To celebrate the release of Glade, the gorgeous new solo album from singer-songwriter and guitarist Courtney Hartman, we’ve handed her the keys to the Fretboard Journal Podcast. For the last week, Courtney has interviewed some of her favorite people in the fretted instrument world.

For her latest installment, Courtney interviews Austen Hooks, best known for his Filmosound conversions and tube amp tech wizardry for Blake Mills and others. After hanging out at the first Fretboard Summit, Courtney also became a proud Austen Hooks amp owner.

Courtney asks Austen about how got into repairing and building amplifiers, his design process, and how he repurposes industrial and military gear to have a second life making music. It’s an insightful chat with an amp tech who seldom does interviews.

In a couple days, Jason will be back and talking to Courtney about her new album. In the meantime, check out Glade. Courtney recorded it on the Colorado farm where she grew up using an array of instruments and with some special guest cameos (including Gregory Alan Isakov). If you’ve only heard the bluegrass side of Courtney Hartman, you’re in for a treat.

In the meantime, we hope you’ll check it out (stream links). Courtney recorded it on the Colorado farm where she grew up using an array of instruments (some high-end, some cheap) and with some special guest cameos (including Gregory Alan Isakov). If you’ve only heard the bluegrass side of Courtney Hartman, you’re in for a treat.

Courtney Hartman’s Store: https://courtneyhartman.myshopify.com

Bandcamp: https://courtneyhartman.bandcamp.com/album/glade

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2jLbcCta4ORz1pnrSR24dj

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Above photo: Margo Harshman

Below photos: Austen and Courtney at the Fretboard Summit