Corie Sheppard Podcast

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1725191/open_sms] Episode Description: In this episode, we sit down with pianist, singer, and producer Johanna Chukaree — better known as D Piano Girl — for an honest and uplifting conversation about creativity, healing, and purpose. Johanna shares her journey from early classical training and national music festival wins to a corporate career in engineering and HR — before finally stepping fully into her artistry. We get into the story behind her viral Savannah Grass cover, the emotional layers of her new single Forever, and how she blended Bollywood rhythms, Hindi lyrics, and Trinbagonian spirit to produce a deeply personal anthem. We talk about her process, her voice, and how music became a way to process life, raise her vibration, and reconnect with joy. From working out Phase II Pan Groove intros as a child in Woodbrook to making original music heard on major stations, Johanna opens up about learning to believe in herself — and how that belief shapes everything around her. 🎹 This episode includes: • The making of Forever and her Hindi-infused production choices • The impact of her Savannah Grass performance • Boogsie and Phase II being musical influences • Her time in the Marionettes Chorale • Hosting 12 & Under with Vaughnette Bigford • How she balances artistry with purpose and peace 🎧 Click the link in our bio for the full episode. #coriesheppardpodcast

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1725191/open_sms] In this episode, Lou Lyons shares the journey from growing up in a strict Tobago household with no TV to co-founding Freetown Collective and becoming a voice for cultural introspection. We talk about his early love for vinyl, the creation of Full Disclosure, and how the pandemic pushed him deeper into music and self-discovery. Lou reflects on the spiritual responsibility of artistry, learning guitar while studying law, and how he and Muhammad Muwakil built Freetown from spoken word roots to international stages. We also discuss: * The impact of calypso on all Trinbagonian music * Collaborating with Machel Montano on “Represent” * Why he left Lord Shorty off his soca Mount Rushmore * The importance of documenting music legacies and teaching pan over recorders * The spirit behind “Feel the Love,” “Light Man,” and his upcoming album A deeply thoughtful conversation about culture, conviction, and creative purpose. 🎧 Click the link in my bio for the full episode #coriesheppardpodcast #loulyons #freetowncollective #calypso #soca #kaiso #trinidadandtobago

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1725191/open_sms] After that conversation with Kenny Phillips, we had to do this! Here’s a special bonus episode featuring the actual music he spoke about—Machel, Baron, chutney soca beginnings, and more. Enjoy! #coriesheppardpodcast #kennyphillips #soca #calypso #trinidadandtobago #bonusvibes #wackradio

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1725191/open_sms] This week on The Corie Sheppard Podcast, we sit down with Kenny Phillips — legendary guitarist, producer, studio owner, and the cultural force behind WACK Radio. From playing with Kitchener and Singing Sandra to mentoring a young Dexter Simmons (who went on to engineer for Beyoncé and Michael Jackson), Kenny shares the untold stories behind soca, calypso, chutney soca, and ragga soca. We trace his journey from building a home studio on a quarter-inch tape machine to producing over 500 livestreamed shows during COVID, and launching WACK Radio despite being told, “nobody wants to hear that music 24/7.” He unpacks the difference between arrangers, beat builders, and producers, and shares how songs like Boom Boom Time, Feeling It, Watch Out My Children, and By All Means came to life. This episode is a living archive — of innovation, resistance, and the evolution of Caribbean sound. 🔗 Click the link in my bio for the full episode #coriesheppardpodcast

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1725191/open_sms] This week on The Corie Sheppard Podcast, we sit down with Glen Niles, founder and president of the Down Syndrome Family Network. What started as a deeply personal journey—navigating the unexpected birth of his son Tyrese with Down syndrome—evolved into a national advocacy movement challenging outdated systems, stigma, and silence. Glen shares the emotional rollercoaster of diagnosis, surgery, and early parenting, and how anger turned into purpose. He opens up about building the Down Syndrome Family Network from scratch, pushing for inclusive education, workplace integration, and most importantly, disability legislation in Trinidad and Tobago. This is a powerful story about resilience, fatherhood, social transformation, and the fight to move from charity to rights. It’s about what happens when we stop seeing disability as a limitation and start seeing people for their full potential. 🎧 Available now on Apple, Spotify, YouTube & more