Interview with Ashley Rindsberg on the ‘Burning Castle’ Podcast
Just a quick personal note here. I don’t conduct many interviews these days, and grant even less of them. But recently, novelist and media commentator Ashley Rindsberg reached out through a mutual friend and said he wanted to speak for his Burning Castle podcast. Having recently heard of Rindsberg from a book he published called The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times’s Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History, I was honored he reached out, and was happy to speak with him.
In the hour-long interview, Rindsberg asks me some personal questions, picks my brain about the origins of Saving Country Music and my perspective on the country genre, and my favorite part of the discussion comes near the end when we talk about the importance of diversity in country music, but how an obsession with identity can impinge on country music’s ability to bridge differences through the music medium.
Ashley Rindsberg comes to country music from the outside looking in, which actually made for a very stimulating conversation, and helped illustrate that no matter the industry or discipline, the same set of dilemmas and challenges seem to present themselves, while a similar set of solutions can also help address them.
Apologies that since the conversation happened across continents, my voice is a little robotic sounding at times, but it clears up as the conversation transpires.
Anyway, I just wanted to publicly thank Ashley Rindsberg for having me on his podcast, and Jason Ressler, who is the manager of singer and songwriter Daniel Antopolsky for helping to set the conversation up.
You can find the Burning Castle podcast episode just about anywhere podcasts are available, and folks who have a Spotify or Apple Podcasts account can find players for the episode below.
December 1, 2021 @ 9:23 am
The NYT is certainly a fair target for criticism, but it seems almost quaint to focus on a newspaper when these days there are full blown propaganda networks like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and OANN.
December 1, 2021 @ 10:15 am
True, but the NYT actually does “investigative” work that is then cited by the other propaganda networks.
I haven’t listened to this yet, and will, but the question I have is what’s wrong with people that take any of the outlets you mentioned seriously. I’ve always known the news was biased on both sides, but I seriously question anyone hasn’t noticed the complete breakdown of these outlets into full fledged cultish propaganda over the last few years.
December 1, 2021 @ 11:26 am
You probably don’t have time for it, but I would listen to a Saving Country Music podcast.
December 1, 2021 @ 6:22 pm
Well, I do have the Country History X podcast available everywhere with 12 episodes and more on the way. I don’t interview artists except in rare cases. It’s just something I’ve chosen not to do because I want to be impartial when I review albums and report news. But I do have an idea for a podcast. I’m just waiting for technology to catch up where you can play songs on podcasts across all platforms legally. As soon as that happens, I will likely be launching it.
December 1, 2021 @ 12:32 pm
Excellent interview. I knew you wrote well, but you also think fast and are well-spoken. I appreciate Saving Country Music and everything you write. Thank you!
December 1, 2021 @ 1:19 pm
EXCELLENT.
December 1, 2021 @ 7:08 pm
Really enjoyed the podcast. Thanks cool uncle trigger for introducing me to so many awesome bands.
December 1, 2021 @ 7:59 pm
I liked it, thanks.
December 2, 2021 @ 7:20 am
Also here is the radio interview that you did with The Real Country Revival in the Netherlands awhile back. Some more great insight to the mind of “Trig”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZCTsGsdjBI
December 2, 2021 @ 11:04 pm
Thanks for the reminder Sean.
December 2, 2021 @ 11:45 am
Very interesting interview. I enjoyed a lot listening to it. As long as an artist is authentic and honest, as you say, we have real country music. But if a singer uses clichés of “country life”, there’s no authenticity and it’s not country. Authenticity is the most important thing, and that’s why country music has such an appeal, not only in the American South, because it’s the storytelling of the real life.
December 2, 2021 @ 3:47 pm
If you have to brag about something chances are you probably aren’t good at it. It’s not like the American south has more wilderness or blue collar work than many other places (personally I think Alaska is way more “country” than any other state if that’s what winds your clock”). It sounds like you would like Tom Russell, my personal favorite living songwriter in the roots/country world.