#007 Six Questions With Kevin Alexander (Archive Edition)

#007 Six Questions With Kevin Alexander (Archive Edition)

Hey folks. Just a quick production note. This week we have an episode from the Six Questions vault with our old friend Kevin Alexander [https://open.substack.com/users/5613518-kevin-alexander?utm_source=mentions]. We’ll be back next week with a new episode. Let’s get to the show. Welcome back to Six Questions With Matty C. It’s a simple short-form interview show from the fine folks at What Am I Making. In each episode I’ll use the same half dozen questions about film or music, each with a five minute discussion limit to learn more from each guest about how the culture we consume shapes the people that we turn into. This week’s guest is Kevin Alexander [https://open.substack.com/users/5613518-kevin-alexander?utm_source=mentions], the man behind the fantastic music Substack, On Repeat Records [https://thekevinalexander.substack.com]. In this go-round, Kevin and I talk about the records that shaped us as young children. We discuss the power of art and music on young people and talk about a a time when records were a sort of classroom. Kevin hops in our time machine to travel back to see a legendary multi-night run that became one of the greatest concert films of all time. We talk about the two bands that began to help Kevin form his political beliefs. He says he came for the beats, but stayed for the message. There is also talk of a beloved Ohio singer/songwriter that helped Kevin, a native Oregonian, come to terms with and better understand his midwestern surroundings living in Wisconsin. Talk of favorite shows leads to discussions of lifelong connections across the merch table or standing behind a cargo van at one o’clock in the morning. And of course, Kevin tells us why New Order would be the last band he would ever let go from his record collection. Come join me and Kevin Alexander for six musical questions. Let’s get into it. Cheers, Matty C ------------------------ End Credits Thank you so much to Kevin for joining me. Please go follow Kevin and his work at On Repeat Records at https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/ [https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/] Six Questions With Matty C is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.  Our theme music was written by the great Pete Coe. You can subscribe to all of our work today at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com]. You can email the show us at whatamimakingblog@gmail.com [whatamimakingblog@gmail.com]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking [http://speakpipe.com/whatamimaking] Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#026 Six Questions With Jon Carroll

Jon Carroll [https://joncarroll.org/] is the sort of guy who lights up a room. Sure, he’s a world class piano player, singer, and arranger. He’s been a long-time musical collaborator with Mary Chapin Carpenter’s touring outfit. You might even know him as a founding member of the Starland Vocal Band. Despite his talent and experience, the first thing you notice about Jon is his ebullient persona. Jon is a born storyteller, and when two talkers such as he and I collide, you can be sure it’ll be a lengthy conversation. As much as we tried to stick with the five minute limit, it was too hard to contain Jon to just a half an hour for his myriad thoughts and ideas. I promise you that every minute in this deep and delightful chat is worth the time. During these six queries on film, Jon and I cover a massive amount of cinematic ground. We follow a terrifying Robert Mitchum through a black and white wilderness of terror. Jon takes us through the machinations of Paul Newman’s greatest performance, and winds us through the tender world of filmmaker, James L. Brooks. This is a wonderful conversation with one of my very favorite people to talk to. Here now are me, Jon Carroll and six questions about cinema. Let’s get into it. Cheers, Matty C - - - - - - - - End Credits Thank you so much to Jon for joining me. You can find out all about him and his work at https://joncarroll.org [https://joncarroll.org] Six Questions With Matty C is a production of What Am I Making. The show is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.  Our theme music was written by the great Pete Coe. You can subscribe to all of our work today at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  You can email the show us at whatamimakingblog@gmail.com [whatamimakingblog@gmail.com]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking [http://speakpipe.com/whatamimaking] Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#025 Six Questions With Barry Hummel

This week, I welcome back my old friend and frequent What Am I Making guest Barry Hummel [https://substack.com/profile/101088563-barry-hummel] for a sextet of musical conundrums. Barry is, of course, one half of the great Pops on Hops [https://popsonhopspod.substack.com] podcast, where he and his daughter Abigail discuss music and beer and so much more. In addition to Barry’s terrific work at Pops On Hops, he has also recently taken to writing on Substack about the world at Pops On Hops and covering his exploits as a long distance runner. During our half dozen queries, Barry and I cover his childhood episode with mumps and the adjacent musical memories that are entwined with that time in his life. We take a trip to the most famous rooftop show in the history of rock music and Barry shares how he was awakened to the realities of race in America with the help of a young female singer/songwriter. Barry shares his connection with a terrific North Carolina band that he wished had garnered a larger audience in their day, and then regales us with an emotional tale of seeing one of the biggest bands of all time during a time of national mourning. We then wrap things up very near where we began as we discussed the musical catalog that would be the last to leave Barry’s record collection. This episode is rather special as Barry and I were able to record it together in person at an event we were both attending in Las Vegas back in April. We recorded the episode on the patio of a restaurant, so the audio may sound a tad different than our usual episode, but the quality is still quite good for a location recording. So, here we are together again, this time in-person. It’s me and the great Barry Hummel with six questions. Let’s get into it. Cheers, Matty C - - - - - - - - End CreditsThank you so much to Barry for joining me. You can find out all about him and his work at https://popsonhopspod.substack.com/ [https://popsonhopspod.substack.com/] Six Questions With Matty C is a production of What Am I Making. The show is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.  Our theme music was written by the great Pete Coe. You can subscribe to all of our work today at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  You can email the show us at whatamimakingblog@gmail.com [whatamimakingblog@gmail.com]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking [http://speakpipe.com/whatamimaking] Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#024: Six Questions With S.W. Lauden

Remember The Lightning [https://rememberthelightning.substack.com/] is a love letter to guitar pop. Its author and our guest, S.W. Lauden [https://open.substack.com/users/1333108-sw-lauden?utm_source=mentions], has been firmly in the grasp of rock and roll since he can firstremember. S.W. has truly lived a life in rock trenches and lived to tell the tale. He’s not only spent a life writing about rock and roll, he played drums in one time major label darlings, Tsar [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Jx7jww5wU], as well as in his current band The Brothers Steve [https://bigstirrecords.com/the-brothers-steve]. Lauden’s writing on music has been a lifelong love affair culminating in several non-fiction books [https://www.amazon.com/stores/S.W.-Lauden/author/B01320CTOE?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true] on the subject, and with a series of punk rock detective novels [https://www.amazon.com/stores/S.W.-Lauden/author/B01320CTOE?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true] featuring musical PI, Greg Salem. S.W. has even collected the best writing from his Substack along with several guest contributors for an annual pair of physical books on the subject of guitar pop and its various iterations and purveyors. On today’s episode of Six Questions, S.W. and I pored through a half dozen musical conundrums, covering his earliest home recordings, a mercurial English mastermind, the overwhelming impact of one particularly raucous band from the midwest and so much more. Please note that there are some audio imperfections in this particular episode. You’ll likely notice a slight hum during much of my chat with S.W., and the recording quality of my mic is not its usual pristine clarity. My apologies for the digital garble, but it shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying the chat. Let’s get into it. Cheers,Matty C Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

#023 Six Questions with Bill Boyle

On this week’s episode of Six Questions with Matty C, I welcome in my friend and previous WAIM pod guest Bill Boyle into the Sheddio for six sonic riddles. I first got to know Bill Boyle from his insights and analysis at Stand Up with Pete Dominick [https://standupwithpete.com/]. While Bill’s day job is owning and running a series of parking garages around the DC Metro area, his real genius is breaking down complex information into discernible chunks. I have learned as much from him about the war in Ukraine as I have from any single news outlet. Bill is not a journalist, and would never promote himself as such, but he has an insatiable curiosity about the world around him. He’s incredibly well read, well researched, and well traveled. He has also had the good fortune not only to see much of the world, but he also possesses the curiosity and background to genuinely understand the stories behind that travel. During our six musical queries, Bill covers a great deal of ground from a broken nose in a college cafeteria to a Cambodian rock legend, and a ton of sonic territory in between. We start things off with a bit of roving discussion before jumping into the six questions. I decided to keep the entire chat because it actually does a wonderful job setting up the meat of the conversation. So, enjoy this rather inflated installment of Six Questions with me and Bill Boyle. Let’s get into it. Cheers,Matty C ------------------------ End CreditsThank you so much to Bill for joining me. You can listen to his first appearance on the WAIM pod at https://whatamimaking.substack.com/p/what-am-i-making-017-travel-talk?utm_source=publication-search [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/p/what-am-i-making-017-travel-talk?utm_source=publication-search] Six Questions With Matty C is a production of What Am I Making. The show is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.  Our theme music was written by the great Pete Coe. You can subscribe to all of our work today at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com [http://whatamimaking.substack.com].  You can email the show us at whatamimakingblog@gmail.com [whatamimakingblog@gmail.com]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking [http://speakpipe.com/whatamimaking] Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe [https://whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]