Beginnings

On today's episode, I talk to musician Lou Barlow. Originally from Ohio, Lou formed his first band Deep Wound in 1982, while attending high school in western Massachusetts. Deep Wound's drummer was J Mascis, and when that band broke up, Lou and J formed Dinosaur, later to become Dinosaur Jr. The early years of the band were acclaimed but tumultuous, and after their third album, he was asked to lea...

On today's episode, I talk to actress and comedian Michaela Watkins. Originally from Syracuse, NY, Michaela's career really began when she moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, where she joined the Groundlings. She was cast on SNL for the 2008 season, and while she only stayed a year, this led to many other incredible roles on shows like New Adventures of Old Christine, Enlightened, Trophy Wife...

On today's episode, I talk to bass guitarist and record producer Melvin Gibbs. A native of Brooklyn, He has been called "the greatest bassist in the world" by Time Out New York magazine and was last year's winner of JazzTimes Magazine's Critics Poll in the Electric Bass category. Melvin's wide-ranging musical resume includes membership in bands ranging from the no-wave of Defunkt to the avant-jazz...

On today's episode, I talk to musician Isobel Campbell. Originally from Glasgow, Isobel's musical career began with the acclaimed indie rock group Belle and Sebastian. She played cello, keyboards and sang in the group, and after five hit albums, she left the band to pursue a solo career as The Gentle Waves. She kept The Gentle Waves moniker for a few albums, afterward deciding to record music unde...

On today's episode, I talk to Tony Award-winning actor and musician Michael Cerveris. Originally from Huntington, West Virginia, Michael got his start acting in the early '80s downtown scene, and his career has flourished from there. As a theater actor, he's won two Tony Awards, one for playing John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins and the second for his role in Fun Home. Beyond the of...

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-award winning comics creator John Allison. John started creating webcomics in 1998 with Bobbins, a series which ran on the early webcomics portal Keenspot. When Bobbins ended, he followed that up with Scary Go Round and then Bad Machinery. In 2013, John pitched a spin-off from Scary Go Round, Giant Days, to Boom! Box, a newly formed imprint of Boom! Studios for...

On today's episode, I talk to Grammy nominated musician Bonnie McKee. Raised in Seattle, WA, Bonnie had been singing and writing her own songs from a young age, and as a teenager was signed to a label and moved to Los Angeles to record her first album. While critically praised, the album was commercially unsuccessful, and after a while, Bonnie began a second career as a songwriter for artists like...

On today's episode, I talk to musician Trevor Kampmann. Born in Naperville, IL in the early '70s, Trevor began making music under the name Sea Saw in the early '90s on the indie label Simple Machines, after that recording as hollAnd. Aside from releasing over 12 CDs and DVDs under the hollAnd moniker - many of them on TeenBeat Records, he has worked on countless recordings for bands such as Explos...

On today's episode I talk to musician Peggy Seeger. Sister of Pete Seeger (the great-grandfather of USA folk revival) and partner of the late Ewan MacColl (theorist and practitioner of UK folk revival), she has carved a special niche for herself in both these countries. Trained in both classical and folk music, her experience spans 55 years of performing, travel and songwriting. A multi-instrument...

On today's episode I talk to musician and TV writer Clay Tarver. Clay first came to prominence as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the Boston hard rock/punk band Bullet LaVolta in the late 1980s. They recorded a few records for Taang!, RCA, and Matador Records before disbanding in 1991. He then formed Chavez with Matt Sweeney, Scott Marshall and James Lo, and they released two incredible album...

On today's episode I talk to musician Matt Sweeney. Originally from northern New Jersey, Matt started playing in bands in high school with his first group Skunk, who released two albums on Twin/Tone records. In the early '90s, he formed Chavez, which went on to release two incredible albums and an EP on Matador. When the band stopped playing together, Matt became a sideman touring with GBV and Bon...

On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Jana Schmieding. Originally from Oregon, Jana cut her teeth performing sketch, improv and characters at the Magnet Theater in New York City. After moving to Los Angeles in 2016, Jana started the Woman of Size podcast, which she hosted until 2019, and most recently, she writes on and co-stars with Ed Helms in Peacock's newest sitcom Rutherford Falls,...

On today's episode I talk to musician Bob Nastanovich. Born in Rochester, but raised in Richmond, Virginia, Bob spent the early part of his life playing tennis and listening to punk rock. While attending college at the University of Virginia, he met his future bandmates Steve Malkmus and Dave Berman, and the three formed the band Ectoslavia with future Yo La Tengo member James McNew. After college...

On today's episode I talk to musician Jamie Stewart. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jamie played in a number of bands as a teenager, including a parody band and a Bauhaus cover group. However, he didn't really find his voice until he formed Xiu Xiu in his mid-20s. The  release of the band's first album Knife Play on the Kill Rock Stars imprint 5RC cemented their style, but it was with 2004's Fabu...

On today's episode I talk to musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius. A pioneer in the field of electronic music, Hans-Joachim Roedelius is considered one of the founders of contemporary popular electronic music. Born in Berlin in 1934, Hans-Joachim starred as a child in a number of UFA films, and during the war was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandato...

On today's episode I talk to musician and painter Tobin Sprout. Born in 1955 in Dayton, Ohio, Tobin is an American artist, musician and children's book creator. As a musician, he was well known as a founding member of the indie rock band Guided by Voices before going out on his own, releasing his first solo album, Carnival Boy, in 1996. As an artist, Tobin is famous for his photo-realism large for...

On today's episode I talk to musician Sarah Mary Chadwick. New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter, Sarah Mary Chadwick has been making music since she was a teenager. In the early 2000s, she formed the band Batrider in Wellington with guitarist Julia McFarlane (now of Twerps). After a number of albums and line-up changes that left Sarah as the only original member, she began writing m...

On today's episode I talk to drummer and composer Bobby Previte. Originally from Niagara Falls, New York, Bobby was one of the seminal figures of the 1980s New York 'Downtown' scene that included John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, and Elliott Sharp, and his original compositions have been recorded and released on labels like Sony, Elektra, Tzadik. He's also led a plethora of diverse ensembles from behind h...

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Ron D. Moore. Originally from Chowchilla, CA, Ron broke into TV writing when he passed a spec script he had written to one of Gene Roddenberry's assistants during a tour of the Star Trek: The Next Generation set. This eventually led to him being hired on the show, and from there he wrote on Deep Space Nine, Roswell, Carnivale, and many otherTV sho...

On today's episode I talk to musician James Yorkston. Originally from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife in Scotland, James has been playing music since he was young, and was an integral early member of the Fence Collective, a collaborative group of musicians that included groups like The Beta Band. James spent years honing his craft was eventually championed by John Peel and John Martyn after he sen...

On today's episode I talk to musician James Yorkston. Originally from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife in Scotland, James has been playing music since he was young, and was an integral early member of the Fence Collective, a collaborative group of musicians that included groups like The Beta Band. James spent years honing his craft was eventually championed by John Peel and John Martyn after he sen...

On today's episode I talk to solo artist and principal songwriter of the band Hop Along, Frances Quinlan. Growing up in Boyertown, PA, Frances recorded their first album as Hop Along during their freshman year of college at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Hop Along soon became a full band and with their third album Painted Shut, the group signed to Saddle Creek. Their fourth album Bark Your...

On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Mark Little. Originally from New Westminster, British Columbia, Mark has been writing and performing comedy for almost two decades. His sketch group Picnicface gained some acclaim during the heyday of internet videos, leading to their own series, which was executive-produced by Mark McKinney. He's also known for the popular shows Mr. D, Gary and His...

On today's episode I talk to musician Richard Dawson. Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, avant-garde folk musician Richard Dawson has been performing and releasing albums for over a decade, each one released to great critical acclaim. Starting with 2014's Nothing Important, Domino began releasing his music, and his latest album 2020, which was released in 2019, is absolutely one of the best albu...

On today's episode I talk to musician Ian MacKaye. Originally from Washington DC, Ian is a guitarist and singer who founded Dischord Records as a teenager in 1980 with Jeff Nelson. Ian and Jeff went on to form the defining DC hardcore band Minor Threat, and in 1986, Ian then formed Fugazi with Joe Lally, Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto. Over 20+ years the band has released seven albums and toured...