WE SHARE OUR NAME WITH A PRETTY COOL PODCAST

Maybe it is the 6 months of the rainy season driving bands into garages, or maybe it is because Seattle is geographically isolated from any other major city, or maybe it is the city’s legacy of gritty upstarts dating back to the gold rush, whatever it is, Seattle has always been the birthplace history-making music. If you’ve ever wanted to take a deep dive into that history with the people who lived it, look no further than the Rainy Days podcast, hosted by local music legend Danny Newcomb and produced by Nikki Barron, Communications Manager at SMASH. Shout out to Danny for letting us share our name with such a cool podcast!

Danny Newcomb is no stranger to Seattle’s music scene. As a born and raised Seattlite, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, his fingerprints are all over the city’s musical history. You may recognize his name from the iconic Seattle band Shadow, his first band that also included a young Mike McCready, Goodness, featuring another local legend Carrie Akre, or The Rockfords, featuring both Mike McCready and Carrie Akre as well as brothers Rick and Chris Friel. Danny is also the Founder and CEO of Incantio, a music licensing platform driven by innovative technology and curated by AI.

“The Rainy Days podcast is a platform to chronicle Seattle's music community, both past and present, a topic I live and love. It gives me an opportunity to cut it up with musicians and industry people I admire, I’ve worked with, grown up with, and some that I’ve just discovered through this project. It’s important history to preserve, and I have to admit it is a great way to pass the time in a global pandemic.” said Newcomb about his inspiration for the podcast.

Danny Newcomb's knack for storytelling, genuine curiosity, and lifelong relationships with some of his guests give listeners an opportunity to dive into our city's rich history, as told by the people who made it, including Danny himself. This podcast is a must-listen for lovers of Seattle music. You can find the Rainy Days Podcast on Spotify, Anchor or YouTube.

RAINY DAYS PODCAST EPISODE 1:

MIKE MCCREADY

Kicking off the series, Rainy Days episode one features a conversation between friends of 40 years, Danny Newcomb and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. They reminisce about their first guitars, first bands, and first shows, and if you tune in on YouTube, you'll find never-before-seen photos from their personal collections.

RAINY DAYS PODCAST EPISODE 2:

MATT VAUGHAN

Rainy Days episode two features a conversation between friends Danny Newcomb and Easy Street Records owner Matt Vaughan. They discuss, how he grew up in town with a single mom who was an independent radio promoter, how he went on tour with Alice In Chains, started his independent record store, and fostered and encouraged local acts like Brandi Carlile and Macklemore since the 90s. You'll also get to hear stories about music legends Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Woody Guthrie, and more.

RAINY DAYS PODCAST EPISODE 3:

NANCY WILSON

Rainy Days episode two features a conversation between friends, Danny Newcomb and Nancy Wilson of Heart. They discuss the early days of Heart and their grueling touring schedule, scoring films, her first solo record, and what makes Seattle’s music scene so unique.

RAINY DAYS PODCAST EPISODE 4:

ANN POWERS

Rainy Days Podcast episode four features a conversation between host Danny Newcomb and Ann Powers a music critic for NPR, a Seattle-grown music writer with two books, a myriad of essays and articles to her name, and a kind, sweet person who is a fierce advocate for new music and a challenger (in the best rock and roll spirit) of convention and limitations in the voicing of the American soul.

RAINY DAYS PODCAST EPISODE 5:

SHELBY EARL

Rainy Days Podcast episode five features a conversation between host Danny Newcomb and Shelby Earl, a Seattle-based songwriter and singer. Shelby Earl’s first two albums earned the kind of raves any musician would kill for. Upon hearing her 2011 debut, Burn the Boats, NPR’s Ann Powers called Earl her “new favorite songwriter,” and she wasn’t alone. Accolades followed from Rolling Stone to the Wall Street Journal and a million music sites in between that positioned her somewhere to the left of Neko Case, a few blocks from Sharon Van Etten, catercorner to Angel Olsen. She toured everywhere, playing with the likes of Loudon Wainwright, Rhett Miller, and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, who spoke for many people when he said Earl had “the most heartbreakingly beautiful voice in Seattle.”