Of The Simpsons characters Harry Shearer has voiced, who’s most likely to drink great wine during a pandemic?
“Certainly not Ned Flanders,” renowned actor Harry Shearer said on the new episode of The Fred Minnick Show national podcast, debuting Friday, May 8. “Mr. Burns is too cheap. Probably Kent Brockman….or maybe Kang if there’s good wine on Mars.”
Minnick, a Wall Street Journal-bestselling author and television personality, is a renowned drinks writer who started The Fred Minnick Show in January to showcase his two passions: music and whiskey. Past guests include Mick Fleetwood, Lindsay Ell, David Byrne and Slipknot’s Clown, among others. It features musicians and good drink, airing every Friday.
Over Malbecs from France and Argentina, Shearer impersonated a Bluegrass musician from his This Is Spinal Tap days and discussed the pandemic’s impact on music. Shearer revealed that while New Orleans’ Jazz Festival is cancelled, he’s paying musicians to play and airing their works on his YouTube channel.
In a rare moment, Minnick talked about the cancellation of the music festival he co-founded—Bourbon & Beyond, nominated by Pollstar as “2019 Music Festival Of The Year.” Minnick told Shearer: “Music is so important to my life, and this is a painful moment because we are asking ourselves the question: ‘Will we ever get back to the point where we can have mass gatherings, listen to music, feel our feet in the sand and kick back with a little somethin’ somethin’?’”
Normally, Minnick sips bourbon with his guests. But Shearer prefers wine, so they analyzed a pair of Malbecs from Argentina and Cahors, France. Shearer doted on the Alamos 2017 Malbec from Catana Zapata in Mendoza: “I think I’m pairing this with my duck confit.”
Shearer discussed his cooking skills, the New Orleans restaurant scene’s chances for survival…and Minnick and Shearer hit it off talking about the iconic comedic duo Bob & Ray, who satirized life through wacky dialogue and ridiculous TV and radio interviews. The two toasted over Zoom, with Shearer paying tribute to Bob & Ray: “Hang by your thumbs.”
The interview is available on most podcast streaming devices, and video of the Harry Shearer interview is also available on Minnick’s YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/4ivYTXNiTvs
Next week’s guest on The Fred Minnick Show is country music star Chase Rice. Rice and Minnick sip some really rare bourbon, including a Willett 15-year-old bourbon. This episode will be available on Friday, May 15.
The Fred Minnick Show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart, YouTube, Google Podcast and TuneIn.
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About Fred Minnick and The Fred Minnick Show
The Fred Minnick Show is a weekly podcast with host Fred Minnick, a Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of seven books. Minnick interviews noted musicians of all genres and sips whiskey with them. In addition, Minnick is the editor-in-chief of Bourbon+ magazine, Senior Contributor for Forbes and the Bourbon Curator for the Apple station The Spirits Network. Minnick hosts the Amazon Prime show, Bourbon Up, and has appeared on Bravo’s Top Chef! and Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners. He co-founded the music festival Bourbon & Beyond with Danny Wimmer Presents. Learn more at FredMinnick.com.
