'Roadie with the Rayes' Podcast

Developed the idea and project plan for a music-centered podcast in the summer of 2020. The project involved a cross-country road trip from my hometown of Seattle, Washington, to New York City, while recording 7 episodes about the locations I would be passing through along the way, and various musicians, venues, and studios that have deep-seeded histories in these places. I then also recorded a cover song with my bandmate who helped with the project, from each musician that we highlighted in the episodes. We hoped that through music stories told and conversations created, our listeners might feel some kind of personal connection, and be able to experience life on the road with us, virtually. The podcast episodes ended up including Seattle, WA and Jimi Hendrix; San Jose, CA and The Doobie Brothers; Joshua Tree, CA and the venue Pappy & Harriet's; Morrison, CO and Red Rocks Amphitheatre; Muscle Shoals, AL and Mavis Staples; Butcher Hollow, KY and Lorretta Lynn; and New York City, NY and Patti Smith. It was incredible to see American music through a sort of cultural and geographical lens with these location-specific stories, and we feel so privileged to have been able to see all these towns and cities first hand, and share our experience through this project. We also had the pleasure of working alongside Tina Tona, as she created collages to go with each of these episodes. Each collage embodies the culture of the city highlighted in the episode, and inspires feelings of nostalgia, sun-drenched gigs, and the joy we get from music.