Performance Anxiety

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...

This week we feature singer/songwriter/badass guitarist, Ali Handal. We spend some time talking about her music, but there’s so many other great stories in this episode. There’s the time she offended a tiger. Then there’s the time she swapped shirts with Slash. Oh, and once she danced with Janet Jackson. Then there was the time she was diagnosed with cancer. Yeah, for most people that’d be a big d...

We talk to Rebecca Turner this week. She’s bounced around the country, met some great people, and turned those experiences into a new album with an old soul. She’s pretty open about her performance anxiety and some of the difficulties of being an indie artist. Follow her on social media. Follow us @performanceanx on Twitter & IG. Subscribe, rate, review, & spread the word. And here is Rebecca Turn...

This episode I was fortunate enough to be handed this idea from Jason Thomson of Vast Robot Armies. I’m joined by Jason, Jordon Zadorozny of Blinker the Star, Allen Epley of The Life and Times, & Kellii Scott from Failure. We have a roundtable discussion on the best and worst drummers in 80’s hard rock & metal. You may notice a few technical issues during this episode. I did. But the discussion wa...

This week we spice things up by exploring the culinary world. We welcome James Beard award winning chef, Celina Tio. She finally explains how a chef wins the award. And after winning the James Beard award and opening her own restaurant, she was tapped to be on Food Network’s Top Chef Masters. If you think balancing your home and work life is tough, try doing it when your restaurant has only been o...

Fans of Devin Townsend will recognize this week’s guest. I welcome lighting director, video maker, & multi-instrumentalist, Mike St-Jean to the show. He tells me about studying music & philosophy, how he began working with Devin (it involves a big wood stove), how to be a touring band member & lighting director in the same show, and how he met up with the legendary John Carpenter. Mike talks about...

This episode features Ev Gold of the legendary band Cinema Cinema, not the slightly lesser known band, Circus Circus. Ev’s band consists of him and his cousin Paul Claro. There’s a 10 year age difference between them. But it melts as soon as they start playing. There are great stories of driving 12 hours for one gig, short circuiting a German bar, and believe it or not, Hurricane Sandy. It’s a hig...

This week we’re doing a special reunion edition of Performance Anxiety. We are thrilled to have legendary producer, engineer, studio owner Don Zientara join us. He has recorded many of the albums that define the sound of early punk. His clientele has ranged from Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Fugazi, to Henry Rollins, Shudder To Think, and Dave Grohl. He tells the story of how he began recording bands...

In this episode we talk with Annette Zilinskas. She’s played bass for The Bangles, sang for Ringling Sisters & Blood On The Saddle, She’s acted and performed spoken word and was the original singer for Medicine. Now Annette has reunited with Brad Laner for a new Medicine album of cover songs. Pick that up on Bandcamp or wherever you download music. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on Twitter & IG. Subscr...

This week we're doing a two-part series on the band Medicine. This episode we welcome Brad Laner. Medicine is one of the most influential bands of the 1990’s. But Brad was a veteran musician before founding Medicine. He’d worked with luminaries like Savage Republic & The Captain & Tennille. We get great stories about his music, touring, gear, and the new Medicine album of covers, Scarred For Life....

This week’s show features an artist who passed away almost 30 years ago. I’m so happy to welcome Scot Barbour on to the show to discuss the life of Andrew Wood. Scot released a biography of Andy a few years ago. I’ve been wanting to speak with him for years and this show is my excuse to do that. We talk about Andy’s days with Malfunkshun, through MLB. Scot is getting close to releasing even more w...

In this episode of Side Projects, we welcome back Kira Roessler. In addition to playing in Black Flag and Dos, she has forged a new career in movie editing and automatic Dialog Replacement. Here we take on the issue of movie sequels and remakes. We discuss our favorites, but even better, the ones that aren’t so good. Check out Kira’s contributions to the movie Joker, in theaters now. Follow her to...

This episode we are joined by Jason Thomson, Joe Wells, & John Agee of VRA.  They tell us about the origin of the name, how the guys met, revisiting old sitcoms, dank ass nachos, mothman sightings, recording their latest album with Jordon of BTS & Kellii. I throw in a story or two as well. Follow them on social media @vastrobotarmies. Pick up their albums on bandcamp. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on...

This week we feature drummer Gigi Gonaway. Besides having the best laugh in the business, he’s had one amazing career. He’s played with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Kenny G, Mariah Carey, and so many others. There are so many great studio stories and even a surprise tour with Bruce Springsteen.  Give him a follow @gigigonaway Follow us @PerformanceAnx on Twitter & IG. Merch is found at perfor...

This week we feature Chicago based singer-songwriter, HEAZZA. She’s Influenced by electro-pop, down-tempo and neo-soul genres. And she tells me what exactly that all means. And after having 9-5 jobs, one event flipped the switch in her to pursue her art. She even went so far as to apply for & be awarded a grant from the city of Chicago to create her debut EP, which is out now. Pick it up on all pl...

This week we feature the bluesy, rockabilly sounds of Rod Hamdallah. He began singing and playing guitar in clubs at age 16. He played his way into a spot with one of his favorite bands, J.D. Wilkes and the Legendary Shack Shakers. He wrote and recorded a swampy, bluesy EP called Think About It that has just been rereleased. We also talk about DJ-ing, playing obscure cover songs, & fusing his blue...

This week’s show features singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Janet LaBelle. If you ever wanted to know about mysterious lyrics, Flying V’s, getting a record deal in your teens, or playing guitar on roller skates, this episode is FOR YOU! Pick up her EP, I Only See You wherever you buy music. Or get it from her website https://www.janetlabelle.com/ Follow her on social media. Follow us @Perfor...

For this week's show we go way down south to bayou country with Louis Michot. He’s cousins with previous guests The Rayo Brothers.  He joins us on location from a local bar. Louis goes deep into Cajun and Creole history. What makes the music so unique? He’s grown up in it, starting in his father’s band, Les Freres Michot and progressing through to Lost Bayou Ramblers & Poguetry In Motion with orig...

This week we feature Ian Everett of the band Solid Bronze. Their debut album, The Fruit Basket, is an incredible throwback to 70’s funk, so much so that I even used my funk voice in the intro! Who is the funk all-star who made a guest appearance? There’s also some incredible horn work from Morphine sax man, Dana Colley. This Steely Dan-esque album took over a year to make. And in that time, Ian cr...