Book of Jude
Book of Jude, Season One, is a series of discussions between myself, singer, songwriter - Jude Johnstone, and my daughter, 30 year old singer, songwriter - Ray Duncan, about the songs, stories, thoughts and experiences from my many years in the music business. We start from the beginning, growing up in Maine, playing in a top forty band, meeting Clarence Clemons on a plane, spending time in NYC and New Jersey under his wing, attending the famous No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden, watching Bruce Springsteen record "The River", and then moving to Los Angeles in 1979. From there we delve into making demos, playing clubs, singing backup vocals, signing my first publishing deal, and getting my first songs covered by well known artists. Ray asks me questions about how each of those early experiences educated and shaped me. We also touch on some of the mistakes I made and what I would have done differently now. We discuss my choice to eventually leave LA for the Central Coast of CA to raise a family, while releasing 8 albums, touring Europe, opening shows for some of my heroes and finally moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2015.
Book of Jude, Season Two, is myself and Ray interviewing other well known artists that I have worked with or known for many years, and may have talked about
in Season One. We have some very exciting guests to come. Stay tuned.
Episodes
18 episodes
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 8
In this episode, Ray and I talk with bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde about her writing process, some insights about her book that was made into a movie, "Pay It Forward", and also about her Astrophotography habit and a whole lot more.&nb...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 7, Garry Tallent and Nicki Germaine
In this episode, Ray and I talk with E Street band bassist, Garry Tallent and his partner, photographer Nicki Germaine about her new book "Springsteen : Liberty Hall" and Garry's long history playing with Bruce. And a little about my time, watc...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 6, Renata Reich Moise
In this episode, we interview Renata Reich Moise, the granddaughter of Austrian psychiatrist, Wilhelm Reich, about his life as a controversial pioneer in the field of psychoanalysis. An early student of Sigmund Freud, he coined the phrase "The ...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 5, Producer Fred Mollin
In this episode, Ray and I talk with producer, songwriter, film and television composer, Fred Mollin, about his new book, Unplugged, the many legends he's produced and the stories behind his illustrious music career. Lots of great songs a...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 4 Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill
In this episode, we talk with Vicki Peterson (The Bangles) and John Cowsill (Beach Boys, Cowsills) about their terrific new album Long After the Fire dropping April 18th everywhere. We also reminisce about our long history together, starting ba...
Book of Jude Season Two, Episode 3, David Amram
On Season Two, episode 3 of Book of Jude, we will be speaking to the great composer David Amram about his incredible career and music and philosophy and everything else that comes up. I put a long segment of his music from The Manchurian Candid...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode 2, Jim Wilson interview
In this episode Ray and I talk to Jim Wilson about his book "Tuned In" which is about his long career as the piano tuner to the stars, the hand he played in the invention of the Midi-Mod, his eventual success as a piano instrumentalist and his ...
Book of Jude, Season Two, Episode One, Lucinda Williams interview
In this first episode of Season Two, Ray and I talk to Lucinda Williams about her new best selling book and her new record. Also Lu's time in LA, when I was there, and our time bumping into each other back then.
The Last Hurrah, episode 10
In this episode we talk about my Jazz records, touring Europe and being brave. And a lot of other stuff for the final episode of the interviews with me by my daughter, Ray Duncan. We take a break here and let others catch up with us befor...
Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood and some pearls of wisdom from Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes, episode 9
In this episode we talk about meeting Emmylou at Trisha's wedding to Robert Reynolds and how Emmylou got my song Hold On and also about writing songs for Trisha Yearwood and even a song for her Revlon TV commercial in the 90s. Also we dis...
Co-writing with Bob Dylan, appreciating Danny O'Keefe, and the many talents of Tim Hockenberry, episode 8
In this episode we talk about my co-write with Bob Dylan, how that came to be, and my deep, ongoing friendship with the multi talented Tim Hockenberry. You will hear excerpts of Tim’s version of the song I wrote with Bob, "Howlin' At ...
NPR's Morning Edition and The Catch-22 of the Independent Artist, episode 7
This episode mainly delves into an early radio opportunity in my career that was difficult to capitalize on due to circumstances beyond our control at the time and how that relates to current times for young independent artists.You will hea...
Don Henley, Dr. John and the Good Guys, episode 6
This episode is about a couple of lucky breaks in the life of a songwriter along with some unlucky breaks. You will hear excerpts of a song called "Good Guy" from my Blue Light cd and Trisha Yearwood's version from AT&T Present...
The Generosity of the Masters: Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne memories, episode 5
Just some great memories of Johnny Cash recording Unchained, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne’s kindness over the years.In this episode, you will hear snippets of my song "Unchained" recorded by myself on my Coming of Age album ...
Co-writing, Hollywood and Nashville, Learning Curves, episode 4
In this episode, we talk about co-writing, and major lessons learned early on in Hollywood. We also discuss some similarities between Hollywood and Nashville and choices that come up in songwriting and publishing along the way. You will...
Backup Vocals and Cuts, (Stevie Nicks, Bette Midler, Leonard Cohen, Lucinda...)episode 3
This episode is a little longer, about my first big cuts, and singing some background vocals on other's records, and Los Angeles in the early 80's. The songs you hear are "Over and Done" from my Blue Light cd and "The Girl is Onto ...
No Nukes, Jackson Browne, Henry Lewy & Moosemeat, episode 2
Episode 2 starts with my experiences at No Nukes, meeting Jackson, working with Henry Lewy, visiting Maine with Clarence, and my first years in Los Angeles. In this episode, you will hear excerpts of "New York Morning" & "Never Been...
The Beginning: Maine and meeting my mentor, Clarence Clemons
Episode 1- is about growing up in Maine, joining a top forty band, meeting Clarence Clemons on an airplane, watching Springsteen record "The River" in New York City, and preparing for my move to Los Angeles. On this episode,&...