We've started bringin' back our ol' Pickin' on the Porch series and we couldn't think of two finer gentlemen to help kick things off. David Leinweber and Robert McMillan came by on Sunday, February 15, 2009 to give us a few tunes and share some fun stories. Both of these guys are outstanding songwriters & bluegrass performers, and we were excited to have them here together.

Both of these gentlemen have been with us before for our "songwriters in the round" events over the past year, and we're always happy to have 'em comin' by to visit us and play us some of his fine, original music. Robert is a fine songwriter and performer, and David has a wide variety of venues and musical styles, ranging from rock, to blues, to folk, to gospel. In fact, David has been featured as the "Flatpicking Professor" Dr. Leinweber at the Scottish Bluegrass Association Festival in Perth, Scotland and has also performed widely at regional acoustic music festivals all over the southern U.S.

Pickin' on the Porch is an ongoing series of performance shows that we used to do in our early days and have been talkin' about bringing back for a while now. It's basically a live (and we mean LIVE) concert. There are no edits, overdubs, or "do-overs." The performers, not to mention the Hounddog staff, are...uh...workin' without a net, on the 'Net (we'll try to spare you anymore of our fine wit like that, but we can't make any promises). We feel that this is the way music should be: spontaneous, free-form, and exciting.

The wonderful Julie Gribble and drummer Sean Bennett came by the Doghouse on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 to play a few tunes for us and talk about all sorts of things, including Julie's music, life on the road, and other fun stuff. This young lady already has quite an impressive resume to go along with her music, and we were honored to have her and Sean stop by to hang out with us for an evening. We're currently spinning many of the tracks from Julie's 2006 album, Echoes in my Head, and we were delighted to hear a few of the new songs that she's been putting together.

Julie's credits include the Lifetime movie “Dive at Clauson’s Pier,” popular Nickelodeon shows “Zoey 101,” “Drake and Josh” and their TV movie “Drake & Josh Go to Hollywood,” as well as "South of Nowhere" on Noggin and "Smallville" on the CW network. Guest appearances include: "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (2005 and 2007), “The Tyra Banks Show” (CBS), Good Day Atlanta (FOX), Daytime (NBC), Low Country Live (ABC), TV Guide Channel, and Cafe Central (CABLETV). Julie also received the 2005 LA Music Award for Best Adult Alternative Artist, has been featured in Music Connection Magazine’s Hot 100 unsigned bands (for both 2006 and 2007) and was also named one of the "Best Emerging Artists of 2006" in American Idol Magazine. Whoa.

You can listen to the interview in our Archives section.

The amazing duo of Arlington Priest performed for us during The Cybertoxic Lounge program on Wednesday, November 6, 2007 and chatted with Eric Jefferson. We've admired Rhett and Jill McAllister's music since we'd first heard them a year before at our "Hillbilly Christmas" show, and we think they're even better now. They perform with a unique blend of harmonies, evocative lyrics and sincere presentation and can easily fit in the world of contemporary folk while swaggering through a glorious mixture of acoustic rock, alt-country, and pop to land squarely in the fields of Americana.

Sadly, there was a technical glitch during this one, and we didn't notice it until after their interview. Therefore, we're sorry to say, our recording of the show was lost. Frank "the Hounddog" was particularly upset, mostly because of how wonderful the music and conversation had been throughout the show (Eric even sounded articulate at times, for a change). Oh well, it happens. We sure hope you had a chance to hear the show live, as Rhett and Jill sounded fantastic. And, hey, at least we have these photos.

Jason Pastras and Eric Leland of The Luxury Kings were finally able to drop by the Doghouse on September 17, 2007. We've known these guys for quite a while now, but this was the first time we've ever had 'em in for an interview. It was good, good stuff. Eric and Jason were promoting their 3rd Annual Jimi Hendrix Tribute Night at Blind Willie's (also some of our favorite people). It's a fundraising event to help benefit us as well as The Leukemia-Lymphoma Society.

The Luxury Kings (Jason on guitar, Eric on bass and Luke Wampler on drums) were quite the hit at our 2006 Birthday Bash show and we've been good friends ever since. Their new album, Chico Beats the Devil, is a cool blend of classic rock, blues, Memphis soul, southern rock, funk and even gospel influences. These guys are creating quite a buzz in the Atlanta area and beyond.

photos courtesy of Ashley Taylor Jason and Eric gettin' ready to jam Jason solos as only he can Frank rambles on, uh, we mean...graciously promotes our guests Eric Leland and Frank

What a great show it was when Tom Gray and Mark Johnson of Delta Moon stopped by the Doghouse on Friday, August 3, 2007. Delta Moon is a four-piece, bluesy Southern-roots band centered around the masterful slide guitar work of both Tom and Mark. Tom is also a renowned songwriter who, in addition to his wonderful Delta Moon compositions, has written music for Cyndi Lauper (“Money Changes Everything”), Carlene Carter, Manfred Mann, and many other well-known acts. The man has one hell of a resume, friends.

Tom and Mark stopped by Friday Night Fusion to talk about Delta Moon's brand-new album, Clear Blue Flame (um, we're still not even close to being tired of 2005's Howlin' yet), and premiere some of the tracks. We dug 'em all. These guys front one of the most popular bands in the southeastern U.S., and that's not by accident. Not only is their music superb, but we enjoyed their stories as well and found them to be personable and interesting throughout the entire interview. Come on back anytime, guys!

photos courtesy of Ashley Taylor From left to right: Nick, Tom Gray, "The Hounddog", a beer-chugging Cranky, and Mark Johnson The show's under way! The Hounddog takes over! (briefly, anyway) Tom Gray and Mark Johnson

What a night it was on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at Blind Willie's in Atlanta, GA as we celebrated Hounddog Radio's seventh birthday. My, oh my, oh my. We were thrilled to have performances from some of our favorite local artists, such as: Kristin Tinsley, King Cotton, April Cummings, the Bearfoot Hookers and the Terry Flynn Band. These folks all came through for us in tremendous fashion, and we were truly honored to have each and every one of them onstage on our behalf. They and everyone who attended made this a truly wonderful day for us, and we sincerely thank them all.

Unfortunately, none of us were able to snap any photos of Terry and the guys performing. If you were at the show and took some pictures of their performance and would like to share them with us, please drop us a line here (all photos will be properly credited to you).

The final night (and, uh, morning) of Saturday Night Jam at the original Doghouse was on April 07, 2007, and we definitely sent the ol' place off in style. That would be because the “Beer Club for Men”, featuring the Bearfoot Hookers' Ty Manning, Ken Will Morton, Fester Hagood, and Ken Williams trekked down from Athens to our place for a fantastic night of music, stories, laughs, and (of course) beer. The guitars were literally being passed from one performer to another, and each artist's songs and unique style was quite interesting to hear, not to mention damn entertaining. We were moving verrrrrry slowly the next day (considering what time the party actually ended, perhaps we should say later that same day), but it was well worth it.