Performance Anxiety

This episode is very personal to me. My guest for this show is my brother, Scott Shea. He’s written an in-depth biography of The Mamas and The Papas. But don’t think he’s on just because he’s my brother. There’s no nepotism on this podcast! It’s really a fascinating read. And Scott road to getting it published is a true DIY story.

The book gives the backstory for all four members of The Mamas and The Papas and how they met. There is so much detail and stories that I’ve never heard; like how much of a juvenile delinquent John Phillips was and just how toxic he and Michelle were together. There’s the unrequited love of Cass Elliot for Denny Doherty and their band, The Mugwumps claim to fame. I had no idea that when Denny joined up with John to play in the pre Mamas and Papas band, The New Journeymen, he thought it was taking a step backwards from the rock and roll he wanted to play. But he had bills to pay. There’s also John’s ridiculous reasons for not wanting Cass Elliot in the band, and they may not be what you think.

Scott’s book, All The Leaves Are Brown, How The Mamas And The Papas Came Together And Broke Apart, is available through Backbeat Books. Follow Scott @scottsheaauthor on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. Follow the podcast @PerformanceAnx on Instagram & Twitter, Performance Anxiety on Facebook. You can send a cup of coffee through ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Merch is available at performanceanx.threadless.com. And I hope you enjoy my totally impartial episode with Scott Shea, Author on Performance Anxiety, part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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I’ve mentioned having a list of people I’ve wanted on this podcast; like a unicorn list. Today I get to cross another person off of it. Jeremy Toback is one half of the duo Renee & Jeremy, which started off as a personal project, singing lullabies for their kids. Before that, he had a solo career, releasing three albums under his own name. But it was the project that launched his solo career that first introduced me to him. He was a member of the mysterious Seattle-based band, Brad. That project started with Pearl Jam’s guitarist, Stone Gossard, and Satchel’s Shawn Smith & Regan Hagar. How did Jeremy get involved? He seemed to come out of nowhere. He wasn’t from Seattle, wasn’t part of the grunge family tree (some may say stump). How did he meet Stone? How did the band really form? I had so many questions & I’d been holding onto them since 1992. After Brad, his solo career was just as mysterious. One minute he’s playing solo bass in a club, another, he’s playing Lollapalooza, competing with Korn, another he’s on the side of the road in Philly, in tears 

But there’s so many other facets to Jeremy’s life and careers. That’s plural on purpose. From architectural student, to PA in Hollywood, to teaching speed reading to ghost writing for producers, there’s more than just music to his career. But music finds a way. Jeremy has found a wild, yet very calm niche with Renee & Jeremy and has began releasing solo music again. Follow him @jeremytoback & @reneeandjeremy on Instagram & Twitter. Check out the latest releases by Jeremy, Renee & Jeremy, AND the latest Brad release. Support the podcast by buying us coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety, merch at performanceanx.threadless.com, and following us @PerformanceAnx on Instagram & Twitter. Now settle in for a story with so many turns, it could make your head spin with Jeremy Toback on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Welcome to another episode of Side Projects. Today we welcome back Eszter Balint and Charming Disaster’s Ellia Bisker & Jeff Morris. If you listen on a fairly regular basis, you might notice that I like many different genres of music. One area that I was never drawn to was musical theater. Most of it seemed too campy and over the top. That’s why I asked these specific guests to join me for this episode. Eszter has a production in the works, based on her story and Charming Disaster use some theatrical elements in their performances. So if any of my past guests could ease me into this, it would be these guys. WHat I learned is that THEY aren’t exactly huge fans of musical theater, either; BUT…that there is a distinction between musical theater and music AND theater. This show is full of a lot of things, like information, fun, and also extra noises. Some of it was ambient, some was me forgetting to turn off my notifications when we all connected. 

Check out the latest Charming Disaster album Super Natural History. Go to charmingdisaster.com to pick it up or check out their socials. Follow Eszter Balint on Instagram @eszter.balint for updates on her music and her production of I Hate Memory. Check us out @PerformanceAnx on socials, ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety to send the gift of caffeine, or performanceanx.threadless.com for caffeine holders, shirts, shower curtains, & such. And I hope you enjoy our not over the top or campy at all episode of Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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The first time I ever heard Vashti Bunyan was as the theme song for the Amazon Prime TV series Patriot a few years ago. But the song was so beautiful, I let it play through every episode. I did some digging to find out more about the song and was surprised to learn it had originally been released in 1966! The more digging I did on Vashti and her music, the more fascinated I became! Why had I never heard this beautiful music? Why was there a 35 year gap between her first and second albums? Why was there a 9 year gap between her second and third albums? Then out of the blue, I got an email: Would you like to do a podcast with Vashti Bunyan? What? Are you kidding me? This is proof of God! Of course I want to talk with Vashti Bunyan! She’s written a memoir that answers all the questions I had and more. What is her connection with The Rolling Stones? Who were the amazing session musicians on her earliest work? Why the gaps between albums? Where did she go? What did she do? It’s a fascinating story that could only have happened in 60’s and 70’s UK (or maybe San Francisco). For example, there’s the one about meeting Donovan and taking a horse and cart across the UK to live in his artists’ community. Or the one about getting performance advice from Devendra Banhart after not performing at all for about 40 years. And what happened to all of her instruments? Her book is a fun, easy read with wonderful stories about beautiful music. I highly recommend picking it up wherever you get books. Vashti recommends independent book deals, if possible. Follow her @VashtiBunyan on Twitter and Instagram. Check out her music wherever you can. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on Twitter & Instagram. You can support the show with coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety or with merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. And I hope you enjoy this talk with Vashti Bunyan as much as I did on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Brian McSweeney and Shawn Rios from MIIRRORS were kind enough to join me for this episode. They began this band as a duo, taking their time, writing music together and slowly making this into a unique project. Brian and Shawn recount how they met on a plane and bonded over the second Sigur Ros album. They were both working with different bands but there was definitely something there. When they finally had the opportunity to play together, they realized it was something special. When they expanded the band to include Dmitri Rakhuba, they knew they really had to give this some serious attention. Everything solidified with the addition of Andre Miller and Patrick Riley. With most of the songs already written, they went about the task of figuring out how to play them live with several extra people in the band! But they documented it and hopefully will be releasing that soon! Their debut album, Motion & Pictures is crazy catchy without having solos because they approached the album’s writing, arranging, and even sequencing like they were writing a movie. Their first single was a cover of a Jeff Buckley demo, Gunshot Glitter. They even had Jeff’s drummer, Matt Johnson play on it, so you know it’s good! You have to check these guys out! Follow them on instagram @miirrors_music on Instagram, and MIIRRORS on Bandcamp. Look for upcoming tours and more music on the way. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Merch is at performanceanx,threadless.com. Send us coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And now prepare to be blown away by Brian and Shawn from MIIRRORS on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This episode began as a cool conversation without much structure with two guys in visual arts who create music as a passion. But it turned into a deeper conversation about the creative processes for both mediums. Kevin Mellon is a storyboard artist for Archer & Hitmonkey, among a lot of other credits. David Heatley has drawn illustrations for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and more in addition to writing books. Both have also written and released albums of music recently and the combination of visual arts and music was so interesting to me to hear how they work in both mediums. I was surprised to learn the differences in their approaches to each medium. And the agree on the importance on sharing the process of creation with others. Seeing works in progress when they were young was a huge encouragement to them. And they both use each medium differently to work through their issues. So check out this episode, check out kevinmellon.com and davidheatley.com to hear their music and see their art. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on social media. You can also support us with coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Merch is available at performanceanx.threadless.com. And now I hope you enjoy what became a talk about The Creative Process with Kevin Mellon and David Heatley on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Songwriter, singer, author, and musician’s advocate Shelly Peiken joins the podcast in this episode. She’s written some of the biggest hits of the past 30 years like What A Girl Wants, Almost Doesn’t Count, Come On Over Baby, Bitch, and so many more. Shelly talks about what got her into music as a kid and how she pivoted from a career in fashion to music. Being a hit songwriter was not straightforward or immediate. But once she sold a song that found it’s way onto a Taylor Dayne album, she discovered that songwriting was more her style than being a touring musician.  

Shelly talks about how she wrote some of her biggest hits, how she also sang on some of them, and how digital delivery changed EVERYTHING and changed it almost overnight. That’s when she helped found Songwriters Of North America and advocated for the modernization of songwriters’ rights.

In addition to writing hit songs, Shelly has also written a hit book, was nominated for a Grammy, and has won a She Rocks Award! So what’s next for her? She’s in the middle of writing a musical. This conversation was an amazing behind the curtain look at songwriting, how it’s changed over the years, and more. We even answer the question, “if you write the song but someone else records it before you, are you covering yourself when you record it?”

Check out Shelly Peiken at shellypeiken.com, on Facebook or Instagram. Check out her album 2.0, Etc and get the book Confessions Of a Serial Songwriter.

Follow us @PerformanceAnx on social media. Send us a cup of coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Buy merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Check out our sponsors and get ready for a peek behind the curtain with Shelly Peiken on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Scott Crow…wow! This episode goes everywhere. Music is just one part of the wild story that is the life of Scott Crow. It began growing as the son of George Jones’ drummer. He grew up around the insanity that was Dee-Doodle and Tammy Wynette. So to rebel, Scott got into heavy metal and started playing in bands at the age of twelve. All of this changed when he discovered Mark Stewart & The Maffia. Suddenly he was obsessed with electronic and experimental music.

After his industrial band Lesson Seven gained traction touring with the biggest names in the genre, Scott walked away from everything…and went into antiques. That could be the end of the story, but it’s not. Not even close. As Scott got deeper into activism, he sold his antiques business, started the Common Ground Collective, and was listed as a domestic terrorist. During that time he wrote some books and toured doing speaking engagements. He tells me how that actually got him back into music. But he discovered a completely different approach to writing songs, cannibalizing all kinds of work to create something new. Check out emergencyhearts.com to learn about the almost endless stream of projects Scott’s working on and get the social media links. There’s some really exciting stuff there with some stellar artists that you’ll definitely recognize. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on social media. You can support us on ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety with a cup of coffee or performanceanx.threadless.com for merch. Now buckle the F up for a wild ride with Scott Crow on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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Let’s give a warm welcome to Angel Ocana, the force behind Forest Circles. Angel grew up in Brooklyn surrounded by a lot of Spanish music that he didn’t understand. So it’s no surprise that when he discovered that his dad was a DJ, he gravitated to the pop music library his father had collected.

Angel began playing music as a drummer and in addition to his father’s pop music, he began to be influenced by grunge.But when he started playing with people, he found a home initially with Northern Arms, a Philadelphia based 9 piece ensemble that gave him all kind of experience, not just in music, but in the music business.

Angel began writing the music that would become the basis for Forest Circles just as the pandemic started. The band was initially a trio but as things began to shut down and isolation was the norm, the band became a solo project. With that in mind, Angel tries to keep the sound simple. That not only helps as a one man band, but since he takes his time writing, it keeps the frustration levels low.

Angel also studied photography so Forest Circles’ visual are just as stunning as the music. So follow @forestxcircleson Instagram. Buy the music on Bandcamp. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on Twitter & Instagram. Support us with coffee through ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety or merch at performanceanx,threadless.com. And now check out Forest Circles on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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This is another first for the podcast. Welcome the band Nyte Skye to the show. The band is made up of Nyles and Skye Lannon, a father and son duo who have just released their first album on Sonic Ritual. You may recognize Nyles from the band Film School or from his solo work. We start off talking about Nyles’ early days playing in college bands before taking several years off working in tech for CDNow before they were bought out by Amazon. That was when he really started taking music seriously.

He joined Film School and after years of touring, the band was signed by Beggar’s Banquet. At the same time, Nyles was working on some solo projects. But he stepped away from all of it and stayed away for 10 years.

He began composing commercial music and started a family. Enter Skye Lannon. Skye’s natural aptitude for music was apparent early on. Nyles and Skye began Nyte Skye as a way to flesh out some of the music they had been working on for a long time. They have released their debut album called Vanishing and it sounds great. Nyles and Skye talk about how their writing has changed, straddling the line between producer and dad, and challenges touring when your drummer has too much homework.

Follow them on Instagram @nyte_skye_band. Pick up the album on Bandcamp, fat beats, or wherever you get music. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on Twitter & Instagram. Support us with coffee on ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety or by buying merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Now prepare to be amazed by the father/son duo of Nyte Skye on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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