Mike Errico on his personal story, as well as his new book, Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter. In our talk we considered such questions as “what is a song?”, what is means to make something non trivial and undeniable, the important distinction between how things act versus what they are, the fallacy of Art, the search for timelessness, what is melodic math, and what do Ani DiFranco, The Beatles, Billie Eilish, or McDonalds have to do with any of it.
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Madison McFerrin calls herself a soul singer because she sings the music of the soul. She says “I originally thought I was just going to be an artist who showed up… but if you don’t adjust now you’re going to fall behind. The music industry is changing more rapidly than pretty much any other industry.”
In this bonus episode, actor, author, poet, director, screenwriter, narrator of films, and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote talks about Buddhism, the "JewBu" phenomenon, the distinction between suffering and affliction, the limitations of language, the True Self, why it's so difficult to speak about attachment, the creative process, and his newfound passion for poetry.
Read MoreSinger 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).
Read More“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.
Read MoreFamily musicians Dan + Claudia Zanes on their new record, and their new life in Baltimore, what they see as their responsibility as folk singers, artists and advocates, what they describe as the “racial pandemic in America”, how to practice productive antiracism, coming from “two different worlds”, the work-life balance in a creative partnership, and what artisanal soaps have to do with any of it.
Read MorePianist Joe Alterman on his new record The Upside of Down, southern charm, “finding in jazz and black music what [he] had tried to find in Synagogue,” tipping the doorman, being born 50 years too late, playing for regular people, using adversity as an opportunity, what he learned from his friendships with Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, Nat Hentoff, and Ahmad Jamal.
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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.
For the third year in a row, I talked to my dad, musician/producer/journalist/philosopher Ben Sidran in honor of his birthday. This time he’s turning 78, and we consider the “buddhist roots of jazz”, joy and pain, Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer, the final recordings of Lester Young’s, saxophonist Willis Jackson’s 1978 album Bar Wars, drummer Nate Smith’s latest record, how you know when you’re old, and the Baal Shem Tov.
Read MoreJon Lampley knows how to “get in where you fit in.” He’s been doing it since he was a boy in an Ohio suburb, spending his week as “the only black kid at school” and his Sundays at Apostolic church in Akron, learning to play gospel music and call the spirit down. We spoke recently about growing up in two worlds, learning to play “unnecessarily soulful melodies” and call on the deep well of musical emotion that he learned in church, what he looks for in a collaborator and why he thinks he gets called so much, how he practices and prepares, and why “music is the vehicle.”
Read MoreDrummer 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.
Read MorePhilip Lassiter unravels his journey starting out a preacher’s son in Mobile, Alabama to the top of the mountain as one of the first call horn arrangers and trumpet players for top notch musicians (including Prince, Ariana Grande, Kirk Franklin, Timbaland, Roberta Flack, Jill Scott, Anderson. Paak, Queen Latifa, Al Jarreau, Fred Hammond, The Isley Brothers, and many more). Why does he get called so much? “People ask me how did you get this gig or that gig. I always tell them, ‘I didn’t get the gig. The gig got me.’”
Read MoreGuitarist Julian Lage on his new record, Squint (his first on Blue Note), how he handled youthful exceptionalism (he was a child prodigy), the connection between the artist and the audience, his philosophy of record making, and how he thinks about notes as having the weight of speech. He says, “I want it to feel like I’m talking to you when I play.”
Read MoreSinger-composer Michael Mayo on managing his relationship with social media, which he describes as finding the “balance between staying sane and being seen”, the subtle space between practice and performance, live looping, bi erasure, the “syllables discussion” in jazz singing, generational trauma, his new record Bones, discernment, and living a life authentically without labels.
Read MoreHow seven years and nearly 200 episodes of podcast interviews inspired the record The Art Of Conversation. Excerpts of conversations with Amy Cervini, Andre De Shields, Jorge Drexler, Kat Edmonson, Kurt Elling, John Fields, Larry Goldings, Tatum Greenblatt, Ryan Keberle, Jo Lawry, Orlando le Fleming, Adam Levy, Howard Levy, Anya Marina, Matt Munisteri, Ricky Peterson, Becca Stevens, Doug Wamble.
Singer, songwriter, educator Roxana Amed on the meaning of Ontology, the ongoing conversation between artist and audience, surrendering yourself to your art, how and why different languages swing, authenticity and freedom in music, and her native Argentina.
Read MoreSinger-songwriter SG Goodman on growing up in a farming family in Western Kentucky before becoming a beacon for the progressive south, how music in many ways saved her life when she had to leave her farm life behind, and also gave her a way to honor her family’s southern storytelling tradition, and how to maintain that Old Time Feeling (also the name of her debut album) in a modern world.
Read MoreReflections on the life and legacy of Clyde Stubblefield, sometimes called the world’s most sampled drummer, on the occasion of what would have been his 78th birthday. Including interviews and live recordings with him going back to 1972.
Read MoreSaxophonist Bob Reynolds, at the crossroads of what’s happening and where am I going, on his influences, approach, playing with Snarky Puppy, John Mayer, the subtle but significant distinction between practice and the practice, what it means to make music with sincerity, and finding himself on tour in Spain and Italy last March just as Covid was descending on Europe.
Read MoreIn March 2020, just as the world was closing under the advancing cloud of Covid 19, I spoke to a handful of musician friends from around the world to hear how they were doing and to explore some of the pressing questions around the shutdown and the arts.
One year later, I check in with (almost) all of them to hear what the last year has been like for them, what were the challenges and opportunities of the first Covid year, and how they see the future.
Italian singer Gege Telesforo, saxophonist John Ellis, bassist Joe Dart (sort of), guitarist Adam Levy, trombonist Ryan Keberle, artist manager Andrew Leib, singer songwriter Victoria Canal, artist and advocate Ari Herstand, guitarist Lage Lund, mud trudging songwriter Joy Dragland and funk magician Charlie Hunter (in his way) all weigh in.
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