The Printer Pod w/ Basic Printer

Alayna Renae is a dear friend, Jazz singer, and activist in the Nashville area (originally from Kissime, Florida). We have been fairly tuned in to each other for most of our tenures in Nashville and enjoyed each others' performances many times over! I love Alayna's forward thinking approach to music and not feeling beholden to the tenants and pomp & circumstance of the genre she often is operating within (whatever that even means)...we had this convo a while back, maybe in June or July. I have to say, despite when this conversation was recorded, what we go over is as relevant as ever. So, enjoy this lovely convo with Alayna.

It's been 2 years in the making...you've been hearing about it left and right...but I'm finally here to tell you that the new album is available for preorder at basicprinter.com/fantastic-wrist-preorder

The podcasts have slowed a bit - I know it! I've been mixing this record and preparing it for mastering as we aim for a digital release in August! By preordering, you are first in line. Alright, printer out! See you soon with more stuff :)

G Mills used to drum in Basic Printer, and he is an amaaaaazing drummer. You can hear him on the last few tracks on the most recent live album, if you want a taste of it! He played a ton of awesome shows with us in Nashville and was the drummer for our two big tours in 2017 and 2018. He had always been making beats before then, but it really took off in 2017 after uploading a beat called "Stoney baloney" which I really really liked. Since then he's made a life out of producing which is pretty nutso tbh. Very interesting path in life and I hope you enjoy seeing his perspective on things!

Graci and I met at the DIY Musician's conference in Austin, TX last summer (where I was presenting) (and where I also snuck into a Generationals concert) and ever since we've stayed in close contact! We have a penchant for orchestration and pouring our hearts into our music, so naturally we've gottena long swimmingly. Not to mention her brand of folksy pop music is SO easy on the ears and delightful! ENJOY our convo!

Smart Objects had been on my radar for YEARS before finally seeing them at Exit/In sometime in 2018. It was exactly what I was hoping for - an angular pop/rock project that was suave, smart, deft and adventurous all in one. It didn't take long for me to get into talks with Ben Harper, who helms the project, where we began exchanging ideas here and there. Serendipitously, I was assigned randomly to cover one of his songs as part of the Nashville Song Swap, where Nashville bands were all tasked with the same challenge. I covered his song "Die Tonight" which was hella fun, and you can hear it at the end of this podcast. Enjoy!

Sometimes, ya just meet a mindblowing dancer candidly on Instagram. You all know this to be true! While we did start out as passive IG lurkers, I quickly learned that Rachael is a MINDBLOWING dancer - every time she'd post a video I'd be positively stopped in my tracks about it. Naturally I asked her onto the pod to get her take on music, creativity, and generall navigating life. I found this talk to be really inspiring and tbh, it kinda made me feel a little bit diff about myself afterward in a great way. So, I hope you take somethin' great out of this talk, and as always, ENJOI!

Another week in nutso world! How are we coping this time?? Well, I meticulously read through a fairly hidden journal that I wrote while on tour in 2018. Some BP fans have checked this out, but mostly this has been kept under wraps. Hey, since all my tour dates this year are being cancelled, I figured this would be a good way to reminisce and try to get the feeling of playing shows back into my life just a lil. If you want to read along and also check out some exclusive vids and pics that go along with everything, head to basicprinter.com/tour-journal.

Ben is in a wonderful band called Peverall, and you may remember me gushin' on them in the past...it's because this is Ben's second time on the podcast! We were both locked in our houses, like ya do in COVID life, and decided that we should have a nice convo and turn it into a podcast since it was probably the best way that we could catch up during this no touchy-touchy time. So, enjoy this convo chock full of music recording, politics, religion, Animal Crossing, and Harry Potter.

This ain't clickbait, folks! This is quite literally my favorite folk artist, hands down. I know my fair share of folk/acoustic music - though I am not a connoisseur by any means. Faint Peter however is undoubtedly one of the best folk musicians I've ever come across. Further, he's a FRIEND of mine. We were first introduced through his music and ever since we've stayed in touch since we were both musicians. Obviously it was a matter of time before he was on the podcast. Curious about what kinda folk BP listens to?! Don't blame ya. Enjoy this convo!

Boy oh boy - I've known Jason for I guess about 7 years now, and we've done tons together. He's sang back up on a ton of Basic Printer shows, we were in a band called Strange Appeal together, and I helped him produce 3 of his records - 2 of which are for his current project, Modern Instincts. We reminisce, walk through our history as friends, and talk about all sorts of things including how much we used to drink...WHAT?! JESSE?! YOU DRINK!?

yeah sometimes.

Enjoy!