Jazz Series Episode 6: Terry Gibbs
Southcoast Artists Index
In Episode Six, Dave Reis speaks with internationally renowned, award-winning jazz musician and centenarian, Terry Gibbs, via Zoom from Australia! Terry Gibbs, was born Julius Gubenkon in 1924. The renowned American jazz vibraphonist and band leader is 101 years old! According to his page, Gibbs has performed or recorded with many of the greatest names in Jazz, including , , , , , , , , , and to name just a few. "I am the oldest bebopper alive!” proclaims 93-year-old Terry Gibbs, according to an article in , "This forefather of the...
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Podcast Episode 209: John Irwin
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome, John Irwin, a , artist. His studio is in , which is located in . Tiverton, by the way, is a part of the . John has been painting for almost 50 years. He is a Special Education teacher at and teaches art at his studio and several other venues. John Irwin paints landscapes and portraits in oil and acrylic. He enjoys painting from life but, increasingly, also from memory. For the last half a dozen years, he has been teaching art, and he says, "I think it has made me a much better artist." John Irwin emphasizes drawing and experimentation with his students. He is interested in...
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Podcast Episode 208: Mwalim - DaPhunkee Professor
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome, Mwalim (AKA Daphunkee Professor AKA Morgan James Peters), who has been studying music since he was ten years old. He is formally trained in classical, jazz, and is a fourth-generation musician on his mother’s side. Mwalim’s first instrument was the viola, and he performed at with an orchestra before he was 14. He also started studying piano and composition with his grandfather, the noted jazz arranger, band leader, and producer for and , Allan Nurse. Mwalim went to the (LaGuardia) in New York City, and later earned his BA in Music and an MS in Film from . He earned an MFA in...
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Podcast Episode 207: Bryon Knight
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome, South Coast newcomer and the owner-operator of an already local institution, , Bryon Knight. One of our newest friends, supporters, and collaborators. He began his musical career at age 11 and wanted to know more about how instruments were built. Bryon began “hanging around” a shop where a master fiddle maker was producing hand-made violins, violas, cellos, and a few guitars. He "swept the sawdust just to be near the old and glean technical tidbits that would prove to be valuable later in my life." He also began playing in bands and eventually started touring regionally. Did we...
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LIVE FROM AHA! - MAY 2025
Southcoast Artists Index
This is the May episode - our tenth - in our continuing series of livestream podcasts from co-hosted by our podcast partner and friend We invited and guests from our earliest podcasts, , and to join us this month. In fact, Michael was our very first guest on . and did the first or intro podcast. The Artists Index's new volunteer deveelopment director, Catherine Carter ( and ), Dan Cooney () our very first sponsor, and Kat Knutsen (, , and ), one of our staunchest supporters were there! also dropped by. The topics ranged as per usual. Our guests were invited to help us celebrate...
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Podcast Episode 206: John Stetson - America's Master Mentalist
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome, South Coast native, America's Master Mentalist, and our friend, Jon Stetson, to our 206th podcast! Jon was our guest during the height of the pandemic when we recorded his visit on . A lot has happened in the World since we last spoke with him. In case you didn't know, Jon inspired the CBS hit television series . Stetson blends the art of Mystery with the study of Psychology, the predictability of human nature, and the power of intuition. According to Jon, “Imaginations are wowed, stretched, and captured, as thoughts are revealed and minds are being read.” This all takes place...
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Live From AHA! - April 2025
Southcoast Artists Index
This is the April episode - our ninth - in our continuing series of livestream podcasts from co-hosted by our podcast partner and friend We opted for an open mic evening this month and our guests were , The Artists Index Podcast host , , and . We covered a bunch of topics last Thursday, April 10th (from 6 to 7:30 pm.) Our guests joined podcast host to relate and swap stories as working artists about this wonderful world-famous, historic New England seaport, and the experience of being a part of one of the largest creative communities in Massachusetts. It all happened at in the Living Room...
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Podcast Episode 205: Max Wickemeyer
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome, Max Wickemeyer to our 205th podcast! Max is also known as Max Harris Wickemeyer or, by his professional name Max H. Wickemeyer. We were introduced to Max by our friend and early podcast guest, , the co-owner of and our first sponsor. Max said that I described him as a and that, "only time will tell" if, what I said was accurate. He started taking music lessons at 7 years old including trumpet, drums, and then guitar at 12. He's continued playing ever since and was a trio member of a hobby rock group, which according to AI Overview, is a group, "whose members play music primarily for...
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Podcast Episode 204: Andrew Tedesco
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome Andrew Tedesco, also known as . He is a contemporary artist. Andrew was born and raised in Massachusetts. He focuses on the narrative of storytelling through the methods of portraiture and working with the figure and its interaction with space. Andy works primarily with traditional techniques in drawing and painting while "imbuing them with aspects of street art and non-conventional materials." He is concerned with expressing the elements of stories, "as we are all vessels of our narrative and the narratives of others we carry within us." Andrew Tedesco spoke with The...
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Podcast Episode 202: Tammi J. Meehan
Southcoast Artists Index
Welcome Tammi Meehan , artist and clinical therapist. Tammi is originally from Boston and studied at in New York City. From there, she went on to the in France and later received a BFA from in 1993. Sixteen years later, Tammi returned to school and received a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology from in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2019, Tammi Meehan integrated her counseling and painting practices. As a , her interests in , , and are recognizable influences. Her daily meditation practice is the mainspring of her current work and represents eclectic integrations of conceptual...
info_outlineWelcome, South Coast newcomer and the owner-operator of an already local institution, Fairhaven Frets, Bryon Knight. One of our newest friends, supporters, and collaborators. He began his musical career at age 11 and wanted to know more about how instruments were built.
Bryon began “hanging around” a shop where a master fiddle maker was producing hand-made violins, violas, cellos, and a few guitars. He "swept the sawdust just to be near the old luthier and glean technical tidbits that would prove to be valuable later in my life." He also began playing in bands and eventually started touring regionally.
Did we mention that Byron was from Arkansas? He also had a 25-year career in television production, producing programs for ESPN, Fox Sports, The Discovery Channel, and The Outdoor Channel. He moved on to join the largest music retailer in the world, Thomann/Sweetwater Sound. After the devastating loss of a friend, he was encouraged by Little Rock Frets, which, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was the largest string instrument repair shop in the state.
His wife, Frances, is a New England Native and wanted to return "Home," and they did, coming to Fairhaven, Massachusetts, in 2019. Bryon is also the co-founder and President of the Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts (The Shep), which is located in the First Congregational Church in Fairhaven. It offers an array of local and regional music, dance, theater, and cinema talent.
Byron Knight spoke with The Artists Index’s cofounder, documentarian, and podcast host, Ron Fortier, this past April, about how his long-term vision for The Shep is to "have a stand-alone facility that can be a source of pride, if nothing else, for the community."
This episode was recorded at our recording studio at Spectrum Marketing Group at Howland Place in New Bedford.
Bryon Knight
The Shepherd Center for the Performing Arts
34 Center Street (First Congregational Church)
Fairhaven MA 028719
6508-9894-SHEP (7437)
Fairhaven Frets
105 Sconticut Neck Road
Fairhaven MA 02719
508-433-3738
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