Jeffrey Foucault remembers Billy Conway with Universal Fire

In our episode with Wisconsin-born, New England based Jeffrey Foucault, we had a handful of questions for the singer-songwriter about his background: coffee, the midwest and Mark Twain wisdom. Then we talked about Billy Conway for more than an hour. Conway was Foucault’s long-time partner in music, drummer and best friend who died from cancer in 2021. He was a rock and roll roots legend in Boston with his tenure in Morphine and Treat Her Right. He was like a holy man, known for his creative, curious and infectious spirit where even people who met him only one time (myself included) were quite taken and inspired by his presence. The loss of Billy Conway hit the music community hard. In 2023, a tribute album showcasing the songwriting of Conway recorded by some of his closest friends (Chris Smither, Foucault, Kris Delmhorst, Billy’s wife Laurie Sargent) was released. And now, with his latest album release, Jeff’s given us a working wake for his friend Billy, The Universal Fire.

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We talked about what was going on with Jeff when he met and started working with Billy in 2013. What state of mind made this spectacular friendship and collaboration completely click. How conscious Jeff has been about his reaction to Conway’s death and processing grief when it comes to being an example for his teenage daughter (who is also getting into folk music and live performance- hi Hazel!). We also dig into the new album, The Universal Fire. He paralleled the loss of Billy Conway with a different type of loss: the 2008 fire at the Universal Studios lot in California that destroyed master tapes of hugely influential American recordings. And finally, a check in on how Jeffrey’s humanness is faring in the high-tech world in the year 2024.