Zig At The Gig podcast

Corey Ledet Zydeco

Corey Ledet Zydeco returns to the show to talk about his new live album Live In Alaska !

Have accordion, will travel. That’s been Corey Ledet’s motto for most of his three decades as a
zydeco musician. During a tour of Russia, Ledet enjoyed VIP treatment with his own security detail. Fans were eager to touch his band’s zydeco rubboard, a metal vest that’s worn over the shoulders to scratch out a rhythm. Fascinated admirers dubbed it the “magic instrument.”
With trips to Hawaii, Canada and throughout Europe also on his resume, Ledet yearned to
preserve the energy of those road shows. But the time and place for a live recording never lined
up. “When the Anchorage Folk Festival came up, I said this might be a good opportunity,” said
Ledet, 44, a two-time Grammy nominee. “So I talked to the people over there about it.
“When I got there, they had all the equipment to record. I got to thinking about Clifton
Chenier, a lot of his live recordings were done away from home. It worked for the King of
Zydeco. I said, ‘Let me try this’.” The result is Live in Alaska, the first live album for Corey Ledet Zydeco and his mysterious, new accordion, “Black Magic.” After sifting through three days of recording, the band settled on 11 tracks that demonstrate Ledet’s title, “The Accordion Dragon.”
The album features live renditions of English and Creole hits from Ledet’s previous 15 CDs.
“Alaska Funk,” a new track, is an impromptu, onstage jam with Ledet and his skilled, Louisiana
entourage. “We created that song live on the spot,” said Ledet. “Like I told the audience ‘It’s amazing when you have great musicians, you can almost create a song off the top of your head’.”
Improvisation is in his Ledet’s blood.

Corey Ledet was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and spent his Summers with relatives in
small-town Parks, where he was exposed to their Kouri-Veni language and Creole traditions.
This molded and shaped Corey’s world in a profound way. This culture has its roots in
Louisiana, but eventually spread across the country, including into neighboring Texas. When he
returned home after Summer, Corey was able to remain immersed in the Creole culture he

learned to love. He learned everything he could about Creole culture – the traditions, the food,
and most importantly, the music -- so that he could incorporate it into all aspects of his life.
His love for Creole/Zydeco music was instant and hard to ignore. Ledet studied the originators
of the music like Clifton Chenier, John Delafose, and Boozoo Chavis. His studies branched out
to include any (and all) Zydeco artists.  At the age of 10, Corey started picking up shows as
drummer for Houston’s Wilbert Thibodeaux and the Zydeco Rascals and slowly learned his way
around the main instrument of the style – accordion. He came to truly love every type of
accordion: the single-note, triple-note and piano key … as well as still more exotic species! He
worked at building his skills and coming to know knew each one intimately.
By the time he graduated from high school, Ledet was certain that music would be the focus of
his future. Eventually, he moved to Louisiana to be fully immersed in his beloved Creole culture.
To this day, Corey Ledet remains true to his family and cultural roots and looks for ways to
incorporate them in his musical work and style of living. He’s created his own unique style out
of the diverse influences of the many musicians he’s studied, blending old and new styles of
Zydeco, and more!
https://www.facebook.com/corey.ledet.39

www.coreyledet.com

https://www.instagram.com/coreyledetzydeco/

 

Stéphane Schück’ of The Salt Collective

A Brief History of Blindness is the follow-up to Life, the critically acclaimed 2023 album debut from French songwriter-guitarist Stéphane Schück’s international collaborative project, The Salt Collective.

The new album is a widescreen exploration of hope, memory, and resilience that features contributions from Aimee Mann ('Til Tuesday), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Andy Partridge (XTC), Jason Falkner (Jellyfish), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Pat Sansone (Wilco), Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Chris Stamey (The dB's) and more.

While The Salt Collective’s first outing was recorded remotely with many vocalists and instrumentalists working separately on multiple continents at different times, A Brief History of Blindness features the core musicians gathered in the same space interacting together in real time. The bulk of the music was laid down by Rob Ladd (The Connells) on drums, Gene Holder (The dB’s) on bass, Stéphane Schück on guitars & sound design, Mitch Easter (Let’s Active) on guitars, and Wes Lachot on organ, piano, and Nord. These full-band sessions took place at the Fidelitorium (Kernersville, NC), with other work at Studio Ferber (Paris), and various home studios. The album was produced by Chris Stamey and mastered by Dave McNair.

 

French songwriter-guitarist Stéphane Schück’s international collaborative project, The Salt
Collective, is releasing the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2023 album debut, Life. Their
second full-length release, A Brief History of Blindness, is a widescreen exploration of hope,
memory, and resilience that features contributions from Aimee Mann, Mike Mills (R.E.M.),
Andy Partridge (XTC), and Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) among others (writing credits and list of
featured performers below). A Brief History of Blindness is being released on 12” LP vinyl, CD,
digital download and streaming services by Propeller Sound Recordings November 21.

 

https://thesaltcollective.bandcamp.com/album/a-brief-history-of-blindness

David Barrett

David Barrett is an award-winning composer, songwriter, and producer whose work has touched millions across genres and generations. He is best known as the writer of “One Shining Moment,” the beloved anthem that has crowned the NCAA Basketball Finals for nearly four decades, inspiring audiences with its timeless celebration of achievement. Sung most famously by Luther Vandross, the song remains one of the most recognizable and enduring motivational pieces in the American songbook.

 

Barrett’s career, however, reaches far beyond a single song. He has written extensively for television and film, composing themes for the Olympics, the PGA, the U.S. Tennis Open, with multiple networks including CBS, ABC, PBS and the CBC. His scoring work has earned two Emmys for PBS documentaries on legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and renowned author C.S. Lewis, as well as a silver medal at the New York Film Festival for the short film Don’t Cross That Line.

 

A versatile artist, Barrett has toured widely as a performer, including an extended tour opening for the legendary Art Garfunkel. His songwriting spans a wide emotional and stylistic range—love and loss, sunshine and darkness, children and criminals—always delivered with a lyrical honesty and what one reviewer described as “a heartbeat.” His acoustic guitar work flows from Americana to ragtime, while his vocal storytelling brings intimacy whether on a national stage or in a small folk club.

 

Barrett describes his creative life as “a winding road of songs, compositions, and scores—some uptown commercial, some not—but all a sure measure of my days and nights.” From his earliest days to his unexpected rise as a composer whose work became a fixture of sports and cultural broadcasts, Barrett has remained grounded in the simple act of writing with “a guitar in my lap.”

 

That guitar has yielded hundreds of songs, some finding their way to unlikely places and extraordinary audiences. Yet despite the national spotlight, Barrett continues to value the power of a song shared in an intimate room, connecting directly with listeners. His career reflects both paradox and perseverance—an artist at once widely celebrated and humbly self-effacing, whose music always carries the imprint of authenticity, imagination, and heart.

 

 

https://www.davidbarrett.com

Jeff Tripoli

Interview with Jeff Tripoli !

Jeff Tripoli is an American drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, raised in Syracuse, New York. With over 30 years of experience, his journey began in the clubs of Upstate New York, where he started performing professionally at just 17 years old.

Jeff’s drumming style reflects a diverse blend of musical influences and genres. Both on stage and in the studio, he has played with a wide array of artists and bands across Rock, Funk, Blues, Soul, Alternative, Bluegrass, Zydeco, Americana, Celtic, Folk, and World music. At the heart of his dynamic sound lies a drive to create fresh rhythms and unique artistic perspectives.

He has toured extensively across the U.S., Canada, and Europe for more than 15 years, with appearances at music festivals including Grey Fox Bluegrass, The Great Blue Heron, Sterling Stage, Finger Lakes GrassRoots, Shakori Hills GrassRoots, North Texas Irish Festival and Canada's Irish Festival.

Since 2015, Jeff has been a member of Canadian Celtic folk-rock band The Town Pants, touring internationally through cities like Vancouver, Buffalo, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, and Dublin. He’s featured on their 2018 release Something To Say. The Town Pants blend Irish traditional, folk-rock, and roots-Americana into their signature Celtic-Roots-Rock sound, showcased across six studio albums, two live albums, and a famously high-energy live show that’s earned them a global fanbase.

 

"Natural Habitat" is an avant-garde percussion album that explores the raw, organic essence of sound. Using natural materials and unconventional techniques, it weaves earthy textures with hypnotic rhythms and spacious atmospheres. Trippy and immersive, each track feels like a sonic ecosystem—alive, evolving, and untamed. Natural Habitat invites listeners into a deep, meditative journey through the wild, primal pulse of the natural world.

 

Jeff's Info

Josh Hight of PINES

In His Wake is the debut release from PINES, a new project from Detroit-born artist Josh Hight,
a former member of early 2000s post-punk outfit The Detachment Kit and solo artist under the
name Irons. The EP was recorded in East Sussex produced by Richard Norris (The Grid). In His
Wake is being released via Semaphore Records on 10” LP vinyl, digital download and streaming
services September 5.

In His Wake was shaped by grief, disillusionment, and a search for something beyond the visible
world. The songs here are intimate and expansive, fusing the weight of lived experience with a
sense of mysticism and emotional pull. This is music made from memory, distance, and quiet
intensity, possessing a rich sonic depth, blending shoegaze, slow-burn Americana, and dreamlike
psychedelia. Special guests include Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis) on guitar, Emmett Kelly (Bonnie
“Prince” Billy, The Cairo Gang, The Hard Quartet) on guitar and bass, and vocals from Dottie
Cochran of Deary.

The title track, “In His Wake,” is a reflection on being the only surviving child in a family
touched by loss—haunted by absence but also frustrated by the dullness and complacency of
adulthood. “Fifteen” explores a formative relationship marked by imbalance, looking back on it
through the lens of maturity, with all its contradictions intact. “Uriel” is a ritual invocation—part
hymn, part apocalyptic prayer—calling to the archangel in a time of digital saturation, collapse,
and the possibility of transcendence.
A professional photographer and director, Hight’s creative work lives at the intersection of
image, sound, and emotion. His musical vision is is raw, cinematic, and steeped in atmosphere.
Richard Norris’ first production was Jack The Tab, the seminal acid house album co-created with
Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV. He went on to work with artists including Joe Strummer, Sun
Ra, Robert Fripp, and Dave Ball of Soft Cell as part of The Grid, as well as Erol Alkan in the
psychedelic duo Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve.

Josh met producer Richard Norris at a Stone Club event in London, where they discovered they
lived minutes from each other in Lewes. What began as a collaboration on film soundtracks soon
evolved into a deeper creative partnership. The EP was recorded at Norris’ Metal Box Studios in
Lewes.
Instagram – @p.i.n.e.s

www.richardnorris.bandcamp.com

 

Alex Hall

Interview with the return of Alex Hall !

 Alex Hall of Alex Hall's Figure head, and formally of Aliver Hall. The Northeast Ohio-based progressive rock band Alex Hall’s Figurehead has a new release Ledgewood! On all streaming platforms Alex's Info /Music https://wearefigurehead.bandcamp.com/...   / alexhallsfigurehead     / alexhalls_figurehead      / alex hall's figurehead - topic  

Antonia Tricarico

Interview with Antonia Tricarico. Antonia Tricarico is an incredible photographer who is working on releasing a new book Be My Rebel.

"Be My Rebel is a photography book born from my belief that powerful images can shift perceptions, raise awareness, and spark empathy. This project captures the raw intensity and emotion of protest—from the quiet determination of a young climate activist to the unstoppable unity of a crowd marching for women's rights." Antonia Tricarico on Be My Rebel. 

Link to kickstarter! 

Be My Rebel Book Kickstarter 

Antonia Tricarico was born in Potenza, in Italy’s Basilicata region. At 16, she joined the Feminist Collective of Potenza. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the Law School at La Sapienza University in Rome and became active in the Women’s Health Collective in Trastevere. She worked with Paolo Bedini’s AZ Music agency, where for nearly a decade she helped bring renowned musicians to Italy. In the 1990s, she was involved in Rome’s Rights to Housing movement and supported squatting public buildings with and for immigrants, for their right to housing. In 1997, after moving to the United States, she began pursuing photography more seriously. In the past years, she has worked as an archivist for Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post photographer Lucian Perkins and collaborated with independent labels such as Tolotta Records, Dischord Records, Kill Rock Stars, and Youth Action Research. Her photographs are represented in both private and public collections, including the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, the permanent exhibition and special collections archive of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC (Punk and Go-Go music archives), the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library at the University of Maryland,the DC History Center, and the Library of Congress. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

She is the author of three books: • Frame of Mind: Punk Photos and Essay from Washington, DC, and Beyond, 1997–2017 (Akashic Books, 2019) • The Inner Ear of Don Zientara: A Half Century of Recording in One of America’s Most Innovative Studios, Through the Voices of Musicians (Akashic Books, 2023) - Oltre l'Influenza-Italian Novel-Sensibili alle Foglie Publisher-Rome,Italy 2023 Her work has appeared in Photo Review, Guitar World, Kerrang, All Music, Razorcake, Chicago Reader, The Oregonian, The Quietus, The Echo, Exclaim!, Fretboard Journal, Washington City Paper, and Washingtonian.

 

Antonia Tricarico website.

The Problem With Kids Today

Interview with : The Problem With Kids Today

Take It! is the third and latest album released by The Problem With Kids Today, the
Connecticut-based trio of Tate Brooks, Silas Lourenco-Lang, and Reena Yu. The album was
recorded in a shed in Tate’s backyard in Branford, CT with Joe LeMieux producing. They are
releasing Take It! via their In The Shed Records imprint on CD, digital download and streaming
services on August 22.
Following an eye-opening experience in a large studio as well as their first ever tour, The Kids
were ready for a change. They were tired of being corralled by pencil-pushers, desk jockeys, and
Suits. They were ready to take back control. So they did. 
Why pay to go to a fancy studio and be told what they can and can’t do? There was a perfectly
good shed in Tate’s yard. Why hire a producer who may or may not understand the sound? They
had long-time friend and Connecticut DIY staple Joe LeMieux who was passionate about the
project. Why wait for some label to deem it worthy to release? They’ll just put it out themselves. 
So, the band and Joe cleaned out the shed and turned it into a home studio even Guided By
Voices would be jealous of. Finally, it was time. For 8 days in the middle of October, Silas,
Reena and Joe moved into Tate’s house. Wake up early. Record all day. Drink and smoke into
the wee hours before catching a few precious hours of sleep on Tate’s floor. Do it all again the
next day. That was the routine. There were only two rules. Keep it simple. Keep it fun. 
The result is Take It!. An album that wears its Pastels badges proudly on its sleeve. The group
takes inspiration from the long canon of English rock, from the mod-infested beaches of
Brighton to the cobblestone streets of Glasgow, still reverberating with a DIY ethos. Bands like
The Jam, The Who, and The Replacements bled into the brains of the band and informed the
album as a whole - from the songwriting to the cover and even the photo shoots. It might finally
be the answer to the age-old question: “Mods or Rockers?” …and the answer might be Both.
Lead single “I Dunno” captures the energy and rawness of youth in a bottle, with all the stress
and insecurity that comes along with it rising to the top. “The Beginning of the End of the
World” touches on the poppier side of the group, with the yearning categorically reminiscent of
iconic Sarah Records groups like East River Pipe and the Sugargliders. Some hits, like
“Anymore”, are right out of the Mod playbook and others, like “What Happened to You?”, are
born to wear leather. Most carve out a space all their own. One of the many highlights of Take
It! is the medley that comprises most of the second half. While on one hand it illustrates a step-
up in the ban;s songwriting, it also encompasses the principles of The Problem With Kids
Today as a whole. Uncompromising, unceasing, unstoppable.
Take It! is the culmination of 20-something years lived, a turn away from youthful indulgence
into informed expertise. It sits at a new height of Tate and Silas’s songwriting, with razor-sharp
performances and unforgettable melodies, and a determination to be heard. Mods and Rockers
will riot on the streets once again from the first strum of Take It! by The Problem With Kids
Today. 
https://www.instagram.com/theproblemwithkidstoday/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/TPWKT/

https://theproblemwithkidstoday.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@theproblemwithkidstoday175

 

Rebecca Pidgeon

Interview with Rebecca Pidgeon. Rebecca returns to talk about her new album Unillusion.

 

Rebecca Pidgeon was born in Cambridge, MA and raised primarily in Edinburgh, Scotland,
gravitating towards music as a child. Mom and Dad introduced her to the likes of James Taylor,
while she eventually discovered both Kate Bush and The Sex Pistols on her own. She fronted the
band Ruby Blue for three records before relocating to the United States where she launched her
solo career. Fan favorite albums followed including The Raven (1994), The New York Girls’
Club (1996), The Four Marys (1998), Tough On Crime (2000), and Behind the Velvet Curtain
(2008), four songs appearing in the critically acclaimed film Red Belt. The ensuing decade saw
her release Slingshot (2011), Blue Dress On (2013), Bad Poetry (2014), and Sudden Exposure to
Light (2019). Praising the latter, American Songwriter affirmed, “She’s the real deal,” and Glide
Magazine noted, “Pidgeon’s prolific work as a songwriter and vocalist is akin to the self-
immersion she undertakes for her mesmerizing performances on camera.”
In addition, she has captivated audiences on-screen as a much sought-after film and television
actress. Among dozens of credits, she has appeared in celebrated classics such as The Spanish
Prisoner (1997), State and Main (2000), and Heist (2001) opposite the likes of Gene Hackman,
William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Additionally, she has
appeared in blockbusters a la Red (2010) and NETFLIX’s Bird Box (2018), to name a few.
Unillusion offers eloquent testimony to Rebecca Pidgeon’s continuing power as a storyteller on
stage, screen or the recording studio with an uncanny ability to blend narrative depth and musical intimacy in a way that feels both timeless and current.

Rebecca's Info : 

http://rebeccapidgeonmusic.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7da523apYjG6oJePP5MZwG

https://www.instagram.com/rebeccapidgeon/?hl=en

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuLq5dzPwlVw4FzeUdysVMg

https://www.facebook.com/rebeccapidgeonmusic

https://twitter.com/rebeccapidgeon?lang=en

 

The Silver Snails

Interview with Lucas Ward and Elisa Fantini of The Silver Snails. 

The Silver Snails are a fully independent pop music project based in the medieval wine country of Romagna, Italy, with strong ties to the West Coast. Anchored by the husband and wife team of Lucas Ward and Elisa Fantini, their mission is to open human hearts through song. The Silver Snails draw from a diverse palette of musical influences including classic rock and pop, Beethoven, electronica, Irish, jazz, Nigerian, Kawali, Asian folk music, and more.

Silver Snails's Info: 

https://www.thesilversnails.com