Steve Nagel – Page 9 – Crash Chords

Articles posted by Steve Nagel (Page 9)

Band Bonding: An Interview with Kat Pace

Kat Pace is a singer/songwriter and actress from Philadelphia, who lives and writes in New York City. With the release of her three-song EP ‘Survivor’ in June 2014, she is currently working on a full-length album, due out in Spring 2017. Below is an interview she did with Matt Storm that was intended for release on Crash Chords: Autographs, but was delayed due to technical issues. The audio, unfortunately, was irrecoverable, but a transcript was saved! Enjoy reading this detailed chat with Matt & Kat on the ins and outs of the music industry, her background, writing process, plans for the future, advice for up-and-coming musicians, and a healthy aside on Hamilton, show tunes in general, and other genre trailblazers.

CCP Ep. #215: Tidal Wave by Taking Back Sunday

Batten down the hatches… Tidal Wave, the seventh studio album by 17-year rock veterans Taking Back Sunday, is our task for the week. Despite some occasional changes in the band lineup, the group has retained enough stability to turn out albums with consistency and class. We hope you’ll honor that consistency and join us for an analysis of the group’s latest creation, Tidal Wave. Afterwards, stick around to [2:02:20] for a preview on a little experiment of ours: Does music stack up to the 7 Basic Plots of plot-writing (as are often found in literature)? Are the journeys equatable, or does music simply go rogue?

Ep. #58 – Feat. Matt Knife

Today Matt welcomes burlesque performer and producer Matt Knife, hailing from Brooklyn, NY. The producer of his own show Homo Erectus, Matt Knife discusses his performing & producing career, including some of the recent projects involving your host, Matt Storm: specifically, The Pink Room Burlesque’s tribute to Mulholland Drive. He chats about his style of performance, what it’s like to debut a new act that’s never been performed before, and his background in theater production and costuming (and how that’s informed his burlesque career). On these subjects and Matt’s other artistic endeavors — including his love of painting — here’s presenting Matt Storm and Matt Knife.

CCP Ep. #214: EUSA by Yann Tiersen

Grab your passport. Today we’re taking a trip through the island of Ushant — that is, Eusa (in Breton) — the inspiration for EUSA, the latest album by Ushant resident and French composer Yann Tiersen. As Crash Chords has never before had the opportunity to sit with a pure piano work, EUSA keeps us on our toes as we discuss Yann Tiersen’s trademark style and the album’s mysterious sequence of introductory “paths”. We chat about imagery, minimalism, what is and isn’t certainty/reality, and then let our hair down with a topic on good ol’ fashioned boredom in a media-rich culture.

CCP Ep. #213: Love Streams by Tim Hecker

Brace yourself for Love Streams… the “streams” being the conjurings of one Tim Hecker, a Canadian electronic artist who, with the help of his Icelandic colleagues, has turned out a record that focuses more on the indistinct (and occasionally indistinguishable) textures/soundscapes than on more well-defined figures. Sporting a whirlwind of choir, woodwinds, static, and plenty of food for discourse, we’ll be analyzing Love Streams from top to bottom before indulging ourselves in a topic on music listening habits. From time and place to ambiance and mood, how do we slice up our daily routine to accommodate the wide world of music? When a specific mood is on the docket, who should accommodate whom?

CCP Ep. #212: An Evening with FISK

Take a risk on FISK! Overdue for some band bonding, today’s “evening with” presents the NYC-based punk garage band called FISK, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Freddie Heinemann, drummer Brandon Jacobs, and the latest addition, CiCi Young (a punk rock bassist from China who makes a late appearance in today’s episode — so stick around for her abridged, yet fascinating life story). On topics such as “making it” in the music business, the pitfalls of perfectionism, vexing venues, and the trials & rewards of playing in NYC, we’re glad to feature FISK in the limelight of their new EP Stun to Kill, and, as always, to feature their music: two studio tracks and a live & local performance at the Crash Chords studio.

CCP Ep. #211: Schmilco by Wilco

Schmilco-time! Whether you know Wilco, or don’t know Wilco, then try getting to know Schmilco, as we’ll be doing in today’s episode. Though a bit of a left turn for a band that has practically earned a council seat in the hearts of a generation, Schmilco is a dreamlike saunter that dazzles in moments and reflects in others. Speaking of reflection, our topic [@ 1:41:41] takes to heart your hosts’ prior experience of today’s band and reflects on the notion of “second-hand bands”, i.e., you know ’em… you like ’em… but do you *know* them? It’s a common experience, one that can twist our perceptions of an artist for better or worse. So let’s separate the bull from the malarky and have a podcast about it, shall we?

Ep. #57 – Feat. Joe Adragna a.k.a. The Junior League

Today, Matt welcomes Joe Adragna, an indie rock singer/songwriter hailing from New Orleans, who performs under the moniker The Junior League. Upon the release of his single “The Stars In Our Eyes” (off the record Also Rans), Joe chats with Matt about being a multi-instrumentalist and what it’s like to have full creative control over a record. They also chat about the New Orleans music scene, his song-writing process, and what it’s like to put together a live show as a one-man band. Finally, with some notes on Joe’s favorite hobby, reading—and his love of non-fiction in particular—here’s presenting Matt Storm and Joe Adragna.

CCP Ep. #210: Carved From Tides by Message to Bears

This week, Crash Chords takes a gander at Message to Bears, the one-man project of multi-instrumentalist Jerome Alexander, and his latest album Carved From Tides. Though replete with talented session musicians, this one-man show tugs at our heart-strings and challenges us with a few head-scratches before spurring a scintillating topic on lyrical expression at [1:28:50].

Ep. #56 – Feat. Matt and Mike Gevaza of Continental Recording Studio

This week, Matt speaks with the owners of Continental Recording Studio, based in Long Island City, Matt & Mike Gevaza. With Mike serving as the company’s chief engineer/producer while Matt focuses on the business development side of things, the two brothers have grown their studio into a thriving outlet for artists of all kinds, right in the heart of New York City. With our host, Matt, they discuss the origin of the studio, their background as musicians, and the struggles faced by a physical recording space in the modern music landscape. They also chat about the variety of artists they have recorded, the future of the studio, and their presence on YouTube with a new series called Uncomfortable Covers.

Music is Life… and Life is Good!