SongDive – Details, episodes & analysis

In this (FIRST EVER) episode of SongDive, Sarah and allie will explore the songwriting and production inspirations behind the first songs on each of their respective new albums:

Illuminati Hotties - "Can't Be Still"

allie - "Sweet" (out Sep 27)

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Today on SongDive, we had the pleasure of speaking with Spencer Peppet of the band The Ophelias. Spencer was kind enough to share about her experience of making The Ophelia’s latest record called Spring Grove which comes out April 4, 2025, and working with Julien Baker who produced the record and Calvin Lauber who engineered the record.

The first single off Spring Grove is called “Cumulonimbus” and today we had the pleasure of diving a bit deeper and learning more about the song’s origins, lyrical inspiration, as well as the process of making the music video for “Cumulonimbus”, which was directed by filmmaker Jo Shaffer who also plays bass in The Ophelias. I personally had this video on repeat the other day because of how stricken I was by the vivid coloring and trance-like state the song’s narrative and accompanying visuals conjured in me.

I’m ever-impressed by Spencer’s range, grace and competence as a creative person and I was so grateful we got the chance to talk to her. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Spencer  Peppet of The Ophelias.

- Allie Cuva

Also, The Ophelias will be on tour this spring in celebration of the release of Spring Grove:

The Ophelias’ Upcoming Tour Dates:

Fri. April 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy

Sat. April 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Broadway (Record Release Show)

Sun. April 6 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java

Tue. April 8 – Boston, MA @ The Rockwell Wed.

April 9 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room

Thu. May 8 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas

Fri. May 9 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café Sat.

May 10 – Lansing, MI @ Stoopfest Sun.

May 11 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G Tue.

May 13 – Montréal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo

Wed. May 14 – Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean

On this episode of SongDive, we are joined by songwriter, guitarist, producer, and perpetual deep thinker, Sidney Gish. Sidney releases music under her own name, most notably the 2017 instant classic, No Dogs Allowed, and most recently a single called "Lonesome Ride" in collaboration with prior guest of the pod, Grumpy. Throughout this episode, we dive deep into a conversation about the creative process, idea generation, and the ever elusive question, how the heck do you finish something? Sidney is full of sage wisdom, Pinterest inspired motivational theories, and philosophical musings about the process of making great art. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Sidney Gish.

- Sarah Tudzin

our FIRST EVER SongDive guest Maddie Ross has a new song out called "Trash Fire"! it's so much fun, as was getting to learn more about the songwriting and production through Maddie's perspective. She's on tour with Illuminati Hotties right now (Sep/Oct '24) so be sure to catch them live!

In this third episode of SongDive, Sarah and Allie discuss "Throw (Life Raft)", the third song off the new Illuminati Hotties record 'POWER', as well as "Every Dog", the third song off the new allie record 'Every Dog'. Next week's episode will feature our first ! guest ! ever !!!

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In this second episode of SongDive, Sarah and Allie discuss "Radio Shower" the second song off the new allie record, Every Dog, and "I Would Like Still Love You" the second song off the new Illuminati Hotties record. Exciting news next week re: our first ever guest artist!!

Laura Colwell of Austin TX-based "regret pop" band Sun June joined us to talk about Sun June's recent release "41 Dollars" as well as Porches' cover of their song "Easy Violence". We also touched on Laura's experiences editing films like The Unknown Country (2022) and how that has influenced her relationship with music.

Heaven Schmitt, aka Grumpy: a very talented and charming songwriter and overall wonderful person who is also an Old pal, pandemic pod buddy and college friend of mine. I originally met Heaven in nashville before we each moved to New York a couple years ago. Heaven actually shared with us quite a bit on this episode about their personal journey of coming more into themselves and their art in the past few years, which was really cool to hear more about.

The Grumpy song we’re focusing on today is called “Holding” off their latest EP Wolfed which came out October 2024. It’s a poignant and heavy rock song woven together with a story that Heaven was kind enough to open up about on today’s episode.

* Grumpy has a new song out January 15th with Precious Human and Sidney Gish

Live Shows:

2 dates full band with Great Grandpa: Philly on Jan 29 and DC on Jan 30

Jan 31st: starting a solo tour opening for Real Estate

Sarah and I hope you enjoy our conversation with Heaven Schmitt of the band Grumpy : )

- Allie Cuva

Alex Lahey is a Melbourne-bred, Los-Angeles-based producer, songwriter, and musical artist under her own name. Last year, Alex released her critically-acclaimed, enthusiasm-infused third album called 'The Answer Is Always Yes'. She's currently home in Australia for work, but will be back on tour in the U.S. supporting Laura Jane Grace early in 2025. Alex joined us for a special episode on the topic of producing bands. What does it mean to be a producer? How does one fit into the culture of an existing band-dynamic? All this and more on this week's episode of SongDive with special guest Alex Lahey.

We had a great time talking with Lexi Vega as she shared with us her experiences of making the Mini Trees song "Shapeshifter" as well as the entire Burnout EP on which this song was released earlier in 2024. Lexi told us about her approach to tracking background vocals and building upon the "Shapeshifter" demo with collaborators like producer Jon Joseph and multi-instrumentalist Zac Rae (Death Cab for Cutie) to get this song to the finish line.

Apologies for Allie's sound quality: it's p awful because she was at a remote cafe due to unexpected travel. Won't be trying that again!