Elizabeth Ziman invites me into her Brooklyn apartment for tea and ravioli. A New York native, Ziman talks about growing up in Greenwich Village and explains how a landlord battle forced her to reexamine a stack of old journals she found during

Episode 53: Matthew Logan Vasquez

Nov 21st, 2017 45m 2s

Matthew Logan Vasquez revisits a changing Brooklyn as he joins me for a drink at the Williamsburg Hotel's lobby bar. After a decade of fronting Delta Spirit, Vasquez has been steadily releasing music as a solo artist since 2015's Austin EP. On

Episode 52: Caleb Caudle

May 18th, 2017 26m 34s

Americana artist Caleb Caudle joins me for a drink at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side before his show downstairs. Now sober, Caleb explains how his previous partying lifestyle had informed many of his lyrics in the past, but how he's

Episode 51: Tall Tall Trees

Apr 21st, 2017 26m 1s

Mike Savino a.k.a. Tall Tall Trees has a quick beer with me at The Magician in Manhattan's Lower East Side before his show at Rockwood Music Hall. Savino tells how he originally went to school to be a doctor before dropping out to pursue his tr

Episode 50: Reformed Whores

Mar 30th, 2017 1h 1m

Katy Frame and Marie Cecile Anderson of country comedy group Reformed Whores chat with me over handcrafted cocktails at the Shanty in Williamsburg. The bawdy duo explain why they gravitated to their unconventional instruments (accordion and uku

Episode 49: Cris Jacobs

Nov 15th, 2016 26m 12s

Cris Jacobs knocks back a bourbon to stave off a cold before his show at American Beauty in NYC. After noodling around on acid in his backyard with friends in high school, Cris dedicated his college years to practicing bluegrass guitar for five

Episode 48: Emily King

Nov 15th, 2016 16m 30s

R&B songstress Emily King has a quick drink with me at YN in Manhattan, NY. Her debut record, East Side Story, was nominated for the 2007 Best Contemporary R&B Album, but she was dropped by her label the following year. Having just released the

Episode 47: George Clinton

Jul 23rd, 2016 24m 52s

Funk icon George Clinton has a beer with me directly following his concert with Parliament-Funkadelic at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Clinton gives an overview of his six decades in the music business, from his early days of auditioning for Motown

Episode 46: Pop Etc

Jul 12th, 2016 1h 15m

Pop Etc's Chris Chu and I go on a Cobble Hill bar crawl, stopping for drinks at the Long Island Bar and Henry Public. Chu reveals how seeing Elliott Smith in concert made him realize that an artist's success isn't necessarily tied to their own

Episode 45: Lissie

Jun 17th, 2016 43m 29s

Lissie chats with me over a drink in the backyard of Muldoon's Irish Pub in Midtown Manhattan. Originally hailing from Rock Island, IL, she explains how she received an early confidence boost from G. Love, which inspired her to move out to Cali

Episode 44: Cheerleader

Jun 9th, 2016 43m 32s

All five members of Philadelphia's haze-pop band Cheerleader have a drink with me in the basement of Mercury Lounge in Manhattan before they go onstage. They explain why playing the late show feels like a graduation of sorts, and how radio has

Episode 43: Brian Bonz

Jun 1st, 2016 40m 29s

Brian Bonz has an IPA with me in the downstairs bar at Bowery Ballroom before opening for Nightmare of You. Bonz explains how being an opener provides him with a priceless connection to new fans, which proved especially helpful when it came to

Episode 42: Findlay Brown

Nov 6th, 2015 49m 56s

Growing up in Yorkshire, England, Findlay Brown played Army games in the woods with his friends. Once he'd reached his teenage years, he had his enlistment papers ready to go, but a chance encounter with LSD and a copy of Electric Ladyland cha

Episode 41: Rayland Baxter

Oct 1st, 2015 32m 58s

Whilst sipping a tequila at a sidewalk table at Epstein's in New York's Lower East Side, Rayland Baxter demonstrates how to write poetic lyrics that are open to interpretation, a trick that his father learned from playing with Bob Dylan. Baxter

Episode 40: Hey Anna

Sep 15th, 2015 1h 3m

Erin Rauch-Sasseen, her twin sisters Katie and Anna, and friends Matthew Langner and Jamie DiTringo make up the NJ/NY indie pop group Hey Anna. Erin has a drink with me at Oak & Iron in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to discuss how the band built its Jap

Episode 39: Orgone

Aug 10th, 2015 31m

Sergio Rios and Adryon de León of L.A. funk band Orgone have some drinks with me in the spacious green room of Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Rios traces the group's origins on the Venice Beach boardwalk, explains what it takes to be in the Orgone f

Episode 38: Gill Landry

Jul 28th, 2015 49m 11s

Gill Landry has a beer with me while he eats his pre-show pizza at Benson's in NYC's Lower East Side. After serving years as a sideman in Old Crow Medicine Show, Landry decided it was time to fully pursue his solo career with his self-titled t

Episode 37: Dave Monks

Jul 3rd, 2015 37m 35s

Dave Monks and I have some non-Canadian brews at Sugarburg in Brooklyn, NY. Known by many as the bassist and singer of Tokyo Police Club, Monks explains how a move to NYC inspired him to write the songs for his first solo EP, All Signs Point t

Episode 36: Young Buffalo

Jun 13th, 2015 41m 16s

Young Buffalo's Jim Barrett and Ben Yarbrough have some drinks with me in the backyard of One Mile House before their show at Bowery Ballroom. Barrett started Young Buffalo in high school as a senior project, which he actually failed. If only

Episode 35: Robert Ellis

May 26th, 2015 33m 43s

Robert Ellis joins me for a beer at Cheese Grille before a show next door at NYC's Rockwood Music Hall. Robert explains why he dropped out of high school to play music in Houston, and how that city's variety of music styles influenced him. El

Episode 34: Ryan Montbleau

Apr 20th, 2015 42m 17s

Ryan Montbleau joins me for milkshakes on the sidewalk at Jimmy's Diner in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Ryan tells his story, from coming up as a musician in Boston to recording his most recent solo record in New Orleans with greats like George Porte

Episode 33: Frances Cone

Apr 18th, 2015 58m 52s

While sipping a cocktail at the Richardson in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Christina Cone tells me that she always knew she would move to New York City post-graduation. Since she made that decision, she's been able to make the city into her own lit

Episode 32: Jenny Owen Youngs

Mar 17th, 2015 1h 33m

Jenny Owen Youngs and I hit it off over local craft beers at Threes Brewing in Brooklyn. Having built a loyal fanbase by touring with punk rockers and performing online concerts in her apartment, Youngs explains why she used PledgeMusic to of

Episode 31: Howard

Mar 3rd, 2015 39m 5s

Howard Feibusch was supposed to go to medical school. Over a beer at Greenpoint's Brouwerij Lane, Howard divulges why he chose a career in music instead, fronting a Brooklyn alternative rock trio that shares his first name. The band recently

Episode 30: Cymbals

Feb 21st, 2015 27m 3s

Jack Cleverly of the UK band Cymbals sits down with me in the bustling backyard of Crown Victoria in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Jack tells why he sings some songs in French, despite the fact that none of his bandmates speak the language. He also