It’s difficult to believe I’ve been on the island for 25 days now, in the vacuum of time that is quarantine. I’ve added tennis and biking to my regular activities, along with more regular dinners with my folks. I’m still rising with the sun, for a run, but not every morning. My alcohol intake has decreased, along with my recent writing output. Like many of you I’m taking this one day at a time, doing the best I can to be easy with myself, and practice gratitude for the blessings bestowed upon me. I like to think of today’s guest as another one of those blessings. He’s one of those rare cases where I met someone in the world, prior to experiencing his music. It often happens simultaneously, or virtually, as so many of us discover the music we love. In the time since I first crossed paths with Christian Ohly, I’ve fallen in love with his easy folk meanderings, with guitars whispered beneath vulnerable, and hopeful vocals. I feel great potential emitting from his spirit, most eloquently presented to the world, in his songs. A songwriter first, he is taking this time to work on his guitar chops, while continuing the 9 to 5 supply chain grind. Like me, he loves The Avett Brothers, Drifter Coffee, and our Ferndale community. In 2017, Ohly released their heartfelt six-song self-titled and included an emotionally-charged, introspective package of musical tales focused on relationships, loss and growth. His latest release, University, remains true to form, featuring heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics and longings, inspiring comparisons to Alexi Murdoch and Roo Panes

Caffeine, Dreams, & Love

OHLY

Today’s guest is An “unharnessed force of light and energy.” HRG is an up-and-coming West Michigan singer-songwriter who oozes soul, blues and rock with spine-tingling passion. Like many shining stars, growing up she found herself standing out more than fitting in. Describing herself as the one-time “black sheep” of her high school choir, Graves remains staunchly individualistic in her approach to music, which encompasses blues, rock, folk, funk, bluegrass, country and hip-hop. She insists she was “born to sing to the world … to shake things up, twist ’em around and turn ’em upside down” “I’ve been singing since I could speak.” Graves says. “ It’s like this energy force that comes from way deep down that I can’t really ignore … just an unharnessed force of light and energy, and just happiness and joy. I can’t really see myself doing anything else besides singing for the rest of my life.” She’s a songstress and empath who has discovered the greatest service to depression and anxiety, is her service to others. Like so many of us, her heart wept heavy tears with the recent passing of John Prine, who she was first introduced to through Bonnie Rait’s version of “Angel From Montgomery”. Hannah Rose Graves continues to embrace The Great Pause, with her weekly living room lullabies, inspired in part by her time working with children, and continued effort to bring comfort and joy to all those, who are staying home.

Hannah Rose Graves

Welcome to another episode of Caffeine, Dreams, & Love, I’m your host - Kevin Alan Lamb. Today I have the great pleasure of being joined by the bass slapping, crochet wearing, handsome son of a gun, Steve Briere, of The Gasoline Gypsies. As fresh sounding as they are retro, the Gasoline Gypsies evoke the spirit of rock and roll …it’s music that helps us forget our cares, free our souls, and discover pieces of ourselves behind the eyes, and in the hearts of the ones we love. Their original songs feature unifying, foot-stomping anthems, that inspire their multi-generational audience to sing along to the sounds of fine vintage southern rock, rolled around in the grand ol’ grit of the Motor City…it’s music that moves … In the last few years, the Gypsies have racked up five Detroit Music Awards, been deemed one of the “Three Best Unsigned Bands in the USA” by JBL, and voted Best Original Rock Band in the 2018 WDIV Local 4 Detroit Viewers Poll. They are garnering regular radio airplay outside the Midwest, most notably in the Triangle markets of North and South Carolina. The Vagabundos, the Gypsies multi-generational, highly active, extremely colorful, and loyal fan tribe, are a driving force behind the band, accompanying them wherever their music flows. Managed by Jack Hunger, The Gasoline Gypsies are made up by Caleb Malooley, Steve Briere, Joe Makowski, and Neal Love. When I hear the word “Gypsy” I think of a wandering soul, traversing space and time to discover his or herself in the people, places, and natural wonders which make life worth living. If gasoline fuels a great journey, then dreams fuel the impossible and I really like the notion of what becomes possible when we do it together. A band is a family and The Gasoline Gypsies, are my family band.

The Gasoline Gypsies

Mixing the nostalgia of Motown-inspired grooves with Nashville's songwriting sensibility, this powerhouse vocalist effortlessly weaves a sound and a story that not only stirs the soul but moves the feet. Let us introduce to you the Motor City – Music City hybrid force that is Raye Williams. In September 2019, it was announced that Raye had partnered up with TIDAL, the only artist-owned global streaming service, spear-headed by Jay-Z. TIDAL unveiled that Raye was 1 of 5 artists chosen to take part in a new $1 million endowment program to support emerging artists, kicking off in Detroit. Raye’s career accomplishments are as versatile as her vocals. She’s shared the stage with Jason Aldean, Bob Seger, and Wynonna, and is a regular guest on the most famous, longest-running radio station in world, WSM 650 AM, home of the Grand Ole Opry. With independent single releases and sold-out shows, over 2 million website hits and over 250K video views in the last 12 months, Raye Williams has undeniably established herself as a “One To Watch” artist. Diagnosed with cervical cancer toward the end of June, Williams continues to be an inspiration, and testament of endurance while sharing her story to encourage other women to get periodic pap tests and consider the HPV vaccine, which can be lifesaving. Raye continues to reinvent herself, while being a pleasant reminder of the great strength that resides within.

Raye Williams

With over 68 million plays on Pandora, troubadour and award-winning songwriter, Forest Sun, enlivens audiences around the globe with his wealth of songs and stories, all sung and told in a laid-back California style. Sun's soulful music draws on a deep well of Americana and is compared to everyone from Jack Johnson, John Mayer and The Avett Brothers to Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. He's opened for Bonnie Raitt, The Beach Boys, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Jackson Browne, Keb Mo and Brett Dennen, Mason Jennings and Chris Smither among others. Forest’s songs mine his deep folk roots and embrace his love of gospel, reggae, Americana, country, soul, jazz and funk. His latest release “Just Because You Want it” is available on https://forestsun.com/, where you can support him directly through Patreon, and receive one new song per month. You can also follow Forest Sun on Spotify, and Pandora.

Forest Sun

It was 2016, downtown Detroit, on The Head and the Heart’s tour bus where I interviewed drummer Tyler Williams before their headlining show at The Fillmore.

Tyler Williams, The Head and the Heart

Mipso is born from North Carolina’s broad range of disparate musical influences, their distinctly unique sound is an undeniable alchemy of the historical musical traditions of the rural south and their progressive home of Chapel Hill. A discernible and rising force in the upstart musical genre known as Americana, Mipso’s music is lush and forward moving. A tender, harmony-laden river runs through the band’s core, but the rocky outcroppings change with every album outing. Appalachia melds with modern alt-country, hints of folk-rock are leavened with a sly and subversive sense of humour, and underneath it all is a genuine and moving passion for the ever-evolving traditions of Americana. With the recent release of the band’s fifth album, Edges Run (April 2018/Anti-Fragile Music), Mipso continues the complex dance of looking back and moving forward with grace and beauty.

Jacob Sharp, Mipso

Hello, I’ve been expecting you. You are loved more than you could ever know. You didn’t think anyone was listening, but we are. You didn’t think anyone noticed, but we did. You didn’t think anyone cared, but we do. Thank you for holding onto hope, especially when it’s the hardest. You won’t always have to carry it alone. We’re finding a way to be there for you. We’re making time to acknowledge how much we need and appreciate you. I’m sorry our timeline isn’t in tune with your own; but how can I help you if I can’t help myself? I want you to know that I’m working on me so I can better help you. I’m not the best version of myself every day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care, or that I’ve lost sight of where I hope to grow to. I understand that you’re likely more similar than different to my relationship with myself. I also understand that there’s so much I don’t understand, including you. But I am here; trying, helping, breathing, being something that might make your day a little better than if I didn’t exist.

Listening

For what and whom will you not die but live for?

A love story from a star’s perspective...

Folk & Open Road

To a certain extent, I am unable to dictate the will of others upon me, but I will always have the ability to process and organize every experience with efficiency to diminish my suffering and serve as a catalyst for my growth. It is with this logic that I arrived to the personal truth and philosophy that struggle is an opportunity to grow; and my happiness is conditional upon my choice and ability to have a productive response to struggle, no matter the intensity or duration of the pain it insists. Think of everytime someone really hurt you, and the inevitable corresponding cliches your friends, family, and acquaintances tried telling you… People can’t help the unwilling, as a result, our willingness to suffer often keeps us from telling ourselves the truths we need to move on. This isn’t to suggest that the communities we have layered ourselves within are unable to help us heal and grow, it simply means that despite the quality of a system in place, trusting that system begins with trusting ourselves and our ability to face, carry, and ultimately unload the weight of undesired truth and painful realities.

A productive response to struggle

Take inventory of who and where you spend your energy.

Energy: Your well within

Helping hands hold humanity together, piece by piece, brick by brick. Small, subtle miracles are the glue we take for granted, the fortune we fail to realize we’ve been handed, opportunity as a result of others’ good will, we’ve been granted. The tendency to reduce ourselves to our worst parts, induces scars that we’re left to carry. But scars tell a story like the stars paint the night sky, do not give them power, wondering why. Embrace their lessons, observe their beauty, and navigate their repetition. Dare to see more in yourself, than you did the day before, by believing in yourself, just a little bit more. Walk through the doors others are kind enough to open; be the relief and solution for which others are hoping. Given two hands: one to hold, and one to help. Given a heart beat, to give a shit. Given life to live, not to quit. Pick up the pieces so we help others learn to do the same. Two steps forward, one step back - progress is a process, not quite exact. Hang in there, you must be getting close. Hang in there, others need you more than you know. Learn to love yourself as much as you love others, doubt is a great weight to tow. Quit reducing yourself, you know how hard you’ve been working to grow. It’s a good day to give yourself some credit, by cutting yourself some slack. No matter the narrative and timeline in your head, you’re right on track.

Scars

I wrote my first love song and I didn’t know it was about you. Are your eyes brown? I imagined them blue. When you close your eyes, what is it you see? I imagine it to be a loving, hopeful world, learning from and leaving widespread fear and misery. What makes your heart beat? Is it the rush of colliding energy at its precipice in city streets, or is it your time along streams among trees gazing under the stars you sleep? I’ve found we don’t receive answers of questions we don’t seek. Which songs do you wish to sing? If forced to abandon your home in a fire, which one thing would you bring? Do you want to be wed in a church or on a beach? When you read books what knowledge or comfort do you seek? When you sleep, what is it you dream? Are you faithful of what’s to come, or skeptic until it is seen? I sing these questions into the world, hopeful one day soon you will hear their tune. I speak these intentions from my heart, because I have always wore it on my sleeve. I am finding you with my words, because they have always lead the way; and when it is to you, with you, I’ll always stay.

Stay

Home exists in those that give you hope; in those that the very thought of brings tears of joy; in those that have seen your goodness shine and will always remind you of it when you need it most; in those that will never let you pick up the pieces alone; in those that care more about seeing the smile on your face than anything you could ever give them in return. Home are the shivers inspired by the excitement of reciting lyrics you love from the musicians that sacrificed, experienced and gifted you the opportunity to bathe in their creation while in the company of those that lift your head and your heart when they weigh heaviest. Home is an allusion until you discover the souls that sing in a tune that your very own is drawn to, moved by, and made better in the company of!

Home, Part 2

A daily dose of spoken word to empower yourself and others. My name is Kevin Alan Lamb, I am a 34-year-old Detroit native who has always had a way with words. Visit my blog at ThisIsAGoodSound.com

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Caffeine, Dreams, & Love

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