SWG Mini-Mekons S1 E1

Sitting with Gianluca will be Manu Therón, multi-lingual musician and journeyman. Manu is at the forefront of the Southern French musical movement to reclaim the Occitan indigenous language banned by Paris after the French Revolution. Manu explains the history, the resurgence of the language and the different bands that are reclaiming it - from reggae and ragamuffin to psychedelic rock and will play a song in the Occitan language. 

Sitting with Gianluca Peter Blackstock who has just published a book on late Texan songwriting legend (and former Sitting With Gianluca guest) Guy Clark’s ground-breaking debut LP Old #1. Clark was at the center of a 70’s Nashville songwriting scene that included Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle & Texan Jerry Jeff Walker that ushered in a grittier, road-weary type of roots music. Clark’s Old #1 re-wrote the rules of Nashville songwriting and has become a go-to source for artists looking for songs to cover for the last 50 years. 

Sitting with Gianluca is writer, historian and musician Banning Eyre. Banning & Sean Barlow co-run afropop.org, the go-to music resource for any global non-western music. He’s also written books on African guitar styles and will take us on a journey through the African “guitar regions” and demonstrate the different styles from different regions on his guitar. From Detroit house music & hip-hop, old time banjo music, New Orleans rhythm & blues, rock & roll, jazz, flamenco, Mediterranean folk music and even some classical music - it all leads back to Africa. It was a real delight to have someone so knowledgeable connect the dots through the years and I’m sure it will set your mind on fire as much as it did mine.

Sitting with me is veteran traveling musician, Ray Bonneville. Ray has spent the last few decades in a van performing anywhere and everywhere. He’s also been nominated for several awards and has won a few as well. I don’t use the term “journeyman” lightly, Ray has had a long journey – from Juvenile delinquent, marine in Vietnam, bush pilot, taxi driver all before his first record. Here he performs especially for Sitting With Gianluca music podcast. Subscribe for more sit-downs at SittingWith.com

The Mini-Mekons - a scaled down version of 70s UK musical art collective The Mekons is lead by Jon Langford & Sally Timms. They join me in an apartment in New York City for a fun conversation and three exclusive performances.

Listen some exclusive, never-been-told recollections from people that worked with him on his last two records along with an audio documentary on the closing Magic Shop recording studio he recorded in. I was granted complete access to the iconic studio in its final days and the documentary also includes some David Bowie recollections as the engineers show me where he recorded and what set-up he used. Originally aired in March 2020

Sitting with Gianluca (in exile) from Radio Grenouille in Marseille is first-call harmonica player Elie Coquard. If there is a group anywhere in the Provence region that needs a harmonica - Elie will get the call. 

To celebrate psychedelic punk revivalists The Fuzztones 45th anniversary, Deb O’Nair - co-fouder and former keyboard player, takes Gianluca through a history of the band and the New York City downtown music scene of the 70s and 80s.  

Sitting with Gianluca celebrates the life of British blues guitar player Kim Simmonds leader of Savoy Brown who, along with his contemporaries Eric Clapton & Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, turned America and the world onto blues music. Sitting with Gianluca is his former manager and producer Arnie Goodman with recollections.

If you’re a fan of Levon Helm, The Band, BB King, Bob Dylan or a myriad of other amazing American artists you won’t want to miss this sit-down with piano wizard Brian Mitchell who has been a first call ivory tickler for a few decades.