Best known as longtime guitarist, vocalist and collaborator in the Greg Johnson Band, Ted Brown has released his third studio album "Solstice Canyon Loop." Hear all about it on this episode of Big Blend Radio, along with some banter about his move from New Zealand to the US, his music career and songwriting, and some conversation on music history.

The album “Solstice Canyon Loop” is a reminiscence of a journey. From Ted’s crazy, dangerous troubled twenties in his hometown of AK New Zealand, to his restoration to sanity in Los Angeles CA. He was able to start again in the U.S. and had time to really pause and reflect on this during the lockdown months of the pandemic. Plus, Ted really got in touch with the memory of some of those who never made it.

Calling on members of his 70’s Country cover band, The Electric Fields, Ted assembled some of his favorite L.A. guys to play on the record. Notably, Dusty Wakeman on Bass (Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Buck Owens), Mark Hart on Keys (Crowded House, Supertramp), Joel Martin on Guitar (Grateful to the Core, Pearl), Tim Walker on Pedal Steel (Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb, The White Buffalo) and CalArts Alum and musician extraordinaire Rob Anderson on Drums. Ben King, Ted’s Greg Johnson bandmate, added sweet harmonies from his studio in NZ.

More at http://www.tedbrownsongs.net/

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, this episode of Big Blend Radio features filmmaker Jennifer Takaki who discusses the making of the documentary, "Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story," and how photographer Corky Lee influenced her work. For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pacific Islanders with epic focus. Determined to push mainstream media to include AAPI culture in the visual record of American history, Lee produced an astonishing archive of nearly a million compelling photographs. His work takes on new urgency with the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks during the Covid pandemic. Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens. Learn more at: https://photographicjustice.com/ The film will have a nationwide US television release, premiering Monday, May 13 at 10/9C on PBS (check local listings) and on PBS apps to follow. More at: https://www.pbs.org/show/photographic-justice-the-corky-lee-story/ Filmmaker Jennifer Takaki is a fourth generation Japanese American from Colorado. She began her career in journalism at a Denver TV station and later moved to Hong Kong to work with Encore International. In Hong Kong she produced English-based news programming broadcast in China, India, and the Middle East via Rupert Murdoch’s STAR-TV. In New York, she produced and directed “Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story” which premiered at DOC NYC and was supported by the Ford Foundation and The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). She was awarded the prestigious Better Angels Lavine Fellowship in 2023.

This episode of Big Blend Radio's 2nd Wednesday "Books & Authors" Show with Books Forward features Louisiana author, writer, and filmmaker Jennifer Moorhead, who discusses her novel, "Broken Bayou."

In this debut thriller, a troubled child psychologist returns to a small Louisiana town to protect her secrets but winds up having to protect her life.

More: https://www.jennifermoorhead.com/

Published by Thomas & Mercer and out on July 1, 2024, "Broken Bayou" available for pre-order on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/wph65pyp

For more about Books Forward, visit https://booksforward.com/