Join Smilin’ Jay McDowell, guitar-player-turned-upright bassist from the small town of West Lafayette, Indiana, as he takes you on his journey from watching and playing in bands in the back room at Lucy’s to traveling the world with BR5-49.

If you lived in Nashville in the 90s and loved live music you may have known about the punk scene at Lucy’s, but you definitely knew about the resurgence of hillbilly and western swing played in the seedy honky tonks on Lower Broad. Jay felt equally at home in both places. Some nights he’d hang out and watch bands at Lucy’s or play a gig there with the band Hellbilly. Other nights he’d go downtown to drink cheap beer and watch Greg Garing, Paul Burch, Tim Carroll, or BR5-49 play at Tootsie’s or Robert’s Western Wear. When he was asked to join BR5-49 he jumped at the chance (it may have been the liquor), switching his primary instrument from guitar to stand-up bass and adding some additional style and substance to a band already bursting with it.

Jay’s tales include his favorite shows at Lucy’s, what the scene was like on Lower Broad both pre- and post-BR5-49, chatting with Keith Richards and John Fogerty, touring with Bob Dylan, and what it was like when ALL the record companies came a-callin’.

This episode is dedicated to John Van Etten (1966-1995), Timothy White (1952-2002), and Jim Bessman (1952-2021).

Smilin’ Jay McDowell heads the video department at The Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN, which opened to bring attention to studio and road musicians who play a vital role in the creation of music but rarely get the attention they deserve. He even has his own well-deserved exhibit in the museum celebrating his work as a session bass player with artists such as Marty Stuart, Dierks Bentley, The Black Crowes, Alan Jackson, Levon Helm, The Crickets and BR5-49. Go see it.

Jay has edited music videos for many country artists and in 2004 was nominated for an Emmy for his work with Jason Ringenberg on his educational character, Farmer Jason. He also built all of the video content for the Vanderbilt University class, “How Rhythm & Blues Tore Down the Walls of Segregation.” He currently produces “Backstage with Joe Chambers” for The Musicians Hall of Fame which has earned over 100,000 Youtube subscribers and over 15 million views, sits on the Community Advisory Board for WNPT, Nashville Public Television, and contributes a monthly magazine column for Now Dig This.

Episode Music
Hellbilly – Make a Mess
Los Straitjackets – “Fury“
Lambchop – “Cowboy on the Moon“
BR5-49 – “Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)“
BR5-49 – “Ole Slewfoot (Live from Robert’s)“

Additional Mentions/Links:
John Van Etten, The Shindigs, John Delworth, Laura Matter (The genius behind kickball), Hellbilly, The ‘Boro, Fun Girls From Mt. Pilot, Deanna Varagona, Los Straitjackets, Danny Amis, Eddie Angel, Scott Esbeck, Jimmy Lester, Lambchop, BR5-49, Tootsie’s, Robert’s Rhinestone Western Wear, Zach Taylor, Gary Tallent, Timothy White (Billboard), Jim Bessman (Billboard), Greg Garing , Paul Burch, Tim Carroll, Keith Richards, John Fogarty, Bob Dylan

In the mid-90s, Jon Sewell was a fish-out-of-water mischief-maker at a private conservative all-boys school. He was called “Johnny G” by the older kids and “Troublemaker” by the headmaster. Then he discovered Crass and an anarcho-punk was born. He protested against the military industrial complex, ran the local Food Not Bombs chapter, and played drums in the band Murdered Minority. When it came time to try and get a show at Lucy’s he did what any punk prankster without recording equipment would do, he faked the demo.

Jon still thrives in the current that runs underneath Nashville’s mainstream. In 2006 he turned an old, dilapidated house into a punk club. A few years later he turned an old, dilapidated meat packing plant into a community space for musicians, artists, and other creators. Called The Packing Plant, the space is also the headquarters of Salt Weekly, Jon’s beautifully designed ‘zine with an open submission policy and a mission to radically upend traditional print publishing.

Now known as “Southside Jonny, the Mayor of Wedgewood-Houston,” Jon confused Nashville’s politicos by twice running for actual mayor on a platform he called CHIT: Corruption, Hypocrisy, Influence, and Taxes. He also spent two seasons acting opposite Billy Ray Cyrus on the CMT sitcom, Still the King. For real.

The Packing Plant:
– WXNA
– Poetry Library
– Risology Club
– Salt Weekly

Ben Todd
Nashville’s Dead
The Glenn Danzig House
Kathryn Edwards
Drkmttr Collective
Daniel Pujol

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Host Mary Mancini sits down with poet and artist Christine Hall.

Christine was raised in a trailer at the edge of the Adirondacks by troubadours and cultist pornographers. Inculcated with American mythology—tool girl calendars, bible stories, science fiction—she built on this education while hitching across the continent.

Before she set off on her travels she was a teenager at Lucy’s trying to find her way out of a difficult and painful childhood. Christine found Lucy’s to be a safe space and her story has a happy ending, but the safety she found inside didn’t always prevent her from acting out her trauma in dangerous and self-destructive ways on the outside.

Now at home in the Nashville arts community, Christine hosts the Poetry in the Brew open mic. Her work has appeared in Out & About Nashville, several anthologies including Sinew (April Gloaming Publishing, 2021), Be About It zine, on MTA buses, and on stages with the Yoni Pearl Monologues, Cabaret Noir Collective, TSU, Third Man Records, and OZ Arts.

This episode comes with a content warning. We talk about self-harm, and suicide, as well as the trauma brought on by religious indocrination. If you’re in need of resources or support, please go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for anyone in distress and prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones 24/7. If you live outside the U.S., look for the local resources in your community.

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Instagram: @lucysrecordshop
Twitter: @lucysrecordshop
Facebook: /lucysrecordshop