Conversations about creativity, process, and the stories that shape a life’s work.
For over 25 years, author, musician, and educator Jim Reilly has connected with musicians, artists, and other creators and shared their stories in books, magazines, radio, and online.
Words X Music is a long-form conversation series exploring creative lives from the inside out. Through conversations with musicians, writers, artists, and makers, the podcast looks beyond accomplishment toward process, meaning, and the shape of a life built in creativity.
Join me for a conversation with Peter Case on his new live album, the power of capturing a moment, and why authenticity matters more than ever. From punk clubs to solo stages, this is a deep dive into music, storytelling, and the long road of a true artist.
27 May 2026
Tom Kennedy - The Summit: Craft, Conversation, and the Long Game of Jazz
In this episode, bassist Tom Kennedy shares the story behind his new album The Summit, how it came together, what he was chasing, and why he’s leaning back into a more jazz-driven sound.
It’s a laid-back conversation about writing, recording, touring, and the kind of musical chemistry where you just know where the other person is going, even when you’re not in the same room.
12 Dec 2025
Ned Steinberger & Patrick Sankuer: Two minds, two hearts, a pair of amazing guitars and basses
The story behind all the writing I've done and these podcasts is creativity and how that creativity lives in the world. No one embodies the creative impulse better than Ned Steinberger and Patrick Sankuer.
Patrick and Ned have collaborated on the latest project from NS Design: the FIN guitars and basses.
The FINs are the culmination of Ned's vision, which began nearly 50 years ago. His and Patrick's collaboration shows how creativity and passion can fuel dreams and turn them into realities.
For me, the surprise came when I realized just how similar Ned's and Patrick's stories are. And once again, as I keep finding while I explore creativity through music and the relationship between the two, how, once again, what on the surface may seem like an unlikely pairing couldn't be any more perfect.
17 Jul 2024
Stuart Spector - The master bass luthier takes on a whole new world
What do you do after being one of the most important and
influential bass guitar luthiers for over 40 years? You retire and start a new business building acoustic guitars, of course. Join me as I talk with the one and only Stuart Spector about inspiration, innovation, and the never-ending quest to learn, grow, and take on new challenges. If you’re looking for inspiration, you need look no further than this conversation with Stuart. I hope you enjoy.
7 May 2024
Mohini Dey Hartsuch - Rising to the top of the Bass World on Her Own Terms
Inspirational, innovative, creative, bassist Mohini Dey Hartsuch is at the top of her game. She’s gone from being a child prodigy in India to one of the most in-demand players in the world. Her own music breaks down boundaries and barriers and mixes rock, prog, funk, jazz, and world music. With others, there really are no boundaries to
how she can serve the music.
It didn’t come easy, though. Mohini put in the work and
continues to work incredibly hard to push her craft forward. Join us as we get philosophical on achieving success, dive deep into the universality of music, the power and importance of social media, and, of course, the obligatory gear talk.
11 Apr 2024
Nick Cañas - From South Texas Broadcasting to the World
Texas guitarist and bassist Nick Cañas has done everything right. He's got killer chops, and through thoughtfully produced and engaging online content creation, he has masterfully caught the eyes and ears of progressive music fans, gear enthusiasts, and the businesses whose gear he uses. It's the blueprint for staying creative in today's ever-changing musical landscape.
Join us as we discuss creativity and inspiration and add a healthy dose of the story behind his connection to NS Design and Ned Steinberger's continuing innovations.
25 Feb 2024
Joey Lauricella - The Fodera Story Continues
Join me as I finally managed to nail down Joey Lauricella at the 2024 NAMM show for the rest of the Fodera Guitars story. Feel free to go back and listen to my episode with Vinny Fodera first, although, that's not mandatory.
Joey and Vinny have been making some of the world's most respected and influential instruments for over 40 years now. After talking with Vinny, I thought the secret to their success was the connection between the builder and the player. While that's definitely true, after talking with Joey, it's clear that there's so much more to the secret of Fodera's success than that.
As an added bonus, Mike Bendy, Fodera's director of sales and marketing and a signature Fodera artist in his own right, joined us and added his perspective as one of those taking Fodera forward to the next generation of players.
19 Jan 2024
Jon Liebman - The Founder and First Bassman Takes his Turn in Front of the Mic
Jon Liebman is one of the bass world's foremost bass educators, authors, content creators, and an outstanding player in his own right.
After publishing over 800 interviews with a who's who of the music elite, it was time to point the microphone and share his story.
And what a story! From growing up with a backstage pass to the birth of rock and roll radio, to a very impressive education and playing career, to creating the website For Bass Players Only, the story twists and turns and lands in some pretty inspiring places.
I hope you enjoy.
PS, You can find links to Jon's website and a special link to the new Free Bass Course mentioned in the episode on my site: www.jimreilly.ca/liebman.
14 Nov 2023
Jeremy Nesse - Reinterpreting the Past and Carving New Roads Forward
New York musician and producer Jeremy Nesse is a true innovator. He has the rare ability to hear beyond the box and is drawn to making music that engages and challenges the listener to venture outside the box with him.
He's currently involved in two projects that are gathering some pretty significant attention: Tilted Axes, a performance ensemble that has become a fixture on the streets of New York, and Through the Wire, a complete reimagining of Peter Gabriel's music featuring many of the musicians who created the music in the first place, along with a who's who of progressive musicians.
Thanks for joining us as we talk about all this and much more.
11 Jun 2023
Vinny Fodera - One of the Founding Fathers of Custom Bass Guitar Building Shares His Side of the Story
For over forty years, Fodera basses have set the standard for hand-crafted custom instruments. Some of the finest musicians on the planet play Fodera instruments. Vinny Fodera's story goes back to the very beginning of the custom guitar builders' movement. It started by connecting a player's vision with that of an artist, and those relationships continue to form and inform Fodera as the company continues to push boundaries and craft sonic works of art.
22 May 2023
A Few Bonus Minutes – A little bit about me via Devon Smullen
Sometimes the interviewer becomes the interviewee. Talking with Devon was fun for all kinds of reasons. Not the least of which was that he was genuinely interested in me and my work and would often turn the questions back on me.
This little extra bit is one of those times. The ideas that came out resonated throughout the full interview, though, and were too good not
to share.
(For the record, when I said that nothing surprised me, what I was going to say was that it didn’t surprise me, but validated what I assumed before talking with him. But I ended up on a different tangent…)
13 May 2023
Devon Smullen - Pushing Bass Design Boundaries Further and Futher
Devon Smullen has been making beautiful basses for over 30 years. These days, he's pushing the boundaries of bass form and function even further. Join us as we talk about instrument design, inspiration, process, and the motivation that drives it all.
14 Apr 2023
Mike Kollwitz - A Chapman Stick Pioneer Shares his Story (In More Ways than One)
Join me for this debut episode as I talk music, writing, and inspiration with Chapman Stick player/author Michael Kollwitz. Mike has been there since The Stick's beginning. He's a natural storyteller and shares his incredible behind-the-scenes insights of learning from the master himself, Emmett Chapman, the birth of a community, and sheds light on what has kept him on his musical path for over four decades. And, if that wasn't enough, Mike also shares some engaging and inspiring stories from his new memoir: Stick With It: Adventures of a Chapman Stick Player.
5 Apr 2023
Jim Reilly's Words & Music Podcast - Preview
My name is Jim Reilly, and welcome to my podcast.
Over the past 20-plus years, I’ve spent countless hours talking with musicians, craftsmen, luthiers, and artists, sharing their stories and trying to find out what makes them tick. All that has resulted in three major book projects, as well as numerous magazine articles, radio features, and promotional writing projects.
This podcast is a chance for me to go back and dig a little deeper with some of the folks I’ve met along the way. It’s also an opportunity to explore the ongoing theme of creativity, where it comes from, and how it lives in the world with some new and equalling inspiring folks.
We're going live soon. Check out my site (https://www.jimreilly.ca/) for more information about me and this page f (https://www.jimreilly.ca/podcast.html)or updates and more information about the podcast.
And, check back here soon!
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