On the heels of the release of the Evil Genius album “Bitter Human,” Max Kutner talks about how the trio came together and how it fits into a stunningly wide musical landscape that, for him, includes folk, rock, jazz, improvisation, and general

CAP26 Writing About Music

Feb 26th, 2015

It’s a listener request! In a slight deviation from our usual format, we convene a panel of three composers and one writer to discuss how people write about music: the words they use to describe the sounds, the instruments, and the process of c

CAP25 Lauren Elizabeth Baba

Jan 30th, 2015

Communal music-making, stylistic extremes, the importance of song titles, and the relativity of musical time. On omni-present fixture of the LA chamber scene, Lauren joins me and Max for some, as she calls it, “mumbling outside of your brain,”

CAP24 Stephanie Cheng Smith

Jan 5th, 2015

Following the (pre-)release of her first physical album, “Night Travels,” Stephanie Smith reveals how these tracks came together, starting from Bach chorales arranged on a Dark Energy Synth and then dipping into her musical mainstays of violin

CAP23 Louis Lopez

Dec 8th, 2014

I relentlessly attempt to force Louis Lopez to circumscribe his expansive musical identity only to be justifiably rebuffed. It’s akin to a very polite and effusive wrestling match. And why should he rein in an impressive collection of activitie

CAP22 Andrew Rowan

Nov 23rd, 2014

Enthusiasm and open ears are a mainstay for composer, arranger, and trumpeter, Andrew Rowan. Max and I invade his work area and inadvertently reveal some secrets behind his process of writing an as-yet-unwritten string quartet (no pressure, AR!

CAP21 Steven Kai Van Betten

Nov 16th, 2014

Max and I sit down with the ever-amiable, earnest, and buoyant Steven Van Betten. We spend the better part of the hour transfixed as he chronicles his recent adventures in Ghana and his harrowing bout with malaria. Along the way, we get the ski

CAP20 Maxwell Gualtieri

Nov 9th, 2014

Heralding a new chapter in CAP, I ambush Maxwell Gualtieri with a request to become my co-host (he ultimately says yes!). But not before he and I hash it out over issues like project diversity, influence saturation, and the potential (both good

CAP19 Chris Kallmyer

Jan 9th, 2013

I’m joined by the super insightful, generous, and dynamic presence that is Chris Kallmyer. Punk rock fostering community, the social architecture of classical music, creating “platforms for intimacy and exchange,” the challenge and necessity of

CAP18 Andrew Tholl

Oct 31st, 2012

Welcome to LA! After a long hiatus, Andrew kindly agreed to be my inaugural west coast guest. We talk about the difficulty of incorporating “feelings” and other ethereals into academic research, the power of titles, LA’s own crossover chamber g

CAP17 Franz Nicolay

Feb 17th, 2012

I speak with Franz about putting the “show” back in show business, “intelligent hedonism,” the importance of the extra-musical within a music persona, the freedom that comes from working as a producer, and the Anti-Social Music collective. Int

CAP16 Andrew Shapiro

Jun 13th, 2011

Andrew and I talk about haters and lovers, artists moving beyond their biggest hits, Michael Reisman, the score to Truman Show, and of course McDonalds.Listen

CAP15 Gabriel Kahane

May 28th, 2011

Mohammed on stage, February House at the Public Theater, and love songs to buildings. Gabriel Kahane has the world in his hands as he flexes his talents in the areas of song, stage, and symphonic music (I might have forced the alliteration on t

CAP14 Jamie Drake

Apr 25th, 2011

I catch up with Jamie (the) Drake on a visit to NYC. She tells me about setting up crazy ambitious challenges for herself (like playing a weekly gig for 7 months!), going unwittingly electric, the advantages of co-writing songs, and in a CAP po

CAP13 Corey Dargel

Apr 18th, 2011

Corey Dargel graciously joins me at the Papavasilopoulos homestead. We talk about how getting ear tubes emotionally damaged me, escaping South Texas with your soul intact, the pros and cons of growing up gay with and without the internet, the p

CAP12 Caleb Burhans

Mar 30th, 2011

Speaking from his vaulted music lair in upper Manhattan, Caleb Burhans and I discuss the multiple multis that he inhabits, absolute music as a logical outgrowth of being a performer/improviser who composes, Ligeti as punk rocker, why Caleb hate

CAP11 Sleeping Giant

Mar 24th, 2011

I’m joined by 5 of the 6 members of the composers collective, Sleeping Giant: Ted Hearne, Christopher Cerrone, Robert Honstein, Jacob Cooper, and Timothy Andres (we missed you, Andrew Norman). We tackle the new music scene (or scenes or lack o

CAP10 Conrad Cummings

Mar 16th, 2011

In the throes of orchestrating his luminous opera “The Golden Gate” (about which the opera world is all abuzz), I join Conrad to talk “twinkling, shining, clanging” San Francisco nights; harpsichord kits; 1950’s marriage manuals, and good advic

CAP9 Bobby Previte

Mar 9th, 2011

He’s done it all and with everybody who’s anybody. When talking to Bobby Previte, it’s hard not to use the phrase “giants in their field” when discussing his work (I used it twice). We talk about New York as “one big yes,” along with the upcomi

CAP8 Ben Vandermeer (aka Ben Mundane)

Feb 25th, 2011

Renegade composer, keyboardist, producer, and all around good guy, Ben Vandermeer (aka Ben Mundane) talks with me about setting up a new studio, fun with foley, the brilliance of Talk Talk and Scott Walker, Gen- Xers as a transition generation,

CAP7 Paula Matthusen

Feb 16th, 2011

The non-stop musical force that is Paula Matthusen and I discuss electro-acoustic music, growing up around radio tech and chamber ensembles, my penchant for yelling at strangers, spacialization, and her pieces Forgiveness Anthems and Lathyrus.

CAP6 Jenny Olivia Johnson

Feb 9th, 2011

Coming to you from a very spotty, super compressed (but listenable) Skype feed (apologies!), I speak with Jenny Johnson about the life of a newly minted tenure track professor (assistant professor of composition and theory at Wellesley College)

CAP5 Clara Latham

Feb 2nd, 2011

I’m joined by Clara Latham and her friend, Mike, who, among many other musical ventures, form part of the group Starring. We discuss the well-worn of path of musicians who move through “music schools” and into the broader indie pop world, cre

CAP4 Mary Bragg

Jan 26th, 2011

At the tail end of the production for her third album, I speak with Mary Bragg about working with the producer Lee Alexander (Norah Jones, Amos Lee), the joys of Kickstarter and cooking for your fans, and Type A techniques for organizing the li

CAP3 David Nelson

Jan 18th, 2011

Featuring David Nelson: trombonist who’s stomping grounds include Broadway and on Sufjan Stevens’ lastest album. He’s also an active composer and songwriter. We discuss serendipitous dwellings, West Side Story, A Soldier’s Tale, Louis Andries