Lainey Wilson burst onto the country music scene in 2022 with her album Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’. But for seven years before that, she struggled to make it in the high-pressure Nashville music scene. And before that, she was a kid from a tiny town in rural Louisiana with a dream of being a country star.

In this encore episode from 2023, Lainey joins Guy to talk about how she handled the hard times, what she’s learned about the art of collaboration during the making of two acclaimed albums, and what defines her unique style – which she calls “Bell Bottom Country”.

Links from the Show: 

• Lainey Wins the 2023 CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year 
• Tougher Music Video
• Things A Man Oughta Know Music Video
• Lainey’s French Bulldog Hippie Mae’s Instagram 
• Hillbilly Hippie Official Lyrics Video
• Lainey’s Female Vocalist of the Year (2022) Acceptance Speech
• Lainey’s New Artist of the Year (2022) Acceptance Speech 
• Tougher album (2016)
• Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ (2021) 
• Bell Bottom Country (2022)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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One of the first – and biggest – stars of the MTV era, Billy Idol is nothing short of a rock icon. He sits down with Guy Raz to share how the Sex Pistols inspired him to start a band instead of working for his dad; the stories behind the songs “Dancing with Myself” and “Rebel Yell”; his famously edgy image and lifestyle; and the workout routine that allows him to tour internationally into his late 60s.

Buy the 40th anniversary expanded edition of Billy’s album “Rebel Yell” here: https://billyidol.lnk.to/RebelYellExpanded

Links from the Show: 

• Sex Pistols swearing on TV with Bill Grundy
• Generation X: Kiss Me Deadly
• Dancing with Myself music video
• Rebel Yell
• White Wedding
• Eyes Without a Face
• Hot in the City
• Billy’s Instagram
• His YouTube channel

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Oskar Eustis is the Artistic Director at the Public Theater in New York City. He sits down with Guy to talk about “falling into the avant-garde rat hole” early in his career; convincing Lin-Manuel Miranda that Hamilton was more than a concept album; bringing theater to senior centers, women’s shelters, and prisons; and why he believes performing arts are essential to democracy.

See what the Public theater has playing here: https://publictheater.org/

Links from the Show: 

• Lin-Manuel Miranda debuts Hamilton at the White House in 2009
• Oskar’s TED Talk
• Brief profile of the Public Theater’s Public Works program
• Shakespeare in the Park

For more conversations like this – including interviews with theater legends like Audra McDonald and Nathan Lane – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Sam Harris is the frontman for X Ambassadors, a multi-platinum pop rock trio from Ithaca, New York. Sam sits down with Guy to talk about his bond with his brother and bandmate Casey, who was born blind; how X Ambassadors felt “so not cool” and faced lots of rejection while trying to make it in the Brooklyn indie rock scene of the late 2000s; and how getting tricked into writing the song “Renegades” for a Jeep commercial turned into a big break.

Sam also shares the story behind getting discovered by Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds; his daily routine and habits; the two recent, emotional events that inspired the band’s new Ithaca-focused album; and much more.

You can buy X Ambassadors’ latest album, Townie, here: https://shop.xambassadors.com/

Links from the Show: 

• Litost
• Jungle music video
• Renegades
• Unsteady
• Your Town (Todd Peterson tribute from Townie)
• No Strings (from Townie)
• Blinding Lights (The Weeknd Cover)
• Sam Nelson - when love has gone (Sam solo)

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant shot to fame as the lead vocalist for the indie-folk band 10,000 Maniacs, then left the band at the height of their popularity to build a successful solo career. She sits down with Guy to talk about the political concerns that animate her work; what a dinner with Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass taught her about creativity; how a degenerative spinal disease almost ended her artistic career; and her newest project honoring a late Italian poet who’s been nearly erased from history. 

Natalie’s ninth studio album is called Keep Your Courage.

Links from the Show: 

• These Are Days by 10,000 Maniacs
• Carnival by Natalie Merchant
• It’s A-Coming, the song Natalie sings in this episode
• Buy Keep Your Courage

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Tom Hanks to Bjork to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Actor Rainn Wilson is best known for playing Dwight on "The Office," but in recent years he has become a mental health and spirituality advocate through his books and production company, SoulPancake. He joins Guy to talk about auditioning for the role of Michael Scott, the deep anxiety he faced as a young actor, his ensuing search for inner peace, and why he believes performing can be a spiritual act.

Rainn’s book is called “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution”.

This episode originally aired in April 2023.

Links from the show:

• Rainn and Steve Carell give a tour of the set of "The Office"
• The documentary "Laughing Matters," produced by Rainn's production company with comedians talking about mental health
• Rainn quizzes Billie Eilesh ("The Office's biggest fan")
• Rainn on the difference between The Office and Saturday Night Live
• Rainn and Steve Carell talk about pandemic-related stress and give advice on how to overcome it
• Rainn and chess master Magnus Carlsen talk chess and metaphysics

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Stephen Colbert to Ice Cube to Jason Sudeikis – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Singer-songwriter Cody Jinks shares his journey from heavy metal frontman and part-time bouncer and forklift driver to country music’s top independent artist. He talks about enduring years of poverty in order to keep 100% ownership over his publishing (“it was worth it”); how he wrote the 2x-platinum track “Loud & Heavy”; finding sobriety; and evolving his sound into his 40s.

Cody’s new album is called “Change the Game”.

Links from the Show: 

• “Loud & Heavy” ​
• “Sober Thing”
• Cody’s website
• Cody’s Instagram

For more conversations like this – with guests ranging from Lainey Wilson and Shania Twain to Jeff Tweedy and The Smiths’ Johnny Marr – go to https://www.thegreatcreators.com.

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Every weeknight, Louis Cato performs live in front of a few million people as the band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He arranges the tunes, sets the tone, and plays multiple instruments himself; Colbert calls him a “musical genius”. Today, Louis talks about the multi-decade journey that led him here – from listening to “only Jesus music” in his youth and then having his mind blown by the Rolling Stones, to dropping out of the Berklee College of Music and touring the world, to a near-fatal accident that still affects him to this day. He even sings us a few beautiful bars. Louis’ most recent solo album is called “Reflections”.

Links from the show: 

• Louis being introduced by Stephen as the new Late Show band leader in 2022 Introducing Louis Cato and The Late Show Band!
• Louis’ NPR Tiny Desk Concert Louis Cato: Tiny Desk Concert
• Louis performing “Reflections” on the Late Show
• Buy Louis’ album “Reflections”
• Louis’ Instagram

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

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Jacob Collier has been called the “Mozart of Gen Z” by the New York Times. As a teen, his one-man-band performances went viral and led to a cold email from (and friendship with) music legend Quincy Jones – something he discusses in this episode. 

He also talks about his childhood, where he gets his ideas, why doesn’t make pop hits, and his most recent album, Djesse, Vol. 4. The album features an eclectic range of collaborators, from T-Pain to Chris Martin of Coldplay… plus, 100,000 other voices. Really!

Get Jacob’s album Djesse Vol. 4 here: https://shop.jacobcollier.com/

More links from the show: 

• Jacob’s rendition of Pure Imagination and 
• Jacob directing an audience choir Jacob Collier - The Audience Choir (Live at O2 Academy Brixton, London)
• Jacob’s Tiny Desk Concert (2019)
• Jacob’s YouTube channel
• His Instagram
• TikTok

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

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Ryan Tedder is the lead singer of OneRepublic and the producer and songwriter behind countless hits including Adele’s Rumor Has It and Beyonce’s Halo. Tedder even sold his own catalog for a reported $200 million. He joins Guy to talk about growing up in a religious family, tackling his stagefright (“I was shaking backstage”), using personal experiences to write hits, working with star musicians, and how to choose singles in the TikTok age. This episode was originally released in 2023.

Links from the Show

• Ryan Tedder performing “Apologize” solo for BBC Music
• OneRepublic’s music video for “I Ain’t Worried” featured on Top Gun: Maverick 
• Music video for Adele’s “Rumor Has It” co-written by Ryan Tedder
• Music video for Beyonce’s “Halo” co-written by Ryan Tedder
• Music video for Paul McCartney’s “Fuh You” co-written by Ryan Tedder
• Ryan’s Instagram
• His TikTok
• His Hit-Making Course

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hilary Swank is one of just 14 women to win not one but two Academy Awards for Best Actress (Boys Don’t Cry, Million Dollar Baby). And as you’ll learn today, her life story just as remarkable as her career: from growing up in a trailer park (“it was no big deal”) to moving to L.A. as a teenager and living with her mom in their car for a time while chasing her dreams, to her breakthrough role as Brandon Teena in the indie film “Boys Don’t Cry” – a performance that earned Hilary an Oscar, and just $3,000. She also reflects on playing a transgender character as a cisgender woman; which movie she feels doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves; and how she envisions the next chapter of her career after becoming a mother last year.

Hilary’s newest film is called Ordinary Angels.

Links from the show: 

• Oscars acceptance speech for Best Actress in Boys Don’t Cry
• Acceptance speech for Best Actress in Million Dollar Baby
• Boys Don’t Cry Memorable Moments
• Freedom Writers (2007)
• Ordinary Angels (Feb 22, 2024)

See all our episodes – including conversations with Tom Hanks, Jason Sudeikis, Bjork, and many more – at TheGreatCreators.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.