Spotlight – Sincerely Iris (Todd Murray)

On this edition of Ron’s Amazing Stories – The Blog we throw the spotlight on Todd Murray founder of Sincerely Iris.

A few weeks ago I did a special tribute to Mark Twain. While doing the research for that show I ran across a song about the man called 1,000 Years by Sincerely, Iris. I contacted them and got permission to play the song as part of the tribute to Mr. Twain. Since then I have had the good fortune to interview the group and will play that chat on this week’s podcast.

Sincerely, Iris consists of singer/songwriter Todd Murray. He has a sound that can be summed up best as “road trip music.” It’s a style that’s always changing, and always moving along. Whether it be gypsy-esque or like Kerouac’s beat up old truck, shaking down the road at midnight, it is at once comforting, and somewhat unknown. Sincerely, Iris draws upon influences from Jeff Buckley all the way to Billie Holiday. He is sponsored by Breedlove Guitars.

Todd recently completed his new album, “Trouble.” This is his 5th album under the name Sincerely, Iris. Iconic stories of Mark Twain floating on a riverboat or Bonnie and Clyde running from law enforcement weave their way into the writings of Todd Murray’s newest EP, “Trouble.” Murray has always referred to his songs as road trip music, and his latest highly anticipated album is no exception – a sort of vintage Americana. His last experimental blues album “License Plate Sessions,” which was recorded almost entirely with his homemade 4-string slide guitar, marked a new direction for Sincerely, Iris, but that style seems to have seeped into the music permanently on “Trouble.” From the cold winds of Chicago and the risk of going out on your own to the vastness of the Rocky Mountains, this album takes a look at the bumpy road that is The American Dream.

This Week’s Podcast:

On the the podcast this week we sit down with Todd Murray the founder of group Sincerely, Iris. We will hear examples of Todd’s work and maybe even a surprise or two. So tune in this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

August 11, 2016 – Jim Harold’s Trip to Cypress Canyon (RAS255)
August 18, 2016 – 1,000 Years! (RAS256)
September 1, 2016 – Jubilation U.S.A.! (RAS257)
September 8, 2016 – Todd Murray Interview (RAS258)
September 15, 2016 – Suspense Classic (RAS259)
September 22, 2016 – (RAS260)
September 29, 2016 – (RAS261)

RAS #257 – Jubilation USA

Jubilation USA We have an amazing show. Two aliens walk into a city, two aliens escape, or do they? A professor is contacted by aliens, has this first contact doomed the earth? And finally a one legged man is murdered and you must solve the crime. Sound like a good program? I agree!

Our old time radio program for this week comes from a little known show called Hall Of Fantasy. This was a mystery based broadcast on KSL radio, Salt Lake City Utah. It was on the air in the late 40’s and early 50’s. The story is called, The Man From Second Earth and it first aired August 10, 1953.

On, “As read by”, we have a classic science fiction story written by G.L. Vandenburg called Jubilation USA. It first appeared in Amazing Stories Magazine in the late 1950’s and is read by Phil Chenevert.

The Story of Librivox.Org – Audiobook Heaven

We listen to a lot of stories here on the podcast each week and more than just a few come from Librivox.Org. But what is it? -and- What do they do? This article attempts to explain and document this amazing free service.

What is Librivox.org?

LibriVox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website. It was founded in 2005 by Hugh McGuire to provide “Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain.” As of April 2015 it had 8,664 items in its collection. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. LibriVox is closely affiliated with Project Gutenberg, and the Internet Archive who hosts their offerings. We have talked about the Internet Archive many times on the show. They provide the mass majority of what you hear on the RAS.

Where does term Librivox.org come from?

LibriVox is an invented word inspired by the two Latin terms liber (book) and vox (voice). The word was also coined because liber means; child and free, independent and unrestricted. Here is what their founders had to say about it.

“We like to think LibriVox might be interpreted as ‘child of the voice’, and ‘free voice’. Finally, the other link we like is ‘library’ so you could imagine it to mean Library of Voice.” – LibriVox forum

So there you have the LibriVox.org story. I highly recommend their site and encourage you to visit. You will be amazed at sheer volume of materials they have. Everything from famous speeches to Aesop’s fables.

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

We have an amazing show this week. Two aliens walk into a city and two aliens escape, or do they? Also, A professor is contacted by aliens, has this first contact doomed the earth? And finally, a one legged man is murdered and you must solve the crime. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

August 11, 2016 – Jim Harold’s Trip to Cypress Canyon (RAS255)
August 18, 2016 – 1,000 Years! (RAS256)
August 25, 2016 – An RAS Replay
September 1, 2016 – Jubilation U.S.A.! (RAS257)
September 8, 2016 – Todd Murray Interview (RAS258)
September 22, 2016 – (RAS259)
September 29, 2016 – (RAS260)

Repurpose and Republish

The title sounds a bit scary doesn’t it, Repurpose and Republish? Has Ron gotten lazy and is he trying use his past work so he can play more video games? No, that is not what I am talking about. What I am thinking is that I want to do something with the over 200 shows that I have created. Occasionally I do replay one. In fact this week we will have a repeat. Although, this one came as request and is a not an effort to ditch work.

So what is this all about? I have been thinking about putting together a “best of” series of podcasts and offering it to the masses at a humble price. I wonder if the public would enjoy it enough to even buy one copy? What do you guys think? Can you take a minute of your time and tell me if you would buy such a thing if it existed?

Follow this link to – Contact Ron’s Amazing Stories – and leave me some feedback. It will only take a second and it help me to decide. This would be a Amazon offering.

-Ron

This Week’s Podcast:

As I mentioned above this week we will have a replay of Ron’s Amazing Stories. It comes from 2015 and it is mystery for your funny bone. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

The Calendar:

July 21,2016 – Glenn Miller Week (RAS252)
July 28,2016 – Hallucination Orbit (RAS253)
August 04, 2016 – Maddened By Mystery (RAS254)
August 11, 2016 – Jim Harold’s Trip to Cypress Canyon (RAS255)
August 18, 2016 – Gunsmoke Returns (RAS256)
August 25, 2016 – An RAS Replay

RAS #256 – One Thousand Years

One Thousand Years? What does that mean? This week’s show is jam-packed. We open with a woman who can’t button a suit, ride with Marshall Dillon on a stagecoach loaded with criminals and then we learn a thing or two from Mark Twain about sleeping in your own bed. We end the show with a song from Sincerely, Iris called, 1,000 Years. If that isn’t a loaded show than paint me yellow.

Sincerely, Iris Visit Ron’s Amazing Stories

While doing my research for the podcast this week I ran across a song written for and about Mark Twain. I loved it and I wanted to play it. So, I tracked down the songwriter and he gave his permission for me to do so! The name of the band is Sincerely, Iris and the song is called 1,000 years. You can visit their website at sincerelyiris.com and their song is available on iTunes.