Published in the Indianapolis Star, June 7, 2016

Sen. Bernie Sanders is no stranger to the indie music scene — or, surprisingly enough, to collectors’ edition releases. Sanders dropped his own indie album back in 1987, a cassette-only release called “We Shall Overcome” that found him crooning legendary folk songs. Three decades later, Sanders’ message is the same, but his musical exploits are a bit more high profile.

On June 1, Indianapolis record label Joyful Noise released “Feel It In Your Guts,” a song composed by Sonic Youth’s legendary Thurst...

Published in the Indianapolis Star, October 6, 2015

For a teenager to say that music was way cooler before they were born is nothing new — just ask the kid wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt in any high school in America. But for a teen to say that and start belting Mel Torme, well, that’s something special. Lebanon, Ind., native Lucas DeBard is exactly that type of teenager.

On July 25 he became this year’s Songbook Youth Ambassador, the face of the Great American Songbook Foundation — singer Michael Feinstein’s organization devoted to keeping al...

Published in The Indianapolis Star, May 6, 2014

Thanks to that wild voice, expressive face and often-exposed belly, Tracy Morgan has been one of the most recognizable people on television for nearly 20 years.

The Brooklyn-born comic developed his absurd comedy on the stand-up circuit in the ’90s and brought his weirdo genius to “Saturday Night Live” with such classic characters as Brian Fellows (Safari Planet) and Dominican Lou. On “30 Rock,” he played an even more outrageous version of himself: Tracy Jordan, the diabetic, hard-partying celebrit...