Riff On This

From the Big Apple to the Sunshine State, Hip Hop’s iconic DJ Cut Creator is now calling Central Florida home. When asked what brought him to Florida, the answer was simple. “It’s the Sunshine State”, said the legendary deejay. “Just change new opportunities. Bought a house and just want to relax a little bit. Want to work a little bit”. He’s doing just that, already booked to deejay the Timeless Hip Hop Brunch hosted by rapper and music executive MC Serch this Sunday, Feb. 11 in downtown Orlando. The brunch is one of four in February themed around love and Hip Hop. DJ Cut Creator will be spinning at the “I Need Love Brunch” from 2-7 p.m. at Proper on Orange Ave. Of course, we asked, and he said he will play the classic record “I Need Love,” but he also needs to be shown a little Central Florida love being new to the area and all. This brunch serves as an official “Welcome to Orlando” to help the extremely talented selector feel at home. What’s there not to love about that, right? There’s more. The venue is unique, the selectors only spin vinyl, guaranteed to bring a certain nostalgia that compliments the unique decor and overall vibe of the stylish club. Cut Creator said he’s looking forward to spinning vinyl again. “I love the pops and crackles because I feel like it brings that nostalgia back and just reminds me of listening to them back in the day,” Cut Creator said. “I think also the changing of the record, you know, going from one to another not just you know, one platter. Yeah, you know, 12 edge, you know, the going from one to another is always fun.” The Hip Hop legend even mentioned a few of his favorite records in his collection. “I’m a big Run DMC fan. So I gotta have those classics,” he said. Music wasn’t just something DJ Cut Creator decided to make into a career, it’s in his blood. His father, Jack Philpot, was a legendary saxophonist for Wilson Pickett — a major figure in the development of Soul music. Philpot also played with Sam and Dave as well as the Isley Brothers. DJ Cut Creator said his father played a fundamental role throughout his career. Jack Philpot was his idol. Hear all about DJ Cut Creator’s childhood from watching his dad on the Ed Sullivan Show, how he met and became LL Cool J’s deejay and ended up on the set of Soul Train, to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, all on the latest episode of Riff On This. Go ahead and show Cut some Central Florida love! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Queen of Opera is not just a woman who sings, but an entire company. D’Andrea Pelletier and her husband Drew have a vision. “We are doing something entirely different,” D’Andrea Pelletier said. “We both have this bigger vision of not just me as the solo artist, although right now that is what we do.” The company is still in the budding stages here in Orlando, but they are working on the big picture. “Our company will run the entire show,” D’Andrea Pelletier said. “Run all aspects of it from the musicians to the other singers and bring in amazing talent and have something that’s an all-in-one exclusive experience — not just the singing, but the dancing and the pageantry.” Typically opera singers go from opera house to opera house or different venues singing different roles and the rest is put together by a team. This team is what D’Andrea Pelletier said is the mission of the Queen of Opera, but it’s more than just being an entrepreneur. “Everything about opera is about the emotion and however it comes out,” the experienced vocalist said. “You know, a lot of people think of their traditional cliche opera, as you know, a woman in a Viking hat. Although there is some of that, and composers like Vogner, there’s so much beauty that, unless you really explore it, you don’t really get to experience it.” Pelletier has years of experience and has performed on many stages. She’s also a University of Central Florida alum. Be sure to check out the latest episode of Riff On This to hear her amazing voice and story, full of her accomplishments plus, how she plans on drawing more eyes and ears to the world of opera. It’s available now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rappers usually show off their million-dollar mansions in music videos, but one Orlando man is using videos and some clever lyrics to show off and sell other people’s homes — not to mention, he’s rising to social media fame doing it. So, is he a rapper or a realtor? Surprise! Shawn Romano is both. “A lot of people think I don’t know anything about the music when they see my videos online,” Romano said. “I take a lot of pride in music and the craft”. Romano was actually a rapper. At the age of 12, he learned how to write rhymes through his childhood best friend’s older brother. Down the road, the Virginia/D.C. native found himself on the move to Kentucky where he ended up on the Backwoods Records label owned by another friend at the time. Along with roughly 15 other artists, Romano started making records, handing out mixtapes and CDs under the name South Paw Da Don. “My name was originally South Paw because I was a huge Rocky fan and did some boxing myself, but when you googled that name a lot of people would show up in the search, so a friend suggested I add ‘Da Don’ to my name and that worked,” Romano said. Down the road, the Virginia/D.C. native found himself on the move to Kentucky where he ended up on the Backwoods Records label owned by another friend at the time. Along with roughly 15 other artists, Romano started making records, handing out mixtapes and CDs under the name South Paw Da Don. “My name was originally South Paw because I was a huge Rocky fan and did some boxing myself, but when you googled that name a lot of people would show up in the search, so a friend suggested I add ‘Da Don’ to my name and that worked,” Romano said. Romano needed a career, so he went into home security sales and transitioned into real estate. “I was talking to my grandmother who was a real estate agent and she said why don’t you give real estate a try,” Romano said. “She paid for my real estate school and I have done it ever since.” Real estate was a different ballgame for Romano. After a five-year hiatus from music, his love for lyrics came back in a different way. “I wanted to enjoy what I was doing more and bring in something I love into it while setting myself apart from other realtors”, he said. “I never wanted to be the typical suit and talking head and I knew when you set yourself apart you find your tribe”. So, the rapping realtor posted a music video chock full of real estate info in his lyrics, and people loved it. Garnering over 18,000 followers on Instagram, Romano has found his tribe and is still adding to it. The Cardi B Up video is one of the realtor’s favorite videos he’s made lyrics for and even brought in another agent to rap with him. The video soared to over 60,000 views. It was that moment when Romano realized making these rap real estate music videos was not only something he loved and wanted to do, but it meant growth. “It was a huge networking opportunity, so instead of making a video once a month we bumped it up to once a week,” Romano said.. Of course, you can’t have success on the internet without a little criticism or drama. “People have made the comment that I must not be doing much business if I have time to make these videos, but in all honesty, it takes an hour and this is the marketing part of my job,” Romano said. “These videos are how I sell myself to potential clients. The days of going home and turning off who you are at the end of the day are over. You have to keep branding yourself to keep growing and stay relevant. Clients want to work with someone they know, like, and trust so you are the business now.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miami-based rapper Smiles Official is not an overnight sensation like social media may have people thinking, with over 350,000 followers on Instagram. In fact, he’s worked hard for many years and says he won’t stop until he’s reached the top. Born and raised in Cutler Ridge, a suburb of Miami, Smiles Official was raised with the sounds of reggae, soca, soul and R&B music filling his family home. The talented rapper says not only has his Haitian and Jamaican family roots inspired his work, but growing up in south Florida, a cultural melting pot, allowed him to broaden his network and tap into different music styles ultimately defining him as an artist. From deejaying in high school to the release of his first single “You Can Get Down” and even becoming a street team member for Slip-N-Slide Records, the young aspiring artist used every moment to learn what makes the music business work. In 2017, Smiles Official released “I Got A Bag” which quickly garnered over 1 million streams on Spotify. The smash single was the momentum that kept the rapper moving rapidly forward, releasing a new mixtape every year on his birthday, Aug. 11, which also coincides with the anniversary of hip hop dating back to Aug. 11, 1973. Smiles Official has since released hits like “Bands In the Trap” featuring Tory Lanez. His latest album Caribbean Blvd, entitled after the street he grew up on, includes hits like “So Sexy” featuring the iconic trailblazing female rapper Trina and influential figures in modern hip hop such as Grammy-award winning multi-platinum rapper and record executive Rick Ross among others. Hear more about his journey, latest album, performing with Rick Ross, cofounding the record label Streets Enterprise, and the answer to the question “what something many people don’t know about Smiles Official.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ricky Padilla is no stranger to central Florida. In fact, he’s called Orlando home since he was 12 years old after his family moved to the Sunshine State from New Jersey. After graduating from Lake Howell High School, Padilla earned a scholarship to Seminole Community College playing baseball. Padilla furthered his education, graduating from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications, but it was at UCF where his journey in radio began. Padilla had a love for music and set his eyes on the radio, but it wasn’t an easy start. “It was months before I got an email back,” Padilla said. He eventually secured an internship position as a part-time street team promotions assistant at a large hip-hop radio station. Padilla had bigger plans. The college student wanted to be on the airwaves. Securing an internship was his foot in the door, but how to be an on-air host didn’t come with an instruction manual. “Nobody really shows you what to do,” Padilla said. “So I used to read articles out loud and went from there practicing the boards on my own time to learn what to do”. His practice paid off eventually landing a part-time on-air gig. “My shift was Sunday 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.” Padilla said. “It was probably the worst shift you could get in radio, but I treated it like gold and then gradually moved up from there.” Padilla remembers the call he received offering him a full-time position working overnights. “I was working like three part-time jobs at the time so it was a great feeling finally getting a full-time position,” he said. Over the years Padilla made his fair share of friends in radio, but by chance ended up working with a popular deejay he knew and eventually secured a close bond with. “Initially DJ Nasty and I worked different shifts and then someone called out and I got to fill in and someone else called out and he was filling in and that night on-air, our chemistry working together was just there,” Padilla said. “That was all she wrote and we’ve worked together and had a show at all the stations we worked at together ever since, he’s family now”. Of course, Padilla has had his fair share of ups and downs in his radio career. “I remember getting let go from that first job,” Padilla said. “I kept my chin up, but as soon as I got in the car I cried because I loved it so much and had worked so hard to get that gig”. There was one moment Padilla remembers the most about getting fired. “I was told I wasn’t going to make it in radio,” Padilla said. “Getting let go from that job was a blessing in disguise in a way because I moved on to better opportunities and being told I wasn’t going to make it in radio was fuel to the fire that motivated me to work even harder”. Padilla has been heard on legendary Orlando radio stations over the years from 102 JAMZ to Power 95.3, STAR 94.5, and currently at the rapidly growing FLY 103.1. Padilla didn’t stop growing and learning. In addition to radio, he became a businessman — owning parts of different clubs and restaurants. He also manages the social media influencer and comedian LeJuan James and even emcees for the Orlando City Soccer Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daytona Beach native Dyer Davis may seem like a new name in music, but the 23-year-old has been on the music scene for nearly a decade. His love for music started at the tender age of 4 when he learned to play guitar. Davis’ father, also a musician, fueled his love for music with the iconic sounds of the 60s and 70s. Davis felt the groove of blues-rock, inspired by the early records of the late Jeff Beck. To Davis, the blues was more than just a sound. It was a feeling. A foundation of the very music he was drawn to play. Of course, starting out as a young teen, Davis found himself in a few different rock bands of his own and even becoming a member of Rubber Soulchild from which, he has now departed. “I have had the pleasure of jamming out with some really amazing musicians over the year,” Davis said. “Robben Ford, Peter Criss, Elliot Easton, Rami Jaffe from the Foo Fighters, to name a few.” Davis dabbled in country music for a short stent, but the blues kept calling his name. Now, Davis said he’s found his home through the music that originally inspired him to become a musician. Working alongside iconic musicians and producers Victor Wainwright, Billy Chapin, Patricia and Stephen Dees, among others, Davis debuted on the blues scene in February this year with the album “Dog Bites Back’ with WildRoots Records. His fiery vocals and soulful guitar skills earned him a nomination for New Artist Debut Release at the 2023 Blues Blast Magazine Awards. The Dyer Davis Band will also be performing at the awards show Saturday, Sept. 23 in Peoria, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three-time Grammy nominee, Telly Award-winning producer, songwriter and composer Marvin “Toneworld” Hemmings Jr., is no stranger to Orlando. In fact, he grew up here. His love for music came at a very young age. His journey started with family. “I got my start in church,” Toneworld said on the set of Riff On This. “My grandmother and grandfather had a church and I grew up there. They would let me beat on the drums until it started sounding good.” He added that he then went on to play the piano and guitar. Eventually, he researched producing and found his niche. The Evans High School grad continued to pursue his passion for music experimenting with producing. Toneworld also started playing gigs with his good friend Philip Martin. “He (Martin) was like, ‘Let’s make a record,’” Toneworld said. “I was all in. I was like, ‘Let’s do it, but I don’t have the gear.’” That’s when his friend suggested they go buy it. In fact, Toneworld said Philip bought the computer and the gear in exchange for payment to make the record. The duo found out quickly the process wasn’t easy. “I was literally doing everything wrong, but it taught me. That was my school.,” Toneworld said. “I had to troubleshoot everything I had done wrong and I learned a lot along the way”. After the album was complete, Martin was L.A.-bound, determined to play the music they had created to record executives. “He called me and was like, ‘Bro, we got the deal!’ And I was like, ‘What?’” Toneworld said. “My first record got a deal, they were a start-up label, but they were connected to Sony or something like that.” He was only 18 years old at the time. “It was one of those things where we were just like, ‘Let’s try it’ and it turned into something,” Toneworld said. Toneworld and Martin have done ten records together over the years. Now, the multi-platinum record producer has had the privilege of working with a variety of artists like Justin Bieber, Kirk Franklin, Jessie J, William McDowell and Brandy among others. Toneworld even produced seasons three and four of the TV series Empire and also worked on the show STAR. In 2021, Toneworld produced the hit “There She Go” for Justin Bieber’s multi-platinum record, Justice Triple Chucks Deluxe, which received eight Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. Just last year he was called to produce the score for the box office hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” The movie celebrates the life and music of one of the greatest R&B pop vocalists of all time, Whitney Houston. Hear more about Toneworld’s incredible musical journey and who he has had the honor of working with since “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” on the latest episode of Riff On This. The interview is full of wow moments you don’t want to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samra Cokinos sits down with Madd Illz.Coming from a family of musicians and artists, MADD ILLZ found a love for music at a very young age. His grandfather taught him to play guitar by ear. His parents also made sure music was part of his childhood. “My parents brought me to all different genre concerts since I was a kid,” MADD ILLZ said. “ I was very much involved with watching the live aspect of musical performance and that’s what made me fall in love with it when I was in the 6th grade”. MADD ILLZ ended up in a rap group alongside Greg Davis Jr., who was featured on Gullah Gullah Island as Blitzen at the time but has continued to act as well as rap under the handle Klarity. “All through high school, I had agency representation and we were booking and doing shows,” he said. The young rapper soon found himself addicted to show business and wanted to do more. After graduating high school MADD ILLZ joined the Marines in 2002 through 2008. February 2008, everything changed. “I was talking to my friend Dave Williams known as Drect who was a student at Full Sail at the time when he called me wanting to document rap battles,” MADD ILLZ said. “I was interested, but told him I wanted to create a battle rapper league and keep tabs of the scores along the way.” YouTube was becoming a thing since launching in 2005, so the two set out to create the first ever online rap battle league which came to be known as Grind Time Now. “We reached out to all the battlers that we knew from meeting at major events like Scribble Jam and by the time we got off the phone we had a battle league chapter in every major city in the U.S. along with Sydney, Australia, Johannesburg, South Africa,” MADD ILLZ said. Grind Time Now was even part of the United Nations’ “Music as a Natural Resource” program for building urban environments. “Not one single dollar was spent in marketing Grind Time Now, that’s what made it so great,” MADD ILLZ said. How did they manage to have a grassroots movement in the early 2000s? “World Star was the number one ranked hip hop website in the world at the time and they happen to put one of our videos up on their YouTube channel, so we reached out to them and said we could keep providing videos and they would use the World Star watermark,” MADD IILLZ said. They worked with no money exchanged for the videos, for a full year. all while gaining massive exposure through the explosive hip-hop YouTube channel. Grind Time Now started attracting the attention of celebrities and artists in the hip-hop world leading to battle rap performances at events like Coachella, Rock the Bells and South by Southwest. Each major music festival they performed at came with their own stage, with full-on production and collabs with national acts. “It was exactly what I envisioned when I was in the 9th grade. I just wanted there to be an abundance of rap battle shows going on and that’s exactly what happened which was my vision coming true,” MADD ILLZ said. The duo ran Grind Time Now for 9 years before selling the company. Since then, MADD ILLZ has expanded his talents to writing, producing, and even teaching others how to write rap lyrics. Hear more about how MADD ILLZ continues to curate events in music and art and how these events are designed to help struggling artists right here in central Florida on the latest episode of Riff On This. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orlando’s own professional orchestra has served over 187,000 patrons, 85,000 children and families and 1 million students for the last three decades. The orchestra is comprised of musicians from around the world. Riff On This sat down with founding board member and French hornist Mark Fischer and clarinetist Seok Hee Jang, a fairly new member of the orchestra who moved to Orlando this year, holding the second chair. Fischer has been with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra since its inception and recalls how different it was back in the early 90s. “When we began in 1993, we started as an orchestra that was really a service organization and our attitude was very entrepreneurial,” Fischer said. “It started very small, just performing Chamber Orchestra works in churches and it was about three years before we could build up enough financial capital to be able to present our first concert in the Bob Carr Theater”. Working closely with the Orlando Opera Company and Orlando Ballet as well as the school systems, the OPO was able to grow and expand over the years. “So here we are, 30 years later, and now we walk into the new Steinmetz Hall, where I still pinch myself,” Fischer said. “Every time I walk on the stage, I look at the look up at the hall, I think this is unbelievably beautiful.” Jang shared a similar sentiment about the new Steinmetz Hall. “For me as a new musician in the orchestra, I can’t imagine being here at a better time starting at a better time than our 30th anniversary season,” Jang said. “It’s such a piece of work, a piece of art, really, it makes us sound so much better. It’s a privilege to play in the hall.” Jang said the move to Florida has been amazing and everyone has been extremely welcoming. He’s excited to work alongside the amazing musicians at the OPO. Fischer said starting out on the administrative side of the orchestra and doing the business side of things for so many years, that now he is back playing with the orchestra it’s been nice to appreciate the artistic side of things again. “I think Gil Yamaha said it best. He said, ‘This hall is an instrument. It’s not just a room. It’s an instrument.’ It’s a spectacular space. And in the future, I believe that this venue will cause the Orlando Philharmonic to become a more refined ensemble over time and already has in their first season, but it is a real joy to make music there,” Fischer said. Be sure to listen to the latest episode of Riff On This to hear more about how Fischer and Jang got started as a classical musician along with more amazing stories from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. You will also get the latest on the rest of the season, plus a little inside information on what to expect next season as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in a strong musical family, Will Chin got his start in the music world at a young age working for his uncle’s sound store — Light and Sound Equipment in Miami, Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sitting down and chopping it up with Orlando’s own Smilez and Southstar was nothing short of legendary. The latest episode of Riff On This is full of nostalgia, wild moments and laughs as the duo shares their journey in hip-hop in the early 2000s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a 70s funk band, to an 80s southern rock band and the last 23 years in an English blues rock band, Bryan Bassett’s guitar chops have probably made you get up a dance at one time or another. Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Bassett was surrounded by incredible musicians in a city where jazz flourished in the 40s and 50s expanding to an incredible nightlife scene full of clubs and lounges belting sounds of rock-and-roll and funk from every entrance. Bassett found music in his hands as a young teen one Christmas morning opening presents in his childhood home. “It was a Harmony Rocket, a big red guitar with white knobs,” Bassett said. “Santa Claus, you know, my parents had bought me that and two Jeff Beck records. I mean talk about putting up a hard thing to follow, but yeah, I loved it.” Bassett’s love for guitars grew more and more. Like something out of “A Christmas Story” the young musician had a Ralphie moment. Unlike the movie where Ralphie sees the Red Ryder B.B. Gun in the window at Higbee’s, Bassett said he remembers clearly seeing one guitar he just had to have. “I used to take a bus downtown after school and to Lomakin music shop in downtown Pittsburgh and a Les Paul gold top hung in that window and I literally (said) ‘One day you will be mine,’” Bassett said. Working in a grocery store all summer the eager 17-year-old saved every penny he could. Bassett said his dad pitched in half of the money and he was able to buy his first great guitar. Bassett’s first break into music happened after his friend Rob Parissi decided to disband a group called Wild Cherry, known now as the early version of the band, and decided to manage a few restaurants. “I said, ‘Rob, if you ever get back in the music business, give me a call,’” Bassett said. “After about a couple of months, I guess he got sick of the restaurant business and he called me up and said ‘OK, Brian, you know what, I’m going to put together a new version of Wild Cherry and so we started.’” It was that band that gave us the dance hit “Play that Funky Music” that’s still played for its feel-good vibrations today. You know that iconic opening riff that the song is known for? That’s right, Bassett is responsible for that! Over the years, all roads led to Florida and eventually, Bassett decided to take a break as he embarked on this move. He started working odd jobs and even did television repair at a Radio Shack while living in Daytona Beach. It was in Central Florida where Bassett met Dave Peverett, known as Lonesome Dave, who was the original lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Foghat. Bassett and Peverett became close friends and bandmates while Foghat had been on a brief hiatus. It was when they returned with all the original members that Bassett was out of a job and his friend Danny Joe Brown, who was the lead singer for the southern rock group Molly Hatchet, asked him if he wanted to join their band. Bassett recorded three albums with Molly Hatchet and toured not only in the States but abroad as well. Bassett spent a little over seven years with Molly Hatchet, but one phone call from a dear friend changed his musical path and ultimately led him back to Foghat — where he’s been part of the family for over 23 years. Bassett has so many amazing stories in this episode of Riff On This, that we can’t possibly cover them in this article. They range from the wild story about how the song “Play That Funky Music” was created to playing in two bands at one time and even walking into the wrong dressing room while on tour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For David “D1″ Grant, his musical journey started really young, playing piano at his father’s church in DeLand. When Grant reached high school, a guidance counselor asked what he wanted to do with his life. “I said ‘I want to be like Quincy Jones,’” Grant said. “I wanted to be a producer, so I kind of just dove all into the role of a producer, what they do, how they do it.” Grant’s passion led him to Full Sail University where we sought out new artists to work with to build his musical resume. “I would find new artists to work with people that were just starting in a journey just like me and they will let me record their song for them, you know, produce with them and some of them are Grammy Award winners now,” Grant said. “We just recorded in the apartment, and now they’re on the biggest stages of their career, you know, this amazing journey.” Grant’s first major gig came during his time at Full Sail when his friend Trey Pierce, a Grammy-winning bassist, took Grant under his wing opening the door to tour on a big stage for the first time in his career. “Music Director Jay Williams with The Blind Boys of Alabama gave me a call and gave me a chance to tour with them,” Grant said. From the tour, everything changed. “As a songwriter and producer I worked with VH1, the Show “Love and Hip Hop” on seasons one, two and three,” Grant said. “That’s when I figured out wait, I might be alright as a producer”. Grant’s production resume grew adding artists like Erica Mina and Olivia. Their work reached the Billboard Top 20. “Breaking the artists through television, and having records go through a reality show to you know, Billboard was the big thing,” Grant said. “That kind of gave me the confidence like ‘Yeah, I think I can. I can make a career out of this.’” Grant decided to make a move. He left the Sunshine State for the Lonestar State finding a new life in Austin. The city’s official motto being the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Grant knew he had a chance to do big things. Everything’s bigger in Texas, right? This big move started from one call. “I was called in to tape PBS Austin City Limits — legendary venue, legendary show — by my friend Jonathan Dees who is the music director for Gary Clark Jr,” Grant said. Soon, Grant found himself playing piano on tour with artists like RayJ and Gary Clark Jr. A memorable moment for the musician was the last leg of Gary Clark Jr.’s tour where he was on stage performing at the Austin City Limits Festival performing in front of almost 100,000 people. Grant said no matter where he performs, his DeLand roots and memories of playing in his father’s church keep his family close by, often calling his parents after big shows. “When they say ‘We’re proud of you,’ those words right there... I mean, yeah, that’s almost like that’s, that’s just instant gratification,” Grant said. Grant said it was his work with Dees that led to working with John Batiste. “It was just for one show at that time,” he said. Everyone part of the show, much like his church upbringing, had a spiritual connection. What the group didn’t know at the time was that connection would lead them to an even bigger performance. “We had no idea months later we’d be playing the Grammys or anything like that. It was just you know, about the spiritual connection we made and such a great show. And then, months later, they gave me a call back to come to LA to start rehearsing,” Grant said. Hear more on what it was like preparing for the Grammy’s behind the scenes along with Grant’s experience telling his parents of his Dove Award Nomination and then taking them to the red carpet all on episode 22 of Riff On This. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1971, the English rock band Foghat formed in London, quickly becoming known for its use of electric slide guitar and it’s hard rocking blues hits. Over the last 51 years, the band has attained eight gold records, one platinum record and one double platinum record for some of the greatest anthems in classic rock. Roger Earl is one of the original founding members, and the only one to still rock on the drums and tour with the band. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole known as Tik Tok. One minute you’re glancing at a video someone may have sent and the next thing you know it’s 2 a.m. It happens to the best of us. For Sebastian Gabriel, the experience was different. Posting videos was a way to showcase Gabriel’s talent, playing the electric violin. Posts would include Gabriel playing a tune, and covering popular songs. His talent stems from the tender age of 5, playing the violin in Venezuela. The classically trained musician even played in the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra before coming to the states. The move brought a lot of changes. Gabriel had to adjust and really sell his talent. That’s where Tik Tok came in. The platform would soon change his career. “I was playing a Maluma song called Hawaii at a rooftop gig and when I played it, people started dancing, singing along,” Gabriel said. Little did he know this video would have big impacts on his life. “That video just went viral,” Gabriel said with a smile. “I was checking it and I was shocked it went from 2,000 views to 200,000 and then 600,000 views to a million and you’re like, ‘How does this even happen?’” Video views went well above a million, but something else started happening. “At the same time I was just receiving requests from people like come to New York and play this and come play that song at my wedding,” Gabriel said. The next day Gabriel woke up to even more requests. “My email was just completely crazy,” Gabriel said. “I have over 500 emails wanting to book me, I was like, ‘I can’t do all this alone.’” Gabriel needed a team. With his brother and girlfriend’s help, they sorted through email requests for him to play at weddings and parties from California to Puerto Rico and even Mexico. “I received requests for like MLS players saying, ‘Hey come to Cancun I want you to do my wedding,’” Gabriel said. Hear more about Gabriel’s musical history including the brief pause he took from music and more by listening to the latest episode of Riff On This. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a guitar purchased from a garage sale down the street from his parents Chicago home, Mark Dawson learned the riff to the Beatles hit “Day Tripper.” At the time the middle schooler, inspired by performances he saw on the Ed Sullivan show, was determined to be in the school talent show. “I’ve been in three talent shows and I’m 3-0, that’s all I can really say about that,” Dawson said smiling. “I didn’t know what I was doing, but I just thought that was really fun and I want to do it more.” Little did the aspiring musician know those talent shows would lead to the formation of his first band and eventually a career in music. Dawson had gone from playing in his mother’s basement with his teen friends to ski resorts in Colorado with a cover band. His voice had even been featured in the 1991-1993 Coors Light radio campaign. “That campaign was fun. It was a fun time in my musical career,” Dawson said. Fast forward to 1995, Dawson relocates to Central Florida with his wife and daughter. By this time, Dawson had been in several bands and even recorded his own music when he joined a doo-wop group in Tampa. Dawson spent eight years with the group traveling all over Florida. “I had just about reached that point where I didn’t think my career was going to be you know, going to elevate musically anymore,” Dawson said. His age became a concern watching new talent appear left and right. “There are so many young, talented people coming up these days,” Dawson said. “I listened to some of the people like, ‘Oh, they have way more talent than me at 20 than I do at my age.’” An opportunity came knocking in the form of a phone call from an agent Dawson knew from the 80s. “Out of the blue, he said, ‘Hey, how are you with your Grass Roots catalog?’ I said, ‘I don’t know what you mean by that,’” Dawson said with a chuckle. The agent told Dawson, The Grass Roots needed a fill-in for an upcoming show to sing and play bass for about 6-7 hits. “I absolutely agreed to it and thought ‘Oh, this will be fun,’” Dawson said smiling ear-to-ear. “To put on my resume that I was the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, at least for one day, how many people could say that ya know”? Turns out Dawson needed to learn 19 songs before the show date in San Francisco and he had three days to do it. “All I remember is being a little stressed out going to the hotel, meeting the band because I had not met them or spoken to them prior to that,” Dawson said. “We drove out to the show. I played it. And they asked me to come back and do it again.” Now, 15 years later, Dawson is still rocking with one of his favorite bands. Of course, there have been ups and downs along the way. The passing of long-time lead singer and bassist Rob Grill was a moment Dawson said he had to step up to help fulfill his friend’s vision for the group and its music. “He kept telling me, ‘I want you to be the guy to take The Grass Roots music to the future.’ Those were his words exactly,” Dawson said. As a musician and friend, it was challenging for Dawson as he faced many fans over the years that were not accepting of his new position, but he kept going. Dawson says he would never change what Grill and the group had made over the years that he loved and made him a fan too. “These were nearly perfect pop songs. I’m proud to play them as they are,” Dawson said. “And my job, I’m a vehicle to bring them to you and that’s the way I look at it”. Hear more about Dawson and Grill’s friendship and all the behind-the-scenes stories from traveling to performing on the latest podcast episode of Riff On This. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From age 11, Slim started writing rhymes for birthdays — mimicking the patterns he heard from rap songs flowing out of the radio. “I didn’t know what 16 bars was,” Slim said. “Whatever the length of the verse was from whatever artist I was listening to, I made mine similar and then I would count the lines and there would be 16, that’s how I learned to write.” Little did Slim know this was the beginning of his musical journey. His path was not always clear or defined in music, but his heart drove his passion. It wasn’t easy. “Nothing was really going together,” said Slim recalling when he was in elementary school and had to move to Atlanta. “I was one of those kids, you know, came from a single mom, one of five kids, always in trouble getting kicked out of school going to juvenile detention. The only time I wasn’t in trouble is when I was writing music,” Slim said. After his last trip to juvenile detention as a teen, the judge told Slim if he ended up back in that court, he would go to boot camp. Slim left detention and never looked back knowing that in order to be successful he had to stay out of trouble. Fast forward, Slim, now 17 years old, is back in Central Florida. Opportunity was knocking at his door. Through mutual friends, Slim wrote his first R&B song for a group of producers and instrumentalists based in Tampa known as J.U.S.T.I.C.E League. After writing a song for Colione, Slim says he felt confident he could write songs for a living. By 2019, Slim had written plenty of songs and caught the attention of one record executive he always wanted to work with. ‘Growing up in Atlanta, I always wanted to meet L.A. Reid,” Slim said. “He was signing everything from Outkast to T.I., TLC, all these people, so when I was young my dream was to meet and work with him.” He ended up doing just that. Hear more on his journey and what led him to writing for record executive L.A. Reid, the work he did with rapper Rubi Rose, and what he’s doing now on the latest episode of Riff On This. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Wild is the founder of Kids Rock The Nation, a non-profit with the mission to share the power of music with children by giving aspiring young musicians in need instruments to ignite their passion for music and their passion for life. Before dedicating all his time to kids, Wild was a full-time musician. His love for music started at a very young age in Wisconsin. “When I was 5 years old, I got a shiny new drum set for Christmas,” Wild said. His older brother Andrew, a musician in a band, had a hand in showing Wild how to play his new drum set. “As time went on, I kind of moved into singing because I realized I was a better singer than I was a drummer,” Wild said laughing. Inspired by the sounds of Luther Allison and Jimmy Reed, the blues was calling Wild’s name. By the time Wild was 15, the aspiring singer had met a producer named Mel Barlow in Leesburg while spending the winter here with his parents. Wild recorded with Barlow, recalling it was a defining moment for him as a teen. “It gave me an opportunity to really do something where I could kind of express myself because it’s tough being a child,” Wild said. “You’re trying to figure out who you are, what am I going to do with my life.” Wild ended up making the Sunshine State his home. Here he was able to work alongside the members of The Kingsnake Blues Band, blues/rock singer and guitarist Ace Moreland, journeyman drummer Ronnie Byrd Foster and guitarist Warren King. “I was able to perform one night with Robbie Krieger from The Doors,” Wild said with a smile. “That was a really big moment, but I was grateful to have worked with all these amazing musicians over the years.” One day Wild’s career came to a screeching halt. “Cancer. I was diagnosed with cancer,” Wild said with tears in his eyes. Lacking a steady income, and unable to buy costly private insurance, Wild tried finding out other options with a doctor he had been seeing. Wild recalled the moment with the doctor vividly. “He just looked at me and he said, ‘Well,’ he said, ‘Anthony, you know, you’re a musician, you don’t really have a lot of money per se.’ He said, ‘What is it that you think that anybody’s going to do for you?’” In fact, there was not one, but two doctors that were willing to help Wild. Hear what the husband and wife doctor duo did for Wild and how their kindness led to starting a nonprofit that gives the gift of music to kids in need all over the nation, on the latest episode of Riff On This! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the pandemic, a lot of people did things like remodeling a room around the house or working from home, or perhaps the take in a new pet. For Cameron Jimenez, aka Smoove J, it was a new start with a clear focus. The plan involved moving to Florida to advance his musical career both singing and knowing more of the business behind the music. So that’s what he did. Inspired by the musical talents of his mother and grandmother, Smoove J found himself in Central Florida. Smoove J said his mother, Faith’s vocals and talents on the piano, help him stay focused during trying times. “She’s one of the best moms that you can ever ask for anybody,” said Smoove J, smiling. “You have a lot of ups and downs, a lot of downs especially and you just got to, you got to keep pushing, you got to just keep pushing,” recalls the singer but knowing he came from a line of talented family members, like his grandmother the music teacher and his mom, Smoove J said that’s all the affirmation he needs to work even harder. “My mom is my biggest fan, but I have to say I am hers as well.” Prior to moving to Florida, Smoove J and his friends would perform at different functions. The young artist realized at the time there was a lot more to singing than just singing. Smoove J now is focused on getting noticed as well as the business of music. There’s no manager, so he does everything alone. Social media has been a great platform but has also brought its own set of complications. “There’s someone over there putting in 10 hours a day on like TikTok or something going live on TikTok, and they’re trying to get noticed. And you just, it’s a bigger, bigger competition now,” said Smoove J, reflecting on trying to shine among the world wide web users. “It’s definitely a struggle, you can get down to your lows, but you just got to keep getting up, you got to keep pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing. Because if not, then you’re not going to do what your dream is.” Smoove J said he performs live on TikTok two to three days a week and even more some weeks, most of the time singing for hours. It’s a lot of work, but he continues to push forward in hopes of living out his dream of recording music. When asked who he would love to record with, Smoove J didn’t hesitate. “I would like to achieve making a hit with DJ Khaled. That’s what I would like,” the singer said, reflecting on the major record executives motivating personality and numerous award-winning hits and albums. But, Smoove J says he’s not just focused on one genre. “I love jazz. I love old school. Soul music, all of that stuff, Earth, Wind and Fire... I love that kind of music,” Smoove J said, inspired once again by his mothers love for great music. It’s not just about singing for Smoove J, he does plenty more. Be sure to listen to the latest episode of Riff On This to hear more about what he does to stand out and what he has to say to others in the same boat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Korbel is an Orlando jazz musician that just released a Christmas single you don't want to miss. He talks about what inspired him to make his song and why it's different from traditional holiday tunes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices