Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to musician Mikal Cronin. Originally from Laguna Beach, CA, Mikal's been playing music professionally for almost a decade as a member of bands like Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff, Shannon & the Clams and many more. He also has been playing bass in Ty Segall's touring band for the past 8 years. On his own, he's recorded four albums: Mikal Cronin on Trouble in Mind Reco...

On today's episode I talk to pianist and composer Alexandra Stréliski. Raised between Paris and Montreal, Alexandra didn't set out to make music for a living, but after a long night of the soul, so to speak, dedicated herself to writing and performing. In 2010, she recorded her first album Pianoscope and late last year, her latest album Inscape was released on Secret City Records. In addition to t...

On today's episode I talk to comics writer Magdalene Visaggio. Born in Long Island but raised in Richmond, VA, Magdalene has been making comics for over a decade, but it wasn't until 2016 that she began to garner acclaim thanks to her series Kim & Kim, which netted Magdalene both an Eisner Award nomination and a GLAAD Award nomination. Since then she's written a number of great comics including Et...

On today's episode I talk to musician Patrick Stickles of the band Titus Andronicus. Originally from Glen Rock, New Jersey, Patrick started Titus Andronicus in 2005. Since then, the band has garnered a great deal of critical praise and commercial success. Their first three albums were released on Troubleman and XL, but starting with The Most Lamentable Tragedy, they've been part of Merge Records....

On today's episode I talk to musician Cara Beth Satalino of the band Outer Spaces. Originally from the small rural town Pittstown, NY, Cara has been playing music since she was young. She moved to Athens, GA after college and formed the band Witches, a fantastic punk trio which put out two 7"s and a full-length record, Forever, and a few years later formed the band Outer Spaces. As Outer Spaces, C...

On today's episode I talk to musicians Lætitia Tamko AKA Vagabon. Originally from Yaoundé, Cameroon, Lætitia and her family immigrated to the US when she was 13. While she graduated from CUNY with a degree in engineering, a chance event led her to playing music full time. Her first album Infinite Worlds was released in 2017 to general acclaim, and her latest album, the self-titled Vagabon, will be...

On today's episode I talk to musicians Jeff and Steve McDonald of the band Redd Kross. Originally from Hawthorne, CA, brothers Jeff and Steve started playing music together in 1978, in a band called The Tourists while both were in middle school. A few years later, they changed the name to Red Cross (and eventually Redd Kross), and since then have released seven albums and a number of EPs. In addit...

On today's episode I talk to actor Punam Patel. Originally from Florida, Punam took a circuitous route to the world of acting that eventually led her to performing with Second City in Chicago. After moving to Los Angeles, she booked her first major role in 2015 in the ABC Family sitcom Kevin From Work. And since then, she's acted in Adam Ruins Everything, Alone Together, I Feel Bad, as well as man...

On today's episode I talk to musician Alexander Noice. Based in Los Angeles, Alex is a composer, guitarist, producer and bandleader who has toured the world performing with many notable artists from Charlie Haden to Art Ensembles of Chicago's Famoudou Don Moye. From 2008-2013, he led the highly revered art rock/punk trio Falsetto Teeth, and in 2016, he released his first solo electronic album call...

On today's episode I talk to author and TV writer Jim Gavin. Based in Los Angeles, Jim's fiction has appeared in numerous publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Zoetrope and many others. His book of short stories Middle Men was published in 2013 by Simon & Schuster, and the TV show he created, Lodge 49, just debuted its second season on AMC. This is  the website  for  Beginnings...

On today's episode I talk to musician Dre Babinski of Steady Holiday. Originally from the Los Angeles area, Dre is a singer, songwriter, violinist, and guitarist. From the mid-2000s on, she played in a number of bands including Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, Miracle Days, Hunter Hunted, The Elected, and more. In 2015 though, she started her own project Steady Holiday, and since then, has release...

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...