The Song Inside

I’m at summer camp with my girls, writing songs and playing for musicals! This means that there won’t be any new interviews for a few weeks. However, I’ll be bringing you updates from camp, and segments from earlier episodes. Enjoy, and I’ll be back with new songs soon!

I put out a call for songwriters for the pod, and Adam Fitch was the first to respond! I'm very grateful, because I loved getting to know him and his music. Our conversation goes from the art of falling apart, to creating a safe container of a song, to leaving love notes to God, to connecting to your inner child.  Learn about Adam HERE Songs: Love Note to God In the Breadth of the Moonlight W...

Richard Julian: bar/live music venue owner, renowned songwriter, tour aficionado. In this episode, RIchard takes us on a heady journey through his songwriting process, which involves him recording and listening to one song a whopping 100 times (!) while writing it. (Don’t worry, we only listen to four or five versions!) We also give some thoughts on Delaware, the mastery of Norah Jones, the romant...

It’s summer! But we’re taking a trip back to the chill of February, which is when composer Russ Kaplan moved from sunny Florida to icy Minnesota. We talk about minimalist metric modulation and manatees (say that three times fast), the organic creation of Broadway’s first (and last??) a capella musical, the tenacity to keep going, and following the crazy.  Learn more about Russ HERE   Son...

Russ Johnson. One of my oldest and dearest friends. Also an incredible trumpet player, composer, and educator. Join us as we take a walk with our younger selves to reflect upon our careers, New York and Chicago, writing with deadlines, and the two (no, THREE!) rules for success. Learn more about Russ HERE Songs: Transition Johnson Fjord Sun is Down Sun is Us Duo Why yes, I would LOVE a coffee ! It...

It's Jazz in June here at The Song Inside, starting with the lovely pianist Aimee Nolte. We'll share some New York stories before talking about finding the right bandmates, her successful YouTube channel, and who our favorite jazz pianists are.  Learn more about Aimee HERE Songs:  The Loveliest Girl Looking for the Answers To become a part of The Song Inside community, join the Facebook...

Indian singer-songwriter (and now Grammy winner!) Falu Shah has been an inspiration to me since we first started working on the Lullaby Project together years ago. Here we talk about how winning a Grammy is a group effort, how the downbeat unites us, how all life's occasions are important to celebrate, and how everything is music! Learn more about Falu HERE Songs: Ghumar Nishad's Lullaby Tararum P...

Franck Amsallem is a French jazz pianist and jolly good fellow. Join us as we talk about the meaning of names, 80s East Coast living, leaving something to be desired, and how music changes our DNA.  Learn more about Frank HERE Songs:  Gotham Goodbye Last Night When We Were Young To become a part of The Song Inside community, join the Facebook Group ! Why yes, I would LOVE a coffee ! It l...

We did it! 50 awesome songwriter interviews, a year of songwriting tips, and music which brought us from darkness to light.  In this anniversary episode, I'll be checking in with my brother and OG guest, Blake Lewis . (Do we have beefs with the music industry? Listen and find out!) We'll also hear from other past guests, and I'll play some of my own favorite tunes for you. I'm so proud to hel...

Continue celebrating Mother's Day with me and Suzi Shelton! We take you on a journey all the way from the weirdest place we've done gigs, to Coney Island, to a song about co-parenting (video and new recording just premiered! see below), to the most important thing of all-doing what makes us HAPPY! Learn more about Suzi HERE Songs: Mermaids On Parade (collab with children's book author Melanie Hope...

Not only is Graham Brice a cool neighborhood dad; he's also a killer songwriter with a sense for surprising chords. We have a lively chat about Song Club, learning from The Beatles, melodies arriving at inconvenient times, and how lucky we feel not to have been child stars. Learn more about Graham HERE Songs:  Ask Me To (Live) I'm Alright With That Buy me a mocha or leave me a note! www.buyme...

To close out INTERNATIONAL TROMBONE MONTH!, this week I'm joined by composer/trombonist Ryan Keberle. We have fun talking about trombone as a folk instrument, music as connection, rule implementation as freedom, and finding your own voice. Also, the composition that ends the podcast is one of my favorite songs, ever. Learn more about Ryan HERE Songs: I Am a Stranger   Become the Water Buy me...

I met Curtis Fowlkes my first day in New York. That's what we call Lucky! You, too, are now Lucky! Meet this true gentleman, soulful singer, and fantastic trombonist as we discuss goofing off at the circus, the origin of The Jazz Passengers, the foibles of working with Jeff Buckley and Lou Reed, and embracing the mess. As a bonus, OG Big Apple Circus bassist and friend of us both, Gene Torres, hap...

We continue our Trombone Month celebration with the hardest working trombonist in show business, Brian Drye! Come and listen to us geek out about the trombone, discuss the choreography of recording, marvel at the glue of ostinato, and learn about giving it your all on Broadway every night. Learn more about Brian HERE Songs: Hawaii Open Water Buy me a mocha or leave me a note! www.buymeacoffee.com/...

People! It is time to celebrate THE TROMBONE! All! Month! Long! Starting with Alan Ferber, co-director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and all-around talent. Join us as we talk about community through music, the beauty of a nonet, the importance of economy, and harmony as cake. (Great, now I'm hungry).   Learn more about Alan HERE Songs: The River North Rampart Buy me a mocha or leave...

Leah Paul is a sweet potato who runs a music business for kids called Sweet Potato Music! She also lives in LA, is a mom, plays the flute, and writes the coolest chamber pop tunes you've ever heard. We talk about pivoting after motherhood, treating vocals like flutes, finding home, and not waiting for happiness.  Songs: Warm Streets Thin Skinned We Will Do The Worrying Buy me a mocha or leave...

Brazilian composer, singer, lyricist and percussionist Luciana Souza is a light in the darkness. In this conversation, we revisit our younger selves, call our friend (and Sunnyside producer) Francois live with a birthday message, reminisce about Cornelia Street Cafe, and explore the freedom of harmony and the gestures of melody.   Learn more about Luciana HERE Songs: Sonnet Sleeping Ground Th...

Singer-songwriter Lucy Wainwright Roche comes from a musical family. She also has a very amenable dog, and a voice like a damn angel. Join us as we talk about going to Wikipedia for song ideas, the dark tundra of not writing, how a song can be anything, and how life on the road is definitely funnier with a companion! Learn more about Lucy HERE Songs: Ohio is for Lovers Canterbury Song A Quiet Line...

Happy International Women's Month from The Song Inside! To kick things off, Spanish songstress Lara Bello (a fellow Carnegie Hall Lullaby Artist), joins me to explore the feelings inside the melody, the importance of introducing new cultures and languages to audiences, how to open our arms to new fruit, and just what the heck the meaning of Sikame is.  Learn more about Lara HERE Songs: Sola S...

Django Haskins calls in from his North Carolina cabin to talk about the discipline of Monday Night Song Group, musical and narrative dissonance, why proficiency shouldn't get in the way of being authentic, and the importance of lifting others up.  Learn more about Django HERE Songs state road valentine Cutting Onions Til My Voice is Gone Buy me a mocha or leave me a note! www.buymeacoffee.com...

Pianist/Composer Brittany Anjou recently completed a Masters in Music Psychology and has done research on the mental health of musicians living in NYC.  Join us for an intellectually stimulating conversation! Brittany tells me about hosting avant-garde jams in Kuwait before we move on to discuss jazz as a democratic art form, embracing opportunities to fail, and the eternal conflict between t...

What do Tribe Called Quest and the Love Boat have in common? What did Stravinsky say to do daily, as if brushing one's teeth? Find out in this interview with master composer and saxophonist Ohad Talmor! We talk about his lifelong relationship with Lee Konitz, the importance of buying the scores, the purpose of etudes, and the responsibility of artists. Songs Flight to Missoula Etude #2 Please rate...

If you were in a Manhattan hotel 25 years ago, or a German castle recently, you may have heard Robin Meloy Goldsby tinkling the ivories, and not even known it. Her latest book, Piano Girl Playbook: Notes on a Musical Life, captures what it's like to play for all kinds of people in all kinds of places, and still find music at the heart of things. We talk about her storied life (played at Buckingham...

Is Rich Bennett a producer, guitarist, composer, and music studio/school owner? Yes. Is he also Roman Angelos? YES. He makes music for underwater supermarkets, is a coffee and seltzer enthusiast, and enjoys the shifting of phrases and the art of the long fade. Learn more about Rich HERE Songs: Shocked in Sciacca Wild Ride Night Part 1 Swimming Through the Aisles Buy me a mocha or leave me a note!...

Eric Biondo (aka Beyondo), is a behatted trumpet player, songwriter, and vocalist. Yes, we made up the word "behatted". We talk about song boats drifting by open channels, the many feelings about jazz, writing with whatever you've got in the moment, and whether or not Eric has a ghost living in his apartment. (My money is on YES). L earn more about Eric HERE Songs: Life on Repeat I've Learned to D...