For the most part, musicians' everday lives look very different from the rest of ours. They sleep strange hours, cobble together odd jobs to stay afloat and live out of suitcases. They also put their craft above all else. Or do they?

In the series A Musician's Life listeners learn about musicians' lives first-hand. We'll hear from performers at various stages of their career; those on the rise, those who have "made it" and those who may be struggling for some recognition. They'll describe both the creative and mundane sides of what they do, including , including how they work with the music industry, how they feel about critics and fans, the realities of touring, the stories behind specific songs and much more.

Tracey Tanenbaum: Producer - Tracey has been working in public radio for fifteen years with local & national production credits that include two of Philadelphia's best radio shows, "Fresh Air" and "World Cafe". Tracey has reported on arts and culture for WXPN and created several series including "Musicians on the Record", "Women Making Music" and "A Musician's Life". She has taught radio programming and production in Romania, and closer to home here in Philadephia.

On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with...

Ani DiFranco - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Ani DiFranco. The online "All Music Guide" described her as "a folkie in punk's clothing." Certainly Ms. DiFranco has embraced that punk do-it-yourself ethic from the start. She began her own record label nearly two decades ago. Today, Righteous Babe is a thriving business, and Ani DiFranco is one of the most influential figures in contemporary music. Her hard work aside, it's Ani's emotional honesty and warmth that has won her legions of fans.

Jeb Loy Nichols - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life, Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Jeb Loy Nichols. This one-of-a-kind artist has managed to fuse soul, country, reggae, and dub into a seamless musical stew. The singer-songwriter left the hubbub of London for a solitary life in rural Wales. Nichols talks about his discomfort with conventional life. His latest album is called Days Are Mighty.

Peter Case - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life, Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Peter Case. He's best known for his work with the '80's power-pop band The Plimsouls. For the last twenty years, Case has been perfecting his craft as a singer-songwriter. Peter Case isn't exactly a household name, but he's well-known among his peers. His work has been praised by the likes of Joe Ely, Dave Alvin, and Bruce Springsteen. His latest album is called Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John.

Colin Hay - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life, Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Colin Hay. His band Men At Work catapulted to international fame in the early 1980's. Now, twenty-odd years later, Hay is leading a quieter life, but he is still fiercely committed to songwriting and performing. His new album is called Are You Lookin' At Me?

China Forbes - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life, Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with China Forbes. As lead singer for the lounge band Pink Martini, China Forbes gets to play the role of the sophisticated diva. She wears high-heels and glamorous outfits, and she sings in a bunch of different languages. But Forbes has recently returned to her singer-songwriter roots. She assumes a low-key persona on her new album of personal tunes called '78.

Kaki King - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life, Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Kaki King. The guitarist released her debut album Everybody Love You when she was in her early twenties. She immediately garnered comparisons to folks like Alex de Grassi, Leo Kottke, and Preston Reed. Now five years into her career, King has branched out from acoustic guitar to include singing and other instrumentation. Her new album is called Dreaming Of Revenge.

Francis Dunnery - Listen
Francis Dunnery began his career in England. In the 1980's he scored moderate success with the band It Bites (that name has a more positive connotation in Britain), but Dunnery quit the band and pursued a solo career in the States. On this edition of "A Musician's Life" with Tracey Tanenbaum, Dunnery speaks about finding meaning in art and in life.

Liam Finn - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Liam Finn. Finn began to make records professionally when he was just a teenager with the New Zealand based band Betchadupa. Now in his mid-twenties, a more contemplative Liam Finn has emerged with his first solo album, I'll be Lightning. Liam has a knack for making melodies, which is no surprise. His father is Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.

Tift Merritt - Listen
On this edition of A Musician's Life we meet Tift Merritt. Tift retreated from the music business a few years back, after promoting her Grammy-nominated album Tambourine. But Merritt's creative energy got reignited during an extended stay in Paris. The result is a new album called Another Country. She speaks with Tracey Tanenbaum about the demands of touring and her need to make music.

Christopher O'Riley - Listen
Christopher O'Riley hosts the popular radio program "From the Top," but he has also become known for bringing pop songs to fans of classical music. He's interpreted the music of Radiohead, Elliot Smith, and Nick Drake for solo piano. On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Christopher O'Riley talks to Tracey Tanenbaum about the threads that unite seemingly divergent types of music.

Jim White - Listen
Jim White's music has been described as "outer space alt-country." Indeed, White's life, like his art, has been unconventional. He was raised in the deeply religious town of Pensicola, Florida. White did stints as a professional surfer, European model, and New York cab driver. But he's been earning a livelihood by writing and performing songs for a decade now. His latest album is called Transnormal Skiperoo.

Bob Mould - Listen
Bob Mould co-founded Hüsker Dü in 1979 . The punk band paved the way for the rise of 1990's indie rock, and for bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. His later work with Sugar, as well as his more acoustic solo releases, cemented Mould's reputation as an iconic figure in modern rock. Bob Mould's new album is called District Line.

Jason Isbell - Listen
When Jason Isbell was barely out of his teens, the Drive-By Truckers recruited him to play guitar. Jason turned out to be a creative force within the band. Fans were shocked when he announced his departure from the Southern superstars last April. He has just released his solo CD called, Sirens of the Ditch.

Jeff Daniels - Listen
Jeff Daniels is well known as a versatile movie actor. His credits include Purple Rose of Cairo, The Squid and the Whale and yes, Dumb and Dumber. It turns out that he's also an impressive songwriter and guitarist. He began to take his songs public to raise funds for his Michigan-based theatre company. On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum talks to Jeff Daniels about the difference between writing songs and making movies.

Leslie Gore - Listen
In 1963, 16-year-old Leslie Gore became a star when she recorded "It's My Party." She personified adolescent angst for a generation of young people. Gore had several hits in the mid-1960's, but eventually faded from the charts. Leslie Gore continues to sing and perform, though, and even co-wrote "Out Here on My Own" for the hit movie Fame. In 2005 Leslie Gore recorded Ever Since, her first album in thirty years.

Martin Atkins - Listen
Martin Atkins is a leading figure on the post-punk and industrial music scenes and has been the go-to drummer for several groups including John Lydon's (AKA Johnny Rotten's) Public Image Limited, Ministry, and Killing Joke. In his 30-year career Atkins has also stepped away from his drum kit. He runs his own record label, leads a couple of bands, and lectures worldwide on the business of touring.

Vusi Mahlasela - Listen
Vusi Mahlasela's music was considered an incendiary tool in the struggle against apartheid in his native South Africa. Mahlasela's latest release is called Guiding Star.

Sheryl Crow - Listen
Pop star Sheryl Crow has had a tumultuous three years, including a high profile relationship with Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong and a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer. Thankfully she's in good health now, and she has a new album out called Detours.

Franki Valli - Listen
In the 1960's and 1970's Frankie Valli enjoyed a successful career, both on his own and with the Four Seasons. Now, the man with the famous falsetto has experienced a new wave of popularity, thanks in part to the Tony Award winning show "Jersey Boys". He's also got a new album called Romancing the 60's.

Joseph Arthur - Listen
For singer songwriter Joseph Arthur making music is an act of liberation.

T-Bone Burnett - Listen
T-Bone Burnett says he discovered the power of music when he was twelve years old. It's been his life ever since.

Laura Veirs - Listen
Seattle based songwriter Laura Veirs talks about the long, slow climb to making music full-time.

Guy Davis - Listen
Blues musician Guy Davis discusses the challenges of life on the road.

Rodney Crowell - Listen
Rodney Crowell muses about writing the song "I Walk the Line Revisited" with his former father-in-law Johnny Cash.

Janis Ian - Listen
Folk artist Janis Ian wrote her first hit when she was sixteen. It was a song about interracial love called "Society's Child". It brought her both accolades and death threats.

Dave Alvin - Listen
Dave Alvin reflects on performing with his brother in the band the Blasters and his first bad review.

Michael Franti - Listen
Michael Franti used to write angry music. Now he says he's found much gentler ways to communicate his emotions.

Steven Page - Listen
Barenaked Ladies member Steven Page says the band has always been in control of its destiny. That doesn't mean the guys have always made the right decisions. 

Billy Bragg - Listen
Billy Bragg reflects on writing songs about love and politics.

Charlie Musselwhite - Listen
Blues Harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite says the blues has helped get him through hard times including his mother's murder.

Amy Rigby - Listen
Amy Rigby talks about writing songs for middle aged adults and the emotional and physical challenges of her life in music.

Aaron Neville - Listen

Vocalist Aaron Neville was synonymous with New Orleans. All that's changed since hurricane Katrina.

Josh Ritter - Listen
Folk rocker Josh Ritter gets musical inspiration from the strangest places, including airports.

Aimee Mann - Listen
The business side of her job has toughened her but she's remained a sensitive songwriter.

Alejandro Escovedo - Listen
Singer songwriter Alejandro Escovedo battled with hepititis. That near-death experience informed his most recent album, The Boxing Mirror.

Stephen Stills - Listen
Stephen Stills tells us why he's been making music for forty years.

Alexi Murdoch - Listen
Alexi Murdoch was just another struggling musician until he released the song "Orange Sky". He reflects on the song's popularity.

Shawn Colvin - Listen
Grammy winner Shawn Colvin talks about the lesson she learned early in her career about the unattractive side of the music business.

Martin Sexton - Listen
Martin Sexton is known for his soaring vocals and independent spirit. His new album Seeds is a celebration of where he's at in his life and career.

Kristin Hersh - Listen
Kristin Hersh is best known as part of the band Throwing Muses. In recent years she has split her time between her solo career and her punk band 30 Foot Wave. Some musicians feel compelled to write songs. For Hersh it's a necessity. She says songs appear as auditory hallucinations. The only way to exorcise the "voices" is to capture them on paper.

Brandi Carlile - Listen
Brandi Carlile is a singer songwriter from a small town outside Seattle. She's been building a following through non-stop touring. Her dues-paying days may be over. She's got a major label contract and widespread exposure courtesy of the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy."

Michael Penn - Listen
Michael Penn is best known as actor Sean Penn's big brother and musician Aimee Mann's husband. But Penn is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. Still, he's not afraid to admit that insecurity fuels his art.

David Stone - Listen
David Stone doesn't see himself as a Johnny Cash impersonator. Stone says that he is a "Johnny Cash tribute artist." For Stone, that means he honors the man in black with a note-for-note reproduction of his music and stage show.

Paula Cole - Listen
Paula Cole came to prominence in the mid 1990's with songs like "I Don't Want to Wait" and "I Am So Ordinary." Now Paula Cole is back with a new album, after seven years of self-imposed exile from the music business.

C. J. Chenier - Listen
C.J. Chenier grew up hoping to be a jazz musician. Instead he has become a leading figure in zydeco music. That may not be much of a surprise, given that his father was Clifton Chenier, known as the king of zydeco. C.J. says his father taught him to love the music. C.J. Chenier's most recent album is called The Desperate Kingdom of Love.

Chip Taylor - Listen
You couldn't invent Chip Taylor's life story. He's been a professional golfer, a cracker jack gambler and chart-busting songwriter. Taylor wrote three standards of the 1960's - "Wild Thing", "Try Just a Little Bit Harder" and "Angel of the Morning". Oh, He's also the brother of actor John Voight. In recent years Chip Taylor has gotten critical raves for his musical partnership with fiddler Carrie Rodriguez.

Nick Lowe - Listen
Nick Lowe was associated with the punk movement in 1970's England, but he has always had a passion for constructing artful three-minute pop songs. Lowe is now considered an elder statesman of pop. His latest album is called At My Age.

John Doe - Listen
John Doe is best known for his stint in the seminal punk rock band X. Twenty=five years after that band's inception, Doe's music still has edge. His latest album is called A Year in the Wilderness.

Glen Hansard - Listen
Irish musician Glen Hansard has been known as the lead singer and guitarist of the Frames, but his role in the film Once with Czech musician Markéta Irglová has added new dimension to his career. In the film, Hansard plays a Dublin busker, which he once was in real life, having actually been encouraged to drop out of school and sing on the streets by his teacher. Irglová portrays an immigrant street vendor in the film, and their on-screen chemistry has led to an off-screen romantic partnership as well.

Tegan & Sara - Listen
Tegan and Sara are the Canadian born twins who have been performing professionally since they were in their teens. Tegan and Sara serve up a compelling mix of pop and punk sounds. They've just released their fourth album, called The Con.

Joe Ely - Listen
Texas native Joe Ely has spent the better part of a lifetime on the road. With a journalist's eye and a poet's soul Ely has written about the characters he's met along the way. His latest releases include Silver City and Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch.

Suzanne Vega - Listen
In the late 1980's the New York based singer-songwriter, Suzanne Vega, topped radio charts with an unlikely hit, "Luka." The song's protagonist Luka was a victim of child abuse. In her twenty year career, Vega has experimented with different musical styles, from industrial to bossa nova, but her attention to crafting smart, character-driven songs has remained constant. Suzanne Vega's latest album is called Beauty and Crime.

Marc Cohn - Listen
Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn talks about the event that ended a nine year creative dry spell. He also muses about his best-known song, "Walking in Memphis." Marc Cohn's latest album is called Join the Parade.

Jill Sobule - Listen
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is an "out of the box" story-teller who inbues her characters with wit and pathos. Her celebrity moment came in the mid 1990's with the unlikely radio hit "I Kissed a Girl."

Mary Gauthier - Listen
Country-folk singer Mary Gauthier began to write songs thirty-five years ago at the age of 35. Since then she's garnered critical acclaim, a loyal fan base, and even airplay on Bob Dylan's radio program. Her most recent release is called Between Daylight and Dark.

Chuck Prophet - Listen
Chuck Prophet has been making music professionally since he was eighteen, first with the alt-country band Green On Red and then under his own steam. The San Francisco-based artist has earned kudos for his musical restlessness. In fact, on his latest album Soap and Water Prophet uses a children's chorus on one of the tunes.