All five members of Philadelphia's haze-pop band Cheerleader have a drink with me in the basement of Mercury Lounge in Manhattan before they go onstage.  They explain why playing the late show feels like a graduation of sorts, and how radio has been quite beneficial to them even in today's streaming industry.  The guys tell me why it's okay to listen year-round to their summery debut LP, The Sunshine of Your Youth, and share their feelings on the record a year after its release.

cheerleadersounds.com

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Brian Bonz has an IPA with me in the downstairs bar at Bowery Ballroom before opening for Nightmare of You.  Bonz explains how being an opener provides him with a priceless connection to new fans, which proved especially helpful when it came to crowd-funding his latest LP, Misophonia.  Although the title refers to a hatred of certain sounds, Brian reveals why he didn't mind the intrusion of construction noises during the recording process.

brianbonz.com

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Growing up in Yorkshire, England, Findlay Brown played Army games in the woods with his friends.  Once he'd reached his teenage years, he had his enlistment papers ready to go, but a chance encounter with LSD and a copy of Electric Ladyland changed his life forever.  Over a beer in the backyard of Troost in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Brown tells this story and how other major events have inspired his three albums.  He explains how his most recent record, Slow Light, came to be as a result of his forays into minimalism and shamanic ceremonies.

findlaybrown.com

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Whilst sipping a tequila at a sidewalk table at Epstein's in New York's Lower East Side, Rayland Baxter demonstrates how to write poetic lyrics that are open to interpretation, a trick that his father learned from playing with Bob Dylan. Baxter's sophomore album, Imaginary Man, is full of such lyrics, and he explains how his questions about human existence inspired many of the LP's tracks.

raylandbaxter.com

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Erin Rauch-Sasseen, her twin sisters Katie and Anna, and friends Matthew Langner and Jamie DiTringo make up the NJ/NY indie pop group Hey Anna. Erin has a drink with me at Oak & Iron in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to discuss how the band built its Japanese fanbase, where they meet to practice, and why they crowdfunded their debut LP, Run Koko. Rauch-Sasseen also explains the importance of music videos and makes her case for a Hey Anna West Coast tour.

heyannamusic.com

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Sergio Rios and Adryon de León of L.A. funk band Orgone have some drinks with me in the spacious green room of Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas.  Rios traces the group's origins on the Venice Beach boardwalk, explains what it takes to be in the Orgone family, and reveals how they came to find de León on YouTube.  Adryon discusses her first performance with the band and why it took a little liquid courage to record a certain cover for their 8th album, Beyond the Sun.

orgonespace.com

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Gill Landry has a beer with me while he eats his pre-show pizza at Benson's in NYC's Lower East Side.  After serving years as a sideman in Old Crow Medicine Show, Landry decided it was time to fully pursue his solo career with his self-titled third LP.  Gill talks about his goal to make the album for fewer than $5000, how spending his 20s in New Orleans affected his songwriting, and his contributions to the touring documentary, Austin to Boston.

gilllandrymusic.com

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Dave Monks and I have some non-Canadian brews at Sugarburg in Brooklyn, NY.  Known by many as the bassist and singer of Tokyo Police Club, Monks explains how a move to NYC inspired him to write the songs for his first solo EP, All Signs Point to Yes.  Dave also reveals the differences in recording TPC's Champ and Forcefield albums, and teaches me the correct pronunciation of Toronto.

davemonksmusic.com

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Young Buffalo's Jim Barrett and Ben Yarbrough have some drinks with me in the backyard of One Mile House before their show at Bowery Ballroom.  Barrett started Young Buffalo in high school as a senior project, which he actually failed.  If only his teacher could see him now, the band having finally released their debut album, House, after several lineup and label changes.  Jim and Ben share what it was like growing up in the college town of Oxford, MS and what the band listens to in the van.

youngbuffaloband.com

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Robert Ellis joins me for a beer at Cheese Grille before a show next door at NYC's Rockwood Music Hall.  Robert explains why he dropped out of high school to play music in Houston, and how that city's variety of music styles influenced him.  Ellis also reveals how playing Katy Perry songs at weddings helps him as a performer, what it's like collaborating via text message, and the story behind Traveller, his latest side project with Jonny Fritz and Cory Chisel.

robertellismusic.com

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