Appalachian Herbalist Andrew Bentley (Part 2) In this episode, I interview longtime friend and accomplished Appalachian Clinical Herbalist Andrew Bentley of Lee County, Kentucky. This is part two of two, where he shares more about what it’s like to visit his clinic or have a tele-health appointment, opens up about projects on the horizon, and […]

Appalachian Herbalist Andrew Bentley (Part 1) In this episode, I interview longtime friend an accomplished Appalachian Clinical Herbalist Andrew Bentley of Lee County, Kentucky.This is part one of two, where he shares his earliest experiences learning about herbs from his Irish-American family, and talks about his childhood in Appalachia. You’ll learn about all the components […]

Flatfooting & Clogging & Bluegrass & Old-Time As an artist who performs traditional Appalachian music and dance, I get lots of questions about the styles of music and dance that I play.“You play banjo–does that mean you play bluegrass?”“What’s the difference between flatfooting and clogging?”And, quite often, “Will you play Dueling Banjos?” In this episode, […]

A Visit With Granny Ollie In this episode, I take you on a little trip through time and the backroads of Kentucky, across swinging bridges and up dirt roads to the tiny dwelling of my mother’s mother, Ollie Gilbert Hudson.  I wanted folks to feel what a visit there was like for me as a […]

Appalachia Edition In this episode, I take on a potentially sensitive subject: cultural insensitivity toward Appalachian people, as manifested in the musical community. This episode deals with what I see as respectful vs. insensitive ways to approach performing and participating in cultures of groups and places that are different from your culture of origin. To […]

A tale about my Granny and Generosity I was blessed with a mother and grandmother who were both incredibly generous. The older I get, the more I appreciate the sweet spirits they had and the way they lived their values via their actions—they TOTALLY walked their talk!In this episode, I tell a quick story about […]

In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on songwriting and why I have a bit of impostor syndrome when it comes to calling myself a songwriter.I also share tons of information that I normally give in my songwriting workshops, including information about: song forms and structures, rhyme schemes, formats, story songs, and ballads.I […]

In this episode, I explore the ways in which patriarchal and colonial thought systems affect the parts of ourselves we get to experience and express, and how we can begin to think of ways to be more complete, free human beings. I touch on how our dominant thought systems shape the reality we experience, how […]

Becoming More of Who You Are with Yani Vozos Sometimes, when you’re meant to hear a message, the universe will send it to you over and over again in a variety of ways. That’s what happened to me this week with the message about how we all need to become more of who we are, so that’s […]

Today we’re talking about….CREATIVE HABITS! You know, those things that you do to cultivate your creativity and keep your ideas flowing, no matter what your interests and skills are.  In this episode, I cover:The paradox inherent in a regular creative practice, the idea of discipline vs. playfulness and spontaneity, how to deal with the frustrating […]