums are a trap and we walked straight into it. We go down a punchy list of 1980s rock staples and actually argue the hard part: what makes a classic rock record feel flawless from top to bottom, and what makes it feel “too polished” even when the songs are huge. From Back In Black to Appetite For Destruction to Purple Rain, we swap favorites, call out the moments where bands start chasing the mainstream, and talk about how producers and the 80s studio sound shaped what we st...
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  ACM Awards Picks, Best Drummer, and Music News 06.05.2026 1h 18min

  The ACM Awards are coming, and we’re not treating it like background noise. We lay out what to expect from the show in Las Vegas, how to watch on Amazon Prime, and what it means that Shania Twain is hosting for the first time. Then we make our ACM predictions with zero fluff, debating what “Entertainer of the Year” should actually reward, and why the new-vs-established “rivalry” narrative feels more like marketing than reality. From there we hit the week’s music news with an eye for wh...
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  Kieran Robertson, Musician (Geoff Tate’s Operation Mindcrime) 04.05.2026 30min

  You know that moment when you realize the thing you’ve worshipped as a fan is now your actual job? That’s where this conversation with guitarist and recording artist Kieran Robinson begins, and it only gets wilder from there. We talk through how a young musician goes from growing up on Queensrÿche and classic rock to performing alongside Geoff Tate, learning songs with serious technical weight, and walking the tightrope between confidence and imposter syndrome. We get into the real mechanics...
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  Jay Bragg 04.05.2026 52min

  Broadway looks like a dream from the sidewalk, but the reality is closer to a high-speed stress test. We sit down with Nashville performer and “View From Nashville” creator Jay Bragg to get honest about what’s happening on Lower Broadway right now, why tourism shifts are rattling working players, and how new entertainment districts could stretch an already thin scene even further. Jay breaks down why Broadway can be an elite boot camp for stagecraft while still becoming a trap that quietly re...
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  Nicest Rockstars, All Access Backstage Pass, and Music News 29.04.2026 1h 14min

  Some artists sound dangerous onstage and turn out to be the kindest people you’ll ever meet, and that contrast kicks off a wide-ranging music conversation we can’t stop thinking about. We dig into a list of rock musicians known for having genuinely good reputations, then swap stories about what “nice” looks like when the lights are off and the backstage pass is real. Along the way we talk about why fans remember small moments forever and how an artist’s character becomes part of their long-te...
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  Josie Sal - 4/27/26 27.04.2026 43min

  She’s 14, she’s already cutting records in Nashville, and she’s learning the music business in real time. We sit down with country recording artist Josie Sal to talk about the jump from “posting covers” to building a true career with a team, a release plan, and the kind of relationships that open doors fast. We get into how she connected with producer Brandon Hood, what it’s like walking into a serious studio session with elite Nashville musicians, and why recording full-song takes helps her...