Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers

Hey there, music lovers.  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m lucky enough to spend some time with my friend Sam Marabella, a musician, songwriter, local music advocate, and co-owner of the legendary Buffalo, NY, live music venue Nietzsche’s.   A veteran of beloved...

Hey there, music lovers.  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.   I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m happy to welcome former Congressman and current President of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, Brian Higgins.  After growing up in Buffalo, and graduating from Buffalo State College and Harva...

Hey there, music lovers.  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. More than a decade back, I hopped on the bus as an embedded reporter, covering a Northeast jaunt for then up-and-coming indie band Aqueous.  I’d never met any of the band members, or their manager, Josh Holtzman, previous to that...

Hey there, music lovers.  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m psyched to welcome a cutting edge artist whose work represents a major step forward for both Buffalo hip-hop in particular, and contemporary national hip-hop in general.  Jae Skeese grew up in Buffalo, an...

Hey there, music lovers.  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m joined by three musicians whose work has intrigued me for decades, from the first time I heard them - while studying at the State University of New York at Fredonia in the late 80s - through to the present day.   Mary R...

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today’s episode is a special one for me. Way back in 2002, I watched the renowned drummer, composer and Western New York native Bobby Previte lead a hand-picked band of musicians through the tumultuous and strangely beautiful terrain of Miles Davis’ game-ch...

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, we’ve got a special edition of the podcast, featuring a roundtable discussion with three diversely talented musicians and music educators, who also happen to be movers and shakers in the Buffalo and Western New York music scene.  Damone Jackson, Eri...

Hello, music lovers!  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m pleased to welcome a young singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has been making devoted fans of original music connoisseurs in Western New York over the past few years -  including yours truly.  Michael Delano may be young...

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, my guest is Buffalo music advocate, club owner and musician Josh Mullin. As owner of both Jack Rabbit and Riff City, Josh has worked tirelessly to boost the Buffalo Music scene, by providing artist-friendly spaces that act as...

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m excited to welcome an old friend to the podcast. Dave Wedekindt has been working behind the scenes to enrich the lives of music fans throughout the Western New York region for several decades. A tireless advocate for the arts...

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m pleased to welcome my friend, the singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and bandleader David Michael Miller. Lovers of live music in Western New York know David as leader of the searing southern soul band Miller & the O...

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, we’ve got a very special guest - legendary progressive and hard rock musician, son of western New York, and virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan. We know Billy from his groundbreaking work with Talas, David Lee Roth’s band, Niacin, Mr....

Hello, music lovers!  Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.  I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today’s guests are two of my favorite musicians in all of the Western New York area, and they also happen to be two-thirds of one of my favorite bands - the postmodern, jam-based trio Organ Fairchild.  Guitarist Dave Ruch and drummer...

Today’s guest is Chris ‘Bulldog’ Parker, the voice of Buffalo Sports radio, co-host of the afternoon show on WGR 550, and our conduit to all things Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres for as long as most of us can remember. Bulldog knows sports, and his passion for our Buffalo teams knows no limits. But he’s just as passionate about music, and the role it has played in his own life, the lives of his...

Hello music lovers! Welcome to Why Music matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today’s guest is an old friend of mine, a veteran of the Western New York Music Scene, and a 2016 inductee into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame. Alison Pipitone has been writing songs, playing gigs and releasing albums since she formed he...

Hello music lovers, and welcome to another edition of Why Music Matters. I’m your host, music journalist and musician Jeff Miers. Today, my guest is the jazz musician, bandleader and educator Walter Kemp. Walter just released an astounding new album, called Black Whole Live, a fiery, dynamic live set featuring a band that includes saxophonist Brent Birkhead, violinist Scott Tixler, bassist Rishon...

My guest today is the bassist, songwriter, bandleader and all around awesome human being Karina Rykman.  A self-taught bassist and guitarist, Karina started playing in bands in and around New York City when she was barely a teenager, and was touring as a member of legendary keyboardist Marco Benevento’s band while still attending college.  The stint in Benevento’s band prepared Karina for forming...

My guest is cellist, creator and collaborator Alex Cousins.    A classically trained musician and Peabody Conservatory graduate, Alex has performed as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, played with a variety of original alternative bands, and been seen and heard in venues from Western New York to Italy.    But what sets Alex apart is his passion for the electric cello, a unique ins...

Today on Why Music Matters, my guest is musician and DJ Chelsea O’Donnell. Chelsea began her career in radio as host of the local show on 107.7 FM Alternative Buffalo, where she helped that station celebrate the rich variety of local and regional indie rock from Western New York. These days, you can hear Chelsea on WBFO The Bridge, where she hosts The Scene, a show focusing on original independent...

Today on Why Music Matters, I have a conversation with Ray Wawrzyniak. Ray is a devout music lover. Musicologist, author and collector whose main passion in life aside from his family, of course, is the Canadian progressive rock trio RUSH. Ray joined me to chat about our shared love for that band, about RUSH co-founder Geddy Lee's new memoir, and about why All music matters but in Ray's world, RUS...

Today on why music matters, my guest is composer, author, storyteller, and Recording Academy 2023 class member, Barron Ryan. Whether he's working on commissioned compositions to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, collaborating on music meant to help us deal with personal loss, or ruminating on music's ability to help us discover and present the beauty we're uniquely...

Today on Why Music Matters, I spend some time with Fernanda Lastra of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.  Hired as Conductor Diversity Fellow by the Orchestra in September of 2022, Fernanda quickly made her mark, combining her fiery presence at the podium with a passion for community engagement, overseeing the BPO Kids and Music for Youth programs, working as cover conductor for Maestro JoAnn Fal...

Today on Why Music Matters, I’m hanging out with my old friend, singer, songwriter, and true believer in the power of rock ’n’ roll to lift our spirits and enrich our lives, Willie Nile. Praised by The New York Times as “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to have emerged rom the New York scene,” Nile was born in Buffalo, but moved to New York City decades back, where he launched a  career t...

Today on Why Music Matters, my guest is Peter Conners, musicologist, novelist, Grateful Dead scholar and a hero of mine for the way he has devoted his life to exploring the connection between the majesty of music and the power of the written word. Whether it’s his nonfiction works, like Growing Up Dead: The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deahead, Cornell 77: The Music, the Myth and the Magn...

Today on Why Music Matters, I’m joined by Buffalo Sabres play-by-play announcer Dan Dunleavy. In addition to his considerable game-calling skills, Dan is a died-in-the-wool music lover with an enduring passion for artists as diverse as Elvis Presley and Eddie Van Halen, the Tragically Hip and AC/DC. Throughout our chat, Dan offers some insight on the connections between music and sports, a lifetim...