You don't wanna waste time trying to impress people who aren't already into what you're doing…
Mery Steel is Canadian and Ohioan and pretty awesome. We cover a great deal of ground in this conversation. Some of the topics we discuss are: Canada, hockey, imposter syndrome, being fearless, their songwriting process, playing bass, chronic pain, their last album She's Back, their next album, and being sad, among other things.
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(photo by Fred Shank)
there's always gonna be a little darkness, there's always a little melancholy…
My conversation with Tod Weidner remains the highest listened-to episode of this podcast. This is clearly a testament to how much this gentleman means to many people here in Ohio. He's back in the Buckeye State this week to play a couple of shows, so we're having a brief chat in advance of that to invite folks to come out and listen. He's playing with the wonderful Peter Mulvey on Thursday May 2nd at…
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Valerie Vonn is in Germany. We did not have our conversation in German, though I imagine that she can surely hold her own in a German conversation, because, well, that's not a language that I speak. However, I do speak musician reasonably well, and for that reason, I think the two of us understand each other.
Valerie is a singer, songwriter, and producer. Why does Valerie choose to live in Germany? What did her childhood smell like? What does her songwriting process look like? What are some of the…
Read moreIf you don't yet have the language for what you want to say - you will
Buick and I have a few things in common. We love music. We're obsessed with language. We write songs. We both put out a concept album this year. Hers is called Mass, and it comes with a whole book and a lot of stories. Buick was kind enough to take time out of her weekend to talk to me about all sorts of things a few weeks ago, and I procrastinated WAY too much, so this is going up super late. I had intended to get this episode…
Read moreYes, I know that the third quarter of 2023 is almost over, and that I am very late dropping this episode. I've had some technical difficulties, and I apologize for the delay. I hope that once you hear the GREAT music we talk about in this conversation, you'll feel super forgiving.
Taylor's review of Good Living Is Coming For You.
Taylor's albums
Pearl & The Oysters - Coast 2 Coast
One's a Crowd - Fictorian Era//Bedroom Pomp
McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
Bully - Lucky For You
Sweeping Promises -…
This particular episode is an important one to me, and if you care about authenticity in music, I think it'll be important to you as well.
Country isn't my genre of choice, but I've been making an effort to listen to more of it over the last few years. To keep it 100, as the kids say, the sound never spoke to me when I was young, and I couldn't see any value for me in that genre. As I've gotten older, I've learned that country music is a vehicle for Black stories as well, despite what the music industry…
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Kyleen Downes is a professional musician, and our music community here in the Dayton area is better off for having her here. I truly enjoy seeing her play live, I like her songs, and I'm sure you'll agree after you hear this conversation that she has an infectious enthusiasm. She has benefitted from the encouragement of others in her career, and is passing that on by teaching a new generation of folks here in Dayton how to play rock and roll. Kyleen tells us about how she got started making music, who…
Read moreThe ways that we can be broken are also part of the pieces that put us back together…
Briget Boyle is a songwriter with new single called “Mandolin” out today! This is the second single from her upcoming album, Heartbreak Residue. We get into Briget's writing process, the meaning behind this particular song, and detail on Briget's background in the music industry. There is some real poignant moments in our conversation, and you'll really get to see into Briget's heart in this conversation.
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That picture is Jed Craddock.
That other picture with the beautiful bass is Joey Berrios.
I met these gentlemen and their manager in Austin at the DIY Musician Conference. I knew last year that I eventually wanted to invite them to be podcast guests, and we've finally gotten that done. We talk about their latest release, Runnin' On Empty, which was released on February 14th. We talk about how each of them started making music, and you'll hear some captivating stories in that part of the conversation…
Read moreIf you leave a Wag show and you're not smiling, it's probably you…
Here's how The Wag's official website introduces the band: Got songs? Got harmonies? Got fun and unbridled enthusiasm? Then you’ve got The Wag! Hailing from the Bayshore area of New Jersey, this 4-piece unit has been entertaining and moving audiences for 20 years but still sounds as fresh as it did on day one! With 4 alternating lead vocalists, catchy melodies, and sophisticated harmonies, they will take you on a journey of pop rock…
Read moreDeep down, I'm a softie
Nora Rahimian is an anti-capitalist business coach and fascinating individual. Nora is well-traveled, multilingual, thoughtful, and a strong communicator. She was the first music manager in Liberia. Who makes the ideal client? What did her childhood smell like? What does it mean to be “anti-capitalist" in business? You'll learn the answers to these questions and more from our conversation.
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…la manière oú j'ai changé la manière de penser que j'avais, ça s'est fait en parallel avec… j'ai commencé à penser en anglais…
Ce fois, je parle avec Maxime Cholley en français. Il est batteur professionel qui vient de Savoie, mais qui habite maintenant en New York. Il se considère un citoyen du monde. Comment est-ce qu'il a pris la décision de venir aux Etats-Unis pour étudier la musique? Qu'est-ce que c'était son défi avec la langue anglaise? Qu'est-ce que c'est son but primodial dans la musique…
Read moreThe perfect first New York experience of looking at a place that doesn't make any sense…
Maxime Cholley is from Savoie, but his travels in music have taken him to Berklee in Boston, to New York, and now he plays all over the world. (In fact, today, as this episode gets released, Maxime is on tour in India.)
You'll learn how Maxime got started playing drums in this conversation, as well as what it's like being a professional musician in New York City. What was it like adjusting to the different pace of life…
Read moreIt 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…
Read moreIt 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…
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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…
Read moreI 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…
Read moreIf 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…
Read moreIt'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…
Read moreI 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…
Read moreDon'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?
