It fascinates me how people have such different backgrounds, but we still come together... and we make music together as one unit...

Simona Smirnova is from Lithuania, but currently based in New York City.  She's a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, teacher, generally interesting person, and true music professional. She specializes in the kanklés, which is a traditional Lithuanian instrument.  (I'd tell you more here, but I want you to listen to Simona talk about it.)

Simona has just…

It is a very hard thing to do the thing that you want to do.

There I am on Polywork, and I see a posted opportunity from a company looking for people who want to learn piano.  I took piano lessons a few years ago, but once I got enough knowledge to use it as a composition tool, I stopped.  I'd like to learn more.  I responded to the opportunity, which was posted by Vlad Georgescu.  Shortly thereafter, Yue Deng-Wu reached out to me.

Vlad and Yue are cofounders of Spacenotes, a startup company looking…

Exactly one year ago, on 30th December 2021, Juliet Fromholt joined me for a chat about our favorite albums of 2021.  I released that conversation the next day, 31st December, and it was Episode ½ of this podcast.  It was so much fun, I just HAD to have her back this year. Taylor Ruckle joins us for this conversation.  You might remember him from Episode 27 and Episode 43, where we talked about our favorite albums of the first and second quarters of 2022 respectively. 

All three of us are completely…

I like ear worms.  I like something that gets caught in your head.

Many people in Dayton know Zac Pitts as a television news anchor on WDTN.  I know him as an encouraging supporter of local music, a songwriter, and musician. Zac has finished his debut album Midwest Romance, and will officially present it to the public via a show at Yellow Cab Tavern on Saturday, 10th December.  In advance of the show, Zac agreed to talk to me about the album, his songwriting process, how he got started making music, and…

If there was one thread I can find across all of my music, it is the deep love of storytelling...

Michelle Rhea Goddard is a Nashville-based songwriter who is originally from California.  Here album Breaking Bread: Songs of Reconciliation is arranged like a play, with an introduction, three acts, and an intermission. What is her writing process like? How did she come up with the idea to structure an album this way?  What did her childhood smell like?  You'll get the answers to all of these questions in…

It's emotion, right?  That's music. We're connecting with people on an emotional level...that's ultimately at the end of the day what it's all about, just connecting with other people.

Sometimes things happen in life that seem like an implausible story from a movie.  I have one of those to tell, and the stars of this story are Brittany Bliss and Reid Givens of Brittany and the Blisstones.  Brittany and the Blisstones is an indie band from Chico, California. Their sound draws from influences as diverse as…

I love rock and roll and I love writing rock and roll songs

Brandon Semler lives in Austin, but originally hails from Greene County, right here in Ohio.  We met in 2019 at the CD Baby DIY Musician Conference.  We'll be headed back there again this weekend, and in fact, this episode is being posted on the morning of the conference's first day.  What kind of things is Brandon up to musically with his band, Westerly Station?  What's his new business all about?  What's the first song he can remember ever…

Don't ask somebody how they are unless you really want to know

My guest for Episode 50 is a tastefully named gentleman who hosts a podcast called Detoxicity.  I had the honor of appearing on his podcast back in September 2021.  You'll get to hear him explain what his podcast is about in our conversation.  You'll get to hear me use the word "perfunctory" in a sentence more than once.  What's a basic tagline for life?  What did Mike's childhood smell like?  

Detoxicity Podcast

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