Monthly Archives

April 2022

Apr 27
Love1

Thompson Square

By Comedian, Fun, Music, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Politics No Comments

Shawna and Keifer Thompson of country duo Thompson Square join Gary Scott Thomas this week and let me tell you. This is a juicy conversation!

In this episode:

  • Why they moved so far out of Nashville
  • Their song “Are You Going to Kiss Me or Not?”
  • Their new song “Country in My Soul”
  • The peaks and valleys of being an artist
  • The odds of “making it”
  • Losing family & friends along their journey to the top
  • Their new team
  • Parenting in the music industry
  • Parents’ responsibilities to teach equality
  • Racism in America
  • How to judge someone
  • Defining what success looks like to them
  • Why they’ll never play 270 shows in a year again
  • The root of Country Music
  • The problem with appealing to the masses
  • The evolution of award shows
  • Why a show got canceled
  • Championing people who show value
  • Comedy and Country
  • Being divided as a country

I told you it was a juicy one! Dive in!

Quotations:

“I don’t feel famous.” ~Shawna Thompson

“We don’t feel like we exude the ‘famosity.'” ~Keifer Thompson

“You always feel like you’re clawing and scratching.” ~Keifer Thompson

“The crazy ride continues.” ~Shawna Thompson

“In the eyes of God, we’re all equal.” ~Keifer Thompson

“Anytime you force something, it’s not real.” ~Keifer Thompson

“People seem to be more open now.” ~Keifer Thompson

“There are some great artists you’re never going to hear, just because that’s the nature of the industry.” ~Keifer Thompson

“We have to continue to check ourselves and say, ‘I’m not better than anyone.'” ~Keifer Thompson

“I hate social media for all the hate it spreads.” ~Keifer Thompson

“He’ll pull a Will Smith real quick.” ~Shawna Thompson

Bio:

Thompson Square is an American country music duo composed of husband and wife Keifer and Shawna Thompson, both of whom alternate as vocalists. They’ve won awards such as the Academy of Country Music Award for Duo of the Year and the Country Music Association Award for Vocal Duo of the Year. Their new single is “Country in My Soul.”

Guest’s Contact Info:

https://thompsonsquare.com/

Apr 20
Love1

Shai Berry

By Music, Personal Growth No Comments

**Trigger warning: Suicide discussed**
This episode is definitely one every musician needs to hear. Talent manager Shai Berry offers sage advice about the music business and talks about the importance of paying attention to mental health.

Key Takeaways From Episode:

  • The power of music
  • How music saved her
  • Red flags when looking for representation
  • What led to her son’s suicide
  • Survivor’s guilt
  • How parents can help support their children’s mental health
  • The Texas music scene
  • Being honest with artists
  • Getting resources for artists

Quotations:

“Musician, you have been given the most powerful tool on earth.” – Shai Berry 

“Music is a thing that brings us all together.” – Shai Berry 

“Music is my therapist.” – Shai Berry 

“[Parents] We need to let some of the little things go so they’ll feel comfortable coming to us with the big things.” – Shai Berry 

“Texas Country is just a way of life here.” – Shai Berry 

“Figure out what your gift is and go give it.” – Shai Berry 

“Every ear matters.” – Shai Berry 

Bio:

Agent/Manager/Promoter at Zak Webb Music, Talent Agent/Promoter at Rising Star Entertainment Network, Music Agent at 7th Planet Entertainment Group

Guest’s Contact Info:

Instagram @shaiberry.tx

Facebook: @ShaiBerry

Apr 13
Love1

Gary Scott Thomas

By Music One Comment

Key Takeaways From Episode:

  • Speculation on the future of KTRY
  • What it takes to put together a podcast
  • How people remember the same event differently
  • Vitiligo
  • Alopecia
  • “The Slap Heard Around the World” (Will Smith)
  • Cancel culture
  • His thoughts on new Country Music
  • Which artist is always challenging to work with
  • Getting out of comfort zones
  • Morgan Wallen

Quotations:

“I like to figure stuff out.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“Do your homework. Look stuff up. Do your own thinking.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“I will pull myself off-topic. I don’t need your help.” – Gary Scott Thomas 

“I love what I do.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“I don’t want the government to decide what’s offensive.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“Pay attention. Just please pay attention while driving, while walking, while voting…just pay attention. It’s amazing how much better things will go.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“I want to hear something I’ve not heard or talent that’s so overwhelming.” – Gary Scott Thomas

“I hope Will Smith finds a way to redemption.” – Gary Scott Thomas

Bio:

Gary is from the proverbial pin dot on a map, Florala, Alabama. He’s the fifth child, and as he likes to tell it, “By the time they got to me, my mother pretty much had the parenting game figured out, and she made it look simple. My own kids make me marvel at how far advanced she was.” He honed his skills at communicating and comedy by trying to entertain his own family. “I have such whip-smart family members; if you can’t say something quick and funny, well, you lose.”

In a somewhat unusual occurrence, he found his life’s career at the age of 13 when he got his first radio job.

“I loved radio. I loved the theater of the mind. I loved sharing thoughts and ideas, making people laugh or think, and, honestly, not finding out if you did until much later. You really don’t get to experience the moment with the audience, as a comedian on stage does. You get it as a memory from the audience, and that’s awesome because it meant something to them; they carry it with them, and then honor you by sharing it with you. It then becomes ‘a moment’ for both of us.”

Gary has worked in Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado, New Mexico, but mostly in California, the state he considers home. “I have lived here longer than anywhere else. It’s where I met my wife. It’s where my kids are from.”

He has interviewed actors, athletes, politicians, scientists, authors, and a lot of singers. “It would be easier to tell you who I haven’t interviewed in the world of country music than who I have. And when I worked in pop radio, I had a wide variety of artists in studio with me, ranging from Michael Bolton to RunDMC to Rick Springfield to Public Enemy.”

Gary also has hosted many live events and has a side job as an auctioneer, but he freely admits it’s done more in an improv comedy style than what you would consider a traditional mode. Gary is married to Heather, and they are doing their best not to wreck the lives of their sons, Luke and Jackson. He is also the morning host at KRTY-FM in San Jose, California, waking folks up in Northern California since 1991.

Guest’s Contact Info:

Instagram @garyscottthomas

FB: @GaryScottThomasKRTY

Apr 06
Love0

Judy Foreman

By Author, Education, Science No Comments

Author and award-winning journalist Judy Foreman talks with Gary Scott Thomas on this episode of Here’s What We Know. She dives into CRISPR, a technology that can be used to edit genes.

In this episode:

  • The ethical questions behind gene editing
  • “Curing” Sickle Cell Anemia
  • The thought of humans living 120 years
  • How she took real science and turned it into her fiction medical thriller CRISPR’d. 
  • What makes a good villain

Quotations:

“Exercise is medicine.” ~Judy Foreman

“Unintended consequences can be good or bad.” ~Judy Foreman

“We are living longer and longer.” ~Judy Foreman

Guest’s Bio:

Judy Foreman is a former Boston Globe health columnist and the author of three works of nonfiction. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College. She spent three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Brazil and has a Masters from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was a Lecturer on Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Fellow in Medical Ethics, also at Harvard Medical School, and a Knight Science Fellow at MIT. She was a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She has won more than 50 journalism awards including a George Foster Peabody Award and a Science in Society award from the National Association of Science Writers. She swims competitively with U.S. Masters and sings with Boston’s Back Bay Chorale. CRISPR’d is her first novel.

Guest’s Contact Info:

https://judyforeman.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/judy_foreman