Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to Michael Collins AKA Drugdealer. Originally from Boston, Michael much more identifies an an artist rather than a musician, even though his music is quite wonderful. He moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and began making music under different drug pun monikers including Run DMT and Salvia Plath, and eventually formed Drugdealer, which he thinks of as more of a collective than a band and includes folks like Ariel Pink and members of Weyes Blood. Their first album The End of Comedy was released in 2016, and his latest Raw Honey will be released by Mexican Summer on April 19th. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian Natalie Palamides. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Natalie's path to comedy started with clowning and devised theater with the Obie-Award-Winning Pig Iron Theatre Company. After moving to Los Angeles, she became an official performer at UCB, and since then, has garnered a number of accolades including being named a Just for Laughs New Face in 2016 and Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2017. Natalie is also a voice actor working on a number of cartoons like Bob's Burgers, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and most notably voices Buttercup on the reboot of The Powerpuff Girls. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Ben Cooper AKA Radical Face. Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Ben has been making music since he was a teenager, originally as a way to escape his difficult upbringing. Since 2003, he's released six albums and eight EPs. His latest EP Therapy is out on April 26 via Bear Machine Records, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and writer Megan Neuringer. Originally from New York, Megan got her comedy start at UCB, where she was an official performer for over a decade. As an actor, she was a panelist on Best Week Ever and a number of other VH1 shows, and has appeared on Flight Of The Conchords, Fringe, Strangers With Candy, @Midnight, Kroll Show, Comedy Bang! Bang! and much more. And as a writer, she written for numerous shows including Portlandia and Netflix's new show The Fix with Jimmy Carr. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

I am trying to finish one of the biggest projects of my career so far this week, so I thought I'd put out an episode from the archives! Andy Daly is one of my favorite comedians, and he stopped by the Harlem studio in 2014 while promoting Review. We discuss The Monkees, the fragility of existence, fatherhood, “Cookies On a Shelf”, neighborhood games, living in your imagination, the character of Ridgewood, NJ, trouble with school, and more! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Mike Deni AKA Geographer. Originally from New Jersey, Los Angeles-based musician Mike Deni has been writing music for most of his life, and for over a decade as Geographer. In that time, he's released a number of EPs and albums including Innocent Ghosts in 2008, Myth in 2012, and Ghost Modern in 2015. His latest EP New Jersey will be out March 22nd, and it is wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and TV writer Solomon Georgio. Born in a refugee camp in Sudan, Solomon immigrated to the US at a young age, and his family eventually ended up in Seattle. As a stand-up he performed on Conan, This Is Not Happening, Viceland's show Flophouse, The Meltdown, 2 Dope Queens on HBO and his own Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents special. As a TV writer, he's written for a ton of shows including Spongebob Squarepants, Adam Ruins Everything, Crashing and the upcoming reboot of High Fidelity. Solomon's first stand-up album Homonégro Superior was released in 2017 on Comedy Central Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Scott Thompson. Originally from Brampton, Ontario, Scott is 1/5 of the iconic sketch group The Kids in the Hall, whose show ran for five seasons. They also made the film Brain Candy, the series Death Comes to Town, and continue to tour. In addition to this, Scott has also acted on dozens and dozens of shows including The Simpsons and Tim and Eric. He also played his character Buddy Cole on the Colbert Report and was a regular on two of the best shows of the last couple decades, The Larry Sanders Show and Hannibal. Scott's comedy album Not a Fan was released last year on Comedy Dynamics, and he also wrote a book as Buddy Cole called Buddy Babylon. His latest live show Après le Déluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues is running from March 19th to the end of April here in Los Angeles at the Lyric Hyperion. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

To celebrate the upcoming 400th episode of the show, I thought I'd drop a bonus episode this week! What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpinning why certain TV shows get made or why certain actors become household names, and I think it's worth talking about those things. So on today's episode, I talk to my old friend and TV writer Aaron Burdette. Aaron and I have been friends for almost a decade, and he was on the very first episode of Beginnings. Not only this, but our careers have been following somewhat parallel paths, and we both went through the development process this last year. What does "the development process" mean? Find out on today's episode! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Bridie Monds-Watson AKA SOAK. Originally from Derry in Northern Ireland, Bridie began making music when she was 13, and quickly found acclaim. Her first album, Before We Forgot How to Dream was released in 2015 on Rough Trade. It won the Irish Choice Music Prize Album of the Year and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize as well. Her latest album, Grim Town, which is also on Rough Trade, will be out this April. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Rosie Tucker. Originally from the San Fernando valley, Rosie is now based in Los Angeles proper. She is 1/4 of the post-rock band Gypsum, and though only in her early 20s, she's written two albums under her own name. Lowlight was released in 2015, and her latest Never Not Never Not Never Not will be released this March on New Professor Music. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne of the band The Blow. Originally from Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, Khaela is an artist, writer and musician, and has been part of the Olympia/K Records music scene for a long time, as a solo artist, as a member of The Microphones, and for a number of years with YACHT's Jona Bechtolt as The Blow. However, since the mid-aughts, The Blow has been Khaela and artist/musician Melissa Dyne. Melissa classically trained on the cello as a child, and went on to study physics and fine arts at The College of Santa Fe, NM. Since the band's inception, they've released ten albums and EPs, and their latest Brand New Abyss, was released in 2017. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Andrew Choi AKA St. Lenox. Originally from Ames, Iowa, Andy has lived many lives. In the mid ’90s, he was a Juilliard-trained violinist. He then quit music to get a degree in Philosophy and went on to receive his PhD from Ohio State. And after this, he moved to New York City, where he now works as a singer-songwriter and a lawyer in Manhattan. As St. Lenox, Andy has released three albums: Ten Songs About Memory and Hope, Ten Hymns From My American Gothic, and his latest Ten Fables of Young Ambition and Passionate Love which was released last fall on Anyway Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Alison Tatlock. Originally from Brookline, MA, Alison has taken a circuitous route to television from actor to non-profits to playwright. And while Alison only started her TV career less than a decade ago, she's written for a number of the best dramas of the 21st century. This includes shows like In Treatment, Stranger Things, Halt and Catch Fire, and Better Call Saul, the latter of which has been nominated for a 2019 Writer's Guild Award in Drama. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

I'm taking a break for the holidays, so I thought I'd put up this pilot I did for Earwolf late last year called Let's Get Metaphysical. LGM is a hybrid philosophy discussion/sketch show (maybe from that combo you can see why it didn't get picked up), but besides some of the usual awkwardness in a pilot, it's pretty fun and interesting - I got to talk to some funny people, plus a philosopher that was a real inspiration to me, and the sketch actors are some of my favorite performers, and I got to have my good friend and UCB sketch writer extraordinaire Geoff Garlock contribute a sketch in the middle. Kind of a dream! Hope you enjoy it, and see you in 2019! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to singer, bass player, model and actress Adeline Michèle. Born and raised in Paris to a French mother and a father hailing from the Caribbean island of Martinique, Adeline started singing at the ripe age of five and was accepted in a professional choir and grew up performing live around Europe and on T.V. In 2006, Adeline moved to New York City to more actively pursue her music career. She joined legendary acid jazz/hip-hop band Us3 and her self-written single, "Say You Belong to Me", received rave reviews. Currently, Adeline performs as the lead vocalist and bass player of the 17-piece nu-disco phenomenon, Escort. Earlier this fall, her first eponymous solo album was released, and it's wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout. KP grew up in a small Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. From an early age, she was singing and dancing at powwows including her family’s own powwow, called the All My Relations Powwow. In 2007, KP moved to Portland, OR, to attend college and get involved with the Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls. Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement, KP dove deep into the Portland music scene, playing guitar and drums in a bunch of bands while evolving her artistry into what would later be Black Belt Eagle Scout. She released a self-titled EP in 2014, and her first full-length album Mother of My Children was just released by Saddle Creek earlier this fall. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actress Kether Donohue. Originally from New York, Kether has been a working actress for over twenty years. She began doing voiceover for anime like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! as a teenager, and since then has been in a number of great shows and movies including Pitch Perfect, High Maintenance and unsung sitcom LA to Vegas. Currently, Kether stars on one of the best shows on TV You're the Worst, which returns for its fifth and final season on January 9th on FXX. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to filmmakers and musicians Brocker and Chapman Way. Originally from Thousand Oaks, CA, Brocker and Chapman, along with their third brother MacLain, are responsible for the wonderful documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball, as well as the six part Emmy Award-winning documentary Wild Wild Country about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his community of followers that emigrated to a small town in Oregon.  This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician and rapper Nnamdi Ogbonnaya. The child of Nigerian immigrants, Nnamdi mostly grew up in Chicago, where he has been a member of the DIY music underground for many years. This includes drumming in bands like Monobody and Ittō, playing bass in groups like Nervous Passenger and Teen Cult, and rapping under his own name as well as Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project. His most recent album DROOL was released last year on Father/Daughter Records, and it's fantastic! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.