Citizen Curious

Alison Mosshart is always in motion. Whether she's performing with The Kills or The Dead Weather, painting, making videos of her travels - she's always creating and moving. We caught up on a recent Saturday evening while a crazy storm was passing through her adopted hometown of Nashville. Crazy to think its been one year since we went into pandemic lockdown. We talk about what she's been up to over the last 12 months, battling stir craziness and taking 4 road trips across the country, talking to our moms during the pandemic, Bob Dylan's new album, favorite Nashville restaurants, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis' new album, encouraging friends to get vaxxed, falling in love with music and following Fugazi on tour. The Kills are also celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their album Blood Pressures! Give it a listen!!

This week's guest is songwriter, producer, guitarist, composer extraordinaire Blake Mills. We discuss being kids of the 90s and how Blake got his start as a listener and guitar player, up to his present day work as a solo artist and producer. Blake has 4 solo albums under his belt and recently collaborated on an album with legendary bass player, Pino Palladino. This album is called 'Notes with Attachments' and it's an instrumental jazz album unlike anything you've heard. Highly recommend giving it a listen. You'll also hear stories of his work with Alabama Shakes, Laura Marling, Perfume Genius, John Legend, Jay-Z, Bob Dylan and so much more. Most importantly, Blake is an insanely nice guy and I'm so humbled he was a guest on the show. PS. You'll also learn about his culinary prowess at making all varieties of oatmeal ;) A true renaissance man!

I first met Steve Lavin in 1993 or 1994 as an 11 year old camper attending his Lavin Summer Basketball Camp in Northern California. To interview him 27 years later for this passion project of a podcast is absolutely amazing. Even back in the 1990s he was a larger than life figure with a passion for people and stories. Coach Lav served as head coach of two of the most storied college basketball programs - UCLA and St John's. He's also been a professional sports broadcaster for 12 years. This opportunity resulted in him working with the GOAT Brent Musburger at ABC/ESPN. And he's most recently joined the broadcast teams at Fox Sports, CBS Sports and the Pac 12 Network. We discuss attending his camps, a phone chat b/w my Dad and his legendary father - Cap Lavin, growing up in a sports and liberal arts dominant household, power of re-framing and staying focused on helping his players and teams achieve their potential, becoming head coach at UCLA and St. John's, becoming a sports broadcaster, life philosophies and "letting gifts reveal", an interesting theory about Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers, and fond memories of Kobe Bryant.

This one is coming to you from BROOOOOOOKLYN! This week's guest is Tomer Blechman, chef/owner of Miss Ada's in Fort Greene and the newly opened Nili in Carroll Gardens. Miss Ada is an inviting neighborhood restaurant in the heart of Brooklyn's vibrant Fort Greene. They serve Mediterranean food with a twist and believe you me it is DELICIOUS. Blechman grew up in Israel, pursued a career in shiatsu therapy, and at the age of 28 transitioned into the culinary world. Miss Ada is a 3 time Michelin rated restaurant with a relaxed but vibrant environment. It's about community, it's about good food, it's about seasonal ingredients and it's about Fort Greene!

Carlos Quirarte is the owner/restaurateur of The Smile, Smile To Go, Old Rose, Jane Ballroom and Ray's Bar in New York City. In this interview, we learn about Carlos' up bringing in the Mission district in San Francisco. Then we hear about his foray into fashion, throwing parties, opening The Smile, and doing his best to manage the impact of the pandemic. At the end of the day it's about community and creating awesome places for his friends. If you love restaurants, food, NYC, and good people who know how to bring good vibes - this is your episode.

In this week's episode we interview Luke Jenner of The Rapture. If you're a fan of the 2000s music scene in New York City then you undoubtedly know their hit House of Jealous Lovers and being the first band from that era to bring dance music into the fold. We discuss: (13:30) COVID and Luke's solo album and what The Rapture have been up to, (16:45) growing up San Diego and learning about his family's history of mental illness, (33:00) Luke's advice for becoming a professional musician, (39:40) Luke's deep connection with his lifelong friend and drummer for The Rapture, Vito Roccoforte, and the start of the band in San Francisco, (52:15) moving to NYC and linking up with DFA Records, (67:55) Luke's contribution beyond music as being a happy person and maintaining happiness in the digital realm, (72:00) what he learned from Philippe Zdar, (80:25) our shared experience of losing a parent to suicide, (110:00) how a therapist articulated to Luke the power of choosing himself and the ramifications of that decision, (114:30) meeting musical icons David Byrne, David Bowie and Robert Smith of The Cure, (125:00) what The Rapture were up to when COVID hit.

This week's guest is renowned Souther pastry chef and James Beard award winning writer, Lisa Donovan. You can also add author to her list of accolades as she recently published her memoir, 'Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger.'What's there to say? Lisa is a real one. Funny AF too. She conducted the interview from her car in the parking lot of her local Publix in Nashville. Topics discussed:  amazing-ness of New Orleans and being allowed to be who you are, going through her first book tour during COVID times and managing the vulnerability hangover, the process of writing her  memoir, how trying to find meaning in her choices led to writing the book, addressing what needs to change (culturally, politically, economically) to improve the hospitality industry, the influence of music on her writing, living in north Georgia and loving the artistic universes of R.E.M. and Wayne White. 

First joint interview! In this week's show we'll discuss: recording on the road from Martha's Vineyard, watching the debates and stress eating, lobster rolls, and trying to maintain PMA.Also, very excited to host Amber Mundinger & Tamara Deike, co-founders of Bring Music Home. Bring Music Home (BMH) is capturing iconic music venues and the personalities behind them in more than 30+ cities and counting to be showcased in a book and film archive. BMH will raise funds for these venues and the people and artists who sustain them. We'll discuss a shared deep appreciation for music, state of the live music biz, mental health in the music community, humanity behind the scenes of the various music venues, and how NIVA is voicing these concerns to Congress. These two badass women are operating from a place of passion and BMH is a true labor of love.

This wasn't the episode we intended on releasing this week.  Just yesterday Gabe Stulman, restrauteur/owner of the Happy Cooking Hospitality Group, announced the closing of Fedora. COVID, again. This one really hit close to home.  In honor of this amazing restaurant we wanted to humbly share a few personal stories of days gone by. Our thoughts are with Gabe, everyone that worked at Fedora, and the broader Happy Cooking group. Rest in power, Fedora! And lobby your elected officials to provide relief to small businesses!  Lean in, be proactive, get vocal - this s**t matters!

Very excited to share this week's episode and our interview with Sean Tillmann (aka Har Mar Superstar). What's the best way to best describe Mr Tillman? Songwriter, singer, showman, actor?? As far as we can tell Mr Tillman is a stone cold entertainer. Mr Tillmann has recorded 6 solo albums and earlier this year released the debut of his new band, Heart Bones, a collaboration with Sabrina Ellis.His over the top and occasionally scantily clad live performances have seen him touring with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Afghan Whigs, and Lizzo. Oh, and did we mention he famously squared off against Ben Stiller in that hilarious dance off scene in the remake of 'Starsky & Hutch'? That's right, he's an entertainer.We caught up with Mr Tillmann from his home in Minneapolis. In our standard fashion the convo was wide ranging and revealing. Topics discussed: coming up in the early 2000s, playing the UCLA quad after staying up all night watching Law & Order, overcoming personal obstacles and learning from prior mistakes, working with Cult Records, being on tour when the country went into lockdown, raising funds for local music venues, donating supplies to the local Minneapolis community in wake of social unrest, not being complacent and importance of voting, attaining a fresh perspective on life and just learning to keep on keepin' on.  It gets a little self help-y but we promise it's all worth the listen :)Above all Mr Tillmann is a proper dude. We thank him for coming on the pod and loved hearing about his journey. PS. Thank you to  the unofficial sponsor of this week's episode, Alka Seltzer! We're a major of fan of your tropical punch flavored candy medicine!

Part 2 of our interview with Jay Sweet! This one really brings it all back home. Your humble host takes a little solo time explaining what we have in common with Jay and Stuart Bogie. Our theory: New Orleans & Pres Hall;)  We also humbly honor the life of Justin Townes Earle. In part 2 we sit down and cover how Jay became involved with the Newport Folk Festival, cancellation of this year's festivals, operating Newport as a non-profit, Newport's history with the civil rights movement, musicians relief fund,  fond memories of John Prine and a certain truth John shared with Jay, what makes Newport so special = the Newport family, amazing artist related stories from years of running the event (Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, Mavis Staples), and on and on... Be Present, be kind, be open, be together! Folk on! 

"Music Guy" goes a long way towards describing this week's guest, Jay Sweet. Mr Sweet is the executive producer and organizer of the crown jewels of the music festival circuit,  Newport Folk & Newport Jazz Festivals. Taking a page from The Grateful Dead splitting their concerts into 2 distinct sets, we've split our conversation into 2 episodes. This is part 1.  Founded by George Wein, the Jazz festival was birthed in 1954 and the Folk festival followed in 1959. Mr Wein invented the concept of the modern music festival. The civil rights movement gained traction w/ NFF in the early 60s. Bob Dylan went electric here in 1965, much to the chagrin of the audience. It's an understatement to say these festivals are steeped in American and musical history. Mr Sweet took the reins starting in 2009, with a famous 18 page proposal to Mr Wein. In this episode we'll discuss: processing the cancellation of this year's events due to COVID, where Mr Sweet's love of music came from, listening to Howlin Wolf at an early age, the Grateful Dead and the power of the steal your face logo, first concerts, becoming enamored with cowboy poetry and a quest to become a lyricist, working on the set of Me Myself and Irene, a mythical jam session b/w Phish and Jim Carrey,  and how his early career evolved into being the "music guy."If you love music and Del's Lemonade this episode is for you! Enjoy! Part 2 coming up next week!

Professional musician, composer, arranger, and overall upstanding citizen, Stuart Bogie (@stuartbogie), is this week's guest. Since the early 2000's Mr Bogie has been a mainstay in the Brooklyn music scene. His full discography is too lengthy to mention in full, but he's recorded or played live with everyone from Antibalas to TV On The Radio to Arcade Fire.  Most recently, he contributed to new releases by Hamilton Leithauser and Run The Jewels. We met Mr Bogie down in New Orleans as part of the Krewe Du Kanaval festivities for Mardi Gras. It was a different time and place. Dancing, drinking, hanging with new and old friends, live music. February 2020, pre-COVID.  A friendship was made that allowed for this great convo to take place. We start off with our memories from that amazing weekend and also discuss: Stu's musical education, coming up in the NYC & Brooklyn music scene of the 2000's, working at Niagara, Fela Kuti, his contributions to some of NYC's most seminal bands, post show rituals, his daily Clarinet Concerts, creativity during COVID, and how the pandemic has brought to light economic realities of being a professional musician. If you're a music nerd you're gonna love this convo!

Citizen Curious is thrilled to have owner of The Elk & Bar Beau, Claire Chan, on the show.  We became acquainted with The Elk after moving to NYC in the summer of 2018. It packs alot of character into a small space. You can go there for a cup of coffee or have a quick bite, but you'll keep coming back for the amazing staff and vibe.  Miss Chan was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and from an early age developed an appreciation for the restaurant and hospitality industry. After making her way to NYC to pursue an education and professional career in the fashion industry, she struck out on her own and opened The Elk. It quickly became a neighborhood staple. Miss Chan's unique design and curatorial aesthetic is what really gives The Elk its special glow. More importantly, The Elk is built upon community and inclusivity. Miss Chan leads with her heart and head and isn't afraid to voice her support for social causes. Our type of (Canadienne) citizen! Link in bio! Enjoy!

Ro The Show (@rotheshow), aka Ratchet Dojo, is a boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu trainer based in NYC. His clientele includes the usual coterie of Manhattan high profile public figures, as well as undistinguished common folk like your humble host.  We discuss his journey from the Philippines to the US and his personal and professional lows and highs.  In this episode we also touch on the amazing community at Mendez Boxing Gym and the impact of COVID on the fitness community. This one is from the heart. Ro is a real ass dude. He's learned to take a punch or two and still keeps swinging!

We go deep with the founder/CEO of Happy Cooking Hospitality, Gabriel Stulman. A New York City based restaurateur, Stulman has made his claim owning and operating cozy restaurants built for any occasion. Stulman and Happy Cooking Hospitality think of their restaurants as "homes." They are intimate spaces packed with a vibrant energy only accentuated by the top notch staff. The restaurants include: Fedora, Bar Sardine, Fairfax, Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, The Jones, Studio, Simon & The Whale, and George Washington Bar.  Stulman is also an active civic leader. Whether's it's publicly advocating for the restaurant and hospitality industry or voicing his support for social causes, Gabe leads with his heart and his head. Our type of citizen! Topics covered: Gabe's childhood, the origins of his appreciation for food, thoughts on community, impact of COVID on his business. 

Maiden voyage of Citizen Curious. Explaining the who, what, where, and why of the show!