Ep. #141 – Feat. JOATA and Justine Grove

This week, Matt chats with indie pop and hip hop musician JOATA (aka Jose Oyola) and singer/songwriter Justine Grove. The duo share their respective origin stories, influences, and creative processes. They also dig into their love of genre fusion, their passion for playing live music, and their use of writing and performance to thrill audiences and fulfill themselves.

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Ep. #140 – The Return of Kate Nyx

This week, Matt welcomes back the brilliant and bombastic musician and maker Kate Nyx for a chat. Their conversation spans the evolution of Kate’s music and online career, from finding her place on the internet to the burdens and bonuses of maintaining a social media presence, and why personal connection is the key to reaching a wider audience. They also love on her cat, the mighty hunter Winslow, and her incredible spouse (and previous guest), professional wrestler Ophidian the Cobra.

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Stormageddon Recommends… Week #19

For my latest recommendation all credit goes to my good friend Bastard Keith. He shared this album on his twitter feed and I instantly fell in love with it. The album is “The Magical World of the Strand” and the band is Michael Head & The Strands. This album absolutely takes you on an ethereal journey. It’s wandering guitar and soft vocals are so soothing. If you like or are curious about some psychedelic soft folk rock then you should definitely check it out. Michael Head continues to make music as part of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band so do check you their other stuff there as well. For the recommendation playlist I’m picking my favorite song on the record, “Something Like You.”

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Stormageddon Recommends… Week #7

For this week’s recommendation I’m moving back to a discography and it’s for the band The Decemberists. I have my lovely wife Sarah Storm to thank for introducing me to this band. My favorite record by them is easily their 2011 release “The King Is Dead” and my favorite song by them is “Rox In The Box” from that same record. However, for the playlist I will be including their song “Severed” off their brand new record “I’ll Be Your Girl”. This new album is quickly becoming another one of my favorites. The band plays a lot with genre on this album which I find quite fun and refreshing. The song “Severed” is this fantastic meeting point between new wave, classic rock, folk and indie rock. I think this song and album are a great place to start for new fans.

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Stormageddon Recommends… Week #4

For this week’s recommendation I’m recommending a band. That band is Flobots. They are a band that seamlessly mixes some of my favorite genres of music from hip hop to folk to rock to pop to indie and more. I highly recommend all of their albums but my favorite is The Circle In The Square which was released in 2012. My favorite song by them however and the one I’m putting the playlist is from their 2010 release called Survival Story and is called “If I.” They flow with a rebel energy and are incredibly diverse. Definitely worth checking out.

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Ep. #76 – Feat. Waylon K. Smith

Today Matt welcomes Waylon K. Smith, a musician hailing from Greencastle, PA. As one half of the band The Positronic Cats, Waylon’s roles as a musician range from singing to playing guitar and electric bass, while his bandmate Jim Taylor plays electric and acoustic mandolin. With Matt, Waylon chats about how his band’s newest record Mortal Cathedrals came to be, from its content to its artwork, and to the music video for its first single “Glitter”, (which stars previous guest Robare James Pruyn-Bush). Waylon also discusses the band’s dynamic and how they work together as a unit to create their music and perform live. And so, from Waylon’s origins to his influences, both musical and external, here’s presenting Matt Storm and Waylon K. Smith.

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CCP Ep. #247: Peasant by Richard Dawson

Day 2! While it might seem that the word “folk” gets applied to just about everything these days, English songwriter Richard Dawson has the apparent distinction of existing both at the primeval and pioneering fronts of that genre. With his unusual cracked vocals crooning over a broken (yes, literally broken) guitar, Dawson gives us Peasant, transplanting us to a Britain of very long ago, where not everything is as it appears and where coarseness and beauty are one and the same. Let’s unpack this project together and share its most attractive (and its most contentious) qualities. Also, what warped or broken instrument would you care to play? We’ve got ours, let’s hear yours!

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CCP Ep. #216: You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen

Clear your day for Leonard Cohen. (Well, a least a portion of it.) With his soft vocals and poetic flair, Leonard Cohen has been speaking to a generation of poets as well as musicians ever since the 1960s. Today we’ll be speaking to both camps as we take on Cohen’s latest album You Want It Darker. Also, stick around for a brief compare & contrast discussion on universality and general appeal vs. the personal effect and specificity.

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[Edit: This episode was released three days before Leonard Cohen’s unfortunate passing. We are deeply saddened by his loss and we hope this episode is taken as a celebration of his work, despite its ill-timed release. The following interpretations of his final album and life’s work are opinion-based and, we hope, considerate of his legacy.]

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Ep. #55 – Feat. Sharon Knight

This week, Matt welcomes Sharon Knight, a Celtic/folk vocalist and mandolinist, hailing from San Francisco. With her latest album Portals and a music video for her single “Porcelain Princess” now released, Sharon chats with Matt about how long she was working on the new record and what went into creating the music video. They also touch upon her tour life, how she got started in music, when she started playing mandolin, and her Celtic/folk influences. With time to throw in her future plans and some information on the visual art she creates, here’s presenting Matt Storm and Sharon Knight.

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CCP Ep. #207: Stranger to Stranger by Paul Simon

Some have called him the greatest American songwriter — a merit worth examining as Paul Simon’s music continues to retain its luster from generation to generation. But should the acclaimed discography of Paul Simon tint our analysis of the musician’s latest album, Stranger to Stranger? …Hardly! Let’s feign ignorance together and investigate Paul Simon’s 13th studio album for all it has to offer. And don’t forget to stick around to the end as we launch into a fun and surprisingly multi-faceted discussion on cell phone audio, retracing its evolution, and predicting its future.

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