Backstory Sessions

Changing Lanes

Welcome to another great episode! Cat and our guest co-host, Christie Connolly, who is the Associate Professor of Theater at Union College in Barbourville, KY.  Christie is a previous guest on the podcast, and has worked with us on a few different projects. Its always a pleasure to work with her. They chat with Wes Miller, who wrote and directed "A Day To Die", starring Bruce Willis, Kevin Dillon, and Frank Grillo. Wes talks about his upbringing in one of the rougher parts of Memphis, TN, and how a few people in his life changed the path he was on, which led him to law school, and later into the film industry. It is a very interesting backstory that we know you will enjoy. We thank Wes for sharing his inspiring story, and Christie for sharing cohosting duties for this episode. 
Wes Miller Bio:
WES MILLER (Director / Writer / Producer) is an upcoming film-making powerhouse, with a dedication to exploring the ongoing social and cultural problems in America. He specializes in exploring pulpy slices of Americana violence through the eyes of flawed characters. Miller was raised in Memphis, TN, where he was a three sport athlete. He attended college at Lambuth University (now University of Memphis-Lambuth) and was an All Conference cornerback. His life’s journey next took him to law school. After raising his son as a single father and graduating towards the top of his law school class, Miller worked as a civil rights trial lawyer and completely left the practice of law in 2015 and began completely honing his skills as a visual storyteller. His 2016 release, Prayer Never Fails was nominated for awards at several festivals including the Long Beach International Film Festival. His 2018 release, River Runs Red starring Taye Diggs, George Lopez and John Cusack has won numerous awards including Best Dramatic Film at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival. His next film, the western, Hell on the Border starring David Gyasi, Ron Perlman and Frank Grillo screened at multiple film festivals and for multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Miller was also awarded Best Director of an Independent Film in 2020 at the Hollywood & African Prestigious Awards (HAPA) for his 2019 film release Atone. Miller has developed an exciting body of work in a short time and continues to deliver films that are commercial, socially relevant and impactful, that challenge both the eye and the mind.

Find My Joy

Welcome Backstory fans! We have another awesome episode for you this week. We chat with the Grammy award winning country artist, John Berry! John tells us about the stories behind some of his great songs, how he got started in music, and what song changed his life, among other topics. He details some of the struggles he has endured on his path, and the genesis of his newest album, “Find My Joy”. We are honored to have the opportunity to talk with John, and share his stories with you all,  and think you will find them interesting, as well as inspiring. 
John’s Bio:
John Edward Berry (born September 14, 1959) is an American country music artist. Active as a recording artist since 1979, he has recorded more than 20 studio albums, including one platinum album and two gold albums. In his career, Berry has also charted 19 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One single "Your Love Amazes Me" from 1994 and six additional Top 10 hits: "What's In It for Me," "You and Only You," "Standing on the Edge of Goodbye," "I Think About It All the Time," "Change My Mind," and "She's Taken a Shine."

Foodsmith

Hello again Backstory fans! We have another really interesting episode for you tonight! This one starts off with the introduction of our special guest host, Corri Taylor. Having been a guest on the podcast twice before, she agreed to guest host this episode with us, which we appreciate very much. Corri gives us a quick update on what she has been up to recently, and we think you will find it very surprising. 
We then move into the main part of this episode, where we all sit down with David Leathers, owner of Foodsmith. David has spent many years as a chef, teacher, innovator, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, who, like many in the food service industry, was affected by the Covid pandemic. Never one lacking for new ideas, David came up with the concept of Foodsmith, which he advertises as a mobile dining experience. David essentially brings an entire high end restaurant to your house, and prepares and serves you a fantastic meal inside his custom built mobile kitchen and dining facility.  We chat about the concept, the building of the structure, logistics of laying out the space, and the million other details that go into this project. David shares his drive and  passion for preparing interesting dishes, and providing his guests with an unforgettable experience with Foodsmith. We think you will enjoy this interesting and fun episode, and go away wanting to have David bring Foodsmith to your house as much as we do. We thank David and Corri for their time with us.

A Not So Trivia Point

Welcome Backstory fans!..In this episode we talk to our friend Mike Tillbrook. Mike is a member of our Backstory Sessions group on Facebook, and he joins us to talk about how he met his good friend Margie, while playing trivia in a small town in NY. Its is a chance meeting that has grown into a mutual respect and fondness for each other. Both have said the other came along in thier lives just when they needed them the most. Mike also talks about a variety of other interests, such as cooking, beer making, and punk rock, to name a few. We originally invited him to be on the podcast to share his story about meeting Margie, which he does relay here, but we veered off topic a bit and got more of Mike’s backstory, which we found to be pretty interesting as well. We hope you enjoy this fun episode!

A Pickleball Soap Opera

In this episode we chat with author Jeff Rasley about his newest book, "A Pickleball Soap Opera: Love, Murder, and Pickleball", which is his 13th book. As you may recall, Jeff is a previous guest on the podcast from way back in season 1 or 2 where we talked with him about his many travel experiences. Jeff talks about a variety of topics including the origins of Pickleball, his inspiration for writing this book, his experiences as a pickleball player, and many other things related to his writing process, publishing company, future projects and the like. It is always a pleasure to talk to such a creative and knowledgeable person as Jeff, and we think you will find this an interesting episode, which we think you will enjoy.
Rather than putting Jeff's very lengthy Bio here, we invite you the head over to his website at ​www.jeffreyrasley.com to find out more about him. 

PICARD!!

Hey there Backstory fans! Welcome to another great episode. This week we have an awesome guest in actor Rory Ross, who appears in the THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, the Star Wars series chronicling the adventures of the legendary Bounty Hunter is now showing on Disney+. Rory is also in the upcoming OBI-WAN KENOBI, plays one of Boba’s trusted Tusken Raider allies. Find out how Rory's first experience watching Star Wars led to a life long path that led him to his current roles. We also find out how a chicken figures into this story of Rory's career, his secret celebrity crush, a story of multi colored Mohawk, and what the future holds for our new friend. See if you can figure out the huge blunder Matt made in asking a question. (face palm).
Rory Ross Bio:
Rory Ross was born near Harrison, AR on June 11, 1991. He is the firstborn of five and has four wonderful step-sisters. Growing up in Lockridge, IA, he decided the farming life was not for him & took off to Seattle, Washington in 2006 to form his own path. From there he began his high school academics at Auburn Adventist Academy and graduated with High Honors along with numerous academic awards. He received a scholarship to Walla Walla University, where he completed his Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business in 2014 & soon afterward began his pursuit of acting. Since then, Rory has been featured on Linkin Park's Music Video: Heavy, The Librarians, New Girl, & JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald, playing Lee Harvey Oswald. He is now a part of Disney+'s Star Wars Universe.ry's Bio:

Losing to Win

In this episode we shift gears a bit, and bring you the story of Charles Myrick. Charles has struggled with his weight for a very long time, and decided to have surgery to help him overcome his obesity, which was limiting his life in many ways. In this very candid interview, Charles details his path to and from his highest weight of 650 lbs. We discuss his mindset, what lead to his weight gain, perceptions of his family and friends, and what led up to his decision to get the surgery. He details what he did leading up to the surgery, and what life has been like since, and what he is doing to ensure his ongoing success. Charles has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 lbs, which has changed his life in many ways. We wish him the best on his journey, and thank him for being so open and willing to share his story. We hope you enjoy this revealing episode, and find it helpful. We recorded this on location in Cat's van, so you may hear traffic going by...

A Good Approach

In addition to the episode with Charles Myrick, we decided to release a companion episode. In this one, we present a non surgical approach to overcoming obesity. Dr. Cheryl Sarmiento talks with us about her interesting approach to treating the whole person rather than a piecemeal way of current healthcare. She gives a huge amount of facts and figures, as well as what things she sees in her patients, and their struggles with obesity. the volume of information and the many different areas we touched on in this episode were only the tip of the iceberg. so much so, that we invited Dr. Cheryl to come back in the near future to do another one, which she graciously agreed to. We thank Dr. Cheryl for her time, and all the info provided, 

County Wide

Welcome to another..umm..crazy episode.. During part of the recording of this one, Cat and I were in a parking lot, talking about our connection to one of the members of the band County Wide, the subject of this weeks podcast. We were surprised to see 2 police cars show up, and, well, we reveal what happens in the beginning part of the episode.. We reveal how we came to meet the keyboard player of County Wide, and then go on to talk to the drummer of the band, Travis Clem. The actual recording with Travis took place at the beginning of one of the recent snowstorms here in Kentucky, with Travis sitting in his truck, watching the snow pile up. We talk about the evolution of the band, some of the memorable shows the band has done, and many more topics in this fun and interesting episode. Travis reveals who is the best looking, funny moments on stage, the bands first gig, opening for Chris Stapleton, and many other great stories. During the recording, Cat dropped off the call, leaving me to finish the interview, but unfortunately, I didn't any questions prepared...lol. Travis was great about everything, and we enjoyed talking to him, and learning about the band very much. We hope you enjoy this fun episode.

Season 5 Begins

Welcome back!.. We begin Season 5 with a Cat and Matt episode, taking about the upcoming season, and reviewing some highlights of Season 4. We also share a few different stories about some recent happenings, including Matt’s experience with buying a new phone, and the mysterious appearance of a chicken. Cat decides to learn Danish, maybe, and we talk about books and plays we are working on. . We hope you enjoy this fun, and at times silly episode.