Performance Anxiety

This week’s guest is Buck Curran. For a decade he played as part of the psych-folk duo Arborea. He struck out on his own and has released a new solo album, No Love Is Sorrow. Currently, Buck and his family are living in Bergamo Italy, which is the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus in Europe. So Buck tells me a lot about the new album and what’s behind many of the songs on the album. But, as a tourin...

This week I speak with Allen Epley. At this point, I’d normally tell you what band he plays with. But there’s so damn many! Shiner, The Life and Times, Broasis, Birdhands, The Blue Man Group. And that’s just what he’s working on NOW. He also hosts a great podcast called Third Gear Scratch that talks with working artists about how they balance their creative lives with everyday life. Keep an eye on...

This week I’m joined by Matt Wilson of Matt Wilson & His Orchestra. He tells me all about meeting up with His Orchestra, how he writes for the harp, & why there are no drums. But we also go deeper. Matt tells me about the time he & his brother Dan (of Semisonic) found a record that his dad made, which surprised everyone; following his brother, to Harvard & being in Conan O’Brien’s class; and formi...

This episode means a lot to me, for two reasons. #1, it’s the 100th episode. When I started doing this podcast, I wasn’t sure I could get to 10 shows. #2, my guest is Mark Lanegan. His voice is instantly recognizable. In addition to his solo work, he’s sung for Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, The Gutter Twins, The Twilight Singers, and countless other projects. His story is unique. And I...

When I started thinking about this Side Projects series over a year ago, one of my first ideas was to talk with musicians about how the band Rush’s sound has changed over the years. When Neil Peart passed away, it seemed like an appropriate way to pay homage to him and the band. I’m joined by Amir Epstein of Zygote & Crash Karma, Josh Trager of the Sam Roberts Band, & Spooky Ruben. After  a bunch...

This week we talk with Chris Kang and Ray Knipe of Huntsmen. Their music is like if Crosby, Stills, & Nash made a doom metal album. They tell me how they started, their unique songwriting viewpoint, and how mental health issues play an important role in the band. They’ve done some unusual collaborations with Brimming Horn Meadery and Metal Monkey Brewery. Check out their recent release, Mandala of...

Welcome to another edition of Performance Anxiety’s Side Projects. This is an episode I’ve talked about doing for a long time; cover songs! Aaron Lazar of The Giraffes and Jason Thomson of Vast Robot Armies join me to share some of our favorite cover songs and discuss which ones MAY even be better than the originals. We also go off on some interesting tangents. Listen to see if you agree with our...

This week we have a different kind of show. We’re joined by Jon Talkington and Robert Walker, Jr. of Brimming Horn Meadery. The tell me the secrets of mead; the world’s oldest fermented beverage. Who knew there were so many different types of mead? The meadery is located in Milton, DE and features a mead hall complete with a hand carved Viking ship bar. They get a little crazy with their Mead & Me...

This week’s guest comes all the way from Austria. Matt Boroff is dropping a new album. It’s a bit of a departure from his guitar based albums of the past. But that’s just part of this episode. He tells us why he moved from New Jersey to Austria (although the bigger question is why wouldn’t you?). His explains his visual approach to music, how he connected with Mark Lanegan, and why he had a raw on...

This episode welcomes Ken Stringfellow of The Posies to the show. We start with an in depth chat about the history of The Posies. Then there’s Ken’s adoption; the unreleased movie, Ken; his tour to support his solo album that was released on 9-11-2001; and new Posies music. There’s so much in this show that I can’t even touch on it all in this intro. Follow Ken & The Posies on social media. They’r...

This episode of Side Projects welcomes back Chef Celina Tio. After her first appearance on the show, we got to talking. Her restaurant, The Belfry in Kansas City, has over 200 different bourbons. So I tossed her the idea of pairing music to bourbon. If I was going to sit back and listen to, oh I don’t know, Vast Robot Armies let’s say, what bourbon would I want to sip with that style of music? So...

Fynn Grabke, one half of The Picturebooks, joins us on this episode of Performance Anxiety.  They’re a badass rock band with the badass stories to go with it. Fynn toured with his dad as a kid as he opened for Bon Jovi. This was before his dad was the victim of a hit & run in the California high desert (he survived).He also discusses how his panic attacks have influenced his songwriting and how bo...

Today we speak with the enigma, Ian Ottaway (note I said ENIGMA, not Enema, Ian!). He’s done everything. He’s hung out with Jeff Buckley, he writes poetry, he’s Ask iAN on the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club website, and he’s releasing an album, including a track with Mark Lanegan. He’s possibly the most unique & original person I’ve ever had on the show, he makes me want to have a deeper voice. And I...

This week’s guest is Chris Maxwell. He’s lived more musical lives than most. Starting off on a guitar with no strings, he moved on to the pop band The Gunbunnies. Then moved to NYC and got a job booking acts for the famous club, The Knitting Factory. From there he joined the alternative scene with the band Skeleton Key. After one, critically acclaimed album, he moved on to the world of TV music, r...

This week we welcome Jack of all trades, Wharton Tiers. He’s done it all in the studio: recorded, produced, arranged, and engineered his own music as well as music from Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Quicksand, and hundreds of other bands. He’s recorded as the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, Superduperlooper, Aurora. 23, and with No-Wave legends Theoretical Girls and A Band. He gives us a glimpse of New York i...

Have you ever heard a band that just seems to connect with you and you can’t pinpoint the reason? You just hear them and say, “YES!”? One of those bands, for me, is Medicine Boy. They hail from Capetown, South Africa originally, although they now live in Berlin. Andre Leo joins me and talks about the sounds and the feelings of Medicine Boy. The music isn’t technically complex. It’s emotive. It’s a...

This week we’re joined by Kirk Witt, Keegan Ferrari, & Matt Vallarino of Four Stroke Baron. I’m really excited about these guys because they sound like two of my favorite bands combined, but you’ll have to listen to find out who. They tell me how they discovered their unique sound and what happened when they contacted Jørgen Munkeby of Shining about a sax solo. How did Keegan almost get left behin...

This week we feature the group Hackedepicciotto. If that sounds familiar, it could be for a few reasons. Danielle dePicciotto was a guest on an earlier show. Or maybe you recognize Alexander Hacke, from Einstruzende Neubauten (I apologize to Alexander & Danielle for STILL not pronouncing that very well). We cover a lot of ground in this show, just like Alex & Danielle do in their daily lives; they...

This week we speak with Emily Jane White. We go back to her dad’s days in the Merchant Marines and the time she got to travel with him, moving to France for her music, and playing some surf-punk. Emily talks about the underlying (and often unconscious) themes that develop during songwriting and how literature is as much of an influence as music. If you like your music dark & mysterious, this show...

This week’s show features actor, model, long distance runner, & business owner Obi Nwankwo. He broke records in track at Boston College, moved to LA and began acting & modeling. Obi not only discusses how he got into the business, but he also discusses weird auditions, like the time he had to quack like a duck for a part. He gives us info on some new projects he’s involved in, how to dress like hi...

This episode of Side Projects is my Introduction to the band Swans. Founder Michael Gira was recently a guest and I did my first deep dive into the band for that show. But with the amount of material in their catalog, there was no way to absorb everything in enough time for that interview. It was a bit intimidating. That’s why I asked Steve Tulipana from Season To Risk to join me. He’s been a fan...

Welcome Avaah Blackwell to the show. She's an actress, stuntwoman, model, occassional bassist, and former nerdperson. She talks about her experiences with the Rotary Club, Prague Film School, questionable auditions in the Czech Republic, & working her neck muscles in Start Trek: Discovery. She tells us how she got into stunt work and what upcoming projects she's working on. Give her a follow on so...

This week I speak with a legend. He would probably disagree with me, though. Michael Gira of Swans freezes his butt off to join me this week. And we discuss a lot of stuff. He’s not one for looking back, but he did open up about running away and being sent to an Israeli prison as a teen, finding his way to New York to be a part of the No-Wave scene, and a Swans guitarist who’s been missing since t...

This week we spend time with Miki Berenyi of Piroshka. You might also recognize her from her first band, Lush. Her path into music is a lot different from most. She talks about working with Robin Guthrie, touring with Lollapalooza in the early 90’s, & how she left music behind completely after Lush’s drummer took his own life. After a 20 year absence, Lush reunited and it lit a spark within her th...

Thank you for listening to this special edition of Performance Anxiety. I'm joined by Michal Towber to discuss 8 year old Jordan Rhodes. He is in desperate need of a kidney. His kidneys failed when he was born and has been on dialysis his whole life. Please listen to his story and help out however you can. Check out his Facebook page, Jordan's wait for a kidney begins again. His GoFundMe page can...