Beginnings

On today's episode, I talk to TV and comics writer J. Holtham. Originally a playwright, J. moved to Los Angeles in the early 20-teens to pursue screenwriting, eventually landing a staff writer position on the show Pitch. Since then, he's written for Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Jones, Supergirl and The Handmaid's Tale. As a comics writer, the final issue of J.'s first miniseries Bishop: War College just dropped, and it is delightful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Isabel Olive AKA Half Gringa. Originally from Carbondale, Illinois, Isabel has been playing as Half Gringa - a nod to a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in her Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the United States - since the late 20-teens. Her first album Gruñona was released in 2017 and her second Force to Reckon in 2020. Earlier this year, she released the Ancestral Home EP, and this summer she'll be on tour supporting Iron & Wine! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Joey Alison Sayers. Originally from Colorado Springs, CO, Joey has drawn comics for most of her life, but only really started publishing them as minicomics in her mid-20s. This led to many other opportunities, such as her strip "The Machine That Travels Through Time", which ran in Mad Magazine for almost a decade and "Thingpart", which was syndicated in a number of newspapers in the late-aughts. Currently, Joey writes the syndicated comic Alley Oop, and her own comics run on the wonderful left-wing political comics site The Nib. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to comedian and director Bobcat Goldthwait. Originally from Syracuse, Bobcat's career is so full of hyphens that "multihyphenate" doesn't even scratch the surface. From acting in films like Police Academy and Scrooged to directing TV for shows like Community and Jimmy Kimmel to directing comedy specials for folks like Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt to directing his own films like World's Greatest Dad and God Bless America. But since the start of his career, Bobcat has been a stand-up. His special with Dana Gould Joy Ride was released in 2021 and his latest album Soldier for Christ was just released at the end of April by Pretty Good Friends, and it is great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Carl Newman. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Carl began his musical career in the early '90s as a member of Superconductor, but it was really with his next band Zumpano where he began to find his voice, a style that would come to fruition with The New Pornographers. Since their first album Mass Romantic in 2000, the band has become one of the preeminent indie rock groups of the 21st century, with nine albums to their name, all of which are great. Carl has also recorded three wonderful solo albums, and most recently The New Pornographers' latest album Continue as a Guest was released on Merge Records, and like everything else they've done, it is just delightful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner Award-winning comics creator Jeff Lemire. Originally from Woodslee, Ontario, Jeff wrote and drew comics for years while working day jobs, until he eventually self-published his book Lost Dogs in 2005. This led to making Essex County for Top Shelf, and since then he's written and drawn a veritable slew of fantastic comics, both creator-owned works for publishers like Image and Dark Horse and for-hire books for companies like Marvel, DC and Vertigo. This includes comics like The Underwater Welder, Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Extraordinary X-Men, Descender and Ascender, Black Hammer, and Royal City. It should be noted that this is just a small sampling of his work, and currently, he is writing Little Monsters and Phantom Road for Image. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do wi

On today's episode, I talk to musician Rachel Brown. Originally from Chicago, Rachel attended NYU where they studied film and television. However, instead of ending up in TV, Rachel's life took a different path, and they became enmeshed in the New York music scene. As thanks for coming, they've released dozens of albums, and their latest, You Haven't Missed Much, was released late last year on Danger Collective Records. As half of Water From Your Eyes, Rachel has released six albums, and their latest Everyone's Crushed will be released on Matador at the end of May. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Satomi Matsuzaki. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Satomi moved to San Francisco in 1995 to study film production, but within a week of immigrating, she joined the nascent rock group Deerhoof, and has been a member ever since. In the intervening years, the band has released over two dozen albums, EPs and live albums on labels like Kill Rock Stars and Polyvinyl, among many others, and their latest, Miracle-Level, was released at the end of March on Joyful Noise Recordings, and like everything they do, it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to actor and comedian Jerry Minor. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Jerry came up doing comedy at Second City in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto before joining Mr. Show for the fourth season. This was followed by stints at SNL, Primtetime Glick, The Daily Show as well as appearances on basically every great comedy from the last two decades: Delocated, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Arrested Development, Community, Detroiters, Special and honestly, more than I have time to list here in this intro. Most recently, Jerry has been recurring on the hit sitcom Abbott Elementary. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Oren Ambarchi. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Oren began playing free jazz as a drummer in the late '80s, eventually moving from there to New York, where he became integrated in the experimental and jazz scene. Oren's collaborations and albums are too numerous to mention here, but he's played with everyone from Sunn 0)) to John Zorn to Jim O’Rourke to Phill Niblock, and released albums on labels like Kranky, Tzadik and his own, Black Truffle. Oren now lives in Berlin, and his most recent album is Shebang, which was released on Drag City last year, and it is incredible! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Eva Lawitts AKA Stimmerman. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Eva has been playing music for most of her life. She played in the band Sister Helen for 14 years, and when they broke up she formed Stimmerman in 2017. As Stimmerman, she's recorded a number of albums and EPs, and her latest Undertaking will be released this May, and it's incredible! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kate Fagan. Growing up in Wisconsin and then outside DC, Kate made many more stops before ending up in Chicago in the late '70s and early '80s. There she became the Founder and frontwoman of long-running Chicago second wave ska trailblazers Heavy Manners, and on her own, she recorded and self-released the new wave single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool, ” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. 35 years later, Captured Tracks has released an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length album, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to comics creator Farel Dalrymple. Originally from Tulsa, OK, Farel Dalrymple has been creating comics for over two decades. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, he was one of the founders of the Meathaus Collective, who published the Meathaus comics anthology. And since then, he's written and illustrated a wide range of comics, worked with Jonathan Lethem on Omega the Unknown and created numerous creator-owned books like The Often Wrong, Proxima Centauri, It Will All Hurt, Pop Gun War and The Wrenchies. Many of these are on Image; all of them are worth your time! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Dave Portner AKA Avey Tare of Animal Collective. Originally from Baltimore County, Dave met his future bandmates Josh, Brian and Noah in high school where they played music together, but it wasn't until they all found themselves in New York in the early-aughts that they officially became Animal Collective. The first album as Avey Tare, Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished, also doubles as the first Animal Collective album, and since its release on FatCat in 2000, they've written 10 more albums, the latest of which, Time Skiffs was released on Domino last year. On his own, Dave has written and collaborated on over half a dozen albums and EPs, and his latest, 7s, came out just last week, also on Domino! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi, Co

On today's episode, I talk to actress Emma Paetz. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Emma realized she wanted to act for a living while au pairing in Paris. She moved to London where she studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and was primarily a theater actor for a long time. While she's had roles in shows like The Looming Tower and Gentleman Jack, her first starring role was as Martha Kane in the canceled-too-soon show Pennyworth, all three seasons of which you can still watch on HBO Max! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to actress Elina Löwensohn. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Elina emigrated to the US as a child under somewhat harrowing circumstances. She studied acting and started performing in theater productions in New York and was hired by Hal Hartley after he saw her in play. She starred in a number of his films including Simple Men, Amateur and Flirt, and in the last 30 years, has acted in everything from Schindler's List to Seinfeld to Basquiat to A Very Long Engagement, and this is just a small sampling of her work! Most recently, Elina starred in the excellent experimental sci-fi film After Blue (Dirty Paradise)! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Damian Abraham. Originally from Toronto, Damian has been playing in punk bands since he was a tween. In 2001, he formed Fucked Up with Mike Haliechuk and has been the lead singer ever since. They've recorded six albums and dozens and dozens of EPs and other recordings on labels like Arts & Crafts, Merge and Matador. Damian is also the host of the interview podcast Turned Out a Punk, which has featured many of the same wonderful guests you've heard on Beginnings. Fucked Up's latest album One Day was just released last week on Merge, and like everything else they do, it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

On today's 13th anniversary episode, I talk to Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning TV and film writer Terence Winter. Originally from Brooklyn, Terry became a lawyer before giving it all up to move to LA to pursue a career in screenwriting. Starting on shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and sitcoms like Sister, Sister, Terry eventually became a writer for The Sopranos, which he wrote on for most of its run. Since then, he created the wonderful HBO show Boardwalk Empire, wrote the screenplay for The Wolf of Wall Street, and co-created both Vinyl and the new Taylor Sheridan/Sylvester Stallone show Tulsa King, which just wrapped up its first season on Paramount+. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comics creator Jim Zub. Jim began his comics career making webcomics starting in the early aughts, but it was with his Image book Skullkickers, which allowed him to break through to a wider audience. Since then he's written other creator-owned work for Image like Wayward and Glitterbomb, as well as numerous books for DC and Marvel including most notably The Avengers and Thunderbolts. Speaking of Thunderbolts, Jim is currently writing the latest series of that, as well as a Murderworld miniseries, a Conan series for Titan Comics and much, much more! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Alba Torremocha, Melissa Carter, and Lillie McDonough AKA the band ALMA. Hailing from all over the world, the New York-based trio officially formed in 2019 out of a shared delight in harmonizing and experimentation. Later that year, they were named an NYFA Fellow for their genre-pushing work and the following year, were awarded an Awesome Foundation Grant. Then in 2021, they released their first album MOSAIC to acclaim! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!