On today's episode, I talk to musician and actor Katelyn Tarver. After getting her start performing in prestigious talent competitions as a child in Glennville, Georgia, Katelyn moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She promptly made her TV debut with a recurring role on Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush, then began independently releasing her music while penning songs for other artists. In 2014 she experienced a major breakthrough when “Crazy Stupid L...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 505
On today's episode, I talk to musician Buzz Osborne. Originally from Morton, WA, Buzz founded the rock band Melvins in the early '80s, and in 1986, C/Z Records released their first EP Six Songs. Since then, they've released over 40 more albums, EPs and compilations on record labels like Alternative Tentacles, Sub Pop and Ipecac Recordings, and while never achieving mainstream success - if that's even something they sought - the band is both sustainable and hugely influential, influencing everyon...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 504
On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Keith "Keef" Knight. Starting with his K Chronicles in the early '90s, Keith has been a professional cartoonist for almost three decades. In that time, he's started two other series - (th)ink and the Knight Life - and written almost 20 books of cartoons. Keith has been syndicated everywhere, won awards like the Harvey Award and was named one of 2015's History Makers by the NAACP. In addition to all of this, he co-created the TV show Woke, which is partial...
Oct 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 503
On today's episode, I talk to musician David Thomas. Raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, David is one of the founders of the short-lived but influential punk band Rocket from the Tombs, who split up after about a year, with some members going off to form the Dead Boys, while David founded Pere Ubu. While David would record on and off with the self-described avant-garage Pere Ubu over the next 40 years, he has also recorded with a number of different collaborators under a number of different names...
Oct 01, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 502
On today's episode, I talk to musician Indigo De Souza. Originally from Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and later based in Asheville, Indigo recorded her first EP, Boys, in a friend's garage in 2016. Following another short-form release, she delivered her debut album, I Love My Mom, in 2018. She then signed with Saddle Creek, which reissued the debut just weeks before releasing the tempestuous Any Shape You Take at the end of August. And it's one of my favorite things released this year! This is th...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 501
On today's special 500th episode, I talk to BAFTA Award-winning comedy writer Arthur Mathews. Originally from Navan, Co Meath, Ireland, Arthur was originally on the path to become a graphic designer until his writing partner suggested they go to London to try their hand at professional comedy writing. Since that day, Arthur has co-created the seminal comedy Father Ted, wrote on some of the best UK comedies of the early 2000s, including Jam, Brass Eye and Black Books, co-created the Simon Pegg-st...
Sep 17, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 500
On today's episode, I talk to musician/poet/actor McKenzie Chinn. Originally from Fort Washington, McKenzie is a true triple threat. As an actor, she has appeared on Fox's Empire and The Big Leap, is a 2021 fellow in the Sundance Directors Lab, and wrote, produced and acted in the film Olympia, which made its debut at the 2018 LA Film Festival. As a poet, her work has appeared in numerous publications and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and as a musician, she is part of the Growing Conc...
Sep 10, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 499
On today's episode, I talk to musician Ramona Gonzalez AKA NIte Jewel. Born in Oakland and raised in Berkeley, Ramona studied philosophy at Occidental College. She remained involved in music throughout her studies, playing in a series of rock bands with her then husband, and eventually starting her solo career as Nite Jewel. After a self-released six-song CD-R titled My CD, which caught the ear of New York's taste-making Other Records, Nite Jewel issued the full-length Good Evening through Human...
Sep 03, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 498
On today's episode, I talk to TV writer Bill Oakley. Originally from Union Bridge, Maryland, Bill attended Harvard where he spent most of his time writing for the Harvard Lampoon. After graduating, Bill took on a number of different jobs until he and his longtime friend and writing partner Josh Weinstein were eventually hired to work on The Simpsons. Together, the two wrote some of the most classic episodes of the show including "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" an...
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 497
On today's episode, I talk to musician Kath Myers. Originally from Ohio, Kath had a roundabout route into making music that took her from the world of high finance in New York all the way to living the "artist's way" in Los Angeles. Her first album under her own name, Sensitive Groups, was just released in June, and it's fantastic! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow me on Twitter ....
Aug 20, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 496
On today's episode, I talk to modern composer Terry Riley. Originally from Colfax, CA, Terry began studying composition and performing solo piano in the 1950s. He befriended and collaborated with composer La Monte Young, and through the '60s further refined his sound. Terry's 1964 revolutionary composition "In C" essentially launched what is now known as the Minimalist movement. The piece's interlocking repetitive patterns changed the course of 20th century music, and its influence has been hear...
Aug 13, 2021•58 min•Ep. 495
On today's episode, I talk to comedy writer Robert Popper. Robert Popper is a multiple award-winning writer, producer and performer. He’s the creator, writer and producer of Channel 4’s six-series Friday Night Dinner, he co-created and starred in BBC 2’s Look Around You with Peter Serafinowicz, produced the Bafta-winning Peep Show, wrote on season 14 of South Park, script-edited The Inbetweeners, The IT Crowd, and Him & Her, and co-wrote several episodes of Channel 4’s Stath Lets Flats, with...
Aug 06, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 494
On today's episode, I talk to musician Joe Jack Talcum. Originally from Wagontown, PA, Joe Genaro AKA Joe Jack Talcum is the guitarist and co-lead singer of the seminal punk band The Dead Milkmen. Formed out of his home recording project dating back to the late '70s, the group didn't really coalesce until Joe went to college at Temple University. Starting with 1985's Big Lizard in My Backyard, they recorded dozens of albums and EPs, and though they broke up in 1995, they've reunited a number of ...
Jul 29, 2021•53 min•Ep. 493
On today's episode, I talk to musician Anna McClellan began performing original songs in her hometown of Omaha, NE at the age of seventeen and has been actively recording and touring ever since. Her debut, Fire Flames, earned her an opening slot on a Frankie Cosmos tour. Through the doors that tour opened, McClellan eventually met Father/Daughter Records which led to the release of her second full-length record, Yes and No, in 2018. After a stint in NYC, several subsequent tours and meandering, ...
Jul 23, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 492
On today's episode, I talk to writer Steve Aylett. Born in Bromley, Steve is the author of over a dozen novels, comics and collections of short fiction. He started to get acclaim for his writing with his third novel Slaughtermatic, which was shortlisted for the 1998 Philip K. Dick Award. Slaughtermatic was part of his Beerlight series, and this, along with the Accomplice series, make up the bulk of his most well-known work, although one of his best works, Lint - a satirical, Zelig-like biography...
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 491
On today's episode, I talk to musician Lou Barlow. Originally from Ohio, Lou formed his first band Deep Wound in 1982, while attending high school in western Massachusetts. Deep Wound's drummer was J Mascis, and when that band broke up, Lou and J formed Dinosaur, later to become Dinosaur Jr. The early years of the band were acclaimed but tumultuous, and after their third album, he was asked to leave the band. Lou then turned his attention to his other band Sebadoh, his side project Sentridoh, an...
Jul 09, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 490
On today's episode, I talk to actress and comedian Michaela Watkins. Originally from Syracuse, NY, Michaela's career really began when she moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, where she joined the Groundlings. She was cast on SNL for the 2008 season, and while she only stayed a year, this led to many other incredible roles on shows like New Adventures of Old Christine, Enlightened, Trophy Wife, New Girl, Veep, Wet Hot American Summer, Catastrophe, Get Shorty, Transparent, Search Party, The U...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 489
On today's episode, I talk to bass guitarist and record producer Melvin Gibbs. A native of Brooklyn, He has been called "the greatest bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine and was last year's winner of JazzTimes Magazine's Critics Poll in the Electric Bass category. Melvin's wide-ranging musical resume includes membership in bands ranging from the no-wave of Defunkt to the avant-jazz of the Decoding Society, to Power Tools with Bill Frisell & Ronald Shannon Jackson, Rollins Ban...
Jun 25, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 488
On today's episode, I talk to musician Isobel Campbell. Originally from Glasgow, Isobel's musical career began with the acclaimed indie rock group Belle and Sebastian. She played cello, keyboards and sang in the group, and after five hit albums, she left the band to pursue a solo career as The Gentle Waves. She kept The Gentle Waves moniker for a few albums, afterward deciding to record music under her given name. Between 2006 and 2013, Isobel also made three albums with Screaming Trees' Mark La...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 487
On today's episode, I talk to Tony Award-winning actor and musician Michael Cerveris. Originally from Huntington, West Virginia, Michael got his start acting in the early '80s downtown scene, and his career has flourished from there. As a theater actor, he's won two Tony Awards, one for playing John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and the second for his role in Fun Home. Beyond the official accolades though, he's acted in dozens of productions including Hedwig And The Angry Inch. As...
Jun 04, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 486
On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-award winning comics creator John Allison. John started creating webcomics in 1998 with Bobbins, a series which ran on the early webcomics portal Keenspot. When Bobbins ended, he followed that up with Scary Go Round and then Bad Machinery. In 2013, John pitched a spin-off from Scary Go Round, Giant Days, to Boom! Box, a newly formed imprint of Boom! Studios for established artists outside the comics industry. In 2016, Giant Days was nominated for two Eisner A...
May 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 485
On today's episode, I talk to Grammy nominated musician Bonnie McKee. Raised in Seattle, WA, Bonnie had been singing and writing her own songs from a young age, and as a teenager was signed to a label and moved to Los Angeles to record her first album. While critically praised, the album was commercially unsuccessful, and after a while, Bonnie began a second career as a songwriter for artists like Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Adam Lambert, Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Carly Rae Jepsen as ...
May 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 484
On today's episode, I talk to musician Trevor Kampmann. Born in Naperville, IL in the early '70s, Trevor began making music under the name Sea Saw in the early '90s on the indie label Simple Machines, after that recording as hollAnd. Aside from releasing over 12 CDs and DVDs under the hollAnd moniker - many of them on TeenBeat Records, he has worked on countless recordings for bands such as Explosions in the Sky, Cat Power, and Flin Flon (whose song 'Floods' became the theme for CNN's Anderson C...
May 14, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 483
On today's episode I talk to musician Peggy Seeger. Sister of Pete Seeger (the great-grandfather of USA folk revival) and partner of the late Ewan MacColl (theorist and practitioner of UK folk revival), she has carved a special niche for herself in both these countries. Trained in both classical and folk music, her experience spans 55 years of performing, travel and songwriting. A multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, English concertina and Appalachian dulcimer), she is...
May 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 482
On today's episode I talk to musician and TV writer Clay Tarver. Clay first came to prominence as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the Boston hard rock/punk band Bullet LaVolta in the late 1980s. They recorded a few records for Taang!, RCA, and Matador Records before disbanding in 1991. He then formed Chavez with Matt Sweeney, Scott Marshall and James Lo, and they released two incredible albums and an EP on Matador. As Chavez was waning, Clay's writing career started to take off. Around this...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 481
On today's episode I talk to musician Matt Sweeney. Originally from northern New Jersey, Matt started playing in bands in high school with his first group Skunk, who released two albums on Twin/Tone records. In the early '90s, he formed Chavez, which went on to release two incredible albums and an EP on Matador. When the band stopped playing together, Matt became a sideman touring with GBV and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, until he formed Zwan with Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan. Although Matt has con...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 480
On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Jana Schmieding. Originally from Oregon, Jana cut her teeth performing sketch, improv and characters at the Magnet Theater in New York City. After moving to Los Angeles in 2016, Jana started the Woman of Size podcast, which she hosted until 2019, and most recently, she writes on and co-stars with Ed Helms in Peacock's newest sitcom Rutherford Falls, which debuts on the streaming network next Friday! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 479
On today's episode I talk to musician Bob Nastanovich. Born in Rochester, but raised in Richmond, Virginia, Bob spent the early part of his life playing tennis and listening to punk rock. While attending college at the University of Virginia, he met his future bandmates Steve Malkmus and Dave Berman, and the three formed the band Ectoslavia with future Yo La Tengo member James McNew. After college, the three moved to Jersey across from Manhattan, where the first Silver Jews songs were recorded. ...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 478
On today's episode I talk to musician Jamie Stewart. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jamie played in a number of bands as a teenager, including a parody band and a Bauhaus cover group. However, he didn't really find his voice until he formed Xiu Xiu in his mid-20s. The release of the band's first album Knife Play on the Kill Rock Stars imprint 5RC cemented their style, but it was with 2004's Fabulous Muscles that the band really started to break through. Since then, Xiu Xiu has recorded and rele...
Apr 02, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 477
On today's episode I talk to musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius. A pioneer in the field of electronic music, Hans-Joachim Roedelius is considered one of the founders of contemporary popular electronic music. Born in Berlin in 1934, Hans-Joachim starred as a child in a number of UFA films, and during the war was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandatory for all boys from the age of ten. During this time, he also appeared in several propaganda films....
Mar 26, 2021•52 min•Ep. 476
