Sugar High

Nick Anderson is a young dude from Wellsville, NY. So young in fact that at one point in our interview he asked if I was mad at millennials (I am one)... I overlooked the slight because he's a superb conversationalist. In the last few years Nick's gone from the Costco stockroom guy to headlining tours around the country. Go Nick. I found the story so inspiring that I was able to forgive him for thinking I'm a Gen Xer.

Well my friends since it's the end of the year I thought I'd make an episode about one of my favorite artists/albums of the year... Bedouine. Bedouine, also known as Azniv Korkejian is a Syrian born, Saudi Arabia raised, American aged, singer song writer based in Los Angeles. I know, it's a lot.  Prior to conducting this interview I saw that basically every journalist is obsessed with the fact that she's from Syria. And at first I didn't even want to discuss it but the story is so interesting I had to dive in. Azniv's personal perspective and journey are what this show is all about. She had an entirely different career and started writing songs because it felt right. You'll notice throughout the interview that she has a healthy skepticism about pursuing music full time even though she's receiving so much attention. I found this skepticism refreshing and the sign of an incredibly intelligent person.   But she didn't do it alone. After meeting Los Angeles based musician and producer Gus Seyffert, the two decided to simply make something they were happy with. Eventually the project got signed and now Bedouine is on like every best of 2017 list.    I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Gus and Azniv and I think you will too. And for the love of god go listen to her record. 

If you listen to this show you know that I've a lot of Aussie friends. We see eye to eye on things like pies, beautiful beaches, and vegemite. Through this network I heard about Megan Washington and grew to appreciate her music. At the suggestion of one of these friends I watched her now famous Ted Talk about having a stutter and it blew my mind. My dad grew up with a terrible stutter and used to talk about how challenging it was as a kid. Eventually he got over his, Meg never did, except when she sang… You see where this is going. Although it reads like the script to an inspirational movie I assure you it’s all real.  A few months ago we were finally introduced at a show in LA and I just said, "You've got to come on the show!" She did and we had a great time. In 2009 Meg won multiple ARIA's (Australian Grammy) and firmly cemented herself in the Australian musical lexicon. But it hasn't all been easy. Achieving her goals came at a price and getting exactly what she wanted threw her into a near hopeless depression. Like a boss she dealt with it and is still selling out venues and making music. This September she performed multiple shows at the Sydney Opera house and finished her new record. 

Trevor Hall is a spiritual man at peace with himself... I am not. After growing up in South Carolina Trevor moved out west and began a pretty insane musical journey. After getting signed to a deal by Geffen straight out of high school Trevor thought everything was going to be gravy. But when Geffen refused to release his two albums and dropped him from the label things got interesting. He toured his ass off, self released stuff, traveled to India, lived in an Ashram and never gave up. He's a cool guy and it's an inspiring story. He's also the only positive musician I've ever met... so that's weird. Enjoy!

Fil Thorpe-Evans is a bassist from the countryside in England. In 2012 he left school on a whim to join a pop punk band with his friends called Neck Deep. Five years later they're touring the world and selling thousands of tickets a night. In today's episode we dive into a trip to Florida. But not just any trip to Florida... a trip that changed helped blow their band up.