ifitbeyourwill Podcast

Hot off the release of his latest record,  Life and Death at Party Rock,  Jess Kivel is ready to welcome the world into his. As a youngest Jesse rocked it with Princeton, synthed it with Kisses and now with his latest eases the listener into his string arrangements and pastoral tempo. We have a nice chat about Jesse’s musical timeline throughout the ages and how he approached his new self-title mu...

For nearly a decade, Jenni Cochran and Aaron Craker have been writing songs together. Through various genres and influences, their working relationship has resulted in a collection of great music. The twisting and turning sands of time have seen them change monikers, from Frederick the Younger to Genevva (named after Cochran’s grandmother). Dean Tartaglia littlestarpr.com Send us Fan Mail Support...

Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Cedric Noel is a pop powerhouse! With a massive catalogue, countless collaborations and a unique pop sensibility supporting him, Cedric is a catalyst in the Montréal music scene. Joining me from his new pad in Montréal, Cedric shared wonderful stories from his very beginnings as a musician, and stories of collaborations with other iconic Québec musical figu...

One man Canadian band Jaguar Sun is the brainchild of multi instrumentalist Chris Minielly.  His approach to crafting his music is remarkable,  a truly bedroom dream pop kinda guy doing everything from writing, recording, mixing, promoting and playing all his music himself in his home studio. We had a wonderful conversation about how he builds his songs, how his music went viral and what is coming...

Kenny Boothby, Canadian artist and the architect behind DYI indie pop band Little Kid joined me from his Toronto apartment to discuss his faith, his music and how he used the two in his freeing creative process. Raised a Christian in rural Ontario, Kenny explained that religion was just something that you did in small communities, but as Kenny grew up and started writing music his beliefs started...

Paul Murphy is a prolific Canadian musician. Fronting indie rock’s  Wintersleep is only half of Paul’s greatness, the other half is embedded in his outstanding “side-project” Postdata. Joining me from his home/studio in Halifax Nova Scotia we had a profound conversation about Paul’s musical process, his beginnings as an artist in eastern Canada, and how he approaches writing songs for two differen...

Neptune’s Core is an all female Chicago band compromised of two sets of sisters, Sofie and Hannah Richter and Jackie and Kaitlin Cywinski. Three members joined me for a wonderful chat about their beginnings, their influences, their process and the tough themes they dabble in as a group of young women. Hot off their latest release, Called Upon, they dive head first into a classic slow/fast indie ro...

It’s been awhile since Eric Lindley aka Careful has released a record, but with a new baby, the pandemic all whirling, the wait has been well worth it. Eric is a musical scientist/psychologist who deconstructs his songs to see why humans react to certain chord structures, certain crescendos, tapping into the depths of a composition’s truth. This reflective pulling apart and reassembly of songs mak...

Cassie Wieland of Vines joined me from flooded Brooklyn to talk origin story, the  writing process that found her voice and the wild life of an independent musician. Classically schooled, you can hear that fine tuning in the ambient and expansive indie pop songs. Vines uses a harmonizer to help in the creating of this minimal pop music, only adding to the depths and breath on her new record Birthd...

David Dondero is a prolific songwriter.  Nominated amongst top singer songwriters on NPR in 2016, compared to such as Bob Dylan and Elliot Smith.  David is a volcanic musician, always brewing… brewing... with frequent creative explosions in his writing process, leading listeners to countless connections to truth; at times gut wrenching but always authentic expressions of humanity. His latest LP, I...

Julian Morris aka Layperson joined me with an open heart and a mature perspective. Julian plays a wonderful mix with chips of Teenage Fan Club and a buttering of the Byrds vibe. Our fluid conversation was rich, touching on his beginning days, musical inspirations, transitioning and the multitude of challenges musicians face nowadays. Layperon’s latest LP M assive Leaning drops this fall. Check out...

Joining me from the west coast of the United States, multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter Anton Barbeau is a prolific musical artist. With a massive catalogue of LPs, EPs and singles, Anton has penning tunes in his very soul. Often compared to other psychedelic artists such as  Robyn Hitchcock, Syd Barrett, XTC, Anton’s combination of surreal lyrics with pop melodies transcend a pigeonholed st...

Canadiana singer songwriter Tony Dekker of the Great Lake Swimmers joins us on the eve of his big tour across Canada, USA and Europe for a quick chat about the long road through Covid shut down, his first recordings, the Canadian music scene and the life of a musician in the 21st century. Tony is a soft spoken, reflective man that has been making records for two  decades, winning Favourite Folk/Ro...

Do I ever have an inspiring story for you! Singer Songwriter Jay Wood has just released her first ever EP entitled Respire this past week, the journey is nothing less than unbelievable. Jay suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car crash years ago, but the result was a loss of memory among other massive challenges that she overcame. Jay joked that she had to write the songs twice on her EP, once...

What a treat I have for all you lovers of music! The great singer-songwriter Jill Andrews joined me for a wonderful conversation about life, music and family. With a new record in hand entitled Modern Age released this past August, Jill shared stories about her first beginnings in music, the amazing collaborators that inspired her career, a look back over her catalogue, and what the future holds....

Indie Rock/Power Pop outfit Gold Connections joined me from their homes in New Orleans to chat about their musical journey and their 2nd full-length record coming out in 2024. As well, Will Marsh and cousin Frazer discussed their influences, the guts of the new record, and finally we parted with some amazing words of wisdom for fellow DYI artists. Can’t wait for the new record to drop in the new y...

Canadian singer-songwriter Nicholas Krgovich joined me from vacationing in Croatia with his beloved family to catch up with us on his process, his journey and his future. Nick’s music tugs at the heart, connecting you to forgotten memories as he continually discovers the endless possibilities of pop music. His previous bands, P:ano, No Kids and Gigi plus a mountain of collaborations makes Nick one...

Welcome back music listeners of the world to Season 2. Today marks the start of a new season @ifitbeyourwill podcasts with a sweet line up coming down the pipe this Fall & Winter. No better way to start a new season off with a bang than having on indie folk sister duo Lily & Madeleine out of Indiana. The sister’s are on the eve of releasing their 5th full length album Nite Swim , coming ou...

In this season's final podcast, I was joined by singer-songwriter and artist Clara Engel. Clara is a pioneer of minimalist indie folk, with an ever evolving need to reconnect with the natural way. On Clara's recent record Sanguinaria (blood root) they explore themes of human disconnection from the natural world and an incessant need to reconnect to what's real if we have any hope of...

Singer Songwriter, Grant Davidson has been pounding the pavement for a couple decades writing songs about his life experiences,  now with the up and coming record, Meantime, Slow Leaves has planted some indie folk gems that are sure to sprout 🌱 in the fields of musical history. Joining me from his home land of Winnipeg it was wonderful to talk to Grant about being a surviving musician, how he cre...

Hunter & Wolfe joined me from their Brooklyn homes for a deep dive into their friendship, songwriting process and their art as personal therapy. They pen ever evolving indie pop with a growing synth personality. " Michael Maffei’s smooth-like-butter vocals pair seamlessly with Sundeep Kapur’s wailing electric guitar that almost feels like another vocal at times", as The Wild Honey Pi...

Jeff van Helvoort and Mitch Clark from Hamilton's Mister Rabbit joined me on the latest episode of ifitbeyourwill podcast. Such a fun and honest conversation about making music for the love of it! Mister Rabbit is an assemble of seasoned musician coming together with a common goal; to rock this world. They play a wonderful alt-rock style of music that is both familiar yet refreshing, taking t...

Imogen Moon has a voice of experience and wisdom at only 21 years of age! On episode 15 I caught up with Imogen from her Vancouver home to talk not only about her music, but her family linage with music and art that have guided her to a very exciting point in her budding career. On July 21st When They Start Rebelling drops, an homage to her late grandfather Randle who penned and released these tun...

Castle Frank aka Max Bergé joined me from his Toronto home to chat about a busy few months coming and his infectious indie pop music that grabs you and doesn't let go. Max is one cool cat… creating beautifully synth-infused indie pop all built around his trusty Moog Sub 37 and Tempest Drum Machine. His first full length record, In Your Blood is set to drop June 23rd accompanied by a blowout s...

From one island to  another Clyde Petersen of Your Heart Breaks joined me for the perfect conversation.  He is a talented musician, photographer, videographer, and artist that has been crafting works of art for well over 20 years. Multiple records, cardboard installations, music documentaries, art works have graced Clydes timeline over a career in the DYI movement.  Checkout his new documentary co...