With a beer and a cozy setup, Local Yokel radio show takes us down home

by Jessica Harp

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It's a local podcast with local musicians. And it's a damn good time.

DALLAS — It all started at a bar. A few guys with a penchant for music came up with the idea to do a podcast featuring local music exclusively over a round of drinks at Dallas’ own Lee Harvey’s. In between rounds of shots and beer, three guys came up with the framework of what was to become the increasingly popular Local Yokel Show. It's run by Chad Davenport – a local bartender currently pouring drinks at Smoke in Oak Cliff; Pete Reece – a former trucker who now works for ESPN; and Jason Raney – a local videographer and engineer. Although the guys had been toying with the idea of a radio show for a while, it was Raney who initially came up with the idea to make the Local Yokel Show into a podcast.

“There is not much publicity for local music,” Davenport says. “There is so much out there in Dallas music and no one else is getting to hear it because no one is doing anything. It started out as a passion; something that we just liked. We want to promote Dallas and try to pull some musical gems out.”

Over the last year, the podcast has grown exponentially for the guys involved, which also includes Gavin Mulloy, a web developer; and Simon McDonald, owner of the Libertine Bar on Greenville Avenue. At first it was just fiddling around with DJ equipment, as Davenport says, but over time it grew into something more.

When Somebody’s Darling performed for the 10th edition of the podcast, the guys realized that they had grown too large for the small apartment studio.

“It was the turning point of the show,” Davenport said. “It proved what we are capable of doing and getting out there.”

Luckily the guys knew Tom Bridwell, a former Last Beat Studio engineer, who had built his own recording studio known as Tomcast Studio behind his home. The state-of-the-art studio, which has had its share of impressive local talent record there, quickly became the home base for the podcast.

Since the bi-weekly podcast began, local acts like Ryan Thomas Becker (one-half of Denton’s own RTB2), the unforgettable Paul Slavens, and Ishi have performed and been interviewed on the show.

Davenport says bands feel comfortable with the studio's down-home atmosphere, and the crew is friendly, often doing the show over a few beers with band members. Tomcast is perfect for small, intimate concerts. It is almost like watching a scaled-down version of MTV’s Unplugged, which adds a uniqueness that is not often seen anymore, especially for local bands who rarely get as much publicity as national acts.

“What we love about the show is that you will never hear the same recordings anywhere else,” Davenport says. “They are different from the album versions, different from band’s versions at their concerts and their shows. Bottom line: We are getting a free show, and the fans get something cool that they are never going to hear again.”

Although the Local Yokel Show may be hoping to get acts such as Doug Burr, Sarah Jaffe, Telegraph Canyon, or even Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights on the podcast, Davenport emphasizes that they are open to having bands and musicians of all kinds on the show. There are no set rules. The guys are just looking for bands or musicians who are passionate about the music they create and are willing to perform and talk about the craft.

If you want to hear more from the Local Yokel Show, just “grab ya drinks and grab ya smokes” and check out this week’s edition of featuring local country band Boys Named Sue.

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