Voice & Verse Podcast

This week I’m joined by Stephen Christian, mastermind behind the project Anchor & Braille and former frontman of Florida alternative rock band Anberlin. Anberlin was a mainstay of the punk and emo scene throughout the 2000s, releasing celebrated albums like Never Take Friendship Personal and Cities; they also had a bona fide hit single, “Feel […]

Along with his writing partner, Nate Ruess, Sam Means was responsible for making some of the most compelling and forward-thinking pop music of the new millennium as one-half of indie-pop band The Format. The band’s debut album, Interventions and Lullabies, produced the minor hit “The First Single” – but the follow-up, 2006’s Dog Problems, was […]

Episode 041 is a really special one for me, because I’m joined by Steven Page, co-founder and former frontman of Barenaked Ladies and my all-time favorite songwriter. With BNL, Steven’s songs—including “Brian Wilson,” “If I Had $1,000,000,” “The Old Apartment,” “It’s All Been Done,” and more—were undeniable smash hits in the ’90s and early ’00s. […]

(photo credit: Jade Ehlers) This week, I’m joined by singer, songwriter and actor Max Schneider, known as MAX. You might have seen him out on the road this summer with Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa, or on YouTube, where he’s a prolific cover artist. MAX truly does it all. He got his start on […]

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Casey Crescenzo for 11 years, back when he was playing in The Receiving End of Sirens. Since then, he’s gone on to become one of the most prolific and praiseworthy songwriters in the scene as frontman and brain trust of The Dear Hunter. In addition to releasing four of […]

Dan Wilson’s first hit single came in the late ’90s, when his band, Semisonic, released the seminal sing-along “Closing Time” – a song that practically feels like a federally mandated inclusion to any karaoke night. But his songwriting prowess didn’t stop there. Overseas, Semisonic enjoyed another smash hit with “Secret Smile,” and Dan parlayed that […]

If you own a TV, odds are you’ve heard an X Ambasasdors song. This New York quartet have exploded recently, with their hit singles “Jungle” and “Renegades” appearing everywhere from Beats and Jeep commercials to a promo for the 2014 World Cup. But the band are more than just jingle writers; the group’s debut album, […]

Good Old War’s new album, Broken Into Better Shape, was just released a few weeks ago, but it’s already in contention for one of my favorite albums of the year. Combining the band’s knack for picture-perfect folk with a newly tuned melodic precision, songs like “Never Gonna See Me Cry” and “Tell Me What You […]

Frank Iero is best known for his time spent in My Chemical Romance, but the guitarist shouldn’t just be defined by that decade-plus period. He’s also fronted hardcore band Leathermouth, joined up with My Chem and Get Up Kids keyboardist (and Reggie and the Full Effect bandleader) James Dewees in Death Spells, and, most recently, […]

What a thrill it is for me to welcome Guster’s Ryan Miller, one of my all-time favorite songwriters, onto the show. I first heard Guster in 2000, but they’d already been making music for nine years at that point. Their 1999 major-label debut, Lost And Gone Forever, pushed them into more mainstream popularity, as did […]