I speak with Franz about putting the “show” back in show business, “intelligent hedonism,” the importance of the extra-musical within a music persona, the freedom that comes from working as a producer, and the Anti-Social Music collective.

Intro: Job 35:10 (from “Luck and Courage”)
Outro: Quiet Where I Lie (from “Major General”)

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Andrew and I talk about haters and lovers, artists moving beyond their biggest hits, Michael Reisman, the score to Truman Show, and of course McDonalds.

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Mohammed on stage, February House at the Public Theater, and love songs to buildings. Gabriel Kahane has the world by the balls as he takes over the worlds of song, stage, and symphonic music (I might have forced the alliteration on that last one).

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I catch up with Jamie (the) Drake on a visit to NYC. She tells me about setting up crazy ambitious challenges for herself (like playing a weekly gig for 7 months!), going unwittingly electric, the advantages of co-writing songs, and in a CAP podcast first she offers up a LIVE PERFORMANCE – of a new song at that! Giving KCRW a run for their money (Sophocles Becomes Eclectic?).

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Corey Dargel graciously joins me at the Papavasilopoulos homestead. We talk about how getting ear tubes emotionally damaged me, escaping South Texas with your soul intact, the pros and cons of growing up gay with and without the internet, the power of detachment as a form of expression, and his upcoming shows.

Intro: What Will It Be For Me (from “Someone Will Take Care of Me”)
Outro: The Opposite of Love (from “Every Day Is The Same Day”)

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Speaking from his vaulted music lair in upper Manhattan, Caleb Burhans and I discuss the multiple multis that he inhabits, absolute music as a logical outgrowth of being a performer/improviser who composes, Ligeti as punk rocker, why Caleb hates both Brooklyn (he doesn’t) and the label “alt-classical” (he does).

BTW – the composer’s name I was trying to remember at around minute 8 was Lutoslawski (duh).

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I’m joined by 5 of the 6 members of the composers collective, Sleeping Giant: Ted Hearne, Christopher Cerrone, Robert Honstein, Jacob Cooper, and Timothy Andres (we missed you, Andrew  Norman). We tackle the new music scene (or scenes or lack of any such thing), composers/performers supporting each other in the wilderness outside of established institutions, along with the influence of Bang on a Can, Christian Metal, and full bladders. Join them on June 15th at Brooklyn’s Littlefield for the Sleeping Giant summer show.

Intro: Excerpt from “A Beautiful Show” from Jacob Cooper’s opera “Timberbrit”
Outro: Excerpt from “Home Stretch” by Timothy Andres

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In the throes of orchestrating his luminous opera “The Golden Gate” (about which the opera world is all abuzz), I join Conrad to talk “twinkling, shining, clanging” San Francisco nights; harpsichord kits; 1950′s marriage manuals, and good advice from Phil Glass.

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He’s done it all and with everybody who’s anybody. When talking to Bobby Previte, it’s hard not to use the phrase “giants in their field” when discussing his work (I used it twice). We talk about New York as “one big yes,” along with the upcoming premiere of his new piece “Terminals,” and his stage/multimedia pieces “The Separation” and “The 23 Constellations of Joan Miro.” Then there’s the love-hate relationship to subscription/cloud-based music services and we get all existential/phenomenological on each other. It was hot.

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Renegade composer, keyboardist, producer, and all around good guy, Ben Vandermeer (aka Ben Mundane) talks with me about setting up a new studio, fun with foley, the brilliance of Talk Talk and Scott Walker, Gen- Xers as a transition generation, and mastering the squeaky floorboard.

Featuring excerpts of his pieces:
The Peaceluffness,
Solo piano improv performed at Artswatch in Louisville,
I Ching #1 and #2

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