Conversations on community, artificial intelligence, identity, fan engagement, healthy living, life on the road and more, recorded at the 2023 Montreal International Jazz Festival. Featuring Michael League, Nate Smith, Carlos Homs, Julius Rodriguez, Benny Benack III, Emmet Cohen, Stacey Kent, AI Herbie Hancock and others.
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Multi instrumentalist singer-songwriter Theo Katzman (known for his work with the funk band Vulfpeck) bought a van from a teenager in California and drove across the country, settling in the woods of Michigan where he set up a studio, started a label, and got down to the business of writing a new record.
Along the way, he discovered the Wim Hof breathing and ice bathing techniques and came out with a transformed idea of “the self” and his own motivations, and decided that he wanted to make records with as few technological interventions as possible.
The result of this journey is his latest record Be The Wheel which he released recently on his 10 Good Songs label. Here he talks about the process of making that record, as well as thoughts on artificial intelligence, psilocybin, social media, touring, and honesty in songwriting.
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Ryan Lerman has a few tricks up his sleeve. Best known as the cofounder of Scary Pockets, a dynamic funk band from LA who came to prominence on YouTube, Ryan is also an accomplished singer songwriter, bassist, arranger and producer. Here he talks about his happy place (“in the middle of business thinking and artistry”), what he learned about leadership by working as a sideman, how tried to become a lawyer but ended up playing funk music instead, and what minor nine chords have to do with any of it.
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Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist producer/composer Tyler Duncan on “just how rich the world sounds”, how producing a project is like “being the surrogate parent” of the music, and how when it comes to making pop music, “You can’t mold yourself to a moving target.” Plus, more Vulfpeck origin stories.
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Singer songwriter hairdresser amateur photographer schtick enthusiast Monica Martin talks about discovering her musical talent in her late teens, what it means to be “Wisconsin sober”, the complex and delicate dynamics of her first band Phox, her mental health struggles, why it’s so expensive to be poor, the many ways that she has had to integrate in her life, staying in bed all day, the influence of Fiona Apple and Billie Holiday on her music, working with James Blake, Vulfpeck, Scary Pockets and how being a hairdresser is similar to being a therapist (but much less well paid).
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“Legendary” drummer Nate Smith on the technical, emotional, strategic, mystical, unpredictable aspects to music and a life in music, how where you come from affects how you sound, the value and values of great leadership, the influence of other drummer-bandleaders on his conception, what he learned from working with Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Brittany Howard, Fearless Flyers, Betty Carter and Jose James, and what the internet taught him about his own playing.
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Singer Antwaun Stanley on walking the line between spiritual and secular music, managing the responsibility to his fans and his own desire to explore, how he sees his career as “one giant experiment” and “a constant process of discovery”, his new EP Ascension, and his experiences singing in Vulfpeck.
Drummer Michael Bland on his early development in Minneapolis, the “guilt by association” of working with Prince, getting the gig, keeping the gig, losing the gig, recovering from the gig, confronting racial politics in Minneapolis, playing music with “endless potential”, his first time flying on an airplane, keeping the flame lit on local music, and much more.
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Multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, arranger, video maker, surrealist, funk monkey, producer and personality Louis Cole on where he came from, what he’s doing now, and where he hopes to go. Along the way he touches on writing “nostalgic music that feels almost like a memory of something that never happened”, overcoming fear, being a better person, staying up late into the weird part of the night, “insanity music”, money, honesty, humor, the problem with 100bpm, YouTube Poop, and what Nate Wood, David Binney, Bob Mintzer, and Jack Conte have to do with any of it.
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Guitar player, songwriter, producer Eric “Kraz” Krasno on what he’s doing during these strange and trying times, his experience as a podcaster, producer, and provider of deep and soulful grooves, the development of Soulive, Lettuce, & Velour Recordings, the values and expectations of jam and jam band audiences, “the boom bap with interesting chord changes”, learning how to do less and better, and how many times one man can say the word “nugget” in an hourlong interview.
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Clyde and Gracie Lawrence talk about bridging the gap between hip and pop, managing the creative process in a sibling band, making independent videos, finding success, creating space for young women in the world of funk music, working with producers and mentors (including Eric Krasno and Adam Schlesinger), and how to use their platform for good during these trying times.
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Singer-songwriter-producer Caleb Hawley tells his journey of self discovery, addiction, creativity, Tourette Syndrome, longing, how telling the truth is like a drug, and why it’s so hard to write a happy song. Recorded in a storage locker in Harlem.
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Musician, writer, educator, actor and funk maestro Ari Herstand asks and answers the big questions: How can a project be bigger than just the music? What is the story? What is the difference between transparency and authenticity? How does one play to the strengths and limitations of social media platforms? Is the internet a real community? Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, California politics, immersive experiences, online education. It’s all here.
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Vulfpeck keyboardist Woody Goss on growing up in the suburbs of Chicago where he learned to elevate rhythm playing to high art, when he connected with the crew that would become his Vulf family at the University of Michigan, how talking about evolutionary psychology is emotional, why organized religion is dubious, where he likes to go bird watching, and who he really is when the spotlight is turned away.
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Singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Joey Dosik on maintaining the balance between classic and modern, working with Vulfpeck (“we look up to one another”), the value of practical application, what’s so great about Italian vowels, why basketball is good practice for life, why he never throws away a creative idea, and how he keeps his saxophone chops up.
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Guitarist Cory Wong on coming up in Minneapolis, playing with Vulfpeck, disrupting smooth jazz, commanding the grid, letting “rhythm take the lead”, the YouTube effect, the power of a good story, and Thai massage.
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Bassist Joe Dart on how “the way you groove has power”, why the magic of his band, Vulfpeck is in the freshness of the music when they work, what it means to “play every note like my life depends on it” and where he learned to play bass “like a drummer”.
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Theo Katzman is many things. An only child. The youngest of four. An earnest singer songwriter with a deep love of classic rock and a great turn of phrase. A funky groove machine in one of the most talked about funk-soul bands around. Here we talk Vulfpeck, Ann Arbor, Heartbreak Hits, Bob Dorough, Steely Dan, Long Island, Meditation, keeping a daily writing practice, what to eat on the road, and what's the deal with Plain Jane Heroine anyway.
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In this rare extended conversation recorded in his childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio, Jack Stratton of Vulfpeck talks about growing up playing in a Klezmer band, creating Vulf, and why no one's looking up.
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