Wichita Rutherford interviews Ricky Skaggs!

I hail from Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, and am proud to say that my fine commonwealth is the birthplace of bluegrass music. I love the stuff (whenever I'm in a bad mood, I put on my Bill Monroe: Live From Mountain Stage album and things turn around right quick), and also love listening to interviews. That's why I was absolutely dazzled by this interview recorded by the brilliant Wichita Rutherford. Wichita came up in podcasting -- he remains one of my favorite podcasters of all time; he's so precious -- and now hosts "The Grand Old Time Machine" Sirius/XM show. He recently spent some quality time with bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs ... and the interview is nothing short of awesome.

You've gotta check out this interview, even if you don't know much about bluegrass music. You'll hear an intimate take on Ricky's life story and family, and his journey into the musical life -- and learn a lot about bluegrass along the way. You won't regret it.

But you gotta move fast; Wichita says the MP3 will be available for a few days.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

--J.C.

OBSIDIAN: Episode 25

Today sees the release of the hilarious short-short story The Odds by the legendary Wichita Rutherford! Wichita Rutherford is the world-renowned podcast celebrity. He is recognized as a true pioneer of the podcasting movement and continues to push the envelope with his cutting edge, innovative digital content. He's also ... precious.

When Wichita first came on the podcasting scene, it was obvious he was something special. An interviewer and Bluegrass historian with a knack for making famous people laugh, it didn't take long for the Bluegrass community to take notice, including superstars such as Alison Krauss, Dierks Bentley, John Paul Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Gillian Welch, Bela Fleck and Doc Watson. These are just some of the superstars who lined up to be interviewed on his podcast, "5 Minutes with Wichita." Demand became so insatiable that Wichita soon found himself the very first Podcaster with a deal at SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

XM is now Wichita's "satellite radio home" after his two-year run on SIRIUS. His new show, "The Grand Old Time Machine," has an unprecedented fan base.

Wichita is also one of the celebrity spokespersons for TreeMe.org, a fledgling non-profit whose goal is to have 25,000 trees planted the week of 4/20/09.

PROMOS:

• TreeMe.org

Coming up next on 7th Son: OBSIDIAN: Two "Voices from the Darkness" episodes -- one audio, one video -- and then the debut of Scott Sigler's two-part masterpiece, Eusocial Networking!

OBSIDIAN: Episode 1

Welcome to the debut episode of J.C. Hutchins' 7th Son: OBSIDIAN, the world's first podcast short story anthology based in an existing fictional universe. The universe is, of course, Hutchins' 7th Son Podcast Novel Trilogy.

Nearly 100 people have contributed to the OBSIDIAN experience. Tales from bestselling novelists, A-List podcast storytellers and 7th Son fans from around the globe will be featured in this anthology over the next 10 weeks. At least three episodes of content will be released each week, so prepare for full immersion into the OBSIDIAN blackout experience.

In the weeks ahead, you'll hear stories from these podcast entertainers: Michael A. Stackpole, Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty, Matt Wallace, Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, Christiana Ellis, Evo Terra, Dan Klass, Wichita Rutherford, TD-0013, George Hrab, Soccergirl, and the cast of The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd.

Today's episode features the first half of the short story Miles To Go Before I Sleep, written and narrated by Tee Morris. Learn more about Tee's work -- and send him an appreciative email! -- at TeeMorris.com.

There's huge news in J.C.'s "talky talk" intro and outro segments, including:

• The big reveal about J.C.'s next novel, affectionately nicknamed CODE PHANTOM
• The world premiere of Celldweller's instrumental version of "Birthright"
• How you can download a full album of Celldweller songs -- including the full version of "Birthright" -- for free at FixtOnline.com/FreeDownloads
• J.C.'s appearance on producer Shawn Bishop's podcast, Behind The Lines #14
• The debut of J.C.'s text story, 7th Son: Runner, available as a mobile phone exclusive

Feedback about OBSIDIAN is welcome and appreciated! Send J.C. an email, leave a comment below, or call the Clone Line at 206-984-2566 (CLONE).