We are so excited to share our 100th episode, featuring Los Angeles based-singer, songwriter and producer Able Heart! Able was lost in life after his Amateur US Olympic snowboarding career came to an abrupt halt due to an injury. For years, he questioned his life and struggled with depression and addiction in his hometown of Philadelphia until he found a deep connection and purpose with music. Creating music became his therapy and healthy outlet to express himself. Able hopes his music can now i...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 100
Caleb Hawley is a New York City based songwriter and performer. In his decade-long career, he has released five albums and played over 1000 shows. Citing main influences such as Randy Newman and Janet Jackson, his songs often combine catchy melodies with dark and satirical lyrics. Combining catchy melodies with dark and satirical lyrics, one has to be careful not to slip while dancing in a puddle of their own tears. There was a time when Caleb hated being mistaken for his mother when answering t...
Apr 19, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 99
Austrian Alps-based Americana songwriter Prinz Grizzley veered into the Americana lane with two critically-acclaimed albums that led to playing festivals around the world, recording with Erin Rae, and sharing bills with folks like Yola, Tyler Childers, Molly Tuttle, Charley Crockett and many more. Today we are joined by Prinz to discuss his new singles, “I Keep On Searching” and “Payback Day (I’ll Give No Warning)," and his take on the CCR classic “Proud Mary,” all songs represent another new di...
Apr 12, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 98
Today we are joined by Brenden Starr, an Alternative/Pop/Rock artist with a national audience as well by auditioning for 13-Time GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist Lady Gaga as a backup tour singer and qualifying for television shows like American Idol and X Factor. We discuss his debut album 'Hopeless Romantic' in today's episode. -- 3:00 Hopeless Romantic 11:25 Journey into Music 16:15 TV Shows 29:00 What do you want to be known for? Hopeless Romantic out now! http://itunes.apple.com/album/id16620772...
Apr 05, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 97
Today, Scott Grady from The Mercy Stone joins us on The Set Up podcast to discuss their newest release ‘Crash’.’ Scott shared the heartbreaking story behind the beautiful ballad of a song and how the song was created. -- 2:00 Crash 10:00 Songwriting Process 19:30 Evolution of the band 23:00 Meeting Mia, lead singer 28:30 Fanbase - Watch Crash here: https://youtu.be/2Ag4SSruERo -- If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less t...
Mar 29, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 96
Sin. is an Indie / Psychedelic Rock band based out of Chicago. Their sonic sound pulls influence from the likes of Ty Segall, Iggy Pop, Wilco, Alex (Sandy) G, and more. Their lyrical topics embrace the human experience, giving into desires, reclaiming the biblical term "sin" in a somewhat positive but melancholy light. With Ethan Oliver on vocals and guitar, Brian Chindblom on guitar and backup vocals, Joe McTague on bass, and Caleb Nelson on Drums, the group is able to create a harmonious yet p...
Mar 15, 2023•34 min•Season 5Ep. 94
Today, we are joined by Dan aka Daniel G Harmann. DGH's songs draw the listener in with their dark and smoky feel while escorting you through life's landscape of pain and redemption in a way only a trusted friend can. In 2022 he suffered an injury that kept him bedridden for a month. Without the ability to sing or play guitar, he recorded an ambient/instrumental EP from bed, while using an OP-1 keyboard, midi keyboard and computer. This turned into a new exciting path that he's continuing to exp...
Mar 08, 2023•38 min•Season 5Ep. 93
Today, we are joined by Ken Newman. Ken is a San Francisco-based rock Singer Songwriter with a passion for change and a mission to help the homeless in california. His album, “What Am I Afraid Of?” produced by Scott Mickelson, was released in April of 2022 with critical praise. The music video of the title track has been awarded at 15 International Film Festivals. Ken also executive produced and was a contributing artist on a compilation album, “Blanket The Homeless.” All sales of this album, as...
Mar 01, 2023•59 min•Season 5Ep. 92
Today, we are joined by Matt Axton. He is a California-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and band leader. His music is a “humble slice of Americana,” with a mix of folk, roots, country, blues, and rock. As a youth, Matt was on and off tour buses with Matt Axton is a California-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and band leader. His music is a “humble slice of Americana,” a mix of folk, roots, country, blues, and rock. His eclectic style was grown in the mountains of Tahoe and proudly honed in...
Feb 22, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 91
So excited. We are joined by another good friend of mine, Anni Los Angeles Native Anni, previously known as Annika Grace, is a poet, singer/songwriter and creator of a house concert series in Venice Beach called ‘Saturdays at Seven’. This new era of music explores the more vulnerable, authentic and raw side of her artist project while incorporating her poetry into her music more as well. Her newest single ‘Guest List’ is out now. Her music has been heard in MTV's Real World Atlanta and the HBO m...
Feb 15, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 90
Today we are joined by a good friend of mine, Nellie Mar. Nellie Mar is a singer-songwriter who writes raw, honest and emotional songs in Pop/EDM. Her focus is to see the world through a positive lens and have optimism translated through her music. Her sounds take you on a journey exploring humanity's intimate moments, expressed through soothing chords and soaring melodies. Nellie Mar joins us on The Set Up podcast to discuss her newest release ‘Reckless Abandon.’ -- Meet Nellie Mar Songwriting ...
Feb 08, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 89
BLKZEN is an Afro-Guyanese New York native. He spends a lot of time creating and collaborating with international & interdisciplinary creators which gave him the key to understanding his process. Zen has made many fusions of genres. Each genre is a toolkit of sounds with their own culture and feeling with distinct musical landscapes. He has been traversing across countless landscapes using these different tools and when he returns to his toolbox, he brings back foreign tools to bring unique ...
Feb 01, 2023•34 min•Season 5Ep. 88
Xavier aka EQUIS is a New York born DJ, who started at the age of 14. At 22 years old, he has been featured on Sway in The Morning, Shade 45, as well Hip-Hop Nation and Power 105.1. EQUIS has also licensed his music from HBO Max, The CW, The Los Angeles Dodgers, The PGA Tour, The NFL Network. In addition to production credits, he has shared the stage with artists such as The Chainsmokers, Borgore, Meek Mill, French Montana, Adventure Club, Ansel Elgort, Snails, and more. Today we are joined by E...
Jan 25, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 87
Colm Gavin is an Irish singer/songwriter currently signed to BEO Records. Colm's first two solo releases (Your Endless Slumber/A Voice For The Urban Darlings) both reached number 1 in the Irish Charts at the time of their release. Singles from his debut album have reached the top ten in notable Indie charts in Norway, Australia, USA, Canada & Japan. He has made notable inroads in the American market with his music currently being playlisted on over 50 stations across the US & Canada. Col...
Jan 18, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 86
Ryan Dusick is the founding drummer of Maroon 5, an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (AMFT), and the author of the book "Harder to Breathe - A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery." In 1994, Ryan Dusick joined friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden to form the band Kara’s Flowers. They released the album The Fourth World in ’97. Following the termination of their record deal, the band went on hiatus and everyone went their separate ways. In 20...
Jan 11, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 85
Gus Glasser is a 23-year-old Atlanta native with a style described as soulful pop and musical influences like Trey Songz, Flying Lotus, Mr. Carmack, and Marc Rebillet. Gus recently released “Days After South Africa,’ influenced by his time in rehab there. He uses music to share his challenges with mental health and addiction. He is known for his improv performances on Atlanta campuses, with his single "A Really Damn Long Day" blowing up on TikTok and 5.5million streams on Spotify. – Today, we ar...
Jan 04, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 84
Nikmoody is an Italian-American rapper from Long Island, NY. Hopeful yet brooding, his lyrical style reflects his love for old school hip hop and grunge rock & roll. He’s known for his powerful songwriting and contagious performances. He’s hit the stage with the likes of Dizzy Wright, KOTA The Friend, and Asher Roth. After performing on Shade45, at SXSW and the Empire State Music Festival, Nik headlined his first international tour in London & Finland in 2022. Nikmoody recently released ...
Dec 28, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 83
From the inception of the band in July of 2021, Nashville rock band, CHLSY, strives to reignite 90’s sounds with their own modern “dark rock” spin and make music for others to feel seen. Vocalist, Chelsea Gilliland, hosts several radio shows and recently partnered with the global streaming platform, Twitch. CHLSY has grown its loyal social media fan base to nearly 83.7K followers and supported the Nashville-based rock band The Criticals on tour this past July. Today we are joined by Chelsea Gill...
Dec 21, 2022•29 min•Season 5Ep. 82
Birthdayy Partyy is an electronic duo comprised of twin brothers who are native to Chicago. They are known for their lighthearted dance music energy and their goofy personalities on the internet and are known as the ‘Twin brothers who make Partyy Music for Partyy People who like to Partyy.’ Birthdayy Partyy are supported by Zeds Dead, Don Diablo, and many more. They recently released collaborations with artists like Adventure Club, Defunk, and Wednesday. You can find Birthdayy Partyy touring acr...
Dec 14, 2022•45 min•Season 5Ep. 81
For almost 30 years, Andrew Rodger has performed throughout Canada, solo and with his own band - Stop Yelling. After a lengthy break from the music world to begin his family, Andrew returned to music in 2020 amidst a very different musical landscape from the one he left. Self proclaimed sadly optimistic songwriter, working from his home studio space, he has released 7 complete albums in the last 2 years. Two of which we will discuss today are “Haunted Cowboy Sounds’ and The Wanderer. (The Interv...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 80
Katie Zaccardi is a coach and educator for musicians, music teachers, and music coaches, helping them grow their business & bank accounts while ditching overwhelm, self-doubt, and burnout for good. After dedicating 10+ years of her life to the music industry as a student, indie artist, and music industry professional, and creating a life of freedom, abundance, & music for herself, she founded "Out to Be" to give music entrepreneurs the tools, support, & motivation to do the same. Tod...
Jul 14, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 79
Megan Hamilton is a producer and vocalist out of Minneapolis. With her debut on Bristol’s Ghetto Funk, Hamilton brings a European influence to funk in the US. Her recent tracks have been supported by moguls like Benny Benassi, CloZee, Stickybuds, Funk Hunters and more. Today we discuss how Megan connects with her fans through her genre bending performances and personal brand. -- Who is Megan Hamilton? Energy at Live Shows Personal Brand Race, Sexuality and Gender Identity Advice for Music Profes...
Jun 29, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 78
Jamie Way has been working in the music industry for over 15 years. He's designed and marketed over 100 online ecommerce stores, including Beyonce, Slayer, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Aaliyah, Mariah Carey, Motorhead, and a lot more. He started working with EMPIRE 3 years ago to help develop and scale an eCommerce department. This week, we discuss Jamie’s role in the launch of Aaliyah's online store, and the strategy it took to help One in a Million hit the top 10 on billboard. -- How did Jamie Wa...
Jun 15, 2022•53 min•Season 4Ep. 77
Micah Bickham is a live performance director, handling the creative content development and production of original content at Vevo. He's directed and worked with Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Halsey, J Balvin, Camila Cabello and many others. Micah started his career as a tape duplicator for Joel Osteen. In 2008 he created a production company focused on live performances captured in a cinematic way. Today, we discuss how Micah creates official live performance m...
May 25, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 75
As a manager, Alex has developed intimate relationships while building successful careers for multiple musicians. From navigating the quick window of opportunity to capitalize on viral moments to creating partnerships, he's found being in the middle of it all is what he enjoys the most. -- Today, we discuss how Alex supported gavn!’s release of “Crazy,’ and facilitated both publishing and record deals. -- Who is Alex Hallerman? Working with gavn! Studio Video Gone Viral Gavn! Journey to a Record...
May 18, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 74
Charles joined MassiveMusic in 2016 as Global Director of Growth. Together with the team, Charles is responsible for creating and developing relationships for award-winning brands such as the LEGO Group, The Heineken Group, andESL Gaming. Before joining MassiveMusic, Charles co-founded a brand partnerships agency, where he worked with artists such as Daft Punk, Rihanna and Pharrell Williams. Today, we are discussing how artists can leverage partnerships with brands for greater visibility and glo...
May 11, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 73
Matt Ladis is the founder and talent manager at Mad Lettuce Entertainment, representing Jonah Roy & Walden. Previously, he was a business manager at Monarch, and a festival organizer in college. Today, we are discussing how Matt helped Jonah Roy use TikTok during the release of “Pressure’ that boosted his streams to 60,000 in 8 short weeks. -- Intro to Matt Ladis Starting Mad Lettuce Tip for Taxes Managing Jonah Roy Releasing ‘Pressure’ by Jonah Roy TikTok Promotion 60,000 streams in 8 weeks...
May 04, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 72
Ethan Udell is currently the Marketing Manager at Arista Records and Nell Jones is the Production Manager at Offbeat Media Group. During college, Ethan started the boutique management company Ryder MGMT, and Nell joined him to help out with all things marketing. Since graduating, Ethan and Nell manage a roster of artists, and lead digital strategy on a variety of records including a Grammy-nominated album. Today, we discuss how Ethan and Nell helped SypSki release multiple remixes of his single ...
Apr 27, 2022•50 min•Season 4Ep. 71
Susanne Hazendonk leads the Spinnin' Records team as the Head of Global Marketing, overseeing the leading Dutch label’s product management, promotion, streaming, radio, and marketing departments. Her career in the music industry started at Warner Benelux in the late 2000s, but her seeds of passion for music, particularly dance music, were first planted as a kid when she stumbled on the raw and energetic rave sounds of the 90's. In the years since, Susanne has climbed the ranks of the industry, g...
Apr 20, 2022•42 min•Season 4Ep. 70
Cheyanne Powell is the Founder of Roz Projects. She founded her own company after working for Madison House as a booking agent, and an Account Manager at Festicket. Now, Cheyanne handles the PR and creative strategy for artists in collaboration with Wiz under the Taylor Gang Label. - Today, we learn how Cheyanne used press coverage to get Fedd The God verified with over 2 million streams for the release of ‘Yea Yup.’ - Starting in Production Design Roz Projects Hip Hop Artists Fedd the God “Yea ...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 69
