Cliff & Susan Podcast

In this episode, Cliff and Susan talk about their incredible experience on the Huckabee Show – from what it was like being interviewed by Governor Mike Huckabee himself to getting insights into the show’s production. Hear their thoughts and feelings as they prepared for a national audience and how they felt afterward. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how TV works and learn strategies for preparing for big interviews that you can apply to your own career! To watch their appearance on the Huckabee Show, go to www.susanerwin.com/huckabee-show

It's finally here! Our new song, "Fiddle & Keys," dropped on January 20, 2023. We have been so stoked to see the positive response to this signature song we wrote a few years back. It's our story, our performance style, and our production all in one song!   Tune in to this podcast to hear us chat about how we wrote, recorded, and released this song. At the end of this episode, you can hear the song.  Much love and thanks to all who have supported us over the years. - Cliff & Susan www.cliffandsusan.live

Bree Ogden sat down with us at our new podcast location - our kitchen table! She brought us donuts and we chatted with her about her career, where she has been, and what is in store for her year. Follow Bree Ogden and learn more at www.linktr.ee/breeogden  Also, make sure to check in with our socials to nominate your favorite artists and more for the Arkansas Country Music Awards at www.arkansasmusic.org  Here's to a GREAT 2023, y'all! Cliff & Susan Linktree: www.linktr.ee/cliffandsusan

Anna Brinker has recently self-released an album, Lessons I've Learned, on all streaming platforms. We love her idea to put out this acoustic project, and in this episode we asked her to share how she did it. She also had a cool marketing approach for the release.  Anna is "A small-town Arkansas girl chasing her dream of playing the Ryman someday."  You can find Anna Brinker's info on her website: www.annabrinker.com

In this episode, we interview Grace Stormont. Cliff and Grace wrote a duet together, "Middle Ground", and it releases on October 28, 2022. We love Grace and her career has wonderful momentum. She has has 10 career nominations with the Arkansas Country Music Awards. She won the 2020 Acoustic Act of the Year and Song of the Year for "On Your Own". She also won 2021 Americana Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "On Your Own". We are honored to know and work with Grace.  Follow her GRACE STORMONT FACEBOOK

Don't miss out on the chance to join our Entertainers Academy in our beta launch. Listen to this episode to hear what we have up our sleeves! #independentartists #musicbusiness #musicindustry

In this episode, we are excited to share the news of our Entertainers Academy we are launching and providing resources to fellow artists on how to have a profitable and successful music career.  From songwriting and release, to marketing, and what we know to be the greatest way to make money in the music business - doing cover shows. Who wouldn't want to grow your fanbase, travel the world, hone your performance skills all while making a great living.  Listen now and check out our www.instagram.com/cliffandsusan click on the link in bio and follow the resources we have there! Website coming soon:  www.entertainersacademy.com

Mathew Pruss knew Cliff before Susan met him. Susan knew Mathew before Cliff met her. He introduced us! Mathew is the Deputy Director of NAMI Arkansas, and most importantly a dear friend whose mission is to "End The Stigma" of Mental Illness. We sat down with Mathew and told our story then transitioned into mental illness awareness and Susan's struggles with it. Join us in a very candid and open discussion. We'll have you laughing, thinking, and learning why we think it's important to talk about mental health.

Today I [Susan] sat down with Abbie Gunther, a dear friend and rockstar event planner here in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Abbie is the Event Manager with the Arkansas Times, and we chatted about all of the events she has throughout the year. This will give you a behind-the-scenes view of how we plan events. Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival is proud to have worked with the Arkansas Times, and we will be helping promote the upcoming Tacos & Tequila event in North Little Rock on May 12 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.  Abbie is a super-connector, and we are so thankful for her involvement and hard work to bring fun events to our community. Follow her Instagram - www.instagram.com/eventsbyabbie

Our friend and fellow chamber member, Chad Williams, with Computer Hut, came in today to our studio and we chatted about the importance of being a chamber member in your city. Listen to us talk about how we leveraged our membership and grew relationships in our community, which is one of the reasons our Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival has been a success.  Chad is a great guy, and we are so thankful for his support and work he does in our community and our great state of Arkansas. Check out Computer Hut at www.comphut.com. 

In this episode, we begin by talking about what A&R/Labels look for when finding artists to sign in 2022 based on what our friend and industry expert, Bobby Borg, just posted on his latest YouTube video: https://youtu.be/zad1oRnjESk. There were 3 tips on what labels look for, and not surprisingly, but super exciting for us to hear was one of them is HAVING A GREAT LIVE SHOW. So, in the episode we focus on how much money you can make with live shows, but begin by discussing the topic: Do I Need a Label Deal in 2022? Our philosophy? Once you've figured it out as a small business on your own, only the right deal is what you would need to catapult to the next level. You may not even need the deal.

It's been a large minute since we last recorded a podcast. This is our first ever video podcast. That means we have a video of this podcast you can find on our Cliff & Susan Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. Today we focused on The Pulaski County Fair. Susan was up at dawn to be on KARK4 NEWS to promote the upcoming fair next week.  Learn more about the fair at www.thepulaskicountyfair.com.

It's a lot. Just listen!  :) All of our projects we've been working on in the past 6 weeks broken down into 30 min. Follow us at www.facebook.com/cliffandsusan

Gosh, it might have been a minute or two since the last episode. We vow to do better.  In this episode, we are getting you caught up on our Big Red Dog Productions studio build, our upcoming shows, Willy D's, Yadaloo, Oaklawn, The Gravel Yard Bluegrass Band, Oculus and VR, Erwin Estates, DIY Artists Club, Tedx talk goals, and more... We've been busy! Text JOIN to 501-456-4114 to stay up to date with us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In this episode, Cliff shares some fun facts about the history of St. Patrick's day. Susan came up with 10 ways to improve your luck! Join us. 

We visit with a new friend we made through Susan launching her Alesis SR-18 Drum Machine tutorial a couple years ago.  David Lang joins us to discuss how he uses it and we have a discussion about best practices, even going through some of the beat patterns you can hear on this episode as we discuss pattern use, bpm/tempos and fills. To get the files, text us 501-456-4114.

Not only will you hear a little more about what we learned on NFTs, but we minted our first NFT! Follow along with our step-by-step guide on how we did it at www.NFTTips.Today. Also, we leave you with Cliff's Jerry Reed cover on guitar at the end of the episode. You can find his video of it on our TikTok and Instagram Reels.

We are on fire about learning NFTs!!! We know so little, but we share why we think it's worth learning and digging into. It's such new territory. We also start this podcast catching you up on what we've been doing. 

Live shows are coming back and the crowds are ready! Join us to hear how last weekend went and what is on our radar. 

We've had a crazy week. Good crazy! Lots to share and get you caught up on. We have a guest call-in and lots of updates for you!

We love Clubhouse if you haven't figured it out yet. Well, Susan does. Cliff digs it, but Susan takes the lead on this episode to run through the 10 Steps to Optimize Your Clubhouse Experience. This is an overview of an excellent resource you need to download by going to www.gary.club now and getting this FREE guide.   Join Clubhouse by going to www.joinclubhouse.com and following the directions to reserve your username. You need an invite, or someone who is in your contacts may already be on and wave you in!  Susan created her tutorial at www.clubhousetips.today, so check that out.  And the first 6 people to text "join clubhouse" to 501-456-4114, we will get you an invite!

We asked each other 21 questions and learned a lot! 

This is a very transparent episode. We talk about how we get through tough times and how life isn't always perfect. 

Why not write an eBook and publish on the Amazon eReader/Kindle section? Learn how to write, create and publish this inexpensively and start selling them online for $5 to $10. Text EBOOK to 501-456-4114 to get the video tutorial we watched.

There is snow on the ground in Arkansas! In this episode, we play Country Music Tuesday Trivia! You might learn a thing or two about Country music. 

Happy Valentine's Day... we share how Cliff proposed, how we got married and more. Make sure to listen to this episode to hear the song Cliff wrote and recorded for Susan while she was in Spain, right before he proposed!

It's Valentine's Day weekend, and we decided to make two episodes out of our story of how we met in 2016.  This first episode takes you from meeting to just before Cliff proposes.  Tomorrow, we will share the lovey stuff, on VALENTINE'S DAY!

In this episode, we took our podcast live to Clubhouse and talked about how we did this, the gear we use to podcast, what our experience has been, and more. We brought up a few guests live from Clubhouse to talk through how integrating the two platforms should and could work. As always, we learned a lot from each other on Clubhouse. This podcast gives you a glimpse into why we love it there!

In this episode, we bring in a special guest, Sean Gasaway, aka Bacon, to get to know him and discuss the new MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) and how it's going to help songwriters. Sean is an award-winning Songwriter, Producer, and Recording Artist. Also known as Podcast Personality "Bacon" & Pop/Rock Producer, GASOLINE. Toward the end, Sean and Cliff start chatting about pitching songs for artist cuts and sync placements. Songwriters, you aren't going to want to miss this episode! Visit Sean's Website: www.seangasaway.com 

In this episode, we talk about how Cliff has been actively writing, co-writing, and pitching songs to Nashville. We break it down for those who aren't in the music business, but also geek out a little about the inside process to help other songwriters. 

Today's episode is about monetizing during live shows. We've learned a lot about how to monetize on virtual shows during COVID. Now that we are back to live in-person shows, we are feeling more comfortable in utilizing less traditional forms of requests, tipping, etc.  We talk about making a QR code, songlists, Venmo, Cashapp, Paypal, Email marketing, Blossom.im/SMS and more.

Make sure you go to our www.instagram.com/cliffandsusan and check out the video we uploaded to see what this episode is all about. Cliff's sister, Kayla, showed him this new iPhone app called Home Design 3D. Check out the walkthrough of our studio plans Cliff made. Not so sure about the decor he chose! LOL

Our music festival won Best Virtual Event and Best Promotional Video at the Arkansas Festival & Events Association conference this week! We are so thankful and in this episode give shoutouts to all of those who helped us make this possible!

We quiz each other on music triva during this episode.

In this episode, we discuss what we know about the latest CARES act, stimulus checks, PUA, PPP 1 & 2, EIDL, Save or Stages, and all of the great resources you can find help with on www.musiccovidrelief.com. 

We launched a new Cliff & Susan Bundle offer for $97. We talk through why and what we put in this bundle valued at $250! We've already sold a couple this evening! For other artists, sometimes it's best to tell your fans and followers how to support you, then bundle it or present it in a way they can easily consume it. That's what we are trying here. Also, tune in to hear a sneak peek of that latest song Cliff demoed and is sending to pitch.

We went to the club tonight here in Arkansas, then came home and recorded this episode. We were inspired to talk about the energy we feel from the crowds now as compared to the way it was before covid. In this episode, we make predictions about how crowds will react to no restrictions. 

We discuss everything from our favorite instruments to live and recording equipment in this episode. 

We're so excited to share our plans and goals for the new studio!

In this episode, we interviewed colleague, friend, talent, and talent buyer, Travis Smith. We've admired Travis's work and contribution to the music community in Arkansas for many years. Listen to Travis's story of how he started as a drummer growing up, and how he evolved into one of the go-to guys for all things music in Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Check out his music projects, podcasts, and new videography and media company. BeatsByTravis Podcast - BeatsByTravis.com George's Majestic Lounge - GeorgesLive.com  Lensaudio - LensAudio.com

What is that one thing you wish you could get done, you guilt yourself over, and you just need a fire lit under your a$$ to do? In this episode, we discuss accountability partners and ways to stay accountable. Susan ran/walked 4 miles this morning! Cliff is finally staying on track to produce his demos to Nashville. What is holding you up? Let's do this! Oh, and don't forget done is better than perfect! 

Ok, we kind of know a few things about this. Ha! We attended the Platinum Sync Bootcamp on Saturday, January 23, 2021. After working with a publishing company out of Nashville since early 2020, visiting with our colleagues, and now digging into sync placement opportunities and educational resources, we discuss what we've learned and what we will be implementing into our business strategy.

In this episode, Cliff & Susan discuss what makes a good session musician and how to market yourself in person to local studios and online.

Cliff & Susan are hosting Mike Hosch in town while he is performing at Willy D's Rock & Roll Pianobar in Little Rock, Arkansas. They asked him to join them in today's episode. Susan was trained by "Hosch" in 2004 to do the dueling piano concept. They discuss why dueling pianos works, the story behind how they each got started, and how much they love the concept to this day. We will begin a dueling piano player series with ALL of Willy D's piano players soon! Have a question you want to ask them? Hit us up.

In this episode, Cliff & Susan guess each other's favorites under various categories, everything from music to movies, food, animals, and more. This episode is more laid back, but you'll likely learn a few things, too!

In this episode, Cliff & Susan interview Jamie Lou Connolly of Jamie Lou & The Hullabaloo.  Jamie Lou is a featured artist on their Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival January Sounds of Unity showcase on January 21, 2021. Hear Jamie tell her story of how her life took her from Florida to Colorado, Arkansas, and now Nashville, TN. Her music career evolved with her over the years and this is an insight into an independent artist who has made waves in the music scene.  It's also a look into a married music couple and how they work together. We love that! "The Hullabaloo is a raucous and dynamic marriage of fuzz and folk."   Listen to learn more about why we love this artist!

In this episode, Cliff & Susan discuss what it takes to stay current with all marketing from digital to radio, TV, print, and more. Venue owners and independent artists can learn from this episode.  Topics discussed are website, stores, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Linkedin, Tripadvisor, Yelp, Twitter, content creation, content scheduling, radio scripts, tips and tricks to repurpose radio and TV to digital, and MORE!  You don't want to miss this episode. It's packed FULL of content! Get your pen and paper out, you're gonna wanna take notes!

In this episode, Cliff & Susan interview Chapel Hart, a New Orleans-based Country music trio on the rise! They discuss how Chapel Hart got started, their latest success with their chart topping CMA video, "Jesus & Alcohol" featuring Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and their upcoming release of "You Can Have Him Jolene".  Danica Hart, Trea Swindle & Devynn Hart are on the rise to stardom, and you heard it right here with us in early 2021!  Tune in on January 21, 2021 from 7-9pm Central to catch them on the virtual Sounds of Unity showcase presented by Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival in Little Rock, Arkansas. The show will air on the Yadaloo Facebook or visit www.yadaloo.com to rewatch after it airs.  Visit www.ChapelHart.com and follow them on all socials. 

In this episode, Cliff & Susan welcome a guest, Christian David, Jr. with Breadsticks Records. They discuss an online event with a new fresh concept that Christian's company is producing. Independent artists, you are going to want to listen to this!  Follow Christian on IG @christiandavidjr and hit the link in his bio to sign up to be considered for his virtual event. Follow & listen to the Spotify Playlist "Breadsticks Records Loves". The discussion took a turn to Cliff & Susan's Yadaloo festival and how they can integrate augmented reality and virtual reality. Exciting and fun episode!

In this episode, we talk about our individual different paths into the music industry. Susan has a Mathematics degree.  Cliff went straight to Nashville out of high school.  What is better?  Listen to our thoughts on what advice we'd give a young artist trying to decide their education path after high school.

In this episode, we discuss what songs work for cover shows!  Want a songlist? DM us on our Cliff & Susan IG or FB, or text "songlist" to 501-456-4114. 

In this episode, we discuss how we created art, masks, apparel and jewelry to sell at shows and online. Especially as independent artists, it's important to have merchandise to sell. We share how we got into making copper electroformed jewelry, masks during COVID, and how Susan funded the recording of her first album in Nashville by selling over 300 paintings.  Want to support your favorite artist? Buy their merch! :)

In this episode, we talk about our Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival we launched in 2019 and the journey throughout 2020 to keep it alive virtually.  We discuss how we came up with the idea and the way the community came together to make this event happen. In January of 2020, we won Best New Festival in Arkansas. After COVID hit, we had to pivot and re-imagine our event for September 2020. We are up for Best Virtual Event and Best Promotional Video!  Thank you to all of those who helped us. Now, it's year 3, what next? Tune in to hear our thoughts and plans.

During this episode, we discuss our songwriting and original projects, and how we started playing music. Cliff performs an original and talks about producing other artists. We share examples of some of his production work. 

#TriviaTuesday is what we decided Tuesdays will be. We went with weird music celebrity trivia this first Tuesday of our 365 days of podcasts. After the trivia, we tell our weird (and cool) stories from the road and shows.  Join us for stories and trivia. 

In this episode, Cliff & Susan share their tricks and tips on how to keep a crowd interested and engaged for hours during a show.  Song Catalogue Pacing & Flow Banter & Interaction Awareness Do it! Do it! Do it! We'd love to hear your questions or send you more info on putting on your own show! Hit us up in DMs on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @cliffandsusan

We've been together nonstop since 2016 when we met. We got married in 2017. In this episode, we tell our stories on how we've navigated being together 24/7 and owning a business together. We talk about what we've learned and even ask each other fun questions at the end. 

We are keeping it light on Saturdays. In this episode, we share our favorite Youtube channels and smart phone apps.  Make sure to send in questions to us using the audio chat on Anchor.fm or text your questions to 501-456-4114.

In this episode, we talk about how to stay motivated and keep those 2021 resolutions in action. Susan came up with the 4 D’s of how to stay motivated and shares them with Cliff for the first time. They discuss and share how they've stayed the course to a lucrative full-time independent music career. Done is better than perfect! Draw up a blueprint. Develop a routine. Don't Stop

In this episode, we discuss our 5 recommendations for musicians on how to get started streaming online.  After over 150 Cliff & Susan shows online in 2020, we’ve learned a few tricks. We even give away our in-depth streaming tutorial we created for our colleagues.  It's packed full of tips, tutorial videos and resources.  Text “STREAMING” to 501-456-4114 and we will send it to you! Follow us on TikTok - @cliffandsusan

We have taken the Russell Brunson challenge to create a podcast episode once a day for 365 days! Here's day 2 of 365! In this episode, we talk about TikTok and Websites! No matter if you are a musician or in any other business, industry, or brand, this is for you! Your website is your "virtual home" and the social media platforms are the social parties you attend to develop relationships and represent your company or brand. There's a culture on each platform, so what is TikTok and why should you be on it? 

We have taken the Russell Brunson challenge to create a podcast episode once a day for 365 days! Life as an international touring music duo has changed drastically since January 2020. We started this podcast a year ago and lost our way out here. We are back and ready to entertain, inspire, and educate! Join us each day and catch up on how we navigate 2021.  Much love and excitement,  Cliff & Susan Prowse