BarTalk

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter are back with another delightfully unhinged episode filled with music, questionable life choices, and the usual amount of nonsense. Walter kicks things off with a giant eyeball espresso mug, a night at the opera, and the absurdity of taking a suitcase to Brooklyn for a three-day work conference. Meanwhile, Pokie shares a story about someone booking a hotel i...

Grab your coffee—it’s time for another episode of BarTalk! This week, Walter and Pokie are catching up on everything and absolutely nothing. From Walter’s morning concert adventures and his latest Love Is Blind obsession to Pokie’s memories of Korean spas, the conversation takes plenty of unexpected turns. They also chat about Walter’s recent composition premiere, the never-ending world of subscri...

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter catch up on life, music, and everything in between! From reminiscing about the Phillip Kawin Legacy Concert and reconnecting with old friends to Walter’s adventures in contemporary music (which apparently require eight arms!), there’s plenty to unpack. Pokie shares updates on Freckles and her ongoing treatment, while Walter talks about preparing a piano in s...

Six pianos, three-hour lessons, and… baby Theorbo? This week, Walter and Pokie welcome Erika Dohi and David Friend—one-third of Grand Band—to share memories of Philip Kawin ahead of his Legacy Concert. From spending hours on six notes to finding their own musical voices, they reflect on a teacher whose influence lives on in how they play, teach, and create. Plus: gargoyles, dumpling plans, and the...

Episode 34 starts backwards, detours through dumplings and Walter’s music recommendation, then lands where it matters: celebrating our teacher Phillip Kawin. We’re joined by Renée Guerrero and Riko Higuma, two former students and assistants, for stories that are funny, tender, and very Kawin. His lessons ran on “PK time,” his schedules drove his assistants crazy, and his studio somehow collected t...

In this episode of Bar Talk , Pokie and Walter are joined by their longtime friend and fellow pianist Evan Kory for a special conversation celebrating the legacy of their beloved teacher, Philip Kawin . Ahead of The Legacy of Philip Kawin concert at Manhattan School of Music, the three reminisce about their years in Kawin’s studio—from marathon lessons and late-night encounters to his deeply perso...

Pokie and Walter hold a very serious five-minute production meeting—then immediately wander into tourist drama, TikTok tipping, German castles, Greek baptism politics, chocolate cake hacks, and why nobody should ever say “guac.” Walter shares his summer travel plans and recommends Nuno Marques’s beautifully sad Penas d’Amor , while Pokie gives a hopeful update on Freckles and her chemotherapy. Alo...

This week BarTalk starts with stiff jeans, detours into the official rules of buffet strategy, and somehow lands on concert bows, soy sauce, and Mozart—because that’s Bar Talk. Pokie and Walter swap summer updates involving flooded New York, Bolivia, Rosalía in Colombia, questionable soccer entertainment, impossible teaching schedules, and a future trip to hear plates crash into each other. Come f...

BarTalk is back with a quick summer check-in! Courtney's recording from steamy Wilmington, NC while Pokie holds it down in an empty New York City. The duo riffs on the European heat wave (RIP those traffic lights), Courtney's upcoming trip to Bolivia for a chamber music festival, the absurdity of NYC brunch prices, dual-language websites, the Atlantic's AI watchdog tool, and what Spotify really pa...

This week on BarTalk, Pokie and Walter are fully in their natural habitat: starting with Real Housewives table-flipping, somehow landing on Wendy Williams, and then wandering through every possible corner of life as pianists, travelers, dog parents, and professional overthinkers. Walter checks in from North Carolina with sunglasses, dogs, and slower time, while Pokie gives updates from New York —...

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter enter Gemini season exactly the way you’d expect: with astrology reels, social batteries, fire signs, air signs, and the very serious question of who first looked at the stars and decided, “Yes, this explains why we are like this.” From there, the episode goes full BarTalk: Walter recaps a joyful Bolivian community event in Queens, complete with vendors, dan...

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter celebrate one year of talking about absolutely nothing — and somehow everything. There are sidewalk confrontations, New York chaos, busted car AC, allergies, Eurovision drama, Jellicle Ball opinions, fake sponsorships, Shakti Mat evangelism, and the very serious problem of headphones denting your head. Also: happy birthday to us, apparently. 💬 Leave us a 5-...

BarTalk is almost one year old, and naturally we celebrate by arguing about Eurovision, Swedish meatballs, work schedules, and whether Pokie is betraying the annual watch party. This week: NYSSMA exams from the accompanist side, finals-week chaos at MSM, dogs being dramatic, Mother’s Day food comas, mysterious masked people near Carnegie Hall, and a surprise detour into Phantom of the Opera conspi...

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter spiral from mani-pedis into nail phobias, student nail emergencies, dog grooming trauma, and why human nails are somehow worse than pug nails. Walter recaps a packed NYC week: Porto Piano Fest at Yamaha, Carlos Vives at Radio City, the dark but powerful opera Innocence , and a Sunday morning concert at GatherNYC. Pokie shares a wrist tendonitis flare-up and...

This week on BarTalk , Pokie and Walter do what they do best: bounce from Easter feasts to acupuncture, weird reality shows, new music, and somehow end up at a birthday party for Walter’s apartment building. Pokie recaps a full-on Greek Easter spread, complete with slow-roasted lamb and a table full of mixed Greek and Italian appetizers, while Walter reflects on the joy of holidays mostly as an ex...

This episode of BarTalk is full of the usual chaotic, hilarious energy as Pokie and Walter bounce from pizza shirts and celebrity children becoming classical pianists to spring break confusion in New York and bizarre bird stories. They share updates from their music lives, including Pokie working on challenging contemporary repertoire involving inside-the-piano techniques, and Walter wrestling wit...

In this episode of BarTalk , Pokie and Walter catch up after a long, chaotic week in true late-night fashion, recording with wine in hand and plenty to complain about. The conversation starts with New York’s unpredictable March weather before quickly turning to real-life updates, including Freckles’ surgery, sleepless nights, and the struggle of giving medication to a stubborn dog. From there, the...

In true BarTalk fashion, this episode starts with absolute chaos — stickers, no script, mild arguing — and somehow lands in a heartfelt debrief of Opus Three. Pokie and Walter pull back the curtain on the now-legendary concert: the packed hall, the Bolivian flag pins (shoutout to Tía the ambassador), the South American program that felt more like a perfectly curated prix fixe menu than a recital....

n this lively and wide-ranging episode of BarTalk , Pokie and Walter kick things off with a relatable (and slightly painful) story about getting a school-bus ticket—complete with video proof. From there, the conversation meanders through pop culture, including their thoughts on the festive Bad Bunny halftime show and why neither of them has been keeping up with the Olympics. The duo reflects on pe...

In this in-person episode, Pokie and Walter warm up with traditional Bolivian api while catching up on winter life in New York City. From favorite neighborhood food spots to navigating snowstorms, they share stories from their daily routines as working musicians. Pokie gives a personal update on the ongoing nurses’ strike, offering insight into staffing challenges, healthcare benefits, and workpla...

It’s a cold one in NYC, and Pokie and Walter are bundled up and catching up on life in this cozy (and chaotic) Bar Talk episode. From snowy dog walks and old-dog vs. young-dog problems to a very real pet health scare, the duo shares honest updates from the week. They recap missed friend gatherings, espresso martinis with Ferrero Rocher garnishes, and some excellent NYC food adventures. Pokie talks...

It’s the first BarTalk of 2026, Pokie + Walter kick off the year with gravlax flexing, jet-lag chaos, and Walter nearly meeting his maker in a hot HIIT class. They swap travel tea (Barcelona NYE, Dubai camels + dune-bashing terror), roast Walter’s depressing plane-movie choices (plus a “what if the world forgot The Beatles?” plot), and agree the best concerts are short and sweet— Amahl length, not...

The BarTalk crew rings in the holidays with their first-ever guest, bestie Amanda, over a cozy pancake breakfast and plenty of chaotic banter. They swap friend origin stories, debate suspiciously perfect pre-cut fruit, and share recent highlights—from Amanda’s Met Opera matinee to Walter’s concert adventures and Pokie’s very relatable “nothing new, but trying to exercise” update. The episode veers...

Walter and Pokie are back  in person  at the dining-room-turned-studio for a very Thanksgiving-adjacent episode of Bar Talk. They compare stuffing strategies (cranberries, sausage, and serious gravy), take a ridiculous “Which Thanksgiving food are you?” quiz that somehow declares Pokie is cranberry sauce, and spiral into a debate about the worst desserts, chocolate fondue, and those infa...

In this cozy pre-Thanksgiving episode, Pokie and Walter catch up on life, gigs, and the weird in-between feeling after big projects wrap up. Walter’s fresh from hot yoga in “the hot room,” Pokie’s recovering from playing for hundreds of kids and getting a parking ticket in NYC, and both of them are trying to remember what day it is as December chaos approaches. They talk about juggling t...