Season 2 update!!
I'm back after a nasty illness and hiatus, recovered, ready, and excited for Season 2!!
Episodes
A Little Bit Famous with Ted Marotta
No research, no notes, no prepared questions. Just amazing and free-flowing conversations with creative people, in which we discuss themes like failure, success, joy, creative challenges, addiction, family, grief, what drives us as artists, magic moments, hilarious anecdotes, perseverance, pursuit of the "elation quotient," and so much more.
Episodes
Steve Lillywhite, legendary six-time Grammy winning record producer, joins me for episode 16!
Steve Lillywhite is one of the most accomplished and acclaimed record producers on the planet, and I was beyond thrilled to have this conversation with him. Steve and I chat about how he got started in the business; he shares some incredible and revealing details about his experiences working with artists like Dave Matthews Band, U2, Simple Minds, and Peter Gabriel, and we take a deeper dive into our shared history with addiction and recovery. You don't want to miss this one!
Lincoln Parish joins me for episode 38!
You may know Lincoln Parish from his years with the hugely successful band Cage the Elephant, but there's so much more to his story than that. We talk a bit about his early days growing up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, touring with, writing, and playing lead guitar for Cage, and his decision to leave the band in 2013 to write the next chapter of his life as a record producer in Nashville. We take a dive into his producing philosophy, the projects he's produced and is working on now, the fear of fo...
Actor Laurie Ann Davis joins me for episode 37!
Laurie and I chat about her experiences as an actor, how she guides students to develop their skills and tap into their emotions, the importance of listening and being vulnerable, and much more.
Vinnie Amico from the band moe. joins me for episode 36!
Vinnie and I chat about his career in moe., drummers who influenced us (and didn't), making records, touring life, the possibilities of a Vinnie Amico cooking show, and much more. We share some hilarious anecdotes and also discuss 80s music, MTV, movies, and I break down the awesomeness of the show Stranger Things.
Doctor Lo Faber joins me for episode 35!
What can I say about Lo Faber, aside from he's a genius, an extraordinary musician, and also a dear friend. Lo and I chat about his storied career in one of the best bands in the American jam band scene of the 1990s, God Street Wine, his departure from music to earn a PhD from Princeton and teach as a college professor for many years, and his return to writing, recording, and performing incredible new music under the artist name Doctor Lo. This is an episode for the ages!
A quick minisode this week!
Well, as it happens, I was unable to book a guest for this week's show because of some scheduling mishaps and me being on the road performing with Doctor Lo and Le Band for the past two weeks. So here's my humble apology and a reminder to tune in next week, March 23, for a brand new episode with a Coll guest and everything!
Sherri Linn joins me for episode 34!
Sherri Linn is an enormously talented singer, performs in several bands in her home state of Virginia, and is at the beginning of her career as a solo artist and songwriter. We talk about her life in music, overcoming stage fright, getting sober, the latest solo album she is working on, and listeners get to hear two of her latest singles!
Brandon Toews from DRUMEO joins me for episode 33!
Brandon is the content director for DRUMEO, a global online drum education community that offers lessons and hosts some of the best drummers in the world for their education content. He's also a great drummer, an author, and a passionate educator. We have a great chat about his life and career, how he overcame some challenging hurdles on his drumming journey, and he offers some fantastic advice and wisdom to drummers and any other instrumentalists interested in making music their career!
Ian Anderson, starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and 2021 World Series Champion, joins me for episode 32!
Ian and I catch up about his breathtaking year culminating in his first World Series win, his life growing up, his love of baseball from a very young age, and his tight relationship with his twin brother and fellow pitcher Ben Anderson. We dig into the various pressures that come from playing professional sports at the highest level and how he handles them, the intellectual side of pitching, and his newfound celebrity. We also get a get a moment to talk about Ian's new vinyl record player ...
Todd Pasternack, who leads Meta's advertising projects in the Americas and is a member emeritus of my longtime band, Ominous Seapods joins me for episode 31!
Todd and I get real about the final days of our band Ominous Seapods, working on our last studio album with producer Glenn Rosenstein, what it means to protect his relationship with music, and he shares about his flip to the world of digital marketing, it's exciting creativity, and his enormous success in that industry. We also talk about his book, Lessons from the Road: Musicians as Business Leaders, and Todd draws many insightful parallels between life as a touring musician and life in the bus...
LUGO, Grammy-nominated composer and music producer, joins me for episode 30!
LUGO and I talk about his early life growing up in Panama, his music education, and his massive success as a remix (remake) engineer and producer for artists like Madonna and Barbara Streisand. We also go deep into his creative process, how he uses spiritual practices like meditation to stay focused, and his challenges in his career when he was chasing success without realizing how successful he had already become.
Jerry Marotta joins me for part 2 of our conversation!
Jerry and I have a chance to chat again, and he shares some incredible stories from his career, including working with Hall & Oates and Elvis Costello, and we laugh about some wild and hilarious anecdotes along the way.
Peter Levin, keyboardist for The Blind Boys of Alabama and much more, joins me for episode 28!
Peter and I catch up a bit and talk about his remarkable career that has grown exponentially during the 20 years since we last saw each other. Peter shares about working his way up in the music scene in New York City, having the honor to play and write with Gregg Allman, touring Europe, getting a compliment from Aretha Franklin, and much more!
Guitarist Alex Skolnick joins me for episode 28!
Alex and I chat about his life growing up in Berkeley during the emergence of the thrash metal music scene, joining and touring with the group Testament, pursuing new musical interests including forming a jazz trio, and performing with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!
Colm Gavin joins me for episode 27!
Colm and I have a delightful conversation about his life growing up in Ireland and his remarkable career in music. At the age of 29, Colm has already produced 3 chart-topping records and he has some remarkable insights about the music he loves as well as the music he creates.
It's the End of the Year Retrospecticus!
This is my episode to express my heartfelt thanks to listeners and all of my amazing guests! I'll see you all for new episodes beginning January 5th! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Jerry Marotta, legendary drummer and producer, joins me for part one of episode 26!
Jerry Marotta, his brother Rick, and I share a last name in common and we're also all drummers. It's a real Marotta love fest as Jerry and I chat about the recording process, his early career, and his huge successes working with artists like Peter Gabriel and Paul McCartney. We quickly realized that one episode is simply not enough to cover his amazing life, so we decided to make this a two-part episode! Stay tuned for part two coming soon!
Jennifer Hall, the super talented Chicago-based artist and singer/songwriter, joins me for episode 25!
Jennifer and I talk grammar, social media slang, the trauma of the pandemic, and of course about her life in music and the arts, including the pleasures and perils of being a real touring artist. She's smart, charming, insanely talented, and we had so much to talk about that you might want to keep your eyes (or ears?) peeled for a bonus episode with Jennifer coming soon!
It's just me and the microphone for episode 24 and I have some important things to share
No description needed this week. You just have to listen.
Alicia Blue, the wonderfully talented singer/songwriter, joins me for episode 23!
Alicia and I chat about her early life as a writer and poet, her move to Los Angeles, and her decision to become a singer/songwriter. We also share about some great books and people that have changed our lives, and her experience working on her new album which will be released in 2022!
Chef Ric Orlando joins me for episode 22!
Ric and I chat about his amazing four-decade career in the restaurant business and he shares truly fascinating details about the intensity and exhilaration of life in a kitchen, his experience as a competitor on the extremely popular Food Network shows “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay,” and much more!
Ashley Sofia, the incredible singer/songwriter joins me for episode 21!
Ashley and I join forces again for a new episode to replace the infamous "lost episode" we did together a few months ago, and this episode is, in my humble opinion, one of the best yet! We talk music, writing, creative challenges, technology, storytelling, existentialism, and so much more.
Russ Long, the great Nashville mix engineer, joins me for episode 20!
Russ and I have a great talk about the creative elements of mixing and what it REALLY means to mix a song. He shares about his young life in Colorado and taking the big risk of moving to Nashville to become an extremely successful part of the music business. He's worked on many hit records and even worked with Dolly Parton!
Priya Darshini, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, actor, and humanitarian, joins me for episode 19!
Priya and I have a wide-ranging and deep discussion about the perils of modern life, poverty, her humanitarian work, and her incredible music and acting career.
Denny Fongheiser, drummer on countless hit records, joins me for episode 18!
Famed session drummer and producer Denny Fongheiser and I chat about his storied career in the music business, working with artists like Counting Crows, and playing drums for the theme music for the TV show “Friends.”Denny offers up some insightful details about the kind of nuanced personal and musical skills he uses to help a band make a great record, and he delivers a real master class on what it takes to succeed, stay true to yourself, and stay passionate in the business as an artist.
Sarah Perrotta, the wonderful singer/songwriter joins me for episode 17!
Sarah and I chat about her five-year adventure making her forthcoming record, "Blue to Gold," and we also dig pretty deep and discuss the serious challenges of being an artist during the pandemic, and what it's like to create something and offer it up to the world to hear. She's amazing, talented, and has really lovely stories to share about her career and having the opportunity to play with some of the best musicians in the world.
Holly Hutchison, music executive, artist advocate, and AnRGirl joins me for episode 15!
Holly and I chat about her life in the music industry from her humble beginnings in a small town to becoming a record label executive in L.A., how and why she decided to get out of that world and work independently, starting her own successful company called AnRGirl, and much more. Holly shares a fascinating inside look into the corporate side of the music business as well as her passion for artist advocacy.
Larry Crane, founder and editor of Tape Op Magazine, joins me for episode 14!
Larry and I have a great talk about his early life, performing in the seminal indie rock band Vomit Launch, how he found his way into recording and mixing music, his enormously successful Jackpot! Studios in Portland, Oregon, and how he simultaneously founded one of the greatest music recording magazines of all time, Tape Op. Larry also shares incredible personal experience and insight into the amount of dedication it takes to succeed in the industry.
Ada Pasternak, violin virtuoso and songwriter joins me for the very first mini-episode!
She's a violin virtuoso, singer and songwriter, and she hails from Russia originally. She grew up in New York City and now she's living and making music in Los Angeles. Ada and I chat about her early life playing violin, the magic moment when she wrote her very first song, how she survived the pandemic, and new music she's working on these days.