The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

In this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we speak with British-born, Chicago-based musician, producer, and all-around man of the times, James Elkington, a household name in Chicago's rich and complex music history. From his early days with the math rock outfit Elevate back in the UK to joining Thrill Jockey's long-running supergroup Brokeback, led by the legendary Douglas McCombs of Tortoise, Elkington has navigated a challenging landscape of hard work, unwavering dedication, and a keen eagerness to learn and explore the endless possibilities found in music's melodic memory bank. With a solo career steeped in radical descents into the poetic psyche, Elkington's atmospheric ability to evoke both the past and present is showcased in release such as "Ever-Roving Eye," "Me Either," and 2025's "Pastel De Nada." Reflecting critical changes in today's music, art, and culture, Elkington discusses the contrast between writing and recording his music versus producing others, generational gestures from one person to another, the Golden Era of 1980s culture, future works, and much more..

Born and raised in Florida, Richard Maddox began playing music just like any other kid. Influenced by The Beatles, amongst others, until it was his turn to create music! He eventually met his bandmates and formed a unique band, like many, that would come and go... Masalla are a Daytona, FL based heavy rock/psych group that released one single in 1970 on the Climax label that is pure earthquake bliss in the ear! It was pleasure speaking with Maddox about growing up, his love and passion for music, Masalla and yes... The reissue of this record from Ancient Grease that is coming for very soon, so stay tuned! Enjoy!Support the show Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

I wanted to track down an interesting subject from the legendary Woodstock festival. I've had the pleasure fo speaking to a few artists that played, but no one that actually attended the festival. That was until I located Mike Greenblatt, a writer, freelance journalist and in 2019 he published his first novel "Woodstock 50th Anniversary: Back To Yasgur's Farm" which also included a foreword by the legendary Country Joe McDonald! Greenblatt is a purist when it comes to music. His love for the arts is outstanding and inspiring and though he's older than me, I feel we're the same in many ways. We came from the same generation of thought, the same energy source, the same cosmic womb... WE ARE THE PEOPLE! It was wonderful speaking to Greenblatt and hearing his legendary tales of attending the greatest and most terrifying festival in rock history, Woodstock! You had to be there in many ways, but hopefully this a kaleidoscope into that prismatic void for anyone that missed it, which was most of us. Enjoy! https://www.thejerseysound.com/Support the show Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

A folk legend from Maine, Bill Stone recorded his lone LP masterpiece in 1970 entitled "Stone" at just the age of 19/20 with his friends and local talent from the community. Having been done wrong buy the label head, nothing new there, he decided to pursue other ventures in his life and relocated here in TN for awhile while attending Vanderbilt for his doctorate in the 80s before moving back to Maine. Stone never stopped playing music throughout the years and still jams to this day! It was a real pleasure speaking to the man behind such an extraordinary record in this short, but revealing and calm interview. Enjoy!Support the show Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.