MI Music Podcast

In this episode we welcome two members of the band Ficus to the show! We spoke with Blake and Ben about what makes a great first album. Be sure to check out their latest single, "Ephemere". And if you're in the Grand Rapids area, you can catch them live at the Pyramid Scheme tomorrow (March 1st). Surely a show you won't want to miss. As always, feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Happy Valentine's Day! With love in the air today, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to talk about some of our favorite love songs and what makes them great.  We'll be back with more regularly scheduled episodes soon! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We've got a fun episode today! We sat down with our new friend and owner of Part Time Records, Jonathan Venlet. Jonathan DJ's frequently, so we thought it would fun to sit down with Jonathan and discuss what makes a great DJ set. Spoiler alert....we go round robin at the end to create the ultimate DJ set. You can give that a listen here with our Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Eoyv5zyvLhPFTUZ5uaHQL?si=cyeaPoHZRLOxpDhCFujBIQ&nd=1 Also, we will be taking a mid season break and returning with 5 more episodes in the fall. Admittedly, it's been a crazy summer and we need to take some time to get these last 5 episodes right. We appreciate you all for listening! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com 

Today with us we've got our guy! The one and only, Zach Dubay. You can catch Zach playing live with various bands around the Michigan area. The man stays busy! So, we're happy that we got a chance to sit down with him and dive into the topic of session musicians.  You can also hear Zach's drumming prowess on KJ's new solo project, New Black Daze. Check him out on the track, "I'm Alive". As always, feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We've got 2 guest with us, but one band! The one and only Cal In Red is with us. We sat down with Kendall and Connor and took on the topic of what makes a song pop?  Cal In Red recently released a new single, "Habits". Be sure to check it out and give it a spin or 2! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Strap in! This is a fun one. We've got our great friend and guitar extraordinaire, Ben Froese, in the hot seat! We intended for this to be a bonus episode last year, but we figured we would do this episode justice and release it properly. This episode was recorded on a very late night in Chicago, after a long day of record shopping. We sat down and discussed our method of choosing a record to buy and we talk about some of the records we bought that day. Hope ya'll enjoy this very loose episode. ✌️

Season 3 is here! And we're excited to kick things off with the one and only Michal Dause! We try to tackle the never ending question of what makes for great mix in a song. Grab your pens and paper for this one!   Check out Michael's latest project, Moss Manor, on Spotify or wherever you stream your music. Their debut album is worthy of a headphone listen. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

We're back! Kind of....we will be returning soon with Season 3, but in the meantime, here's a bonus episode. KJ & Scott sat down and discussed 10 songs that they just can't get enough of. We hope you enjoy this one and maybe even discover a new song that you alsp can't get enough of. Keep an eye out for updates on season 3. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

The season 2 finale! And we've got a very special, and busy guest with us for this one. We've got Andy Catlin, a.k.a. The Lasso with us! We chatted with Andy fresh off the stage from his performance at Frederick Meijer. We dove into what makes for a great musical collaboration and KJ's day has finally come....we discuss Prince! As Andy is an avid Prince fan as well. Thank you to everyone that has listened to any or all of the episodes. We really appreciate y'all! We'll see you all for season 3. Until then, stay following us for bonus episodes.  Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Our guy J.Rob is in the building! We spoke with J.Rob about what makes certain music a "guilty pleasure" and we also discuss 3 albums that shaped J.Rob's life. Check out J.Rob's latest single, 'Traps'. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We've got a one of a kind musician with us today! Stovepipe is in the building! We discuss navigating genre when creating music and we also just have some fun and talk about some of our favorite concept albums. Check out Stovepipe's music here. Also, Stovepipe makes a mean bar of soap! We've tried them, and we'll probably never use a different soap again. Check out the soap at https://www.stovepipesoaps.com/. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Our friend, and guitar wizard, Sam Granger is with us today! We try to take on the tough question of what makes someone a "true" musician? We also discuss how are classical traditions applied to contemporary music? Check out Sam's music on bandcamp! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

The Brandino Extravaganza is here! We've mentioned him throughout various episodes because of our connections, so we're happy to welcome him to the show! We talk with Brandon about what makes a good solo act and we dive into something Scott is excited about...PHISH!! Keep an eye out for Brandino's new album, Tier 3, coming soon!  Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

We've got our first drummer on the show! Mike Schertenlieb of Flexadecibel is in the house. We dive into what makes for a great drum sound? We also dive into discussing the creative process for art and music. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

This week we've got the one and only Steve Leaf with us. We discussed how can analog and digital sound work together. We also take on the age old question of what is the best decade of music. Be sure to check out Steve Leaf's most recent album, Twelve Songs! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

You're in for a treat this episode! We've got the one and only Dutcher Snedeker on the show today! We discussed how is virtuosic playing best utilized and can we separate the creator from the art? Dutcher is a phenomenal keyboard player that does a lot! But check out music from both of Dutcher's bands, Earth Radio & Normal Mode. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com

This week we welcome the one and only Lauren Kelley to the show! We discuss what it's like to perform live music and we also discuss what makes a good cover song. Lauren is an amazing vocalist and high energy performer! Be sure to check out Lauren's solo project, Evelyine. Also, check out her cover band, Funkle Jesse! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We're back! We sit down with WYCE music programmer, music lover, and fellow Red Hot Chili Pepper fan...Shelby Schneider! Shelby helps us kick off season 2 by helping us discuss why we like (and dislike) RHCP. We also talked what makes an album cover good? You can catch Shelby on air with 88.1 FM WYCE on Thursday's from 3p-6pm. Check out all of the music that Shelby has played on air here. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! KJ and Scott sat down for this very special bonus episode to discuss what makes a great Christmas song. We hope you all enjoy this one and have a safe and happy holiday until we return! We'll be kicking off season 2 early 2022, so stick around and keep an eye out for updates. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

The season finale! And we've got a special episode for you! We sat down with our bandmates, Elliott Truss and Jason Peterman and we discussed our musical journeys and how we all got into music. We will return with season 2 in 2022. Until then, look out for plenty of bonus episodes on the way. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Surprise! And Happy Halloween! Scott and KJ sat down for this very special bonus episode to discuss what makes a song spooky. We hope you enjoy this one! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

Olivia Vargas is in the building for episode 9! Her band, August, recently released a new album. Be sure to check out "Through the Looking Glass" wherever you get your music. Or check out her solo EP, "Songs from My Room". We talked with Olivia about what qualities in songs create musical sweet spots and what is the best way to listen to music. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We're elated to welcome Jack Droppers to episode 8 of MI Music Podcast. His band, Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions, recently released a new album. Be sure to check out "Dad Rock" wherever you get your music. We talked with Jack about lyrics and vocals and how they help us connect to music. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

This week we have the pleasure of welcoming Zach Potter to the show! We discuss what sonic qualities in a song make us go back for multiple listens? And we also discuss our favorite bands and artists who jump genres seamlessly. Be sure to also check out Zach's band, The Turnips! Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We've got the one and only Chris Cranick in the building! We discuss what makes for a good evolution of an artist. And we give it our best at breaking down our top 3 albums. Check out Chris' latest solo release, A Light Within The Dark. Also be sure to check out his bands latest release; Overdrive Orchestra's, Alive and Well. Sidenote and spolier alert, we talk Led Zeppelin! KJ apologizes to all the LZ fans for confusing the song titles "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Since I've Been Loving You". Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

In this episode we welcome two members of Lazy Genius to the show! We spoke with Pat and Tim about what makes a great live performance and every musician nerds favorite topic...gear! Their new album, "Procession", is out October 30th, 2021. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions

We talked this guy up so much in our last episode, we figured it was only right to bring on the one and only Adrian Wright. In this episode, we dive into how does life shape your exposure to music? And we take on the classic coveted debate of who are the top 5 rappers of all time? If you haven't already, be sure to check out Adrian's latest project with his band, Avocadsquad. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

On episode 3, we welcome Elijah Russ to MI Music Podcast! In this episode we discuss what's more important, lyrics or music? We also discuss how do you get out of a creative rut? Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions, or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

We have our first guest, Devin Anderson! In this episode we discuss what makes a good riff or lick and what's the most important instrument in a song and why. Check out Devin's latest album, "Sushi Tuesday", with the Avocadsquad. Feel free to email us with comments, suggestions or questions at mimusicpodcast@gmail.com.

KJ and Scott welcome you to MI Music Podcast! In this introductory episode, they get down to the bottom of what makes a good introduction to a song? Follow MI Music Podcast on Instagram @mimusicpodcast to stay up to date with this podcast and upcoming guest.

KJ and Scott interview Michigan musicians about their musical journey and get down to the bottom of what makes music so awesome.