Melissa Messer
Melissa Messer is an American realist oil painter based in Seattle, WA. I got a chance to sit down with Melissa in her beautiful studio last week. We were surrounded by her paintings, there was tea, some cat meows in the background... and it was just perfect.
We had a wide-ranging conversation and cover a lot of topics dear to my heart - including art and vulnerability. The gifts and challenges of being an empath. Putting your art out and allowing for criticism. Settling into yourself and the effects of that in art. We also talk about in-between times of life, and the beauty and fertileness of going through a season of uncertainty.
Katie Jayne Earl
Katie Jayne Earl is part of the Los Angeles band The Mowgli’s. She’s also a fierce advocate and does so much good in this world. I’ve been lucky to know Katie for a number of years now and have seen that first hand.
This conversation was both fun and deep. Katie speaks on how grieving holds value. On why it’s important to her to use her platform to do something that’s greater than herself. She reflects on all the women in her life who make her feel like “the closet purest version” of herself, and why simply thinking of her best friends can be the key to getting through a rough patch.
Aran Goyoaga
Aran Goyoaga is a cookbook author, photographer and creator of Cannelle et Vanille.
Everything that Aran touches holds so much beauty – her photos, her food, her words. One of the things that makes Aran so special is her genuine care and honesty. She isn’t afraid to talk about the messy parts of being human, including as she says her “shadow side.” We go deep in our conversation and talk about everything from searching for and the claiming of identity, to feelings of not belonging, eating disorders, depression, the incredible power of gentleness, and learning to listen to intuition. You’ll also hear us talk about our shared Spanish roots and I loved hearing Aran speak about the ways her father and whole family have deeply influenced her.
Rachel Demy
Rachel Demy is a music photographer who honed her craft while on the road with various rock bands over 10+ years as a tour manager. She’s from Portland, OR and now based in Seattle.
Our wide-ranging conversation takes us everywhere from panic attacks, to the romance (and heartbreak) of friendships, to taking leaps of faith by following your instincts, to learning how to live in the grey.
Peter Mulvey
Peter Mulvey is a folk singer-songwriter and all around wonderful human. He is a deeply curious person who loves poetry, so I already knew we’d be fast friends and have a lot to talk about!
We got a chance to sit down together in San Francisco, and we cover a lot of ground during this conversation. He tells us about a time he was living alone in an empty house in a little town, and the profound encounter with a fox he had during that time that led to beautiful lyrics. He talks about the important distinction between solitude and isolation, and I love how he unpacks the feeling of grief.
Beth Mathews and Daniel Ellsworth
In this episode, I’m talking to my good friends Daniel Ellsworth and Beth Mathews.
Beth is a graphic designer but also spends her time working on many impactful social justice projects, including The Mom Bag, a non-profit she started to help refugee mothers. Daniel is a musician in the band Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes.
Emily Katz of Modern Macramé
Emily Katz of Modern Macramé is an artist (in many forms!) based in Portland, OR.
This conversation is woven with so many nuggets of wisdom from Emily. She tells us about her beautiful creative story, and I really loved how she calls out that even though on the outside it might look like everything “just happened” and fell into her lap, that while yes there was a kismet magic to her story, that it’s all about what you do with it.
Griff Goldsmith of Dawes
Griff Goldsmith is a Los Angeles-based musician in the band Dawes. In this episode, we chat about his life as a touring musician, and his love of books and dogs.
He shares how introspection and mindfulness help him get through moments of stress or unease. We also talk a lot about the mind-body connection and how being mentally unhealthy can manifest itself into the body.
Misty Boyce
Misty Boyce is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is part of Sara Bareilles and Lord Huron’s band, and has an incredible solo career to boot! Her latest album is called "Get Lost" and touches on the hard stuff in life including tragedy and loss, depression, and what can be the emptiness of fame.
Sara Forte of Sprouted Kitchen
Sara Forte is the creator of the award winning food blog Sprouted Kitchen, as well as the author of two cookbooks - James Beard nominee Sprouted Kitchen and Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. She is based in Southern California.
Oh Pep!
Oh Pep! are indie-folk/pop duo Olivia Hally and Pepita Emmerichs.
They are from Melbourne, Australia but we were able to catch up in person while they were on tour in the US (with our mutual friend Gregory Alan Isakov) in support of their new album I Wasn't Only Thinking About You.
Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats)
Eric D. Johnson is a songwriter, musician and producer. He has been in The Shins, Califone, and his current musical project is Fruit Bats. He’s also a really great guy, and I feel lucky to call him a friend!
In this episode, Eric gives some solid advice to young artists, and tells us why failing (“hopefully not spectacularly”) can be a really good thing.
Hollis Wong-Wear
Hollis Wong-Wear is a songwriter, musician, speaker, and community advocate based in Los Angeles. She is the lead vocalist of the electronic R&B trio The Flavr Blue, and was GRAMMY nominated for Album of the Year for her vocal performance of “White Walls” on The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Liza Anne
Liza Anne is a songwriter and musician based in Nashville, TN.
Her latest album is titled “Fine But Dying” and I love how raw and honest every song on that album is. In this episode, we talk a lot about mental health. She explains the duality of being introverted but also wanting to being around people. I really loved how she says getting older is “an eternal homecoming”, and how she describes what small talk feels like (as if everyone is "playing a part”).
Tom Renaud of Lord Huron
Tom Renaud is a member of Lord Huron, based in Los Angeles, CA. He’s also one of my dear friends!
In the episode, Tom tells us how Lord Huron came to be, about curating a taco with his band, and his love of food, cooking, and travel. He also speaks about the post-tour come down that inevitably happens as a touring musician, what he does to manage stress on the road, and the one thing that clears his head.
Heather Maloney
Heather Maloney is a singer-songwriter based in Northampton, MA.
In this episode, Heather shares how going through a bout of depression led her to spending three years at a silent meditation retreat center and how meditation changed her life. I love the simple but profound mantra that came to her during that time “If your heart is aching, let it ache.” We also talk about the power of female friendship and being mirrors to each other, long-distance friendships, being highly sensitive which she so perfectly describes as an “overload of information”, and about being independent in romantic relationships.
Catherine Russell
Catherine (“Cat”) Russell. Backup singer/collaborator to David Bowie, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Dolly Parton (and many more!), and her legendary father (the late Luis Russell) was Louis Armstrong’s musical director. She is also an incredible Jazz Musician - her sixth album, Harlem On My Mind, received a Grammy Nomination.
Dessa
Dessa is a rapper, singer, and essayist. She has landed on the Billboard Top 200 as a solo artist, as a member of the Doomtree collective, and as a contributor to The Hamilton Mixtape. As an author, her memoir-in-essays entitled My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love was published in September 2018 by Dutton Books.
Steve Varney
Steve Varney is the guitarist for Gregory Alan Isakov and leader of Kid Reverie, a rock band out of Denver, CO.
Anna Tivel
Anna Tivel is a singer, songwriter, and poet based in Portland, OR. Her fourth full-length album is due out Spring 2019.