One of the the things I dig most about this web site is the “Songs and Stories” podcast, which – for five years as of next month – has given me a chance to chat with LOTS of other songwriters and artists about what they do. It’s given me an ongoing chance to learn from others, make more than a few friends, and hopefully help promote a bit of what they do along the way.

I went through last year’s web stats over the weekend to find out what and who was listened to the most. Surprisingly, some of the most popular episodes date back before 2011, while some were posted late in the year and featured artists or bands who tour nationally and/or have a big following. Here’s the top ten, including links to the episodes themselves.

Techy note: I’m including how many times each interview was “hit” (accessed) for the year. Though I can’t measure complete downloads (in other words, was the whole thing listened to or just a portion of it?), the numbers most definitely indicate what was most popular.)

#10 – Episode 108: Catching Up with Colin Gilmore (745 hits)

#9 – Episode 78: Playing Local Benefits (with a live set from KSCO 1080 AM) (779 hits)

#8 – Episode 106: Greg Kitchel: Live from Baja (897 hits)

#7 – Episode 109: Annie Moscow on “Phoenix” (1025 hits)

#6 – Episode 112: The Coffis Brothers (1293 hits)

#5 – Episode 110: Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald (2389 hits)

#4 – Episode 111: The Band of Heathens (2753 hits)

#3 – Episode 68: The John Cowan Interview (2868 hits)

#2 – Episode 19: Colin Gilmore (2920 hits)

And the number one episode of “Songs and Stories” from 2011 features a kitchen-table chat with Santa Cruz’ own Sharon Allen:

#1 – Episode 89: Sharon Allen “Along the Way” (Part One) (3139 hits!!!)

More interviews are on the way in 2012. Check back here in about a week – or subscribe in iTunes using the button below – to listen to an interview with Great American Taxi, recorded last month at KPIG studios. As always, many thanks for listening.