Today’s guest has the best outlook. Welcome Clinton Jacob of Mr. Phylzzz to the podcast. He’s based out of Chicago but originally hails from Clarksville, OH. Apparently they have quite the gruesome claim to fame. Clinton began his musical career playing in bands that were a little more traditional in their sound and approach, which he hated. But there wasn’t much in Clarksville besides that and dead bodies. And that’s actually what made Clinton realize that music was what he wanted to do. Mr. Phylzzz was formed as a joke by driving a member of one of those hated bands to quit the band he loved. Around that same time, he also started working at a comedy club and dabbling in stand up. The perseverance Clinton saw from comedians crashing and burning one night just to kill the next had a profound effect on him and his view of his band and the philosophy of “do it all backwards”. 

Clinton talks about how he connected with the legendary label Amphetamine Reptile and how the band’s relationship with The Melvins formed and how important it is to him. After going through a few drummers, Clinton found his equal in Dan Sein. The two make a very noisy dynamo. To that end, Clinton tells some of the odd studio techniques the band has employed over the years. They have some big plans for 2025 including new music and touring a lot. So grab the music on Bandcamp or wherever you get music (bt Bandcamp is best). Follow them @mrphylzzzband on Instagram, mrphylzzz on Facebook, or at mrphylzzz.com. And make sure you spell it wrong. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Our merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send money for coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And now check out the insanity of Clinton Jacob and Mr. Phylzzz on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This guest harkens back to the original concept of this podcast. And she has possibly the most unusual band setup I have ever heard of. Welcome Maura Pond of Luna Honey. And this band has really captured my attention. They’ve got this new take on the no wave sound that spawned bands like Swans, Rhys Chatham, Theoretical Girls, and others. It’s experimental music that’s really accessible. Maura and I discover some similarities like being from the VA/DC area and procrastination. 

She talks about getting a bit of a late start in the whole “being in a band” thing. She spent most of her twenties going to shows in the DC area instead of performing in shows. But that’s not to say she wasn’t creating. She was recording on her own, figuring, maybe even counting on, no one ever hearing those songs. And no one will because that hard drive is long dead. She had (and still has) some pretty serious performance anxiety. But playing drums while hanging with future bandmate and future ex-husband Levi Flack, really helped her learn how to handle it. They formed Luna Honey and things have been complicated ever since. There’s being in a band with her ex-huband Levi AND current partner Ben Schurr. There’s delaying their sophomore album to write and record a completely new album with a completely different sound as a favor for an aunt who was dying. There’s the collaborative album they did with Norman Westberg of Swans. And then there’s the new album, Bound. It’s their best and most diverse album to date. It’s simultaneously experimental, haunting, spooky, and catchy. And Maura has some great stories to go with the music. So check them out wherever you get music and follow them @lunahoneymusic. Follow us @performanceanx, subscribe to the podcast, grab merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send coffee money at ko-fi.com/performance anxiety. And let’s get over performance anxiety with Maura Pond of Luna Honey on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This guest had me pining for the 90’s. Welcome Kerry Jones from the band Death Doula. If you’re like me, you may be asking what a death doula is. Fortunately for us, Kerry talks about what it is and why she gave her band that name. She played a number of instruments growing up but never sang. She never thought that singing was a talent that she could possess. She learned how to play guitar during a high school independent study.

Before she started working on her own music, she went through so many phases of music appreciation. She started playing in her first band in college. She even tried doing the long distance band thing while she was living in New York City, way before COVID made it cool. But while she was there, she took a job that led her to a completely new career as a personal chef, through Craigslist. But music was always there. Kerry talks about how she met her bandmate and partner, Kyle Alexander. She talks about how the band has evolved over time, over pandemics, and over drummers and her amazing Craigslist kismet. Death Doula is playing select shows and hopefully playing a lot more as 2025 progresses. Check them out at deathdoulaband.com or @deathdoulaband on Instagram. Get the music and some cool ass merch through the site, through Bandcamp, or wherever you listen to music. Check us out @PerformanceAnx on social media. Grab merch at performanceanx.threadless.com or send us money (ostensibly for coffee) at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Now prepare to disembark on a fascinating trip with Kerry Jones of Death Doula on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Today’s guest is a busy guy. He never seems to stop working. It’s Django Haskins from The Old Ceremony. And with a name like Django, your future is basically pre-determined. Music was big part of his parents’ (and therefore, his) lives. His parents were a folk duo and had Django playing classical violin at age five. He’s been in rock bands since the age of thirteen. And that includes while he was studying literature at Yale and spending a year in China. DId I mention that he got life advice from Ike & Tina’s sax player? Well he did. And it stuck because his band, The Old Ceremony, is celebrating 20 years together. Django talks about how he went from Django & The Regulars, International Orange, Au Pair, and Big Star’s Third to The Old Ceremony’s latest release called Earthbound. That journey includes writing and pasta sessions at Jack Hardy’s place, moving from NYC to NC, and writing over 100 songs during the pandemic. Earthbound is The Old Ceremony’s first album in nine years, but it was worth the wait. Pick it up wherever you get music or through theoldceremony.com. Follow them on social media @theoldceremony. Follow us @PerformanceAnx and grab some merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send us coffee money through ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony as much as I did on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Today’s guest schooled me…about NAMM, the North American Music Merchants. Welcome NAMM President and CEO, John Mlynczak. Before we get into the meat of what NAMM is and does, John talks about his musical history. Music and music education have always been an important part of his life. He pursued that path from Virginia all the way to LSU; but I won’t hold that against him. He talks about creating the first music technology curricula in the state of Louisiana and how that led him to a job with PreSonus, who make music software, monitors, mixers, and more. That led to a great opportunity with music publishing company, Hal Leonard. 

John also talks about the very long process of becoming the President and CEO of NAMM. But before that, he gives a little history of NAMM and shares some of his own experiences at NAMM shows, before he started working there. I learned what goes into planning each NAMM show, what to expect if you go, and how NAMM is expanding to include content creators and influencers. NAMM is an industry show, and John talks about how they’ve evolved over the years. John explains what NAMM offers its members at the show and throughout the year. He also tells me about NAMM Next and the amazing NAMM archives. John also talks about how COVID affected them, how it made them innovate, and how NAMM is bouncing back, better than ever. Go to NAMM.org to get information about what they do and how to attend the 2025 NAMM show. Follow them @thenammshow on social media. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on social media. Merch is available at performanceanx.threadless.com. You can send us money to get to NAMM at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And now please welcome John Mlynczak of NAMM on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This guest is not what I expected. Welcome jazz saxophonist Chris Greene to the podcast. I was worried that he’d be a jazz snob but he was the exact opposite. He was happy to teach me what he could in an hour podcast. And that included learning how he got into jazz. It all started to make sense to Chris in high school. He went on to study jazz at Indiana, which is where he started playing in bands outside of school for the first time.He formed Chris Greene & New Perspective. He had some definite ideas and plans for that group. He talks about what worked and what didn’t. He also talks about how that band ended and the Chris Greene Quartet began. And he avoided playing tenor sax for quite a long time and for a specific reason. But he eventually succumbed to its draw.

Chris and I talk about why jazz seems to be open to doing unusual cover songs and some of the unusual ones that he’s done. He was also influenced by some very unusual covers by some jazz heavyweights. Chris talks about how the quartet goes about songwriting and the story behind the title of their second album. They have a new album out called Conversance. He discusses that name and the music on the album, including a special song with a connection to his son. We also talk about the writing process which includes road testing their songs. Check out Conversance on Pravda Records. It’s their very first jazz release ever! Pick it up through them or wherever you get music. Follow Chris on the socials @chrisgreenejazz. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Grab our merch at performanceanx.threadless.com or send coffee money through ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. I’ve managed to steer clear of all jazz puns so far. Let’s keep that going with Chris Greene on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Today’s guest should be musically jetlagged. But she’s not. Welcome the mononymous Tartie to the podcast. She’s from Melbourne and has recently collaborated with Binnie Klein out of Connecticut for a project called In These Trees. It’s an emotional journey of an album. But before that happened, Tartie went through a whole lot of other phases. She taught herself piano at age six. She also started writing original music early on. She eventually studied music in college and played some unusual early gigs. 

Tartie discusses her early music, which is definitely more pop than more recent work. She tells me about the Melbourne music scene and how she started going by the name Tartie. She switched things up during the pandemic, as Melbourne had some of the tightest restrictions. So she found creative, musical ways to fill her time. Tartie tells how she met her future collaborator, Binnie Klein, and how their partnership started. In These Trees began as a completely different project than the way it wrapped up. And in the time it took to finish the album, Tartie had two babies! She reveals a few stories behind select songs and the difficulties of touring an album when the collaborators are over 10,000 miles apart. Go to inthesetrees.com for links to buy the album and social links for the project. Visit @tartiemusic to check out what she’s up to. Check out @PerformanceAnx to check out what we’re up to. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send us coffee money through ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And now we go international on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This guest has reignited my love for the blues. Meet Boone Froggett from Otis. Boone is the guitarist, singer, and founding member of the band. We get disconnected a couple of times in the beginning, but we push through and have a wonderful conversation.He grew up in the same town as The Kentucky Headhunters. That band was hugely influential, not just musically, but attitudinally, if that’s a word. They showed Boone that you could be successful without moving to L.A. or Nashville. We talk about how he grew up performing, learning drums, guitar, singing, and sitar. When Otis formed, they decided to do things their way. They stayed at home, played what they wanted, like their debut album, which is a tribute album that Billy Gibbons bootlegged to give to people like Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck.

Boone is also a cancer survivor. He opens up about what he went through and how he’s doing now. The band has released a couple of top notch singles and are poised to release more new music soon. And hopefully they'll be hitting the road, too. So follow Otis @otisbandofficial on Instagram and they’re on Facebook. Check out theotisband.com for all their links. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Grab merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send us coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Now let's get into this great chat with Boone Froggett of Otis on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Today’s guest makes me feel old fashioned. Or maybe I want to drink an Old Fashioned. Either way I am fortunate enough to have Stella Cole on the podcast! She blew up TikTok with her faithful renditions of the Great American Songbook. She tells me about how she became obsessed with old music and musicals from an early age. But she was always cautious about pursuing music as a career. Like when she was attending Northwestern University; she double majored in theater and international relations as a way of hedging her bets. She also minored in German (and even she isn’t sure why)! But some bad experiences there really shook her confidence and she stopped singing for quite a while. Then the pandemic hit and she moved back home. That’s when her dad suggested she record some videos of herself singing the music she loved. She chose TikTok because it was a new platform and she figured none of her friends would be on it. Well she now has over a million followers all over social media. She talks about her meteoric rise and how she has rebuilt her confidence. She’s on tour supporting her debut album, P.S. I Love You and has recorded a Christmas album! Follow her @stellakcole on socials. Go to stellacole.net to buy her album P.S. I Love You, or her Christmas album, Snow. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Our merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Fuel us at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Now let’s step back in time with Stella Cole on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Today’s guest makes me feel blessed. Her name is Miist. She’s a singer/songwriter with an incredible story. She grew up in China and had no ambitions of being a musician. She would sing songs with her father as a kid but that was really the extent of her musical experience. She moved to Canada where she was an accountant. But a startling cancer misdiagnosis completely changed her life. She bought a ukulele and began singing as a way of working through her cancer treatments. She would post them on Instagram, which is how she met her future husband! But she still didn’t consider herself a musician. It wasn’t until a friend encouraged her to give songwriting a try, that she realized her gift. She figured she’d do it just to get him off her back. She wrote three songs that day. Since then she’s worked with her friend and producer Narada Michael Walden, wrote with luminaries like Carlos Santana, and has released her first album, The Songs From The Living Room. It is truly one of the most incredible stories I’ve heard since starting this podcast. Please follow Miist @miistthesinger on social media. You can go to miistthesinger.com to get the links and to buy her debut album. Or stream it on your platform of choice. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Our merch is available at performanceanx.threadless.com. And/Or fuel us with coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Now it’s time to let Miist tell her story on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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