My grandparents in Tennessee (on the Littlefield side) had a gold velvet couch and recliner in their living room. Since both of my parents worked, I usually rode the school bus to a stop that was close to my grandparents house, and would walk to their house afterschool to hang out for a couple of hours in the pre-evening every day. I’d watch back-to-back episodes of The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals until either my mom or my dad came to pick me up. I can always remember how the music on these old TV shows struck me. 
Why do I bring it up now? Because, our first musical guest reminds me (almost spot on) of not just the music from these old black and white programs, but also the personality of them. Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three are with us in this week’s back-by-popular demand broadcast/podcast that was originally taped back in 2012. Pokey LaFarge is a man who must have transported here from another time far away. Now there are a lot of bands and musicians out there that fancy the older stuff when it comes to music, but there is something about this guy that just makes it genuine. The real deal as they say. The band’s sound, Pokey’s voice, the way he looks, the way he talks, the instrumentation of the music…it’s all there. If you missed this episode the first time around, we are happy to give you another chance to discover it.
Also with us this week is the husband and wife musical duo, Shovels and Rope. At the time when this episode was taped, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst were road dogging it not only as a duo on stage, but also in the van. There was no tour bus, and no road crew. There was only a road atlas (OK maybe a GPS these days) and the open road to their musical dreams. You can actually hear the crumpled Styrofoam coffee cups on the floorboard of their van in the music they make on stage. They are old souls with golden intention, and we are lucky to have had them make a stop in eTown to share some of their humor, unique music and road stories with us.
Along with two great musical guests, we also give Lifetime eChievement Award honors to Denis Hayes – one of the founders of Earth Day. Denis was with us once before, back in the very early days of eTown, and it was great to catch up with him again and learn about his activities today on the environmentalism front.
It’s another great hour of music and conversation for you this week. So, sit back on that gold velvet couch (or wherever is comfortable) and tune in or podcast!
– Zack