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PODCAST

The True Tunes Podcast

John J. Thompson / True Tunes

Listening to better music and listening to music better - with music industry veteran, author, artist, and producer John J. Thompson and a diverse panel of artists, songwriters, producers, and industry innovators who seek the deeper resonances in music and culture. Knowing that all music is spiritual, can we sing along with the good, the true, and the beautiful in ways that make us better neighbors, more compelling artists, and richer reflectors of the light by which we live and move and have our

music music interviews

All Episodes

121:16

The Roots, Rhythm, and Wisdom of Charlie Peacock

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/11/26

We are back where we started, in more ways than one, with songwriter, artist, producer, and musician’s musician – Charlie Peacock. In this comprehensive conversation, recorded in person at Charlie’s home studio in Nashville, JJT and CP revisit his earliest days as a young musician in California. The release of his recent memoir, Roots and Rhythm, and an EP worth of previously unheard recordings from 1981 called The Kahne Sessions, frames this story of formation and transformation. We then follow the

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20:12

@45RPM Charlie Peacock's "Kahne Sessions" (An Early...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/10/17

Millions have been impacted by Charlie Peacock's Grammy Award-winning production and songwriting work. A smaller, but devoted group has been with him since his days as a Sacramento-based alternative pop artist and member of the progressive Exit Records scene. But very few have ever heard the work he did prior to his 1983 debut, Lie Down In The Grass, until now. On the heels of the release of his expansive and revealing memoir Roots and Rhythm, Peacock just dropped a never-before-heard collection of

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54:48

@45RPM The Sound of Revolution; JJT Speaks at...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/09/07

In the final installment of our "True Tunes Live at Audiofeed 2025" series of 45RPM episodes, we listen in on John J. Thompson's speaking session dubbed "The Sound of Revolution." What does revolution sound like? What is countercultural music all about? This spirited conversation with a roomful of aspiring radicals provided some actionable perspective. (You'll have to forgive the challenging sound quality on this one. The tech was not in our favor. But it sounds much better than the boombox

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58:02

Memento Mori: Remembering Chuck Girard (with Alex...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/08/18

Chuck Girard, one of the architects of Jesus Music and founder of the band Love Song, recently passed away at the age of 81 after a battle with cancer. On this special episode of the podcast, we visit with fellow Jesus Music veteran, Alex MacDougall, who recently survived a very close call with esophageal cancer, and our own Bruce Brown, who is in the midst of chemo as he edits this very episode. We also hear from Terry Scott Taylor via a special clip from the upcoming documentary "Us Kids" about

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27:23

@45RPM "Ask Us Anything" - (True Tunes Live at...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/08/12

In part three (of four) of our "True Tunes Live at Audiofeed 2025" series of 45RPM episodes, we open the floor for questions about anything! The panel included Gileah Taylor, Chris Taylor, Matt Hammitt, and JJT.For more information about Gileah visit Gileah.com (and be sure to check out her Bandcamp store.) For more information about Matt Hammitt, check out his website: https://matthammitt.com/ For more information, including a list of all of the songs used in this episode, visit the show notes

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21:29

@45RPM Matt Hammitt (True Tunes Live at Audiofeed '25...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/08/07

In part two (of four) of our "True Tunes Live at Audiofeed 2025" series of 45RPM episodes, we visit with Matt Hammitt, former frontman of the rock group Sanctus Real and currently ramping up a new band, Lo Cloud. Hammitt joined JJT and a small live audience in the "Subculture Tent" for a conversation before his performance to discuss growing up in the rock and roll scene, choosing to walk away, and his return. For more information about Matt Hammitt, check out his website:

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28:26

@45RPM - Gileah Taylor (True Tunes Live at Audiofeed...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/08/01

In part one (of four) of our "True Tunes Live at Audiofeed 2025" series of 45RPM episodes we visit with one of our favorite independent artists, Gileah Taylor. The Velvet Blue Music artist joined JJT and a small live audience in the "Subculture Tent" for a conversation before her performance later that night. For more information about Gileah visit Gileah.com (and be sure to check out her Bandcamp store.) For more information, including a list of all of the songs used in this episode, visit the

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49:48

Phil Madeira's Falcon Flies

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/07/07

The public may best know Phil Madeira as an ace-in-the-hole sideman for high-profile Americana artists like Emmylou Harris, while Nashville insiders know him as a songwriter's writer and a go-to studio musician as well. While his career goes back well over 50 years, over the last decade or so, Madeira has released a series of superb, highly-focused solo albums and creative collaborations that have focused on various aspects of his musical, lyrical, and overall artistic skillsets. On his latest

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25:36

@45RPM Backstage with Sam Wade of the Hadestown Cast...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/07/01

The Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown is a fantastic retelling of the myths of Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice alongside the marriage of Hades and Persephone, set amidst the visual and musical elements of New Orleans during the 1920s and 1930s. On this episode, we visit with guitarist, songwriter, and producer Sam Wade, who has been on the road with the traveling version of this stunning musical for most of the last year and will continue in that role again next year.Wade

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01:13:19

Dug Pinnick of King's X: 50+ Years of Musical Passion

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/06/16

King's X, the band formed by bassist, songwriter, and vocalist Dug Pinnick, guitarist Ty Tabor, and drummer Jerry Gaskill roughly 40 years ago, has pushed musical, lyrical, and even technological boundaries since its debut. Before that, these musical adventurers brushed up against the Christian music subculture as members of Phil Keaggy's band and others. But despite their early connection to the Jesus Movement - or perhaps because of it - they decided to specifically avoid any connection to the

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41:22

@45RPM "Jesus Music" pioneer John Fischer &...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/04/11

John Fischer was making "Jesus Music" in the mid-1960s - before it was even a "thing." At a recent live event in Fullerton California, JJT invited Fischer to join the conversation and talk about those early countercultural days and how it all came together. Before there was an industry, a genre, or even a movement, there were kids with guitars and a desire to experience God in a meaningful, tangible way. Fischer went on to become one of the accidental innovators of a new style of music. But when the

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34:44

@45RPM Robert Deeble on the Therapeutic and Spiritual...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/03/06

We've loved Robert Deeble for a long time around here. His brand of thoughtful alternative folk fit right in with artists like Over The Rhine, Vigilantes of Love, Innocence Mission, and Victoria Williams - and his side gig as a graphic artist lent a gorgeous visual perspective to all of his releases. His output has slowed over the last couple of decades as he became a successful psychologist and built a thriving practice in Oregon. So it was very good news indeed when we heard that he was about to

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01:18:55

Chris Taylor Carries The Flame (+ Sixpence on the...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/02/01

Chris Taylor is a lifer. His first bands, (Windows and Love Coma,) were covered by True Tunes when we were just getting started back in the early 90s. While his bandmate Matt Slocum went on to form the alternative pop group Sixpence None The Richer, Taylor continued to release projects as Love Coma and as a solo artist. He also became an accomplished painter along the way. Now, almost 35 years later, Taylor continues to break new artistic ground. His most recent Love Coma project (which included

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44:13

@45RPM - The Choir's Translucent Ambience

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/01/17

Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, and Dan Michaels surprised all of us when THE CHOIR dropped a fully-realized, manufactured, and ready-to-ship ambient instrumental project called Translucent in late 2024. Although the band has been incorporating ambient elements in their music since the 80s, this was a first for them. Join us as we discuss how Translucent came together, how the band approaches this element of their sound, and more. Find the show notes for this episode HERE. (Or go to

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56:22

Special 45RPM: Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2025/01/11

True Tunes Podcast host John J. Thompson recently celebrated the "soft-release" of his new novel, "The Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East Nashville," with live events at Vinyl Tap in East Nashville and The Wheaton Public Library in the Chicago area. This special edition features clips from both events as JJT takes questions from Fr. Preston Sharpe of Sacrament Church (and guests) in Nashville, and Jeff Elbel (Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Entertainer) in Wheaton. The episode also features a chapter from

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41:16

Give Up The Dream? (JJT Talks To Writer/Director...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2024/11/06

There’s a new “melancholy Christmas musical” to add to your list of indie film favorites, and when we had a chance to see an advance screening, we immediately knew that this story was YOUR kind of story. A hard-working, veteran singer-songwriter is trying to make it through to the end of another long year, wondering if it is time to lay down the dream. Boy does this one strike close to home.Long December marks the acting debut of Stephen Williams of the band Jude Moses and sideman for the John

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01:24:05

Checking Russ Taff's Cover Story (with Taff, Steve...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2024/08/21

6-time Grammy winner Russ Taff’s voice has defined the emotional potential of Gospel music for over half a century. His perfectly raspy tenor transcends genre and era, first as the lead vocalist for Gospel legends The Imperials, then as a phenomenally successful solo artist. That legacy now takes on a whole new depth as Taff unveils Cover Story, a collection of rock, soul, and Americana songs that resonate deeply with the struggles he has privately endured throughout his life onstage

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02:13:08

Jennifer Knapp Goes Back to Kansas

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2024/08/17

There’s nothing like a relaxed, sit-down conversation – especially when discussing complicated things like faith, love, and art. True Tunes is committed to long-form dialogue in a world that is increasingly (and tragically) defined and governed by social media metrics and pithy one-liners. This conversation with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jennifer Knapp may be our longest yet – but we wouldn’t have it any other way.Knapp has come a long way since her debut LP, Kansas, was certified Gold

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22:52

@45RPM - Fred Armisen, Daniel Smith, Chris White &...

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2024/08/06

On this “Extended Play” 45RPM episode of the show, our good friend Chris White, writer and director of the romantic comedy/road picture Electric Jesus, takes us to the set where he recently directed a short film for the song “Come And Save Me” starring actor and musician Fred Armisen (SNL, Portlandia) and our favorite outsider folk-pop band, Danielson. The song started as an unpublished lyric originally composed by the late Jesus Rock icon Larry Norman. It was then set to music, with the blessing of

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04:14

Microdose: The Prayer Chain

The True Tunes Podcast ·

2024/07/16

On this "impossibly short version of the ongoing conversation you'll find at TrueTunes.com" we revisit our conversation with the pioneering LA-based alternative rock band The Prayer Chain back in 2018. About The True Tunes Microdose Episodes: As we look back on our first 100 episodes we have gathered some of these "greatest hits" - never more than 5 minutes long - to remind long-time listeners of where we've been and give new folks a chance to check us out. If you want to support the show, please

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144 results

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