The Backstage Lounge

The Backstage Lounge sits down with the musicians, educators, creators, and artists making things happen in Southwest Michigan and beyond. Not just musicians. Anyone who creates, performs, or builds something and means it. Hosted by Andrew Fisher. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewfishermusic.substack.com

Andrew continues his conversation with dancer and choreographer Lari Lawrence-Gist. They discuss their current project, The Citadel Holiday Spectacular, and how Andrew will be portraying Santa Claus. Speaking to aspects of having a person of color playing a popular character. They go through Lari's process of dance and how she puts together other dancing projects like The Steamed Nutcracker....

Host, Andrew sits down with dancer and choreographer Lari Lawrence-Gist. Lari is the Director of Dance at The Citadel Dance and Music Center and has been involved in a vast array of events and productions throughout Southwestern Michigan. Having collaborated with her on multiple occasions Andrew had to have her on the podcast. Discussing Lari's journey through dance from starting at a young a...

Andrew continues his conversation with Sound Engineer Paul Klimson. They talk about their hope for an artistic Renaissance. Also, discuss Paul's time on Late Night TV working with The Roots. They bring up the importance of arts education and also how the youth are shaping the landscape now and in the future. Head to the blogpost for further details and explained references for this episode. F...

Andrew has a chat with Sound Engineer Paul Klimson. Having been in the music industry for decades, Paul has been on tour with Justin Timberlake and John Legend. Also was the monitoring engineer for Jimmy Fallon's Late Night and Tonight Show and worked closely with The Roots. Now recently having open a non-profit organization called The Roadie Clinic that focuses on Roadies and their families...

Andrew continues the conversation with Singer/Songwriter Dena Woods. They discuss the aftermath of the The Pool. Also bring up the difficult but needed conversation about her perspective of being a woman in the music scene and how it not only effects her but others. They discuss Dena's original music, diving into her song, " I Need you ". Of course she is asked to offer her advice t...

Singer/Songwriter, Dena Woods, is based out of South Bend, Indiana. She performs as a solo artists and also heads her own group, " The Dena Woods Project ". She also in involved in healing outside of the music world being a massage therapist and yoga instructor with her venture, Healing Lab Yoga . Andrew finds out as soon as they start talking how a like they are. Leaving no stone unturn...

Continuing with Sound Engineer Krystal Davis. I ask her to share her perspective on what it's like to be a female engineer in a predominant male field. We discuss how Covid has changes the landscape in the world of music and how we have adapted to the changes. We talk about her band, Our Name is Taken, they've been working on their first album. And as always I ask her the "Final Que...

Krystal Davis is a Sound Engineer at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is also the Lead Vocalist and songwriter for the band, " Our Name is Taken ". In this episode we talk about her journey to becoming a sound engineer and also how being a musician has influenced her work behind the mixing board. We reminisce about when we were in college together, being band geeks, and even w...

Andrew and Nicolina continue their conversation around the craft of photography. They go into Journalism photography and how things like social media and Photoshop have changed photography in a modern age. They discuss photographers that have influenced Nicolina's work and another one of her projects called The Glass Ceiling. This leads them to bring up the treatment of women in the photograp...

Andrew is joined by photographer Nicolina Holt. She is an award-winning fine arts photographer educator. Having a tenure of over ten years as a photographer instructor, she also has her own photographer business - Nicolinaholt.com - and volunteers at local art centers in her area. During the episode, they discuss her journey as a photographer past and present and dive into aspects like Black and W...

Andrew and Isabella are back at it again! Since Andrew hasn't seen Hamilton, he asks Isabella for the "Unfiltered Pitch" which leads to a deep dive into the musical itself. Also reflecting on how it's an inspiration to subvert expectations by how they create art and instruct their students and diving even deeper in to her process for choreographing dance numbers. Andrew also ca...

Andrew talks with dancer, choreographer, and instructor Isabella Schmidt. They discuss Isabella's experiences as a dancer from her earlier years in competitions to now being a dance instructor. They go in deep into their feelings when it comes to how they express emotionally and how they pass that to our students, to even their own moments dealing with the harsh realities and criticisms of ou...

Andrew and Michael continue their conversation. Discussing Michael's journey through dance and being one of the only black dancer in the company and then being able to perform "Black" stories. They discuss Michael's Ted Talk in which he and other dancers address the idea of being, "too old to dance". Andrew even asks Michael what he thinks of Ted Talk Dancers. Also An...

Andrew sits down with dancer Michael Blake. Michael is currently the Assistant Professor of Modern Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. His professional dancing career spans over three decades to when he first joined the Murray Louis Dance Company to dancing with greats like Cab Calloway, Broadway tours, and film. They discuss all that and more. Also they bring up We even...

Andrew and Joshua continue their conversation on photography. Joshua flips the scrip and asks Andrew about his music career and also speaks on the times that he took photos of Andrew during his concerts and performances. They discuss how Joshua composes a photo and more of his methods. As well as discuss how amateur photos on social media platforms, like Instagram, influenced professional photogra...

Host Andrew Fisher sits down with photographer Joshua Nowicki as they talk about the art behind the camera lens. They bring up Josh's exploits as he ventures out on Lake Michigan during the winter months to photograph Winter Surfers and as he paddleboards amongst the ice. Also the different techniques of taking nature photography, such as capturing closeups of snowflakes and snapshots of ligh...

Host Andrew Fisher continues his conversation with Choral Director David Carew. In this episode, Andrew asks David to talk about his process for programming a concert and finds out just how artistic it actually is. Also, they discuss in-depth a choral piece called, "Where Go the Boats". And Andrew brings out "The Choir Director Trigger List". Head to the blogpost for further de...

For this episode, host Andrew Fisher sits down with his good friend and Choir Director David Carew. They discuss how choir directors are just as artistic as regular stage performers and how directors express their artistic vision through a choral group. Andrew goes into some heavy subjects like asking David to respond to the saying, "Those who can't do teach." and they discuss the m...

Andrew and Eric continue their conversation by diving deeper into their experiences as bandmates and musicians. Talking about their journey in playing the music of Stevie Wonder and their tribute concert to him and how those experiences changed them for the better. They discuss the transition from being performers to educators and how they approach teaching their students. Also, discuss the import...

For the very first episode host, Andrew Fisher sits down with his good friend and former bandmate Eric Oliphant. Discussing how they each started their journies in music, working together as they formed The Andrew Fisher Quartet and how they learned lessons throughout the way. They discuss the methods and emotions behind performing and playing covers like Just Between You Me and the Wall. While in...

Host, Andrew Fisher, introduces the podcast. This podcast is focused on having those conversations with all manner of artists on, off, or even behind the stage. You'll hear the stories, emotions, and the passions that make, drive, and influence all kinds of art. So grab a seat, make your favorite drink, and step through the curtain into The Backstage Lounge This is a public episode. If you wo...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit andrewfishermusic.substack.com