Performance Anxiety

Today we go international. Welcome the greatest person from the Faroe Islands since Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb.  She also has a much shorter name. It’s Eivør! She’s currently on a North American tour to support her new album Tungl and she was kind enough to take some time and talk about her musical life with me. And I do mean musical life. She was already performing on TV by thirteen. By seventeen she was not only preparing to study music in college, she was already finished with her second solo album! And I say solo album because she ha...

This episode is fun and really interesting. Matt North returns with a new album and a different perspective on making it. Matt lives in Nashville but chose to make his album in Champaign-Urbana, instead. We talk about how Nashville has changed over the past several decades; the positives and the negatives. We go off onto a few tangents during the show. Actually, we kind of start off on a tangent. Matt explains the purple cow theory, totem pole culture, and remote recording with Paul Chastain, in Japan while using old high scholl friends and his old high school band...

This was a fun one. Welcome brookelen to the podcast. I stumbled across one of her reels on Instagram and was immediately drawn to her sound. I reached out about doing a podcast episode and a week later, here we are.Brooke grew up a military kid but found a home in Arlington, VA, after several moves.She picked up violin as a kid and was inspired by the epicness of Celine Dion.Her early musical aspirations weren’t necessarily that of an artist, though, but more behind-the-scenes.Although she was writing music, she didn’t really throw herself into...

This guest is one I’ve wanted to have on for a while. I’ve been a fan for about 20 years but I had always been nervous about approaching him for one specific reason. It’s a sensitive topic that will be obvious when you listen. But after seeing him open up about it on his own YouTube videos, I reached out. And I’m so glad I did. Please welcome Harley Di Nardo to the show. He’s a modern renaissance man, being a musician, film maker, and hair stylist. 

I heard his first band, Closer, through Pan...

Today’s guest has just reissued a hidden gem. Welcome Matt Devine. Matt has played with a lot of previous guests of this podcast. And after listening to his bands Permanent Green Light and Ventilator, I know why. He talks about how he got into music and the bands he loved growing up. He talks about starting his own bands and keeping the expectations low. After Permanent Green Light formed and dissolved, he focused on the music he had been writing for himself in his apartment. That music became Ventilator’s first album, Reseda Spleen. Reseda Spleen was released in 1...

Today’s guest is a very interesting artist. I’m pleased to present Wesley Stace, aka John Wesley Harding. He’s just released a new album called One Last Heist and it’s wonderful. Wesley has always been an artist who follows his instincts and they’re currently pulling him into a jazzy stage. But he was gracious enough to step back in time with me and discuss his career, starting even before his debut album, a daring solo, live, acoustic disc called It Happened One Night. It turns out, his plans were NOT to become a musician. But when he di...

Today’s show is a little different. I’m joined by former podcast guest Timothy Reid. He reached out to me about our subject, bassist Tim (T.R.) Miller. He’s an American bass player who lived in Japan for many years. He’s an important, but possibly underappreciated, figure in the Japanese rock scene. Timothy followed his career for a long time and, eventually, met up with him and even played in some bands with him. Tim had issues and had to leave Japan. He agreed to speak with Timothy via phone calls from his halfway house, in order to...

Today we’re talking about collaborations. And by we I mean, of course myself, Jordan Zadorozny and Stephen Bluhm. Both Jordon and Stephen have partaken of the fruits of collaboration. Jordon hath tasted the delights on many an occasion whilst Stephen has recently just taken his first bite of the apple of collab.  

We talk about our favorites, some that really didn’t turn out so well, and the reasons why. Stephen’s collaboration is with the legendary Mike Watt. He talks about how it happened and how he wound up doing a three hour tour of San Pedr...

Today’s guest came to my attention through a friend. Welcome guitarist Darren Michael Boyd. Technically, he’s a multi-instrumentalist but let’s keep things simple for the introduction. He first came to my attention through Astrid Young and her cover of Hell Hole for the Teen Cancer America Spinal Tap Tribute. He released a new album last year but that's just the latest in a string of solo albums in addition to the other bands he plays in and contributions he makes. He talks about his early days, touring as a teen (one stop turned out to be the sc...

Today’s guest really didn’t have a choice in what he did. Rock and roll chose him. Please welcome Dizzy Reed to the podcast. You may know him best as the keyboardist and second longest tenured member of Guns N’ Roses but that’s not the beginning (or end) of his story. From learning to play organ from his grandmother to his first gig playing Smoke On The Water on an unusual instrument, all the way to meeting GNR and releasing two solo albums and everything in between, Dizzy has some of the best stories I’ve heard. He talks a...

Today’s guest is an entrepreneur par excellence. Welcome the founder of Rhino Records and Shout! Factory, Richard Foos. We go back to Richard’s early days and find out how music became so important to him. He talks about his early attempts in the record business and how that eventually evolved into Rhino Records. He then tells how Rhino Records, the record store, became Rhino Records, the record label. We talk about how Rhino singlehandedly created the reissue market, how it evolved to include bonus material, and how they find that stuff.

He sold Rhino and used...

Today’s guest is special. And he has special things. Welcome Dan Cuddy to the podcast. Dan plays bass in The Special Pillow. He used to play bass in Hypnolovewheel. He’s here to talk about Hypnolovewheel’s new compilation, Parallel Universe. It’s a great mix of their music and it has a bunch of really cool songs that are previously unreleased. And of course we talk about Dan’s career. Where did he start? How did Hypnolovewheel start? What’s behind the name? How did it all end and The Special Pillow begin? Also, what’s so special about...

So my guests today are just the epitome of cool. They spearheaded the lounge-style music revival of the 90’s. Welcome Ben Daughtrey and Jonathan Palmer of Love Jones to the podcast. The band has just released their fourth album, The Greatest Show and it’s definitely the band’s sound, distilled into six tracks. Before we dive into how the album came to be after a 15 year hiatus, we talk about how they became a part of Tool lore, opening for the band for the legendary show at the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Center. 

Ben & Jonathan also disc...

Today’s guest made me feel…liked. I was fortunate enough to talk with actor French Stewart. And it wouldn’t have happened without the kindness of two wonderful people, Laurel Green and Matt North. Thank you both so much. French’s story is wild. His acting stems from a mix of a high school elective and having a con man for his biological father. He had no idea he was going to college, let alone for acting, until his mom told him so. But his talent shone through and soon he was in LA doing Professor Bodywise’s Traveling...

Today’s guest has made a career playing with some of the most avant garde musicians in the world. But he didn’t start off with music in mind. Welcome drummer Bob Bert to the podcast. He grew up in a house that wasn’t super musical. In fact, his father, Angelo, was more into sports than music. He was so into sports that he won the Heisman trophy in 1943. But Bob had other ideas.

Bob played some drums but was more interested in fine art, eventually printing for Andy Warhol. His music career began when his wife v...

Today’s guest is almost like talking to myself from a parallel universe. Welcome Cento Threeo’s Don Cento. Don’s been creating music for decades in all kinds of ways, all kinds of styles, and in all kinds of roles. He played guitar about as seriously as any teenager until he ran across a flamenco guitar player who performed at his school. That changed everything. 

When he was considering colleges, there was an odd coincidence that set his path in motion. And it turns out that a relative ended up working at that same college a few yea...

Today’s guest is almost like talking to myself from a parallel universe. Welcome Cento Threeo’s Don Cento. Don’s been creating music for decades in all kinds of ways, all kinds of styles, and in all kinds of roles. He played guitar about as seriously as any teenager until he ran across a flamenco guitar player who performed at his school. That changed everything. 

When he was considering colleges, there was an odd coincidence that set his path in motion. And it turns out that a relative ended up working at that same college a few yea...

Today’s guest began his career as a musician but worked his way behind the scenes, managing some of the biggest tours on the planet. Welcome Larry McNeny. He’s just released a book about his career as a tour manager called Blood, Guts, and No Glory. Larry discusses his early aspirations to become a rock star, his encounters with musicians including Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and the Bee Gees, and his work managing tours for various bands. He detailed his experiences managing Eric Clapton's early tours, including memorable moments like touring Europe on a trai...

This guest is NOT a musical chameleon. He’s a Johnny Iguana. And he’s the keyboardist/pianist for Chicago’s The Claudettes. They have a jaw-dropping new album coming out in June.But we start by talking about his early work. He’s got an unusual reason for starting piano lessons. Johnny talks about early bands and how he began playing for one of his heroes. He reveals why he left that gig and how he started The Claudettes. He tells me how the band got their name, working remotely for a high profile company for two decades before i...

This episode is a little different. It’s still about music, but from a very particular perspective. My guest is author Daniel Rachel. He’s written some fantastic books like Isle of Noise (about UK songwriters) and The Lost Album of The Beatles. His latest release may be his most controversial. It’s called This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll: Pop Music, The Swastika, & The Third Reich. In it, Daniel explores the fascination musicians have had with Nazi imagery, symbolism, and paraphernalia. There are some connections you’ve probably heard of, like Jimmy Page and Lemmy. But there are others that yo...

Today’s guest is a legacy and I’ve had many of his family members on the show. Welcome Patrick Michot to the podcast. Patrick may come from a legendary Louisiana zydeco family but he’s forging his own path while paying homage to his family’s legacy. So this is NOT a zydeco episode. I’m so thankful that Patrick’s cousin, Louis Michot, introduced me to the music. It’s been a wild journey, listening to a cajun version of black metal. But that’s not all he does. How do ocarina and classical guitar covers of video game music...

Today’s guest is a legacy and I’ve had many of his family members on the show. Welcome Patrick Michot to the podcast. Patrick may come from a legendary Louisiana zydeco family but he’s forging his own path while paying homage to his family’s legacy. So this is NOT a zydeco episode. I’m so thankful that Patrick’s uncle, Louis Michot, introduced me to the music. It’s been a wild journey, listening to a cajun version of black metal. But that’s not all he does. How do ocarina and classical guitar covers of video game music...

This guest has just fulfilled a long-term dream. Welcome stalwart of the NYC music scene, George Usher to the podcast. But before moving to New York, he was stealing Beatles songs in Cleveland. He moved to NYC knowing no one and waited a year before playing out. But once he did, he played some legendary venues like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. He became a hired gun in the 80’s and reveals the difficulties of marketing yourself, pre-internet. And’s that’s when his Stephensonville project began. George explains why it’s taken 30 years for the album to come out...

This episode is Truly unique. I’m welcoming back an early guest (episode #3) and a new guest because they are in the same band. Welcome back Robert Roth and welcome for the first time, Hiro Yamamoto. Truly is a band everyone should know. Not only is the pedigree amazing, they write the music to back it up and have for 35 years. Robert and Hiro talk about their musical backgrounds; Robert with Storybook Krooks & Hiro with Soundgarden, They both talk about the state of flux in the Seattle music scene in 1989. Robert talks about almost joining Nirvana and Hiro discusses hi...

As the episode title says, this episode is all about the band Genesis. My brother Scott has written two in depth articles about the band’s early years for The Strange Brew blog. Both he and long-time podcast friend Jordon Zadorozny of Blinker The Star join me to discuss the history of Genesis, from Peter Gabriel all the way through Ray Wilson. Check out Scott’s work at scottsheaauthor.com. Check out Jordon’s music at blinkerthestar.bandcamp.com. Follow them on socials (@scottsheaauthor & @blinkerthestar). Follow us @PerformanceAnx. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Support us with caffeine at ko-fi...

Today’s guest is deliberate. He’s that way with his music, his lyrics, and his touring. Welcome singer/songwriter Robert Deeble to the podcast. He’s recently released his latest album, The Space Between Us, and it’s a very easy listen. Robert talks about the themes behind the album, how he wrote the music, and who else is on it.

Growing up, he struggled with music in several different ways; from playing piano from memory to his unusual entry into singing, to being a hot shot drummer who could solo like mad but had trouble slowing...

Today’s guest is fiery. And I have to thank Ian Ottaway for introducing me to her. Welcome Erika Switchblade from The Devils to the podcast. Erika is Italian, in southern Italy. International episodes are always interesting. And Erika sets expectations early. She’s pretty sure this will be the worst podcast I’ve ever done. I disagree.

Erika talks about the first song she ever remembers hearing, playing in her own bands by 14, and then getting kicked out of them. She met her current bandmate, Gianni Blacula and formed The Devils so they couldn’t get kicked o...

Welcome super nice guy Smitti Supab to the podcast. He’s a bass player for a lot of people. And we talk about a lot of them today. But he’s got his own band, Captain Buckles, that’s released their debut album called Hurry Up. Smitti has had quite an adventurous life and not all of it revolves around music. In fact, music was almost an accident! He went to China to teach, played in ex-pat bands, managed a SCUBA resort, lived with a legendary Chinese dub reggae artist, played monkey shows, and finally wound up in New Orlean...

Today we’re talking about family bands with two guys who know a thing or two about them; Louis Michot and Corey Ledet. Both of these gentlemen are parts of families with deep musical roots. And they both give us a brief rundown of where they fit in the family tree. Corey’s great grandfather was an early jazz pioneer while Louis’ grandmother was a professional whistler! And Louis talks about their supernatural book connection. 

We talk about life in family bands; where it makes things better and where it’s more difficult. Is touring with the fam harde...

Today’s guest may be one of the hardest working guests I’ve ever had. Please welcome, straight from Normandy, France, Stephane Schuck. Stephane talks about the music that inspired him as a kid. It isn’t your standard rock and roll background. Maybe part of that is growing up in France, maybe part is just Stephane’s unique angle on music.

He formed a group that eventually came to known as The Salt Collective. But that isn’t his day job. Instead of music, Stephane went into medicine. Both hemispheres of his brain are constantly working! He talks a...

Today’s guest is just a badass. I’m so excited about this one that I don’t even want to do too long of an intro. I just want her to tell her story. Welcome Wendy Rae Fowler to the show. She’s got such an interesting story. She plays bass for Humanist in addition to her own music. But her first love was dance. She talks about all her creative endeavors from dance, to acting, to bass, and more.She collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age, Earthlings?, Mark Lanegan (that collaboration included a wedding), and more. She reve...

Today’s guest is just a badass. I’m so excited about this one that I don’t even want to do too long of an intro. I just want her to tell her story. Welcome Wendy Rae Fowler to the show. She’s got such an interesting story. She plays bass for Humanist in addition to her own music. But her first love was dance. She talks about all her creative endeavors from dance, to acting, to bass, and more.She collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age, Earthlings?, Mark Lanegan (that collaboration included a wedding), and more. She reve...

It took me about 7 years to get today’s guest. That’s because he was too busy helping other artists with their public relations. Welcome one of my oldest podcasting friends, Howard Wuelfing. Howard was instrumental in kicking off the DC punk scene early on. But he wasn’t originally from the area. Howard talks about growing up just outside of NYC and how that influenced his entire life. He was getting into the nascent NYC punk scene when an opportunity arose in DC that he could not pass up. But instead of wondering what was going on in New Yo...

Welcome photographer and musician Josh Hight to the show. Josh’s story is near and dear to me because it centers around two of my passions: music and photography. And Josh’s story is not a straightforward one, either. Although his parents were both creative (his dad was in advertising and his mom was an interior designer) visual art came later. His first love was music. He’s from Detroit and so its natural that he’s into garage and punk rock. He joined up with another friend of the podcast, Toddrick Spalding, and played with The Detachment Kit. But, in...

Today’s guest is a true family man. Or is it family band? You know what? It’s both. Please welcome Lucas Ward of The Silver Snails to the show. He take a moment from traveling with his family to talk to me about his unusual musical path. It definitely hasn’t been straightforward. But it’s been incredibly fruitful. He discusses growing up and being friends with Elliot Smith, back when he was known and Steven. He talks about the album that flipped the musical switch in his mind. We also talk about mistaken credits, the vulnerability of singing...

This isn’t exactly a Christmas episode, although it certainly leans heavily into the season. That’s because my guest today is an 80’s icon who has released a Christmas song. Welcome Limahl to the podcast. You may remember him from the 80’s band Kajagoogoo, and the track playing underneath all this intro stuff. Or you might remember him from the international #1 hit The Neverending Story from the movie of the same name. Limahl’s story is fascinating. He got into music as a kid and even released a Christmas single in 1980! He tells me how he and the band Art N...

Welcome back, Conan Neutron! Conan’s got a new Secret Friends album out called The Way Of The Neutron. The process and circumstances Conan went through creating this album are the inspiration for this episode.It’s all about integrity and perseverance…and a little bit of artisanal sand. But Conan and I thought that maybe, somewhere out there, one listener of this podcast could use a little bit of encouragement. Perhaps knowing that you’re not alone in feeling frustrated about the work you’re doing, might be helpful to someone. So here we are, me and Conan Neutron, t...

Today’s guest is a challenge. But I don’t mean that in a negative way.Welcome Arwen Lewis to the podcast. She’s a musician and a podcaster. And this show starts off almost like it’s duelling interviews. And before I go any further, I need to thank Astrid Young for the introduction. Arwen has quite the family tree. Her dad is Peter Lewis of Moby Grape. But going back farther, her grandfather founded the Armed Forces Radio Network. And what’s more, her grandmother was legendary actress/entertainer Loretta Young!

Arwen grew up with entertainm...

Today’s guest is plural. I’m fortunate to be joined by the entire band The Problem With Kids Today just before they hit the stage. Tate, Silas, and Reena talk about the music that inspired them, some early band experiences, and how the band came together. Tate tells me about their unusual name, their less unusual previous band name, and gelling as a band because of COVID. These guys are self-described goofballs who have a lot of fun with their music. They’ve got a new album out called Take It! It’s an energetic blast of crazy fun punk...

This week’s guest is very grounded. That could be because he’s British. Or it could be because his career spans several decades. Welcome the singer and guitarist for Kula Shaker, Crispian Mills. This episode is so interesting. Crispian talks about growing up in a family rooted in entertainment. He started playing gigs in pubs at a pretty young age. In fact, his first gig was with Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. But success wasn’t instant. He reveals how one of his earliest pub gigs didn’t go over so well. 

He played...