Show Notes
Dan chats about the early days of The Lumineers with frontman Wesley Schultz. Amongst other things, they discuss maintaining a sense of wonder when creating, epic fails on stage, how adversity can be viewed as enriching your origin story, how constructive feedback can be painful but important as a young artist, Wesley's return to faith as an adult, his aversion to the term "work/life balance", and how powerful it can be to seek validation from your own gut rather than affirmation from the external world. This episode features a surprise needle drop of "God Is" by The Secret Beach.
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Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Madison is an otherworldly talent. She'd still be a megastar if she were only known for her voice or her guitar playing - thankfully, we get to enjoy both. I've come to know and love her music over the past few years. I'm blown away by her ability to marry thoughtful songwriting with deeply innovative and spontaneous-sounding arrangements. Among other things, we chat about leaving the church with a final mic-drop, creative amnesia, tricking your brain into believing you're not a total loser, and Judy Sill. This episode features a surprise needle drop of "These Days" by Aidan Knight.
Winnipeger Jacob Brodovsky is a celebrated songwriter, community builder & radio host who found himself at the centre of a sh*tstorm after liking some Instagram posts related to a fundraiser for the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund. Jacob spent a great deal of his life at an inclusive Jewish sleep-away camp. He was a camper, then a counsellor, and eventually the camp's Executive Director. He not only met his wife at the camp, but also proposed and married her there. Shortly after a blog post surfaced about his perceived views on Israel, he was ostracized from the community. It's a lot to unpack, and without centring his own heartache in the matter, he superbly articulates a depth of empathy and understanding from all angles of the tempest. This episode features a surprise needle drop of "Lisière" by Laurie Torres.
Grammy nominated genre-defiers Tegan and Sara have survived scene after scene, reinventing themselves musically throughout decades of worldwide success. Among other things, Dan, Tegan & Sara chat about Neil Young's soft hands, how queerness has consumed their narrative for most of their careers, how you don't know how to do something until you do it, and how young people should buy a pack of cigarettes (but not smoke them). This episode features a surprise needle drop of "Dinner For Breakfast" by Heavy Gus.
Claudia Dey is an internationally acclaimed author ("Daughter", "Heartbreaker", "Stunt") and fashion designer (HORSES Atelier) from Toronto, Canada. Her novels are insightful, wondrous worlds where form dissolves and visceral incantations emerge. Among other things, Dan and Claudia chat about "farm breasts", being in the moment vs. capturing the moment, the "monkish" discipline required to create great work, how being on the internet is like eating microwaved bacon, and putting your ass in the chair. This episode features a surprise needle drop of "Animal Poem" by Anna Tivel.
You know her from Yellow Jackets and Tron: Ares, it's Vancouver's own Sarah Desjardins! Among other things, Dan and Sarah chat about overthinking the creative process, accidentally exposing kids to R rated movies over your shoulder on a plane, panic attacks, tarot card readings, and how in order to be happy, you have to be willing to be a bit cringey. This episode features a surprise needle drop of "Unsolicited Advice" by Charles Spearin.