5 Days with Doug

Matt Mehlan and I hang out (so does Matt's cat) at his house for a wonderful chat over coffees. We talk about Matt's life as a composer, band member (Skeletons),teacher, guy who likes to live in the space where he works (the Silent Barn), his Easy/ Not Easy concerts, and more. Matt causally drops lots of knowledge and I love it! You also hear some tunes from the new Skeletons record. Get it! (https://skeletonstv.bandcamp.com)

John Kennedy and I have a wonderful chat about his path as a conductor, composer, percussionist, and good musical citizen! He shares some great stories about John Cage, Johanna Beyer, Spoleto, conducting opera and much more. Enjoy! Music from the episode are excerpts from John's pieces, Baghdad and First Deconstruction in Plastic.

Ken Thomson and I sit down for a chat in Berkeley, CA on the day that we premiered Steve Reich's new piece, Runner, with Ensemble Signal. We talk the new state of America, our lives as project creators, Ken's perfect mic technique from his life as a radio host and more. This is a fun, ranging and loose chat with one of my favorite people!

I sat down with dynamo, Jacqueline Taylor, out in Vail, Colorado last summer before and after we shared breakfast at the Little Diner (so good). She is the Director of Artistic Planning at Bravo Vail and we talk about our Inuksuit project, her work in Vail, as well as her many amazing projects when she worked at Lincoln Center, the 92nd St Y, Town Hall, and more. A must list for anyone with passion and curiosity about how to do great things as a producer and presenter. She is the best!

Here is our year-end podcast! I sit down to some eggs with Michael Burritt (percussive superstar and Professor at Eastman) and we have a great talk about teaching, music, family, and hopes and dreams. We are live at the Frog Pond in Rochester, NY. Sit down to a meal with Mike and I and enjoy the hang. I love him! Happy Holidays!!!

Season 2 of the podcast opens with a wonderful talk with Josh Quilen. It is then made better by surprise guest, Eric Cha-Beach. We talk about friendship, doing the right thing, death, and more. Eric lightens things up halfway through when we go into a fun talk where we lovingly roast each other, our friends, and most notably, Todd Meehan! Join us for our chat!

Joel Gordon and I talk in his Boston recording studio about John Cage, taking chances, making records, listening in the desert, documenting music for the first time, and other fun topics. We had wine and got chatty (and Joel is a natural raconteur)... If you don't know Joel, snoop him online (he does so many cool things) and enjoy our conversation!

Conductor, friend, and mentor, Brad Lubman and I chat in Buffalo, NY about his first drum set, conducting, getting energy from music/ coffee/ chocolate, and more. We start mellow for a few minutes before Brad gets wonderfully fired up. We sat down in the surprising occasional epicenter of new music of the Marriott Amherst, NY before Ensemble Signal family wing dinner at Duff's.

Donald Nally and I sit down in his office at Northwestern to talk, love, death, trust, family, passion, the love of alone time, being on the go, and doing things just for the opportunity to take chances with friends. This is a wonderful, intimate, and ranging chat. Take the ride with us!

Ivan Trevino and I sit down for lunch and pie in Waco, TX to talk music, life, and more. We talk about his life as a percussionist, composer, Eastman student, Texan, and man who can't swim or bike... We had fun! Join us for our hang. www.ivandrums.com www.soundcloud.com/ivandrums www.breakofreality.com www.dougperkins.com

Kyle and I hang out at the Manual Cinemas studio and talk about leaping into a full-time career running and being creative with Manual Cinema. We also range through many other topics and conclude with a wonderfully intimate discussion of how the road is hard on relationships. I love Kyle and am happy to share our conversation. I also play some music by Filligar at the end (and the beginning)just for fun. www.kylevegter.com www.manualcinema.com www.dougperkins.com

Ellen's last five days inspired a wonderful conversation about music, creativity, family, spirituality, white boards, SM 58s, death, what 10 days of meditating in silence is like, writing, FOMO, and so much more. I LOVED this conversation! Check it out and enjoy. (Ellen's cat also made an appearance.) Check out: http://www.ellenmcsweeney.net/ http://ellenmcsweeney.bandcamp.com/releases @ellen_mcsweeney on twitter https://www.facebook.com/ellenmcsweeney www.dougperkins.com @dougperkins on twitter https://www.facebook.com/perkinsdf

Peter Margasak talks about life as a passionate music writer, presenter, Philadelphian, and cat owner. He tells tales of zines, college radio, Punk Rock and Industrial music, and how he approaches to advocacy through his day to day. We close with Peter's love of a Philly sandwich that is not a cheesesteak. www.twitter.com/pmarg www.twitter.com/dougperkins

Tim Feeney, Todd Meehan, Alex Wroten, and Doug Perkins talk about creating things on the internet. We also honor our So Percussion family as Todd goes all wrestling promo on Josh and other fun... Check out: www.vimeo.com/liquidrum www.welldang.com https://www.youtube.com/user/timfeeneyav

Musician and only Aussie to win a Grammy in 2016, Tim Munro, sits down for a chat about his day to day with some hopes and dreams thrown in. His cat Gizmo also makes an appearance...