5: Sai Boddupalli (People Like You) & Scene Inclusivity

This week, Craig chats with his first music guest, Sai Boddupalli, of the bands Animal Flag and People Like You. Sai is the child of Indian immigrants, and his experience of being raised in an Indian household contains a number of great stories that you get to hear on this episode!

Sai was raised by a very musical father, and that influence led to him becoming a musician as well. While completing his undergraduate studies at Berklee College of Music, Sai became a very active member of the Boston music scene - where he currently resides. In this chat, we cover his experience as a person of color in the DIY scene and in music spaces that are traditionally populated by white cishet dudes. We discuss the importance of representation and diversity in music, as well as the realities of touring and signing to record labels.

EPISODE NOTES:

- Sai just finished a six-week tour with his rock band, Animal Flag, of which was recently featured on Audiotree.

- The two earliest albums to influence Sai were "Kid A," from Radiohead and the self-titled Rage Against the Machine album. 

- Representation is important because if it weren't for "All Killer no Filler," by Sum 41 and Sai recognizing Dave Baksh of Sum 41 as a fellow Indian, we may not have the Sai we know now.

- If you haven't check out the diversity of sounds that Topshelf Records has to offer, you really need to get on that now!

- Animal Flag recently did a number of gigs alongside the magnanimously talented performer, Chad Matheny, otherwise known as, Emperor X. His new album, "Oversleepers International," is an eccentric collection of songs - out now on Tiny Engines.

- You can see People Like You and meet up with Sai while on their east coast tour that starts this weekend! For tour dates, visit http://www.topshelfrecords.com/roster/people-like-you.

- Make sure to read this piece on the othering of people by Edward Said.

- We quickly plug two great Boston-area organizations, BARCC (Boston Area Rape Crisis Center), as well as the Democracy Center. Visit their sites for more information!

- Sai and I are both currently enjoying the new Big Thief album, "Capacity," so don't say we didn't warn you!

- Check out the "Short History of Nearly Everything," by Bill Bryson.

- Sai also suggests checking out the book from "A Breath of Fresh Air," by Amulya Malladi.

MUSIC NOTES:

- All of the music on this week's podcast is provided by People Like You - in which Sai plays the bass guitar. The band was recently signed to Topshelf Records, which will be releasing their new LP, "Verse," on July 28th. It is chock-full of tasty jazzy emo tunes.

- The intro, outro, and ad breaks feature parts of the song, "Variations on an Aria."

- Today's music break song is, "Thumbnail," which was recently premiered by the band.

- You can PREORDER the new People Like You album on vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital by visiting http://www.topshelfrecords.com/products/593720-people-like-you-verse! 

- As referenced in the podcast, a portion of the proceeds from the new People Like You album's pre-order sales will be divided equally and go directly to The Trevor Project, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Planned Parenthood.

ADVERTISING NOTE:

- This week we were sponsored by our friends in Safer Scenes, who are currently on the road with War on Women during the Vans Warped Tour. Safer Scenes is dedicated to educating younger crowds at festivals and in typical concert venues on harmful and problematic issues that plague scenes - explicitly sexual assault, sexual violence, bullying, misogyny.

- You can donate to support the Safer Scenes folks by visiting their GoFundMe page! And if you donate at least $75, I will make you a piece of art - since my nonprofit, The Art of Survival, is sponsoring War on Women and Safer Scenes during their Warped Tour travels.

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