Let me just tell you that putting together the music and producing the hour of The Appetizer every week is some of the most fun I have each week. Not to say I don’t enjoy doing other things or hobbies or whatever. But I truly enjoy serving up the musical menu each week.

This week was certainly one of the most fun times I’ve had in not only listening to the music coming up, but also just talking about it. I love connecting with people like you who tune in and also have eclectic tastes. A few weeks back I met some really cool guys and gals at a concert who told me about a few acts I hadn’t heard of. If you’re like me, you’re far more inclined to check out a suggestion from a friend than something that gets sent to you on FB or email from a third party. So I went online and listened to these artists and……loved it all! Seriously, it’s great music and I’m sharing it this week, so be on the lookout for Jenny & Tyler as well as Driftless Pony Club.

Also, last week I served up some flavors of music that I’ve always enjoyed but have been hesitant to exhibit because I do hear from some people that they “can’t stand rap!” That’s unfortunate, because there’s some dynamic and excellent hip-hop artists. In preparing for that show, I was sampling a lot of music and some of it didn’t make the cut last week. One of them is this great track from K’naan featuring Kirk Hammett (Metallica). I first heard K’naan a few years ago when his song “Waving Flag” was picked up as the theme/anthem for the World Cup. K’naan is not your standard rap artist. As illustrated in the track featured this week on The Appetizer, K’naan is from Somalia, a place where the ghetto and mean streets are a different universe compared to what many Americans feel as “the hood.” Some people have argued back and forth on which place is the worst to survive, but regardless, his perspective on living through such destitute circumstances creates a powerful platform for his music.

Also coming up are 2 new songs from 2 artists that continue to inspire me. First, as you know I’m a pretty big Springsteen fan. I loved Wrecking Ball (his latest release) and it’s so much more than just the stories and the lyrics but how he’s written a gospel album that isn’t straight-forward in that style, but when you break down the components of some older gospel tracks you hear the cries for hope, the longing for peace, and the looking upward for some kind of salvation in the chaos. That’s a lot of what Wrecking Ball has, as well as just some great story-telling moments. I’m doing a song that’s been growing on me and I’ll tell you why on the show. The other guy whose music I can’t stop listening to is Trevor Hall. I’ve been a fan of this guy for a while and his 2011 album Everything Everytime Everywhere is cover to cover great. Again, not traditional in any particular way, but Trevor brings reggae’s style to gospel and soul’s message. I like reggae, but I really like reggae when it’s someone not trying to replicate the same recipe that Bob Marley did. Too much of reggae sounds like a bad ripoff of Marley (just like too much of blues sounds like a bad ripoff of Stevie Ray Vaughn).

All this and more coming up on the show this week. It’s a great time. Join me. Don’t forget you can listen to our current and past week’s shows anytime RIGHT HERE.