On today's episode I talk to Sasami Ashworth. Raised mostly in Los Angeles in a religious household, Sasami has been making music in the LA area for over a decade. This includes playing French horn in orchestras and studios; playing keys, bass, and guitar in local rock bands like Dirt Dress and Cherry Glazerr; and contributing vocals/string/horn arrangements to studio albums from artists like Vagabon and Wild Nothing. But only recently has she started to record music on her own, and her debut se...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 415
On today's episode I talk to Jennifer and Jessica Clavin of the indie rock band Bleached. Born in California and based in Los Angeles, Jessica and Jennifer began playing music as teenagers, and eventually formed the punk band Mika Miko in 2003. The band released a number of albums and EPs on labels like Sub Pop and Kill Rock Stars, but broke up in 2009 due to band members' wishes to return to school and work on other projects. Two years later, Jessica and Jennifer formed Bleached, and since then...
Jul 11, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 414
On today's episode I talk to musician Ellen Kempner. Originally from Westport, Connecticut, Ellen began playing music as a pre-teen, and even formed a band in high school. However, it's when she moved to New York for college that she really began making music in earnest, and in 2013 debuted as Palehound with the Bent Nail EP. Since then, she's made three albums: 2015's Dry Food, 2017's A Place I'll Always Go, and her latest Black Friday, which was released by Polyvinyl earlier this month. This i...
Jun 27, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 413
On today's episode I talk to Andy Hull and Kevin Devine of the indie rock band Bad Books. While both Andy and Kevin have successful careers with other bands - Andy with Manchester Orchestra and Kevin as a New York-based singer-songwriter, Bad Books is their decade-long collaboration that formed after Kevin began touring with Manchester Orchestra in 2007. Together they've written three albums, a self-titled LP in 2010, 2012's II and III, which will be released this Friday. This is the website for...
Jun 13, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 412
On today's episode I talk to comedian Nick Turner. Originally from Virginia, Nick has been performing stand-up for 15 years, and you can see him on Late Night w/ Seth Meyers as well as Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, and his own Comedy Central Half Hour special. He was a regular cast member on VH1’s Best Week Ever and I Love the 2000’s and is an undefeated champion on TruTV's Comedy Knockout. In addition to all this, his debut album Yelling was released in 2016 on Comedy Cent...
May 30, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 411
On today's episode I talk to musician Will Fox. Born in Houston, TX, and raised in London, Paris, and the American South, Will spent his adolescence moving from country to country with his family. Back stateside, destined to operate a historic gristmill in the Shenandoah Valley, he instead moved to Los Angeles to become a troubadour. After his stint as a member of the now-defunct LA indie rock band Los Angeles Police Department, Will turned his attention to his own pursuits. His first solo work ...
May 23, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 410
On today's episode I talk to musician Chris Cohen. Originally from Los Angeles, Chris has been playing in bands since the early 2000s. He played with Deerhoof from Apple O' to The Runners Four, as well as in bands like The Curtains and Cryptacize, as well as on a number of Cass McCombs albums. As a solo artist, Chris has recorded three albums, 2012’s Overgrown Path, 2016’s As If Apart and his latest self-titled album, which was just released at the end of March on Captured Tracks. This is the we...
May 09, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 409
On today's episode I talk to writer and comedian H. Alan Scott. Based in Los Angeles, H. Alan has been writing and performing for over a decade. He's appeared on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Ellen, CNN, Fusion and MTV and written for TV Land, VICE, Fusion, Out Magazine, Newsweek and Nerdist. He's the subject of the forthcoming documentary Latter Day Jew, and he also co-hosts two wonderful podcasts: Out on the Lanai: A Golden Girls Podcast and You’re Making It Worse Starburns network. This is the websi...
May 02, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 408
On today's episode I talk to musician Anna Connolly. Originally from Los Angeles, Anna grew up going to punk shows as a young teenager, and when her family moved to DC in the 1980s, she and her sister Cynthia became part of a small, nascent punk scene, which later became what everyone knows as “DC punk rock.” Anna spent many of her high school years working at a record store, buying records, and going to shows. Though many of her friends were in bands (Minor Threat practiced in the basement of h...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 407
On today's episode I talk to Michael Collins AKA Drugdealer. Originally from Boston, Michael much more identifies an an artist rather than a musician, even though his music is quite wonderful. He moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and began making music under different drug pun monikers including Run DMT and Salvia Plath, and eventually formed Drugdealer, which he thinks of as more of a collective than a band and includes folks like Ariel Pink and members of Weyes Blood. Their first album The End of C...
Apr 11, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 406
On today's episode I talk to comedian Natalie Palamides. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Natalie's path to comedy started with clowning and devised theater with the Obie-Award-Winning Pig Iron Theatre Company. After moving to Los Angeles, she became an official performer at UCB, and since then, has garnered a number of accolades including being named a Just for Laughs New Face in 2016 and Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2017. Natalie is also a voice actor working on a number of c...
Apr 04, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 405
On today's episode I talk to musician Ben Cooper AKA Radical Face. Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Ben has been making music since he was a teenager, originally as a way to escape his difficult upbringing. Since 2003, he's released six albums and eight EPs. His latest EP Therapy is out on April 26 via Bear Machine Records, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow me on Twitter ....
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 404
On today's episode I talk to comedian and writer Megan Neuringer. Originally from New York, Megan got her comedy start at UCB, where she was an official performer for over a decade. As an actor, she was a panelist on Best Week Ever and a number of other VH1 shows, and has appeared on Flight Of The Conchords, Fringe, Strangers With Candy, @Midnight, Kroll Show, Comedy Bang! Bang! and much more. And as a writer, she written for numerous shows including Portlandia and Netflix's new show The Fix wit...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 403
I am trying to finish one of the biggest projects of my career so far this week, so I thought I'd put out an episode from the archives! Andy Daly is one of my favorite comedians, and he stopped by the Harlem studio in 2014 while promoting Review. We discuss The Monkees, the fragility of existence, fatherhood, “Cookies On a Shelf”, neighborhood games, living in your imagination, the character of Ridgewood, NJ, trouble with school, and more! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple ...
Mar 14, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 42
On today's episode I talk to musician Mike Deni AKA Geographer. Originally from New Jersey, Los Angeles-based musician Mike Deni has been writing music for most of his life, and for over a decade as Geographer. In that time, he's released a number of EPs and albums including Innocent Ghosts in 2008, Myth in 2012, and Ghost Modern in 2015. His latest EP New Jersey will be out March 22nd, and it is wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow me on Twitter ....
Mar 07, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 402
On today's episode I talk to comedian and TV writer Solomon Georgio. Born in a refugee camp in Sudan, Solomon immigrated to the US at a young age, and his family eventually ended up in Seattle. As a stand-up he performed on Conan, This Is Not Happening, Viceland's show Flophouse, The Meltdown, 2 Dope Queens on HBO and his own Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special. As a TV writer, he's written for a ton of shows including Spongebob Squarepants, Adam Ruins Everything, Crashing and the upcoming ...
Feb 28, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 401
On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Scott Thompson. Originally from Brampton, Ontario, Scott is 1/5 of the iconic sketch group The Kids in the Hall, whose show ran for five seasons. They also made the film Brain Candy, the series Death Comes to Town, and continue to tour. In addition to this, Scott has also acted on dozens and dozens of shows including The Simpsons and Tim and Eric. He also played his character Buddy Cole on the Colbert Report and was a regular on two of the best sho...
Feb 22, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 400
To celebrate the upcoming 400th episode of the show, I thought I'd drop a bonus episode this week! What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpinning why certain TV shows get made or why certain actors become household names, and I think it's w...
Feb 14, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 41
On today's episode I talk to musician Bridie Monds-Watson AKA SOAK. Originally from Derry in Northern Ireland, Bridie began making music when she was 13, and quickly found acclaim. Her first album, Before We Forgot How to Dream was released in 2015 on Rough Trade. It won the Irish Choice Music Prize Album of the Year and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize as well. Her latest album, Grim Town, which is also on Rough Trade, will be out this April. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe ...
Feb 07, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 399
On today's episode I talk to musician Rosie Tucker. Originally from the San Fernando valley, Rosie is now based in Los Angeles proper. She is 1/4 of the post-rock band Gypsum, and though only in her early 20s, she's written two albums under her own name. Lowlight was released in 2015, and her latest Never Not Never Not Never Not will be released this March on New Professor Music. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow me on Twitter ....
Jan 31, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 398
On today's episode I talk to Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne of the band The Blow. Originally from Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, Khaela is an artist, writer and musician, and has been part of the Olympia/K Records music scene for a long time, as a solo artist, as a member of The Microphones, and for a number of years with YACHT's Jona Bechtolt as The Blow. However, since the mid-aughts, The Blow has been Khaela and artist/musician Melissa Dyne. Melissa classically trained on the cello as a child, a...
Jan 24, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 397
On today's episode I talk to musician Andrew Choi AKA St. Lenox. Originally from Ames, Iowa, Andy has lived many lives. In the mid ’90s, he was a Juilliard-trained violinist. He then quit music to get a degree in Philosophy and went on to receive his PhD from Ohio State. And after this, he moved to New York City, where he now works as a singer-songwriter and a lawyer in Manhattan. As St. Lenox, Andy has released three albums: Ten Songs About Memory and Hope, Ten Hymns From My American Gothic, an...
Jan 17, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 396
On today's episode I talk to TV writer Alison Tatlock. Originally from Brookline, MA, Alison has taken a circuitous route to television from actor to non-profits to playwright. And while Alison only started her TV career less than a decade ago, she's written for a number of the best dramas of the 21st century. This includes shows like In Treatment, Stranger Things, Halt and Catch Fire, and Better Call Saul, the latter of which has been nominated for a 2019 Writer's Guild Award in Drama. This is ...
Jan 10, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 395
I'm taking a break for the holidays, so I thought I'd put up this pilot I did for Earwolf late last year called Let's Get Metaphysical. LGM is a hybrid philosophy discussion/sketch show (maybe from that combo you can see why it didn't get picked up), but besides some of the usual awkwardness in a pilot, it's pretty fun and interesting - I got to talk to some funny people, plus a philosopher that was a real inspiration to me, and the sketch actors are some of my favorite performers, and I got to ...
Dec 27, 2018•56 min•Ep. 40
On today's episode I talk to singer, bass player, model and actress Adeline Michèle. Born and raised in Paris to a French mother and a father hailing from the Caribbean island of Martinique, Adeline started singing at the ripe age of five and was accepted in a professional choir and grew up performing live around Europe and on T.V. In 2006, Adeline moved to New York City to more actively pursue her music career. She joined legendary acid jazz/hip-hop band Us3 and her self-written single, "Say Y...
Dec 20, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 394
On today's episode I talk to Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout. KP grew up in a small Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. From an early age, she was singing and dancing at powwows including her family’s own powwow, called the All My Relations Powwow. In 2007, KP moved to Portland, OR, to attend college and get involved with the Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls. Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement, KP dove deep into the Portland music scene, playing guitar and drums in a b...
Dec 13, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 393
On today's episode I talk to actress Kether Donohue. Originally from New York, Kether has been a working actress for over twenty years. She began doing voiceover for anime like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! as a teenager, and since then has been in a number of great shows and movies including Pitch Perfect, High Maintenance and unsung sitcom LA to Vegas. Currently, Kether stars on one of the best shows on TV You're the Worst, which returns for its fifth and final season on January 9th on FXX. This is th...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 392
On today's episode I talk to filmmakers and musicians Brocker and Chapman Way. Originally from Thousand Oaks, CA, Brocker and Chapman, along with their third brother MacLain, are responsible for the wonderful documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball, as well as the six part Emmy Award-winning documentary Wild Wild Country about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his community of followers that emigrated to a small town in Oregon. This is the website for Beginnings , su...
Nov 29, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 391
On today's episode I talk to musician and rapper Nnamdi Ogbonnaya. The child of Nigerian immigrants, Nnamdi mostly grew up in Chicago, where he has been a member of the DIY music underground for many years. This includes drumming in bands like Monobody and Ittō, playing bass in groups like Nervous Passenger and Teen Cult, and rapping under his own name as well as Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project. His most recent album DROOL was released last year on Father/Daughter Records, and it's fa...
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 390
On today's episode I talk to actress Becky Thyre. Originally from Louisiana, Becky got her real start in theater in Chicago. Eventually moving to Los Angeles, she's acted and lent her vocal talents to a number of amazing shows and films including PCU, The Oblongs, Six Feet Under, The Sarah Silverman Program, Parks and Rec, Weeds, Arrested Development, Transparent, and nearest and dearest to my own heart Mr. Show. Most recently, Becky has performed roles on shows like New Girl and Modern Family. ...
Nov 15, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 389
