Flies in the Kitchen

    As Promised (albeit a little late), here is Michael Clem's followup conversation, updating us on all things Clem. In the span of the time from my initial interview and today as I am releasing this, Mike has releaased " 60¢ a Gallon," his newest full leangth album!  We talk a bit about that, as well as creative community, the ruts we find ourselves in, and how to get out of them.  It was a grea...

  This is Michael Clem's Episode!   The Myth, the Magic, The Mysterious! 25% of eddie from ohio, 100% wit, grit, & spit!  So Here we are, back together again.  It's been a long time since we've hung out, so it's good to see you! I give a little update at the top of the episode, but suffice it to say, it's good be back after a long hiatus! Michael Clem is on the show today, with a conversation we h...

"Our theme music was composed by BJ Leiderman." If you've tuned in to NPR over the last 44 years, the likelihood is pretty great that you have heard this on-air credit. It's because when BJ sold his themes to NPR, he made it a part of his contract that he would receive spoken recognition for his work. Little did he know he'd become one of the most recognizable names on the network. BJ's NPR credit...

Some of you may remember a few years back when I uploaded a reading of "The Velveteen Rabbit."  That was a recording I had made for librivox.org, an online archive of literary works in the public domain, recorded by volunteers all over the world.  Recently I recorded a few poems for an anthology they were putting together and I thought I'd share them with you. I hope you enjoy them! I've included...

I've known about David Wilcox since I first heard "East Asheville Hardware" back in the mid 90's working at a summer camp.  I was absolutely captivated and delighted at what I was listening to, and knew that this was something that I needed to pay more attention to, being a budding songwriter myself.  What followed was a few decades of wonder and inspiration at the levels of depth to which a songw...

Y'all. This woman right here has a story to tell, and it is massive.  I met with her a week ago today (as of the uploading of this episode), and we chatted about her brand new memoir "Looking for Innocence", as well as a whole lot of other things, and there were still topics we left out.  So I encourage you to do your own research and find out as much as you can about Paisha, and follow what she's...

  Eric and I first crossed paths when I made my way to Espresso Yourself Music Cafe, in Powell, Ohio, for an open mic night shortly after moving to Ohio.  I consider myself really fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience the community and great vibes from EYMC before it closed in 2012.  Eric and I talk a good bit about all that, plus a lot more.  I met up with him at his farmhouse just...

  My first impression of Dre Peace was a wall of sound that almost knocked me over..  Which would have been embarrassing since I was sharing a stage with him at an event called Music in the Round.   I had to know more about this guy just from the music and poetry coming from his mouth.  Afterwards I learned a bit more about his story that locked it in for me.  I had to get this guy on the show.  S...

TJ George has been very busy.  He has been workin on a pretty epic project for, well, to hear him say it, several years now.  It is finally coming to life, as of January 7, 2022.  TJ is a songwriter here is Columbus, and his new album, "Heroes and Legends" will be an achievement that he has been working towards for a long time.  We got to sit in my living room and chat about it, along with a bunch...

  I was home from college on a fall break in 1997 when I found out John Denver had died in a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean.  It wrecked me.  This brief tribute will explain a little bit of why.    Also, here is the video from the recording I shared in the episode, along with another one I filmed in my sister's treehouse last summer to the sounds of the forest choir.

I first met James Houston when I decided to start learning karate in my mid-20s, living in a small, southwestern Virginia town along the New River. I wasn't sure what to expect when I signed up for karate, only that it seemed like there was a good blend of experience, and I knew that I wouldn't be the only one who had no idea what he was doing.  We began each class with what is known as the Dojo K...

Loss is a weird thing, isn't it?  The day I recorded this, I had found out a friend had died.  Just out of the blue.  Hit by a truck while running.  It was a big blow.  I had already decided on a topic, and on its face, it seems like the wrong direction...  But really, my friend Jeff was one who lived a life of gratitude.  And I'll miss him. This episode will  be the last of this series.  I have h...

Speak when you are angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret. - Ambrose Bierce As I write this, I have 34% left on my laptop, and I'm getting on a plane in 2 hours.  I'm heading out to my next job, in Burbank California, and this has been a real challenge keeping my eyes open long enough to finish this post.  Boy, will I be excited to sleep on the plane!  I will however, miss the c...

In 1983 a movie came out with a star studded cast, including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, and the two 1980s teen heart throbs pictured above, Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Howell.  The movie was called "The Outsiders", and it featured a couple of rival gangs in 1965 Tulsa Oklahoma, the Greasers and the Socs. This episode takes a little look at a specific scene i...

Hey everybody!  I have something pretty cool to share with you.  I've decided to give myself a little break from producing the full episodes of Flies in the Kitchen, because I've been out of town a lot working a contract job that has long hours.  My time has really just gotten chewed up (That wasn't the pretty cool part).  I wanted to put something out there for you guys though, so I've decided to...

Lately I've been looking at a lot of my Facebook memories, and being amazed at how oblivious we all were to what life would look like just one year later.  Large groups closely gathered around tables, no masks, sharing pizza, and laughing.  So much laughing.  It will be interesting to see the memories as March approaches, and the gradual realization of what we would be getting ourselves into. Boy,...

I first met David LaMotte at a weekend retreat in the WV mountains where he was performing.  He and his newly-wed wife Deanna were there, and it was fun hanging out with them both.  As it goes, though, with many traveling gigging musicians who bounce around the world bringing music and great joy to thousands, my memory of the moment was a little more vivid than his.  On the night of his performanc...

Deep among the rolling hills and misty mountains of Western North Carolina lives a charismatic young man who has already, in his first 20 years on earth, managed to release 3 albums and 5 professionally produced music videos, sharing with the world music that is complex, rich, intense, vulnerable, cathartic, energetic, and gently explosive.  This kid is Ian Ridenhour, and I'm really excited to fin...

When Chuck Brodsky was 21, he made a decision that he was going to follow his passion to become a songwriter who tells stories that matter. He hitchhiked from his hometown in Philadelphia to San Francisco and never looked back. I've been wanting to chat with Chuck for a long time. His songs have always held my attention because of their raw, honest, straightforward storytelling. His style is very...

  This is a first. My buddy Zach Whitney loves the woods.  He loves to go hiking in the woods whenever he can.  So I thought it'd be fun to take a walk with Zach and record a conversation about music, mindfulness, and nature.  Three things I knew he knows a thing or two about.  It was a really great talk and I hope you enjoy it. Zach is a thoughtful and intentional songwriter with a growly and gru...

  I met Jeromy when he was hired as the Production and Technical Coordinator at the church I was going to, and started noticing his really great eye for capturing moments on film, both in photos and video. He had such a great ability to connect with every single person he pointed a camera towards, and I wanted to know how he did it. We met in his apartment for a nice laid back chat about his trip...

Photo by Laura Goyer This one's exciting for me. When I was in college 20 some years ago, I was brought by a friend to a small, standing room only bar with a bunch of 20-somethings crowded in very tight numbers, waiting for this band to come out. I was promised I would love this band. So, when they came out and instantly put forth some of the tightest three and four-part harmony that I had ever he...

I have seriously been trying to get Wyze on this podcast for months. I met her in November at an event in Columbus where she was sharing about her photography and her Vlog, and knew I wanted to hear more. We played email tag for way too long until we finally settled on a time that worked for us both, and I gotta say, It was worth every second of it. Wyze is a Visual Creator. I had never really hea...

A special "Holiday Episode" for you!  I ran across some audio from a recording I made for Librivox.org an online audiobook project made possible by a large wealth of volunteers who record readings of books and stories that are in the public domain.  I recorded an old favorite of mine, The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, but not until I was about to upload it did I realize someone else had a...

Anderson Cowan is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles, California, who hosts a number of podcasts, namely The Film Vault , Cinemaddicts , and The After Disaster .  He's created a decent library of short films, and his first full length feature film, "Groupers" opened to a small select group of screenings in several cities across the country, and will be available sometime in 2019 for the rest of us....