10 Marsden Giolas

Marsden Giolas is an electronic/house DJ and musician from Chicago, IL. He has recently released his Midwest EP on Garden House Records.

In this interview, we talk about how he creates his music, how he titles his songs, and what the future holds for Marsden.

We'll also listen to Greater Lakes from the Midwest EP at the end of this episode. And you'll hear part of the song 1-94 in the beginning of the episode as well.

09 St Paul de Vence

St Paul de Vence may have a slightly hard-to-pronounce name, but they have a story that will grip you from the beginning. The band started as a project of frontman Ben Doerr, who used the story of his grandfather to create an EP that eventually created a band, a full length, and the attention of Seattle radio.

In our interview, Ben talks about his grandfather's story, how the band got its start, and life on Bainbridge Island. He talks songwriting, sailing, their newest album, and the future of the band.

We'll listen to the song Farther Than Light in this episode.

08 Swear and Shake

Swear and Shake are an energetic, heartfelt indie rock/pop band that recently relocated from Brooklyn NY to Nashville. Fresh off a tour, I spoke with Kari Spieler (vocals and guitar) about how the band started, how they got their name, and why they moved to Nashville.

We also talked about the way technology has changed the music industry, including new opportunities with crowdfunding and social media. And we discussed why Kari became a musician, how she makes it work, and what she's listening to currently.

At the end of this episode we'll hear the single Fire, by Swear and Shake. Enjoy!

07 Turkuaz

Today I’m excited to talk to one of the nine members of Turkuaz, a power funk band based in Brooklyn, NY. In our conversation, Dave Brandwein, singer and guitar player, tells us how the band got together and why he can’t imagine them with any fewer members.

They’ve been described as a cross between Sly & The Family Stone and Talking Heads, and are known for their upbeat, energetic live shows. Listen in for some good stories, like how they got their name, and what they’ll be up to after they visit Portland for the Waterfront Blues Fest this weekend.

At the end of this episode we'll listen to Gettin' a Little Closer, from their Stereochrome EP.

06 Exit Ghost

Today I’m excited to bring you my interview with three of the four members of Exit Ghost, an Americana tinged indie rock band from Chicago. I grew up next door to one of the band members, Dorian Gehring, and we also played in multiple bands together starting at a young age.

So what does Exit Ghost do? The band likes to take familiar sounds, ones we are comfortable with, and take them in a different direction, doing something new and making them interesting. Hear them talk about their songwriting process and what’s coming up for them this year.

05 Chubby Carrier

Portland has this great festival every summer called the Waterfront Blues Fest. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to see Chubby Carrier perform there, and it was one of the must fun, entertaining, lively Zydeco performances I’d ever seen.

Chubby is a Grammy Award winning musician who works full time performing, recording, and running his own record company. In this interview we talk about the Waterfront Blues Fest, what music Chubby listens to, and the difference between Cajun and Zydeco music.

At the end of this episode we'll listen to Another Pretty Face, by Chubby Carrier.

04 Tweedy

Tweedy is made up of Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) and his son Spencer Tweedy on drums. In this episode, I talked with Spencer in Chicago about his upbringing around such a musical family, how the Tweedy project was born, what he’s listening to right now, and what’s next for the band and his own life.

At the end of the episode we'll listen to World Away, by Tweedy.

Buy the album Sukierae here.

03 Con Brio

Today I’m talking with Con Brio, a funk-soul band based in the Bay area. I’m excited to see them this week here in Portland, OR at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

In this interview, I talked with two of the band members (Ziek and Micah) about how they got started in music, their start as a band, and where they’re headed from here.

At the end of the episode we'll listen to Give It All, from their recent EP Kiss The Sun.

Artist Website: TheBandConBrio.com

02 The Weepies

This interview is with one of my favorite bands of all time, The Weepies. I started listening to The Weepies during college, when I listened to them nonstop and learned to play some of their songs. 

What I love about Steve and Deb, the two musicians that make up The Weepies, is how honest and genuine they are, and you can definitely sense it in this interview. We’re mostly talking about Sirens, their album that dropped a couple of months ago, and how it blossomed out of a troubled time in their personal lives. But it’s not all about the album; We also talked about how they got together as a duo, about family, and what advice they want to pass on to future generations.

At the end of the episode we listen to No Trouble from Sirens.