On today's episode, I talk to musician Fred Thomas. Originally from Ypsilanti, Michigan, Fred started playing music as a teenager, and in 1994 founded the math rock band Chore. The band broke up two years later, and he joined the brilliant His Name Is Alive, and in 1999 started the well-known indie rock band Saturday Looks Good to Me. They would release eight albums, mostly on Polyvinyl, before Fred retired the band in 2013. As a solo artist, Fred has been recording albums since 2002, and his 14...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 655
On today's episode, I talk to musician Jake Xerxes Fussell. Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Jake is the son of folklorist Fred Fussell, and as a teenager began playing and studying with elder musicians in the Chattahoochee Valley, apprenticing with Piedmont blues legend Precious Bryant, with whom he toured and recorded. In 2015, Jake released his debut self-titled album composed entirely of adapted folk and blues songs on Paradise of Bachelors, his home for his next three albums: What in the ...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 654
On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist John Pham. Born in Saigon, John's family immigrated to the US towards the end of the Vietnam War. In the year 2000, John received a self publishing grant from the Xeric Foundation for his comic Epoxy, and later in the aughts, Fantagraphics published his books Sublife vol. 1 and 2, the latter of which was nominated for multiple Ignatz Awards. In between books, John works as an art director on some of your favorite cartoons including Lucas Bros Moving Co, A...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 653
On today's episode, I talk to musicians Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson of the band Tsunami. Tsunami formed in Arlington, VA in late 1990, when Jenny and Kristin were housemates at Arlington, Virginia’s legendary punk-activist Positive Force house. Over the next seven years, Tsunami wrote and recorded prolifically, releasing three full-length albums (Deep End, The Heart's Tremolo and A Brilliant Mistake) and over a dozen seven-inch singles and EPs, most on their own Simple Machines label. And n...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 652
On today's episode, I talk to guitarist and composer Roy Montgomery. Originally from London, Roy grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and his first band, The Pin Group, was part of the forefront of the New Zealand post-punk scene in the early-1980s, that, along with bands like The Clean and The Chills, centered around Flying Nun Records. After this, he began recording on his own, and he began to draw acclaim by his second solo album, Temple IV, which was released on Kranky. Since then, he has r...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 651
On today's episode, I talk to comedy writer Meredith Scardino. Originally from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Meredith first got into the business of show as an animator before landing her first writing job on Best Week Ever in 2004. This led to a series of gigs including Late Night with David Letterman, Human Giant and the Daily Show before she landed at The Colbert Report, which she wrote on for six years, netting a handful of Emmy Awards for her work. Meredith's streak continued writing for SNL, Un...
Oct 11, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 650
On today's episode, I talk to musician Rose Melberg. Originally from Sacramento, California, Rose has been a performing musician since high school in the early '90s. While only lasting a year, her first band Tiger Trap garnered a cult following and put out a self-titled album on K Records. Her next band Go Sailor lasted from 1994-1996, but in that short time, recorded a number of albums and singles for Slumberland and Lookout! At the same time, Rose formed The Softies with Jen Sbragia. While it ...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 649
On today's episode, I talk to rappers Brian Warren and Quentin Branch AKA Angry Blackmen. Both living in Chicago in the mid-20-teens, Brian and Quentin met through a mutual friend and eventually a few years later began making music together. Brian asked Quentin to form a duo saying, "I was looking at probably like, OutKast or something, and I was like, 'If they can do it, we can do it'." Their first album TALKSHIT! in 2019 netted them an online following, and subsequent albums were released on D...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 648
On today's episode, I talk to musician Karou Ishibashi AKA Kishi Bashi. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Karou grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and although he wanted to make music professionally, it wasn't until he flunked out of college that he began to pursue it in earnest. In 2003, he formed the band Jupiter One, and they were together for a decade and released three albums. Also, during this time, he was a member of Of Montreal for a number of years. In 2011 though, Karou released his first...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 647
On today's episode, I talk to musicians Josefine Jonsson and Agustina Ruiz of Los Bitchos. Originally from Sweden and Uruguay respectively, Josefine and Agustina formed the London-based Los Bitchos in 2017 along with Serra Petale and Nic Crawshaw. Their first album Let the Festivities Begin! was released in 2022 to widespread acclaim, and their latest Talkie Talkie just came out at the end of August on City Slang Records, and folks, it's a delight! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe ...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 646
On today's episode, I talk to musician and academic Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings. Originally from Stevens Point, WI, Dylan is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. As an academic, he received his Masters from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and is currently completing his PhD. He's also on the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board and is associate director of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College. As a mu...
Sep 06, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 645
On today's episode, I talk to cellist and composer Lia Kohl. Growing up in the Bay Area, Lia began playing the cello when she was eight-years-old and is trained as a classical musician. However, after moving to Chicago in the early 20-teens, she began improvising and making her own music. Her first full album Too Small to be a Plain was released in 2022 on Shinkoyo, which was followed by The Ceiling Reposes in 2023 on American Dreams Records, and her latest Normal Sounds is out now on Moon Glyph...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 644
On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-winning comics editor and two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist in cartooning Matt Bors. Originally from Canton, Ohio, Matt attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he first began drawing editorial cartoons for the student newspaper. At 23, his work became syndicated by Universal Features, making him the youngest syndicated cartoonist in the country at that time. Since then, his comics have appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, Village Voice, CNN, The Inter...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 643
On today's episode, I talk to musician Mabe Fratti. Originally from Guatemala, Mabe studied cello from a young age, but was on a path to become a journalist before a Goethe Institute residency took her to Mexico to work on her music. There she got involved in the Mexico City improvisational music scene. Mabe produced her first album Pies Sobre La Tierra in 2019, which was followed by Será Que Ahora Podremos Entendernos in 2021, Se Ve Desde Aquí in 2022, and her latest Sentir Que No Sabes was jus...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 642
On today's episode, I talk to musician and artist Asher White. Originally from Evanston, Illinois, Asher has built an immense discography since she was a teenager, recording over a dozen self-released albums since 2015. Starting with 2023's New Excellent Woman, the wonderful label Ba Da Bing began putting out Asher's music, and her latest Home Constellation Study was just released at the end of June, and like everything else Asher's done, it's excellent! This is the website for Beginnings , subs...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 641
On today's episode, I talk to journalist and political writer Doug Henwood. Originally from Teaneck, New Jersey, Doug has been writing publicly about politics since he started his newsletter Left Business Observer, which ran from 1986 until 2013. He's also written for Harper's, The Village Voice, Jacobin and is a contributing editor at The Nation. In addition, Doug has written four books: State of the U.S.A. Atlas, Wall Street, After the New Economy and My Turn: Hillary Clinton Targets the Presi...
Aug 02, 2024•58 min•Ep. 640
On today's episode, I talk to musician Colin Meloy. Originally from Helena, Montana, Colin played in a few bands in high school and college before eventually forming The Decemberists in Portland, Oregon at the turn of the century. They released their first album, Castaways and Cutouts a few years later on Kill Rock Stars, who they continued to work with until eventually signing with Capitol Records. Since 2002, the band has released nine albums, and in addition, Colin has recorded a number of so...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 639
On today's episode, I talk to musicians Maia Sinaiko and Susanna Thomson, the founders and 2/3 of the Bay Area band Sour Widows. Originally meeting and becoming friends at Camp Winnarainbow in their youth, Maia and Susanna formed Sour Widows in 2017, when they found themselves living near one another for the first time. Eventually they invited drummer Max Edelman to join them in the band, and since then, they've released two fantastic EPs, a self-titled one in 2020 and Crossing Over in 2021. In ...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 638
On today's episode, I talk to musician Marina Allen. Originally from New Jersey, Marina's moved back and forth across the country a couple times, and now lives in Los Angeles. She began to write music in earnest her late-teens/early-20s, and her first album Candlepower came out in 2021, followed one year later by Centrifics and her latest Eight Pointed Star was just released last week on Fire Records, and it's wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow m...
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 637
On today's episode, I talk to writer and director Jim Mickle. Originally from Douglassville, PA, Jim studied film at NYU and then worked his way up in the industry, eventually deciding to make his own film in 2006, Mulberry Street, with frequent collaborator Nick Damici. Each film they made got a little more attention: Stake Land, We Are What We Are and Cold In July, which premiered at Sundance and was scooped up by IFC Films. From 2016 to 2018, Jim and Damici showran the Sundance TV show Hap an...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 636
On today's episode, I talk to playwright and TV writer Susan Coyne. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Susan studied intellectual history before pivoting to acting. She acted in several seasons of the Stratford Festival (which was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespeare Festival) and then became a playwright. In the early aughts, Susan - along with Mark McKinney and Bob Martin, created the brilliant TV show Slings & Arrows, and over the three seasons won numerous Gemini Awards for writi...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 635
On today's episode, I talk to musician Jeff Martin. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Jeff started playing piano when he was but a mere toddler. In 1992, he formed the band Idaho with his high school friend John Berry, though Berry would leave a few years later, making Idaho primarily Jeff's project. The band first signed to Caroline, who released their first three albums and an EP, but with their breakthrough album in 2000, Hearts of Palm, they began releasing music on their own Idaho Music labe...
May 24, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 634
On today's episode, I talk to musician Vicky Nguyen AKA Vicky Farewell. Originally from Garden Grove, CA in Orange County, Vicky has played piano since she was a child and worked as a music writer and producer for a long time, notably with a writing credit on Anderson .Paak’s Grammy winning single “Lockdown” and production credits on Paul McCartney'a album McCartney III. But it wasn't until the pandemic hit that she really began writing music for herself. Her first album Sweet Company came out i...
May 17, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 633
On today's episode, I talk to musician Eric Earley. Originally from Salem, Oregon, Eric and his friends formed the band Garmonbozia in the year 2000. Gamonbozia eventually became Blitzen Trapper, and after self-releasing their first few albums, including their breakthrough Wild Mountain Nation, the band signed to Sub Pop. Over the next four years, the label released three albums to acclaim, and since then they've released about a dozen albums and EPs on different labels, including their own. Bli...
May 10, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 632
On today's episode, I talk to musician Ben Chasny. Born in Los Angeles, Ben's family moved to rural Northern California when he was young. His recording debut was a heavy, free rock project named Plague Lounge, whose album The Wicker Image, was released conjointly between the New World of Sound and Holy Mountain labels in 1996. Holy Mountain released many of Ben's albums as Six Organs of Admittance as well, starting with his first self-titled album in 1998. Since then, he's released just about t...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 631
On today's episode, I talk to TV writer Chris Black. Originally from Toledo, OH, Chris went to USC, which eventually led to him working in television. He started on the USA adaptation of Weird Science, and since then has worked on some of the best shows of the last three decades including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Invincible, Mad Men, Severance, and a personal favorite of mine, Sliders. That is just a small sampling of his CV, and currently, he co-developed with Matt Fraction and showrun...
Apr 26, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 630
On today's episode, I talk to musician Peyton Pinkerton. Originally from Pleasantville, New York, Peyton formed New Radiant Storm King in 1990 while at Hampshire College. Over the next two decades, the band released nine albums on labels like Grass, Rainbow Quartz and Darla, and in 2010 played their final show. Peyton has also played and toured with Silver Jews, playing on perhaps their best album The Natural Bridge, as well as with the Pernice Brothers. As a solo artist, Peyton has released Rap...
Apr 19, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 629
On today's episode, I talk to musician Niko Kapetan AKA one-half of the band Friko. Originally from Evanston, IL, Niko had been writing songs since he was a teenager and formed Friko with his bandmate Bailey Minzenberger in 2019. After self-releasing a number of singles and EPs, the band signed with ATO Records, and in mid-February, ATO released their debut album Where We've Been, Where We Go from Here, and it's a delight! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on Apple Podcasts , follow...
Apr 12, 2024•53 min•Ep. 628
On today's episode, I talk to musician Rafael Toral. Born in Lisbon in 1967, Rafael has been intrigued by the potential of sound and the functions of music since he was a teenager. Working with electric guitar and electronics, in the 1990’s he pioneered a blend of Ambient and Rock and recorded acclaimed albums like Wave Field or Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance. In 2004, he began the ambitious 15-year project entitled Space Program, which used experimental instruments to explore an a...
Apr 05, 2024•56 min•Ep. 627
On today's episode, I talk to musician Tracyanne Campbell. Originally from Glasgow, Tracyanne founded Camera Obscura in 1996 with John Henderson and Gavin Dunbar. Their first album, Biggest Bluest Hi Fi, came out half a decade later to acclaim, and since then, they've released four other albums on labels like Elefant and 4AD. On May 3rd, Merge Records will release Camera Obscura's latest album Look to the East, Look to the West, and folks, it's a banger! This is the website for Beginnings , subs...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 626
