Podcasts I like

• 1. The Entrepreneurial Musician– I have gotten a lot out of Andrew Hitz’s (the host) constant yammering and interviews of people in the music industry. He prioritizes pointing out Actionable Advice, and will take the best advice from the previous interview and expand on it with his TEM shorts. Although my own journey has been slow, listening to this podcast has helped keep me motivated over the last few years.

• 2.The Brass Junkies– There is a podcast for and by Brass Players run by the Cheekiest Brassholes I’ve ever heard. Lance LaDuke and Andrew Hitz (yeah, the guy with the more serious music business podcast I just got done writing about) hosts this podcast which gets released bi weekly on average. They’ve interviewed a lot of famous people in the Brass world and, as is typical for brass players, they all pick on each other. There’s also this long running joke with Jenz Lindemann ( don’t ask, you’ll just have to listen to a few to get the gist) that they refuse to let die. IT’S BEEN 6 YEARS!!!!! The interviews have useful information as well, but the conversations may or may have caused me to choke on coffee, get a few weird stares from coworkers, and bruise a few ribs in the process.

• 3.The Portfolio Composer– This is the first Music Business related podcast ( I started when it was still called Composer on Fire- before it was cool :P) and one I still listen to thanks to my friend and fellow composer Sakari. Garrett Hope, a composer who wanted to figure out how to make a living doing the thing he loves – composing- started interviewing composers who have made it and some music business professionals to figure out how this is done in today’s world. His generosity in sharing this information and these interviews with the world has helped a lot of composers.

Fun Narcissistic Fact: Once, My question was featured on this podcast and answered by Alex Shapiro!!! (this is the closest to radio fame I’ve ever gotten folks.)

• 4.Composer Quest– One other Podcast that Sakari introduced me to and, although it ended a few years ago , it is still one of my favorite podcasts I’ve listened to. Charlie McCarron, Composer, Producer, and Minnesotan, started this podcast by interviewing friends as just a way to start doing something with music, and grew to interviewing all sorts of musicians in almost any style imaginable about MUSIC (my favorite subject in the whole wide world if you couldn’t already tell). Nearly every episode had a new theme composed by the guest, new music from Charlie in some capacity (the Patreon Shoutout Jingles were a scream), and even featured quests that other composers/ listeners could participate in. Unfortunately, I started listening too late to participate in many of them, but I did get to participate in the last Quest- The Composer Quest Olympics- which you can read my series of blog posts if you have time . Or, you can listen to the last few episodes of this podcast. I warn you though, it is a bit long.

This podcast is also what informed me of the MnKINO film fest which is a great experience and has led to a lot of other opportunities. This was also the podcast that helped me get out of the non- creative depressive funk that my factory/ reception job had me in.

• 5.The Everything Band Podcast– This is a podcast hosted by Composer and Music Educator Mark J Connor. He rotates between interviewing composers and music teachers all for the benefit of the music education community on a weekly basis. Although I admittedly started listening solely for the composer interviews, as a private music teacher, I’ve gotten some valuable advice myself that I’ve effectively used with my students. For example, to paraphrase one episode “when possible, limit instructions to no more than 7 words when possible when teaching kids in their beginning years”. I’ll have to come back and cite it once I find it for your benefit .

• 6.Listening to Ladies-Although I’m not sure if this podcast will continue or not, this is a fun one to listen to, being a female identifying composer myself. This podcast is a series of interviews, hosted by composer and artist Elisabeth Blair, that solely focuses on woman composers and their lives. In fact My good friend Sakari Dixon-Vanderveer was featured on this podcast. You can find her interview here. Even if you are not a female identifying composer, this is a great podcast to listen to to get exposed to new music from living composers and, if you are a person interested in the different paths people take to get to where they are, a great listen for that reason as well.

• 7.The Nerdist– Back in 2015-16, I worked a factory job that took up all of my time and numbed my brain. Therefore, I needed some brain juice that could inform me of what was going on in the real world and be funny and light-hearted as well. That’s where the Nerdist came in. They would invite celebrities and talk about anything from pop culture to sciency stuff. I stopped listening regularly around the time I left factory work, but it’s still a fun one to come back to from time to time.

• 8.The Billy West Podcast– Boy, I wish he’d return to this podcast. Although it is only a few episodes long and features Billy’s acrobatic voice talent in the telling of stories, it had me rolling on the floor while working my mundane factory job ( hey, one perk was that they would let you listen to the radio though so it wasn’t all bad 🙂 . I especially enjoyed the song dissections, especially when he commented on every line of Piano Man.

• 9.Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone– My friend Bo Recently introduced me to this podcast. It’s like listening to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me on NPR but with more questionably useful advice with occasional swearing and conversation that would probably be censored by public radio. That’s probably because it is hosted by the usual hosts of that radio show and they are real people. You have to start from the beginning though because it evolves as you listen. Also- be very cautious if listening out loud at work. You’ve been warned.