About the Artists

Steve McWilliams and Debra Buonaccorsi (The Truehearts)

Happiness is pretty simple with a “true blue friend, unconditional to the end,” in the albums’s Anthem song.

The point of view of a panting, smiling Bernese comes through with “I’m a berner, a real head turner.”

Steve McWilliams and Debra Buonaccorsi are The Truehearts, artists, musicians and the producers of Rock and Roll Over. Creating and producing big concepts requires planning and showmanship that these two have mastered throughout their careers.

They got to Nashville by way of DC where they were well known performers and creative artists. Besides The Truehearts, Debra and Steve have written and produced award winning theatre under their own names and with their theatre company, Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue. Their work has been performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (DC) and Signature Theatre Company (NY) among others and they will be premiering a new work in Richmond, VA in 2021.

The duo packed it up and moved to Nashville in 2015 to focus on songwriting and touring as The Truehearts. Their eclectic Americana sound “runs the gamut from raw to visceral to glorious and even tender” (Glide Magazine).

The Truehearts have released 3 albums while in Nashville, Purgatory Emporium, Songs for Spike and most recently Live at The Rafters.

This project, Rock and Roll Over, was carefully supervised by their energetic, 2 year old hound mix, June.

Mike Younger

Big dogs who take over the couch will be pleased to hear this truth be told rocker, “Cos I’m the kinda guy who likes to stretch out you see.” Now we know.

Mike Younger’s journey in music has been a lifelong pursuit of singing/songwriting, recording, creating records, and touring. Born in Nova Scotia, he set out to travel and entertain from the age of 17 and made the scene in New York and New Orleans. He came to Nashville to work with Rodney Crowell on a 1999 record, Something in the Air.

Part of the Nashville music scene for nearly 15 years, Mike’s career has taken him all over the country. His travels have provided him with the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best in the industry, including Levon Helm, Spooner Oldham, and Nanci Griffith, as well as the ability to support various social causes.

His most recent album, Little Folks Like You and Me, is available on Spotify. He is the owner of two dogs, Angel and Boots, who protect the livestock he raises on his farm in Nashville.

Bob Lewis

“The big dogs are taking their time and checking you out,” is an observation from way down low looking up, in Dachs-Sound – a ‘60’s groove that is as much fun as the breed.

Every great dog can “Always pick the toy with a squeaker,” an ode to Goldens and retrievers everywhere.

Bob Lewis has brought his rich blend of anthemic style and storytelling to each of his contributions to this project. He twists influences into new shapes and brings 25 years of writing and performing from punk shows in Pennsylvania to folk gigs in California.

Bob has been writing and recording out of Nashville for the past five years and his musical imagination truly found a home at the 5 Spot where he is a regular and collects collaborators along with fans.

His EP, End of an Error, is Bob's first solo release in eight years and currently available on his website. The album was critically acclaimed by Rolling Stone as “dreamy Americana-pop with introspective, often quirky, lyrics that underscores the diversity of music coming out of East Nashville.” In addition, he is working on the release of a collaborative EP with Nashville artist Megan Palmer (Shepherd and He’s A Poodle).

Bob gets all the perks of being a dog owner, but none of the responsibilities as “dog uncle” to Tugger, a Chihuahua/Terrier mix belonging to his roommate. Bob said having a dog around during this time has been a very comforting thing, giving him a reason to socialize, or just hang out with Tugger, his little buddy who never gets mad.

Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel

“I’m a loving Bulldog but I will defend, My legs are too short, I’ll never jump your fence,” captures the sweet but definitive tone of bulldogs everywhere.

“Cause I just wanna go whoo all day,” says it all about Bassett Hounds, and the mood of the song brings you right down to their level.

Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel have been writing, recording, and performing as the Indie Alt-Americana Duo, Anana Kaye, out of Nashville for nearly three years.

Following the release of their first EP, Sentient, they moved from New York to Nashville where they released their most recent album, Detour, in 2019.

Anana and Irakli also currently own and operate Duende Vision, a professional photo and video production company in Nashville. They are the proud owners of a 13-year-old Coton de Tue named Giuna who travels with them everywhere. The three are inseparable. This project came naturally, since they sometimes write dog songs under the name "Barky Jones."

Steve Rempis

How do you begin to capture the energy and originality of a Shi Tzu? Steve Rempis went way back to their roots, capturing in lyrics, “A little bitty dog with a king sized attitude.”

As a supporter of animal rights, Steve asked to create a Mutts song and came back with a powerful chorus, “Someday Mutts will rule the world,” which has been made available as a PSA for all of our participating shelters.

Steve is an accomplished solo-performer, singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Nashville since 2012. He also takes the stage as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the 80s alternative rock, cover band, Raygun, and as lead guitarist for the Johnathan Pushkar Band.

Steve's goal with music is to make a living doing what he loves: writing songs and performing live. He is the owner of two Japanese Chin dogs, Fukudome and Priti.

He is also an active supporter of any and all peaceful, animal rights organizations and has been a strict vegetarian for the past 10 years.

Jimmy Catlett

Among their fine qualities, we now know that “A pit bull will smell you, lick you and tell you she loves you.”

Jimmy Catlett, who lives in Richmond, Virginia has been performing in venues along the East Coast, as well as a few stints in Nashville, since the ‘80s. Jimmy is a singer, songwriter and guitarist belonging to several bands throughout the years including, the Dum-Dums, The Simple Things, Dirty Secrets, and more recently, The Jimmy Catlett Group.

Along the way, he recorded numerous albums with a host of collaborators along the East Coast.

His new album featuring dozens of Richmond’s best singers and musicians, Came To Say…, is coming soon. He’s been the proud owner of many beloveds including Beagles, Spaniels, a Great Dane, a Pit Bull and numerous mutts and rescues.

Loving dogs, the opportunity to help shelters and rhyme the words “smell and tell” in a rock and roll song were the perfect reason to join in the project.

Mark Robinson

Terriers everywhere can take pride in this bluesy notice, “The mailman’s come to kill us all, it’s all right, it’s all right, I guess it’s all right.”

Mark Robinson is a singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist working out of Nashville for the past 16 years. Mark lived in Chicago in the ‘80s and played with blues legends including Lonnie Brooks and Koko Taylor.

Those Chicago blues, with a jam band mindset, come through on Mark’s acclaimed 2017 album, The Mark Robinson Band Live at The 5 Spot This electric, eclectic roots band goes out on a musical limb, but always brings it back home with a driving groove.

Mark was voted Best Roots Guitarist in the Alternative Root Magazine’s annual readers’ poll.

His most recent album, Chug It Down and Go (2018), is an all-acoustic project recorded with bass player, Daniel Seymour. Mark and Daniel’s writing reveal a love affair with the great American music that authentically embraces the sounds of country, blues, swing, folk, string bands, Cajun and more.

The Rock and Roll Over project has provided him with an opportunity to support a cause that is dear to him: Mark Robinson has been taking in strays for 40 years and is currently the owner of two rescue mutts, Daisy and Charlie.

David Conrad and Rebecca Weiner Tompkins

Taking on loyal labs, the pair wrote “I’ve been lost and I’ve been blind, but ain’t nothing that she can’t find.”

Their dog Nuala pretty much wrote the song Chihuahua herself, along with the songwriters, expressing perfectly, “There’s only one boss when I’m around, remember I’m a Chihuahua.”

David Conrad and Rebecca Weiner Tompkins have been performing as an acoustic and electric band out of Nashville since 2017. With David on guitar, bass, and vocals and Rebecca on violin and vocals, the duo performs and records their own songs as Conrad y Skordalia.

In addition, they have also performed and recorded with many other artists and musicians throughout their careers, from Chuck Berry to Patti Smith. Their two rescue dogs, a 16-year-old Chihuahua (Nuala) and a 17-year-old Schipperke, have meant the world to them during these last few months of social distancing.

Rebecca has also recently had a book of poetry published, “King of the Fireflies,” by Sensitive Skin Press. Visit www.conradyskordalia.com to find their current CD, “A Silo Filled With Birds”

Meghan Hayes

The gentle poise of a Greyhound’s eyes tell us from the start, “No one outruns me, no one even comes near, got a tail like a whip, a tattoo in each ear.”

The joys and pains of a greyhound’s life are told in a poetic musical style that come to life in Blue ‘Bama Brindle. Who better to tell the story than Meghan Hayes, who has been to this rodeo a few times.

She’s run a strong race, establishing her artistic style through music and writing on major stages and traveling country roads. She moved to Nashville 15 years ago to pursue a career in music and has recorded numerous albums infusing the inspiration of collaborators, national stages and a lifetime of relationships.

Singing since the age of three, Meghan was one of the founders of the Independent Music United Nashville (IMUN), an advocacy group for musicians based in the city. Along the way, she went back to graduate school and became a nurse practitioner.

The Rock and Roll Over project is near and dear to her heart, as her song, “Blue ‘Bama Brindle,” was written about her very own greyhound, Georgie. He has been her fulltime sidekick even more since socially distancing became a verb.

Involved with rescue work for many years, Meghan encourages anyone who doesn’t have a dog and the means to take care of one, to adopt one.

Megan Palmer and Jason Quicksall

Poodle lovers can’t argue that “they could doodle, if they had any thumbs,” and “they like children and people with cheese, kinda fluffy like a pillow to me.”

Every shepherd knows it and can tell you, “I am a Shepherd, it’s my job to guard the perimeter, It’s my job to watch the world go by.”

Megan Palmer and her husband, Jason Quicksall, began their careers in the Columbus, Ohio music scene. Megan spent some time in New York where she played fiddle and violin in several bands and eventually moved to Nashville to pursue work in songwriting in 2013.

Jason joined her in Nashville in 2015 where they have since been writing and creating music together. The two kept busy during the stay-at-home orders with fun side projects, violin and keyboard playing, and non-stop entertainment from their Carolina lab, Baba G.

When Megan isn’t writing or performing she is a Palliative Care Nurse at Vanderbilt University Hospital. Additionally, she’s currently working on the release of an EP with fellow Nashville artist Bob Lewis.

Jamie Rubin

“I am your beagle, I’m who you need,” is a triumphant rock statement, so profound, it has the overtones of a definitive modern classic that can’t be denied.

Jamie Rubin left the local music scene in Boston and made the move to Nashville 22 years ago to continue to pursue his passions as a singer/songwriter, musician, producer, conceptualist, promoter, and marketer.

He currently plays tributes to songs of the 1970s and Neil Young. In addition, he has been a rotating member of The Long Players, Nashville’s favorite house band, since 2012.

In 2002, Jamie helped open the The Family Wash, a restaurant, bar, and music venue, to create space for other artists in the Nashville music scene. Jamie felt especially connected to the Rock and Roll Over project as he, his wife Michelle, and sons Dylan and Julian have found and rescued six different dogs since arriving in Nashville.

Dave Coleman

As the engineer, contributing musician and producer on this project, Dave Coleman tied together the threads of all of the remote artists’ work into a musical experience. Dave has been in Nashville singing, recording, engineering, and playing in his band, The Coal Men, for more than 20 years. He was best friends with a Great Dane, Martini, for many years and says this project has been a joy and real comfort to remind people of all the things we love right now. Currently, he is also owner of Pancho the Cat. Dave plays bass, mandolin, guitar and keyboard, along with backing vocals throughout Rock and Roll Over.

Ryan Rogers

Drummer, Ryan Rogers, recorded from his home studio and drives the beat behind the Rock and Roll Over project. He’s been based in Nashville for three years and records with his band, Idle Engines, when he’s not contributing to other projects. As a dog lover and owner to Jack, a Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix, Ryan was excited to feel the energy of the project and bring a sense of originality to the rhythm tracks.