The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

Bulverde, Texas-based singer-songwriter, producer, and beverage connoisseur, Jerry David DeCicca, has been intimatley involved in music for more than two decades, tending the gardens of a creative career that has seen him both on the scene as well as behind it, working with folks such as our mutual friend Ralph E. White, Larry Jon Wilson, Bob Martin, and our main focal point for this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, the late great Edward Crane Askew. Having met each other over a decade ago, the dynamic duo not only toured together on the release of 2013's "For The World," but have since secured a friendship that has explored melody, memory, philosophy, and the poetic production of sound.
After a decade between projects, DeCicca and Askew's paths crossed again for what would soon become the legend's last breath of melodic meditation on life and death, 2026's "The Final Painting". A postumous masterpiece that echoes from the artistic afterlife, DeCicca sits down to chat with us about his personal and professional relationship with the late artist, the overall process, and approach to the album's metamorphosis from one song to another, and critical contributions from the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Eve Searls, Canaan Faulkner, Bill Callahan, William Tyler, Ryan Jewell, Dustin Laurenzi, and Fulvio Sigurta. With another single out on June 22nd, the album is set for release on the beloved Drag City on July 31st in all its gripping glory. "The Final Painting" may be Askwe's last album, but the metaphysical mist will soon clear, eventually revealing a body of work that truly stands the test of time.

Longtime friend and cosmic collaborator on such works as 1997's "Thorny Path" and 2024's "Rising Phoenix" Erik Shumpert, and his twin brother Paul first met Snarb in the early 1980s, and would soon all move in together in a tiny, historic abode on Brooks St. in LA county where Barnes had been laying down some of Amps For Christ's earlier works like "Plains Of Alluvial," and "Beggars Garden." Influenced by the West Coast punk explosion, Thorn takes us through the melodic memories of Claremont's thriving community of creative culture, catching some of the most influential acts of the Hardcore/Punk scene, recording the infamous track "Pain Of The Fire," and receiving spiritual schooling from Barnes and his unique universe of electronic ecstasy.

This episode takes place right in the harmonious heart of Barnes' liberating laboratory at the legendary Folk Music Center and Museum, located in Claremont, California, where he's worked as a luthier specializing in the setup and repair of sitars, banjos, mandolins, and volins, fret replacement and fret dressing of all stringed instruments, neck resets, electronics, and pickup installation for over two decades. Our journey picks up with Barnes telling us about the early releases of AFC, such as the highly influential debut cassette "The Plains Of Alluvial" that came out on the legendary Shrimper label back in the mid-1990s, which has since become a sonic staple in the legend's radical repertoire, as well as 1997's "Thorny Path." With freedom, the overall goal for everything and anything, AFC, Barnes' cosmic connection to science and spirituality collide in an esoteric explosion, making his sacred style seem like something from a time that reflected riches under the ancient sun, similar to a metaphysical mystery in music that only he knows the secret song to.

Having first met the late great David "Cloud" Berman sometime in Dallas in 1984, poetic painter Chris Kysor has been an incredibly important individual in the world of the Silver Jews before they even lifted off the ghostly ground in the 1990s. Friends since high school, Kysor tells us about his dear friend, and poet, the only way he knows how: through his intimate connection and precious friendship with one of the greatest artists of our time. From local concerts where they saw the Cure together, and several of the punk pioneers that were coming through the "Big D" in the 1980s, to Berman's days briefly spent in Austin, the two would eventually reconnect in 1998 while Kysor was living and working in Brooklyn as a painter, and Berman during the Jews' recording of their definitive album, "American Water".
The story goes that Berman visited the artist's studio where he first encountered the unnamed painting, which he instantly became transfixed by, and would later call Kysor to ask if they could use it for their next album. Stunned by his dear friend's interest, Kysor happily agreed, and the rest is harmonious history. Neither of the two knew what was coming their way, both personally as well as their careers, but it's the stuff legends are made of. Kysor breaks down the atmospheric anecdotes that make this episode so enduring and a delight to hear, just how "American Water" became so intensely iconic from the music to its fanous cover.

Logtime Providence-based rockers Deer Tick have been releasing aggressively atmospheric, sonically seductive music for over two decades now. Since forming in the winter of '04 as a duo dynamic for McCauley's melodies, the group has spiritually secured a poetic place in the creative cosmos, alongside their peers and critical contemporaries. We had the chance to sit down with McCauley to talk about the band's brand new album, "Coin-O-Matic", which is set for release on ATO Records in early June, and the thriving traditions, historical harmonies, and memories of the mafia that once thrived in New England at that time. With everything that's going on in this country, the madness and the cruelty, Deer Tick hace risen from the artistic ashes since the release of the their 2023 album "Emotional Contracts" to serve the people a delightful dose of splendid songwriting and self-produced purity, but above all, superb storytelling.