This week, on Taste the Music, John Christensen draws a straight line from hair metal to acid jazz, and leaves nothing in between. The lanking upright bass player’s 2024 album, Soft Rock, absolutely rips. There are riffs, like the first lines of the opening track, The Loudest Whisper, that sound like an arena rock band could have played them.

With rock gods Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai as major influences, John's music has a harder edge to it, yet, John’s melodies are like his overall personality; there are subtleties. A 13/8 time signature here. A delicate chord change there. A transition from one ballad to another that makes you feel like redemption might just be around the corner for the human race.

Thanks to the caring and thoughtful John Christensen for joining us today on another episode of Taste the Music. You can find all of John’s music, including his brilliant album, Soft Rock, at https://johnchristensenmusic.com. This episode was written and produced by Mark Griffin. Taste the Music was created by Whitney Mann and Mark Griffin.

Today, on Taste the Music, show co-creator Whitney Mann comes to talk about her new single, called Electric Heart, that is available everywhere on Friday . She also reveals some ways the scene has changed and some ways it hasn’t, and how a person in her esteemed position stops worrying so much about the past.

Whitney Mann, singer, songwriter, and storyteller, has played with the likes of Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn. Her melodies, a combination of country grit and folky singer/songwriter assuredness, rope you in from the moment they waft across the bar and into your ears.

Whitney has a new single, Electric Heart, coming out Friday June 5 on Bandcamp and all the other places you can listen to music. It’s a banger. She’s playing Tumbled Rock Brewery in Baraboo on June 6 and August 16, Sheboygan July 9th, Shell Lake on August 16 – she’s everywhere – then a very special Electric Heart EP release show on September 11 at the Burr Oak with some very very special guests and surprises. Don’t miss it. Learn more at Whitneymann.com.

Today’s show was produced and edited by Mark Griffin. Taste the music was created by Whitney Mann and Mark Griffin. Every episode, including the very first episode of Taste the Music in which Whitney Mann tells her origin story – it’s a beautiful episode – is available at TasteTheMusic.org or all the places you get your pods.

Feestet's jazz jams are steaming hot affairs, even when the air is crisp in the atmosphere. Bandleader and singer Helen Feest belts out tunes on vocals, and the band warms up the already misty crowd while jammers await their turn on the stage.

Today, on Taste the Music, Helen Feest joins us to talk about the vibe, how she got into this crazy thing called jazz singing, and what kind of outfit she’s running anyway (it turns out it’s a good one). She also gets into how a very old way of getting paid might just be making a comeback (not that one!). And it’s helping build a little community, too.

Today’s episode of Taste the music was written, produced, and edited by me, Mark Griffin. You can check out more of Helen Feest and the Feestet’s music at Feestet.com. Taste the music was created by me and Whitney Mann, who has a new single out on Bandcamp, right this second! Solid horns!