Sound for Thought

“I really think everybody can make cool songs... if they try.” Marcos Vaca joins the program for an excellent discussion of all things music. Marcos and I talk about how each of us met the great Jake Marino, the process of combining musical influences, what it means to have a signature sound, the idea of never being finished with a piece of art, and more. Marcos tells the story of his own musical journey, and most importantly, the reason why he makes music. Featured tracks: I Need You Now (More Than I Did Then) and Bastille Day.

“That’s the hater in me coming out…cause I just know I’m gonna hate it, and hate gives me enjoyment.” This episode features the incredibly talented, all around good guy, Jake Marino of Count Harriet! He’s also the host of a brand new podcast from Redefing Records called Trust the Process. Jake and I talk about the important things in life like the miracle of birth, SNL, and dogs. Jake tells us how and why he fell in love with playing guitar. And most importantly Jake explains why he makes music! Featured tracks: Tired Lies (world premiere!) and Stranger Things.

“There’s certain things and people and places… that make you feel more musical, that just make you want to intuitively spend more time in, or invest in.” Brooklyn-based ambient artist Corntuth joins the show for a wonderfully meaningful conversation. We chat about how he got into ambient music, his songwriting process, demo-itis, instruments as tools... and how they inform the music creation process, plus much more. Most importantly, Corntuth explains why he makes music! Featured tracks: E-004 and C-003.

“I’ve never felt like I’ve been making music truer to how I want it to sound until now.” Dream-rock singer-songwriter Chloe Gallardo stops by the podcast for an enchanting chat. We discuss all sorts of things like how growing up in Orange County with a very musically talented family impacted her sound, how she handles social media and self-promotion as an indie artist, how she breaks out of writer’s block, the inspirations behind her new single and upcoming album, and so much more. Most importantly, Chloe explains why she makes music! Featured tracks: Cutting It Close and Fool’s Keeper.

“When everything is gone for me, music will still be there.” The multitalented musician, actor and podcaster, Parker Wierling, joins the show and we dig deep. We chat about his new single “With A Little Love,” moving from ATL to LA back to ATL, the appeal and dangers of being a madgenius dedicated to one craft, his musical genesis story, a transformative Beatles listening experience, working at the edge of your comfort zone, his podcast On That Note, listening to albums in full and so much more. Most importantly, Parker explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: With A Little Love and Silver Words.

“When I'm working on songs and feeling really pumped about them, there really is no better feeling.” Strath, an indie synth-pop artist originally from Melbourne, but now based in LA, joins the show and we cover a lot of ground in our conversation. We chat about his ‘cliche’ experience of moving to LA to pursue music, how he was inspired to play the sax by Sesame Street,  ‘mucking around’ on Logic Pro, NFTs, a transformative experience seeing Frank Ocean live in Sweden, his upcoming EP Soon Everything Will Be Perfect, cooking, Lebron James fandom and so much more. Most importantly, Strath explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: Watertight and I Like The Look Of Today.

“Bigger. Bolder. More silly shit. More of the stuff you love and less of the stuff that you don’t.” To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Redefining Records, our two podcast extraordinaires, John Pagliassotti and Andrew Shults did an Instagram Live session on June 1, 2021. That sesh included a listener Q&A and a merch giveaway! That live stream has now become this BONUS podcast episode. Some topics we covered: dream supergroup vs. nightmare supergroup, guilty listening pleasure, favorite love songs, types of guitar solos, random hypotheticals and so much more. We discuss the history and future of Redefining Records and our podcasts, how the process has changed our lives for the better and how we’d like to progress going forward.

“Music is the only thing that makes sense to me.” Sean Perry of The Shakes, an infectious indie-pop band from SoCal, joins the show and we talk about how he grew up in Seattle, how his parents and sister got him obsessed with music, his songwriting process, creating music that is both happy and sad, how retiring can be a good career move, shitty movies, baseball fandom, the pros and cons of social media and streaming, the future of music and so much more. Most importantly, Sean explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: Six Feet Below and I Just Want to Feel Something.

Hello, Soundseekers! Welcome to Sound for Thought, a podcast about why people make music. What’s the point of making music? Why do so many people spend so much of their time and energy writing songs? This show exists to answer those questions and so much more. Whether you're a musician yourself, a huge music nerd, or a casual listener, you can listen to this podcast for the same reasons you listen to music: to be inspired, to discover something new, and to get to know your favorite artists.

“I feel like music that you release is kind of like... a snapshot of what your life was like at that time.” Eliza Klatt of Australian indie pop-punk band Eliza & The Delusionals comes on the show and we talk about her musical origin story, how she accidentally started playing bass, the long reward process of making music, how she has evolved as a person since starting the band, learning from relationships that come and go while navigating the music industry, being proud of your songs, trusting your gut instincts, and so so much more. As always, and most importantly, Eliza explains why she makes music. Featured tracks: YOU and Sentimental.