When Jordan Paul, now known as Ellis Meek released ‘Strange,’ there was no indication it would turn out to be a quarantine anthem, with a spot on BBC in the South West, and in Le Soundtrack’s ‘Best New Canadian Indie Releases.’ The track is a call for compassion and empathy, and feels as though it was a direct reaction to the week of April it was released on; just as a global pandemic was peeking its head out to the whole world.

In actuality, it was written when Jordan Paul was 17—a young empath just coming to terms with the often dark nature of things, and the fear-based responses people can resort to in lieu of love and connection. October 30th’s follow-up “Archetype X” only furthers the singer-songwriter’s sentiments, as Paul’s oft-layered lyricism is pointedly laid bare in a song that explores the act of journeying inwards for therapeutic release.

“Archetype X” was written in a self-processed act of therapy, and comes as the ultimate evolution in Hamiltonian Jordan Paul’s distinctive musical style. The song boasts notes of delicate and exploratory alt. folk/rock, taking an expansive journey well beyond its subtle indie-folk roots. After Paul belts out the final refrain in the electrified coda, “Archetype X” fades into a chattering of hazy distortion and thrumming space echo—the welcome and careful calm to ease us back to reposeful contemplation before the song fades into the ether.

“Jordan Paul’s voice shines like an otherworldly, sophisticated diamond, hypnotic and sure. And with his newest single, he gives us another taste of something we can't get enough of.” Brent Jensen, radio personality, author, and host of No Sleep ‘til Sudbury

“Archetype X” is the third release of 2020 from Jordan Paul, recorded at Jonathan Anderson’s (Andy Shauf, Aidan Knight, Said the Whale) Protection Island Studios in Maple Ridge, BC, and mastered by Noah Mintz (Marcy Playground, Broken Social Scene, Matt Mays).

We'll hear Ellis Meek's song, Archetype X, during the podcast. Find more of his music on Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming platforms.

Follow his musical journal on Facebook and Instagram. 

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

My next guest, I have known for a long time. Just about ten years. I wanted to have him on the podcast because has a lot of experience in the music culture.

Nick Stark is a 35-year-old singer and songwriter from Cortland, New York and as we’ll learn in the interview – he’s was not in the Cortland area for some time before returning and getting more into the local music scene.

Nick is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Chasing Neon. And was formerly the lead singer of a band called Small Town Shade.

He is a three-time SAMMY award winner. Two awards for the People’s Choice Best Band and one award for Best Country Album.

And we can’t forget to mention the greatest accomplishment of it all, he’s a dad to four-year-old son, Max. You’ll hear more about the relationship with his son.

We'll hear Chasing Neon's song, Shoot Your Shot during the episode.

Find more of Chasing Neon's music on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and more. You can also find the band on Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Another amazing artist born and raised in Central New York. His name is Tom Nitti and he’s a traditional country music artist.

Tom picked up a guitar at a young age through musical influences such as Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles.

After graduating high school, Tom joined the United States Army as a 19D Airborne Cavalry Scout. While deployed in Afghanistan, Tom earned the Purple Heart award for his bravery in taking mortar fire rounds. Tom has since returned home where he is now employed with the New York State Police.

In late 2019, Tom formed his first full piece band, "The Tom Nitti Project”. Tom later released his debut single “Babe”, which hit the Music Mafia Radio chart at #3. Tom is currently in the process of recording his first full EP scheduled to be released in 2021. Today, you can catch Tom performing all over the east coast opening up for acts such as Tucker Bethard, Hunter Hayes, Chris Janson, and more.

He plays his song, "Babe" on the show. Find that song and more on Apple Music, Spotify, and tomnittimusic.com.

To see where he'll be playing live, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok.

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Sam Vecchio is hilarious and is such a fun time! You will definitely want him to be your best friend after listening to this episode.

Since before he could walk or talk or certainly sing, Sam Vecchio has been obsessed with music. With appreciation of all genres, Sam has studied music and artists since the first time he played a vinyl record. With influences ranging from The Beatles and Hall and Oates, to Billy Joel and Paul Carrack to recent acts like I Don’t Know How But They Found Me and Lord Huron.

Sam started his professional music career in college by replacing a local pub DJ that let him fill in one night and lost his spot when the patrons demanded Sam’s return.

In March of 2020, Sam had some extra time on his hands due to a worldwide Pandemic (COVID-19) and found himself in isolation for nearly a month without any contact with the outside world. He picked up his guitar, that hasn’t seen much action from Sam in years and he started to play “Rain King” by the Counting Crows, the next night Sam played a few songs and returned every night for nearly one hundred nights consecutively (he promised his Facebook friends that he would play every night until the pandemic was over (a little ambitious on THAT promise).

What he found, in turn, was not only did it help him try to get through a difficult time, but it was appointment viewing for a lot of his friends, family, and co-workers. Even though he always thought he’d be a Rockstar from age nine, he is getting to live a small part of that dream many years later. He doesn't take himself too seriously and finds it most difficult to talk about himself in the third person.

Because he wrote this bio! Sam is currently working on some original music, he performs a cover of "Drive" by The Cars.

Make sure you don't miss one of Sam's Facebook live's, like or follow him on Facebook. 

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Kendal Conrad is an amazing woman, empowering, confident, a leader, fierce, a feminist and so much more.

Kendal is a singer-songwriter from Pottstown, PA. Her single Leader of the Pack garnered over 25 million views on Tiktok and over 1 million plays on Soundcloud. She sang a duet onstage with Keith Urban at Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA.

She also opened for 32 of the country’s hottest artists, including Blake Shelton at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open to a crowd of 18,000, Alabama at the Santander Arena, and Kane Brown. She has performed the National Anthem for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, NASCAR, etc.

We'll take a listen to her badass song, "Leader of the Pack".

Listen to more of Kendal's music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Soundcloud, or anywhere you listen to your music!

Follow Kendal on her social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Kendal plays gigs every week. Check the Events tab on her Facebook page.

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Introducing you to the humble, kind, and incredibly talented, Steve Romer.

Steve is a Cortland based musician and is inspired by the 90’s grunge and pop-rock scene.

He started in music because his friends talked him into trying out a local open mic night and the next week, he had his first show!

He’s been on tour with Ten Man Push as the opening act. He’s also opened for national acts such as Kevin Griffin of Better than Ezra, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, The Black Moods, Andrew Leahey, and the Homestead.

Make sure to listen to Steve's song, "Maybe" during the podcast. 

Follow Steve Romer on Facebook and the duo, Steve Romer and Bradford Allen. You can also stay up to date when he will be playing live! 

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Introducing the youngest guest of the podcast so far, but one of the oldest souls! 

At 17, New York native, Sydney Irving is in the early years of her music career, but she has already been named the 2020 young adult artist of the year by the International Singer-Songwriters Association.

At only 14, her debut album, “Hello Stranger” was released. Irving has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to be direct support for Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at the 2019 Spiedie Fest in Binghamton, NY, and perform at the 2019 Dio Day event in Cortland, NY.

Later that year, Sydney attended a Barns Courtney concert. She had the chance to meet him before the show and then during the show, Courtney called her up on stage to sing his hit song “You & I” with him!

She has also had the privilege to open for artists like Matt Rogers and Mikele Buck as well as be the youngest artist to have a residency at the largest casino in New York State.

Sydney Irving, who has been nominated for best singer/songwriter at the Syracuse Area Music Awards three times, has been writing songs since she was twelve with her guitar. Sydney is a proud Breedlove Guitar endorsed artist. Along with being named the 2020 Female Artist of the Year by Music Mafia Radio, now at 17, Irving is gearing up to release her fifth studio album, "Relax With Fiends" which is set to be released in December 2020. With a fresh, indie rock sound, Sydney is following her dreams of pursuing music.

We feature Sydney's brand new single, What Have You Done. It’s available on a limited edition CD on Sydney’s website, sydneyirvingmusic.com and there’s only 100 available! They are hand-signed and numbered.

Listen to more of her music on her website, iTunes, Amazon Music, YouTube, and Spotify. 

You can follow along with her music career on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Also see her live and in-person in the summer in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia! 

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Introducing,  Gary Carpentier!

Gary is a 29-year-old singer/songwriter from Oswego, NY. He has been performing since 2014 as a solo act, a member of the McConnell, Caruso, Carpentier trio, and as a member of the Silver Arrow Band out of Syracuse, NY.

Carpentier won a SAMMY Award this past year for Best RnB Album, was nominated as Best Lead Actor in a Musical for his role in the Baldwinsville Theater Guild’s production of Bright Star, and, most notably, was on the cast of the 13th season of NBC’s Emmy Award-Winning program, “The Voice,” as a member of Team Adam Levine.

With original music and covers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Lorde, Gary has been traveling and entertaining crowds across New York and the country. His voice is a mix of soul, pop, and crooner style. Gary writes in the contemporary, singer/songwriter style, but with a twist of modern pop.

We'll take a listen to a song called "9 to 5" off of Gary's EP, "Lucid". Listen to more of Gary's music on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you find or listen to music! 

Follow Gary on all social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all @garycarpentiermusic. You can also email Gary at [email protected]

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

A unique, new take on female pop-country with a Northeastern twist. Tezza was born and raised in upstate New York where she grew up with a love of horses, performing, and country. She attended Berklee College of Music and then made her way to NYC to work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Now residing in Nashville, Tezza has had the opportunity to tour across the U.S. and open for acts such as Hunter Hayes, Granger Smith, Chris Young, and Charles Esten, just to name a few, and play world-renowned venues such as The Bluebird, Bitter End, and Nashville’s annual CMA Fest. Her single "Mercury Rising" took the world by storm, hitting 2 million streams, racking up features on CMT, All Access, iHeart Radio, Fox News, and earning a spot on Spotify's hottest Editorial playlists such as Hot Country, New Boots, Wild Country, Breakout Country, and Pop-Co.

“Mercury Rising” is available on all streaming platforms!

Tezza talks about her childhood in upstate New York and how it has influenced her music. She also talks about her experience as a student at the Berklee College of Music and her job after at NBC's Saturday Night Live. All of which, have helped shaped her into a better and well-rounded independent artist. 

You'll hear her new song, "Mercury Rising" during the podcast. The song has reached over 2.4 MILLION streams in just under 3 months, been featured by CMT, and earned a spot on some of Spotify's hottest country playlists such as: Hot Country, New Boots, Wild Country, Next From Nashville, PopCo, and Fresh Finds Country. Official Music Video is available now on YouTube.

You can listen to Tezza's music on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

Make sure to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Be sure to like, subscribe and give the More Than Music Podcast a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share us with a friend! We release shows every Wednesday and look out for a bonus episode every now and then. Find me, Kara Conrad on Facebook and the podcast on Instagram at More Than Music Pod. If you want to talk to me or suggest a guest just send me a message on Instagram or email me at [email protected].