ClifTones w/ JC Denison

Brian Schreck is a saxophonist, music therapist, future funeral director, and damn fine human. His groundbreaking work recording the heartbeats of dying patients has helped open up conversations around expanding the connections between deceased people and the bereaved. Through music and audio, he strives to make dealing with loss and pain just a little easier. And maybe joyful. Brian sat down with JC to talk about fashion, funerals, hospitals, life, death, and the YUM Center.

Mandy Keathley screams and dances and flails and sings with style and fury as she commands the stage as the frontwoman for local punks DEADY. Which makes it all the harder to believe that this is her first gig in the driver's seat! A later bloomer than most band folks, she's wasted no time making up for lost time, and DEADY has become a Louisville music fixture. And before all that she made waves at none other than GUCCI, weaving her unique artistic and fashion tastes into the personal styles of all types of people. Oh yeah! And she and JC used to work together! Mandy sat down with JC to talk about personalizing everything, being privately cool, musical wormholes, Jamiroquai, and more...

Todd Hildreth is a lynchpin in the Louisville jazz and indie rock scenes, having helped fuse the two together by way of his long and legendary stints in bands like Java Men, King Kong, and Squeezebot. All of which are still performing! His instrumental prowess knows no bounds, and he's just as likely to play a steel drum or keytar as he is a keyboard or Hammond organ. And as an educator, he's teaching a variety of folks how to appreciate music just a little more. Todd sat down with JC to talk about dating, jazz, Twice Told Coffee House, tiny drums, pet peeves, and more...

Kathryn Brooks is a Louisville singer-songwriter whose lived experiences in places like California, Pennsylvania, and New York City have informed her lyrics and music. She inserted herself into the local music scene in 2020 after moving back here because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and very quickly surrounded herself with supportive friends and musicians. Since then, she's put a handful of recordings online and is currently working on a full length album. Kathryn sat down with JC to talk about melancholy, good books, folk music, Hamilton, food, fashion, regrets, and more...

Jon Cherry is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer with a gift of gab and a sense of adventure. He landed in Louisville after being brought up on various Air Force bases and experienced a rather atypical educational situation through his teenage and college years before diving into music and finally photojournalism. Oh and hey he and JC both worked at video game stores in high school! Jon sat down with JC to talk about pit bulls, Milton Metz, meditation, UPS, astronaut jobs, the perfect night out, and more...

Noam Blitzer is the chef/owner of Meesh Meesh Mediterranean restaurant in Louisville's NULU neighborhood. He's also contributed his culinary talents to local places like Red Hog and Wiltshire on Market as well as restaurants in Boston, South Carolina, and more. As far as we can tell, he's the first professional chef to ever appear on this very podcast! Noam sat down with JC to talk about being born (and conceived) in Israel, food life in Boston, culinary inspiration, ice cream, Florida, and more...

Mark Evans is the co-owner of Louisville music venue Whirling Tiger and produces concerts around town with his promotional company Pretty Good Concerts. Originally from Owensboro, KY, Mark eventually landed in Louisville by way of Lexington's music scene, and he's been bringing top notch bands here ever since. His dog Bobby Sparkles came along for the podcast and frankly made JC a little nervous at first because he didn't think he could conduct a proper interview with a dog in the room. But all was fine! Mark and Bobby sat down with JC to talk about dog poop, WEEN, booking agents, bars, smoking crack, Salvador Dalí, and more...

Alex Rickel is a mad scientist and plays one on T.V. Or Some Thing like that. He currently fronts the psychedelic rock quartet Future Killer, and JC wonders if that was a good enough description of the band. A great bass player, song writer, visual artist, and forward thinker, Alex has had a huge impact on the Louisville arts and music scenes in his relatively short time here in town. He sat down with JC to talk about cigarettes, Roger Rabbit, Mr. Rogers, creativity, New Albany, New Albanian, Zanzabar, and more...

Jeff Komara is the proprietor of one of the coolest vintage shops in town, or really anywhere: Fat Rabbit! He also beats the hell out of the drums in the experimental noise rock ensemble Copiers. And he drums left-handed, which is a far bigger deal to JC than it really should be. He sat down with JC to talk about Shawn Kemp, Kurt Vonnegut, chairs, journalism, Battles, prog rock, Brad's basement, and more...

Kiana Del fronts the soulful septet Kiana & the Sun Kings, singing songs with a vocal style inspired by Erykah Badu, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and more, but one that is uniquely her own. A Carolton, KY, transplant, she found a path to music through college, and quickly inserted herself into the Louisville music scene. And hey! She's also an educator and radio host, and she co-hosts 'The Music Box' podcast, which we would say is definitely one of the top 2 podcasts in Louisville! She sat down with JC to talk about high school theatre, trying to make money playing music, cursing!, Beethoven, and more... This episode is sponsored by Squarespace.  Just kidding.