What It Takes To Be A Rockstar

This week I got updates from all the season one guests! We hear from 95 Bulls, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Thelma and the Sleaze, Death Tooth, SKORTS, BALACLAVA and Show Brain. After one year+ since they've been on the show, I wanted to hear how everything was going. They did not disappoint. Enjoy! You can watch this full episode and others on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatItTakesToBeARocks...

This week I'm chatting about Live Nation & Ticketmaster being found to operate as illegal monopolies. This has been going on for a really long time and virtually zero venues or musicians should be surprised. This already resulted in a $280 million dollar settlement and after recording another $9.9 million settlement in DC.  Some of my sources:  Reuters DC - $9.9 million dollar settlement...

This week I am chatting with Kate "Babyshakes" Dillon of Full Flower Moon band. Full Flower Moon Band is an incredible rock band from Australia who started getting national attention in 2022 with their album "Diesel Forever." Recently they opened for the Foo Fighters, have done a couple Europe tours and have gone viral multiple times on the internet. We chat about all this and...

Welcome to the bonus "What It Takes..." series! For this bonus episode I will be sharing the nitty gritty breakdown of what it's going to cost me in total to release 100 12" vinyl records for an album I've been working on for my band Francie Moon. I started working on this record in 2023 and am nearing the finish line, so I figured it would be a good time to share all the...

This week I'm super excited to be chatting with Dan Barrechia of the band Shred Flintstone. Dan and I have been sharing bills with our bands since 2016 and our biggest common thread is that we are both NJ based bands who commute to NYC to play. We talked about that and how he books his own DIY tours, finds rad small scenes across the country and how got to play Treefort Fest a few times. We a...

Hello everyone! This is a bonus episode to share about where the heck I've been and what I've been up to. I also share about an incredible scene that has been born in Colorado and talk a little bit about music news.  I also forgot to mention Gustaf toured with LCD Soundsystem in April and played the Rock and Roll hall of fame in August!! Busy busy year :). Longmont Punk Scene " What...

Welcome to Season 3! This week I am chatting with Eugene Robinson of BUÑUEL (previously of OXBOW and Whipping Boy) about his life of touring and creating music since the 1980s. He's toured with Minor Threat and opened for countless bands such as The Melvins, Mr. Bungle, Lydia Lunch, A Perfect Circle, The Jesus Lizard and way more. In this conversation we talk about the creative ways he gets p...

This week I am ranting in my van parked on a side street in NYC about the state of the music industry. I bring in recent news about Kate Nash starting an OF to finance her tours, and Caroline Rose leaking their own album on Bandcamp. I talk about the realities of the music industry currently and why many bands are choosing to go back to DIY, even if it looks like they got it all. This is the final...

This week I'm chatting with Randy Ojeda, a music attorney and a long time music manager. Randy has also done A&R for Symphonic Distribution and has hosted his own podcast, Cigar City Radio, among a ton of other things within the music industry. We chat about how he ended up becoming a music attorney and manager. He also gives some valuable insights and nuggets of wisdom including how band...

This week I'm chatting with Jenna Balfe and Dennis Fuller of Donzii, a "time-bending, post-punk vision: a unity of go-hard industrial bangers, darkly ambient balladry, [with] new takes on the funk traditions of No Wave" band. This band is super fun and they keep it weird in such a good way!  We chat about how they met on an island and started the band, how they feel about social med...

This week I'm chatting with my bandmates Tarra Theissen and Vram Kherlopian of Tea Eater, Gustaf, MamajoeVramajoe, Francie Moon and more!! We chat about how much it costs to tour Europe/the UK, how they have been building a cult following and how much they love the color purple. These two have traveled the world playing music in "projects of varying degrees of investments and returns&quo...

This week I am chatting with Ryan Smith of the band Crusasis. This episode hits super close to home cause Ry is my boyfriend and bandmate, but he has a really interesting perspective with music because he has played many different instruments in many different genres in many different ways. He's done:  Jazz/Wedding/R&B gigs on sax Busking in NYC Hired gun gigs on drums Singing/screaming/d...

This week I am chatting with Charles Ellsworth, an incredible songwriter, podcaster and filmmaker originally from Arizona who has toured most of his adult life. Chuck tells me stories about living in his van while being flat broke to years later getting a full time job working with LCD Soundsystem. We chat about how he learned guitar in the back of a furniture store, his movie-worthy travel storie...

This week I am chatting with Katy Black (guitar/vox) and Casey Hanson (bass) of Spoon Benders, a heavy fuzzy psychy garage psych band from Portland, Oregon. We chat about how they got into music, how they got their van stolen multiple times, their upcoming plans to tour Europe and how they feel about big vs. small venues. We also chat about if they have other jobs, their life on the road and how t...

This week I talk with Lowell Hobbs of Tongues of Fire about DIY touring, recording in a garage-turned-studio, opening for Modest Mouse and turning down a well paying wedding gig to be able to tour. We also talk about how he tries to get creative and have fun with marketing, how he once sent 100+ emails and didn't hear back from anyone, and how he keeps staying persistent. He also gives some t...

This week I chat with Haley Dahl of Sloppy Jane about how she got into music via acting and how she was able to bring up to 14 people around on tour. We also talk about how she made a record in a cave, how she turns goals into smaller bite sized steps and how she affords it all.  Check out Sloppy Jane here: https://www.sloppyjane.land/ Support Haley's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/hal...

This week I chat with Tall Juan about his backstory of how he got into music, his move to the US from Argentina, how he got into recording and having a studio, and why he chooses to not really tour these days. We also chatted about how he managed to get a booker and to get 20+ people to play on his recent album, Racoon Nights.  Check out more on Tall Juan here: https://talljuan.com/ Watch other fu...

Hi! This week is a little different - I am doing a short recap of what we covered so far and giving a quick update about the next season for this podcast. Today I chat a little bit about my own thoughts as a working musician, while fresh on back to back tours in Europe and the USA. This podcast was inspired by a quote made by Caroline Rose which I do read to you all. Thanks for tuning in to Season...

This week I am chatting with Ozzie Silva of Show Brain. Show Brain is a DIY non-profit organization in NYC that books free shows in different parks around the city. Ozzie has tirelessly put on incredible and consistently fun shows for the last couple years with epic lineups and has done a lot for the NYC music scene. He also is a drummer who fills in for lots and lots of bands on a regular basis,...

This week I chat with Dylan Joyce of BALACLAVA, a "NYC trash rock" band. We chat about DIY recording, how he booked his own tours, coming back to music after taking a break and tour finances. They are currently on tour now in the US on the east coast so check them out if you can!  BALACLAVA Tour Dates:  NYC TRASH ROCK  10/20 BALTIMORE 10/22 RICHMOND 10/23 ASHEVILLE  10/24 MURFREESBORO 10...

This week I chat with Emma Welch, the bass player of the Brooklyn based bands SKORTS and Aggie Miller. I wanted to chat with Emma because she spent time playing huge shows in the band Sir Chloe while helping build SKORTS from the ground up. She has a unique perspective to offer from seeing and experiencing these two different sides of the music industry simultaneously.  You can watch this whole ep...

This week is Part 2 with Zach Ellis from Dead Tooth. During this conversation we talk about finances, keeping relationships going through tour, staying healthy and the sacrifices he has made to do music.  You can watch this episode on Youtube on our channel - https://youtu.be/ibPX5Twjpfo Check out Dead Tooth here: https://deadtoothbk.bandcamp.com/ Check out the European Tea Eater tour dates here (...

This week I'm talking with Zach Ellis from the Brooklyn based band Dead Tooth. We talk about the history of Zach's musical journey where he chats about how he started playing music, his move to NYC, booking tours on Myspace and showing up to gigs not knowing they've been cancelled. We also chat a bit about the modern day attention span and how he navigates that as a musician. Then h...

This week I'm talking again with LG from Thelma and the Sleaze. This time we talk about finances, breaking even on tour, being a woman in the music industry, vibrating drum stools and who she thinks the new Prince is. We also have a pretty hefty drum talk so strap in folks!!  Check out LG's band here - https://thelmaandthesleaze.com/ And LG's podcast here - https://www.queenofshitmo...

This week I am chatting with LG from Thelma and the Sleaze about crusty crash spots, having street smarts when it comes to picking out and protecting your van, why she dove into music and if she's going to keep playing forever. We also cover a lot more including finances and setting boundaries and this is only PART 1! Part 2 is coming out next Tuesday. Enjoy!  You can also watch this episode...