Arts Underground

Nashville-based husband and wife duo of The War and Treaty, Tanya Blount-Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr., are opening A Taste of Panoply in Huntsville (2021) with their unique blend of soul and Americana, sure to vibrate through the soul and get everyone on their feet dancing. We sat down for a phone conversation with the two dynamo musicians, where they tell us about working with legendary musicians in a pandemic, the role spirituality plays in their performance, and an anecdote about Tanya, from Michael, that sends everybody into a laughing fit.

We've got a brand new Funny You Should Ask with improv and stand-up comedian, Rayna Cahill. We talk about the moment she realized her natural talent, her successful endeavors in creating comedy shows, her thoughts on the rapport among the local comedy community and more. You can catch Rayna at Shenanigans Comedy Theatre and at comedy open mic nights around town. Related links are below.

Funny You Should Ask is a series where we hear from comedians in the TN Valley, getting to know their style, hear first gig stories and plenty more. 

In this episode of Arts Underground, we're bringing you a new segment called, 'Funny You Should Ask.' In this series, we'll talk with comedians in the TN Valley to get to know their style, hear first gig stories, and plenty more. Brandon Ijames is our first guest, a quick-witted comedian and veteran of a local comedy showcase that debuted in 2012, Homegrown Comedy. Related links are below.

Lowe Mill artist David Nuttall is known for his realistic ficticious maps. He's also a cyclist, and now he's accomplished 1000 miles cycled in Huntsville's streets. Now, not only does he probably know the roads of Huntsville better than anyone, but he's also discovered quite a bit regarding segregation of neighborhoods. 

If you like a good ghost story, listen to this feature from Arts Underground where we brought in Debbie Smith to tell hers. If you like a fantastic scares-the-snot-outta-ya ghost story, turn off the lights and listen to this ghost story!! It's real, it's recent, it's local, and it's SCARY. 

Last year in October we debuted a travel episode dedicated to Iceland, and what a hit! So this year, we've dedicated one to Scotland. Listen for the sounds and stories of Scotland - specifically Edinburgh!

Mahatma Gandhi helped to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule through nonviolent reistance and teachings. His grandson, Arun Gandhi, is now also an activist who advocates for understanding and education surrounding the nature of anger and how it can lead to violence. Sarah Williamson interviewed Arun when he visited Huntsville to speak at the Indian Festival for Asha Kiran. 

Jovani Occomy has been creating music from the time she was little and sang with her grandmother during car rides. She sat down to talk with us about her music-making journey, and told us some of the stories behind her most memorable songs to date

Estonia is one of the most cyber secure nations in the world and it's thanks in part to Estonian Ambassador and former Minister of Cyber Defense, Jonatan Vseviov. In this interview, we talk about how Estonians spend hardly more than 3 minutes on their taxes, and never have to visit a government office except for renewing national online I.D.'s (what is that? Listen to find out), real estate, and marriage licenses. In light of the Mueller report and statement, it's also nice to know what we could be doing better with regards to internet safety. 

Why is a naked human body so taboo? Why does the idea of posing for art make us so uncomfortable? In this episode of Arts Underground, our P.O.W. panel dives into the feelings behind why the female body is sexualized when nude regardless of context.