Editor’s note: We know the phone sounds get annoying at some points during this conversation, and we apologize.
This week, it’s all about the music, man. Matthew Burtner is an Alaskan-born composer, sound artist, and eco-acoustician whose music is inspired by the sounds of glaciers and, in many ways, the reality of climate change. David Jude is research scientist emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, a renowned fish biologist, and the discoverer of the invasive round and tubenose goby fish in the Great Lakes. Finally, Jerry Mack is the host of “Nothin’ But the Blues” and “Yazoo City Calling” on WCBN, and he leads the band “Jerry Mack and the Terraplanes.”
Burtner explains how growing up around glaciers has shaped his music, and we hear “Threnody” from his latest album, Glacier Music (you can find out more about that below.) Jude talks about how his discovery of the gobies inspired him to write and perform his original song, “The Galloping Goby Blues,” at a national conference. Mack gives us some background on his love for blues music and treats listeners to an in-studio performance of his original song, “Along the Banks of the Huron River.
Links:
Matthew Burtner’s “Glacier Music” album
The impact of gobies on the Great Lakes
David Jude on the round goby (ScienceDaily)