In this episode, Abbigail Mealor, JP Hayes, Khloe Rasch, Jose Salgado, and Jon Blackstock interview Amy Lincoln, who explains the goals, successes, and fun that come with Lumpkin County High School’s SkillsUSA program.

Credits

• The music is courtesy of Estlnd band members Gauge Dotson and Denver Flakes with Jonathan Wright on bass.
• Thank you to Brian Matthews and our entire administrative team for their continued support.

In this episode, Abbigail Mealor, JP Hayes, and Jan Danek interview LCHS Rifle Team coach James Wright as he prepares for another successful season with the award-winning team.

Rifle Team Members

Credits

• Along with the student interviewers, Khloe Rasch and Jose Salgado helped prepare and edit the interview.
• The music is courtesy of Estlnd band members Gauge Dotson and Denver Flakes with Jonathan Wright on bass.
• Thank you to Brian Matthews and our entire administrative team for the voice over and the continued support.

JP Hayes: Is there a type of music you wouldn’t play?

Gauge Dotson: I’m not a fan of anything that you don’t have to actually put effort into.

In an era where the music industry has become more industrial than musical, Lumpkin County High School students–thanks in a great part to Mr. Radford Windham–are leading the charge to play and appreciate authentic music. Estlnd band members Gauge Dotson and Denver Flakes discuss not only what they like about playing music but also the history of what influences them. In many ways, this interview reminds us at The LCHS Principal’s Podcast of interviews with Bells & Whistles, and similarly, with artist/writers like Breana Donahue, who enjoy their artistic endeavors but who also study and refine their arts.

Although the music that Estlnd plays on this episode is our favorite part, the interview (conducted by Abbigail Mealor and JP Hayes) highlights how much time, effort, and talent Estlnd put into their music. We were inspired by these musicians, and we hope you will be, too.

Additional Notes:

• Jonathan Wright plays bass on the song “Shoveling Stones.”
• Gauge Dodson is a junior as of this episode’s posting (May 2025) rather than a senior as it says in the introduction. JP Hayes wants everyone to know that he was right about this, and Blackstock was wrong.