Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to Sasami Ashworth. Raised mostly in Los Angeles in a religious household, Sasami has been making music in the LA area for over a decade. This includes playing French horn in orchestras and studios; playing keys, bass, and guitar in local rock bands like Dirt Dress and Cherry Glazerr; and contributing vocals/string/horn arrangements to studio albums from artists like Vaga...

On today's episode I talk to Jennifer and Jessica Clavin of the indie rock band Bleached. Born in California and based in Los Angeles, Jessica and Jennifer began playing music as teenagers, and eventually formed the punk band Mika Miko in 2003. The band released a number of albums and EPs on labels like Sub Pop and Kill Rock Stars, but broke up in 2009 due to band members' wishes to return to scho...

On today's episode I talk to musician Ellen Kempner. Originally from Westport, Connecticut, Ellen began playing music as a pre-teen, and even formed a band in high school. However, it's when she moved to New York for college that she really began making music in earnest, and in 2013 debuted as Palehound with the Bent Nail EP. Since then, she's made three albums: 2015's Dry Food, 2017's A Place I'l...

On today's episode I talk to Andy Hull and Kevin Devine of the indie rock band Bad Books. While both Andy and Kevin have successful careers with other bands - Andy with Manchester Orchestra and Kevin as a New York-based singer-songwriter, Bad Books is their decade-long collaboration that formed after Kevin began touring with Manchester Orchestra in 2007. Together they've written three albums, a se...

On today's episode I talk to comedian Nick Turner. Originally from Virginia, Nick has been performing stand-up for 15 years, and you can see him on Late Night w/ Seth Meyers as well as  Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, and his own Comedy Central Half Hour special.  He was a regular cast member on VH1's Best Week Ever and I Love the 2000's and is an undefeated champion on TruTV's...

On today's episode I talk to musician Will Fox. Born in Houston, TX, and raised in London, Paris, and the American South, Will spent his adolescence moving from country to country with his family. Back stateside, destined to operate a historic gristmill in the Shenandoah Valley, he instead moved to Los Angeles to become a troubadour. After his stint as a member of the now-defunct LA indie rock ban...

On today's episode I talk to musician Chris Cohen. Originally from Los Angeles, Chris has been playing in bands since the early 2000s. He played with Deerhoof from Apple O' to The Runners Four, as well as in bands like The Curtains and Cryptacize, as well as on a number of Cass McCombs albums. As a solo artist, Chris has recorded three albums, 2012's Overgrown Path, 2016's As If Apart and his late...

On today's episode I talk to writer and comedian H. Alan Scott. Based in Los Angeles, H. Alan has been writing and performing for over a decade. He's appeared on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Ellen, CNN, Fusion and MTV and written for TV Land, VICE, Fusion, Out Magazine, Newsweek and Nerdist. He's the subject of the forthcoming documentary Latter Day Jew, and he also co-hosts two wonderful podcasts: Out...

On today's episode I talk to musician Anna Connolly. Originally from Los Angeles, Anna grew up going to punk shows as a young teenager, and when her family moved to DC in the 1980s, she and her sister Cynthia became part of a small, nascent punk scene, which later became what everyone knows as "DC punk rock." Anna spent many of her high school years working at a record store, buying records, and g...

On today's episode I talk to Michael Collins AKA Drugdealer. Originally from Boston, Michael much more identifies an an artist rather than a musician, even though his music is quite wonderful. He moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and began making music under different drug pun monikers including Run DMT and Salvia Plath, and eventually formed Drugdealer, which he thinks of as more of a collective than...

On today's episode I talk to comedian Natalie Palamides. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Natalie's path to comedy started with clowning and devised theater with the Obie-Award-Winning Pig Iron Theatre Company. After moving to Los Angeles, she became an official performer at UCB, and since then, has garnered a number of accolades including being named a Just for Laughs New Face in 2016 and Best New...

On today's episode I talk to musician Ben Cooper AKA Radical Face. Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Ben has been making music since he was a teenager, originally as a way to escape his difficult upbringing. Since 2003, he's released six albums and eight EPs. His latest EP Therapy is out on April 26 via Bear Machine Records, and it's great! This is  the website  for  Beginnings ,  subscribe on Apple...

On today's episode I talk to comedian and writer Megan Neuringer. Originally from New York, Megan got her comedy start at UCB, where she was an official performer for over a decade. As an actor, she was a panelist on Best Week Ever and a number of other VH1 shows, and has appeared on Flight Of The Conchords, Fringe, Strangers With Candy, @Midnight, Kroll Show, Comedy Bang! Bang! and much more. And...

I am trying to finish one of the biggest projects of my career so far this week, so I thought I'd put out an episode from the archives! Andy Daly is one of my favorite comedians, and he stopped by the Harlem studio in 2014 while promoting Review. We discuss The Monkees, the fragility of existence, fatherhood, "Cookies On a Shelf", neighborhood games, living in your imagination, the character of Ri...

On today's episode I talk to musician Mike Deni AKA Geographer. Originally from New Jersey, Los Angeles-based musician Mike Deni has been writing music for most of his life, and for over a decade as Geographer. In that time, he's released a number of EPs and albums including Innocent Ghosts in 2008, Myth in 2012, and Ghost Modern in 2015. His latest EP New Jersey will be out March 22nd, and it is...

On today's episode I talk to comedian and TV writer Solomon Georgio. Born in a refugee camp in Sudan, Solomon immigrated to the US at a young age, and his family eventually ended up in Seattle. As a stand-up he performed on Conan, This Is Not Happening, Viceland's show Flophouse, The Meltdown, 2 Dope Queens on HBO and his own Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special. As a TV writer, he's written f...

On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Scott Thompson. Originally from Brampton, Ontario, Scott is 1/5 of the iconic sketch group The Kids in the Hall, whose show ran for five seasons. They also made the film Brain Candy, the series Death Comes to Town, and continue to tour. In addition to this, Scott has also acted on dozens and dozens of shows including The Simpsons and Tim and Eric. He...

To celebrate the upcoming 400th episode of the show, I thought I'd drop a bonus episode this week! What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpi...

On today's episode I talk to musician Bridie Monds-Watson AKA SOAK. Originally from Derry in Northern Ireland, Bridie began making music when she was 13, and quickly found acclaim. Her first album, Before We Forgot How to Dream was released in 2015 on Rough Trade. It won the Irish Choice Music Prize Album of the Year and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize as well. Her latest album, Grim Town, w...

On today's episode I talk to musician Rosie Tucker. Originally from the San Fernando valley, Rosie is now based in Los Angeles proper. She is 1/4 of the post-rock band Gypsum, and though only in her early 20s, she's written two albums under her own name. Lowlight was released in 2015, and her latest Never Not Never Not Never Not will be released this March on New Professor Music. This is  the webs...

On today's episode I talk to Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne of the band The Blow. Originally from Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, Khaela is an artist, writer and musician, and has been part of the Olympia/K Records music scene for a long time, as a solo artist, as a member of The Microphones, and for a number of years with YACHT's Jona Bechtolt as The Blow. However, since the mid-aughts, The Blow has...

On today's episode I talk to musician Andrew Choi AKA St.  Lenox. Originally from Ames, Iowa, Andy has lived many lives. In the mid '90s, he was a Juilliard-trained violinist. He then quit music to get a degree in Philosophy and went on to receive his PhD from Ohio State. And after this, he moved to New York City, where he now works as a singer-songwriter and a lawyer in Manhattan. As St. Lenox, A...

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Alison Tatlock. Originally from Brookline, MA, Alison has taken a circuitous route to television from actor to non-profits to playwright. And while Alison only started her TV career less than a decade ago, she's written for a number of the best dramas of the 21st century. This includes shows like In Treatment, Stranger Things, Halt and Catch Fire, and Better...

I'm taking a break for the holidays, so I thought I'd put up this pilot I did for Earwolf late last year called Let's Get Metaphysical. LGM is a hybrid philosophy discussion/sketch show (maybe from that combo you can see why it didn't get picked up), but besides some of the usual awkwardness in a pilot, it's pretty fun and interesting - I got to talk to some funny people, plus a philosopher that w...

On today's episode I talk to singer, bass player, model and actress Adeline Michèle. Born and raised in Paris to a French mother and a father hailing from the Caribbean island of Martinique, Adeline started singing at the ripe age of five and was accepted in a professional choir and grew up performing live around Europe and on T.V. In 2006, Adeline moved to New York City to more actively pursue he...