Category: Podcast

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 4, Episode 2 with Zella Day

Zella Day is a singer songwriter that signed to Hollywood Records when she was merely 17, and has been putting out a steady stream of material since then, enough to be considered a “veteran” at the young age of 27. We had a lovely opportunity to talk about what it’s like to be making decidely non-Disney music on a label owned by Disney, producing music as a teenager. The conversation ran through early tours, navigating the major label system, finding an off-ramp to the major label system, nourishing a community during the pandemic, and so much more. She may be one of the wisest humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to. And, apologies- we both have pets that interrupt some pretty pivotal moments, so bear with that.
Zella Day’s most recent record is called Sunday In Heaven, and is available now from Concord Records in all the usual places, included some lovely vinyl variants!
 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 4, Episode 1 with Sergio Dias of Os Mutantes

We’ve made it to the fourth season of How Did I Get Here?!!! And our first guest of a bonafide rock legend- Sergio Dias, founding member of the groundbreaking rock n roll band Os Mutantes. We made a good-faith attempt to cover a 50+ year career in about 30 minutes, but I can already tell you that we could use another 4 hours to scratch the surface of his career. 

Os Mutantes are hitting the road, headlining Freakout Festival outside of Seattle, November 10th – 13th, and coming to The Chapel in San Francisco on November 16th.

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 3 with Jean Grae

It’s been a loooong time, hasn’t it? Fear not- I will try not to leave you, my loyal listeners, hanging for this long again. And it was worth the wait… This might be the only episode that is- ENTIRELY UNEDITED. I got to speak with noted polymath Jean Grae about, well, pretty much everything. We talked about being highly ambitious from a young age, we talked about her career in music, her jump into stand-up, writing a book, composing score, and pretty much everything else you can imagine. We even discussed the Lisa Lisa in great detail. And for those that stop listening halfway through, we do ACTUALLY solve COVID in the last five minutes, so you will definitely want to hang on for that.
 
Jean Grae is coming to SF for SF Sketchfest the final weekend of the festival. Her schedule can be found here! Grae is also still putting out music faster than most people can decide what to listen to, and her Bandcamp page is full of amazing stuff for you to listen to and purchase.

 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 2 with Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!
 
Alexis Krauss is the lead singer of the popular band Sleigh Bells. Their noisy blend of grindcore guitars and pop beats may not be the most suited for casual radio listening, but it feels me and many others with great joy. I got to speak to Krauss about her time with the pop group RubyBlue, working on a TV show as a young teen, working as a session musician, and how a fateful meeting at a restaurant brought Krauss back to playing in a band.
 

Sleigh Bells’ latest release, Texis, is available for you to enjoy NOW! The band is currently at the tail end of a North American tour, and will be kicking off another round of dates in early 2022. You can find an up-to-date schedule here. Bay Area folks can catch them TWICE this weekend: October 23rd at The New Parish and October 24th at Rickshaw Stop. Please remember to vaxx up and mask up at these shows for the safety of the band and your fellow fans!

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 1 with Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg + US TOUR DATES AND A NEW SINGLE!

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!

Most episodes of this show are with someone that has had a long and storied career. I mean, that’s the premise of the show. However, the opportunity to bring Rhian Teasdale of the great Wet Leg, the best thing to come out of the Isle of Wight since The Who’s best live album, onto the podcast was too good to pass up. We talked about deciding to pivot from your academic studies to studying rock n roll. We talked about becoming a headlining act on the strength of a single, absolutely killer song. We talked about becoming the next big thing in the middle of a pandemic. And, most importantly, we talked about the difference between American and British names for a frozen, whipped dairy treat. 
 

Life moves quickly for a young rock n roll band. Since we recorded this interview, not only has the band released their second single, “Wet Dream,” which I can assure you has more blush-worthy lyrics than “Chaise Longue,” but might even be more danceable. And you should get your dancing shoes ready because Wet Leg is coming to the US for THREE SHOWS!!
 
Dec. 8th Brooklyn, NY Baby’s All Right
Dec. 14th Los Angeles, CA The Moroccan Lounge
Dec. 15th San Francisco, CA Popscene at Rickshaw Shop

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 7 with Julie Schuchard

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!
 
Julie Schuchard is the co-founder of Tricycle Records, (Download their latest free compilation here!) who has given us records by local acts such as The Hot Toddies, Everyone is Dirty, Andrew St James, Rich Girls, Geographer, and more. She also has done marketing for SF Sketchfest, Mezzanine, and about a dozen other local venues, has served on the board for the SF chapter of the Recording Academy, and can often be found around town DJing from her impressive vinyl catalog. We got to talk about her history with music, the struggles of running a label, and also her move from focusing on music and to the world of graphic design. 
 

She also has a Nasty Woman tattoo on her wrist as a reminder that being a woman in this industry (and in this world in general) takes an extra level of nasty. Enjoy her Nasty Woman playlist below:
 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 6 with Chris Appelgren

 

In this episode I got to talk with Bay Area music legend Chris Appelgren. We talked about many of his bands, including Bumblescrump (sadly not getting into exactly what this word means), The Potatomen, and The Peechees. We also discussed his rising through the ranks at Lookout Records, and even talked about its inevitable decline. And, of course, we talked about his time at Noise Pop, Bold Italic, and Ticketfly, as well as his return to the record business by helping Once And Future Band release their 2020 album Deleted Scenes.

Listen Here:

Listen to the music mentioned here:

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 5 with DJ / Podcaster / Superhero Mo Herms

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!

Mo Herms has done pretty much every job in music you can imagine… From record store clerk to radio programmer to journalist to licensing to, well, just imagine it and she’s done it. Mo is currently the Music Editorial Lead at 1021 Creative, but we got to talk about all of it. From the first time she fixed a record her sister destroyed to getting hit on by, um, Ike Turner. It was a fun chat, and I think you’ll enjoy it. You may also enjoy the playlist she made of important songs from throughout her career.

 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 4 with stand-up comic Liz Miele, author of “Why Cats Are Assholes”

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!
 
In this edition of “How Did I Get Here?”, I got to talk with stand-up comedy prodigy Liz Miele about her career, including getting started at 16 and continuing to nurture that career into adulthood. We discussed her first book, Why Cats Are Assholes, which of course, digressed into talking about cat behavior. I even asked some specific questions about my own cat. We also talked about what it’s like touring during a pandemic, and we had a TON of fun. For quick reference- Pasta is Liz’s cat, Zoey and Ike are my cats.
 
We also talked a lot about influences, so Liz made me a list of important bits for her development as a comedian, giving you a companion playlist! We also talked about Miele’s cat photoshoots, and you can find those on her Instagram! She also has a fantastic YouTube page where you can dig deep into her stand-up history. And she also has a podcast with Maria Shehata called 2 Non Doctors for your continued listening pleasure.


Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 3 with Maggie Arthur of Our Music My Body

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!

Maggie Arthur is a Campaign Coordinator for Our Music My Body, an organization that works with music venues and festivals to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music scene and help work to make those spaces and the people that enjoy them safer. We talked about her early show-going days and the experiences that led to her involvement with OMMB. We also talked a bit about what we can do ourselves to make our scenes and spaces safer and more inclusive. I also learned a lot, and there were even moments in this conversation that were a little uncomfortable for me. But, really, getting to those uncomfortable moments is important. 
 
April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month. OMMB’s parent organization, Our Resilience, has great resources to find out what you can do to help others, or if you have experienced sexual assault yourself, a place to find resources to get help. And please don’t forget to follow Our Music My Body on Facebook and Instagram.