Join us for an interview with Brandon Johnson, a native of Lenoir, N.C. now living in Asheville, N.C., where he is the Program Manager for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, an organization that preserves and promotes the natural and cultural heritage of the North Carolina mountains and foothills.
He formerly worked as an English Literature instructor at Mars Hill College and is a graduate of both Mars Hill and Appalachian State University.
Brandon is also a skilled musician, luthier, and writer.
On this episode our host, Joseph Franklyn McElroy sits down with Brandon Johnson to discuss visiting Blue Ridge National Heritage Area that is rich in history.
Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.
Segment 1
Joseph starts off with his usual intro before getting into the sponsored message. After the message, he talks about the beautiful fall colors in the Smokies that peak around this time of year. After, he opens the floor for special guest, Brandon Johnson, before asking Brandon what got him into being a musician. Brandon describes a few significant people such as the bands he listened to, a fiddle repairman, and other influences such as watching the fall colored leaves while listening to bluegrass. Then, Brandon talks about the process of making his upcoming album, and some of the behind the scenes. Joseph shifts the conversation to how Brandon got into the writing business, and Brandon depicts his early life of writing short stories as a kid, some of which he still has.
Segment 2
Coming back after the break, Joseph gets right into it by asking Brandon about his writing career, and some special influences that stuck with Brandon. Brandon remembers a multitude of stories he read as a kid, but one particular story stood out. It was a story about a tall man which made him cry after reading it because it described him perfectly, and he felt heard from it. Following this, Joseph wanted to talk about Brandon’s thesis and what he calls “social energy,” or the creation of connections among the works of others. Brandon elaborates saying that many books pulled material from other books prior to them, and these new books go on to influence future works. From this, one could draw a lineage of literature, almost like a family tree. This isn’t limited to literature as the same concept can be applied to music and visual arts.
Segment 3
After the commercials, Joseph noted Brandon’s fiddle collection and asked if woodworking was the cause. Brandon conceded that he got into woodworking from watching someone take apart and repair a fiddle, making him curious to do the same. He started by small repairing fiddles, evolving to creating his own and selling them, to expanding into other instruments. Afterwards, the two began discussing what the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area goal is and how it achieves this purpose. Brandon explains that the goal is to educate people on the culture and heritage behind the Appalachians through a variety of programs like the traditional music or hiking trails people once walked on. Following this, Brandon divulges some of the venues he played at, the podcast he works on, and how the podcast helped him expand as a writer.
Segment 4
After the final ad break, Joseph wanted to talk about Brandon’s opening line to one of his books and the story behind it. Then came time for Brandon to make his ideal itinerary. He lists off many breakfast spots, hiking trails, restaurants for lunch, golfing places, and dinner restaurants before ending the show with Brandon’s social media platforms and where you can find him.