Relax, We're Professionals

I got my buddy Brian Swindle to join me on this episode! Brian is the ever-talented frontman of Baltimore's own Have Mercy, one of my favorite bands. We get to talking about what he's been up to lately, new music from HM, and his new love for recording and production.

Sam Nork joins me this week to chat about her rise through the concert photography scene from such a young age. Seeing as our mutual friend is Blink 182's own Mark Hoppus, Sam agrees that her being lucky is an understatement (me too!). We get into the details of how she got where she is now, her secrets for breaking into concert photography (hint: be nice!), and the other side of her world in cinematography and filmmaking. Another one for the books! 

Great talk this week with singer/actress Cheyenne See. We get talking about her path into the world of live stage performances and music, including her band (Hillbilly Parade, NYC vs update, best bands from the area, and the albums she'd take if stranded on an island. Great new perspective on what it's like in the post-Covid DIY scene and how it's affected all parts of the entertainment industry. 

This week we chat with Alice Halley, possibly one of the most physically fit human beings on the planet. Somehow, Alice maintains a lifestyle where she's both coaching people on their health as a full time job and attending an absurd amount of concerts. By attending concerts, I don't mean bleacher seats to Billy Joel, I mean stage diving and mosh pits to some of the heavier tour acts among an assortment of others in the pop punk, metal, and hardcore genres. We talk about how she makes that possible, her history as an athlete and introduction to the music industry, and provides some insight on what goes into the lifestyle she's impressively able to maintain. 

If you're a fan of talking, snare drums, plugins, and/or the vast world of music production, this is a great episode for you. My buddy Sam Pura and I dive into his career as a producer, engineer, and most recently - plugin creator in partnership with Liquid Death. We showcase how the plugin sounds with a demo, talk about the path that lead to his partnership with Liquid Death to create a plugin (that's 100% free for some reason), and discover that we've both used the same gear around 20 years ago. 

What a way to wrap up season 2! Gus is by far one of the most impressive people I'm happy to call my friend - having spent the last 25+ years in the music industry, working with some of the most legendary acts, and seeing just about everything still does not phase this man! If you don't know Gus and simply look at his talent roster and history, you'd never guess how incredibly humble, kind, accommodating, and generous he is just at heart. Gus and I got to chat about his coming up in the business, the moment he chose his destiny, the early days of grunge and his history with Nirvana/relationship with Dave Grohl, the awesome revelation that he was Eminem's first tour manager, and so many interesting tidbits from almost 3 decades fully immersed in rock and roll. 

This week’s guest is a producer/engineer friend of mine, Will Beasley. Will has grown his studio recording business tremendously since graduating high school years ago, then immediately interning with legendary Baltimore producer Paul Leavitt, where he learned a ton about the technique of the process as well as the technical side and how to use the software and tools the right way. Will explains some interesting insights on his thoughts around the advancement of tech in music, gives us some of his secret in-studio weapons, and he shares some advice to those looking to get into recording and producing music as a full time job.

I met Joe on tour many years ago, one of the coolest and kindest people I've had the pleasure of being friends with. Joe has an awesome backstory of growing up in Maryland in the Skateboarding/Punk scene and eventually packing up and heading west for Denver without a concrete plan; and finding his connection between his love of art and the alternative scene as a tattoo artist at Lifetime Tattoo, the best tattoo shop in Denver (in my opinion).