This is such a cool episode. We’re talking all things theremin with Nick Kizirnis and Pamelia Stickney. This episode has been a long time in the making and well worth the wait. There’s some theremin history and some rumors about the inventor. Nick and Pam discuss how the instrument works and what weird things affect the sound and performance. I lea…

Today’s guest is literally progressive. Let’s welcome Corey Schenck of the band Pangaea to the podcast. Corey was a late-bloomer, musically speaking. He didn’t pick up an instrument until late into high school. But it was such a deep connection that he went to college and received several degrees in it. He talks about how his love of music pushed h…

Today’s guest really brings back some memories. Please welcome Sheila Shukla from Magnolia Street String Band. Sheila and I go way back. Like WAAAAAY back, all the way to elementary school. There’s a little bit of catching up in this episode, sprinkled throughout Sheila’s story. She talks about how she used to force her sister, Rita, to help her fi…

Today’s guest exemplifies perseverance; and not just with his music but with this podcast. There were a few technical issues which have, hopefully, been overcome with clever editing. Welcome the one and only Robyn Hitchcock. He’s written a memoir about his life in 1967. In fact, it’s called 1967, How I Got There And Why I Never Left. It’s a very un…

Today’s guest has been through it. But he hasn’t let it stop him.Welcome T Bear to the show. Born Richard Gerstein, he grew up spending time in both New York City and the Caribbean. He was playing pretty early on. In fact, he was invited to his first studio session at the age of just 17…by Richie Havens! Soon after, he was discovered by the KISS ca…

This episode of Side Projects sees the return of Steve Dawson and Mark Mallman. They join me to discuss song structure. We go over some basic terms and structures that are typical and atypical. We talk about songs like The Wreck Of The Edmunds Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot, Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin, and o…

Today’s guests made me laugh. A lot. I’d like to welcome Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron to the show. Together they make up The Dream Eaters. And this entire episode could have gone off the rails at any moment. From the very beginning things were different than just about any other show. For example, doing the actual podcast took Elizabeth by s…

Today’s guest makes me feel so excited and I just can’t hide it. It’s The Pointer Sisters. No. No it’s not. Please welcome David Hakopyan of Antenna The End. And I have to thank Jamie Park and Teen Cancer America for connecting us. David grew up in one of the biggest Armenian communities in the world outside of Armenia, itself. He was influenced eq…

The Side Projects series of this podcast gives me a lot of latitude regarding subject matter. Occasionally, I like to go down a rabbit hole on a specific band. But I think this is the first time I’ve been able to do that with band members, themselves. Please welcome Robert Poss and Karen Haglof of Band Of Susans. They’ve both been on the podcast. I…

Today’s guest reminds me that there is some amazing talent out there that needs to be heard. Welcome Jackie Popovec from Youngstown, Ohio’s own The Vindys. She’s a powerhouse vocalist whose voice is a Venn Diagram of some heavy hitters like Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, & Carrie Underwood. And the rest of the band ain’t so bad either. They roc…

Today’s guest proves that hard work and patience will pay off. Welcome Tom Kanach of KANAK to the podcast. Tom is from New Jersey, so naturally we start razzing each other almost from the start. Tom talks about manipulating his situation so his brother would get an unwanted plastic drum set in order to start his first band. But he would really get …

Today’s guest makes me feel inspired. I welcome Lex Borrero to the program. He’s the very definition of rags-to-riches. Born in Bogota, Colombia, he emigrated with his mother to the US to start a new life from scratch. His first taste of success came after selling candy and burned CD’s to buy a pair of Jordans when he was a kid. But Lex wasn’t (and…

Today’s guest embodies retro in the most fun ways possible. Welcome Chelsea Nenni of Late Slip to the show. She grew up with music all around. Her dad worked in rock radio since the 70’s. He even gave Carson Daly his first shot. In fact, Carson would often come over to Chelsea’s house for spaghetti. But her lifelong obsession with oldies, Elvis in …

Today’s guest makes me feel exotic. Welcome David Nagler to the show. David grew up in a very musical house. In fact, his first performance was at age 1 or 2 in a stage production of The King And I. But that was just the beginning. A very early beginning. He began taking piano lessons a few years later. He began his musical career with the band Str…

My guest today is just fun to talk with. It’s Jeff Fielder. I first heard Jeff when researching for Mark Lanegan’s episode. He’s worked with so many people and made so much great music that it’s almost unbelievable. But he started off admiring rock before playing any. He grew up in Alaska with much older brothers. Long haired, Les Paul playing, Bar…

Today’s guest makes me feel grateful in many different ways. One person I’m grateful to is Ryan Smith for introducing me to Mark Mallman. Mark’s story is incredible. But the recurring theme is victory. He’s overcome so much throughout his life and it all boils down to his mother’s message: It’s going to be OK. He grew up with music all around. It w…

Today’s guest is truly multi-talented. Welcome modern renaissance man Eerie Von to the podcast. Eerie talks about his varied creative talents. Whether it’s drums, bass, singing, photography, painting, or whatever he sets his mind to, Eerie is a force to be reckoned with. He’s also one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever had on the show. He’s…

Today’s guests make me rethink the saying “Don’t meet your idols”. I’m joined by Tom Flynn and Mia Dean of Antler Family. Tom’s extensive musical career features bands like Fang and Cornelius Asperger and the Bi-Curious Unicorns. Mia is operatically trained and spent time studying opera in Austria and Italy. She was a huge fan of Tom’s music and ju…

Today’s guest reminds me that sometimes, I need to shift my focus. Welcome the multitalented Harry Ostrem to the podcast. I met Harry through a project I started two years ago. But I’ll explain that in a minute. Harry is a bassist, actor, singer, songwriter, comedian, writer, and more. The guy is crazy talented. He grew up about as far away from sh…

Today’s guest reminds me why I do this podcast. It’s Lance Whalen and we met because all he did was make a nice comment about one of my episodes. That’s it. I thought “Hey, let me check out this guy’s music” and I suggested we record an episode. Lance’s story gets very difficult at times. And he hits me with some straight up sorrow out of the blue.…

Today’s guest reminds me that not everyone is born at the right time. My guest is singer/songwriter Stephen Bluhm. To say he is an old soul is an understatement of the highest degree. I mean, the man put a heckelphone on his latest album. Don’t know what that is? Stephen does! And he explains it on the podcast. His latest release, Out Of The Nowher…

Today’s guest reminds me to take my time. Please give a Performance Anxiety welcome to singer/songwriter, Lynn Drury. She has made New Orleans her home but she grew up in what sounds like every little girl’s dream, raising and training quarter horses for the rodeo circuit in Mississippi. And she always loved music but never actually considered purs…

Today’s guest makes me feel like royalty. It’s drummer Michael Bland and he has worked with some of the best in the business. But before that, he played in school and found out he had perfect pitch! Finding that out helped solidify his decision to be a musician. But his parents weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea and pushed him to have a backup…

Today’s guest makes me appreciate life a bit more. Welcome a woman who has lived the blues, Bex Marshall. She talks about how she always had this absolute need to learn how to play guitar and the huge impact karaoke had on starting her career. She was singing in a band called Blue Murder before she had to press pause on her music career and get a “…

Today’s guest reminds me that not everything is always as it seems. Please welcome Lance Hoppen from the band Orleans. Prior to speaking with Lance, I hadn’t dug very deep into Orleans’ catalog. But when I did I realized that there is a whole lot going on there! The band tends to get lumped into the yacht rock genre but there is so much more to the…