"Talking At The Diner" Podcast

Hello Breakfast Buds!

For episode 52 of "Talking at the Diner," I'm back at Bob's Diner in the lovely Roxborough section of Philadelphia.. AGAIN! There’s clearly something in the "wooder" round those parts.. lots of the city's most creative artists live there, and my guest Lia Menaker is one of the most talented and unique performers on the rise in our music community. if you’re not familiar with Lia.. when get on the bus, babe.. because her music is an addictive blend of soulful jazz-inflected vocal hooks, piano chops, live looping, and an easy-going charm.

I first encountered Lia at a songwriter round in Philadelphia, which also featured three performers I know very well, all good friends and previous guests on TatD - Andrea Nardello, Sug Daniels, and Emily Drinker. Lia was the only member of the lineup I was unfamiliar with but she absolutely brought down the house and made a lot of new fans, myself included.

It’s been an interesting and somewhat unlikely journey that eventually led Lia to Philadelphia around 2019. She had what she considers a very "normal" upbringing in the mall haven that is north Jersey (with a heavy dose of musical theater up through high school). She earned a masters degree in public health with a focus on "global health disparities" and worked at the CDC in Atlanta before the pandemic. Prior to moving back above the Mason-Dixon Line, her drive to play music compelled her to book a 50-stop solo tour which took her all over the country.

Learn more about Lia:
LIAMENAKER.COM
INSTAGRAM

Lia a super-engaging performer and I had a great time chatting with her. I’m excited to share our conversation, so enjoy!!

~ JKF ❤️

Back in late August - the first time I recorded an episode of the pod "out of sequence" - I met up with my friend Eric Cooper, known to most in the Philly music scene as Coop. Coop is a virtuoso bass player who let's loose in bands like the Funky T, but also plays with singer songwriters like Emily Drinker and John Gilbride. His solo project Coop A Loopfeatures trippy melodic soundscapes created primarily on bass guitar using loops, effects pedals, and a whole lot of imagination. 

Our meet-up at Bob's Diner in Roxborough (a popular spot, having been the setting of three episodes of the show) was on a sunny Sunday Morning. Breakfast was definitely in the cards and I was stunned to hear that Bob's offers four.. count 'em.. FOUR sausage options. Its was the perfect setting to listen to Coop's musical origin story, which began in Plymouth Meeting, just outside of Philadelphia. After starting out on drums (as many of us do), Coop serendipitously began playing a borrowed bass, which a friend lent him as a diversion when Coop broke his ankle. A true virtuoso on the instrument, Coop looks to do so much more with the bass than most of us can even imagine. 

His live performances range from just himself onstage with a loop station and a pedal board, to bringing a full band that includes fellow members of the Funky T as well as drummer and previous guest on this very show, Rob Tait. I recently saw Coop in full band mode at an event called Jam on the Grass, which showcased not his talent but a pretty wicked sense of humor too, as he held up a fully realistic looking box of cereal he dubbed "Coop A Loops" and extolled the virtues of its 9 essential vitamins and minerals before declaring it "RFK-approved." Impossible not to be a fan :)

Hope you enjoy this great conversation!

JKF ❤️

I’m excited to share Episode 50 of “Talking At The Diner!" 
I wanted to ask a heavy hitter to be my 50th guest on the show and when I think of heavy hitters in the Philadelphia music community, my guest really fits the bill not only in terms of his experiences and accomplishments, but he’s literally a heavy hitter sitting behind the drum kit for Philly rock legends The Hooters. David Uosikkinen was raised in Levittown and came of age in the early days of FM rock radio.

If you are of a certain age in this part of the world, you already know of the Hooters rise from local heroes to international touring artists. Numerous songs such as "All You Zombies," "And We Danced," "Day By Day," and "Hanging On A Heartbeat" were ubiquitous on radio stations like WMMR. As an aspiring musician growing up in Delaware, it was very motivating to see a Philadelphia band on MTV and performing at Live Aid. And even after 45 years as a band, the Hooters continue to tour and even release new music to this day.

My personal connection with Dave Uosikkinen dates back to when I was in my early 20’s fronting the Beat Clinic, the band that would eventually morph into the Caulfields. We were finalists in a national battle of the bands called the Energizer Rock ’n’ Roll Challenge. David was a judge at the battle of the bands and although the Beat Clinic did not win, his words of encouragement to me in a my agony of defeat moment were inspirational to me and played a big part in motivating me to keep on pushing.

In the years since to end of Covid, David has invited me to be part of In The Pocket, an all-star collective of musicians who honor the musical history of Philadelphia with tribute recordings and raucous shows. I was excited to get a chance to sit down with David at Minella’s Diner in Wayne, PA for what ended up being an amazing conversation. We talked about his origin story as a musician, the genesis of the Hooters, and there’s also an entertaining story about an encounter with Ace Frehley from Kiss. I am confident you will enjoy this episode!

~ JKF

Greetings Diner Buddies! My guest on episode 49 of TatD is a rising star in the Philly indie pop community - singer/songwriter Caroline Quinn. Caroline is a relative newcomer but has in the past year achieved impressive success on TikTok and Spotify on the strength of her cool and quirky sense of style and her super-catchy viral single “Alien On My Mind” - produced by recent TatD guest Ross Bellenoit.

Full disclosure: for this episode, I made an exception about what some might consider the very foundation of the podcast - eating in a traditional diner. You know, with vinyl booths, and off-brand ketchup, and bad fluorescent lighting. But due to the timing and circumstances of our meet-up, we ended up going to Le Bus, a longstanding upscale spot in Caroline’s neighborhood of East Falls. So, not exactly a diner but Le Bus did get its start operating out of an actual school bus in the late 70’s, so it still has cred.

I first saw Caroline perform at Iris, the all-femme music showcase curated and amplified by another previous TatD guest - Taylor Kelly. In the unusual setting of an 80-seat north Philly comedy club, I was immediately drawn in by Caroline’s fantastic singing voice and hook-laden songs. Her knack for song craft and her way of expressing herself as an artist beyond the music itself made her someone I was curious to get to know better.

Her new EP "The End of May" is out now on all streaming platforms, and she is playing her official (if belated) release party on Saturday August 16th - appropriately at the Fallser Club in East Falls, which was just named Best Small Venue in Philadelphia Magazine's 2025 Best Of Issue. You can buy tickets to the show HERE.

You can follow Caroline here:

IG - @caroline_quinn
TikTok - @caroline_quinnn (note the extra "n")

I loved our conversation and I think you will too!
~ JKF ❤️

Mackenzie Johnson is supremely talented singer-songwriter who grew up in Bucks County, PA about 30 miles up I-95 from Philadelphia and now splits her creative life between Philly and New York. A poised and confident performer, with the soul of a musical theater kid, Mackenzie is a bonafide social media heavyweight. Her Youtube channel has over 620K subscribers and her TikTok has over 226K followers. Yes, you read that right. In our conversation, we get into how she navigates and tries to bridge the gap between her impressive online communities and the more "analog" world of DIY gig promotion and the task of putting asses in the seats.

Beyond her life as a creator, she is at her core a serious songwriter, who spent time down in Nashville collaborating with other songwriters through a publishing deal, and in 2024, was one of four finalists in Philly radio station WXPN’s 24 Hr. Song Challenge, writing and recording her tune “Sunburn” in a single day. She's sung onstage with Glen Hansard, andsung a duet with her mom. We met up at her neighborhood spot - Jake's Eatery in Newtown, PA for a hang that just flew by - the conversation was just that good.

You can join Mackenzie's online communities here:
YouTube - @mackeziejohnson
TikTok - @mackenziemusic26
IG - @Mackenziemusic

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!
~ JKF ❤️

I went out to Bob’s Diner in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia for a repeat visit after having first been introduced to this charming spot by Emily Drinker in 2023. I was very excited to meet up with two uber-talented musicians’ who happen to be a married couple. Ross Bellenoit and Andrea Weber are both hugely respected members of the Philly music community. Both highly educated in their respective instruments and both are themselves music educators. Ross attended the now sadly defunct University of the Arts in Philadelphia and studied jazz guitar and eventually joined the faculty there. Andrea is a classically trained cellist, who has been TEACHING cello since she was 16.

Andrea is also the longtime cellist for my longtime friend and previous TatD guest - another Andrea - Andrea Nardello. I'm excited to share the stage with Andrea Weber (or simply Weber, as her friends call her) for the first time in an official capacity when she'll join me and Joey DiTullio at a special "Songs & Stories by candlelight" event on Aug. 23 at Fat Lady Brewing in Philadelphia. 

BUT I DIGRESS..

Ross Bellenoit has toured with national artists like Amos Lee, he produces artists like the up and coming Philly phenom Caroline Quinn, and has his own career as a solo artist and as a member of his band Muscle Tough.

I thoroughly enjoyed hanging with Ross and Andrea - I was curious to chat with two married musicians and see how they live their creative lives, weather their professional storms, and manage to make it all work. I also loved learning a bit more about musicians whose backgrounds are rooted in classical and jazz - these are very different worlds from your typical rock upbringing!

I hope you enjoy this great conversation!
~ JKF ❤️

Very often on TatD, I seek out guests I don’t know all that well because it’s fun to get to chat with and learn about new people, but sometimes it’s fun to sit down with friends you’re known a long, long time. And such is the case on this episode with my two guests, both of whom play in a Philly band I have been close with for twenty years. We’ve played countless shows together, in front of thousands of people, and they've both played music with me in my bands and projects. One of them has produced records of mine, one has done a vast amount of the graphic design on my projects. I’m talking about my longtime pals from the band Jealousy Curve - lead vocalist Michael Leavy and guitarist Steven LaFashia.. known more commonly to most as Leavy and Fash.

I met up with these two at one of my favorite spots in Delco: the Country Squire, the spot of many post-show meals back in the day. The place looked great after all these years, if a little desolate, as we were the only customers in the dining room at noon on a weekday. Times are tough for some of these classic restaurants, I'm not gonna lie. All the more reason to have our chat at this beloved meeting place.
Over chicken & waffles and omelettes, we talked about the Jealousy Curve's origins and I marveled at the fact that they have weathered some of life’s ultimate challenges, with some substantial breaks in their timeline, and yet have re-emerged in 2025 (after our sold out co-bill at Ardmore Music Hall back in December of '24) more determined than ever to do the thing they’ve been doing together since Leavy and Fash met on the first day high school -  collaborate on making music that is simultaneously heavy, beautiful, and thought provoking..  as good as rock music gets.

I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the life and times of one of Philadelphia's most beloved rock bands!
~ JKF ❤️

This is a very special episode of TatD. I mean verrrrry special. 
During a "social media day" we shared back in February, I was thrilled to hang out with my fellow bandleaders of Asian American Pie II coming up on May 17th at MilkBoy in Philadelphia.

Carissa Matsushima is the powerhouse band leader of Kikashima.
Judah Kim is AAPie co-founder and my first two-time guest on the show.

Listening back to the conversation, which happened at the West Chester Diner in lovely West Chester, PA, I think both Judah and I were more than happy to focus on hearing Carissa tell the story of her upbringing in southern California, where she had a very different  cultural experience than we east coast Asian kids. She eventually moved to New York to attend NYU where she studied experimental theater and began writing songs. Only after college and her eventual move to Philly did she really begin sharing her music and her stunning and unique voice with the world.

In addition to learning about Carissa's early life in a predominantly Asian / Latino community, we discussed the pressing matters of eating Taco Bell in the light of day, and what ever happened to RC Cola. Suffice it to say, the three of us get along swimmingly. I hope you enjoy this episode and if you're checking this out before May 17th, 2025, you should absolutely come out to Milkboy and get yourself a slice of Asian American Pie! 🥧🥧🥧

I recently got a chance to hang out at one of my favorite haunts - the Broad St. Diner in south Philly - with my friend Taylor Kelly. Taylor caught the music bug as a young school kid in upstate New York and moved to Philadelphia from Boston after college in 2016. By the time she was in her early 20's, she was already a seasoned touring musician, playing trumpet in a big band (an actual 18-pc big band!) and getting a degree from Berklee College of Music. Taylor occupies a space in the music scene that I am honestly not as familiar with as I’d like to be but she is now my gateway drug into the world of modern Philly soul,  jazz, and R&B.

My first exposure to Taylor was the Iris Music Showcase. Inspired by Black Lily, the weekly early aughts jam session that highlighted early performances by neo-soul artists like Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, Iris is an incredible monthly music event Taylor created to celebrate femme voices of the past, present, and future. Having attended several of these shows myself, I have only seen Taylor actually perform at one of them, as she selflessly puts a laser focus on the artists while drawing minimal attention to herself. 

She is a true embodiment of community building in Philadelphia and she happens to also be a badass artist and songwriter in her own right. But the magic in Taylor Kelly lies in her voice - a smooth, soulful, and powerful instrument, equally capable of quiet introspection, hip hop attitude, and even hard rock fury. Her latest single is a trippy remix of “Take Me” a track originally released on her 2024 EP "The Spins." This new version features a rap verse from Richmond, Virginia artist Tennishu.

In our conversation, Taylor and I chat about her early musical life, her love of the band Butcher Brown (the hip hop / soul project fronted by the aforementioned Tennishu) and the importance of being intentional with your decisions in music and in life. It's a really fun episode and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Check out the Iris Music Showcase on IG @irismusicshowcase 
and Taylor's official website https://taylorkellymusic.com

~ JKF ❤️

I met Philly musician / singer / songwriter Deirdre French in 2019, less than a year before Covid, when she walked into the open mic I was hosting at the Khyber in Philadelphia, and basically silenced a loud, chatty room with a pin-drop performance showcasing her impressive vocal and songwriting chops. In the intervening years, she’s done a lot of personal and artistic exploration and now she’s just released her debut full-length album "Sensitive Girl," an eclectic blend of her many artistic shades, from 90’s rock bombast, to Costello-esque lyrical snark, to jazz-inflected introspection.

Deirdre’s music can make you think, it can make you laugh, and, as stated in her bio, it can leave you sorta scratching your head.. but in a way that only makes you curious to find out more. I was thrilled to get the chance to sit down with her at the iconic Penrose Restaurant in south Philly, where I quickly found myself in the midst of a great conversation covering topics ranging from our favorite bass players to making it through your 20's, to showing up for your friends. This was honestly one of my very favorite TatD conversations and I hope you'll stream Deirdre's album and give a follow on IG @sensitivegrrl .

Enjoy!
~ JKF ❤️