Three Song Stories

Episode 139 - Andy Johnson

Andy Johnson lived on and ran a survey business from Sanibel Island from 2005 until 2017, when he sold it and now he works in Ft. Myers. He is also a djembe player, and contributed to the Gulf Coast Life theme song.

Episode 138 - Les Stroud

Les Stroud is a Canadian survival expert, filmmaker and musician. He’s best known as the one-man-band creator of the TV series Survivorman. He has also worked as a full-time wilderness guide, survival instructor, and he’s a musician. 

As a musician Stroud has shared the stage with many names and bands at the top in the business. He has written all the theme songs for his TV shows and scored several independent films. Les has recorded six albums, including Bittern Lake in 2018, and most recently Mother Earth in 2019.

He’s also working on a new show for public television called Surviving Disasters with us here at WGCU.

Episode 137 - Dan Philgreen

Dan Philgreen has done film production in 34 countries, and spent 6 years as a college professor teaching video production before coming to Fort Myers to work at Shell Point Retirement Community to work on their daily, half-hour, in-house TV show, Shell Point Today, as a producer, writer, cameraman, editor, and on-camera host.

He's also a charter member of the Americana Community Music Association in Fort Myers. Dan is a singer-songwriter and has recorded dozens of original songs. He has gigged around Fort Myers sporadically over the last 10 years including a couple of seasons as half of the 70s duo, Windhorse. 

Episode 136 - Dustin Hapli

Dustin Hapli is a former engineer, producer, and host for WGCU Public Media where we make this show. He co-created Gulf Coast Live with me and Ryan Warner (Ep. 116) in 2004. He's worked for WUSF, WMNF, iHeartMedia, and now serves as Director of Technical Operations for Entercom.

You can see a video of Dave Dave Dave (Cowan) performing this week's parting tune, as well as an extended shot of a cat, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_xuDTabOIk

 

Episode 135 - Katie Lyon

Katie is a singer-songwriter from Southwest Florida who has spent time busking on the beaches, playing dive bars, and breweries. She says there’s really no one place that holds her, but Chattanooga currently does have a pretty tight grip. She’s been influenced by the sounds of Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, and Kacey Musgraves, as well as George Strait, Chris Stapleton, & Jason Isbell.

Episode 134 - Robert Bidney

Robert Bidney is a singer/songwriter, advertising professional, husband and father of two sons. He’s written songs that have been covered by recording artists around the world, and has songs under contract with publishers in Nashville, and he’s recorded two albums. 

His work has been used in national radio and TV commercials for companies like The Sports Authority, Levitz Furniture, Michael's, PetSmart, and more. In the past he’s worked for Office Depot, Rexall Sundown, and large advertising agencies. He’s currently employed by Chico’s producing their print work.

Episode 133 - Jesi Cason

Jesi Cason is a photographer who specializes in personal and commercial branding photography. Jesi has worked with several SWFL bands and musicians to create photos that help them connect with their fans. She is actively engaged in local and national politics, volunteering with nonprofits, and trying to help the world be less annoying. 

Episode 132 - Alexandra Figares

Alexandra Figares is a recent journalism graduate from FGCU, and once interned for the WGCU radio newsroom. She was also editor-in-chief for the university newspaper Eagle News. Originally born in Arica, Chile, but grew up in Naples her entire life, she came to the U.S. when she was just one year old.

Episode 131 - Ronin EarthClan

Ronin EarthClan is a hip hop musician and entertainer. He was born in Panama City, Panama, but raised in homestead, FL until about 2001 when he arrived in Fort Myers. You can find his music on most platforms, but you can find his most recent releases on Spotify

Episode 130 - Chef Brooke Wagenheim

Chef Brooke Wagenheim is owner and operator of Chef Brooke's Natural Cafe, in Fort Myers. Born in Manhattan, Brooke has worked in the food industry since her teenage years, in kitchens from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Shibuya, Japan. She says she felt the significance of natural foods - and read and learned everything she could about organics, veganism, gluten free, macrobiotics, and alternative medicine - at a young age.

Episode 129 - Spencer Elles

Spencer Elles is an artist, musician, and videographer who creates and performs Queer Rap under the pseudonym Duke Stamina. Under that name, he just got signed to Sweatband Records, and also recently became a twitch partner. He’s also getting ready to drop his debut album on September 6th. Spencer also runs a video production company called Dandy House, does digital illustration and design, and sells original fine art as a member of the DAAS CO-OP Art Gallery in Ft. Myers.

Episode 128 - Bruno Halpern

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bruno Halpern graduated from FGCU last year with a degree in journalism and is starting a master's in Educational Leadership at FGCU this Fall. During his time at the university he worked as Opinion Editor and Entertainment Editor at the student-run paper Eagle News. He's also been a citizen-board member at The News-Press, a radio newsroom intern at WGCU, and an editor for ABC/NBC TV. Bruno also recently won the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalism Award for Best Sound.

Episode 127 - Cody Smith

Cody Smith is founder, composer, producer, and lead Cody of the band Cody & Co. - which is called Cody & Co. even when he appears solo. He’s a Fort Myers native who says he got started with music by throwing up at his first choir concert in kindergarten, which he thinks could be the highlight of his 18 years performing. Since forming Cody & Co. in 2019, he's released more than 6 EPs.

Episode 126 - David Hintz

David Hintz is a Southwest Florida based singer/songwriter who has been actively writing and performing his own music and covers since high school. He’s a founding member of the Americana Community Music Association in Fort Myers, and has performed solo shows in Florida, up and down the East coast, and across the U.S. He describes his lyrics as being a reflection of real life experiences with everything from love won and lost, online dating, satire, religion, and politics. He says he loves to cover songs by his favorite writers and performers like Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine, Randy Newman, Michael Nesmith, Steve Goodman, and Dolly Parton.

David has 3 CDs in print: 2013's Rode Hard and Put Away Wet, 2015's Out With A Bang, and Happy Today released in 2020. 

BONUS - C.J. McFarlane Extended Version

C.J. McFarlane is the IT Administrator at Babcock Ranch Neighborhood School, the school in the first solar-powered town in America. C.J. designed and manages the technology systems used by the school, drawing on his education and 19-year employment at Florida Gulf Coast University where he also helped design and maintain many of the technology systems there.

Episode 125 - C.J. McFarlane

C.J. McFarlane is the IT Administrator at Babcock Ranch Neighborhood School, the school in the first solar-powered town in America. C.J. designed and manages the technology systems used by the school, drawing on his education and 19-year employment at Florida Gulf Coast University where he also helped design and maintain many of the technology systems there.

Episode 124 - Sara Comito

Sara Comito is a poet, and author of the new poetry collection, "Bury Me in the Sky". She and her husband John work in the stone masonry company Elemental Stone and Waterworks, and run a small urban hobby farm raising bees, chickens, and hot peppers...and quite a bit other stuff. She is also a poetry editor for Bending Genres Journal, and her own writing has been published in many print and online magazines around the world. 

Episode 123 - Lindsey Granados

Lindsey Granados is a criminal defense lawyer (who has also sat on the DA side of the court) in North Carolina, where Richard did this interview while he was on vacation, resulting in our first ever “on the road” 3 song stories. Lindsey Graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma Baptist University, and got her Law degree from Stetson University before moving to North Carolina and beginning her practice.

Episode 122 - John Davis

John Davis is a host, reporter, and producer for WGCU - where we make this show. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and he’s a producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life.

Prior to joining WGCU, he reported at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA. He studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. 

Episode 121 - Woody Hanson

Woody Hanson's family arrived in this part of Florida in 1866...that’s basically when Fort Myers came to be. His roots go back to Manuel A. Gonzalez - the first civilian resident here after the fort.

He owned and operated a real estate firm for 40 years before closing it a couple of years ago to move to Dublin, Ireland to get a PhD from Trinity College - which he’s still working toward. 

He’s also maintained a close relationship with Florida’s Seminole and Miccosukee Indians - his family’s connection with the tribes dates back to his grandfather W. Stanley Hanson, who was known as “the White Medicine Man.”