Every two weeks, Michael and I release a podcast episode where we tell someone else’s stories. Except that’s not quite true. As we discuss every note on an album, or labor over every second of a concert recording, we also talk about ourselves. 

It’s one way music becomes more than just art. Billy Joel’s story becomes part of our stories, which becomes part of each other’s, and ultimately a narrative of its own, all told in a language everyone speaks without realizing it.

Maybe you’ve heard that musicians hold conversations when they perform. Or consider it this way: Michael and I went decades without knowing the other existed. Then, almost four years ago, we spoke for the first time as if we’d known each other all along.

That’s what makes the arts special. They explore ideas too big for our words to contain, in a way we can all understand. And, for my solo episode this year, I’m exploring this idea further. 

I’m starting with two songs where I play drums. One is a studio recording of a new work. The other is a live performance from the Great American Songbook.

Next, I’m speaking with other podcasters and presenters about the stories they explore in movies and literature. 

You’ll hear from Dan Colon and Mike Manzi, the hosts of The Monsters That Made Us podcast. They started off discussing the classic Universal horror films, and are back with new episodes that take the topic a step further. 

Finally, I’m speaking with Edward Petit. As the Senior Manager of Public Programs at the Rosenbach Museum here in Philadelphia, he launched the online Biblioadventures series in 2020.

Participants from all over the world read a classic novel or body of work in small parts over a few months. Then, each week, Edward leads a curated, and somewhat interactive, online discussion featuring subject experts and artifacts from the Rosenbach’s collection.

There’s no great cosmic revelation in all of this. I make no hypotheses and draw no conclusions. That’s the nature of trying to tell a tale this big. The best I can do is present one small part of it and invite others to do the same. 

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Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Groove Music Marketing

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