A bonus episode this week! The Fretboard Journal's Ryan Richter talks to dobro, lap steel and pedal steel composer and instrumentalist Mike Grigoni. 

Ryan says, "In 2001, I had the good fortune of meeting Mike Grigoni on a Bainbridge Island beach. 'You gotta know this guy...' was the party line that day, and it was right on the money. Before departing Seattle, Mike and I collaborated on music, and though it never bore much tangible fruit, it was wildly informative for me. Mike's ample skill as a leader, accompanist, and composer was an invigorating force that's as much of an inspiration now as it was then. (When working on my own music, I often employ the 'what would Mike do here" postulate.') 

Mike's musical journey has taken him from traditional Bluegrass to Ambient music, a swing that could be a mirror reaction to his shift in academic focus from Ethnomusicology to Ethnography, a subject on which he's currently writing his dissertation in Durham, North Carolina. 

This week, we travel all the way to Nazareth, Pennsylvania to interview Fred Greene (Vice President of Product Management at Martin Guitars) and Tim Teel (Martin's Director of Instrument Design). The decisions these two individuals make have a huge impact on Martin's current (and future) guitar offerings. We chat about the behind-the-scenes process of making new Martin models, how Martin prepares for big unveilings like the NAMM Show, the influence guitar forums have on their output, the guitar-building community in general and much more.

This insightful chat is easily one of our favorite conversations about the guitar industry we've had to date.  

This episode is brought to you by Carter Vintage, Martin Guitars and Gibson. 

Order the new Fretboard Journal 44 by clicking here. 

Bassist extraordinaire Tal Wilkenfeld joins us on the Fretboard Journal Podcast to talk about coming to the US to pursue music, opening for the Who and about the making of her new album, Love Remains. We also talk about her gear of choice, including her rather unique baritone guitar (built in part by Jackson Browne). 

This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases.

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Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Jacob Miller joins on this week's Fretboard Journal Podcast. We talk about gear (including the lucky horse trading he did to get his cherished '40s Epiphone archtop), his debut album ('This New Home') and much more. 

This episode is sponsored by Mono Cases. 

http://www.jacobmillermusic.net