11 Things With Leigh Jones

John Gallagher, Jr. is a NYC-based musician and actor. He released his debut solo record, Six Day Hurricane, in 2016. He has numerous film and TV credits, including a lead role on HBO's The Newsroom, and has starred on Broadway in musicals and plays, having earned a Tony award for his performance in Spring Awakening at the age of 22. Listen in as John discusses his Delaware roots, his influences from Springsteen to Ryan Adams to Green Day, and the balancing act between his acting career and musical pursuits. twitter.com/JohnGallagherJr

Frankie Boots is an Americana singer-songwriter from Northern California, currently residing in New Orleans. He has two full-length albums with his band, Frankie Boots and the County Line, and released his debut solo record, "Pagan Ranch," in December of 2016. Listen in as Frank reveals his real name, talks about being ready for inspiration when it strikes, and the rewards and challenges of relocating across the country. www.frankiebootsmusic.com

Justin Levine is a NYC-based composer, writer, performer, music director, and arranger. His wide range of credits include serving as the music director for and performing in the Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Love's Labour's Lost at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Listen in as Justin discusses growing up in a musical family on Long Island, his freshman year piano man gig, and some of the lessons he's learned in working closely with David Byrne. www.justinlevineonline.com

Sean O'Neill is a Portland, OR-based musician, songwriter, and cartoonist. His band, Otis Heat, has toured the U.S. extensively, and his cartoons have been featured in The New Yorker and The Harvard Business Review, among other publications. Listen in as Sean talks about growing up in suburban Maryland, the many forms and paths his creativity has taken, and how a bullying incident led to his best childhood friendship. www.seanoneillmaterial.com

Jans Ingber is a Portland, OR-based singer, songwriter, and percussionist. Jans recently parted ways with his longtime band, The Motet, after 17 years of touring to spend more time at home and to focus on a new project, Jans Ingber's Funk Fellowship. Listen in as Jans recounts his momentous first encounter with Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions," talks about the wide variety of music his parents exposed him to, and how he now relates with his three school-aged children through music. www.facebook.com/FunkFellowship

Annalisa Tornfelt is a songwriter and musician originally from Alaska and now based in Portland, OR. She is known for being the singer and fiddle player for Black Prairie (with members of The Decemberists). Her 2015 solo release, The Number 8, was recorded during the month of August, on an 8-track recorder, in the span of eight hours. She often performs with her musical siblings as Annalisa Tornfelt and the Tornfelt Sisters. www.annalisatornfelt.com

Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons are an American roots duo based in Seattle. They won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN in January 2016, coming in first place out of 94 acts from 16 different countries. Their two albums, The North Wind and the Sun and Take Yo Time, represent a broad range of pre-war American music, from pre-blues a cappella field hollers, fiddle and banjo breakdowns, and duet distillations of early jazz. www.benjoemusic.com

Kate Ferber is a NYC based musician and songwriter. Her one-woman original show One Child Born, The Music of Laura Nyro has been widely acclaimed in New York and beyond. She starred in Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, written by John Mellencamp and Stephen King, with musical direction by renowned producer T Bone Burnett. Her forthcoming solo album is entitled The Great Thaw, and singles from the record can be found on her website: www.kateferber.com

The Bengsons are a married duo based in NYC. They've written an indie folk opera, had their music featured on the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance, and just earlier this month they embarked upon a brand new project...parenthood! Listen in as Shaun and Abigail Bengson discuss their respective musical roots and influences, what it's like to be romantically involved with your music partner and musically involved with your romantic partner, working with renowned dancer/choreographer Sonya Tayeh, and so much more. www.bengsons.com

Tommy Alexander is a Portland, OR based indie folk singer-songwriter. His upcoming album, Old News, is scheduled for release on March 23, 2016. Listen in as Tommy discusses working with producer Mike Coykendall (of other notable acts such as M. Ward, She and Him, Blitzen Trapper, and Bright Eyes) on the new record, opening for Michael McDonald, his former life as a pro baseball hopeful, and founding an artist collective in Burlington, Vermont. www.tommyalexander.com

Derek Clatterbuck (who performs and releases music under the moniker Oil Derek) is a native of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Listen in as Derek talks about his family's deep musical roots (his grandma was best buds with June Carter and his great-uncle wrote the "Tennessee Waltz"), his attraction to the cowboy lifestyle, becoming friends with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and his involvement with the artists collective on wheels, Splendor All Around. www.oilderek.bandcamp.com

Making up one-half of the banjo-driven folk duo The Lowest Pair, Kendl Winter calls Olympia, Washington home, but spends most of her days on the road. Listen in as Kendl shares her thoughts on what it's like to be a perpetually traveling musician, her love of running, and the many pet turtles she had as an 11-year-old. www.thelowestpair.com

Lech Wierzynski is the Polish-born frontman and bandleader of The California Honeydrops.  An internationally touring band, the Honeydrops draw upon elements of R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line to create an infectious sound and an energetic, undeniable live show experience.  Listen in as Lech discusses his personal musical journey, collaborating with bandmates and pulling from everyone's respective influences to form the Honeydrops' sound, and how he feels about his time at Burning Man last year.  www.cahoneydrops.com

Chris, Ellen, Asarr, Sam, and Anthony are collectively, Chamber Band. Based in Brooklyn, they play music about love, heartbreak, and dragons. They recently released their second full-length album, Careers. Listen in as they discuss how the band came together, their wide array of backgrounds and influences, and their decision and process of using the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and The Hunger Games to frame and examine real-world issues. www.chamberband.com

Brad Parsons is a Portland, OR based songwriter and purveyor of rock and roll music.  You can catch him performing around town often, both solo and with his band Brad Parsons and the Local Talent.  He is also part of the nationally touring Portland-based folk-rock band, Horse Feathers.  Listen in as Brad discusses his Idaho upbringing, shares a few defining moments in his musical career, and tells us how he really feels about is 6th grade teacher.   www.facebook.com/BradParsonsMusic

Benjamin Scheuer is a New York City based songwriter and playwright.  His award-winning one-man autobiographical musical play, The Lion, was originally mounted at Manhattan Theatre Club in the summer of 2014.  Since then, Benjamin has been performing the show in various cities to wide acclaim.  Listen in as he talks about his unique artistic path, the journey of creating and performing The Lion, and weathering some of life's more extreme hardships.  www.benjaminscheuer.com

Moorea Masa is a Portland, OR based singer-songwriter, with distict soul/pop influences.  Formerly of the Ruby Pines, and currently a singer with Ural Thomas and the Pain, Moorea has been cultivating her solo career in recent years and just released her debut EP, Oh Mother.  www.mooreamasa.bandcamp.com

Ben Darwish is a Portland, OR-based pianist, composer and songwriter.  His collaborative project with Shook Twins is called Morning Ritual, and he also plays keys in the soul band, Ural Thomas and the Pain.  Listen in as Ben discusses his least important fingers, how being a weirdo actually helped him as an 11-year-old, and how 80s teen idol Tiffany is his cousin.  www.bendarwish.com

Thanksgiving is the best holiday! Some of my guests from the previous year share a musical artist for whom they are epecially thankful.

Sam Chase is the valiant leader of SF bay area band, The Sam Chase. With his band, Sam has released two studio albums, "The Sam Chase Will Never Die" and "The Sam Chase Will Lead Us To Victory". As albums, they are triumphant, and as statements, they are true. Listen in as Sam discusses his dream of being a ninja turtle, refraining from throwing his underwear at Bruce Springsteen, and playing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival for the first time. www.thesamchase.com