Beginnings

On today's episode, I talk to musician Felicia Douglass. Originally from New York City, Felicia studied ballet for a long time before deciding that wasn't the path for her. Some of her old school chums had formed the band Ava Luna, and she eventually joined them. In the twenty years they've been together, Ava Luna has released over a dozen albums and EPs, and their latest self-titled album came out on Western Vinyl just last year. In 2018, Felicia became a member of Dirty Projectors, performing as part of the Song of the Earth ensemble, and few years earlier, she and producer/multi-instrumentalist Erik Gundel formed the band Gemma. Their latest album Be About It is out today, and folks, it is wonderful! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Stefanie Drootin and Chris Senseney of Big Harp. Originally from the San Fernando Valley and the Sandhills of Nebraska respectively, Stefanie and Chris met two decades ago, when they became both romantic and creative partners, getting married, having two children and performing together as Big Harp. In 2011, they released their first album White Hat, followed by Chain Letters in 2013 and now thirteen years later, they've released their third record Runs to Blue on Saddle Creek, and it is fantastic! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician and producer John McEntire. Originally from Portland, OR, John started playing drums as a preteen and eventually went to school at The Oberlin Conservatory to study music. At Oberlin, John started playing in David Grubbs post-Squirrel Bait band Bastro. The group then moved to Chicago, and Bastro morphed into the first incarnation of Gastr Del Sol. After their debut album The Serpentine Similar was released in 1993, John left to co-found Tortoise, who he's played with ever since. John also performs in The Sea and Cake and Red Krayola, and as a producer and engineer has worked with everyone from Stereolab to Broken Social Scene to Yo La Tengo, and of course, this is just scraping the surface of John's accomplishments. Most recently, Tortoise released their eighth album Touch through International Anthem and Nonesuch Records, and folks, like everything else they've done, it's wonderful! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

In 2023, they recorded their first full-length album Revival of a Friend at Tiny Telephone, and it will be released on Exploding In Sound Records at the end of the month! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to Amelia Fletcher of the band Heavenly. Raised in Oxford, Amelia started playing in bands in the mid-1980s. Her first major group was Talulah Gosh, which she formed with Elizabeth Price, and they released a number of singles before Amelia left and formed Heavenly in 1989. Heavenly released four albums on Sarah and K Records, but after a tragic event, retired the name, and since then, Amelia has performed in a number of notable groups including Marine Research, Tender Trap and The Catenary Wires. Alongside her musical career, Amelia became a respected economist and academic, whose accolades are too numerous to mention in a short biography, though one major point is that her work has been used to curb Tech power in the UK, and due to her decades of service, she was appointed OBE in 2014 and CBE in 2020. Most recently, Heavenly has returned after their 30 year hiatus with Highway to Heavenly, which was just released last week on Skep Wax, and regardless of the intervening decades, is as good as anything they've ever done! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to Lisa Marr and Lisa Gertrud, two-thirds of the band cub. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Lisa Marr and Robynn Iwata formed cub in 1992 and while they were only together for five short years, were incredibly prolific, releasing a dozen albums, EPs and 7"es in their half-a-decade as a band. After their break-up, Robin started the band I Am Spoonbender, while Lisa M and Lisa G, who joined in 1994, moved to California where they started the band Buck. Since the '90s, both Lisas have had extensive careers in film and visual art; Lisa M co-founded the Echo Park Film Center, and Lisa G is a founding member of Vancouver's Iris Film Collective. Back in mid-January, Mint Records released the 30th anniversary reissue of cub's second album Come Out Come Out, and even three decades later, it is still fantastic! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Julianna Barwick. Originally from Louisiana, Julianna ended up in New York in the early aughts and self-released her debut EP, Sanguine, in 2006. Her first album The Magic Place came out on Asthmatic Kitty in 2011, and since then, she has released a dozen more albums, EPs and collaborations on labels like Dead Oceans and Ninja Tune. Her latest, Tragic Magic, a collaboration with harpist Mary Lattimore, just came out in the middle of January on InFiné, and it is just wonderful! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to Jen Bender of Cusp. Originally from Long Island, Jen and her bandmates formed Cusp a little over five years ago in Rochester, before moving to Chicago in 2022. A year later, they released their first album You Can Do It All, followed by the Thanks So Much EP in 2024, and their latest, What I Want Doesn't Want Me Back, which came out in October last year and was one of my favorite albums of 2025! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kassie Carlson. Originally from Cape Cod, Kassie began performing in an early incarnation of Guerilla Toss after her hardcore band Western Syndrome played a show with them in 2012. They released their first EP Jeffrey Johnson later that year on Feeding Tube Records, and since then, they've released over a dozen more albums and EPs on labels like Tzadik, DFA and Sub Pop. Just last September, they released their sixth album, You're Weird Now, on Sub Pop, and folks, it's a delight! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to experimental musician and composer Claire Rousay. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Claire grew up in San Antonio, Texas and began playing piano at the ripe age of 4-years-old. Dropping out of high school in her mid-teens, Claire began playing music professionally, and in 2017, released her first album Blip on Mended Dreams. Since then, she's released over two dozen other albums and EPs on Mended Dreams, as well as Orange Milk, Shelter Press and her latest, A Little Death, just came out in October on Thrill Jockey, 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Marc Hollander. Born in Geneva, Switzerland right after WWII, Marc was raised in Brussels and started the band Aksak Maboul in 1977 when producer Marc Moulin commissioned him to write and record an album for his label Kamikaze. Aksak Maboul was one of the handful of bands that was part of the exclusive Rock In Opposition movement, and they produced two brilliant albums before going on hiatus in the early 1980s. In 1980, Marc founded Crammed Discs, which over the last 45 years has been one of the most interesting and eclectic independent labels in the world, releasing music from bands and musicians like Tuxedomoon, John Lurie, Fred Frith, Konono Nº1 and many, many more. In 2014, Marc ended the long Aksak Maboul hiatus by releasing the "lost" third album from the early '80s, and since then has made two further albums. Their latest, Before Aksak Maboul (documents & experiments 1969-1977), a collection that traces Marc's musical evolution from his first band at 19, Here and Now, up through the formation of Aksak Maboul, is out next week, and it's a blast! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Thalia Zedek. Originally from Washington DC, Thalia attended college at Boston University for one semester before dropping out to pursue a musical career instead. Each band she formed saw a little more success than the last, and her breakthrough was the group Uzi in 1984. They only stayed together for a short time though, and she next joined the New York no wave band Live Skull, who stayed together until 1990. From their break-up until 2001, Thalia was in the band Come, which she formed with Codeine's Chris Brokaw; in their time together, they released four acclaimed records on Matador, and since then, she's been performing as Thalia Zedek Band. They've released nine albums, mostly on Thrill Jockey, and her latest The Boat Outside Your Window was just released in May of this year. On November 14th, Dromedary Records will release the lost EP of Via, Thalia's other Live Skull-era band, and it's a delight! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Joelton Mayfield. Originally from the Marble Falls/Granite Shoals area of Texas, Joelton grew up in a family where music was intertwined with religion. As a teenager, he was even the music director of his church and led Wednesday night worship services. As he gradually moved away from the church, both geographically and spiritually, he began to write music for himself, and released the I Hope You Make It EP in 2019. His debut album Crowd Pleaser comes out next week on Bloodshot Records, and it's fantastic! 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! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!