Detroit Songwriter Dispatch

Natan Abellan has spent much of his life trying to quit songwriting and discovering that he can't. The Spanish-born pianist joins us at Ghost Light to talk teenage songwriting competitions, theology, moving between countries, playing keyboards in a Foreigner tribute band, and why every good song stands on a pile of dead ones. He shares the stories behind three live performances, the people who helped him through his darkest moments, and why a song doesn't have to earn a dollar to be worth something.

Kennedy Greenrod joins the Dispatch to trace his journey from England to California, Chicago, and finally Detroit, where he found his people and formed the Gas Hounds. We talk William Blake, the fine art of leaving things unsaid in a song, reviving old material, and why making music together doesn't have to be miserable. Kennedy performs a few originals, Scott discovers an entirely new appreciation for the Hamtramck Heater, and we take a detour through a Pennsylvania town that's been burning since 1962.

Emily Rose joins the Dispatch to talk Ghost Night, the monthly celebration of departed songwriters that grew from a Jim Croce tribute into a full-blown community production. We get into learning Soundgarden riffs, finding her own voice through other people's music, and writing songs from the perspectives of animals. Along the way, we discover a surprising connection between her new concept album and Detroit: Become Human, find out that we don't all hear the same notes, and hear live performances of "My Room" and "Comeback Kid."

James Arquette joins off to talk about writing The Times and finding his way through folk, blues, Dylan, Cash, Bowie, aliens, robots and the machinery of modern life. Listen on Spotify and other online destinations !

Lacy Sterling fronts Detroit 442 and Motor City Blues Destroyers, has been playing punk music since the seventies, and looks at the world and sees reason to hope. Fitting for someone who views planning European tours like a giant puzzle. We has a lot of fun talking to Lacy about getting into punk music, the DIY ethos that took him to Istanbul and beyond, his disdain for the nineties, and how the music community of today inspires him to optimism. Detroit 442 Website Detroit 442 Bandcamp Minneapolis on Bandcamp

Maxwell Rincon joins the crew on the Ghost Light stage to talk about picking up music during the pandemic and hitting like nothing but green lights since.

Boy Blue (or is that JW Howard?) joins Brion and Chris to discuss the downhill journey of learning guitar. The episode meanders through ghost lights, dog Ozempic, and why the Detroit music scene provided the necessary reconciliation after a wild stint in Grand Rapids. John performs two soulful originals and explains why you’ll likely never find his best work on Spotify, at least not until Spotifyhead.com takes off. Scott analyzed the metadata during the haunting. The ghost was indeed the original JW Howard. He has moved on to haunting someone's substack account.

Caleb Sanchez joins the Dispatch on the Ghost Light stage to trace his artistic evolution from the raw, confessional songwriting of Stoop Sesh to the high-energy, dance-driven blues of his current project, Sancho. He opens up about how a divorce, leaving the church, and a soul-crushing stint in corporate sales led him to discover Lightning Hopkins and a desire to create a "booty-shaking" vibe on stage. Listen to Caleb here

Scott is back from abroad so Brion decided to record a podcast talking to the OG Dispatch hosts, Dave and Scott. Dave shares plans for new music and a much anticipated show in Windsor. Brion shares the virtues of rambling on. Chris is happy to fanboy. Scott confirms his new life mission: to get the audience to admit their secret grudges against him. Email him at [email protected]

Francis DeCarlo joins the Dispatch to talk about his wide-ranging approach to music, from triple albums and virtual string quartets to Detroit gigs and his time at Philip Glass’s studio. He shares how songs often arrive like transmissions, found in accidents, mistakes, and moments of openness. Along the way he reflects on Detroit’s deep musical lineage, the challenge of keeping bands together, and why the city’s collaborative spirit makes it such fertile ground for creation. Francis also performs his longtime favorite “Esmeralda,” offering a glimpse into his belief that the best songs feel less written than received.