Start The Beat Podcast

This week I sit down with Zaneta Grant & Shane McLaughlin for a talk all about the upcoming Wilkins Block Party! A free community fundraising music and arts festival. We learn all the history of this annual party and get into detail about everything going into this years event. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! The 2018 Wilkins Block Party is going down Saturday, April 21 at 1 PM - 10 PM a...

This week I sit down with Bengt Alexsander of the bands Action Camp & St. Dude for a talk about his personal experiences as a musician & sound engineer, the PGH scene so much more. Sit back, relax and let's START THE BEAT! Explore the wide world of Action Camp & St. Dude and on their Facebooger pages. Links below: facebook.com/actioncamppgh facebook.com/stdude Explore the wide world of Sikes on my...

This week I sit down with Dusty, Ryn, Justin and Damon from Post-Punk/Peace-Punk band SILENCE for a talk about the history and message behind their band, touring the country, the PGH DIY scene and so much more. From playing paintball and making movies, to running a record store and trips to the hospital this conversation goes all over the place but it's really tight. Sit back, relax and let's STAR...

KEYBOARDS & GUITARS! HOOKERS & BLOW! JK... Maybe... ;-) This week I sit down with Michael T. Nolan of the band Venus In Furs for a talk about his long history in the Pittsburgh music scene, the importance of putting on a real "show" and all of the creative forces that have been driving him along the way. Sit back, relax and let's START THE BEAT! Explore the wide world of Venus In Furs and check ou...

All aboard the spaceship! We got some super in-depth beat production talk this week as I sit down with fellow musician, producer and synthesizer aficionado Buscrates! We discuss a wide variety of topics from the first pieces of gear we ever purchased, to our love of all things music and being a couple of old heads trying to navigate social media to get our sounds heard. Sit back, relax and let's S...

Put on your dancing shoes. It's time to shake your booty as I sit down with Lazy JP of the hip-hop duo BBGuns for a talk about the underground rap scene, some business strategies of being an independent artist in 2018 and their new album which just dropped this week. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Explore the wide world of BBGuns on Facebook. www.facebook.com/BBGUNSpgh Explore the wide...

Greetings ghouls and goblins! This week it's all screams and terror as I sit down with long time friend and independent filmmaker Todd aka Killer Wolfson of Just Buried Productions for talk about growing up, finding your focus and making ridiculous movies with your homies.  Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Explore the wide world of Just Buried Productions on Facebook. www.facebook.com/JUS...

This week it's all video games, guitar solos and marketing your brand this week as I sit down with chiptune composer extraordinaire Dan Behrens aka Danimal Cannon. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Explore the wide world of Danimal Cannon on his website. www.danimalcannon.com Explore the wide world of Sikes on my website.  www.therealsikes.com GET SOCIAL:   @therealsikes Start The Beat is...

Get in the car, loser... We're recording a podcast! This week I'm taking a trip with my friends Brian Urban & Colt Dalmaso and to kill some time we're talking about some of our more memorable "first times". Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Explore the wide world of Sikes on my website.  www.therealsikes.com GET SOCIAL:   @therealsikes Start The Beat is part of the Epicast family. Learn al...

This week I sit down with musician, teacher, DIY touring guru and fellow podcaster Joey Molinaro for a talk about creating art with no boundries and doing whatever it takes to share it with the world. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Explore the world of Joey Molinaro on his website.  www.joeymolinaro.com Explore the world of Sikes on my website.  www.therealsikes.com GET SOCIAL: @thereal...

This week it's just me and you as I babble nonsense and play you some clips from My Top 10 Albums of 2017! I also dig into some of the albums that didn't make the cut and slowly lose my mind as I talk to my computer screen. Sit back, relax and let's START THE BEAT! 10: Igorrr - Savage Sinusoid 09: Brutus - Burst 08: Scattle - Sketch 07: The Anix - Ephemeral 06: Septicflesh - Codex Omega 05: Hot Su...

This week I sit down with Singer/Songwriter Merilette for a discussion about her very early origins as a performer, growing as a musician and her thoughts on marketing your work in todays hectic social climate. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW  START THE BEAT  ON THE FOLLOWING SERVICES! FACEBOOK:   facebook.com/startthebeatpodcast   ITUNES:   http://apple.co/1MXMN...

I'm back in the heart of NYC this week for a HIGHLY requested follow up episode with my Uncle/Aunt Tina Benez! This time we dive deep into gender politics, taboo vocabulary and get a very unfiltered and unapologetic perspective on some of the experiences that made Tina who she is today. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW  START THE BEAT  ON THE FOLLOWING SERVICES! F...

Who's got the bounce?!?! This week I sit down with singer/songwriter, visual artist & promoter Clara Kent for an inspiring talk about the productivity of teamwork, staying focused on your goals and having fun doing what you love. We also talk about anime because well… duh. Sit back, relax and let's Start The Beat! Clara Kent will be releasing her debut album "AURA" on December 21st. More info can...

Some of my favorite conversations on this podcast are the ones where I meet somebody and have my first face to face conversation with them recorded for the whole world to hear. This week we add another one of these to the list as I sit down and get to know fellow PGH Hip-Hop artist Walkman. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat! SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW  START THE BEAT  ON THE FOLLOWING SERVICES...

Run to the hills... Run for your lives!!! This week I sit down with Lee Prisby for a talk about playing in heavy metal bands, navigating social media and diving into the deep, dark abyss that is becoming a YouTube content creator. Lee plays in the band Klaymore and is one half of the video game based YouTube channel Halberd. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat!  SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW  START...

Two things I will never turn down are good brews and great conversations so when I got the opportunity to sit down with Day Bracey at Reclamation Brewing for a live episode I took full advantage of the opportunity! We discuss his come up in the world of stand up comedy, turning your personality into a brand and so much more. Also, beer. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat!  SUBSCRIBE, RATE & R...

The landscape of music has always been a perpetually shifting environment but never before have things been changing so rapidly and unexpectedly. Thanks to the modern accessibility of being able to do almost anything you'd want, any way you want, we're in a really exciting but simultaneously confusing time to be a musician. This week I sit down with Rachel & Billy from Little Good Bad and try to n...

Take a jump in the time machine back to December 2015 when I first sat down face to face with Steve LaRussa for Episode 071 of Start The Beat. It's been almost 2 years since we recorded this conversation but if you don't know already Steve, you should get to know him because if you follow Sikes at all you're going to be seeing him around a lot more... Click play for more details. ;-)  Sit back, re...

Grab your headphones, a cup of coffee, a shovel and drag yourself to the closet graveyard because we got some work to do. Today I sit down with Nathan King for a talk about putting yourself out there and developing creative relationships outside of the "basement". Nathan is a composer, filmmaker, photographer, ghost, among other things and has just released a new album, a short film and has a port...

JOIN THE MOVEMENT!  Today I sit down with Josh Corcoran from the web series Spare Change for a talk about utilizing your resources to make a change. No pun intended! HAH! If you don't know, Spare Change is a Pittsburgh-based web series documenting their journey playing music to raise money for those in need and it is real awesome. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat!  WATCH SPARE CHANGE:   htt...

Technology is nuts and maybe kids spending their time on computers isn't always such a bad thing. Today I sit down with songwriter/producer Lili Traviato for a talk about her humble beginnings using Garage Band to record songs at the age of 8 and how her work has evolved over the past 10 years of learning, creating and finding her way on this wacky planet. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat! ...

Support Local Talent! Get involved with your community! Make new friends! This week I sit down with Lauren Stein of the blog PUNKSBURGH.COM for a talk about shining light on the local community. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat!  FOLLOW ME ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA:  @therealsikes  FOLLOW START THE BEAT ON FACEBOOK:   facebook.com/startthebeatpodcast   SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW ON ITUNES:   http:/...

It's been a little while but Amuck is back and gearing up to release a new album so we sat down to talk about getting a little older, growing a little wiser and creating art for a reason bigger than yourself. Sit back, relax and lets Start The Beat!  FOLLOW ME ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA:  @therealsikes  FOLLOW START THE BEAT ON FACEBOOK:   facebook.com/startthebeatpodcast   SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW ON IT...

This week I sit down with AJ Worrell of Preserving Silence Records to discuss running an independent music label & distro, DIY merchandising and the work ethics of underground musicians in the digital age. We also talk a bit about our shared struggles that stem from our  "collectors mentalities" and coming up in a generation when all media was physical media. Solid dude. Great talk.  Sit back, rel...