2024 In Review: A Recap of My Guest Pods (Pt. 1) Stub

1:17 What's good everybody happy last podcast of 2024 today?I want to just take a year and review look at the podcast episodes

1:49 Overview them maybe point out some that you might have missed and might want to go back and revisitAnd then also just like summarize some of the things that I really took away from this year and hopefullyCan inspire you for your goal setting in the future and you know set up my own personal New Year's resolutions as wellso the first guest podcast that I did this year was with Benjamin Lazar Davis and

2:11 He actually did that podcast if you want to watch the video ofWhile he was walking around and so you had LA in the backgroundAnd it was just this kinetic very different way to conduct, you know an interview a conversationandThat really helps to contextualize what I thought he brought in terms of spirit to my my life

2:34 And then to all of the music that he creates incredible music including music with Maya Hawke, you knowHe's he's has incredible reach, but he does it to the beat of his own rhythmHe does it with his own true artistic sensibility and

2:50 Sense of adventure and journey. I actually had the pleasure of watching watching him perform at a experimentalimprovised music set with Kimbra as the special guest and

3:02 It was truly incredible and so cool to see him in his element working with all of these musicians in away that was just so him andIt's inspiring too as as an artist to see all the different flavors of artists because it's so easy to get caught up in the to-do list orThe next thing that you have to promote or the photo shoot or all like these other like

3:25 Things that aren't the actual music important very cool and fun. I'm not all fun, you know accounting whateverbutIt's easy to lose the force for the trees kind of situation whereIt's for the musicIt's about the music and you need to continue to fulfill and tend your garden and grow as an artistOtherwise all of the stuff that orbits around that nucleus that energyJust doesn't have the juice

3:55 And that's something that you know reflecting on that conversation reflecting on that performance from benI really want to impart that to you and to myself as a 2025see if you cana resolutionadventure ofHow can you lean harder into your artist self your true self?

4:16 And how do you discover it through the act of creating what I mean by that is the true act of goingInto the dark into the cave and seeing what you findnotIn the way that making like sync music can be you're writing towards a briefYou are saying I am making a commercial for coca-cola and it's supposed to sound like doja cat mixed withSnoop Dogg it's like okay

4:41 Like I'm gonna synthesize those two and I'm gonna put on my producer hat and accomplish that goalThat is fine and valuable and makes moneyBut that doesn't tend your garden that doesn't fill you up the thing that really fills you up is when you go intoA song being like I have a loose conception of what I want to makeAnd I might fail along the wayIn the original goal

5:07 But as long as I'm hyped about it and I like the end product, it's a success stillSome of my favorite artistic moments have been setting out on oneJourney and then taking a very quick abrupt detour and ending up in a completely different placeIn a way that if you would have told the people like like that

5:26 We're listening to that song like hey, did you know I was referencing brothers Johnson? They'd be like, yeah, no, you weren'tUm, but it's like yeah, but that was the nucleus of the idea, but you just yes, anded your way into the cave

5:38 And that's what fills you up. That's what turns you into somebody that has like enough water in the wellThat you can pull out from it when you need to do thosewrite to a briefColor in the lines kind ofjobsthe nextguest pod that I had was with Joshoo one of my homies andcollaborators and

6:02 somebody that I really respect in terms of the way that he's navigating and I feel the same way reallyBecause watching his career heJust put out a really cool ambient record and I think that he's so uniquelypositioned to do something like that because he hashis incredible music chopsOn flugelhorn on trumpet and then as his own singer songwriter producer

6:31 And then to add that extra wrinkle of not only do I you know tour in peter gabriel's bandBut i'm going to make a record that you didn't expect

6:40 And yes, these might be like the less commercially viable or commercially whateverbut it isthe gutsiest andI think that especially in the face of where the music industry is now where a lot of peopleUm also just speak from my own personal experience

7:02 Uh and in my friends that I've talked to a lot of people are making a lot less money this year than they did the year beforeThe trends are not looking awesomeSo how do you respond to that? Do you go harder into the commercial?Or do you go harder in the gutsy?

7:18 Probably both is the best answer, but it's tricky when you know, you're faced withEconomic issuesThat's like the real crossroadsand i'm proud of josh forTaking the chance and doing something that he was passionate aboutAnd I got that out of that conversation was just likeLike when he got his apple commercial, you know, he was

7:42 He was not in that frame of mind. He was not writing a song that was for sync. He was writing a song that feltDeep that was like captured the emotion

7:55 Even more than like being perfect notes or being the perfect mixer or anything like thatHe wasn't trying to add in keywords and buzzwords and things that agency would searchOr or look alike artists kind of stuffHe was just trying to putEmotion into the bottle and it worked and it made him some moneyAnd you know, like I could see how the ambient record maybe that's

8:21 A thing that ends up breaking him or at the very leastIntroduces him to new people in the la music scene which of which he is rapidlyApart, I mean it's crazy. It's so awesome to see

8:32 Josh who I think he moved in during the pandemic to la and now he's just like a feature of the sceneWe have so many mutual friends. It's like I'm a little jealous. I wish I was this nice and personableTruly truly incredibleAnd I also live in sandy. I guess I guess that helps that helpsNext up ryan.

8:52 So ryan who has you know worked with snarky puppy puppyone of my favoritesum, actually interesting side side story I just saw a clip of one of the members of snarky puppy talking about making really bad demosIf you're trying to collaborate with other people and I just wanted to share that with you and because I thought it was kind ofGeniuswhereThe pointThis is not mine was

9:15 If you are trying to collaborate with someone and you do too good of a job on the front endThey're gonna say oh, okay.

9:24 I'll just like polish up what you didYou're inherently putting them inside of a boxand I think thattheAct ofHolding yourself back if you're collaborating is really wise especially on the front end because itIt givesIt gives negative space You're you're communicating only the most essential ideas that you feel passionate aboutRather than just doing all the work because if you're just gonna do all the work

9:50 Why isn't it just a solo song?And I like that. Um, so anyway back to ryan one of the things I loved about that conversation wastalking aboutThe connections between studio and liveWhere as a mix engineerlike you haveYou have

10:12 An artistic kind of reprieve inside of your studio where you are like hermetically sealed inside of this box that is soundproofedAnd listening to these speakers under the microscope and I thought it was soAlluring it made me kind of want to do live sound

10:28 Comparing that where it's the same essential skills as he was saying it for live, but a very different emotionvery differentimmediacyandEvery room changing every night.

10:41 I just thought that was so coolum, the next one was with Bermuda SchwartzWho weird al yankovic?I said yankovic because uh, you know yelkic Vukovic i'm an mba fan and it's all the it's you know, this is how I was taught to pronounce it. So I made a mistakeBut I had I had people teach me.

11:04 Um Either that's how it is but the coolest thing about that bramita conversation was

11:12 Talking to somebody that's played on, you know diamond records and in a way that is notthe traditional route like figured out their own path

11:22 And used the technological innovations of that time like mtv, which I think you should consider a technological innovationand wrote a cultural wave and leaned into it and took the persona and everything around itto make a career thatRivals, you know, michael jacksonIt's it's amazing.

11:47 UmAnd his part in it and his constantLove of learning and changing and staying upAnd I thought that was a cool thing Especially for somebody that's been in the industry for a while and has already had success. He probably could retireUh, but why would he?He's on the top of his game. You know, he's excited for that next tour.

12:07 He's excited for that next record He's always collecting drum samples and he's talking to drummersWho are, uh, you know producing this stuff like you like his story about imagine dragonsI think it was imagine dragons.

12:20 He just called him up and was like, hey, what did you use for this sample?And that is such a coolcommunity building fearlessness Relentless learning and just excitement about the music itself speaking of excitementThe next one was with jw francis who's been tearing it up on the road this yearJust absolutely incredible watching that unconventional touring.

12:39 Uh, I thought that was a really cool conversation too about You know, what does it actually look like?Signing to a record label and you know jw and I were we're in similar parts of our career where we're like growingWe have a little bit of uh audience established and and we do have people that will come to our shows and stuff, butIt's like what what's next? How do you get how do you get out of that?

13:03 Like one tier to the next year that's always so difficultAnd I I usually think about it like a rocket ship like you need escape velocity or like a satelliteYou know like there's different orbits of satelliteIt's so hard to go from one kind ofTier or whatever to the next it's really easy to slip back downBut like how do you how do you get that energy?

13:24 It's usually a song or an interesting tour You know, like you look at like a sobriety and a carpenter or some of the people thatopened for taylor swift MUNAIt's like there'sThere are some opportunities that make that happenThere are some songs that make that happen speaking to Sabrina carpenter, you know, you knowIt's like how do you do that?

13:45 And I think that JW taking it into his own hands and doing it in his own way is really inspiring andYeah, just super cool to be like this is his dream tourAnd it's his dream tour might not be everybody's dream tourBut he wants to play these unconventional places.

14:02 He wants to connect on that very deep Emotional human way and he's doing it in a very creative way and he did it in response to limitations with agencies andbooking contracts and stuffAnd I I just love stuff like that and I love connecting with artists that are in the same kind of likeThing is me where it's like, how do you you know, how do you actually turn this into the full-time gig?um, it's really hardand

14:28 He's doing it. He's doing it and he's figuring out his own way just as I am and I'm excited to keep talking with the dudeAnd speaking of unconventional the next conversation was with Greg Byers gregReally helped meto like understand howOrchestra musicians that aren't in like the New York Phil or something how they actuallyMake their money and survive and it's the same way that pop people do too

14:55 It's a mix of everything you're teaching you're performingYou're playing in different types of ensemblesYou are hustling and I think that one of the key things I got out of that too waslower cost of living places and I think gregI think greg was in minneapolisminnesota at the very least and

15:17 I think that I think that's an important factor too. It's really hard to make it work in high cost of living areasunless you are you knowTearing it up or you have a really steady gigUm, but those steady gigs can go away really fastSo it's best to have a patchwork and it's best to keep those expenses lowAnd I think that greg is doing that in a really really cool way

15:40 Especially for you know, if somebody that's listening is in high schoolMaybe plays in their jazz band or something like that or orchestraumlisten to that episode because I thinkHe laid out a great roadmapSomething that you can follow uh something you can point your ship towards where you can live a comfortable lifeAnd still do everything

16:00 Um about your instrument and one other thing that I thought was really cool was he talked abouthowexercise a physical exercise can benefit your instrument and I feel that too whereGetting out running even just walking cycling rowing whatever you doUm all of that.

16:19 I really think it helps and I'm feeling it more and more of just likeThe more I can use my bodyThe easier it is to then communicate with my hands You know, there's there's something about it just like nerves or whatever it isUm, also the thing for me is a guitarist and I know this is like greg probably feels the same way because he's he's a bowed string performerum

16:44 Hand strength is really important because it's so easy to get injuries. Um like carpal tunnel or overuse injuries andDoing things like pull-ups or push-ups or whateverUm or or some other activity that uses your hands or uses grips grip strengthman, it can really really make a difference and I'm feeling it myself of just likeInvesting that time ends up paying back

17:10 And then some even though it feels like you're getting away from the studio and you're like not doing your workAt least that's how it feels like to me. UmAllocating some is is the right thing it's going to keep you going longer

17:24 Next up speaking of that going longer and nourishing a music career, uh, Jon Sandler from great good fine.

17:31 Okayincredible musician great friend and I thinkI think his he's you know, he's on a higher tier than I amBut his podcast was a really great look at you know, where jw and ir versus where great good fineokay are um The like different levels of touring the challenges that are present no matter where you are in your artistic journey

17:53 And then also like personal change in growth and you know, he just moved out to los angelesI think that there's there's something in that too of self reflection making the right next step making the right moves and

18:08 Understanding like how do you take advantage of an opportunity when it comes when it comes knocking?And I think that uh the conversation with Luke Moellman who uh, you know, I talked to I think last year a year beforeumIt was it was part of his duo and great good fine. Okay.

18:25 UmheAlso like talked about how important it is to you know, wherever the industry is going there are there will be opportunities They don't happen that often but like one of the big ones was blogs and Hype MachineThat used to be a thing. It doesn't really matter anymoreBut that wasThat was a moment and they seized that moment. What's the next one?

18:44 I don't know it used to be spotify playlist Is it still? I don't knowBut it's it's about the mindset of like keeping the antenna up being ready and going for it

18:55 My next guest was Eliott Glinn elliott brought a really cool look at what it's like to be a mix engineerumAnd I love mix engineers because mix engineers are like those final creative step of blending together all of thebits and pieces into a way that feels coherent and feels ready and feels digestibleYou know thinking with that listener in mind

19:19 Not just the artist in mind and creating a soundscape and for me that soundscape is all about like what brings in and out of focusjust like a greatcinematographercinematographer it's like a great video personumLike they they will frame a shot and but they will do things with focus to pull things in and out of the foregroundOr direct the viewer's eye the same way that you direct the eye in a painting or in a movie

19:47 You directed the ear in a song of like what am I listening to?What is there for vibe and what is there for focus and sometimes those things dance and move in between?It was so fun talking to Eliott about stuff like that and keeping with the classical undertone that we did with gregum the next conversation that I had was with harley who uh

20:07 Is work working as a string arranger and I thought that harley was really cool because he talked aboutHow he started with cello, but then he expanded to other stringsAnd how he uses tools modern tools like melodyne to aid him in his music production in his arrangingand so it's not justtuning notes it'sabout visualizing and

20:30 Taking all of your tracks into like a different workflow beyond just written notationAnd I thought that was really cool.

20:37 It's something I've been trying to do with my background vocals all the way back since the KŌAN. I really started to do that a lot um with like a song to quit your job toand my cover of um the Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice of like How do I go beyond just what I can necessarily hear of what the next background vocal is?But the cool thing is like using melodyne

20:59 And visualizing it it ends up training your brain for new possibilities. And then you hear that laterSo there's this really nice little flywheel of

21:07 You use a tool it trains your intuition that intuition gets fed back into the tool and that trains you furtherAnd that's what i'm trying to do with ai too is like how can you use these tools?I'm trying to find some good ones. I'm a little

21:21 I'm a little bummed with how music ai is going, but maybe I need to talk to rileya little bit more umBut things that can be iterative and can allow you to grow your executive functionCan allow you to grow your decision making while taking away some of the menial tasks or at least opening up different optionsum

21:41 Like a good example is like using chat gpt to brainstorm lyrics rather than have it write lyrics, you know like say likeThis is a prompt that I've I've been enjoying when I get stuck as I sayYou know, I'm writing a song. I don't want you to writelyrics I want you to write down

21:58 Associated words with a theme like summer and it would be like okay popsicle sunshine a sunburn, you know like whateverumbutAllowing you to kind of take away some of that brainstorm and in the same way that like using a rhyme dictionary like rhymezone.comCan help you be like, okay. Yeah, that's an interesting rhymeBut a lot of times what it does is it lays out all of the obvious examples and you go.

22:21 Oh wait I can think of something elseYou pull something else out of the depths of your brain that the ai or the rhymezone.com would never have thought ofBut by using the tool you're able to access those thingsIn the same way like looking at a picture can help jog your memory and you remember in a littleunrelated detail or like smelling a perfume or aOr a I don't know

22:45 Hearing a song, you know, like it could extract another senseumUsing these tools to do that in the same way that like Synplant, which is a cool umgenerativesynthesizer thingUm, I don't know if it uses aiI feel like everything just says that it's ai even if it's not um, but it is uh, it's a cool tool that just like

23:08 Can jog an idea. It's like an idea generator. Next up was my german homie martin. Um, we talked aboutSpatial audio, which has been still super hyped and I thinkI think the hype cycles kind of like coming around now where people areHave installed it in their houses.

23:24 I'm seeing it a little bit more out therebut I think people are trying to figure out what's next and He's a great that that's a great episode to try and figure out what's next because he talks about the different codexthe different things things beyond Atmos necessarily where it's it's beyond likeOne company it's saying how can we make audio the best it can be?

23:45 How can we make it the most immersive that it can be? How can we borrow ideas from video games and from

23:52 You know movies in a movie theater that have more capable speaker setups and apply them to like binaural headphone listeningReally really cool episode and and I love he has such technical chopsIt's because it's just so fun to asksomebody with that depth of knowledge like here's what I want to do.

24:10 How do I accomplish that and He's got he's got some really good answers. So enjoy that podcast if you haven't heard it next up with dr.

24:19 DrumsLeah Bowden she was such a great conversation because sheDescribed it the community aspect of music making in a way that feels so niceEspecially it's like, you know, I make a lot of music for the internetUmAnd it's so nice to actually go out and play it and see people enjoy it But the vast majority of my stuff just kind of goes out on the internet and a lot of people listen to it

24:42 Uh, and I that's really cool. But man, it's so hard to know if they like it or what their actual response isandThe dr.

24:52 Drums she she talked about uh, really coolevents community eventsuh engaging with peopleAcross the board or two of just likehow do you build ensembles that areinclusive of the peoplein the culture and the historyhow do you tell that story andI think thatI think that pop music has got a lot to learn fromother genres in that respect

25:20 Where pop music can feel so much just about the cult of personality rather than sharing likeWhy does this music matter?

25:30 Where did this music come from?It's more about likeWho am I?My identity like rather thanWhat am I playing?And you know a part of that's just part of the genre, but I do think that We could tell that story with without telling, you know show don't tell kind of thing of how can

25:51 How can the visuals that you choose? How can the performers the the lineup even like the

25:57 The lead in music all that kind of stuff. I think that that curation aspect and she's a doctor after all rightBut like that academic curationCan be better applied in the popular artsSo i'm realizing this is going a little longer than I anticipatedI just love talking about these these amazing people and uh, so yeah

26:17 I'm gonna do a part two of this episode before I do though. Let's let's get into the my my final my final spotlightUh Jesse McGinty. So jesse and I made a song calledmichael bubleMy santa buddy and it's all about michael bubleThawing out from his ice cave and coming out to singHoliday music once again. No no disrespect michael buble.

26:41 It's a meme But one of the I love working with the podcast guests on that kind of personal level and then talking to them is so cool

26:53 It should have been the other way around because then I would have known him and then we got to work togetherBut i'm so excited to work with him againBut jesse, I mean he's he's worked with so many heavy hitters, you know like me. I'm just kiddingI'm like Pharrell, J.LoI think that I think that jesse's perspective

27:14 He gave one of my favorite answers to why do you love music question the end of the episodeSo if you if you don't watch the whole episode at least check that part outHe's just truly inspiring. It's really stuck with me. I think about it a lot actuallyUm, and that's one of the coolest things about doing this podcast is being able to ask peopleWhy do they love music?

27:31 And they give you an answer that changes the reason why you love musicAnd that's why we renamed the show to love music more and that's what i'mTrying to reflect on and I feel very blessed and gratefulFor all of you listening and for everybody that's come on this podcast given their timeto be able to tell that story andit is aboutgrowing loveshowcasing moredigging deeper diving deeperbecause

28:03 That's what you do when you love somethingIt isn't surface level. It isn't background noise. It is passion obsessionLove is sacrifice love isn't just looking at something and saying

28:21 That's perfect. That's not love. Love is the lack of perfection. Love is the acceptanceLove is the sacrifice

28:32 And I think jesse nailed it much better than I just did there, but it's the perspective ofWhy we do this and why i'm doing this podcastLikeThere are other things to spend time onI feelA mission and a joyIn sharing these stories with youand having you listen to them andI'm really excited to continue to do that do that in a biggerMore impactful way because it's in service of this thing that I love most and

29:11 My whole reason for trying to make a music careerin a podcast careerIs so that I don't have to do anything elseJust musicThat's my aspiration, but the why behind it is because I'm obsessedBecause I love it because I want to share it and give it and give back to it what it gave to meThere's a cool thing of lebron james after heWon against the warriors spoiler alert.

29:40 Sorry on christmas day and He said it many times, but I feel the same way with with music. So yeah lebron and I were basically the same body type

29:51 Same muscle mass. Yeah, but the one thing that we do have somewhere is he talks about giving back to the gameThat's given so much to him.

30:02 I feel the same way with music where my life is not the same without musicSo I have to I must give back to it and hopefully give it to othersAnd it's such a special thing that every year I hear music differently Just because I've experienced more of it.

30:22 There's more to compare it to I've trained my ears. I've gotten to know my room where I've finally been able to afford to put sound panels in my studio, you know, likethose littlemilestonesMake music this living breathing thing even for people that have long pastIt's an amazingart form andI really appreciate all the time that you've spentlistening to me talk about it with all of these wonderful people

30:56 Can't wait for the new year. I'll continuePart two of this like recap of all of the guest episodes in the new year, but until thenI don't know partyAnd you know throw me a five starShare it with your friendsThat is the best way for us to grow and if you want to hear my musicYou can go to Scoobert Doobert dot pizza a bunch of new music coming in the new year

31:21 It's gonna get weird. So just fair warning the next record is gonna be a little strangeBut as you know to tie this whole thing up in a bow. It is uh, it's people like

31:32 Ben Benjamin Lazar Davis to blame for my music getting more personal and more weirdAnd I hope you enjoy it. But if you don't blame them just kiddingThank you for listening. I'll see you guys next year