Special Guests

  • Blind Boys Of Alabama — Grammy Winning Recording Artists
    Sony Masterworks announces the release of the Blind Boys of Alabama’s new album, I’ll Find a Way, produced by Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver). A unique collaboration between one of popular music’s longest-running acts and one of its fastest-rising stars, it is a powerful collection of gospel and spiritual songs new and old, featuring some of the Blind Boys’ most fervent vocals as well as contributions by a new generation of Blind Boys fans - Sam Amidon, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, Casey Dienel of White Hinterland, Patty Griffin, and Justin Vernon himself.  I’ll Find a Way represents a strong new chapter for the Blind Boys of Alabama, whose career stretches back more than seventy years. Formed in the late 1930s at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega, the group has harmonized throughout the turbulent twentieth century and well into the twenty-first: from Jim Crow through Civil Rights and into the Obama era. They have, however, enjoyed some of their biggest and most rousing successes in the last ten years, during which they’ve won five Grammys, four Gospel Music Awards, and multiple invitations to sing at the White House.  “It’s not just singing,” explains the group's oldest member, 82-year-old Jimmy Carter. “We’re bringing the message to the people, and that message is the good news of God. We sing from the heart, and what comes from the heart reaches the heart. If you have any feeling in you, you will feel the Blind Boys.”
    www.blindboys.com
    Listen ← 13m:38s – 6.24 MB → Download

  • Leland Klassen — Stand-Up Comic
    Raised on a farm in the heart of Canada, Leland quickly learned that shoveling manure and weeding potatoes, although lucrative, wasn’t his passion in life.  So with absolutely no clear direction or vision for his future he did what everyone does when they find themselves in that position - he went to University.  He wisely chose his classes based on whichever cute girl happened to catch his attention and after several short years of last minute cramming and late assignments Leland graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a degree in Anthropology. As you might have guessed, Leland’s university education opened many doors for him in the years to come, but for some reason he was dissatisfied working for a courier as a night shift stock boy.  By this time married and with his first child soon on the way the most responsible and obvious choice was, of course, to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Using his farm boy charm and handsome (although somewhat inbred) Mennonite good looks, Leland’s clever observations and rich life experiences are brought to life in a one of a kind show.
    www.lelandklassen.com

  • Marie Monville — Author Of One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting.
    In October of 2006, a lone gunman entered an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, shot ten schoolgirls, and then turned the gun on himself. It was an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the entire nation—but one story from that horrific day has yet to be told. Now Marie Roberts Monville, the wife of the man who created such horror, tells her story for the very first time. Unbelievably, hers is not simply a story of sorrow and destruction, but also one of majestic deliverance, unending compassion and breathtaking forgiveness. Within one solitary moment, Marie Monville realized that life, as she knew it, was over. One Light Still Shines reveals Marie's journey to reveal a light which shines through these pages into the darkest questions we all face-- questions about our past, our value, our identity, and own powerlessness. Come face to face with the power behind every answer—a love that begs to be received.

LIVE! on TDMS - Devoted Souly to the Art of Music

  • ROAM
    ROAM is a spirited contemporary acoustic roots unit exploring the crossroads between song, culture and philosophy. Weaving haunting melodies through solid songwriting, ROAM takes listeners on a journey through territories without borders. Their recently released sophomore album, ‘Lumina’, features 11 originals and 1 cover song (Hymn To Her, The Pretenders) masterfully captured and crafted by Juno award-winning engineer/producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, Jane Siberry). Michael describes ROAM’s sound as “sumputuous” with rich alto lead vocals, juicy tabla, deep shimmering duduk, passionate cello and radiant acoustic guitar. Everything starts with key composer Lisa Patterson, adding significant spin as the songs materialize around supporting collaborators, Anita Katakkar (tabla, percussion), Alex McMaster (cello, voice), and Justin Abedin (guitar, voice) while Patterson sings lead and adds accordion and duduk (a distinctive-sounding, double-reeded woodwind instrument traditional to Armenia). Enticing vocals transform mere words into something far more mystical and intriguing. Lyrics are king and each instrument is employed based on the textures they provide to a composition and to the direction of each song.
    www.roammusic.net
    Listen ← 56m:10s – 32.15 MB → Download

God Blogger

  • Micha Boyett
    “I am Micha Boyett: Texan in sweetness (born and raised), Northeastern in skepticism (my twenties), and San Franciscan in passion (snobbery?) for all things food and drink (where I live now). I am Southern Baptist nurtured, Presby-Anglican in theological practice, and in love with Roman Catholic monastic and contemplative prayer. I believe in feminism. I believe it’s a woman’s joy to work and pursue her own gifts. I believe in husbands who come home from work and roast a chicken with lemons and salt and pepper, just as God intended chicken to be roasted. I believe a woman can stay home with her children without feeling like a failure of the Women’s Movement. I believe in prayer, compassion, relationships and evangelism—in that order. And, honestly, I believe St. Benedict and his Rule are teaching me how to live my motherhood and wifery and contemplative life in joy.”
    www.michaboyett.com

Talkback, etc.

  • The Pub Crawl
    “Drew & His Mates” crack open a few - topics! Current affairs, pop culture, even touchy-feely-relational stuff! Listen in OR call and join us, as we crawl from topic to topic! (Got a topic you want the gang from the pub to crack open? Click here)

    This week on The Pub Crawl: Billy Graham's 95th birthday (and possibly his last sermon) took place this week. Dr. Graham said that we desperately need a spiritual awakening. Any idea what that might look like? Is there such a thing as “the new Billy Graham” or is it impossible to give a protestant Christian of our day that type of honour?  How about Rob Bell (who was just on Oprah) or Rick Warren or Joel Osteen? If Mayor Rob Ford was your family member or friend, what advice would you give him?

  • W.here's T.he F.aith?
    Join Drew and various religion reporters from an assortment of news outlets, as they catch up on happenings in the world of Religion & Faith & Cults (Oh My!) Today's WTF Guest: Kay Campbell - Religion Reporter For The Alabama Media Group
    www.al.com