47 - Dante's Old South Radio Show (March 2023)

Dante's Old South Radio Show

March 2023 Dante’s Old South

Alicia Blue

It's difficult to pin down exact musical influences on Alicia Blue's Inner Child Work—and that's exactly how the California singer-songwriter likes it. Although her folk roots are never far from the surface, the album encompasses dreamy indie-rock ("Dog Days in L.A."), delicate pop meditations ("Saline Waters"), '90s alternative rock ("Dirty Hippie"), and even Tori Amos-esque introspection ("Fine"). Growing up in Los Angeles, Blue admired authors like Jack Kerouac and Joan Didion, as well as songwriter/poets like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen.

Inspired by music mentors such as the late Malcolm Clark Hayes, Jr., who had recorded for Liberty Records and toured with Little Richard in his youth, Blue found her identity as an insightful, poetic lyricist who isn't afraid to get deeply personal. Her songs grapple with long-overdue emotional reckonings, facing mortality and taking control of the turmoil in your life. Inner Child Work is an album that finds Blue examining who she was—and setting her sights on where she wants to be.

"This album and my existence as an artist come from a need to connect and develop relationships—yet simultaneously I've always felt like this lone candle in a dark room," she says. "My artistry and the album have this wildness to them. But I can also feel this softening happening. Inner Child Work is caught right at the point of in-between, which I would call healing."

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Surrender Hill

As the songwriters behind Surrender Hill, Robin and Afton Salmon play more than 200 shows annually, sharpening their blend of soul, country, and rock & roll one gig at a time. They aren't just an Americana duo; they are full-time world travelers, too, funneling their experiences into the story-driven songs and autobiographical anthems that fill albums like A Whole Lot of Freedom and their latest, Just Another Honky Tonk in a Quiet Western Town.

Many of Surrender Hill's songs respond to the modern moment — songs about division, struggle, survival, and redemption, anchored by melodic hooks and diverse arrangements. Some songs nod to the band's longtime appreciation for mellow, melancholic Americana music. Others skew closer to honky-tonk and western swing, influenced by larger-than-life Texans like Bob Wills and Willie Nelson.

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Michael Amidei is a musician, author, and podcaster based out of Denver, Colorado. He is the leader of the world-famous Flying W Wranglers, an author of books such as "The Fall", "The Adventure Chooses You", and "The Path" and is the host of "The Michael Amidei Show" and co-host of "This Business Of Music & Poetry".

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/MichaelAmidei

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MichaelAmidei

www.MichaelAmidei.com

www.FlyingW.com

Special Thanks Goes to:

Mercer University Press: www.mupress.org

Woodbridge Inn: www.woodbridgeinnjasper.com

Autism Speaks: www.autismspeaks.org

Mostly Mutts: www.mostlymutts.org

The Red Phone Booth: www.redphonebooth.com

Liberty Trust Hotel: https: www.libertytrusthotel.com

The host, Clifford Brooks’, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics and Athena Departs are available everywhere books are sold. His chapbook, Exiles of Eden, is only available through my website. To find them all, please reach out to him at: [e-mail]

Check out his Teachable courses on thriving with autism and creative writing as a profession here: www.brooks-sessions.teachable.com