Beginnings – Details, episodes & analysis

On today's episode, I talk to cellist and composer Lia Kohl. Growing up in the Bay Area, Lia began playing the cello when she was eight-years-old and is trained as a classical musician. However, after moving to Chicago in the early 20-teens, she began improvising and making her own music. Her first full album Too Small to be a Plain was released in 2022 on Shinkoyo, which was followed by The Ceiling Reposes in 2023 on American Dreams Records, and her latest Normal Sounds is out now on Moon Glyph records, and it's wonderful!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-winning comics editor and two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist in cartooning Matt Bors. Originally from Canton, Ohio, Matt attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he first began drawing editorial cartoons for the student newspaper. At 23, his work became syndicated by Universal Features, making him the youngest syndicated cartoonist in the country at that time. Since then, his comics have appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, Village Voice, CNN, The Intercept, and were collected in the book We Should Improve Society Somewhat. In 2013, Matt founded the wonderful political comics site The Nib and ran it until it ceased operating in 2023. Most recently, Matt created the fantastic dystopian satire Justice Warriors with Ben Clarkson and is writing an upcoming Toxic Avenger series for Ahoy Comics.

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!

On today's episode, I talk to musician Jeff Martin. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Jeff started playing piano when he was but a mere toddler. In 1992, he formed the band Idaho with his high school friend John Berry, though Berry would leave a few years later, making Idaho primarily Jeff's project. The band first signed to Caroline, who released their first three albums and an EP, but with their breakthrough album in 2000, Hearts of Palm, they began releasing music on their own Idaho Music label. And their latest, Lapse, will be released at the end of May.

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!

On today's episode, I talk to actor Britt Lower. Originally from Heyworth, Illinois, Britt's first big role was on the short-lived 2010 Comedy Central show Big Lake. This launched her into the world of being a working actor, which included a regular role on Man Seeking Woman, as well as recurring roles on shows like Casual, Ghosted, and High Maintenance. Currently, Britt stars in the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series Severance, which is easily one of the best things on TV!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comics creator Mike "Spike" Allred. Originally from Oregon, Mike began his career in comics while working as a journalist. He created his well-known character Madman in the early '90s, and since then has drawn on books like Sandman, Fables, Silver Surfer and numerous others. He co-created two wonderful series: iZombie and X-Statix, and is currently drawing Superman: Space Age and a new X-Statix series.

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to TV writer Casper Kelly. Originally from Burlington, North Carolina, Casper started working at Adult Swim in the early 2000s, writing for shows like Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Squidbillies, as well as non-Adult Swim shows like Archer. He's co-created two series, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell and Stroker and Hoop, as well as the incredible Adult Swim infomercial Too Many Cooks. In addition to his TV work, Casper is a wonderful short story writer, and his book More Stories About Spaceships and Cancer is very much worth your time!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Victoria Park AKA Pictoria Vark. Originally from Cresskill, NJ, Victoria started playing in bands in high school and then college, eventually becoming the touring bassist for indie rock bands like Squirrel Flower and Pinkshift. A few months ago, her first album The Parts I Dread was released on Get Better Records, and it's great!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to artist Steve Keene. Originally from the DC metro area, Steve wanted to be an artist from an early age, taking off on a path that eventually led him to Yale art school. But it wasn't until his early 30s that he realized what he actually wanted to do as an artist, and since then Steve has become the most prolific American painter of all time, producing more than 300,000 hand-painted works via his studio/chainlink fence cage where he paints more than 50 paintings at a time.Time Magazine even gave him the moniker of the "Assembly-Line Picasso" because of his unique mass-production painting style. In addition to his affordable mass produced paintings, Steve's also painted the album art for many indie rock bands, including Pavement, The Apples in Stereo, The Silver Jews, as well as many others, and a new book about Steve, produced by photojournalist Daniel Efram, was recently published on Hat and Beard Press!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kasie Shahbaz AKA Kisskadee. Originally from San Diego, Kasie first started playing music under the name Coyote Run. As Kisskadee though, her first release was just last year, a short EP entitled Ambient Music For Bedrooms. And her first full album Black Hole Era just came out in May on Anxiety Blanket Records, and it's great!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Joe Rainey. Originally from South Minneapolis, Joe is A member of the Red Lake Nation of Ojibwe people and began attending and singing at pow wows from an early age, as well as becoming a pow wow singing archivist. Eventually ending up in Wisconsin, Joe began guesting with different musicians, working with people like Alan Sparhawk of Low, Bon Iver, Chance the Rapper, among many others. This eventually led to his debut album Niineta, which he composed with producer and artist Andrew Broder and which was released at the end of May on Justin Vernon's label 37d03d!

This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.