“Southern Discomfort” documentary US radio debut on Folk & Beyond, Apr 14
By Peter Jones
Southern Discomfort, a radio documentary from Paul Brody, will air during the final hour of the April 14 edition of Folk & Beyond (heard on WTJU Thursday afternoons from 4-7 edt). Brody has produced a number of pieces for both NPR and German radio WDR. This particular documentary been selected to be featured next month at the International Feature Conference for radio in Vienna, Austria. This will be the US radio debut of this fascinating documentary.Southern Discomfort is a road trip with the Jewish bluegrass bassist and song writer, Mark Rubin. While traversing the flat lands of Louisiana and Texas, Mark describes the conflicted narratives of growing up in a place full of local pride while keeping his family history of diaspora a secret. His bluegrass session friends, his rabbi, and the sound of his bass all guide him in his search of personal identity and home but nothing gives him peace. Because of gentrification and a yearning for the family, he settles in New Orleans to live with the memories of his dead father. The road trip takes him back to his home of Austin, Texas, to record his first solo album after making over a thousand recordings as a side man.