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September 2022

Psychic Lawyer Mark Anthony

By Author, Faith, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Science No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Have you ever wondered if we’re alone in the universe? Are people really able to talk to our loved ones who have passed? This episode is simply fascinating! Psychic Lawyer Mark Anthony joined Gary Scott Thomas for this week’s episode, and Mark gave us great insight into what it’s like to be a medium. There are several very unexpected moments in this conversation!

In this episode:

  • His first time in the Andes and the strange thing the locals gave him
  • Retro rockets 
  • Meeting Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
  • MLK Jr.’s impact on Star Trek
  • Quantum Physics 
  • What led him to spontaneously quit practicing law
  • How spirits can “predict” the future
  • The different brain wave frequencies

Quotations:

“We have two seasons, spring and hell.” ~Mark Anthony

“I have found in my work as a medium that every life matters, every life counts. And there are so many days when people think nobody’s noticed me; I don’t matter. And that may be what you think, but in the bigger picture, everyone has their part to play.” ~Mark Anthony

I realized that everything that I’d been through led up to that point. That’s not some special thing unique to me. That’s unique to you, too. Everything in your life has led up to this point. That’s unique to everybody. Everything happens to us for good, for bad. What we may think is indifferent is all part of our journey. We grow in response to adversity. Something terrible happens to you like you lose a loved one; it’s your choice how you react to it. You’re welcome to start snorting all sorts of drugs, shoot up, do some heroin, start drinking… You can take that path, or you can get angry and resentful and bitter, or you can embark on a spiritual journey to become more open-minded and more compassionate.” ~Mark Anthony

“There’s a day we’re coming, and a day we’re leaving this world. And what we have a choice with is what we do with the time in between.” ~Mark Anthony

“I introduced the term the electromagnetic soul, and a number of scientists and neuroscientists have started using it. They’re referring to it as the EMS and such an honor. It’s to describe what we really are, which is a soul.” ~Mark Anthony

Guest’s Bio:

Mark Anthony, JD, Psychic Explorer (aka The Psychic Lawyer®  Psychic Attorney and Psychic Adventurer), is a world-renowned fourth-generation science-based evidential psychic medium who communicates with spirits. He is the author of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed spiritual bestsellers The Afterlife Frequency, Evidence of Eternity, and Never Letting Go.

Mark’s credentials and experience are unparalleled in the paranormal world. He is an Oxford-educated trial attorney licensed to practice in Florida, Washington D.C., and before the United States Supreme Court. In England, he studied Mediumship at the prestigious Arthur Findlay College for the Advancement of Psychic Science.

Dr. Gary Schwartz, Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona and Director of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health, is one of the foremost experts on the Survival of Consciousness and After Death Communication in the world. Dr. Schwartz studies psychic mediums and has ranked Mark as one of the top mediums in the United States. 

Mark is a recurring guest on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX Television, Gaia TV, and on major talk radio shows such as Coast to Coast AM, Darkness Radio, and Sirius XM as a psychic medium, paranormal and after-death communication expert, and legal analyst in high profile cases.

Mark was featured on the covers of OMTimes Magazine, and Best Holistic Life Magazine-which was the top-selling and most popular edition of Best Holistic Life to date.

He has also been featured in The Hollywood TimesThe Huffington PostThe New York PostPublisher’s WeeklyWriter’s Digest, Soeleish Magazines, Authority Magazine, Entrepreneurs Magazine, Conscious Community Magazine, Elephant Journal, LifeStyle MagazineNew Spirit Journal, Horizon’s MagazineThe InquisitrStaten Island TodaySedona Red Rock News, Elite Man MagazineNatural AwakeningsVerde Independent, Infinity Magazine (Canada)Spirituality Today (UK), Soul & Spirit (UK) and Quest: Journal of the Theosophical Society in America.

A charismatic, intelligent, and humorous accomplished public speaker, Mark headlines at conventions, expos, and spiritual organizations such as the Edgar Cayce A.R.E., IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies), Afterlife Research Education Institute (AREI), The Theosophical Society, Spiritual Awakenings International, Helping Parents Heal, Sedona Spirit Symposium, Vail Symposium and universities including Brown, Columbia, Harvard and Yale.

Guest’s Contact Info:

Hailey Whitters

By Music, Personal Growth No Comments

In this week’s episode, Country Music artist Hailey Whitters joined Gary Scott Thomas and shared stories about songwriting sessions, Nashville, and more. You’ll be amazed at the courageous thing she did when she first arrived in Nashville! If you like getting to know more about the artists you love, give this episode a listen.

In this episode:

  • Her first impressions of Nashville
  • Who gave her her first big break
  • Writing with Lori McKenna
  • Which song of hers is her favorite
  • Being the oldest of 6 children
  • The catalyst for being able to write happy songs
  • How she felt about growing up in a small town
  • What people said about her being from Iowa

Quotations:

“It’s a good thing you have your dreams when you’re young. You’re just dumb enough to chase them.” ~Hailey Whitters

“I had no connections to the music business. I had no friends down here. I had no family down here. I would just walk up, introduce yourself and ask for a gig.” ~Hailey Whitters

“I love writing. I’ve always loved writing. If I wasn’t a singer, I’d find a way to write. I’d find a way to write a book or a poem or something like that. That’s always been my strong suit. And I just love putting words together. I think that’s why I’ve always loved country music because they’re so heavy on the lyrics.” ~Hailey Whitters

“I try and look at the positive. It’s not all butterflies and rainbows, but if I can have a few songs in my pocket that make me feel good and make me think of the good things in life, I like to have that. And I like to sing about that and remind other people that there are bad days, but there are some really good ones too.” ~Hailey Whitters

“I love a good happy cry.” ~Hailey Whitters

Guest’s Bio:

The idea of “home” courses throughout country music. But few songwriters can place you in the center of the town square, on a stool at the corner bar, or in a chair at the kitchen table quite like Hailey Whitters. 

On her 2020 breakthrough album The Dream, Hailey wrote about escaping her hometown of Shueyville, Iowa, to pursue stardom in Nashville. It was a fantasy record at first, full of far-off plans, hopes, and dreams. But it soon became Hailey’s reality — she signed a label deal with Big Loud/Songs & Daughters, went on tour with Luke Combs and Midland, and made her first of many appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. 

The Dream and its deluxe reissue Living the Dream earned her critical acclaim from media outlets as varied as The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Garden & Gun, and Stereogum, which ranked it the best country album of the year. Hailey racked up 75 million global artist streams, was named the inaugural Opry NextStage Artist of 2021, and was nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards. Remarkably, she also became a Grammy-nominated songwriter for “A Beautiful Noise,” her collaboration with artists like Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, and Brandy Clark.

In the midst of that whirlwind, Hailey found herself reconnecting with her Midwestern roots. Shueyville was always in the back of her mind, and the memories she made there — getting her first kiss from a boy who tasted like wintergreen tobacco, racing her friends through the cornfields, eating Sunday supper with her big family — started to shape her writing. Over the past two years, she channeled those memories into her highly anticipated new album, Raised

Released via Songs & Daughters and Hailey’s own Pigasus Records, Raised is the sound of Hailey Whitters going home.

“It’s been 14 years since I’ve lived in Iowa, but more and more, I’ve been going back there mentally and being pulled to the people and the places that raised me,” she says. “With The Dream, I was starting to turn that corner back home, but this record went straight there. If The Dream were my wings, then Raised is my roots.”

For The Dream, Hailey turned to Jake Gear to produce. For Raised, she joins Gear — her creative partner and fiancé — behind the console as co-producer. Once again, Logan Matheny mixed and engineered. The result is an LP that is rich in folksy turns of phrase, sharp yet inventive in its musicianship, and teeming with unvarnished honesty. 

“If you’re listening to The Dream, I think you hear a girl hanging on. She’s had her heart broken, but she’s finding a way to persevere and to keep going,” Hailey says. “And when you listen to Raised, you hear what gave her that strength. This is the place, the people, the work ethic, the values — this is what she was raised on.”

Made up of 17 tracks, Raised is full of expertly crafted country songs — the title track, “Boys Back Home,” “Beer Tastes Better,” and “Middle of America,” featuring American Aquarium — and quirky sonic excursions. The orchestral piece “Ad Astra Per Alas Porci” (Latin for “To the stars on the wings of a pig,” Hailey’s motto) bookends the album. There’s also a gorgeous piano “Interlude” at the record’s midsection and a comedic skit titled “The Grassman” that introduces one of the album’s high points: “Our Grass Is Legal,” a salute to a straight-and-narrow family business that was accustomed to shady phone calls.

“My grandpa had a sod business named Whitters Turf Farm back in the Sixties and Seventies, and he called himself ‘The Grassman.’ Everyone would call him looking to buy pot,” Hailey laughs. “My dad and my uncles all grew up working out in the fields, raising grass with him, and he had the business motto ‘Our Grass Is Legal.’ I thought it was a perfect title for a song.”

Family is a recurring theme throughout Raised. That’s Hailey’s real-life Aunt Cindy who answers the phone in “The Grassman” skit, and it’s her parents’ Iowa cornfield that inspired the track “In a Field Somewhere.” 

“That’s my holy place,” Hailey says. “That’s where I go to quiet my head. You can see for miles, and it’s just golden and serene. Back in high school, the cornfield was where I used to go streaking with boys and a case of beer. My dad taught me how to drive in a field. And Jake proposed to me in that same cornfield behind my parents’ house.” 

In “Big Family,” she sings about volatile holidays, boisterous road trips, and “bunk beds, matchin’ sheets and sharin’ the bathroom sink.” Fleshed out by wistful fiddle and a twangy Telecaster solo, the song grows into a family chorus sing-along. 

“I come from a big Irish-Catholic family. We had more cousins than friends growing up,” Hailey says. “I remember all of us would head over to my grandpa’s after church for Sunday supper, and he’d be sitting on a stool with a shot of whiskey and a Schlitz beer, and everyone would be catching up on the weekly family gossip. That definitely shaped me.”


On the surface, she sings about drinking in “Beer Tastes Better,” co-written with Lori McKenna. But it reveals itself to be an emotional commentary about outgrowing home and trying in vain to recreate that sense of community.  

“It’s that moment of walking back into your hometown bar, and you are instantly walking back into the past and the present. It’s a bittersweet feeling to experience: It’s like everything’s changed, but nothing really has,” she says.


Along with standouts like “Ten Year Town” and “Heartland,” The Dream gave Hailey a viral hit with the character study “Janice at the Hotel Bar.” She taps into that sense of personal storytelling on Raised with “Pretty Boy,” co-written with Scooter Carusoe and Tom Douglas. While the guys in “Boys Back Home” taught Hailey how to drink, fight, kiss, and cry, the title character of “Pretty Boy” is a lesson in going against the grain. He’s not the quarterback or the good ol’ boy; just an introspective kid finding his way. 

“‘Pretty Boy’ unveils some of the darker sides and shadows of masculinity,” she says. “Where I’ve grown up, boys are supposed to be tough, aren’t supposed to cry. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that a man’s ability to show emotion, grief, and sadness is a strength. ‘Pretty Boy’ may not be written the same way as ‘Janice at the Hotel Bar,’ but it has that same rich storytelling lyricism.”

At the end of the day, Hailey remains very much that girl next door, ready to jump in the back of a pickup truck in her worn-in blue jeans and head out into the fields. “I’ve never been much of the Hollywood style,” she laughs.

Like Hailey herself, Raised is steeped in the culture of the Midwest. Musically, there are hints of early Alan Jackson, the Chicks, and the king of heartland rock, John Mellencamp. But you needn’t have spent your formative years on a farm for Raised to speak to you. 
Raised is a celebration of the Midwest, but I think it’s a common story no matter where you’re from,” Hailey says. “My experience growing up in the middle of the country is very relatable to a lot of people. We’ve all lived in a similar way — the only thing that’s different is the scenery.”

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Sam LaCrosse

By Author, Faith, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Politics No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

This energizing conversation between a baby boomer and a Gen Zer who is being unapologetically himself is going to make you think, and you’ll be excited about exploring all the things that will be bouncing in your head after this conversation.

In this episode:

  • Making a book with the word “economics” in it interesting
  • What “Value Economics” actually means
  • The issue of identity
  • Why it’s insulting to think America is so bad right now
  • The death of the spirit
  • The fallout from being laid off as an air traffic controller in 1981 and how his family held it together
  • Defining our values
  • The importance of examining the difficult things
  • What shaped him
  • DC Comics
  • Why he moved to Austin, TX from Ohio
  • Why he’s not on Twitter
  • Why he dedicated his book to those who tell the truth
  • Why he’s having a hard time dating
  • How values should supersede politics

Quotations:

“We don’t really have a “fatal flaw” with our generation. And so without that, we turn the war against ourselves. And we see that we really don’t have an identity as an individual person and as a culture anymore because our previous identities were all focused on something else that was flawed but still an identity. And now we’re just in this kind of sea of nothingness.” ~Sam LaCrosse

“We have to treat people as people, and individual values are the way we should look at individual people.” ~Sam LaCrosse

“We’re so scared of taking stances, we take no stances.” ~Sam LaCrosse

“The more you value something, the more you will sacrifice to get that something, the less you value something, the less you will sacrifice to get that something.” ~Sam LaCrosse

“I have a rule that I will never punch someone in the face as hard as I will punch myself in the face.” ~Sam LaCrosse

“When you do adopt a firm set of values, you’re going to polarize people, and you’re not going to, you cannot be all things to all.” ~Sam LaCrosse

Guest’s Bio:

According to Sam, Sam LaCrosse is a nobody. He hasn’t done anything amazing. He is not extraordinary or impressive. He doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. He’s just an ordinary guy from Cleveland, Ohio, who now lives an ordinary life in Austin, Texas. But if you want to check him out, he’s the author of “Value Economics: The Study of Identity, writes blogs on dontreadthisblog.com, and hosts Don’t Listen to This Podcast. Sam is the CEO and founder of Don’t Do This, LLC, a company that makes no money. He is also a board member of Thrive Living Corporation and an ambassador for RallyCap Sports.

Guest’s Contact Info:

www.dontreadthisblog.com

Lee Thomas Miller

By Music, Politics No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

You definitely know this guest’s songs. He’s written songs such as “You’re Gonna Miss This” for Trace Adkins, “I Just Wanna Be Mad” by Terri Clark & “Ain’t My Fault” by Brothers Osborne. The list of artists he’s written for is miles long. In this episode, he joined Gary to share stories about some of his songs, his 30+-year-long marriage, how songwriter’s actually get paid, and much more!

In this episode:

  • How he got a picture with Aaron Rogers
  • How he met his wife
  • His thoughts on cliches
  • How his wife contributes to his music
  • His thoughts on marrying someone in the music industry
  • How he’s ruined music for his family
  • What his 5-year-old daughter did when Brad Paisley came to their door
  • What his daughter said to TJ Osborne
  • Behind the song “It Aint My Fault”
  • How songwriters get paid
  • His favorite Thomas Rhett song
  • Possible inspiration for “I Just Wanna Be Mad”
  • His answer when Gary asked him, “What songs make you cry?”
  • This history of how songwriters began to get paid
  • The time a Congressman said to him, “Why would anyone want to do that?”
  • How you can help songwriters
  • What he thinks about Chris Stapleton

Quotations:

“I want to sit around and have a cigar with Lee Miller and your friends.” ~Gary Scott Thomas

“I was taught the business of songwriting as a craft.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“I’m a terribly unromantic soul, which drives her [his wife] crazy. She’ll say, ‘I can’t believe you write songs for a living, and at this moment, this is all you had for me.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“All of the magic movie stuff. No, we’re [he and his wife] none of that. We did none of that. But I feel like we’ve gotten everything else right. It’s 30 years counting.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“How can I tell this story and make you feel like you haven’t heard it before? Cause you heard it before. I’ve gotta do something unique.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“It’s like you’ve got the tape recorder running all the time. It’s all a song.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“Here’s the other thing, you don’t know how easy somebody is to write with. Maybe just because you agree on that idea doesn’t mean that this is really gonna work.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“What’s crazy is then I hear how they cut it [‘Ain’t My Fault’’]. I had a heart attack. I’m like, ‘this is the greatest thing I’ve heard.’” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“Cause we make up this stuff in little rooms in Nashville. And then when you go around the world, and people know it, that still amazes me that people know it.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“If it’s meant to make you hurt, then I’m out.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“Everything about the money is decided by the government, most important being a panel of judges will determine what it’s [songwriting] worth.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“I know I’m always quick to say that I have a feeling that Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen would’ve been really, really bad on TikTok. That’s just my theory.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“It doesn’t hurt to send your congressmen a note over now and then and say, ‘You know, this is a problem. You need to protect the songwriters.’” ~Lee Thomas Miller

“Washington certainly has the power to at least stop hurting us, if not help us.” ~Lee Thomas Miller

Guest’s Bio:

Hometown: Nicholasville, Kentucky
Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory/Composition (Eastern Kentucky University 1990)

FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE NASHVILLE SONGWRITER’S ASSOCIATION (NSAI)

 3 Time Grammy Award Nominee:
 2003 Grammy nomination:  “The Impossible” (Joe Nichols) Country Song of the Year:
 2009 Double Grammy nomination :
“You’re Gonna Miss This”(Trace Adkins)-  Country Song of the Year
“In Color” (Jamey Johnson)- Country Song of the Year

Music Row Magazine: Breakthrough Songwriter of the year 2003

Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2003: “The Impossible”

Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2008: “You’re Gonna Miss This”

Won Song of the Year at the 2008 NSAI awards for “You’re Gonna Miss This”

Nominated for Song of the Year at 2008 CMA awards for “You’re Gonna Miss This”

2009 Double ACM Nominee: “You’re Gonna Miss This” and “In Color” for Song of the Year

Won Song of the Year at the 2009 ACM awards for “In Color”

Won Music Row Magazine’s 2009 Song of the Year  for  “In Color”

Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2009: “In Color”

Won Song of the Year at the 2009 CMA awards for “In Color”

Awarded BMI’s inaugural “Champion’s Award” 2015

Nominated for Song of the Year at the 2018 ACM awards for “Whiskey and You”

#1 Country Singles:
  “The Impossible”  (Joe Nichols)**
                       “I Just Wanna Be Mad”  (Terri Clark)**
                       “The World”   (Brad Paisley)**
                       “You’re Gonna Miss This”  (Trace Adkins)*
                       “I’m Still A Guy”  (Brad Paisley)  
                       
“Southern Girl”  (Tim McGraw)    
                       “Perfect Storm” (Brad Paisley)

                   (*received BMI Million Play Award)
                 (**received BMI 2 Million Play Award)

Other top 10 singles:
“It Aint My Fault” (Brothers Osborne) #9
Crushin’ It” (Brad Paisley) #7
“In Color”  (Jamey Johnson) #7
“Nothing To Die For” (Tim McGraw)  #5
“Jesus In Disguise” (Brandon Heath)  #8
Just A Girl” (Brandon Heath) #8

Other top 20 singles:
 “Without A Fight” (Brad Paisley/Demi Lovato) #14
“People Loving People” (Garth Brooks) #19
“Something To Do With My Hands” (Thomas Rhett) #15
“Crying On A Suitcase” (Casey James) #14
“Leaving Eden” (Brandon Heath) #17
“Thought About You” (Tim McGraw) #14

Cuts include: Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Jamey Johnson, Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Brothers Osborne, Thomas Rhett, Joe Nichols, Josh Turner, Terri Clark, John Michael Montgomery, Montgomery Gentry, Sammy Kershaw, Andy Griggs, Tracy Byrd, Tracy Lawrence, Randy Travis, Billy Currington, Chris Young, Rodney Adkins, Craig Morgan

Production credits include  Curb recording artist Steve Holy including the 2006 #1 single: “Brand New Girlfriend” and 2010 top 20 single “Love Don’t Run”

Guest’s Contact Info:

http://www.leethomasmiller.com