Beginnings

On today's episode, I talk to Tony Award-winning actor and musician Michael Cerveris. Originally from Huntington, West Virginia, Michael got his start acting in the early '80s downtown scene, and his career has flourished from there. As a theater actor, he's won two Tony Awards, one for playing John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and the second for his role in Fun Home. Beyond the official accolades though, he's acted in dozens of productions including Hedwig And The Angry Inch. As a TV and film actor, he's had recurring roles in shows like Mindhunter, Gotham, The Tick, The Good Wife, Treme and Fringe, as well as many other roles. And as a musician, he's been working professionally ever since he backed Bob Mould on his Last Dog And Pony Show tour in 1998. Michael's first solo album was released in 2004, but for the last eight years, he's been writing and recording with Kimberly Kaye under the moniker Loose Cattle, and their first official album Heavy Lifting is out now, wherever you get your rec

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-award winning comics creator John Allison. John started creating webcomics in 1998 with Bobbins, a series which ran on the early webcomics portal Keenspot. When Bobbins ended, he followed that up with Scary Go Round and then Bad Machinery. In 2013, John pitched a spin-off from Scary Go Round, Giant Days, to Boom! Box, a newly formed imprint of Boom! Studios for established artists outside the comics industry. In 2016, Giant Days was nominated for two Eisner Awards and three Harvey Awards, and in 2019, it won two Eisner Awards, for Best Continuing Series and Best Humor Publication.The success of Giant Days led to further work with independent presses. John went on to write the series By Night for Boom! Studios and is now writing and drawing Steeple for Dark Horse. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to Grammy nominated musician Bonnie McKee. Raised in Seattle, WA, Bonnie had been singing and writing her own songs from a young age, and as a teenager was signed to a label and moved to Los Angeles to record her first album. While critically praised, the album was commercially unsuccessful, and after a while, Bonnie began a second career as a songwriter for artists like Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Adam Lambert, Ke$ha, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Carly Rae Jepsen as well as some of Katy Perry's most famous songs. Recently, Bonnie embarked on a new direction writing, directing, editing, producing and scoring her own short film April Kills the Vibe! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Trevor Kampmann. Born in Naperville, IL in the early '70s, Trevor began making music under the name Sea Saw in the early '90s on the indie label Simple Machines, after that recording as hollAnd. Aside from releasing over 12 CDs and DVDs under the hollAnd moniker - many of them on TeenBeat Records, he has worked on countless recordings for bands such as Explosions in the Sky, Cat Power, and Flin Flon (whose song 'Floods' became the theme for CNN's Anderson Cooper 360). Trevor has collaborated often with photographer Mark Borthwick both in music and in various art installations, and he has also produced music for avante-garde fashion designers such as Martin Margiela and ZERO by Maria Cornejo. Kampmann is currently owner of Analogous Digital, a mastering studio in Washington, DC. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Peggy Seeger. Sister of Pete Seeger (the great-grandfather of USA folk revival) and partner of the late Ewan MacColl (theorist and practitioner of UK folk revival), she has carved a special niche for herself in both these countries. Trained in both classical and folk music, her experience spans 55 years of performing, travel and songwriting. A multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, English concertina and Appalachian dulcimer), she is probably best known for her feminist songs and for The Ballad of Springhill, which is rapidly becoming regarded as a traditional song. Born in 1935, she regards herself as "seasoned and in my prime". She has made 23 solo recordings and has participated in over a hundred recordings with other artists. Her 24th album FIrst Farewell was just released on Red Grape Music, and she is playing a number of dates in the UK in May and October, please check her website for when those are happening. This is the website for Beginn

On today's episode I talk to musician and TV writer Clay Tarver. Clay first came to prominence as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the Boston hard rock/punk band Bullet LaVolta in the late 1980s. They recorded a few records for Taang!, RCA, and Matador Records before disbanding in 1991. He then formed Chavez with Matt Sweeney, Scott Marshall and James Lo, and they released two incredible albums and an EP on Matador. As Chavez was waning, Clay's writing career started to take off. Around this time, he wrote Joy Ride, with J. J. Abrams, and later, Clay wrote for all six seasons of SIlicon Valley. His directorial film debut Vacation Friends with John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, and Yvonne Orji will be released this summer! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Matt Sweeney. Originally from northern New Jersey, Matt started playing in bands in high school with his first group Skunk, who released two albums on Twin/Tone records. In the early '90s, he formed Chavez, which went on to release two incredible albums and an EP on Matador. When the band stopped playing together, Matt became a sideman touring with GBV and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, until he formed Zwan with Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan. Although Matt has continued to be a sideman and session musician, his most extensive musical collaboration in the 21st century has been with Will Oldham. Their album Superwolf came out in 2005, and now their latest record Superwolves will be released on Drag City next week! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Jana Schmieding. Originally from Oregon, Jana cut her teeth performing sketch, improv and characters at the Magnet Theater in New York City. After moving to Los Angeles in 2016, Jana started the Woman of Size podcast, which she hosted until 2019, and most recently, she writes on and co-stars with Ed Helms in Peacock's newest sitcom Rutherford Falls, which debuts on the streaming network next Friday! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Bob Nastanovich. Born in Rochester, but raised in Richmond, Virginia, Bob spent the early part of his life playing tennis and listening to punk rock. While attending college at the University of Virginia, he met his future bandmates Steve Malkmus and Dave Berman, and the three formed the band Ectoslavia with future Yo La Tengo member James McNew. After college, the three moved to Jersey across from Manhattan, where the first Silver Jews songs were recorded. Malkmus formed Pavement around this time with his old friend Spiral Stairs, and Bob joined a little later, essentially as the utility player of the band. Though Pavement broke up in 1999, the band occasionally reunites for live shows, and since then, Bob has spent a lot of his time with his other passion, horse racing, as well as running the record label Broker's Tip Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Jamie Stewart. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jamie played in a number of bands as a teenager, including a parody band and a Bauhaus cover group. However, he didn't really find his voice until he formed Xiu Xiu in his mid-20s. The  release of the band's first album Knife Play on the Kill Rock Stars imprint 5RC cemented their style, but it was with 2004's Fabulous Muscles that the band really started to break through. Since then, Xiu Xiu has recorded and released another nine albums, toured the world, and their latest album Oh No, was just released at the end of March on Polyvinyl! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius. A pioneer in the field of electronic music, Hans-Joachim Roedelius is considered one of the founders of contemporary popular electronic music. Born in Berlin in 1934, Hans-Joachim starred as a child in a number of UFA films, and during the war was an unwilling member of the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth, membership being mandatory for all boys from the age of ten. During this time, he also appeared in several propaganda films. He fled Berlin in 1943, moving from one place to another before being conscripted into the National People's Army of East Germany. Again he took flight, only to end up in prison. WHen he got out, he trained as a male nurse, then as a hospice orderly. Having relocated from East to West Berlin, he went on to meander through Europe (as a thatcher, detective, masseur, bartender, janitor and many other things), before finally becoming a freelance artist, with avant-garde music his prime focus. In 1968, Hans-Joachim co-foun

On today's episode I talk to musician and painter Tobin Sprout. Born in 1955 in Dayton, Ohio, Tobin is an American artist, musician and children’s book creator. As a musician, he was well known as a founding member of the indie rock band Guided by Voices before going out on his own, releasing his first solo album, Carnival Boy, in 1996. As an artist, Tobin is famous for his photo-realism large format paintings, especially the “Superchrome” series, although he does paint in other styles as well. His children’s book, Elliott, about a magician’s rabbit who finds the courage to leave his top hat, sold out of its first print run. His latest album, Empty Horses, was released late last year on Fire Records, and like everything else Tobin does, it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Sarah Mary Chadwick. New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter, Sarah Mary Chadwick has been making music since she was a teenager. In the early 2000s, she formed the band Batrider in Wellington with guitarist Julia McFarlane (now of Twerps). After a number of albums and line-up changes that left Sarah as the only original member, she began writing music on her own. Her first album as herself, Eating for Two, was released in 2012 on Bedroom Suck Records, and since then she's released half a dozen albums on labels like Siltbreeze Records, and her latest Me and Ennui Are Friends, Baby was just released in February with Ba Da Bing Records, and it's fantastic! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to drummer and composer Bobby Previte. Originally from Niagara Falls, New York, Bobby was one of the seminal figures of the 1980s New York ‘Downtown’ scene that included John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, and Elliott Sharp, and his original compositions have been recorded and released on labels like Sony, Elektra, Tzadik. He's also led a plethora of diverse ensembles from behind his drums and has collaborated with many of the leading lights in and beyond the world of music, including master composer John Adams, iconic singer Tom Waits, pantheon filmmaker Robert Altman, and most recently, rock legend Iggy Pop. He's also the recipient of the 2015 Greenfield Prize for music and was a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow in 2012, and his latest albums are a series of live recordings called Groundtruther, which you can get on his Bandcamp site now! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Ron D. Moore. Originally from Chowchilla, CA, Ron broke into TV writing when he passed a spec script he had written to one of Gene Roddenberry's assistants during a tour of the Star Trek: The Next Generation set. This eventually led to him being hired on the show, and from there he wrote on Deep Space Nine, Roswell, Carnivale, and many otherTV shows until eventually he had the opportunity to reboot Battlestar Galactica for Syfy. The show was a critical and commercial success, ran for four seasons and garnered a number of Emmy nominations. Since then, Ron created the spinoff Caprica, adapted the Outlander novels, and most recently, he co-created and showran the great Apple TV show For All Mankind, which just started it's second season last week! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician James Yorkston. Originally from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife in Scotland, James has been playing music since he was young, and was an integral early member of the Fence Collective, a collaborative group of musicians that included groups like The Beta Band. James spent years honing his craft was eventually championed by John Peel and John Martyn after he sent them tapes of his music. This led to him being signed by Domino who have subsequently released most of his albums including 2019's critically acclaimed The Route to the Harmonium and his latest album with the Second Hand Orchestra The Wide, Wide River, which is already one of the best albums of the year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician James Yorkston. Originally from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife in Scotland, James has been playing music since he was young, and was an integral early member of the Fence Collective, a collaborative group of musicians that included groups like The Beta Band. James spent years honing his craft was eventually championed by John Peel and John Martyn after he sent them tapes of his music. This led to him being signed by Domino who have subsequently released most of his albums including 2019's critically acclaimed The Route to the Harmonium and his latest album with the Second Hand Orchestra The Wide, Wide River, which is already one of the best albums of the year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to solo artist and principal songwriter of the band Hop Along, Frances Quinlan. Growing up in Boyertown, PA, Frances recorded their first album as Hop Along during their freshman year of college at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Hop Along soon became a full band and with their third album Painted Shut, the group signed to Saddle Creek. Their fourth album Bark Your Head Off, Dog was met with near-universal acclaim, and just one year ago right before the pandemic, the label released Frances' solo album Likewise, which is just wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Mark Little. Originally from New Westminster, British Columbia, Mark has been writing and performing comedy for almost two decades. His sketch group Picnicface gained some acclaim during the heyday of internet videos, leading to their own series, which was executive-produced by Mark McKinney. He's also known for the popular shows Mr. D, Gary and His Demons, and one of my favorites Cavendish, a show Mark co-created that is easily one of the funniest things of the last few years. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Richard Dawson. Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, avant-garde folk musician Richard Dawson has been performing and releasing albums for over a decade, each one released to great critical acclaim. Starting with 2014's Nothing Important, Domino began releasing his music, and his latest album 2020, which was released in 2019, is absolutely one of the best albums of the last few years. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.