On today's episode, I talk to musician Christina Schneider AKA Locate S,1. Originally from Westchester, New York, Christina began her career making music in various projects, such as C.E Schneider Topical, Christina Schneider's Genius Giant, and Jepeto Solutions., and in 2018, she began recording as Locate S,1. She's released three albums, Healing Contest, Personalia and her latest, Wicked Jaw, which was just released at the end of July by Captured Tracks! This is the website for Beginnings , su...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 595
On today's episode, I talk to musician and artist Jad Fair. Originally from Coldwater, Michigan, Jad began playing music with his brother David in 1974 as the band Half Japanese. As an art rock group that charted its own path, Half Japanese soon began to be celebrated by tastemakers, and this led to their first record contract. Over the next fifty years, they released over two dozen albums and EPs, and as a solo artist, Jad has a discography as numerous as the stars in the sky. He's collaborated...
Aug 04, 2023•53 min•Ep. 594
On today's episode, I talk to musician Heather Trost. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Heather really started taking music seriously in college, often touring whenever she wasn't in class. In the early 2000s, she met her now husband, Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes and joined his fledgling project A Hawk and A Hacksaw, making it a duo. Since that time, they have released six albums, the latest of which is Forest Bathing in 2018. As a solo musician, Heather has released four albums, and ...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 593
On today's episode, I talk to writer and podcaster Matt Christman. Originally from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Matt wasn't pursuing anything specific when he started the left political podcast Chapo Trap House with two friends he met online. But the show struck a nerve in the general zeitgeist and turned into a career for Matt. The show has been going strong for seven years now, and through Chapo and their producer Chris Wade, Matt has created a number of fantastic miniseries: Hell of Presidents, whic...
Jul 21, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 592
On today's episode, I talk to Emmy Award-winning puppeteer David Bizzaro. Originally from Fresno, CA, David moved around a lot as a child. He fell in love with theater, and eventually began working in a field adjacent to that, as a visual generalist, making videos and other things for the live shows of bands like The Flaming Lips. Puppetry, though, was something he came to in adulthood, when he needed to learn the skill for a TV ad. He found that puppetry just felt right for him, and since then ...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 591
On today's episode, I talk to musician Lindsay Olsen AKA Salami Rose Joe Louis. Originally from San Diego, Lindsay worked in the sciences as a lab tech and made music on the side until Flying Lotus' label Brainfeeder released her third album Zdenka 2080 in 2019, which gave her the courage to pursue music professionally. This was followed up by Chapters of Zdenka the next year, and her most recent, Akousmatikous, was released in May, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe ...
Jul 07, 2023•56 min•Ep. 590
On today's episode, I talk to musician and composer Rob Mazurek. Originally from Jersey City, Rob started playing trumpet and cornet in high school after his family moved to Naperville, Illinois. He first learned the foundations of improvised music while studying jazz theory and practice with David Bloom at the Bloom School of Jazz in Chicago, and then became a mainstay of Chicago jazz in the 1980s. In 1994, Rob formed the Chicago Underground Collective with guitarist Jeff Parker and a cast of r...
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 589
On today's episode, I talk to musician John Grant. Originally from Buchanan, Michigan, John moved to Germany in 1988 to study German, but eventually moved back to the States, where he formed the band The Czars, who released seven albums in the 12 years they were together. After a four-year hiatus, John began making music again under his own name, and the five albums he's recorded since have garnered both critical praise and commercial success. In 2013, John moved to Iceland, where he works as a ...
Jun 23, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 588
On today's episode, I talk to musician and composer Zeena Parkins. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Zeena is a pioneer of contemporary harp practices and has essentially "reinvented the harp". Since moving to New York in 1984, Zeena has collaborated with countless musical luminaries like John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Elliott Sharp and Bjork, recorded over a dozen fantastic albums and collected more accolades than you could count in a week, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. For 13 years, Zeena held th...
Jun 16, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 587
On today's episode, I talk to TV and comics writer J. Holtham. Originally a playwright, J. moved to Los Angeles in the early 20-teens to pursue screenwriting, eventually landing a staff writer position on the show Pitch. Since then, he's written for Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Jones, Supergirl and The Handmaid's Tale. As a comics writer, the final issue of J.'s first miniseries Bishop: War College just dropped, and it is delightful! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts ...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 586
On today's episode, I talk to musician Isabel Olive AKA Half Gringa. Originally from Carbondale, Illinois, Isabel has been playing as Half Gringa - a nod to a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in her Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the United States - since the late 20-teens. Her first album Gruñona was released in 2017 and her second Force to Reckon in 2020. Earlier this year, she released the Ancestral Home EP, and this summer she'll be on tour supportin...
Jun 02, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 585
On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Joey Alison Sayers. Originally from Colorado Springs, CO, Joey has drawn comics for most of her life, but only really started publishing them as minicomics in her mid-20s. This led to many other opportunities, such as her strip "The Machine That Travels Through Time", which ran in Mad Magazine for almost a decade and "Thingpart", which was syndicated in a number of newspapers in the late-aughts. Currently, Joey writes the syndicated comic Alley Oop, and h...
May 19, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 584
On today's episode, I talk to comedian and director Bobcat Goldthwait. Originally from Syracuse, Bobcat's career is so full of hyphens that "multihyphenate" doesn't even scratch the surface. From acting in films like Police Academy and Scrooged to directing TV for shows like Community and Jimmy Kimmel to directing comedy specials for folks like Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt to directing his own films like World's Greatest Dad and God Bless America. But since the start of his career, Bobcat has be...
May 12, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 583
On today's episode, I talk to musician Carl Newman. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Carl began his musical career in the early '90s as a member of Superconductor, but it was really with his next band Zumpano where he began to find his voice, a style that would come to fruition with The New Pornographers. Since their first album Mass Romantic in 2000, the band has become one of the preeminent indie rock groups of the 21st century, with nine albums to their name, all of which are grea...
May 05, 2023•55 min•Ep. 582
On today's episode, I talk to Eisner Award-winning comics creator Jeff Lemire. Originally from Woodslee, Ontario, Jeff wrote and drew comics for years while working day jobs, until he eventually self-published his book Lost Dogs in 2005. This led to making Essex County for Top Shelf, and since then he's written and drawn a veritable slew of fantastic comics, both creator-owned works for publishers like Image and Dark Horse and for-hire books for companies like Marvel, DC and Vertigo. This includ...
Apr 28, 2023•56 min•Ep. 581
On today's episode, I talk to musician Rachel Brown. Originally from Chicago, Rachel attended NYU where they studied film and television. However, instead of ending up in TV, Rachel's life took a different path, and they became enmeshed in the New York music scene. As thanks for coming, they've released dozens of albums, and their latest, You Haven't Missed Much, was released late last year on Danger Collective Records. As half of Water From Your Eyes, Rachel has released six albums, and their l...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 580
On today's episode, I talk to musician Satomi Matsuzaki. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Satomi moved to San Francisco in 1995 to study film production, but within a week of immigrating, she joined the nascent rock group Deerhoof, and has been a member ever since. In the intervening years, the band has released over two dozen albums, EPs and live albums on labels like Kill Rock Stars and Polyvinyl, among many others, and their latest, Miracle-Level, was released at the end of March on Joyful Noise...
Apr 14, 2023•41 min•Ep. 579
On today's episode, I talk to actor and comedian Jerry Minor. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Jerry came up doing comedy at Second City in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto before joining Mr. Show for the fourth season. This was followed by stints at SNL, Primtetime Glick, The Daily Show as well as appearances on basically every great comedy from the last two decades: Delocated, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Arrested Development, Community, Detroiters, Special and honestly, more than I have time...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 578
On today's episode, I talk to musician Oren Ambarchi. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Oren began playing free jazz as a drummer in the late '80s, eventually moving from there to New York, where he became integrated in the experimental and jazz scene. Oren's collaborations and albums are too numerous to mention here, but he's played with everyone from Sunn 0)) to John Zorn to Jim O’Rourke to Phill Niblock, and released albums on labels like Kranky, Tzadik and his own, Black Truffle. Oren now l...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 577
On today's episode, I talk to musician Eva Lawitts AKA Stimmerman. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Eva has been playing music for most of her life. She played in the band Sister Helen for 14 years, and when they broke up she formed Stimmerman in 2017. As Stimmerman, she's recorded a number of albums and EPs, and her latest Undertaking will be released this May, and it's incredible! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow me on Twitter . Check out my free philosoph...
Mar 24, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 576
On today's episode, I talk to musician Kate Fagan. Growing up in Wisconsin and then outside DC, Kate made many more stops before ending up in Chicago in the late '70s and early '80s. There she became the Founder and frontwoman of long-running Chicago second wave ska trailblazers Heavy Manners, and on her own, she recorded and self-released the new wave single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool, ” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. 35 years lat...
Mar 17, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 575
On today's episode, I talk to comics creator Farel Dalrymple. Originally from Tulsa, OK, Farel Dalrymple has been creating comics for over two decades. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, he was one of the founders of the Meathaus Collective, who published the Meathaus comics anthology. And since then, he's written and illustrated a wide range of comics, worked with Jonathan Lethem on Omega the Unknown and created numerous creator-owned books like The Often Wrong, Proxima Cent...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 574
On today's episode, I talk to musician Dave Portner AKA Avey Tare of Animal Collective. Originally from Baltimore County, Dave met his future bandmates Josh, Brian and Noah in high school where they played music together, but it wasn't until they all found themselves in New York in the early-aughts that they officially became Animal Collective. The first album as Avey Tare, Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished, also doubles as the first Animal Collective album, and since its release on F...
Feb 24, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 573
On today's episode, I talk to actress Emma Paetz. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Emma realized she wanted to act for a living while au pairing in Paris. She moved to London where she studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and was primarily a theater actor for a long time. While she's had roles in shows like The Looming Tower and Gentleman Jack, her first starring role was as Martha Kane in the canceled-too-soon show Pennyworth, all three seasons of which you can still watch on ...
Feb 17, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 572
On today's episode, I talk to actress Elina Löwensohn. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Elina emigrated to the US as a child under somewhat harrowing circumstances. She studied acting and started performing in theater productions in New York and was hired by Hal Hartley after he saw her in play. She starred in a number of his films including Simple Men, Amateur and Flirt, and in the last 30 years, has acted in everything from Schindler's List to Seinfeld to Basquiat to A Very Long Engagement,...
Feb 10, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 571
On today's episode, I talk to musician Damian Abraham. Originally from Toronto, Damian has been playing in punk bands since he was a tween. In 2001, he formed Fucked Up with Mike Haliechuk and has been the lead singer ever since. They've recorded six albums and dozens and dozens of EPs and other recordings on labels like Arts & Crafts, Merge and Matador. Damian is also the host of the interview podcast Turned Out a Punk, which has featured many of the same wonderful guests you've heard on Be...
Feb 03, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 570
On today's 13th anniversary episode, I talk to Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning TV and film writer Terence Winter. Originally from Brooklyn, Terry became a lawyer before giving it all up to move to LA to pursue a career in screenwriting. Starting on shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and sitcoms like Sister, Sister, Terry eventually became a writer for The Sopranos, which he wrote on for most of its run. Since then, he created the wonderful HBO show Boardwalk Empire, wrote the scree...
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 569
On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comics creator Jim Zub. Jim began his comics career making webcomics starting in the early aughts, but it was with his Image book Skullkickers, which allowed him to break through to a wider audience. Since then he's written other creator-owned work for Image like Wayward and Glitterbomb, as well as numerous books for DC and Marvel including most notably The Avengers and Thunderbolts. Speaking of Thunderbolts, Jim is currently writin...
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 568
On today's episode, I talk to musicians Alba Torremocha, Melissa Carter, and Lillie McDonough AKA the band ALMA. Hailing from all over the world, the New York-based trio officially formed in 2019 out of a shared delight in harmonizing and experimentation. Later that year, they were named an NYFA Fellow for their genre-pushing work and the following year, were awarded an Awesome Foundation Grant. Then in 2021, they released their first album MOSAIC to acclaim! This is the website for Beginnings ,...
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 567
On today's episode I talk to musician and scholar Daniel Wyche. Daniel is a visiting assistant professor in Albion College's religious studies department and a brilliant guitarist - his album Earthwork was one of my favorites in 2021, and after his first appearance on the show back in episode 514, we've become friendly. As a former philosophy professor and current philosophy dilettante, I thought it might be fun to go off-topic-ish for an episode and have an actual PhD on to bounce my well-thoug...
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 566
