James Haro came from Los Angeles (San Gabriel to be exact) over 15 years ago and made his home here in Philly. He talks with Dan about growing up in an old mission town, being a "secret songwriter" from age 6, early bands and projects (mostly lost to the depths of MySpace), coming to Drexel for college, and why he never wanted to leave. James began…

Dan and Benjamin Hughes of Night Windows have been friends since about 2011 or so, when their bands played together in New York a few times. Dan holds Ben up as one of his favorite songwriters of all time, and Ben returns to the show for the first time in about six years. Ben talks about the recent Night Windows records, including the most recent '…

Dan has been a Chris Kasper fan since he first heard him on WXPN over 15 years ago. Chris sits down to talk about growing up a metalhead drummer, surrounded by a whole family of musicians. From loud drums and Led Zeppelin to discovering bluegrass and Appalachian folk while living in West Virginia, Chris reminisces on moving to Philadelphia almost 2…

Dan talks with Bret Tobias, formerly of The Bigger Lovers and Moped, now helming The Bret Tobias Set. From seeing the Replacements on MTV, discovering House of Love and Philly's own The Wishniaks, it was inevitable that Bret make his life about music. Bret talks about his aversion to being classified in any scene or community, the independent music…

Dan talks with James Everhart, a man who's been part of a lot of Philadelphia music over the years, about his long tenure amidst bands like Low Cut Connie, Scantron, and his current project, 10-member supergroup Cosmic Guilt. James talks about hitting the road with Low Cut Connie right out of college, and how he had to pull back from the touring li…

Todd Mecaughey has been part of the Philadelphia music community for a good while, in bands like New Connection and Secret American. He's also an engineer and producer at Cambridge Sound Studios, and has been since its inception. Dan and Todd talk about their love of Phish and the Grateful Dead (and how both bands are pretty dang punk rock), learni…

Dan goes in deep with Judah Kim as he talks about growing up "lucky number 7" of 8 siblings, the influence of his older brothers' garage bands, the lack of any Asian American role models in alt rock, studying voice and production at Berkley, sobriety and gratitude, and the burnout that comes with always having to make "content". With a journey that…

Dan gets Jonathan Miller and Ed Olson of Fire In The Radio on the line to talk about how the band came together, took a break, came back together even stronger, and their upcoming return home to a Philadelphia stage at Sing Us Home Fest in Manayunk. Jon and Ed talked about growing up in the Philly punk and hardcore scene, being influenced by Dave H…

Dan talks with lifelong Philadlephia musician Eliza Hardy Jones about everything: early days in Buried Beds with Brandon Beaver, touring and playing with mewithoutyou, Grace Potter, Iron and Wine, and her newest gig as a touring member of The War On Drugs. Eliza tells great stories about DIY touring life, vocal coaching the Philadelphia Eagles, qui…

Dan talks with Nicole Bauza, songwriter and frontwoman of Nervous Nikki and the Chill Pills. Nicole talks about growing up as a BMX biker, getting drums at an early age, the quiet joys of farming and gardening, herbs as medicine, her tea farm in Schwenksville, and the ups and downs of keeping a band going amidst family life and general day to day s…

Dan just met Alex Wash of Granddogs a month or so ago, and he's already got him on the mic telling his life story. Alex talks about growing up in Lititz, PA (home of Rock Lititz), learning piano via the Suzuki method, living in Nashville and San Antonio in pursuit of the musician life, finding a job at Howl At the Moon as a piano player, and turnin…

Dan talks with Joel Tannenbaum (Plow United, Snow Fairies, Skywriters) and Nick Palmer (WAX WAV, The Danger O's) about their new project The Blackburns. Nick tells the story of how he thought he was out of the music game until he got a message from Joel (Plow United was a huge band for Nick as a teen) that he was looking for a songwriting partner. …

Dan talks with Zoe Lemon, a trained and seasoned violinist who is fairly new to the singer-songwriter game. Zoe talks about growing up in the rural parts of Chester County, the ups and downs of music school at Temple University, graduating right into the pandemic, van life, and learning to write songs by herself out on the road. Her latest EP, 'Tai…

Dan goes in deep with Scott Radway about his early musical tastes (all Beatles), going to music school despite his parents advice to the contrary (they had both attended music school), composition, touring with bands, and becoming both an accomplished producer and songwriter on his own (he's currently a member of lo priestess with wife Gina LC of D…

Dan talks with Dave Perry about his band Athensville, growing to like the weird music your older brother plays when you're young, the many missed connections between him and frontman Matt Taglang (who was on the show back on #203) and their eventual meeting as adults, and choosing a side in the lesser debated "Echo and the Bunnymen vs The Smiths" a…

In the aspirationally titled 'Early Spring Playlist' (Dan is anxiously awaiting the change of seasons), here are 12 new tracks from Philadelphia area artists for your listening pleasure. As always, check out the clickable playlist below for links to all the music and ways to support the artists. 1. Autumn Luz- Bone Marrow 2. Humilitarian- Midnight …

Jeremy Garber is the co-founder of Grind Select, an independent record label based in Philadelphia that is celebrating it's 10th year this year. Dan and Jeremy talk about how Jeremy found his way into the music world via punk and hardcore on Long Island, being part of the first music business major at Syracuse University, and what it takes to keep …

Dan and Kara Koser bond immediately over being fellow loudmouths, and their love of the Norristown Zoo, of all things. Kara talks about growing up and trying to find her place as a singer and performer, getting sober and figuring out how to be a musician again, singing contests, skipping an entire line of the National Anthem during a performance on…

Dan sits down with Grammy winning engineer/producer/songwriter Sam Rosen to talk about her work in the studio with folk like Jazmine Sullivan, John Legend, Khemist, and Dan's longtime friend Alec Stewart's Lucky Rabbit project. Sam recounts how she got into the engineering chair at MilkBoy The Studio, working with a ton of hip hop and r&b projects,…

Dan is pleased to bring Brian Walker back for his 3rd full length episode (sort of like the SNL "5 Timers Club"). Despite a recent move to the Boston area, Brian is and will always be part of the Philadelphia community. He's been making music as A Day Without Love for over a decade, as well as being a sharp commentator on DIY, the state of touring …

Dan talks to Lily Enos (Winding Way Records) about growing up in Wildwood, NJ, the loneliness of being a weird, arty kid, watching her dad play in bands, and how she ended up picking up a guitar and writing her own songs (she would sing rather than talk to herself). Lily talks about making the music she’s making now through various online collabora…

Dan finally sits down with his podcast brother-from-another-mother Nate Runkel, creator, host and producer of Yo That's My Jawn! Nate tells Dan the story of how the show started, notable guests like Taylor Goldsmth from Dawes, and Ken Marino and David Wain (MTV's The State), but even before that, all his various involvements in the Philadelphia mus…

It's our 300th episode! And Dan sits down with Philly music legend David Uosikkinen, drummer for The Hooters, founder of In the Pocket, and countless other projects. Dave talks about growing up in Levittown, seeing Buddy Rich as a kid, his first drum sets, South Street and the scene in the late 70s and early 80s, and how a one-time session with Eri…

Dan turns again to the always vibrant Philadelphia music community for messages about their year, what wowed them in 2023, and some of their favorite tracks from Philadelphia artists. Featuring dispatches from Helen Leicht, John Vettese, Julia Pratt, Andrea Quinn, Cosmo Baker, Brian Seymour, Jenn Coulter, and Nate Runkel, as wel as their picks of f…

Emily Drinker is one of the hardest working singer-songwriters in Philadelphia, and Dan was delighted to finally get a chance to talk to her. Emily talks about growing up surrounded by music, singing and musical theater, feeling out of her league at Barnard as an undergrad, discovering a capella, taking jazz theory as a vocalist, and how a job as a…