What's The Reason For This Podcast - Alana Rocklin - Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9)
What's The Reason For This PodcastShow Notes
🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This?, Kodi heads back into the dungeon with guest co-host Dave and very special guest Alana Rocklin — bassist of Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9) — for a deep-dive into the band’s first studio record in nearly a decade, Human Dream, and the wild full-circle journey that took Alana from fan to family. 🎶✨ From opening STS9’s first-ever Chicago show in 2001 🤯 to joining the band full-time in 2014, this conversation travels through origin stories, jazz discipline, improvisation philosophy, studio wizardry, touring realities in 2025, and why supporting live music matters now more than ever. Expect nerdy gear talk, big feelings, and a whole lot of love for the scene. 🙌❤️ 🎸 Meeting STS9 in 2001 when her band (then “All Rectangle”) opened for them, the instant connection, and becoming the first non-STS9 artist released on 1320 Records. 🚐 Touring the old-school way — six-week runs in a car/van during the MapQuest era — forging friendships that eventually led her deeper into the STS9 orbit. 🎓 Her jazz + improvisation foundation at the University of Michigan, how mentor Rodney Whitaker drilled the “2 & 4 metronome” method into her practice, and how it shaped her internal clock as the band’s rhythmic backbone. 💿 Cross-genre session work, including recording bass for major hip-hop records (like Rick Ross’ Maybach Music 4) from her Nashville studio with charts, producer notes, and precision. 🌈 Joining STS9 after Murph’s departure — the weight of stepping into a legacy, the six-week cram where she learned the top 50 tunes, and building confidence through festival sets before the massive Red Rocks initiation. 🧪 How STS9 writes in real time — debuting songs live (sometimes learned minutes before stage time), letting crowds shape the music, then refining the ideas in the studio. 💫 Why Human Dream became 19 tracks — a double-album born from COVID delays, evolving ideas, and a refusal to rush the creative process. 🎶 Favorite Human Dream stories including: • Strange Games — reinvented after a sample didn’t clear, showing how limitations spark better art. • Big Basin — tied to the wildfire that destroyed her home, making the studio version deeply personal. • It’s All Right / Lives of Symphony & Unity — a live mutation turned studio favorite with vocals from longtime friend Maureen Murphy. 🎤 The legendary 2016 choir shows (Alpharetta + Red Rocks) with huge covers like “Under Pressure” and “Get Lucky,” and why STS9 uses covers sparingly so they land as true events. 🤝 A near-collab with Billy Strings, derailed by a hurricane but still destined to happen — proof of the joy in genre-crossing without rules. 📣 Why studio albums matter even with endless live recordings: they’re a clean entry point for new fans and a definitive snapshot of who the band is right now. This episode is a wide-angle look at what it means to step inside a legacy — honoring the past, trusting the process, and fighting for the future of live music with your whole heart. 🌀🔥 🎧 Stream now wherever you get your podcasts — and turn up Human Dream loud. Sometimes the reason is simple: keep showing up for the music and each other. 💛
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