Part two: writing songs that hold sweetness and bluntness in the same breath

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Part two with Eliot Bronson digs into how he keeps a song honest without losing the melody. He talks through tracks from "Talking to Myself" like "Are You Still Mean?" and "From Rabun Gap," the tension between chasing success and protecting the work, and why naming contradictory feelings is its own kind of relief. He closes with a performance. How do you write something blunt and tender at the same time?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Emotional Spectrum in Music
2:16 The Ted Lasso Connection
4:21 Life's Emotional Extremes
5:30 Balancing Opposites in a Song
6:37 Personal Growth and Expression
14:55 Success, Struggle, Authenticity
21:55 Influences and What's Next
25:25 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A songwriter who says his own songs teach him who he is

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Eliot Bronson writes songs that he says end up teaching him about himself. In part one, he talks about his religious upbringing and how it shows up in his music, the surprising upside of livestreaming during the pandemic, and the making of his album "Talking to Myself." He gets into the power of simple lyrics and ends on the last track, "What I've Done With My Life," with an acoustic performance. What can a song show you about yourself that you couldn't see on your own?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
1:39 Eliot Bronson, Master of Covers
3:54 Songwriting as a Mirror
4:33 The Album, Talking to Myself
6:57 A Religious Upbringing
8:24 The Songwriting Process
14:05 Performing and Connecting
15:48 60 Seconds of Curiosity
20:55 The Beauty of Simplicity
25:26 Music in the Pandemic
27:08 Covering Favorite Artists
35:26 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

Part two: grief, a song called "The West," and a global following built by accident

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

In part two with We Are All Fossils, Deist goes deeper into the loss of his mother and how grief reshaped his writing. He talks about gaining a worldwide following organically, the pull of Sufjan Stevens, and where he wants to take the project next. He performs "The West." How does grief change what a songwriter is able to make?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
1:28 Continuing with Deist
2:13 The Story of "The West"
4:07 A Growing Listener Base
5:32 International Collaborations
8:33 The Music Industry
12:00 The Influence of Sufjan Stevens
17:40 Future Projects
23:17 Live Performance
26:07 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A South African musician who turns strangers' stories into songs, now in Britain

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

We Are All Fossils is the project of Deist, a South African musician now based in Britain. In part one, he talks about the Ubuntu idea that music is something we achieve together, his "Songs for Strangers" project that turns listeners' stories into original songs, and the artists who shaped him: Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, Gregory Alan Isakov. He closes with a performance of "Mountains." What happens when you let strangers hand you the material for your songs?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Competitive Nature of Music
1:43 Music as Shared Connection
2:15 We Are All Fossils
4:27 Meeting Deist
5:47 From South Africa to Britain
7:01 The Meaning Behind the Name
9:31 Influences: Sufjan, Damien Rice, Isakov
11:59 Songs for Strangers
24:49 New Releases
28:10 The Story Behind "Mountains"
31:43 Live Performance
34:35 60 Seconds of Curiosity

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

From beauty pageants to a soul record about vanity and the labels put on women

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Cyrena Wages took the long way from beauty pageants to a solo career rooted in Memphis. Before a tour kickoff at Eddie's Attic, she talks about her album "The Vanity Project," the stereotypes she's fought as a woman in music, and how the rivers and culture of her hometown run through her sound. Curiosity, she says, is part of how she stays free. She closes with "Carried Away" and "Robin Hood." What does it take to shed the labels other people hand you?

🎵 Cyrena Wages' latest: The Vanity Project (2024)

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Childhood Memories
1:44 Introducing Cyrena Wages
2:22 Her Love for Memphis
3:40 The Start of the Tour
4:02 The Solo Career Journey
9:21 The Vanity Project
19:01 Family Background
23:33 60 Seconds of Curiosity
39:31 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

An Atlanta songwriter on making music raw enough to make you uncomfortable

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Davin McCoy doesn't smooth the edges off his songs. In part one of this In the Studio conversation, he talks about the emotional intensity in his music, the punk-rock energy underneath it, and a decade's backlog of songs he's pulling together for a new album. It's a deeply personal record, even with collaborators in the room. He closes with a fireside performance of "Rings" from a December 2023 house show. What makes a songwriter want to make you a little uncomfortable?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
1:20 Discovering Davin McCoy
2:41 The Upcoming Album
4:08 The Recording Process
5:01 Past Experience in the Industry
6:56 Revisiting Old Songs
9:15 Emotional Connection Through Music
17:21 The Songwriting Backlog
20:07 The Themes of the Album
25:55 A Live Recording
31:55 Looking Toward Muscle Shoals
38:12 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

An Atlanta songwriter on losing her brother and the music she's making after

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Grace Asbury, an Atlanta native now in Nashville, writes from what she's lived. She talks about losing her brother Sam to suicide and how that loss shaped her as a person and a songwriter, alongside the practical grind of co-writing and finding her sound in Nashville. She's in a reset, with a run of singles on the way. How does someone turn grief that never fully leaves into something worth releasing?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 The Power of Music
1:39 Grace Asbury, a Rising Voice
3:32 The Move to Nashville
6:40 Making It in Nashville
8:07 Co-Writing and Networking
14:35 A Musical Reset
18:27 Personal Experience and Storytelling
20:09 Losing Sam
27:28 Music and Grief
31:47 Gratitude and Healing
38:01 Upcoming Releases
38:54 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

She's not sure music can pay the bills, and she's freer in it than ever

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Vanessa Peters released "Flying on Instruments" in 2024, and she's clear-eyed about the business around it: AI bots, trademark headaches, and the long odds of a sustainable living. What she's found instead is freedom in making the music carefully and on her own terms. She closes the episode with two live performances. What does freedom look like once you stop expecting music to pay the bills?

🎵 Vanessa Peters' latest: Flying on Instruments (2024)

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
2:07 The Paradox of Today's Musician
2:48 The Songwriter's Journey
6:10 The Songwriting Process
8:32 The Personal Side of Songwriting
21:04 The Business of Music
26:44 Career and Future Goals
29:50 The Meaning of Music

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

She wrote a song to apologize to her best friend, and it brought him back.

Get the stories behind the episodes → Subscribe to Chords of Curiosity

Grace Pettis wrote a song called "Landon" as an apology to her best friend, who came out after high school, and it helped rebuild the friendship. She talks about that song, about wanting more women's voices and stories in music, and about a new record shaped by loss and life after divorce. Ted Lasso comes up too, for its decency and its women. Can a song actually repair something between two people?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:07 Songwriting as Therapy
1:31 Meeting Grace Pettis
2:15 The Ted Lasso Connection
5:56 The Church and Acceptance
9:08 The Story Behind "Landon"
12:11 Apology and Reconnection
22:02 Women's Voices in Music
26:32 The Upcoming Album
29:40 Live Performance

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. Get the State of Music survey summary free → State of Music summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode: the moments that didn't make the clips, what I'm learning running this show, and one curiosity prompt every issue → Subscribe free

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com · 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts · 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast

A Columbia deal, then releasing on her own, then stepping back for family

Get the stories behind the episodes → curiousgoldfish.com

Alice Peacock has seen the music business from both sides, signed to Columbia and then releasing her album "Minnesota" independently. She talks about her love of Prince, the Midwestern roots in her songwriting, and the years she stepped back to raise her family. Now she's ready to record and perform again. What does it look like to come back to music on your own terms after stepping away?

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction and Love for Prince
1:42 Alice's Musical Journey
3:04 Festivals
6:21 Influences and Style
8:17 The Art of Songwriting
14:45 The Early Career
17:48 From Label to Independent
19:59 The Changing Industry
24:59 Plans for New Albums
31:42 Roots and Heritage

📊 FREE REPORT: What 573 fans and artists told us about streaming, AI, and where the money in music actually goes. → State of Music survey summary

📬 NEWSLETTER: Chords of Curiosity goes deeper on every episode. The moments that didn't make the clips, and one curiosity prompt each issue. → Subscribe

ABOUT CURIOUS GOLDFISH
A music podcast about more than music. Inspired by Ted Lasso. I talk with singer-songwriters and bands in Americana, folk, roots, and country about the lives behind the songs: resilience, faith, marriage, the business of music, and what keeps an artist going. Every episode ends with the same question about curiosity, and no two answers are alike.

New episodes every other week.

🌐 curiousgoldfish.com 🎧 Spotify | Apple Podcasts 📸 @curiousgoldfishpodcast