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SHOW SUMMARY:
Date: July 8, 2026
Name of Podcast: Backstage Pass Radio
S11: E1: Vern Vennard - Touring, Tones, and Toughness
SHOW SUMMARY:
A touring guitarist sells his house, moves to rural France, builds a recording studio, and finally feels momentum, then the world shuts down. That is where our conversation with Vern Vennard starts, and it only gets deeper from there. Vern is a sideman, producer, and studio problem-solver who has spent decades alongside Zak Perry and the Beautiful Things, and he brings the kind of behind-the-scenes honesty you rarely hear from working musicians.
We talk about what actually holds a creative partnership together for 30+ years when money is not the engine: owning the work, protecting the sound, and chasing steady improvement record after record. Vern shares the origin story that begins in New York, includes two “run over” accidents, and turns into a lifelong musical bond. We also get practical about musicianship, from learning to stay out of the way in an acoustic duo to building parts that make the singer and the lyric land. Along the way we get into guitar influences, Europe touring culture, and why some crowds still listen like it matters.
Then we pivot into craft and standards: podcast audio quality, editing headaches, and why listeners quit fast when the sonics feel cheap. Vern also opens up about training Krav Maga later in life, the focus on de-escalation, and what pressure testing does to your brain under stress. We close with what is next for the band, including the new release The Rodeos in Town, plus where to find Zak Perry and the Beautiful Things on streaming.
If you like real stories about touring, music production, songwriting, and building a creative life through setbacks, hit subscribe, share this with a musician friend, and leave us a review.
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