podcast John Ray podcast John Ray

Episode $4,050,612.99

Matt Sickels, aka The Hard Part, is our guest this week. We feature the second half of our conversation with him (check episode 3.x for the first part of the Hard Part) and Extra Special event today is the release of our new tune, Tidal Motion at the end of the podcast! We talk and jam in the studio with Matt for a while, about topics ranging from our cover bands to penguins to sex. Sometimes all three.

Matt Sickels, aka The Hard Part, is our guest this week. We feature the second half of our conversation with him (check episode 3.x for the first part of the Hard Part) and Extra Special event today is the release of our new tune, Tidal Motion at the end of the podcast! We talk and jam in the studio with Matt for a while, about topics ranging from our cover bands to penguins to sex. Sometimes all three.

You can (and should) check out Matt’s website here. He is an incredible musician and has some great music you can download.

You can download the new tune here if you don’t want to schlog through the 45 min podcast every time you want to listen to it. Or, you could watch this video:

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podcast John Ray podcast John Ray

Episode 3.x – The Hard Part

On today’s episode we have the fabulous Matt Sickles, aka. the Hard Part. He’s used to go with a faux hawk, but has recently shifted to a hard part to minimize setup time, and he usually plays the hard part on guitar with his many bands. Including, as we have recorded here, Mr. Haircut. We got some pretty nasty improvisations this episode, and some deep, inspiring, thought provoking, raucous conversation. I wrote out a script for Matt to follow, but once again, forgot it at home… so this episode is improvised. I think my squirrel already chewed on my script for next week, so we might have to improv that one too. You are in for a treat– biscuits, grandma guitars, speed picking, and cross sticking all make an appearance in this week’s Mr. Haircut.

On today’s episode we have the fabulous Matt Sickles, aka. the Hard Part. He’s used to go with a faux hawk, but has recently shifted to a hard part to minimize setup time, and he usually plays the hard part on guitar with his many bands. Including, as we have recorded here, Mr. Haircut. We got some pretty nasty improvisations this episode, and some deep, inspiring, thought provoking, raucous conversation. I wrote out a script for Matt to follow, but once again, forgot it at home… so this episode is improvised. I think my squirrel already chewed on my script for next week, so we might have to improv that one too. You are in for a treat– biscuits, grandma guitars, speed picking, and cross sticking all make an appearance in this week’s Mr. Haircut.

Here is a video of our first improvisation of the morning; I think we titled this one ‘Out of Time,’ a reference to the license plate on the car in Back to the Future. 

Throughout this episode, I used a live recording of our band Hifi-Wifi playing John Coltrane’s Giant Steps at a live show in Winston-Salem, NC. This is Jonathan and I on bass and drums with Daniel Seriff on guitar.

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podcast John Ray podcast John Ray

Episode 1.2 – The Fat and the Furriest Deux

In this episode John lays down some thoughts and a gripe or two about bass solos and players who are scared to step out of their little boxes, while Jonathan uses his calming voice and giant black-man hands to soothe the irate bassist. This episode includes several nice improvisations from the studio and a great track from a recent concert. Be prepared to have your inner ears tickled.

In this episode John lays down some thoughts and a gripe or two about bass solos and players who are scared to step out of their little boxes, while Jonathan uses his calming voice and giant black-man hands to soothe the irate bassist. This episode includes several nice improvisations from the studio and a great track from a recent concert. Be prepared to have your inner ears tickled.

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podcast John Ray podcast John Ray

Episode 1: The Fast and the Fuzziest

Welcome to the first episode of Mr. Haircut! John and Jonathan introduce the podcast and get into discussions about what improv can do, why improv is and which Fast and the Furious movie is the most fastest, interspersed with live improv performances in the studio and recordings of gigs they’ve played together.

Welcome to the first episode of Mr. Haircut! John and Jonathan introduce the podcast and get into discussions about what improv can do, why improv is and which Fast and the Furious movie is the most fastest, interspersed with live improv performances in the studio and recordings of gigs they’ve played together.

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